[clug] Wanna hold an installfest?

[George Selwyn Bills]

 > "please backup your system before bringing it, cause we might delete 
stuff accidentally"

   You might also want to give a little bit of info on what learning 
/installing a new OS entails so that you lessen the "culture shock" and 
also so that people wont assume "might delete stuff accidentaly" means 
"don't know what they're doing."  Not so scary a warning that people 
balk with fear, but also you want to avoid anyone who may not realise 
that Linux "wont let them do MS Office."  Having a few blank CD's on 
hand at low prices to backup a persons documents with could be good too. 
  (Not mp3s / videos etecetera as that would be a waste of your time - 
just stuff like emails / letters, personal stuff.)

 > Methinks that the start of University semesters are a good time to 
hold these things

   The start of semester is pretty busy...  Lots of work involved in 
learning tute times, resits, orientation with new classes etcetera.  How 
about a few weeks before the semester starts?  It's holidays so people 
will have a lot of time, the impending new semester has them in the 
frame of mind for changes and there is still the chance that they will 
have seen statements like "we will be examining the Linux kernel and how 
it works" or "I recomend you to install Linux" on their subjects home 
page.  At least a few students bother reading the info for their courses 
before the semester actually begins.  (I hope.)

 > as students start getting told they need a Linux box for assignments.

   You could also try giving handouts / flyers out at computer science 
lectures.  Some of the lecturers seem very pro Linux so you may even get 
them "officialy endorsing" the installfest at the lectures, which will 
have an affect on a fair few people.