MESSAGE
| DATE | 2002-06-17 |
| FROM | Seth Johnson
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] LINC: Using GNU/Linux in Organizing
|
(Forwarded from Global Knowledge Discussion list,
gkd-at-phoenix.edc.org)
-------- Original Message --------
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2002 16:41 PM -0400
From: Dirk Slater
Dear GKD Members,
What follows is a summary on our Linux project. For more
information on the LINC Project subscribe to LINC-hot-news
or visit our website at .
---------------------------------------------------------
USING LINUX IN ORGANIZING - AN INITIAL SUCCESS!
The Low Income Networking and Communication (LINC) Project
of the Welfare Law Center has helped many low-income led
organizing groups acquire access to the Internet and use
technology more effectively. While these groups have
increased their abilities to communicate with one another
and their allies by using the Internet, one communication
hurdle remains, communicating with their leadership via the
Internet. Despite many "digital divide" initiatives
addressing access to the Internet in low-income communities,
access is still an issue. Public Internet access points,
such as libraries and schools, are not sufficient. Many
low-income leaders do not have access to the Internet where
it would make the most impact -- in their homes. The need
for Internet communication is particularly great for rural
groups whose members live far apart and cannot have frequent
face-to-face meetings because of distance, time and money
constraints.
We began to explore the idea of using Linux, a free
operating system that works well on older computers, when we
learned of Microsoft's decision to discontinue support of
its older operating systems like Windows 95. We had also
been troubled by the frequent problems that occur for
Windows users just by having Windows run on its own. Giving
a person who lives in a rural area an older computer with
Windows seemed like we were just asking for trouble. We also
attempted to identify similar projects but had limited
success.
What did LINC set out to accomplish? We wanted to increase
our ability to provide stable desktop systems using donated
computers for board members and leaders of low-income led
organizations that LINC serves. Our goal is to increase the
ability of LINC Project partner groups to use open-source
software (for a definition on open-source see
http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition_plain.html) to
support their organizing work. We also wanted to document
the project as much as we possibly could, so we could
provide details of our experiences for others doing similar
projects.
What did LINC actually do?
- identified a partner in GRO-Grass Roots Organizing in
Mexico, MO, for our pilot project organization
- identified Linux as the operating system that would run on
older donated computers
- installed Linux on 10 computers and prepared them for use
as stand-alone workstations in people's homes
- installed Linux on a brand new stand-alone computer to
work as the main computer in the GRO office
- set up the main computer (in the GRO office) as a terminal
server to work with one or more of the lower-end donated
computers as clients
- established a relationship with the Mizzou Linux Users
Group for ongoing local support
- conducted a group training for an introduction to the
system
- conducted one-on-one trainings for people getting
computers in their homes
- established a listserv for support issues
- documented our experience in daily journals which were
disseminated over listservs and the web
What were the necessary components in making this project
work:
- GRO - an organization with strong technology saavy and a
clear goal for what these systems would do (allow members to
access the Internet and have word-processing capability),
and people within GRO that were willing to make local
connections and acquire donated computers from the local
university
- 14 Pentium II 2OOmhz computers, with 64 megs of ram and 2
to 3 gig hard drives donated by University of Missouri
Outreach & Extension
- a Microtel PC (from WalMart) with a Celeron 1GHz processor
and 128 megs of ram also donated by University of Missouri
Outreach & Extension
- Linux software: Distribution: Red Hat 7.2 - additional
software: Open Office, AbiWord, Ximian Red Carpet. IPCOP on
the firewall, and the Linux Terminal Server Project in GRO's
office
- Technology Assistance Providers (the LINC Project Circuit
Riders) with solid training backgrounds and a clear
understanding of what GRO is trying to accomplish as an
organization.
What were the challenges (and our solutions):
- Identifying good training materials on Linux (we compiled
and created our own)
- Finding modems that are compatible with Linux systems (we
used external modems)
- Older hardware that kept failing (a lot of creativity)
- Identifying ways to speed up the software installation
process (we tried several methods settling on disk
"cloning")
- Windows users, transitioning to Linux, becoming frustrated
by having to do more steps for tasks than they are used to
and items being in different locations (we urged patience
and practice but we continue to try to identify better
interfaces)
- Securing phone-lines for project participants so they can
connect to the Internet and securing those phone lines for a
period of time (GRO is trying to secure funding to assure
that their board members keep phone lines in their homes)
What's left:
We still have a long way to go before we can call this a
completely successful project. After a period of a few
months we will assess whether the board members are actually
using the computers to communicate more effectively. We also
need to identify and develop training materials to smooth
the transition process for users who were used to working
with Windows. We need to schedule another trip to Mexico,
MO, within the next couple of months to do follow-up work.
We will also be working with a couple of other LINC project
participating groups to see if we can replicate the success
we've had with getting GRO's leaders online.
To view the daily journals on our project with GRO please
visit the LINC Project Linux pages at
--
Dirk Slater
Senior Circuit Rider
Low-Income Networking and Communications (LINC) Project
Welfare Law Center
dirk-at-welfarelaw.org
www.lincproject.org
212-633-6967 ext. 22
------------
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Fair Use -
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