[kwlug-disc] suggestions for promoting linux for whitehorse makerspace

[B.S.]

Some thoughts:
- you might contact kwartzlab for what they do. I don't imagine the issues are all that different between makerspaces. There are a number of linux enthusiasts there - I expect they have traveled this road too.
- dual boot in the mean time / migration?
- being FOSS, you can promote home / external use. Perhaps they can get used to specialized software at home, making them more productive when actually in front of the makerspace equipment. Let alone, work on their project at home, bring their data file with them, and just keep making progress. (Often windows software is too expensive for home, so the only time people can work on their projects is when on site. Home work will make their on site time more resultfull.)
- I keep being minded of Paul's excellent statement/comment: Where are they going to get help? So organizing '<new software x> 101' sessions and compiling help resource lists may be useful. i.e. How do they transition/learn from old to new? e.g. A vm on a stick/CD they can take home with them. Success stories and 'see what nifty things I made with this software' references could also be useful.
- lay out costs of current vs new so those controlling purse strings can make an objective decision. New windows (perpetual) vs new linux (one time).
- machines (scare/one off resources) typically have spoolers / schedulers in front of them. To the user, that can be a black box. If you have a spooling facility in front of a machine, typically they can receive jobs over the net / are network aware - so you may, for example, be able to jointly 'print' jobs to a machine.
- persistent data / local storage implies administrative overhead of creating / maintaining userids. Are there hands on deck present to so maintain on an ongoing / persistent basis? Having said that, /home is pretty bastioned in Linux (vs Windows with user files everywhere), so you may have a significant advantage there. Let alone people could back up their home directories on their own USB keys.
- for that matter, persistence could be accommodated via home dir / personal usb keys, so machine / hard disk persistence may not be necessary - simplifying your setup.
- is there usefulness in separating front end and back end pieces? e.g. Persistent home dir on a network Linux storage server, leaving the front end / software with what they're used to.

CDN$0.02


>________________________________
> From: Jotham Apaloo
>To: KWLUG discussion <kwlug-disc at kwlug.org> 
>Sent: Wednesday, October 7, 2015 2:46 PM
>Subject: [kwlug-disc] suggestions for promoting linux for whitehorse    makerspace
> 
>
>
>Hi All,
>
>I moved up north a couple months ago. 
there's not many tech things going on here, but there are a couple of organizations around. One
is the local makerspace, yukonstruct. They have a lot of competency in 
the area of mechanical devices, and there are a couple computing people but
they are MAC/WIndows users with little time on their hands for administration.
>
>
>
>They need to set up several computers this month. Their 
current system consists of 7 workstations in a main computer lab, and 3 
or 4 other workstations connected to 3d printing machine, CNC router, 
laser cutter. I don't know the exact models right now. Some of the 
computers are refurbs for which they get windows licenses for $10, but a few new ones require paying for a full windows license. They will also have to pay for deep freeze licenses.
>
>I am doing (i.e. 
emailing you lot) some research to see about putting linux on all/some 
of their computers. I think it would be simpler to maintain, less prone 
to malware, less expensive, and a better fit with the mission and values of the makerspace. There is already some resistance to 
introducing new things (which is really unfortunate for a makerspace), 
but if I can give some specs and pricing for a nice setup of the 
machines and network, they may be willing to adopt Linux.
>
>I'm looking for a distro suggestion and package suggestions for:
>
>    * nonpersistent user sessions/data (comparable to deep freeze)
>        * maybe since permissions and resource is easy to limit on linux, users could have persistent data
>
>    * software equivalents  for 
>        * corel draw suite (inkscape?)
>        * sketchup, 
>        * aspire, 
>        * autodesk suite, (blender?, +?)
>        * preform (looks like no alternative)
>    * best way to incorporate a windows station, if necessary
>        * WINE?
>        * virtual machines?
>        * a windows server on the network and wine/vm on all other machines as clients?
>    * any other related suggestions
>
>it would be a bonus if each of the general workstations could send jobs to the machines connected to manufacturing devices. This could happen on a longer time frame but open to thoughts now.