looking for help with some linux installs for newbies
Hi Friends, The Naarm Solarpunk Meetup has a really big attendance in Feb, about 70 people came, and we got something like 200 people joining our meetup group online. The crowd was very mixed, some folks really experienced with FOSS, and a fair few non technical people really frustrated at big tech. We advertised our March meetup as being less talky, and more "computers out" to help each other get off big tech. We also have a group of volunteers who will be there going through our process to setup a Raspberry Pi web using serving a wikipedia mirror. We've got a smaller crowd coming to that, it's 22 registered at present, I expect that to rise until the event next Wednesday, but of course not everyone will turn up. So, I guess the reach out to my fellow linux enthusiasts is, if there were one or two people in this group who wanted to come along and help people install linux, I think that'd be valuable. There are obviously a bunch of us there who can help with that, but there will be a bit going on and someone focused just on that would probably have more impact. If you think that might be you, feel free to drop me a line. The event in next Wednesday 18th, at a makerspace in Brunswick, details here <https://www.meetup.com/merri-bek-tech/events/313348997/>. For context, people who need help are likely to new to the journey, so it might be a case of helping someone dual boot with Windows if they are a newcomer, or I have at least one person who has been doing that a couple of years and now would like to re-partition to remove windows. If these folks are not super technical, I'd prefer if we offer them ubuntu so they have overlap to help each other. Jade
Jade Ambrose via luv-main <luv-main@luv.asn.au> wrote:
So, I guess the reach out to my fellow linux enthusiasts is, if there were one or two people in this group who wanted to come along and help people install linux, I think that'd be valuable.
I remember being the recipient of such help in Melbourne in the late 1990s. Linux installfests were more common then, but they seem to have almost died out. I can't assist from the other side of the world, but I can at least wish you good success and a positive Linux experience to the newcomers.
On 3/13/26 9:10 AM, Jason J.G. White via luv-main wrote:
Jade Ambrose via luv-main <luv-main@luv.asn.au> wrote:
So, I guess the reach out to my fellow linux enthusiasts is, if there were one or two people in this group who wanted to come along and help people install linux, I think that'd be valuable.
I remember being the recipient of such help in Melbourne in the late 1990s. Linux installfests were more common then, but they seem to have almost died out.
HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, ASUS... To some degree Microsoft has cut off its nose despite its face, what with all the above manufacturers and more embracing various Linux distros as default when ordering desktop and laptops, and in the case of Samsung, no longer bundling Microsoft products with their Androids. Long story short, I think we're going to be seeing a bit of a reprisal in Linux install fests while the need for LUGs to host these events increasing during the Windows 11 fallout. And that's a good thing! -- Bradley D. Thornton Manager Network Services https://NorthTech.US Key available at: https://keyoxide.org/A0E3913390670CCE
On Sunday, 15 March 2026 12:25:20 AEDT Bradley D. Thornton via luv-main wrote:
Long story short, I think we're going to be seeing a bit of a reprisal in Linux install fests while the need for LUGs to host these events increasing during the Windows 11 fallout.
s/reprisal/revival/ ? -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/
Bradley D. Thornton via luv-main <luv-main@luv.asn.au> wrote:
HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, ASUS...
To some degree Microsoft has cut off its nose despite its face, what with all the above manufacturers and more embracing various Linux distros as default when ordering desktop and laptops, and in the case of Samsung, no longer bundling Microsoft products with their Androids.
At least this makes hardware compatibility easier. Some of the above vendors also certify some of their hardware to run Linux, which I assume entails at least minimal checking for driver compatibility.
Long story short, I think we're going to be seeing a bit of a reprisal in Linux install fests while the need for LUGs to host these events increasing during the Windows 11 fallout.
I think that's a reasonable expectation. i didn't appreciate until recently to what extent Linux can extend the useful lifetime of old hardware. One of my machines is a Lenovo ThinkPad P51, the version with ECC memory modules and the Intel Xeon CPU. It isn't officially supported by Windows 11 (though it runs perfectly well with Microsoft's official work-around, but that may not last). However, I primarily run Linux on it, and this will remain supported until the kernel community decides otherwise, or driver maintenance becomes unreliable. The hardware may fail before then.
On 3/17/26 12:22 PM, Jason J.G. White via luv-main wrote:
One of my machines is a Lenovo ThinkPad P51, the version with ECC memory modules and the Intel Xeon CPU.
My daily driver is a Dell Xeon lappy too. I run Slackware-current and Debian Testing (Forky) - I'd rather fix a little bork than do a manual upgrade to "stable" anyday, which is why I try to stick to Rolling Distros (that I've been able to trust for decades). Nothing I throw at it slows this puppy down, and I'm elated to hear others running Xeons out there! :)
It isn't officially supported by Windows 11 (though it runs perfectly well with Microsoft's official work-around, but that may not last). However, I primarily run Linux on it, and this will remain supported until the kernel community decides otherwise
As Elmer Fud (no pun intended) would say, "Be vewey vewey caufull". It's not uncommon for me to get a call nowadays from folks who woke up to discover a a peculiar, yet pretty, BSOD asking them for their Bitlocker key - they don't have one, many don't even have a Microsoft account if I had anything to do with an OEM install against my better judgement, and there is no key - you upset the powers that be and your disk that hitherto didn't even (knowingly) have Bitlocker activated has just cryptographically shredded everything on your HDD. As a former MCSE and MCT (I had to eat in the mid-nineties) I don't really feel to good about dispensing pertinent advice for folks running Windows 11, but here goes: Make sure you completely disable Bitlocker, even though you've never set it up, coz it will activate when it hurts the most all by itself if you don't. Better yet folks, bring your lappy's to the next install party at Linux Users of Victoria! -- Bradley D. Thornton Manager Network Services https://NorthTech.US Key available at: https://keyoxide.org/A0E3913390670CCE
Bradley D. Thornton via luv-main <luv-main@luv.asn.au> wrote:
My daily driver is a Dell Xeon lappy too. I run Slackware-current and Debian Testing (Forky) - I'd rather fix a little bork than do a manual upgrade to "stable" anyday, which is why I try to stick to Rolling Distros (that I've been able to trust for decades).
Mine runs Arch Linux. In my case, I need some of the accessibility tools (specifically, the Orca screen reader and the BRLTTY braille display support, among others). I contribute to testing of new releases, which is best done on a rolling distribution due to the dependencies involved.
Nothing I throw at it slows this puppy down, and I'm elated to hear others running Xeons out there! :)
I'm delighted with performance as well. I have access to a sophisticated and innovative braille device at the moment as part of a project. Unfortunately, if I connect it to my Lenovo machine via USB, the connection fails at a fairly low level. There's only one USB-C port on the Lenovo P51, and the port does work with other peripherals - just not this one, perhaps due to power requirements. After all, it's a 2017-era Lenovo system. Connecting the braille device to an Apple machine with more recent USB support does work. Depending on how much of an issue this becomes, I may need a laptop upgrade. I may be able to work around it with Bluetooth, at least in the short run. Other than this issue, I'm satisfied with the hardware. Next time, I would probably choose a machine that is on the certification list of Fedora or Ubuntu (even if I have no intention of running either).
participants (5)
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Bradley D. Thornton -
Jade Ambrose -
Jason J.G. White -
Phil Steel-Wilson -
Russell Coker