[00:45] <sbalneav> Evening all
[03:50] <Ahmuck> so i'm curious, how much would one have to donate to get some "design" on some of the childrens educational games?
[05:23] <sbalneav> Ahmuck: To edubuntu?
[05:23] <sbalneav> Edubuntu doesn't actually write any of the programs we distribute.
[05:23] <sbalneav> We're simply a "distribution"
[05:24] <sbalneav> We package up the work of the "upstream" developers
[05:32] <Ahmuck> that i understand, but edubuntu is focused on educational programs and many of those programs need work
[06:03] <sbalneav> Right, but it would be upstream to do the work, so your best bet, if you want to donate time, money, etc, would be to donate upstream to the programs you'd like worked on.
[06:03] <sbalneav> Any examples in particular?
[06:11] <sbalneav> Ahmuck: Any examples in particular?
[06:12] <Ahmuck> not right away, but i could look over the game selection
[06:13] <sbalneav> Have you filed any bugs on launchpad?
[06:38] <Ahmuck> like "this game is crummy" ?
[06:38] <Ahmuck> or "do the kids really learn anything here?"
[06:39] <Ahmuck> i'm going to either pay to get some made via gpl or get some modified.
[06:40] <sbalneav> Nice to call other people's volunteer hard work "crummy"
[06:41] <Ahmuck> well, hrm ...
[06:41] <Ahmuck> i wasn't trying to devalue the work, but comparing against commercial software
[06:43] <sbalneav> Yeah, sure.
[06:43] <Ahmuck> let's look at the landscape.  in the game section you have arcade games (normally space shooters), wow clones, and quake3 clones (FPS).  every now and then you will find a unique game
[06:44] <Ahmuck> in the educational suite, a lot of the software is reapeat software, with low graphics.
[06:45] <sbalneav> So how much is your budget to spend?
[06:50] <Ahmuck> currently, 100.00/month tops
[06:50] <Ahmuck> though i do know some artists
[06:51] <Ahmuck> though at this point i'm still non-commital
[06:52] <Ahmuck> our rural schools in the area might have 30 students max in each class.  k-12 might consist of 390 students
[06:53] <Ahmuck> rural schools get "money for education" and have to spend it or loose it, up till recently
[06:53] <Ahmuck> so, last year, 30 laptops that sat idle in the library
[06:53] <sbalneav> Did I read that right?  One Hundred dollars?
[06:54] <Ahmuck> yes
[06:54] <Ahmuck> and yes, i know that is nothing
[06:55] <Ahmuck> anyhow, if i were coming from a purely [principle or high school business instructor is the tech admin for the school] i've had mixed results
[06:57] <Ahmuck> i'm thinking how to better explain it
[06:58] <Ahmuck> we run a local lug and are doing linux conversions
[06:58] <Ahmuck> i'm a firm believer in linux, and were doing some test projects to see how people in our area react
[07:02] <Ahmuck> so were doing comparisions to have a better idea how to tailor for acceptance.  i've run into situations where people don't even want to hear about options to propietary software
[07:02] <sbalneav> Well, maybe they aren't interested.
[07:03] <sbalneav> Lots of people like windows, and don't want to change.
[07:03] <sbalneav> Nothing wrong with that.  If they can afford it, and it works for them, great!
[07:04] <Ahmuck> i agree.  however i'm running into people that won't even try scribus because everybody else is using package x.  and that indivdual couldn't even afford a cup of coffee
[07:04] <Ahmuck> it's discouraging
[07:05] <sbalneav> Do you program?
[07:05] <Ahmuck> i wish.  i understand what is going on, but no, don't program
[07:05] <Ahmuck> i do browse odesk and rentacoder
[07:06] <sbalneav> Let me give you some sage advice...
[07:06] <Ahmuck> if i could program there are quite a bit of software i would be writing
[07:06] <sbalneav> Free And Open Source software is full of people with ideas...
[07:06] <sbalneav> Full of people who have suggestions...
[07:07] <sbalneav> full of people who talk in IRC channels...
[07:07] <sbalneav> Full of people who want to change things.
[07:07] <sbalneav> What is isn't full of: is coders :)
[07:07] <sbalneav> For every one of someone like me, who actively writes upstream software...
[07:08] <sbalneav> for inclusion in distro's like Edubuntu
[07:08] <sbalneav> there's like, 400 people filing bugs, chatting about things, giving me, and people like me, suggestions.
[07:09] <sbalneav> 100/month is going to get you nowhere.  Someone like me, who has a fulltime job, and who  does this purely for enjoyment...
[07:09] <sbalneav> isn't going to be swayed by 100
[07:10] <sbalneav> but...
[07:10] <sbalneav> If you take the $1200 over the course of a year, take some programming courses at the local community college
[07:10] <sbalneav> and start kicking in with some code, beleive me, you'll see change.
[07:11] <sbalneav> That's why I got involved over 13 years ago.
[07:13] <Ahmuck> is edubuntu's market industrial nations?
[07:14] <sbalneav> I don't think edubuntu has a "market"
[07:14] <sbalneav> Everyone who's involved with Edubuntu's a volunteer
[07:14] <sbalneav> I'm with the LTSP project, the software that edubuntu uses for thin clients
[07:15] <sbalneav> but I've gotten involved with edubuntu, because there's a lot of kids around the world, both in Developed and underdeveloped nations that don't have access to any software at all.
[07:15] <sbalneav> By my donating my time, I can help them.
[07:16] <sbalneav> So, that's my market, I guess: "anyone who needs it"
[07:25] <sbalneav> Anywho, my eyes are going crosseyed from looking at docbook XML all night.  I'm off to bed.
[07:25] <sbalneav> Goodnight.
[13:15] <trailbrain> Anyone got any old computers to donate?
[13:15] <trailbrain> Once I heard about edubuntu and started playing with it I created a program to get old computers running edubuntu into underprivledged homes
[13:16] <trailbrain> The problem I'm having now is that the area I live in (SW OK) seems to be destitute of computers
[13:16] <trailbrain> Very sad  :-(   http://reprise.trailbrain.com
[16:44] <LaserJock> morning everybody
[18:55] <highvoltage> "morning" LaserJock :)
[18:56] <LaserJock> highvoltage: just pushing my American "Imperialism" on everybody ;-)
[18:56] <highvoltage> heh
[18:57] <highvoltage> as long as you don't make us stop using the metric system :)
[18:57] <LaserJock> nah, I'm a scientist so no fear there
[19:00] <highvoltage> heh
[19:50] <stgraber> highvoltage: there is worse than the imperial system, the Canadian one is mainly a mix of both :) So I just never know when to use imperial units (that I still don't know at all) or metric units (the ones I used all my life). So you can basically get both mentioned in the same sentence making everything just a lot harder to understand.
[20:13] <highvoltage> stgraber: ouch!