Differences between revisions 19 and 27 (spanning 8 versions)
⇤ ← Revision 19 as of 2003-10-13 17:27:17 →
Size: 6219
Editor: 82-35-23-185
Comment:
← Revision 27 as of 2003-10-17 13:53:51 → ⇥
Size: 7441
Editor: JonathanRiddell
Comment:
Deletions are marked like this. Additions are marked like this.
Line 44: Line 44:
The users have decreed,KDE 3.2 looks "beautiful." The demo machine was using
the Plastik theme with the Crystal icons.		 Linux Expo UK 2003 took place in London on October 8 - 9. KDE took part in the .org village along with twenty other Free Software projects ( <a href="http://jriddell.org/photos/2003-10-linux-expo-kde-stall.jpg">photo from front</a>, <a href="http://jriddell.org/photos/2003-10-linux-expo-kde-stall-back.jpg">photo from back</a>). We demonstrated KDE 3.2 alpha to a constant stream of visitors (over 5 500 were at the show, most of them seemed to be at the .org village stand) and handed out several hundred leaflets.
Line 47: Line 46:
Visitors were very impressed with Kontact. For people who knew about KDE 3.2
it was the first thing they asked to see. Lots of confusion about it only
working with Kroupware/Kolab.		 Several KDE developers including Jono Bacon, Chris Howells and Jonathan Riddell were joined by Debian packager David Pashley (<a href="http://jriddell.org/photos/2003-10-linux-expo-kde-stall-jonathan-david.jpg">photo</a>) and salesman extraordinaire Ben Lamb (<a href="http://jriddell.org/photos/2003-10-linux-expo-kde-stall-ben-and-punters.jpg">photo</a>) to demonstrate the forthcoming KDE 3.2 release and solicit feedback from existing users. We met several companies looking to deploy GNU/Linux and KDE on the desktop and talked to journalists from all the major UK Linux magazines.
Line 51: Line 48:
A couple of people asked about synchronisation; one person with WindowsCE
which I didn't know anything about but have now discovered SyncCE (http://
synce.sourceforge.net/synce/kde/).		 The users have decreed KDE 3.2 looks "beautiful". Our demo machine was using the Plastik theme with the Crystal icons.
Line 55: Line 50:
Everyone had their own wishes, some needed LDAP connectivity, another had his
day made when he realised KGpg had all the functionality he needed.		 Besides the beautiful new look, visitors were very impressed with Kontact. For people who knew about KDE 3.2 it was the first thing they asked to see. However confusion abounded that Kontact only worked with Kolab and not standalone. We emphasised that even when running it as a standalone application it is possible to exchange appointments via email and publish calendars to the web.
Line 58: Line 52:
To my surprise the new system tray applet for changing the screen resolution
was universally appaulded. I'm not denying it's a great applet but how often
do people change screen resolution?!		 Everyone had their own wishes. Some users asked for LDAP connectivity, another was very pleased to discover KGPG had all the functionality he needed to easily manage his encrytion and keys. Smaller features such as the new system tray applet for changing the screen resolution and TrueType font previews were universally applauded.
Line 62: Line 54:
Many people did not know what version of KDE they are running, just the
distribution. One or two people I met were still running KDE2!		 Almost everyone wanted to know if/when their distribution would be shipping KDE 3.2, how they could upgrade and whether we had the code available on CD. It's clear that many users do not know how to upgrade to the latest release and some are still running KDE 2. The difficulty of software upgrades and installation was one of the general GNU/Linux grumbles people kept mentioning. The others were drivers for some hardware (caused by manufacturers who do not work with the open source development process) and the integration issues which <a href="http://pdx.freedesktop.org/Software/hal">HAL</a> aims to fix.
Line 65: Line 56:
Almost everyone wanted to know if/when their distribution would be shipping
KDE 3.2, how they could upgrade and whether we had the code on CD. I pointed
out the difficulties of handling the last request.		 KOffice 1.3 was also demonstrated although most of the people were already using OpenOffice.org. Several people were unaware of KOffice altogether and many did not realize that the applications have improved considerably since its first release. Kexi is generating a lot of interest but sadly we weren't able to demo it. A number of people asked after Umbrello UML Modeller which pleased Jonathan.
Line 69: Line 58:
KOffice 1.3 was also demonstrated although most of the people I spoke to were
already using OpenOffice. Several people were unaware of KOffice. Kexi is
generating a lot of interest. Sadly we weren't able to demo it.		 Criticism flowed as well, ranging from "the application names are confusing" to "the logo is rubbish". More constructively a plea, from a large corporate, for better documentation about locking down KDE desktops and possibly a GUI front-end to the kiosk framework. It's a shame when KDE has the features but they go unused for lack of documentation or publicity.
Line 73: Line 60:
Miscellaneous comments included "the application names are confusing" and
requests for better documentation/facilities for configuring kiosk mode.		 An almost continuous stream of people visited the stand on both days. Most were existing KDE users and by my guess at least a quarter had been following the progress of KDE 3.2 and would have upgraded anyway. After seeing a demo nearly everyone was convinced that it would be a worthwhile upgrade.
Line 76: Line 62:
We had one woman complain about the logo being crap. I think both me and
Jonathon put her down as being a crackpot. We were asked about indic
language support. I showed him some of the screenshots of bbc.co.uk in
hindi and he was impressed. I think the only other person I spoke to in
any length was just having a random rant about linux in general.		 Our stock of polo shirts and badges sold out and almost 500 flyers and stickers were handed out. Next year we will take more.
Line 82: Line 64:
We had an almost continuous stream of people visiting the stand on both days.
Mostly existing KDE users and by my guess at least a quarter had been
following the progress of KDE 3.2 and would have upgraded anyway. After
seeing a demo nearly everyone was convinced that it would be a worthwhile
upgrade.

There were a couple of visitors who were interested in deploying KDE in their
organisations and one guy who looked like a spitting image of Miguel de
Icaza.

I think we did reasonably well. We could have done with a few more
things to sell and more stickers/flyers. Did we hand out 500 flyers in
the end? maybe double that would have been a good number. It may be
cheaper to get them printed.		 Article by Ben Lamb and Jonathan Riddell, photos by Chris Howells and UK Linux

1. KDE at Linux Expo 2003

See ["DebianExpoList2003"] for dates, links, Debian-people, .org section layout, LPI registration, reminder to bring GPG keys and a passport, suggestions of places to stay.

2. People

Name (Email)

Mobile

Tue 7th - setup day

Wed 8th

Thu 9th

Notes

[http://jriddell.org/ Jonathan Riddell] (debian-wiki@jriddell.org)

07941-938-912

Prob.

Yes

Yes

I have merchandise

David Pashley (debian-wiki@davidpashley.com)

07980-752-297

Prob.

Yes

Yes

One of us (don't let the Debians steal him)

Jono Bacon (jono@kde.org)

Nope

Yep

Yep

Might give a talk, also hanging around with LUG

Paul Cupis (paul@cupis.co.uk)

07762 821809

Probably not

Yes

Yes

May drift between Debian and KDE stands

Chris Howells (howells@kde.org)

07816 528475

No

Yes

No

Bringing laptop with CVS HEAD

Lee Jordan (lee@leejordan.org.uk)

Nope

Yus

Yus

Printing T-Shirts for stall runners, also hanging around with LUG

Ben Lamb (kde@zurgy.org)

07940 538948

No

Yes

Yes

Can bring desktop PC + laptop both running KDE CVS. Need external monitor for desktop or someone to help carry a 15" montior from Brixton.

3. Things on the stall

  • A (preferably non-laptop) demonstration machine with CVS KDE (I should be able to get one but open to suggestions - jr)
  • Jonathan has 6 polo shirts (a snip at 20UKP each) and badges ('pins', £1.50 ) to sell and stickers to give away
  • Jono will bring his stuff from previous expos
  • Setting up on the Tuesday should not take long, maybe we can arrange a time to do it
  • We need leaflets to give out, with general KDE info and KDE 3.2 features on it. See kde-promo in (non-anonymous) CVS for inspiration. (I'll try and make something up - jr)

  • I have one KDE t-shirt to wear, Jono can you bring yours? Sure. :)

  • Lee, did you get anything useful made with the SVG logos?

Also:

  • Please bring 4 way power adaptors and extension leads (if possible with surge protection)
  • There will be wireless internet on the stand (but not fast)

4. Other things

  • LONIX will be organising a social event (drinking in a pub) on the Wednesday night:Leaving the expo at 5pm and heading for the Lowlander pub in Covent Garden. Following Lowlander if you are still standing a table has been booked at Spice of London indian restaurant (http://www.spiceoflondon.com/) at 22 Drury Lane for some high quality cuisine. Or alternatively you can stay at Lowlander where they also serve food. Directions to Lowlander Exit Covent Garden Tube station and on your left you'll see a road (for cars!) alled Long Acre. Take a right down this road, go straight over the roundabout and carry on straight until you see Drury Lane on your left (it's also on the right). Take a left and you will see Lowlander on your left.

  • Car parking limited, pre book spaces by credit card in the multi storey (P3) car park or other venue parking areas by logging onto www.eco.co.uk or by calling the new dedicated telephone booking line on 0871 871 9809

5. Timetable

  • Tuesday 7th October 12:00 - 21:00 Exhibitors only Setup
  • Wednesday 8th October 08:00 - 10:30 Exhibitors only, 10:30 - 17:00 Show Open, LONIX pub meeting
  • Thursday 9th October 08:00 - 10:30 Exhibitors only, 10:30 - 16:00 Show Open, 17:00 - 20:00 Exhibitors only Break down

6. KDE dot news article draft

Linux Expo UK 2003 took place in London on October 8 - 9. KDE took part in the .org village along with twenty other Free Software projects ( <a href="http://jriddell.org/photos/2003-10-linux-expo-kde-stall.jpg">photo from front</a>, <a href="http://jriddell.org/photos/2003-10-linux-expo-kde-stall-back.jpg">photo from back</a>). We demonstrated KDE 3.2 alpha to a constant stream of visitors (over 5 500 were at the show, most of them seemed to be at the .org village stand) and handed out several hundred leaflets.

Several KDE developers including Jono Bacon, Chris Howells and Jonathan Riddell were joined by Debian packager David Pashley (<a href="http://jriddell.org/photos/2003-10-linux-expo-kde-stall-jonathan-david.jpg">photo</a>) and salesman extraordinaire Ben Lamb (<a href="http://jriddell.org/photos/2003-10-linux-expo-kde-stall-ben-and-punters.jpg">photo</a>) to demonstrate the forthcoming KDE 3.2 release and solicit feedback from existing users. We met several companies looking to deploy GNU/Linux and KDE on the desktop and talked to journalists from all the major UK Linux magazines.

The users have decreed KDE 3.2 looks "beautiful". Our demo machine was using the Plastik theme with the Crystal icons.

Besides the beautiful new look, visitors were very impressed with Kontact. For people who knew about KDE 3.2 it was the first thing they asked to see. However confusion abounded that Kontact only worked with Kolab and not standalone. We emphasised that even when running it as a standalone application it is possible to exchange appointments via email and publish calendars to the web.

Everyone had their own wishes. Some users asked for LDAP connectivity, another was very pleased to discover KGPG had all the functionality he needed to easily manage his encrytion and keys. Smaller features such as the new system tray applet for changing the screen resolution and TrueType font previews were universally applauded.

Almost everyone wanted to know if/when their distribution would be shipping KDE 3.2, how they could upgrade and whether we had the code available on CD. It's clear that many users do not know how to upgrade to the latest release and some are still running KDE 2. The difficulty of software upgrades and installation was one of the general GNU/Linux grumbles people kept mentioning. The others were drivers for some hardware (caused by manufacturers who do not work with the open source development process) and the integration issues which <a href="http://pdx.freedesktop.org/Software/hal">HAL</a> aims to fix.

KOffice 1.3 was also demonstrated although most of the people were already using OpenOffice.org. Several people were unaware of KOffice altogether and many did not realize that the applications have improved considerably since its first release. Kexi is generating a lot of interest but sadly we weren't able to demo it. A number of people asked after Umbrello UML Modeller which pleased Jonathan.

Criticism flowed as well, ranging from "the application names are confusing" to "the logo is rubbish". More constructively a plea, from a large corporate, for better documentation about locking down KDE desktops and possibly a GUI front-end to the kiosk framework. It's a shame when KDE has the features but they go unused for lack of documentation or publicity.

An almost continuous stream of people visited the stand on both days. Most were existing KDE users and by my guess at least a quarter had been following the progress of KDE 3.2 and would have upgraded anyway. After seeing a demo nearly everyone was convinced that it would be a worthwhile upgrade.

Our stock of polo shirts and badges sold out and almost 500 flyers and stickers were handed out. Next year we will take more.

Article by Ben Lamb and Jonathan Riddell, photos by Chris Howells and UK Linux

TheEarthWiki: KdeExpoList2003 (last edited 2008-02-19 15:39:13 by localhost)