.----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 8 8 8"""" 8"""88 8""""8 8 8 8 8""""8 8""""8 8""""8 8"""88 | | 8 8 8 8 8 8 " 8 8 8 8 " 8 8 8 " 8 8 | | 8e 8 8eeee 8 8 8e 8eee8 8e 8e 8eeee8 8e 8 8 | | 88 8 88 8 8 88 88 8 88 88 88 8 88 ee 8 8 | | 88 8 88 8 8 88 e 88 8 88 88 e 88 8 88 8 8 8 | | 88ee8 88 8eeee8 88eee8 88 8 88 88eee8 88 8 88eee8 8eeee8 | | Users of Free Operating systems -- Chicago | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' .--------------. .-----------------------------------------------------. | history | | History of UFO Chicago | `--------------' `-----------------------------------------------------' :::::::::::::: .--------------. When I was a kid, I grew up playing with TRS-80 model |what's a ufo? | IIIs -- the little computer with the big heart (I just `--------------' made that up, actually) -- I graduated to Apples, to :::::::::::::: Macs, and finally (thanks to DOOM,) the IBM PC. I went .--------------. to college, I studied music. I wrote web pages, and | membership | spent a lot of time online. And ever since I first `--------------' heard of it, had been fascinated by Linux -- this :::::::::::::: free, "hardcore" operating system. But I was worried .--------------. I'd do something wrong, worried about losing my | calendar | software, [insert excuse here]. `--------------' :::::::::::::: I met Leonard Richardson of Segfault.org fame back in .--------------. 1997, when I was writing the now-defunct Nerth Pork | directions | webzine on a Windows box in notepad.exe and Leonard was `--------------' just getting into Linux. I wished I was as adventurous :::::::::::::: as Leonard -- Linux sounded great... but I was afraid. .--------------. A little too afraid... |mailing lists | `--------------' Jump ahead to 1999. I had graduated and found myself :::::::::::::: working a full-time job in computers. I met the .--------------. venerable Nick "Crackmonkey" Moffitt through the Tron | irc | mailing list, and got up the gumption to build a Linux `--------------' box out of some leftovers laying around the office. We :::::::::::::: built it using a combination of rawrite, irc, screen, .--------------. kibitz, and the telephone (remember the telephone?). | links | The first incarnation of 'flynn' was a Cyrix P150+ with `--------------' a 350MB hard drive and 32MB RAM. I gave away accounts :::::::::::::: on flynn like it was going out of style and my friends .--------------. caught the free software bug. Die Hard Mac users and | posters | Java Coders and even Windows Expatriots like myself all `--------------' found excitement and new creative energy in the :::::::::::::: freedom and the community that Free Software :::::::::::::: provides. As corny as it sounds, finally using Linux :::::::::::::: and free software was like coming home. :::::::::::::: :::::::::::::: Now, a year and a half later, I still work that job, :::::::::::::: but my desktop workstation is a Debian GNU/Linux box :::::::::::::: running XFree86 and vmware, as well as samba to :::::::::::::: interface with our NT network and mutt to read mail :::::::::::::: from an IMAP server. My home machine is a :::::::::::::: dual-processor linux box running Debian's stable :::::::::::::: distribution, hosting several websites, mailing lists, :::::::::::::: a free software project, and an space rock opera. My :::::::::::::: Windows box goes weeks without ever being booted up. :::::::::::::: :::::::::::::: This brings us to today -- and UFO Chicago. UFO stands :::::::::::::: for Users of Free Operating Systems -- we're :::::::::::::: mostly Linux nuts, but only because it's what we've :::::::::::::: been using. What we're really into is the freedom that :::::::::::::: free software represents -- freedom to modify, freedom :::::::::::::: to utilize, freedom to innovate*. Getting your own :::::::::::::: hands dirty in the OS in ways that you never could with :::::::::::::: other proprietary OSes. Fixing problems instead :::::::::::::: of just reinstalling -- because you can see under the :::::::::::::: hood -- learning how your machine works, not :::::::::::::: just hoping that it does. :::::::::::::: :::::::::::::: We've been doing this together as friends and coworkers :::::::::::::: for a year and a half -- but there are others out there :::::::::::::: interested in and actively using free software -- and :::::::::::::: we want to meet them and pick their brains and hang out :::::::::::::: and just have a good time; after all, free software is :::::::::::::: about community and sharing. And why should we have all :::::::::::::: the fun? :::::::::::::: :::::::::::::: -- Peter A. Peterson II :::::::::::::: pedro@flynn.zork.net :::::::::::::: President, UFO Chicago :::::::::::::: -- Jack D. Edwards :::::::::::::: edwardsj1@tastytronic.net :::::::::::::: Vice President, UFO Chicago :::::::::::::: :::::::::::::: * Microsoft believes that free software is :::::::::::::: Anti-American and Anti-innovation. -====================================================================- (c) 1999-2017 users of free operating systems, chicago il email us: ufo-info@tastytronic.net generated by asciiweb v0.90