[H-GEN] New user group in Toowoomba (fwd)

[Raymond Smith]

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For your information.

---
raymond at humbug.org.au                     All that we see, or seem,
                                    Is but a dream, within a dream.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 12:41:37 +1000
From: Tony Nugent <tony at growzone.com.au>
To: Linux Australia Email List <linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au>
Subject: New user group in Toowoomba
Resent-Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 12:41:46 +1000
Resent-From: linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au

After some time (almost two years) in the incubator, a new
linux/unix user group is emerging in Toowoomba, known as THUUG:

	Toowoomba Home Unix Users Group

This group is in many ways a "child" of the USQ LUG group, born out
of a necessity to form a more community-based user group (eg, most
of the "old guard" have now graduated), and to open it up to include
all manner of unix boxen.

The group has a web page (still under development):

	http://www.thuug.org.au/

There are also mailing lists:

	Listserver:	majordomo at thuug.org.au
	Admin, notices:	thuug-list at thuug.org.au
	Linux help:	linux-list at thuug.org.au

As usual with majordomo, use "subscribe", "help", "lists" and so on
in the body of the message.  thuug-list is recommended for anyone
interested in tuning into what activities the group is up to.

One of the first things we need to do here is to organise ourselves
more formally, so we are looking at a constitution and a committee
structure, which is about to happen.

	I also need to announce this new group in other forums, such
	as in the international LUG listings.  I'll check the user
	group HOWTO for these URLs, but are there any places in
	Australia where this sort of thing needs to be done?
	Thanks.

Part of the initial activities of the group is to get some regular
installation sessions going, followed up by a series of "howto"
sessions that aim to have people up to a level where they are
capable of setting up a linux box as a network server and (dialup?)
internet gateway.  We also want to set up an internet games server
managed by a group of keen linux-oriented gamers.  Who else better
to do this than gamers themselves?  So I have been contacting local
schools enquiring about students who might be interested in becoming
involved with this - and the response has been very encouraging.
The idea is to "de-mystify" linux and to encourage its use, and this
seems to be a great way to promote it.

As time goes on, I'm sure you will be hearing more about THUUG.

Linux has a very strong and now very permanent presence in
Toowoomba.  Our own project, GrowZone OnLine (GOL), is a project
capital-funded by Networking The Nation (NTN) and sponsored by
GrowZone Development Network.  GDN is a community-based southern Qld
regional economic development organisation, and GOL's aims are
similar - to provide a community owned resource to improve
communications infrastructure in regional areas.

It is one of the most exciting projects I have ever been involved
in... we are building a wide area network covering all of southern
Queensland everywhere west of here... 40+ remote points of presence,
most with local dialup access and small local area networks.  Once
the network has been rolled out (~75% done), the emphasis will turn
to the development of a regional economic (ecommerce) "portal",
along with other spin-offs that encourage regional employment and
economic development (eg, employment for help desk operators and web
developers, and/or helping to set up independent businesses doing
this sort of work).  Big plans start small, we have a long way to
go.

The entire network is based on (redhat) linux (with cisco boxes for
the isdn and frame relay WAN connections), not one nt box in the
place.  The fact that such a thing can be created with a stable,
reliable, and open-source operating system says much about linux -
it is well and truly ready for the big-time - especially in the
corporate sector.  What is lacking are people who know linux well
enough to be able to do what we are doing, something we hope THUUG
activites will help overcome.

Linux is alive and well in Toowoomba.

  [If anyone here knows of any linux journals or magazines that
  might be interested in a good linux story, please get them to
  contact me - we have a really good one here.]

Cheers
Tony
 -=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-
  Tony Nugent <Tony at growzone.com.au>    Systems Administrator, RHCE
  GrowZone OnLine       (a project of) GrowZone Development Network
  POBox 475 Toowoomba Oueensland Australia 4350    Ph: 07 4637 8322
 -=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-
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