Video Drives the Computing Experience

"Video drives the computing Experience..."

That seems to be a statement made by Captain Obvious...

and obvious it is, but it doesn't make it any less true.  Good video devices can mean the difference between a choppy, frustrating experience and a smooth, fulfilling one.

The HeliOS Project has been getting some fairly decent computers in the past year.  People are starting to let go of their hyper-thread and dual core machines more and more.  We tend to get donations within the third and fourth generation machines.  Most times these computers come with adequate video cards or chipsets...

But many don't.

With the upcoming release of Ubuntu 11.04 and the default Unity Desktop, compiz is going to be a requirement for full functionality within the Unity environment..  This would seem like fertile ground to argue Gnome 3 vs Unity but let's not go there.  Others have already made their arguments elsewhere...plentifully so.

Canonical has made their decision and we'll go with the flow.

Skip Guenter, our Director of Systems and Engineering has ordered three different models of video cards for HeliOS use.  We find that we have to either replace or upgrade video for about 1 out of every 3 computers we rebuild for our kids.  We've ordered one of each of the below video cards to see how they work in our systems.  Keep in mind, many of our kids are being asked to use software that requires moderate to heavy 3D capability.

1 x ($49.99) VGA SPARKLE|SXT430512S3LNM GT430 R

$49.99

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1 x ($34.99) VGA GALAXY|21GFE4HX2HUN G210 512M R

$34.99

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1 x ($29.99) VGA SPARKLE|SX84GS256D2LDPP 8400GS

$29.99

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In addition to your opinion about these different cards, we also want to ask that if you have Nvidia or ATI cards that you are not using, please donate them to HeliOS.  Email me directly or see our mailing address here.  

 

We can provide you tax receipts if necessary and it would greatly reduce the money we have to spend.  We've already budgeted about half of what we were donated from Rock A Charity for video card purchase but those won't last us long.

I would personally appreciate it if you would take a look and see what you have just laying around.  If you could pass this along to your IT guys, that would be good.  We will put them to good use.

All-Righty Then

HeliOS Rocks at Rock A Charity

It started with an email inviting us to take part in a Facebook competition.

Now, I don't keep up with Facebook much.  I have an account that I do use to keep up with my kids and a few friends, but that's about it.

Even at that low level, I've found it to be a huge time sink.  Before I know it, I have clicked several links that further takes me down the Facebook rabbit hole....about 30 degrees separated from where I started.

What caught my eye was the fact that this contest would be used to raise funds for local non profits and charities.

OK, now they had my attention.

From the Rock A Charity website...

"The goal of RockaCharity is to raise awareness and money for local charities while also helping them perfect their elevator pitch. Guests to the event will donate a minimum of $20 for a rock. Guests will then visit three of the small meeting rooms at Link Coworking and hear pitches from three charities. In another meeting room, guests will cast their vote for whom they believe is the most deserving of their donation. At the end of the night we will announce the winner who will receive 50% of the money raised. The remaining charities will split 50%."

So I hastily set up a community page from my parent page and announced our presence in the competition and we blogged about it here.  The premise was simple.

Each contestant's page would be visited at 9 AM on Tuesday and after 48 hours, it would be visited again.  The top three pages with the most "likes" gained in that 48 hours would be invited to compete at Rock A Charity.

Holy cow...we gained well over 1100 new votes in that 48 hours.

Needless to say, we received our invite, along with two other non profits...

Well Aware and English at Work.

Diane and I arrived at Link Coworking at 5 PM that Friday and began setting up our display room.  It was small, measuring about 10 X 11 feet and it held 4 comfy chairs and a couple of tables.  But there were rules...

You couldn't take anything out of the room...you worked with what you had.  The previous week, we attended a meet-and-greet breakfast to introduce ourselves to the other charities and we "drew" for rooms.  While we drew the smallest room, we were just happy to have a shot.

Ron West showed up a few minutes after us, bringing with him a 23 inch wide screen monitor for the display.  Diane took care of getting things set up and organized so the room could accommodate as many people as possible while still having a decent flow and appearence.


She did a great job...had I done it, it would have been a man-cave, streaming sports on the monitor with a cooler of beer in the corner.

When the doors opened at 7 PM, Link Coworking filled quickly.  Only the first 200 people would be allowed admittance, so there was a bit of a line when the big hand crossed the 12.

We had our first visitors at 7:02.

The idea was to give an "elevator pitch" to your audience.  Imagine trying to explain what your organization does while sharing an elevator with someone...give them the facts and doing so while maintaining their attention and not boring them into leaving the elevator short of their destination.



And really, what we do at HeliOS is perfectly suited for such a presentation...there's not a lot of fluff here.  We simply do what we do.

The evening progressed at a busy level.  We rarely found ourselves alone and between Skip Guenter, Diane and me, we took turns giving the presentation.

Like I said, it was a small room.  At one time, we had 9 people in there with us...

Did I mention it was a small room? 9 people sharing that space at once got a bit cozy. Not a claustrophobic's favored environment.

The people visiting us were an extremely eclectic group.  From foundation directors to school teachers and state employees, we were able to inform over 100 people about HeliOS.

And it paid off...

Literally.



At 9:30 PM, the "counting room" that contained the three bowls of rocks was closed and the organizers tallied the scores...

HeliOS won the competition with a total of 50 rocks, each rock representing a 20.00 donation.  We were donated $1300.00 that evening.  However, no one went home empty-handed.  While we received 50 percent of the total amount of donations, Well Aware and English at work split the other 50 percent.

I want to thank the people that took the time to "like" our Facebook page.  Some commented to me privately that they thought it was a silly way to measure an organization's worth, and maybe they are right.  Only a fraction of the votes we received were from the Austin area.  Two-thirds of our votes came from the international Free Software community.

While what we do does not impact most of these people directly, they still saw value in HeliOS and helped us get to the dance.  And that was all I had originally asked of you.  Just get us in the door and we would do the rest.  Thank you.

I want to also offer my sincerest and warm thanks to Brian Beck.  Brian drove over 3 hours to get here from San Angelo Texas.  Brian has been a long-time friend of HeliOS and he is a champion of Free Software and the Linux eco-system.  As an Instructional Technology Specialist at Angelo State University, he is most aware of how Free Software can impact the world of academics.

Brian also acted as our official photographer and he has provided all the pictures published here and in our albums.  Thank you Brian.


And of course, most importantly, I want to thank Liz Elam and Courtney Clark, from Link Coworking and Austininvolved.org for making this event happen.  I am more than sure a collective "whew" was uttered when the event ended.  These ladies are making possible the funding for non profits that need it most.

And as an aside, Sarah from Well Aware climbed on a plane this morning to go to Kenya and supervise the digging of another well for that drought-stricken area....while I sit here at my computer and piddle with inventories...

God Speed Sarah.

We will take part in the next Rock A Charity, but not as a contestant.  We will, in one form or another, help sponsor the event.

All-Righty Then...

Meet our competition...Austin Rock A Charity.

I can be a pretty competitive guy, especially when it comes to bringing funding to my project.

But sometimes you have to step back and appreciate the efforts of others.

Three Austin non profits will compete for funding at the February 18th Rock A Charity event in Austin Texas.


 English At Work

HeliOS Project

Well Aware

First off, our thanks to Link Coworking and Austin Involved for putting this event together.  They did a fantastic job of bringing sponsors together to make the a successful event.  Liz Elam and Courtney Clark have worked their backsides off to make Rock A Charity a reality.

The fact that some people in the Austin community realize there are worthy charities out here in need of funding is encouraging.  These folks have planned an event that will allow the above-mentioned non profits to compete for some of that funding.

"The goal of RockaCharity is to raise awareness and money for local charities while also helping them perfect their elevator pitch. Guests to the event will donate a minimum of $20 for a rock. Guests will then visit three of the small meeting rooms at Link Coworking and hear pitches from three charities. In another meeting room, guests will cast their vote for whom they believe is the most deserving of their donation. At the end of the night we will announce the winner who will receive 50% of the money raised. The remaining charities will split 50%."

We've spent a couple of weeks talking about our part in Rock A Charity.  Let me introduce you to the other non profits that will be in attendance that evening.

"English at Work is an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit whose mission is to provide essential language instruction at the workplace in order to increase employees’ opportunities for improved quality of life and to increase employers’ competitive advantage.

The organization’s vision is to build a community where language proficiency gives all people access to opportunity. To achieve this vision, English at Work engages employers and employees in the curriculum development process, creating lessons that are specific to the workplace. Lessons are also specific to Austin and incorporate local bus schedules, information on public officials, and visits from English at Work partner agencies."

Well Aware is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization formed in 2006 to provide life-saving water for the people of rural Kenya. We are a grassroots group of Austin-ites reaching out globally for a solution to the suffering caused by water deprivation in parts of East Africa.

The most severe drought in their history has claimed more than just the traditional livelihood of rural Kenyans. Most children no longer attend school because they must walk all day to find water that is not sanitary. Savagery and tribal warfare has increased dramatically due to competition over resources, and community leaders are abandoning their villages altogether in shame for being unable to provide. But the most tragic of the victims are infants, 25% of whom will not survive.

This does not have to remain the case. Access to clean, safe drinking water will return them to prosperity.

We had the privilege of meeting some of the folks from both of these non profits last Friday and it is my sincere pleasure to be included with these fine organizations.  My best wishes to both of them during the evening.  I don't think anyone will come out a "loser" on the 18th.  Just knowing there are such caring people here in Austin is enriching to me.

All-Righty Then


 

Headless Chickens Come Home to Roost

It's not like people did not see this coming...but somehow, this issue recently dropped like a bomb on the residents of Austin Texas.

And stay with me here...this will get to the subject matter this blog works toward.

In the face of a 50 million + dollar budget shortfall, The Austin Independent School District Superintendent is recommending the layoff of 1017 teachers and varied staff.


This, according to the Superintendent, would free up 53 million dollars.

That's the problem when you have bean counters as your advisors.  As long as the dollar columns line up, the easiest solution should be the one deployed.  As long as the money is right, then the ends justify the means...and the added bodies to the unemployment lines.

I'm not saying that the Superintendent took this route...but if it looks like a duck...until there is clarification, then all theories are pliable.

First off, let's keep the politics out of this. I'm not going to let this degrade into a Republicans vs Democrats thing.

It runs deeper than that.  Much deeper.

This is a matter of short-sighted planning and ignorance on all sides.

I am a political layman.  I despise politics and all the infighting and ego that comes with it.  Naive?  Yes.  I am naive when placed in the political arena.  But there are times when common sense should wield sharp elbows and knock unnecessary players out of that space.

From the comments  -  "...While you may detest politics, they are still very much present in the equation...Do they once again raise property taxes and evoke the ire of every voter in that district or do they lay off a thousand employees whos stories will be forgotten in two weeks?" -  
Anonymous retired School District employee. 
 

In the first place, I would suggest that AISD live within their means.  The AISD headquarters now resides on a 30 million dollar piece of prime real estate on 6th Street.  Real estate that would be purchased quickly by commercial developers.  As of now, many Austin students attend classes in "temporary" buildings...prefabricated and aging "portable" buildings that should shame the administration of this school district.

My daughter, thankfully, is graduating high school this year.  I have personally attended parent-student meetings in these buildings.  Many of the ceilings are bowed, the doors have to be slammed in order to close and they are grossly inefficient from a heating and cooling standpoint.

I have an idea...to save money, why doesn't AISD move their headquarters into a series of these "portable" buildings...in say, oh I don't know...East Austin?  The real estate costs there are low and they could save millions by doing so.  Sure, it would take a while to realize their savings...


While we're on the subject of planning ahead to save money...

 In 2006, I started a personal campaign to find out what AISD was spending in software.  Since I am a Free Software (Open Source) guy, it seemed to me that adopting an Open Source solution could at least help with lowering the overall operating costs.

Cue up the crickets chirping and lonely-blowing-wind sound effects.

After badgering enough people, by 2008, I finally got through to someone who was able to give me the answer and she would be happy to give me access to that information.

For a $2000.00 administration fee.

Really?

Yeah, really.

So I attended various PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association) meetings and presented my ideas when I could.  There was a large amount of support within those meetings of at least exploring the idea, but that's where it died.

The magic sword that protected the disclosure of software expenditure costs turned out to be the vendor agreements AISD signed with Microsoft and other various software companies.  At least, that was what I was told and to be honest, I had neither the time or resources to pursue it further.

Filing for this data under the Freedom of Information Act of 1974 was impotent.  It seems our laws, the way they are currently written, gives the corporates protection...

Even if federal law says differently.


However, a seemingly disconnected event in 2008 was able to dislodge some of this information.  Maybe not as much as I wanted, but enough to sharpen the pencil and do a bit of cipherin'.

Many will remember the row that ensued after an AISD teacher admonished one of our HeliOS kids and myself for him bringing a laptop and Linux disks into her classroom.

And no...no direct citation is needed.  I'm not going to link-bait my own story.  However, this not only went viral in hours, many online and dead tree newspapers picked it up as well.

It is within one of those that we can discern some important figures.

The AISD IT Director at that time defended their IT structure by saying that 1/3 of their computers ran software other than Windows.

"...and while the district uses Windows on 24,000 of its 36,000 computers, it uses Linux for many of its servers and open-source applications, such as Open Office, whenever possible."

OK, great...Linux is obviously the superior choice for server deployments, but if we were to dig deeper into that statement, how many of the OS choices are Linux?  I am guessing that the majority of them run Windows with some Open Source solutions installed therein.  The article does mention the use of Mac computers as well.  Oh, and those aren't expensive...

But Linux desktops?

I am guessing about 27...maybe....but I am an optimist.

"When asked about the possibility of dumping Windows in favor of Linux, AISD technol­o­gy director Gray Salada said that in terms of a cost-benefit analysis, it simply isn't worth it. Windows comes preinstalled on most computers, he said, so there is little savings to be realized from removing it and incurring the costs of retraining teachers and the district's 12 engineers, who are already proficient in Windows, to support Linux."

And therein lies the problem within the Austin Independent School District.

Don't think long-term...and for Heaven's sake, don't extend the life of a good computer.  Buy new ones at all costs.

"Windows comes preinstalled on most computers..."

So I am guessing they are paying the Microsoft Tax on every computer refresh that comes along on the calendar?  Are these older machines being re-deployed within the system?  Again, I am guessing since no one will give me any specifics on these particular question-sets.

And if these machines are re-deployed, are they being upgraded to a newer Windows OS at taxpayer expense?



From The comments  -  "Ken, the administration listens to whatever compu-babble the head IT guy spews out. They will pay any amount of money necessary to keep things working and if the head guy says we need to spend X amount of dollars on MS licensing, then we spend it. He is never questioned nor does anyone care. As long as things are running smoothly on the surface, they will spend the money he says needs to be spent as long as they don't have to deal with it."
 - Anonymous currently employed IT specialist within a Texas school district

After all, I am simply a lowly taxpayer with a child in their system.  What right do I have to know as to how they are spending my money?

Time and time again, Linux and Free Software have provided The Enterprise, Governments and individuals amazing cost savings over the long term.

A recent conversation with Amazon tech support concerning our store account  revealed that most of the desktops used at that call center ran Suse Linux.  They made the switch a couple of years ago.  Amazon is thinking long-term.

But AISD isn't thinking long-term.

24K of those computers are running Windows.  Even at their licensing costs of maybe $50.00 per machine, how much money could they save?

The math is simple.  $1,200.000.00

That isn't taking into consideration the cost for support software like anti virus applications.   

How many teacher's positions could be saved by that alone?

Yeah, yeah...cost of training, cost of adaptation...

If this had been done in 2006, would it have made a difference today?

I am thinking so.  Just ask those in various Indiana School Districts.

"We have a million kids in the state of Indiana," he continued. "If we were to pay $100 for software on each machine, each year, that’s $100 million for software. That’s well beyond our ability. That’s why open source is so attractive. We can cut those costs down to $5 [on each computer] per year.".

So while AISD accountants may consider these savings a "drop in the bucket", they don't realize that after a few years, those drops add up to a quantitative amount.

That doesn't matter right now...it appears they're in panic mode, running in circles with their hands flailing in the air.

They'll lay off or fire 1000+ teachers and staff members to get this monetary monkey off their backs....for now.

I'm guessing that in 5 years, we will be revisiting this crisis.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

My organization has deployed over 1200 Linux-powered computers to disadvantaged Austin students since 2005.  I don't want to hear how "Linux doesn't work".  It works fine and has proven to be superior in both performance and security.  Sure we use some MS-only software via Crossover, but that's another advantage of Linux.  We can and we do so without the inherent cost or peril of a native windows operating system.

Look, I'm not suggesting that this should happen overnight, nor am I silly enough to think that Linux on the desktop would solve all their woes.  What I am saying is that if the State of Indiana can do this, then it's not out of the realm of possibility for AISD to do this....at least do a feasibility study.  Look for vendors that offer Linux on the desktop. 

There is the matter of critical Windows-only software...yes I know, but I also know that there are other such Free Software solutions such as Moodle.  There are hundreds of Open Source software solutions that meet or exceed their Windows counterparts.  The people making the IT decisions simply have to have the will to look into it.

Of that, I am not hopeful.

From the comments  -  "I am a recently retired teacher from AISD. You might want to ask them what they pay in licensing costs for their Blackboard software."
Anonymous retired AISD teacher

Many of the financial injuries that the Austin Independent School District suffer are self-inflicted.  Mind the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.

All-Righty Then...

Know Thy Machine...

Giving someone a computer is one thing....sure you've given someone a tool to participate in current technology...

But making sure they know how to use that tool is just as important.

If not more so.

We recently set up a series of classes at the Bruno Knaapen Technology Learning Center.  The classes were more for the parents and adults than our kids.

Trust me, our kids get the computer.

Adults not so much...at least the ones we encountered that night.

And before I go any further, my sincerest thanks to Christina Collazo for doing the English to Spanish translation.  The majority of our class that night were native Spanish-speakers and our session would have been a Tower-of-Babel failure without her presence.  Thank you Christina.

I went into that classroom with the intention of teaching basic Internet and search skills but as the class started, I realized that many of the things I was saying were being met with quizzical or blank stares.

Stuff like:

Focus your mouse and do a ctrl A key combination.


Copy that line and paste it into the address bar.


Bookmark this for later, we will visit this page again.

It dawned on me that this classroom of people, ranging in age from 30-60 didn't have a clue as to what I was saying.

What was intended to be a quick class in how to browse and search turned into a "computer 101" session.

We started from the beginning.  With Christina, myself and other volunteers, we began circulating among the individual students, showing them keyboard shortcuts, showing them the difference between left and right mouse clicks, explaining tabbed browsing and a basic introduction to a browser and its function.


As we spoke to these people, they scribbled quickly on their note pads and as we discovered specific issues or commands that many of them struggled with, we did whiteboard notations, explaining them more fully.

I think what impacted me mostly was the amazement and personal revelation these people exhibited when we showed them simple ctrl A, C, D and V commands.  It was like the clouds parted and the angels sang.

Well...not really.  I personally did not hear the Hallelujah Chorus that night, but it was close.

So I suppose the main point of writing this is to remind us that we cannot take basic computer skills within anyone as a given.  We had one young lady tell us that she had literally typed in entire paragraphs that she wanted to send to someone in an email.

Showing her copy and paste was to her, a miracle.  Simple things like demonstrating the scroll wheel on a mouse, implementing mouse gestures in Firefox and additional keyboard shortcuts can mean ending months or years of frustration and open up an entire new attitude in using a personal computer.

Those people were not the only ones to learn valuable lessons that night.  I learned that it's the simple things that pave the way to the greater.

Maybe this is a lesson many of us can take to heart.

Maybe there are others counting on us to do so.

All-Righty Then

The HeliOS Project Gets Stoned

I haven't used the term "stoned" for decades. 

Ahem...and only in a third-person context of course.

I can't remember where I left that word...I think it was in the same decade I dropped off phrases like "groovy" and "far out".

They are at home there....along side my paisley shirts, my bell bottom jeans....

and my hair.

None the less, The HeliOS Project fully intends to "get stoned" on Friday night, the 18th of February at 7 PM.  It's largely due to your efforts that we will do so.

As we announced last week, we were invited to compete in the Austin Rock a Charity event here in Austin.  To get a place at the table, we had to be one of the top three Facebook pages to gain the most "likes" in a 48 hour period.

Thanks to many of you, we dominated that competition.  We logged over 1100 votes in that period.  Now look...I have some issues with Facebook.  The privacy issues are well-known with that social application.  With discretionary funding for non profits drying up like a puddle in Death Valley, we sucked it up and took part in the competition.  We'll take legitimate funding anywhere we can find it.

Now that we earned a presence at the event, here is how it works and where it will take place

View Larger Map

Initially, this was to be an online ticket event, with tickets to be sold to anyone wishing to attend.  This has been changed and admission tickets may or may not be charged...I am waiting to get clarification.  The charities being represented all have large followings and the Austin Fire Marshall has capped building capacity at 200.

Only the first 200 people at the door will be admitted.  Once they get inside, they will be treated to an open bar and some excellent catering.


 Party-goers will be given a chance to purchase small rocks for $20.00 (hence "rock" a charity) and they will be asked to drop their rock into a fish bowl that represents a particular non profit.  At the end of the evening, the charity with the most rocks in their bowl will take home 50 percent of the total.  The other two will split the other 50 percent.


 Diane Franklin, Skip Guenter and myself will be representing HeliOS in one of the three conference rooms set up for each non profit.  We are also pleased to announce that Middy Flores will be in attendance representing on of the 1241 computers we have installed for kids that need them.  We will have our display set up and will be given a chance to "pitch" our cause, along with the other two participants.

I realize that it was an international effort to get us a place at this event, even though this is a local event.  My sincere thanks goes to the folks that got us in the door, and that was all I asked.  You get us in, we'll do the rest.

My deep thanks to Jeff Hoogland, Steve Rosenberg and the great folks at OMG Ubuntu.

If you are local to Austin, we would deeply appreciate you coming by and help us get stoned that night.  Please pass this along if it is relevant to you.

Oh, and speaking of "that decade" where "groovy", "stoned" and "far out" went to live?  Here is something my oldest son has been holding for the perfect blackmail opportunity.  I guess I'll beat him to the punch.  I don't know which is more embarrassing...the 1964 Studebaker or the pants.  I'll let you decide.  1969 was a very good year....

Or not.

And as always, thanks for helping us do what we do.  We could not do it without you.

All-Righty then

It's About Rythm and Structure.

I'm willing to bet I might be a bit older than many people who read this blog.  Some by not so much, and I know I am junior in age to a few.

It's probably to those few that this will make the most sense.

I grew up watching television in the late 50's and early 60's.  It was back when there were two knobs on huge TV consoles that dominated a relatively small screen.

A black and white screen up until sometime around 1968.

Those two round knobs controlled the channels.  The top one usually controlled the VHF channels, which fed the 3 major networks and the bottom button was the magic, smoothly-turning knob that introduced you to UHF.

Clunk, clunk, clunk...

That's the sound the top knob made when you turned the stations.

To complicate matters, if you changed channels frequently, the plastic nub that the knob fit onto would eventually get rounded off. You had to use a pair of needle nose pliers to change the channel.  I remember that stripped-out knob sitting on top of our TV for years...

Along side that set of needle nose pliers.

As far as gaining reception and signal?  It was done by a set of "rabbit ears" that generally sat on top of the TV.  People with money had roof antennas.

And for you folks that wonder how we got by without remote controls?

We had them...

"Turn the TV to Lawrence Welk boy and get me another beer..."

Kids were the first remote controls invented.

But TV wasn't really that bad back then...but then again, if you don't know what you are missing....well, you don't miss it.



I remember memorizing when my TV shows were on.

Captain Kangaroo

Howdy Doody

Rescue 8

Rin Tin Tin

Sky King...

Many shows aired live, with all their bloopers and imperfections and baseball players could be seen smoking cigarettes in the dugout.

I knew when they were on, what channel they were on and I checked my cheap little watch as we kids played outside, making sure I didn't miss anything.  Serial shows ran for 22 episodes and they all ran at once, usually beginning in September and ending in late spring.

Then there was "rerun summer".

There was a pattern, a rhythm and structure to it all.

Today not so much.

I still watch TV.  Howdy Doody has been replaced with Fringe, Sky King with Human Target...


But the types of TV shows isn't the only thing that's changed.

Seasons of a particular program might run 13 episodes, maybe 10 if it's just a seasonal replacement for something else.  Many shows switch the day they air like most of us change shirts.  TV shows don't run in parallel anymore.  One show might start a new season in January, others in April.  Most of them have adopted the infuriating practice of taking a "mid-season break", lasting as long as 90 days.  Even award-winning programs like "Breaking Bad" make their viewers wait almost a year for a new season.  You have to create a database just to keep track of what's going on.



Yeah, cable has changed things.  The advertising dollar rules most decisions.  Technology has prevailed and given us choices we couldn't imagine when we were kids.  Hell, some of us even remember what a record is.  Do you realize that most of the people I deal with don't understand the context of the saying...

"You sound like a broken record"?

So now I understand.

Some of us have rode the tech wave into the present.  In place of the promised flying cars and video phones we have the PT Cruiser and The Internet.

Many of us have taken a keen interest in technology, we choose to.  But as I mentioned in a less than gentle way recently...

Some people don't want to.

Sky King and Rin Tin Tin are fine for them.  It's what they know, it's within their comfort zone and even if Burn Notice is a better show, they don't care.

They don't feel a need or a want to immerse themselves into it.

Timmy will fall down another well, The Captain will get another bucket of ping pong balls dropped on his head and Sky King will catch the bad guy every time.

It's comfortable, it's predictable and it's what they know.

Even though they know the channel will fuzz out or fail from time to time, they are willing to deal with it. Walter Cronkite will set things straight.

No amount of telling them how good something else is will sway them.

Maybe they like hearing clunk, clunk, clunk when they turn the TV channel.

And I guess that's ok.  Sometimes I wish Lassie would come home too.

All-Righty Then.

Click a Link - We Get Money....Maybe.

As with many non profits, discretionary funding has become hard to find.  The HeliOS Project is no different.

For those that don't know, The HeliOS Project takes broken or decommissioned computers, refurbishes them, then we give them to disadvantaged kids Austin and the Central Texas area.

Most of the grants available to us are for equipment.  I think what I find most ironic is the push to give us computer equipment for our office and logistic operations.

I believe we have that covered.

Money on which to operate has largely come from you.  But this time, we are not going to ask you for anything...not a dime.

We just need you to click a "like" button.

We have been chosen to participate in an Austin event called Rock A Charity.

Here's how it works.

Non profit contestants will have their Facebook page monitored for "like" clicks for a 48 hour period beginning on February 1st at 9 AM CST.  At the end of that 48 hour period, the top three charities with the most likes will then be invited to a party on the 18th of February.  Any clicks prior to or after this 48 hour window will not count.  The contest ends at 9 AM CST on Thursday, February 3rd. 

During that party, donors will be able to "purchase" small rocks.  There will be three conference rooms set up, each one representing a charity. Those conference rooms will have a table and a fish bowl in them.  The rock holder chooses which charity he wishes to support by dropping his rock in that non profit's bowl.

At the end of the evening, each bowl is tallied and the winner receives the total amount of money from all 3 bowls.

This is a great chance for us to gain some of the funding we badly need and all we need from you is the clicking of a "like" button.

Skip Guenter, Diane Franklin and myself will be attending the party and we will introduce donors to our non profit.  Even if we don't win, it will gain us valuable networking time with those that might be interested in funding The HeliOS Project in the future.  If you would like to come to the party and help represent us, contact me via email.  helios at fixedbylinux dott komm

You can simply click the "Like" button on the Facebook app at the top-left of this page, or you can go to our community page and do so.

It wouldn't hurt our feelings at all if you tweeted/Facebook'ed this for us.

All we need is for you to get us through the door...we'll do the rest.

All-Righty Then...