HeliOS Buillds Its Future

It wasn't long ago HeliOS announced that we had physically moved into our new home.  Although we do have a new facility, there is a ton of stuff to do before we can resume operations.

Now, keep in mind that the things we have to do involves carpentry and sheet rock skills....and that in turn involves the operation of power tools.

I believe we're up to 13 states and Tonga that prohibits me from touching them.  Some of them have filed a restraining order that keeps me at least 200 yards away.

With my limitations well-known, Skip Guenter, along with his sons Tyler, Jesse and other volunteers took on the task of getting a wall built that will house our work shop and storage area.  In that we have been given this building for three years, getting these modifications done is a necessity.  Before we started, it was just one big, long space.

Skip and company did an excellent job in getting the framework up...considering the floor was as level as Tony Soprano's business practices.  The big task was getting 12 foot sections of sheet rock transported to the site and then getting the sheet rock into the building.

You ever handle sheet rock?


It will find any occasion to break, chip, crack or cause another reason to make you go back and buy another sheet.  As a combat engineer in the US Army, my job was to handle explosives and  blow stuff up..

I'd rather handle explosives.

With six guys, plus Skip and me, we got the sheet rock to the new HeliOS building and got it unloaded.  We will probably start hanging it this evening or tomorrow, then the fun part starts...we get to find someone who knows how to tape, mud and float.

Quick hint...that would not be me.


So take a peek at some of the shots we took during the building process so far.  With any luck, we'll be finished by mid-May.

The Grand Opening is on the 4th of June, at 307 Ferguson Street, Taylor Texas.  There will be food and drink as well as raffles for three computers and a 50 dollar gift card donated by Diane Franklin.   I envy the person who wins this as it's for an extremely nice eatery in North Austin. We'll see you there.

Ron West, our HeliOS Project volunteer of the year, bangs in the last nail to finish the framework.

 The finished framework

Ron and Skip troubleshoot a small shuttle computer after the work for the evening is done.

The most valuable tool in a Geek's toolbox when debugging a Windows computer.

All-Righty Then...

This We Can Fix Now...

When I was approached by the folks at Texas Linux Fest to present the keynote, I was a bit surprised.  My focus from the "geeky" side of Linux shifted to the social aspects when I began The HeliOS Project.  I put away Eric and my Gedit scripts and began "working the streets" to get Linux onto more computers and those computers into the hands that needed them most.

Six years and over 1200 computers later, I believe that HeliOS has gained some significant insight into how people react to the Linux Desktop.

That insight is what we discussed during the keynote.  It wasn't my best public speaking engagement.  I'm having some issues with my throat and larynx so my presentation wasn't exactly smooth.  It didn't help that I changed some of the subject matter at the last moment so I may have rambled a bit.

Fact is, I was a bit disappointed with my showing, but we got our point across.

I think this would be a good time to talk about them.

The biggest fixes are the simple ones.

Given the development models within the Linuxsphere, it's a wonder that Linux exists in a workable fashion.  The fact that Linux is gaining slow but sure market share stands as a testament to the brilliance and tenacity of those that develop our software.

However, having sat with hundreds of people in the past six years as they explore and learn the OS, I've noted that there are dozens of problems and inconsistencies that are universally present.

What I note here is just a couple of things that should or need to be addressed.  There are hundreds of examples throughout the Linux Desktop.  I'm not picking on any particular project or system...I'm simply pointing out things that have been obvious in my experience.  The Linux Desktop is ripe for many of these easy improvements, and often they will be easy to fix...

If only the people in command of the GUI take them seriously.

One of the first things we do when we introduce a student to Linux is to show and demonstrate Open/LibreOffice.  This office suite has improved greatly over the years but often, there is one issue that creates a bottleneck or confusion.

The saving format.

Like it or not, the majority of people who utilize an office suite are accustomed to using the Microsoft offering.  More often or not, the user isn't concerned with the format of the document as they assume any other user of MS Office will be able to read the document.

You and I know that this isn't true.  The state of Texas, within its various agencies has fought this for years now.  Many agencies still use Office 2003, which creates minor havoc when another agency using Office 2007 or 2010 tries to open the 2003 document...

But those problems are seemingly taken in stride.

However, if this happens with a Linux user sending a MS Office user an ODT document, the entire problem is laid at the feet of the Linux user or system.

That's just the way it is...

Many times, the fact that the Open/LibreOffice user needs to make a choice is not made clear.  I can't count how many times we've been contacted with this problem.  This could be fixed simply with a line or two of text within the save dialog.

Let's take a look at it.

 Note the annotated red arrow and bold text to the right.  We've added this simply as an example of what can be done to cue the user.  Sure, some see the drop down menu to the right, but just as many or more do not.  Just adding some text here would drop the end user confusion down to a rounding error.

You are not speaking our language.

I think one of the most significant issues we've encountered is the way we communicate with our users within the GUI.  Problems are going to manifest themselves when we assume the end user understands our language.

I want you to think back to the first time you encountered a Linux desktop after using MS or Mac environments.

Let's take a simple term such as "mount point".

I can tell you for a fact that this simple term in itself has caused a lot of confusion and inertia.  We can see an example of this in one GUI right away.

 Note at the bottom of the GUI, the instructions state to "Select the mount point of the Bluray Disk."

Now, some would argue that this stands as a learning opportunity for the user, and maybe in this specific instance it does.  Maybe it tends to teach the user what a "mount point" is.

However, in my experience, the term mount point is used in an isolated environment where there is no frame of reference by which to match it.

I argue that it's just one more alien term that reinforces the myth that Linux is a system built by geeks for other geeks.  I further argue that it isn't our "job" to teach a new user our language.  Our "job" should be to provide intuitive software that doesn't get in the way.

Instead of the instructions offered above, why not change it to:

"Click below to choose your Bluray player."

The results are the same and they are presented in a language that the new user understands.  It wouldn't take much effort to implement this change, but unfortunately, in our development community, I don't think the mindset of language will be taken seriously at all.

That's too bad.  It discourages the new user from exploring further.  Sure those most adept at using a computer will trudge on...much like you and I did, but keep in mind, we are a minority.

Probably on par with Linux Desktop market share.  I'd be interested to see how the market share of Linux matches up with the number of Windows Users who make the switch permanently.

Now let's get personal.

I've talked about the way we name our applications and programs before.  I've been told that what we name a program isn't near as important as how the program works.

That's not true.

Three weeks ago, I accepted a reference from the Dell Children's Hospital to deliver a computer to a 12 year old girl.  Valyncia is an A and B student and home schooled.  She is home schooled for a good reason.

She has a rare, incurable and terminal blood disorder.  She won't live to see her 15th birthday.  On top of that she has Cerebral Palsy and she lives her waking hours in leg braces.

Had I not known that she suffered these afflictions, I would have marched into that house and found a great deal of discomfort in showing her how to use The Gimp.

You're going to say that this isn't a big deal.  You're going to say that this doesn't happen enough to merit any real consideration.

It does in my world...

And in Valyncia's.

Roughly 15 percent of the kids we serve have debilitating disabilities.

Until you are constantly faced with the same situation, don't tell me it doesn't make a difference.

Fact is, we are in the process of removing The Gimp from our custom distro.  In its place, we will insert the application Pinta.  I'd rather suffer the wrath of a few open source people for our choice of a Mono app than offer The Gimp to a little girl in prosthetics. 

Will this have any bearing or impact on getting app names changed?  No, probably not and that's not my intent.

What I would like to see happen is some simple forethought.  forethought in how we present our GUI, how we present our language, and ultimately, how we present ourselves.

You are probably unaware of the positive impact your software is having on people, but I am fully aware...I see it hundreds of times a year.  It's a damn shame you present your work with such an irreverent or unthoughtful manner.

Many would assume you just don't take what you do seriously.  Some of these application names seem to be the product of you and your friends, passing around the bong and seeing just how goofy of a name you can come up with.  Given the names of some of the apps in the Linux environment, I can see why some people would think that.

Just a few simple fixes...

All-Righty Then

HeliOS Project Store Expands Product Line

In a time when operational funding for non profits has been difficult to find, The HeliOS Project had to find more innovative ways to obtain money to do what we do.

Thanks to a great equipment donation from a brick and mortar store which closed its doors, we have a ton of stuff that we can offer.  Much of this inventory is not directly useful to us but has a value on the market.

Especially to you sysadmins and IT guys who might need cables and connectors.

We also offer some 19 inch monitors, mice in 10 lot, keyboards, speaker systems and assorted DVI and HDMI cables.  We currently do not have the keyboards listed but we have them in stock.  They are the Dell multimedia SK-8135's.  contact us here if you want them individually or in bulk...we're letting them go pretty cheap.

 

Diane has set up a store for us on Ebay so if you see anything you want, just keep in mind that your purchases go to keep us going.

And as always, thanks for helping us do what we do.

All-Righty Then.

HeliOS - A Moving Experience...

It was a long time coming...but we finally got our stuff transferred from the old place in Lakeway and into our new, stand-alone building in Taylor Texas.

At 10 AM on a beautiful Saturday morning, our volunteers began arriving and surveying the day before them.

I'm sure there was more than one sigh of resignation.....


We had the downstairs work area to clear out, and then we had the upstairs storage area to empty out and into various trucks and vehicles.

There was easily 2 tons of stuff upstairs alone.

Two tons of stuff that had to be brought down 17 steep stairs, and none of the packed boxes were light.

First, we organized teams to decide what needed to go to recycle and what we would keep.  Because the Lakeway facility had been unusable for several months, the work area had become a jumbled mass of junk and treasure.  Mark Thornburg took on the task of getting a team together and sorting through the stuff and loading the recycle into his one ton van.

Carolyn Smith climbed the stairs and began the daunting task of organizing the dozens of boxes and containers for transport downstairs.  Her husband Jason and Andy Krell organized the teams to bring the stuff down and then loading it onto a large truck donated by Gene Arant, a realtor in Lakeway.



By 3 PM, we had the Lakeway place cleared out and we began the 40 mile trip to Taylor.


 Since we have yet to build our interior wall, we weren't able to do a lot of organizing.  Aside from the wall, we still need to come up with some shelving.  A good friend from Atlanta Georgia has committed to providing the funds for the cost of building the interior wall, so once that comes through, we can start.

The big thing was to get our stuff into the building.  We could not have done it without the absolutely outstanding group of volunteers that showed up last Saturday.  A lousy pizza lunch wasn't near payment enough for these folks.

I've been remiss in mentioning that during the Texas Linux Fest this year, I took a few minutes to name Ron West as the HeliOS Project Volunteer of the Year.  Ron has been the backbone of our volunteer efforts and we cannot thank him enough.

Getting everything in was much easier than getting it out.  We are fortunate to gain a building that has a full ramp for wheelchair accessibility and that made things much easier.

So now, it's just a matter of getting this mess organized.  Once we have the storage and workshop wall built, we can start organizing things the way they need to be.

Let me take a minute and introduce you to many of those who gave us a hand.   From left to right, they are:  Tyler Guenter, Andy Krell, Skip Guenter, Jason Smith, Diane Franklin, Carolyn Smith, Ron West and Adam Schneckloth.  Not pictured are Kevin and Jesse Guenter along with Austin Dell'Abate, Ryan DeSilva and Mark Thornburg.  They had to leave before the pictures were taken.  Ron, Carolyn, Jason and Ryan were there every step of the way for us. 

My further thanks to Jason Smith for taking pictures of the day.

Again, I want to thank everyone that took their Saturday to help us.  Even after the move, most of the people stuck around for an extra hour or so to share some beverages and help us plan for the future.

A future that you made possible.

All-Righty Then

HeliOS - The Move is On

Skip Guenter is a focused man.  Tenacious doesn't quite describe Skip's drive.  From the moment we got wind of the possibility of having our own place, Skip has been the unstoppable force that made this happen.  Some who know him less than his closest friends would consider him a bit obsessed.

Did I say "a bit"?


 Due to his focus, we now have the keys to the new home of HeliOS. 

Skip and his wife Sharon, along with Diane and myself have spent an evening there already getting the bathrooms cleaned.  We've laid out the floor plan for our classroom and planned then re-planned the work and storage areas.

Now, all we have to do is start moving stuff into the new home of The HeliOS Project.

While we still have some major interior construction to complete, we will begin moving stuff from the old Lakeway place to the Taylor facility on the 16th of April.  We need to vacate that space so they can expand their business...

And so we can expand ours.

There is a ton of stuff to move and it won't be easy work.  There is a large amount of equipment that needs to be moved from an upstairs loft and loaded onto trucks.  Much of the stuff will need to go to recycle.  It will be hot, sweaty work so I don't want anyone to think it's going to be glamorous.

What we do rarely is.

If you are interested in giving us a hand, please email me: helios at fixedbylinux dott kom and we'll plan on you being there.  Of course, everyone helping will be invited to the grand opening sometime in May.

My thanks to those who have already stepped up for this move.  This is a pivotal time for HeliOS and I am glad that you will be a part of it.

All-Righty Then...