FOSS User Group in Natick, Massachusetts (NatickFOSS.org)
by A. Richard Miller, Partner, Miller Microcomputer Services
Alert!
This older archive page is no longer being updated.
It is now a fixed-content file covering the years between 2011 and June 2023.
http://natickfoss.org/archive.html.
Last updated June 1, 2023
FOSS stands for Free, Open-Source Software.
See our upcoming FOSS meetings and past ones,
and links to FOSS and Linux topics we've discussed
- at a talk in 2009, then monthly since March 2011.
AVOID sites that track you, share
and monetize your personal data:
Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
Click here, to jump to the Draft Agenda for our next FOSS User Group meeting.
| FOSS Meeting Dates: Unless otherwise noted, meetings run 3PM to about 5PM (following a 2:45-3PM help session) on the first Thursday of most months (second Thursday in January, July and September), usually in Room 125 at the Natick Community-Senior Center, 117 East Central Street (Rte.135), Natick MA DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE'LL BE ON-LINE. To get announcements, send "Please subscribe me to your FOSS/Linux e-mail list." to: algot.runeman@verizon.net |
Major Agenda Topics: Future agendas are subject to change because, with FOSS, good news arrives on a daily basis. |
June 1, 2023 (3-5PM*) ONLINE. *- 2:45PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group FOSS Introductory Slide Talk: Newcomers: Welcome! For help, be online about 2:45PM (NY/Boston time).
|
| May 4, 2023 (3-5PM*) ONLINE. *- 2:45PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| April 22, 2023 (2-6PM) Christa McAuliffe Center Framingham State University 100 State Street, Framingham MA 01702 |
NatickFOSS.org will run a FOSS/Linux demo table at Science On State Street - Come see us, and the rest of a good show! |
| April 6, 2023 (3-5PM*) ONLINE. *- 2:45PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| March 2, 2023 (3-5PM*) ONLINE. *- 2:45PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| February 2, 2023 (3-5PM*) ONLINE. *- 2:45PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| January 12, 2023 (3-5PM*) ONLINE. *- 2:45PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| December 1, 2022 (3-5PM*) ONLINE. *- 2:45PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| November 3, 2022 (3-5PM*) ONLINE. *- 2:45PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| October 6, 2022 (3-5PM*) ONLINE. *- 2:45PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| September 8, 2022 (3-5:30PM*) ONLINE. *- 2:45PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| August 4, 2022 (3-5PM*) ONLINE. *- 2:30PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. Big thanks, this month, to the Ad Hoc Committee that stepped in while Dick and Jill stumbled about with COVID. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| July 14, 2022 (3-5PM*)
ONLINE. *- 2:30PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| June 2, 2022 (3-5PM*)
ONLINE. *- 2:30PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| May 5, 2022 (3-5PM*)
ONLINE. *- 2:30PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| April 30, 2022 (Noon-3PM) Christa McAuliffe Center, Framingham State University 100 State Street | Framingham, MA 01702 |
NatickFOSS.org will run a
FOSS/Linux demo table at Science on State Street 2022 |
| April 7, 2022 (3-5PM*)
ONLINE. *- 2:30PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| March 3, 2022 (3-5PM*)
ONLINE. *- 2:30PM: One-on-One Help ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| February 3, 2022
(3-4:45PM) ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| January 13, 2022 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| December 2, 2021 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| November 4, 2021 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| October 7, 2021 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Jerry Feldman and Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| September 9, 2021 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| August 5, 2021 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| July 8, 2021 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| June 3, 2021 (3-4:45PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| May 6, 2021 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us (live or later) on YouTube (thanks to Jerry Feldman). |
FOSS User Group
|
| April 1, 3-5PM) ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| March 4, 2021 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS
User Group
|
| February 4, 2021
(3-4:40PM) ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| January 14, 2021 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| December 3, 2020 (3-6PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| November 5, 2020 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group Agenda
|
| October 1, 2020 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group Agenda
|
| September 10, 2020
(3-5PM) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125 (again, someday); for now, ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group Agenda
|
| August 6, 2020 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group Agenda
|
| July 9, 2020 (3-5PM)
ONLINE. VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group Agenda
|
| June 4, 2020 (3-5PM
ONLINE) VIEW us on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group Agenda
|
| May 7, 2020 (3-5PM
ONLINE) VIEW this meeting on YouTube (thanks to Dennis Payne). |
FOSS User Group
|
| *CANCELED* April 18, 2020 (11AM-3PM) Framingham State University, 100 State St., Framingham MA |
Science on State Street - WAS CANCELED TO REDUCE
THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS Planet Earth Edition: Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day! Help staff or visit our FOSS User Group exhibit there. (See us at 1:22 in this SOSS 2019 video.) |
| April 2, 2020 (3-4:30PM
ETZ) OUR FIRST ONLINE MEETING, thanks to COVID-19, our FOSS UG Online Meetings team, and the Jitsi Meet service. Keep yourself and others safe: Clean your hands and touched surfaces, stay home if you can, and thank those who can't (from 6 feet away)! VIEW this meeting on YouTube: Big thanks to the new NatickFOSS Online Meetings team: Algot, Bob, Dennis and Jerry! |
FOSS User Group
|
| *CANCELED* March 14, 2020 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061, Cambridge MA |
Boston
Linux & Unix InstallFest - WAS CANCELED TO
REDUCE THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS Volunteers from BLU.org help people with Linux installation and other hands-on issues. |
| March 5, 2020 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125. * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help in same room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| February 25, 2020 (7:30-10PM) Alumnae Hall, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley MA (Free tickets required; free parking in Wellesley College Garage, first right at main entrance on Route 135.) |
"The Rise of Surveillance
Capitalism" Shoshana Zuboff, professor emerita at Harvard Business School, discusses her latest book, "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power". In this critically acclaimed work, Zuboff shows how our economy, politics, and society are increasingly being shaped by digital technologies. In her view, surveillance capitalism—a concept she coined—defines the current age in which we've all opted into the commodification of our personal information. Throughout the book, she outlines the cost of putting a price on private data, and she urges all of us to pay attention, resist habituation, and come up with novel responses to a new era. |
| February 6, 2020 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125. * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, there or in Lobby or Computer Room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| January 9, 2020 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125. * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, there or in Lobby or Computer Room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| December 5, 2019 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 218. * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help in Computer Room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| November 7, 2019 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125. * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, there. |
FOSS User Group
|
| October 3, 2019 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125. * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, there or in Computer Room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| September
21, 2019 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061, Cambridge MA |
Boston
Linux & Unix InstallFest Volunteers from BLU.org help people with Linux installation and other hands-on issues. |
| September 12, 2019
(3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 218. * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, there or in Computer Room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| September 12, 2019
(2:30-3:30PM) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125. |
Online Safety
(free talk) With Internet hacks and cyber security in the news daily, it can be challenging to feel secure online. Lauren Pfendner, Director of the Bacon Free Library, will give an overview of some of the steps you can take to lead a more secure life online. We'll look at staying safe on social media, strong password creation, security programs and apps, safe Internet browsing, and best practices for your daily use. |
| August 1, 2019 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125. * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, there or in Computer Room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| July 20-21, 2019 Boston University, Boston MA |
WordCamp
Boston By and for WordPress enthusiasts, hobbyists, and tinkerers, with lecture-style sessions, panels, and workshops about WordPress and the tech industry by speakers near and far. |
| Tuesday,
July 16, 2019 (6:30-8:45PM) MassBay Community College in Wellesley, 50 Oakland St., Wellesley Hills; Rm. 314 |
Greater
Boston Network Users Group Dick Miller, Guest Speaker: "Linux for the Unconvinced" Please bring some potluck food to share if you can. BNUG will provide the plates, glasses, utensils, and some food. Please aim for healthy food. You will need to print a free parking permit. Download that and directions here. |
| July 11, 2019 Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 218. * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, there, lobby, or in Computer Room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| June 6, 2019 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125. * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, there or in Computer Room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| May 2, 2019 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125. * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, there or in Computer Room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday, April 27, 2019
(11AM-3PM) Framingham State University |
Science On State Street Our FOSS User Group in Natick joins 60 other exhibit tables. Help us introduce FOSS and Linux, or visit and learn. It's free. |
| April 4, 2019 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125 * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, there or in Computer Room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| April 1, 2019
(8:30AM-12:30PM, plus lunch) The Conference Center at Waltham MA |
Getting Started with
RISC-V Free half-day event will showcase innovative RISC-V implementations with engaging presentations, demos and networking opportunities. |
| March 7, 2019 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125 * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, there or in Computer Room. |
FOSS User Group
|
| February 7, 2019 (3-6PM*) Natick Community-Senior Center, Room 125) * 2-3PM: One-on-One Help, "there or in Computer Room". |
FOSS User Group
|
| January 19, 2019
(9AM-5PM) MIT Bldg. E-51, Rm. 315, Cambridge |
Linux InstallFest and
M.I.T. IoTFest A periodic get-together where volunteers from our group help people with Linux installation and other hands-on issues. |
| January 16, 2019
(6:30-9PM) MIT Bldg. E-51, Rm. 315, Cambridge |
The Boston Linux & Unix User Group
presents: "Linux Game Development", by our Dennis Payne |
| January 10, 2019 (Room 125) |
FOSS User Group
|
| December 6, 2018 (Room 125) |
FOSS User Group
|
| November 1, 2018 (Room 218) |
FOSS User Group
|
| October 6, 2018
(10AM-4:30PM) Morse Institute Library (Innovation Studio, on second floor) 14 E. Central Street, Natick MA (Plenty of free parking in the town parking lot on South Ave., behind the library.) |
BLU.org/NatickFOSS.org's FIRST Linux InstallFest in
Natick Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, lunch! (It's FREE, with a free pizza lunch; a $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) Click on the above link for details. |
| October 4, 2018 (Room 125) |
FOSS User Group
|
| September 13, 2018 (Room 218) |
FOSS User Group
(Guest Leader: Algot Runeman;
recorded by Bob Primak)
|
| August 2, 2018 (Room 125) |
FOSS User Group
|
| Wednesday, July 18, 2018
(6:30-9PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 335, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (New Parking Rule: MIT parking requires an MIT permit. Can use adjacent parking garage.) Driving there: Wadsworth St is open from Memorial Drive to Amherst St, but is closed from Amherst St to Main St. |
BLU.org's
Monthly Meeting at MIT Guest speaker A. Richard Miller (Miller Microcomputer Services; FOSS User Group of Natick): "Fotoxx Update: A Demo of the Newest Additions to Fotoxx, the Linux Editor and Collection Manager for Enormous Collections of Photos" Also, Jerry Feldman: "Container Packages: Deploying Applications such as Fotoxx as Docker Containers or Appimage/Flatpack/Snap Packages" |
| July 12, 2018 (Room 218) |
FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday, June 30, 2018
(9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (New Parking Rule: MIT parking requires an MIT permit. Can use adjacent parking garage.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| June 7, 2018 (Room 125) |
FOSS User Group
|
| May 3, 2018 (Room 125) |
FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday, April 21, 2018
(10AM-3PM) Framingham State University 100 State Street, Framingham MA |
"Science
On State Street" An extravaganza of FSU student, faculty, and industry-led exhibits and hands-on experiences for the whole family! Plus, our own NatickFOSS.org demo table, a keynote speaker from the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, exhibits from Southwick’s Zoo and Earth Ltd., several engaging presentations from the STEM Stage, and of course, lots of free shows in the University’s amazing HD Planetarium. Free Parking. Food available for purchase. |
| April 5, 2018 (Room 125) |
FOSS User Group
|
| March 1, 2018 (Room 125) |
FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday, February 10,
2018 (10AM-4:30PM) Innovation Studio, on 2nd Floor of Natick Morse Institute Library 14 E. Central Street, Natick MA |
First-ever
Linux InstallFest
in Natick! It's FREE; learn about FREE, OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE and add some to your computer. Co-sponsored by the Natick Morse Institute Library, FOSS User Group of Natick (NatickFOSS.org), and Boston Linux & Unix User Group (BLU.org). Free pizza lunch, too, if you bring your computer for a Linux installation (which can be alongside of your current Windows or Mac OS). If you bring an empty USB thumb drive (4GB or larger), we'll also write you a Linux Live USB to use memory-only and to install later. - See, print and post this event poster! - Sign up online; space is limited! |
| February 1, 2018 (Room 125) |
FOSS User Group
|
| January 11, 2018 (Room 218, our new preference) |
FOSS User Group
|
| December 7, 2017 (This month, we meet in Room 218.) |
FOSS User Group
|
| November 2, 2017 | FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday, October 7, 2017
(9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| October 5, 2017 | FOSS User Group
|
| Monday, September 18,
2017 (7-9PM) Sanctuary of St. Paul's Church, 39 East Central Street, Natick (Use the main entrance stairway, or the side ramp.) |
Dick Miller presents: The Future Of Labor" A free Occupy Natick event, with light refreshments and an open discussion to follow. - Automation has greatly reduced the amount people need to work. - Why do we translate that good news into unemployment problems? - How might we do better? ("The Miller Three-Day Work Week", and more.) - How did America accomplish past labor adjustments? - How to get there from here? |
| September 14, 2017 | FOSS User Group
|
| Wednesday, August 16,
2017 (6:30-8:30PM) Natick Morse Institute Library 14 E. Central Street, Natick MA |
Maker Fest (Dave Bartos, Supervisor of Reference
Services) 6:30-8:30PM: Our FOSS User Group is in the 1st-floor Morse Room! FOSS volunteers can set up 6PM; CU there! We will demo Linux (and FOSS downloads), Fotoxx, game design, spreadsheet for knitting design. Other? |
| August 3, 2017 | FOSS User Group
|
| July 13, 2017 | FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday, June 3, 2017
(9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| June 1, 2017 | FOSS User Group
|
| Wednesday, May 17th, 2017
(6:30-9PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 325, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org: FOTOXX
Update, by Dick Miller of Miller
Microcomputer Services The Boston Linux & Unix User Group invites Dick back to learn what Fotoxx, his favorite photo editor and manager, has added since January 2015. Fotoxx Overview: Fotoxx is a free, open-source Linux application for editing photos and managing a large image collection. The goal of Fotoxx is to meet the needs of serious photographers while remaining fast and easy to use. Fotoxx is standards compliant and does nothing to compromise use of other photo apps. Fotoxx has a rich set of editing, repair, and special effects functions. Image adjustments are displayed instantly in a full-size image, allowing interactive optimization. Fotoxx has a rich set of functions to organize and index a large image collection so that finding desired images is easy and fast. Advanced Reading (optional): http://www.kornelix.net/fotoxx.html Coming Soon: 1.5-hour video of Dick's Fotoxx presentation. |
| May 4, 2017 | FOSS User Group
|
| April 6, 2017 | FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday, March 18, 2017
(9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| March 2, 2017 | FOSS User Group
|
| February 2, 2017 | FOSS User Group
|
| January 12, 2017 | FOSS User Group
|
| November 29th through
December 14th, 2016 201 Mulberry Street (Manhattan), New York City NY |
The Glass Room
Looking Into Your Online Life A special exhibit with many free 1-hour presentations. Co-hosted by Mozilla.org. |
| Saturday, December 3rd,
2016 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| December 1st, 2016 | FOSS User Group
|
| November 3rd, 2016 | FOSS User Group
|
| Monday,
October 17, 2016 (7-9PM) Sherrill Hall, St. Paul's Church, 39 East Central Street (parking-lot entrance), Natick |
Occupy Natick
Free Movie Night: Hacking Democracy, the truth about America's digital voting systems. |
| October 6th, 2016 | FOSS User Group
|
| September
8th, 2016 (Natick FOSS celebrates the 25th Anniversary of Linux - AND of the Internet!) |
FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday,
August 20th, 2016 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest
at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| August 4th, 2016 | FOSS User Group
|
| July 14th, 2016 | FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday,
June 4th, 2016 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest
at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| June 2nd, 2016 | FOSS User Group
|
| May 5th, 2016 | FOSS User Group
 |
| May 3rd,
2016 (6:30-8:30PM) Mass Bay Community College (Room 134), 50 Oakland St., Wellesley |
Greater
Boston Network Users Group: "Meet the new
FOSS, Linux, and Ubuntu!" (Dick Miller, Miller
Microcomputer Services) You can view the 1.25-hour video of Dick's talk on-line. |
| April 7th, 2016 | FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday,
March 12th, 2016 (10:30AM-Noon) Morse Institute Library, 14 East Central Street, Natick |
Making
Things in 3D Design simple 3D objects using free computer-aided design software and then print them. Free workshop for age 18 and up. Register at the Reference Desk, at 508/647-6521 or reference@morseinstitute.org . |
| March 3rd, 2016 | FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday,
February 27th, 2016 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest
at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| February 4th, 2016 | FOSS User Group
|
| Wednesday,
January 20th, 2016 (7-9PM) The Campion Center, 319 Concord Road, Weston |
"Ham Radio
and the Raspberry Pi (or Arduino or Si5351)" Bob Evans (N1BE) will explain these versatile devices and their applications for Ham Radio, at the free monthly meeting of the Minuteman Repeater Association. |
| January 14th, 2016 | FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday,
December 5th, 2015 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest
at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| December 3rd, 2015 | FOSS User Group
|
| Wednesday,
November 18th, 2015 (6:30-9PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 325, Cambridge MA |
Boston Linux & Unix
User Group "Digital Photo Management and Post-Processing with digiKam and The GIMP" |
| November 5th, 2015 | FOSS User Group
|
| Wednesday,
October 7th, 2015 (10-11:30AM) The new Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Road, Lexington (Use the museum entrance; then pass the museum, and up hill to left.) |
Lexington Computer
and Technology Group free guest presentation: Dick Miller describes FOSS photography software, including The GIMP and Fotoxx. |
| October 1st, 2015 | FOSS User Group
|
| Wednesday,
September 16th, 2015 (10-11:30AM) The new Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Road, Lexington (Use the museum entrance; then pass the museum, and up hill to left.) |
Lexington Computer and Technology Group free
guest presentation: Dick Miller (optical physicist), Prof. Ferren MacIntyre (oceanographer and physical chemist, MIT and much more) and Dr. Bert Raphael (artificial intelligence at MIT and Stanford Research Institute) describe some interesting projects and problems around the world and on the Moon. |
| September 10th, 2015 | FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday,
August 29th, 2015 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest
at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| August 6th, 2015 | FOSS User Group
|
| July 9th,
2015 |
FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday,
June 13th, 2015 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| June 4th, 2015 | FOSS User Group
|
| May 7th, 2015 | FOSS User Group
(with a focus on Ubuntu
Convergence)
|
| Wednesday,
May 6th, 2015 |
International Day
Against DRM |
| Wednesday,
April 15th, 2015 (10:00-11:30AM) Muzzey Room, Lexington Senior Center, 1475 Mass. Ave., Lexington MA |
Lexington Computer and Technology Group free
guest presentation: "Free, Open-Source Software; GNU/Linux and much more" by A. Richard Miller, Partner, Miller Microcomputer Services and Co-Chair, Natick FOSS User Group (NatickFOSS.org) Now that free, open-source software (FOSS) is reliable and often best-of-class (and free), why aren't US computer users embracing it as quickly as in other countries? And if FOSS is free, why is it that good? Dick Miller shares the facts, perceptions, benefits and and obstacles, while demonstrating some of the best-of-breed FOSS for normal users - both applications for your existing Windows or OS X, and the pre-release Ubuntu 15.04 version of GNU/Linux, the OS that now runs more of the world's computers than any other. |
| April 2nd, 2015 | FOSS User Group
|
| Saturday
and Sunday, March 21st-22nd, 2015 MIT Stata Center 32 Vassar St. Cambridge, MA |
LibrePlanet 2015 Preregister; it's free for FSF members, students, and volunteers. This year's theme is, "Free Software Everywhere". |
| March 5th, 2015 | FOSS User Group
|
| February 5th, 2015 | FOSS User Group
|
| Wednesday,
January 21st, 2015 (6:30-9PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 325, Cambridge MA |
FOTOXX
Update by Dick and Jill Miller The Boston Linux & Unix User Group invites us back. Will our favorite photo editor and manager have anything new to show? Bank on that! You can view this 1.5-hour video of Dick's talk. |
| Thursday,
January 15th, 2015 (6:30-9PM) MIT Building E51, Room 315, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
Mini Internet of Things
Fest This meeting is held in collaboration with BLU.org. The meeting is open to the public. Thanks to the generosity of Canonical, pizza will be served beginning at 6:30 PM. |
| Wednesday,
January 14th, 2015 (1-2:30PM) Natick Morse Institute Library 14 East Central Street, Natick |
Robots
Visit, from iRobot
For teens ages 11-18, preregistration required; use one of the Library's laptops, or bring your own. Contact: Robin Fosdick (RFosdick@minlib.net; 1-508/647-6400 x1546) |
| January
8th, 2015 |
FOSS User Group
|
| Thursday,
January 8th, 2015 (2:30-4:30PM) Natick Morse Institute Library 14 East Central Street, Natick |
Advanced
Scratch II, with Maker Kevin
Osborn For teens ages 11-18, preregistration required; use one of the Library's laptops, or bring your own. Contact: Robin Fosdick (RFosdick@minlib.net; 1-508/647-6400 x1546) |
| Register
through January 5th, 2015 (on-line) |
Introduction
to Linux on-line course at edX. Study at home, at your speed, when you like. Take this course for free, or get a verified certificate for $99! |
| November-December
2014 Natick Community-Senior Center 117 East Central Street (Rte.135). |
Photography
Exhibit by New England Light Painters The exhibit theme is, "Motion". Can you find Dick Miller's three photographs, all edited with Fotoxx? |
| Saturday,
December 6th, 2014 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| Friday,
December 5th, 2014 (2:30-4:30PM) Natick Morse Institute Library 14 East Central Street, Natick |
Making Things in 3D: Design to Print, with
Maker
Kevin Osborn For teens ages 11-18, preregistration required; use one of the Library's laptops, or bring your own. Contact: Robin Fosdick (RFosdick@minlib.net; 1-508/647-6400 x1546) |
| December 4th, 2014 | FOSS User Group
|
| Friday,
November 14th, 2014 (2:30-4:30PM) Natick Morse Institute Library 14 East Central Street, Natick |
Advanced
Scratch, with Maker Kevin
Osborn For teens ages 11-18, preregistration required; use one of the Library's laptops, or bring your own. Contact: Robin Fosdick (RFosdick@minlib.net; 1-508/647-6400 x1546) |
| November 6th, 2014 | FOSS User Group Hot Hardware show-and-tell (5-min. each): Screen-input devices (mouse, air mouse, trackball, stylus, graphics tablet, touchscreen, glasses); Lego dump-truck designed in FOSS (Dennis Payne). The FOSS News: 4th Anniversaries of Ubuntu Unity and of LibreOffice; 4 out of 5 developers now use Open Source; Test for Verizon's Privacy-Killing Perma-Cookie; Photo Exhibit in hall ("Motion", Nov.-Dec.) includes 3 Fotoxx images by Dick. Guest presentation: Meet Ubuntu 14.10 and Ubuntu Touch, by Michael Terry of Canonical Ltd., and 14.10 Release Notes. LibreOffice vs. OpenOffice. Software 3-speed tools! (See June.) Fotoxx demos: Popup Images. |
| October 2nd, 2014 | FOSS User Group Hot Hardware show-and-tell (5-min. each): 30GB mSATA SSD for $17 (sad follow-up); A-V Cables (and cable adapters & splitters & converters). The FOSS News: Re-usables giveaway at FOSS meetings (old desktop computer, printer); new Samsung smartwatches run Tizen OS Linux (not Android Linux); Ubuntu Touch OS released to manufacturing. Other? Guest presentation: LibreOffice Tools and Tricks to Make Your Work Easier, by Robinson Tryon, LibreOffice Community Outreach Herald for The Document Foundation. FOSS Slide Show app: S5 (AlgotRuneman). Creating App icons on the |
| Saturday,
Sept. 20th, 2014 (9AM-5PM) Industry Lab, 288 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA |
Software Freedom Day Join the Boston Desktop GNU/Linux Users Group annual celebration of free software. This year's schedule includes talks on: free software for smart phones, protecting your privacy, how to contribute to free software (you don't need to be a techie), and how to make money with free software. Beginners, experts and everyone in between are welcome to this free event! Interested in giving a lightning talk? We'd love to hear from you. Light breakfast and lunch provided by our sponsors. |
| Saturday,
Sept. 13th, 2014 (10AM-3PM) Natick Common and vicinity |
Natick Days Visit this year; staff a FOSS User Group exhibit table next year? Invite the Natick High School Robotics Club table (and NHS Programming Club) to our meetings! |
| Saturday,
Sept. 13th, 2014 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's Linux InstallFest
at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| September
11th, 2014 (2nd
Thursday) |
FOSS User Group Hot Hardware show-and-tell (5-min. each): The FOSS News: Ubuntu is 23 (Aug. 25th); Spotting Linux in the wild; InstallFest at MIT, this Sat.; Natick Days, also this Sat. (next year, with FOSS?). Other? FOSSUG's Linux Loaner Laptop: $10 for 10 days! (Algot Runeman, Bob Monheimer) Challenge: Who will evaluate Dasher? ("A fast, non-keyboard text entry system", in the Ubuntu Software Center.) Clicking is a Public Act! (Sally Kohn, on BrainPickings & TED). Look inside with sysinfo (in Windows), lshw (in Linux), SysInfo (for Linux) or HardInfo (for Linux). Fotoxx demos: new 16:10 image ratio, Collections, and Add Text. |
| August 7th, 2014 | FOSS User Group Hot Hardware show-and-tell (5-min. each): C.Crane Super USB Wifi Antenna 3 (Marilyn McCormick); our new Linux Loaner Laptop; Kickstarted USB Flash Drive Wristband (Algot Runeman). The FOSS News: review LibreOffice HackFest, review "Introduction to Linux" edX on-line course, BadUSB exploit, UK adopts Open Document Format (ten years after Massachusetts), Mass. Electronic Privacy Act. Local traffic (and surveillance) on Google Maps (Jill Miller). Favorite FOSS Anti-Virus: avast Free! and ClamAV (freshclam, clamscan). Adblock Plus (old), Adblock Edge (current), and EFF's beta Privacy Badger (next?) for Firefox, Chrome and Chromium. Fotoxx demos: new Pattern and Make Waves effects. |
| August 1st,
2014 (Initial class; free pre-registration is required.) |
On-line edX course: Introduction
to Linux. This great opportunity comes from the Linux Foundation. View its video introduction by Linux creator Linus Torvalds. Pre-register for free audit, free certificate, or $250 to earn a verified certificate of achievement. |
| Saturday-Sunday,
July 26th-27th, 2014 Xamarin, Inc., 2 Park Plaza, Boston |
LibreOffice
US Summer Hackfest 2014 LibreOffice is bringing this free event to Boston, and invites you to pre-register for one day or two! |
| July 10th, 2014 (2nd Thursday) | FOSS User Group Hot Hardware show-and-tell (5-min. each): HDMI-to-SVGA cable adapter, custom keyboard skins, $40 and $60 Hisense Sero 7 tablet computers! The FOSS News: NSA puts Linux Journal readers on "extremists" list; LibreOffice Hackfest visits Boston; "Introduction to Linux" on-line course. Internet Attacks Map. Best Linux usage of donated computers? (cont.) Favorite FOSS: Back In Time for backups. |
| June 5th, 2014 | FOSS User Group Hot Hardware show-and-tell (5-min. each): Go multiple-choice with a 3-Speed Screwdriver, 3-Speed Mouse, and a 3-Speed Touchpad. Donated computers: best Linux usage? (Dana Scott) The FOSS News: June 5th is the first anniversary of Edward Snowden's disclosure that the USA cyberspies on everyone; Reset The Net, "Right To Be Forgotten", and "Death Of TrueCrypt" (decrypted?). Google Translate. Plan FOSS Picnic. NatickFOSS Forum has a new URL: http://runelab.org/forum/. Creating the NatickFOSS computer's "Welcome To FOSS" Desktop wallpaper (using LibreOffice Writer and Inkscape). |
| Saturday,
May 31st, 2014 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's Linux InstallFest
at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| Wednesday,
May 7th, 2014 (7-9PM) Akamai, 8 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA |
Boston Linux &
Unix's Desktop User Group: As part 2 of its "Free Software for Photographers" series, Dick Miller demonstrates Fotoxx! |
| Wednesday,
May 7th, 2014 (4-9PM) MIT Media Lab (E14-6th Floor), 75 Amherst St., Cambridge MA |
5th Annual Auto-ID and Sensing
Expo (& Internet of Things): On Feb. 22nd, I was told this will be good for Internet of Things exhibits; so, I'll recommend it. Two panels ($30), live demos, over fifty exhibitors. Exhibit halls are free, but register in advance. |
| Tuesday, May 6th, 2014font> | International Day
Against DRM 2014 Digital Restrictions Management is different from a copyright; it's cripple-ware! Who needs that? |
| May 1st, 2014 | FOSS User Group Celestia planetarium (D to demo). The FOSS News: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. Ubuntu Kylin was 1 year old on April 25th; so what? US and UK warn: Avoid MS Internet Explorer! What's wrong with DRM? (Algot Runeman) What's new in Ubuntu Linux 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr)? How to do an Ubuntu Linux install (with separate /home partition). |
| Thursday, April 17th, 2014 | Release
date for Ubuntu
Linux 14.04
LTS, "Trusty Tahr". |
| Tuesday,
April 8th, 2014 |
Microsoft
drops WinXP support. Upgrade your computers!
(Think Linux! Psst, it's free!) |
| Saturday,
April 5th, 2014 (8:30AM-5PM?) and Sunday, April 6th, 2014 (Workshops; 9AM-1PM?) Harvard University's Radcliffe Gymnasium (Knafel Center), 10 Garden Street, Cambridge MA 02138 |
Northeast
GNU/Linux Fest This annual event promotes free and open software and hardware for novices through experts. Learn about the benefits of free software in your life and how to leverage it in your company, University and virtualization. Latest advancements in technology using free software. April 6 (new): Leadership training and workshops on implementing open source at your job or school. |
| April 3rd, 2014 | FOSS User Group The Electric Sheep project, and one Electric-Sheep 2-hour video animation. Book raffle, and Hot Hardware show-and-tell. The FOSS News (a new feature): LibrePlanet reviewed; Canonical to drop Ubuntu One; Microsoft to drop WinXP support on April 8th - implications and alternatives. How to download an Ubuntu Linux .iso file and prepare a bootable live USB flash drive. (Algot Runeman) |
| March 26th, 2014 | Document Freedom Day Also see here. |
| March 6th, 2014 | New Linux and Linus
(Torvalds) video (at 3PM!) Book raffle, and Hot Hardware show-and-tell. Bt Builder, an open-source construction set for role-playing games (Dennis Payne). A new Linux computer for this Center! Demo Mozilla Thunderbird for mail; Lightning, Noia, Themes and other TB Add-Ons (Jill Miller) Demo the Lightbeam add-on for Firefox (previously, Mozilla Collusion). |
| Saturday,
March 1st, 2014 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest
at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| Saturday,
February 22nd, 2014 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 315 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
Internet of
Things Festival Software, Hardware, Standards, Sensors, Security, Scalability, Robotics, Clusters, Wireless, Wearables and a Drone Demo. Keynotes, Lightning Talks, Breakout Sessions, Demos. Talks agenda and video: Part 1, Part 2. |
| Sunday,
February 9th, 2014 (Noon-6PM) Northeastern Law School, 65 Forsyth St., Boston; Dockser Hall, Room 230 and the Moot Court Room |
Crypto Party! Come learn how to encrypt your email and files, browse the internet anonymously, use secure chat systems, and more. Check back here for further details as they become available. We will serve free lunch at noon. This event is free and open to the public, and we especially encourage journalists, lawyers, and law students to attend. |
| February 6th, 2014 | FOSS User
Group
|
| January
9th, 2014 (one week late; Happy
New Year!) |
Alex
Marthews, President of Digital Fourth:
"Safeguarding Your Electronic Privacy". Ubuntu to the Macs! Tips to install Ubuntu Linux on a MacBook Pro. Got a 64GB or 128GB flash card? How to add Microsoft's ExFAT (EXtended File Allocation Table) file system. |
| Saturday,
December 7th, 2013 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| December 5th, 2013 | Holiday
Gift ideas: Demo your hottest hardware (see
below; plus, Full-Size
Wireless Folding Mouse for $15 - and Humble Bundle
for games at your
price). Lenovo IdeaPad S210 Touch 11.6" netbook computer for $280/$246. Mobile phone deal to beat: TracFone LG840g at $30, +$20 per 90 days, 180 min. w/rollover; no extra for free roaming/international; free wifi. Mobile phone extras: Opera Mini, Google Maps, data xfer/sync, FM Transmitter, Case. Suggest FOSS donations (5-min. each). FixUbuntu.com and Canonical's "trademark flap" about it. |
| Monday,
November 18th, 2013 (7-9PM) Sherrill Hall in St. Paul's Church, 39 East Central St., Natick (east end of Town parking lot; enter lot on Church Street) |
"Surveillance vs. Privacy
in the Digital World, Part II" Occupy Natick's free "What Went Wrong" monthly movie and discussion (plus free snacks). Tonight's event is co-sponsored by ACLU of Massachusetts. Kade Crockford, Director of ACLUM's Technology for Liberty project, will show exerpts from famous films, describe project initiatives, and welcome questions and comments. Meanwhile, see the 2-minute video, Ordering Pizza in 2015. |
| November 7th, 2013 |
Guest presentation:
Michael Terry of
Canonical, producers of Ubuntu. Don't miss his
visit! Preview the Ubuntu Touch Phone - a metro-Boston first! (Michael Terry) How to Install Ubuntu Linux (with multi-boot, a /home partition and more) Book Raffle: Win a free book, courtesy O'Reilly Media, Inc. |
| Monday,
October 21st, 2013 (7-9PM) Sherrill Hall in St. Paul's Church, 39 East Central St., Natick (east end of Town parking lot; enter lot on Church Street) |
"Surveillance vs. Privacy
in the Digital World, Part I" Occupy Natick's free "What Went Wrong" monthly movie and discussion (plus free snacks) features Naked Citizens, plus Zak Rogoff of the Free Software Foundation. Expect updated information on electronic invasiveness and a lively discussion re what to do for your own computer, for the Internet, and beyond. |
| 7PM
Tuesday, October 8th, 2013 (Pre-registration is required.) |
Framingham
Makerspace - Raspberry
Pi night Planning a makerspace in MetroWest! |
| October 3rd, 2013 |
30th
anniversary of the GNU operating
system (1983
Richard Stallman announcement, 2008
Peter Fry video) Which Linux? (Linux family tree; Slackware > SuSE; RedHat > Fedora; Debian > Knoppix, Ubuntu) How-To: Download and run Ubuntu Linux "live" in RAM (Algot Runeman, using UNetBootIn) Hottest Hardware: Oblanc UFO-200 Headset ($10), MXL 990 USB Stereo Condenser Microphone ($100; Rick Lee) |
| Saturday
and Sunday, September 28th-29th (10AM-Midnight) MIT, Cambridge, MA |
GNU 30th-Anniversary
Celebration and Hackathon Featuring Richard Stallman. Celebrate the GNU Project's world-altering accomplishments with cake and coding. The 30th anniversary hackathon will focus on two important needs for free software in today's Web-based world: federated publishing and communication services, and tools to protect privacy and anonymity. Before Linux, there was GNU. Much of Linux is GNU. Be there! Free registration here. |
| Saturday, September
21st, 2013 (9:30AM-5:30PM) Cambridge College, 1000 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA |
Boston Software Freedom
Day Discuss privacy, government transparency, and user freedoms online. Hear updates from local groups and voices from the wider free software movement. Expect learning, celebrating and plenty of networking. This event is free and open to the public - including people new to free software. |
| September
5th, 2013 |
Hottest hardware: iView-420TPC
4.3" Android Tablet ($40) Your favorite FOSS Puzzle or Game (group likes): Freecell Solitaire, Gweled/Bejewelled, Klondike Solitaire, Mah Jongg Solitaire, SameGame, Sudoku, Tux Racer. NatickFOSS Forum (Algot Runeman; register and try draft at http://runeman.org/articles/natick-foss/forum/ ) TreeSheets: It's a spreadsheet/outliner/mindmapper and more! (Jill Miller) Fotoxx: new slide show tricks, and Dick's pics from France Optimize your WiFi: WiFi Radar, inSSIDer and its Linux emulator, LinSSID A Free, Libre and Open Glossary (and meet Etherpad) Why use a Terminal Window? Repartition your Windows HD more easily with EaseUS Partition Master Free. Getting familiar with UEFI and Secure Boot. Also Boot-Repair (after RGM due to PEBKAC). |
| Saturday,
August 24th, 2013 (9AM-5PM) MIT Building E-51, Room 061 Amherst Street, Cambridge MA (Parking and entrance are on Amherst Street, up the ramp nearest Wadsworth Street.) |
BLU.org's
Linux InstallFest
at MIT Come help, or bring your computer for free hands-on help with Linux installation and use. Also, free car parking and lunch! (A $25-per-computer donation is suggested.) |
| August 1st,
2013 |
Algot Runeman
will lead this month's FOSS meeting. Tentative: Links You Like (group quickies) SeaPerch - Exploring local waters (RoboNatick) What's My Distro and Why? (group quickies) Ebooks, What's Inside? Communication for Groups: What's a Forum? (vs. e-mail, mailing lists, blogs, Google Hangout, etc.) |
| July 11th,
2013 (one week LATE!) |
Cyber-Spying,
Open Source, and Computer Security
(review and discussion). Explore the FOSS Resources on-line at MMS. Fotoxx - easy touches (and some new ones) for excellent photographs, newslideshow features, and a first look at editing metadata (tags, etc.). |
| June 6th,
2013 |
Mark
Shuttleworth: "Bug #1
(Microsoft has a majority market share) is closed." Open-source Hardware: WikiHouse and more. Open-source Government: Checkbook NYC and more. Design our next FOSS User Group business card. (Algot Runeman) How to set BIOS to boot from a (bootable) CD/DVD or USB flash drive. HandyTutorial.com suggests other applications for Ubuntu Linux. |
| May 2nd,
2013 |
Twenty
years of a free, open World-Wide Web! Meet Ubuntu Linux 13.04! Install the Meld difference viewer as a Nautilus add-on (pre-13.04). Selecting a better file manager: Krusader and Sunflower (post-13.04). Discuss new Java/IcedTea usage when on-line. Don't browse blindly: Adblock Plus and NoScript. Who's tracking your Web browsing? Track them, with Collusion. Scams, Spam, and innocent files marked as spam. |
| April 25,
2013 |
Release
Date for Ubuntu
Linux 13.04! |
| April 4th,
2013 |
Refresher course: Use UNetBootIn
to download Linux .iso files and install Linux. Update re UEFI and Restricted Boot - Ubuntu Linux adjusts. How will China's national use of Ubuntu Kylin affect other Linux use? Are netbooks coming or going? Some Internet ISPs begin Six-Strikes Program (on March 1st). |
| Saturday,
March 16th (8:30AM-5PM) and Sunday, March 17th
(9AM-1PM), 2013 Harvard University Science Center, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge MA |
3rd Annual
Northeast
GNU/Linuxfest It's even bigger and now moving from Worcester to Harvard University, but it's still free! Also featuring a concurrent Open Database Camp. |
| March 7th,
2013 |
On-line Introduction to
Computers with Ubuntu Unity
(Algot Runeman) Introduction to database design (Jill Miller, with LibreOffice Base). |
| February
7th, 2013 |
15 years ago, a
FOSS milestone: AOL puts Netscape
Navigator into public domain (Feb. 4th,
1998), births Mozilla Foundation and Firefox. Fotoxx's new look, uncurling a book page, and a "Cartoon" art mode. Android Linux on a $60 iView-754TPC 7" tablet computer. World's cheapest tablet-computer carrier: a rubberband! Manage files and folders with 2-pane Nautilus ([F3] in Ubuntu Nautilus) and the Meld difference viewer (Jill Miller) |
| January
3rd, 2013 |
Canonical's
2013 push for full
Ubuntu Linux on smart phones that can be
your main computer! UEFI Secure Boot ("Restricted Boot"), one month later. Take it back? Ubuntu documentation re UEFI (and Secure Boot) The State Of Linux Distributions Handling SecureBoot Coreboot: the Solution to the UEFI "Secure Boot" Fiasco Printing addresses onto Avery labels (Pat Sockol) A CD full of FOSS for Windows users! (Algot Runeman) National initiative for FOSS in Schools (Algot Runeman) |
| December 6th, 2012 | FOSS Fun
for the Holiday Season Algot Runeman creates a holiday light bulb using InkScape (instead of $400+ Adobe Illustrator or $100-200 Corel Draw), and shares it at the Open Clip Art Library. Dick Miller demos the good Mah Jongg solitaire game in Gnome Games. Jill Miller trumps him with the even better Mah Jongg in KDE Games (but don't forget to load its Help file, separately). Use the Ubuntu Software Center to easily find and install InkScape, games and more. Your next PC may make it harder to install Linux, courtesy of Microsoft's Windows-8 twist on UEFI Secure Boot (a.k.a., Restricted Boot). Most of the manufacturers don't explain how, but we'll add a few good links here as we find them: Windows 8 secure boot could complicate Linux installs Installing Linux instead of Win8 Ubuntu 12.10 and Windows 8: an uneasy marriage We'll have shiny new Ubuntu 12.10 DVDs to share, and we'll raffle off a FOSS book or two. |
| November 1st, 2012 | Meet
(and install?) the
new Ubuntu
Linux 12.10! Bring your computer, or at least a 4GB+ USB flash drive. |
| October
11th, 2012 (Note our new location!) |
(One week
late, to meet in the NEW
Natick Community-Senior Center at 117 East
Central Street!) An early peek at Ubuntu Linux 12.10 (beta-2). Algot Runeman demonstrates how to install the new Ubuntu Linux 12.10 on a Windows PC. (So you can do the same in a week or so.) Stay with Ubuntu Linux 12.04.1 LTS, or wait for 12.10 on October 18th? Which is best for you? Using Multiple Desktops in Linux (in Ubuntu, [Super-s] to Switch worktables). In Ubuntu 12.10, hold [Super] at least 2 seconds to view Keyboard Shortcuts ([Super-s]). The Variety wallpaper changer. |
| September
6th, 2012 |
Using
Android Linux on a volunteer project in India
(Natick High School student Clark Andrews) New photo-editing features and art tools in Fotoxx Giant photo enlargements for $15 |
| August 2nd,
2012 |
Meet the $25
Raspberry Pi
computer (Algot Runeman) |
| July 5th,
2012 |
Celebrate
Independence Day with independent
software! Advanced tools for non-programmers: Advanced clipboards (Klipper, Glipper, Parcellite, ClipIt). GEdit, Meld Diff Viewer, and other text-editing tools. Resurrect your deleted data with PhotoRec (in TestDisk). Kill your data just a little bit more, with BleachBit. |
| June 7,
2012 |
Manage recipes with Gourmet
Recipe Manager (Pat Sockol) AnswerGarden (Algot Runeman) "Introduction to Computers - Ubuntu with Unity" - Help polish Algot's draft beginners manual! (Algot Runeman) Meet HUD, the Heads-Up Display that may revolutionize the Precise Pangolin (Ubuntu Linux 12.04). Take home a free Live CD of Ubuntu Linux 12.04, Precise Pangolin (courtesy of Canonical Ltd.) Book Raffle: (It's become a regular event, so we'll move it to the main FOSS page.) |
| May 3rd,
2012 |
Meet April
26th's Ubuntu
12.04 LTS Linux, the Precise Pangolin!
Bring a flash drive or CD, to bring home a copy. Day Against DRM (Defective by Design) is tomorrow, May 4th (Algot Runeman) Book Raffle: Win a free book, courtesy O'Reilly Media, Inc. and Boston User Groups. |
| April 5th, 2012 |
Installing Linux: How
to install Ubuntu
Linux from a USB "live CD" to a hard drive.
Drive partitioning, and much more! TreeSheets (Jill Miller): See this unusual heirarchical spreadsheet enable freeform data organization such as To-Do lists, calendars, project management, brainstorming, organizing ideas, planning, requirements gathering, and the presentation of information. Book Raffle: Win a free book, courtesy O'Reilly Media, Inc. and Boston User Groups. |
| March 1st,
2012 |
Downloading
Linux: How to find and download free .iso
files, then burn them to a USB flash drive with UNetbootin
or to a CD, to try a Linux "Live CD". Peek inside the
Terminal window. Use the Internet to find answers (and
sometimes the questions) and to find great programs
among the so-so. |
| February
1st, 2012 |
Computer-Generated
Art (where not you, but the computer, does
the drawing): 1. (Algot Runeman; more styles to follow) Standard graphs (LibreOffice w/pie chart) 2. (Jill and Dick) Maps (NASA Earth Observatory trees, USGS gravity database) 3. (Jill and Dick) How Minard combined those concepts (in 1869, but who's counting?) for Napoleon's disastrous Russian expedition 4. (Jill and Dick) The last night of the Costa Concordia 5. (Jill) Word Clouds (Wordle, Word It Out, Tagxedo) 6. (Jill) Evolvotron (computer draws, human chooses) 7. (Dick) Mandelbrot fractals (Xaos in Ubuntu Software Center) 8. (Dick) 3D fractal animation 9. (Dick; described) Conway's Game of Life (Golly in USC) 10.(Dick; future) Art tools in Fotoxx. |
| January
4th, 2012 |
Some of the Many
Graphical User Interfaces for Linux: Gnome 2, KDE 4,
Gnome 3, Unity, Unity 2D (Dick and Jill Miller, Algot
Runeman) |
| December
7th, 2011 |
"Inside
Linux, and some FOSS Applications" (Dick and Jill
Miller) LibreOffice Writer LibreOffice Spreadsheet Terminal Window/BASH Shell (help, man, ls, ls -al, lshw, xpenguins) |
| Tuesday,
December 6th, 2011 (7:30PM at St. Andrew's Church, 3 Maple Street, Framingham) |
Gateway
Camera Club: "Fotoxx", by Dick Miller Guests are welcome. |
| November 2nd, 2011 | Guest
presentation: Meet Oct. 13th's Ubuntu
Linux 11.10, the Oneiric Ocelet!, by Ronald
McCollam of Canonical Ltd., parent company of
Ubuntu). Psst! Inside information AND free Live CDs
- don't miss it! |
| Wednesday,
October 19th, 2011 (6:30-9PM at Mass. Institute of
Technology, Building E-51, Room 325, Cambridge) |
Extra: Our
FOSS UG (and Dick and Jill Miller, MMS, and Fotoxx)
are featured at the monthly meeting of the Boston
Linux & Unix User Group. You can view the entire 2-hour talk. |
| October
5th, 2011 |
Natick
Senior Center gets a Linux desktop (A. Richard
Miller; computer provided by Milt Gilbert) FOSS UG business cards, proposed button, etc. (designed by Algot Runeman, using Inkscape) Inkscape demo (Algot Runeman, Jill Miller) Fotoxx demo, with "Annotate Image" and new "Straighten Image" tools (A. Richard Miller) |
| Saturday,
September 17th, 2011 (10AM-5PM at Cambridge College) |
Extra: Our
FOSS UG has a table and a talk at the OpenHatch Software
Freedom Day event at Cambridge College, 1000
Mass. Ave. in Cambridge MA |
| September
7th, 2011 |
Inkscape demo
(Algot Runeman) Preview Ubuntu Linux 11.10 Beta-1 (A. Richard Miller) Software Freedom Day, September 17th (A. Richard Miller) |
| August 3rd,
2011 |
20th
Anniversary of Linux, plus this other
earth-shaking event: Guest presentation: Seismology software and the March 11th Japan earthquake, by Dr. Alan Kafka, Boston College's Weston Observatory. |
| July 6th,
2011 |
"Scratch
- A programming experience for almost everyone" (Algot
Runeman) Demo Handout - PDF - ODT [2] "Can't Catch Me" Car program Scratch file (will only be fully useful if you also have the Lego kit 9580 from Lego Education.) "Taming Ubuntu 11.04" (A. Richard Miller) "Beware On-line Filter Bubbles" (A. Richard Miller) |
| May 4th,
2011 |
"Ubuntu 11.04
arrives, with some Unity shortfalls" (A. Richard
Miller) "KDE4 and Kubuntu" (Algot Runeman) |
| April 6th,
2011 |
"Fotoxx"
(A. Richard Miller) "GNUCash" (Jill Miller) |
| March 2nd,
2011 |
First
meeting of FOSS
User Group at the Natick Senior Center! |
| November 16, 2009 (7-9PM) Natick Morse Institute Library |
"FOSS: Free, Open-Source
Software That Works" A slide talk by A. Richard Miller of Miller Microcomputer Services in Natick. Note by Dick: This first talk was encouraged by the late Paula Polk, then the Director of Natick's public library. It went over so well that Jill and I proposed to hold monthly classes there. However, a new Director decided that classes on Free, Open-Source Software would be "inappropriate" for free meeting-room use. We'd all have been the losers, had not the Natick Senior Center stepped into the breach. Thank you, Paula Polk and all our FOSS User Group supporters at the lovely new Natick Community-Senior Center! |
