[FOSS] Happy Thanksgiving, Updates, Reminder

[Billy Davies]

A couple of updates today.   

1. One Laptop Per Child

There is still one week left on the "Give One Get One" campaign which is the promotion to give an XO laptop to a child in a poor county and also get one for yourself.  The cost is $399 of which $200 is tax-deductible.  One of  the sponsors is now adding a one-year complimentary T-Mobile HotSpot access.

The offer is worth a look.  Currently I pay $20 a month ($240 per year) for AT&T wireless access which works fine and is available at most McDonalds, The UPS Stores and Barnes and Nobles and other places.  I could drop that and switch to T-Mobile, saving $240, which brings the GOGO cost to $159.   Add in the tax deduction and the XO laptop is quite reasonable.

The unique appearance would certainly draw attention at a Starbucks and would be a great conversation starter to promote Free/Libre Open Source Software.

More info is available at - http://www.laptopgiving.org -

2. The $200 Everex Green gPC at Walmart

It is now back in stock at Walmart.  The initial shipment of 10,000 units sold out quickly.  The same gPC is also available at - http://newegg.com - and at - http://www.zareason.com/ - I have used NewEgg on numerous occasions and can recommend them.  Zareason is new to me but I would have no problem dealing with them.
- http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7754614 -

3. Low Cost Laptops  

Several weeks ago I predicted $250 sales for laptops by Christmas.  Here is one from Best Buy for Black Friday for $229 - http://bfads.net/Link/300 - which includes printer and Circuit City had a $279 Acer online-only for pre-Thanksgiving special which has already sold-out.  These laptops do use proprietary operating systems (which could be replaced).  BestBuy will also be offering an eMachines desktop for $200 including LCD Monitor. 

4. OpenCD

A reminder for those purchasing or advising friends on purchasing new computers this holiday season.  Office software upgrades and photo-imaging software upgrades are absolutely not necessary. Save yourself and your friends some bucks.  Fully-functional software is available FREE at all library branches,  Just ask for an "OpenCD".  Read about it at - http://www.theopendisc.com/ -

5. ZAREASON videos

The - http://www.zareason.com/ - website has links to some interesting videos.  First is the Nelson Mandella definitive commentary on what Ubuntu means, next is a small-town librarian installing Ubuntu, and the grand finale compares Windows Vista Aero to Linux Ubuntu Beryl (special effects).  The last one just blows my socks off.  I will be including it as eye candy in my next presentation.

6. Happy Thanksgiving

Be thankful this holiday for all your blessings!

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That's All, Folks, and Remember To FLOSS Today!
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Billy
http://www.FLOSSToday.com
http://www.BillyDavies.com
http://www.GBZTechnology.com