Category: Misc

Previously, Yet Another Linux Blog posted an article about co-sponsoring a donation drive with Lobby4Linux.com. That drive is still up and running until 11:59 PM CST on 14 August 2005. If you donate through Lobby4Linux.com and remember to provide your email address, you’ll be entered in a drawing various prizes. What prizes? I’ll let Helios from Lobby4Linux fill you in:

“Lobby4Linux proudly displays the first place prize for the donation drawing to be held live on the 15th of August. Now how can you go wrong with 2 used laptops and a printer? Hey…didja think this was a high Class operation? Actually these machines are great for accessing the internet, printing and just plinking around. Both machines have successfully run Debian and are very useful. While the photo,which can be viewed here, is not the best our intentions are and you have helped us help one of our own. Please remember the donation drive is open until 11:59PM CST 14 August, 2005 and your donation qualifies you for the drawing. Second place is a Linux-compatable DVD burner, third and fourth places receive a Cisco 1600 series two port router and the next five winners will receive a registered copy of MyBooks Pro from Appgen. Thank you again for your generosity. It will not go. un-noticed.”

Remember also that all proceeds from this donation drive are going to save a prominent Linux website from going under. The webmaster lost their job and is in danger of losing their residence as well. All donations through this drive will go to that website. Of course, I am withholding the name of the webmaster through request. Trust me when I say it is a major Linux site that does Linux news and many, many distro reviews.

Some of you may be saying, “Well, so what? How do I know where this cash is going? How can I be sure that it is going ‘to a good cause’?” Think of it this way. Lobby4Linux is a community run site that will donate the cash it raises to an open source or Linux project that is voted on by the community. So you can’t go wrong by donating because the money will always go back to open source. Helios, the author and creator of Lobby4Linux, already owns and operates a successful business and isn’t doing this for profit. In fact, he’s already spent appx. 20 thousand dollars over the past couple of years trying to expand the Linux message. Helios is doing this because he wants to see Linux and open source proliferate throughout the world. So, at the very least, you’ll be donating to open source indirectly.

Yet Another Linux Blog was happy to give the two first place prize laptops to this cause and I support this donation drive 100%. If you’d like to win some hardware and software and have 5 or more bucks to give toward open source, get on over there and give some cash. Hopefully, we’ll be able to raise enough money to save a gem of a Linux website. Thanks for helping out and good luck in the drawing.

A lot of us take what we have for granted. We often look at that lazyboy recliner or that big screen TV. We look at our 5 or 6 computer network and our PVR and just sigh, not ever thinking twice about those that aren’t able to have what we have. Most of you have probably heard this more than once from various charities and organizations around the world or in a city near you. Outside influences and rotten luck often cause people to lose their house, their land, their cars, and subsequently their livelihood. What happens if someoone is pinkslipped from their job and is in danger of losing their house? Most of the time, this would go unnoticed and people would kick back and switch channels on the Sony 47″. This time, it’s different.

A major Linux website webmaster is in trouble. They’re in danger of losing house, home, and practically anything that isn’t bolted down including their site which has been around for quite some time. To help this person, Lobby4Linux.com and “Yet Another Linux Blog” have teamed up to hold a Drawing for those who donate to help save this Linux site AND this webmaster from the dire straits (not the 80’s band either) and to help keep this website and this webmaster afloat until they’re back in the proverbial saddle again.

Therefore, if you donate to help this pillar of the Linux community, (using the Lobby4Linux paypal link and include your email and name) you will be added into the fray for a drawing where the winner will win a Linux compatible DVD Burner and five runners up will receive a licensed copy of Apgens MyBooks Pro.

As more incentive to donate, Yet Another Linux Blog is adding two older model laptops for a prize package…A Panasonic CF-75 Toughbook and an IBM 755c Thinkpad. Both have had hard drive upgrades (10GB in the Toughbook and I think 2GB in the Thinkpad) and both will work with Linux (Debian installed on both quite easily) and each comes with a nice carrying case/backpack. I’ll leave it up to Helios, webmaster and organizer of the donation drive at Lobby4Linux.com to decide which place in the drawing will receive the laptops since I feel they should be offered together.

Once again, you won’t be entered into the drawing unless you donate! Get over to Lobby4Linux.com now and donate to this good cause and enter yourself in the drawing to be held on 15 August 2005. Don’t forget to add your name and a valid email address so you can be contact if you win in the drawing.

Thanks for helping out and let’s hope that we can save this site from going under.

Edit: I’ve been asked not to reveal the identity of the person or site until after the 15 August deadline. I know it sucks quite a bit for those donating…but I respect this person’s wishes.

Think of it this way…if you donate to Lobby4Linux anyway, you’d be donating to open source since Ken doesn’t take any cash for himself (except to cover the cost of webhost) since he has his own business and does fine without income from a website. So if you donate, you have nothing to lose and some hardware/software to gain.

The cool part is that if you donate now, Lobby4Linux will give all donations to save a major Linux site. It’s a win win situation. Thanks again if you donate!