Calvin Students Present Installfest 2007

October 1, 2007 == MEDIA ADVISORY

Summary: Abstraction, the computer science club at Calvin College, will
install Linux software free of charge on the computers of all comers at its
annual Installfest from 7 through 9 p.m., Tuesday, October 2.

Full story see http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2007-08/installfest.htm
 
Abstraction, the computer science club at Calvin College, is holding its
annual Installfest from 7 through 9 p.m., Tuesday, October 2.

The event will take place in the Systems Lab on the third floor of the Science
Building, and there will be free pizza and pop.

At the event, an Abstraction tradition since 1995, computer club members
install Linux software free of charge on the computers of all comers.

"The idea behind it is to assist people who want to install Linux on their
computer but don't feel comfortable doing it on their own," said Abstraction
president Nathan Beach. "Students can bring in their laptops, or if they have a
desktop, they only need to bring in their tower, and we can supply a monitor
and other computer accessories."

Beach said the event allows the members of the student organization to serve
the Calvin community while also raising the Q factor of Linux, an open source
operating system.

"There are some advantages to using Windows, but there are also many
advantages to running Linux," Beach said.

Beach said that many Calvin students who install Linux often use it alongside
Windows. Indeed, Abstraction offers Installfest attendees the option of
installing Linux so that it dual-boots with Windows.

The Installfest typically attracts about between 10 and 15 students each
semester, he said, and most of them are computer science or engineering
students.

"But anyone is welcome," he added. "I would love to see more people become
familiar with Linux."

Computer science professor Joel Adams is a fan of the event.

"The Installfests are a great service that Abstraction has been providing for
Calvin students for more than 10 years," he said. "These events give Calvin
students hands-on experience in using and administering the operating system
that powers most of the internet, including the majority of the world’s Web
servers. Linux is free, reliable, and quite secure, and experience with it is a
very marketable skill."

-end-
Received on Mon Oct 1 11:41:42 2007