Since I couldn't find a link to e-mail this privately to the leadership of Amarok to ask their permission to post it, I'll just make this public (and if the leadership of this project, or anyone else, wishes to contact me, feel free to do so at lcafiero-at-fixedbylinux-dot-com)

My name is Larry Cafiero of HeliOS Solutions West, and I would like to invite you to participate in a project in which, together, we can uplift Linux and FOSS both locally, where I live and work, and uplift Linux and FOSS in your own communities whenever and wherever the project is repeated.

Lindependence 2008 introduces Linux to the town of Felton, California -- about 6,000 people who live at the foot of the San Lorenzo Valley in Santa Cruz County, California. The plan behind Lindependence 2008 involves assisting those wishing to participate to go "proprietary free" for an entire week -- starting on Independence Day 2008 -- using their choice of distro and FOSS programs.

I expect that most of the people who participate in this project will continue to stay "proprietary free" after the week is over, because they will discover what we already know: Linux, FOSS and the freedom to choose in our digital pursuits far outweigh the digital hegemony provided by the digital mandarins in Redmond and Cupertino.

A bit of history: Lindependence 2008 has been underway since last autumn, when I established HeliOS Solutions West as an evangelical springboard for spreading the FOSS gospel on the central California coast. The project reached fruition after lengthy discussions with The Tux Project and other FOSS advocates. The idea for the project takes its cue from a recent Nikon television ad campaign, where the Japanese camera maker gave digital cameras to a small town in South Carolina and promoted the results.

Replacing cameras with LiveCDs and thumb drives, this project introduces people to Linux and FOSS programs and allows them a chance to have a computing experience that we all have and that we all know is superior to what most people are forced to use because they're unaware that they have alternatives.

Currently, town meetings and installfests are planned to be held during May and June of this year to familiarize the people in Felton with Linux and FOSS programs and, as stated, those who participate start a week of Linux and FOSS use from July 4 through July 11, and possibly longer. We have the media involved and two documentary makers have already expressed an interest in taking footage in the area between now and July with the intention of making a documentary.

Here's where you come in:

-- Give Amarok a presence: We invite Amarok to have representatives at the meetings and installfests with software and other materials, as well as to stick around for the week to see how this develops. While we are currently working on getting discounts for lodging, hopefully your representatives live close to here -- we are just "over the hill" on the other side of a small mountain range from the Silicon Valley. They can either be people from Amarok itself, or volunteers from your user group who live nearby.

-- Support: There are probably restrictions regarding asking for donations, so we won't do so here. But we do need a bit of money to make this work, and we'd like the Amarok community to keep this in mind, especially since any funds are left over from this project when it's done will be proportionately turned over to the distros/FOSS programs.

You may have questions, observations and comments, and because this e-mail only scratches the surface, I welcome them. I'll gladly answer them here or by e-mail at the address below. Please contact me with any questions, observations and comments at your convenience.

Thank you for your time and I hope you will help us uplift Linux and FOSS going forward.

Sincerely,
Larry Cafiero
HeliOS Solutions West
6116 Highway 9, Suite 4B
Felton, California 95018 U.S.A.
1-831-335-7303
lcafiero-at-fixedbylinux -dot-com

Thanks a lot for the invitation! Sounds like a good project.

I actually used to live in Santa Cruz (when I was 2 years old  ) and seriously considered going to UCSC. But now I'm in Missouri and will have just visited family there in early June. I don't really know of any Amarok developers or Rokymotioners in the area who could attend. We could certainly arrange to help out over IRC or similar, just send amarok@kde.org with details when the date is closer.

Thanks, Ian -- If anyone reading this is in the Silicon Valley/Central California area and wants to contact me personally, I'm at lcafiero-at-fixedbylinux-dot-com

Amarok's participation is very important to show folks here your great program and, more importantly, to give them options to what's out there in the proprietary realm.

Larry Cafiero