I remember organizing Linux install parties at my university (University of Lille (1), in France), each year for like 3 to 4 consecutive years.
It was always a pleasure to meet new people and explain how basically "their computer is working" and how they can free from Windows.
The most interested person at that time was a 55 years old woman who knew nothing in computer. I installed Ubuntu on its computer and she came the next year with strong system knowledge for a linux-newbie, and the same laptop... with Debian in it!
It's so nice to see installfests still happening in the Linux community - I have fond memories of running many of them 25 years ago.
As for the distributions mentioned, the points are definitely sage, but I would argue that the Flatpak-centered Fedora Silverblue is the best distribution for beginners, and that the sentence "...but the system can be potentially more unstable than Debian" is no longer true nowadays.
Really good to see. We have been popping up at some events so repair peoples installs with bootable Linux sticks here in Shanghai and Nanjing. It is super satisfying to revive peoples machines with a few simple actions.
I've been thinking a lot about organizing an installfest sometime in the next year or so, which would be my first time in over 20 years. To anyone with current experience running one, do you have any advice?
I'm also interested in smartphone operating systems like Ubuntu Touch and postmarketOS etc.
So .. if you want to keep it simple and reduce the chance of scaring away interested people for good because of failure, don't offer dual boot, unless you know all the tricks. Too many ways this can go wrong in my experience and if it goes right, it likely means they just continue using what they know - windows.
For a risk free just trying out, have linux live usb sticks prepared.
I have never been to one of these "fests" but wouldn't be easier to just bring a small PXE server with an SSD and 10G NIC with an 8-port switch for net booting/install? Are the machines so old they can't boot off the network? The PXE server could easily handle 5-6 install clients via the 10G NIC.
It was always a pleasure to meet new people and explain how basically "their computer is working" and how they can free from Windows.
The most interested person at that time was a 55 years old woman who knew nothing in computer. I installed Ubuntu on its computer and she came the next year with strong system knowledge for a linux-newbie, and the same laptop... with Debian in it!
As for the distributions mentioned, the points are definitely sage, but I would argue that the Flatpak-centered Fedora Silverblue is the best distribution for beginners, and that the sentence "...but the system can be potentially more unstable than Debian" is no longer true nowadays.
1:14 Arch record https://youtu.be/8utpbbdj0LQ (jokes aside the tmux trick is insane didn’t even know you could do that before I saw this video)
I'm also interested in smartphone operating systems like Ubuntu Touch and postmarketOS etc.
- make sure bring extension chords, and make sure you have enough fast wifi for all participants
- bring enough USB-s. Installation on older laptops can take time
- ventoy is useful
- for beginners stick to Fedora/Debian. Popular distros come and go, but these two are constant and will be supported for a long time
- don't give options to beginners if they don't ask for it. You will induce paralysis of choice
- automatic dual boot setup by Debian installer works very well. Partition shrinking on Windows isn't scary as I thought before
- sometimes you can't install BIOS/UEFI drivers without windows (on older devices). You maybe want to do that before installing Linux
- i think it is good to have a windows installation ready. At least for windows boot loader recovery if anything goes bad
- bitLocker can be PITA. Don't lock users device
- after installation update system
- write some material, what-to-do-after-installation guide, and give to participants. Maybe create group on some social network or messaging app
For a risk free just trying out, have linux live usb sticks prepared.
First time users might appreciate seeing the USB drive method since that's probably what they'd attempt next time at home.
Would it be possible to create a Zorin OS USB drive that after inserting it into the USB drive of a laptop:
The user would get a running Linux, with the UX they know(win 10/11), with full speed and full capabilities - without installation ?