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[metvas]

Hello all a time for reflection.
We have been on the scene since 1989  we have accomplished what seemed in 1989 as impossible. Why?  A community formed around what they saw as a worthy cause. That would be you if you are wondering !
We have been approached by MadTux to partner in a project. In a nutshell MadTux will be offering very reasonably priced PC’c from their site with VL pre-installed. (VL or SoHo) http://store.madtux.org/index.php?cPath=57
 All warranties and repairs are their responsibility. They will also be offering pre-paid support for those machines. This has some issues attached to it. We will be offering pre-paid support for all products that are NOT purchased from our online store or a box from MadTux with pre-paid support.
An example would be a customer dwnlds our base system or buys a CD from another online source for $0.99 and then comes to us for support. That customer would be paying a nominal fee for support. All other purchases would have support via psswd and usr name log in to the support form.
Why do this? We have to at some point generate enough income for our own servers and expand VL by expand I mean advertise and promote that all costs $. Lots of them.
A few things we will need is dedicated support persons who will be paid via the pre-paid support won’t be much to start but neither will the work be much to start.
We will need the PHP code ( I do not have this neither does Robert), for log in to the support form via usr name and psswd and I can administrate the psswds form here. Fees for pre-pid support will be in the area of $9.99 month or $24.99 for 3 months.
Comments, suggestions……..or? BTW the box from MadTux will be named iGreen Machine for our legendary support of legacy hardware Our Logo will be centerd on top of the name. All this is planned to roll out first part of May hopefully to scheduel with SoHo v5.8 release.
Why do you think VL is such a popular distro?  (Voting closes: May 05, 2007, 12:54:34 PM)
Friendly & helpful community      20 (52.6%)
Easy to customize      2 (5.3%)
Large repositories      0 (0%)
Works well "out-of-the-box"      16 (42.1%)
   
Total Voters: 24

Regards to All
Darrell

[GrannyGeek]

We have been on the scene since 1989  we have accomplished what seemed in 1989 as impossible.

I'm confused. You say "we" have been on the scene since 1989. How can this be, given that Linus Torvalds announced in 1991 that he was working on the system that became Linux and that Slackware came out in 1993?

So whatever was on the scene in 1989 could not have been VectorLINUX, because Linux didn't exist in 1989.
--GrannyGeek

[Triarius Fidelis]

There might be some other seminal event in FLOSS history he has in mind. 

[vector]

I think it was a typo meant 1999 which is about right...............

[GrannyGeek]

1999 would make more sense.
--GrannyGeek

[metvas]

very sorry a typo on my part 1999 is correct.
Regards
Darrell

[metvas]

BTW a few mediums for our on line store orders will be:

1. VL offered on a 1 gig pen drive that will auto boot the same way a CD-R now does.

2. DVD Iso images as opposed to the current CD - R this will get us back to one disk disro for machines that will support it. The current CD-R is still offered.
These will be available to those customers having the boxes that will support them. For SoHo v5.8 and VL v5.8
Regards
Darrell

[metvas]

Hello All:

OK let’s have a second go at this pre-install issue, as I personally feel I may have confused some folks.
Here is the idea…
So, if you are a regular tech support person on our forum, no more will be required of you than you now provide. However you would get paid a modest sum for your efforts. As there were no takers this surprised me.
Madtux is offering machines with VL and other distro’s pre-installed; there is no room for VL in this offer due to competitive market forces. So our income from this offer will be in the form of pre-paid tech support.
Mad Tux is offering and getting responses for this service, I asked them to hold of on any further advertising for VL tech support until we had a chance to offer the benefits to our own people. They agreed. If we do not want this or are unable to offer this service, then I will give them the OK to continue with their own pre-paid tech support. If we do not catch this opportunity they will. I feel this a fair and ethical way to generate a revenue flow for VL expansion. This will be the first step in putting VL on the Linux scene in a larger way than we now exist. The thought of shipping machines with VL pre-installed, or VL on a pen drive floors me when I reflect on my conversations with Robert in his living room in 1998 about starting VL, (got it right this time LOL).  I can still see that picture in my mind now as clear as if it were today. Who knows were we will be a few years from now? Please remember this is a business venture and as such carries no guarantees for success. That success or failure is up to us.
Once again I will ask for you to reflect on this issue and provide your suggestions and or comments. It is your community.
Thanks for taking the time to think this over and provide your input.
Regards
Darrell

[The Headacher]

Once again I will ask for you to reflect on this issue and provide your suggestions and or comments. It is your community.

Alright here it comes:

There's a certain level of knowledge most of the people with over 100 posts (the vectorites) have about for instance installing VL, using slapt-get / gslapt, system administration. It gets very different when the problems get more specific. For instance, I couldn't help somebody setup his/her (wireless) network or connect to wifi with WEP/WPA. I don't know squat about the insides of vl-hot, it just works for me. Installing printers, Ati drivers, the list of things I don't know how to do goes on and on.
However there are certain things I do know, stuff about audio and specific problems I've encountered myself.

I'm pretty sure none of us know everything, and we don't need to. As a community, we're able to help each other with helping others. I have some knowledge others might not have, and others have good understanding of stuff that's like magic to me. Together we're pretty able to help a lot of the users.

I for one can't justify people paying for my "tech support". I guess, I don't answer posts I don't feel like answering and my understanding of Linux is mediocre at best. But it's alright here, there's no pressure. And if I screw up, there's a big chance somebody else will suggest something that does work.

I'm not sure why others haven't taken the offer, but I can tell you some of my reasons:

- If I payed for techsupport I'd be pretty pissed-off to find out you can get better help at a free forum.
- I do my best here at the forum, there's no way I could help better somewhere else.
- It seems unfair to ask money for help I give here for free.
- I don't want to be responsible for tech support. If I have a busy week or just a bad day nobody will miss me here.
- I honestly don't see how some prepaid tech support could help better than what we try to do here.

I'm sorry, this is probably not what you want to hear. It's the best I can do.

[rbistolfi]

If I have a busy week or just a bad day nobody will miss me here.

That is no true. 

EDIT: Sorry for the joke, i cant resist them  . Seriously, This forum is really good. I think there is no better support that the given by people who is interested in help and likes what he is doing. If you spend a short time here, you will find is better than any payed support. That said, if I know about this forum before I buy a computer with VL (I think this will be the case almost ever, who could request a pc with VL without visiting the site and eventually this forum?) then I just cant see the reason for a payed support.
In other hand, this could be a way for improve the distro development. May be the development team could find a good use for the money, I dont know. If this is the case, Headeacher has a point about this: is unfair if people pay for something others just get for free. The solution is open a diff support channel, like e-mail + IRC. You have a problem, send an email at "support@vl.com" and wait for an answer, if you have some urgency, join the IRC and MAY BE there is somebody there to help you.
I just want share my ideas, may be this could help someone to make a decision. I take the chance to say thanks to all the folks who help us every day, by the linux way; and to the developers for this great project.
cheers, Rodrigo

[GrannyGeek]

I'm not qualified to offer tech support people are paying for. There is way too much I don't know how to do.

I've been fortunate in having no severe problems setting up my systems. I don't know a thing about wireless or scripts or Samba or hot-plug or nVidia drivers or power management--and that's just for starters.

If I know the answer to a question posted in this forum, I'm happy to share what I know. But I just don't know enough to help someone who is paying. The only reason I can think of why someone would *pay* for an answer that could be found for free on this forum is that the problem is too complicated for a generic answer and requires expert assistance. That's way beyond what I could provide.
--GrannyGeek

[metvas]

Let’s re-examine the idea once again it is complex and It seems I keep neglecting items for you to consider.
Turn around time for a response is 24 hrs or less.
I have yet to see a problem not solved by us unless the user just cannot get it.
The system is pre-installed in the box and configured prior to shipping by MadTux. Pre-paid support is an option not a requirement.
All dwnlds other than purchases from CD store would be pre-paid. This means a dwnld from a site for our base OS would be pre- paid tech help and requires a user name and psswd to enter tech help. A CD purchased elsewhere other than our CD store requires pre-paid tech help. A purchased CD from our CD store comes with 30 days free tech support with the purchase BUT requires a login and usr name to enter tech help.
All help is directed via email.
I just think that with the assistance now offered and the number of folks doing it that it would be a good idea. We can always cancel this at any time, should it prove to be unmanageable or counter productive. The level of tech support for other products I have purchased has in most cases been dismal at best, we shine in that shadow.
The only reason I am harping on this is that another party is biting at the bullet for us to give them the go ahead to do the same thing.
If it won’t work or is too much for us so be it. Lets just move on.
As for the level of expertise we could compartmentalize categories to those more in touch with the particular application. Networking, printing etc.
The level of tech help given by us is getting to the point of legendary for VL.
Regards
Darrell

[uelsk8s]

metvas,
Lets Do it. 

[newt]

thoughts:
The idea (in and of itself) sounds fantastic and would be very cool to see vl become more than it is.  Certainly, if this community's knowledge was tapped into providing technical support then the results would very likely be positive.  However, the concern that the results are negative is also very real - regardless of who provides the technical support (though, I DO believe that we'd do a better job than someone else).

When someone pays money for something they expect that something to work they way THEY expect and if it doesn't then that something is broken.  If we can't make that something work for them they way they want then we fail at our job of technical support - "VectorLinux fails at it's job."

The part about "..legacy hardware..." also worries me.  The idea of trying to shed the image of 'only for old hardware' has been mentioned around and I agree with it.  VL is NOT only for old hardware - it SCREAMZ on new stuff.

But, the idea is intriguing - if it were successful it would be great!

[metvas]

The legacy issue reflects very well on us. As does VL on newer machines. We were the first out the gate on that thought. The reflection of the corporate image as Tech savvy is becoming ordinary with the deluge of this information, one and that one is better at Tech applications that will solve all the woes in your life or business is becoming diluted. I think we can all agree that that is closer to the truth than most other arguments are so why not be seen as who we also are “GREEN”. People understand green they do not always understand Tech savvy; maybe it will catch their interest in Vector Linux where they would normally just pass us by, not a lot of that in the tech world right now. I think however that it will soon be just that. So we are just getting on the billboard a little early. We are environmental stewards as well as involved with the lives of under privileged kids. I am not saying this, they, the Lions Club is.
If any one has any ideas to add onto this thought that would be great.
Please see Lions Computers for Kids thread an expert is below.
I would like to extend my thanks and complements to everyone involved in making Vector Linux adaptable, flexible and user friendly. My Lions Club sponsors a Computers for Kids program where we refurbish surplus computers, load Vector as the OS and either 1. Give the finished machines to children who are otherwise unable to afford computers or 2. Set up "Kids Cyber Cafes" (with network printer and donated Internet access) for local non-profits dealing with underprivileged children. We settled on Vector for the following reasons:

Regards
Darrell