[sf-lug] Towards a list of Linux consultants in the Bay Area (was: consultant?)

[jim]

   i'm willing to help people out at no charge. 
I'm also willing to charge, mainly if someone 
wants something done on command or within a 
timeframe. 
   use the list to get volunteers (including 
me, sometimes). Use the link below to find out 
about services: 
http://www.systemateka.com 
   (The web site for Systemateka, Inc.) 


On Mon, 2009-11-02 at 17:58 -0800, Rick Moen wrote:
> Just to elaborate on that:  I'm aware there are list-members who are
> physically in the city of San Francisco and willing to visit individual
> Linux users at their houses/apartments to solve their Linux problems,
> either on a consulting basis or free of charge.  I salute their
> dedication.  Truly.
> 
> This particular Linux user, Polly, stresses that she's an artist and
> decidedly not a technical person, and basically is not going to tackle
> even what's probably a pretty dirt-simple CUPS config problem without
> in-person handholding.   
> 
> There's a definite niche for anyone willing to do as Polly asks; she's
> hardly the only such computer user.  There are tens of millions of them,
> in general we'll basically never see them on LUG mailing lists (because
> they want personal, private handholding), and they'll never read FAQs no
> matter how many, how good, and how easy to find.
> 
> The hard truth, though, is that giving them private helpdesk services
> (gratis or not) does little or nothing to build and maintain the Linux
> community.  I personally would rather spend my time where it will do
> more good.
> 
> 
> I'd be glad to keep a directory of people willing to do in-person Linux
> consulting (including free, the way LUGOD's LERT does in Davis[1]) for
> the Bay Area.  Joshua Drake, who before a nasty schism was part of the
> Linux Documentation Project, maintained the "Linux Consultants Guide"
> from 2000 to 2006:
> http://www.commandprompt.com/community/consultants/guide/
> 
> That Guide attempted to cover the entire Earth, which strikes me as not
> a reasonable choice of scope.
> 
> I've long maintained a list of Bay Area Linux / BSD businesses as an
> adjunct to BALE:  http://linuxmafia.com/bale/other.html  If people know
> of Linux consultants not yet listed there, please let me know.  (I need
> to be able to re-check on people / firms listed, so they need to have
> Web sites.)
> 
> [1] http://www.lugod.org/projects/lert/
> 
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