Computer education is an important part of our children's education. Knowing how to use our computers for both work and pleasure is something that we know will be important for them and for all of us well into the future. We are more interconnected than ever: by the Internet or World Wide Web, by e-mail, by chat rooms and by online forums. We take it for granted that an e-mail sent now will reach the other side of the world in minutes, whereas our grandparents would have to wait weeks for their letters to arrive to their children on the other side of the world.

Our computers can also be part of a smaller network. We will have all seen a number of computers connected to each other by a network. Sometimes this is to share an Internet connection or printer whilst at other times it is a method of transferring information from one computer to another. Most of our small, home networks are made using cables and switches or hubs. The network cable simply becomes yet another piece of wire to mysteriously become tangled when no-one (not even a two year old toddler) has touched it for years!

You can network without the cables. At InstallFest 2002: Unplugged we will demonstrate how you can connect your computers together using the minimal amount of cabling required. This means you will be free to work in your garden on a warm, summer day or by the comfort of your fire on a cold, winter's evening. We will show you how you can operate your wireless network equipment using two open source operating systems, Linux and FreeBSD. We can install either (or even both) of these operating systems for you on the day of the InstallFest.

Imagine sitting outside on a sunny day, with you laptop and wireless connection. You receive all you email and other Internet data from your Internet connection under your desktop. Wireless equipment for your computers and laptops are very affordable.

We have chosen to demonstrate wireless networking on these two open source operating systems because they are stable, open source and free. You can copy Linux or FreeBSD and give it to your friend. Your friend's copy is perfectly legal and your friend has a right to copy it for another person. We also want your network to be stable and run as long as possible without having to reboot. We have found that we have been able to make Linux or FreeBSD more stable than other solutions presented in the market place. Finally, with the rising cost of Windows and Mac OS two of the better well-known operating systems Linux and FreeBSD attract no licensing cost at all.

Come along to the InstallFest in December! We look forward to meeting you there.

For further details, check out the web site www.sa.auug.org.au/installfest