Interesting promotion of GNU/Linux for Religious Organizations
From their website:
Penguin in the PewThe book is available for sale here and Version One is supposed to be available for download but I cannot find it. The overall idea is a great one and is a good model for any group of people.
"Penguin in the Pew", a brief booklet by Pastor Parris, has become an important resource for church leaders and IT Pros around the globe. It has been downloaded over thousands of times since the release of 1.0 last May, and is now available in French. A Spanish translation is underway, and German may be next. A revision is currently underway to address new discoveries and to provide an overview of the now visible and vocal Christian FOSS community.
Penguin in the Pew 1.0 inspired churches to switch to GNU/Linux from their legacy software, as well as inspiring efforts among Christians to develop a GNU/Linux distribution for Christians. Penguin in the Pew's popularity among church IT consultants, pastors, and volunteers has led to the current effort by Parris to improve the book in several ways. It now has a section for "non-techies", unveils the mystery of the GNU/Linux filesystem, and includes more information about applications that Christians can use. It also now has an index.
You might want to check the Computing @ Church page on matheteuo.org. I couldn't be sure if people were trying to avoid purchasing the revised and explanded 2.0, or if they really wanted 1.0 - I thought the links may have been confusing. I would hate for people to download 1.0, thinking they were getting 2.0 (even if I think they're fairly clearly marked).
1.0 was a good first effort, and stirred a lot of excitement in the community. "PitP" 2.0 offers a ton more accuracy and info, especially since 1.0 overlooked already existing applications. The language of FOSS is much more clearly defined in 2.0 as well.
Those are the primary differences. By grabbing a copy of 2.0, you're actually supporting the community in at least two important ways:
(1) You're helping to support our advocacy ministry, allowing us to broaden our approach to advocacy.
(2) You're getting a fantastic tool that you can use at a local level for advocacy efforts yourself. The paperback is currently selling faster than the download (presumably because a number of people still don't like to read on-screen.
Also, since 1.0 is not available in paperback, you don't get the professional quality. People will be able (in a few more weeks) to order PitP through their local bookstores.
As a final note, I would encourage folks with an interest to get involved in the rapidly growing Christian FOSS community. This is something that the book introduces people to, although you can find most of the sites through our Computing @ Church page.
Is that helpful?