General Open Source / Free Software Advocacy and Technical Content.
Orv Beach of SCALE will moderate a panel discussing the pros and cons of various Open Source operating systems. It currently consists of
Join us with your questions for the panel!
With the recent switch to two new desktop environments, Unity and GNOME Shell, a lot of people have been unhappy with the new way of interacting with their desktop. Several attempts have been made to remedy this situation, but those all seem like temporary workarounds. A new option has presented itself. In Dec 2011, extensions.gnome.org was launched showcasing a way to easily modify GNOME Shell. Since then, development of new GNOME Shell Extensions has been booming. We will go over the steps to take a default Ubuntu installation, and modify it by installing GNOME Shell and several Extensions that bring back that classic GNOME 2 desktop usability, without losing any of the modern GNOME Shell features. These same Extensions also apply to Fedora.
"Open" and "Cloud" may be the two of the most overused buzz words in technology today -- and certainly also two words with a vast number of interpretations of meaning. In this session, Robyn (as a Service!) will explore the intersections of these two paradigms, discuss the various layers of Freedom in the cloud atmosphere, and explain *how* and *why* Community Matters Matter in The Cloud. Topics Include: * Why opening your source isn't enough -- and throwing it over the fence is even worse * Building a community of participation (even when things are hard) the Open Source Way * Why Freedom is important at every layer, from infrastructure all the way to user data * As a prospective community member or user -- what you should expect to see to be free.
From Arch to Zenwalk, there are roughly 320 active Linux and Unix (BSD) distributions, according to Distrowatch. Many of them are standard-issue, production-model distros made for the average user, like Ubuntu or Fedora or OpenSUSE. Others are more specialized and are more "high performance" than your showroom model distro. Looking at what John Cooper did with the Mini back in the 1960s -- making the Mini Cooper -- or what Carroll Shelby did for the Ford Mustang -- making the Cobras -- this presentation takes a look at the lesser-known, albeit higher performance, distros. Bear in mind that like the Shelby Cobra, these distros are not for everyone and you can fasten your seat belts for a fast ride. [Note: This is not a presentation about Zenwalk.]
There are many aspects of the Linux boot process developers should consider. This presentation covers all facets of the boot process from power up to running a user application beginning with ROM boot loader progressing through secondary program loader, u-boot, kernel and finishing with user-level initialization. Learn more about the Linux boot process first hand with a live demonstration on one of the popular BeagleBoard.org open source platforms.
One of the key goals of opensource.com is to make a guide to the principles of open source for people who have no idea what "open source software" is. We believe that those principles, like transparency, collaboration, and rapid prototyping, can be applied to make just about any project, business, or organization better. But the first step in encouraging people to apply those principles is helping them understand them. Further, those already in open source communities are the first step to spreading openness beyond software. Because they've seen the benefits firsthand, they are the perfect ambassadors of openness.
Unfortunately, it can be hard to tell the open source story when you're so deeply ingrained. Where do you begin? One option--begin with the broad language of pop culture. The spectrum from J. K. Rowling's appreciation of pop culture to Paramount's attacks on online Star Trek fans through the 90s demonstrate copyright issues. Online gaming demonstrates well the importance of working together for a greater benefit--in fact, many games have quests that can be completed only with the help of others. What large open source project could have been completed alone?
Through stories like these, I'll give examples of openness through the eyes of Coraline and the leaves of Avatar's Pandora. Novices will get an introduction to the basic principles of open source, and the most advanced community members will have stories to help explain their work to others.
Wikiotics is dedicated to making learning in every language possible for everyone. First and foremost, we have built a web application at wikiotics.org that allows people to build interactive language lessons using rich multimedia elements. These lessons exist as structured wiki pages, and they can be viewed in various interactive ways including quizzes. The site is powered by free software, and all contributed content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. Anyone who knows or wants to know a language is welcome to join our community. We will tell the story (so far) of the evolution of the site, including our ongoing outreach efforts with community organizations and English as a Second Language (ESL) tutors in New York City. We will discuss the challenges and successes we have experienced in building a collaborative online community that addresses a social interest. And we will (of course) mention the several ways in which people can get involved.
Robots are hot! Do you ever find yourself wishing you could build a robot or a sensing device, but don't know where to start? This talk will show you how to get started with Arduinos, Linux plug computers and similar options. How do you program these devices, and get them to talk to sensors or motors? Can you use Python or other scripting languages? What packages will you need to install on your Linux box? How much do these gizmos cost? I'll have a few demos to show, as well as advice on places to buy fun hardware. You don't need to know much about electronics or computer hardware, or about programming. Come learn how to have fun controlling hardware from Linux! Presenter Note: There's also a notes/cheat sheet and another copy of the slides at http://shallowsky.com/arduino/
