‘No thanks. I got Linux’

Windows 8 will be unleashed, Kraken-like, on an awaiting public on Oct. 26, which is this Friday. For US$79.99 — let’s just round that up to US$80 — one can get the latest version of the Windows operating system which, by many reports, is not ideal yet not as bad a some of the other products Redmond has forced upon the public in the past.

A CrunchBang user with the handle merelyjim posted this thread on the CrunchBang forum under the title, “No thanks. I got Linux” where he thinks that this $80 can be better spent elsewhere — like on your current distro or your favorite FOSS program.

I urge you to read the full text on the link or read merelyjim’s original blog item, but I’ll let merelyjim drive here:

“It’s hard to express what Linux has done for me. I’ve learned more with Linux than I ever did with Windows. I’ve been part of dynamic communities that have engaged in passionate arguments, clever discussions, and crazy flame wars. Like family, you take the crazy (um… that would be me) with the funny. Instead of just allowing me to ‘try and make things work’ on my own, there were those who tried to nudge me along the right path, even when I didn’t want to see it. I have undying gratitude for those who were willing to share their time and experience with me, even though I never knew them in real life.

“So, on October 26th, 2012, instead of giving Microsoft $79.99 for Windows 8 upgrade, I’m going to donate the same amount to the Linux-distro I use the most.

“I invite you to join me in doing this.

“I don’t really care which distro; we’re all family. If you’d prefer, donate to a specific Open Source project, instead. As long as you give something that lets Paypal, Amazon, of Flattr know that something’s going on that day. If you can’t give monetarily, at least spread the word.

“I want the Linux community to show Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle that we matter, we care for each other, and there are a lot more of us than they think. If you contribute, I hope you’ll e-mail or tweet whomever manufactured your machines so they’ll know you use their hardware running a Linux kernel.”

Amen to that, merelyjim.

There are a wide variety of projects you can donate to in the FOSS realm. Start with your distro of choice. Use a particular FOSS program often and find it useful? Most programs have donation links. There are even some projects that are not software related that deserve special mention: REGLUE, formerly the HeliOS Project, provides Linux-based computers to underprivileged kids in the Austin, Texas, area; Partimus puts Linux-based computers in schools in the San Francisco Bay Area; and one project that I find important is Beth Lynn Eicher’s effort to bring Edubuntu-based computers to schools in Ghana.

For those who do not have money to donate — been there, done that — you can always donate time, which in many cases can be more valuable than currency. If you program, there are places where you can pitch in on distros and FOSS programs across the board. Don’t program? Don’t worry — many projects have needs beyond the 0′s and 1′s that include things like documentation (for the writers out there), design (for the artists), translation (for the multilingual) . . . the list goes on. If you have a special skill set, programming or non-programming, there’s something for you to do.

Got some ideas on where to donate? Post them in the comments.

This blog, and all other blogs by Larry the Free Software Guy, Larry the CrunchBang Guy and Larry Cafiero, are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND license. In short, this license allows others to download this work and share it with others as long as they credit me as the author, but others can’t change it in any way or use it commercially.

(Larry Cafiero is one of the founders of the Lindependence Project and develops business software at Redwood Digital Research, a consultancy that provides FOSS solutions in the small business and home office environment.)

Was it something I said?

Leave it to Ubuntu/Canonical’s Self-Appointed Benevolent Dictator for Life Mark Shuttleworth to completely ruin a perfectly good release day for Ubuntu 12.10 and its arguably superior derivatives like Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu and Edubuntu.

Don’t take my word for it. I’ll let this article from TechCrunch with the headline “Canonical’s Mark Shuttleworth Tires Of Critics, Moves Key Ubuntu Developments Out Of Public Eye” tell the tale.

Was it something I said?

Of course, there’s something both fundamentally and tragically wrong — bordering on criminally wrong — about any Free/Open Source Software project moving their “developments out of the public eye.” But let’s put that aside for a moment, because Shuttleworth writes in his blog that ” . . . we thought we would extend the invitation to people who trust us and in whom we have reason to trust, to work together on some sexy 13.04 surprises.”

So, not only is Shuttleworth throwing out the FOSS baby with the bath water, he also wants to provide a caste system that either patterns itself after the Inner Party/Outer Party in George Orwell’s “1984,” or takes a page from Orwell’s “Animal Farm” where, to paraphrase, “All developers are equal, but some are more equal than others.”

If you’re an Ubuntu contributor, how can you be sure you’ll be one of “the chosen ones,” and if you’re not, then why not?

To take a step back, the more fundamental question is this: Is this really how a Free/Open Source Software project should conduct itself?

I would say the answer to this question is an unequivocal “no,” and I would also add that, at this point, the direction that Mark Shuttleworth has taken Ubuntu is light-years off course from its original mission.

This goes beyond burying “Linux” on a second- or third-tier page on the Ubuntu site. This clearly goes beyond Shuttleworth’s treating current Ubuntu users as second class citizens while he chases the elusive Holy Grail of converting “the new users.”

This is betrayal.

So while the Ubuntu Apocalypse lines up to march, zombie-like, to take their shots below in the comments, I’d like to ask them to first look in a mirror and ask themselves if this is truly what they bought into when getting involved with FOSS. And while admiring what you see in the mirror, I’d like to offer a solution to right this ship that’s listing under the weight of gross misdirection.

To right this ship, the principled and noble thing to do would be for Mark Shuttleworth to turn over the keys to Ubuntu to Jono Bacon, the Community Manager for Ubuntu, and make Jono the Ubuntu Project Leader. Mark should resign from all Ubuntu community-related posts and concentrate on the corporate side of things, where he excels.

I don’t always agree with Jono, but his commitment to FOSS is nothing short of impeccable, and his commitment to these principles is completely unimpeachable. He has the wisdom and experience to bring Ubuntu back to where it should be.

Though this wouldn’t happen in either Mark’s, Jono’s or my lifetime, it would be a step that would go a long way in restoring my faith in Ubuntu’s commitment to FOSS.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to install Xubuntu 12.10 and put it through its paces.

This blog, and all other blogs by Larry the Free Software Guy and Larry Cafiero, are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND license. In short, this license allows others to download this work and share it with others as long as they credit me as the author, but others can’t change it in any way or use it commercially.

(Larry Cafiero is one of the founders of the Lindependence Project and develops business software at Redwood Digital Research, a consultancy that provides FOSS solutions in the small business and home office environment.)

Wait. What?

A few days ago, someone — I won’t divulge a name here, but this person truly is a piece of work — was bemoaning the fact that Fedora has delayed yet again its release of Fedora 18; as if getting it out right the first time — getting it right, right out of the gate — is a bad thing.

Personally, I’m OK with getting things right as a priority to getting stuff out on time.

Contrast this “tardy release” complaint to Ubuntu having things like this pop up as bugs in their software nearly six months after its release:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1066108

Poor Amber, whomever she is. You also have to love that stock response.

Update: Apparently Amber figured it out and it seems to be a Pidgin/Google issue because she writes in the comments in the bug report above:

“Okay. After finding and removing the png from pidgin’s files in /home/amber/.purple/icons, and restarting a few things, I’m pretty sure the offending photo is permanently gone. Thank you!”

Reaching the summit

From the “Oh-wait-before-I-forget” desk: I mentioned in yesterday’s blog item that we were free of any events leading up to SCALE 11X in Los Angeles in February. Well, let’s back up a little bit, because there’s one more FOSS event that bears mention and, if you’re up to it, your presence.

The OLPC San Francisco Community Summit takes place — where else? — in San Francisco on Oct. 19-21 at the San Francisco State University downtown campus at 835 Market Street.

The summit brings together educators, technologists, anthropologists, enthusiasts, champions and volunteers to share stories, exchange ideas, solve problems, foster community and build collaboration around the One Laptop Per Child project and its mission worldwide.

There are few endeavors in the FOSS realm — or any realm for that matter — which are more noble than the One Laptop Per Child project, and it should be on everyone’s radar.

The event is in its fourth year and is becoming an important part of the XO and OLPC year. Kudos to Sameer Verma of SFSU and the others who make this happen, and I’ll try to make it up for the Sunday sessions.

Paul Venezia and Etienne Perot nail it

Well, I didn’t write this, but it bears repeating. In an InfoWorld blog item, Paul Venezia pretty much explains why the Amazon thing is not Ubuntu’s biggest problem. Rather than paraphrase, I’ll let you read it on your own:

http://www.infoworld.com/d/data-center/ubuntu-has-bigger-problem-its-amazon-blunder-203467

Best quote: “But the biggest problem I have with the Amazon debacle is another comment by Shuttleworth: “Don’t trust us? Erm, we have root. You do trust us with your data already.” That level of hubris from the founder of Ubuntu, in the face of what is clearly a bad idea badly implemented, should leave everyone with a bad taste in their mouth. If this idea can make it to the next Ubuntu release, then what other bad ideas are floating around? What’s next? Why should we maintain that trust?”

Indeed.

Further, and quoted in the blog above, Etienne Perot outlines what a mess this is — and how to get out of it — in a post from a few weeks ago here:

https://perot.me/ubuntu-privacy-blunder-over-amazon-ads-continues

One of the solutions: See “Step 3: Make it opt-in, rather than opt-out”.

Canonical, white courtesy phone . . .

Never too early for SCALE

Now that Ohio Linux Fest is in the books and now that the only thing really left on the Linux horizon is LISA in San Diego just after Thanksgiving — but then, LISA is not for us mere mortals, but for the hallowed and revered system administrators. So we get to set our sights on Linux/FOSS events for next year.

Starting in February, we get to turn it up to 11.

The Southern California Linux Expo SCALE 11X takes place in February again — thank goodness — and is scheduled for Feb. 22-24, 2013, at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport hotel. As you might recall, SCALE 10X was moved to January, the weekend after linux.conf.au in Australia. While this caused a moderate amount of hue and cry, it proved that two major Linux events could be held on consecutive weekends on two separate continents.

Fortunately, we don’t have to deal with that exercise again this time, with SCALE 11X returning to its usual Presidents Day weekend schedule in February.

Here’s the lowdown: The call for papers opened about a month ago, and the deadline for submissions is Dec. 10. You’ll be notified by Christmas if your talk has been accepted. A complete run-down of what to do and how to do it can be found here.

Registration? If you’re ready to register, go ahead. You can go here and sign up now.

Matthew Garrett is giving one of the two keynotes at SCALE 11X, and his talk is entitled “The Secure Boot Journey.” He plans to detail his work over the past year – technical, political and diplomatic – in getting Linux to run on Unified Extensible Firmware Interface — more commonly known as UEFI — Secure Boot systems. He will outline the scenario where Linux users could not only be assured that they can run Linux out of the box in UEFI-based systems, but also how Secure Boot can be used to enhance security.

The second keynote has yet to be decided.

The usual tracks will be present as well as the celebrated UpSCALE talks and the legendary Games Event on Saturday night. More information on the keynote and other SCALE 11X developments will be released, of course, as they are confirmed.

Watch this space, or visit the SCALE 11X page at http://www.socallinuxexpo.org

This blog, and all other blogs by Larry the Free Software Guy and Larry Cafiero, are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND license. In short, this license allows others to download this work and share it with others as long as they credit me as the author, but others can’t change it in any way or use it commercially.

(Larry Cafiero is one of the founders of the Lindependence Project and develops business software at Redwood Digital Research, a consultancy that provides FOSS solutions in the small business and home office environment.)

Blue skies on Saturday morning

When someone suggests I live in Santa Cruz, I’m quick to correct them. I live a little more than six miles northeast of that town; six twisty miles north of Surf City on Highway 9 in the town of Felton. At home, I get to look out one window facing a ridge that separates this valley from the Pacific, while looking out another and see a bunch of redwoods doing what they’ve been doing for, oh, centuries.

So on a Saturday morning filled with a blue sky that is almost painful to look at and with a couple of items worth noting — assuming I can tear myself away from staring out the window — these should be on your radar this week.

Hello, Columbus: Ohio Linux Fest 2012 is next weekend in Columbus, and for a growing show — growing in size and importance — this is one that is wrapping up the year nicely.

Of all the interesting presentations at this year’s OLF, there are two that are completely, make-sure-you-get-there, no-miss talks that you should attend. The first is Todd Robinson’s talk on his “31 distros in 31 days” project, which seemed to go off without a hitch in August — you’ll find out more if you attend the talk.

The other not-to-be-missed talk would be Joe Brockmeier’s “How to Create Your Own Cloud.” The reason I bring this up is because you’ve heard me rail in the past about what’s nebulously called “the cloud” (pun definitely intended), and how your data, important or otherwise, belongs in your physical possession always. Having your own cloud covers both these bases and puts the best of both worlds — having your data and eating it, too — at your fingertips.

So if you’re within a day’s travel on whatever vehicle you might choose — car, bus, rail, plane, spaceship — you should make it to Columbus this weekend.

Commodities, not users: Those who plan to use Ubuntu 12.10 “Quantal Quetzal” when it comes out next month have a chance to go though an interesting transformation. Those who opt for the new version next month will go from merely being Ubuntu users to Ubuntu products.

Or so says Slashdot in this article here. So some Canonical sales flack armed with charts and graphs is pitching some corporate giant — do you really think this model is going to stop with Amazon? — to put their name in front of you when you fire up your computer, whether you like it or not.

To be fair — and in anticipation of an onslaught of comments from the Ubuntu Apocalypse pointing this out, among other things — there’s a very simple way to remove having Amazon involuntary make its presence known on your chosen operating system, assuming it’s Ubuntu, by merely using this command:

sudo apt-get remove unity-lens-shopping

Also, to be even more fair, apparently this is a Unity thing which does not apply to the other *buntus, like Xubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, etc., on down the line, which you should probably be using in the first place.

But here’s the 2,000-pound elephant in the middle of the room: Perhaps I missed the memo when I started with Linux and Free/Open Source Software six years ago, but I can’t remember ever seeing anything anywhere about the practice of building a community around profit rather than advancing the FOSS paradigm, let alone forcing advertisers, wanted or not, on unsuspecting users. But again, I could have missed something somewhere along the line.

Have a great day.

This blog, and all other blogs by Larry the Free Software Guy and Larry Cafiero, are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND license. In short, this license allows others to download this work and share it with others as long as they credit me as the author, but others can’t change it in any way or use it commercially.

(Larry Cafiero is one of the founders of the Lindependence Project and develops business software at Redwood Digital Research, a consultancy that provides FOSS solutions in the small business and home office environment.)