Registration for the 7th annual So Cal Linux Expo is open!
The speaker tracks are filled, the expo floor is filling nicely - it’s shaping up to be an outstanding show.
So don’t miss it! Register here!
Recently the hosts of the long-time radio show “PC Chat” heard on AM radio station KXAM in Phoenix changed focus and became the “Gutsy Geeks”.
We thought the story of their conversion from helpers of Windows users to promoters of Free and Open Source Software would be interesting. The three co-hosts, Michael Cady, Nick Coons, and Mr. MODEM, were kind enough to submit to the usual SCALE grilling. Here’s that interview: Read the rest of this entry »
SCALE’s own Gareth Greenaway and Shyam Kapadia, Community and Speaker Chairs respectively, were recently on the FLOSS Weekly podcast. The hosts are Leo Laporte and Randal Schwartz.
In the broadcast, SCALE, and FLOSS shows in general, are discussed at length. It’s an excellent overview of how shows evolve and adapt to the changing landscape of the FLOSS community - recommended. You can listen to it here: http://twit.tv/floss46
Joe “Zonker” Brockmeier, has been the community manager for OpenSUSE for a number of months now. We thought we’d see how the job was coming along. Zonker courteously agreed to be interviewed by us.
SCALE: Was there one thing that convinced you to take the OpenSUSE Community Manager job?
Joe: Yes - the opportunity to work directly with a FOSS project and help encourage Linux adoption.
SCALE: How have you been received by the community? Any surprises so far?
Joe: I think very well. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how enthusiastic the openSUSE community is (I expected some enthusiasm, just not so much…) and how much fun it’s been to be working with the openSUSE community.
Ken VanDine of Foresight Linux was kind enough to chat with SCALE about life with Open Source software in general, and Foresight Linux specifically. This is that interview.
SCALE: Why don’t we start with you telling us a bit about yourself and how you got involved in the open source community.
Ken: Well, that’s a very long story. I got started using Linux in early 1993, and really loved it right from the get go. I quickly got into a sysadmin gig managing mostly Linux boxes and have been fortune to have been able to work with Linux, not just as a hobby, since about 1994. As a sys admin, I learned about filing bug reports, etc., asking for help on IRC and mailing lists, feature requests via Bugzilla, etc. I just fell in love with the community dynamic of open source, the real feedback into the products I was using, and developers willing to implement features I was asking for. I mean really, how cool is that?
After a LOT Of massaging, we’ve finally gotten most of the available SCALE 6X videos posted. The audio could be better on some of them, but they’re all usable. Props to Tom King and his crew for manning the cameras, and Stu Sheldon for getting them posted.
Here are the links:
2. Dru Lavigne - Creating a Publication Using Open Source Tools
3. Joseph G. Thibault - Introduction to Moodle
4. Lorie Obal - FreeMind in Education
5. Jeffrey Eastlack - FireAnt – Cell phone virtual supercomputer
6. Charles Edge - Directory Services and Education
7. Joseph Hartman - Open Source Education: 4-Step Linux MiniLANs
8. Ted Gould - The Ubuntu Desktop: Bling for Usability
9. Practical ATA Over Ethernet - Ed Cashin CoRaid
10. Sunday Keynote - Stormy Peters
11. Celeste Lyn Paul - User Centered Design in Open Source Development
12. Seth Kenlon - Video Codecs and the Free World
13. Elizabeth Garbee - Open Source Animation
14. Christopher Blizzard - Firefox on Linux
15. Roy Rubin - Building an Ecommerce Site with Open Source Tools
16. George Kamis - Best Practices Locking Down Linux
17. Guy Martin - Linux Momentum in Mobile
| …but it’s worth a look. This is the wall in my workshop. Notice that the poster from the first SCALE is labeled “First Annual”. How’s that for being optimistic? Here’s a larger version: |  |
Ted Gould is an open source developer working on desktop and usability on Ubuntu for Canonical. He’s also an active developer on the Inkscape project and enjoys photography. He lives in LA with his wife and son.
SCALE: Ted, tell us a bit about yourself. We know you work on Ubuntu, for Canonical, and you’re a developer on the Inkscape project.
Ted: And I use vi. I’m not sure if such a divisive question should start the interview 
I’ve been an Open Source developer for a while, working on Sodipodi and GNOME before Inkscape started. Recently I got a job at Canonical which allows me to spend time doing more mainstream GNOME development.
Inkscape is a GTK+ program, thus using several GNOME technologies, but isn’t in GNOME proper. I’ve never lost my GNOME roots, remaining a member of the foundation and on e-mail lists but now I have more time to act.
I’m really enjoying working in Open Source. There are so many less secrets and things that “we don’t tell customers.” Sure, they know, but we couldn’t tell them, right? It’s frustrating for developers not being able to have an honest conversation and solve problems for people. I feel like I help more people when working in the open.
SCALE: Describe your typical day - how much is Ubuntu work and how much is Inkscape work? Do they overlap at all?