I recently installed Kubuntu 11.10 on an HP Pavilion (G71) – a system with a 2.2 GHz Core Duo CPU and GB of RAM. I had already replaced Ubuntu with Debian “Wheezy” on my Dell Inspiron desktop, using the KDE desktop. I also loaded Linux Mint KDE 10 on the Dell Vostro laptop. I guess you could say this marks my return to KDE. Read the rest of this entry »
Perhaps the Libre Software Community should take heed to the old joke about the two preachers who both preached from the subject, “You’re Going to Hell”. The same message draws different reactions. The difference lies in the tone of the preacher. Libre software advocates should pay attention to the tone of their message. It is true that many people simply buy various devices based on functionality and not based on what they may be free to do. But libre software advocates need to craft a solid message with a tone that inspires people to accomplish greater things.
The joke goes something like this. A church calls a preacher, who preaches every Sunday morning on the same message. The message is, “You’re Going to Hell!”. The church starts losing members. Eventually, the church dismisses the pastor, and calls another. The old preacher heard the church had started growing again, and decided to visit. He heard the new pastor preaching from his very same subject, “You’re Going to Hell”. Yet, people were stirred up. People were coming forward and joining the church. The old pastor asked one of the deacons, who responded, “Well, when you preached it, you sounded like you wanted us to go to Hell.”
Look, I know from personal experience what it is like to be caught up in software licensing hell. And I won’t get into the printer torture I experienced, which, funny enough, is one of the key issues that gave the Free Software movement its impetus. I also know that device manufacturers should recognize the right – the freedom – of their customers to use a device in ways they did not anticipate. I believe that is crucial to a given person’s experience. But we cannot run around sounding like we want “the people” to actually go to software hell. We want to liberate, not berate.
The challenges of digital freedom are real. And it’s an even greater challenge to inspire people, who think they are doing well just to figure out a new device, to see beyond the limitations of what the manufacturers and software developers say that device can do. The notion that anyone should be free to use the gadget they own however they wish is not important to some people because they themselves will never dare to tinker with their own device. How do you inspire people to care about the freedom of others, when they themselves do not care about their own freedom? I hear so many people who say they don’t care whether they can modify their device. Well, that’s exactly the problem.
There are other issues as well. Apart from the likes of Google, “big box” software development houses generally do not grow from the roots of libre software. Clearly, that is possible. Generally, however, libre software leads to entrepreneurships and small enterprises. This is an important issue for many people, especially those do-it-yourself types who are big fans of Emerson’s “Self Reliance”. It’s also important to those who enjoy wide competition and local services. When I researched the commercial landscape a couple years ago – companies built around libre software – the vast vast majority were small enterprises, run by one person or a small team.
Libre software promotes, rather than stifles, competition among developers. If you don’t believe me, just look at how competitive the various GNU/Linux distros, not to mention the desktop projects – are. If you don’t think they are competitive, just ask anywhere which distro or application project is the best in its class. If someone has an idea, almost immediately other projects sprout up to offer an alternative vision, or at least built for an alternate desktop foundation. All of this just underscores the (sometimes not so) healthy competition among developers. The software patent wars are how the other developers “compete”. To me it’s “stiff-arming”, not competition, but hey…
Again, all these are important issues. But I think we can – and should – tackle them differently than some have. Not that it isn’t fun – in a sophomoric kind of way – to poke fun at Apple and Microsoft. Not that it isn’t fun to come up with cranky slogans that bash the hell out of “those” people. But there is a way that liberates rather than punishes, a way that inspires rather than bores, a way that builds rather than destroys. I am not saying we should water down the problems. The consequences of end users losing control of devices they own should disturb anyone who has ever used a shovel for something other than digging a hole.
I am saying we don’t have to resort to negativity and name calling. In fact, if we resort to name calling, we’re in trouble already. I know. It’s really tempting at times. But we must never resort to name calling. Instead, we should encourage people to live, think and be free. We should connect digital freedom more closely with freedom of speech. We should encourage people to take control, to be in charge, and to speak up for themselves. We should shout out our freedom from silly viruses. Not that we are free from attacks, but that viruses are, in fact, a moot point for us.
We should show them the advantage of editing an INI file over searching through a registry. We should show them the advantage of helping a neighbor with libre software, vs violating licensing agreements with non-libre software. We should show examples of how, maybe even with a little help, we were able to solve a problem that could not have been so easily solved using non-libre software.
With good solid examples that underline the core message of libre software we can build up, liberate and inspire people. And, if we list examples that underline our core message on project websites and in news articles about our projects, we will be both, marketing our products and preaching the libre software gospel at one and the same time.
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This Saturday, Maty and I were split between going to the Renaissance Festival or the mountains to see the Autumn colors. We ended up in the mountains, but maybe knowing what to expect would have made the trip more fun. Still, it was a beautiful day to take the camera out for some action. Read the rest of this entry »
My previous article mentions that Maty’s uncle passed away. In the midst of sight-seeing and shopping, we took a little time to spend with the family at her Uncle’s wake. Read the rest of this entry »
I have finally gotten the photos of Santa Eulalia posted. Santa Eulalia is just a few minutes East of Chosica, in the department of Lima, Peru. This time, we just took a walk up to Santa Eulalia’s Plaza de Armas and then on to Buenos Aires, a small village just up the hill from Chosica and Santa Eulalia.
Municiple Offices of Santa Eulalia
We encountered beautiful flowers, trees and birds along the way. The birds actually looked like either gray catbirds or mockingbirds, but with slightly different markings. Unfortunately, I could not positively identify them. We also saw a tree that produces something closely resembling cotton. There is nothing touristy about Santa Eulalia, and yet, it has a simple beauty all its own.
As always, enjoy!
On Tuesday, we made another foray into Lima, this time to the Plaza de Armas (main square), where I got to see – oh, I’ll let you read about it in the post – and ate dinner in Lima’s (in)famous Barrio Chino (China Town) and ventured through a notoriously dangerous block-and-a-half with my valuable camera equipment after dark. Read the rest of this entry »
This is the sixth post in a series of articles about our trip to Peru in September. This post covers dinner with one (fairly large) branch of Maty’s mother’s family in Santa Anita, which is just on the outskirts of Lima, and also a walk through Santa Eulalia, and even Buenos Aires. Whodathunk you could walk from Chosica to Buenos Aires? Read the rest of this entry »
I have finally posted the photos of Lima’s ritzy Miraflores district. Some of the photos were a bit tricky, taken from the top of a tour bus. It was also cold and cloudy, which is not ideal photo weather. Still, I managed a few nice shots.
These photos show off more of the architecture and infrastructure of Lima, but also some of the Green Coast. If you’re going to Lima, don’t miss the La Costa Verde (Green Coast)! If you have money to burn, be sure to stop at the mall that overlooks the Green Coast, as well as take a stroll through the parks along that stretch. Anyway, Miraflores is one of Lima’s nicer areas, so the opportunity to check it out is well worth while.
As usual, enjoy the photos!
This is the fifth article covering our trip to Peru. This installment covers our return to Chosica, a little dentistry work, and a visit to the Jesus Maria and Mira Flores districts in Lima.
Thursday 15-Sep-11:
Thursday morning we again woke up early, and flew back to Lima. From there we caught a taxi to Chosica, and were ‘back home’ at Maty’s family’s house. The taxi driver, supposedly a trusted person, then wanted extra money, but we mostly ignored him. He should have asked up front. We spent the afternoon relaxing and just went into Chosica for a bit.
Friday 16-Sep-11:
Again took it easy, but went to the Dentist. I got my teeth cleaned for $10.00 USD. Had to return Saturday morning to finish the job. The interesting thing is that I was certain I was going to need serious dental work, but all I really needed was a good cleaning. And the dentist definitely has skills. I was never at all uncomfortable – and I’d rather wrestle bears than visit a dentist. Afterwards, Maty bought her family their first-ever washing machine. The average Peruvian washes by hand, using a scrub board to this day. I think I enjoyed watching their reactions as much as they enjoyed using the new machine. The one downside is the lack of water pressure to fill the machine quickly, but otherwise it works pretty well.
Saturday 17-Sep-11:
In the morning, Maty and I both returned to the dentist – me to finish my teeth cleaning job, and her to get some additional work done. The dentist chided me for using a battery-operated toothbrush and ordered me to return to a normal toothbrush. I thought I had made a good investment, and was fighting a losing battle with my teeth. But the high-tech toothbrush I was using was ruining my teeth. I’m pretty sure he would have given me instructions for using the high-tech toothbrush effectively if he thought that was any use. But he just shook his head when he saw it.
Afterwards, we went down into Lima – Jesus Maria – to visit one of her aunts, who led us to a guided bus tour of the ritzy Miraflores district. Between the fog and movement of the bus, it was a real challenge to take good photos. Even so, I think I managed a few good ones. Part of Mira Flores runs along the “Green Coast”, a nice stretch of beach that sits beneath the cliffs, with their grass and trees. There is a shopping center that overlooks part of the Green Coast, complete with plexiglass windows to reduce the number of jumpers. But the center is sort of an outdoor mall, with fancys shops and restaurants built into the contour of the terrain. You’ll find plenty of American-style restaurants, including Dunkin Donuts.
Mira Flores - La Costa Verde (The Green Coast)
We ate dinner with Tia Alicia in her townhome in Jesus Maria, and found our way back home. That Tia Alicia is a really sweet lady.
I have added nearly 60 photos to the Cusco album. These include archeological sites just outside of Cusco. You can read the story of our visit to Cusco, if you like.
Plaza de Armas - Cusco