Archives par mot-clé : Affaires

What to do during the holidays ? Ubuntu online training!

It’ s been some time now that Savoir-faire Linux made available their Ubuntu Online Training courses, using Moodle. After trying their demo preview course (registration reqd’) I was very impressed and Yanick Cyr, a good friend of mine at SFL gave me access to the first level full course.

Shameless plug ? You bet. SFL is one of our local FLOSS success stories. I know Yanick worked his ass off on this and the result is a very complete, polished course with excellent resources. Not only do you get access to content from the official Ubuntu Training material (as SFL is an Ubuntu training partner), but SFL has gone as far as setting up regular live chat sessions, acces to a virtual Ubuntu server, quizzes, video screencasts and even a dynamically generated certificate… which you only get if you score high enough in the quizzes! And they have many other courses available.

I’ll save some of the excitement for next week when I get time to gather the screenshots I have and give a virtual tour of their course.

Well done Yanick and SFL!

 

Beware of Freetard Ideology in Ubuntu

The recent release of Ubuntu has had some good coverage in many media publications (online, print, radio and even TV) but it’s always interesting to read the comments people leave on the blogs.

While reading the comments in New Ubuntu Linux release is easy, sexy (at BoingBoing.net), I came across this remark:

I hate MS as much as the next guy. But Linux is not really a viable option for the vast, vast, vast majority of computer users. People who can’t see that are simply blinded by freetard ideology.

Freetard ideology ?

I now realize I have been a greentard too.

All jokes aside, I think it’s important as Ubuntu users, developers, advocates and enterprise decision makers, we ask ourselves « what would make the people that don’t like Ubuntu actually try it and end up using it full time for all their computing needs ?« . I mean, other than being the proud parents of someone working for Canonical 🙂

Let’s pause for a moment and think real hard about that.

 

Ubuntu 7.10 release party in Montreal – Rencontre de lancement d’Ubuntu 7.10

(version en français aussi disponible ici).

The Ubuntu-QC team would like to invite all those who have been eagerly awaiting the release of Ubuntu 7.10 « The Gutsy Gibbon » to join their fellow Ubuntu enthusiasts on October 18th at 1800h at Bar St.-Sulpice on Rue St-Denis in Montreal. Welcome the latest release of your favorite distro with your fellow travellers on the path to software freedom!

This event is open to users of any OS, distribution, or language. New users will have the opportunity to meet and speak with veterans. It’s like a free car mechanic! With beer and food!

Bar St-Sulpice offers free wifi Internet connections, so be sure to bring your laptop. There will be the chance to install Gutsy as soon as it is released. Stickers, CD’s, t-shirts, and other swag will also be dispensed.

Beer. Food. A geek to upgrade your laptop for you. Ubuswag. The only thing missing is YOU!

The St-Sulpice bar is located at 1680, Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC H2X 3K6 Telephone: (514) 844-9458

Ubuntu is a community developed operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. Whether you use it at home, at school or at work Ubuntu contains all the applications you’ll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to web server software and programming tools. Ubuntu is an African word meaning ‘Humanity to others’, or ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.

On behalf of the Ubuntu-QC team,

Fabian Rodriguez
André Cotte

For more information:
FabianRodriguez – 514-812-5615

* Ubuntu official site: [WWW] http://www.ubuntu.com
* Ubuntu Quebec local community team : [WWW] http://www.ubuntu-qc.org (mostly french)
* Ubuntu 7.10 download site : [WWW] http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download starting October 18th, official release day
* For any formal press inquiries please contact: pr@canonical.com

En français

Ubuntu-QC invite tous ceux qui attendent avec impatience la sortie de la nouvelle version (7.10) de la célèbre distribution Linux Ubuntu à venir fraterniser, le 18 octobre prochain à partir de 18h, au Bar Le St-Sulpice, rue St-Denis à Montréal. Ces rencontres sont devenues une tradition au sein de l’univers des utilisateurs d’Ubuntu. On salue entre amis et utilisateurs l’arrivée des nouvelles versions de la distribution.

Pas besoin d’utiliser Ubuntu ou même Linux pour y participer, les curieux autant que les utilisateurs et les experts sont invités à fraterniser et à échanger. Le Bar St-Sulpice se prête bien à ce genre de rencontre puisqu’on peut également y manger.

Ubuntu est une distribution Linux basée sur Debian et destinée à proposer un système convivial et ergonomique. Son fondateur, Mark Shuttleworth, a promis qu’il restera libre et gratuit y compris pour les entreprises. Le mot Ubuntu est un mot bantou qui signifie « Je suis ce que je suis grâce à ce que nous sommes tous ». Une invitation à vous joindre à Ubuntu-QC pour cette petite soirée improvisée.

Le Bar St-Sulpice offre, grâce à Île sans fil, l’accès gratuit à Internet. Apportez donc vos portables. Vous en profiterez pour y installer la toute dernière version d’Ubuntu, Gutsy Gibbon. Des T-shirts, autocollants, et CD-ROMs d’Ubuntu 7.10 seront disponibles.

Pour l’équipe d’Ubuntu-QC

Fabian Rodriguez
André Cotte

Pour plus informations :
FabianRodriguez – 514-812-5615

Le Bar St-Sulpice est situé au 1680, rue Saint-Denis, Montréal, QC H2X 3K6 Téléphone: (514) 844-9458

* Site officiel d’Ubuntu : http://www.ubuntu.com
* Site officiel de la communauté québécoise Ubuntu : http://www.ubuntu-qc.org
* Site francophone de ressources pour Ubuntu : http://www.ubuntu-fr.org
* Site de téléchargement de la version 7.10 d’Ubuntu : http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download à partir du 18 octobre, jour du lancement officiel
* Pour toute demande formelle d’information ou contact de presse, adressez-vous à: pr@canonical.com

 

Call for participation: Free CAD project

If anyone’s interested in developing or learning about free CAD software, someone in the FSF Latin America list has posted a call for participation: Proyecto: CAD LIBRE. Right now the information is in spanish but I thought I would take the opportunity to ask other Ubuntu users what is the current status of free, open source solutions for CAD ?

I know the Open Design Alliance reverse engineered the DWG format, and their own version of its specification is a restricted copyright document. I am a bit surprised there aren’t that many packages that provide any support for DXF / DWG files manipulation and viewing (or even editing). Or maybe my level of ignorance on the subject is such I shouldn’t be writing about this in the first place 🙂

I remember a few years ago I went to a tradeshow and I was speaking to an Autodesk rep who laughed at my 5-minute pitch about freing Autocad, while explaining their strategy to copy-protect and enforce licence restrictions on customers. He summarized their position saying « just like accounting and games, free/open-source won’t ever touch our niche ».