It's spring time in Texas.

The Bluebonnets are fixin' to get ready to bloom, today's temperature is going to be around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and a solid date for the second annual Linux Against Poverty is, with a fair amount of certainty... official.

June 19th, 2010.

While we had planned a May event, that date has been changed...read further for us to 'splain.

For those who may not know what we do, The HeliOS Project takes donated P4 computers, refurbishes or repairs them and then gives them to Austin or Central Texas kids who normally would not be able to afford one.  Linux Against Poverty is an annual event put together by Lynn Bender in order to collect those computers while members of the Austin Tech Community gather to repair and prepare them to be given away.


We had initially planned a May event but with South By South West happening within that 90 day window, we thought it would be a good idea to let both events have some breathing room.

With the Upcoming Texas Linux Fest, it's going to be a busy spring in Austin Texas.  Hopefully, we'll be meeting with Robbie Williamson of Canonical on these pages to talk more about that event in particular in the next week or so..

But for now, let's talk about Linux Against Poverty.

Lynn Bender, founder of geekaustin.org  and the organizational force behind LAP, called me last night to talk about how this year will be different.

We had a fair amount of corporate involvement last year.  Many companies donated their decommissioned computers and sundry hardware components, however we didn't see the participation we had hoped for.  Individual donations and drop-offs carried the day.  We gained just over 200 placeable computers by the time the day ended.  Those computers were gone by November that same year.

This year, we think and hope we might be able to increase that participation.

With several companies already showing an interest in offering prizes, Lynn has begun to put together a prize drawing to entice equipment donations.  Each computer donated will enter the donor into a drawing at the end of the day and winners will be awarded prizes from the participating businesses. Businesses who donate computers can give their drawing tickets to their employees if they wish to do so.  We have yet to firm up those prizes and companies so watch this blog or the facebook page for LAP for details.

Many of the people who volunteer for Linux Against Poverty work at large corporations that may have a back room full of these decommissioned computers just waiting for Goodwill or the scrap yard.  You can see our specific needs on our website. If you work for such a company, please let them know that we will put these computers and equipment to good use and their donations are tax deductible.  Oh and again...we cannot accept CRT monitors any more...the liability and storage costs just won't allow it.

While Union Park is almost certainly available for us as a venue this year, there are a number of other businesses and places that have shown an interest in hosting the event for us.  Lynn will announce the location for Linux Against Poverty 2010 when it is decided and I will pass it along to you via this blog as soon as it is known.

Other Bid'ness

While we were able to obtain permission from The Cristo Rey Catholic Church to name our computer learning center after Bruno Knaapen we have not yet been able to raise the funds for the brass plaque for that room.  Unfortunately, response from Bruno's community has not been very good so I thought I would come here to mention it.  If you would like to help us purchase this plaque, you can do so here.

AND...we are in need of a small flatbed scanner for our operations.  With funding being as tight as it is, we've not been able to allocate the money to buy one so if you have one laying around, we sure could use it.  If I had a wishlist to write to, I would hope that it would be USB-powered.  We don't need anything powerful as much as we need it compact...our administrative space is small.

We are also humbled to be named as a nominee for the Dewey Winburne Community Service Award.  The party and ceremony will be held at 6 PM on March 15th at Sholtz Garden in Austin during the SXSW Interactive portion of SXSW.  Dewey Winburne was the PowerSource behind SXSW Interactive.

May God rest him.

Volunteer sign-up for LAP 2010 is doing extremely well and I want to thank those who are returning for the second event.  I appreciate you more than you know...especially when I know YOU know just how much work last year was.  We hope to streamline some of that this year and make it that much smoother.

Stay Tooned...

All-Righty Then
.

Aaron wasn't much interested in what his friends were doing.  They were busy trying to choose a game to play on agame.com.  Aaron wasn't having any of it.  He stood beside me as I coaxed the wireless connection to life on another machine and asked me if there were any math games.




Arron is 7.

The Little Ebenezer Baptist Church in Hutto Texas is the newest home to a HeliOS Project Linux Learning Center.  The center is built in a small church annex but all area children are allowed to use the computers, regardless of their affiliation.  Skip Guenter Our Director of System Engineering is the driving force behind  making this happen...because as it happens, Hutto is his home.  Skip knows who is in  need in Hutto and he saw to it that need was met.  While it isn't anywhere near our biggest project, it is going to have an impact.

"Are there any math games in that computer sir?"

You bet there are Aaron.

Skip is working with the manager of the Annex to arrange weekly classes for local people who want to learn how to use a computer.  From what we have seen at The Bruno Knaapen Center, we will have equal numbers of adults to kids.

That's fine with us.

                                                                         
While most children Aaron's age are more than happy to make bunnies jump over mushrooms and race little cars around a flash-based gamescreen, kids like Aaron inspire us to get stuff like this done.  As of now, there are only 4 machines in this center.  Judging from the competition between kids vying for computer time, I'm thinking we might have to adjust some table space and install two more.  That will take up the remaining space comfortably available for machines there.

Flash back 60 minutes that same evening...

The Bruno Knaapen Technology learning Center is a hub of activity for us on Wedensday nights.  That is the night our Directors go there to teach basic computer and Internet skills to those who need to learn them.  Most of our students are Hispanic and not native English-speakers so we rely upon the good nature of Christine and Ceasar Collazo to translate our lessons into Spanish in real time.  Non-English speakers are clustered into groups of three to make it easier to teach.



It gets interesting to say the least.

Tom King, our Network Director is currently working with Caesar and Christina in setting up a project for the summer to teach kids to build their own computers.  We've had a great response from some of the parents in the area for Tom's idea.  As Linux Against Poverty 2010 enters it's hard planning stage, we are hoping to have plenty of machines to work with for this project.

As of now, we are critically low of both machines and funding so any further efforts are going to rely upon the good nature of this community to get it done.  While we have no shortage of grants that now want to pay for vechicles, office space and computers for our administrative use, we are finding it difficult to nail down funding for day-to-day operations.  We don't want to apply for grants for things we already have...that just makes those resources unavailable to someone that really needs them.  We already have the things they are offering.  If you can give us a hand, it would be greatly appreciated.  As of now, we are to a point where we just can't do much more without some help.

I will be meeting with Lynn Bender, the creator and force behind Linux Against Poverty this week.  Once we get some things ironed out, I will publish the information here.  We already have a greater number of volunteers to man the triage and repair tables than last year.  Of course, our goal is 100 computers more than the 200 we put into service from Linux Against Poverty 2009.

...And that's a good thing.

All-Righty Then

I strongly considered making this an "open letter" to the IIPA.

Then I strongly unconsidered it.

With marginal writing skills, I can never make it sound like anything more than chest-beating and fanatical hand-wringing.  Besides...Look at the list of those who who make up the coalition of the IIPA:

(My thanks to Technolama for the source and excellent article)

• The Association of American Publishers (AAP)
• The Business Software Alliance (BSA)
• The Entertainment Software Association (ESA)
• The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA)
• The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
• The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA)
• The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)

Like anyone there is gonna pay attention...


So we'll simply point out the obvious here and hope for the best.

It took me a while to see what the fuss was about.  Mostly I found a lot of bullying and strong-arming by the US, wielding the sword of trade agreements and WTO memberships concerning software and movie/music piracy..

Nothing new there...move along.

However I did find the language a bit disconcerting when it came to the IIPA's stance on putting Indonesia on the hit list.  Here is said language as I found it peculiar:

“The government of Indonesia, under its Ministry of Administrative Reform (MenPAN), officially sent to all central and provincial government offices, including state-owned enterprises in Indonesia, Circular Letter No. 1 of 2009 issued on March 30, 2009, endorsing the use and adoption of open source software within government organizations. More specifically, the MenPAN letter, concerning the “Utilization of Legal Software and Open Source Software (OSS),” encourages government agencies to use “FOSS” (Free Open Source Software) with a view toward implementation by the end of 2011, which the Circular states will result in the use of legitimate open source and FOSS software and a reduction in overall costs of software.”

And the Coup de Grace so to speak:

“While IIPA has no issue with one of the stated goals of the circular, namely, “reducing software copyright violation,” the Indonesian government’s policy as indicated in the circular letter instead simply weakens the software industry and undermines its long-term competitiveness by creating an artificial preference for companies offering open source software and related services, even as it denies many legitimate companies access to the government market. Rather than fostering a system that will allow users to benefit from the best solution available in the market, irrespective of the development model, it encourages a mindset that does not give due consideration to the value to intellectual creations. As such, it fails to build respect for intellectual property rights and also limits the ability of government or public-sector customers (e.g., State-owned enterprise) to choose the best solutions to meet the needs of their organizations and the Indonesian people. It also amounts to a significant market access barrier for the software industry.”

Boiled down?  They don't want to compete with Free Software.  Several multi-billion dollar corporations afraid of a relative handful of FOSS hackers...

 OK...bless their  hearts...I can understand the concern  but let me bring this to a local level.

My local level.

Skip Guenter You know what we do and how we do it.  In the next week, we are building another Learning Center for some kids in Hutto Texas.  Skip Guenter, our Director of Systems Engineering, is crossing the T's and dotting the I's now.  It will be a 4-6 station center for the kids on the "other side of the tracks".  Kids that have little or no access to a computer or technology what so ever.  If we can afford the travel and fuel, we'll even go weekly to train these kids how to properly use the multimedia software they've been given.

Without Linux and Free Software, this would be impossible for us.  That's not to mention the two other learning centers we've built or the approximate 1071 computers we've individually built and given away to date.

So, while it may be a stretch, and assuming that the Business Software Alliance is an integral part of the IIPA, (as they are reportedly) we might have some guilt by association here.  Some of the companies and corporations belonging to to the BSA are:

Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, Cisco Systems, CNC Software/Mastercam, Dell, Entrust, HP, IBM, Intel, Internet Security Systems, Intuit, Macromedia, McAfee, Microsoft, RSASecurity, SAP America, SolidWorks, Sybase, Symantec, UGS and VERITAS Software.

Are they going to stand shoulder to shoulder with the IIPA on this?  If so, and assuming that they toe the IIPA line, I would ask them this:

Who is going to pay for the licensing of  "proprietary software" for projects such as ours?  Dell?  Intel?  HP?  Aren't all of these corporates involved at one level or another in the development or use of Free Software? I can promise you that we can scratch Microsoft from the list.  They have refused to help us twice, both times in 2005.

I wouldn't put Microsoft software on any of our computers now, even with a gun to my head...but that's not the point.  Are we, as charitable and community service-driven organizations, subject to their whim and multi-month grant requests for their software?  It would appear so.  If Free Software were to be "discouraged" by the US Government (not likely but possible) then we would either have to come to these companies with out hands out, pirate the software or purchase it.

To be honest...we don't know where the gas for our vehicles will come from for the next couple of weeks...we can't even afford to make deliveries right now, much less purchase software to power the computers we need to give away.

So will the IIPA and their Indonesia stance have any bearing on Free Software use in the US?  I doubt it...unless we can threaten ourselves with our own WTO status.

Stranger things have been known to happen.

All-Righty Then...

Last week, The HeliOS Project delivered and set up a computer for two boys in Round Rock Texas...my new home of record.  Round Rock isn't the "bedroom community" it used to be.  Having grown into a town with a purpose and personality of its own (thanks to Dell), Round Rock is a pretty cool place to live. Once considered a suburb of Austin, it is now hard to tell where one stops and the other begins.  It's a pretty nice little town.

Megan, her mom and two boys think so too.  Megan works two jobs while her mom home-schools the two boys, ages 10 and 12.  Everett, while not quite a prodigy, is mathematically gifted and shows a sincere interest in the sciences.  He's already "auditing"  Robotic Science classes at the local junior college.

Sounds like an ideal project for HeliOS...right? 

It was...with one caveat.

The sometimes live-in boyfriend took it upon himself to wipe out the Linux install we had given them and put a hacked copy of Windows XP on their new machine.

It didn't go well.  Megan called me before the day was over and complained that the machine we had given them was not very good.  It was already giving her popups and refused to connect to the Internet.  Of course the boyfriend, knowing her computing ignorance, knew he could sell her that story without repercussion.

That ain't gonna happen.

I had planned and reported that I would be returning there to fix matters on Thursday.  I insisted that the boyfriend be there.

We had some things to discuss. 

He was to keep his front feet off their computer.  It did not belong to him.

We canceled our visit until Friday...that's when he would be there...and he was.

It was really a non-event.  It had been suggested that I take some reinforcements with me as this guy showed all the signs of being a bully and thug.  He probably is if I am any judge of character, but he wasn't on that Friday.

I took the time to "splain" some things to him...you know the spiel...Linux is better...no viruses...free in every aspect...

Chapter and verse.

As a precaution though, I did password-protect the bios and even took the CD rom out of the boot sequence (bios upgrade needed thank you).  I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt and even sat up the old computer in the bedroom.  He can pirate all the music and movies he likes...on that computer. 

Cheap insurance I guess...let's hope.

I want to personally thank those who voiced a concern for any problems or possible violence that might have occurred during our revisit.  I especially want to thank my friend Ryan Sommers for offering to come all the way from San Antonio to make the visit with me.

Airborne Ranger Baybee....Hoorahhhhh.

It wasn't necessary...

That's always a good thing.

All-Righty Then

There was no reason to think that trouble loomed...it was just one computer install in a long line of computer installs.

A single mom working two jobs...kids ages are 10 and 12...one of them bordering on prodigy...

It's the kind of situation we look for.

Almost.

The maternal grandmother was present in the home and held the duty of home-schooling the children.  The ancient Dell Optiplex GX I - P2 desktop sat on the desk in the corner of the living room running Windows 98.


Second edition.

It barely crawled through the task of opening IE 5.5, no less than 4 additional spyware toolbars vied for bandwidth and registry corruption.

Yeah we could do some good here.

The museum piece was unhooked and put in the closet after transferring family pictures and some music from a 20 gig hard drive.  With a processor that moved at the speed of smell and 256 megs of ram, I decided that the transfer would best be timed by calender, not a clock.  We eventually got it done and set up the Dell Precision 340.

A 2.5 gig single processor with 2 gigs of RAM and an 80 gig hard drive...it was a Cray Super Computer in comparison to what previously inhabited the same space.  We had pre-installed Linux Mint on the Precision  340 and began the process of showing the family how to use it.

They were ecstatic.

Until 12:35 PM that afternoon.

That's when he boyfriend came home.

With a  lame explanations of how badly he "needed" Windows on that computer, the live-in formatted the hard drive and installed a pirated copy of Windows XP on the computer.  He didn't bother to save the data we had transfered.  Yeah, Windows XP...

SP1 without any updates.

By 3:30 PM there were problems.  Megan called complaining that she could no longer control the popups on the computer and the boyfriend was frantically trying to close them.  Kind of  like Whack-a-Mole with a browser.

Oddly enough, these were the same problems expereienced with their other computers.  I might hazard a guess it could be the websites being visited.

Just a guess mind you...

He told her that the problem was a crappy computer we delivered...she had been given a piece of junk. He had done nothing to make this happen.

She didn't know any better.  She asked me to come over and put the old computer back into service.

I told her to give her boyfriend the phone.

It wasn't pretty.

No sooner had I introduced myself, he started in on me.  With the rest of the family in the immediate proximity, he railed on about how we had "taken advantage" of his girlfriend and kids.  He went on to claim that we had put a useless system on a crappy computer that was worthless for their needs.

Translation?

He couldn't get the Usenet client he liked to work on Linux.

I am guessing he couldn't access his high-speed goat porn.

The saddest part of the whole thing is that we set up VirtualBox with a fully licensed copy of Windows XP on that computer.  He just decided it wasn't what HE wanted on the machine.

Tiring of the shouting match, I hung up the phone and immediately redialed the number.  Megan answered and without conversation, I told her to put the grandmother on the phone.

I started at the beginning.  I told her why Linux was put on the computer and how these problems were non-existent on that system.  I spoke to her for 3 minutes without her saying anything.  I kind of figured it out.

"Is he standing right there."

she answered simply.

"Yes".

They were frightened of him.

This Thursday, I am going back there to fix this problem.  I am going to set up the old Optiplex in the bedroom for him to use and I've told her that the computer we gave her is HER property.  He is not to touch it.  Linux will be installed on that computer.

Will it make any difference?

I'll let you know Friday.

All-Righty Then

Bruno Knaapen is gone.

He died yesterday.


By choice, and with dignity, Bruno bid his earthly family farewell and slipped beyond The Veil.  Bruno Knaapen was ravaged by brain cancer.  That cancer had spread throughout his body.

He was tired.

He was in pain,

but moreover...

He would no longer allow his family watch him suffer and wither.

In The Netherlands, you are allowed to make that choice.  We're not here to discuss or argue that choice.  That discussion will not take place here.

Let me tell you the one that will.

Choices that you can make.

Bruno spent years teaching thousands of people how to use Linux.  Brunolinux is a website devoted to do just that and the lion's share of my knowledge of Linux grew from that tree.  From bash scripting to my feeble attempts at learning C...

I learned it from Bruno.  Not only did Bruno give me the pages to read...he gave me personal help when the pages were not enough.

He didn't know me from Brad Pitt.

Yet he spent hours in personal communication with me...helping me understand the thing that would eventually turn my life in a completely different direction.

So let me offer you some choices you can make.

Just for one day...one hour...one moment...

Look around you.  Look for someone who needs help.  It doesn't have to be with Linux.  It doesn't even have to concern computing or technology.

Help someone open a door with their arms full of groceries.

Move an obstacle from someone's path.

Take a burden from someone, if just for one day...one hour...one moment.

And when you do it and they thank you...

Just smile.

And tell them about Bruno.

All-Righty Then Bruno Knaapen...

All-Righty Then.

It has been our pleasure to meet the computing needs of disadvantaged kids in the Austin Area for 4 years now.  From time to time we run low on equipment and I want to appeal to this community to give us a hand restocking our inventory.  We've begun to run low.  We have enough equipment to meet our next two obligations but after that, we will be needing your help.

The HeliOS Project maintains our non profit status under Software in the Public Interest and all donations to our effort are tax deductible.  We have had some great response in the past by asking corporates to clean out their back rooms of computer equipment.  If you know of such a corporation or work for one, please pass this link onto the powers-that-be.  We will be able to use that equipment to do the work we do.

We have some specific parameters as to what we can use and a list of things we need immediately.  You can go here to see what we need most to do our job.

We will also be having a brass plaque made for the entrance of the Bruno Knaapen Technology Learning Center.  Should you be able to give us a hand getting this done, we would appreciate it.  We also have a few Directors that have spent out of pocket money on projects and I would like to get them reimbursed.  right now, we don't have the funds to do so.

I want to take a moment and sincerely thank those that have supported our project to this point.  Your contributions, whether financial, logistical or  by being a volunteer has made it possible for us to continue.

And as always...my most heart-felt gratitude goes to the Linux Community.

All-Righty Then

Well, it never ceases to amaze me.

The more room we are given, the faster I can turn it into a cluttered mess.

Hey, I'm just talented that way...

On the 20th of February which is a Saturday, The HeliOS Project will be hosting their first official Organization Day.  We will be gathering volunteers to meet at our facility in Lakeway and try to bring some order to the chaos I have created.

You've been warned.  Oh...there will be free food as an incentive.

We will also be filming parts of the event so wear something you'd want to be seen in.  I've sent  personal invitations to Angelina Jolie and Moon Bloodgood and I have every confidence that they will show up.

I mean, they'll show up somewhere...just probably not in Lakeway.

If you can participate, please notify me via email:  helios at fixedbylinux dot com.  We really could use some help.

Most importantly, I want to announce publicly the appointment of a new Director to The HeliOS Project.

Skip (Stephen) Guenter has been a crucial part of our effort for two years.  Skip was part of the hardware team during the first Linux Against Poverty and his knowledge of hardware as it pertains to building functional computers has been invaluable.  It is not uncommon for Skip to take recently donated equipment, load it in his car and spend his free time at his work bench at home getting this stuff ready to go out. 

Skip resides in Hutto Texas with his wife Sharon and and his two monster dogs Kaiser and Blue.   He has given The HeliOS Project countless hours of his time in getting donated machines ready for deployment.  The addition to Skip Guenter as the Director of Systems Engineering will solidify our efforts and insure that I don't blow up any more perfectly rebuildable machines.

Skip is a Senior Manager at Computer Sciences Corporation where he has been employed since 1983.  He's also traveled to Beijing and spent a year there working for CSC.  When he's not working or tinkering with computers, he's usually asleep.  I want to join you in welcoming Skip to The HeliOS Project in an official capacity.  This guy rocks and I'm glad to have him aboard.

This is also a great time to highlight some of the people that have been an inestimable part of what we do.  It didn't take me long to figure out that I couldn't do everything required by this project and the people listed below took a great burden from me.  For that I am extremely grateful.

Tom King

Tom has been our Director of Network Engineering since we incorporated as a Texas non profit.  Tom's understanding of complex networking issues has gotten us out of more jams than I could possibly put us into.  Well, for the most part...there are some balls of fishing line that can't be untangled by human hands.  Tom is a Server Analyst for Dell, Inc and lives in Round Rock Texas with his wife Cyndi.  She has been more than understanding when Tom was needed to come fix stuff and he has never missed a call for assistance.  Tom was the guy in charge of getting all the computers at Linux Against Poverty hooked up for system installation.  We couldn't have done it without him.

Andy Krell

Andy is the Director of IT and Custom Data Services at nFusion Group, LLC here in Austin.   Andy has seen to it that we get some of the best laptop computers we've ever been able to give away.  Not only has he been instrumental in getting these donations, Andy does all the repair work and tweaking before they come our way.  I can't begin to count the hours he has saved me in preparing these great machines prior to deployment.  Andy was also a steadfast component of the Hardware Team during Linux Against Poverty.

Andy has selflessly volunteered his services to install computer systems for our disadvantaged kids around Austin.  He's answered every call for help we've issued and for his service to The HeliOS Project, we couldn't be more grateful.

Darrel Raynor


Darrel is our Director of Asset Management and he has delivered more to our effort than I could have ever asked.  Not only does Darrel solicit donations for The HeliOS Project, he has provided us with a free facility where we can store and build the computers we give away.  Darrel has done this at his own cost.

I often kid that Darrel knows everyone. Seemingly, he does.  I am guessing that his Rolodex is coveted by about everyone in the business and social community here in Austin...or the state of Texas for that matter.  We owe Darrel more than we could ever repay him.

Now it might be good for me to tell you specifically what these guys do for us.  We have two projects coming up shortly that will make a big difference in many kid's lives.

Camp Cedar Creek hosts a camp for kids with HIV.  John Weathers has asked us to provide 6 computers for these kids and we have agreed to provide them.  These kids live day to day in many cases, not sure of their futures.  HIV is no longer a death sentence and we will do what we can to give them the learning environment they need.  They DO have a future.  I will be preparing these computers at our Lakeway facility this weekend for delivery on Monday.

Plans are going ahead for the delivery of up to 30 computers for Our Texas Grandchildren.  This is a foundation established by Carole Keeton Strayhorn to care for and nurture the most neglected in our Texas foster care system.  We are proud to provide these machines and training to these kids.

As always, we rely upon your support to do what we do.  I want to thank you now for helping us do it.  We couldn't do it without you.

All-Righty Then

Look...let's face this together.  Dating can suck.

Now when you are young, it's an adventure.  One has relatively little "baggage", the emotional scars are few and the dating world is your oyster...so to speak.

And you haven't even begun to think about their therapeutic value yet.

Ah, youth...

But then you find yourself at midlife, choosing from a large pool of potential crisis'.  There are so many to choose from. 

Maybe there is a divorce or two under your belt, some strong political or religious beliefs that are deeply ingrained, and oh yeah, there's that messy incident with the hacking conviction...

Those tend to narrow down the potential list of candidates for life-long bliss.

Throw your use/obsession of Linux into the mix and what do you get?

More than likely a room at your mom's house and a NASA-level computer bank in her basement.  The neck beard and questionable hygiene habits don't help matters any either.

You come to realize that there is more to life than bash scripts and LAN parties with other Linux Geeks.  Well, at least for some of us.  So you decide to put yourself back on the dating market.  Where do you start?  I think we can all rule out LUG meetings, Linux Foundation events and the laundry mat. The ratio for men to women at these locations is bleak.

Let's say, just for argument, that you miraculously run into someone that bothers to look at you twice....I mean without pity or fear and the strong urge to call 911.  How does a Linux Geek approach someone?

"Hi, wanna see my raid array"?


"Did you know that almost half of Cray supercomputers run Linux"?


"So...your home directory or mine?"

You realize, returning to your mom's basement, that these lines didn't provide optimum results.  Combing the internet for dating tips, and possibly your hair, you decide that just maybe the passion of your life isn't congruent with finding someone that will touch you,

I mean aside from accidentally.

Let's further assume that you are able to cast off or conceal your geekness, get a haircut, trim your beard and join the rest of society.

Yeah, I know it's a stretch but work with me here...

You actually find yourself on a third date and she hints that she wants to develop a "relationship".

You probably haven't been able to completely hide the fact that you are good with computers.  Some things bubble to the surface regardless of how hard you try to keep them secret.  She's running Windows Vista on her home computer and she is complaining that her computer is running slow and that she keeps getting these annoying popups.  She wants you to come over and fix her computer.

You know better than anyone that the last time you were alone with a female in her home, it was that disastrous misunderstanding with your cousin's best friend.  That whole "I'm-sorry...I-was-just-trying to-get-the-cap-of-my-thumb-drive-that-popped-off-and-landed-in-your-lap" thing didn't work out so well for you.  At least she slapped you...

Sure, that counts as female contact...kinda.

So there you are, just you and her...alone in her apartment and sitting in front of her computer.  You can smell her perfume (it's actually just soap but it smells wonderful to you just the same).  You can't help but notice her long hair and how it flows across her shoulder.  You focus again on the screen in front of you...clicking on the start menu.  You know it's going to take three minutes just to open the dialog box.  After all, this is Windows. 

This is your chance.

"You know, if you didn't use Windows, you wouldn't have these problems".

Here it comes but you are used to it by now...the blank stare...the look that communicates:

"Uh..., what?"

You go on to explain that there are different operating systems for a computer...that Windows is only one option. She bites her lower lip in contemplation then smiles and nods enthusiastically.

"Oh no, I have an operating system. It's called Facebook."

You patiently explain that Facebook is just a web-based interface that allows her to share some of her life with her friends and that the operating system is simply a means she uses to interact with her computer.

She seems a bit exasperated.  "I have that already." she says.  "It's called Internet Explorer...I use it all the time."

You take a deep breath and reach for your laptop.  In the case, you have a live cd and you tell her that you want to show her what Linux is.  You go on to explain that Linux is free and that she can use it without any real worry about viruses.

She refuses.

"Hey, I don't want you putting things on my computer just yet....I mean, I don't even know you very well.  Those popups say that I have a virus and all they want to do is help me take it off.  All I have to do is click the button and they will take care of it for me.  I just met you.  I don't know what kind of stuff you are going to put on there...you might put spyware on there or something." 

"I think you better leave now".

The last word she says to you rings in your ears:

"Pervert!"

Back in the basement, you slam down another Red Bull and contemplate the whole dating thing.

"That's IT" you mentally exclaim.  "Facebook!  I'll meet someone on Facebook".

Maybe she'll even post a picture less than 5 years old.

Maybe you will...

Or not.

And for this you even shaved.

All-Righty Then...

It was just a short time ago that Scot Finnie announced a long-time Linux Advocate had fallen terribly Ill.  His name is Bruno Knaapen and he is the author and maintainer of Brunolinux.com.  We wrote about Bruno at Blog of helios and told you that we planned to dedicate a technology learning center to him.  I began speaking with different people about various possibilities and locations for the center.  It became obvious after a short time that we were not going to be able to find a suitable place any time soon.

I feel a sense of urgency in getting this done and after almost a month of frustrating meetings and disappointments, it occurred to me that the answer was right under our fingertips.

As we've written about this week, The Christo Rey Catholic Church houses a 25 computer learning center for the residents of East Austin.  The HeliOS Project provided the computers and manpower to make this place a reality.  This center serves the disadvantaged people in the area and we are proud to provide instructors and volunteers to teach computer classes there and maintain the equipment. 

I had a meeting with Christina Collazo, the Director of a non-profit, Centro de Aprendizaje ¡Sí Se Puede! that serves this church and the surrounding community.  She agreed that the answer was simple.

We will dedicate this learning center to Bruno Knaapen.

Father Jayme, the leader of this church gave us his blessing for this dedication and his church offers prayers for Bruno and his family.

The Bruno Knaapen Technology Learning Center will actively seek those who need computer and technology training.  We will not only focus on technology training but assist those who seek employment and teach them resume and job search skills.  We will also maintain our focus on teaching children the skills they need to compete in this technology-centered world.

As Bruno has done for years, so shall we follow in his footsteps, bringing awareness to those who seek it. 

We hope to have the banner in place next week.  Anyone who cares to help us upgrade some of the equipment and help us get this done is encouraged to do so.  There are several things we will be needing.  Specifically, we are in need of a decent digital camera, (We now have a camera thanks to our long-time friend Gavin) 512 sticks of pc133 laptop ram, desktop ram of all kinds in 512 megs and up, computer speakers and external usb cd/dvd writers.

Bruno has shown us the importance of tenacity and courage.  We will simply provide a place where those lessons will live on.

All-Righty Then...

I don't know if you realize it or not, but you are doing some pretty good things.

It took me a while to grasp it...this "global community" thing.

It took longer than it should have.

But about 3 years ago, I got it.  We're all tied together, separated by land and sea; surely, but tied together none the less.  I used to see us as individual pockets of people doing stuff, some great stuff...still I didn't see the connection.

Silly me.

The HeliOS Project, some would argue, is a local effort in Austin Texas, fueled by a handful of people who want to make a difference.  Their ability to do what they do may noteworthy but after all, it's still local.

Is that what you think?

Silly you.

See, just one of our efforts, a 25 computer learning center in East Austin was put together by local people who volunteer for the HeliOS Project.  And trust me, the people that worked that day to make this center happen busted their asses...in near 100 degree heat and carrying 90 pound CRT's over 100 feet to get them set up.  But we got it done.

In order to do that, we not only had to count on caring volunteers, we counted on a world-wide community to put together the distro that works best for us.  That would be Linux Mint.  We had to count on donations provided by The Linux Community to fuel the vehicles needed to transport the equipment...something we still count upon.  We had to rely upon scripts written by people around the world to do the network installations.

See where I am going with this?  Sweat and time are not the only factors in making something like this happen...Its the caring and dedicated members of Our Community that give us the ability to do what we do.

It's as simple as that.

And now YOUR efforts continue to pay off.  Children as young as 3 years old spend two to three days a week with  volunteers...learning, absorbing...possibly becoming the next Linus Torvalds or Richard Stallman...Maybe the next MadDog Hall or Bruce Perens.

And it's not just the kids.  Adults are signing up to learn...and I mean learn from the ground up.  We teach classes during the week to insure those who do not know how to use a computer learn what they need to know.  What the functions of mouse buttons are, how to copy and paste...what an operating system is in relation to the applications within it.  People who barely speak English in some cases.

And they are grateful.

They are grateful to you.

I make sure of it.

So take a look at what you have done...the faces of these kids...the attentiveness of the adults.  They want to learn, and learning they are.

But then again, that's what you do...you make this happen.  You are The Linux Community...

Now Bring It.

All over the world.



All-Righty Then...

Confrontation is rarely the best path to communication.  Fact is...confrontation is by my understanding, a one-sided communication with the expectation of a singular response.

Not exactly the best conduit for dialog.

But there are exceptions to every rule and some patterns need broken to establish new ideas.  Sometimes the act of denying someone a specific thing evokes a stronger desire for that person to possess it.

How do you think the whole "play hard to get" thing got traction throughout the years?

Seems to be, as far as I can tell, it's the complex and contradictory intangible we call human nature.

There were 7 of us gathered at a local watering hole down on 6th Street in Austin.  Just a few friends and associates who had run into each other and decided to pull a couple of tables together and share some time.  A couple of them I knew, one was someone I ran into professionally on a regular basis...we all had links to each other in one way or another by various degrees of separation. 

but none of those links had much to do with technology or computers.

Until then.

Several of us had recently gotten off work and had our laptops or mini's with us.  There were three on the table and one of us mentioned a particular clip on metacafe.com.  I opened my laptop and opened a browser to the mentioned link.  It was some contentious exchange between help desk technicians that devolved into a pushing match and ultimately...high-pitched screaming.

Modern-day warriors among the cubicles.

While my Acer was on the table, I absently spun to the next desktop on  my machine and opened a document that I wanted to share with one of my table-mates.

The guy next to me stopped cold.

"What did you just do"?

I glanced over at him.  "What do you mean?"

That spinny thing on your computer....how did you do that?"

I manipulated the touch pad and dropped the desktop to a cube with Atlantis in the background.    I spun it and angled it so the top and bottom cap could be seen.

"You mean this?"

The guy on the other side of me heard the conversation and looked over.

"What program is that.  Is it freeware?"

I shook my head without looking over at him.

No, it's not a program.  It's Linux.  It's an operating system with 3D capability.

"Like AutoCad?"

I shook my head again and answered a bit impatiently.

"No, not like AutoCad.  It isn't an application or program for Windows.  In fact, your Windows computer can't do this.  These are different desktops, all individual from one another and I can do different things on each one of them at different times." 

I opened the desktop configuration gui and expanded the number of desktops to 8 and then started flipping between them as I opened different applications on each environment.  By then, everyone at the table was trying to get into position to see the Acer.  They were talking about how nice it would be to encapsulate a number of tasks and leave them in various states of completion without worrying about losing their work when they switched between them.

Then I hit the shortcut for the water drop effect.

Simple things capture simple minds...or so it would seem.

I didn't much feel like doing the whole welcome to Linux thing...I do appreciate some time outside the box so to speak so I switched it back to "no effects" and closed the lid.

The guy who first noticed the desktop asked me how he could make his computer do the same thing.  I just shrugged.

"Unless you are willing to use a system without training wheels, you probably can't."

I just left it hang there.  I didn't mean a word of it, It just felt good to say it.

He scowled for a second or two.

"What the hell does that mean"?


I laughed and held up my hands in a disarming manner.  "It doesn't mean anything really.  Most people who use Windows are stuck in that mindset and can't fathom that there are different ways to use a computer.  Mental laziness on our part mostly...you'd probably play with it or 30 minutes then give up."

Paul, the one guy at the table I did know grinned and took a pull from his beer.

 "You're givin' him 15 more minutes than I would."

 A couple of the guys laughed.

But that's the point...whether it's mental laziness or any other excuse, the majority of people presented with change, even for the better; will status quo themselves into inertia.  At least to my experience.


Paul called me early yesterday morning and reminded me about this little exchange from last week.  He seemed amused.


"You remember that yuppie throwback that liked your desktop at the bar?"


I mentioned that I did.


"Him and that tall guy are brothers and they work in Asset Development here.  We had a meeting Monday and I noticed that both of them were using Linux on their laptops.  He was showing me how easy it was."


I just smiled to myself and told him he needed to bring more of the female staff on the next boys night out.  He said he would.

Sometimes the direct sell method isn't the best way to close the deal.

How do you think the whole "play hard to get" thing got traction throughout the years?

That method is successful in any number of applications.

 All-Righty Then...

We're losing a friend.

Last week, I was notified that a long-time Linux Advocate is dying.

His name is Bruno Knaapen and he has brain cancer.

Honestly, I don't know what to say.  There are not any words that I can give him or his family that communicate the gut-wrenching sorrow I feel.  The fear...the inability to stop the inevitable.

I don't do well with the whole "death" thing.  Having fought this Monster for my own life, I take it a bit too personally, and when it attacks a friend, I feel like an impotent bystander watching a murder.

So I do what I can.  I come here to celebrate Bruno's accomplishments and triumphs with you....a few of them anyway.  I simply don't know what else to do.

I started my Linux career much later than most of  you.  Linux came to me as an epiphany...a revelation that changed the way I lived my life.

Still, I had to have a source of reference...a table where I could study this and learn as quickly as I could.  I found that source, and in the ensuing weeks and months, rarely did I have to go elsewhere to get the knowledge I needed.

I found it at brunolinux.

It was there that I learned the poetry of the code that makes up this thing we do.  It was there that I learned of the simplicity of a computer, the beauty of a community...

And the Dedication of Bruno Knaapen.

Bruno has kept this simple yet all-inclusive learning site up and running for years...but now, we should concern ourselves for it's fate...

For who else cares for something as much as its creator?  If you care to help keep this site alive, contact vtel57 at gmail. com.  You can do so directly here.  We will be doing our part to do the same.
♫

I did not come here to write a eulogy...Bruno is still with us, in the loving care of his children and grandchildren, but the time approaches none the less.

So it is here that I will announce the initial planning of the Bruno Knaapen Technology Learning Center.  It will be built in Austin and it will serve those who need it most.

Bruno Knaapen served them without hesitation.  He did so mostly at his own expense and on his own time.

He did what he did because he cared.

Bruno, you made a difference.  If you take anything from us through The Veil, please remember that.

You made a difference.  You changed our lives.

With our Love Bruno...

Ken

I've been told that English is one of the toughest languages in the world to learn.

I disagree.

I believe it to be the toughest language in the world to teach.

And I do have first-hand experience doing so.  I still have nervous ticks from the experience and the doctors say that in time, my sleep patterns will return to normal and the nightmares should subside.  I didn't even get paid for my efforts...

I tried to teach my first wife to speak English.




People living in Europe have the upper hand on us linguistically...at least for the most part.  I don't think I've met many people under the age of 40 that didn't speak their native language AND English.  Even in our global tech community it is obvious.  My friend Sander is a perfect example.  He hails from the Netherlands and his English is perfect. 


So I decide that Gaby needed to learn proper English if she was to live in the US.  It started out easy enough.  We went over some basic "rules" of English and then began some practical exercises.

"OK honey...this is simple.  We are working with 4 letter words, every word has a vowel as the second letter and a silent "e" at the end.  When you see words like this, you will know that the vowel carries a "long" sound.  Like the letter "a" will sound like you are saying the letter "a"...not "ah".  Here are some examples."


Home.


Bone.


Came.


Safe.

Easy enough, right?  I went to work the next day confident in the knowledge that we could move along to our next lesson that evening.

Uh...no...it didn't work out that way.

The glances were less than warm when I came in the door.  She didn't say a word...she just placed a piece of paper in front of me as I took off my boots.  It had one single word on it.

Gone.

Why, she wanted to know, did this word not follow the rule I laid out for her?  How could she know, she asked sceptically, that this word would not follow the rule?  It was the exact model shown in the others but it seemed to be a rebellious little word.  What was her visual clue that this word was not the same... a word that didn't follow the rules.

If she had followed the "rule" and been asked to read something in public containing the word "gone", she would have made a fool of herself.  Why was this?

I couldn't answer her...but then again, she wasn't done.

Oh, and "done".  Thank my stars she didn't snap to that one.

She was persistent in her questioning:

How is it we come to spell the "K" sound with a "ck" at the end in some words but just a single "k" will suffice in others.  AND why was the letter "c" allowed to fill in for the letter "k" when it was obviously a "k" sound at the end.

Any Eric's in the audience that want to field that one?

If not, it's ok...don't panic.

Those were just a couple of incidents that helped make the decision to send her to a professional English as a Second Language course.  Teaching someone your language is not a task for the weak-willed or uncommitted.

But in remembering this, it brings to mind what new Linux users may be going through...and more to the point, what we probably need to remember in teaching them.

Sure, we speak the language...it's second nature for us. We think nothing of a file system with identifiers such as .etc and .var.  Sudo apt-get and sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list rolls off our fingertips as if we were navigating  the simplest of tasks.  Some find the /.init/.d folder and subsequent commands second nature.

But to the New User, it's as if we are digital geniuses, blazing a trail through black screens and cryptic symbols running in endless strings.  We are speaking a language they cannot understand.  Hitting the tab key to complete a command string is voodoo to them...most of them anyway.

"Why can't I just click something and do the same thing"

Well, you can in the majority of cases...I've plenty of examples where our users haven't ever used the command line.  But then again it's all in what you want to do.

Do you want to write the next Shakespeare sonnet or ask directions to the nearest train station?  I mean, it's all in your need and intent.  I would guess the majority of casual computer users could afford to let the command line remain a mystery.

I am thinking that it all comes down to two things.  The patience of the teacher and the willingness to learn of the student

...Well duh helios...state the obvious much?

But...if you are going to assume the roll of teacher, you will need to make sure both parties are committed to doing this...otherwise, both will end up frustrated.

In thinking about it, if given the choice, I would much rather teach someone to use Linux than teach them English.  Holy cow, who decided the current American/English language was ready to come out of beta?

I think there are important modern-day lessons to be taken from the story of the Tower of Babel.

Or is it Babbel

or bable

All-Wrighty Then