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Joshua Hesketh's blog (12 unread)

Register soon for linux.conf.au

Posted: December 31st, 2008, 6:42am CET by Joshua Hesketh

pa href=http://linux.conf.auimg src=http://marchsouth.org/images/tuz.png alt=Tuz style=float: left; //aIt's just under 18 days until a href=http://linux.conf.aulinux.conf.au/a, so now is the time to register!/p div style=float: right; padding-left: 1em; pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/roberto8080/358125436/img src=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/358125436_2414136160_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by my big blue gorilla //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/puzzlement/2233077351/img src=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2358/2233077351_84945fbca8_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by puzzlement //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/puzzlement/2233077365/img src=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2204/2233077365_f6c7b59162_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by puzzlement //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/puzzlement/2238975714/img src=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2146/2238975714_d0f645c130_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by puzzlement //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/nekonoir/361005072/img src=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/134/361005072_1783f5e55d_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by nekonoir //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedpercival/2127377754/img src=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2164/2127377754_26f77e0dea_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by Ted Percival //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/malcolmtredinnick/362911853/img src=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/362911853_a4f002c628_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by Malcolm Tredinnick //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/pfenwick/2238483934/img src=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2316/2238483934_574a163521_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by pjf@cpan //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrissamuel/2232700840/img src=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2400/2232700840_f2433a3e7e_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by Chris Bloke //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrissamuel/2230578560/img src=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2396/2230578560_85f0f9fd97_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by Chris Bloke //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/nekonoir/361005086/img src=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/136/361005086_c43437f043_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by nekonoir //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/pfenwick/2230824642/img src=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2407/2230824642_8b9c4abceb_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by pjf@cpan //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/nekonoir/362192083/img src=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/362192083_3463a35caa_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by nekonoir //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/nekonoir/2231873702/img src=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2214/2231873702_f0f28ccbdc_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by nekonoir //a/p pa href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlosliu/89840589/img src=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/34/89840589_4ef6a538d9_m.jpg alt=LCA image title=Photo by Quaternion //a/p /div h1Incredibly cool stuff:/h1 plinux.conf.au is always great, and 2009 is no exception. So with the start of new year, here are some really good reasons to come to LCA09./p ul liJonathan Oxer and Jared Herbohn will be bringing down their stronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/189?day=fridayopen source outfitted cars/a/strong (a Mazda RX-8 and a Nissan 300ZX) to show off in their a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/189?day=fridaytalk/a and at open day./li liThere will be numerous strongopen source robot/strong related things floating around including the a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/13?day=thursdayThe Linux-powered Robot Clarinet/a, a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/176?day=fridayHyKim: The cuddly rescue bear/a, a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/93?day=thursdaySpring - A robotics and automation toolkit for research and industry/a and, of course, a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/126?day=fridayBdale's Rockets/a/li liThe networking team has gone above and beyond the call of duty yet again, providing strongfast network speeds and full wireless coverage/strong of the entire conference area and the a href=http://www.utas.edu.auUniversity/a Residential Colleges. A link is also being set up to provide Internet access to delegates staying at a href=http://www.wrestpoint.com.auWrest Point/a with wireless access in limited areas and network access in each delegates room. This year will be one of the most connected yet!/li liThe morning and afternoon tea's have an impressive range of home made cakes. The coolest thing though is that our Caterer, Barista Sista, is setting up an strongespresso bar for attendees/strong to buy drinks right in the foyer of the conference! We also hope to continue selling coffees even at the Open Day./li liAll of the social evenings (Speakers Dinner, Penguin Dinner, Professional Networking Session, Google Party) have strongincredibly impressive menus/strong. Mix in some socialising and you have some great nights! (see below)/li liProceeds from the auction will be going to stronga href=http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/Save the Tasmanian Devil Appeal/a/strong to help the endangered species./li liThanks to the collection of GnuPG/PGP key ID's we will be able to hand out strong10x figure prints/strong for each delegate with their badges to do adhoc keysigning. We also hope to have a document projector at the official keysigning event (yet to be scheduled)./li liThe strongpartners programme/strong is shaping up to be really worth while. The full programme hasn't been released yet but I hear rumors of the Bonorong Wildlife Park and Hastings Caves just to give you a teaser./li /ul h1Social Events/h1 pOf course the conference is more than just a great selection of talks, there is also a great social atmosphere./p ul liThe a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/official_social_events#SpeakersDinnerSpeakers Dinner/a is particularly impressive this year and while I can't disclose many details, I will say it'll be quite emcruisin'/em. The menu is also quite mouth emwatering/em with a selection of emsea/em foods and other enticements consisting mostly of local produce./li liThe entire conference is also invited to join at the a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/official_social_events#PenguinDinnerPenguin Dinner/a at a href=http://www.wrestpoint.com.auWrest Point/a. The dinner will be in a more formal style and will include presentations, awards and the traditional auction with proceeds being donated to the a href=http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/Save the Tasmanian Devil Appeal/a. The menu is outstanding with a huge three course banquet with a large selection of meats from the carvery./li liOn Thursday night, all of the Professional Delegates are invited to join us at the a href=http://www.cascadebrewery.com.au/Cascade/a Gardens for Dinner (a very tasty BBQ), Drinks and - of course - Networking./li liThe Friday night is the traditional a href=http://code.google.com/opensource/Google/a party held at the a href=http://www.utas.edu.auUniversity Bar/a. With a fancy BBQ and plenty of finger food there is fun to be had by all!/li /ul pOf course the events don't end with the official list. There are also plenty of opportunities to have lunches with new friends, go out for drinks at the local distillery and enjoy the natural landscape of a href=http://www.discovertasmania.com/Tasmania/a./p h1Reasons to Register/h1 pBesides the great list of talks and the awesome social events there are heaps of reason to register (too many to list here!). My favorite part of the conference is just being about to meet up with like-minded people, go out for a meal, have great discussions and have a great time! The conference is emseriously/em technical, emseriously/em fun and emseriously/em informal. The people are great, the talks are great, the food is great. What more could you want?!/p pI highly recommend registering emsoon/em to ensure your shirt. Shirts have been ordered so sizes are limited. strongGet in now before they run out!/strong/p pProfessional delegates should also register before the 3suprd/sup of January to get their name into the conference booklet./p pstrongNote/strong: You are not counted as coming, and thus have no items reserved, until you have paid. So make sure all of your unpaid invoices are paid emas soon as possible/em./p h1My Schedule:/h1 pThere are lots of really cool things lined up to happen with some really exciting talks. Unfortunately I'll probably be too busy to see many speakers, but I've made a list of my choices for each slot:/p pstronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/mondayMonday/a:/strong/p ul listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/9/view_miniconf?day=mondaySystem Administrations miniconf/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=Sysadmin.ProvidingActiveDirectoryServicesFromLinuxUsingSamba4Providing Active Directory services from Linux, using Samba4/a emby/em Andrew Bartlett/li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/201/view_miniconf?day=mondayThe Business of Open Source/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=DevBiz.OpenSourceBusinessModelsAndEngagingCorporateAndGovenmentSectorsInAustraliaOpen Source Business models and engaging corporate and Govenment sectors in Australia/a emby/em Jeff emand/em Pia Waugh/li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/26/view_miniconf?day=mondayMobile Devices Miniconf/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=MobileDevices.FunambolAndSyncmlFunambol and SyncML/a emby/em Mathew McBride/li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/26/view_miniconf?day=mondayMobile Devices Miniconf/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=MobileDevices.UbuntuMobileUbuntu Mobile/a emby/em David Mandala /li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/49/view_miniconf?day=mondayMythTV/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=MythTV.MythtvDevelopmentFrom04ToNowMythTV development from '04 to now/a emby/em Nigel Pearson/li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/49/view_miniconf?day=mondayMythTV/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=MythTV.PresenceAwarenessPresence Awareness/a emby/em Jonathan Oxer/li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/157/view_miniconf?day=mondayLinux Kernel/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=Kernel.AskAKernelHackerPanelAsk a Kernel Hacker Panel/a/li /ul pstronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/tuesdayTuesday/a:/strong/p ul listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/9/view_miniconf?day=tuesdaySystem Administrations miniconf/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=Sysadmin.747SOnTreadmillsExperiencesScalingUptimeAndManagement747s on Treadmills: Experiences scaling uptime and management/a emby/em Matt Moor/li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/132/view_miniconf?day=tuesdayVirtualization and Management/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=Virtualization.CreatingAHighAvailabilityEnvironmentForXenVirtualMachinesCreating a High Availability Environment for Xen Virtual Machines/a emby/em Sander van Vugt/li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/8/view_miniconf?day=tuesdayOpen Source Databases Mini-conf/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=Database.Drbd-DatabaseAgnosticSynchronousReplicationForEveryoneDRBD - Database agnostic synchronous replication for everyone!/a emby/em Monty Taylor/li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/132/view_miniconf?day=tuesdayVirtualization and Management/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=Virtualization.CloudComputingWithOpenqrmCloud Computing with openQRM/a emby/em Matt Rechenburg/li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/108/view_miniconf?day=tuesdayMultimedia/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=Multimedia.PitiviPiTiVi/a emby/em Edward Hervey/li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/132/view_miniconf?day=tuesdayVirtualization and Management/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=Virtualization.LinuxAndVirtualizationManageemntToolsAtHpLinux and Virtualization Manageemnt tools at HP/a emby/em Aland Adams/li listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/108/view_miniconf?day=tuesdayMultimedia/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=Multimedia.Canola2Canola2/a emby/em Artur de Souza/li /ul pstronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/wednesdayWednesday/a:/strong/p ul li Keynote 1 - Tom Limoncelli/li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/51?day=wednesdayIntroducing the Re-Built Linux Desktop/a emby/em Keith Packard /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/148?day=wednesdayPuppet for Configuration Management/a emby/em James Turnbull /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/43?day=wednesdayUsing Asterisk for Fun and Profit/a emby/em Avi Miller /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/11?day=wednesdayJoining the mob: the kernel development process/a emby/em Jonathan Corbet /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/84?day=wednesdayCross-distro collaboration: packaging with modern version control systems/a emby/em Martin Krafft /li /ul pstronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/thursdayThursday/a:/strong/p ul li Keynote 2 - Angela Beesley/li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/219?day=thursdayThe Sugar learning platform/a emby/em Walter Bender /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/48?day=thursdayDisplacing Active Directory - the first Samba4 deployments./a emby/em Andrew Bartlett /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/151?day=thursdayDesigning for usability, usefulness, and unit-testing ... the linux.conf.au GTK amp; GNOME tutorial, part 2/a emby/em Andrew Cowie /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/29?day=thursdayLiberating content/a emby/em Benjamin Otte /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/13?day=thursdayThe Linux-powered Robot Clarinet /a emby/em Mark Sheahan emand/em Peter Chubb /li /ul pstronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/fridayFriday/a:/strong/p ul li Keynote 3 - Simon Phipps/li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/156?day=fridayautocluster - a system for automated testing of clustered systems/a emby/em Andrew Tridgell emand/em Martin Schwenke /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/64?day=fridayUntangling device drivers/a emby/em Peter Chubb /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/203?day=fridayOLPC in Australia and the Pacific/a emby/em Pia Waugh /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/189?day=fridayGeek My Ride/a emby/em Jonathan Oxer emand/em Jared Herbohn /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/126?day=fridayOpen Source for Model Rocket Design/a emby/em Bdale Garbee /li /ul pUnfortunately there are just so many great talks that even if I wasn't running the conference I couldn't see because they would clash with other great talks. Here are a few stronghonorable mentions/strong that I would consider seeing:/p ul listronga href=https://conf.linux.org.au/schedule/26/view_miniconf?day=mondayMobile Devices Miniconf/a:/strong a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/wiki/index.php?n=MobileDevices.ALinuxMultimediaPlatformForMobileProcessorsA Linux multimedia platform for mobile processors/a emby/em Conrad Parker/li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/112?day=wednesdayIntroduction to Django/a emby/em Jacob Kaplan-Moss /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/22?day=wednesdayWeb Site and Web Application Accessibility with Orca and Firefox/a emby/em Jason White /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/143?day=thursdayArduino: Open Software, Open Hardware/a emby/em Jonathan Oxer /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/5?day=thursdaylguest: hacking the little Linux hypervisor/a emby/em Rusty Russell /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/87?day=thursdayWhere the future lies: OpenOffice.org and the ODF in the world/a emby/em Louis Suarez-Potts /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/93?day=thursdaySpring - A robotics and automation toolkit for research and industry/a emby/em Clinton Roy /li li a href=https://conf.linux.org.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/91?day=fridayCollaborative Video for Wikipedia/a emby/em Michael Dale /li /ul h1Useful Resources/h1 ul liBe sure to check out the ever growing a href=http://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?ie=UTF8amp;hl=enamp;om=1amp;msa=0amp;msid=103173295837710356386.000443414e30f6cd23530amp;ll=-42.897283,147.339878amp;spn=0.030558,0.077162amp;z=14LCA Google Map/a of Hobart to see near by shops, pubs, accommodation, airports and other useful places for linux.conf.au./li liSimon Lyall has a very useful a href=http://www.darkmere.gen.nz/2007/0129.html guide for newcomers/a that I recommend you check out. It has useful information about what to expect at linux.conf.au, events to look out for and other useful information./li /ul p!--break--/p
linux.conf.au tickets on sale now!

Posted: October 15th, 2008, 7:43am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

pa href=http://linux.conf.aulinux.conf.au/a opened ticket sales on Monday. Earlybird tickets are selling fast, so be sure to get in soon!/p pa href=http://linux.conf.au/register/prices_ticket_typesimg src=http://linux.conf.au/content_images/register.png alt=Register now //a/p pa href=http://linux.conf.auHead over to the website for more information and prices./a/p
linux.conf.au call for presentations closes tomorrow

Posted: August 7th, 2008, 11:39am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

pa href=http://linux.conf.au/media/news/6img src=http://linux.conf.au/featured/call_for_presentations.png style=float: right; padding: 1em; border: 0; //aTomorrow is the last day to get in your proposals to present at the annual a href=http://linux.conf.aulinux.conf.au/a, so make sure you a href=http://linux.conf.au/media/news/6submit your proposals/a before the end of 08/08/08!/p
linux.conf.au shouts out for speakers/presentations

Posted: July 11th, 2008, 9:26am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

pimg src=http://marchsouth.org/images/tuz.png alt=Tuz style=float:right; /Last week the busy organisers for the a href=http://linux.conf.aulinux.conf.au/a 2009 conference launched a new website and put out the call for speakers and a href=http://marchsouth.org/programme/presenter_faq#Miniconfsminiconf/a organisers./p pWe are looking forward to lots of great proposals, and while we can't accept them all, we expect LCA09 to have a very full and interesting schedule./p p!--break--br / hr //p pLinux.conf.au has announced the opening of the call for papers on Friday 4th July 2008, giving the open source software community the chance to present at one of the world's premier technical conferences./p pHobart TAS, Australia-- (4th July 2008) ---- The call for papers will remain open for a month, after which the best papers will be selected by an expert panel./p pBen Powell, President of the Tasmanian Linux Users Group, says the 10th annual Linux.conf.au is expected to attract influential speakers from the international and local technical Linux and Open Source communities./p pThis is the first time that the conference has been held in Hobart and given the unique location, and that it is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, we expect to see significant interest from local and international speakers and delegates, said Mr Powell./p pIt is expected that over 100 speakers will be chosen to present at the Hobart conference from a large pool of international and local submissions./p pThe conference provides a unique opportunity for Tasmanians to discuss their ideas on an international stage, and for business to support IT innovation, said Mr Powell./p pThis year's Linux conference is expected to bring 700 delegates to the Tasmania to enjoy one of Australia's premiere technical conferences, with presentations by many of the leading experts in free and open source software./p pThe conference also provides an opportunity to showcase Tasmania to the world's technical community, with many delegates keen to take in Tasmania's famous food, wine and beautiful scenery during their stay./p pPrevious years' conferences have seen up to 100 influential international and national speakers from major IT companies and projects, with submissions for the opportunity to speak at Australia's internationally renowned event growing every year, said Mr Powell./p pThe conference will also present the best of open source software with presentations, displays and hands-on demonstrations at the conference free public Open Day for the Tasmanian technical industry and general community./p pWe expect to see a number of our own local speakers feature in the lineup, so this will be a great opportunity for our own IT community to really shine on the international stage, said Mr Powell./p pLinux.conf.au, the National Linux Conference, will be held January 19-24 in Hobart at the University of Tasmania. More information about the paper submission process can be found at a href=http://www.linux.conf.au title=www.linux.conf.auwww.linux.conf.au/a./p pMedia enquiries: Linux.conf.au on +61 432 996 932 or email our media contact/p pAbout Linux.conf.au/p pThe internationally recognised conference started in Melbourne back in 1999, with CALU: Conference of Australian Linux Users, held at Monash University over 3 days in July 1999./p pRenamed to linux.conf.au in 2001 it has grown to become one of the world's best technical Linux conferences./p pIt continues to be run by community volunteers for the community volunteers that have made Linux and Free and Open Source Software the phenomenon it is today./p pMore information can be found at the conference webpage./p
zookeepr.org

Posted: June 16th, 2008, 6:58am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

pimg src=http://zookeepr.org/files/skins/abitmodern/images/zookeepr-logo.png style=float: left; padding: 1em; /a href=http://www.zookeepr.orgzookeepr.org/a has been updated to include some more relevant instructions on how to get yourself a copy of the conference management software and how start making changes./p div style=clear: both;/div pHere is a href=http://inodes.org/blog/John Ferlito/a's announcement:/p blockquotep Hi,/p pAfter last month's hackfest I've done a bit of work cleaning up allbr / the Zookeepr infrastructure so we can move forwards with development./p pWe now have a core team. For the moment this consists of/p p Jiri Baumbr / John Ferlitobr / Joshua Hesketh/p pOur responsibilities basically entail/p p Organising the projectbr / Keeping the code cleanbr / Merging other people's codebr / Managing the bugsbr / Keeping the website up to date/p pI've also reorganised the infrastructure./p pWe have three mailing lists/p p a href=mailto:zookeepr-core@zookeepr.orgzookeepr-core@zookeepr.org/a - Core Team Discussions, Security Issuesbr / a href=mailto:zookeepr-devel@zookeep.orgzookeepr-devel@zookeep.org/a - General development discussionsbr / a href=mailto:zookeepr-announce@zookeep.orgzookeepr-announce@zookeep.org/a - Announcements/p pDown the track I see us adding a -users but I don't think there isbr / much point right now./p pAll of you are currently on the -devel list. If you aren't interestedbr / in day to day development discussions then it might be worth moving tobr / -announce./p pThe website a href=http://www.zookeepr.org title=http://www.zookeepr.orghttp://www.zookeepr.org/a has been moved from trac tobr / pmwiki. At the moment the wiki is closed and you should ask me for anbr / account if you want to actively make changes. I'm open to making itbr / public but didn't really have time to put anti-SPAM measures in place./p pFor source code management we will continue using bzr but are going tobr / use launchpad for hosting as this makes management a bit easier. Youbr / can find the trunk as well as everyone else's branches atbr / a href=https://code.launchpad.net/zookeepr title=https://code.launchpad.net/zookeeprhttps://code.launchpad.net/zookeepr/a/p pTo add your own branch, basically just sign up for an account onbr / launchpad.net, go to the project and select register branchbr / (a href=https://code.launchpad.net/zookeepr/+addbranch title=https://code.launchpad.net/zookeepr/+addbranchhttps://code.launchpad.net/zookeepr/+addbranch/a). This can be eitherbr / hosted at launchpad or mirrored off your own server. Once you havebr / registered your branch, zookeepr will provide you with instructions onbr / how to pull and push to your personal development copy. Once you arebr / done making your changes in the branch, please select propose forbr / merging where somebody on the core team will merge it into the trunk./p pWe will also use launchpad for bugs at a href=https://bugs.launchpad.net/zookeepr title=https://bugs.launchpad.net/zookeeprhttps://bugs.launchpad.net/zookeepr/a.br / I didn't bother moving any of the bugs from trac as none of thembr / seemed relevant any more./p pSo that's about it from me. I think our next step if for the 09 teambr / to create some blueprints in launchpad for what they need and startbr / filing bugs like crazy for us to all start working on./p pLets get hacking!/p pCheers,/p pJohn /p/blockquote pImportant parts to note is that we recommend using launchpad for reporting bugs, creating branches and proposing your code for merging./p pHappy hacking!br / !--break--/p
Zookeepr Hackfest

Posted: June 10th, 2008, 6:58am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

pa href=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/imagecache/normal/files/2532452526_92b8f35f0a_b.jpg rel=lightbox style=float: left; padding: 1em;img src=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/imagecache/thumb/files/2532452526_92b8f35f0a_b.jpg alt= //aSo a few weeks back a few of us flew into Melbourne to meet up with Jiri and other members from previous a href=http://www.linux.org.au/LCALCA/a conferences to discuss, program and work on a href=http://www.zookeepr.orgzookeepr/a - the software that powers the conference./p div style=clear: both;/div pstrongHackfest report:/strong/p pOn the weekend 23-25.5.2008 a zookeepr hackfestsup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref1 title=A hackfest is where programmers program and rock out href=#footnote11/a]/sup was held./p pThe zookeepr hackfest this last weekend was a great success :) . Myself and the LCA09 team really appreciate everybody's help, input and company during the weekend./p pa href=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/imagecache/normal/files/Screenshot-zookeepr - revision history.png rel=lightbox style=float: right; padding: 1em;img src=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/imagecache/thumb/files/Screenshot-zookeepr - revision history.png alt= //astrongAttendees:/strong ul liJoshua Hesketh (2009)/li liJosh Bush (2009)/li liJiří Baum (2008)/li liJohn Ferlito (2007)/li liJames Iseppi/li lialso present for part of the time were Peter Lieverdink (2008), Donna Benjamin (2008), Ben Powell (2009), James Turnbull (2008)./li /ul pThe event was very generously held in the homes of Peter and Donna (Friday) and James Turnbull's (Saturday and Sunday)./p pWe made a lot of progress discussing both long-term and 2009-specific changes and in cleaning up the code and working on CFPs and Registration. However the most valuable part of the weekend was being able to pick Jiri's and John's minds about the code./p pstrongSome notable changes:/strong ul liJohn F spent most of the weekend fixing up the testing suite for zookeepr (test coverage is now 36% overall) and making a new website for zookeepr.org/li liJames Iseppi and Jiri refactored code for account registrationand tied that into CFP's and Conference registration. James also cleaned out a lot of lca08 specific code/li liJosh Bush fixed up all of the CSS and started validating the HTML. He also made things look sexy./li liJoshua Hesketh added a very (very) basic CMS for editing plain content pages and set up the menu and also continued moving hard coded stuff into configuration files/li liPeter Linderdink and James Turnbull found typos and bugs and helped out where they could. (Including Peter making an algorithm for CFP review!)./li liUbuntu Hardysup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref2 title=Please, no distro wars! Hardy was chosen for it's LTS and recent libraries which make for easy maintenance. href=#footnote22/a]/sup was agreed as the current target platform; nothing is now required to run zookeepr other than what's in the bzr repository and the Ubuntu Hardy packages listed in the INSTALL file./li /ul pClearly on top of this work a lot of other bugs, code reworking and other stuff has happened :)./p pa href=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/imagecache/normal/files/2531640637_d6dacd061c_b.jpg rel=lightbox style=float: left; padding: 1em;img src=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/imagecache/thumb/files/2531640637_d6dacd061c_b.jpg alt= //aFor those interested in hacking on zookeepr please note that the LCA09 branch is hosted on launchpad in my repository here:br / a href=https://code.launchpad.net/~joshua.hesketh/zookeepr/lca09 title=https://code.launchpad.net/~joshua.hesketh/zookeepr/lca09https://code.launchpad.net/~joshua.hesketh/zookeepr/lca09/abr / John is updating the zookeepr.org website to contain some more instructions on how to get started hacking. There is still lots to do for the conference, but expect linux.conf.au to be updated soon with some more information soon. If you are keen to help out and contribute towards conferences to come, shoot me an email: a href=mailto:josh@nitrotech.orgjosh@nitrotech.org/a and I can help you out getting started and point you towards some tasks that need doing./p pA few photos can be found on Josh B's flickr page here: a href=http://flickr.com/photos/cheeseness/sets/72157605311163915/ title=http://flickr.com/photos/cheeseness/sets/72157605311163915/http://flickr.com/photos/cheeseness/sets/72157605311163915//a/p pLCA is scheduled the 19th - 24th of January next year and we hope to see all of you in Hobart for the strong10th/strong installment of the world's best open source conference./p pLet me know if you have any questions :-)!!--break--/p dl class=footnotesbr / dta class=footnote name=footnote1 href=#footnoteref11./a/dtddA hackfest is where programmers program and rock out/dd dta class=footnote name=footnote2 href=#footnoteref22./a/dtddPlease, no distro wars! Hardy was chosen for it's LTS and recent libraries which make for easy maintenance./dd /dl
Spambots grow brains!

Posted: May 17th, 2008, 9:14am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

Enclosure: [download]

pHmm, so recently on two of our blog articlessup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref1 title=lt;?php print(l('What can Linux do for the Average Joe?', 'node/35')); ?gt; href=#footnote11/a]/supsup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref2 title=lt;?php print(l('Diving into GNOME Development', 'node/36')); ?gt; href=#footnote22/a]/sup there has been some interesting spam in the comment sectionssup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref3 title=The spam has since been removed. href=#footnote33/a]/sup./p pa href=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/spam_eg1.png rel=lightbox[spam] style=padding: 1em;img src=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/imagecache/thumb/files/spam_eg1.png alt= //aa href=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/spam-eg2.png rel=lightbox[spam] style=padding: 1em;img src=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/imagecache/thumb/files/spam-eg2.png alt= //a/p pAs you can see the messages could nearly be mistaken for a legitimate (but somewhat confused) comment. Clearly spammers are looking at the content, following links and looking at what links to my blog posts to determine (somewhat) relevant spam. Whichever method they are determining what to post, it's still quite obvious that it is spam. But it does make you wonder how long it'll be until spam and a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligenceartificial intelligence/a is good enough to post information as realistically as humans? In my opinion, when this happens, we'll actually have useful spam. It'll be just like a href=http://www.wikipedia.orgwikipedia/a, without the editorssup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref4 title=Disclaimer: Wikipedia's editors rock and ensure the information is accurate. No spambot could do this! href=#footnote44/a]/sup./p p(PS: They also got past my a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHACAPTCHA/a!...sup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref5 title=Shock, horror! href=#footnote55/a]/sup)./p dl class=footnotesbr / dta class=footnote name=footnote1 href=#footnoteref11./a/dtdda href=/blog/zachary-rappell/what-can-linux-do-average-joeWhat can Linux do for the Average Joe?/a/dd dta class=footnote name=footnote2 href=#footnoteref22./a/dtdda href=/blog/joshua-hesketh/diving-gnome-developmentDiving into GNOME Development/a/dd dta class=footnote name=footnote3 href=#footnoteref33./a/dtddThe spam has since been removed./dd dta class=footnote name=footnote4 href=#footnoteref44./a/dtddDisclaimer: Wikipedia's editors rock and ensure the information is accurate. No spambot could do this!/dd dta class=footnote name=footnote5 href=#footnoteref55./a/dtddShock, horror!/dd /dl
Open Source in Education

Posted: March 16th, 2008, 5:57am CET by Joshua Hesketh

pa href=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/imagecache/normal/files/ss_utas.png rel=lightbox style=float: left; padding: 1em;img src=http://www.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/files/imagecache/thumb/files/ss_utas.png alt= //abr / Just thought I'd post a quick blog message about our recent completion of the a href=http://www.utas.edu.auUniversity of Tasmania/a's project to deploy a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinuxLinux/a a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiveCDLive CD/a's on computers for conducting exams./p pa href=/news/university-exams-computersFor the full announcement, please visit this link/a./p pI hope to keep you up-to-date with the progress and outcomes of this little test project.br / !--break--/p
Linux.conf.au 2008 - One week on

Posted: February 10th, 2008, 3:38pm CET by Joshua Hesketh

pIt's been one week since I returned from a href=http://www.mel8ourne.orgLCA2008/a, the annual a href=http://linux.conf.aulinux.conf.au/a. I had an excellent time, met some great people and attended some awesome talks. I've been meaning to do a brief write up of what I got up to on the conference but I have procrastinated in doing so. But, without further adieu, here are some of the highlights of the conference week./p pstrongSunday 27th:/strong/p ul lia href=http://ozlabs.org/~rusty/Paul Rusty Russell/a held a newcomers session with the secrets, tips, hints and tricks for the week./li liWe then moved onto a pub for some good ol' socialising where I met a href=http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/staff/homepage.asp?Name=Peter.HuttererPeter Hutterer/a and had a good chat about multiple X inputs. Unfortunately I missed a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/detail?TalkID=88his talk on the topic/a, but I intend on watching it soon (all of the talks are available for download from the a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/presentationsprogram page/a and the a href=http://mirror.linux.org.au/linux.conf.au/2008/Linux Australia mirror/a). It was really interesting learning about the pros and cons of multi-touch technology and how hard it is to achieve some of the revolutionary user interfaces we see in Sci-Fi movies, especially since one of my good friends is doing a PHD on human computer interaction (or something along those lines)./li /ul pstrongMonday 28th:/strong/p ul liI spent most of this day in the a href=http://miniconf7.debconf.org/Debian miniconf/a. I really enjoyed the State of the Project Address as an overview of where a href=http://debian.orgDebian/a is and where it is heading. It was a very informative talk./li liI also thoroughly enjoyed the Version Control Systems for Debian packaging. The talk gave a great overview of managing a href=http://git.or.cz/Git/a for use in Debian packaging and was a really useful summery of branching and merging in distributionssup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref1 title=Read more on Version Control Systems for a full description. href=#footnote11/a]/sup./li liAfter lunch I dropped in on the a href=http://www.annodex.org/events/lca2008_mmm/Multimedia miniconf's/a lightning talkssup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref2 title=Lightning Talk: A quick 3-5min talk from any attendee. href=#footnote22/a]/sup where I got to see some of the cool stuff happening in the multimedia world. One of the most impressive demonstrations was about sound in 3D space. As the character in the game moved around, the sound objects playing nearby would fade in and out of the right speakers as expected. It was very impressivesup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref3 title=Unfortunately I didn't pick up on the name of the game demonstrated and I haven't been able to find it online. href=#footnote33/a]/sup./li liAlso in the Multimedia miniconf was a talk by Stuart Cunningham from a href=http://www.bbc.co.uk/BBC/a on how they are moving towards Linux to increase their work flow efficiency in production television. The technologies they were utilising on Linux were very impressive and will eventually save hours of man power for the BBC. The talk is well worth downloading from the previously mentioned mirror./li /ul pstrongTuesday 29th:/strong/p ul liOn Tuesday I spent the entire day in the a href=http://live.gnome.org/Melbourne2008Gnome.conf.au miniconf/a. There were some talks from particular people along with a very laid back style lead by a href=http://perkypants.org/Jeff Waugh/a./li liJeff Waugh started the miniconf by asking everybody in the audience how they were involved in Gnome or open source as nobody is just a user. There were some pretty interesting responses and it was great to see how involved everybody was in the community./li liI was really looking forward to the talk on a href=http://www.conduit-project.org/Conduit/a by a href=http://www.johnstowers.co.nz/blog/John Stowers/a, as I have been following the synchronisation program's progress since its early days, and it did not let down. It was fascinating seeing how far it has come and listening to the author speak about it./li liI was also very impressed by a href=http://www.robster.org.uk/Rob Bradford's/a talk on a href=http://www.gnome.org/mobile/Gnome Mobile/a and the a href=http://openmoko.orgOpenMoko/a device. He is from a href=http://o-hand.com/OpenedHand/a who have made great progress in the Gnome Mobile project./li liIn the afternoon I gave a short (5min) lightning talk on a href=/blog/joshua-hesketh/diving-gnome-developmentDiving into GNOME Development/a with the a href=http://live.gnome.org/GnomeDeveloperKitGnome Developer Kit/a. The talk went ok, but I ran out of time and due to the limitations of my laptop and I was unable to fully demonstrate the process. In hindsight I would have been better to take screenshots of the process and talk through them quickly. On the bright side I had an opportunity to talk to some people about the process after the miniconf who were interested in it./li liThe highlight of the day though was going out for dinner with John and Rob for pasta and wine. It was excellent to talk to them about numerous things from Conduit to the OpenMoko and even the Gnome Developer Kit!/li /ul pstrongWednesday 30th:/strong/p ul liAfter the keynote by a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/keynotesBruce Schneier/a there was a give away of 10 or so a href=http://laptop.org/laptop/XO/a laptops from the a href=http://laptop.org/One Laptop Per Child foundation/a to random attendees. This was very exciting but was just a teaser of things to come.../li liThe first talk I went to was a href=http://jon.oxer.com.au/Jonathan Oxer's/a talk on a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/detail?TalkID=39hardware programming/a. This was an excellent talk and was really interesting as Jon scanned an implanted a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFIDRFID/a tag in his arm in real life to open a door in a video game - a href=http://secondlife.com/second life/a. This was a pretty cool idea and really showed off how the future will be very automated. For example, he then controlled a fan in the lecture theater by clicking on objects in the game (download his talk for the cool demonstration). While these shenanigans were going on there was a talk titled a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/detail?TalkID=227Writing really rad GTK and GNOME applications ... in C, Python, or Java!/a which I therefore unfortunatly missed. However I intend on watching this very soon on my computer./li liAs I said, the 10 laptops that were given away in the morning were just a teaser. Throughout the day a further 60 XO laptops were given out to random attendees with the reasoning hopefully they'll do something really cool with the laptops... If not, they'll give them to somebody who will. This is very true as I saw a couple of people giving them away saying they didn't have time, and others who I spoke to had already started playing around and coming up with really cool ideas./li liThe a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/detail?TalkID=65Kernel Report/a proceeded after lunch, which was an excellent overview of what is happening in low level Linux development - even if they did stay on a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_systemfile systems/a a little too long./li liI really enjoyed the a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/detail?TalkID=204Incident Response Unravelled/a talk by the Tux's Angels. Three incident response experts from the Department of Defence talked about how to trace back and resolve a compromised system. I found the talk very informative and useful./li liWednesday evening was the a href=http://linux.conf.au/social-eventsPenguin Dinner/a. This year it was at the Melbourne Market where we were given vouchers to buy food and drinks from our preference of stalls. This gave attendees a very nice selection but I feel the informality of the dinner was lost and no fun speeches or other events were able to happen, but being my first LCA I can't really say otherwise. Overall the dinner was a great success and lots of fun with very positive feedback from the attendees./li /ul pstrongThursday 31st:/strong/p ul liI really enjoyed a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/keynotesStormy Peters' keynote/a about paid open source development. I found it very educational and was fascinated at some of the statistics. I intend on writing about how open source programmers make money very soon, so hopefully this information will be useful to me./li liIn total, 100 XO laptops were given away. The first 70 were randomly selected attendees, and the last 30 were given to people who were believed worthy of one. For example one was given to a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_TorvaldsLinus Torvalds/a and a few to other members. The rest were given to attendees who said they wished to do such and such with them. I was one of those such and such people. So as of Thursday morning I received and XO laptop! I have some exciting, and very ambitious, ideas that I hope to achieve with my laptop, and I'm looking forward to making process on it. When I run out of time and find myself to busy to play with it I hope to pass it onto somebody else who will make good use of the machine./li lia href=http://samba.org/~tridge/Andrew Tridgell's/a talk on a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/detail?TalkID=178Clustered Samba/a was awesome. Tridge showed off how stable and efficient samba is in a clustered environment. For example, when he killed off one computer in the cluster, the Windows box that was copying files connected to the next computer in the series and kept going without pausing. He also showed how easy it was to revert files and keep backups which I thought was a really valuable feature. If you have time, his talk is well worth the watch./li liIn the afternoon I went to a talk on a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/detail?TalkID=123Rockhopper Robot/a - an open source robot for saving children and putting out fires! It was one of the funner talks to attend, watching the robot do it's thing live... It wasn't really live though. Getting the robot to Australia from America would have been a huge feat for Doug Chapman with customs, things inevitably breaking and having to dismantle and rebuild the robot during it's travel. As a result we watched the robot on a live webcam. The effect was not lost though, as we saw Doug a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_ShellSSH/a into the robot and control it remotely - we even saw how easy it was to edit the source to change the functionality and rerun the robot from around the other side of the world! Doug had his friend, Paul, at the other end of the webcam to light a fire (a candle) for the robot to find and put out. Everybody cheered as the robot did its thing. The video is well worth watching if you are interested in microcontrollers, robotics and general funness./li lia href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/detail?TalkID=70The Replicators Are Coming!/a This was a very interesting talk about the state of physical replication and how in the future we will be able to download the schema for any object, print it out, assemble and have a functioning toy, game or utility. Viktor Olliver showed off his robot/replicator that prints 3D objects well enough to even make another replicator. The a href=http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHomeRepRap/a was also on display at the a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/open-dayopen day/a./li liThursday night was a href=http://www.google.comGoogle's/a a href=http://linux.conf.au/social-eventsstudent party/a which consisted of food and plenty of free drinks followed by gelatto. It was a great night to socialise with others as normal attendees were allowed as well. I talked to a few of the Google employees on a number of subjects including Kernel programming and Google's a href=http://code.google.com/socSummer of Code/a./li /ul pstrongFriday 1st:/strong/p ul lia href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/keynotesAnthony Baxter's keynote/a on a href=http://www.python.org/python/a was very informative. He did a great overview of python 3 and the structure of python releases while tying in many a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_PythonMonty Python/a jokes and video clips. It was very useful to hear an overview of what will change in python 3.0 and why things were changing. It seems like it is lined up to be a very promising releasesup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref4 title=Quote of the day: quot;because teaching C to 1st years is child abusequot; href=#footnote44/a]/sup./li liFriday marked the (offical) close of the conference. While it was sad it was during to an end, it had been lots of fun with exciting happenings all of the time. But the excitement for us wasn't quite over yet, because it was at the close the a href=http://marchsouth.orgLCA2009/a was announced. I knew beforehand the location of next years event because I am involved in the organisation of it. Yep! it is in a href=http://www.hobartcity.com.au/HCC/HOMEPAGE/HOME.htmlHobart/a, a href=http://www.discovertasmania.com/Tasmania/a! There are some excellent activities lined up and it is still early days in the planning. We are hoping that the conference will be bigger and better (even thought that is a hard target to reach). I strongly recommend you a href=http://marchsouth.org/files/LCA09Bid.pdfdownload the bid document/a for an overview of what we have planned. Of course more information will be available on the a href=http://marchsouth.org title=http://marchsouth.orghttp://marchsouth.org/a website as it comes out./li liBecause I was busy running around gathering postcards and magnets for LCA2009 to give out at the conference close I missed Pia and Jeff Waugh's a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/detail?TalkID=242Open Source Industry amp; Community Census 2007/a talk. I was a little disappointed but not too phased as I downloaded the talk shortly after. While the full report from the census taken last year has not been released, Jeff and Pia gave a sneak peek into the resultssup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref5 title=Full time open source developers earn more than the industry average! href=#footnote55/a]/sup and I am eagerly awaiting the statistics. I intend on posting more about the census after the results are released (next month perhaps?)./li liAfter the conference close was the Google Party. The party was for all of the conference attendees with a BBQ and free drinks (thanks Google!). The food was nice, the people were great and I got to meet Linus Torvalds personally as I handed him a magnet for the 2009 conference. Even though the drinks ran out (very) early it was a nice wrap up to what had been an awesome conference./li /ul pstrongSaturday 2nd:/strong/p ul liSaturday was a href=http://linux.conf.au/programme/open-dayopen day/a! A chance to show off the latest and greatest technologies and progressions in the open source world. There were lots of industry representatives from big companies and really cool demonstrations. I went over early to help set up for our promotion table for LCA2009. It went very well giving out nearly a thousand or more post cards and magnets. Our table was particularly popular because thanks to the a href=http://www.tasmaniaconventions.com/Tasmanian Conference Beuro/a we had lots of a href=http://www.cadbury.com.auTasmanian chocolates/a and show bags with information on Hobart and the conference. /li liBefore the open day was open to the public we held the annual general meeting for a href=http://linux.org.auLinux Australia/a. The meeting was very good and informative but only a few motions were passed. The a href=http://wiki.linux.org.au/Ctte/AGM2008minutes are available here/a./li liRusty Russell had a table demonstrating his new game (now titled Pong Hero). The game was lots of fun and very popular. It is basically the classic pong game, but instead of using a bat to bounce the ball, you draw on the wall to make lines and angles in challenging positions for your opponent. Check out the a href=http://ozlabs.org/~rusty/ponghero/website here/a for some video demos and more information./li liAfter having a really nice dinner with some new friends from Brisbane we headed back to our accommodation common room where we talked and relaxed with Rusty Russell. Somehow our conversation turned onto a href=http://antonblanchardfacts.com title=http://antonblanchardfacts.comhttp://antonblanchardfacts.com/a - A takeoff site from a href=http://chucknorrisfacts.com title=http://chucknorrisfacts.comhttp://chucknorrisfacts.com/a. With all the funny quotes and laughs coming from Rusty, it was decided that he needed his own site. Such was the birth of a href=http://rustyrussellfacts.com title=http://rustyrussellfacts.comhttp://rustyrussellfacts.com/a, a href=http://rustyrusselfacts.com title=http://rustyrusselfacts.comhttp://rustyrusselfacts.com/a and a href=http://rustyfacts.comhttp://rustyfacts.com/asup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref6 title=Warning: Website most likely contains technical jokes not meant for general public humour. href=#footnote66/a]/sup./li /ul pBesides the plane trip back home (after going to bed at 4am because I wanted to make an a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAXAJAX/a voting system for Rusty Facts) that pretty much concludes my highlight list for LCA2008. Of course I have missed out lots, but if you want to be in the fun, just come next year to Tasmania! Thanks to all of the wonderful people I met over the week and all of the people who I shared meals with. I'm sorry I couldn't mention all of you (the list would be too great!)./p pLooking forward to LCA2009 (now onto organising that...)/p p(PS: It is very late and this is a big post so I haven't had time to double check it. I apologise if anything is mis-spelled, mis-linked or mis-referenced.)br / !--break--/p dl class=footnotesbr / dta class=footnote name=footnote1 href=#footnoteref11./a/dtddRead more on a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Version_control_systemVersion Control Systems/a for a full description./dd dta class=footnote name=footnote2 href=#footnoteref22./a/dtddLightning Talk: A quick 3-5min talk from any attendee./dd dta class=footnote name=footnote3 href=#footnoteref33./a/dtddUnfortunately I didn't pick up on the name of the game demonstrated and I haven't been able to find it online./dd dta class=footnote name=footnote4 href=#footnoteref44./a/dtddQuote of the day: because teaching C to 1st years is child abuse/dd dta class=footnote name=footnote5 href=#footnoteref55./a/dtddFull time open source developers earn more than the industry average!/dd dta class=footnote name=footnote6 href=#footnoteref66./a/dtddWarning: Website most likely contains technical jokes not meant for general public humour./dd /dl
Diving into GNOME Development

Posted: January 24th, 2008, 1:32pm CET by Joshua Hesketh

blockquotepI have just finished writing: a href=http://live.gnome.org/GnomeDeveloperKit/BuildingPackagesA brief overview of how to get started developing and contributing to GNOME with the GNOME Developer Kit/a./p/blockquote pWanting to change and/or contribute to open source software is one thing, but diving into development can be a very daunting and challenging process. Every software project has their own repository of code, their own programming methodologies and their own development environment and tools and as such it can be hard to know where to start./p pMy favourite open source project would have to be the a href=http://www.gnome.orgGNOME Project/a. Within the a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_environmentdesktop environment/a there are numerous applications designed to achieve certain tasks and functionality. Until recently it has been somewhat a chore for somebody to easily set up a development environment in which they can play around with the latest and greatest development (unstable) version of GNOME. Thankfully the a href=http://live.gnome.org/GnomeDeveloperKitGNOME Developer Kit/a came along. This is simply a Linux distribution with the latest GNOME applications, libraries and builds from the GNOME a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subversion_%28software%29SVN/a. This purpose-packaged a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distributionLinux distribution/a is a great way to not only trial the new developments and progress made within GNOME, and even a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinuxLinux/a, but to also contribute back to the GNOME project./p pSince the developer kit has the latest libraries and tools required for GNOME development it is very easy to download and compile the source of any a href=http://live.gnome.org/ModuleMaintenanceWorkspacesGNOME module/a. Thanks to the help and brillient guidance of a href=http://blogs.gnome.org/kenvandine/Ken Vandine/a I have written a document/tutorial on how to utilise a href=http://www.foresightlinux.orgForesight Linuxa/'ssup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref1 title=Foresight Linux is the parent distribution of the GNOME Developer Kit. That is, the GNOME Developer Kit is based off Foresight Linux. href=#footnote11/a]/sup brillient package manager, a href=http://wiki.rpath.com/wiki/ConaryConary/a (developed by a href=http://www.rpath.comrPath/a). You can find the stronga href=http://live.gnome.org/GnomeDeveloperKit/BuildingPackagestutorial here/a/strong which will walk you through the process of downloading, building, modifying, patching, creating patches and contributing to the GNOME module of your choice from start to end.sup[a class=see_footnote id=footnoteref2 title=If you are unsure of the terminology used in this sentance, then the chances are that the tutorial isn't for you. However if you are interested, take a look at it for more information href=#footnote22/a]/sup/p pI'm hoping that this guide will be a great way for software developers to quickly and easily jump into GNOME development, and not only them, but also testers and translators. The developer kit really is a great way to generate clean patches and test the mainstream GNOME project without going through the dependency nightmare to build the application./p pstrongRecommended Links:/strong/p ul lia href=http://www.gnome.org title=http://www.gnome.orghttp://www.gnome.org/a/li lia href=http://live.gnome.org/GnomeLove title=http://live.gnome.org/GnomeLovehttp://live.gnome.org/GnomeLove/a/li lia href=http://live.gnome.org/GnomeDeveloperKit title=http://live.gnome.org/GnomeDeveloperKithttp://live.gnome.org/GnomeDeveloperKit/a/li lia href=http://live.gnome.org/GnomeDeveloperKit/BuildingPackages title=http://live.gnome.org/GnomeDeveloperKit/BuildingPackageshttp://live.gnome.org/GnomeDeveloperKit/BuildingPackages/a/li /ul p!--break--/p dl class=footnotesbr / dta class=footnote name=footnote1 href=#footnoteref11./a/dtddForesight Linux is the parent distribution of the GNOME Developer Kit. That is, the GNOME Developer Kit is based off Foresight Linux./dd dta class=footnote name=footnote2 href=#footnoteref22./a/dtddIf you are unsure of the terminology used in this sentance, then the chances are that the tutorial isn't for you. However if you are interested, take a look at it for more information/dd /dl
A time to be cliché...

Posted: December 22nd, 2007, 12:25pm CET by Joshua Hesketh

p... and by cliché I mean Hello Planet Linux Australia./p pFor those reading my blog who don't know what Planet Linux Australia is, it is simply an aggregated list of Australian bloggers who write about Linux and open source stuff. (a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_%28software%29.Read more here/a)/p pAnyway... I thought I'd be polite and introduce myself to the planet. I'm Joshua Hesketh (Josh or Joshua, I don't mind). I live in Tasmania, Australia and love open source + Linux etc. I don't really have much more to say at the moment, but if you want to know more about me, feel free to send me an email: a href=mailto:josh@nitrotech.orgjosh@nitrotech.org/a/p pAs a side note I've been writing a series on open source and particularly what it means to the Information Technology Industry in Australia. a href=http://josh.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/blog/joshua-hesketh/what-open-sourcePlease feel free to read it here/a./p pPS a href=http://josh.opentechnologysolutions.com.au/blog/joshua-hesketh/new-blogAn introduction to my blog can be found here/a./p
Laptops for Heroes

Posted: December 5th, 2007, 2:39pm CET by Joshua Hesketh

pFor those of you who haven't heard about the one laptop per a child program, you're really missing out. The initiative is an excellent step forward towards education in third world counties and they are also rocking laptops. If you haven't heard of them (or even if you have), I highly recommend you read more about it on a href=http://www.laptop.orgtheir website, here/a./p pNow onto my main point. I was very surprised (and incredibly pleased) to find that Masi Oka (who acts a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiro_NakamuraHiro Nakamura/a in the hit TV series a href=http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/Heroes/a) did a promotional video for the a href=http://www.laptopgiving.orgGive One Get One/a program./p pobject width=425 height=355br / param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/zQbtebeftyAamp;rel=1/param param name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/zQbtebeftyAamp;rel=1 type=application/x-shockwave-flash wmode=transparent width=425 height=355/embed/object!--break--/p
Why is open source important to technology and the world?

Posted: November 27th, 2007, 2:38pm CET by Joshua Hesketh
This is a post in a series on the importance of open source. If you are not familiar with term "Open Source", I recommend you read this blog post first.

Why is open source so important? Why I am so passionate about open source? Why does Open Technology Solutions support open source?...

I have always had a strong passion for technology. When I was younger I would tinker with circuit boards, build basic robots and always be fascinated by anything new and revolutionary. This passion naturally led me to computers and eventually to the wonders of what you can achieve with software.

We do so much with our computers. We manage businesses, talk to friends, find information, relax with multimedia, play games and much more. But imagine where technology would be if we didn't share one key thing. Knowledge. Imagine if the best scientists and brains in the world withheld their findings. Imagine if Newton, Einstein or Bohr didn't share their research. We would be living in a very dark and disadvantaged world indeed.

Collaboration is what allows us to live in such an advanced society. Without it we would be thousands of years behind in technology. We learn from each other. We gain wisdom from others mistakes and build upon their successes. Likewise, open source allows for this freedom, for freedom of knowledge, for multiple people to build upon software, for programmers and developers to share their wisdom and for the world to advance technologically.

This idealogical philosophy of open source also extends to open content. In the same sense, imagine where the world would be without the combined knowledge, research and discoveries of individuals. It is for this reason that I support wikipedia and their mission. I highly recommend you watch this video. The video (embedded below) was made to promote their donation system, but it is still a great example of how people around the world are working together to provide information to everybody and every culture. It is a beautiful example of how collaboration can create such a solid product.

A brilliant example of the importance of open collaboration is the 2004 United States presidential election controversy. In short, the computers basically failed to calculate electrical results accurately, resulting in a biased election. If these systems were open to public scrutiny, a lot of the issues could have been avoided. Another example of how important collaboration is in software, is how stable and fully featured Linux and Apache are. Without development, research and a collaborative effort from countless organisations, businesses and individuals, these products would not, or could not, lead the Internet server industry as it does today for the above reasons.

So there are many reasons for utilising open source (see my other blog posts), but not only is it great to individuals, businesses and organisations, but it advances technology and the world!

Read more:
- http://www.istl.org/05-spring/article2.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source
How can open source save you money?

Posted: November 23rd, 2007, 7:04am CET by Joshua Hesketh
This is a post in a series on the importance of open source. If you are not familiar with term "Open Source", I recommend you read this blog post first.

I previously discussed why open source is important to businesses, but one thing I (purposely) left out, was how open source can save you and your business money. I left this out because "Ultimately people who have been using open source for a long time will always come back to greater strategic control, not cost" Jeff Waugh, 2007.^[1]

There are many advantages to open source software. These can be ethical, moral, flexibility or licenses^[2], but to most newcomers to open source, it is the price. A lot of open source software, if not the majority, will set you back close to $0 upfront.^[3] While there can be expenses in training and maintaining, the benefits greatly outweigh these costs.^[4] Having most open source given away for free is an excellent way for individuals and businesses to try and test out solutions before committing to one. This means companies can experiment and migrate slowly over to a new system instead of diving head first into a multi-thousand dollar venture.

In the average Information Communication and Technology (ICT^[5]) budget for companies and enterprises, software only makes up about 5-10% (the rest is hardware and physical requirements). So even if you go pure free (gratis) and open source you may only be saving 5-10% on your total budget. That said however, there are many other advantages to utalising open source software that can also save you money. For example open source is well known to be much more effecient with hardware. Be this due to the large community of developers or otherwise, open source is leading the market in scalability through visualisation and clustering. A great example of this is thin clients. If you were to set up a classroom in a school with 20 computers, you could buy one big main computer and 20 screens + keyboards and save on not having to purchase individual machines or licenses. You can also expand your networks and server power more efficiently, for example, by adding new servers to a cluster rather then upgrading your mainframe once a year and hoping the new one works.

While I have avoided talking about Linux and Unix^[6] so far (since I wanted to keep to open source software in general), they serve as great examples in both cost and maintenance. There is 1 Linux administrator to 100-400 Linux machines compared to 1 Microsoft Windows administrator to 40-100 machines.^[7] This shows how much more efficient it is to administer a Linux based machine. One Linux administrator can do nearly 10 times as much as one Windows technician. This enables a company to invest their money more effectively or have their technical staff work on more important and interesting ventures.

Imagine benefiting from hundreds of thousands of incredibly smart and wise people collaborating on the one problem or product. Imagine the quality of the product. Imagine the superb documentation, stability, security and support. But ah... where is the support? Large open source companies such as Redhat, Canonical and Novell are dedicated to providing enterprise support and services. Thanks to these vendors, corporations are able to adopt open source software without having to worry about sustaining it internally. This is also something Open Technology Solutions offer. Where appropriate our solutions and products are built around open source so you can save money and benefit from all these great things. We are also able to offer support and services to businesses who wish to start using open source software.^[8]

So overall open source doesn't just save you money upfront, but the quality, the flexibility and the choice in open source software allows you to save much much more.

Read more:
1.10^th Oct. 2007, The open source roadshow (Hobart). 2.http://eu.conecta.it/paper/Advantages_open_source_soft.html 3.For example Linux and Apache, two of the most common pieces of open source, are completely free. 4.See the benefits of open source 5.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_and_Communications_Technology 6.The two mainstream open source operating systems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system 7.Refer to The open source roadshow. 8.To learn more about how Open Technology Solutions uses open source in their products, click here.
Stallman is a rocket!

Posted: November 23rd, 2007, 6:23am CET by Joshua Hesketh

You may need to read XKCD and know who Richard Stallman is to get this joke fully.

http://www.xkcd.com/344/

Quote of the day "Cease this affront to freedom, or stand and defend yourselves!"
linux.conf.au

Posted: November 22nd, 2007, 3:06pm CET by Joshua Hesketh
I am really looking forward to going to LCA2008. I have heard many great things about it and it is well known as one of the best open source conferences in the world, even Linus Torvalds goes.

I hope to attend most of the Gnome mini-conf and even get more involved in the open source desktop community.

These new comer guides are awesome and aren't helping me have patience waiting for the event!
- http://laptop006.livejournal.com/39352.html
- http://www.darkmere.gen.nz/2007/0129.html
MySQL Does what you want, but doesn't tell you?

Posted: November 22nd, 2007, 9:31am CET by Joshua Hesketh
So MySQL does some cool ORDERing options.^[1] But I spent ages looking through their documentation to find what I needed.

I wanted to order a query by a certain column but I wanted to be able to have the word "hello" appear first, then order the rest DESC.

It doesn't seem to be in the main documentation of the ORDER command in MySQL, but in the comments I found that you can use ORDER BY field_name='Hello' DESC syntax to order the fields with a value before the rest. This turns out to be quite useful when you use the LIKE command or even subqueries.^[2]^[3]
```
SELECT * FROM table ORDER BY some_field LIKE "%hello%" DESC
```
While this is a very basic example, you can quickly see the useful application of this method. This could save doing a query twice (once to get all the hello fields and again to get the rest ordered descending).

1.http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/sorting-rows.html 2.http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/string-comparison-functions.html 3.http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/subqueries.html

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Joshua Hesketh's blog (12 unread)

Register soon for linux.conf.au

Posted: December 31st, 2008, 6:42am CET by Joshua Hesketh

linux.conf.au tickets on sale now!

Posted: October 15th, 2008, 7:43am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

linux.conf.au call for presentations closes tomorrow

Posted: August 7th, 2008, 11:39am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

linux.conf.au shouts out for speakers/presentations

Posted: July 11th, 2008, 9:26am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

zookeepr.org

Posted: June 16th, 2008, 6:58am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

Zookeepr Hackfest

Posted: June 10th, 2008, 6:58am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

Spambots grow brains!

Posted: May 17th, 2008, 9:14am CEST by Joshua Hesketh

Enclosure: [download]

Open Source in Education

Posted: March 16th, 2008, 5:57am CET by Joshua Hesketh

Linux.conf.au 2008 - One week on

Posted: February 10th, 2008, 3:38pm CET by Joshua Hesketh

Diving into GNOME Development

Posted: January 24th, 2008, 1:32pm CET by Joshua Hesketh

A time to be cliché...

Posted: December 22nd, 2007, 12:25pm CET by Joshua Hesketh

Laptops for Heroes

Posted: December 5th, 2007, 2:39pm CET by Joshua Hesketh

Why is open source important to technology and the world?

Posted: November 27th, 2007, 2:38pm CET by Joshua Hesketh

How can open source save you money?

Posted: November 23rd, 2007, 7:04am CET by Joshua Hesketh

Stallman is a rocket!

Posted: November 23rd, 2007, 6:23am CET by Joshua Hesketh

linux.conf.au

Posted: November 22nd, 2007, 3:06pm CET by Joshua Hesketh

MySQL Does what you want, but doesn't tell you?

Posted: November 22nd, 2007, 9:31am CET by Joshua Hesketh