March 10, 2008
gnome
2 Comments
I just ordered a hard copy of the GNOME annual report (PDF) from lulu.com. At €9.05 postage included it’s a little pricy for a 24 page printed document, so I’m expecting top quality. I almost backed out when I saw the final bill, but I figured that a good chunk of that is going to the foundation, so what the hell, I’m a happy guy. Congratulations to Lucas and all the others who made this possible this year. I’m honoured to have been listed in the credits, given that I did so little this year to help.
Important update: I just heard back from Lucas that the reports are being printed at cost at Lulu; so €6 is the cost of printing the thing (€3 delivery on top for Europe), and nothing is going to the foundation. Also, lulu doesn’t cancel orders under any circumstances. Not saying that you shouldn’t buy it, only that you should only do so if you think it’s decent value for money.
March 7, 2008
gnome
5 Comments
Wouldn’t it be cool for GNOME to have partnerships with bookshare.org and Project Gutenberg? How about integrating evince to provide books for download?
March 6, 2008
gnome
2 Comments
The GNOME LinkedIn group has finally calmed down – over the last 2 days I have had 12 requests to join (just approved) to bring the total number of members to 277 members, just a week after announcing it! I expect to top out around 300 members next week.
And we’re an international bunch! A quick sample showed: 53 from the USA, 24 from the UK, 17 people from India, 13 from France, 13 from Spain, 10 from Italy, 9 from Brazil, 4 from Chile, 4 from China, but only 3 from Germany! And half the members come from outside those countries (for those whose countries aren’t mentioned, if you *really* want to know, say so in comments, I’ll tell you).
It would be interesting to cross reference this group of GNOME fans with others we have – the GNOME map, the Facebook group, and even GNOME Foundation members
Not to mention the SVN committers list…
March 4, 2008
freesoftware, marketing
1 Comment
Putting this on my blog for posterity. This is the presentation I gave at Primevère with a bonus final slide containing links to stuff which we referenced during the Q&A session at the end of the presentation.
March 3, 2008
General
No Comments
Over the weekend, the Primevère salon was on in the Eurexpo conference center in Lyon. Thisis something of a regional mecca for everyone interested in organic living, holistic lifestyles, energy conservation, and everything to do with the environment. Over three days, more than 30,000 people come to see what’s on offer, educate themselves and mingle in this very particular ambiance.
There are a really wide range of associations, products and services on display – from the giant Kapla constructions above to Esperanto courses, Hemp beer, clothes and ropes, organically grown produce and solar panels.
In the middle of it all, my local LUG, ALDIL, had one of the most popular stands ofthe salon, spreading the gospel of Free Software with our ragtag group of volunteers. Over the three days, there were lots of presentations, including: “Which software for which usage?” (by yous truly) “Free software office applications”, “Communicating with Free Software” and “Free games”.
This is one of the reasons I love this LUG – this is not the kind of event that you associate with Linux geeks, but it is exactly the kind of event where you find *lots* of people willing to listen, and sensitive to our arguments of freedom and community. This is the ALDIL’s third participation in the event, but the first time I’ve been able to go myself, and it’s been an eye-opening experience. It’s exactly the kind of public which all free software projects should be aiming to reach with their message.
February 28, 2008
General, gnome
No Comments
I’m always amazed at the network effect of free software communities – the LinkedIn GNOME group which I talked about 9 hours ago now has 107 members and growing as the time zones move westward. Update: A few hours later, roughly 12 hours after mentioning the group, we’re now at 143 members.
Colour me impressed!
