December 2011 - Free-software-melb - lists.softwarefreedom.com.au

Contributing To Debian slides online
by Ben Finney 16 Dec '11

16 Dec '11

Howdy all, The slides I used for last night's talk, Contributing To Debian, are at <URL:http://rasputin.madmonks.org/~bignose/presentation/free-software/contri…>. The work is licensed to all under CC-BY-SA 3.0 AU terms. The above URL has the reStructuredText source document, and the rendered S5 presentation. (More on reStructuredText and S5 at their homepages <URL:http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html> <URL:http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/s5/>.) I don't know how long it will remain at the above URL. Anyone who wants to put it somewhere more permanent can do so, of course, under the terms of its license. -- \ “… one of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was | `\ that, lacking zero, they had no way to indicate successful | _o__) termination of their C programs.” —Robert Firth | Ben Finney

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Thanks for a great year!
by Ben Sturmfels 16 Dec '11

16 Dec '11

Hi Free Software Folks, Last night saw our largest attendance yet! Ben Finney told us how to get involved in Debian, one of the most mature and respected GNU/Linux projects. Alex and Les brought along snacks and drinks and afterwards a number of us headed around the corner for tasty Korean/Japanese food and more free software chatter. We also agreed to explicitly change the group's name to Free Software Melbourne (from Melbourne Free Software Interest Group). It's been a great year for the group. Thanks again to Alex giving us the opportunity to have a private and comfortable meeting space at VPAC. This has allowed us to grow significantly and see some very interesting free software discussion along the way. I hope that next year we can continue to complement the community's existing technical user groups with our own non-technical, free software-focused, informal social gatherings. Next gathering will be in February, due to holidays and conferences including the linux.conf.au free software conference in Ballarat. Dates for 2012 TBA. A few things we're considering for next year: - a introductory free software participation event such as a Debian bug-squashing party (not only for programming people) - a bigger role in Software Freedom Day 15 September - perhaps a local event to mark the FSF Libre Planet Conference 24-25 March We're looking forward to seeing you again for more free software in 2012! Regards, Ben

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Forum now available via Gmane gateway
by Ben Finney 15 Dec '11

15 Dec '11

Howdy all, This forum is now available via the Gmane gateway <URL:http://dir.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.foss.melbourne>. As described at that page, this allows the forum to be accessed via many methods in addition to the mailing list, such as NNTP (which is how I'm now posting this message), a weblog-style interface, and syndication feeds. I have given Ben Sturmfels instructions for how to make the past messages of this forum appear as postings in Gmane; hopefully he can find the time to do that. -- \ “If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the | `\ precipitate.” —Steven Wright | _o__) | Ben Finney

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Discussion group tomorrow (Thursday 15 December)
by Ben Sturmfels 14 Dec '11

14 Dec '11

Hi Folks, Just a quick reminder that our free software discussion group is on tomorrow night. Look forward to seeing you there! http://www.freesoftware.asn.au/melb/ Regards, Ben

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Last free software discussion group for the year on Thursday
by Ben Sturmfels 08 Dec '11

08 Dec '11

Hi Folks, Our last discussion group for the year is next Thursday 15 December. We'll be taking a break in January, so don't miss it! Melbourne Free Software Interest Group Thursday 15 December, 6pm http://www.freesoftware.asn.au/melb/ VPAC Head Office Training Room, Level 1 Building 91 110 Victoria Street Carlton South Map: http://www.vpac.org/about/contact Please arrive 10 mins early. Agenda ------ 1. Experiences contributing to Debian and free software (Ben Finney) 2. How do you stay up-to-date in the free software world? (discussion) Cheers, Ben

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Byte Into It 2011-11-30: Australian ISPs propose compromise on copyright enforcement
by Ben Finney 03 Dec '11

03 Dec '11

Howdy all, For the Byte Into It program on 3RRR 2011-11-30 I was a host <URL:http://rrrfm.libsyn.com/byte-into-it-30-november-2011>. We spoke about some software freedom topics: * Australian ISPs propose a compromise on copyright enforcement. I compared it to the violence against “pirates” in South Africa and the excellent European Court of Justice constitutional ruling against a Belgian copyright maximalist. * Free software colour management gets a boost with ColorHug, a free software device for calibrating colour output on a monitor. -- \ “We must find our way to a time when faith, without evidence, | `\ disgraces anyone who would claim it.” —Sam Harris, _The End of | _o__) Faith_, 2004 | Ben Finney

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