Got in at 8.30am today, checked mail and blogs and then got on with some other bits and bobs. It was interesting to log on and see some of the responses regarding my last blog posting. Although Plone looks interesting and is likely to be my final choice of CMS, I am keen to look into other CMSs too. Typo3, suggested by mrben looks pretty interesting too. I saw a snippet of a talk at the Blender conference about this, and it does look like quite an interesting system. What I really need to know is how each of these CMSs compare to each other. What is it about Plone that makes it more desirable to Typo3 and the others? I have generally fostered the view that Mambo is great for smaller sites, but it is a little more rigid in terms of how flexible you can be with the layout (assuming you don’t want to get down and hack the Mambo code). On the flip side, it seems that Plone is a pretty competent but more involved CMS to use. I have heard that the Apress Plone book is the one to learn from, so I have looked into getting a copy of it.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. There is a local governance event going on at Aston Villa’s stadium, and Julia and I are heading down to mingle with the government types to represent Open Source. These events are the kinds of places we really need to be targeting – there is little point in us preaching to the converted, and we need to dig in deep at generic conferences and explain what Open Source is. At the last one (a general charities event in Hereford), the concept of Open Source went down a storm, and OpenOffice.org and Firefox attracted a real interest. The release of Firefox 1.0 adds a real legitimacy to this too. I am expecting that the event tomorrow will at least cause an interest at the local government level, and we are hooked in with a few local schemes to help push the software further. This includes some partnerships that are pushing the e-enabling of government services the development of training materials of EU courses.

I had lunch with Aq and Ade today and we mused the methods in which Open Source can be promoted within business. There is no doubt that businesses are a funny breed, and what seems like utter nonsense appears to make inherent, almost scientific sense to them. If many of these organisations can spend a lot on IT or can get a vendor to pay up for some jollies, it is more likely to be chosen as the solution. In many cases the people who actually need to manage the software are given little or no thought, and it can often cause unbounded frustration and the affixing of photos on dartboards. The general theory seems to be that you don’t sell them on the gains of Open Source, but sell them on how it can stop the losses associated with some software tools and Operating Systems. Monetary issues are typically unimportant for bigger-than-SME sized organisations, and the higher you go up it seems the further detached from reality some of these people are.

Something I am considering running is some kind of ‘guerrilla evangelism’ seminar. There are so many disenchanted IT workers who are wanting to bring Open Source into their organisations, and this can be achieved via some sensible and statistically sound evangelism. Open Source suffers a lot from hype, and a seminar on this kind of guerrilla and behind the scenes evangelism could be really valuable. My inspiration for this came from EuroFoo where I sat in with Tim O’Reilly, Zak Greant, Denese Cooper and others. Some interesting points where made and I am intrigued to develop a seminar to explore some of these concepts further. Do you folks have any ideas?
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Busy day today. Got into work at 8.30 and successfully managed to brave the alarm system for the first time. A bit worried about setting the alarm off and getting the police called out, I legged it in and disabled the alarm in a feat of physical capability reminiscent of the krypton factor.

Today we gave a seminar on .NET and Mono. It was pretty interesting and my talk seemed to go well (I will get the slides online soon). Paul then got up after me and showed the audience how to actually code a simple Mono application, and that went well too. Mono does seem a pretty nice framework to code with, and although the Slashdot crowd constantly ramble on about potential legal issues, it is only really the ASP.NET, ADO.NET, VB.NET and System.Windows.Forms components that are potentially liable to litigation. It seems the Mono developers have also prepared for the possibility of this and have modularised the system so any innocuous components can be removed.

After the seminar I legged it out to McDonalds to grab some lunch (I forgot my sandwiches) and then legged it back for a meeting with my old workmate and friend Dom Musgrove who now works for Smart Region. We discussed a few things about some projects we may be collaborating on, and we also discussed an event on Friday that we are attending for local government bods. Dom has also expressed an interest in some form of Open Source CMS, and we discussed Mambo and Plone as possible options. There has been a lot of discussion here recently about Plone (we are moving the OpenAdvantage site to Plone), and I think I might take a deeper look into it. We are also running a training course on Plone that I think I will attend. It looks like a really intriguing CMS. After this I had a chat to my pal Brian Teeman on the phone, and then cracked on with some other work.

Today I also managed to sync my Palm Tungsten T3 with Linux, and I have pretty much configured it. The only bit I am having difficulty with for some reason is syncing my calendar. I have managed to sort my addresses and to-do’s out, but the calendar is really the key thing. Hopefully I can get this figured out soon, and the PDA will actually become useful for things other than recording humorous sound clips.

OK, OK, first let me apologise. It has been a while since I added a post, but my first week at OpenAdvantage has been rather busy. I am really settling into the place and there is some truly good work going on here. I am starting to find my feet and getting going with some projects of my own. What is interesting about OpenAdvantage is just how pragmatic they are. Theoretically, anyone could knock on the door of 95, Broad Street and we could welcome them in, lie to them about how Open Source can cure every IT snafu that they have and wish them on their way. OpenAdvantage takes the stance of ensuring that sensible and sage advice is given regarding how the software is advocated. This involves a consistent process of identifying what their requirements are and mapping something that is truly suitable for them; we don’t recommend fringe or development software, and we try to suggest software we allhave extensive experience with. I am pleased that this mature approach is being used and not senseless advocacy. Before I joined I suspected it was grounded advocacy from my discussions with Paul, and I am pleased to see this is the case. Incidentally, if you are, or know of a business or organisation based in the West Midlands who could use Open Source software or wants to speak to us about migrating over to it, give me a call. My number is 0121 634 1645. We have a good resource center here in which people can come in, have a discussion and see the technology and software working. We even use an Open Source PBX for the phone network.

It has been a hectic time recently, particularly before I started work. Tying together a thousand different strands into a single rope is always hard, and bringing together my self employed work and my new job has been a difficult balancing act. Things are setting down now though, and I am pleased the stress is starting to shift. There are certainly the stresses and concerns of a new job and the new targets associated with the job, but I am pleased I can focus more clearly on the job in hand. I still have some things to fix up, but it is getting easier.

I have recently written a new O’Reilly Blog entry, and it is called TV tales and software fails. This entry was written from some of my past experiences of customer support and how we seem to view software in a different way. I am not expecting everyone to read it and expect an enlightening social study, but it is my simple hypothesis of why we seem to have this different perception. It is also an opportunity for me to pin back your ears and gently rant about the inability of some companies when you take a product back. I tried to be careful when writing the piece as not to name and shame any specific company with regards to my TV tale, but what the heck, the said company is Comet, and more specifically, the Comet at J9 on the M6. They demonstrated an epiphany of incapability of practical biblical proportions. If failure was an extreme sport, those lot would be the kings.

Recently I decided to shell out the big ones on Doom 3. I have read all of this hype about how great the game is, and to be honest, it is all entirely true. Doom 3 is a great example of an atmospheric game, and just because it is a FPS doesn’t mean that it has to lack any of this atmosphere. At one particular point in the game when it all kicks off, I was actually quite nervous playing it. The man sparkes was right when he said it was pretty scary. Damn right.

Tonight is LUGRadio night and we will be recording another few episodes. I am really pleased to see how LUGRadio has managed to maintain the faithful while we had the summer off. We were all gobsmacked to see that people still hung about in the IRC channel, still posted on the forums and kept pestering us to pull our collaborative finger out and record some new shows. Although sparkes has thrown in the towel and the baldmonster Ade is on-board, I am sure we can keep the momentum of the show. Ade seems to have settled in really well, despite being so bald.

Oh, and congrats to the Mozilla team for released version 1.0 of Firefox!

Well, yesterday I started work at OpenAdvantage and all is going well. I have settled in, got my desk set up and sorted out some other gear. Everyone has been very welcoming and I am looking forward to working with the team. The OpenAdvantage crew seem like a very motivated bunch, and it is a good environment to be in.

Yesterday I had a meeting with my boss, Paul Cooper, and we started discussing the up and coming plans for OpenAdvantage and some pressing matters that need my immediate attention. Yesterday I got started working on a presentation for our Developing .NET applications for Linux seminar on the 10th November. We have also discussed some things we want to change with the website, and alongside two of my colleagues, I will be re-jigging the website and developing some new content and media for it. When this work is complete, I am am hoping the OpenAdvantage website will be a great source of information on Open Source migration in the Midlands.

A few days back I got in touch with the chaps at SpreadFirefox to discuss the possibility of a collaboration between SpreadFirefox and the Infopoint project. My plan is to basically make a bunch of Infopoints available for the promotion of Firefox, and I have had some very productive discussion with some of the SpreadFirefox contributors. I am going to get started soon on a brief story that will go on the Spreadfirefox website, and I am hoping it will encourage the grass roots advocacy that has made the Infopoint project popular. Although advocacy is important at an enterprise level, I also believe that it is critical at the grass roots consumer level. People who go to computer fairs take home ideas, opinions and beliefs from others they meet at these fairs. These miniature communities then breed opinions in partners, children and other people. If we can encourage the use of applications that offer a simple migratory path and offer distinct benefits (less malware, spyware and other junk), this can begin to develop a strong reputation for free software. Fingers crossed, this collaboration will have a real and tangible effect on Firefox take-up.

Something I am interested in pursuing is the adoption of Open Source to get kids of the streets and doing something creative with their time. this kind of effort has been successful with schemes such as A2RT, Freegeek, Seeds For Change and others, and I am sure that there are opportunities to push the cause further. The issues with this are distinctive:

• Communities depend on stable infrastructure – the reason why youth hostels and clubs are so popular is that they provide a stable infrastructure in which kids can have a laugh and not be stealing cars or hassling pensioners. The fact of the matter is that this simply cannot happen at school – kids don’t like hanging around at school as it is, and they need their own hangout spots in which to do things
• Peer review in kids is prominent, but inconsistent – if you look at a bunch of kids, for many of them, the peer review process is there, but it applies to things such as who looks the most fashionable, who pulls the most and who has the coolest looking gadgets. Kids with intellect and capability in a mental arena are not typically privy to peer acceptance, and peer review is often applied (certainly in boys) to physical fitness and capability. Who can belt a football the furthest down a field seems to be more important than who can think the most clearly. One area where peer review does draw a balance though is with creative achievement. If a kid creates a great song, draws a great picture or demonstrates creative sheen in another way, peer acceptance is rife.
• Computers are increasingly cool – computers are becoming cooler by the day. Years ago when computers were seen as toys of the spotty, unhygienic nerds who played Dungeons and Dragons, seem be largely gone, and aside from the actual nerds who do exist, computers are part and parcel of a kids life. The Internet, MSN messenger, games and music downloading services are all part of being young in 2004.
• Open Source as a community model is aligned with youth culture – the ideas behind Open Source are pretty similar to youth culture. Peer review, having the latest and coolest toys, meeting up to be social and talk about the community (either Open Source or a bunch of kids who are mates) and other community interactions seem very similar. Planting the concept of Open Source at an early stage is going to transform the concept into something that is not seen as a strange and different idea. I am not expecting kids of the future to herald Open Source as the greatest thing since the Gamecube, but to simply accept it as something that is fairly normal.

With the increase in free creative software such as Blender, Audacity, Rosegarden and Ardour, free software is becoming more interesting for kids. I am making the assumption that most kids are not interested in kernels, linkers, compilers and databases, but if they can use a tool such as Blender to create something really cool, it could really inspire them to create something useful. Concentrating on Blender specifically, this could also foster the birth of a number of grass roots animation studios that create Blender animations and shorts that outline the views of the youth of today. If we can get Blender better integrated into youth organisations and schools, this could be fundamental for encouraging kids to use a IT in ways that they enjoy.

Last night we (Seraphidian) released our debut album ‘Caged‘. We launched it at The Planet in Wolverhampton and it was astounding to see such a great response from the heaving crowd. We played a short four song set, and we finished up with a cover of Davidian by Machine Head to get people going. The place just erupted at that point and many a head was banging. Great stuff. 🙂

Well, tomorrow is the big day and I start my new job at OpenAdvantage. Firstly, thank-you so much for all the kind comments people have made. It is nice to see that other people seem to think this was a good decision to make, and I am looking forward to getting started and updating you all with how I get on. Although I am looking forward to the job, the one bit I am honestly dreading is the travelling. When you are self employed and you walk from your bedroom to the study to go to work, anything involving a car, bus or train seems like such a hassle. I am sure I will get used to it again after a few weeks.

Well, not a great amount to hypothesise on here at the moment as I cannot think of anything other than tying up the loose ends before I start work, and I have some things to sort out before I start. As with any move from self employment/freelancing to full time work, there is a period of time while you do both as the transition takes place. This results in early starts and late finishes while you cram the time in to finish things off.

I am looking forward to getting all this flattened out soon as I can honestly say that I have had the most stressful time recently. I have been working too much, not seeing much of Susan and not seeing many of my friends. It has been one of those situations where you find yourself thinking about work when trying to relax and never properly relaxing.

Oh, and Doom III is on its way. Anyone fancy a deathmatch online sometime?

Long running visitors to this site and readers of my work in the magazines will be well aware of my passion for Linux, Open Source and free software advocacy. Ever since I first got involved with Linux back in 1998, I have wanted to tell everyone just how cool (a) the software is, and more importantly (b) how cool the community is. I have set up a LUG, published advocacy columns, set up a UK Linux website (R.I.P), run information booths, set up the Infopoint project, advocated Linux to charities/schools, performed research about Open Source and written about all this random fluff on this very site.

As a journalist I have had the opportunity to live my dream of advocating this community, and I am involved with with some great publications and editors. I adore writing for each of the publishers and magazines that I am involved with, and I love working alongside the editors and production staff in these organisations. I also love the kind comments and feedback I get back from the readers.

Recently I had an opportunity to take this advocacy mission of mine and push it a step further. I can now officially state that I will be working at OpenAdvantage full time as of Monday. I have kept this under my hat for a while as I don’t like to announce things and then have to backtrack if something fails to happen. In this case though, it is full steam ahead and I am all set to start work.

So, what will I be doing at OpenAdvantage, you may ask? Well, OpenAdvantage is an organisation based in Birmingham, UK that specifically tries to push the uptake and use of Open Source software in the middle English counties. My role at Open Advantage will be to channel my efforts into pushing Open Source further, developing projects and ideas, and trying to get people to move over if it makes sense for them; this role will basically be professional Open Source evangelism and consultancy.

When I am at OpenAdvantage I am determined to achieve a certain amount of personal goals:

• To use my skills and experience to have a vibrant and tangible impact in the take-up of Open Source in the Midlands.
• To understand and organise in my head the potential use of Open Source in schools and educational establishments. Kids need to start knowing about it early on.
• To continue to make OpenAdvantage a center in which authoritative, non-zealoty advice can be given to a wide range of people.

Most importantly, I want to ensure that in my first year of work at OpenAdvantage I have made a measurable impact on the take-up of Open Source. Now, I am not saying this is going to be easy, OpenAdvantage are an organisation like any other and have their own targets and goals that must be met, but I am sure these targets can be achieved with a prominent and long lasting effect on people in the midlands.

Something you may be wondering is where all this stands with my writing. I can confirm that I am in no way giving up on writing or journalism. I am still going to write for all of the magazines, I will still write my O’Reilly blog, and I am still going to be writing my books. I will still be doing talks at conferences, and I will still be in the pub with you all afterwords making an arse of myself. If the job had required that I stopped writing I would have said no, and I am still going to be doing the normal things I do. I now just have a platform in which I can really make a difference.

That is right people. I am so damn tied up with work I have no time to keep you updated. I will be back soon, and I will let you know what has been happening. Stay tuned…
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More pictures are in the Gallery

Well, the last few days have been great fun. A bunch of us (Aq, Ade, Lee, Dave and Kat) went down to the LinuxWorld expo in London. We stayed in our usual haunt down there, and it was great to meet up with the following great people: Schwuk Jon Masters Pete and Pat from Bytemark Justin, Sally, Jasmin, Raj and others who work/did work at SuSE/Novell Nick Veitch, Paul Hudson, Maggie Meer and other magazine folks Jon Riddell from KDE David Pashley and Paul Sladen Brian and Lance from UKLinux The OpenAdvantage team The boys from ITSLinux James Holden Don de Silva Jeremy Allison Graham Taylor from OpenForum Europe Alaisdair Kergon There were many, many more that I have no doubt missed off (I am bad at lists), and many others that I met at the show who I never caught the name of. It was also cool to have lunch with Matthias Ettrich and the legendary Phil Hands. It was my first time meeting Matthias, and he let me use his laptop to run my presentation on. I only ever get to see Phil at Expos, and we will have to pop down for some drinks sometime. it was also great to meet Colin Watson for the first time, and the next time I see him I plan on buying him a few beers. He is doing some great work with Ubuntu. The expo itself was pretty crap to be honest, and it seems to be getting smaller each year. I think they need to reduce the costs of the show to lower the bar for smaller organisations to get involved, and there was even a distinct lack of an IBM presence there. The presentation seemed to go pretty well, and I had decent and constructive feedback on the good points as well as things to be improved in the future. I have the put the slides in the Presentations section. As usual, the evening of the first day was a fun one, and we had a great time when we descended on a small Persian restaurant down the road from the normal pub that everyone meets in. It was fun to hang out with some people who we normally don’t get to see that often, and as usual, I seem to have taken a load of photos of new friends that I met while inebriated. This seems to have happened before. Hmmm. Yesterday my GPS unit arrived and it works great. I went to the dentist today and gave it a run with GPSDrive. Although not a vector based SatNav type application, GPSDrive does work really well, and you can use Expedia Germany to get the maps for the UK. I downloaded some maps and it is a pretty good means of seeing where exactly I am. Yes, that sounds obvious, but it really is simple and beautiful as that. As for the MythTV project, I am going to get the box fairly soon, and I will let you know what the spec is and how I get on. This is going to be a pretty interesting project to do. Right, I better get on with some work…

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