Older blog entries for Burgundavia (starting at number 146)

Changing the direction of the herd

A lot of people are followers. Companies, being run by people, are no different. One of the most recent examples of this behaviour is the spate of Linux companies signing deals with Microsoft. With a few weeks we had Xandros, LG and Linspire all signed deals. It looked like that the growing tide of deals would overwhelm even the most steady CEOs and make signing a deal with Microsoft just part of running a Linux business.

That isn't going to happen.

Why? Within a few short days, Ubuntu, Mandriva and Red Hat have all said "No deal" (In Red Hat's case, this was a reiteration of a previous statement). The herd has changed direction. As with any herd, there will be a few breakaways, as Novell did last year when they signed their deal, but to all the other Linux companies out there, signing a deal will not be "just part of running a Linux business".

So, thank you Mark, Red Hat and Mandriva management. Your courage makes the world a safer place for all Linux companies and users.

12 Jun 2007 (updated 13 Jun 2007 at 23:29 UTC) »
OpenStreetMap: Top 5 Cities in Canada

I have previously shared my newest obsession and I thought I would showcase some of the amazing work that all of us Canadians have done, as there are some beautiful maps coming together across Canada.

Victoria, British Columbia

Calgary, Alberta

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Toronto, Ontario

Halifax, Nova Scotia

What is OpenStreetMap?

For those that don't know, OpenStreetMap aims to create CC-by-sa licensing maps of the entire world, creating the first truly Free set of geographic data that covers the entire world.

How do I get involved in OpenStreetMap?

You don't have to live in Canada to get involved, although you will earn brownie points if you do. If you are lucky and live in a part of the world that has Yahoo Imagery, then all you need is a web browser. For those that don't, you will need a GPS. Regardless, the The Beginner's Guide will get your started.

Is there a Canadian community for OpenStreetMap?

Absolutely. We have begun to build openstreetmap.ca and you can always visit our Wikiproject.

7 Jun 2007 (updated 7 Jun 2007 at 04:35 UTC) »
Is Linspire planning a patent deal with Microsoft?

I just read Kevin Carmony's piece about the GPL v3 and unintended consequences. I do not have a opinion about his ideas but I did have this thought: Is Linspire planning a patent deal with Microsoft?

In the related thread on the Freespire Forums there is an interesting post.

Changing direction

Today I left Userful, as I found their current management issues were not worth my time. What will I be doing over the next several months? I don't really know...

Get your free pass to Ubuntu Live. Just tell me story first...

The wonderful people at O'Reilly and I have cooked up a little scheme to get one of you lovely people a pass to Ubuntu Live, for absolutely no cost. The catch? You have to write me a story about why you want to go. And why would you want to go?

Well, for starters, you can listen to Jono talk about herding cats and by cats, he means us, or how a small law office uses to Ubuntu from end to end, or how Asterisk loves Ubuntu. Of course, there is lots more on the schedule, not to mention the drinking BOFs every evening...

So drop me an email and tell me all about why you want to go to Ubuntu Live.

So what exactly will be in Gutsy?

This is always the question around this time. While nothing has been set in stone, you can see the specs that are being considered on the Launchpad page for Gutsy.

I should note that this doesn't mean that everything on that page is going to be done. Any specs marked deferred mean that the implementer couldn't get them done for Feature Freeze, in this case August 16th, as can be seen on the Gutsy Release Schedule. You can look at the equivalent Feisty, Edgy or Dapper pages to get an idea of what these pages look like after release.

And, Steve, the page you are looking for is the Displayconfig-gtk spec

Canadians: Help stop Microsoft's OpenXML from becoming a standard

Chani on Planet KDE has pointed out the that the Standards Council of Canada needs some education, as it is seeking to have the OpenXML spec defined as an ISO standard. So, Canadians, step up and leave a comment about how they have never even considered OpenDocument.

Do not adjust your orbit: The family domination of Ubuntu continues

Seems my older brother has finally hit planet...

Home again

After some 30 hours of travel, I am back. Seems that cancelling one portion of my travel (Madrid to Sevilla) would have meant cancelling it all, so I ended up catching the last AVE train back to Sevilla, arriving at 00:45 and then hanging out in the airport for 6 hours until my 07:25 flight back to Madrid. This was made all more fun by the fact that the Sevilla airport closes between 02:00 and 05:00...

All in all, the trip home was a great deal less painful than the trip out to Spain. The Spanish security was altogether more sensible and friendly, the Spanish customs officer actually thanked me for coming to Spain and Spanish airports are generally clean and fairly fast. In fact, Spanish transport generally rocks. Trains are clean and on time; the AVE will actually refund a portion of your money if you are only 5 minutes late. If only North American transport worked as well...

Still travelling

As I write this I am in a hostel in Madrid, enjoying the fine Spanish weather and culture for a few more days after UDS, which, incidentally, rocked. Thanks to all the Canonical folks for putting it on and Jono especially for saying yes (no, not in that way).

However, please don't expect any speedy return on emails until the 21st or so of May.

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