As a first time facilitator and participant, Asia Source 3 was a learning experience. It was not the typical workshop or conference as it was 6 day camp for us. There were focused discussions, activities and parties practically every single day. During the day, we’ were quite busy with the various discussions and activities that deal with open source communities and tools that we need for managing information, migration, broadcasting information and growing a community. The diverse backgrounds of the participants also make it even cooler because of the way that everyone will interact and perspectives and experiences are shared.

One of the things I learned from camp is that even introverts can be a little bit more social once they have an environment where they can somehow be themselves. Introducing myself to people at camp wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do but my geeky shirts were a starting point in some cases. Or my interest in localization led me to interesting people who shared what they do in Cambodia and Bangladesh. This for me is a precious lesson on interacting with others in the community. This is face to face interaction, not online. And it is better than just knowing someone via email. You could see the faces of the people behind the project/s and that takes the whole community-bonding experience to a different level. For me, you could not be as impersonal about a project anymore when you encounter such awesome people from different projects who are very passionate about open source.

For those who were just new to Linux and the entire open source philosophy, they looked even more excited after camp because they have so many things to share with others. It makes them want to experience the same environment at the source camp in their own country too. People who make things happen are simply that awesome!

For those who want to see the Asia Source 3 Wiki, it’s now online.

Post from: New Linux User

No photos of me yet ^^;; Sorry. But the doll will suffice for now

The Sun Tech Days in Manila started yesterday but I wasn’t able to go. It was mainly a Netbeans day. This morning though, a lot of people were there and the hall was packed with people. The keynote emphasized on the opportunities we could have when it comes to software development and open source software in particular.

I attended sessions on JavaFX, Grails,and Open Solaris. I was curious about trying out Open Solaris on a VM (for the heck of it) and if nothing goes wrong, there will be chance for me within a month’s time to play around with it.

Tomorrow seems to be a more exciting day because there will be talks about Web 2.0 stuff. For a complete list of talks, you could check out the agenda. I don’t know for sure if you could still register on the spot tomorrow but if you do feel like it, join us tomorrow on the last day of the Sun Tech Days.

Post from: New Linux User

Every geek will have his/her own agenda. And of course, you all know which OS I am rooting for! I am not sure what my fellow b5media Tech channel bloggers think about it but let the operating systems show their strengths and weaknesses next month and we’ll wait and see.

Post from: New Linux User

If you’re sick and tired of getting locked in to particular software because the vendor says so, think again. You have the right to choose the software you will use and there are so many others out there who can help you!

If you’re someone who has made the choice, take it one step further: show others why you made that choice and why they should too.

If you fall into either category, then Software Freedom Day is for you! All over the world, people celebrate Software Freedom Day by having demos of various free and open source software, discussions and tutorials, as well as a place to copy various free and open source software. It’s a venue to meet up for newbies, for those who are curious and for those who have been using open source software for quite some time already. Maybe you just feel like hanging out with people of like-minds and this is going to be quite the event for you. Check out your local open source community mailing lists or IRC channels and see how you could participate. There’s time to help prepare for it and spread the word.

Mark September 15 on your calendars and make sure it’s going to be a memorable one!

Post from: New Linux User