Is not only a challenge because of language and culture, but also will be a challenge because is not an easy to topic to talk about. I will be giving a keynote about Venezuela, and how an Entire Country Migrates To Linux. Venezuela has, like all Latin American countries, a strong interest in using free and open source software for many different purposes. That gives them more independence from big software corporations and gives them the opportunity to develop the software in their own country giving their local talents a chance to grow professionally.

So the Venezuelan governament has started its own Linux distribution, called Canaima, which is installed on most of the computers in all governmental institutions. Venezuela also has a program for equipping all schools with laptops, which were first bought in Portugal and are now produced inside the country. So the kids grow up using Linux on their computers from the age of eight.

This talk will give an overview on the migration to free and open source software in Venezuela. I really hope people enjoy and use as example all the efforts done in my country to migrate and can follow this example :)

See you in Vienna next week!!!!!!!!!

As a community leader, it is important to identify what motivates the individuals that participates in a community – to identify what makes them tick – and work to not lose what makes that individual motivated to keep contributing to the group towards a common goal. When we expect everyone to be motivated by the same thing or when we ignore looking for what motivates people we eventually find members resigning or burning out.

Understanding that each type of interest group can have a common motivating factor is the key that will make things move ahead. Let’s look at some easy examples:

* As a designer, occasionally receiving a t-shirt, stickers or part of the artwork that you have created will keep you motivated to keep creating artwork.

* Programmers/hackers will feel motivated (and invite friends too) if we provide pizzas and soda for a group hack night (Fedora Activity Day)

* Marketing people will feel motivated if they have resources to create amazing ideas to spread technology.

In countries with few resources or places where Red Hat support is not that easy to get these small details can make a big difference. Sometimes, we think that this is mostly a *money* issue, and while sometimes it is, we often find that if we don’t know or explore how to spend these resources to make a difference, then we are just wasting them.

The same way a hacker designs a piece of software, or a designer does a mock-up, or a writer creates documentation, we can make a plan to keep people motivated. But our lack of patience is our own worst enemy. All of us have amazing ideas and our leaders tell us to *just do it*. Sometimes it is easy, however, we are talking about a worldwide community here and we need to plan, organize and be prepared to turn failures into achievements. How do we prepare to motivate the world?

Even if we are a horizontal organization, we can do a pyramidal structure to determine the motivating factors of our community. Let’s start with the biggest motivating factor:

Freedom. As FLOSS users, our main motivation is to create/use/spread technology. We all agree on that.

Another factor is to determine what drives (motivates) people to want to be members of the team. Design, Program, Translation, Documentation, QA, Marketing and many more. There are teams where people join trying to learn, teach or just show/use their skills. Even if people inside each team are different, they have some common goals that can be easily determined. Designers are always trying to send a message, telling a story or turning complicated ideas into *easy to see* graphical stories. Translators love to learn different languages and make things readable for their local teams. Hackers love to hack, create and modify things – they have an awesome purpose and create/improve new tools that will make someones life easier (sometimes even their own). Each team has their key tasks that we can work with. However, we need to remember that each team consists of people with different language skills, cultural backgrounds and therefore contributes in different ways.

There is a third motivation factor – localization. If you ask someone from North America and someone from Latin American, how easy is to get marketing goodies, you will not get the same answer. If you ask someone from Asia or Europe (for instance) how easy is to use Social Networks to spread knowledge you will get different answers. Determining each region’s features is also important. Different languages, currency, customs, designs, ideas, programs and many more things, can seem really complicated, but it is just a matter of time and dedication.

From my perspective (not perfect), as long people see that we are interested in how to make everything work better and easier, they will also be more interested in contributing. We give love to Fedora and other FLOSS projects. The same way people expect to receive *something* even if they are too humble to say *NO, I’m ok this way*. I’m not only referring to receiving money, trips or goodies, I’m talking about comments, visits to their blogs, help with packages and with events, potential employees/employers and a lot of things that can be acquired inside such a diverse membership. Things are out there, but ask yourself this: “Are we looking to see what is needed to be improved or are we just sitting at our computers expecting the problems get resolved by other peoples ideas?”- I’m sorry, but I’m not the kind of person that likes to wait, maybe that’s why some think that I’m too annoying and others think that I push too much. Either way, this is what makes me happy.

A couple of days ago, a friend asked me about my perspectives on the Fedora project and if I think that things can get better. For me it is easy to see where things need to fit to make things work better, but like most people we have a real life outside the team. Our time to spend on the project is limited. Fedora or FLOSS projects in general and life itself is a huge puzzle we all struggle with. The pieces has always been there, either they are being shaped by your experiences, knowledge and people but is also shaped by what people around you support. What’s funny is that we always stress about missing pieces or not finding the right ones. Our lack of patience makes us feel frustrated, (let me remind you), you don’t have a unique puzzle… There is someone out there that have a couple of pieces that will fit yours, and if you’re lucky enough, there will be more than one.

Let me use the example of the Fedora video project that I’m part of now. Fedora has been talking and pushing video projects since 2009, however, every couple of months things just stop. Thanks to a couple of really pushing guys, we are now about to start again the video projects but with a different perspective. Is this project going to work? I have no idea! But, we need to at least *try*. Every time a contributor tell us an amazing idea and we say *no, you can’t do that because we already tried it and it didn’t work*, you may be dumping a potential puzzle piece. Sometimes, we are so stubborn and believe that we are *the masters of the world* just because we have tried it and failed. We may be able to be the piece for someone else’s puzzle. A *no* is not an option anymore when you open your eyes to life… Failure is a fact of life – it happens. What can we do when we have been trying for some years and yet we did not find a solution? You have two options, and even though I’m speaking only about FLOSS projects, please consider applying this to your own life:

1.- The perseverance way: You can keep trying, until you actually succeed, or
2.- The patient way: You can document and leave everything as explained as possible (even the ugly parts) so other people can continue your work someday.

Life is about patience and perseverance. I have even thought about getting a tattoo saying that. This saying *does not* mean that you need to have both, I’m not as patient as I would like, but life is about balance and believe me: I’m sure that there is a patient/perseverance person out there that will bring *balance to your force*. Life IS about never giving up – NEVER. If you ask me why did I write this? Maybe just because the same user that I talk about this has encouraged me to do a blog post. Is my brain normal? NO! And I’m happy with that. Do we/I/You have a way to solve problems? YES! But do it. If someone says *NO* to you, ask him/her to explain why. Help save us my learning from your experience and to avoid the same mistakes. Even if we do, it still might show us a different way that our friends may have not seen.

Now, here comes the fun question: What to do now that we have a different perspective? Act, plan and put it *into* practice. From my point of view, our community needs a bit more interest/focus on their contributors and not quite so much about the projects, because at the end, projects are nothing without people. I truly believe that things are going fantastic, but we can always improve on *everything*. What if we take those ideas that we have (because I’m sure everyone have amazing ideas), express them on our blogs, mailing-lists and whatever comes to our mind, and encourage people to make them happen? Do it as a test, as people need a push (motivation) sometimes. We also need it but it will never happen unless you TALK!.

Uno de los beneficios es el ahorro que el Estado realiza al no tener que abonar las importantes cifras que requiere la instalación de software legal en las computadoras de sus dependencias. Se habla de al rededor de 350 a 450 USD por cada una de las computadoras que se legaliza el software que utilizan. Sin embargo, la adopción de este sistema, más que una cuestión económica, es una cuestión de libertad, porque permite el acceso al código fuente del programa, que implica que se pueden generar modificaciones y conocer el funcionamiento del programa. Esto va a permitir adaptarlo a sus necesidades y además, promocionar la industria del software, que está promovida por una ley nacional.

Para mi es MUY grato ya que durante bastante tiempo si mi pequeño aporte al excelente equipo en el que Javier Barcena (quien me informó hace poco) tiene trabajando años completamente dedicado a ello. Es una excelente noticia, otro país se une y abre las puertas al cambio, a la evolución y a la libertad tecnológica.

Si quieres leer más pincha acá: http://www.legisrn.gov.ar/prensa2/desarro_prensa.php?cod=2295

I didn’t expect this sucess, however, I embrace it. Maybe our community just need to use tools that aproach them and give them an oportunity to give faces to names and nicks. Last night was a clear example of this, where we had 21 people having an EXTRAORDINARY hangout like I had never seen… I can be completely honest and say that was as productive as a FUDcon (maybe someone can jump with an online FAD? :D )

I didn’t had a prepared conference for this time, since mostly I wanted to know how has been for Amber Graner and Selena Deckelmann to be FOSS contributors, their experience, ideas and feedback; however, everything took a different direction before and after that conversation that the 3 of us had. I need to say THANK YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH (yes, awful sentence) specilly to our amazing invited, Amber and Selena, who show us a lot of reasons to be part of FOSS communities, to keep learning, to keep teaching… and to keep having fun! but also I want to thank to the rest of the crew that join us: Mark Terranova, Alejandro Perez, Hector Alonso Gonzalez Mata, Hedayet Mabrook, Clint Savage, Pat Mcgovern, Carlos Reges, Nemecis Rojas, John Dulaney, Vinil V. Menon, Abdel Gadiel Martinez Lassonde, Oliver Rivas, Ben Williams, Miguel Alvarado, Garry Elliott, Click Mapa, Sandeep Pothuganti, Junior Paz, Javy Martinez and Fabrizzio Moreno

Now, lets make a list of interesting things that we talk about and let me show you my random notes. Please, know that this is the *crude product* comming out from my head, some of this points (I hope all) will end up beign applied or put into practice. This is not a list of goals (maybe is) but consider ir as one of the best Feedbacks and brainstorms online ever! :P

= Geeks at FOSS =

• * Weird names are AWESOME… but please, make sure to have an audio file with a proper pronunciation – Thank you.
• * ask about your friends life… they will be happy to share some details with you so you are not just a robot.

= Mentors =

• * Fedora has guides for everything, but not to be a mentor (check on this)
• * Has to know well how community works
• * Need to have amazing people skills, not enough just to be an ambassador

= Ambassadors =

• * Must know how to organize an event, learn about logistics, marketing and people skills
• * Propose talks for events that you don’t organize
• * Try to take fedora to non-fedora places, events and activities
• * To be an ambassador you need to have good ideas, but also work on turn them into goals, not only expect that someone will do it for you (or if you can’t, please, make if happen)
• * Every member of Fedora IS an ambassador

= Fedora a better place =

• * more testers
• * Better websites or way to find info at our websites
• * More brainstorming, less information meetings… push feedback
• * Focus on fulfill ideas, not only give them.
• * Show Fedora with more serious marketing (product)
• * Help tech people to show themselves more professionals and less hippies
• * Marketing are focusing on a few events… what happen with the small events and we need to be and are not fedora specifics
• * We need more marketing outside events… if we have 2.000.000 linux users on a country and we only spread fedora on an 200 people event.. we are waisting 1.800.000 potential contributors.
• * Daily marketing MATTERS
• * Passion at events and focused on fun. Gather together for the fun, not by the tittle
• * Don’t join the community expecting to get a job, join it because the fun and with fun, might come a work.
• * Curiosity
• * Explore and expand what you can do, not what you cannot or don’t know how to do
• * Whatever your motivation is… keep being motivated
• * Encourage people to make money with FOSS
• * Opensource is about friends… so find the right ones and those that make you feel a rockstar and motivate you

= Questions for Selena and Amber =

• * Are you a girl? or just a robot?
• * How is to be a community person for you?
• * What are your tasks on Free and Open source community?
• * Which is the best experience you can remember being a community leader?

= FUDCon Panama=

• * Bring a key people of each team available to allow new contributors to get sponsorship and contribute without have to wait after-event.
• * show the simplicity of contribute to fedora with people examples.

So PLEASE, if you have any further idea, or you join the conversation but you didn’t talk… feel free to add any comment. We need your ideas and feedback in order to make stronger proposals that can actually change things. Hope you tomorrow night for our second hangout, this will be about “how to be a better ambassador” (30min english, 30min spanish)“

Today I had an interesting chat with a contributor that, I just found out, was a lady (after being helping her for about a month or so) we talk about, why are so few women in FOSS projects? I guess this is the question we all made to ourselves (as woman) and many guys do too. I start to point out things that I believe are the main reasons and I would like to share them with you:

The Comparison

I have meet a lot of women who actually code amazing things. Problem are comparisons: “That girl can code as good as a guy” or “She’s almost as good as any of us(guys)”. And we as women do that too sometimes: “I’m as good as any man can be” or “I can code anything that a man can code”.

The Emo-Side

Everyone gets hurt, everyone cries, everyone has bad moments… don’t use that to get more sympathy. If you show everytime that you’re beign disturbed that you need them to stop because you’re a girl, then you’re giving people the right to just keep doing it.

You ARE a girl, girls don’t do that

Since we were born we got people telling us what to do and which kind of things a woman was not supose to do. Is amazing to see that many of the geek ladies I have meet didn’t had this kind of parents, Most were fully support to do anything they wanted to.

You’re a girl, why don’t you recruit more?

WRONG! I sometimes ask myself… is there a special code that girls have or can use to recruit only girls? a secret society that I don’t know about? From all the women I have meet I think over 80% were recruit by guys. Yes, me too.

I don’t know any other geek girl

WUT? I could name so many amazing women that I have the honor to meet, to work with and to follow on their amazing blogs that you would be amazed. Name them all might be imposible, and naming just a few would be not fair, however, let me tell you that maybe the contributor that helped you last time with your code issue was a lady, or the t-shirt you’re wearing was designed by a lady, or the tutorial that you’re following was written or translated by a lady.

All those AMAZING photos thx to CC licences :D Kodomut on flickr

El año pasado, el LibreBus viajó desde el 03 hasta el 16 de mayo de 2011, intercambiando experiencias alrededor del software libre, el conocimiento y la biodiversidad, la libertad de expresión y la libertad de compartir. La idea del recorrido, además de llegar a las distintas ciudades, es ir trabajando los conceptos, problematizando las propuestas, deconstruyendo esas “soluciones” que ya se tienen enquistadas en las ideas y promover así la discusión y reconstrucción colectiva de alternativas.

Si quieres ver como es el Librebus por dentro, como es la experiencia y te animas, entonces date unos 30min para que veas este clip. Creo que si tenemos tiempo de ver una serie en tv, ver las noticias o ver una peli en casa, esta es una peli que no solo nutrirá tu intelecto sino tu alma, porque las experiencias de vida se deben compartir. No olvides de visitarlos en: http://librebus.org/

Para quienes no pueden ver el embeded de youtube, el link directo es: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqUXkC7Iu9I

Sé que hay varias chicas a las que les dá curiosidad mis locas uñas y no es para menos… ¿Qué puedes esperar de las uñas de una geek? En esta ocasión les enseñaré como pintarse sus uñas en la forma de un pinguino… o para las verdaderas geeks un TUX! El video es un poco rápido y tiene una duración de 7:30min, originalmente eran 12:00. Espero lo disfruten!

Usualmente soy una persona organizada, pero en lo que a contabilidad se refiere no. Es por ello que haciendo un simple “search finance” en el listado de aplicaciones de mi sistema linux me percaté de que hay varias soluciones para las personas como yo. En este caso les mencionaré las siguientes:

1.- Expendable

Este programa es para modelar las finanzas caseras. en particular, puede ser usado para saber cuanto tomará pagar una hipoteca si la opción de “offset” (compensación) está disponible. Las cuentas de compensación son como las cuentas de ahorro, pero en vez de acumular intereses, reducen la cantidad de intereses cargados al préstamo al compensar el monto del préstamo.

2.- GnuCash

GnuCash es un gerente personal de finanzas. Con una interfaz como la de una caja registradora, te permite ingresar y rastrear tus cuentas bancarias, ingresos e incluso las operaciones cambiarias de divisas. Su interfaz está diseñada para ser simple y de fácil uso, pero por detrás tiene una doble entrada de principios contables para asegurarse de un correcto balance.

3.- Grisbi

Grisbi puede manejar múltiples archivos de cuentas, monedas y usuarios. Puede manejar terceras partes, categorías de expedición y recepción, así como líneas presupuestarias, años financieros y otras informaciones que lo hacen apto para asociaciones (excepto para aquellas que necesiten doble entradas de contabilidad).

4.- KmyMoney

Los objetivos de KmyMoney son: Mantener las cuentas en el orden correcto, ser fácil de usar, mantener caracteristicas similares a las de cualquier contabilidad y permitir llevar cualquier tipo de finanzas, familiares, personales o empresariales.

5.- Skrooge

Skrooge es un manejador personal de finanzas, el cual apunta a ser simple e intuitivo. Te permite mantener registro de tus gastos e ingresos, así como categorizarlos y construir reportes en base a los datos obtenidos.

En base a eso, hemos formado una hermosa amistad en la cual ambos nos nutrimos tanto personal como artísticamente, y sus luchas en la vida han sido un ejemplo a seguir en un mundo caótico. Así que cuando Ivan me preguntó si querría ayudarle con el arte para la portada de su libro…. la respuesta fue un automático brinco, unos cuantos gritos y una sonrisa que hasta hoy, no se me ha quitado. Debo dar un agradecimiento especial a Ivan, por hacerme parte de este viaje y a @yurbita (Yurbi Mafurro) quien se dejó por horas tomar fotos para usar como base para la portada :)

A partir de hoy pueden adquirir “Armageddon’s daughter” (La Hija del Armagedon), la sinopsis va así:

El libro lo puedes obtener en formato digital en : http://www.amazon.com/Armageddons-Daughter-ebook/dp/B005OLF47Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316770586&sr=8-1. Como dato curioso, la portada ha sido realizada en Fedora utilizando gimp y mypaint :)

Para los amantes del SciFi es una lectura que seguro disfrutarán. En lo personal, jamás había realizado algo así y no les puedo contar con palabras todo el esfuerzo que llevó. Muchas otras cosas aún aguardan en el camino así que… a leer!