Technology Kiosk Martín Goldín p. 22
Florida Linux Show 2009 Orlando Martha Romero p. 6 VOL I N 3
Using I2C from Linux
Luis Carvajal p. 22
ENGLISH VERSION
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With Iguazu strenght Recently two software libre events were conducted in America: One at the South, specifically in Foz Do Iguacu, Brazil, in the so-called triple border between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay and one in Orlando, State of Florida, USA. At the event of Brazil, we were able to appreciatte how the steady and consistent work of the Brazilian Public Software for the past four years allowed, in the frame of Latinoware 2009, to officially be announced the beginning of the International Public Software project, presenting the case of the Paraguay's government. This does not mean that the road has been easy, on the contrary, each public or private body has to fight many interests, "fears", ignorance and resistance to change; in order to introduce free technologies in their respective institutions. It is at meetings such as Latinoware 2009, where we realize that we face similar problems (with some with some slight changes) and, if we apply the software libre collaborative model we can move towards the demystification of technology to make it more human and closer to the citizen. As I listened the participants of the forum of International Public Software, Clio, the muse of history whispered to remind me that history repeats itself and we must learn from it, to
avoid repeating the same mistakes. If we accept that we can always learn from others (which is an indisputable truth), if we overcome these selfish feelings that drive us to ignore the experience of others, just to ensure insipid local and fleeting "ownership"; if we understand that sharing knowledge does not takes but gives us, if we stop the envy because my neighbor did first something I wanted to do, but I didn't, if we understand that technology is a means and not an end, which should serve to simplify our life, then we can move forward with solid steps in the consolidation of free knowledge in the region.
who possess the strength and energy of the Iguazu Falls. Ricardo Strusberg (Venezuela) strusberg@latinux.com
You see, this is not an easy task. In the event the United States of America in Orlando, Florida, Latinux Cluster team showed for the first time, the English edition of Latinux Magazine. We managed to contact members of the Free Software community in the state of Florida, people with the same fighting spirit found in the rest of the continent. This has been an intense month for Latinux Press and its product Latinux Magazine. This is the first opportunity when we cover two Software Libre events simultaneously and in places as distant from each other, in the American continent. However, this work allowed us to reconfirm that Software Libre is moving with a motor-driven and supportive community in America, promoted with the enthusiasm of people
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content
Editorial "With Iguazú strenght" Ricardo Strusberg
p. 1
Events p. 4
"Florida Linux Show 2009 Orlando" Martha Romero
p. 6
p. 18
"Three Titans" Christian Bogado Marsá
"Technology Kiosk is Now Open!" Martín Goldín p. 8
Diffusion zone "Recording Studio Model" Gustavo Maggi
p. 11
"KOHA Library Management System: an Opportunity for a Quality Education" Felipe Cabada
p. 12
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"Using I2C from Linux" Luis Carvajal
p. 20
technology kiosk
In touch
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p. 14
sci-fi
"LatinoWare 2009" Lauretta
"Corinto Meffe" Lauretta
"Latin America playing the International Public Software card" Lauretta
p. 22
tips & tricks "Organizing community events of SL" María "tatica" Leandro
p. 24
"Knowing Ubuntu (Chapter II)" Pablo Navarro
p. 26
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content
the hidden side of technology "The Guillotine: Perverse technological wonder" Diego Maggi
p. 28
Comicnology
p. 30
next events
p. 31
Directory
p. 32
Editor in Chief Ricardo Strusberg Associated Editor Mariana Henríquez Illustrator and Graphic Design Laura Vigo Graphical collaboration María “tatica” Leandro Magazine's layouts Gustavo Maggi Translation Martha Romero Pedro Bernardez Manuel Morán Administration Jacqueline Pérez de Strusberg E-mail Subscription María Zamora For local contacts: brasil@latinuxmagazine.com chile@latinuxmagazine.com colombia@latinuxmagazine.com puertorico@latinuxmagazine.com republicadominicana@latinuxmagazi ne.com mexico@latinuxmagazine.com uruguay@latinuxmagazine.com usa@latinuxmagazine.com venezuela@latinuxmagazine.com
LATINUX CLUSTER Sponsored by: Latinux Cluster The Cluster Latinux is an enterprises, educational institutions and consultants network specialized in solutions based in free technologies, including consulting and training for these solutions. At the same time, it focuses in consulting, support, maintenance, developing and enterprises solutions installation services based in free technology worldwide. Inside business opportunities opened from Latinux, one is to cover the no satisfied demand from organizations, companies and governments related to free software development and the chance to take advantage of products and services with a specific local success or in a whole conglomerate acting area.All Latinux participant enterprises are well established in their own working area and all have a long experience with free technology.
LATINUX PRESS Published by: Latinux Press, a division of Latinux Inc. Address: Av. Samuel Lewis, Edificio Central, PH. Panamá, República de Panamá. Phone: + 1 305 5171853. Email: info@latinuxpress.com
Latinux Magazine is not responsible for the published content. The referred information it's author's responsability and/or collaborators mentioned here.
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events
LatinoWare 2009
Directly from Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil), Latinux Magazine will give you a tour about the experiences and happenings of the VI Latin American Conference on Software Libre - Latinoware 2009. It was located in the beautiful Itaipu Technology Park (ITP) headquarters, inside the Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant on the border with Argentina and Paraguay. This meeting point of three countries led to an informative symposium for the promotion of Latin American integration and assess in the sector of open technologies, which converges toward open source and Latin America. For the sixth time, Latinoware 2009 was the setting for meetings between international personalities of software libre and representatives of public and private bodies from Latin America and the United States for the presentation and discussion of Software Libre solutions in an institutional context. Regarding the conference's schedule, it started with nothing more, nothing less than famous and unique Jon "Maddog" Hall’s beard, who left us pondering the phrase "All we can be ... and not what we are", giving us a tidbit about the Cauã project. Hall said that, through the project, 2 to 3 million jobs could be offered in Brazil while making
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it possible to reduce computers’ energy consumption. "Everything is possible", he says. "It just depends on how hard we try." At the same time group discussions kicked off, one of which was related to international public panel software. In addition, workshops, a Software Libre games contest, a free robotic marathon and mini-courses on topics related to information technologies and communication were underway. Iguazu Falls, with its strength and natural beauty, seems to have breathed an invigorating air into each one of the attendees. As Itaipu Binational Information Superintendent Marli Portella said: "Latinoware consecrates a moment of interaction between different experiences, a means for distributing and structuring joint action and an important space to define inclusive policy on the use and development of open source
AN IMPORTANT SPACE TO EXERCISE SOFTWARE LIBRE’S PROJECTION. software". An atmosphere of goodwill and cooperation on future projects came to light among those present. Finally, there were the energetic words of the governor of Brazil's Parana State, Roberto Requião, who congratulated the organizers and participants for such an excellent work on behalf of Software Libre and Latin American integration because they are, precisely, the reasons for Latinoware's existence.
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Lauretta (Venezuela) lauretta@latinuxmagazine.com
latinoware.org latinoware.org
events
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events
Florida Linux Show 2009
The meeting of one of the largest Software Libre communities in the United States.
Latinux Magazine attended the Florida Linux Show held last October 24, 2009 in Orlando, Florida. U.S.A. And here we are reporting how this event was conducted and all the important ocurrences which took place there. Long before 8:00 am, the scheduled time for the beginning of the Florida Linux
FLS: MEETING BETWEEN SOFTWARE LIBRE AND THE ENTERTAINMENT CAPITAL
Show, activity was evident in the Radisson Resort Orlando conference area: exhibitors, - us included - arranging our spaces, volunteers offering their help and first attendees, already anxious, waiting for the inauguration. The Florida Linux Show is organized by the Florida Linux Alliance Group, a nonprofit organization working to promote exchanges in the Community of Open Source Software in the State of Florida (FOSS by its initials in English) and the business communities that work with Linux. This edition of the FLS is the third under its belt. RedHat was the main sponsor of this conference, besides other
leading companies working with Software Libre, the nine-hour activity included an exhibition of companies and products, some of them introduced for the first time (this is the case of the computer Sheevaplug) and lectures with interesting topics for attendees, including how to have a careers in SL despite recession, Linux going prime-time on desktops, and of course inspirational talks, including one about the act of love that working with Linux is. Games, raffles, music, “ubuntunizations" and even religious activities were seen here, all in an atmosphere of camaraderie and optimism for the future of Software Libre and in particular the growth of this group, because as it was said at the opening by Mr. Don Corbet, a member of the FLS organizing group, "We're one of the largest Free Software communities in the country, and it is fantastic that we are here, all together, making this contact." On the other hand,
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communities of Free Software and Open Source in the U.S.A.
Martha Romero (Estados Unidos) mromero@latinux.com
www.floridalinuxshow.com
Rod Sharp, Director and the hand behind the day's activities, said, regarding our participation: "Latinux Magazine presence at our event made us very happy and we feel that this contact is fantastic. We hope to see you in future editions and for the mutual promotion of activities. " The magical atmosphere of the city, with its theme parks and beautiful scenery made us feel wonderful at the end of the meeting, because of all we learned and the great people we met. We are confident not only that the Florida Linux Show was a success, but that it will continue to grow and define itself as a meeting point for the entire Linux community in Florida. And soon it is going to be established as a reference for other
www.floridalin
events
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Corinto Meffe
Technological Innovations Manager of the Logistics and Information Technology Secretariat, Brazil Planning Ministry.
At Latinux Magazine, we had the pleasure of welcoming Corinto Meffe, Project Manager of the Secretariat of Logistics and Information Technology of the Brazilian Ministry of Planning. Meffe is one of the leading advocates of Software Libre in the Brazilian Government. He is currently living in Brasilia, from where he travels constantly, nationally and internationally, to give lectures as a worthy Public Software Libre preacher. Always in good spirits, Corinto told us at the beginning of the interview that just naming his position's full title, "Technological Innovations Manager of the Logistics and Information Technology Secretariat, Brazil Ministry of Planning", usually takes up half of the time on shows and interviews he participates. Fortunately, on this occasion, we will have a little more time to talk to him. :) Lauretta: What are recent success stories concerning the use of Software Libre in Brazil? Corinto: "Brazil has been working with Software Libre for over ten years. Naturally when we speak of success stories we
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might speak of success stories of private companies, government or the community. For example, we have a great achievement in our community: the hosting and organization by the Associaรงao Software Livre (the Software Libre Association) of the International Software Libre Forum (FISL), which is one of the major Software Libre events worldwide. In the most recent edition, which was the tenth, we had over 7000 people, and all sectors of the economy attending. Now, our community is also making other major events that have already gained an international profile
A PRACTICAL AND CREATIVE WORLD AT THE SAME TIME such as the Latinoware Conference. In this event we have established important links with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. In Brazil, on the business side, there are large stores that have established themselves in many provinces, covering a fairly large geographical distribution. All these companies, or nearly all, are working with Software Libre. In the "Casas Bahia" store, for example, purchasing operations are carried out with Software Libre. In the Brazilian government there are cases of public banks such as Caixa Economica, which is the main bank for housing policy in Brazil, having all its computers/machines doing automated maintenance using Software Libre. We can say that today's success is distributed throughout society. Because we have been working with Software Libre in our country for a long time, we have projects that are really ripe.
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Nevertheless, I do not like the image that "we are very advanced" because, sometimes, it isn't good. In practice and reality, the problems which we all suffer are perceived. One very important issue is the profile we have in these meetings where all actors are present, which to me is growth of a community that has to combine all sectors such as government, society, business, and college, and take input from them. To work collectively, your position or who you are is not important, the important issue is your collaborative work. We are very mature about expressing meritocracy. There are people who will contribute with their technological capabilities; there are others who will contribute to his political ability and others that will contribute by coordinating joint projects. As you see there are many forms of participation in these projects. " Brazil is one of the most advanced Latin American countries in information technology and the use and development of Software Libre . It began embracing this type of software in Government before anyone else, tending the bridge for other countries such as Venezuela and Ecuador in encouraging them to follow suit. Lauretta: What impact has Software Libre had in the oil industry? Corinto: "I have no direct contact with
at Petrobras. There is an experience that I only know of because of other things that we were doing. We at CENPES, which is a big research center, have a computer that works with the concept of distribution, meaning parallel processing. It works only with Linux. Its function is to carry out math calculations and probability projections of where to find oil, calculations which also serve in fact to make projection into the future. This too works with Software Libre. You could also say that this computer is almost one of the TOP500. Public companies have autonomy in Brazil and although we do not move as we would like at Petrobras, they are already looking at Software Libre as a strategic issue. They also want to include Software Libre in running of the administrative areas of the company. " Lauretta: In relation to the Brazilian space agency, what has Software Libre done on their behalf? Is there any event or information you could comment on? Corinto: "In the space agency we have a case contrary to the Petrobras one. Linux is sufficiently used on computers that are doing control services. Software Libre is used mostly in administrative areas. Another interesting case is in
technologies. IMPE is already a major user of Software Libre". Lauretta: On the subject of technology for weapons development, we want to know if there is any chance of making nuclear weapons with Software Libre. Corinto: "Here I can tell you I don't know much, I do not have much information. Now, thinking only of the technological factor, is it possible?, The answer is yes. Software development in this area has advanced significantly and many of the safety controls operate with software. Of course, this can all be done with Software Libre, but I don't know what is being done in Brazil in this area. In fact, it is worth noting that this information cannot be published and even less from the government part. " Lauretta: Is there a technology development project with Software Libre for people with disabilities? Corinto: "One of the first priorities we have in Brazil is the very strong enactment of ten disability programs with the banks, with the public and in family culture. We even have disability projects with public institutions of information technology. Of these proposals 80 to 90% work with Software Libre. This is a premise of our digital inclusion programs, to give opportunities to citizens to have contact with these technologies ".
experience in this sector, although I know Software Libre is making inroads
the area of technology. The IMPE makes all weather forecasting using free
Lauretta: What type of technology partnership did the Brazilian government
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find with other Latin American countries? Corinto: "Brazil has always been invited to participate in different events in China, France, Spain, Venezuela, Cuba, and other countries. There is exchange; support is definitely a mutual issue, as there is always something we can learn from experience that one may receive from other countries. For example, some countries are advanced in some areas, like Spain in relation to companies and we at others such as making solutions available, and thus we share towards common advancement in both areas. Exchange is essential. 15. Today, Brazil is very advanced in efforts to bring our solutions to other countries and yes, there is an approchement with Venezuela, France and Paraguay. Beyond the exchange of experiences, we are sharing. It is logical to ponder how to share with other countries when not working on the same things. From this idea stems a discussion about learning more about the other countries, to have a little more respect for differences. When we all work with open source technology, we talk about learning, sharing; this goes beyond technology just for the sake of doing it. " Lauretta: Once Software Libre enters government, how to ensure that it will last if it came following after a political process? Corinto: "You can't do anything if you don't educate society with this technology. You have to work with society. The secrets of action to continue a national project is to look at how society looks at a that action. We obviously have many challenges; citizens don't know
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the difference when using free or proprietary technology. It does not make much difference to him, he just wants the thing to be ready for use. For this to stay for a long time there must be a state policy. You cannot leave this as a mark of this or that party or group. It is important to take notice of how the course of free technology brings direct benefits to society " . Lauretta: What is the value of having technology on our side?. Corinto: "There are many different visions. The appropriation of the technological edge often happens with excitement. I mean, technology will infect people; it is not just a matter of living with technology because it exists, but because people like to work with it. There is a group of people already spreading the idea of working with technology at schools to another level. The premise is that young children can begin to learn and understand programming languages. From my point of view when we learn mathematics, by no means are all of us going to become mathematicians in the future, so for me this is a very distant vision. For this group technology will be on the agenda every day, in the blood of all. It does not conceive the perception of diversity in which people choose or not to learn programming languages; its perception is that everyone will be programmers in the future . Contact with technology helps many people. The practical world where software and hardware is everywhere, either to turn a light on, to start the car, to verify a child's behavior at home, or to see traffic from the internet, is a rea-
lity. Technology is everywhere. This has however led to expectations of simply wanting to push a button and see the device already working, running. On the other hand, there are people like me who want to work and understand technology. For me it is possible to make a practical world and a creative world at the same time. "
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Lauretta (Venezuela) lauretta@latinuxmagazine.com
Diffusion Zone
Recording Studio Model
On our path to the creation of a home recording studio, it’s necessary to understand, and to always have in mind, some basic principles. One of the most important ones is to understand that a recording studio is a system, meaning it is a set of organized and interconnected elements that interact between themselves to reach an objective.
The main objective, for which the recording Studio system was created, is auditory material capture and enhancement, but then, there are other objectives derivate from this one, we will talk about them later on. In a first abstraction attempt, the recording Studio system can be modeled like this: Sound Source
Sound Wave
For each one of these stages, the market offers many solutions, free and otherwise, with a giant variety of prices and specifications, which make choosing, are real headache. It is therefore very important that the first thing we define is the purpose for which we want to mount the home studio, for this we have to ask ourselves questions like: What will I record?, Who would I want to show my work?, What audio quality I do want to achieve?, What tools will I use? These questions and all we can think of are of crucial importance, because the answers will determine the specifi-
Pressure Wave to Electrical Signal transducer
FIRST STEPS
cations we need, and thus, we will be able to adjust our budget accordingly, without excess or extravagance. After what we want to do gets well defined, we will have to investigate through all sources we can, which solutions are more convenient for each one of our model’s stages. We will be deepening on the subject on our next release. While we do so, we still have a lot of work to do this month. See you! Gustavo Maggi (Venezuela) gustavom@scandicus.net www.scandicus.net
Processing and Storage
Electrical Signal to Pressure Wave transducer
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Diffusion Zone
KOHA Library Management System
This article offers the reader a general approach to the use of free software (SL) in education, starting with a definition and contextualization of the latter. Following will be some keys to understanding the concept of "educational technology" , quality education and how to achieve it. What is SL strategic importance applied in teaching and learning processes? And more crucially, how important is the use of SL of in any national curriculum? As explained below, the traditional stance on software has been in defense of intellectual property at all costs, either by resorting to practices such as “dumping� (sale of software products at rock bottom prices to discourage the adoption or purchase of other software alternatives) or the boycott of companies, organizations, or institutions who try SL [1]. However, keeping the focus on things using other views, and prosperity, freedom and common good of the public in general are incorporated, issues look different since SL makes available a wide range of tools for information management and communication [3] [16]. In this sense, it is strategic to support, promote and disseminate the movement of SL from extensive creative
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and critical use in public and private institutions, in government, in short, to find ways to build a non-marginal working base, but immersed in the logic of facilitating public access to work tools appropriate to their needs, and at a low cost [1]. IA Software Libre in Quality Education Software Libre can be understood as the unlimited and unrestricted access to intellectual creations in the field of programs for information and
KOHA: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A QUALITY EDUCATION communication technology (ICT), wherever that takes place and whatever the purposes for which it is intended. Furthermore, experiences in using SL in education exist in various parts of the world as shown in the following cases: 1. Extremadura (Spain): there are 60,000 pieces of computer equipment in schools, community centers, universities, and other educational facilities that run with SL. [5]. 2. Brasil: there is a national development center for public management applications that are used in universities, municipalities, libraries, government offices, and others. [6] 3. Argentina: national security and education is handled by using SL tools. 4. USA: SL is used daily in different areas, even more in education with Edu Ubuntu [7] The use and advance of Software Libre has caused some controversy. For example, in open competition with Linux (Software Libre option), and in order to maintain its market share, the Microsoft Corporation provides rebates to local governments, such as
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Diffusion Zone
the mayorships of Paris and several cities in Mexico, to acquire its software; it launches campaigns to raise doubts about the legality of SL and even offered a smaller and cheaper "Microsoft XP" version in some Asian countries to counter the advance of Linux in China, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. IB Quality Education According to UNESCO [10], quality education is a prerequisite for sustainable development. Education for Sustainable Development reaches several areas that reflect different objectives and audiences, such as the promotion and improvement of basic education, key in this article. One of the key objectives of all governments has been "quality education", but "Quality has become a dynamic concept that has constantly to adapt to a world whose societies are undergoing profound social and economic transformation. Encouragement for future-oriented thinking and anticipation is gaining importance. Old notions of quality are no longer enough. Despite the different contexts, there are many common elements in the pursuit of a quality education, which should equip all people, women and men, to be fully participating members of their own communities and also citizens of the world."[11] I.C .Library Management System (KOHA) The use of technological tools in education has been to the benefit of companies that offer proprietary products. Such is the case of the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara (www.uag.mx),
who a few years ago acquired a proprietary library management system in the order of 700,000 USD. The University of Guadalajara has also spent around 500,000 USD for a similar system, and the list goes on. It is common knowledge that educational institutions are in need of software solutions, but these only generally consider proprietary solutions. Here at our school, ITSON (www.itson.mx), we have an internally develeped library management system. Notwithstanding, it is a bit outdated and doesn't allow improvements. This scenario is common in many universities in Mexico, so it's time to turn back towards SL and specifically KOHA (http://siitne.com.mx/web/index.php/soluciones/aplicaciones-de -negocio/gestion-de-bibliotecas), which has many features that will allow educational institutions to grow in services and efficiency. Koha is a SL management system, created under international standards for cataloging and resource management (www.koha.org). A step towards a a true quality education would be the development of a national, state-run integrated library system containing all basic, middle, high school and university libraries' information so students of any school will be able to see where they can locate the book they might need to do their homework.
I. Conclusions If you remember dear readers, in the last article we dealt with the theme of "Sustainable Business with Software Libre". This allowed us to see other horizons to integrate more and better SL solutions and create specialized companies engaged in the implementation of relevant solutions in their region, solutions that far from requiring excessive costs to enact them, allow the permeation of information and the reduction of technological gaps that exists in different countries, enabling access to solutions that impact positively and in favor of all citizens. Felipe Cabada (MĂŠxico) fcabada@latinux.org
REFERENCES References are available at: www.latinuxmagazine.com
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Diffusion Zone
Get America Back Latin playing the International Public Software card.
"Software Libre as much as possible, Proprietary Software as much as needed" (Ricardo Strusberg)
Amid the Latinoware 2009 conferences, place and space was given in order to yield the floor to Latin America regarding the use of Free Software in the government of each country interested in the Brazilian Public Software model, including: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. In a world where we get mixed problems with limited resources and capacities, UNDP, as a global network besides its partners in the UN and the development area, help to connect countries to the knowledge, experience and
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resources needed to provide support to the peoples of the world in order to forge a better life. Behold, then, in this panel, the opening discussion of the International Public Software project draft, a project coordinated by the United Nations Development Program - UNDP in conjunction with the Ministry of Planning of Brazil, where these organisms have been proposed to lead the baton exporting the Brazil's Public Software Portal technology to Latin America and the Caribbean. This initiative aims to establish a platform for the exchange of knowled-
BETTING SOFTWARE LIBRE ge by agencies of the participating countries so they can share not only each other programs and public source code, but also the experiences from the use of these solutions. The project will select from two to five countries, then, software exchange portals will be created for them, much like the Brazilian public software portal. And of course, the expected launch of this initiative's first fruit couldn't be missed: the Paraguayan Public Portal Software. Countries which had receive a similar website as the Brazilian one until now are: Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, Costa Rica and,
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Diffusion Zone
Trinidad and Tobago. At the end of the intervention in the panel discussion, Nicolas Caballero , Paraguay Presidency senior technology consultant, said: "Technology has to be free and must be at serving society (‌) and if this is for the underprivileged, that's even better. "
Lauretta (Venezuela) lauretta@latinuxmagazine.com
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zine.com
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Using I2C from Linux
LINKING HARDWARE WITH SOFTWARE LIBRE
I2C is a two-wire serial protocol which allows the connection of various devices such as sensors and actuators to a micro-controller unit (MCU), simplifying the wiring between CPU and peripherals [1].
Each device has a 7-bit-access I2C address, so you can connect multiple peripherals to the same bus. A large number of integrated circuits and processors support it through TWI (two-wire interfaces), including the PIC [2], the AVR [3] used in Arduino [4] and the ARM [5] in ECBAT91V1.7 [6] . Linux supports the protocol through a kernel module that provides primitives for communicating with the peripherals and it has GNU command-line tools to monitor and interact with the I2C devices. Next, a brief look at what must be done to use this port from Linux. Kernel Configuration To use I2C from Linux, you need to make sure that the kernel has enabled the necessary configuration settings. These options depend on the hardware used. In the case of ECBAT91V1.7 [6], the options are:
There is a set of commands called I2C-tools implemented by lm-sensors [7]. I2C-tools are very useful during design, when sensor or actuator functionality is being tested and when connectivity with them is being checked. They are a register structure in the peripheral which can be read or modified. The
Reading and writing commands in C Linux provides the primitives needed to interact with I2C ports through the / dev/i2c. Just open the device and then make the appropriate ioctl to identify the peripheral using the I2C address.
Fd = open ( "/ dev/i2c-0", 2); ioctl (fd, 0x0703, addr) / * addr is I2C address of the device you want to access * / Once this is done, you can use read and write directly on Fd.
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Reading and writing from the console
CONFIG_I2C=y CONFIG_I2C_BOARDINFO=y CONFIG_I2C_CHARDEV=y CONFIG_I2C_HELPER_AUTO=y CONFIG_I2C_ALGOBIT=y CONFIG_I2C_GPIO=y
ports can be located using "i2cdetect. To write and read from the peripheral, i2cset and i2cget are used.
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Applications Among the many applications of a general purpose port as I2C, robotics-related applications are of special interest. Currently there are several open projects that use I2C devices, including OpenServo [8]. Using low-cost servos, you can build very complex robots which include a multitude of actuators and sensors that can be connected through a simple I2C network using a CPU as powerful as the ECBAT91. Openmoko [9] can be considered an example of such configurations in open projects which make use of these ports to communicate with peripherals.
Luis Carvajal (Colombia) luis.carvajal@emqbit.com
REFERENCES [1] Philips semiconductors, The I2C bus specification. January 2000. http://www.nxp.com/acrobat/literature/9398/39340011.pdf [2] 8 bit PIC microcontrollers http://www.microchip.com/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=74 [3] AVR Risc microcontrollers http://www.atmel.com/products/AVR/ [4] Arduino http://www.arduino.cc/ [5] Atmel ARM http://www.atmel.com/products/at91/ [6] ECBAT91V1.7 http://www.emqbit.com/hardware.html ; http://wiki.emqbit.net [7] I2C Tools. http://www.lm-sensors.org/wiki/I2CTools [8] Openservo. http://www.openservo.com [9] OpenMoko project wiki. http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/I2C
www.emqbi www.emqbit.com
For example, if "i2cdetect-l" finds port "0", and there is a peripheral with address 37, the character '1 'can be sent through this port to "device register 2" using the following command: "i2cset 0 37 2 1".
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Three Titans
Science Fiction literature has always had to fight too many prejudices. The curse of “little green martians and laser gun stories" has been very difficult to overcome. No matter how fun and amusing they may be, “space adventures” have left an indelible but stereotypical mark on the collective imagination that has in turn promoted the idea of mediocrity and immaturity in the genre.
In Latin America, it has never
ced to write in inexpensive publications
ceased to be marginal literature. Proof of this is in the very limited contribution we have made to the genre, even though our literature has produced and spearheaded entire literary movements. Just the widespread belief that Star Wars is a representative work of science fiction is evidence in and of itself. In fact, the bulk of science fiction has developed in the Anglo-Saxon English-speaking world, namely the US and the UK. Although the literature of science fiction is not just an Anglo-Saxon phenomenon, having such great writers as Stanislaw Lem and an entire movement behind the Berlin Wall, there are three highly recognized sci-fi authors who are literary titans of the Anglo-Saxon world. They managed to break the curse and win the respect and applause of their societies. Robert Anson Heinlein (1907 1988) was the first to achieve this. For science fiction, it was highly significant that his stories were published in popular magazines not related to the genre, achieving greater public acceptance. Prior to that, he and all others were for-
(sometimes even pornographic magazines, which needed to fill space between pictures), popularly known as "pulp magazines." Three factors seem to have forged his character: his traditionally-minded hometown of Kansas City, his non-war experience in the U.S. Navy which he had to leave for health complications in 1934, never having seeing actual combat -, and the women with whom he shared marriage. A personal friend of another man on this list, he recruited Isaac Asimov to serve as a marine engineer during the Second World War. The last of his juvenile novels led him to write about issues more seriously. Starship Troopers (1959) was a reaction against the American left-wing call for a unilateral end to nuclear proliferation. His story of a young cadet who becomes a citizen through service in turn contains criticism of the army as a glorification of military life. For another author of the genre, Philip K. Dick, the novel is nothing more than an apology for fascism.
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A later trilogy, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966 expresses the political principle of civic duty from a libertarian standpoint. The idea of finding freedom in the fringes of society is recurrent throughout his stories: the characters in the aforementioned novel enter a marginal but creative society free from conventions. His views on sexuality, especially in Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) earned him the title of spokesperson for the hippies. The polyamorous and alternative family structures, nudity, his opposition to organized religion, and other controversial issues were part of his stories from this period. While treating seemingly contradictory ideas from book to book, there are recurring issues such as responsibility, individualism and self-reliance. In short, as explained in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, TANSTAAFL,, “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch”, is the basic idea that Heinlein conveys in his work. Asimov is by far the most famous of the “Big Three”. This may be due to his very prolific pen. The exact number of books published by Asimov is the subject of discussion, but it is certainly more than five hundred; his works cover nine of the ten categories of the Dewey Decimal System. Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992), born in Russia and settled in New York, was recognized not only for his works of fiction, but also for his
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writings on biology, history, religion, humor and other non-fiction topics. The word "robotics, "and his Three L aws are among his greatest legacies. His stories, more scientific than those of Heinlein, dwelled generally on the relationship between humans and machines, as well as ethical paradoxes and philosophical issues arising from these relationships. His Foundation (1951) series, an extrapolation of Roman history in the interstellar future, is among the most popular of the genre. The film 2001: Space Odyssey (1968) was a joint production between Arthur Clarke and film legend Stanley Kubrick. A Brit who moved to Sri Lanka, Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (1917 2008) was ultimately unsatisfied with the way the film was produced. He continued the series with 2010 (1982), 2061 (1987) and 3001 (1997). His works of fiction not only earned him worldwide
recognition, but also the British knighthood and the highest civilian honor of Sri Lanka. With pseudo-issues of importance related to transhumanism, stories like The End of Childhood (1953) opened up science fiction to themes of a more spiritual and paranormal nature. He also invented the concept of geostationary satellites as ideal telecommunication relays, a cornerstone of modern telecommunications. While "good" science fiction cannot be reduced to this short list, the contributions of these “Big Three” have influenced a great majority of writers in the most diverse literary genres and areas of human thought. They forged a style related not only to literature but al-
so to current world perceptions, expectations and fears shared by billions of people across the globe. They were titans.
Christian Bogado Marsá (Venezuela) inverso@gmail.com
REFERENCES In the picture from left to right: Isaac Asimov, Charles Clarke y Robert Anson Heinlein Arthur C. Clarke 2007 good-bye Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q LdeEjdbWE Página Page
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technology Kiosk
Technology Kiosk is Now Open!
Imagine any situation where access to technology or information would be useful. It's not that difficult, right? Today the vast majority assume it as necessary for our lives as we experience, daily, tens (if not thousands) of situations where having a bit of additional information or access to technological equipment or upgrading simplifies a result, and usually implies an advantage or
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disadvantage to another person or another company. As we live with this concept in mind, every day we become more and more dependent on equipment, devices, programs, gadgets, interconnection and communications systems available in our offices, homes, and cars. Even our own pockets are full of so-called electronic "toys". This new section, Technology Kiosk, will be your trusted place to acquaint yourself with the best, most useful, funniest and most bizarre "toys" that will simplify or complicate your life in this Information Age of ours.
TECHNOLOGY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Where to begin? Market trends draw attention to the boom of the Netbook or mini laptop, whose primary function is simply to give us access to the "network of networks" but is in many cases becoming a cheap and convenient version of the voluminous computer which normally fills our homes or office desktops.
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technology Kiosk
We could talk for hours about the bestknown models such as the Asus Eee PC (the latest model, the Seashell, is incredibly similar to its predecessors), the NB series from Toshiba (highlighted by its varied and striking beauty, but identical in price and features), the Dell Mini and the Sony Vaio (very nice, but the price starts to escalate beyond the range of this category of laptops), or the various HP models, but today and for our brand new Technology Kiosk's counter I want to bring something original, featuring two models made in Latin America and already in the process of conquering
the international market.
First, from the Colombian brand Haleron, comes the Swordfish. Its dual-processor Atom N270, 2GB of RAM, dual Bluetooth (328 ft. range) and integrated quad-band WCDMA (connectivity via cellular networks), are some of the features that highlight this device far above its category's fellows.
ple who really need ultra-portable equipment. Martín Goldín (Venezuela) martingoldin@gmail.com
In addition, the Venezuelan counterpart from Síragon is made up of the ML1010 and ML-1020 models, with fairly common features within a Netbook in addition to simple designs and a variety of colors to choose from. They are a very good option for students and peo-
More Info www.Haleron.com www.Siragon.com.ve http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Netbook
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Organizing community events of SL
STEP BY STEP WITH DETERMINATION
When we launch a community event we must always remember that the professionals who will make contact with the public often lack social skills or simply are bored doing this.
speaker who doesn't arrive or is eating. Likewise, people who attend your event, eager to learn about open technologies, do not always know how to ask the questions, and that bothers the professionals ... I mean, the community events have many details of which you have to remain mindful, here I mention the ones that in my experience are which have helped me to make everything a success. The preparation time of an event depends on the amount of people who is going to attend, the average I usually use is for every 100 people (or 200 if it exceeds 1000) 1 month of planning. After this you need to ask yourself the following questions: Depending on how many people you estimate : How big is the site I need? Remember that you must also count people in transit, increasing by 20% your actual estimate of attendees. Event Schedule : Any good
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event does not need more 5 hours, but try not to do it starting at 8 am. ... nobody arrives at that time and this gives you an hour or so to solve problems before the public arrives.
It is going to be for more than 5 hours? : You need catering planning. Remember that your protocol and installers can not move from the event at any
Do you need protocol? : To give you an estimate, try to have someone to help you always. A good figure is: 1 protocol guy / 30 attendees 1 protocol guy / lug (if this is an installfest). Interesting lectures vs. Estimated time : Try the lectures to be no less than 30 minutes and nor more than 45 and always leave an intermission space of 15 minutes between them. Remember that murphy always strikes, either with the video beam, a
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time as they are the face of Software LIbre, hence, Be kind to them! What do I do about adverti-
sing? : Obviously, advertising depends on its budget, but this is not necessarily a limitation. Remember that you have social networks (twitter, facebook, irc, websites, blogs); interviews and then you can think of printed advertising (posters, banners, brochures, etc..) Don't think that because of a small budget people are not going to know, take in account that the community itself accounts for diffusion.
And if I get a sponsorship How do I manage it? : One thing that have worked quite well for me in the FLISoL organization in Venezuela is not to touch sponsors' money. Always ask your sponsors to pay bills and send you what you need. So you will save time and
avoid problems in case there is trouble with the money. This is an important issue because, “Good fences make good neighbors” (and when we speak about sponsors they must be kept as the best of neighbors.) Well, I hope these simple steps can help you get a better perspective of how to get your next community event in peace and organized completely. Nothing is perfect, but if you're organized you can approach it and remember to enjoy the event, too, since you're part of it.
María "tatica" Leandro (Venezuela) tatadbb@gmail.com
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Knowing Ubuntu 13
Well, dear friends, in Chapter I we learned the basics of free software and Ubuntu, and managed to overcome the "traumatic" experience of a desktop "made" in Ubuntu. I am sure you realized it isn't as difficult to handle as evil tongues say ... But, anyway, this time I want to show you the first part of the programs that come pre-installed on Ubuntu: Accessories, Graphics, Internet and Office. But before I begin, I wish to focus on a detail that creates fear in many users who are new to Ubuntu and other Linux-based distributions. Don't be scared of this thing called "Terminal" (photo 1) One reason why more than one user fears Linux is the terminal or command line, where you can do almost everything- but only if you master supposedly deep computer knowledge. I should make clear that this is greatly misleading. The expertise we need to use the terminal varies depending on what we want to do with it: install a program, add repositories, music and even compile. A first-time user in Ubuntu has
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no need to master it, just to know how to install a program (sudo apt-get install program), update the list of repositories (sudo apt-get update) and edit this list (sudo gedit / etc / apt / sources.list). But I insist: you don't need to master it, you can even do this without touching it. From now on we will get to know the programs as they are organized in menus. Accessories (photo 2) What is an operating system without a calculator? Nothing. For this, we start with a basic calculation tool. But this is one special; it has several modes ranging from basic to advanced. (photo 3) What if you want get a picture of your desktop, like this one? (Photo 4) Well, the answer to this question is also among the accessories and is called Screen Capture. Or, even easier, with the Print Screen key, available in almost all devices. (Photo 5)
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If you are one of those who forget things easily, and want to write everything you think, we have Tomboy and the text editor.(Photo 6) Graphics Each time you connect your camera you can access FSpot, an application that allows to import your photos into your computer. (photo 7) And if you want to edit those photos you downloaded stay where you are and meet Gimp. (photo 8) Gimp GNU Image Manipulation Program, allows us to edit images with advanced editing tools. It also allows the addition of extensions and the possibility of saving in various formats. However, it should be noted that Gimp is not a copy of Adobe Photoshop.
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Many users expect Gimp to have the same options as the commercial alternative and sometimes they are disappointed when they use it. But, instead, we have in our hands a free application which is improved daily.
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Internet
First and most important: How do I navigate through the web? The answer is a well known program, which is now in version 3.5: Mozilla Firefox.(photo 9) Firefox, with over a billion downloads worldwide, allows us to move through the Internet in a safe, simple and highly configurable way. There are thousands of extensions that add, among other things, email clients, multimedia downloading, the storing of full pages in formats like PDF and much more ... Another element that is important for the user who uses social networks is to have a messaging client. Pidgin is installed by default. (photo 10)
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Its great advantage is that it is multi-protocol, meaning that besides allowing you to add your MSN account, you can include Google Talk, Yahoo, etc.. It also has extensions that allow you to add Twitter status, what you're listening to and to back up your preferences, just to show some examples. And to conclude our Internet applications sample we have Transmission, a tool for downloading and sharing files via Torrents. (photo 11) Office
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save documents in PDF. So don't be afraid, and learn OO. You'll be surprised of what you can do. If you have documents in PDF format, you can see them with the document viewer that comes installed by default, and allows the editing of your toolbars simply. (photo 13) And that's all this time. Next time we'll continue with the other applications, and we will learn how to install new ones. I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. See you later!
Something that differentiates Linux from other distributions is that has a set of software for reading and editing text and presentations installed by default, software which is Free and at no cost. This program is called OpenOffice (OO) and has a word processor, a presentations editot and a spreadsheets editor. (Photo 12) One of the questions posed by users who first see OO is whether they can open their files with . doc extensions, for example. So, the question is,
ubuntu.com
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Pablo Navarro GNU/Linux Atelier (Chile) pablo.navarroguerra@gmail.com
"can I open the presentation I created in Microsoft Office"? The answer is yes. You can see it, and also edit it. Moreover, you can save your documents in those formats if you wish. You can even
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the hidden side of technology
The Guillotine: Perverse technological wonder.
THE DARK SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY
"Look at the France of pure reason. It has produced more zealots than any other country" Ernesto Sabato (Abaddon El Exterminador)
War and torture are events that most people abhor and usually come to cause terror. However, there has been no moment in human history that has escaped barbarity. There are even times when cruelty have become everyday and ordinary, sometimes even a seemingly necessary source of survival. Perhaps Freud was right when he referred to Thanatos as an inner strength in the individual that made him or her appreciate destruction and death.
Freud's theory should not sound novel and alarming in the world today. We constantly watch torture, suicide and murder in the media. We have even seen how these actions are sometimes supposedly undertaken for a better future (according to Hitler, Stalin and Osama Bin Laden, that is). This type of behavior echoes the famous quote from Machiavelli's The Prince: "The end justifies the means", which has served as an excuse for genocides like the Holocaust or the Rwandan slaughter. However, there is the history of a machine whose bestiality lies not only in the number of deaths it caused, but at the time of its occurrence: the guillotine. In the late eighteenth century, the French bour-
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geoisie took up arms with help from the poorest social strata, overthrew King Louis XVI and the aristocracy of power and sought to establish a republic based on freedom, tolerance and reason, giving rise to the French Revolution. The ubiquitous La Marseillaise was sung everywhere by people who wanted to witness in the flesh the passing from a society mired in poverty to a society driven by progress and human rights. But that hope dried up quickly. At that time there was a doctor and member of the Constituent Assembly named Joseph-Ignace Guillotin who proposed using an unfamiliar machine (invented by blacksmiths long before he was born) to execute individuals through decapitation. The Assembly accepted his proposal and in many places in France this new device was built. Despite being against the death penalty, he believed that this instrument represented an almost unprecedented technological advance because it murdered in a less painful way for the victim and served as a transition path to abolish executions in his country. Again, someone thought of
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the hidden side of technology
a noble end justifying an evil means. The consequences of the revolution were contrary to expectations and the execution machine proposed by Guillotin took a sudden protagonist role. In 1792, the country was in crisis and at war with other parts of Europe, while a man named Maximilien Robespierre, a radical leader belonging to the Jacobins (revolutionary extremists, opposed to the more moderate Girondins), amassed power little by little and established the socalled Reign of Terror, in which tyranny and slaughter became an everyday occurrence. Again the extraordinary became ordinary, cruelty became a spectacle, and more than 30,000 people (a number greater than the capacity of the main soccer stadium in Caracas - Venezuela) felt the blade tearing their necks, their heads rolling from the machine proposed by Dr. Guillotin, which became popularly known (and against his will) as the "Guillotine." Each execution was carried out in the middle of the public square. The show was suitable for all ages and assistance always met executioners' expectations. It was a fact that there were no class distinctions among those to be executed: anyone considered "against the nation" by Robespierre and his companions was guillotined. Girondin
leaders and even leading Jacobins such as Danton and Desmoulins, who disagreed with the head of The Terror, were victims of the decapitation machine. But as so often happens in history, the enforcement weapon ended up directed against the executor, and Maximilien Robespierre was guillotined in 1794. But his death did not prevent the machine's fame from spreading throughout Europe and for its adoption in countries such as Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
consequences their use can ensue. According to a legend, Guillotin himself was guillotined. It wasn't true, but it would have been the perfect metaphor.
Diego Maggi (Venezuela) diegomaggi89@gmail.com
The guillotine did not lead to the short-term abolishment of the death penalty in France as desired by the man who proposed it since this fact occurred nearly two-hundred years later in 1981. The last time someone was executed by this method was in 1977, an embarrassment to 20th-Century society. Despite the exponential technological "development" represented by the guillotine at its time, it remains attached to medieval or even older backward ideas. Guillotin regretted having proposed the use of the guillotine in the Assembly, just as Einstein regretted having collaborated in developing the atomic bomb. Who will be next to repent? Surely someone who is surprised at the wonders of technology and their own inventions rather than for the disastrous
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nEXT EVENTS
November 2009 Event
Date
Place
Website
October 30, 31 and November the 1st, 2009
Cúcuta (Colombia)
www.jslcolombia.org
November 4th and 5th, 2009
Murcia (España)
November 10th, 2009
November 14th, 2009
November 26th to 29th, 2009
diascaldum.um.es
Bogotá (Colombia)
www.icegov.org
Lima (Perú)
fesoli.cosolig.org
Bogotá (Colombia)
www.loop.la
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