IN TOUCH Corinto Meffe p. 6
"ARDUINO, OPEN HARDWARE" David Peña Lopera p.15 VOL I N° 1
DEBIAN DAY 2009 Lauretta p. 4
E NG L I S H V E RS I O N
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Latinux Magazine
PREACHERS AD LÍBITUM
What could be best or more enriching that to Evangelize, to teach, selfishness, what we had lear ned. There is not better payment that the “twinkle in the eye” when he un derstands the material taught and for us to know he is getting a weird emotion similar to the one you got
when, as a child, played with a new toy. When we take the decision of teaching everything we know is when this magic dance and energy interchange begins, knowledge, so me will say, where we teach and learn, where we are teachers and students at the same time, preachers and evangelized, “wise” and “igno rant”, adults and children, is when barriers seem not to exist and is then, finally, when we fell we had ad vanced. But, for these enlightened moments to appear, when the brain seems to process at a speed unk nown for us, where the artist creati vity is born, the teacher stimulant impulse is required or, as we called in the Free Software Community last century, the preacher is needed. This preacher, is responsible of showing how the free software technologies can be part of everyday life, that knowledge is within your reach, he demystifies technology and show you're not only a spectator but part of the artwork.
At the end of the last century ( I like how this sound, as it were 100 years ago), beside a group of friends we started to promote free software use and technology appropriation in Latin America and Spain. Those we re the times when Pepe (Jose Neif) worked in Mexico with the first Latin American Linux distribution (Linux PPP) and created profree software movements as the CACLE ( Itinerant circus of Linux Preachers Conferen ces for its acronyms in Spanish), Is mael Olea in Spain started to boots Linux in Spanish, in Argentina Daniel Coletti faced the challenge of crea ting LUGAr (Argentina Users Group for its acronyms in Spanish), and we, in Venezuela were working to strength the VELUG (Venezuela Users Group for its acronyms in Spa nish) and create the first Ibero Ameri can Free Software Event (LinuxWeek).
Latinux Magazine
EDITORIAL
Today, more than a decade after, work continues with new preachers, full of the pioneers spirit, sometimes repeating the same mistakes, but al ways evolving. This Latinux Magazi ne number is a recognition to them, to the ones who started, the ones who continue and the ones who will come. This shows us the invaluable work of people as Corinto Meffe with his Brazil's Public Software Free Pro ject (with a regional scope, cu rrently), Maria del Pilar Saenz and her continuous fight for Colombian, children, Offray Luna evangelizing at the Colombian academy or Ernesto HernandezNovich, who passed from one century to the other doing that he likes best, teach and talk about Free Software, specially about De bian and Perl. Is gratifying to know that in every country, city or town worldwide there are a Corinto, Pilar, Offray, Pepe, Ismael or Ernesto, evangelizing. For all of you, Latinux Magazine is open to publish, recount and share your projects, plans, events, experiences or difficulties, Ad Libitum. Ricardo Strusberg A past century preacher, fighting this century (Venezuela) strusberg@latinux.com
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CONTENT
LATINUX TEAM
EDITORIAL "Preachers Ad Líbitum" Ricardo Strusberg p. 1
EVENTS Debian Day – 2009 Lauretta p. 4
Editor in Chief Ricardo Strusberg
Associated Editor Mariana Henríquez Illustrator Laura Vigo
Graphic Design María “Tatica” Leandro
IN TOUCH
“The advantage of free software compared with proprietary” Corinto Meffe p.6 “ Who controls the software, you or the company which produces it? Jon “Maddog” Hall p. 8
Translation Martha Romero
Administration Jacqueline Perez de Strusberg Email Subscription María Zamora For local contacts:
brasil@latinuxmagazine.com chile@latinuxmagazine.com
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puertorico@latinuxmagazine.com
republicadominicana@latinuxmagazine.com mexico@latinuxmagazine.com
uruguay@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.
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Free software: An altruist philosophy based in solidarity? Offray Luna p. 10 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
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Latinux Magazine
CONTENT
DIFFUSION ZONE "Sugar on a stick" María del Pilar Sáenz p. 12
THE HIDDEN SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY "Invisibility criteria" Lauretta p. 28
Arduino, Open Hardware David Peña Lopera p. 15
IN WILDEBEEST'S LANDS
"Creating needs and sustainable companies in free software" Felipe Cabada p. 18
“The leadership in free software through the spirit of a penguin and a Wildebeest” Lauretta p. 30
SCIFI
NEXT EVENTS
"Information wants to be free " Christian Bogado Marsá p. 20
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LATINUX INSIDE
DIRECTORY p. 32
Latinux Certification Ricardo Strusberg p. 22
TIPS & TRICKS Web's buttons María "Tatica" Leandro p. 24 DevelopingvideogamesinRenpy María "Tatica" Leandro p. 26
Latinux Magazine
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EVENTS
Debian Day 2009
Last August, 15 2009 took place in the city of Caracas – Ve nezuela, the event “Debian day 2009” in eves of its tenth sixth an niversary. Debian is one of the GNU/Linux distributions, an operating system (O.S.) for your computer, characterized for offe ring its users and managers nopareil stabililty and security. This distribution community, has taken its anniversary day to ren der tribute and share the knowledge obtained up to this point. This was a favorable occasion to stablish contact with friends and colleagues from the area and to emancipate the Debian philosophy whose flag is hoisted un der the free software philosophy. About Debian's birth Debian was born in August 1993 thanks to the work of Ian Mur dock, founder and project's first lea der. It arose as a new distribution unfounded for the GNU/Linux spirit. Debian started with a gradual speed motor compounded by a few free software hackers very united and
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committed to the project. Debian was through to be created in a carefull and concientious form, this is the reason it has been growing gradually becoming an active and well organi zed large community of developers and users. We are conciencious and carefull before launching a new version Debian GNU/Linux comes with 25,113 packets and programs precompiled and distribuited in a for mat that makes it easy to be installed in a computer. The last stable Debian distribution was the 5.0, published June, 27 of this year. One of the the mes repeated and cleared by the community enunciated by Carlos Pi
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"THE DEBIAN ERA" neda Escobar was: “Are we in a hurry? NO! Because we want everyt hing to be the best (...) Debian's pro jects think about the future”. This is the reason the versions don't go out as quickly, the version viability is cer tified and verified before anything from it is out. The desvirtualization event is attended
when
an
Debian is produced for about 1 million of active developers, scat tered around the world, who help vo luntarly in their free time. They are few dev who had meet personally, because the communication is done, mainly by email. This is why is im portant to attent this kind of events, the virtualization disappears when we set a face and a expression to the person seated at the other side of the computer. This way, the reality of the contribuitors who live inside the com munity, can be sensed.
EVENTS
About the distributions According with the Debian's members, distributions are esencial for Linux's future. They assure this, basically, providing users who need to seach, obtain compile, install and integrate with a big amount of tools esencials in a fully operational Linux system. Instead, the real work about a system implementation falls in the distribuitor creator. Distributions re quires a big amount of hard and con tinious work on the designer part, in order to keep it actualized and error free. Debian day activities At the time of the event, se veral kind of activities were done, so me of them were basic and advanced Debian conferences, insta llation (Debianization and Canaima nization), demostrations, Debian's CD raffles in different versions, parti cipation and collaboration of the GNU/Linux community, special parti
cipation of the Venezuelan speakers prominent in the field, amoung ot hers. Phrases of interest enunciated by the speakers related to Debian and free sofware: “Practical and technical reasons to use free software: It always works and every day! It is quality, auto nomy, independence, control and economy”; “ Free software can be examined, corrected and multiplied to be shared, it has a background quite admirable”; “ At no cost it no the same that free” (Ernesto Hernán
References
dezNovich) “Debian acts automagicallly”; “One person can't live with orange juice and sandwiches, to earn money with free software is a valid action”; “De bian thinks for you and configurates for you”; “To read is good! Nice! When you read you learn! All you have to do is to enjoy what you've learned, this helps you understand what your com puter is doing”. (Carlos Pineda Esco bar).
Lauretta (Venezuela) lauretta@latinuxmagazine.com
http://www.diadebian.org.ve Thanks to: Lenin Hernández Carlos Pineda Escobar Ernesto HernándezNovich
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IN TOUCH
Corinto Meffe “The advantage of free software compared with proprietary”
Corinto Meffe is the Logistic and Information Technology Secre tariat Project Manager of the Brazil's Planning Ministry. According to Meffe, “ Advantages from working with free software are greater that the ones from working with proprietary software. The free one is the path to the future in the informatics area. An advantage comes from the techno logical autonomy and the other from the progress achieved with the in telligence.” Brazil is one of the Latin America countries more advanced in informatics issues and in the use and development of free software, too. It started the adoption of this kind of in formatics programs from the govern ment before anyone, tending the bridge for other countries such as Venezuela or Ecuador, to be encou raged to make the change. According to Meffe, it's not only the economic factor the one promoting free software: autonomy is a funda mental axis, being this the greatest benefit conceded when proprietary programs were replaced. They won't be software providers' captives any more. Lauretta: What tangible benefits have come from the adoption of free soft ware in the Brazilian government ad ministration? Corinto: "The tangible benefits are
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because of the costs, in part. There is always a comparison between the advantages of the free related to the proprietary, and the economic issue is considered. This comes from the contact with the code, here you have a great advantage. With this it is pos sible to take the right decision for the software future, because it can be developed together with another pu blic institution, hiring other compa nies or widening the internal professional capacity". Lauretta: What have been the potho les or difficulties more often found in the free software acceptance pro cess? Corinto: "Free software acceptance comes with the same problems than any migration has. The migration act is not simple and is always uncom fortable to people and organizations. However, the adapting process has
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THE AUTONOMY AS FUNDAMENTAL AXIS three big problems: the first has to do with organization culture, the se cond with older systems and last with users' resistance. The first so metimes has to do with the way free software was presented. To approxi mate the free with the nocost could be bad to this model. This is why the re are no investment in free softwa re, because it doesn't have a price. When the problem arises, the top management asks: Isn't it free? I mean, It is necessary to combat this logic? Older systems are evaluated by a technical group, many times there isn't technical capacity or time to make a total system migration. This must be planned or adjusted with analyzing costs and benefits". Lauretta: Let's talk about the auto nomy factor as a fundamental axis in the free software inclusion in society. Why the need to advocate for this autonomy? Corinto: "Autonomy brings a lot of advantages. When you enjoy auto nomy this means you can do things by yourself. If you have willingness and ability you can advance alone.
IN TOUCH
However, there are so many fac tors, for example to decide the best contract model, how to train the internal team, the require ments for the external professio nals, to decide when and how to do, and last the providers inde pendence. In conclusion, auto nomy, is a key word for the independent technological deve lopment".
and then to set the technical tests and how to resolve them is going to create conditions for a good migra tion. There is a basic recommendation I wish to make: Advantages from wor king with free software are greater that the ones from working with pro prietary software. The free one is the path to the future in the informatics area. An advantage comes from the technological autonomy and the ot her from the progress achieved with the technicians' intelligence, this is why I recommend free software: be cause of the intelligence.”
Lauretta: What would you recom mend to those organizations with the intent to migrate to free soft ware? Corinto: "Well, these recommen dations come from more than 11 years working with free software and the chance to participate in projects that are currently migra ted and in production, as well as of many aspects many professio nals don like to deal with as the fact of knowing that some initiati ves will never reach completion. On the other hand, many pro blems were out casted from free software in many organizations. A first recommendation is to work with the positive and negative points of free software. Transpa rency helps a lot in a migration.
Lauretta (Venezuela) lauretta@latinuxmagazine.com
The fact is that the word migration must be after other stages as diagno sis, support sensibility and structure, in other words, to set the environ ment ready in order to migrate is very important for success. To train the technical component is crucial, too. Labs are the foundations for the sup port and maintenances areas to work correctly. To know the environment
Latinux Magazine
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IN TOUCH
Jon "Maddog" Hall
Jon “Maddog”Hall is an informatics Guru ,very nice in deed, with knowledge of the world, the people and the needs de manded by users behind a computer . Maddog is dedicated to show the advantages of using Linux as operating system.
husiastic) I would describe them as being very lucky that they realized the value of free software. But when we talk about free software, we have to be careful and talk about what it really is, which is software freedom. And there’s a lot of people who have a hard time understanding the word “freedom”. So sometimes I talk about software slavery, which is because people understand slavery much ea sier than they understand freedom. When you’re a slave you’re told whe re to go, what to do, who to marry, when to have children, and the chil dren that you have are not your own and belong to somebody else".
Lauretta: How long have you been working on this initiative? Maddog: "Well, I met Linus Torvalds in May of 1994 and I saw a Linux for the first time. And it was then that I reali zed the value of Linux and the value that it put forward. I, of course, had
been using free software for a very long time and even before Richard Stallman was involved in free softwa re. When I started using software and writing software in 1969, Boost softwa re was distributed in source code form. And so when people ask somebody to write software for them, when the software is written the software be longs to them and because they had the source code, they can change it so they can meet their needs. It was only much later that the software came about in binaryonly form and this was what Richard Stallman reacted to—Because he was used to seeing software in source code form and when the software was only in binary form, he realized that there was a hu ge loss to the software community in having the software only available in binary form".
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WHO CONTROLS THE SOFTWARE, YOU OR THE COMPANY THAT MAKES IT?
Lauretta: Like… The rules are, writ ten?
Lauretta: How do you describe a world who realized the benefits of free software in the society? Maddog: "Uh... (thoughtful and ent
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Maddog: "The rules are written and you have nothing to say about them. That is a slave. Now software slave is somebody who gets software from a company and the company tells them what computer systems to put it on, how many people can use it. They’re told when to upgrade your software, and they’re told, you know, you can only use that software with a particular type of computer. That’s
IN TOUCH
software slavery, and the control of the software is not with you, the user, but instead is with the company that made it. Software freedom gives you the source code to allow you to deci de where to put your software, on how many computer systems, and when you will upgrade your software, and when you will fix it, and how to extend it. It gives the control back to you and so the real word there is the word “control”. Who controls the soft ware, the company that makes it or you, the user?". Lauretta: At the personal side, what do you like to do in your free time? Free software too? :) Maddog: "Well, actually I have a combination of interests. I like me chanical automated, mechanical musical instruments. I like player reed organs, and I repair mechanical clocks. I like sailing, I like brewing my own beer. I have a wide variety of things that I enjoy. I like talking to people, too. And free software, of course". Lauretta: And just out of curiosity, did you ever play an instrument? Maddog: "Many years ago I played
cannot sing at the same time. Well, that was what my parents didn’t want me doing. They did not want me sin ging with my clarinet". Lauretta: To finish, I cordially invite you to my country Venezuela ;) Maddog: "I’ve actually been to Vene zuela 3 times. Many years ago, in 1995, I went to Venezuela to what was known as a DECUS meeting. And it was funny because they told me that I would have to wear a suit and I told them I did not have a suit. They said “Well you have to wear a suit”. So I went out and I bought a suit and I showed up with my suit and they had the fashion press show up because somehow they thought that this was the first suit I had ever owned in my life. So before I started my technical talk, I had to show them what my suit looked like to see if they liked it. I like Venezuelan people". Lauretta: Then What do we have to do to see you again? Maddog: "I am a bit as vampires; I have to be invited to your home to go there. If you invite me, I would love to go back!".
Lauretta (Venezuela) lauretta@latinuxmagazine.com
the clarinet. The reason my parents got me a clarinet to play was becau se when you play the clarinet you
Latinux Magazine
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IN TOUCH
Offray Luna
Offray Luna is a Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, where he works as a teacher, teaching in the computermath career. He has promoted free software in his career in order to enrich and optimize teaching tasks.
unique political stand, most of the Software Free people consider them selves apolitical and the truth is that they are. Look, there are two free doms in play, one freedom of speech, when I create, modify and personalize code I express myself. The political vision: freedom of speech using technology, this is a political posture and there is not only one of these, but there is a political posture when you are defending a concrete fact. In this case solidarity is not always an end, is a practice. With the use of the Free Software technique, collective policies could be constructed, these supporting an either capitalism or socialist system, but what is really happening is that the technique is being used as a speech tool”.
Lauretta: Can it be asserted that Free Software is an altruistic philosophy based on solidarity? Offray Luna: “Yes, but not exactly by altruistic reasons. Actually, Free Soft ware is founded in solidarity, but not always behind every act of solidarity there is an altruistic intention. There is a position that states that in reality, behind the altruism, there is a selfish act related with exchanges, and then to be altruistic at the present is a sel fish tool with the objective of being better treated in the future, that Free Software is based in solidarity is a fact, but its altruistic nature is so mehow forced, there are different opi nions about this. In this world, there is always required to get something in return, in altruism that doesn’t exist, I mean, there is sharing but you don’t need to receive something in return. I think one of the first issues is the reciprocal one, for example if you see a license, sometimes it doesn’t ask you for reciprocity, in fact you can plant the code. Then, in these terms it is going to be altruist, but the base is not going to be altruist per se, it is going to be solidary.”
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“FREE SOFTWARE: AN ALTRUISTIC PHILOSOPHY BASED ON SOLIDARITY?”
Lauretta: Just to be clear, Free Soft ware is not a political Project, instead it is a philosophy? What is its founda tion? Offray Luna: “In fact, let’s say, This isn't the classical political view about Free Software instead is a political project that can be viewed from many standpoints, there is not an
Latinux Magazine
Lauretta (Venezuela) lauretta@latinuxmagazine.com
DIFFUSION ZONE
"Sugar on a stick"
“If we design valuable software with advantages over other systems, why only those with hardware are the ones able to access it? Sugar is an at tempt to break the computer’s metaphors. Sugar Labs restates this office conventional metaphor and put it in terms of doing activities in particular pla ces such as home, the neighborhood, with friends, related to tasks, that is the way Sugar works. Sugar, the desktop interface, is much friendlier to kids.” María del Pilar Sáenz Free Technologies, inclu ding Free Software have an enor mous teaching value, not only because it is possible to use and adapt this technologies to par ticular curriculum circumstances in each social context, but also be cause in the process of develop
ties is interesting the appearance of global education projects using Free Software. Most of the main GNU/Linux distributions have spe cific projects in the education area”. But, until now there wasn’t any proposal breaking the interfa ce and, more deeply the usual me
The use by itself of a free tool instead of a proprietary one is a win, but to achieve the appro priation of these tools is not enough just to use them. It is nee ded to change the logic used to employ them in education, there is the need to generate dynamics fa voring these appropriations and there is the need to give enough freedom to the communities to de termine, by themselves, their use according with their values, culture and processes.
Any of these projects, neit her, raised the need of working with support, developing and im plementation of local groups nor practice communities creation around the project in a local and worldwide range. With the difficul ties of a novel process, Sugar has tried to achieve this task. At the beginning, the Sugar learning plat form, developed for the XO laptop from the OLPC project ( One lap top per child), and currently opera tive in almost any computer, embodies the constructivism theo ries developed initially by the MIT
ment and use they promote certain social values.
In this frame of possibili
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taphors in educational
computers use.
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for
"SUGAR, TO LEARN HOW TO LEARN"
DIFFUSION ZONE
Media Lab Professor Seymour Pa pert and then elaborated by Alan Kay, complemented by the princi ples articulated by Nicolas Negro ponte in his book “ Being digital” . It was through from the beginning to be used for children and youngsters involved in learning processes. Sugar restates the compu ter conventional use in the class room as well as the graphic interface and the precepts used to design software, involving the feedback obtained for users to re design activities and create new ones. Sugar recreates the way computers can be used for educa tion, showing the traditional metap hor is not designed for the teachinglearning process but for office tasks. The traditional metap hor suggest the presence and ac tions of a typical work environment where desks, files, documents, archives folders, trash cans exist and where each applica tion or task is executed by an indi vidual user. In Sugar there are not ap plications, programs are denomi nated Activities. The Activities are designed to help children 512 years old to learn together through
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expression and audiovisual media. Among the hundred of available activities included ar word proces sor, a spreadsheet, a browser, painting tools, educational games, the suite Gcompris activities and the programming activities Turt leArt, Etoys, Scratch and parti cularly Pippy an activity which allows to learn how to modify most of the available Sugar tasks and create new ones. In other words, Sugar provides a tool to modify it self. To break with the traditio nal office metaphor Sugar propo ses a new one for the interface, the zoom metaphor with four envi ronments. This is a more like a community metaphor, which set the children in a social context, their neighborhood, their group, their home, their specific activities where, in an explicit way interac tion with others is possible. Most of the Sugarcoated activities (adapted to the Sugar in terface) have and option as to sha re them with the neighborhood. When an activity is shared it ap pears at the neighborhood sharing the session. The activity becomes and invitation for other to participa te in it. In this way, to share an ac
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DIFFUSION ZONE
"Sugar on a stick"
tivity, to work with others and to ex change information are uses facili tated and stimulated by the tool. In the activities design an effort has been made the keep the classroom process “ learning centralized” , where teachers assist students while they explore powerful ideas. Inside the classroom, Sugar is a tool helping the students to acquire knowledge but, at the same time helps them become critical and knowledge creators, not only passi ve technology consumers. In Su gar, learning is not a service, is an appropriation process. That is the reason for the need of all activities involved in Sugar to be Free Soft ware. The platform is available un der GNU/Linux operating system, allowing them to be used, copied, studied, redistributed, modified and adapted according with the needs of each implementation. Sugar is currently included as a packet in most of the GNU/Linux versions
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and is compatible with the latest versions of proprietary operating systems, including Windows and Mac, thanks to virtualization. It is available in LiveCD form and, re cently announce its USB version. All options are available for free download at the project main web page labs.org).
(HTTP://www.Sugar
The platform is available in more than 25 languages and at the moment is used everyday in schools for almost a million of chil dren in more than forty countries. The learning platform itself is the Free Software community respon sibility, in this way, although in its development paid personnel is paid for companies such as Goo
References For more information about the Sugar Labs platform and the Sugar Labs Foundation ColombiaThe following pages Could be consulted: HTTP://Sugarlabs.org andHTTP://co.Sugarlabs.org or you can contact the foundation directly using the email contacto@co.Sugarlabs.orgPicture s were taken from the Sugar Labs PR Photos en Flickr
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gle and Red Hat, most part of the work is produced for volunteers groups, free software and free technology lovers, grouped in the Sugar Labs Foundation, an inter national nonprofit foundation with the mission of giving support to the Sugar users and developers community and to establish local Sugar Labs around the world, re gional independent foundations to share the Sugar Labs mission. MSc María del Pilar Sáenz R. Fundación Sugar Labs Colombia (Colombia) pilar@co.Sugarlabs.org
DIFFUSION ZONE
Arduino, Open Hardware
The Arduino platform is a project through to joint artists, desig ners and enthusiastics, who, without an engineer background, are inte rested in experimenting with electronics and microcontrollers programming. Born in academic grounds, it was created to solve access to more plain and low cost microcontrollers systems in art classes. Arduino has been positioned as a kind of de facto standard for electronics enthusias tics, too, new media artists and art schools. Although the Free Hardwa re idea is not new, projects imple mentation has been minor and slow, compared with the Free Software explosive movement. This is a relati vely young project, it is considered as a probe the concept could be su cessful. Arduino fast growing is ba sed in a mix of factors, all derived from his Free Hardware nature: • It is a simple platform, but it is com plete: Arduino, further than propo sing a card design with digital and analog inputs and outputs includes a
programming language and a inte grated development environment (IDE) of its own, both Free Software. This makes it easy to use, without re ducing its flexibility and power. The programming language ( a C++ sub set) is based in the Wiring microcon trolers programming language, and the IDE in Processing the popular ar tists software developer platform. The microcontroller, a Atmega 168, is preloaded with a bootloader which allows to dump the programs through a serial USB cable interface simplif ying the programmin process greatly. • Low cost: Obviously, against Free Software, Free Harware can't be ili mited produced at 0 cost, but Arduino is through to be produced at a low cost from common and cheap com ponents.
OPEN HARDWARE
form. About the hardware, dozens of “clones” have been created, alternati ve Arduino models, usually changing the form factor, but compatibles with the programing language and the IDE. On the other hand, there are shields, electronic complementary cards, they are coupled physically to Arduino and serve specifics roles such as motor control, implement wi reless communication, play audio, among others. About software, libra ries are developed complementing the programming language. However, the mayority of contributions are do ne in the form of tutorials, instructi ves, esquematics and code the Arduino users share, making the learning and development of complex projects a collective experience. David Peña Lopera (Colombia) davidpena@gmail.com
• The community: As usual at the Free Software universe, each project has its own developers, users and enthusiasts community able to contri buite generously with their kwnoled ge. Arduino actively promotes software and hardware develop ments derived from the original plat
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DIFFUSION ZONE
"Creating needs and sustainable companies with Free Software”
“In the last 10 years, free software has become an alternative source to elevate competitivity in emerging countries economies” Felipe Cabada The national an regional pic ture about the TICs use in compa nies shows that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MiP and Mes, for their acronym in Spanish) aren't still using the tools needed to be competitive. Besides the little tech nological equipment they have avai
world markets makes evident the im portance of solutions allowing com panies to be more productive. In February 2007, the “Free Office” concept arose at the Free Software International Conference 3.0 in Bajadoz, Spain, from there it
lable, they lack basic management and operation control tools.
was derived that all enterprises have control, management and administra tion basic needs. Some of those ne cessities are unique authentication, security, Internet access control, te lephony, email, instant messaging, work groups tools, network fax tool, management and office software, do cument organizer, data centralization, security copies and high availability.
Free software allows compa nies to access management solu tions to gain access into competition, but the more important is to identify the market niche for free solutions. On the other hand, one of the pro blems facing the Mip and Mes is that a great % of those solutions are pro prietary and costs are far of their reach, too. Information and Communica tion technologies continue expanding worldwide without stop, despite this the digital gap between countries is more evident. In Mexico, companies are confronted with a global market, making them elevate their competiti ve standards to become the best in their fields, looking for solutions al
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INTEGRAL SOLUTIONS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION FOR THE BUSINESS (SIITNE)
ternatives to their needs at a low cost. Free software has become in the last 10 years an alternative source to elevate the competition in emergent countries economies. To create the needs and detect market niches in the regional, national and
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On the other hand, one of the universities main objectives is to promote between its students the creation of incubated companies, mo del that has been adopted by the So nora Technological Institute (ITSON, www.itson.mx), allowing students and investigators to incubate companies. Using this model, a company has been incubated in ITSON, it has as objective to enhance Free Software solutions (Integrated Solutions in
DIFFUSION ZONE
Technological Innovation for Business SIITNE S.C. Www.siitne.com.mx), here can be seen that this kind of com panies are sustainable and ha ve ensured success following the Free Software model.
allowing micro and small compa nies to have an invoicing infrastruc ture at a low cost.
Starting from the com panies need in “management software”. SIITNE takes the de cision of integrate an invoicing and inventory system called ESYSTEM Invoicing.
cost, which, in Mexico is accesible because any proprietary invoicing system cost between $500 and $1200 at the market without adding the computer equipment; on the ot her hand it was adapted to Mexico in relation to taxes, labels and other components. Once CODEKA was adapted, and installation image was generated with the REMASTERSYS application, this is going to be inte grated with each equipment when they are packed. Besides, ESYSTEM Invoicing is integrated with users ma nuals and virtual manuals (demons tration videos) about the solution performance.
This invoicing system was integrated with Ubuntu 9.10 + LAMP+CODEKA+ a bar code reader ( Metrologic Voya ger MS9520 reader) + Intel Computer Atom 1.8 GHz., 512 RAM and 120 GB hard disk. ESYSTEM Invoicing is packet to be offered as an integral in voicing and inventory solution
One of the ESYSTEM Invoi cing outstanding features is the low cost of the solution, seeking to be in tegrated at the market with a $550
cause they have been implemented in a plug and play form. Additionally, the low cost of these products, mea ning hardware and zero cost of the software make any company dedica ted to Free Software solutions able to compete in the market and generate good business opportunities, busi
ness dominated by the companies who offer proprietary solutions. Felipe Cabada (México) fcabada@latinux.org
On the other hand, another additional business generated from ESYSTEM Invoicing is to impart on line classes about the tool use, sup port for integrate customers, provi ders and products data and to maintain and backup client data.Con clusions: The main idea of this pac kets products is for the client to buy them, unpack and start to use, be
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SCIFI
"Information wants to be free"
1996's Internet, from when its fast growing started is almost un recognizable when compared with the one seen nowadays. Going furt her its cosmetic changes, new mas sive media status and virtually generalized access, it has changed, basically in the way many people re late and interact in the world. The da ta transfer speed has been a fundamental factor. Due to optical fi ber technologies and other band width technologies, access to almost anything that can be translated to ze ros and ones is possible and an everyday fact. But, intrinsic conflicts in this informa tics system are not new. Since the creation of distribuited files services. With Napster in 1999 and the next legal battle discs companies and cul tural enterprises have started to pro tect their contents, an old saying has become popular again, as a mantra through forums and blogs: “Informa tion wants to be free”. The original phrase was enunciated in a hackers conference in 1984 by Steward Brand, Whole Earth Catalog creator, a set of American contraculture es says and articles that has been ca lled one of the forerunners of the
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Wold Wide Web by Steve Jobs. Ho wever, the original version states that: “On one side, information wants to be expensive, because is valua ble. The right information at the right place changes your life. On the other side, information wants to be free, because the value of obtaining it is getting lower. Here, you have two tendencies fighting each other. ”The hacker's culture", if we can speak of such a thing, has taken only the part interesting to it and has transform it in its motto. The belief that informa tion must be free. Now, let's see the following. Since the sixties, the american science fiction started to strongly change direction. Although popularly, science fiction is known through pro ductions such as Star Wars, the lite rary genre, a current almost independent of these manifestations was leaving the modern positivims philosophyes to which it clung th rough the Science Fiction “Golden Era” and became a genre of frag mentation, uncertainty and experi mentation. Clearly influenced by the american counterculture, it shifted to issues as space travel to study the reality meaning. It became a genre
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HACKER'S ETHIC: DIGITAL CRIME IS, ACTUALLY, INFORMATION
that not only tried to prevent or sur prise, but to denounce. The eighties welcomed the more clear denounce literature manifestation inside scien ce fiction: the cyberpunk genre. The Neuromancer begin ning, starts a new stage in science fiction: The sky over the port had a TV screen color, tuned to a dead channel. The 1984 novel not only in troduced the use of technologic lite rary figures, the informatic era metaphor, but it created a new hero archetype, the hacker. The computer expert had become the central cha racter of an hypothetical future con trolled by corporations and draconic goverments, where the only indivi dual freedom is found in the net of nets in all its manifestations. This net is central to the stories to the extent that William Gibson, the author, was the creator of the term cyberspace. Many of the things that are today ta ken for granted were previewed in those novels. The archetype created for those novels has strongly stalled in the globalized culture. The hack is,
SCIFI
measures possible to erase what they consider a threat. A new mass media means much more that a new communication way, is a constant power struggle, is a power resource. Despite this, as much as is tried to regulate and hide, today information seems to have the tendency to have
then, the incarnation of the philosop hy which states “information wants to be free”. Last April the 17th, four young Swedes were convicted with one year of prison and a fine near the 3,500,000 US$. Their crime was to facilitate free exchange of protec ted information, to keep and promote the torrents page The pirate bay. The same day of the conviction, an acti vist group were reunited in a protest outside the court. Althrough it seems as an easy resolution dilemma, to apply traditional laws to digital cri mes doesn't seem right to many people. But, this is just the old conl fict mentioned in that hacker's confe rence. The information cost and the freedom will be always opposed. The yougn people who is serving ti me stoically defend the hacker's et hic: a digital crime is really an information release.
a greater scope. In an interview con ducted by the digg.com webpage, Trent Reznor, the musician, industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails leader, stated about his business model: “When I say I give you free music, the truth is that is not up to me to do so. Basically any musical piece you want is free over the Internet, in any case.” Christian Bogado Marsá (Venezuela) inverso@gmail.com
The stories forming the cy berpunk genre were able to early compile and maybe, inspire a move ment which has an unquestionable presence. China and other countries have started to block big Internet parts, while corporations use all legal
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LATINUX INSIDE
Latinux Certifications
Latinux Certifications in Free Technologies Based in more than 10 years of experience, applying knowledge acquired in the free an open technologies areas, the Lati nux Cluster through LatinuxORG created a number of certifications, in order to validate your knowled ge. LatinuxORG based the certifi cations in a set of values, such as: Compromise, Solidarity, Collabora tion, Innovation, Work, Credibility, Knowledge, Passion and Authenti city. Latinux Certifications' Global Network The Latinux Certifications Network – LCC (Latinux Certifica tion Cluster), is designed to in crease the Certifications offers in order to validate knowledge about different topics touching free soft ware and technologies. Due to the Linux consolidation in the compu ter’s fields worldwide, is becoming more necessary to validate said knowledge, thanks to the demand for quality professionals in Linux use. So, Latinux offers a quality and recognizable internationally Certifications portfolio in Software
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and Free Technologies. The LCC or Latinux Certification Cluster, is the denomination Latinux gives its members forming its Authorized Centers to offer the Latinux Certifi cations. Latinux Certification Clusters Ty pes (LCC): The LCC is divided in three types, LCTC, LACT and LUCT: LCTC The Latinux Community Test Centers are Free Software and technologies users organizations giving support and promoting free technologies in its influence envi ronment. These centers have ap plied to become a LCTC with LatinuxORG. LACT The Latinux Academy Test Centers or LACTs, are institutions or organizations dic tating GNU/Linux and/or Free Soft ware courses. These centers have applied to be a LACT with Latinu xORG.LUCT The Latinux Univer sity Test Centers or LUCTs are universities or higher education centers dictating GNU/Linux and/or Free Software courses, as vocatio nal classes or as part of a college career (undergraduate or gradua te). These universities have applied to become xORG.
LUCTs
with
Latinu
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The available Certifications are: CLU Certified Linux User JLO Junior Linux Operator CLA Certified Linux Administrator CNLA Certified Network Linux Ad ministrator CSLA Certified Security Linux Admi nistrator. Latinux has been particularly careful in the tests elaboration of those who wish to get the certifications it offers in view of the demand for trained pro fessionals and with experience in free software, Latinux works hard in the validation of certifications in order to contribute to strength Linux use.
Ricardo Strusberg (Venezuela) strusberg@latinux.com
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TIPS & TRICKS
Web's buttons
At the time we're programming a website, between the programming and the final user there is a graphic layer, which, at the end, becomes crucial to the website success. If we use Free Software as
base for our work, we find a wide range of tools which allow us to get professionals results, starting from the code reuse principle used for programmers. Inkscape is a vectorial design tool which has demonstrated to measure up to graphic elements and websites development, printing, digitalization and vectorization, keeping solid bases from Sodipodi and Free Software influence.
reference, we set it with a different color, this is going to help us as
To develop reusable web buttons, the first we have to create is a rectangle with the desired color base and round the tips selecting the rounds points at the rightupper corner. Then, we duplicate our rectangle, because with it we'll obtain the reflection that will give it the crystal appearance we look for. As a
Possibly, the more complicated step to develop web buttons is the section for the division we need to the crystal style reflection, this is going to be the interesting part of the design. We select the ellipse created in the previous step and pressing the Shift
basereference. Now, we create and ellipse and try it to be a little big that our rectangle; the idea is to try to generate with the circumference a light reflection simulation. There is another way to achieve this step using Bezier's curves, but it implies a minimal vectors knowledge, if you dare, try it!.
key we choose the darker rectangle. With both geometric figures selected, we go to the “Path” menu ( in previous versions to the 0.4.6 the menu is called “Stroke”) and we choose the “intersection” option. This is going to give us the middle section between the base rectangle and the separation ellipse. Again, you can choose any separation method; including generating rectangles at the base exterior and then, go to the “difference” option; although is a longer process, it is, possibly a way to know more Inkscape tools and advance in your graphic design knowledge. After getting the intersection section we are interested in, we can relocate it over the original rectangle and we can see how the shadow which is going to generate the crystal takes form. We must try for the new section to be exactly as the original frame, this will give our work a professional and clean look. Now, with the two elements
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TIPS & TRICKS
needed to create the button, we need to go to the second section; in order to give it color. To get to the borders and colors windows we'll use a keyboard shortcut; this is going to facilitate and save important time when we'll work with larger projects. The shortcut for the borders and
be applied with the center at relatively low opacity and at the borders with opacity relatively null; with this we can get a deepness effect a little more pronounced. Already our button begins to have a more professional look, now we just need to modify the degrading needed for our button. We can choose between linear degrading which gives us a blurred fairly even or use radial degrading, in which not only we can make the diffusion range circumferential, it allows the initial
the window that appeared in which we can select the two degrading colors. The upper part color will be always the final one and the interior part it going to correspond to the upper part (this can be modified changing the orientation of the degrading line positioned over the rectangle). After obtaining a degrading we feel confortable with, we only need to select the button an export it in png format to be used in any art for ours websites or as an element used as a button.
Always remember, there is not an unique way to do stuff,
colors dialog is “Ctrl+Shift+F”, there we can see three essential tabs: fill, stroke and stroke properties. If there is a value in the “stroke” tab, we must press “X” to delete it, our button is not going to have defined borders; the idea is to get a deepness sensation.
degrade diffusion axis range to be changed.
To start to see the difference the button of the base rectangle, we can color the crystal section in white and modify the “opaque”parameter; we can adjust the value to 50% to obtain a mix between the base color and a “gradual clarify”. As a second option a lineal or radial degrade can
In our case, we will use the lineal degrading becuase is simple to start. We will select in our colors and borders dialog the option needed and we'll press the “edit” button in order to modify the color range for our button final composition. We'll have a scrolled menu in the upper side of
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experimenting is the pleasure of learning and know more day after day. H4ppy Dr4w1ng! Maria "Tatica" Leandro (Venezuela) tatica@fedorapeople.org
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TIPS & TRICKS
Developing videogames in Renpy
Usually, to talk about video games development is a subject that fascinates many people,me included, evidently. After a couple of years in the educational applications world, it was clear that the easier way for somebody to learn in record time is with a videogame; but to develop one is a complicated process that discourages many; with this small starting guide we'll accomplish the first stage of a game in “Graphic Novel” mode.
RenPy is a free and multi platform motor that helps to tell a
story using words, images and sounds. Based in Phynton, it uses a development structure quite simple allowing to create videogames in
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Novel mode without the need of being an experienced programmer. The first needed to be done is to download the motor at the official site http://renpy.org/; it brings a test game to be familiarized with the environment and to begin to understand the motor structure. For now what we need is to program our own game, let's do it! We must select “New Project” and choose a location to save your files; after that it will ask what name you want to give your project; in my case I will call it “LearningSL”.
RenPy incorporates by default in all created games, a start menu where you can save and load your practices, so this is a of great help for those who doesn't have programming experience. Then, we can select our project and choose the option “Edit Script”, from here our code will begin. We can simulate a dialog between two classmates, it goes: The first drawback is that we can decide who is who in this conversation; so we need to define the characters; let's assume we are talking about Charles and David, between the parameters we can use to distinguish who is who, we use color, it must be set in RGB. If you don know how to get a RGB color, a good option is to resort to a
kcolorchooser; this is a color palete quite simple which shows you to its right the selected code, but, now, let's select the characters. The next step is to select the color theme for the opening window,
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Another important element in the characters' creation is that when we indicate in the “init” section a
TIPS & TRICKS
to be a little more clean, in this example we'll add a disolve and a fade to the graphic characters addition: finally, we can asume that we have audio in the characters dialog, so we have the possibility of adding the soundtrack; we make it
letter at the beginning of the expression, you are able to define the color and the name which are going to appear at the start of that dialog chain; our game must have a background, to add it we need to: Same as we included a character, we use a similar syntax to include the background, this is going to be like this: It starts to take form, but we ca add some details for the transitions
this way without forgetting the sound must be closed so it doesn't stay in a loop: at the end, we just need to save the file and open it in game mode. As you can see, RenPy is a motor which allows to use a simple syntax, but it has a high development potential. Remember to visit the official site and to download some model games in order to practice. H4ppy Dr4w1ng! Maria "Tatica" Leandro (Venezuela) tatica@fedorapeople.org
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THE HIDDEN SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY Invisibility Criteria
“It is still not clear how are we going to achieve the indivisibility associated with Harry Potter or the mechanism seen in “Star Trek””, states David Smith, American contributor of the group directed by Sir John B. Pendry, a London Imperial College scientist. For an object to be invisible to the human eye, the shield or invisibility layer would have to interact simultaneously with all wavelengths or colors comprising the light and that, according to scholars, would require metamaterials structure much smaller and intricate that the current ones. Until recently, there was a matter property so fantastic that it was through it only existed in legends, invisibility. Scientists have explored in the creation of a material which doesn't exist in nature, the metamaterials, material that can be designed to order to get specific properties. Meta materials were created by Sir John Pendry from the London Imperial College, there scientists realized this materials can flex electromagnetic radiation; meaning light, microwaves and radar emitted waves around a rounded space, making the objects inside it to look as invisibles. Their development has allowed to control in an extraordinary form the way the light passes or rebound though/over a material, making to have a shrinkage called negative refraction, this property could prevent the material from being seen for the human eye. Probably, we've already achieved invisibility.
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As a first step, the Japanese scientist Susumu Tacho from Tokyo University developed refracting membranes giving an invisibility
References LeonhardtU.,etal.Science,(2006) [doi:10.1126/science.1126493]. PendryJ.B.,etal.Science,(2006) [doi:10.1126/science.1125907]. AluA.&EnghetaN..Phys.Rev.,E 72.016623(2005).
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NANOTECHNOLOGY
illusion when the background image behind him was “unproyected”,
although very ingenious, this was only the beginning of negative refracting membranes. At the same time, Dr. Sir John Pendry, pioneer in this theory, developed in nanometric scale this material, using a nanometric level geometry in form of several “u”, this geometry is the one allowing the material to play with light to become invisible.
The invisibility dream has always been a fascinating issue for humanity. The obsession for learning more about the unknown, the magic of the unseen and to be able to go unnoticed is extremely tempting. The idea of becoming invisible could be the dream of those interested in war and espionage. Now, we must consider: What are the implications this technology can have to the human race?.
Lauretta
(Venezuela) lauretta@latinuxmagazine.com
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IN WILDEBEEST'S LANDS
Their names are Tux and GNU
A beautiful Wildebeest's head (GNU) with its typical beard and the twisted horns that give it an elegant look, seems to be smiling, satisfied for the work done until now, but keeps staring into the distance, thoughtful, notes on the horizon offshore a foreign arrival toward its lands. It was a smiling penguin, sweet and even funny, who sooner or later would be united with the talented wildebeest to achieve an encouraging change in the software, worldwide. On the other hand, the wildebeest was since a few years ago, creating the GNU project started by its tutor, Richard Stallman in order to create an operating system completely free: the GNU system. The system has already a text editor called Emacs, a successful compiler (GCC) and the majority of the libraries and utilities which compose an UNIX typical operating system. Despite this, it was needed a key
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component, that indispensable ingredient: a core (kernel). At that time, the eighties, the crafty wildebeest was already created many of the needed components to create a free operating system, but its own core (GNU Hurd) was incomplete and, for this reason it was unable to find a free system totally functional. In the meanwhile, with the Tux penguin arrival, charismatic, intellectual and chic in its attire, close philosophical relationships were created. Mutual interest was constructed in an altruistic philosophy, in which both will join forces to make their ideas real. As a good friend, Felipe Perez Martí, would say: “Altruisms is the way humans beings have resolved cooperation problems, and these feelings have a reason to exist, sometimes to be guided by feelings is to act rationally.” That is why, despite the limited functionalities of the first version, skillfully Tux, guided by its
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“FREE SOFTWARE IS LED WORLDWIDE THROUGH A PENGUIN AND A WILDEBEEST SPIRITS” – THEIR NAMES ARE TUX AND GNU” tutor, Linus Torvalds, and after ingesting lots of fish, it developed the first GNU/Linux core version (kernel), based in the free Minix operating system. An it is so, how both based their project in a solidarity activity under which they will act in favor of an idea which would change the worldwide perspective, the materialization of a free operating system.
Lauretta
(Venezuela) lauretta@latinuxmagazine.com
NEXT EVENTS
DIRECTORY
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