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Ubuntu Women featured in Ubuntu User Magazine!

Monday, Apr 5th, 2010 by pleia2 | 4 Comments

During the past year I have watched the Ubuntu Women Project go from a small corner of the Ubuntu project to a respected, active and successful project. This is in no small part due to the efforts of Melissa Draper, Laura Czajkowski, Penelope Stowe, Mackenzie Morgan and the current project leader, Amber Graner.

One of the really exciting things we’ve seen is more press about the project within the community and beyond. Melissa’s imagination and enthusiasm regarding contests and marketing material has really turned a page for the team and her ability to reach an audience with her blog was indispensable for the success of the International Women’s Day Competition that she came up with. Amber’s ability to promote the project via her connections in the open source community has led to her being interviewed on FLOSS Weekly: FLOSS Weekly 114: Ada Lovelace Day where she discussed the project, and through her ties with Ubuntu User Magazine she was able to write an article for the magazine about the project:

So be sure to pick up a copy of Ubuntu User Issue 4 to read about us! I picked up my copy at Borders this evening.

Oh and that photo? Taken at UDS Lucid of Laura, Amber and myself, made into that graphic (well, poster) by Melissa. Well done, ladies!

Filed under: tech, ubuntu planet

Digital Chronicles interview on KPFA 94.1 FM

Monday, Apr 5th, 2010 by pleia2 | 0 Comments

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Antonio Ortiz in Yerba Buena Gardens on a beautiful sunny morning so that I could be interviewed for a piece on Digital Chronicles on their weekly Radio Chronicles program on KPFA 94.1 FM in Berkeley.

Westinghouse Six Transistor Radio, 1960's

The Digital Chronicles program is dedicated to collecting “personal stories in the technological world” and the primary subject of this particular episode was stories from folks about getting involved with Unix and Linux. The program begins with an interview of Marshall Kirk McKusick of BSD fame. It then goes in to a fantastic interview with Stormy Peters, executive director of the GNOME Foundation. My interview comes after that and in addition to the questions about being a woman in F/OSS and how valuable LinuxChix was for me, I had the opportunity to discuss how much fun working in the Ubuntu community is.

The show aired last night, and they have published it on their site (which will be available until Sunday, April 18th 2010).

Download here: Radio Chronicles, for April 4, 2010 – 6:30pm

The interview really reminded me how proud and excited I am to be a part of the Ubuntu community. We rock!

Filed under: tech, ubuntu planet

Pink Tools!

Saturday, Apr 3rd, 2010 by pleia2 | 11 Comments

I have seen lots of little pink tool sets over the years, but it wasn’t until today that I actually picked up one.

The flashlight in the case is pretty cheesy (my pink Mini Maglite, pictured next to it, is WAY better!), but the rest of it will be quite useful as a case I can toss in my purse for trips to the datacenter, and elsewhere.

Filed under: pink, ubuntu planet

Berkeley Jam Wrap-up

Sunday, Mar 28th, 2010 by pleia2 | 1 Comments

The Ubuntu Global Jam at BerkeleyLUG was a lot of fun! MJ and I arrived around noon and ordered some pizza (I think I found my good pizza in California, why does it have to be all the way over in Berkeley?).

First on the agenda at the event was working on a tri-fold brochure, which Jack started a thread on the list for. We got a lot of great feedback from participants at the event, on the mailing list and on IRC.

We ended up having about 15 people attend, all told, and it was excellent to finally meet a number of people in the area who I’d only really been exposed to via mailing lists and other online mediums, including Jack Deslippe of BerkeleyLUG, Michael Paoli of BALUG, Miia Ranta of Ubuntu fame who came all the way here from Finland to attend our jam (ok, maybe she is in the area for other reasons too). Plus I got to catch up with Jono Bacon who popped in unexpectedly, Grant Bowman (the main day’s speaker!) and Mark Terranova of Gidget Kitchen (who brought me some fresh and dried herbs – thanks again, Mark! And had visions of a bay area Geeknic dancing in his head).

Around 1:45 our focus shifted to an interactive presentation by Grant where he discussed bugs in Ubuntu by walking everyone through some bug resources he gathered here. His presentation was great and the questions and discussions that followed about workflow (plus some info about the development of the processes from Jono) was fantastic.

Following Grant’s presentation I did a short run through the official Ubuntu documentation resources available with an accompanying handout.

In all, a very fun day! Thanks to everyone who joined us and made it possible!

Filed under: berkeley, events, LUG, tech, ubuntu planet

LUG, LUG, LUG, LUG! Conference! LUG!

Thursday, Mar 25th, 2010 by pleia2 | 2 Comments

The first couple weeks I was living out here I took the time to get settled in and get a feel for the new place. Then it was off to checking out the local open source tech scene!

I knew coming out here that there were a lot of tech groups in this area, especially once Grant Bowman gave me a link to the The BALE (Bay Area Linux Events) and Mark Terranova started making suggestions for my calendar. Really?? There is something every NIGHT? Now, the ones I can get to easily on public transportation is less than every night, more like every 2-3 days. Still!

My first stop was Silicon Valley LUG on Mar. 3rd “Linux, Android, and Open Source in the Mobile Environment” presented by Alison Chaiken. I took CalTrain down and MJ picked me up at the station. From there we headed over to the meeting hosted over at Symantec. The format did not lend itself to being very social like I’m used to a LUG meetings, but the presentation itself was great.

The next meeting I went to was the weekly Linux meetup, hosted by SF-LUG, down at the hackerspace Noisebridge on March 10th. Pretty casual Linux discussion in one of Noisebridge’s classrooms. It was there where I met Jim Stockford who was organizing a local Open Source Groups table at the Open Source Business Conference and seeking volunteers to help. So I volunteered!

Next meeting? March 14th at Berkeley LUG. MJ and I hopped on BART for a trip under the bay and up to Berkeley. This LUG was pretty social and met at Bobby G’s Pizzeria just a short walk from the downtown BART station. It’s a bit of a trek to make it out to this LUG, but their next meeting will be the upcoming Ubuntu Global Jam Event which I’m helping with.

The evening of March 15th was spent at an SF-LUG meeting at Cafe Enchante on Geary. I took a bus all by myself to get to this one! Luckily it was just the 38L, which goes in a straight line and was easy for me to figure out ;) This was another pretty social meeting, with coffee, a neat crowd, and even a new user who kept the conversation flowing nicely by asking both technical and philosophical questions about Linux and Open Source.

Next up was the Open Source Business Conference on March 17th and 18th. This deserves an entry of its own, so I’ll just focus on the LUG in this entry. While volunteering at the local groups table I was able to meet a number of new people in the area who do volunteer work in groups related to Linux and open source and get a crash course in all the local Linux groups. Lucky for me, Jim put together a couple filers covering Linux and other Open Source groups in the area so I could properly help at the table and answer questions people had – mostly “What are you interested in? There are lots of groups in the area, I’m exploring them too, here are a couple lists!”

I have to admit, by this time I was actually pretty tired. Maybe I should limit my LUG attendance to only a couple per week.

Last night I met up with a woman I’ve known for a few years via women in tech connections and we rode down to Peninsula LUG, what a fun way to meet! The talk was by Akkana Peck on Featherweight Linux. This meeting had a really nice half hour opening which was pretty casual and friendly. The presentation itself was fantastic (must try out some of Akkana’s tips soon!) and it was a pleasure to finally meet Akkana, who I’ve also known for several years online but never had the opportunity to meet until now. After the meeting MJ picked me up and we headed down to a datacenter where his server is hosted to do some work.

This morning I was up early to meet up with a local radio show producer for a segment about Unix-based operating systems, getting stories from people about their involvement. The actual show will be airing on Sunday evening and I’ll have a link to the mp3 soon :)

So, first impressions of the open source scene in SF? Overwhelming and great! But don’t worry Philly friends, nothing could ever replace PLUG. I miss you all!

Filed under: berkeley, events, LUG, san francisco, tech

Ada Lovelace Day: Ms. Nilsen

Wednesday, Mar 24th, 2010 by pleia2 | 2 Comments

Today I work with dozens of amazing women in open source communities, but for Ada Lovelace Day this year I decided to reach back to the beginning of my experience with computers to talk about a woman I knew back in high school.

In my high school there was a “Mac Lab” and a “PC Lab” where our limited computer classes took place. The PC lab was run by Ms. Nilsen.

I’m going to be honest, I don’t know the extent or nature of Ms. Nilsen’s core interests in computing (did she live and breathe computing? was it just a day job? I don’t know!). She is, however, a long-time faculty member at one of the highest achieving public schools in the state of Maine and while I was there she was charge of the PC lab and all the classes therein. I also know is that in every class I took there she was patient, encouraging and there was never a time in her class where I felt even remotely out of place for being female.

During this introduction to computing, before I had ever logged online, my world had a woman in the role of head of the PC lab.

In the years following high school I frequently felt out of place as a woman interested in computer science. Role models were few, I eventually realized that having a female computer lab teacher in the 90s was a bit of an anomaly. But anomaly or not that first impression stuck with me. Her example showed me that regular women could and did succeed in computing. Aside from occasional self-doubt, I never felt the full brunt of they “maybe I, as a women, shouldn’t be in this field after all” feeling that others have expressed.

Since then I’ve found a number of female role models, at first primarily through LinuxChix but later through prominent women the greater open source community. These days I’m constantly working with other women in all areas of the open source world.

Female peers and role models made all the difference for me. This is part of why I work hard to brush off the shyness and volunteer to speak at conferences and events. This is part of why I spent so much of my time on LinuxChix and now on Ubuntu Women. Just by existing and letting others know we exist and are successful we can be the role models for others, blowing away stereotypes about computing and giving other young women inspiration to succeed as well.

Thank you Ms. Nilsen for a wonderful first impression that helped carry me through some of the tough times as I struggled to find my way in computer science and for inspiring me to continue to be a role model for others.

Filed under: ubuntu planet

On my first trip to BevMo! I broke it

Monday, Mar 22nd, 2010 by pleia2 | 4 Comments

OK, so I didn’t break it, it was a software bug, but “Software bug at BevMo!” is not as funny a title (or is it?).

After living in Pennsylvania, land of the notorious PLCB, for eight years, being able to walk in to a BevMo! (a sizeable wine, spirits and beer store chain on the west coast) at 9:30PM is quite a delight. Even in this city store, which I’m told is smaller than those outside the city, there was a great selection of wine and spirits. The beer selection was less impressive, but 1) I’m in wine country and 2) it turns out there are other places I can go in the city for my beer fix.

So our basket is filled and we head to the register, get all ringed up, the cashier pops in the phone number associated with our BevMo card and this pops up:

$11.6 million? Hah! I didn’t think we spent that much… Well, it wouldn’t come off the screen, we had to move to another register as I took the opportunity to snap that picture. Even better? They gave us 5% off our purchase for the “trouble” of encountering that bug and having to move to another register. Nice!

Filed under: beer

Ubuntu Manual Project: Final Review Time!

Sunday, Mar 21st, 2010 by pleia2 | 1 Comments

Over the past couple years I’ve found myself involved in a lot of documentation, training, beginners and learning projects within the Ubuntu project. Aside from this being an infinitely rewarding sector of the project, I’ve learned the value of collaboration between teams and how far creative collaboration can take them all.

Ubuntu Manual Project

So speaking as a member of the Learning project, I’m pleased to point everyone in the direction of the phenomenal Ubuntu Manual project, which I can claim absolutely no credit for. Benjamin Humphrey and his amazing team have put together a full manual in just a few short months, developing an infrastructure for development that was easy on contributors (you have no idea how challenging this is!) and come out the other side with a full manual scheduled for release just in time for the release of Ubuntu Lucid.

But right now they need your help! Their writing freeze is on March 31st and prior to that they need more sets of eyes reading and giving feedback on the manual.

Just like so many things in this project, they’ve made it easy to volunteer, starting with a simple download of the manual:

Download Ubuntu Manual

Then read through the manual (or pick a chapter, maybe you can learn a thing or two!) and look for:

  • Spelling and grammar mistakes
  • Factual errors
  • Missing references
  • Formatting
  • Sentences that don’t make sense
  • Inconsistencies in wording
  • Somewhere where you think a screenshot is needed and there isn’t a placeholder already

Then head over to http://ubuntu-manual.org/?bugs and fill out the form with your comments. Easy!

I’m very much looking forward to the finished project, so all these final edits are greatly appreciated :)

Filed under: tech, ubuntu planet

Pink, jeweled, cat5e? I’ll take 2!

Sunday, Mar 21st, 2010 by pleia2 | 11 Comments

MJ and I headed down to Fry’s last weekend. I didn’t actually need anything, it was more of a sight seeing tour – having lived on the east coast all these years I had to check out this great electronics store my west coast friends had talked so much about.

While wandering through the aisles MJ spotted this gem:

I bought two. There will now be no question as to which cables on our network go to my desktop!

Filed under: computers, pink, ubuntu planet

Sea lions? Check! Ferry Building? Check! Coit Tower? Check!

Sunday, Mar 21st, 2010 by pleia2 | 0 Comments

I love doing touristy things, and San Francisco has no shortage!

A couple weeks ago MJ and I headed down to Pier 39 to explore the tourist scene and satisfy my craving for battered and fried fish.

…oh! And to see the sea lions! Actually, the entire trip down was to see the sea lions. I had been down near Pier 39 on a previous visit, but somehow managed to be completely oblivious to their existence. Seeing them was a must!

The weren’t as “loud as smelly” as people have reported, but there actually weren’t too many the day we visited. Still, it was great to finally see them! The rest of the pier was deliciously text-book tourist area (did I mention I enjoy tourist traps too?). We were able to easily find a place to satisfy my fried fish craving with some salmon fish and chips and round out the meal with some fried donuts.

Last weekend it was a trip down to Ferry Building. OK, calling it a “trip” is a bit of a lie, we live within walking distance from there! We had gone here for lunch last summer when I was visiting but I didn’t get to see the Farmer’s Market during that trip.

This time I got to see the whole market, browsing stands of vegetables for inspiration to possibly cook some fresh meals using some of them as ingredients in the near future. Ended up picking up some fresh bread and cheese for consumption later and stopped at the Namu stand for some fascinating “asian-inspired street food” which was quite a treat.

We decided to catch a street car home, I hadn’t been on one since my first visit out here back in May of 2008. It was packed, but well worth it for the novelty. That evening we spent hanging in with a nice bottle of wine and enjoying our bread and cheese goodies from the market.

Yesterday I did a bit more tourism, this time by meeting up with soryu2 who was in town visiting from Germany with plans to visit Coit Tower at sunset. So we met for dinner at Olea and then took a bus over to Columbus and made the trek up to the tower – taking some of those famous San Francisco streets so steep that they have stairs.

And we caught the sunset over the Golden Gate!

It’s been a fun few weeks so far and I’ve barely scratched the surface of things to do here. Last weekend we went through a detour north of the city and ended up driving through The Presidio of San Francisco park at dusk. We were able to stop and spend some time looking out on to the Pacific. I missed living near the ocean so much! I’m so glad I do again now. I’ve also been pretty busy with local F/OSS stuff (including a conference! and lots of LUGs!) but that’s for another post.

Filed under: life, san francisco
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