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It’s finally here! The new version of Inkscape (0.48) has been released. Check out the release notes to get a peek at what is new. BIG THANKS to all of the developers. Enjoy!

The server has stopped allowing ssh connections and is not starting up apache. I was planning on redoing the entire box anyway but this is a little early. After I get back into school for the semester I will get to it and set up sever 2.0

Please continue to follow us on idenitca or if you must twitter and please stay tuned for updates.

• Build a Linux Media Center PC HOWTO: http://bit.ly/a3lmUp #
• Heading to Boston for #linuxcon #
• Wim Coekaert or Oracle at #linuxcon "We will not kill Linux or Solaris. We like BOTH." #
• Rob Chandhok of Qualcomm at #linuxcon "We think we'll have a dual core CPU at 1.5GHz per core in a phone in the next year or so." #android #
• Currently shopping for an #android phone, most likely a Nexus One. #linuxcon was the impetus and the final push I needed. #
• @benfox The Samsung Captivate looks to be my second choice. The unfettered android experience of the Nexus One is compelling though. in reply to benfox #
• There was a recent "security issue" at kernel.org, but details have not been released yet (they will be soon). John Hawley at #linuxcon #
• RT @linux_pro: First packed talk I've seen at #Linuxcon is unsurprisingly about #Android <- currently sitting on the floor myself #
• #android represented 27% of the smartphones sold in the first half of 2010. #linuxcon (~ 6 million devices are activated per month) #
• "Application developers exist to make your phone do more for a very short time, and then turn off" #android Matthew Garrett at #linuxcon #
• on the topic of my previous tweet: how do #android users find the battery life of their current phone? Ideally, include phone model in reply #
• RT @TechJournalist: shouting match in #Android session #LinuxCon Garrett asked an audience member to leave the room. Never seen that before. #
• James Morris at #linuxcon "security features are now mainstream in Linux.We're better equipped to address modern threats but need to evolve" #
• RT @jzb: Getting ready for press panel at #LinuxCon – nice crowd! http://twitpic.com/2dh5kh <- you got me while I wasn't looking. #
• @jzb at #linuxcon "Ubuntu forced other companies such as Red Hat and Novell to focus on Community again" <- panel is vehemently disagreeing #
• While the panel at #linuxcon didn't wholly agree on the biggest Linux story of the last decade, the consensus for this year is mobile Linux. #
• @jzb adroitly points out that the lack of a reliable methodology for counting unpaid Linux has a big impact on reliability of #'s #linuxcon #
• @sjvn at #linuxcon "Linux is everywhere, but from a news perspective it's nowhere" (as it becomes mainstream, the media landscape changes) #
• Will the biggest challenge to future Linux kernel development be finding exciting things to work on? Kernel panel at #linuxcon #
• @tytso talking about Google taking heat for shipping non-mainline code when Red Hat and Novell both ship patched kernels. #linuxcon #android #
• Markus Rex of Novell at #linuxcon "Linux is the best example of how people working together can create more than individuals working apart" #
• Jeffrey Hammond of Forrester at #linuxcon "congratulations, you're on the winning team" – says Linux has crossed the chasm #
• only 21% of developers "have not used OSS as part of my dev projects" (notes that the demographic was skewed toward MSFT users) #linuxcon #
• US adoption of Open Source is closing the gap with Europe. Telco still leads industry adoption. #linuxcon #
• "Open Source is changing the culture and dynamics of enterprise IT" @jhammond at #linuxcon #
• Dawn Foster on MeeGo at #linuxcon – many challenges (technical, architectural, governance, social, community) in merging Maemo and Moblin #
• Right now core #MeeGo contributions are very low outside of Intel and Nokia, with the notable exception of Novell #linuxcon #
• Bret Piatt of Rackspace at #linuxcon – Rackspace is using Xen while Nasa is using KVM. OpenStack supports both. #
• Hype vs. Reality: Today's Linux Story from the Media's Perspective on opensource.com by @suehle (that's a nice screenshot IMHO) #linuxcon #
• Survey: 98 percent of enterprises using Open Source – http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-20013258-62.html #
• Chris Kenyon of Canonical is discussing the level of success the Linux desktop has reached at #linuxcon #
• "Much of the success Linux has on the desktop is a result of its flexibility as a platform." #canonical at #linuxcon #
• audience member at #linuxcon "In the enterprise, interop with legacy Microsoft infrastructure is still a huge pain point for desktop Linux" #
• audience comment at #linuxcon "OSS developers are far too open to removing features that many people use, without giving a viable option" #
• IDC at #linuxcon "One of the top reasons for Linux adoption is 'Microsoft avoidance' (ABM)" #
• Eben Moglen of the SFLC at #linuxcon "We are not defending freedom against capitalism or business, but usually from greed" #
• "The patent crisis is NOT going to go away" Moglen at #linuxcon #
• "We have to find ways for freedom to make good business" Moglen at #linuxcon #
• "The cloud is a cloudy phrase" in response to a GPL-related cloud question at #linuxcon #agpl #gplv3 #
• from Nokia at #linuxcon one meego differentiator is that it's a full Linux experience, a truly open computing environment in your pocket. #
• from Intel at #linuxcon the multiple vendor model of meego means they don't have to predict where innovation will come from. #
• The upstream first philosophy is key to the future meego strategy. There will be no bifurcation in the project. #linuxcon #
• Audience question: Has the success of Android compromised some of its openness and can the same happen to MeeGo? #linuxcon #
• Nokia on Symbian at #linuxcon – it's not going anywhere and will move forward independently of MeeGo. "Its role remains interesting" #
• This Oracle Systems Strategy Update webcast seems to confirm (by complete omission) that OpenSolaris is no more. http://bit.ly/cbOpb3 #
• The roadmap for Solaris, which unsurprisingly marks the end of OpenSolaris http://bit.ly/d7osQ3 <-an ugly Friday for Oracle in the OSS world #
• Google Calls Oracle Patent Suit Baseless And An Attack On The Open-Source Java Community – http://tcrn.ch/bvjGkx #SCOracle #

Related posts:

1. Google Android outsells Apple iPhone in Q1 of 2010
2. LinuxQuestions.org Mobile OS Stats
3. Opening up Symbian – Good or Bad for Linux?

The recent Smashing Magazine post "Designers, 'Hacks' and Professionalism: Are We Our Own Worst Enemy?" is an interesting one. I urge you to read it. It brings up several different issues but one that struck a chord with me was the whole feeling about the commoditization of design.

With sites like 99designs.com which leverage design contests and with logos coming to istockphoto.com the apparent cheapening of the graphic design profession is unrelenting. On one hand I understand the 'world going to hell in a handbasket' sort of view, but the pragmatist in me tries to step back and see how this is not unique and not at all unexpected.

There is the sentiment that any fool with some graphics software and half a brain can hang his shingle out as a "designer". Whether they will be successful or not is another matter entirely. There is also the view that design work becomes undervalued and commoditized when clients see that they can get an acceptable logo for $50.00 instead of the $1000.00 the top grade designer may want to charge. Do you want to buy your shoes at Payless or head over to Gucci? Well if the buyer can't tell the difference (which is the designer's job to describe), then hell yes I'd expect him to head over to Payless. This is not ideal, but completely expected.

It can be a difficult rationalization. Why should graphic design escape the same sort of trend as desktop publishing, journalism, writing or photography for that matter? What makes graphic designers so unique?

We have seen photography flourish as of late and yet there are still great photographers - in fact I'd say many more of them. Is the photography business as lucrative as it once was? I'd think not. Photographers have to work harder, be more creative and up their quality to survive. I find it great that so many more people are interested in photography - if I was a professional photographer I think I'd probably hate it.

And so it is with graphic design. I love the fact that design concepts start to enter the mainstream. It is no longer a black art. Sure, it would be more romantic if it was, but it's not. Is it hurting things for professional graphic designers? Sure. But again, I value the proliferation of skills over the health of an industry.

Granted I am not a professional graphic designer nor am I a professional photographer. It's easy for me to hold these views. And since I'm a shit programmer by any measure, I could just as easily say the same thing for programmers as well (and writers and desktop publishers). Progress and technology lower the bar. That enables more people to participate. I think that's a good thing, but that dilutes the market for those who've been in the pool the longest. I feel bad for them. Sincerely I do.

I am lucky in a way that in my own profession (structural engineering) there is greater liability. When I design a structure I am legally responsible for that design and its performance over the life of the building. This affords us signficantly more protection against the democratization of structural engineering (ha - now there's a far-fetched idea). This sort of liability is rarely there for software designers, and probably even more rare for graphic designers. I don't see that changing.

So where is the positive in all of this for our little FOSS corner over here? We already have a community built around voluntary contribution and knowledge sharing. We can take this time to weep about passing industries and shrinking job markets, or we can take a bunch of people who are already part of the Libre Software community and who are passionate and eager about design and teach ourselves great things so we can create even better things.

I think the first step is to admit we have a lot to learn. And perhaps we should just take that statement as fact since we may be the worst people to judge our own skill levels (as John Cleese put so well). Many would also say quite rightly that as far as design goes, Libre-land has nowhere to go but up. So let's start climbing.

Some things to chew on in no specific order:

We need to learn to provide quality criticism, how to accept it and how to use it. No more 'put up or shut up' nonsense. Listen to criticism, evaluate it, discuss it, elevate it.

We need to stop thinking we know everything about design when we clearly don't. We are smart. We can learn these things.

We need to encourage designers**, but hammer on basic design concepts. Audience, goals, colour, flow, etc.

We need to treat design seriously right from the start of our projects and stop treating it as a suit of clothes.

We need to look at the 'why' of good design going on outside of FOSS land. Why is something good? What is the concept at work? Not copying, not being unique for the sake of uniqueness. Let's try to understand the 'why' of good design and apply that.

** I am conflicted about design contests. I understand the problems with them - if you don't, I highly recommend reading this post. But I still think there needs to be a viable way for those eager to build their design skills to work on meaningful things. If you have ideas in this regard, let's hear them and get a proper discussion going.

If you've been reading this weblog for the last little while (thanks for sticking around btw) you'll know that while the posts are sporadic, as of late they've been hovering around various topics under the general umbrella of 'design'. And when you think of the Free and Open Source Software community, perhaps 'serious design discussion' isn't the first thing you'd think of - indeed it might be the last. But the libre software community is a large and varied place and I think there are in fact quite a number of people interested in 'elevating' the level of discussion about design matters in our community.

Enter librescope.com.

This site was borne out of some interesting initial ideas from Troy Sobotka and awesome execution by Jay over at kilobitspersecond. It's a place that is meant to hopefully foster the growth of art and design discussion over here in libre-software land.

Initially it is an aggregator for our feeds, and very soon as discussion hopefully builds, we will add other authors to the feed as well.

It is NOT a place for distro-cheerleading or distro-bashing. It is NOT a place for people to rant while they grind their axes.

It IS however a place for people to engage in discussion about art and design matters whether that be for Fedora, Ubuntu, KDE, Gnome or any other type of free software subject. Think passionate, engaging debate and discourse.

Comments will be moderated to ensure discussions are on-target and respectful to the members of this new community as well.

As I understand it right now (and remember this is a newborn idea at this time), there will be article writers and feed editors. Article writers will have their posts incorporated into the feed merely by adding the librescope tag to their posts. Feed editors will be able to tag relevant posts already sitting on the web that will also be aggregated on the site.

If you are interested and passionate about art and design as it relates to Libre software, and want to get involved give Jay a shout over at kilobitspersecond.

I think it best at this point to rip-off Troy Sobotka's words (they're so good it would be pointless for me to paraphrase any more than I have already):

Join us in trying to grow a little Libre coffee shop / art house / design corner of the internet over at Librescope.

Blog, dent, tweet or buzz about it and link to it to help us out. Thanks.

With only one day to go it looks like I will squeeze in under the 250GB Comcast bandwidth cap.  After that I become an “excessive use” abuser…nice huh?  At my company we call the people who most frequently enjoy our products “our most valued customers”.

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http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/07/liveblog-microsoft-fy2010-q4-earnings.ars

play by play

I will comment within 24 hours

One of the exciting things about Fedora is the ability for people to quickly come together and form SIGs to get things accomplished. I have noticed a couple of SIGs over the past few weeks that really drew my attention.
The first is the really young Zope2 SIG. Zope, as many of you know, has been absent from Fedora for sometime now. But with the advance of Zope 2, it looks to be within the realm of possibility that it will once again return to fedora. There is still a ton of work to be done, mainly in packaging the voluminous number of bundled dependencies.
Zope 2 has me particularly excited because it’s a prerequisite for Zenoss, my NMS of choice. It’s also nice to see Zenoss employee Nathaniel McCallum (+1 for ISVs being involved in Fedora, regardless) step up and help on what I am sure is largely his own personal time and help the Zope2 effort being led by Robin ‘cheese’ Lee. I don’t think there is a dedicated mailing list yet for Zope2, but you can see the mailing list thread on -devel and wiki pages here:
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/SIGs/Zope
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/devel/2010-June/137687.html
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/SIGs/Zope/Zenoss

The other SIG is the cloud SIG - now let me start with the disclaimer that I hate hate the word ‘cloud’ and think it’s become meaningless through hype and overused. Anecdotally, I told a number of prospective speakers for SELF that I’d vote against their talk if the name or description contained cloud. My curmudgeonly attitude aside, it’s clear the cloud is important and growing. My friend, Matt Ray cited a talk at Velocity that said that 20% of all web transactions contain some content from Amazon’s EC2 I don’t know the validity of that claim, but if it’s anywhere close to valid then Fedora needs to get into gear and get something more recent than F8 on Amazon for EC2 instances. Fortunately there’s already a group working on this including talented people like Justin Forbes, Jesse Keating, David Huff, and Garrett Holstrom. They are merely one updated kernel push from having what is believed to be a working kernel for EC2. Then AMI images generated, and we may be cooking with gas.

What’s next for the Cloud SIG? Well there’s talk about wanting to do Eucalyptus, but that involves a ton of difficult packaging work. If you’d like to help out, now is the time to jump in.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Cloud_SIG
https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/cloud
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/FedoraOnEC2

My sister, Bobbie Lynn Eicher, has agreed to start writing for whatwillweuse.com
She currently uses Windows, MacOSX, and Linux so she brings an interesting perspective.

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