OpenCafeBlog

New combined OpenCafe blog

2006-08-08T14:04:00.000+02:00

Hi there all,

Our new blog address is : http://opencafe.wordpress.com/.

OOoAuthors.org - The OpenOffice documentation project

2006-06-29T12:14:00.000+02:00

OOoAuthors.org is a documentation project where members can take part in the creation of OpenOffice resources published under open licenses.

iCommons summit coverage site

2006-06-26T22:44:00.000+02:00

The iCommons summit has ended yesterday.

Though most of us couldn't go to Rio - we get the opportunity to read about all the discussions on the isummit coverage site. You will find there podcasts and multiligual blog and vlog posts about Gilberto Gil and free beer, an interview with Heather Ford of ccSA, the summit DVD's material is also available from the site.

OpenDay this month

2006-06-24T17:23:00.000+02:00

We had a great open day - our regulars have come as always - friends popped in and we also had some new visitors.

Click to visit our Flickr page to see the photos for the day.

iCommons Summit, Rio de Janeiro, 23-25 June - “Towards a global digital commons”

2006-06-23T18:12:00.001+02:00

The Icommons summit started today.

iCommons is an organisation that has grown out of the Creative Commons movement. It aims to establish a global commons – a worldwide system that allows people to use the internet to collaborate and access knowledge without the restraints of traditional copyright law.

If you'd like to learn more about commons culture click here to read the article "Icommons for beginners" on the OpenDemocracy site.

There is a lot of info available already - click to read the programme, here to read an article about Lessig's opening speech, see Flickr photos, a new site will soon be launched as well which will cover the event with podcasts, photos, blogs and more.

Unconferences rock

2006-06-20T23:39:00.000+02:00

Barcamp Cape Town was a huge success visit this page and follow the links to read more and see photos.

If you need even more info on barcamps, read this Tectonic article.

Great OpenOffice blog

2006-06-16T15:02:00.000+02:00

If you are busy with OpenOffice training - here is a blo g with lots of tips and useful info!

BarCamp CapeTown

2006-06-16T13:09:00.000+02:00

The idea is to bring the South African tech/geek/creative community together under one roof in the informal "un-conference" environment as per the Bar Camp Ethos. Think of it as Open-Source conferencing, this is YOUR conference, you present, you discuss, you attend, you spread the word.

Though this BarCamp is today and tomorrow - it is good to know about it and see how it was done so that others cna then organize their own barcamp. Click here for more info on this barcamp.

The Cape Town barcamp will be on topics like:

Introduction to Drupal
Introduction to Plone
Introduction to Joomla! OR Things to face up to using an open source CMS
The business of tech: Creating "Startup Culture"
Enterprise Java, Java web development, Java GUI development, Java tools
Introduction to Podcasting by Glen Verran from The ZA Show Podcast
Introduction to PHP
Python
A talk on Search Marketing
A Freedom Toaster will be available for burning distros to CD or DVD

Dapper Desktop, Alternative and Server available,
Suse 10.1 (5 CDs)
Go Open TV show on DVD
Lots more, so bring blank disks

A look at some useful PEAR packages, or something about MySQL? What would interest people?
XHTML and CSS (was: HTML for visual markup: what's wrong with it, what should it be and what can we do about it?)

What is it?
Why should we use it?
Does it make business sense?

Sounds very interesting - hoepfully we can organize one during the Aardklop festival here in Potch. If you are interested in organizing your own - remember to send us a mail about it - may be we can help one way or another.

List your blog on Devkungfoo

2006-06-16T12:45:00.000+02:00

Devkungfoo, a blog on all things Web. Aimed at web developers, webmasters, anyone who owns a site - provides tutorials, hints and tips regarding best practices, design, development, standards, optimization and a few other things

Blogs are websites that are updated regularly - they are usually commentaries on a specific subject. Well you are reading a blog right now - so you can see what it is. You can search for interesting blogs via the Google blog search, and you can follow the latest news on your favourite blogs by getting a free account at Bloglines.com. You can also start your free blog on Blogger.com, or on the many other free blog hosting sites on the NET. If you are thinking of getting into blogging you are welcome to send us a mail and we send you all the info you need to start.

Blog culture is still young in South Africa - there are already great blogs and bloggers, if done right - blogs can replace mainstream media - giving you a wide range oif choices when it comes to news, magazines, music, education etc. so get into blogging - and your life will never be the same again:-) and remember to register your new blog on devkungfoo.

OpenCafe photos

2006-06-01T20:34:00.000+02:00

We have gathered lots of photos about the OpenCafe project over the years. Click here to see some of them!

Discussions around the fireplace

2006-05-27T18:44:00.000+02:00

This month's open day started quite slow and cold - we started the day with making the fire which helped a bit with warming up.

We spent the day with gathering info, photos and text for the Ngoma Vuma Afrika website, (hopefully we can upload it within the next few days ) watching a few episodes of Go_open, and spent time discussing whatever came to mind while sitting and warming up by the fireplace.

Click here to see some photos.

NetSquared: "I want change"

2006-05-06T09:37:00.000+02:00

NetSquared has a Flickr slideshow called "I want change". Click here to have a look and add your own slide.

"NetSquared, (a project of Tech Soup) is working to bring the social web to nonprofits and NGOs by sharing stories and building tools.

Imagine a world where the 10 million nonprofits and NGOs across the globe are using tools like blogging, podcasting, tagging, social bookmarking, RSS feeds and wikis to grow their membership, fund raise, recruit volunteers, do low-cost publicity, raise awareness about issues and collaborate.

We've created the NetSquared "I Want Change" group because we believe in the power of tools like these to change the world.

We're hoping that you'll add a photo of yourself with a sign (6 words or less) that describes what you believe is the most important change that needs to happen to make the world a better place and tell your friends to do the same.

Together, we can use the social web for social change."

OpenDay with Audacity

2006-04-29T17:03:00.000+02:00

This has been a quiet open day with just a few people browsing and spending time downloading software & bruning Linux CDs with the toaster.

We also went to see how our NgomaVuma artists perform at the shopping mall.

Once back in the cafe - we spent time jamming to swahili songs and experimented with Audacity.

Open downloads blog

2006-04-23T23:19:00.000+02:00

We have decided to start a blog and introduce the sites that we use daily to download open content materials from.

We call it our Open downloads blog and you can find it here.

Since we download content regularly - by now the OpenCafe has gathered a lot of great open content works from the Internet - included in our download collection you will find music, books, training materials, radio shows, TV programs. We also have printed copies of a few of them.

Our Freedom Toaster has the Gutenberg CD as well - and hopefully soon the toaster will have other great material as well.

If you are not sure how to upload your materials to these online databases - contact us for more info - or if you have found an interesting open content work on the NET and would like to share it with us - send us a mail.

OpenCafe Presentation

2006-04-13T00:08:00.000+02:00

We have prepared a detailed presentation in preparation for the Open Source Impact conference (19-21 April, Sandton Hilton Hotel).

If interested in a detailed description of all OpenCafe tools, concepts, projects and events we build our initiative on - click here to visit the OpenCafe site to download the PDF version.

Opencafe in partnership with Australian Football League South Africa.

2006-04-11T16:23:00.000+02:00

It really feels like a long time when the above NGOs came to an agreement of working together.

It has truly been three good years of support from the Opencafe. AFL South Africa is an Australian Football federation in South Africa that is still on a development stage.

When our offices moved to Potchefstroom, likely enough we landed on the Opencafe's warm hands. They provide our federation with full support of website maintenance weekly, which include free usage of the Internet once a week, web development training, fixing minor problems in our computers and marketing.

Because of the support and co-operation we are giving each other, I believe the two will grow stronger and continue working good together.

In case you were wondering what Australian Football is, well it is a combination of different sports because it has the elements of Rugby, Soccer, Basketball, Handball and Cricket. To find out more, click here.

Exciting project for ArtMarketOnline

2006-04-05T19:20:00.000+02:00

Great news for our art project, ArtMarketOnline.

Local percussion group, Ngoma Vuma Afrika is joining the team - to learn computer skills and web design skills.

Click here to read more.

The best OpenDay ever!

2006-03-25T19:30:00.000+02:00

We had prepared - contacted a lot of people - and most people came - and had a great time.

There was lots of browsing, lots of music, bring&braai, and never-ending discussions about the ways of the world.

Click here to see some pictures!

Fun ways to learn about "Copyright, copyleft and everything in between"

2006-03-16T21:55:00.000+02:00

Choosing the right license for your creative work is not always straightforward.

Luckily there are great easy-to-read multimedia materials and comics available to help you to learn the basics.

Creative Commons site has a collection of movies and comics.

Or you can watch the Creative Commons South Africa flash movie.

Then there is the Learning Commons flash movie called 'Copyright, copyleft and everything in between' - it explains all about open source / open content concepts.
Another great comic book I discovered on the Creative Commons blog: "Bound by law" - released by the Duke Law School's Center for Study of the Public Domain.

By the time you finish reading / listening to all of these - you will definitely have a much better idea what license to choose for your book or song.

All of the above are freely available as free downloads and are all available at the OpenCafe - just bring a blank CD!

PanAfrican Blog for FOSS&open content info from Africa

2006-03-13T08:12:00.000+02:00

Click to visit our new PanAfrican Blog!

New slideshow on the OpenCafe home page

2006-03-09T18:24:00.000+02:00

We have decided to put some of our favourite photos on the home page.
Click here to have a look!

A response to tonight's Carte Blanche story entitled "stealing music"

2006-02-26T22:11:00.000+02:00

The music "industry" - should songs or poetry be looked at merely as a product?

The artists in the story were very concerned about the fact that others are stealing their money by pirating their songs - and rightly so. Since as a rule copyright applies to all creative work - and noone has the right to copy it without the artists' permission.

But the question remains - is it right for the artists to look at their profession as a job - is it right to call their songs "products" - a once-off thing sold to the audience.

In today's consumer society once-off products are sold - once consumed - they end up in the bin - noone reuses them - but rather - buy new products and consume them. The products once in the bin - are considered "waste". When it comes to music - can one ever look at a song as "waste" - never to be reused again?

If one looks at folk culture - stories and songs go from person to person freely - noone really knows who was the original author - the stories, poems, songs were part of culture and were not part of a "consumer culture". If one looks at jazz music - it is based on the constant "reusing" of melodies and rhytms - just like - anything else in our society since nothing exists in a vacuum.

This way of thinking results in artists and audiences separated - no little concern for each other - so not surprising that artists talk about people that listen to their music as pirates and the audience - so far removed from the artists - are not concerned any more about the well-being of the artists. Should all those people that listen to the music be called pirates - or is there another way to make sure that the music gets to its audience without calling them pirates?

While it is highly unfair to take and resell music without the artists' permission - are the artists sure that they themselves have created a culture where there are legal mechanisms in place to share and reuse their own music ( which they also compiled based on previous influences from other artists ).

Another important point is that an artists' responsibility is not merely providing and selling a product but also highlighting issues in their societies and making their audiences aware of problems.

These are some of the questions open source communities / open content initiatives all around the world try to address and make sure that authors like artists, musicians, poets, writers are acknowledged - and in the same time the audience has legal tools to reuse materials and provide very valuable feedback about all published materials. The audience then also has the option to become artists/creators themselves - just like in folk culture where absolutely everyone has the right to sing a song and change it they way he/she likes to sing it.

Creative Commons (www.creativecommons.org) offers authors various open licenses that they can use should they wish to make sure that their creative work is later reused, modified or even resold.

The question is : if pirating of a certain material (like software or music or any other product ) becomes the norm - shouldn't the "industry" or the authors rethink the basic rules of music/software production or should they carry on the same way.

Teach - a great Creative Commons movie

2006-02-26T12:39:00.000+02:00

Ever thought of being a teacher?

Here at the OpenCafe all students are encouraged to teach their new computer skills to new students - as part of their training - as a volunteer - or as a trainee.

Once you know something - you can teach it. But do you? Ever thought of teaching your skills to others? I think we are all students and teachers in the same time and once we stop thinking of ourselves that way - we lose out on some great experiences.

Teach is a great film about four Americans who decided to teach in some of America's toughest schools. The film takes you through the first year of their teaching careers - all the problems and rewarding experiences ....

You can download this film (free download) from http://www.teachnow.org/downloads.html or come and get a copy at the OpenCafe.

Go_open is now available for download from the Internet Archive

2006-02-26T11:49:00.000+02:00

I just read on Charl's blog that Go_open is now available for download from the Internet Archive.

Or click here for other Creative Commons licensed movies hosted at the archive.

Overwhelming interest in our basic computer skills course

2006-02-24T22:51:00.000+02:00

We started 2006 with getting right into training - by the end of February - we completed the course with nearly everyone in our first group of 9 students - and many more have already signed up.

Our basic computer skills training source is based on using our Mandrake Linux setup - and the use of OpenOffice, Ktouch, Kate, Mozilla and GIMP and Konqueror. It is a 12 lesson course - by the end of which the students are able to create basic business related tasks like creating documents like invoices, letterheads, CVs, and also are able to perform basic image editing tasks like creating a business logo and business card with GIMP.

The training material is almost complete and will be published soon under an open license on the OpenCafe site. Once uploaded - everyone else can use it as well - when creating their training materials - one of our students is already planning to use them to teach other educators like him in one of the local primary schools.

On Fridays we start training with watching a new episod of Go_open - which gives all the tasks the students perform a special meaning - the TV program is a fun way of introducing students to the world of computers.

Our basic skills course is our first step into the OpenCafe experience - once students complete this task - we introduce them to all the other projects we have - they can sign up for volunteer tasks, or they can start the trainee program or our art program, they can stay and assist with teaching the new students and even sign up for free basic music skills classes.

Some of the older students who have chosen to continue the training - have been very successful in their new programs, they have learnt various complex tasks :

Phindi ( community project support project )

Since she is the member of the local Australian Football League - she decided to learn all skills necessary to maintain their WebGUI based website - ( click here the site she is working on )

Jane ( OpenCafe Trainee program )

Jane is at home with most tasks around running the cafe and handling clients and students

and Netanya (ArtMarketOnline ) -

She has designed and redesigned her website look and content many times already - she also has compiled and published her first book of poetry and is busy exploring options to sell her art work online and setting up her own art business.
She has also picked up basic music skills in the process and is busy giving her new skills on to Cymba - another artist in the ArtMarketOnline program.

So come and do the basic computer skills course and you will have the opportunity to pick up a lot of additional skills once you have passed your first exam!

On using "everything open"

2006-02-24T20:26:00.000+02:00

The OpenCafe couldn't function without using and creating open source software or open content materials. Both are vital for us to run the cafe, and teach.

The cafe runs on Mandrake Linux, and uses software like GIMP, Mozilla, OpenOffice, Kopete, Ktouch, gFTP, Audacity (and many others), on the daily basis.

We also use open content material like the Wikipedia, Internet Archive, the LearnLinux manuals, Go_open, the Learning Commons, ccMixter, just to mention a few.

Using these materials encourage us to get used to the idea of sharing - sharing info, skills, training materials, project ideas, etc. and also it encourages us to make sure that we share the above with an international audience of friends, teachers, programmers, artists and everyone else.

Once we have started using open source software we were wondering how one could apply open principles to everything else - so we were very excited to discover the Creative Commons site and after more than a year of running various open projects - the benefits are unbelievable - all of us have learnt more skills than ever before in our lives - we have met the most amazing - open minded and wise people - and had parties that we will never forget.

Heather of Creative Commons SA has also written about the importance of using open source software and open content materials - visit her Hblog to read more.

ArtMarketOnline on Tectonic

2006-02-24T19:13:00.000+02:00

Richard Frank from Tectonic as recently contact us to find out more about ArtMarketonline .

Click here to read the story.

Our ArtMarketOnline project continues this year - right now we are busy with Kevin, Cymba and Netanya.

Cymba starts the year with doing the basic computer skills course at the cafe - he comes twice a week to do the training - Kevin comes once a week to use the computers and the NET and is busy with updating his site - Netanya is also busy with regular updates on her site.

We have also started teaching basic guitar skills to some of our OpenCafe students in the multimedia room.

OpenCafe Trainee Program

2005-12-07T18:51:00.000+02:00

Our trainee program is for those that are ready to come and work at the cafe every day for 2-3 hours. As a trainee you will get busy with tasks like frontdesk management, assisting with our basic computer skills courses, helping with marketing tasks and managing events.

To become a trainee, you have to pass our basic computer skills course and your first month is spent with preparing for your trainee exam. The exam includes a multiple choice exam, an oral exam as well as a practical part - you will have to be able to explain basic concepts like operating system, open source, Freedom toaster etc. you will also demonstrate how to fax, scan, take digital photos, FTP, create webmail accounts and other skills that we need in the cafe on a daily basis.

After the exam - you will be able to work at the cafe and carry on training and you will also earn some money based on the amount of hours you work with us.

Being a trainee is hard work - as you will be learning and working daily - but if you are up for this challenge - contact us - and we will explain all about it!

Interesting visitors

2005-11-24T13:21:00.000+02:00

Te lui om te werk
Te bang om te steel
Kort geld vir
matriekvakansie

Go_open page updated

2005-11-24T10:17:00.000+02:00

Go_open is a 13 episode tv series all about open source software.

You can download it free of charge - or buy the DVD for R199.

You can also come and watch it in the cafe - just mail us or phone in advance and we get it ready for you in the multimedia room.

Click to visit our Go_open page for more info!

Learning Commons launches 'Copyright, copyleft and everything in between'

2005-11-22T17:52:00.000+02:00

'Copyright, copyleft and everything in between' is a multimedia curriculum on copyright alternatives in South Africa. It covers the social and economic impact of technology from an African perspective, focusing specifically on the origins of copyright and the impact of open source software and open content on African development. The materials have been released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike South Africa licence which enables you to freely copy and share the files, make derivatives (including translations) - even for commercial use (as long as you attribute us and licence the derivative under the same terms)! Download it here, order the published copy or contact us for more details.

Finally starting the Kalmar pages

2005-11-20T20:26:00.000+02:00

We did mention the need to have our own history section where we collect information on specific topics like the story of the computer, the history of the open source movement and similar topics.

The first of the history pages is dedicated to Hungarian mathematician, Laszlo Kalmar. He was ackowledged as the leader of Hungarian mathematical logic.

He was posthumously awarded the computer poineer award by IEEE Computer Society "For recognition as the developer of a 1956 logical machine and the design of the MIR computer in Hungary"

Click here to read on ...

OpenCafe people

2005-11-18T19:39:00.000+02:00

While I was busy with the About section - I thought I update the People section.
Have a look!

One year has passed - have a look what everyone is saying about the OpenCafe

2005-11-18T16:28:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone! I thought it's a good idea to think back and look at all that we have accomplished during this year.

If you have a sec, click here to add your toughts, suggestions about the OpenCafe - as well as read what everyone else says about the cafe.

Why open source ?

2005-11-15T11:47:00.000+02:00

Here is an article Eugene published some time ago:

I have been approached by many developers regarding the benefits of using Open Source in their software companies. Although the benefits of using Open Source software and Linux in particular is always enumerated in terms of advantages to the 'users', many developers still don't seem to get the point.

After all we are talking about giving software away for gratis. How can anyone build a business on such an idiotic business model?

Let me start of by saying that I assume that you are reading this article because you are a developer or working for a software development company. I also assume you have access to a good search engine (I recommend Google) and that I don't have to post links to each and every technological reference I make.

You are reading this article in a portal build on the Linux operating system, augmented by an Open Source database called MySql and an Open Source Content Management System (CMS) called WebGUI served through an Open Source web server called Apache. All these components we downloaded for gratis and because I can help myself with software and technology I had little trouble in setting up this portal at a fraction of the cost associated with similar proprietary systems.

Yes – there is no free lunch. We had to learn Linux, I had to read up quite a bit on how the Apache web server works , I had to read README files from four different projects – and in the beginning I had to struggle a bit. But – besides for the fact that I have a stable, secure and professional portal up and running at virtually no license fee I can guarantee you that as a software developer I have so much more insight into what I'm actually doing when I'm designing a web based application than I would ever have had using all the proprietary wizards and gadgets which comes with Microsoft's developers tools. I got my hands dirty and I'm much richer for that.

That is not where the story ends. I can take this software as mine – I mean all of it including the operating system, I can do with it whatever I please and I can develop new applications and sell it for profit.

We can reuse our software because the development tools and frameworks are stable – the technology is not dependent on a single vendor changing its mind all the time and along with that all its development tools - ala each and every over-hyped and overrated "state of the art" technology (each of them lasting about two years - I started setting my watch to the rythm) DDE, OLE, COM, COM+, .NET and so forth and so on ad nausea ad infinitum. At one stage I found myself developing a rather large and complex VB based application three times - once for VB4 to VB5, then VB5 to VB6 and now from VB6 to VB.NET. Everytime the the promises were the same - "no hassles in reusing old source in new tools" - but in practice it was easier to rewrite than trying "to migrate". Each time the client payed for the same software with little or no added benefits - each time we had to buy a whole new range of morbidly expensive developer tools - each time we lost out badly at the end day. I was one of those unfortunate souls who jumped on the "Visual" Java bandwagon in utter desparation to build some code that I can actually reuse - just to have the carpet pulled from underneath me rather unceremoniously about six months later - after investing considerable time and effort in porting some of my stuff to this brand new and promising platform.

Now - when something goes wrong – we can fix it ourselves, gone are the days that I had to apologise to a client that I can really do nothing about a bug which almost destroyed his business because I have to wait for the next ADO patch (if and when it eventually came out).

Now we have real support - I can log onto a website and discuss problems openly with millions of other developers around the globe. There is a lot of brute power in that. Open Source empowers you and the psychological effect of being the master of your own universe I will not exchange for any "user-friendly wizard" based proprietary development tool – even if all that came at no licensing fee or even if they payed me to use their closed source bug infested products.

My next article will be about the most misunderstood aspect of Open Source development - licensing regimes and what it implies for your business model.

Eugene on software licensing

2005-11-15T11:43:00.000+02:00

The first most important thing to understand - the difference between the words "free" and "gratis". We use the word "free" in the context of the French word "libre" (ala freedom) - not like in mahala or at no cost or gratis.

The second most important thing to understand is that there is absolutely no obligation to develop Open Source software when you are developing for the Linux platform. There are lots of vendors developing proprietary software for Linux and Unix type systems. The contrary is also true - you can develop Open Source software for Microsoft and Mac platforms.

Many of the large Open Source projects are truly cross-platform. Notable examples are Apache, MySql, Mozilla and Open Office - to name but a few.

As a developer you have the choices to use Open Source software in your products and/or to license your software under an Open Source license. You may even select more than one Open Source license and also a proprietary license for the same software. You may release a bare bones Open Source version of your software (good PR and marketing ploy) and a proprietary version with some special added features.

An assortment of Open Source approved licenses can be found at opensource.org I'm going to try to simplify things by dividing the various licenses into two distinct groups i.e. the copyleft type license and the non-copyleft type license.

( see www.gnu.org/philosophy/license-list.html for a very complex but thorough explanation)

The General Public License (GPL) - which is the best known copyleft type license and also the license under which GNU/Linux is distributed is designed to perpetuate the freedoms offered by the license. This means that when you derive your software from GPL code or link to GPL licensed libraries you must distribute the derived product under the GPL license. This in turn means you must give the recipient of the product the source code and the right to modify, derive and distribute it. Please note - the copyleft type license doesn't say you may not charge a lot of money for this, nor does it demand that you should upload all your code to the internet or distribute it to every living soul on this planet who happens to own a PC. It is also perfectly legal to distribute the product to only one client (by contract) under a NDF. The moment you have distributed the software to your client along with the source code (with GPL license in tact) - you have complied with the GPL and its is up to your client to honor the GPL. It is crucial that you inform your client of the requirements of the GPL before award of contract if his intentions are to create a proprietary product that he wishes to distribute.

The Modified BSD license is known as a non-copyleft type license. This license is truly free - it does not require you to redistribute your source code and therefore you can develop proprietary software derived from Modified BSD licensed type code. Needles to say it does nothing to guarantee that derivative works will remain free.

A third but important variant which doesn't fit into any of the two above categories is the Library (or Lesser) General Public License (LGPL) which is a copyleft license often used to distribute a software library. The important distinction is that whereas you may not link proprietary code to a GPL library you may link it to a LGPL library. The derivative work can be distributed as a proprietary product - you do however have to distribute the LGPL library's source code along with all modifications you may have made to it with the product.

Clear as mud? Good. Things can get pretty complex in IP law, try to read Microsoft's EULA and catch my drift.

Lets summarise -

1 - You don't have to give your source code away if you don't see a good business proposition in that - even when you are developing for Linux platform.

2 - When you use the GPL you have to distribute the source code with the software.

3 - When you use the modfied BSD its a free for all - you can use BSD source code in your proprietary products.

4 - You can link proprietary code against LGPL libraries - but not GPL libraries.

Licensing, Copyright and Patent laws are complex and Open Source software doesn't necessarily escape the endless flow of IP related legal battles that has been a hallmark of commercial software. Recently SCO has launched a $5 billion legal challenge against IBM for allegedly contributing code from IBM's AIX version of Unix to the Linux project. You can follow the merits of the case at Groklaw.

In order to establish a better understanding of how Open Source software fits into a commercial model it is quite enlightening to read Novell's Chris Stone's speech at the Open Source Business Conference 2004 after Novell's recent acquisition of Suse Linux.

"He said Novell's $250m acquisitions proved Novell doesn't believe open source will destroy the software industry, while open source is a movement dominated by professional developers already working in the IT industry.

"'Sixty percent of the people in the development community working for you also work in open source. They work for you! Linux, Apache and PHP are exceptional software,' Stone said. . . .

"Stone told open source ISVs to compete on customer service and applications not infrastructure like operating systems, which are becoming increasingly commoditized.

"'We have got to recognize where the value lines are... we spent money building the infrastructure but the value is in the services - identity, security and office. That's where the money is. Not underneath. Until you realize that you won't make money.'"

TappyTux - OpenLab and thin clients

2005-11-12T13:51:00.000+02:00

AJ just uploaded the latest version of TappyTux.
It'll soon be installed on our computers so that we can test it with the kids here.

TappyTux is a children's educational game suite, created originally for a project by SchoolNet Namibia. The game is Free Software, and all the artwork and sound are under GPL compatible creative-commons licenses.

It is fun and addictive, and although it is meant for children, many adults have told me they
love it too.
Version 2 takes it to the next level however, the interface and game code had a massive overhaul, sound and music support was improved and the game was modularised to allow many different game types to be played on the same engine.

The current version ships with two modules, tappywords (a typing tutor) and tappymath
(an algebra game). Writing new modules is really easy so even a beginner programmer could add more. The game is designed to work well in a thin-client lab, and as of this release, is based on GTK2, improving not just the look and feel but also the internationalisation support.
Download
The game is shipped as a slackware / OpenLab package, which means a simple extraction should work on most modern distributions. You can download it here

The OpenCafe is run on a thin client network - this setup enables us to run the cafe from one single computer - all 20 workstations have their thin clients that act as a connection to the main computer.

This setup is also used by the TuxLab project of the Shuttleworth Foundation and also by OpenLab .

OpenLab is the oldest African developed GNU/Linux distribution. Started in 2001, the product has built up a well deserved reputation for ease-of-use, innovation and user-oriented design.

The latest version (4.0 - Perdita), released September 2005 takes this further once more, with the new installable LIVEcd, greatly improved OLAD (OpenLab ADministration tool) and many other innovations ranging from backend systems such as the hyperdrive suite which completely decomplexifies the handling of removable media to user-level enhancements such as the highly integrated desktop theme featuring the award winning Nuvola icon set.

OpenLab's historic strength as a thin-client system is taken to new heights with 4.0 adding even better integration for local devices and improved sound support while taking the unique adaptive-desktop technology to new levels for even greater ease of use.

OpenLab was orriginally developed as a niche solution for the education sector but over it's four year life-cycle has grown into a complete desktop operating system well suited to the home desktop, small business and many other environments where it usually leaves other contenders far behind.

Developed using principles from extreme programming, with constant involvement of a wide-range of participants in the process with frequent reevalutation of designs, OpenLab is an innovative, vibrant and above all fun platform that continuously evolves to meet the real needs of the desktop market.

Have you got OpenLab yet ?

Continuing the story of the telecenter in the Liberian refugee camp called Buduburam

2005-11-09T21:18:00.000+02:00

Not long ago I wrote about Jopie's experiences in Buduburam, a refugee camp close to Accra - today I have discovered a video documentary about the very same telecenter by Andy Carvin on the Global Voices site.

Click here to download it.

History pages on the OpenCafe site

2005-11-05T19:24:00.000+02:00

We are so used to computers and the Internet - we take it for granted here in the OpenCafe - just like water and electricity. But what are computers? And what is the Internet? And how did it all start?

We are planning to set up pages that will tell the story of the creation and early development of computers and the Internet so that we can understand how digital culture came about - and how we can develop it into a powerful tool that will play a major part in the social and economic development of the globe.

My grandfather, László Kalmár has devoted his life working on the design and development of the early computers.

This is what I wrote about him on my blog:

My grandfather, László Kalmár was an exceptional person, a very talented mathematician. To us he was Nagyapo (grandfather) - that is how all of us called him at home.

I don't have too many memories of him since he passed away in 1976 when I was only 7 years old.

I do have a few pictures in my mind, we used to have breakfasts together (we stayed right next door to where he lived with my grandmother), I remember him riding his bicycle to university and back.

He was very absent-minded - we used to joke about it - for example on rainy days he used to walk about on the corridors of the university with his umbrella open - as he forgot to close the umbrella after stepping inside the building. (I am not sure if this is true - but probably I am right).

Nagyapo normally was very busy with the science projects he was involved in. He was also lecturing at the university of Szeged, my home town. I remember sitting in the big lecture hall watching him explain complex mathematical formulas to the students. For me it was all so boring - as I was very young (not that later I was more interested in all those formulas - I was never really good at mathematics).

Trying to sum up the projects he was involved in - here is a quote from The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive :

"He founded at Szeged the first chair for the Foundations of Mathematics and Computer Science and then became the first to occupy the chair. This was not all he founded at Szeged, for he also set up the Cybernetic Laboratory and the Research Group for Mathematical Logic and Automata Theory.

.... He was acknowledged as the leader of Hungarian mathematical logic.

.... Kalmár was also involved in theoretical computer science and promoted the development of computer science and the use of computers in Hungary. His special fields of interest in computer science included programming languages, automatic error correction, non-numerical applications of computers and the connection between computer science and mathematical logic."

The Wikipedia says :

"He is considered the founding father of both Logic and Theoretical Computer Science in Hungary."

in 1996 - he was posthumously awarded the computer poineer award by IEEE Computer Society "For recognition as the developer of a 1956 logical machine and the design of the MIR computer in Hungary"

Very big words - an unbelievable life.

Surprisingly I never worked with computers while I was in Hungary. While most others in my family (especially the guys) were quite into computers - I was busy with music and languages.

I only started working with computers when I arrived in South Africa. We bought a PC because I wanted to use the Internet to keep in touch with family in Hungary.

That was 7 years ago. Since then I cannot get enough of it. It's unbelievable what one can achieve with computers - it's an amazingly versatile tool - especially when it comes to using it as a tool for global communication & collaboration.

So now that I am so interested in computers I will definitely spend time finding out all about my grandfather's projects and also make sure that everyone else gets to learn about him and will get inspired to start their own mathematics related projects.

So what can you do in the multimedia room?

2005-11-05T17:49:00.000+02:00

Since its launch on Software Freedom Day the multimedia room hasn't been really used for all the great things we planned it for.

You can Skype, record voice and music with Audacity, you can sample the audio and video collection of the Internet Archive, watch Go_open, and even have free music lessons and experiment with ccMixter.co.za the music sharing portal that enables you to upload and download music samples and use them in your own remixes.

Click here to find out more!

The latest from Geekcorps, Ghana ( Introducing MOPGEL - Liberia )

2005-11-04T16:29:00.000+02:00

Jopie has just sent the latest on his experiences as a Geekcorps Ghana volunteer.

In this letter he is writing about a Liberian NGO called MOPGEL:

"Yesterday i visited the Liberian refugee camp here close to Accra - it is called Buduburam and has been in existence for about 14 years with more than 40 000
liberian refugees who came to Ghana to escape the wars that has been destroying their country for the past decades.

I went to visit a guy there that is running a small NGO project called MOPGEL - Movement for the Promotion
of Gender Equality in Liberia.

The guy, Hisenburg Togba, showed me his little computer center where they
provide basic computer literacy and office skills.

They got about 20 computers (of which 8 works) no network, no internetline and one old printer. With this they manage to give hour-long classes and sessions for about 10 hours of the day!

http://www.mopgel.org/

I would love to get involved with this project and hoping that maybe you can give me some advice - for one thing i would love to move their focus to opensource and try and get some funding to fix computers, to provide training for trainers, to get
connectivity to name but a few issues that needs to addressed.

This project is currently in operation in the refugee camp but of course their vision is to get more and more action inside Liberia itself. Liberia must be one
of the least connected countries in Africa. Illiteracy is somewhere in the 80% because the social fabric and services like schools totally broke down during the war. Now at last they had democratic election and everybody is very optimistic and there is huge movement to rebuild the country. I believe the opportunity to make use of ICT technologies in this process can be invaluable."

PanAfrican pages are updated

2005-10-26T07:37:00.000+02:00

We have added some more info to our Software Freedom Day section.

Have a look at our SFD Africa photo album page, we have added photos from Cameroon and Nigeria.

We added new info on the Creative Commons page as well - about Creative Commons Nigeria :

" · Creative Commons Nigeria - Creative Commons Nigeria project lead Ayo Kusamotu will be moderating the Internetbar.org's Africa Committee Forum as part of the upcoming Cyberweek conference to be held soon - October 23-28, 2005. Participating in Cyberweek this year will be 8 bar organizations of Africa, the Attorney General of Lagos state and Nigeria as well as major African media organizations. Topics to be discussed by the Africa Committee Forum include: Internet Telephony, Creative Commons, Ecommerce, CyberCrime, eVoting and Online Dispute Resolution as they relate to Africa. Registration is free and participation will be by way of online discussion forums. Ayo tells us even non-lawyers are welcome! "

Geekcorps news from Ghana

2005-10-25T14:51:00.000+02:00

Jopie is currently in Ghana working as a Geekcorps volunteer until the end of this year. He says he is really enjoying his time there - he finds introducing ICT projects to the local communities there really rewarding.

If you consider doing something similar, here is some info from the Geekcorps website :

"Geekcorps is a US-based, non-profit organization that places international technical volunteers in developing nations to contribute to ICT projects while transferring the technical skills required to achieve long-term stability. Ultimately we strive to cross-pollinate developing nations with the skills needed to maximize the benefits of modern telecommunications.

Our current applicant database contains more than 5,700 technical specialists willing to share their talents and experience in developing nations. In all cases, we carefully match applicants with projects based on the skills that are needed based on our assessments and the scopes of work provided by partner businesses. Much of our past work has been performed in conjunction with ICT SME’s, but we have also contributed directly to government projects and other organizations while retaining the skills-transfer element of our programs.

The average Geekcorps volunteer assignment is three to four months. Although we encourage volunteers and their employers to contribute if possible, we take care of all volunteer expenses: air travel, inoculations, lodging and a modest per diem. Long term programs, such as Geekcorps Mali, benefit from the efforts of a local country director and support staff. Smaller programs rely on the support of the US-based staff. In all cases, we strive to balance the needs of partner businesses with cross-cultural exposure for our volunteers.

If you have questions about volunteering or are a potential partner business that could uses the services of a Geekcorps volunteer, drop us a line at info at geekcorps dot org."

OpenCafe's first birthday and... how to start an open source / open content project

2005-10-24T16:35:00.000+02:00

We are happy to announce that we have survived our first big test - the first year.

We didn't have any previous experience of running projects like this so at the beginning we didn't know at all what to expect.

Basically we had the passion & skills, the Shuttleworth Foundation provided the seed capital, the clients gave us some money to run the cafe, and then .... we carried on day by day and .... here we are - this is how you start an open source project.

The OpenCafe is a community project first and foremost - and we definitely succeeded in uniting people from different background and cultures, had great events and taught each other computer skills, languages, music, and other skills had many braais and did a lot in supporting each other's health & sport related community projects as well.

Well done EVERYONE!

Jimmy Wales on a dozen things that WILL be free

2005-10-17T20:22:00.000+02:00

This is a September 28 post on Ethan Zukkerman's blog - and is about 12 free things that the free culture movement is working on with the help of projects like the Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikibooks, WikiCities etc.

"Jimmy Wales, international man of mystery, father of Wikipedia and non-resident Berkman fellow joined his fellow Berkmaniacs in Cambridge yesterday, and filled us in on his new intellectual project, “10 Things that Will be Free”.

Jimmy’s list is inspried by David Hilbert’s address to the International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris, 1900, where he proposed 23 critical unsolved problems in mathematics. This list was enormously influential in shaping mathematical research over the 20th century, and most of the problems have been resolved. (Hilbert’s 23 Problems should not be confused with Jay-Z’s 99 Problems which, though also influential, have had less of an influence on academic research.)

Jimmy’s list is, like Hilbert’s, an outline of what we don’t know how to do yet in the world of free culture, and a call to action. It’s also, to a certain extent, a prediction of the future - Jimmy makes the point that it’s 10 things that will be free in the next ten to twenty five years, not should be free."

Click to read more....

... or click here to visit the Wikimedia foundation to find out more about their free content projects.

Blindside - A site attempting to spread doubt about common sense.

2005-10-06T19:48:00.000+02:00

Yesterday Andre decided to start his own blog.

Click here to read the first entry.
Andre, - looking forward to the next entries!

Guys if you dont' have a blog yet - come on - start one today - if you need help with your new blog - just mail us or come to the cafe.

OpenCafe in the North West Gazette

2005-09-29T19:34:00.000+02:00

Hi guys, Cristiaan from the local Herald has written a very informative article about the cafe and open source software in general. Click here to have a look!

An evening at the Innovation and Sustainability Awards

2005-09-19T19:32:00.000+02:00

We have attended the gala dinner that was organized for all the finalists of this competition. We entered in the "Economic : ICT" category - and finished as one of the finalists - which is great - this is the first time we have entered a competition since our launch in October 2004 - and it is good to know that people already recognise the cafe's work.

"An alternative way of teaching the free software philosophy" - from silentcoder.co.za

2005-09-19T19:30:00.000+02:00

AJ says : "I believe that if you can help a neighbour in need, you are morally bound to do so. With software 'can' is never a question. It doesn't cost you anything to make a copy, and send it to him - and you still have it. So you are morally bound to do so. In the post-scarcity world, charity becomes costless - so proprietory software twisted some laws completely beyond their intended purpose to create an artificial scarcity where none should exist.
They illegalized charity.
They made it criminal to be a good person." click here to read on....

Jargon's story about Software Freedom Day at the OpenCafe

2005-09-14T19:27:00.000+02:00

We definitely had a great time on Saturday and did have very interesting discussions - click here to jump over to the Centauri site for an in-depth look at our SFD celebrations:-)

Software Freedom Day photos are online

2005-09-14T19:14:00.000+02:00

We had lots of fun on Saturday - it was definitely worth all the effort!
Click here to see all the photos!

Introducing Jargon and the Alpha Centauri Network

2005-09-14T19:05:00.000+02:00

Jargon appeared in the cafe a few months ago ( from Rustenburg ) and since then he has been one of the most enthusiastic supporter of our OpenCafe:-) Jargon, thanks for all the support - I still can't believe all the help you have been overwhelming us

Jargon has his own open source project & website called the Alpha Centauri Network. It focuses on providing support for installing and using Linux. Jargon & us are working on starting a new online forum for the OpenCafe.

The first Freeculture.org initiative in SA

2005-09-14T18:57:00.000+02:00

The recently created Free Culture initiative is hosting events in Durban during Software Freedom Day.

FreeCulture.org was founded in the USA by two Swarthmore students after they sued voting-machine manufacturer Diebold for abusing copyright law in 2003. Named after the book Free Culture by Stanford University law professor Lawrence Lessig, FreeCulture.org is part of a growing movement, with roots in the free software / open source community, media activists, creative artists and writers, and civil libertarians. Groups with which FreeCulture.org has collaborated include Creative Commons, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge, and Downhill Battle.

For more info on the Durban initiative contact Kofi Mangesi - 073 107 6600.

Introducing CC Mixter SA

2005-09-14T18:47:00.000+02:00

ccMixterSA - our local music sharing portal - was launched on September 1 - as the South African version of ccMixter.org.

You can use ccMixter to upload and download loops and remix them with your own music. The loops on the site are freely available for everyone as they are published using a Creative Commons license.

Click here to see an animated movie about using Creative Commons Sampling licenses.

So don't waste time - create your own remix today!

About Wikipedia on ITWeb.co.za

2005-09-11T19:25:00.000+02:00

"The Wikipedia, which has surged this year to become the most popular reference site on the Web, is fast overtaking several major news sites as the place where people swarm for context on breaking events."

Click here to read on ....

Free Culture South Africa Celebrates Software Freedom Day

2005-09-11T19:19:00.000+02:00

Students of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) joined the Free Culture movement in South Africa to celebrate Software Freedom Day 2005. The day was marked with an exhibition and Talk, close to hundred students turned up for the event, of which only a quarter were women. The exhibition attracted Open Office.org Southern Africa, Computer Science Department of UKZN, and the local Free Culture chapter. Many Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) materials were distributed including Ubuntu Linux CDs, Open office.org CDs, Creative Commons badges and stickers and free culture flyers. A Freedom toaster donated by the Shuttleworth Foundation was also exhibited and many students had the opportunity to `toast' some CDs and to learn more about FOSS.

Speaking at the talk, Craig Adams South Africa representative for Open
Office.org, said, proprietary software was denying computer users their fundamental freedoms and that the right to choose is been compromised by proprietary software.

Luke Voster, the coordinator of the Open Source project in the university said, eight of the university's computer labs were currently running on Open Source software, he added that an integral part of the university's FOSS programme is to ensure that lecturers are trained in the use of FOSS to ensure that students assignments can be accepted in FOSS format.

Kofi Mangesi of the UKZN Chapter of Free Culture, commenting on the event said `we believe this event has sparked the beginning of serious discussions among students on the need for copyright reform in the digital age'.

Freedom Toaster for YFM

2005-09-11T19:16:00.000+02:00

I just read the Creative Commons SA website that YFM is also getting a Freedom Toaster! That is really great news - freedom is soon becoming the norm - it looks like:-)

Our new multimedia room is almost complete

2005-09-10T16:58:00.000+02:00

You will be able to use the new room for using programs like SKYPE, Audacity, CCMixter etc.

You can also watch films, jam along without disturbing the others in the cafe - isn't that great ! We'd like to focus on using this room for introducing the cafe's audience to Creative Commons content and tools - it's definitely not a super recording studio - but good enough for experimenting with audio and video content.

You can also sign up for free violin & guitar lessons from now on - all you need is to have your own instrument - the rest depends on how hard you are ready to work :-)

Software Freedom Day - less than 1 week to go ....

2005-09-04T07:18:00.000+02:00

Well, we have been preparing for quite a while.

We are going to have a great time with watching Revolution OS ( once again ), watching the episodes of Go_open that we have missed, we will have some music as well.

This coming week we are spending with marketing all over town. If you are interested in helping us with the preparations - just pop in - we can use some additional help.