raichu wrote on clair’s blog:

and why code based on your imagination when you can rip
off someone else’s code for free (free as in free beer)?

I code because I want to. Often, there simply isn’t anything else out
there that does exactly what I want, or it’ll be too much trouble
sifting through thousands of applications to find that one perfect
match. I code for fun, to explore my thoughts and to write them down
in a form computers and people can understand.

Instead of locking up the source code beyond customization or forcing
me to rewrite everything from scratch, open source gives me a
fantastic jumping-off point for my own applications. Open source helps
me be more creative by letting me quickly get to the interesting part,
playing with concepts without having to write my own framework or
scaffolding. At the same time, reading other people’s code teaches me
so much about how people solve similar problems and use available
tools. Their code inspires me to do better.

Open source development is like standing on the shoulders of giants,
and that’s one of the reasons why I’m so thankful to the open source
community for all the help they’ve given me over the years.

I couldn’t help but respond to the Philippine Open Source Conference
2005 thread on PLUG when I saw the posts mentioning embedded Linux.
It’s… amazing, really, to see how people are interested in it. =) So
I went on a trip down memory lane…

I can speak on developing for the iPAQ; my code is still
in the bootloader, and I played around with programming small apps for
it. (You can get a small CGI-capable web server or Python and have
tons of fun hacking in class.) I haven’t touched it in three years,
though. It’s been a while. If someone has made a more recent
contribution, I’d gladly step aside. Besides, (cross my fingers!) I
may be out of the country by the time of the conference.
Still, if I’m in the country and no one else is up for it, then I can
talk about having Linux in Your Pocket.

* * * flashback * * *

You know, that was the title of my _very_ first Linux-related talk at
Linux10 Philippines in 2001… I presented to just _one_ person, as he
was the only one in the room at the time my talk was supposed to
start. He was an IT journalist, so it wasn’t totally wasted. After the
talk, I peeked out and found all these people who apparently had
wanted to hear the talk, but were too shy to go in while I was
presenting…

Incidentally, Linux on the iPAQ was _the_ thing that got me into
development. My first public CVS access, my first instance of getting
sent hardware (Jamey Hicks totally rocks)…

I’m going to stop now before I get all misty-eyed.

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/opensources/book/brian.html has a good explanation of the differences between popular open source licenses.

I’ll be teaching a Linux Express course at http://www.bluepoint.com.ph
from April 11 to 22. I had fun chatting with Engels and Magie Antonio.
Kim and Mark will also be teaching courses soon; coolness…

From We Pledge Allegiance to the Penguin:

“Every license for Office plus Windows in Brazil – a country in which
22 million people are starving – means we have to export 60 sacks of
soybeans,” says Marcelo D’Elia Branco, coordinator of the country’s
Free Software Project and liaison between the open source community
and the national government, now headed by president Luiz Inácio
Lula da Silva. “For the right to use one copy of Office plus Windows
for one year or a year and a half, until the next upgrade, we have to
till the earth, plant, harvest, and export to the international
markets that much soy. When I explain this to farmers, they go nuts.”

Now _that’s_ a fantastic way to make the cost of software really
visible to people. Translate it into tangible stuff!

http://news.inq7.net/infotech/index.php?index=1&story_id=31491

Filipino software developer wins IBM Linux Scholar tilt

Posted 00:33am (Mla time) Mar 24, 2005
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net

FILIPINO software development talent shines once again.

Jan Stevens Ancajas, a student of the Mindanao State University-Iligan
Institute of Technology, was among the grand prizewinners of the 2004
IBM Linux Scholars Challenge, INQ7.net learned Wednesday.

Ancajas was among 20 winners from all over the world in the yearly
challenge hosted by the computer giant IBM.

The Filipino developer's program entry described as “Dynamic DNS
solution for a campus network” was cited as one of the best software
programs developed by a student.

This IBM-hosted contest solicits entries from students all over the
world. Each winner will receive an IBM ThinkPad T-Series with Linux
and will also have the opportunity to qualify for one of the three
Summer 2005 internships at the IBM Linux Technology Center.

Wow! =D Congrats!

(Oooooh, envious…)

E-Mail from Miguel A. Paraz

I use the wonderfully minimalist
ratpoison window manager.
Unlike most window managers, ratpoison leaves my shortcut keys alone.
I can do everything without lifting my hands from the keyboard.

The important parts of my ~/.Xsession are simply:

emacs &
exec ratpoison

This is my ~/.ratpoisonrc

banish
escape F11

Whenever I start up X, I get Emacs in full-screen mode. I can use F11
c to create a terminal window. If I need to refer to another
application, I use F11 :split and :hsplit to arrange my screen. F11
:only returns to my one-window layout.

ratpoison doesn't deal well with window-y applications like the GIMP,
but that's what the :tmpwm command is for. I usually switch to FVWM
with :tmpwm fvwm when I need to use GIMP, then exit FVWM to return to
my ratpoison environment when done.

Great stuff. Glad Clair's checking it out.