26 Aug, 08
Der Veranstaltungsort für das BarCamp Berlin (2008-10-18/19) steht fest. Eben wurde angekündigt, dass das BCB3 in der Hauptstadtrepräsentanz der Deutschen Telekom (!) stattfinden wird. Das klingt vielversprechend und lässt zumindest auf konstant funktionierenden Netzzgugang hoffen :)
Auch Sponsoren haben sich viele gefunden - große und kleine. Allen voran die Telekom, die nicht nur die Location stellt, sondern auch kräftig für T-Systems (und vermutlich T-Labs) werben will. Besonders “Human Resources” dürften umworben werden: Die T-Systems sucht über 200 Mitarbeiter. Chocri (lecker Schokolade), Sonntagmorgen (lecker Kaffee) und Pure Tea (lecker Tee!) werden übrigens auch da sein, ebenso wie das Saftblog. Also auch eine gute Gelegenheit, sich mit leckeren, gesunden, netten Dingen einzudecken :) Außerdem werde ich hoffentlich endlich mal mymuesli ausprobieren können.
Die Registrierung beginnt nächste Woche, Sessionvorschläge gibt es bereits eine ganze Reihe. Letzte News vom BCB3 gibt es auf Twitter - stay tuned.
Und wer von Hamburg nach Berlin mitfahren will, ich hab bestimmt wieder 2-3 Plätze frei.
20 Mar, 08
I finally moved over to this blogging platform thingamajick I’m writing with the great folks of the Habari Project. The theme is the wonderful Charcoal by Ali B. / dmondark with minor tweaks.
Habari unfortunately didn’t get accepted into this year’s Summer of Code, although we made the short list. Anyway, we decided we’ll just hold our own Summer of Love Habari Summer of Collaboration. We will try to get fancy t-shirts, too. Check it out.
Habari. Mzuri sana!
20 Aug, 07
Canon today announced the EOS 40D, successor to the EOS 30D. It features the new DIGIC III processor, 6.5 frames per second, a larger and brighter viewfinder, live view with autofocus(!), buffer for 75 JPEGs/17 RAWs, weather-proofing, 1D-style menus (with “My Menu”), a new AF system, dedicated AF button, automatic dust-removal and a 10.1 megapixel sensor. Also, the 40D doesn’t just shut down and lose all unsaved data when the card compartment is opened. The cam will come to the European market in October.
Maybe I’m just a little annoyed since my 30D is still rather new, but I think this cam is too good for this segment. Especially with weather-proofing and live view, this gets uncomfortably close to the 1D-line features. Comparing price tags and looking at the problems that still affect the 1DmkIII, this might be a convincing alternative for those now holding out or saving for a 1D.
01 Apr, 07
Okay, seriously. Habari 0.1.1 Developer Release is now available for download and hacking:
The 0.1.1 version includes a fix for the search XSS problem and removes the misleading warning in the installer.
I don’t recommend using it on a public site without being aware of the problems! At the very least, you should put your Habari install on a different domain that does not hold any important data.
You’re welcome to drop by on irc.freenode.net #habari and join us in our inspired fork… barbe… hacking!
01 Apr, 07
Hey, don’t worry! We’re just kidding! You’re reading Habari’s April Fools joke.
Update: ForkPress made 20,070,401 downloads already! I can’t believe it!
It started with great promise, great promises, and at an opportune time. Everyone and their mother were starting to get disgruntled with WordPress - it had its share of scandals, its codebase contained a lot of baggage from ye olde times, some of Matt’s decisions didn’t go over so well with people, and some didn’t like the whole dot-com stuff going on.
Habari promised everything - a complete rewrite, using today’s technology, under a truly free license, and with a meritocratic development process. And it had a number of big names behind it.
It was a nice idea while it lasted.
It is now obvious to me that both the meritocratic process as well as truly free licenses absolutely and utterly fail to produce open, free software.
You might think this to be a strange thing to say, considering Habari finally released the Developer Review version today. Well, see for yourselves:
If I appear to be angry, it’s because I am! Scott (skippy) and Owen - both cofounders of Habari - have left the very project they founded in the dust, choosing to pursue commercial interests instead. The best part is that the codebase for their fork is probably Habari, and our choice of license allowed - encouraged - them to just take the code! Considering the timing of this decision, and the polish that went into their new projects already, it seems obvious to me that this move has been planned since quite some time — taking the hard work of volunteers, and going dot-com. And the worst part? They probably won’t hire me either, just like Automattic didn’t! In short: WTF BBQ.
I must say I feel happy about Habari’s Development Review release, but at the same time, I feel utterly betrayed. On the bright side, it is a statement about Habari’s quality, but still…
Skippy, Owen… good luck with your new ventures — ForkPress and bbqPress.
Hire me?
Update: Chris J. Davis also talks about the topic.
01 Apr, 07
I kid, I kid. I have no intention of changing operating systems, at least until Linux finally is ready for the Deskop.
Plan 9 still is nice, though!
Much is foul in the state of computing today. Proprietary software is used throughout the industry as well as on the majority of personal computers. The promised Linux Desktop revolution, announced since years, has not happened so far, and people are beginning to doubt it ever will happen.
This madness must end.
No longer can we use proprietary software! Be it the proprietary operating system we use, or closed source drivers, protocols that are neither open nor standardized, or even embedded firmware in devices.
No longer must people get away with “I use Mac OS X because it’s userfriendly”, when large parts of their OS are completely closed and locking them in.
No longer can “Well, I use Windows XP, but it’s ok, I run Cygwin under it!” be tolerated, lest we all lose our GNU-given freedom.
No longer can we just watch the proliferation of patents, software or otherwise, spreading like a cancer and trying to smother our liberty.
We must stand up and fight! We must retake our freedom! We can not stand and watch as the walls grow closer, not wait until they suffocate us!
Today I’m doing the first step towards my personal free software freedom. And this freedom can not, it must not depend only on some license, or development model considerations. Licenses are manmade. The Tao of Operating Systems is bigger than that.
I’m switching to an Operating System that is pure in itself, whose radiant beauty enlightens the galaxy of computing. One which treats all resources equally, in its infinite wisdom. One which uses the only true encoding - UTF-8 - everywhere. One whose name is funny, and not some ego boosting thing (say what, Linus?).
UNIX may be dying. BSD may be dead. But from the ashes of sockets and ioctl rose the phoenix that is Plan 9.
Replacing a tried-and-true installation of Windows XP with an equally able setup of Plan 9 is easy. You just install Plan 9 — there is no need to bother with backups, partitioning, or selecting packages. After an installation procedure taking some twenty minutes, you reboot into a new, blissful existence. Plan 9 is the Tao, and the Tao is Plan 9.
I want to take this opportunity to ask everyone of you, my readers, to get yourself a Plan 9 installation/live CD. In the month of April, set yourself the task of converting at least five computers from a proprietary, egoistically named, or user-friendly Operating System to the salvation that is Plan 9. Do not try to reason with the unbelievers you encounter, for you will encounter them, and they shall not be swayed from the path of darkness. Only through force can you rescue them from this downward spiral, the lefthand path, the path of usable systems and working devices. By the sword you shall spread the righteousness and glory of the path of light. Plan 9 is the Tao, and the Tao is Plan 9.
Go forth, and spread it.
Remember: The open source zealot’s blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree. This is madness, you say? Madness? This is Plan 9!
Screenshots of my new Plan 9 system will follow as soon as I get my screenshot file working.
Plan 9 is the Tao, and the Tao is Plan 9.
24 Jan, 07
As you may or may not know, I’m now part of the core development committee of Habari. Habari is a next generation blogging platform written in object-oriented PHP using the model view controller design pattern. There, enough buzzwords?
Not having to support a huge installed codebase with a lot of legacy, we have a chance to “do things right” with Habari. Using MVC is certainly a good start, as is using PDO (now programming SQL injections takes effort). But the nicest codebase still doesn’t make a good product …
… which is why I’m asking you all:
- What does a blogging platform absolutely need to do for you?
- What would be really useful features to you?
- How are you, personally, using your current platform?
Please feel free to write lengthy comments, send me mail, etc.
We are currently aiming for a developers preview release at the end of month, but there’s still a lot of work left to do. If you’re interested, have a look at the mailing lists, or just drop by on IRC, in #Habari on irc.freenode.net.
10 Jan, 07
Habari is a new blogging platform being developed by
a number of well known people, some of which are fed up with open source, others just looking for new challenges.
The thing about Habari is that is starts from scratch, and today. That means it doesn’t have to worry about a lot of existing legacy code and thus, downward compatibility. It is also being designed from the grounds up, using the latest available technology. Heck, it’s full OOP! It abstracts database access! You can plug in different theme engines (and, of course, there are plugins). In short, it could easily be the greatest thing since pressed words.
I wrote my first patches against Habari trunk today, one fixing a locale bug and making basic i18n work, the other mostly style changes. How could I resist joining the development frenzy!
Find me in the habari-dev group and on the Habari IRC channel, #habari on irc.freenode.net.
Berlin, Hamburg, Announcement, @lang:de and barcamp