Fabian Rodriguez » Affaires http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog Me, myself and I Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:10:27 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Rogers Canada: how NOT to sell Android http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2010/02/17/rogers-canada-how-not-to-sell-android/ http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2010/02/17/rogers-canada-how-not-to-sell-android/#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:17:47 +0000 MagicFab http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/?p=1094 I love Android (the platform, as a colleague put it).

But I hate my cellphone provider, Rogers Canada. I hope that’s clear. Rogers CANADA.

Being a community, people-oriented person, free software activist and open source enthusiast, and on top of that a full time technical trainer and support analyst, last summer when I heard that Rogers Canada would be the first company to sell & support the mighty HTC Dream (known as G1 to T-Mobile customers), I decided I would trust them. In fact I got my HTC Dream the day it came out, on June 2nd. If Google trusted Rogers with their first Android deployment in Canada, I would be OK. Big mistake!

I’ve posted before that Rogers Canada sucks. I’ve thought about documenting my own problems, but it’s getting easier to just gather other similar experiences Android customers have at Rogers:

That’s right, there is a whole blog dedicated to document and share all the mistakes Rogers Canada has made and all the problems they have caused.

When I saw that I started my own Identi.ca group: RogersSucks (or !rs)

As I write this I am waiting for a replacement HTC Magic which was promised once, order “lost”, promotion postponed, then secretly available again, then finally ordered on Sunday. I know, it’s Wednesday and we’re only a province away, but the phone hasn’t even shipped. Nevermind it’s only a slightly less outdated phone, I am waiting again to get the Rogers Canada Android Revolution.

Rogers Canada thinks it’s good business practice to suspend data service in order to force customers into upgrading to a firmware that basically locks down my phone. Why is it important it’s unlocked and rootable ? Because otherwise it’s very much useless, or should I say even less useful than a regular cell phone. At least regular cell phones behave well with BT headsets, don’t crash or reboot spontaneously, and don’t lag for >30 seconds when going from one application to the other. Among other things. It used to be possible to use Cyanogen Mod and other custom firmwares to make these phones somewhat usable. Not anymore.

How did Google let this happen ? I have no clue.

A lot of similar mistakes can be made by any company selling devices based on free, open-source software (and yes I know Android devices don’t come with 100% free software). I secretly hope some anonymous person inside such companies learns something from Rogers Canada mistakes. This is truly an example on how NOT to launch and service such a product.

Meanwhile I am gathering details on my own problems and getting all my services with Rogers cancelled without penalty for breach of contract. If that doesn’t happen, small claims court in Quebec should help, and I’ll document this in true free, open fashion so I can help as many people as I can do the same: vote with their money. I am angry such a great platform got such a bad start in Canada.

I guess the Revolution is not going to be available in Canada for some time.

How Rogers Ruined My HTC Dream

]]> http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2010/02/17/rogers-canada-how-not-to-sell-android/feed/ 9 Rogers Canada sucks http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2010/02/03/rogers-canada-sucks/ http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2010/02/03/rogers-canada-sucks/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:51:24 +0000 MagicFab http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/?p=1051 What can I say.

Rogers Canada really sucks. It’s really a pitty they were the first to introduce Android devices in Canada. Fortunately now other companies also offer them. I hope Rogers never sells Android devices anymore to anyone.

I just found out 85% of online users agree with me. Now I feel like I am part of a big dysfunctional family.

I am doing my best so 100% of possible Rogers customers (and others too) all know their rates, customer service and technical service suck to no end.

I am so fed up with them I won’t bother explaining why they suck. The above links should provide ample accurate, complete historical data.

Of course there’s a dedicated Rogers Sucks Facebook group.

]]> http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2010/02/03/rogers-canada-sucks/feed/ 2 Comment visionner tou.tv sur Linux – merci pour rien Radio-Canada! http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2010/01/29/comment-visionner-tou-tv-sur-linux-merci-pour-rien-radio-canada/ http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2010/01/29/comment-visionner-tou-tv-sur-linux-merci-pour-rien-radio-canada/#comments Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:47:11 +0000 MagicFab http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/?p=1036 Depuis quelques jours le site tou.tv offre à tous les canadiens le contenu des émissions les plus populaires de Radio-Canada.

Enfin presque tous. Ça prends Windows ou Mac. Pardon ?

Les utilisateurs d’Ubuntu se sont rapidement rendu compte que le site n’affichait qu’un carré noir à la place des vidéos. Sur la FAQ de tou.tv, aucune mention de Linux. Rien! Sur la liste de discussion d’Ubuntu Québec, groupe d’utilisateurs de cette distribution Linux, les esprits se sont vite enflammés. C’est que ce n’est pas la première fois que Radio-Canada commet cette bévue. Et non, on n’est plus “seulement 1% d’utilisateurs d’ordinateurs”.

Le format Flash choisit n’est pas l’idéal pour les utilisateurs Linux. L’idéal serait une solution basée sur des formats libres. Le format Flash est une forme de contrôle des drois numériques (les DRM pour ses sigles en anglais), mais bon, on se compte presque chanceux que la technologie Silverlight de Microsoft ait été abandonnée. Une multitudes de web-télé privées et publiques fonctionnent en Flash sous Linux, il suffisait donc de tester et s’assurer que ça fonctionnerait.

Non, l’équipe technique vit apparemment sous une roche depuis plusieurs années. Même leurs réponses “cannées” aux incidents techniques signalés par des membres d’Ubuntu Québec et par FACIL n’ont pas changé. Et l’Ombudsman de Radio-Canada, lui, réponds que ce n’est pas ses affaires les choix techniques de celle-ci. C’est quand même nos taxes non ?

UPDATE: ATTENTION – CE CORRECTIF N’EST PLUS NÉCESSAIRE, LE SITE TOU.TV AYANT ÉTÉ CORRIGÉ SUITE À LA PRESSION EXERCÉE PAR NOTRE GROUPE. MERCI!

Bref, j’ai suggéré la création d’un groupe Facebook, ce qui a été fait assez rapidement (merci à Martin Bureau). 24h et presque 300 membres plus tard, Patrick St-Onge a trouvé le petit bout de code qui a provoquée cette tempête. Une ligne qui était en commentaire.

Je vous épargne les détails. Je suis encore un peu étourdi par cette trouvaille!

Comment on peut expliquer ça en 2010 ? C’est si insignifiant qu’ils pourront dire que c’est un simple oubli.

Je savais qu’avec GreaseMonkey on pourrait enlever ledit commentaire, j’ai donc immédiatement invité quiconque lirait le commentaire de Patrick dans le groupe à venir me rejoindre sur le canal de chat IRC de FACIL. Deux personnes ont répondu, ggrz et VanBrooken (de par leur surnom sur IRC). Pour faire une histoire courte, heureusement, ggrz a fourni le script (le mien étant trop pourri :) ) et VanBrooken et moi l’avons testé. Il y a certainement mieux comme solution mais pour l’instant celle-ci semble “faire la job”. On a constaté par exemple qu’il manque les barres pour choisir la qualité… Étant donné que l’auteur original l’a publié en “public domain”, nous pouvons en faire ce que nous en voulons.

La solution

Vous devez avoir:

  • Firefox
  • GreaseMonkey

J’ai testé avec FF 3.5.7 et Greasemonkey 0.8.20091209.4. Comme j’ai indiqué plus haut deux autres personnes (l’auteur et une autre) ont confirmé que ça fonctionnait.

UPDATE: ATTENTION – CE CORRECTIF N’EST PLUS NÉCESSAIRE, LE SITE TOU.TV AYANT ÉTÉ CORRIGÉ SUITE À LA PRESSION EXERCÉE PAR NOTRE GROUPE. MERCI!

Une fois GreaseMonkey installé, après redémarrer Firefox:

1) Ouvrez le site tou.tv
2) Allez sur Tools > Grease Monkey > New user Script
3) Remplissez les champs comme suit:

Name: toutv-linux
Namespace: http://www.toutv.com/greasemonkey
Description: Script pour visionner toutv sous LInux
Includes: http://tou.tv/* (ceci devrait déjà être là si vous avez ouvert tou.tv)
Excludes: (laisser ce champ vide)

4) Cliquez OK
5) Allez sur Tools > Grease Monkey > Manage User Scripts. Le script (vide pour l’instant) devrait y être. Choisissez-le (un click)
6) Cliquez Edit (en bas, à gauche)
7) Si on vous demande pour un éditeur de texte, entrez /usr/bin/gedit
8) Ajoutez à la fin du document présenté ceci:


(function() {

window.addEventListener(“load”, function(e) {
var player = document.getElementById(“playerDiv”);
if(player) {
var content = player.innerHTML;
content = content.replace(“flashvars=\”", “flashvars=\”releaseURL=” + unsafeWindow.toutv.getRelease() + “&”);
player.innerHTML = content;
}
}, false);
})();

C’est aussi disponible ici et ici. Attention aux sauts de ligne! Chaque ligne termine par un “;”.

9) Sauvegardez le document
10) Re-chargez la page tou.tv, naviguez les émissions
11) Enjoy :)

Attention étant donné que le site est tout récent il est possible que les délais habituels vous empêchent de visionner le contenu. Soyez patients!

Merci encore à Patrick St-Onge et aux deux anonymes qui ont répondu à mon invitation sur IRC: ggrz qui a fournit le script final en GreaseMonkey et VanBrooken qui a testé et confirmé la solution. Merci aussi aux presque 300 personnes qui se sont jointes au groupe Facebook et qui ont contribué à sa visibilité.

UPDATE: ATTENTION – CE CORRECTIF N’EST PLUS NÉCESSAIRE, LE SITE TOU.TV AYANT ÉTÉ CORRIGÉ SUITE À LA PRESSION EXERCÉE PAR NOTRE GROUPE. MERCI!

Maintenant qu’on sait que ça fonctionne avec du Flash, il faut bien continuer et exiger que ça soit disponible en format libre, ça sera un autre combat. FACIL en discutera à son prochain conseil d’administration, il est important de devenir membre ou de faire un don si cette cause vous tient à coeur. FACIL est une association à but non lucratif qui fait la promotion de l’informatique libre au Québec. FACIL organise ou participe à plusieurs autres activités au sujet des logiciels libres et des standards ouverts.

Pour ceux qui pensent que je suis extrémiste ou dans une minorité de Fanboy (deux noms auxquels j’ai eu droit dans cette histoire), je vous laisse quelques mots clés pour vous informer: DRM, Ogg Theora, HTML5, YouTube.

]]> http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2010/01/29/comment-visionner-tou-tv-sur-linux-merci-pour-rien-radio-canada/feed/ 30 Canonical jobs: Support analyst based off London, and more http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/12/05/canonical-jobs-support-analyst-based-off-london-and-more/ http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/12/05/canonical-jobs-support-analyst-based-off-london-and-more/#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:22:13 +0000 MagicFab http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/?p=633 A new position for a support analyst based off London has just been opened at Canonical. It’s not listed on the website yet so I thought I’d give some lead to the Ubuntu Planet readers:

I am sorry this is painfully obvious but if you don’t speak excellent English don’t even think about it.

Let me know if you want to apply to any of those, it’s always best when someone has been referred.

And before anyone asks, yes, there is a referral bonus for such referrals – I guess that covers the million questions we get when we help someone apply.

Also don’t miss all the recent job postings:

  • Service Delivery Manager – posted: December 2008

    • Posting Date: December 2008
    Job Location: Taipei, Taiwan
    Job Summary: Working with key OEM and ODM customers in Taiwan, you will be responsible for the release into manufacturing of Ubuntu and Ubuntu based customized software. You will have experience in the PC industry of launching products for major brands and will be familiar with the engineering life cycles at a …

    more details

  • Integration Engineer – posted: December 2008

    • Posting Date: December 2008
    Job Location: Millbank, London
    Job Summary: The BIS team is responsible for building and supporting the internal IT systems that Canonical uses. This role on the BIS team involves deployment, support and administration of a variety of 3rd party systems, integration of those systems with other Canonical systems and migration of legacy systems.

    more details

  • Ubuntu Senior Certification Engineer – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Your home (given appropriate facilities including broadband Internet) in an American or European time zone.
    Job Summary: Hold responsibility for the delivery of manual and automated testing for certification and hardware enablement. Quality Assurance Team Manager

    more details

  • Web Developer BIS – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Home based. Some international travel may be required
    Job Summary: The BIS team is responsible for building and supporting the internal IT systems that Canonical uses. This role on the BIS team is to develop web applications and components to integrate Canonical websites and applications with other key internal and external systems.

    more details

  • Product Manager, Online Services – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Home based with broadband, in an American/European time zone. This job involves international travel several times a year, usually for one week.
    Job Summary: Is your head in the clouds? We have a unique opportunity for a dynamic, technically astute product manager who can demonstrate an understanding of the way web-based services change the desktop experience. We’re looking for someone thinking about the cloud, but with feet firmly planted on a product schedule. The …

    more details

  • Ubuntu Mobile Developer – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Your home, as long as you have broadband. North American & European time zones preferred. Some international travel will be required.
    Job Summary: Our goal is to make the best open source Linux Distribution, your job is to assist in solving issues around creating it. You need to be a jack-of-all-trades, able to quickly determine what the actual issue is and how to solve it, whatever “it” might be. Work on a broad …

    more details

  • Ubuntu Mobile/MID QA Tester – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Your home (given appropriate facilities including broadband Internet) in an American or European time zone.
    Job Summary: Execute testing cases and tools for the Ubuntu mobile platform.

    more details

  • Systems Software Engineer – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Lexington, MA; USA preferred but applicants welcome for home workers
    Job Summary: Integration of new hardware devices and technologies on mobile internet devices and subnotebooks. This engineer will have a broad scope of responsibilities to customize Ubuntu to work on mobile internet devices, netbooks and other unique hardware designs

    more details

  • Project Administrator – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Home based with broadband, in an American or European time zone. This job involves international travel several times a year, usually for one week.
    Job Summary: The Project Administrator role is a key role in our software development teams. As a part of the technical team, the Project Administrator defines and monitors process and progress metrics. Strong communication and a steadfast commitment to not dropping the ball are required skills for this role, as the successful …

    more details

  • Web Designer – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Millbank, London; UK
    Job Summary: The Web Designer will be responsible for the experience our prospective customers and our developer community have via our Canonical, Ubuntu and other web portals. These portals are critical to the success of our business and our products and our Web Designer will be expected to own this experience from …

    more details

  • Lead Concept Designer – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Millbank, London; UK
    Job Summary: This is a key role in the Design and Customer Experience team and across the business. Our Lead Concept Designer will be responsible for creating unique, innovative and simply amazing concepts, from customer facing products and the finite detail within, to internal facing projects to ensure the business ‘gets’, buys …

    more details

  • Ubuntu GNOME Desktop Engineer – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Your home, as long as you have broadband. Some international travel will be required.
    Job Summary: To maintain the GNOME packages that form the basis of the Ubuntu desktop experience.

    more details

  • Partner Marketing Manager – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: London, UK
    Job Summary: Provide marketing expertise to support and develop business with our growing list of high-profile business partners, particularly major PC suppliers and OEM/ODMs.

    more details

  • Telco Channel Manager – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Europe or USA
    Job Summary: Channel Manager will be responsible for building commercial relationships with top level Telcos and related industry partners

    more details

  • Ubuntu Program Manager – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Preferable London, UK however other candidates home based in American or European time zones may also be considered.
    Job Summary: The PM will be managing the implementation project life cycle: requirement gathering, implementation and testing within time, quality and cost standards. Also managing project risk, as well as planning and delivering complex software integration projects; reporting of project progress and status internally, to customers and stakeholders; managing escalations, changing controls …

    more details

  • QA Engineer – posted: November 2008

    • Posting Date: November 2008
    Job Location: Taipei, Taiwan
    Job Summary: Perform automated and manual testing of custom versions of Ubuntu Desktop. Support local Field Engineering staff with SQA process development/implementation.

    more details

  • Gnome Developer – posted: October 2008

    • Posting Date: October 2008
    Job Location: At home with broadband, in an American/European time zone.
    Job Summary: As a member of the Desktop Experience Team, this role will be to design and develop new innovative elements of the Gnome platform. The candidate must have strong coding and debugging skills in C, coupled with in-depth knowledge of X11, OpenGL and GTK+ programming. This role will work closely with …

    more details

  • KDE Developer – posted: October 2008

    • Posting Date: October 2008
    Job Location: At home with broadband, in an American/European time zone
    Job Summary: We’re hiring talented engineers to develop a new, innovative desktop experience, in Ubuntu Linux. You will design and implement key elements of the KDE platform, in coordination with your peers in the community . As a member of the Desktop Experience Team, this role will be to design and develop …

    more details

  • Open GL Developer – posted: October 2008

    • Posting Date: October 2008
    Job Location: At home with broadband, in an American/European time zone
    Job Summary: As a member of the Desktop Experience Team, the Software Engineer’s role will be to design and develop new innovative elements of the Ubuntu Desktop. The candidate must have strong coding and debugging skills in C/C++, coupled with in-depth knowledge of OpenGL and experience with Linux graphical toolkits. This role …

    more details

  • OEM Channel Manager (Europe) – posted: October 2008

    • Posting Date: October 2008
    Job Location: Europe

    Job Summary: Based in Europe the OEM Channel Manager will be responsible for building relationships with top level OEM/ODM and local MNC accounts in focus region. As part of the Business Development Department, the OEM programme counts 6 Channel Managers who seek to create a network of partners across the globe with …

    more details

  • Launchpad Bugs Application Engineer – posted: October 2008

    • Posting Date: October 2008
    Job Location: Home-based but prefer time zones from Europe to east coast USA
    Job Summary: We are looking for a software engineer that is passionate about bug tracking in open source projects. The position requires experience in both web and server-side programming. The ideal candidate has strong experience with other bug tracking systems and a desire to tackle the problem of bug management across a …

    more details

  • Field Engineer (China) – posted: October 2008

    • Posting Date: October 2008
    Job Location: China – with regular travel engagements
    Job Summary: The application Field Engineer will support deploying Ubuntu and assist in sales opportunities. The continuous improvement and refinement of engineering and technical sales processes is a key aspect in this position. This involves building working relationships within Canonical to enhance the efficiency of collaboration between different teams.

    more details

  • Field Engineer (Taiwan) – posted: October 2008

    • Posting Date: October 2008
    Job Location: Home based position in Taiwan, with regular travel engagements
    Job Summary: Field Engineer

    more details

  • Ubuntu Mobile/MID QA Engineer – posted: October 2008

    • Posting Date: October 2008
    Job Location: Your home (given appropriate facilities including broadband Internet) in an American or European time zone
    Job Summary: Develop automated testing tools for the Ubuntu mobile platform.

    more details

  • Kernel Field Engineer – posted: September 2008

    • Posting Date: September 2008
    Job Location: Taiwan
    Job Summary: The Kernel Field Engineer will support the kernel team with hardware enablement in Ubuntu. This is achieved by working with our partners, system builders, ODMs (Original Device Manufacturers) and development teams within Canonical to assess and implement device drivers and other hardware bring up as necessary. This is a highly …

    more details

  • System Administrator in Taiwan – posted: August 2008

    • Posting Date: August 2008
    Job Location: Taiwan
    Job Summary: Part of the systems administration team for Canonical Ltd, with specific responsibility for all on-site systems administration related tasks in Canonical’s Taiwan office.

    more details

  • Ubuntu Translations Coordinator – posted: August 2008

    • Posting Date: August 2008
    Job Location: Your home, as long as you have broadband. Some international travel will be required.
    Job Summary: The role of the Ubuntu Translations Coordinator is to oversee, represent, guide and optimise the processes and workflow of the Ubuntu translations community as well as coordinating the LoCo Teams project. Applicants should have experience of working in a translations community and with computing user groups, be knowledgeable of the …

    more details

  • Salesforce Integration Engineer, BIS Team – posted: July 2008

    • Posting Date: July 2008
    Job Location: At home with broadband. This job involves international travel several times a year, usually for periods of one or two weeks
    Job Summary: The BIS team is responsible for building and supporting the internal IT systems that Canonical uses. This role on the BIS team involves design and implementation of custom Salesforce integrations and add-ons.

    more details

]]> http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/12/05/canonical-jobs-support-analyst-based-off-london-and-more/feed/ 3 New Vostro Systems for Emerging Economies: Ubuntu in More Countries http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/09/01/new-vostro-systems-for-emerging-economies-ubuntu-in-more-countries/ http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/09/01/new-vostro-systems-for-emerging-economies-ubuntu-in-more-countries/#comments Mon, 01 Sep 2008 06:51:18 +0000 MagicFab http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/?p=603 The Direct2Dell blog is a great way to find out about new Ubuntu development and products at Dell from a reliable source one can actually quote publically :)

From my seat on the support side of things, I used to worry about such exposure – how can you give tech support to so many new Ubuntu users ? Granted, this is only but a small fraction of Dell’s business, but it is growing fast in many ways (and countries, as seen below). Many vendors understand the need to build their own support infrastructure and knowledge, not much new in that area. But being able to do so in your local language, in different markets, taking advantage of all the freedom LInux and in general Ubuntu offers is a huge new bonus. You get to decide if/when you need professional services (from Canonical or else) and you set the speed for that.

This ranges from pre-installing and supporting Ubuntu on certified servers to selling and supporting a boxed edition that includes 60 days support for $19.99 at Best Buy.

In Dell’s case, having part of their Linux wiki dedicated to Ubuntu and even forums and mailing lists means such initiatives have all the chances to success as Ubuntu’s strong community can complement all efforts from Dell and give traction to them. I also see how Ubuntu’s philosophy slowly infiltrates such offerings :)

From the blog post (emphasis mine):

Today we’re rolling out two new laptops and desktops that are designed to meet the specific needs of small businesses, government and educational facilities operating on a limited budget in the worlds top emerging markets. Take a look at either Steve Felice’s post or Kara Krautter’s post on the Small Business blog for a bit more context on that front.

Vostro A840 NotebookNote: Click on any of the images in these post to see larger versions of them. You can also see these photos and more by viewing this photo set at the main Dell Flickr page.

One thing of interest to a lot of our readers is that we will offer Ubuntu Linux as an option on all four of these machines worldwide. Regular readers of Direct2Dell know that we already support Ubuntu on select systems several countries.

These new Vostro systems will be introduced in more than 20 countries over the coming months—including Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. They will be available primarily through authorized channel partners worldwide and also directly from Dell. Pricing for the products will vary by configuration, region and country. Additional Vostro products designed for emerging markets and high-growth economies will be introduced in the coming months.Vostro A860 Notebook

]]> http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/09/01/new-vostro-systems-for-emerging-economies-ubuntu-in-more-countries/feed/ 2 Massively purchase proprietary software without any invitations to tender: get sued by your local free software association http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/08/28/massively-purchase-proprietary-software-without-any-invitations-to-tender-get-sued-by-your-local-free-software-association/ http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/08/28/massively-purchase-proprietary-software-without-any-invitations-to-tender-get-sued-by-your-local-free-software-association/#comments Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:53:08 +0000 MagicFab http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/?p=602 As per FACIL‘s press release:

Massive proprietary software purchases without any invitations to tender
FACIL contests government practices in the Superior Court

Montreal, August 28th 2008 – FACIL, a non-profit association, which promotes the collective appropriation of Free Software, contests the Quebec government purchasing methods for software used within public administrations. FACIL has filed a motion before the Quebec Superior Court in order to bring an end to these methods which the association believes not to be in the best interest of the Quebec government, but more importantly, not in accordance with the regulation for supply contracts, construction contracts and service contracts of government departments and public bodies (R.Q. c. A-6.01, r.0.03).

In Quebec, access to public markets is the rule while contracts attribution without invitation to tender is the exception. A public market should be transparent, fair and most importantly, open to all. The solutions as well as the propositions must be evaluated objectively on known and accepted criteria. Furthermore, the regulation implies that public markets have to enhance the local economic development as well as the Quebec technologies.

From February to June 2008, FACIL has noticed sales of proprietary software for more than 25 million dollars. These purchases were made for products offered by large multinational enterprises, with no regard to suppliers in Quebec. These purchases hurt the Free Software suppliers throughout Quebec and are an obstacle to the development of Quebec IT enterprises. FACIL contests these methods as the association believes they are illegal and unacceptable.

A strategic Free Software utilization in public administration could create thousands of jobs as well as a significant decrease in software licensing costs. However, Quebec’s public administration refuses to even consider and evaluate these options.

While most of the developed countries have started, a few years back, migrating their technological infrastructures to Free Software, Quebec’s public administration is far behind. In France, hundreds of thousands of desktops used by civil servants have been migrated. In the Netherlands, the public administration, one of the most modern in the world, has decided to forbid the use of proprietary software in the public sector.

But here in Quebec, despite numerous initiatives, the public administration refuses to communicate and to cooperate. FACIL has decided to bring the matter to court in order for the public market law to be respected.

PRESS CONFERENCE: Friday, August 29th 2008, 10h30 at 7275, Saint-Urbain, Montreal, office 201.

Source: The Board of Directors of FACIL
Email: ca@facil.qc.ca
Contact: Mathieu Lutfy (FACIL President)

I was on the board of directors of FACIL until last year, and I blogged a few months ago about SavoirFaire Linux’s similar initiative.

Apparently this is getting a lot of attention. Hopefully it won’t only be

Also see:

]]> http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/08/28/massively-purchase-proprietary-software-without-any-invitations-to-tender-get-sued-by-your-local-free-software-association/feed/ 1 Ubuntu wins “Best Desktop Solution” at Linux World Expo 2008 http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/08/05/ubuntu-wins-best-desktop-solution-at-linux-world-expo-2008/ http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/08/05/ubuntu-wins-best-desktop-solution-at-linux-world-expo-2008/#comments Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:20:04 +0000 MagicFab http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/?p=591 I just wanted to extended a huge “thank you!” to all of the Ubuntu community :) Today Ubuntu won the “Best Desktop Solution” Product Excellence Award at LinuxWorld Conference and Expo 2008 in San Francisco, California for a second consecutive year.

From the site:

“Judged by a group of respected industry experts managed by LinuxWorld.com, the LinuxWorld Product Excellence Awards recognize product and service innovations by LinuxWorld® and NGDC exhibitors.

Product Excellence Awards are divided into 12 product categories, including a “Best of Show,” that represent major areas of innovation in the Linux and open source community. “

Last but not least, I also want to thank all of my colleagues who were pretty busy at the booth, and of course those taking care of all things Ubuntu in the 22 countries where we have employees – including Zaïd Al Hamami, Kurt von Finck, David Bensimon and Adilson Olveira who fired last-minute comments that helped me put the finishing touches to the Ubuntu Desktop presentation. Cheers to all!

Now off to that FSF Pizza Party!

]]> http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/08/05/ubuntu-wins-best-desktop-solution-at-linux-world-expo-2008/feed/ 12 What’s your “wow” Ubuntu feature ? or video ? http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/07/30/whats-your-wow-ubuntu-feature-or-video/ http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/07/30/whats-your-wow-ubuntu-feature-or-video/#comments Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:17:41 +0000 MagicFab http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/?p=590 I’ll be at Linux World Expo 2008 next week in San Francisco with Canonical, and as such I am putting the final touches to several demos including one about what is different / new / “better” in Ubuntu 8.04 (specifically) on the desktop. I am talking about technical features, so I thought I’d ask around in case we missed the usual suspects. Here are some that made it into my short list for now, but I’d love to hear other ideas:

  1. Easy and fast to try, install, use and upgrade: Wubi, LiveCD
  2. Free and commercial options for desktop virtualization
  3. Recovery options (at boot time in Grub, using bulletproof X…)
  4. Launchpad integration in apps (translation, bug reporting…)
  5. Desktop effects

I am also looking for any videos or screencasts of interesting uses of desktop effects. Who knows, your video may end up showing off Ubuntu at our booth :) I started putting together a list of video resources on the wiki, feel free to add individual links to any you find interesting right there – or simply post a comment here.

]]> http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/07/30/whats-your-wow-ubuntu-feature-or-video/feed/ 12 Canonical hiring http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/07/29/canonical-hiring/ http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/07/29/canonical-hiring/#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:09:56 +0000 MagicFab http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/?p=588 Canonical is hiring and the positions list is growing by the day. If you’d like to join a place where IRC is a requirement, colleagues are in almost every timezone, and hacking your home electronics is rather common, check the list and also how to apply.

Contact me if you have any questions.

July 2008 postings

  • GNOME Developer, Online Services

    • Job Location: At home with broadband, in an American/European time zone. This job involves international travel three to four times a year, usually for one week.

  • QA Engineer, Online Services

    • Job Location: Home based with broadband. This job involves international travel several times a year, usually for one week.

  • Engineering Manager, Linux Desktop Experience Team

    • Job Location: Millbank Tower, London; UK preferably

  • Web Developer, Business Information Systems

    • Job Location: At home with broadband. This job involves international travel several times a year, usually for periods of one or two weeks.

  • Web Developer, Online Services

    • Job Location: Home based with broadband. This job involves international travel several times a year, usually for one week

  • ISV Relationship Manager

    • Job Location: The role will involve significant travel, most of which will be in the US and Europe. Boston, London or San Francisco are the preferred locations

  • Security Engineer

    • Job Location: Your home, as long as you have broadband. Some international travel will be required.

  • Engineering Manager

    • Job Location: Your home (given appropriate facilities including broadband Internet) in an American or European time zone.

June 2008 postings

May 2008 postings

April 2008 postings

March 2008 postings

February 2008 postings

]]> http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/07/29/canonical-hiring/feed/ 0 Decreto 1014 sobre el uso del software libre en el gobierno ecuatoriano http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/04/11/software-libre-en-ecuador/ http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/04/11/software-libre-en-ecuador/#comments Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:09:12 +0000 MagicFab http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/?p=578 I got this via FSF Latin America, however it’s beeing reported in a few other places.

The Ecuador Government now has a free-software law and will pretty much mandate that its government uses free, open-source software only. They cite “technology sovereignty and autonomy” and the main concerns, among many others.

The Ecuador Ubuntu LoCo Team is also aiming at becoming official soon… coincidence ? I think not :)

Alcance libre, EcuaLUG and other sites mention the news. Esteban Mendieta even has an original scan of the signed law! (mirror)

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