Category Archives: Quebec

Debian Quebec is here :)

As many of you already know by now, Debian 7 is here!

I’ve been using Debian as my primary work environment for a few months now and Trisquel at home for the past year and a half or so. My advocacy work has changed as a result, and I stopped focusing on Ubuntu, while still recommending version 12.04 LTS that just works for many. There’s also Ubuntu Gnome (or is it Gnome Ubuntu) now, so there is still a good array of choices for those like me that like the GNOME 3 environment and find it productive. Oh, did I mention Cinnamon 1.8 was just released?

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I am happy to announce that there is now a Debian Quebec group, and we just got our mailing list approved in the Debian project. This was not as fast an easy as in Ubuntu-land, and I took the time to fully document the process to get the mailing list going, in case others may want to do the same. It may all seem too slow or difficult, but every step of the way several people helped and I learned a lot. I took this as an opportunity to contribute to the project and at the same time I found that it may be hard for new GNU/Linux users to get started in Debian – or even for experienced ones like me, coming from Ubuntu.

That’s why after a few IRC messages I started working on a Welcome to Debian resource (and team) aimed at people that use other distributions and come to Debian for the first time. It’s still very new and incomplete, but it’s what I wished was around when I started dedicating serious time to this distribution a few months ago.

As luck would have it, Debian 7 was just around the corner, just a few days/weeks after Ubuntu 13.04 and Trisquel 6 were released. This called for an all-distributions Debian 7 release party (we’ll have two locations, Montreal and Quebec City). There will be workshops and presentations from 12:30 to 5:30 PM and then a happy hour with CLibre and Libre Planet. Check the Agenda du Libre if you’re in Montreal this week (or any time soon), perhaps we can cross paths.

La nouvelle application La Presse+: une attaque à la liberté de presse

Aujourd’hui le quotidien québécois La Presse annonçait en grande pompe le lancement de son application La Presse+.

Cette application et l’approche de La Presse sont un net recul de tout ce qu’on voit sur l’approche libre et ouverte aux données, à l’information et à la technologie.

Je veux bien monnayer des contenus, mais je considère que c’est un recul incroyable et ça prouve au contraire un manque de vision et un mépris direct pour la liberté technologique et la transparence que recherchent les citoyens québécois.

C’est l’affirmation de l’ère de l’information à deux vitesses: ceux qui auront les moyens de se payer le dernier “iMachin” et le reste.

Apple est tout sauf un exemple d’ouverture ou d’audiences “larges”, cette entreprise contrôle tout de ses appareils et imposes ses règles aux éditeurs. Bien sûr, c’est du “business as usual”. C’est ça la liberté de presse? Je suppose que tous les articles seront méticuleusement vérifiés pour respecter les règles d’Apple à ce sujet.

Dans son billet à ce sujet, Michelle Blanc célèbre cet accomplissement… même si elle est incapable d’y accéder avec son “vieux iPad” déjà désuet. D’autres parmi nos “visionnaires numériques” québécois comme M. Robert Gérin-Lajoie commentent à ce sujet [...] [La Presse a] surtout compris que l’avenir réside dans l’ouverture. C’est simple les publicitaires veulent et exigent une audience large![...].

Suite à mes commentaires, Michelle commente sur G+:
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Le problème n’est pas d’avoir une application Android, gageons que si il y en a une équivalente elle serait disponible uniquement sur Google Play, ce qui est tout aussi inacceptable.

La Presse a manqué une belle occasion de faire une API ouverte avec un accès libre à ses informations – plusieurs modèles d’affaires pourraient aider à monayer ces accès. Ça permettrait entre autre à n’importe qui de développer d’autres services connexes, de s’alimenter, d’analyser, croiser ces données… les archiver? Il n’est pas trop tard, mais Michelle se borne à m’accuser de prêcher pour une “religion”.

Quelle tristesse. C’est ça les leaders d’opinion qui enseignent à nos informaticiens et artisans de l’information.

Il ne faut pas s’étonner si on se fait fourrer, comme on dit en bon québécois, si même pour lire le journal il faudra acheter un iBidule.

Vive la liberté pour les audiences “larges”.

Quel gâchis.

Note: Pour commenter l’annonce de La Presse sur G+, c’est par ici.

LibrePlanet 2012 D-1

(Lisez ci-bas en français!)

Starting tomorrow I will be in Boston for the annual conference of the Free Software Foundation, “LibrePlanet 2012“. We’ll be four people from Quebec (actually 5, just got last minute confirmation of another former colleague!), wanting to learn about what has been been brewing abroad and also wanting to share about our experiences here in Quebec. The LibrePlanet teams structure offers a way for people in the same area to gather and share their love for Free Software – much like the LoCo Teams welcome Ubuntu users.

I’d like to thank my employer, Microcom, for supporting my participation in this event by releasing me from work for the next few days and providing a vehicle for transport. I would also like to highlight a special sponsorship from  Avencall, which will make possible blogging our participation and two presentations summarizing the event withing the next couple of weeks. Keep a close eye at the Agenda du Libre du Québec

Avencall is the company behind XiVO, an open source (GPLv3) unified communications system based on Asterisk for small, medium and large businesses. XiVO communications systems are industrial and packaged solutions with a wide range of value added features such as unified messaging, conferencing, IVR, customer telephony integration, web services, contact center services, fixed-mobile convergence and so on. XiVO systems are a mix of powerful, scalable and cost effective solutions.

XiVO has been awarded by Digium as the First Asterisk Custom Communications Solution in EMEA. Did I mention all their work is freely licensed under the GPL v3? If you haven’t yet, take a look at their open hardware work.

You can follow our progress here and at my identi.ca microblog.

See you in Boston, then!

 

Comme j’ai écrit ces derniers jours, à partir de demain je serais à Boston pour la conférence annuelle de la Free Software Foundation, “LibrePlanet 2012“. J’emmène quatre autres libristes québécois avec moi (en fait 5, un ancien collègue vient de confirmer!), voulant en savoir plus sur ce qui se passe ailleurs en technologies libres mais aussi voulant partager nos expériences et activités ici au Québec. Les “LibrePlanet teams” offrent une structure semblable au LoCo Teams Ubuntu , où les gens peuvent se rassembler pour échanger sur leur passion – les logiciels et les technologies libres.

Je voudrais remercier mon employeur, Microcom, pour appuyer ma participation à cet événement en me libérant pour la durée de celui-ci et en fournissant un véhicule pour le transport. J’aimerais aussi souligner une commandite spéciale d’Avencall, qui rendra possible la rédaction de billets sur mon carnet pour documenter notre participation et deux présentations résumant nos activités d’ici quelques semaines. Gardez un oeil attentif sur l’Agenda du Libre du Québec!

Avencall est éditeur et intégrateur de XiVO, une gamme de solutions libres de communications unifiées basée sur Asterisk pour les petites, moyennes et grandes entreprises. Les solutions XiVO sont souples, puissantes et industrialisées. Elles permettent de bénéficier de fonctionnalités à valeur ajoutée (messagerie unifiée, SVI, CTI, services centre d’appels, convergence fxe-mobile, etc. )

XiVO a été récompensé par les “Digium Pinnacle Awards” en tant que Première Solution basée sur Asterisk dans la zone EMEA (“Europe/Middle-East/Asia”).

Savez-vous que tout leur code est publié sous license libre GPL v3? Si vous n’avez pas encore jetté un coup d’oeil, allez voir leur design de matériel libre.

Vous pourrez suivre nos activités ici ainsi que sur mon  microblog identi.ca.

On se voit donc à Boston!

 

Pellete-in au pont Jacques-Cartier: Les cyclistes réclament l’accès à la piste cyclable 12 mois sur 12.

Communiqué du Collectif Vélo 365

Longueuil, le 23 janvier 2011 –  Le CollectifVélo365 vous invite à participer à un Pellete-in afin de déneiger l’accès à  la piste cyclable du pont Jacques Cartier.
Quand :     le samedi 29 janvier à 10h.
Où :         Au pied du pont, à l’intersection Lafayette et Saint-Laurent (Longueuil).

Apportez votre pelle et votre pic car nous dégagerons l’accès à la piste cyclable!

Il s’agit d’une réédition du Pellete-in organisé à la même époque, l’année dernière.

Beaucoup d’eau a coulé sous les ponts depuis. En effet, les personnes qui participeront à l’évènement pourront constater de visu que le tronçon de la piste cyclable donnant accès au pont Jacques Cartier a été complètement reconfiguré. Ainsi, le printemps prochain, les cyclistes et les piétons vont découvrir une piste cyclable élargie et sécuritaire. De plus, la pente pour accéder au pont a été adoucie. Dorénavant, Monsieur et madame « Tout le monde » pourront circuler en toute sécurité sur cette piste. Que ce soit pour aller travailler ou pour aller s’amuser au parc des îles Jean Drapeau, dans le Vieux-Port ou au canal Lachine. Bien sûr, les gens de la métropole pourront faire le trajet en sens inverse et venir découvrir les beaux coins de la Montérégie : le parc des îles de Boucherville, le parc Marie Victorin…

Maintenant que la piste est sécuritaire, le CollectifVélo365 se permet d’insister pour que la SPJCC ainsi que la ville de Longueuil en permettent l’accès 12 mois sur 12. En effet, depuis la première tempête de l’hiver, le 6 décembre dernier,  une chenillette n’aurait eu qu’à passer trois fois pour en garantir l’accès. Pas besoin de fondant, ni de sable ou d’équipements sophistiqués. Juste un peu d’ouverture d’esprit et de jugement de la part des autorités permettraient d’encourager l’utilisation du moyen de transport le plus efficace, le plus économique, le plus écologique et le meilleur pour la santé en milieu urbain; le vélo.

Le CollectifVélo365 espère que la SPJCC ainsi que la ville de Longueuil trouveront le moyen de convenir d’un protocole permettant d’encadrer l’accès à cette piste cyclable 12 mois sur 12.

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Sources:          Renald Desharnais (450) 646 2869, renalddesharnais@hotmail.com
Porte-parole :     Francis Casaubon (450) 748-4658, collectifvelo365@gmail.com
Le CollectifVélo365 est un regroupement de personnalités et d’organismes unis dans le but de promouvoir la pratique du vélo en toute saison.

Les membres du Collectif Vélo365 sont:

  • Renald Desharnais, Instigateur de la pétition pour le parachèvement de la piste cyclable du pont Jacques Cartier qui a recueilli 4 000 signatures à l’automne 2008.
  • Jean Dorion¸député de Longueuil-Pierre Boucher
  • Bernard Drainville, député de Marie-Victorin
  • Marc André Gadoury, conseiller municipal de l’arrondissement Rosemont-Petite-Patrie (Projet-Montréal)
  • Coopérative de plein-air Mountain Equipment Co-op  (Montréal et Longueuil)
  • Vélo quatre saisons
  • Équiterre
  • Environnement JEUnesse, stimule le développement d’une conscience environnementale et d’une pensée critique auprès des jeunes afin qu’ils exercent des actions citoyennes pour un avenir viable.
  • Centre d’économie urbaine de Montréal
  • Association générale des étudiants du CEGEP Édouard-Montpetit
  • Association générale des étudiants du CEGEP Rosemont
  • Fédération étudiante collégial du Québec
  • Association étudiante du campus de Longueuil de l’Université de Sherbrooke
  • La coalition pour la réduction et l’apaisement de la circulation
  • Déménagement Myette
  • Le Centre d’Information sur l’Environnement de Longueuil (CIEL) est un organisme à but non lucratif visant la protection et l’amélioration de l’environnement à Longueuil.

Ubuntu Quebec team – January-July report

Every month or so Ubuntu Local Community teams report back on their activities.

Since we hadn’t produced any reports for the past few months, this one is a particularly long one…

Enjoy :)

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QuebecTeam/TeamReports/10/July

You can check if your team’s report has been submitted here:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TeamReports/July2010

If it hasn’t, contact your team’s LoCo contact and ask how you can help make it happen! You can search for your LoCo team contact at the LoCo directory.

Rogers Canada: how NOT to sell Android

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

Rogers Canada sucks

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.

Canonical Support Team at UDS – Day 1

Crystal_Clear_app_os-supportCanonical’s Support Team (part of Canonical Global Support Services) is at UDS :) My colleague Shang Wu and I are at UDS representing our team, those folks we work with at the Montreal office where customers from all over the world get help with Ubuntu.

“Support” includes of course going through help requests we get over the phone or via Landscape, escalating bugs and working with developers to deliver fixes for our customers (and to Ubuntu public updates), but also helping other colleagues within Canonical (a benefit for all staff), review and write technical documentation, help with training, playing with some awesome hardware I can’t quite blog about and more… including coming to UDS and raise our issues while catching up with what’s going on in the Ubuntu galaxy.

We’re extremely lucky we are at freedom to chose how and where we participate in UDS. I personally consider it to be 50% social, 50% technical. There are some obvious places where it’s easy to jump in (such as Tools for better X.org bug triaging and diagnosis), because they are closely related to our troubleshooting process and how we approach problems. Others are not as easy to spot. Going together to a shooting range sure beats many bonding exercises I’ve attended before. You learn a thing or two about the great community folks and about your colleagues in-between shots :) As a side note, I have to say although I don’t particularly understand the reason fire arms exist, this is one of those things I wanted to try. :)

Another interesting, unique experience is meeting our actual customers at support! You know who you are! It’s a bit crazy and it feels like it’s the Academy Awards – an expression Jono used this morning much to our enjoyment – and we’ve won a prize consisting of meeting face-to-face. I also see quite a bit of Québécois here which I am very proud of, as I am a Colombian living in Québec for 20 years now. And of course sabdfl is still very much part of UDS, not only for the obvious reasons but because you’ll actually see him busy at his keyboard and getting into many sessions giving his opinion and participating in lively discussions.

My first day at UDS started with the plenary, where Jono presented the seven tracks UDS follows, giving the opportunity to all ~300 participants to know the differents team leads and what their people do. Mark Shuttleworth also spoke about Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and how those three letters make it special in its very own way. We all have a lot of work ahead. I liked it a lot when Jono said this event consisted of one-hour chunks and we needed to make the most of every single one of those chunks. And stealing everyones’ hearts or something to that effect!

Then started the actual meat of this event. Here are the sessions and activities I was part of today:

Back to back, it’s lots of talking, listening, agreeing and disagreeing, documenting, chatting, introductions, translating and catching up to do. It’s also useful to keep up with regular email. All incredibly useful & productive, if a bit intense. I tried to leave a trail of it on my micro-blogging backyard like others at http://identi.ca/tag/uds.

The day ended at the firing range as I mentioned before, followed by some relaxing time at the lobby and watching some TV while preparing this post. I hear we’ll have interesting visitors tomorrow, can’t wait! Until then, I can’t repeat enough – Thank You Canonical !

Ubuntu Global Jam in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

If you’re in Montreal or nearby this weekend… you must know:

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And I won’t be the only one :)

All details can be found on the Quebec Team Ubuntu Global Jam page.

Where:

École de technologie supérieure (http://www.etsmtl.ca/)
1100 rue Notre-Dame Ouest
Salles/Rooms A-1300 & A-1238

When:

Friday Oct 2- Sunday Oct. 4 (check the Quebec Team Ubuntu Global Jam page for full schedule info)

See you there!

Drupal 5.x and 6.x LoCo Suite Released

David Giard, a founding member of the Ubuntu Quebec LoCo Team, relayed these news to me this morning (via The Fridge):

NOT A FORK – as soon as I posted this I got a comment about this being a fork, well, it’s not! It’s a collection of modules and a theme, which are managed via a project in Launchpad. This is not a separate fork of Drupal! :)

Drupal 5.x and 6.x LoCo Suite Released

That long needed suite of tools has finally been completed.

This suite is designed for any Ubuntu Local Communities wanting to host a website. It is designed to allow any LoCo team to quickly create a website using Drupal for their team.

What this suite offers:

  • An approved theme for any LoCo
  • A highly customizable theme
  • Launchpad OpenID integration
  • -> Users don’t need to create an account on your site
  • Launchpad Teams integration
  • -> Can control access levels in site based on LP team memberships
  • Fast and friendly support

Official project: launchpad.net/loco-drupal/

Release Downloads:

Drupal 5.x: launchpad.net/loco-drupal/5.x/0.5.0

Drupal 6.x: launchpad.net/loco-drupal/6.x/1.1.0

Drupal 7.x: in development

A Special Thanks:

This project would not be possible without all the collaboration involved.

The Ubuntu South Dakota Local Community – Michael Lustfield

The Ubuntu Quebec Local Community – David Giard

Joey Stanford

Stuart Metcalfe