SFD09/Talks

From cc::wiki

< Back to SFD09

Being organised by: Brianna (brianna -at- modernthings -dot- org)

If the venue is Melbourne PC/Chadstone, they have a very large space and we could potentially have up to 3 streams of talks - hands-on workshops (there is a computer lab), and 2 of talks (I envisage introductory & intermediate). If there are not enough speaker volunteers there could be 1 stream of talks (with mixed difficulty) and workshops just whenever.

I would imagine 25 minutes for talks, maybe 60-90 minutes for workshops. If you want to do a talk that is particularly longer or shorter I can probably be talked into it.

Contents 1 Volunteers needed! 2 General advice 3 Possible topics 3.1 Introductory 3.2 Intermediate 3.3 Workshops 4 Other ideas 5 Confirmed talks 6 Preparation

Volunteers needed!

Doesn't enjoying software freedom make you feel all warm and fuzzy? (When you're not cursing bugs, that is.) Wouldn't you like to help more people in Melbourne enjoy that freedom?

Have a look at the topics suggested, and if one grabs your eye, or if you have an idea of your own, please let me know. Email is best: brianna -at- modernthings -dot- org

I would like to finalise the talks by mid-August so if you definitely want to talk please let me know by around August 7th.

BUT volunteers are also needed for other things! If we have two streams of talks, we will need people to introduce the speakers and do time management. If there are workshops, it would be great to have lots of people hovering about ready to give one-on-one advice. If you would like one of these "hang around and generally make oneself useful" jobs, please also get in touch because these people make everything run smoothly on the day!

General advice

Talking to the general public about free software is easier than talking to geeks about it, in some ways, and in some ways harder. It's easier because the general public is less likely to spot when you make a SNAFU - they will be more forgiving. But it's harder because there may be a lot of shared understanding that you normally rely on others having, which they won't have. e.g. will they know what "file a bug" means? Will they know what a context menu is? Will they know what the command-line is? Will they know what source code is?

• Try to make your software use based on a realistic need or example, rather than something obviously constructed.
• Be careful not to only refer to "guys" or "he" when talking about theoretical users.
• Prepare screenshots rather than a live demo. It's less stress on you, and easier to follow later on. Some demo may be good for a "wow" factor.
• Less text, more pictures! Screenshots and/or diagrams.
• Don't ask "Does everybody know what X is?" Don't ask people to reveal their ignorance. :) Just give a brief explanation of it and then you know for sure that everyone has the understanding you want them to have.
• You don't have to be super-polished, but please respect your audience and rehearse your talk - out loud, to another human being, complete with slides - at least once.

Possible topics

Introductory

Introductory talks should either be about

• something conceptual/historical, or
• introduction to dual-booting/Live CD etc (the very first steps in making the leap to Linux)
• open source software that is stable on Windows or is web-based. ie. not about software that is only stable on Linux.

Possible talks:

• What is software freedom?
  • incl. history of free software movement
• Free software licenses
  • could perhaps just be a component in a general talk on software freedom
• How do open source projects work?
  • how do they get started, how do people contribute, how do people know what to do, who makes final decisions, forking
• How to become an open source developer
  • How to find a project, how to check if it suits you, how to find easy ways to start, submitting patches?
• Open formats/standards & why they matter
• Introduction to free content licensing (Creative Commons)
• Open access (academic publishing)
• OLPC project
• Firefox
• Thunderbird
• Wordpress
• Inkscape
• OpenOffice
• Audacity
• GIMP
• GnuCash
• Some feed reader (plus: what are feeds)
• [Your Favourite Free Software Package Goes Here]
• MediaWiki/Wikipedia/some other wiki (contributing)
• HTML/CSS (web design using some particular package?)
• Back-ups
• Demystifying bug trackers (could look at a few - Bugzilla, trac?)
• Beginning programming with Python
• Programming for kids with Squeak/Alice/Scratch
• Introduction to IRC

Intermediate

• Beginning the command line
• How to start your own web site (getting started with shared webhosting using open source tools)
• Beginning source control (concepts + basic commands in svn, bzr)
• Any of the software mentioned in #Introductory, but with a more advanced take (starting to look at modifying it, e.g. extensions/plugins, how to tweak it yourself)
• Using a debugger
• Practical programming with Python (scripting - solving 'real world' problems)
• Understanding the Linux stack (kernel, window manager, desktop environment, utilities, etc)
• Managing software in Linux (aptitude etc)
• Introduction to databases (not just SQL...)
• Introduction to MVC framework?
• Drupal
• Greasemonkey or more generally, Firefox extensions
• JavaScript
• Emacs :)

Workshops

Any of the above-mentioned topics, especially the programming-related ones. Best to take on some practical task - "how to do X using Y".

Other ideas

• Air the film The Codebreakers about FLOSS
• And/or Revolution OS?
• Hands-on demo of Arduinos?

Confirmed talks

Time	Room 1	Room 2	Lab
11.30	Installing Linux on your netbook - Wen Lin "Netbooks" are small, cheap(ish) lightweight laptops/notebook computers that focus on providing web access and a few other applications. If you already have a netbook or are considering getting one, come to this session which will explain the benefits of using Linux on a netbook and walk through just how easy it is to switch.	Why is Free Software important? - Ben Sturmfels Software freedom is not about the price of software, but the rights that you as a user of that software have. For software to be considered "Free", there are four fundamental freedoms which must be met. Come to this session to learn about the philosophical and moral basis underpinning the free software movement and the amazing amount of open source software available today.	Introduction to blogging with Wordpress - Kathy Reid Wordpress (http://www.wordpress.org/) is popular and powerful web-based software for writing a blog. This introductory workshop will go through the basics of creating new posts, pages, using tags and handling images. You will learn everything you need to know to start your blog today.
12.00	Moving to open source software - Daniel Jitnah Considering making the switch to open source software, but not sure how to go about it? This session will give you the knowledge and confidence you need to start using open source software today.	Beginning programming with Python - Minh Nyugen Learning to program is one of the first steps in learning how to control your computer, rather than having it control you. It also means you can build cool stuff! Python (http://www.python.org/) is a powerful programming language which promotes simplicity and readability (it almost reads like English... really!). It's used by everyone from Google to NASA. This introductory talk assumes no previous programming knowledge.
12.30	How to back-up using Clonezilla - Wen Lin Back-ups! We all know we should be making them, but when was the last time you made a complete copy of your computer's contents for safe-keeping? They're also a great idea before installing a new operating system (like Linux). This session will show you how to create back-ups to keep your data safe.	Visual programming with Squeak - Tansel Ersavas Bend your brain with an introduction to the fascinating education programming language Squeak (http://www.squeak.org/). This session is suitable for beginning programmers including older children or teenagers. Also check out the later talk on Scratch, which is based on Squeak.	Hacking the world with Arduinos - Andy Gelme What if your plants were connected to the web and posted to Twitter when they needed watering? What if your shirt had sensors in it that pulsed with light when you danced? Arduinos (http://www.arduino.cc/) are small microcontrollers designed to be easy to program, to let everyone "hack the world". Join this introductory session to learn about the basics of building and programming an Arduino device. No electronics experience necessary!
1.00	Image editing basics with GIMP - Andrew Thornton The GNU Image Manipulation Program (http://www.gimp.org/) is a powerful program to create and edit images such as photographs. Time to upgrade from MS Paint? This session will show you what you're missing. No prior experience with image editors is required.	Visual programming for kids with Scratch - Tony Forster Ever remember moving around the turtle in LOGO? Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu/) is kind of like that but updated for 2009. Scratch aims to teach programming concepts to children and teenagers while letting them create games, videos, and music. (Also check out the earlier talk on Squeak, which Scratch is based on.)
1.30	Better web browsing with Firefox - Joseph Wojciechowski Still stuck with Internet Explorer? Firefox (http://www.firefox.org/) will show you what a better web-browsing experience can be like. This session will cover the benefits of Firefox and also show how it can be extended using plugins. Plugins provide extra functionality (for example, by blocking picture ads) and are written by members of the Firefox community.	Build your own website with Drupal - Simon Hobbs After something a bit more meaty than Wordpress? Then maybe Drupal (http://www.drupal.org/) is the tool for you. This session will go through the basic components of Drupal and show how easily you can build a dynamic and well-structured website. Intermediate -- experience with a blogging tool like Wordpress would be useful.
2.00	Practical version control - Duana Stanley Are you constantly saving copies of documents as "draft1","draft1.5","draft2"? Or worse, do you not save your drafts and then find yourself wishing you could "Undo" to ten minutes ago? This session will show you how simple version control software will save your life (and your drafts) in a way that makes them easy to access and revert to.		Advanced Wordpress - Kathy Reid So you have the Wordpress (http://www.wordpress.org/) blogging basics down pat. Now it's time to delve deeper and find out how to get more out of your blog. This intermediate/advanced session will cover installation, plugins and everything you need to know about customising your Wordpress blog.
2.30	Lightning Talks!
3.00			Image editing with Inkscape - Donna Benjamin Discover the beautiful and elegant designs possible with the vector graphics program Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/). Using vector graphics means your image will look perfect no matter how much you zoom in or out -- no scaling problems. Inkscape is especially suited to creating icons, cartoons, logos, and even PDFs! No prior knowledge is assumed in this introductory workshop.
3.30

• (25) Beginning programming with Python, Minh Nguyen
• (25) GIMP, Andrew Thornton
• (25) How to move to open source, Daniel Jitnah
• (25) Introduction to distributed version control with Mercurial, Duana Stanley
• (25) Demo/workshop: Installing Linux on your netbook, Wen Lin (BYO netbook!)
• (25) How to back up using Clonezilla, Wen Lin
• (25) Build your own website with Drupal, Simon Hobbs
• (25) Firefox including why and how to make it better, Joseph Wojciechowski
• (25) Susestudio.com, Craig Wiley
• (25) Squeak, Tansel Ersavas
• (25) Scratch, Tony Forster
• (20) Why is Free Software Important?, Ben Sturmfels

Workshops:

• (90) Inkscape, Donna Benjamin (** to hold later in day)
• (60) Introduction to Wordpress, Kathy Reid
• (60) Advanced Wordpress, Kathy Reid
• (90) Hands-on hardware hacking (Arduinos), Andy Gelme (limited places, may be a small cost for hardware)

General helpers:

• Andrea Coffey

?

• TBD, Ben Sturmfels

Preparation

Practice session: 1pm Saturday 5th, at ThoughtWorks - 303 Collins St (corner of Elizabeth & Collins). You will need to call to be let in.

Communication with speakers:

• Find out from Andy what software their session requires
  • Arduino IDE - Java?

Communication with venue:

• Find out if soldering (!) is possible (-> Andy)