Yesterday i saw Kung Fu Panda, which i found really amazing since it’s content messages, but there it was an specific quote from Grand Master Oogway which i found really true and wonderful:
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
But today is a gift,
and that is why it’s called the present
So, live now, be happy and don’t worry about the rest!
nxvl @ July 4, 2008
Today at work (where i can’t use linux) i was asked to do a really easy and repetitive task: Take screenshots from an e-learning course and paste it with the content text on a text document.
It sounds easy (not fun, just easy), well it wasn’t for several reasons:
1. Cntrl+Alt+$ARROW doesn’t go to any other desktop: there are no virtual desktops on windows, so you can’t change from one document to other just changing desktops, you need to search the application you need in the ones you have open.
2. A screenshot means a picture of the whole screen: You can’t take a screenshot from just the application you want, you need to shot the whole window and then edit the picture to just include the application you want.
3. Middle click doesn’t paste the selected text: You need to explicitly Copy and then paste, why!?
After i started with those problems i started thinking: is that what it feels for a windows user to use Linux? Why to people say Linux is harder if i’m finding so hard use windows? Is that Linux has make me lazy? Why do people prefer to use the slow and horrible mouse over the keyboard?
The good thing: Now i have some complainings to say to windows user when they start saying: “You need to make it that way in linux?”
P.D: If you are going to leave a comment saying: “You can use $3th_PARTY_APPLICATION in windows to do that” just don’t because then i will say: “Why do i need to make a research and install 3rth party applications if i can do it in linux out of the box?”
nxvl @ June 26, 2008
So, as i promise in my previous post i’m posting an update of the state of my project.
I have already packaged augeas, it’s a mixed package including a binary, a library, development files, and some extra files, i have already uploaded to my ppa to use it for testing, if you want to play with it feel free to include my ppa on your sources and mail me if you find some bugs 
I’ve also uploaded it to revu so if you are a reviewer please check it, comment and Ack it when ready (if you are DD you can also check it on mentors.d.n and sponsor it for debian).
But what is augeas? Taken from the long description:
Augeas parses configuration files into a tree structure, which it exposes through its public API. Changes made through the API are written back to the initially read files.
The transformation works very hard to preserve comments and formatting details. It is controlled by “lens” definitions that describe the file format and the transformation into a tree.
So as a summary it is a cool, fun and easy way to manage config files!
nxvl @ June 22, 2008
You may have read already about Ubuntu centralized server administrator since it has been mentioned on the lasts server meetings and as you may have noticed i’m not present on them, so i will start giving the status of the spec from here, but first, as this is the first time i blog about it i will start describing what is ucsa:
On the last UDS i talked to some people about making a tool to control and manage services easily and without pain for new sysadmins. The first thing really painful about service management tools is that you have limited options on it, and if you edit your config file by hand it will simply break the tool, so you can or use the tool or edit config files, not the 2 of them at the same time, so one of the goals was to have some way to edit the config files by hand and not destroy the management tool, but how? You can’t! You must be out of your mind! Well, it might be, but we got some ideas on how to do this:
Ignored zone:
We first talk about making the tool read until some stop point, so the sysadmin can edit after that point without breaking anything because the tool wasn’t going to read it.
Augeas
After UDS someone send some links to the server team list and one of them catch my attention, it was a tool that parses config files and present them as trees so you don’t need to care about the config file itself, just edit the tree and save it, it was the perfect backend for ucsa!
Also, i wanted a tool that doesn’t depend on any service (as a web browser), since i want to care only about the services, so we need a user interface different from CLI, since it’s “hard” from the new linux sysadmins (now i love it, but remember when you start!). Gtk? plz! who wants Xorg on his server, maybe for home servers, but not as initial UI, Curses! That’s perfect! We can use it from command line without needing anything extra! Yay!
So what’s the progress? I’ve already packaged augeas, i’m just waiting for someone to review it and give me feedback or upload it.
Find this a cool idea? Stay tunned, there is more!
nxvl @ June 18, 2008
Development, FreeSoftware, Internet, Launchpad, Life, Linux, Ubuntu, Ulix, bugs, en, peru, python, ubuntu-pe, vacaciones Comments (1)
It has been a really busy week, lot’s of news and things to share with you, so as always let’s start:
Software Freedom Day
Ubuntu Perú is placed to announce that is going to be in charge of the Software Freedom Day here, we are trying to run a different but amazing event, we have some ideas for that, we are trying to run a Lan Party using OpenArena, and have an inter university contest of FOSS related projects so we can promote and some how wake the students of the local universities up to be more active on the FOSS, and some other also, but everything on his time.
Global Bug Jam
We are also going to be part of the Ubuntu Global Bug Jam!! I’m very sad that we are just going to run it on Lime, but i’m trying to move some people from other towns to run a Bug Day there and just triage some Bug Reports and help, but we will see what happens.
Packaging Jams
Last Friday i run a packaging jam on my university it was really nice to see some students going, and more impressive to see a teacher in there! It was awesome, we only package ed from source because we run out of time, but i will patch some bugs this Friday, it seems that they want some workshops every Fridays so i will try to get them involved in ubuntu!
Also i have been invited to run a packaging Jam next week, i think, on other LUG’s place they need to confirm me the date, but it’s almost a fact i will be there!
CONASOL
This weekend i have been on Chimbote (6 hours by bus from Lima to the north) giving a talk on a congress they have there, i talk about the Ubuntu Behind the Scenes (thanks pedro for the presentation) and they were very happy, i hope to see people involved in the project soon, they were really happy and interested.
UCSA
As i focus my work on the server team of ubuntu i have been focusing on a new tools to manage services and configurations. I have seen some people interested in this idea asking what was about it: It’s not dead, i’m still working on that, i have been evaluating Augeas, and it seems that it’s really useful this days i will play more with it and package it for further development, so stay tunned or send me an e-mail if you want to help with this.
I’ve got my visa!
Now it’s a fact, i will be on Miami from 28 July to 6th August, i’m going to be in orlando (yes, i’m going on vacations to Disney) and one night in Tampa so if you live in there i’m looking to meet with some LoCo’s and have a good time, so send me and e-mail to talk about the details!
Ok, i think this is it for now, i will try to post more now that i’m not so busy as last week!
nxvl @ June 16, 2008