Fwd: post to the list?

[Ted Ernst]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Raffi Aftandelian <raffi_1970 at yahoo.com>
Date: Sunday, January 31, 2010
Subject: post to the list?
To: Ted Ernst <ted at chicagohumanist.org>



Ted, hi!

Can you post this to the OSlist? I still can't post- even directly
from the website- to the list.

Dear friends,

A year or so ago my Berlin friend- and friend of many here - Jo
Toepfer wrote a piece [see below] for the e-book, "Living Peace: the
open space of our lives" on this funny thing, this operating system,
called Ubuntu. Inspired and curious, I made a mental note to
*eventually* shift to it.

Well, *finally* this week- after almost 20 years- I had decided I had
had it with Windows operating systems. The old ways of doing things-
puttering about like in a Thorazine haze just didn't work for me
anymore. I was desperate, I knew the old ways of working on my 'puter
wouldn't work anymore. I held my breath... and I shifted to Ubuntu.
Sound
 familiar??

And boy am I happy! It's fast, it's free, and it works!

I'm posting Jo's piece below because the story of Ubuntu will sound
familiar to all of us, I imagine.

Thanks Jo for writing this piece. And thanks to the friend who
installed it for...free!

And like Jo shared with me in an email the story of Ubuntu [like the
story of OS] is not over yet...

warmly,
Raffi

       Living in Peace with my office equipment – a love letter
                                    Jo Toepfer
While working with Open Space Technology over the last decade I have come to
understand quite well that its Philosophy and Principles are more than just a
meeting methodology. It has clearly influenced my everyday life
 at home, in
my family and in my organization. The law of two feet helps me not only to get
out of my bed every morning but has proved to be a very useful navigator
through chaos, confusion and conflict my life.
The law has also taken me on a journey towards a new and better
understanding of the computer systems I am working with nearly every day. It
seams to be clear to everybody that technical progress has a fairly deep impact
on our life. Internet, Voice over IP and other new features have spread with
high speed and influenced our thinking and behaviour profoundly. But not
always have all these technical innovations made our life easier. To make all
the technology work for you, one has to be up to date with knowledge and
abilities too.
While muddling through the jungle of technical possibilities to find something
that works for me I came across a new and different operating system for my
computer called
 Ubuntu. It is not just another system of the Linux family. It is
different in terms of its emergence, underlying principles and technical
characteristics. It reminds me very much of a huge Open Space project.
First, the name “Ubuntu” is a word of the Southern African language family
“Nguni”. A direct translation does not exist. But there is this wonderful video
sequence in which the former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela
explains the meaning of Ubuntu. He says: “In the old days, when we were
young, travelers used to stop at our village. And he didn't have to ask for food
our water. Once he stopped people gave him food and entertained him. This is
one aspect of Ubuntu, but it illustrates various elements of this concept:
Respect, Helpfulness, Sharing, Community, Caring, Collaboration, Trust and
Unselfishness. To what extent do people enable the building of community
around them? These are the
 important things in life. And if one can do so, we
can get something very important done.”
These words are perfectly reflected in the software world inside the Ubuntu
community. It is a huge network of thousands users around the globe.
Whenever I encounter a problem that I am not able to solve, somebody out
there has the solution. And most of the time I get advice or instruction how to
fix a bug within minutes. The bulletin board in the internet are forums in
various languages with well organized information about the system. It is easy
to find an existing answer but even more advanced is the reliability of
 the

         58
community. One will get the answer he is looking for within minutes after
posting the question.
The folks who develop the system are self organized much like in an Open
Space Technology meeting. Hundreds of applications already exist for almost
every field of computer technology: graphical drawing, sound modulation, text
editing, e-mail, Internet, etc. The number of available applications is growing
every day and everybody can participate. The easiest way
 is to translate
software application into your local language. Nearly every application offers a
button that says “translate this application”. Pressing the button
takes you to a
website were you can link with the developer's community to get involved. Like
when we are signing up to a session that somebody has convened.
Another manifestation of the community are the local Ubuntu network
meetings. Apart from large conferences held in Europe and the U.S. to take
Ubuntu further, smaller network meetings take place in many major cities all
over the world. If one wishes to get into face-to-face contact with other users
and developers it is easy to sign up to these meetings. Very similar to the Open
Space Stammtisch movement that meets in various places every first Monday of
uneven months at 7pm.
Ass a result, we have a software product that works. It is free, is
very stable, is
easy to use, up to date, international
 and well documented. Comparing these
properties with other more centralized operating systems, it has many
advantages and it might be a question of time before this system unfolds its
pure potential. I love it!

*
*
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