Last May 2, 2008, Ubuntu users from all over Metro Manila gathered for what was to be the Ubunu-PH Hardy Heron Release Party. Ok, so it wasn't really a release party in the strictest sense of the term. For one, there were no Hardy CD's going around (except for a burned Kubuntu DVD). And there was no beer! (But lots of caffeine to go around). Nevertheless, it was still lots of fun and an event worth remembering, and most of all, repeating.

The Department of Education (DepEd), Region IV-A (CALABARZON) will be having a seminar/training on Edubuntu. This software was introduce to us by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology at Cavite State University last March 10 - 14, 2008.

HLI-Baggak Christian School, a non-profit private elementary school located at Annayatan, Baggao, Cagayan Valley will include Introduction to Ubuntu Operating System in its Computer Literacy Program Curriculum this coming school year 2008-2009 for the Grade VI pupils. This is to expose the pupils to other operating systems aside from Microsoft's Windows 98, ME, XP and Vista.

I have received the Gutsy pressed CDs for our LoCoTeam this afternoon: 200 Ubuntu CDs plus a mix of Kubuntu and Edubuntu for both 32- and 64-bit PCs.

I'll be bringing half of the Ubuntu 200 to the aforementioned talk at DLSU, so this leaves us with two-thirds for our Release Party. I'm planning to have this sometime on the first week of December so there's plenty of time to suggest a venue (and a menu :P.)

I'll be giving a talk at De La Salle University - Manila this coming Wednesday afternoon, introducing Ubuntu to folks at the Association of Computer Engineering Students (ACCESS), as part of their week-wide event celebrating the 6th year of the degree program.

So, for the Archers out there, trade your greens for browns, and get involved! :P

The Informatics Institute held a Seminar on Basic System Administration on Linux, more specifically, Ubuntu. Mr. Jed Berones, a Network Security Engineer, was tapped as the resource speaker for the said seminar.

Most SMB's and Enterprise businesses are already running Linux, and this seminar will benefit the participants by exposing them to a more stable Operating System. Participants were also provided with hand-outs and certificates of attendance. And because of the success of this event, plans are underway for future seminars.

Our official forum is now located at http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=303. The forum on this site would be locked and all concerns should now be posted at Ubuntuforums.org.

The site redirect http://ph.ubuntuforums.org/ would be available in a day or two.

See you there!

Ubuntu-PH.org is undergoing major renovation this month. Would just like to give everyone updates on what we've done so far and what we're planning for the future.

Wikis:
We're almost through reorganizing all wikis. If you check our wiki, you'll notice a much friendlier and accessible interface. We're inviting you to help us improve our website.

http://ubuntu-ph.org/wiki/SiteManagement

Forums:
We're currently planning on moving the forums to Ubuntuforums.org. As an official LoCo, we are given that privilege. However, we'd like to ask for your feedback and vote regarding the movement.

http://ubuntu-ph.org/wiki/SiteManagement/Forum

Last Saturday, 15th of September 2007, the Philippines joined 90 countries around the world in celebrating Software Freedom Day 2007. The celebration was held in two places in the country, Manila and Davao. The Manila event was held in the Advanced Science and Technology Institute, where we were able to have live video feeds of simultaneous SFD events in Davao and Vietnam.

But what is Software Freedom Day? "Software Freedom Day (SFD) is a worldwide celebration of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Our goal in this celebration is to educate the worldwide public about of the benefits of using high quality FOSS in education, in government, at home, and in business -- in short, everywhere!" softwarefreedomday.org. So it's really more of an advocacy event, although there were talks in the afternoon that were more technical, to show the practical applications of FOSS in development.