ALE Mailing List: ale@ale.org
Our Featured Presentation for the
Thursday, August 21st, 7:30pm
ALE Central meeting will be
“Using OpenOffice & Base with External Databases”
— or —
“Poking a Lance at Micro$oft Abscess”
presented by James Kinney
Synopsis:
— OpenOffice.org BASE is the database module initially released with OpenOffice.org version 2.0 and, for simple single user applications, it is currently on the HSQLDB database engine written in Java. However, BASE also has native drivers allowing OpenOffice.org users to connect to external full-featured SQL database servers such as MySQL, PostgreSQL and even Oracle through ODBC or JDBC drivers. OpenOffice.org BASE can hence act as a GUI front end for SQL views, table design and query. In addition, OpenOffice.org has its own Form wizard to create dialog windows for form filling and updates. Our presentation will be looking at some of the ways these OpenOffice BASE connections to external databases can be implemented and utilized for both single user applications and in a multi-user local network environment.
(reference Wikipedia entry on OOo Base)
Bio:
— James has been a Linux user since 1993 (Go Slackware!) and a raving loon about open source ever since. He masquerades by day as a Linux admin to support his hardware acquisition addiction. Outside of work, James spends countless hours tinkering with Linux systems in between long bouts of Linux software testing and researching things to do with Linux systems. He has been known to carry Fedora DVD’s into places that sell computers and give them to innocent bystanders while lecturing about how they should be using Linux and not the other stuff. Occasionally, James brews beer and organizes gatherings of beer drinkers around Linux topics. He is actively involved in working to displace other computer platforms in schools as a founding member of Georgia Open Source Education Foundation (gosef.org) and works with community groups such as Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Clarkston Community Center to set up Linux thin client systems to support these groups need for reliable, low cost computing platforms for social support.
— James claims to have a family life as well, one where he is (mostly) tolerated by his wonderful wife, (often) dismissed by his teenage daughter and (usually) worshiped by his pre-teen super-geeky son. In addition to helping feed those mouths, he also feeds a collection of 4 legged creatures that bark or meow and a small orange thing that swims in a tiny tank of water. Of course, his additional claim to a also having stand up comedy career is dubious at best.
Links:
OpenOffice.org BASE page
Tech Tip on curing an Abscess data base by importing to OpenOffice.org BASE
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We will be meeting in our usual Gambrel Hall room 1C venue.
Meeting time frame is 7:30pm to ~9:30pm
Directions to Emory Law School can be found
HERE (or via the side bar link).
To complement the ALE OSPREX development project,
Daniel Howard was invited to share a presentation on his
work in promoting and supporting Linux in educational
environments. Thus our Thursday, June 19th, 7:30pm
ALE Central meeting is:
Bringing Linux to Georgia’s
Schools and Communities:
An Update from the Georgia
Open Source Education Foundation
with presenter Daniel Howard
Synopsis:
Building on the success of a 7 school Enterprise LTSP pilot project
that delivered over 2,000 Linux computer systems to Georgia students
last year, Atlanta Public Schools is expanding their comprehensive
Linux computer program into at least 30 more schools over the next
two years. Now Dekalb County schools have also begun a Linux
classroom pilot, while charter schools, community centers, and Boys’
and Girls’ Clubs all over Atlanta are discovering why Linux is the
superior choice for providing reliable, secure, high performance,
education compatible computing with minimized costs and liabilities.
A great deal of this success is due to the evangelizing, promotion
and support efforts of the Georgia Open Source Education Foundation.
Come get an update on how we’re helping bring Linux into schools
and communities throughout Georgia one venue at a time, and what
a difference it’s making to students and non-profit organizations in the
greater Atlanta area.
Bio:
Daniel Howard is a founder and CEO of GOSEF, a non-profit
group dedicated to promoting and sustaining the use of Open
Source Software in public and non-profit institutions through
advocacy, outreach, support, and recycling of donated hardware.
He has been a dedicated Linux evangelist and supporter since
2004, when he and William Fragakis established a highly successful
computer program at his daughter’s elementary school by converting
aging or dysfunctional Windows classroom PC’s into Linux thin clients
using K12LTSP with dozens of Open Source educational applications.
The substantial improvements in student performance attributed to the
Linux technology at Morris Brandon Elementary convinced
administrators to install Linux student computers throughout the
Atlanta Public Schools system.
For more background, see the GOSEF.org web site.
============================
We will be meeting in our usual Gambrel Hall room 1C venue.
Meeting time frame is 7:30pm to ~9:30pm
Directions to Emory Law School can be found here.
========
PS: There may be some Linux / ALE related T-Shirts available
at the meeting for a nominal donation that will go to a worthy Open
Source project. Grab a shirt and say “Linux” wear-ever you go!
Our Thursday, May 15th, 7:30pm ALE Central meeting
will be focused on the state of Linux and OSS tools for
music & audio production with a program entitled:
Sound Computing Practices for Linux:
Inside Ubuntu Studio and XO Wave
with presenters
Bjorn Roche and Aaron Ruscetta
Synopsis:
— While Linux has formed a strong presence in almost every realm
of computing, digital media production is a specialty application
arena where Open Source software has only recently begun to offer
competitive options for professionals. Historically, the proprietary
file encoding formats and specialty hardware requirements of digital
media had hindered the development of OSS tools for audio & video
production, but the tide is changing as commodity hardware has
become more media capable and the digital formats have become
more open and standardized.
— Using comparisons to some of the popular commercial software
products available for the de-facto computer platform for pro media
production, Mac OSeX, our presentation will be evaluating a few of
the promising and capable OSS competitors found in Ubuntu Studio
(8.04). In tandem with our look inside Ubuntu Studio, we will be
making more specific platform comparisons as ALE’s Bjorn Roche
discusses the unique challenges he faces in developing XO Wave,
a multi-track audio editing and mastering package that he maintains
both commercially for Mac OSeX and as a free (as in beer) offering
for the Linux community.
Bios:
— Bjorn Roche is a long time Linux user and entrepreneur software
developer specializing in tools for audio production and primarily
working with Java for it’s cross platform strengths. In addition to
creating and maintaining his cross platform XO Wave audio editing
and mastering package, Bjorn has made numerous contributions
to the OSS community. Most significantly, he was an instrumental
developer of the Mac OSeX Core Audio layer which greatly simplifies
and facilitates porting of Open Source audio tools to and from the Mac.
— Aaron Ruscetta is a 30 year veteran of video, audio and computer
media production in all of its incarnations of form and format, both
analog and digital. Working as an independent contractor under his
business moniker of Image Architects for over 15 years has also
allowed him to very flexibly pursue his many computer geek and
videot savant passions, with titles ranging from College Instructor
in Computer Graphics and 3D Animation to Junior Linux System
Administrator to Director of Entropy Containment. Aaron has been
a consistently active contributor to any community that has been
willing to tolerate his eccentricities, serving in numerous officer roles
during 10+ years with the Amiga Atlanta users group and serving with
ALE for several years as an Event Coordinator and Meeting Moderator.
Links:
XO Wave / XO Audio
Ubuntu Studio
============================
We will be meeting in our usual Gambrel Hall room 1C venue.
Meeting time frame is 7:30pm to ~9:30pm
Directions to Emory Law School can be found
HERE (or via the side bar link).
Our feature presentation for the
Thursday, April 17, 2008, 7:30pm
ALE Central Meeting will be
Powerful Presentations
by Derek “Goozbach” Carter
Synopsis:
— A properly designed presentation can be extremely powerful.
From bedtime stories as children to computer slide shows at
work, we can all recall examples of presentations that were
effective, interesting , entertaining and educational
As common fare at conferences, user group meetings and public
events, presentations are also a big part of in the Open Source
movement. Involvement in this community gives us quite a
few opportunities to present on the advantages and use of Open
Source software for both our professional colleagues and the
general public.
This talk will examine how a proper presentation is more than a
concern for keeping the audience awake. We will cover every
consideration, from preparation to handouts, computer slide
shows to no slides at all, handling “that AL guy in the second row”
to “Wowing the room.” You might even learn what a “bathroom
review” is.
This presentation on presentation was designed to be effective,
interesting , entertaining and educational, so we’re promising
you won’t be disappointed!
Bio:
— Derek Carter (goozbach as his online friends know him) is active
participant in the Open Source community. Part-founder of two
Linux users groups. A former Linux instructor for Guru Labs (The
industry leader in hands-on Linux training). He has taught Linux
classes all over the United States, and the world for such companies
as Red Hat, IBM, Novell, HP, Lockheed Martin and others. Derek
has been actively using Linux as his primary OS since 1999. He’s a
certified RedHat instructor and examiner. He’s also a Star Wars
geek who has been known to dress up as obscure characters and
wait in line for the premiers.
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Meeting time frame is 7:30pm to ~9:30pm in lecture room 1C
of the Emory Law School, Gambrell Hall building.
Directions to our Emory Law School venue can be found
HERE (or via the side bar link).
Our third Thursday, March 20th, 7:30pm
ALE Central meeting presentation will be
Bringing Asterisk on Campus
with presenter
Brian MacLeod
Synopsis:
For Georgia Gwinnett College, the question was not whether to switch
to IP telephony or not, but whether to continue doing IP telephony on
a $40,000/year proprietary system or to migrate to an open source
system where support is less than $1,000/year. While the choice looks
obvious, the path was not always this clear. Brian will present the
road GGC followed from idea to fully functional, operation critical
status.
Bio:
Brian MacLeod is a Linux System Administrator and developing VOIP geek
at Georgia Gwinnett College. He has worked for several University
System of Georgia institutions that have called Lawrenceville home.
============================
We will be meeting in our usual Gambrel Hall room 1C venue.
Meeting time frame is 7:30pm to ~9:30pm
Directions to Emory Law School can be found
HERE (or via the side bar link).