From: Petter Reinholdtsen Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2013 13:18:17 +0000 (+0000) Subject: Nytt intervju på trappene. X-Git-Url: http://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/commitdiff_plain/3e1d3aae3b44d05c063f8f993c14dcfcbbd2bf20?ds=sidebyside Nytt intervju på trappene. --- diff --git a/blog/draft/2013-skolelinux-victor-nitu.txt b/blog/draft/2013-skolelinux-victor-nitu.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..2dbc3f837d --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/draft/2013-skolelinux-victor-nitu.txt @@ -0,0 +1,128 @@ +Title: Debian Edu interview: Victor Nițu +Tags: english, debian edu, intervju +Date: 2013-06-04 10:30 + +

+Debian Edu and Skolelinux

+ +

Who are you, and how do you spend your days?

+ +I'm a 25 year old free software enthusiast, living in Romania, which +is also my country of origin. Back in 2009, at a New Year's Eve party, +I had a very nice beer^Wdiscussion with a friend, when we realized we +have no organised Debian community in our country. A few days after, +we put together the infrastructure for it and even gathered a nice +Debian-ish crowd. Since then, I began my quest as a free software +hacker and activist and I am constantly trying to cover as much ground +as possible on that field. + +A few years ago I founded a small web development company, which +provided me the flexible schedule I needed so much for my +activities. For the last 13 months, I have been the Technical Director +of Funda??ia Ceata, which is a free software activist organisation +endorsed by the FSF and the FSFE, and the only one we have in our +country. + + +

How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu +project?

+ +

The idea of participating in the Debian Edu project was a surprise +even to me, since I never used it before I began getting involved in +it. This year I had a great opportunity to deliver a talk on +educational software, and I knew immediately where to look. It was a +love at first sight, since I was previously involved with some of the +technologies the project incorporates, and I rapidly found a lot of +ways to contribute.

+ +

My first contributions consisted in translating the installer and +configuration dialogs, then I found some bugs to squash (I still +haven't fixed them yet though), and I even got my eyes on some other +areas where I can prove myself helpful. Since the appetite for free +software in my country is pretty low, I'll be happy to be the first +one around here advocating for the project's adoption in educational +environments, and maybe even get my hands dirty in creating a flavour +for our own needs. I am not used to make very advanced plannings, so +from now on, time will tell what I'll be doing next, but I think I +have a pretty consistent starting point.

+ +

What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian +Edu?

+ +Not a long time ago, I was in the position of configuring and +maintaining a LDAP server on some Debian derivative, and I must say it +took me a while. A long time ago, I was maintaining a bigger +Samba-powered infrastructure, and I must say I spent quite a lot of +time on it. I have similar stories about many of the services included +with Skolelinux, and the main advantage I see about it is the +out-of-the box availability of them, making it quite competitive when +it comes to managing a school's network, for example. + +Of course, there is more to say about Skolelinux than the availability +of the software included, its flexibility in various scenarios is +something I can't wait to experiment "into the wild" (I only played +with VMs so far). And I am sure there is a lot more I haven't +discovered yet about it, being so new within the project. + + +

What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian +Edu?

+ +As usual, when it comes to Debian Blends, I see as the biggest +disadvantage the lack of a numerous team dedicated to the +project. Every day I see the same names in the changelogs, and I have +a constantly fear of the bus factor in this story. I'd like to see +Debian Edu advertised more as an entry point into the Debian +ecosystem, especially amongst newcomers and students. IMHO there are a +lot low-hanging fruits in terms of bug squashing, and enough +opportunities to get the feeling of the Debian Project's dynamics. Not +to mention it's a very fun blend to work on! + +Derived from the previous statement, is the delay in catching up with +the main Debian release and documentation. This is common though to +all blends and derivatives, but it's an issue we can all work on. + + +

Which free software do you use daily?

+ +I can hardly imagine myself spending a day without Vim, since my daily +routine covers writing code and hacking configuration files. I am a +fan of the Awesome window manager (but I also like the Enlightenment +project a lot!), Claws Mail due to its ease of use and very +configurable behaviour. Recently I fell in love with Redshift, which +helps me get through the night without headaches. Of course, there is +much more stuff in this bag, but I'll need a blog on my own for doing +this! + + +

Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to +get schools to use free software?

+ +

Well, on this field, I cannot do much more than experiment right +now. So, being far from having a recipe for success, I can only assume +that:

+ + + +

I also see some problems in getting Skolelinux into schools; for +example, in our country we have a great deal of corruption issues, so +it might be hard(er) to fight against proprietary solutions. Also, +people who relied on commercial software for all their lives, would be +very hard to convert against their will.