From: Petter Reinholdtsen Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 09:40:40 +0000 (+0000) Subject: New interview. X-Git-Url: https://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/commitdiff_plain/c8f1c940e6cd70919d3f92f0d78173720bcc9165?hp=c48916382a44a7a8d59ee4fa8342e6a85fc556ac New interview. --- diff --git a/blog/data/2014-03-29-skolelinux-roger-marsal.txt b/blog/data/2014-03-29-skolelinux-roger-marsal.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..946dc38eeb --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/data/2014-03-29-skolelinux-roger-marsal.txt @@ -0,0 +1,83 @@ +Title: Debian Edu interview: Roger Marsal +Tags: english, debian edu, intervju +Date: 2014-03-30 11:40 + +

Debian Edu / Skolelinux +keep gaining new users. Some weeks ago, a person showed up on IRC, +#debian-edu, with a +wish to contribute, and I managed to get a interview with this great +contributor Roger Marsal to learn more about his background.

+ +

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

+ +

My name is Roger Marsal, I'm 27 years old (1986 generation) and I +live in Barcelona, Spain. I've got a strong business background and I +work as a patrimony manager and as a real estate agent. Additionally, +I've co-founded a British based tech company that is nowadays on the +last development phase of a new social networking concept.

+ +

I'm a Linux enthusiast that started its journey with Ubuntu four years +ago and have recently switched to Debian seeking rock solid stability +and as a necessary step to gain expertise.

+ +

In a nutshell, I spend my days working and learning as much as I +can to face both my job, entrepreneur project and feed my Linux +hunger.

+ +

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

+ +

I discovered the LTSP advantages +with "Ubuntu 12.04 alternate install" and after a year of use I +started looking for an alternative. Even though I highly value and +respect the Ubuntu project, I thought it was necessary for me to +change to a more robust and stable alternative. As far as I was using +Debian on my personal laptop I thought it would be fine to install +Debian and configure an LTSP server myself. Surprised, I discovered +that the Debian project also supported a kind of Edubuntu equivalent, +and after having some pain I obtained a Debian Edu network up and +running. I just loved it.

+ +

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

+ +

I found a main advantage in that, once you know "the tips and +tricks", a new installation just works out of the box. It's the most +complete alternative I've found to create an LTSP network. All the +other distributions seems to be made of plastic, Debian Edu seems to +be made of steel.

+ +

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

+ +

I found two main disadvantages.

+ +

I'm not an expert but I've got notions and I had to spent a considerable +amount of time trying to bring up a standard network topology. I'm quite +stubborn and I just worked until I did but I'm sure many people with few +resources (not big schools, but academies for example) would have switched +or dropped.

+ +

It's amazing how such a complex system like Debian Edu has achieved +this out-of-the-box state. Even though tweaking without breaking gets +more difficult, as more factors have to be considered. This can +discourage many people too.

+ +

Which free software do you use daily?

+ +

I use Debian, Firefox, Okular, Inkscape, LibreOffice and +Virtualbox.

+ + +

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

+ +

I don't think there is a need for a particular strategy. The free +attribute in both "freedom" and "no price" meanings is what will +really bring free software to schools. In my experience I can think of +the "R" statistical language; a +few years a ago was an extremely nerd tool for university people. +Today it's being increasingly used to teach statistics at many +different level of studies. I believe free and open software will +increasingly gain popularity, but I'm sure schools will be one of the +first scenarios where this will happen.

diff --git a/blog/data/2014-03-30-skolelinux-roger-marsal.txt b/blog/data/2014-03-30-skolelinux-roger-marsal.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..946dc38eeb --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/data/2014-03-30-skolelinux-roger-marsal.txt @@ -0,0 +1,83 @@ +Title: Debian Edu interview: Roger Marsal +Tags: english, debian edu, intervju +Date: 2014-03-30 11:40 + +

Debian Edu / Skolelinux +keep gaining new users. Some weeks ago, a person showed up on IRC, +#debian-edu, with a +wish to contribute, and I managed to get a interview with this great +contributor Roger Marsal to learn more about his background.

+ +

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

+ +

My name is Roger Marsal, I'm 27 years old (1986 generation) and I +live in Barcelona, Spain. I've got a strong business background and I +work as a patrimony manager and as a real estate agent. Additionally, +I've co-founded a British based tech company that is nowadays on the +last development phase of a new social networking concept.

+ +

I'm a Linux enthusiast that started its journey with Ubuntu four years +ago and have recently switched to Debian seeking rock solid stability +and as a necessary step to gain expertise.

+ +

In a nutshell, I spend my days working and learning as much as I +can to face both my job, entrepreneur project and feed my Linux +hunger.

+ +

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

+ +

I discovered the LTSP advantages +with "Ubuntu 12.04 alternate install" and after a year of use I +started looking for an alternative. Even though I highly value and +respect the Ubuntu project, I thought it was necessary for me to +change to a more robust and stable alternative. As far as I was using +Debian on my personal laptop I thought it would be fine to install +Debian and configure an LTSP server myself. Surprised, I discovered +that the Debian project also supported a kind of Edubuntu equivalent, +and after having some pain I obtained a Debian Edu network up and +running. I just loved it.

+ +

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

+ +

I found a main advantage in that, once you know "the tips and +tricks", a new installation just works out of the box. It's the most +complete alternative I've found to create an LTSP network. All the +other distributions seems to be made of plastic, Debian Edu seems to +be made of steel.

+ +

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

+ +

I found two main disadvantages.

+ +

I'm not an expert but I've got notions and I had to spent a considerable +amount of time trying to bring up a standard network topology. I'm quite +stubborn and I just worked until I did but I'm sure many people with few +resources (not big schools, but academies for example) would have switched +or dropped.

+ +

It's amazing how such a complex system like Debian Edu has achieved +this out-of-the-box state. Even though tweaking without breaking gets +more difficult, as more factors have to be considered. This can +discourage many people too.

+ +

Which free software do you use daily?

+ +

I use Debian, Firefox, Okular, Inkscape, LibreOffice and +Virtualbox.

+ + +

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

+ +

I don't think there is a need for a particular strategy. The free +attribute in both "freedom" and "no price" meanings is what will +really bring free software to schools. In my experience I can think of +the "R" statistical language; a +few years a ago was an extremely nerd tool for university people. +Today it's being increasingly used to teach statistics at many +different level of studies. I believe free and open software will +increasingly gain popularity, but I'm sure schools will be one of the +first scenarios where this will happen.