Gotta hand it to Jordan. I’ve thought about it. He’s done it:

Well I decided to dive head first back into using Linux as my primary desktop. I had moved away from using Linux as a desktop solution because I got myself a new MacBook and have been exploring OSX. I chose to reformat my MacBook and try and see if I could solely use Linux as my desktop for the first time ever (instead of dual-booting).

I picked Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) as my Linux distribution simply because is quickly becoming the distribution I am most familiar because I use their server products at (and am very impressed). I thought about trying Fedora (my old favorite) but I think I would like to try out the new version on one of my desktops first.

One of the two main reasons for trying to free myself was because to this point I have never used a graphical version of Linux on modern hardware. I wanted to try out all of the cool things that Linux bring to graphical user interface (namely Compiz Fusion). The other reason for trying to free myself is because of how poor of a community participant Apple is. Apple will take the best from the Open Source community and give little to nothing back; I couldn’t take myself seriously as an Open Source enthusiast and use OSX as my primary desktop…

Jordon Mears » Blog Archive » Ubuntu MacBook

Is reinforcing it’s position. Can you compare economic development professionals to talented software programmers? I may have to send Bruce Perens (who developed an alternative license never sold the rights to his book to a conventional publishing firm) an email…

Tech Futures: The Limits of Open Source

Hmmm. Too bad this won’t be open in time for the breakfast Norm is planning with Bruce Perens. It would be the first Open Source Café:

The general concept we have in mind is casual urban cybercafe, featuring fresh, light food from organic, locally-sourced ingredients prepared and baked at the former Hough Bakeries - in their old catering kitchen.

There is also a commercial canning facility on site. Hot Sauce Williams uses the large commercial kitchen for baking and preparing dishes for their restaurants and for catering and serving at the Inner Circle, and they make their sauces and products for others on the canning line. All this is available for the Inner Circle, and food will be prepared by the Hot Sauce Williams kitchen staff.

The Inner Circle and Hough Bakeries complex are the center for redevelopment of the neighborhood surrounding this property, and the neighborhood needs this kind of place - great coffee and food, free wifi, art, coffeehouse-type events - serving all ages of people of Case and University Circle and Cleveland and East Cleveland and anyone else making this a destination.

The Inner Circle is freshly painted (since the pan photos above) and already open on weekends… it is time to get it open during the day as well. We have ordered the DSL for the wifi and plan to open the doors for business as a cybercafe in 15-21 days. In the mean time, we are planning what food to serve and how to prepare and present it. We are seeking out good local vendors, partnering with the Coit Farmers Market and their vendors, and exploring other partnerships that will add to the value of this facility to the community.

Post or contact me if you want to help out launching the expanded Inner Circle, or know anyone who should be connected with this development. Think creatively… do you have a muffin or drink recipe to share… need a place for meetings… want to be guest bartender some night… know a good barrista? Here’s your chance to plan your own club.

Growing the Inner Circle to include you… what would you do with your own club? | REALNEO for all

Good stuff:

It’s too bad more folks didn’t attend Defrag Ohio (”Linking Ohio’s Rich Media Resources and Renegades”) two weeks ago — some excellent stuff going on there.

I took that Friday off work and bicycled out to Lorain Community College for the second day of the conference. Very pleased to have gone; heard some inform/inspir-ational presentations and panels, got to meet some greats (like social networking guru Valdis Krebs, a few from The Institute For Open Economic Networks, and multi-faceted Susan Miller,) and enjoyed my rides out and back, despite the wind-tunnel I strained against, and the sickly suburban sprawl further out.

Here are a few take-aways and thoughts from the sessions I attended…

jeffschuler.net : Defrag Ohio takeaways (Apr 24, 2007 - 21:31)

Great post from Norm (nice pic of Derek):

About two years ago, the REALNEO team took on the challenge of helping to bridge the digital divide in NEO, in many ways, including recycling “obsolete” corporate computers, wiping the hard drives, and loading them with free versions of Linux and other Free Open Source Software (FOSS). One group of computers, provided by Progressive Insurance and Benesh Friedlander, that we freed from Microsoft-obsolescence, were given to a combination of Shaw High School seniors and senior citizens in East Cleveland. Shaw seniors have since taken their computers off to college, and, a few weeks ago, East Cleveland CIO Abulime Alli and I met with one of the senior citizens who received a desktop PC and now needed some tech support. I was thrilled to help her out and interested to hear how having a Linux computer at home had changed her life.

Ms. Evelyn has a lovely home, on a charming, quiet East Cleveland street. right by the Cleveland line. She is so cool - clearly a creative, independent type. Her environment is decorated in bright colors, with family pictures and art everywhere, and she has an orange-painted tree in her kitchen as a post and accent. A no-nonsense woman, she is smart and confident. When Abu and I first visited, to look into her computer issues, I asked her if she used the computer often and she said she used it daily, largely to play games that come bundled free with the software we installed… but she said she had taken computer classes at a neighborhood center (certainly on Microsoft boxes) and she now wanted to get on-line, which was one of the reasons she needed help…

Bridging the Digital Divide, One Open Source Home at a Time | REALNEO for all