A new legislation (http://www.softwarelivre.org/news/6524 in pt_BR) has been approved in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by which the entire local goverment institutions will have to give priority to Open Source solutions! Hopefully the rest of the nation will follow soon and make better use of all that money currently being spent on licenses and what not… How about putting an end to poverty and illiteracy in one of the largest countries in the world?

I’ve been using Firefox for what seems to be a long time now… As a matter of fact, I don’t really remember the last time I had to use IE! Even when I have to use someone else’s computer, the first thing I do is plug my USB key and fire up the portable version of Firefox! I really like the theming capability as well as the great plethora of plugins and extensions available… But somehow I am extremelly attracted to the simplicity of Epiphany!

Before I go into a major rant attack against Macromedia (or whatever they’re called these days) for not doing a better job at providing open source-friendly versions of their software, I’d like to ask my fellow Linux users the following: Is there a way of running ShockWave under Linux without the aid of emulators??? I wish people would be more considerate (or do a better job at researching alternatives out there) and use open standards when providing their services to users via the web!

So says my good friend Gerrard with his new catchy tune! He never ceases to amaze me with his multi talents! On a different note, tomorrow I’ll be attending the Northern NJ MySQL Group meeting at the Panera Bread in Paramus. Got lots of books to distribute from O’Reilly and Apress too! Should be lots of fun! Work has kept me really busy these last 2-3 weeks… Too bad it is not new development… Going over thousands of Java, PL/SQL, and T-SQL spagethi code looking for some obscure logic is not what I call fun… Got a few phone calls from headhunters but nothing I’d be interested in doing…

… at technology expositions/fairs I’ve been to this year, mostly as an Ubuntu advocate: Cool, free stuff! I want one… errr… what is it? Will this let me use the internet? FREE??? What do you mean Linux is FREE??? C’mon now… what is the catch? Why should I use Ubuntu Linux? What is in it for you? and my favorite one so far: Jeff Waugh does a hell of a Badger dance!

The amazing guys at Wiley Books (and more especifically Kit and Colleen!) simply rock! I got to meet Kit at the Linux World Conference this year, and after talking for a while about Ubuntu and the new books coming out on the subject, I asked him if his organization offered any type of sponsorship in the form of giving out books. Kit was more than eager to offer me his sponsorship, and one email and a few days later, he put me directly in contact with Colleen who pretty much told me to order anything from their catalogues.

If anyone is planning on attending this year’s 7º Fórum Internacional Software Livre, or FISL for short, try to get a hold of Mário Meyer and Cia. at the Ubuntu Brazil booth! Tell him I have asked him to show you a good time while you’re in Brazil, and I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be speaking “fluent” portuguese in no time! ;) Too bad I can’t make it… That what you get for being a .

This April 22-23 I will be once again “on the road” to represent Ubuntu Linux at this year’s Trenton Computer Festival. Having just got back from Linux World Expo in Boston, this shouldn’t be too intimidating for me. I must confess, it was pretty intimidating to face literally hundreds of people and provide them with satisfactory answers. I feel a bit more “seasoned” now and should be able to feel more confortable now.

The third and last day at the exposition was without a doubt the best day of them all! There were times when I was completely surrounded by people who just wanted to chit-chat… but there were many chances to just walk around, talk to people, take a few extra pictures and not worry about leaving my helper alone in the booth. Some of the highlights in my oppinion were: The guys from Slashdot were playing XBox 360 all day long using the huge screen they had set up at their lounge area; They also brought in a freezer filled to the top with ice cream, which quickly vanished as they started distributing it together with other things such as t-shirts; I got to meet Komander Taco, the “brain"behind Slashdot; I got to meet Jon â€Å"Mad Dogâ€Â?

Well, sort of… I was “interviewed” by Lulu TV on the first day of Linux World Expo. Kind of funny to see someone else’s film of you bahbling about something… hehehe… Too bad I didn’t have a microfone in me.