[Preston] Manchester Free Software - 19th February 2008 - Stuart Langridge

[Matt Lee]

(My apologies if you've already seen a message about this
meeting on your list. One of our members took it upon
himself to send out an incorrect email.)

** Tomorrow's meeting will start at the slightly later time
of 7.30pm, but if you're in town before that, come to the
Fab Cafe next door and join us for a drink beforehand **

Manchester Free Software was formed in response to a growing
apparent need for a group based in the Manchester area that
focuses on Free Software and GNU/Linux primarily, but also
on issues such as Digital Restrictions Management and other
issues which infringe on the freedoms of computer users.

All our meetings take place at Manchester Digital
Development Agency (MDDA), on Portland Street.

http://www.manchesterdda.com/directions/

February 2008
=============

Our next meeting will be February 19th 2008, with Stuart
Langridge (also known as Aq) of LUGRadio fame joining us for
a talk about his experiences with free software.

We also have Yuwei Lin, who's going to tell us all about the
Oekonux conference in Manchester next March. Oekonux is a
free software project whose aim is to promote discussion
about social and political issues of free software. The 4th
Oekonux conference is going to be held at Manchester on
27-29 March 2009.

The main theme of the Oekonux 4 will be "Free Software and
Beyond - The World of Peer Production", and Yuwei hopes to
get some more people from the local area to get involved.

We do have room for one more lightning talk, if you're
interested please go to: http://tiny.pl/llfb and sign up.

If you're coming to the meeting, please let us know by
signing up at: http://tiny.pl/llf3 - then I know how many
biscuits I need to bring.

Drupal User Group
=================

In addition to Tuesday's events, I'm also giving a talk on
Wednesday at the MDDA, about Drupal and our use of Drupal
for Defective by Design - http://defectivebydesign.org/

http://www.drupal.org.uk/node/493

March 2008
==========

It's not too late to confirm your attendance of the Free
Software Foundation Associate Membership Meeting in Boston.

The event takes place March 15th in Boston, MA, and is open
to all FSF Associate Members. To become a member or for more
information: http://www.fsf.org/associate/meetings/2008/

In March, the FSUK speaker will be Alex Hudson from the
Bongo Project will be joining us. He's going to be talking
about freeing proprietary software and the control of free
software projects.

Alex Hudson is an established UK-based free software author
and supporter. As well as being involved in anti-software
patent activity in the UK, and free software issues in
Europe generally, he is also leads the Bongo Project,
bringing excitement and va-va-voom to free software mail and
calendaring. He doesn't like the word "groupware".

Random free software fact: Alex Hudson does the majority of
his hacking using a Mattel Powerglove. Bonus points to
anyone who actually brings one to the meeting for proof.

April 2008
==========

We have John Leach coming to tell us all about the history,
life and times of Everybody Loves Eric Raymond, and talking
about his new free software hosting outfit, Brightbox, which
hosts Ruby on Rails web apps.

John Leach is a free software hacker from Leeds. He is the
creator of the web comic, Everybody Loves Eric Raymond,
which stars Richard Stallman, Linus Torvalds and Eric
Raymond living in a house somewhere for some reason. As
Richard Stallman said "It is funny, but I'm disappointed
that it accentuates the shallow."

Random free software fact: John Leach is able to draw by
harnessing the power of economic coercion and forcing it
into his USB port.

Come and speak for us!
======================

If you've got a project and you'd like to talk for 15 mins,
30 mins or even up to an hour about it, let me know.

All my contact details at on my website -- http://mat.tl/

As ever, all meeting details, both past, future and present
are up on our website: http://manchester.fsuk.org/

Hope to see you all at a meeting very soon.

matt