Banks’ Family Values; Texas Linux Fest & More…

FOSS Week in Review

It’s been pretty warm where I live on the Central California coast, and I hope everyone else has been keeping cool — or as cool as possible — this week. After OSCON, there’s been sort of a lull in news that’s uniquely FOSS-related, but we do have a couple of tidbits to throw you as we end the week.

All in the Family: It seems that the Banks family of Los Angeles has taken upon itself to single-handedly invite the wider world to the see and try out the benefits of FOSS and programming. We reported on Keila Banks speaking at OSCON last week, but so has Business Insider and MTV News — and now MSNBC is getting in on the act by having her on Melissa Harris-Perry’s show at 8 a.m. Saturday. Check your local listings.

But wait, there’s more, according to proud pop Phillip Banks, a Los Angeles computer consultant and a Southern California Linux Expo staff member: Not only are father and daughter doing their share to help encourage folks to use FOSS, but Phillip reports that his sons, Hunter and Phillip Jr., went to Oaxaca, Mexico to help set up computers for the kids in underprivileged areas with the nonprofit, Kids on Computers. Phillip Jr. reported about the adventure with Kids on Computers in a blog on the nonprofit’s website.

Texas Linux Fest Gears Up: As many bask in the warm afterglow of the last OSCON to be held in Portland last week, many have already set their sights on the next event on the Linux/FOSS expo schedule, namely Texas Linux Fest. The folks at TXLF are diligently crossing every T and dotting every I as they approach the opening date of Aug. 21 for the two-day event in San Marcos, just south of Austin. The speaker schedule for TXLF is posted online and registration is still open. See you in Texas.

Solus Goes Fast: Want rubber-burning boot times? Is under two seconds fast enough for you? Softpedia reported this week that the next Solus distro, which is close to a stable release, can boot in 1.2 seconds. For that kind of speed you’ll probably need a helmet and a Nomex suit before you strap in and take it for a spin, as Solus developers did when showing off some of the upcoming features for the distro.

Not much else to report that hasn’t already been covered this week, so we’ll see you next week.

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