marilu’s blog
End of my internship
February 22nd, 2007
It’s just arrived the end of my internship at the FSFE. In March I’ll come back to Italy.
Five mounths of internship abroad is a big opportunity for a student to learn what is working in an international context.
Only after this working experience a student can really understand what he studied for a lot of time and acquire new knowledges.
Yes, it is probably too early to write this in my blog but during next week I’ll partecipate to FOSDEM, so I will not have a chance to thank.
I have to say, I really enjoy partecipate to the foundation’s activities, which are a real and invaluable resource for experience.
About my internship I can say that I’m really satisfied.
Yes, sometimes working in an european context is not so simple: you have some problems with the language, is not easy communicate your ideas…but you can learn a lot!
The important is doing a working experience where everyday there are new activities to do and to learn.. I can say that FSFE is one of those place.
Yes this is a celebration of 5 mounths of interniship. This is a celebration of a community that I have come to know and admire.
The FSFE is a collection of individuals who work for the society and was a pleasure work with very intelligent, funny and patient people.
It was good to meet and talk to many people.
In addition, I managed to get to see different place and culture.
So many thanks to the Zurich office that supported me and learned me some computer’s knowledges and to be critical when is necessary.
I hope we will continue to see the foundation growth!
Why an internship at FSFE?
December 15th, 2006
As my first talk I couldn’t receive better invitation!
In fact I started to believe in a Free Software ecosystem after read about the works of the FSFE.
The talk was about my personal experience: why I decided to begin an internship at the Free Software Foundation and why I suggest to the other people, who, as me are not part of the informatic world (ops.. weren’t part of the informatic world!) to support it.
Was a pleasure to partecipate: there were a lot of interesting and motivated people.
People who really believe in the free software ethics and try to change the real world by inserting Free Software in school projects and in public offices.
So…Why Free Software?
First because the " Free Software is socially useful"; the Free Software is a system where there are excellent programmers, but is also a system that permits to the users to be conscious on what they are working.
The logic of this system is not only been an economic resource, but permits to everybody to be part of a common project.
Overall people use everyday computers to study or to work; for this reason everybody has to control what is in front of his or her.
Stop being only passive spectators; is time to be conscious on what happened around us!
The access to the source code has a big value also if we are not programmers; the fact that 24 hours a day all over the world the software is developing, realize the idea of being part of a system, and this is in contrast on using only a program.
New experiences!
November 13th, 2006
I’m just returned from my first international conference about Free Software. I was really lucky because I also had the possibility to partecipate to the first FSFE fellows meeting…Yes is only a month that I started my internship in Zurich office and I had the opportunity to meet the most part of the team members and a big part of the fellows!
The computer’s world is very strange: you work and speak all the days of your life with people that maybe you’ve never seen! For this reason I think that organised a fellows meeting was a great idea…an idea that must repeate in the future to trasform the work that the Foundation is doing is something concrete and that really exist!
Is necessary that I tell something about these great experiences to the others fellows that unfourtunately couldn’t partecipate to the events.
Before arriving in Bolzano my mind was thinking what kind of strange people could I meet: usually I immagine fanatic people of computer very stressed and not sociable. People that can only speak with maths formulas and see you like a number and not a person!…
But what I discover at the SFSCon and the fellows meeting is that everyone should partecipate and support these events, because as the majour speakers of the conference said ‘Free Software and Free Software Foundation are argoument that should associate all kind of people’, and notonly programmers or students of informatics…I’m the evidence of this!
I have to admit that work an international context, with different culture backgrounds is sometimes a little difficult, is necessary to achieve a compromise but was fantastic saw in all the partecipants the same incredible enthusiasm!…Maybe free Software is more powerful than
differences!
The only diffrence that is possible find is the number of men and women that are involved in these manifestation…So as a woman I try to use my blog to exort people, in particolar female people, to be courious on what happen around us!
Are beginner stupid? It depends
October 20th, 2006
To do an internship in Switzerland, where everything is different to Italy, is just a fantastic opportunity…but can do it at FSFE is a very formative experience.
I think I am a very lucky person to have this chance.
Usually do an internship means do fotocopies for old employees and to clean their computers!..
It is very hard for students improve their knowledge, because nobody spends time to explaine what is your responsability, and day by day your enthusiasm goes away!
But here everything is different! You can study and learn new works!…You don’t worry about the fact that maybe you don’t have the right knowledge, people here think that you can learn everything…if you want!
Only in these case a stage is better than study on a book!
Your curiosity to understand what are the dynamics of the job, how to resolve the problems, increases every day.
Here I can feel beginner, but not stupid at all!
why should we be against DRM? It’s simpler than you might think
October 5th, 2006
I’m not a tecnology student so I can’t explain why DRM is a bad idea from a scientific perspective. However, I’m the kind of person who likes understand what’s happening around me and DRM botheres me. I want to explain why that is, and I’ve collected my thoughts to make it clear why DRM is bad for society.
DRM is technology “used to control access to and usage of digital data”. It locks up your digital media. The vendors say that this is necessary to prevent the illegal duplication of artistic works. I doubt that. I believe DRM is a method to lock-up your digital data and to kill the free circulation of culture.
With DRM it’s hard to know what you’re actually getting with your money; it fundimentally treats every fan of art, music or culture as a criminal.
Let’s look at examples of DRM:
One is music. You buy a cd and when you return home you discover that you cannot reproduced it. You can’t make a copy in case the original is damaged, or one copy to keep in your car and one in your hi-fi. Worse than that it might try to install secret code onto your computer that allows viruses to take over your system and reports back to the vendor on when you use your CDs.
Another example are DVDs that you cannot play around the world because of regional restrictions. Worse still, DVDs can also be used to impose restrictions on your computer and also have the potential to insert secret code.
These are absurd examples of what’s happening in the computer and entertainment world.
It does not stop there though. DRM is controlled by a powerful lobby of multinationals. Their DRM has the potential to lock-out small hardware and software companies from the new DRM market. Small companies who cannot afford to be part of the lobby will simply find that they are unable to provide tools to users; their music players won’t work and their computers won’t allow access to on-line content.
Almost everyone will lose with DRM. People who buy music, movies or use artistic data will have their actions determined and reported to the DRM lobby. Small companies will simply not be able to make competitive products anymore. The only winners with DRM are the big DRM lobby companies.
I’m worried about that. I hope you will be too.
DRM for a new intern
October 3rd, 2006
It is only my second day as intern in FSFE and this morning I could participate at the demonstration against DRM, organised in Zurich! It was a very exciting experience because we protested against the infringement of rights that are included in every person’s life. What is happening in the computer and entertainment world is damaging freedom and culture, but unfortunately not everybody, especially those who are not computer experts, understand the aggression of DRM. This morning I had the great opportunity to explain to people how our world is changing and how absurd it is to depend on the control of producers. I met many interesting people of every age who believe in, support and organised this protest to protect technologies. I think it was a really good way to start my internship!