2014 in Summary and Goals for 2015

The year 2014 has been fruitful for EDGEKIT Computer Systems and we're very grateful first of all, to God who provides for our personal and professional needs, to my sons, Joshua Mari Francis and Faith Lawrence, and to my better half, Angelique Therese, who inspires me to be better as a father and a person, and to family and friends too numerous to list here.

Within 2014, we have (1) contributed in the Australian Aid project with the University of the Philippines Open University by volunteering to help install Android educational apps for the Samsung Galaxy tablets in Cavite and Rizal provinces, (2) participated as a sponsor and hackathon judge in the PhilRice initiated Agri-Hackathon in Nueva Ecija, (3) conducted a seminar in cooperation with ACTS Computer College of Infanta, Quezon, (4) participated as a resource speaker for the 2014 Software Freedom Day in Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila Campus, and last but definitely not the least, (5) we conducted the first ever 40 Hour PostgreSQL Boot Camp Training in the Philippines for the faculty and students of the Computer Science Department, College of Engineering, Technology and Computer Science (CETCS), Taguig City University (TCU) right before December ended.

Some of the participants of the PostgreSQL Training in Taguig City University

This last activity would not have been possible without the visionary leadership of Mr. Reynaldo Alvez of the Computer Science Department and the very supportive university community under the able supervision of the CETCS dean, Dr. Visitacion Crisostomo, and the TCU President Aurelio Paulo Bartolome. This training also prompted us to develop a complementary Unix Training courseware.

For 2015, EDGEKIT Computer Systems hopes to provide more relevant and up-to-date technology platforms and training resources designed for the tertiary computer courses and technology enthusiasts.

EDGEKIT Computer Systems' blogging from 2015 moving forward focuses in no particular order on (1) Operating Systems, (2) Data Structure and Algorithm, (3) User Experience, (4) Databases, (5) IT Infrastructure Architecture, (6) Computer and Network Security, (7) Software Development, (8) Startup and Business Ideas, (9) Education, (10) Agriculture, (11) Embedded Systems and Electronics, and (12) Practical Disaster Readiness a.k.a. Doomsday Preparedness.

We look forward to serve the community better.

EDGEKIT Supports Software Freedom Day 2014 and Will Talk on OpenBSD

In its continuous commitment to free and open source technology, EDGEKIT Computer Systems will provide presentation on OpenBSD in the Software Freedom Day 2014 celebration at Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sta. Mesa campus on 20 September 2014.

This Software Freedom Day (SFD) event is proudly organized by Computer Professionals' Union, they have successfully organized SFDs since 2008.

UPDATE:
The planned SFD celebration last 20 September has been cancelled due to flood and severe weather condition in Metro Manila and neighboring towns and cities, Software Freedom Day 2014 has been re-scheduled to be held on 8 November 2014, still at the same venue. See you there!

Adventure in the Middle of the Snake Pit: PyCon Philippines 2014

It was only recently I realized how lucky I am to have attended the two-day PyCon Philippines 2014, the Python community conference, at the De La Salle University, Manila.

The two-day conference gave me the opportunity to again meet or see some of the IT personalities I respect and highly regard in the industry like Edison Go Tan, Evan Dale Aromin, Zak Elep, and Alvin Edwald Chan and Brian Paul Samson, both were volunteers and organizers of the event.

It's also been fortunate of me to have met Jayr Anes, coincidentally also a graduate school student at Polytechnic University of the Philippines.