Software Freedom Day 2015 and OpenBSD Among Other Endeavours So Far

This coming 26 September 2015, we're very proud and honored to be part of Computer Professionals' Union (CPU) celebration of Software Freedom Day 2015 to be held at University of Makati a.k.a. UMak.

Aptly subtitled "PrismBreak v.2.0: Breaking out of the global digital shackles," we will talk about the most secure and need we say, best free and open source operating system on the planet to date: OpenBSD, see you on the FOSS for Developer Sessions. For tinkerers and hardware buffs, you may want to check out the FOSS Art and Open Hardware Sessions. Looking forward to see old friends and meet new ones. Register now and be there!

We admittedly again went on a seemingly long hiatus, but be rest assured we never forgot the community on which we draw our strength and inspiration from. We actively participated and was recognized in hackathons and technological events where we explore new opportunities and challenges.

Last 21 May 2015, as reported in one of the blog articles by our good friend, Miss Dems Angeles,  we participated in developing mobile solutions that empower women through the Spark-a-Smart Change Hackathon #HackForHer, sponsored by SMART Communications and organized by SPARK! Philippines and J. Amado Araneta Foundation. We may not have won the top prize (we bagged the third place), just being there and being with the community and brushing elbows with some of the most creative and innovative men and especially women is more than enough honor and pleasure for our hackathon team.

On 6 June 2015, we participated in the Windows 10 Code Camp at Microsoft Philippines, organized by DevCon. We may not have Windows on our technology offering nor it may seem contrary or deviating from our Weapon of Choice Technology Stack, but we have to be open minded to know, observe, appreciate, and understand current technological breakthroughs from other platforms so that we can foresee where the future direction of technology and its impact on society can be.

From 8 to 9 August 2015, we joined the AngelHack Manila 2015; we did not figure through the elimination, but we have gained better than can be asked for: we got a new member, that completed our quartet hackathon team, composed of Wilson Censon, Juani Tarroja, and now, with Mat Timpug.

The usual suspects: (from right) Wilson, Mat, Juani and myself

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.