mmath: add thesis pdf and source ball (through git-annex)
[~bandali/bndl.org] / notes.atom
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3 <title>bandali's personal site</title>
4 <subtitle>notes and blog posts by bandali</subtitle>
5 <id>tag:bndl.org,2020:notes.atom</id>
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14 <updated>2021-10-22T03:49:09+00:00</updated>
15
16 <entry xml:base="https://bndl.org">
17 <author><name>bandali</name></author>
18 <id>tag:bndl.org,2020:notes.atom:libreplanet-2021</id>
19 <published>2021-03-20T00:00:00+00:00</published>
20 <updated>2021-03-21T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
21 <link href="https://bndl.org/2021/03/20/libreplanet-2021.txt" rel="alternate" type="text/plain" />
22 <link href="https://bndl.org/2021/03/20/libreplanet-2021.html" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
23 <title>LibrePlanet 2021: Jami and how it empowers users &#8212; bandali</title>
24 <content type="html"><![CDATA[
25 <p>I am giving my very first
26 <a href="https://libreplanet.org/2021/">LibrePlanet</a> talk today on
27 March 20th. I will be talking about
28 <a href="https://jami.net">Jami</a>, the GNU package for universal
29 communication that respects the freedoms and privacy of its users.
30 I'll be giving an introduction to Jami and its architecture, sharing
31 important and exciting development news from the Jami team about
32 <a href="https://jami.net/together-the-new-version-of-jami-and-a-new-step-forward/">rendezvous
33 points</a>, <a href="https://jami.biz/jams-user-guide">JAMS</a>,
34 the <a href="https://jami.net/plugins-sdk">plugin SDK</a>,
35 <a href="https://jami.net/swarm-introducing-a-new-generation-of-group-conversations">Swarm
36 chats</a>, and more; and how these features each help empower users to
37 communicate with their loved ones without sacrificing their privacy or
38 freedom.</p>
39
40 <p>Here is the abstract for my talk, also available on the
41 <a href="https://libreplanet.org/2021/speakers/#4285">LibrePlanet
42 2021's speakers</a> page:</p>
43
44 <blockquote>
45 <p>Jami is free software for universal communication that respects the
46 freedoms and privacy of its users. Jami is an official GNU package
47 with a main goal of providing a framework for virtual communications,
48 along with a series of end-user applications for audio/video calling
49 and conferencing, text messaging, and file transfer.</p>
50
51 <p>With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home has
52 become the norm for many workers around the world. More and more
53 people are using videoconferencing tools to work or communicate with
54 their loved ones. The emergence of these tools has been followed by
55 many questions and scandals concerning the privacy and freedom of
56 users.</p>
57
58 <p>This talk gives an introduction to Jami, a free/libre, truly
59 distributed, and peer-to-peer solution, and explains why and how it
60 differs from all other existing solutions and how it empowers
61 users.</p>
62 </blockquote>
63
64 <p>I have been an attendee of LibrePlanet for some years, and am very
65 excited to be giving my first ever talk at LibrePlanet 2021 this year!
66 You can watch my talk and other speakers' talks live this weekend,
67 from the <a href="https://libreplanet.org/2021/live/">LibrePlanet 2021
68 - Live</a> page. Attendance is gratis (no cost), and you can register
69 at <a href="https://u.fsf.org/lp21-sp">https://u.fsf.org/lp21-sp</a>.</p>
70
71 <p>Presentation slides:
72 <a href="https://p.bndl.org/bandali-jami-libreplanet-2021.pdf">pdf</a>
73 (<a href="https://p.bndl.org/bandali-jami-libreplanet-2021-with-notes.pdf">with notes</a>) |
74 <a href="https://bndl.org/bandali.bib">bib</a><br />
75
76 <span class="tex">L<sup>a</sup>T<sub>e</sub>X</span> sources:
77 <a href="https://p.bndl.org/bandali-jami-libreplanet-2021.tar.gz">tar.gz</a> |
78 <a href="https://p.bndl.org/bandali-jami-libreplanet-2021.zip">zip</a></p>
79
80 <p>I hope to see you around this year's all-online LibrePlanet
81 conference this weekend!</p>
82
83 <p class="box">LibrePlanet is a conference about software freedom,
84 happening March 20 through 21, 2021. The event is hosted by the Free
85 Software Foundation (FSF), and brings together software developers,
86 law and policy experts, activists, students, and computer users to
87 learn skills, celebrate free software accomplishments, and face
88 upcoming challenges. Newcomers are always welcome, and LibrePlanet
89 2021 will feature programming for all ages and experience levels.</p>
90 ]]></content></entry>
91
92 <entry xml:base="https://bndl.org">
93 <author><name>bandali</name></author>
94 <id>tag:bndl.org,2020:notes.atom:fsf-internship-beyond</id>
95 <published>2020-12-18T00:00:00+00:00</published>
96 <updated>2020-12-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
97 <link hreflang="fa" href="https://bndl.org/fa/2020/12/18/fsf-internship-beyond.fa.txt" rel="alternate" type="text/plain" />
98 <link hreflang="fa" href="https://bndl.org/fa/2020/12/18/fsf-internship-beyond.html" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
99 <link href="https://bndl.org/2020/12/18/fsf-internship-beyond.txt" rel="alternate" type="text/plain" />
100 <link href="https://bndl.org/2020/12/18/fsf-internship-beyond.html" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
101 <title>My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond &#8212; bandali</title>
102 <content type="html"><![CDATA[
103 <p class="box">Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's
104 sysadmin blog:<br />
105 <a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/my-internship-with-the-fsf-tech-team-and-beyond">My
106 internship with the FSF tech team and beyond</a></p>
107
108 <p>Hello! I'm
109 <a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/introducing-bandali-intern-with-the-fsf-tech-team">Amin
110 Bandali</a>, and this is my second blog post on the FSF sysadmin blog,
111 concluding my internship with the FSF tech team this year.</p>
112
113 <p>Throughout my internship with the tech team, I have worked mainly
114 on sysadmin tasks related to setting up and/or managing FSF's
115 GNU/Linux servers. Perhaps most significantly, I set up an instance
116 of the <a href="https://sourcehut.org">Sourcehut</a> forge software to
117 help
118 <a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/FSF_2020_forge_evaluation">evaluate</a>
119 it as a candidate for the upcoming
120 <a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/coming-soon-a-new-site-for-fully-free-collaboration">FSF
121 forge project</a>. I documented the installation and setup process of
122 Sourcehut's various components in the form of a literate GNU Emacs
123 Org-mode file, where source blocks are interspersed with comments and
124 prose explaining them. One can then progressively evaluate and
125 execute the source blocks, and optionally have their results stored
126 back in the Org file itself to help with
127 documentation/demonstration.</p>
128
129 <p>I have also been slowly working on various improvements for the
130 server running www.gnu.org, and will continue doing work on it as a
131 volunteer after the end of my internship. This will hopefully be
132 beneficial to the FSF sysadmins running the server, the GNU webmasters
133 who do webmastering work on gnu.org, and the general public browsing
134 and using gnu.org's pages. Notably, changes included upgrading the
135 server to the latest release of Trisquel GNU/Linux, and revamping and
136 improving the search mechanism for gnu.org's pages. Additionally,
137 there are several other projects that I would like to tackle with the
138 tech team in the near future.</p>
139
140 <p>During my internship with the FSF tech team, I picked up a variety
141 of new skills and learned more about a diverse set of topics and
142 tools. This included building and installing a complex piece of
143 software like Sourcehut and debugging issues encountered along the
144 way, using Ansible for managing and deploying infrastructure, as well
145 as learning more about the Exim mail transfer agent used to run FSF
146 and GNU's array of mail servers.</p>
147
148 <p>In conclusion to my internship and the year 2020, it's safe to say
149 that this year has been an eventful year for many people, including
150 myself. I started my internship with the tech team back in May, and
151 as a graduate student at the time, I was expecting a reasonable and
152 balanced workload for my work on my thesis over the coming months.
153 However, early on (less than two weeks) into my internship I learned
154 that due to a number of reasons, I needed to complete my master's
155 studies on a two-month deadline. I told the tech team about the
156 issue, asking whether I could take a hiatus to complete my studies
157 without affecting my internship. I am beyond thankful to the tech
158 team and the FSF as whole for being accommodating, and for their
159 flexibility in allowing me to take a leave to focus on writing my
160 thesis and wrapping up my master's studies. I managed to successfully
161 wrap up my studies in that short timeline, and focus on my internship
162 afterwards.</p>
163
164 <p>However, all good things must come to an end, and this internship
165 is no exception. I am incredibly grateful to the members of the FSF
166 tech team &mdash; Ian, Andrew, Ruben, and Michael &mdash; for
167 welcoming me to the team as an intern and mentoring me, answering my
168 many questions, and helping me learn more. It has been an honour and
169 a wonderful experience for me all around working with you all and
170 seeing the energy and passion with which you take on the work and
171 responsibilities that come with being an FSF sysadmin and Web
172 developer. While most of my interactions were with the tech team, I
173 also got to interact with FSF staffers from several other teams during
174 my internship, and I'm thankful for our conversations and the chance
175 to get to know and appreciate the important work you do.</p>
176
177 <p>This internship has come to an end, but I will carry with me all of
178 the good memories and the lessons I learned along the way, and will
179 happily to continue working with you as a volunteer. The things I
180 learned have been invaluable and greatly helpful to me, as I
181 transitioned into my new full-time job at Savoir-faire Linux as a Free
182 Software Consultant, where I get to work on various parts and aspects
183 of Jami, a GNU package for universal communication which respects the
184 freedoms and privacy of its users.</p>
185
186 <p>I would like to thank the FSF for providing me this excellent
187 opportunity to work alongside the tech team as an intern, and take
188 away so many valuable lessons and great memories.</p>
189
190 <p class="box">Interested in interning for the Free Software
191 Foundation? The application period for spring 2021 internships is
192 currently open. Please see
193 <a href="https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships">https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships</a>
194 for more details and information on how to apply!</p>
195 ]]></content></entry>
196
197 <entry xml:base="https://bndl.org">
198 <author><name>bandali</name></author>
199 <id>tag:bndl.org,2020:notes.atom:fsf-internship-intro</id>
200 <published>2020-05-29T00:00:00+00:00</published>
201 <updated>2020-05-29T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
202 <link hreflang="fa" href="https://bndl.org/fa/2020/05/29/fsf-internship-intro.fa.txt" rel="alternate" type="text/plain" />
203 <link hreflang="fa" href="https://bndl.org/fa/2020/05/29/fsf-internship-intro.html" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
204 <link href="https://bndl.org/2020/05/29/fsf-internship-intro.txt" rel="alternate" type="text/plain" />
205 <link href="https://bndl.org/2020/05/29/fsf-internship-intro.html" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
206 <title>Internship with the FSF tech team &#8212; bandali</title>
207 <content type="html"><![CDATA[
208 <p class="box">Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's
209 sysadmin blog:<br />
210 <a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/introducing-bandali-intern-with-the-fsf-tech-team">Introducing
211 Amin Bandali, intern with the FSF tech team</a></p>
212
213 <p>Hi there, I'm Amin Bandali, often just <code>bandali</code> on the
214 interwebs. I wear a few different hats around GNU as a maintainer,
215 webmaster, and Savannah hacker, and I'm very excited to be extending
216 that to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) as an intern with the FSF
217 tech team for spring 2020.</p>
218
219 <p>Growing up around parents with backgrounds in computer engineering
220 and programming, it did not take long for me to find an interest in
221 tinkering and playing with computers as a kid, and I first came into
222 contact with GNU/Linux in my teenage years. My first introduction to
223 the world of free software came a few years later, when a friend
224 kindly pointed out to me that what I had vaguely known and referred to
225 as "open source" software is more properly referred to as free
226 software, and helped me see
227 <a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">why
228 "open source" misses the point of free software</a>. After learning
229 about and absorbing the ideas and ideals of free software, I have
230 since become a free software activist. As a computer scientist who
231 enjoys studying and hacking on various programs and sometimes writing
232 my own, I have made a point of releasing all I can under strong
233 copyleft licenses, particularly the
234 <a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.html">GNU AGPL</a>
235 license.</p>
236
237 <p>My involvement with the <a href="https://www.gnu.org">GNU
238 Project</a> started in 2016, first as a volunteer webmaster, and later
239 as one of the maintainers of
240 <a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/">GNUzilla and
241 IceCat</a> late last year. Also around the same time, I led a group
242 of volunteers in organizing and holding
243 <a href="https://emacsconf.org/2019">EmacsConf 2019</a> as a
244 completely online conference, using only free software tools, much
245 like the excellent
246 <a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/LibrePlanet:Conference/2020">LibrePlanet
247 2020</a>. I love <a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/">GNU
248 Emacs</a>, and use it more than any other program. GNU Emacs helps me
249 do a wide variety of tasks such as programming, reading and composing
250 emails, and chatting via IRC.</p>
251
252 <p>More closely related to my internship with the FSF tech team, I
253 have been familiarizing myself with various pieces of the
254 <a href="https://savannah.gnu.org">GNU Savannah</a> infrastructure
255 with help from veteran Savannah hacker Bob Proulx, gradually learning
256 and picking up tasks helping with the administration and maintenance
257 of Savannah. I am also a member of the Systems Committee of my
258 university's computer science club, overseeing and maintaining a large
259 fleet of GNU/Linux servers for our club members.</p>
260
261 <p>For my internship with the Free Software Foundation, I will be
262 working with the FSF tech team on a number of tasks, including helping
263 with
264 the <a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/coming-soon-a-new-site-for-fully-free-collaboration">free
265 software forge</a> project, as well as various improvements for
266 gnu.org. I look forward to learning many new things and picking up
267 valuable skills through my internship with the FSF's exceptional tech
268 team, who do <em>so much</em> for the GNU project and the wider free
269 software community.</p>
270 ]]></content></entry>
271
272 <entry xml:base="https://bndl.org">
273 <author><name>bandali</name></author>
274 <id>tag:bndl.org,2020:notes.atom:computing</id>
275 <published>2019-09-14T00:00:00+00:00</published>
276 <updated>2021-02-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
277 <link hreflang="fa" href="https://bndl.org/fa/bandali-computing.fa.txt" rel="alternate" type="text/plain" />
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279 <link href="https://bndl.org/bandali-computing.txt" rel="alternate" type="text/plain" />
280 <link href="https://bndl.org/computing.html" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
281 <title>How I do my computing &#8212; bandali</title>
282 <content type="html"><![CDATA[
283 <p class="box">inspired by the computing page of
284 <a href="https://stallman.org/stallman-computing.html">rms</a></p>
285
286 <h2>Computers</h2>
287 <p>My <a href="https://libreboot.org">librebooted</a> ThinkPad X200
288 computer is the machine I use the most and where I do most of my
289 computing. I also have the privilege of having access to a fleet of
290 servers through our school's
291 <a href="https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca">Computer Science Club</a> that I
292 use for some more computationally intensive tasks every now and
293 again.</p>
294
295 <h2>GNU/Linux distribution</h2>
296 <p>I used a wide variety of distros over the years; but I have since
297 found <a href="https://trisquel.info">Trisquel</a> to be my favourite
298 and it's put my "distro-hopping" days behind me. Sometimes I pair it
299 up with <a href="https://guix.gnu.org">GNU Guix</a>. For the kernel,
300 I usually use
301 <a href="https://www.fsfla.org/ikiwiki/selibre/linux-libre/">GNU
302 Linux-libre</a> from jxself's
303 <a href="https://jxself.org/linux-libre/">APT repository</a>.</p>
304
305 <h2>Actual computing</h2>
306 <p>I spend most of my time in
307 <a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/">GNU Emacs</a>.</p>
308 <p>TODO: elaborate</p>
309 ]]></content></entry>
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