[~bandali/bndl.org] / notes.atom

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<title>bandali's personal site</title>
<subtitle>notes and blog posts by bandali</subtitle>
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<updated>2021-10-22T03:49:09+00:00</updated>

<entry xml:base="https://bndl.org">
<author><name>bandali</name></author>
<id>tag:bndl.org,2020:notes.atom:libreplanet-2021</id>
<published>2021-03-20T00:00:00+00:00</published>
<updated>2021-03-21T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
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<title>LibrePlanet 2021: Jami and how it empowers users &#8212; bandali</title>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[
<p>I am giving my very first
<a href="https://libreplanet.org/2021/">LibrePlanet</a> talk today on
March 20th.  I will be talking about
<a href="https://jami.net">Jami</a>, the GNU package for universal
communication that respects the freedoms and privacy of its users.
I'll be giving an introduction to Jami and its architecture, sharing
important and exciting development news from the Jami team about
<a href="https://jami.net/together-the-new-version-of-jami-and-a-new-step-forward/">rendezvous
points</a>, <a href="https://jami.biz/jams-user-guide">JAMS</a>,
the <a href="https://jami.net/plugins-sdk">plugin SDK</a>,
<a href="https://jami.net/swarm-introducing-a-new-generation-of-group-conversations">Swarm
chats</a>, and more; and how these features each help empower users to
communicate with their loved ones without sacrificing their privacy or
freedom.</p>

<p>Here is the abstract for my talk, also available on the
<a href="https://libreplanet.org/2021/speakers/#4285">LibrePlanet
2021's speakers</a> page:</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Jami is free software for universal communication that respects the
freedoms and privacy of its users.  Jami is an official GNU package
with a main goal of providing a framework for virtual communications,
along with a series of end-user applications for audio/video calling
and conferencing, text messaging, and file transfer.</p>

<p>With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home has
become the norm for many workers around the world.  More and more
people are using videoconferencing tools to work or communicate with
their loved ones.  The emergence of these tools has been followed by
many questions and scandals concerning the privacy and freedom of
users.</p>

<p>This talk gives an introduction to Jami, a free/libre, truly
distributed, and peer-to-peer solution, and explains why and how it
differs from all other existing solutions and how it empowers
users.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I have been an attendee of LibrePlanet for some years, and am very
excited to be giving my first ever talk at LibrePlanet 2021 this year!
You can watch my talk and other speakers' talks live this weekend,
from the <a href="https://libreplanet.org/2021/live/">LibrePlanet 2021
- Live</a> page.  Attendance is gratis (no cost), and you can register
at <a href="https://u.fsf.org/lp21-sp">https://u.fsf.org/lp21-sp</a>.</p>

<p>Presentation slides:
<a href="https://p.bndl.org/bandali-jami-libreplanet-2021.pdf">pdf</a>
(<a href="https://p.bndl.org/bandali-jami-libreplanet-2021-with-notes.pdf">with notes</a>) |
<a href="https://bndl.org/bandali.bib">bib</a><br />

<span class="tex">L<sup>a</sup>T<sub>e</sub>X</span> sources:
<a href="https://p.bndl.org/bandali-jami-libreplanet-2021.tar.gz">tar.gz</a> |
<a href="https://p.bndl.org/bandali-jami-libreplanet-2021.zip">zip</a></p>

<p>I hope to see you around this year's all-online LibrePlanet
conference this weekend!</p>

<p class="box">LibrePlanet is a conference about software freedom,
happening March 20 through 21, 2021.  The event is hosted by the Free
Software Foundation (FSF), and brings together software developers,
law and policy experts, activists, students, and computer users to
learn skills, celebrate free software accomplishments, and face
upcoming challenges.  Newcomers are always welcome, and LibrePlanet
2021 will feature programming for all ages and experience levels.</p>
]]></content></entry>

<entry xml:base="https://bndl.org">
<author><name>bandali</name></author>
<id>tag:bndl.org,2020:notes.atom:fsf-internship-beyond</id>
<published>2020-12-18T00:00:00+00:00</published>
<updated>2020-12-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
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<title>My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond &#8212; bandali</title>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[
<p class="box">Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's
sysadmin blog:<br />
<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/my-internship-with-the-fsf-tech-team-and-beyond">My
internship with the FSF tech team and beyond</a></p>

<p>Hello!  I'm
<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/introducing-bandali-intern-with-the-fsf-tech-team">Amin
Bandali</a>, and this is my second blog post on the FSF sysadmin blog,
concluding my internship with the FSF tech team this year.</p>

<p>Throughout my internship with the tech team, I have worked mainly
on sysadmin tasks related to setting up and/or managing FSF's
GNU/Linux servers.  Perhaps most significantly, I set up an instance
of the <a href="https://sourcehut.org">Sourcehut</a> forge software to
help
<a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/FSF_2020_forge_evaluation">evaluate</a>
it as a candidate for the upcoming
<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/coming-soon-a-new-site-for-fully-free-collaboration">FSF
forge project</a>.  I documented the installation and setup process of
Sourcehut's various components in the form of a literate GNU Emacs
Org-mode file, where source blocks are interspersed with comments and
prose explaining them.  One can then progressively evaluate and
execute the source blocks, and optionally have their results stored
back in the Org file itself to help with
documentation/demonstration.</p>

<p>I have also been slowly working on various improvements for the
server running www.gnu.org, and will continue doing work on it as a
volunteer after the end of my internship.  This will hopefully be
beneficial to the FSF sysadmins running the server, the GNU webmasters
who do webmastering work on gnu.org, and the general public browsing
and using gnu.org's pages.  Notably, changes included upgrading the
server to the latest release of Trisquel GNU/Linux, and revamping and
improving the search mechanism for gnu.org's pages.  Additionally,
there are several other projects that I would like to tackle with the
tech team in the near future.</p>

<p>During my internship with the FSF tech team, I picked up a variety
of new skills and learned more about a diverse set of topics and
tools.  This included building and installing a complex piece of
software like Sourcehut and debugging issues encountered along the
way, using Ansible for managing and deploying infrastructure, as well
as learning more about the Exim mail transfer agent used to run FSF
and GNU's array of mail servers.</p>

<p>In conclusion to my internship and the year 2020, it's safe to say
that this year has been an eventful year for many people, including
myself.  I started my internship with the tech team back in May, and
as a graduate student at the time, I was expecting a reasonable and
balanced workload for my work on my thesis over the coming months.
However, early on (less than two weeks) into my internship I learned
that due to a number of reasons, I needed to complete my master's
studies on a two-month deadline.  I told the tech team about the
issue, asking whether I could take a hiatus to complete my studies
without affecting my internship.  I am beyond thankful to the tech
team and the FSF as whole for being accommodating, and for their
flexibility in allowing me to take a leave to focus on writing my
thesis and wrapping up my master's studies.  I managed to successfully
wrap up my studies in that short timeline, and focus on my internship
afterwards.</p>

<p>However, all good things must come to an end, and this internship
is no exception.  I am incredibly grateful to the members of the FSF
tech team &mdash; Ian, Andrew, Ruben, and Michael &mdash; for
welcoming me to the team as an intern and mentoring me, answering my
many questions, and helping me learn more.  It has been an honour and
a wonderful experience for me all around working with you all and
seeing the energy and passion with which you take on the work and
responsibilities that come with being an FSF sysadmin and Web
developer.  While most of my interactions were with the tech team, I
also got to interact with FSF staffers from several other teams during
my internship, and I'm thankful for our conversations and the chance
to get to know and appreciate the important work you do.</p>

<p>This internship has come to an end, but I will carry with me all of
the good memories and the lessons I learned along the way, and will
happily to continue working with you as a volunteer.  The things I
learned have been invaluable and greatly helpful to me, as I
transitioned into my new full-time job at Savoir-faire Linux as a Free
Software Consultant, where I get to work on various parts and aspects
of Jami, a GNU package for universal communication which respects the
freedoms and privacy of its users.</p>

<p>I would like to thank the FSF for providing me this excellent
opportunity to work alongside the tech team as an intern, and take
away so many valuable lessons and great memories.</p>

<p class="box">Interested in interning for the Free Software
Foundation?  The application period for spring 2021 internships is
currently open.  Please see
<a href="https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships">https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships</a>
for more details and information on how to apply!</p>
]]></content></entry>

<entry xml:base="https://bndl.org">
<author><name>bandali</name></author>
<id>tag:bndl.org,2020:notes.atom:fsf-internship-intro</id>
<published>2020-05-29T00:00:00+00:00</published>
<updated>2020-05-29T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
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<title>Internship with the FSF tech team &#8212; bandali</title>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[
<p class="box">Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's
sysadmin blog:<br />
<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/introducing-bandali-intern-with-the-fsf-tech-team">Introducing
Amin Bandali, intern with the FSF tech team</a></p>

<p>Hi there, I'm Amin Bandali, often just <code>bandali</code> on the
interwebs.  I wear a few different hats around GNU as a maintainer,
webmaster, and Savannah hacker, and I'm very excited to be extending
that to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) as an intern with the FSF
tech team for spring 2020.</p>

<p>Growing up around parents with backgrounds in computer engineering
and programming, it did not take long for me to find an interest in
tinkering and playing with computers as a kid, and I first came into
contact with GNU/Linux in my teenage years.  My first introduction to
the world of free software came a few years later, when a friend
kindly pointed out to me that what I had vaguely known and referred to
as "open source" software is more properly referred to as free
software, and helped me see
<a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">why
"open source" misses the point of free software</a>.  After learning
about and absorbing the ideas and ideals of free software, I have
since become a free software activist.  As a computer scientist who
enjoys studying and hacking on various programs and sometimes writing
my own, I have made a point of releasing all I can under strong
copyleft licenses, particularly the
<a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.html">GNU AGPL</a>
license.</p>

<p>My involvement with the <a href="https://www.gnu.org">GNU
Project</a> started in 2016, first as a volunteer webmaster, and later
as one of the maintainers of
<a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/">GNUzilla and
IceCat</a> late last year.  Also around the same time, I led a group
of volunteers in organizing and holding
<a href="https://emacsconf.org/2019">EmacsConf 2019</a> as a
completely online conference, using only free software tools, much
like the excellent
<a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/LibrePlanet:Conference/2020">LibrePlanet
2020</a>.  I love <a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/">GNU
Emacs</a>, and use it more than any other program.  GNU Emacs helps me
do a wide variety of tasks such as programming, reading and composing
emails, and chatting via IRC.</p>

<p>More closely related to my internship with the FSF tech team, I
have been familiarizing myself with various pieces of the
<a href="https://savannah.gnu.org">GNU Savannah</a> infrastructure
with help from veteran Savannah hacker Bob Proulx, gradually learning
and picking up tasks helping with the administration and maintenance
of Savannah.  I am also a member of the Systems Committee of my
university's computer science club, overseeing and maintaining a large
fleet of GNU/Linux servers for our club members.</p>

<p>For my internship with the Free Software Foundation, I will be
working with the FSF tech team on a number of tasks, including helping
with
the <a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/coming-soon-a-new-site-for-fully-free-collaboration">free
software forge</a> project, as well as various improvements for
gnu.org.  I look forward to learning many new things and picking up
valuable skills through my internship with the FSF's exceptional tech
team, who do <em>so much</em> for the GNU project and the wider free
software community.</p>
]]></content></entry>

<entry xml:base="https://bndl.org">
<author><name>bandali</name></author>
<id>tag:bndl.org,2020:notes.atom:computing</id>
<published>2019-09-14T00:00:00+00:00</published>
<updated>2021-02-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
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<title>How I do my computing &#8212; bandali</title>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[
<p class="box">inspired by the computing page of
<a href="https://stallman.org/stallman-computing.html">rms</a></p>

<h2>Computers</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://libreboot.org">librebooted</a> ThinkPad X200
computer is the machine I use the most and where I do most of my
computing.  I also have the privilege of having access to a fleet of
servers through our school's
<a href="https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca">Computer Science Club</a> that I
use for some more computationally intensive tasks every now and
again.</p>

<h2>GNU/Linux distribution</h2>
<p>I used a wide variety of distros over the years; but I have since
found <a href="https://trisquel.info">Trisquel</a> to be my favourite
and it's put my "distro-hopping" days behind me.  Sometimes I pair it
up with <a href="https://guix.gnu.org">GNU Guix</a>.  For the kernel,
I usually use
<a href="https://www.fsfla.org/ikiwiki/selibre/linux-libre/">GNU
Linux-libre</a> from jxself's
<a href="https://jxself.org/linux-libre/">APT repository</a>.</p>

<h2>Actual computing</h2>
<p>I spend most of my time in
<a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/">GNU Emacs</a>.</p>
<p>TODO: elaborate</p>
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