dear fellow members of plug, this is the email exchange between engels of bluepoint that spun off a thread from plug. i hope this email clears up the issues from both sides and that we can bury this issue and start a new. > > >all i want is to get the facts right. i have a problem with bad publicity > >and more importantly premature publicity because it tends to send the > >wrong signals to the community. we are sensitive people here. > > > > Likewise. Let me assure you that I, personally, never wanted any publicity. > I'm sure you understand that some people are content with what they do > as long as they enjoy it. > amen. i never intended to rant about this sorry for the misunderstanding. well we enjoy what we do! > ><snipped original link to compuworld> > > > >> >> > >> >> from what i understand from the article, the "distro" is a single floppy > >> >> based one, or am i wrong? this is a far cry from being a real > distribution > >> >> like admulinux is. heck, if a single floppy distribution were all there > >> >> were to it, then we've had that kind of thing for a long while now. > >> >> > >> >yup. i remember making chicken linux floppy distribution when i was new to > >> >linux. heck. i even remember other people who i compared notes with to get > >> >the dang thing running. admulinux is wonderful distribution for the > >> >hacker. admulinuxGO is the best teaching tool idea i have encountered in > >> >along time. it makes me wonder if TROLLS existing only in the m$ world. i > >> >guess they also do in the linux world. > >> > >> This just proves that Filipinos are exceptionally intelligent. Again, > there's > >> no issue regarding AdMULinux. I, for one, agree that it was a good teaching > >> tool (I'm from UP Diliman but I sure have a lot of Blue-blooded friends). > For > >> the record, we *never* claimed that Buhawi is the first local Linux distro. > >> For the record again, Buhawi can be compiled to run on a single floppy or > as a > >> full Linux installation on regular IDE and SCSI drives. There are no TROLLS > >> here, Mister. We just came here to code. It's not our fault that > Computerworld > >> published an article about Buhawi in the way they did. Please remember that > no > >> one has a monopoly on Linux or Open Source. I'm sure there's room for > >> different distros, God knows we need more of these especially now that M$ > has > >> taken to directly throwing dirt at our community. > >> > >i formally apologize the use of the word TROLL and for immediately > >condemning you guys for compuworld article. mea culpa on my part. > > No problem. It was just a major misunderstanding. I've quoted Alma Buelva's > message to our Executive Director. I hope this helps in resolving the issue. > > --start of quote-- > > >Dear Magie, > > > >Hi. I'm sorry to hear about the unsavory discussions going on after my story > on Buhawi was published. I am not a subscriber to PLUG, but word did get to me > about the criticisms Bluepoint is getting from the PLUG community. I'm writing > you only now because I was in the States last > >week and was quite detached from the local happenings. > > > >Anyway, it seems I own the fault for saying Buhawi is the "First" Filipino > Linux distribution. If it isn't so, then I really would like to apologize. > Something in your first email to me gave me that impression, and it was really > an honest mistake on my part to assume such. Again I'm > >sorry. But if Buhawi is indeed the first Pinoy Linux flavor around, pls. do > tell so I can answer some email I got regarding the story that questions that > label I gave Buhawi. > > > >Again, I regret any inconvenience my story has caused you and Engels and the > whole Bluepoint Foundation. > > > >Thank you, > >alma > > --end of quote-- > > Magie actually e-mailed Alma just to tell her that the site was up. > okay. nice to hear this. how about the rest of PLUG? > > > >i would assume that if there was a mistake in the press release > >you could have done something to fix it up. you know how we are in the > >community. being a lurker you may have seen the countless issues that have > >popped up and cause flame war. > > Rest assured that we are doing something about it. Actually, there was *no* > press release. Alma visited the Buhawi site, e-mailed a few questions, and > wrote the story from there. I never intended Buhawi to be in the limelight. It > was on the shelf for quite a while and I only decided to continue development > because the foundation is set to go out and donate computers to the provinces > this year. It was revived solely to be installed to these computers with the > hope that the recipients would find it easier to learn Linux if the > instructions, docs, and man pages were in their native tongue. Believe me, I > had no intention of displacing the other local distros. Buhawi is *another* > local distro, not the *first* local distro. > i understand and again i hope that this issue is finally resolved. i am worried mainly about the negative impression it has given bluepoint in the plug community. > > > >also i believe in the saying "give credit were credit is due". i believe > >that we are were we are because of the countless work of other people. > >being part of the linux community in the philippines. i believe that we > >must work together in order to promote linux in this country. how am i > >supposed to feel happy about open source work if a group goes around and > >start claiming everything here and there yonder about open source and > >linux even makes no mention about the local linux communities here such > >as PLUG and countless other nameless people? of course, angry and hurt! > > > > > > My apologies for the misundertanding. We did *not* mean to exclude anyone. In > fact, we never wanted any credit for the work we are doing. We always tell > people about, and invite them to join, PLUG whenever we conduct seminars and > symposiums on Linux. We even offered our instructional materials to Manny > Amador and his group when he needed stuff for an out-of-town Linux seminar. > All I'm saying is that we recognize PLUG as a major force in the Philippine > Linux community. > amen! > >> > > >> >maybe they have their own Philippine Linux Users Group and they have a doc > >> >mana clone!!! not as good as the real one though. > >> > >> Nope. We have no intention of replicating PLUG. You guys are good at what > you > >> do. > >> > >... > > > >> > > >> >> aside from them claiming to be the first filipino linux distro... they > >> >> also claim to have run the first Linux-based BBS in the Philippines! > i've > >> >> run Alien's Alcove on Linux since the mid-1990's but closed-doors to the > >> >> public when i had to move homes. ;) so i figure that i'd have to say > >> >> alien's was the first. oh... for the patient and close-to-demented as i > >> >> am, you can try "ssh -l bbs gra.ph" or "telnet -l bbs gra.ph" for some > old > >> >> time fun. if it breaks, email me. :) hey ian, remember our first ytalks > >> >> over the modem? is robbie still an IBMer? > >> > >> I think I settled this issue earlier. Anyway, it's a non-issue. Again, if > >> Alien's Alcove was the first Linux BBS, no problem here! > >> > >non-issue it is. next time, i just hope that people be careful with their > >press release. if it is the culpa of the publication then call for an > >errata. > > Again, there was *no* press release. I have indeed called for an errata > especially since I was as surprised as most people when Buhawi was labeled as > the first local distro. In all honesty, I am not getting paid by the > foundation to code Buhawi or maintain Lalainya. It's just what we call the > "love of the game." Spending my own resources for something that does not > directly benefit me is "bad" enough. To be berated by the local Linux > community for claims which I did *not* make is too high a price to pay for me > to continue "playing the game." > hope that thing work out fine now that all the facts are laid down. > > > >> > > >> >i even remember reading them post about the first permanent beowulf > >> >installation in the country??? da heck! > >> > > >> > >> And we respect AGILA too, thank you. I've read your whitepaper and am quite > >> impressed with your work. However, Lalainya was simply realized before > AGILA > >> was. But hey, if being first is an issue, you can have it. IMHO, it's > better > >> to have two clusters in one country anytime - whatever the achievements of > >> AGILA or Lalainya, Pinoys win, right? Also, we are not concerned with > titles. > >> As long as Lalainya performs the way we designed her to (using our own > >> parallel processing software aside from those downloadable from the > Internet), > >> we are content. > >> > >no problem here. i never claimed that AGILA was the first. > > > >i have some clustering history here. the first people who actually did it > >were sina dr. elfredy sa UPLB(maybe neil a. would know what happened). > >however, that cluster i am not sure about it's status. if you are talking > >about still working cluster and realized before you it could be from any > >of the other universities. > > > >MSU-IIT - 8 node dual PII cluster and one new one coming up(probably the > >longest one i know that still is being used) > >UPD-NIP and other UP units - 16 node athlon cluster and others > >and others. > > > >we are slowly collecting this information for historical reasons. i was > >peeved about the fact that you have released the information without even > >taking a look at the facts first. you are from UPD right? there are > >cluster lying around your campus too you know. > > With all due respect, I never posted anything about this. I know about the > clusters you mentioned - there were plans of "interconnecting" them with > Lalainya so our Beowulf couldn't logically be the first. Please understand > that we *never* released any information to the press about Lalainya being > first. True, it initially ran on a couple of Pentium 90 clones, mostly > donated. But that's about it. CW touted it as one of the largest zero-cost > Beowulfs in the world, but that was because we were expecting more than 500 > P-II's from Germany when they wrote about Lalainya. As I told you earlier, I > don't care much about accolades, titles, and etc. I simply enjoy the challenge > of making a Beowulf of that size work. > i empathize with you and i hope that you get your donation form germany and put the philippines in the world map. > > > >---------- > > > >i read something interesting on your site. > > > >"...solve metro manila's traffic problems" > > > >i am interested in knowing how you intend to go about this. do you plan to > >use multistate cellular automata like the work of stephen wolfram and > >weiner? how do you plan to discretize the CA? use a data-parallel method > >to allocate various portions of the CA to different processing elements? > >...or... use differential methods? > > > > This will actually depend on what data Ike Seneres will provide us to work > with. He's not gotten around to it due to the issues he has to face at the > moment :-( Now that you mention it, I think it was Ike who was so hot on > employing Lalainya to "solve metro manila's traffic problems." My other > colleagues, mostly from the Development Academy of the Philippines, wanted to > tap the cluster for weather analysis (in cooperation with PAGASA para may > social relevance daw). So in a way, I'm just using Lalainya's raw power in > beta testing the parallel processing codes that I'm working on until the other > members of the foundation finally decide on what they'd like to use the > cluster for. > okay. maybe we can work on some join projects since we are into this too. > It'll most likely be differential in nature but I'm not ruling out other > methods. I've been working with some guys from the Math building for > additional inputs. > we are using artificial intelligence methods such as CA and neural net for the meantime. other models will soon follow. > >maybe we can get together sometime. we have a graduate student working on > >this type of problem. maybe we can share some notes. now this is getting > >off a good start! > > > > Sure. Two heads are always better than one, right? And getting off a good > start might help dissipate the angsts generated by this misunderstanding. God > knows how *beat* up I am these past few days. > amen!!! > >------------ > > > > > >> Last time I checked, the Philippine Linux community was a welcome place for > >> people who would like to contribute to it. So what's with all these > >> "righteous indignation?" > >> > > > >i am sorry that we have had to start off in the wrong foot here. well, i > >hope you understand my sentiments and the sentiments of others on this > >issue too. people do not like the idea of one single group taking credit > >for the work of countless others you know. > > > intended to grab credit for others' work. The foundation's main goal is > actually to try and bring computing to the masses. Linux is the best vehicle > for realizing this goal so we focused on it's development. We just want to > help, and again, I just came here to code. Please forward this to the members > of PLUG. I hope that this clears the air between our respective organizations. > okay. i hope that thing turn out okay. -------------------------------------- William Emmanuel S. Yu Ateneo Cervini-Eliazo Networks (ACENT) email : [EMAIL PROTECTED] web : http://cersa.admu.edu.ph/ phone : 63(2)4266001-5925/5904 What we wish, that we readily believe. -- Demosthenes _ Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph To leave: send "unsubscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the Linux Newbies' List: send "subscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
