[kwlug-disc] KWLUG - The Kitchener Waterloo Linux User Group new content notification: 2009-01-06 18:13

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Greetings mail-forum-merge,

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Recent content - 2 new posts
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1. Where is my money going? Using Gnucash to track it
Published Presentation Topic by Raul Suarez
[ http://kwlug.org/node/631 ]

I can do a presentation of GnuCash [1] from the "home user"
perspective.
If someone has "small business" experience with GnuCash we can do a
shared presentation.
I have been using GnuCash [2] for several years to track and analyze my
personal expenses. I know how much I've spent and on what. This
information helps me budgeting and making decisions on saving
opportunities.
According to their website
GnuCash is personal and small-business financial-accounting software,
freely licensed under the GNU GPL and available for GNU/Linux, BSD,
Solaris, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows.
... GnuCash allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income and
expenses.
I'll show you how to create accounts, how to import transactions from
your bank, Do transfers and generate reports.
I can fit this presentation in a 1/2 meeting or full meeting
presentation.
GnuCash has a special place for me as it was my epiphany to the value
of Open source:
I bought Quicken in 1998 and used it until 2003 when I got a new
computer. When I tried to reinstall Quicken it asked me to register. To
my surprise the registration didn't work anymore. The URL no no longer
existed. The only option was buying the newest version. Needless to
say,
5 years of personal expenses records were locked and out of reach
unless
I forked up the money.
I had "played" with Linux on and off since the early days as a nice
curiosity but not until then it did sink what Freedom really means.
Yes, Quicken still has nicer graphics and maybe some advanced features,
but putting it on the balance against owning my own data, freedom
certainly wins.

[1] http://www.gnucash.org/
[2] http://www.gnucash.org/

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2. Puppy Linux - Floss Fund Nomination
Published Nominee by Raul Suarez
[ http://kwlug.org/node/632 ]

Puppy Linux [3] is a small and light distribution with all the
functionality of a large one. This is not just another derived
distribution. It was built from the scratch taking components from many
different sources and frequently implementing them in a novel way.
The main goals of PuppyLinux [4] are not to be the fastest or smallest
or prettiest, but to be highly functional in newer and older hardware.
Due to it's size and functionality I always carry it with me on a pen
drive and has been invaluable in many occasions.
Why do I think contributions are important?
The distribution is maintained mainly by the original developer with an
eclectic and loosely collection of contributors participating in an
ad-hoc manner. This project does not have any stable funding other than
the main developer's pension and the occasional donation.
Some facts about the project and the creator

Barry is a self declared hermit who lives in Penjorie which is hundreds
of miles away from Perth which in turn is the most isolated city in the
world
Just until recently Barry only had dial-up. Now he has a government
subsidized satellite connection
Uploading a new version involves driving several hours to Perth
Donations are usually directed into buying hardware for testing.

This is a real Open Source success story not because of the current
popularity of the distribution but because it shows that a single
hermit
lost in one of the most remote parts of Australia can still be
relevant.

[3] http://www.puppylinux.com/about.htm
[4] http://www.puppylinux.com/about.htm


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