[kwlug-announce] Meeting Monday (NOTE LOCATION): Windows Subsystem for Linux, Tiling Window Managers

[Paul Nijjar]

IMPORTANT: we have had a last-minute change in our meeting location.
This month we will meet at our old location: St John's Kitchen
(https://kwlug.org/sjk) . Stay tuned for information about where we
will meet in the future. 

Maybe you made a New Year's resolution to increase cooperation and
reduce divisiveness in the world? Or maybe you really, really want to
run a Linux program in Windows? Boy, does Jason Eckert have a
presentation for you. If you have a Windows 10 installation you can
enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux, an API layer that allows Linux
to run directly on the Windows kernel. Does this mark a new era of
peace and harmony, or is it the old ethos of "embrace, extend and
exterminate"? We'll find out!


Maybe you made a New Year's resolution to use your screen real estate
better this year?
Maybe you are sick and tired of desktop wallpapers? All of those
flowers and landscapes are such a waste of space! Why not put
non-overlapping program windows all over your screen? Boy, does Lanny
Cox have a presentation for you. He uses a tiling window manager
called i3. Will this revolutionize your computing productivity, or
cost you hours twiddling configuration files? We'll find out!

Here are a few other things going on this month: 

- the StarCon conference (starcon.io) is happening on the weekend of
  January 19 and 20. It looks as if tickets might be sold out, but if
  not you can register here:
  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/starcon-2019-tickets-51364393283 . There
  are a number of interesting talks happening, including lightning
  talks on ethical telemetry, writing a backdoor in Rust, and the Curv
  design language. See https://starcon.io/talks for more information.

- I can't figure out whether this is FLOSS-friendly or FLOSS-hostile,
  but it involves open data, so here goes: the Region of Waterloo in
  competing for a $50 million prize to develop something related to
  smart cities. They are focusing on some project related to healthy
  children and youth.  They have done some consultations, and are
  holding a prototyping night on Jan 9:
  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/help-smart-waterloo-region-win-50-million-tickets-53657483979
  . You can find more about the project here: http://smartwr.ca

- There is an effort underfoot to revitalize our OpenStreetMap
  presence by mapping local resources, especially as they pertain to
  climate change. If you are interested contact me offlist and I will
  get you in touch with the organizer. 

Want more? Check out watcamp.com for other events and meetings of
interest within Waterloo Region. 

That's it for this month's announcement. Remember that we are meeting
at St John's Kitchen this month: 

St John's Kitchen
97 Victoria Street North
(at Weber)
Kitchener 

See https://kwlug.org/sjk for photos and maps. This location is very
close to our KWIC meeting location -- it is across the street, at the
corner of Victoria and Weber. 

Doors will open around 6:30pm. Setup help is always welcome. 

- Paul
-- 
http://pnijjar.freeshell.org