Computing Assistance Support & Education Inc – CASE Notes

CASE president Darrell Burkey has travelled north to attend Linux Conf Australia 2011, a large and very popular IT event.

“linux.conf.au (lca) is a conference about Open Source Software, including Linux. It brings together the world’s community of Linux and open source enthusiasts who make considerable contributions to open source software.”

Flying to the recently flooded city of Brisbane for the full event we have no doubt we’ll come away with a treasure trove of information, new contacts and new ideas we can apply to ICT in community-service sector. We use a wide range of Open Source solutions in our day-to-day operations and strive to stay abreast with developments in this fast moving and very exciting industry. Friends of CASE have also been in attendance at the conference, Pia Waugh has been tweeting comprehensively as usual and Andrew Tridgell has given a presentation on coffee and Linux. Mark Pesce, who we heard from and were impressed by at Connecting Up 2009, also a keynote speaker at lca2011, has been keeping up quality coverage via his Twitter feed here.

For more information about the event please check out the official page. We’ll provide further coverage here as we put the material together!

Thanks for everyone who turned out for our AGM which turned out to be a great event. Nick and Stuart from Woden Community Services gave a great presentation detailing how they performed a major IT overhaul for their group, with great results. What’s more, they brought copies of all their high quality documentation to share. Brilliant! Then we surprised Andrew Tridgell with Kate Lundy dropping by to do a small presentation bestowing to him life-membership and a new Sonic Screwdriver. A heartfelt speech for someone who has helped a lot. The business end of the AGM concluded quickly with Darrell Burkey re-elected as President, Amanda Plowright as Vice President, myself as Committee Member and we’d like to welcome Stuart Hogan to the committee as well. Thanks for volunteering!

CASE President Darrell Burkey recently received certification as one of Australia’s newest GIAC certified trained computer security experts.

The Global Information Assurance Certification was founded in 1999 to validate the skills of information security professionals. The purpose of GIAC is to provide assurance that a certified individual has theknowledge and skills necessary for a practitioner in key areas of computer, information and software security.

Training for GIAC certifications is provdided by The SANS (SysAdmin,Audit, Network, Security) Institute which was established in 1989 as acooperative research and education organization.

Darrell stated, “Having the opportunity to be trained by top securityexperts who are at the front line of today’s most sophisticated
systems was both challenging and very rewarding. I can’t wait for the opportunity to continue training with SANS”.

CASE staff congratulate Darrell for a job well done.

CASE’s Annual General Meeting wrapped up this evening after a small but pleasant gathering. Patron Sen. Kate Lundy arrived just in time to stop the Web 2.0 version of herself stealing the show and what followed was a relaxed, informal talk about human engagement through technology. After Kate’s presentation we briefly looked at the  year behind us, Darrell detailed VISE’s Online Volunteer Management System (developed by CASE over a number of years), our trip to the Dharriwaa Elder’s Group in Walgett, and welcomed new members Hepatitis C Council of NSW, among others.

Business as usual followed, then the nomination of committee members for the coming year. Darrell Burkey maintains his position as President, Amanda Plowright maintains her position as Vice President and I have been returned as a committee member.

Looking forward to the year ahead!

Ever wondered why a top software developer would spend his time helping out non-profit organisations? Is it possible to be involved in a court case with Microsoft for 10 years and come away happy? Did CASE really teach a Masters level course in Free and Open Source software development at the Australian National University?

Hear what Andrew Tridgell has to say when CASE Management Committee member Sam McKeon and Darrell Burkey get together for a conversation about all of the above and more.

It’s a fairly casual podcast this time around but we quickly get to the heart of the matter.

You can listen to this podcast by heading over to our podcast page and selecting Episode 5!

While attending Connecting Up 09 Darrell and I had a chance to meet Wendy Spencer from of the Dharriwaa Elders Group, Walgett NSW. After a long day we made it back to the hotel room to record a podcast with her (Wendy bravely jumping in front of the mic despite having a cold – and I didn’t end up sick!). Wendy talks about the DEG finding CASE and how the relationship developed between the two groups. We then examine some of the technical aspects of the work CASE has done for the Elders group.

Head over to the CASE podcast page to listen in to Episode 4.

We’re pleased to release our very first podcast!

In this episode Darrell Burkey, president of CASE, talks about the history of the organisation. We look at the ideas behind providing shared IT services to the community development sector. Real world examples of CASE’s work are cited as proof that CASE’s model has made a difference to many lives Australia wide. Head over to the CASE podcast page to listen in!

On account of our decade in action The Canberra Times interviewed Darrell and Kate Lundy for a large article in the Computer section on Monday. It looks at CASE’s history and structure and also details our recent work with the Dharriwaa Elders in the remote community of Walgett. If you missed the article, you can download a PDF version of it here.

The CASE podcasts are now listed in the iTunes directory. Subscribe through iTunes or this RSS if you would like to stay up to date with CASE’s latest audio offerings!