I love the concept of the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child). However, the implementation really falls short. Case in point: Rehaboth Integrated School in Bugembe near Jinja, Uganda. A generous donor gave 100 OLPC’s to the school, and they’ve sat in a closet for almost two years. The primary reason is that the staff had no real idea what to do with them. They needed training. (They were also waiting on the donor to release them to the school. They wanted the laptops to go home with the students… a HORRIBLE idea in a developing country.)

That’s where we were happy to step in. Together with Monte Hoover, a recent graduate of West Point and the faculty and staff of West Point, we broke those machines out of the closet and began putting them to use.

Monte wrote an amazing game of Tetris Math and together we installed it and began training the staff and students of Rehaboth.

This was an amazing partnership, and I’m proud of the work we did there. Enjoy the photos!

Monte, Henry and Fred installing Monte’s "Tetris Math" app on the OLPC’s at Rehaboth Integrated.

Henry and Monte showing off the OLPC.

The crowd grows…

…and grows until eventually Monte is swallowed up by a crowd of enthusiastic students!

These things are magnets for kids!

They just can’t wait to try them out!

We did some teacher training as well, again at Rehaboth Primary.

Monte teaching a group of P7 students.

More teacher training. The teachers really had fun!

Fred and Henry translating and teaching with Monte.

More P7 students.

The students loved Monte’s program! It was a real winner.

Gerod helping out with the student training.

Monte sitting with a student that’s playing his game. The students really loved this thing!

Thankfully, we had a little time to see the sights. Here’s Monte at the Source of the River Nile. Thank you Monte for your excellent work for HFC and the teachers and students of Uganda. We will never forget you! We hope you come back soon!

What a week.

First, the training center. I found that the Ncomputing machines were not a good fit. Most of the training we have is on DVD and with the nComputing setup, only one machine has a DVD drive. So we replaced that table with the machines sent from Whitewolf. Unfortunately, we blew three of the power supplies. The first was because I’m a bonehead and the power supply was set to 115V. The second was because the switch was broken on the supply, and even though it said it was set to “230v”, internally it was still set to “115v”. Guh. The third was because one of our helpers plugged the monitor power cord into the computer (which was set to “230v” so it shouldn’t have mattered). So now, that table has to be set to 110 completely (monitors included) so we have no more mistakes. We did manage to get one of the power supplies fixed in Kampala, and one is toast. The jury’s still out on the third.

The center’s doing well though. We have some customers and we’ve shifted the hours because no one was coming in the morning and lots more people were coming at 4:30 when we were about to close. We’re open from 11:00am – 7:00pm Mon-Fri, and part of the day on Saturday. The DVD-only  content is going to be a problem, especially if more than one person wants to train on the same course at the same time, but I’m going to email TotalTraining to see if they will allow us to use more than one copy of their training. We have a staff, though!

We have Gerald and Josh working most days, and Henry and Teo volunteering their time in the center in exchange for training. I’m excited to have Ugandans working in the center. The prospect of running day-to-day operations in the center was overwhelming, considering everything else I’m doing.

That brings me to the topic of the cafe. There are times when I have my doubts. We’ve been led every step of the way with this thing, but it’s a ton of work. We don’t know the first thing about running a restaurant, but all the pieces are in place. We picked up some restaurant management books while we were in the US, and thankfully, Jen is reading them and running with her new knowledge. Now that the Training Center is at least functional, I need to jump in to the work at the cafe. That’s funding everything, so it’s important.

I had a gig scheduled in Quebec but thanks to the VAV (Volcanic Ash Victory) my flight was canceled. We really (really) needed the money from that gig, and I was looking forward to the conference. The organizers and attendees were great the last time I was there, and the hotel was fantastic. But they offered an alternative, and will accept a video copy of the preso. So yesterday I filmed No-Tech Hacking in my back yard. It was a family event. We set up a podium, set up the video and wireless mic (thanks, Syngress, for the gear from that Stealing The Network video shoot) and recorded the talk. I was up until 3:30am compiling the video, let it render until 8:30, then started the upload process. The video is about 450MB which is MASSIVE for the bandwidth we have. But it’s doable, as long as FTP cooperates, which it didn’t. For some reason I’m getting a 500 I won’t open a connection to 172.17.1.130 (only to 196.x.x.x) when I try to upload to my web server. This can only be bypassed with quote pasv and passive run from the command line, but I need a graphical FTP client so I can resume if (when) the power goes out or the Internet goes down. SSH was too slow (don’t get that really) insisting that the upload would take anywhere from 12 to 16 hours. The connection kept dropping, and after a bit of rsync to resume, my approximate upload time jumped to days, not hours. I don’t have that kind of time. If the video isn’t in their hands by tomorrow, I don’t get paid. I honestly thought about Amazon S3, but I don’t have the time to muck with that right now. So MobileME came to the rescue, and that’s plugging along nicely, telling me I’ve got about 6 hours to go. Fingers crossed.

If this works, I might see if anyone’s interested in playing the video at their con. It’s cheaper than flying me over. =)

Gotta go. I have a ton of email to get through, and I have to rescue our front age before May 1. Thanks so much, sproutbuilder. Wix, here I come. Can’t somebody build us a decent web site? Sheesh. =D

After weeks of work, we got a pretty sad (and a bit condescending) email from a potential training partner. The email limited our ability to use their training in our center. We went from LOTS of training to very little.  So I’m taking the high road and making a show of good will to quite a few training companies we hope to partner with. I want to buy some training for our center instead of trying for handouts. It’s my hope that we can show we’re serious about training the desperately poor. My thought is that we can approach as a customer and see some real long-term partnerships develop.

I’m looking for a few people who might be willing to donate anywhere from $25 to about $200 to put training in our training center in Uganda. Each purchase will help countless customers in our training center. Here’s the list of products we’re looking for:

Total Training: http://www.totaltraining.com/prod/bundle (We don’t need any of their Adobe bundles, but we need all the others)

• Reason 3 & 4: Essential Training Bundle $34.95
• ProTools Training Bundle $63.92
• Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0: Building Web Applications (bundle) $19.00
• GarageBand 3 & What’s New in GB ‘08 Bundle $24.95
• Compressors: The Essentials & Introduction to Equalizers Bundle $19.95

Kelby: http://www.kelbytraining.com/dvds/index.html:

• Wedding Portraits (Disc 1 and 2): $65
• Wedding Photography (Disc 1 and 2: $65
• Corporate Photography: $45

Lynda.com: http://store.lynda.com/category.aspx?categoryID=76. We are looking for these titles. I will keep this page updated.

• Home and Small Office Networking $70
• Migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 $50
• Windows 7 Essential Training (DVD-ROM) $50
• iWeb ‘08 Essential Training $50
• Garageband ‘08 Essential Training (DVD-ROM) $50
• iMovie ‘08 Essential Training (DVD-ROM) $50
• iDVD ‘08 Essential Training (DVD-ROM) $50
• Computer Privacy and Security Essential Training $100
• MySQL Essential Training $50
• ASP.NET Essential Training (DVD-ROM) $100
• PHP with MySQL Essential Training $150
• PHP with MySQL Beyond the Basics (DVD-ROM) $150
• JavaScript Essential Training (2007) $100
• HTML Essential Training $50
• Digital Photography Principles: The Camera (DVD-ROM) $50
• Digital Photography Principles $80
• Secrets to Selling and Publishing Photography $50
• Digital Audio Principals $50
• Switching from Windows to Mac (DVD-ROM) $50
• AutoCAD 2009 Essential Training $100
• Google SketchUp Essential Training $50
• QuickBooks Pro 2010 Essential Training $100
• Quicken 2009 for Windows Essential Training $50
• Reason and Record for Live Performance (DVD-ROM)
• Reason 4 Essential Training (DVD-ROM)
• QuarkXPress 8 Essential Training (DVD-ROM) $100
• Vegas 6 Essential Training (DVD-ROM) $75

These topics are roughly listed in order of need / importance. So if you’re interested in donation some training, just click the “buy now” button. If you want a specific title, list it in the paypal comments. We’ll also be happy to “brand” the training (online / on the case, etc) if you would like that as well.

I’m collecting old video games consoles, controllers and games for a recreational center we want to start in Uganda. The cafe property has so much space behind it that we are planning to start a rec center for street kids and other kids in the area that have nowhere to go during the day. The idea would be that we would offer video games, pool, ping-pong, movies and various sports activities as incentive to take job training (carpentry, metalworking, farming, computer training, tailoring, etc). So for every hour of job training, we allow the kids to enjoy (say) 30 minutes of “free” time at the games/sports. The model is sorta flexible at this point, but one thing is for sure: video games will be a part of this.

So I need to build a library of games and we need to have enough consoles, controllers and accessories because we just can’t get them in Uganda. We’re looking for XBOX and PS2 stuff and anything newer. Got a Guitar Hero set, or a DDR mat? We’re REALLY interested in them too! Newer gear is welcome, but some of the newer gear may go into the cafe to draw tourist money to fund projects like the rec center and training center.

Use the (now working) “Contact Us” form at the top of the page and let me know what stuff you can send. Thanks everyone! Let’s put that old gear to good use!

Well, for a month.

See the PDF.

We’re here to visit family and friends. I’m here to download on my friend’s FIOS (training material, ISOs, applications. I’ll be downloading ALL MONTH!! =). We’re also hoping to buy some gear for the training center (see below) and the cafe (espresso machines, commercial blenders, such like that).

Here are the things I’m hoping to have donated. If we don’t get all of this, we’ll try to buy it, but our budget is so darned small. If you have any of this, please let me know (johnny -at- hackersforcharity.org) and I’ll shoot you the address:

Hardware
Kensington locks for locking laptops and monitors In Cafe and center. We need fifty or more!
Apple keyboards mice monitors or Mac mini (a guy can dream!) for training on Macs in training center
Video cards – decent cards for gaming in cafe and graphics training in center (your upgrade trail is perfect!)
Memory – DDR/DDR2
A/V switches for multiple consoles on one TV (gaming in cafe)
Dvi -> Vga adapters for multi-headed systems in training center

Software
PC Gaming titles (whatever is currently cool, online or otherwise) for tourists in cafe

Consoles gear for tousists @ cafe
Xbox / Xbox 360 / Wii / Playstation:
Software (send lots… Anything!)
Consoles
Controllers
Accessories
Power supplies (110 or 220 ok)

I’ll update this list as I remember things. Thanks everyone!

This week has been a whirlwind. I’ve been working really hard on the Web Server for our Training Center on Lubas. Thanks to the massive pile of content sent by various volunteers, I have conference videos, free training videos, ebooks and more all ready to roll. The web server was no small feat. It’s running on the most up-to-date XP build possible (thanks to the offline updater we were sent). Yes, XP because our cafe software is on XP. It’s a start. Don’t make fun of me. The web data is copied to a 120GB TrueCrypt partition which serves as the web root. I’m hoping to get a big SATA drive from somewhere, because we’re already maxed out on our “massive” 150GB drive. Anyhow, there were all kinds of problems like varied NTFS implementations (between Tuxera NTFS and True Crypt’s version.. file name length specifically), and problems getting out clients locked down (all patches, no USB write, No CD write, Deep Freeze, AVG, Cafe software, etc). I was working on it all up to the minute I left for Entebbe for IT-Defense (http://www.it-defense.de/en/it-defense-2010/program.html). Conferences like this pay the bills. We live off of this, and donor support, so gigs like this are a big deal. But I was frazzled. My mind was spinning when I left. I’m not saying that’s any excuse for what I’m about to say.

It’s best I just come out with it. I’m a bonehead.

We left Entebbe at 3:30pm on Monday. I had to get to Kampala by 5:00 to get my passport from the lawyer who is helping us file for a work permit and register HFC, Ltd as a business. We finally got to the lawyer’s at about 6:30 (the poor staf waited an hour and a half after hours for us) and the Kampala traffic had us sitting in inch-by-inch traffic for hours. The normally three-hour drive to Entebbe ended up taking us five. I settled into the hotel by 8:30, and ordered room service. It took twenty minutes (Africa time) which meant the food came after an hour and fifteen minutes. I showered off the dust and grime which the African Equatorial Oven had baked onto me and after eating, I set my alarm for 4:30, and planned on a 4:45 departure. Adding the five minute drive to the airport, that would have settled me in at EBB by 4:50, plenty of time to board my 6:20am flight. I woke up on time (body clock, follwed by alarm, followed by wake-up call) and got out by 4:50. I made it to the airport by  5:15am, and had a nice chat with the owner of the hotel who also happens to be from Maryland.

At the airport, I got out of the van and walked up to security.

“Flight?” he asked.

“6:20, Kenya Air,” I said confidently.

He shook his head. “No such flight,” he said confidently.

This set me off kilter a bit, but I persisted. “No, there is. I’m on it,” I said, less than fully confident.

I took out my computer to show him my eticket. I pointed right to the line in question. “See there,” now poking with extra vigor, making sure not to touch my monitor because thats icky. “Kenya Air. 6:20AM…” That’s when I saw it. He finished my sentence.

“Arrival in Nairobi.”

Crap.

Somehow, I botched the times. Like I said, I’m a bonehead.

I panicked, begged and pleaded. No dice. For once, the flight left EXACTLY on time. I ran upstairs and got anothe flight on Uganda Air. It would get me to Nairobi 45 minutes before my connection to Amsterdam took off.

We landed early, but by the time I got to the transfer desk, it was 8:00. The desk made some phone calls and assured me it was impossible to board my connection. Someone made the judgement call that an 8:30 flight would lock down at EXACTLY twenty-nine minutes before takeoff.

The best they could offer was a 10:50PM flight out, that would land me in Germany at 11:00AM on Wednesday, an hour and a half after my talk.

I took the slot and started calling Germany. Cirosec was VERY cool and said they would swap around talks, but I feel like an utter…bonehead. Well, I’m paying for it now. All told, I will be in the Nairobi airport for 14 hours.

I’m doing my best though to work as feverishly as I can during the time I have. Not that it’s like a penance, but I feel the need to make the most of a bad situation.

I put together the “Hello Shmoocon” video.

I worked on a Pages doc to help Jen and I layout furniture at the Lubas Training Center.

I used my snails-pace reading skills to dig quite a bit into Greg Mortenson’s “Three Cups of Tea” again. This book was decisive and life-changing for me. That book and Wood’s “Leaving Microsoft to Change The World” encouraged me to quit the rate race and move my family to Uganda to focus on HFC full-time. I’m hoping (hope beyond hope) that one of these airports will have his latest book. I have no chance of findinng it in Uganda. Hey, anyone know Greg? Does CAI need computer training?

Now, I’m getting ready to pour through our training content to create tests and certificates for the training we have. Tests and certificates are a big deal in Uganda. It’s not enough to have the skills. You gotta have the paper. So we’re on the brink of having a lot of training, but we don’t really have tests. Nor do we have a “menu” of available courses to give people an idea of how long each will take.

I’m rambling, and although it’s not exciting, I gotta dig into this training.

Take care, and take my advice. Read carefully. Sorry if that has no relevence to you. It’s big for me today.

A while back, I put out a plea for video training courses. Our volunteers really came through. This week, our friend Ashley came to Uganda to begin a three-month stay working with AOET. She brought a care package with her stuffed with goodies from my parents and this array of CD’s, DVD’s and even a SWEET USB hard drive stuffed with training stuff and utility software. There’s no way we could have downloaded this stuff on our own. Thanks to the volunteers that did the leg work and the vendors that donated their material, our learning center is off to an amazing start. Thanks everyone!

I bought popcorn. It came in a bag. Click the image and look closely.

For people who laugh really fast?

They take pictures of packets and frames. Brilliant!

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