Software Freedom Day 2024 Hackerspace Brussels (Belgium)

Principle

During Software Freedom Day, we’ll be celebrating the merits of Free software (free as in Freedom, we ask you to pay for your food and drinks).

Live stream

There will be a live stream on peerTube for those who can’t make it. Try to come over though. There’s more interaction. Details for the live stream will follow later.

BBQ

at the end of the day we will have a BBQ there will be vegitarian and meat opton for 15 euro/plate and a budget-friendly sandwich with köfte for 5 euro please register on this form

Program

Content

[11:40 - 12:10] Taking back control of DNS with Bind (AltF4)

• Prior knowledge: Basic understanding of DNS (how a domain name connects to an IP-address)
• Format: Presentation
• Language: English

Stop being locked up at your registrar web portal or private resolvers, don’t have your ISP look over your shoulder and know every website you visit. Set up Bind and set up your own DNS service.

[12:30 - 14:00] Configurer votre serveur gratuit sur un ancien ordinateur (zarev)

• Prior knowledge: Commandes de base Linux
• Format: Workshop
• Language: French
• Interested but don’t have a spare computer? HSBXL has some spare i3 desktops with 4GB or RAM (donation €50)

Bonjour à toi, je suis zarev et je vous guiderai dans la transformation de votre ancien ordinateur en serveur domestique, à remplacer des services propriétaires par des applications libres et open source.

• Quelques explications sur la philosophie de l’auto-hébergement, dit “self-hosting”.
• Avantages & inconvénients de l’auto-hébergement.
• Que choisir comme matériel informatique pour se lancer dans l’auto-hébergement?
• Remplacement & équivalence des applications propriétaires par des applications libres et open source.
• Installation d’applications libres et open source avec Docker.
• Se connecter à ses applications et services de manière sécurisée: utilisation du VPN WireGuard.

Useful links:

• belginux
• Docker

[14:10 - 14:40] FFglitch: when bugs become features (Ramiro)

• Prior knowledge: Slightly nerdy (linux terminal, ffmpeg related) but still cool if you don’t need to understand it all
• Format: Demotime
• Language: English

In this talk I will present FFglitch, a multimedia bitstream editor. As a former FFmpeg developer, I was always amazed by the glitches that were created when we got something wrong in the code. But since those glitches were considered bugs, and not features, we had to fix the bugs and get rid of the glitches. FFglitch was born as a project where those glitches are features, and not bugs. FFglitch leverages the FFmpeg codebase to turn decoders into bitstream editors. It allows precise editing of bitstream values, along with built-in scripting support, real-time input from HID and MIDI controllers, and network communication. Incredibly overengineered and vastly underdocumented since its inception, this glitch art project is finding new uses in codec vulnerability research.

Bio: Hi, I’m Ramiro Polla.

• I have always loved hacking things to learn and understand how they work.
• I have always loved the technical aspects of any music-making or video-making thing.
• I have been involved in Open Source development since the early 2000s.
• I have been part of hackerspaces for over a decade.
• I love working on useless projects that make people tilt their heads and ask “but why?”.
• Lately I have been focussing mostly on FFglitch.

Useful links:

• ffglitch
• ffmpeg

[15:00 - 15:30] Using python to grab screenshots on page change (Erik)

• Prior knowledge: basic Python understanding
• Format: Demotime - have docker and python installed if you want to try along!
• Language: English

Erik will get creative with Python, and build some scripts, for example to track changes on a website and send a screenshot when certain changes happen

Useful links:

• Python
• Python Package index

[15:40 - 16:10] Getting creative with Krita (Akuma)

• Prior knowledge: None needed
• Format: Demotime
• Language: English

Akuma will show us the basics of Krita, a drawing application focusing on powerful brushes and artistic tools. In the process of creating his artwork, we will discover the rich potential of the tool.

Useful links:

• Krita
• Krita Artists

[16:20 - 16:50] How to get started with LMMS (music production) (Cedric)

• Prior knowledge: None needed - Have LMMS installed if you want to play along…
• Format: Mini workshop
• Language: English

Let’s figure out the basics: how to make a bass-line and put a melody on it, perhaps even a small automation to add some noise to it. Don’t expect to walk out all geared up for to hit the stage for TML. It’s just the bare basics.

Useful links:

• LMMS
• Mixxx

[17:00 - 17:30] How to apply the free software or open source definition to an AI system (Ciarán)

• Prior knowledge: None needed
• Format: Presentation
• Language: English

During this presentation, the following topics will be discussed:

• Why AI systems are different to other software
• The possible approaches
• The status
• The consequences

Permanent activities

🎨 Artists challenge

For participants of Software Freedom Day, Huion is challenging you to create a digital artwork using FOSS software (Krita, GIMP, Inkscape, Blender, FreeCAD, MyPaint, Tux Paint, …) expressing the joys or importance of Software Freedom. More details and submissions on the Digital Freedoms website!

Notice: age is taken in account. Contributions of all ages are welcomed!

🍟 Food and drinks

• Over noon, we’ll order out for some local cuisine
• In the evening there will be BBQ (vegan and regular)
• There is a wide range of drinks available during the whole of the day

💡 Demonstration of small projects in the electronics lab

Visit the hackerspace electronics lab to see some cool projects in the works

🕹 Play a FOSS arcade game

Play Tux Racer, SuperTux or one of the other cool FOSS games on our arcade box.