I checked this blog for errors and broken links and I tried to correct all of them.
I also changed the old “Help Chi3″ webpage that is now called “Help digital freedom“. It contains useful tips to help spreading digital freedom so please check it out.
For suggestions or feedback please contact me.
I’m back.
After a few weeks without internet connection I am online again.
Now I live in Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura with my girlfriend Mirella, her sister Renata with husband, son, dog and so on. 
The house is beautiful, quite big and I can see the ocean from my window.
We are working to get our pizzeria y taperia called PicoLoco “up and running”. There is a lot of work to do and a lot of people to talk to.
We still can’t speak or write Spanish very well but we’re learning.
What about technology and free software?
Technology here is not so advanced. There are more mobile phones shops than computer shops. You won’t find the latest mobile phone or the newest pc, at least here in Fuerteventura.
Technology prices seem higher than in Italy to me and I didn’t see any GNU/Linux sign around here.
Fortunately I found a GNU/Linux user group here in Canary islands called GULIC.
I subscribed to their mailing list even if I can’t speak spanish. For now I wil write in English.
English language here is not so common. I didn’t meet anyone who could speak english at good level. Maybe it’s better cause it forces me to learn spanish faster. 
This is all for now. I wil write soon with more news.
Free software activist is back again.
Now that the Asus EEE Pc is my everyday pc I installed gNewSense, a GNU/Linux distribution that respects the users’ freedom avoiding to include proprietary software or firmware.
Freedom has its costs and while some pieces of hardware don’t function, others need some work to run properly.
Some readers asked about it so I would like to link a beautiful summary made by my friend and activist Ark74.
I thought a lot about it.
My friend Steve wishes to open a pizzeria Y taperia in Canary Islands together with his wife Renata and they offered me and Mirella to join them so we will move to Fuerteventura soon.
They are giving us the opportunity to leave our country for a better place. Since few days Mirella is busy doing a lot of things: boxes, documents and so on. I really have to thank her for all the help and patience.
Now I’m back in Perugia, where I’m born, to see some friends before leaving. Saying goodbye is always a difficult thing, especially to those people who have been so nice to me.
What can I say?
I miss you but I have to go. As SiJo Bruce Lee used to say: WALK ON!
I wonder if there are free software activists in the Canary Island aera, especially Fuerteventura. I really would like to meet someone. Could you give me some informations about free software user groups and so on?
Today was my last day of work at Alenia Aeronavali where I worked along with Daniele at the helpdesk of the company.
It has been a great experience: I met a lot of people, solved a lot of problems and really enojyed it.
Thank you guys, you made me fly high.
Maybe you already know Ubuntu, a famous GNU/Linux distro based on Debian.
It’s cool, it’s simple, it works but… Ubuntu is not fully free as in freedom.
It has proprietary software and proprietary firmware inside its Linux kernel.
gNewSense is a distribution based on Ubuntu but it has all the proprietary parts removed.
Today this means that some pieces of your current hardware could not function with gNewSense because our main goal is freedom, no matter at which cost.
I am writing this post because now we need your help.
Keeping a distribution updated, nice and secure it’s a hard work and we are still a small group of free software activists.
Do you care about software freedom? Want to contribute to a fully free GNU/Linux distribution endorsed by the Free Software Foundation?
We need developers, translators, graphic artists.
We need people with ideas and creativity.
We need you.
Step up and and say hi on the mailing lists, IRC channels or
forum.
I registered a new domain name.
If you linked chi3.org before please update your website with the new link and the new name: www.sorbaioli.org
I had to thank my friend Matt Lee for all his help and precious suggestions.
I bought an Asus EEE Pc. I read a lot of things online about it and finally decided to get it.
My main laptop was a Lenovo Thinkpad R60: black, big, heavy with proprietary ethernet and wireless.
Now I am writing this post from the eee pc: pearl white, small, light and with GNU/Linux preinstalled.
At the beginning I had some doubts. A Celeron processor is not a Centrino core duo and a 4Gb hard disk is not an 80 Gb one. And what about the keyboard? Is it too small? Can I type well on it? Is the screen too small?
I decided to buy and try.
Now I own it since a few weeks and can write something about it so here are my opinions about the Asus EEE Pc 701 4G.
CPU AND RAM
The EEE Pc has a Celeron processor and 512MB of ram but it is not slow. The default os can open all the applications in a few seconds. If you installed a different one times will inrcrease a bit.
HARD DISK
Asus made different eee pc models with 2Gb, 4Gb or 8Gb hard disk.
My model has 4Gb divided in two partitions, 2Gb each: the first one is the partition used to restore the os and the second one is where GNU/Linux Xandros and your data are stored.
So in the end you have about 1,4Gb of free space but there is always the SD card reader or an external usb disk.
KEYBOARD
It is small but not SO small after all. Give it a few days and you will be typing without errors. Sure. I won’t come back to my old keyboard and I don’t need an external one.
SCREEN
A 7 inch screen is a 7 inch screen.
After you adjusted font type and size you will realize you don’t need ALL that space.
WEBCAM
It’s quite good. The wonderful thing is that all the movies are saved in the free Ogg Theora video format by default!
That’s an easy way to support freedom.:)
OPERATING SYSTEM
The default operating system is GNU/Linux Xandros which is a fork of Debian. It starts in “easy mode” that is a tabbed gui with big icons divided in categories (office, internet and so on).
Following a guide on the net I installed two packages and switched from easy mode to full desktop mode that is a normal kde.
After some time I became a bit bored by the default Xandros os and decided to install my favourite distribution: gNewSense.
FREEDOM
Is the Asus EEE Pc a computer that respects the user’s freedom?
I am using gNewSense and it seems to me that the webcam and wifi don’t work.
I don’t know if some modules are missing or they are not supported by free software drivers.
I will investigate soon.
CONCLUSION
It’s cheap, it’s light, it comes with GNU/Linux preinstalled.
It has webcam, wifi, a GREAT keyboard and touchpad and, most important, a fast solid state disk.
BUY IT!
Welcome readers!
This blog is where I talk about issues relating to free software, free culture and their relationship to a free society. While audio and video is sometimes included, this website develops its narrative mostly in text, inviting you to read.
Suggestions, criticism and comments are well accepted.
Let’s begin.