It looks a bit like this:

It's happening all over the world: September 2, 3, 4, 2011.

Add your jar to the shelf. Be part of something historic.

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image (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) saitor

It's been a while since we checked on the Jam-O-Meter. Let's take a look:

Not bad. We're inching upward, and almost double the number since last time. We're still in the "red" though.

As mentioned earlier, we're aiming to set a new record for this Jam season. This is going to require every one of you (yes, that's you!) to head on over to http://loco.ubuntu.com and register a Global Jam event.

It's fun. It's easy. It's the best way to move the needle.

Full instructions for participating and joining the Jam can be found here.

And, if you have any questions at all, please let me know.

Welcome to the continuing story about what happens when an Ubuntu local community meets great software and decides to help make it more accessible.

The Ubuntu Vancouver Local Community believes that one barrier to the widespread adoption of Ubuntu's ethos and its collection of outstanding software is a shortage of well-written and accessible user guides. Guides that make people say "Wow! I didn't know Ubuntu is that easy. I didn't know Ubuntu could do that!".

Unity is most new users' entry point into Ubuntu, and first impressions count. Unity is the ethos of Ubuntu. Unity is our "secret sauce".

With that in mind, back in the winter of 2011 I set out to catalyze the creation of the first comprehensive guide to Unity on Ubuntu written for the benefit of a person that had previously been trapped in the world of proprietary, community-less software. My small spark to hopefully light a bonfire.

With the help of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) we, Charlene Tessier and yours truly, identified a talented technical writer, Pritpaul Bains, to partner with us and to help new users adopt Ubuntu, not only in Vancouver, but everywhere on earth.

After many months of blood, sweat, and tears (literally), I am happy to announce that our first Unity guide is complete and ready for your enjoyment. The creation of this guide really was a labour of love, and I hope the results will speak accordingly.

Get a copy here. Read it. But more importantly, give our guide to someone who is trapped on the other side. This guide is really more for them:

Credits

Please join me in thanking Pritpaul Bains and Charlene Tessier for a job well done. Please send them a note.

Special thanks to Jason Smith, Manish Sinha, Rick Spencer, and Jorge
Castro for their contributions to this document.

Special thanks to the Unity Team for making Unity amazing.

This guide is dedicated to Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu visionary and founder of the Ubuntu project. From the bottom of our hearts thank you for making the world a better place.

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Want to Help?

All Ubuntu community members are invited to help make UVLC's guides even better and to help get them into the hands of even more people. Unity needs you, and so does your own Ubuntu local community. Join one today and help change the world.

Yes, it's time for more Jam.

I don't know about you, but all this talk of jam and photos of jam sure are making me hungry.

In just a few weeks, it will be time for the Ubuntu Global Jam. Have you planned your event yet? Have you posted it to the Ubuntu LoCo directory? Read how to do it here.

Not planning to jam this year? You can still participate by posting your favourite jam photos. Help spread the meme. Let's put jam all over the planet.

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image (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) olgucz

If I had a dollar for every person who I've heard say it, I'd be a rich man. Well maybe not quite as rich as a famous benevolent dictator, but close ;)

If you haven't read Charlene's post please check it out for good background on why we're going with this in Vancouver, at least for now.

Now, try it out. Walk up to a stranger and ask: "Ubuntu. What is it?" Let's get everyone in the world asking this question. Let's jolt them into thinking about something new.

It's recursive. It's fun. It's mysterious.

It's Wednesday. What could that mean? Jam!

I know what you're thinking. "Randall, you're nuts." Well, bear with me. There's some logic in this.

Every Wednesday, Jono Bacon, (our resident rock star and Community Manager) hosts his flashy "At Home With Jono Bacon" videocast. It's performed live at 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern / 6pm UTC in front of an audience (that's you).

Get it?

Jono loves jam. Please tune in, and please bring lots of jam, and 'jammy' questions. Overwhelm him with jam. Ask him to jam on his guitar, with jam. Tell him I sent you ;)

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image (CC BY-NC 2.0) Darwin Bell

Guess what? I got a fever! And the only prescription.. is more jam!

Ubuntu friends and supporters: You are needed! The Ubuntu Global Jam is happening very soon.

You can help bring Free Software to the everyone you care about. How you ask? Organize an Ubuntu Global Jam event.

Anyone can do it, you don’t have to be a developer or technical. You don't have to be a member of an Ubuntu LoCo. Just think up an event and provide a place for Ubuntu fans in your area to get together.

Simple jam recipe:

1. Pick a venue (can be a pub, bar, community centre, library, restaurant, or coffee shop) near you.
2. Pick a day between 2nd – 4th September 2011.
3. Add your event to the LoCo Team Portal. (If you are not part of a LoCo team, or can't find one in your area, please contact me in the comments!)
4. Tell your local area about it, blog about it, tweet it, and spread the word!

Let's start making Jam :)

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image (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Josh Liba

Tell all your friends. This is going to be fun!

Recently Jam is on my mind...

(Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/seadam/)

What does this have to do with Ubuntu? Everything!

Got a nit? Something about Ubuntu not quite right?

The Ubuntu Global Jam is your chance to bring your local community together to make Ubuntu better.

How can YOU make Ubuntu better? That's up to you. Perhaps your community is good at translating? Documenting? Marketing? Partying? Coding? Bug fixing? Blueprinting? Drawing? Video creation? Deleting stale wiki pages? Drinking coffee? Making jam! <-- yes that's valid too.

As Jono aptly pointed out: "There really is no limit to what you can do to help. The Ubuntu Global Jam is a great opportunity to get together and meet other Ubuntu fans and contributors, make new friends in your area, and help to make the next Ubuntu release the best it can be so we can bring Free Software to the masses."

Jono also mentioned that we're aiming to set a new record for this Jam season. I'm taking his number and I'm inflating it because that's what I do.

In his introductory post, we had 6 events registered. Let's see what our Jam-o-meter says today:

Cool! We've doubled the original number. We're still in the "red" though.

Full instructions for participating and joining the Jam can be found here. Let's get jamming! Let's make the needle move :)