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If we were to put Krzysiek Skarbek’s name in a crossword puzzle, the hint could be something like this: “a fan of Debian and a cat lover.” His choices in the #SidnetDonations program reflect these traits quite well. This time is no different. Today our developer from Łódź, who maintains Blogi z pierwszego tłoczenia (the First-pressed blogs) and the website of mali bracia Ubogich (the little brothers of the Poor) association, as well as others, will be choosing the recipients of Sidnet donations for the 8th time.

Debian

Debian is a 100% free operating system, which has been under development by a dedicated community since 1993. It has become the basis for hundreds of Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, Mint and Deepin.

Since it supports multiple architecture types, it can work on various devices, e.g. Raspberry Pi microcomputers, which even have a dedicated distribution available for them—Raspbian. Debian in also fast and uses little memory, so it can also be effectively used on obsolete computers with weaker hardware.

As a server administrator, Krzysiek values Debian primarily for its reliability:

“Debian works well both on a server and a desktop—I use it daily on my PC and laptop. It is renowned for its stability, which is a crucial thing for any server,” Krzysiek said.

Any Toy Story fans will appreciate the fact that all releases are named after the film characters. There were already releases such as Buzz, Woody and Slink. The unstable version, which is akin to a testing ground, is named after Sid—the film’s antagonist who enjoyed testing the durability of his toys.

JOKOT Foundation

The JOKOT Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeless and free-living cats. Its volunteers provide temporary shelter for homeless cats in their own homes, where they treat and tame the animals to prepare them for adoption. They also take care of sterilizing free-living cats in Warsaw.

The foundation also helped Krzysiek make some new friends:

“In 2011, I adopted Boluś and Lala, two cats that had been discovered with their whole family in a bunker next to railway tracks in Warsaw. Boluś quickly found himself at home in the new place but unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago. Since then, Lala has been following me everywhere I go, even though she is still somewhat fearful. But she is slowly getting used to the new household members—Gucio and Leosia,” said Krzysiek.

When choosing new homes for animals, the foundation’s primary criterion is animal welfare. New owners are required to:

• adopt cats in pairs (a single cat may be adopted if another one already lives in the house);
• install safety nets on balconies and windows and secure any tilt windows;
• remove plants that may be poisonous to cats;
• consent to a pre-adoption visit of foundation volunteers.

Is it Monday, Wednesday or maybe August already…? It is easy to lose track of time during the pandemic. Fortunately, the 15th of each month is always there to keep track of our current space-time position. After all, we have been donating to open-source and charity projects on this day for 7 years now!

Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a leading free, open-source email program for Windows, macOS and Linux. Created by the Mozilla Foundation, Thunderbird is being developed by volunteers and financed entirely through donations.

“I always begin my day by checking my Thunderbird inbox. Even though I have been using it for several years, I have never had any issues with it. I want to support Thunderbird to keep it as trouble-free as it has always been,” Kamil explained.

Although we have already supported the Mozilla Foundation and the creators of the Firefox browser numerous times, this will be the first time that we will be directly helping to finance the development of Thunderbird.

“Kundelek” Animal Shelter

“Kundelek” is a shelter for homeless cats and dogs, run by the Rzeszów Animal Protection Association. The shelter was founded in 2005 and has since been helping lost and abandoned animals, as well as those taken away from irresponsible owners.

Currently, the shelter runs daily live broadcasts on Facebook. It also shares resources regarding the functioning of animal shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic, which are being translated into Polish by volunteers.

“The Rzeszów shelter does much more than supporting homeless animals and their new owners. It also provides the inmates of a nearby prison with a sense of purpose, as they help keep the shelter clean,” Kamil said.

For the Sidnet team, one of the negative consequences of the pandemic is a temporary suspension of the Tuesday board game sessions that used to take place in Warsaw. Until recently, Piotr Zieliński – our Full-Stack Developer – was a regular participant in these meetings. However Piotr is not only an avid fan of board games but also a skilled programmer, one who quickly finds himself at home in any new project. Piotr has recently joined the team responsible for our ongoing cooperation with THG (the owner company of the UK2 brand), one of our long-term customers.

Homebrew

Homebrew is the most popular package manager for macOS. It is the missing link that connects open-source software to Apple’s operating system. It allows users to easily install open-source programs on a Mac, such as software commonly used on Linux. Homebrew is written in Ruby and supports the default version of Ruby that comes with macOS. Piotr uses Homebrew to install and use developer software.

“Thanks to Homebrew, I have everything I need in one place. Installing, updating, package search – every operation can be carried out efficiently via the terminal. The tool also allows you to have different versions of the same package installed at the same time and to switch between them at will. In addition, applications are installed without having to use the sudo command, so there’s no need to modify any base system files, including system files,” said Piotr.

The project has been developed by volunteer programmers since 2009. It is part of the Software Freedom Conservancy, which includes other open-source projects like Git, Debian and Selenium.

Oncorun – Together for health!

Oncorun is the oldest oncology-themed charity running event in Poland. It has been organized by the Sarcoma Association since 2008. Their goal it to support oncological patients both financially and psychologically.

Since Piotr was involved in the development of the Oncorun website, he is intricately familiar with this project. He has recently added such features as support for multiple language versions and online training registration. In addition, he represented Sidnet twice during Oncorun events in Warsaw.

“Though the entire world’s efforts are focused on fighting the pandemic, my thoughts are with the patients of the Sarcoma Association. Not only do they have to their condition, but now also suffer due to their reduced immunity to the coronavirus and difficulties in accessing medical assistance,” he explained.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oncorun organizers have been donating personal protective equipment to hospitals. Additionally, they continue to raise funds for medicine, treatment and clinical visits for the most vulnerable oncological patients.

The nationwide quarantine has not reduced Sidnet’s effectiveness in any way. After all, we have been honing our remote working skills for the last 15 years. Apart from our office being empty, all meetings taking place online and the creation of a separate channel named “Coronavirus” for our company chat, our lives have not changed much.

Mozilla Foundation

The Mozilla Foundation is a non-profit organization that strives for an open, “healthy” and accessible Internet. They are also the publisher of the annual Internet Health Report, as well as such well-known open-source solutions as the Firefox browser and the Thunderbird email program.

“The very thought of spreading ideas and taking concrete actions to help build a better Internet is very close to my heart. Sharing knowledge, critical thinking, social utility and respect for privacy are all inseparable parts of the Mozilla Foundation’s DNA,” says our developer.

These values are evident in the Foundation’s most recent publications concerning the challenges faced by creators and other Internet users during the coronavirus pandemic.

Examples?

• COVID-19 & what platforms are doing to limit the spread of misinformation: Facebook. The first article in a series about how popular websites strive to counteract misinformation.
• Privacy, pandemics and the AI era. An article aimed at initiating a debate on the long-term threats related to the collection of data from people who may be suffering from COVID-19.
• Online Meeting Tips. A collection of tips on how to organize effective online meetings.

St. Brother Albert’s Aid Society

The first Polish NGO with the goal of helping the poor and the homeless. It has been operating for nearly 40 years, and currently provides housing for 3,500 people in need. The society runs dozens of homeless shelters, club rooms, kitchens, and free bathhouses.

“I think it is very important to reach out to people who need help. This holds especially true in times when indifference to the problems and the suffering of others – the elderly, people who are lonely or who find themselves in a difficult life situation – is practically commonplace,” says Łukasz to further explain his choice.

The society accepts not only financial help, but also donations of food, clothing, footwear, medicine, cleaning products and other items that may help the people under its care.

As we celebrate Internet Domain Day, we wish to support what made the Internet the way it is – databases and kittens. The man responsible for choosing the open-source and charity projects that we will be supporting this month is not just the mastermind of #SidnetDonations, but Sidnet overall.

Michał Wojciechowski has been managing our software house for 15 years. Throughout this time, he has participated in over 200 programming projects and more than 20 half-marathons – and he has also tried to stop his cats from meowing in the background during team teleconferences countless of times… 😉

Read on to find out more about Michał’s choices.

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is an open-source database management system. Apart from MySQL and SQLite, it is one of the most popular free solutions of this type. It is used by such companies as Skype, Instagram, TripAdvisor and The Guardian.

More than 500 volunteer creators are actively involved in working on PostgreSQL and they have been developing the project for over 30 (!) years. The result is an efficient, feature-rich and standards-compliant program, which includes more than a million lines of code and is fully owned by the community that designed it.

“Many people claim that PostgreSQL is a worthy competitor to Oracle – a commercial solution. We have used PostgreSQL in a number of projects, including a few web applications built for the Iconaris marketing agency. It also serves as a database for some of the tools we use internally, such as GitLab”, said Sidnet’s founder.

“Futrzaki” Foundation

The foundation was established in 2015 by a group of volunteers who strive to improve animal welfare. They often help stray cats and dogs, some of which are mutilated. They collect donations, organize adoptions and constantly promote having the right attitude towards animals.

“Thanks to the ‘Futrzaki’ foundation, I now have a new cat in my apartment – Lotka. The foundation volunteers put a lot of effort into finding people who are responsible owners and offer really good homes to animals. For example, the condition for adopting Lotka in the first place was to secure my balcony with a protective mesh”, said Michał.

Before they find a new home, many cats (including Lotka) are brought to the Bajka temporary shelter.

“I visited the place two times, once to familiarize myself with Lotka and then and finalize the adoption process. The temporary shelter is run by great people, who truly love animals”, said Michał.

Calm, modest and a man of few words – Wojciech is certainly one of the most inconspicuous members of the Sidnet team. Yet, he also happens to be an effective Senior Full-Stack Developer, responsible for the continued development of the Fooder web and mobile application. Wojciech Wąsik excels in helping us achieve any business goals set by the app’s client (ZT Kruszwica S.A.), as well as the Iconaris marketing agency, which has been collaborating with us for 12 years now. Not to mention that he always beats us in poker, quiz games and Hero Realms at team meetups.

See which open-source and charity projects we will be supporting this month per Wojtek’s request.

Linux Mint

Linux Mint is an open-source operating system based on Ubuntu/Debian. Since it is not at all inferior to Windows in terms of ease of use, it is especially popular among novice Linux users. Compared to other Linux distributions, its characteristic features are the modern design and improved compatibility with software that is not 100% open-source. For example, it allows users to play audio/video files both in the system media player and the web browser immediately upon installation.

“I replaced Windows with Mint both at home and at work. Not only is Mint faster, but it is also free. It was an easy choice” – said Wojtek.

The creators of Linux Mint provide information on what they plan to do with the funds collected. They use voluntary donations to finance hosting, advertising, software distribution, equipment purchases, and the work of the people involved in the project.

Znajdki Foundation

The foundation strives to combat violence against animals and animal homelessness. Their workers take dogs and cats away from irresponsible owners and look after injured, abandoned animals. The foundation actively participates in events such as Warszawski Dzień Zwierząt (“Warsaw Animal Day”) and Bieg Chomika (“Hamster Charity Run”).

“The foundation’s volunteers encourage everyone to support their work in any way they can, depending on individual possibilities. Apart from obvious ways of providing support, such as donating money or creating a temporary shelter, the foundation is always eager to accept any help at all” – said our developer.

How you can help the animal shelter:

• Donating any spare cleaning products, such as mops, brushes, washing powders and cleaning agents.
• Help in publishing announcements on adoption websites.
• Taking photos of the animals. Photos help pets find new homes or virtual caretakers.
• Playing with the dogs at the shelter and taking them out on walks.