bluepoint.foundation

My name is Rito Neil Yee, my friends call me Neil for short. I am from the Visayas specifically the City of Dumaguete.

How I got to know Bluepoint was a stroke of luck, I happen to stumble upon an email sent out to ISP operators in the Philippines by Bluepoint. In the email contained an invitation to check out Bluepoint's Linux courses. I was looking for ways to fast track my knowledge in this cool operating system and didn't know where to turn to, so the email was just what I needed to get started.

I took my Total Linux class at Bluepoint in 2000, I believe we were Total Linux Class 3. That same year I left for the United States to try my luck on greener pastures. The training I got from Bluepoint helped me land my first job edging other candidates with the Linux skills I have on my resume. Back then Windows NT was the OS of choice for the uninitiated. The company's network was Microsoft based. The Internet was really getting popular and I was presented with challenges to get the company up to speed with internet commerce. Cost was not so much of a concern but stability and security was.

I started migrating DNS services to Bind since the NT servers were needing a reboot every week. This was due to DNS service on NT just stops responding for unknown reasons. Then we took on the challenge of migrating our ecommerce site which was written on Cold Fusion with the CF Server running on top of IIS. When I got on board with the company a Cold Fusion site was already under heavy development and in fact I was hired together with two other Filipinos that were Cold Fusion developers as well. Fortunately Cold Fusion had a port to run under Linux and Apache. The only Microsoft product that had to remain was MS SQL server 7 which was running on a Quad Processor HP LXr8000 with Xeon 400 MHz processors. After successfully migrating DNS and Web servers the company saw the stability and performance of Linux and recommended that the Email servers be migrated as well. For this service I had deployed a Qmail + Courrier Imap + MySQL + SquirrelMail combo, that gave me a complete email server package with Webmail access, IMAP, POP3, SMTP with ClamAV antivirus scanning and more.

Since then we had upgraded our Linux installs to the latest kernels and disto versions. Our hardware platforms have also been upgraded to the latest and greatest. Currently we are evaluating Asterisk to add on to our list of Linux Centric services.

The company is happy with our network performance and they have been grateful for my Linux skills which I never would have been confident to implement have I not had the best training. My greatest appreciation to the men and women of Bluepoint Foundation for their dedication to higher education for without them I would have been just another one of those (so so) system administrators.

I was introduced to Linux on my first job as a member of the technical group of a start-up Internet service provider in 1996. Back then, I had an overview of how Open Source tools could be effectively utilized to connect several networks on a national level. We were using Slackware Linux together with the early versions of BIND, Sendmail, Apache and Squid. But unfortunately, I was only limited to installing Linux on the servers of our clients so I had very minimal system administration skills.

I was already on my third job as a network administrator for a solutions provider in 2001 when I friend showed me Bluepoint's website. After browsing through the coverage of the Total Linux course and after one week of thinking, I decided to resign from my job and enroll in the course.

Sir Engels told us on the first week of the course that we should prepare for an "under the hood" training. And rightfully so, by the second week, we were already installing and configuring packages on Redhat Linux 6.2 not via GUI but through command-line interface! Through his clear instructions I was able to piece together the functions of different Open Source tools and also realize their true potential as alternatives to commercial solutions.

After finishing the course, I was also fortunate to be given a chance to conduct my own Total Linux class. It was a real challenge to prepare each lesson and exercise for four days a week for more than two months! Joey Gaddi and I also had a chance to share our Linux skills with different school-based IT professionals of Region VIII in September 2001.

Enrolling in the Total Linux course proved to be a right move for me because it reinforced my knowledge in Linux and other Open Source tools. It also prepared me for consulting and training opportunities that are offered to me from time to time.

I thank Ma'am Magie, Sir Engels, and Sir Eddie for all the opportunities they have given to me and I wish to congratulate them, together with the entire Bluepoint Team as well, on their 7th year anniversary!

I enrolled in Bluepoint's Total Linux course in June of 2001. Aside from learning Linux through a well-designed course, I also made a lot of new friends - sharing our enthusiasm for Linux, as well as other aspects of life. But what stood out in my mind, were the people behind Bluepoint: Magie Antonio, Engels Antonio, and Eddie Salonga. Their passion and dedication to making world-class Linux training accessible to under-privileged Filipino students is inspiring and infectious. Most of the alumni I have met (including myself), have volunteered to either train, fund, or help organize Bluepoint's free training seminars to advocate the use of Open Source technology all over the Philippines.

Carlos Yu
Rustans Supercenter Inc. (Shopwise)

I took up Bluepoint's Total Linux course last 2002 and time and again, what I've learned are still relevant today. Why? The course was developed with security and performance in mind.

In less than two months, I was able to learn the best practices in setting up Linux as a server: installing Linux at a bare minimum; removing standard and unnecessary programs, files and folders; protecting critical files and folders; compiling server software and the Linux kernel from scratch with optimized settings and necessary features only; installing servers in a jailed environment; designing and implementing a paranoid firewall.

Aside from the hands on lecture, we also had the toughest practical and written exams.

This quality training helped me obtain a score of 100% in my RHCE exam last March 2005. The first person I thanked was of course, my instructor, Engels Antonio.

Chivas Sicam
ASTI-DOST

Being new to the Open Source system, I took the Total Linux class in Bluepoint last January 2013. A friend told me about Bluepoint and I decided to enroll. I learned a lot from this class from concepts, administration down to security. It not only gave me the freedom that other OSes do not offer, it also allowed me be in control. I was always excited to attend every class and there was never a dull moment in discussions. All topics were very interesting and relevant.

As a system administrator in one of the biggest broadcasting companies in the country, it made me realize more the value of being a true administrator. I am currently exploring Fedora 17 and started to influence some of my friends already. I plan to apply what I learned from the class in my work environment because I know it will be very beneficial and cost effective.

Thank you so much Sir Engels for being a great teacher! I thank God for the people who created Linux and Fedora.

Eleazer Caramancion
TV5 News and Information Department

I took the Total Linux class to supplement the skills I've already learned in my VOIP company. What I did not expect, however, was to be flooded with knowledge outside of Asterisk. On finishing the course, I had the know-how and the confidence to seek a systems administration job. I did, and the financial rewards are outstanding.

I owe this to Bluepoint and more. Potential students, know that you are in good hands at this school, and with a little self study and a lot of willpower to succeed, you can become an excellent administrator!

I wish you all the very best!

Jose Eduardo Hernandez
Think Conveyancing

Way back in 2010, I took the Total Linux course under Sir Engels Antonio.

During that time, I was only expecting to learn Linux. However, this course offers more!

To be transparent and direct, technology will always be the same regardless of the operating system (that is, it helps make our life more productive), but the difference here is on how in-depth and passionate the instructor (in this case, Sir Engels) is in conveying the technical information to all his students.

Up to this date, the concepts I learned from this course are still applicable (past 8 years already!) and the passion and dedication I experienced and learned from Sir Engels is greatly appreciated.

I am looking forward to Bluepoint creating more competitive IT professionals, especially in the Open Source arena!

All the best!

Carlo Isidro
MCP, MCSA, MCSA: Security, MCSE, MCSE: Security, VCP5-DCV, MCPS, CEH