Open Source Cycling

Git is a version control system that is all the rage in the open source community right now.  Part of that is due to the fact that Linus Torvalds built it to help manage his work on the Linux kernel, and his project has a pretty good reputation for getting things done.  It is now an independent project, and many people are using it get things done in their software projects in a collaborative way, or even independently but just in a more productive manner.  You can find plenty of current blog posts about it.

Github is also "where it’s happenin’" in the OS community.  They just launched their website as a subscription service, Rails moved over, and lots of developers are paying attention to the play-by-play action there and even playing their own part.  Git makes it easy to participate (or at least easier).

 Just what the doctor ordered.  A working example of another software geek porting the principals of open-source to a seemingly unrelated operation.  It’s a nightclub in San Francisco called DNA Lounge.  Although their management is not necessarily a distributed team of core contributors, they have published all the bits that make their club run, from the sound to the lights to the laws to the operating systems and software, for the benefit of anyone interested.  Cool concept!

I came across Jeff Schiller’s website, codedread, while doing some research and testing on SVG (an open graphics format) and SMIL (an open animation medium) on the latest beta versions of WebKit (Safari’s engine) and Firefox.  These web standards go back to 1999 - they have always had a lot of promise and are seeing a resurgence in interest in the next generation of browsers.  

Jeff’s doing some nice groundwork using and testing the specifications.  For example, check out his SMIL animated menu buttons - feels a lot like the magnification of the Dock icons on Mac OS X!

Any how, he has compiled a nice list of his favorite free, open-source applications.  Consider his recommendations before paying for (or stealing) your next software installation!

I am attending the pre-eminent conference for Rails developers. 

 If you’re going, let’s hook up and talk about this project!  I’m especially interested if you know some good rides around Portland.  I’ll be missing the Mutual of Enumclaw stage race this weekend, but I think this one is worth it!

Jeff Atwood, a full-time, popular blogger on software engineering matters, has supplied a great example of why open source software often sees improvements much quicker than commercial versions.  The key phrase that applies to this team is "the radical lack of process baggage… [is] not a weakness, but in fact an evolutionary advantage."  

We have such benefits here at OSC.  We can add features to our team structure that its members desire much faster than an organization with bureaucratic roadblocks.  We just do it ourselves!

 I just got this site running on my Rails Machine.  I will explain more in a day or two.