Category: Blog

  • An introduction to Libral, a systems management library for Linux

    An introduction to Libral, a systems management library for Linux

    Linux, in keeping with Unix traditions, doesn’t have a comprehensive systems management API. Instead, management is done through a variety of special-purpose tools and APIs, all with their own conventions and idiosyncrasies. That makes scripting even simple systems-management tasks difficult and brittle. For example, changing the login shell of the “app” user is done by…

  • Why productivity shouldn't be the key measure of agile transformation

    Why productivity shouldn't be the key measure of agile transformation

    As a principal agile coach, my focus is to energize and inspire developers to adopt and follow through on the agile frameworks across our teams. Initially, I failed, as I didn’t really understand the mindset of teams that have been working in an open source ecosystem. My assumption was that since agile and open source…

  • How to say "no" for the sake of your customers

    How to say "no" for the sake of your customers

    When you’re working in an organization where statements like “Good ideas can come from anyone” and “Experiment! We learn more from our mistakes than our successes!” are commonplace, does saying “no” create a contradiction that impedes adaptability and inclusivity? The answer depends on how you say “no” and the things you say “no” to. I…

  • Squeeze Pi: Adventures in home audio

    Squeeze Pi: Adventures in home audio

    I’ve been a fan of the Squeezebox ever since I acquired Logitech’s now-obsolete Squeezebox Touch, which my family is still using. The Squeezebox Touch provided a family-friendly interface to access our music library, either directly on the device or via a range of mobile applications. Logitech discontinued its development in 2012, but I was happy…

  • How to create an Internet-in-a-Box on a Raspberry Pi

    How to create an Internet-in-a-Box on a Raspberry Pi

    If you’re a homeschool parent or a teacher with a limited budget, Internet-in-a-Box might be just what you’ve been looking for. Its hardware requirements are very modest—a Raspberry Pi 3, a 64GB microSD card, and a power supply—but it provides access to a wealth of educational resources, even to students without internet access in the most remote…

  • Five steps to excellent documentation

    Five steps to excellent documentation

    Ben Hall from Katacoda and Ocelot Uproar gave an awesome talk at OSCON 2017 about another topic near and dear to my heart: documentation! This is a summary of his presentation. The journey to documentation begins before you think it does, on the very first page of your site. Users look at your website or GitHub—and…

  • Top 5: Get started with bash scripting, tips for JSON in MySQL, and more

    Top 5: Get started with bash scripting, tips for JSON in MySQL, and more

    In this week’s Top 5, we highlight text editor tips, managing macOS, and several takes on programming. Top 5 articles of the week 5. 3 types of useful Atom text editor packages for writers Coming in at number five, Community Moderator Scott Nesbitt shares three plugins for the Atom editor that writers may find useful. I installed…

  • 5 reasons the D programming language is a great choice for development

    5 reasons the D programming language is a great choice for development

    The D programming language is a statically typed, general purpose programming language with C-like syntax that compiles to native code. It’s a good fit in open source software development for many reasons; here are some of them. Modeling power It’s not uncommon to find yourself in a situation where you have an idea and you want…

  • IRC for the 21st Century: Introducing Riot

    IRC for the 21st Century: Introducing Riot

    Internet relay chat (IRC) is one of the oldest chat protocols around and still popular in many open source communities. IRC’s best strengths are as a decentralized and open communication method, making it easy for anyone to participate by running a network of their own. There are also a variety of clients and bots available…

  • How to make Vim user-friendly with Cream

    How to make Vim user-friendly with Cream

    About 10 years ago, I split my text editing time between Emacs and Vim. That said, I was and definitely still am an Emacs guy. But while Emacs has always had an edge in my affections, I know that Vim is no slouch. So do other people—even those who, like me, are all thumbs technically. Over…