Category: Blog

  • 3 to-do list managers for the Linux command line

    [ad_1] There are dozens, if not more, tools out there that can help you manage your ever-expanding lists of tasks and to-dos. If you want to manage your tasks like a techie, or just feel like going back to basics, the best way to do that is to turn to the command line. With the…

  • How to use Pulse to manage sound on Linux

    [ad_1] It happens to everyone, and usually only when it matters the most. You might be gearing up for a family Christmas video chat, settling in for a movie night on your big screen TV, or getting ready to record a tune that popped into your head and needs freeing. At some point, if you…

  • My first three contributions to open source

    [ad_1] Getting started with an open source project can be intimidating. I wanted to contribute to open source projects, but struggled with where to start. When the time came and I finally took the shot, I ended up having an excellent learning experience. Here is my experience with my first three open source contributions. DuckDuckGo…

  • Proof that openness scales

    [ad_1] Recently I’ve had the immense pleasure of discovering Slalom Consulting, and I was fascinated to learn how they do open. Aaron Atkins and Shannon Heydt, both working in talent acquisition for Slalom, sat down with me to share challenges related to scalability—and explain how recruiting and talent management play a strong part in shaping…

  • How to choose your first programming language

    [ad_1] The reasons for learning to program are as a varied as the people who want to learn. You might have a program you want to make, or maybe you just want to jump in. So, before choosing your first programming language, ask yourself: Where do you want that program to run? What do you want…

  • Explore climate data with open source tools

    [ad_1] You can’t look anywhere these days without seeing evidence of the changing weather patterns on the earth. Monthly, we are confronted with facts and figures that point to a warming planet. Climate scientists warn us that inaction could be fatal to our futures here. Military strategists at the Pentagon have recently cautioned President-Elect Trump…

  • The difference between development and deployment

    [ad_1] For many years, I was a Smalltalk programmer, and that experience gives me a different viewpoint from which to observe ideas in the programming world. For example, the idea that source code should be stored in text files took some getting used to. We as programmers often make a distinction between “development” and “deployment,”…

  • Improve your programming skills with Exercism

    [ad_1] Many of us have a 2017 goal to improve our programming skills or to learn how to program in the first place. While we have access to many resources, practicing the art of code development independent of a specific job requires some planning. Exercism.io is one resource designed for this exact purpose. Exercism is…

  • Open medical records community supports new system in Mozambique

    [ad_1] The southern African country of Mozambique suffers under the most extreme challenges for resource-poor countries: economic instability, political strife, civil unrest, corruption and crime, unreliable infrastructure (such as transportation and telecommunications), and a large-scale HIV epidemic that has yet to be declared under control. The United Nations positions Mozambique’s Human Development Index at number…

  • Why we need an open model to design and evaluate public policy

    [ad_1] In the months leading up to political elections, public debate intensifies and citizens are exposed to a proliferation of information around policy options. In a data-driven society where new insights have been informing decision-making, a deeper understanding of this information has never been more important, yet the public still hasn’t realized the full potential…