I've decided to leave my current job at Linden Lab. Those of you interested in the ins-and-outs of Second Life may want to look at my post to "sldev" (our open source development mailing list). It was a tough decision to leave, and even tougher to make without having my next move totally nailed down,… Continue reading Moving on
Author: robla
Electoral theory wonk, activist, software developer, and engineering management nerd.
Selectricity…yay, someone beat me to the punch
I just set up a mock election on Selectricity, just to see what it could do, and was pleasantly surprised that they created a very simple interface for creating Schulze/Condorcet elections that pretty much anyone can use. I tried getting to this point a few years ago with Electowidget, but sadly didn't get to a… Continue reading Selectricity…yay, someone beat me to the punch
Brutal honesty in open source development
There's a bit of a flamewar going on right now between the main PulseAudio developer, and another Linux desktop developer who grew frustrated by some very real problems caused directly and indirectly by it. PulseAudio is the latest of many savior technologies that promise to make audio on Linux not suck. I'm actually pretty optimistic… Continue reading Brutal honesty in open source development
Software as hiring decision
This article in CIO Magazine touches on things that you should look for in choosing open source software: Project stability: Can you trust the project to be there when you need it? Project support: Can you get support when you need it? Internal software management: Does your company know what open-source programs it’s using? How… Continue reading Software as hiring decision
A hard problem worth solving
Here's a description of the organic open source panel at OSCON (which I'm participating in): "The OSI’s Open Source Definition attempts to set the minimum bar for a software license to be considered “open source”. However, there’s much more to a software project than just the license. Are software projects dominated by a single company… Continue reading A hard problem worth solving
Open source and a free tote bag
Matt Asay wrote a blog post "Cash, code, or free-riding in open source communities?", which was a good post on a topic I've been thinking a lot about myself. He used the term "free-rider" which caused a well documented uproar. I'm saddened by the sense of entitlement inherent in the uproar. What's wrong with asking… Continue reading Open source and a free tote bag
Is OpenSolaris an elitist?
Dave Neary has a great blog post about Sun trying to do the right thing. It was refreshing to read this, and quite insightful. I've been watching the naming debate with some interest, if for no other reason than this is a conversation I'm quite interested in pushing my view in, and it helps to… Continue reading Is OpenSolaris an elitist?
Speaking at the Seattle Social Media Club
A little bit of work talk. I'm going to be speaking tonight (January 31) at the Seattle Social Media Club about Second Life, along with my co-worker Greg Tomko-Pavia (aka Periapse Linden) Jeff Barr at Amazon, who has been doing really innovative work promoting Amazon Web Services using Second Life, and Brian White, the author… Continue reading Speaking at the Seattle Social Media Club
Media companies really shouldn’t let this strike drag out
The writers strike has temporarily saved me from staring zombie-like from my slouched position on the couch, and instead has me typing zombie-like from a differently-slouched position on my couch. After seeing a couple of mildly amusing clips from on-strike writers (from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report), I was curious enough to poke… Continue reading Media companies really shouldn’t let this strike drag out
Inflated house prices
I like reading Paul Kedrosky's Infectuous Greed blog, even if I think he occasionally says some things that are completely moronic. One reason I do, though, is the occasonal food for thought, like this post on inflated house prices. Yale economist Bob Shiller says in the weekend issue of Barron's that he's still looking for… Continue reading Inflated house prices
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