I didn't do much in the way of public speaking last year, but I'm starting to make up for it this year. Here's a few things I've got coming up: April 13 - Lighting talk at the Seattle Django Users Group - this will be about jsonwidget, which is shaping up nicely. I'm toying with… Continue reading Doing the conferency talky thing
Thoughts on dual licensing and contrib agreements
photo by kwc There's been a lot of chatter lately about dual licensing in open source and its much-maligned companion the contributor license agreement. Since my last two community management gigs involved dual licensing and CLAs, I have a few thoughts on the subject. These tools certainly make it harder to build a community. As… Continue reading Thoughts on dual licensing and contrib agreements
Easy form building for terminal windows: jsonwidget-python
I've been working on a project to make building forms really simple. My latest work is "jsonwidget-python" for terminal-based applications (like you would use via SSH or local terminal on Linux and Mac). It's all very retro, but terminal windows are still very much in use for buzzword-compliant activities like configuring virtual machines for cloud… Continue reading Easy form building for terminal windows: jsonwidget-python
Sorry about the NASCAR-looking comment area
As you may have noticed if you visited blog.robla.net directly, the comment area is handled via Intense Debate. I did that to get myself out of the account management business while still maintaining a modicum of control over my site. Other than then weird blue flaming logo and the name "intense debate" on a blog… Continue reading Sorry about the NASCAR-looking comment area
Python’s simpleparse module
I'm working on a project that required a bit more from the JSON parser than the stock JSON parser with Python allowed for. After doing some hunting around, I came to the unfortunate conclusion that I'd probably need to write my own. Thankfully, Python's simpleparse module lived up to its billing (thanks in large part… Continue reading Python’s simpleparse module
Matthew Yglesias » Who’s “Ideological” in the Health Care Debate?
Great insight from Matthew Yglesias: The habit of insisting that only the right and the left have “ideologies” and that people in the center don’t is one of the absolute most frustrating elements of conventional political discussion in the United States. The fact of the matter is that “centrist” ideological taboos have been the big… Continue reading Matthew Yglesias » Who’s “Ideological” in the Health Care Debate?
Moving on
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
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
RoBlaBlog 