My Prizes Have Arrived at Last!
A while back I wrote a letter (well, an email actually) to the Linux Format magazine encouraging users of open source software to consider whether they might be able to give anything back to the community, whether this be through "freeing" their current projects, writing documentation for a project, or advocating open source by word of mouth.
To confess, the letter actually had a dual intention... that it serve as a stealthy advert for by own pet open source project - a Barcode Writer in Pure PostScript, but the content of the letter was nevertheless sincere.
My submission won the Linux Format Issue 64 Letter of the Month prize (two signed books by the author/actor Wil Wheaton) which finally arrived yesterday. These give me something stimulating to read whilst on holiday, I guess!
The letter read as follows:
I've been a software developer for about the last 13 years (since I was about 10 years old) and I've enjoyed using Linux since I discovered it 5 years ago. Wherever feasable my company now uses Open Source Software (OSS) solutions on Linux servers to support its operations. We also use a significant amount of intellectual property developed by myself and my collegues.
Since I'm conscious of the 'debt' owed to the individuals that have given their time and expertise to create such viable OSS alternatives to commercial products, it is natural that I have wanted to join this community by wherever possible releasing our in-house code under permissive 'free' licences, the latest of which being a Barcode Writer in Pure Postscript: http://freshmeat.net/projects/postscriptbarcode.
I would strongly encourage all readers to be like-minded. Whilst not everyones forte may be coding, it is unlikely that you do not possess some ability (such as documentation writing, or 'spreading the word') that will strengthen the position of OSS in the technical marketplace.
I guess that many people, as I did myself, may feel that they have little to offer back to the community. If you consider that most successful OSS projects begin by a person scratching their own itch, then maybe you are working on something at this moment that could become a innovative project that grows a lot bigger than just yourself. You may well be suprised at the eagerness of the volunteers who's skills supplement, and make up for any lack in, your own.
I've consistantly found that open sourcing my projects has been the most fun, rapid software development method, and nothing else has better tought me programming/people/project management, including a degree in Computer Science!
To confess, the letter actually had a dual intention... that it serve as a stealthy advert for by own pet open source project - a Barcode Writer in Pure PostScript, but the content of the letter was nevertheless sincere.
My submission won the Linux Format Issue 64 Letter of the Month prize (two signed books by the author/actor Wil Wheaton) which finally arrived yesterday. These give me something stimulating to read whilst on holiday, I guess!
The letter read as follows:
I've been a software developer for about the last 13 years (since I was about 10 years old) and I've enjoyed using Linux since I discovered it 5 years ago. Wherever feasable my company now uses Open Source Software (OSS) solutions on Linux servers to support its operations. We also use a significant amount of intellectual property developed by myself and my collegues.
Since I'm conscious of the 'debt' owed to the individuals that have given their time and expertise to create such viable OSS alternatives to commercial products, it is natural that I have wanted to join this community by wherever possible releasing our in-house code under permissive 'free' licences, the latest of which being a Barcode Writer in Pure Postscript: http://freshmeat.net/projects/postscriptbarcode.
I would strongly encourage all readers to be like-minded. Whilst not everyones forte may be coding, it is unlikely that you do not possess some ability (such as documentation writing, or 'spreading the word') that will strengthen the position of OSS in the technical marketplace.
I guess that many people, as I did myself, may feel that they have little to offer back to the community. If you consider that most successful OSS projects begin by a person scratching their own itch, then maybe you are working on something at this moment that could become a innovative project that grows a lot bigger than just yourself. You may well be suprised at the eagerness of the volunteers who's skills supplement, and make up for any lack in, your own.
I've consistantly found that open sourcing my projects has been the most fun, rapid software development method, and nothing else has better tought me programming/people/project management, including a degree in Computer Science!
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