Questions to Ask if You’re Thinking of Getting Involved in Open Source

If you’ve considered getting involved in open source software development before but didn’t know where to start, keep reading.

Even before you get down to it, the first thing you must consider is what sort of task you would like to do. The second is contemplating your skillset. Do they match up? If not, you might have some learning to do.

If you aren’t a programmer and have no idea what else could possibly need to be done, here are a few ideas:

  • Artists are needed for making themes and wallpapers for Linux distros and desktop environments like GNOME & KDE
  • Make little tiny icons for programmers to put on the buttons in their programs
  • Translating a program from English to whatever other language you speak
  • Writing documentation (no project is too-well-documented)
  • Tech support
  • Testing is a great way for early adopters to help out
  • Bug triaging
  • Packaging software for a Linux distro

Most of these may sound straightforward at first, but they all have at least some learning curve. Once you’ve established what you’re interested in pursuing, the tough questions start.

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Awesome Remix of Lady Gaga’s Telephone

“What the heck is a ‘Lady Gaga’?”, my wife once asked… pretty much known for her bizarre outfits I tried listening to Lady Gaga’s “music”… but it just wasn’t my style. Along came Pomplamoose Music, an indie band with a penchant for re-tooling old songs with a fun home studio video mixing style. I really enjoyed their take on classics such as September by Earth, Wind and Fire and Michael Jackson’s Beat It, so I was especially pleased when they took Lady Gaga and turned it into something I could enjoy.

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PS3 user gets Linux refund

PS3 user gets Linux refund

If you’re still smarting from the removal of a Linux option from your PS3, there may be legal recourse: if, that is, you live in Europe.

As we noted last month, a Sony firmware update removed the ability to install Linux on the console, something some users found particularly attractive given the processing power of a PS3. The move was said to be down to security concerns, though what wasn’t said by Sony was that this likely related to claims Linux could be used to hack the console to play pirated games.

Now one British user has received a partial refund over the removal. He had contacted Amazon.co.uk to complain about the changes and been told that he had no case as it was long past the company’s standard deadline for refunds and the console was also out of its original warranty.

The user, “iapetus”, then replied quoting a European Union directive (which was then incorporated into national laws) requiring that goods comply with the description given to the seller. His claim was that removing the Linux option meant the product itself had been changed and thus retrospectively failed to live up to the original billing.

Amazon then refunded him £84, approximately 20% of the original purchase price.

It may be too early to get too excited about this development. The British branch of Amazon has previously been known to offer partial refunds for some one-off claims on debatable legal points: in July last year it granted a refund equivalent to the cost of Windows to a man who bought a laptop but wanted to run Linux instead.

This doesn’t mean that there’ll be a blanket policy on refunds for all. For one thing, each buyer’s contract is with the retailer, not the manufacturer, so approaches to refunds will vary from seller to seller. For another, if refund demands become widespread, retailers will likely seek to get compensation from Sony. Assuming Sony rejects this, retailers will probably be quick to put a halt to refunds and force customers to go to court if they want to push the point.

[Picture courtesy of Flickr user Malcolm Tredinnick.]

Winscape Windows: The Coolest and Geekiest Windows you’ll Ever See

So, can’t stand the view of the wall from your windowless office? Wish you could see something else than a featureless landscape from your drab bedroom? Enters Winscape: Because waking up in the same place every morning is just too boring.

Winscape features include:

  • Custom Winscape software with configurable screen parameters
  • Two HD plasma displays for great contrast and wide viewing angles
  • Video playback resolution of 1920×1080 with sound
  • Still-image resolution of 4096×4096
  • Fully embedded in the wall for aesthetics and silent operation
  • Tracking of one person in the room for proper perspective presentation
  • Scheduled on/off
  • iPhone and web control of sleep/wake/scene selection

[Winscape]