Amber Graner Chosen for Ubuntu Women Project Leadership Position

Jan 15, 2010 GMT

Congratulations, Amber! Today Elizabeth Krumbach announced on the Ubuntu Women list that Amber Graner was selected for a 6-month leadership position for the Ubuntu Women project. Amber ran against two other strong candidates, Melissa Draper and Penelope Stowe.In addition to being an enthusiastic advocate for Ubuntu, Amber Graner contributes to Ubuntu User magazine as a blogger and has a couple of articles in our upcoming issue #4, which hits newsstands later this spring. She'll also be at SCALE 8x next month, so look for her at the Women in Open Source track, the UbuCon, and at our Linux Pro Magazine and Ubuntu User booth.Please join me in wishing Amber luck in her new position. I'm sure...

GHC 2010: Collaborating Across Boundaries

Jan 11, 2010 GMT

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Call for Participation is now open. This year's event will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, and the theme is Collaborating Across Boundaries. Submission deadline is March 16th.Check out Corey Latislaw's report on the 2009 GHC event, which had the theme Creating Technology for Social Good.

Snowed in with Confessions of a Public Speaker

Jan 04, 2010 GMT

I love a New Year! I'm all about a holiday that doesn't require any actual effort, but does leave you with a fresh start. One of my personal goals this new year is to help encourage other women to attend and participate in open source events. One great way to participate is to speak at an event, and if you're considering submitting your very first talk proposal, you might want to pick up Scott Berkun's Confessions of a Public Speaker.I read Confessions of a Public Speaker on Christmas Day, while snowed in at my dad's house out in the middle of the country. (That's a photo of my dad,...

SCALE 8x: Call for papers extended

Dec 14, 2009 GMT

The SCALE 8x call for papers has been extended until December 24th. I submitted my talk for the Women in Open Source track today. If you've never given a talk before and are considering it, then I highly encourage you to submit your proposal to the SCALE team. I think you'll find that SCALE is one of the most friendly, fun, and welcoming events you have ever attended. The SCALE team will make you feel right at home, and it's a great event to help you ease into the world of public speaking. See you there in February!

Gifts for Geeks

Dec 08, 2009 GMT

I have to admit that I didn't ask for any geeky gifts this year (unless you count this pepper mill, which is both practical and geeky). Instead, I created a wish list full of good old-fashioned books (and by books, I mean fiction novels and cookbooks PRINTED ON PAPER). Even my daughter kicked it old school and created a wish list packed full of paperbacks, but she earned extra geek points for her manga series request. Meanwhile, my spouse has hinted that I'll be receiving the Tauntaun sleeping bag that he really wants. He's a keeper.Over on LinuxToday.com Carla Schroder posted a list of 7 Fabulous Gifts for Your Favorite Linux/FOSS Geek. Her list includes a good Linux sound card, a Tux...

Article: Of Geeks and Girls

Dec 04, 2009 GMT

Today Selena Decklemann (a.k.a. @selenamarie) shared a link to an article on the Science Notes 09 site. The article, Of Geeks and Girls, describes the results of a study done by Professor Sapna Cheryan. According to the study, "She has found that women rate themselves as less interested in computer science than men in the “geek room”... . But in a room decorated more neutrally with art posters, nature photos, and water bottles, their interest levels were about the same." In short, environment can play a huge role in attracting and keeping women in computer science positions.The article also includes an interesting sidebar on "pair programming." Researchers found...

Naughty and Nice list

Dec 02, 2009 GMT

Nice:1. Stormy's Corner: What to do with that old computer? Check out Stormy's post for some suggestions. Over Thanksgiving I snagged one of my dad's old laptops and installed the latest Ubuntu on it. Ubuntu is so amazing that it even fixed the P key that wasn't working before (or it was a Thanksgiving miracle, because it's working now). Hopefully my dear ole dad will forget I have his HP.2. PHP Women 2010 calendar on sale now: The new calendar features the charter members of PHP Women.3. November Gnome Journal: Check out the November 2009 Gnome Journal. All articles were contributed by women: Telepathy, Empathy and Mission Control 5 in GNOME 2.28 Telepathy Overview The Un-Scary...