Kim Polese to Receive Symons Innovator Award

May 11, 2010 GMT

Amy Vernon's Network World article, Leading by example: Women in open source, looks at the low number of women in open source and what steps NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology) is taking to help increase this number. Among other efforts, NCWIT is interviewing women "heroes" in the field, including SpikeSource Inc. CEO and Symons Innovator Award-recipient Kim Polese. According to Vernon, "NCWIT has several women prominent in open source speaking at the summit May 18-20, in addition to Polese, and plans to study the issue more, in hopes of breaking through that barrier." She says that NCWIT found that one way to increase participation by women...

First Friday Roundup

May 07, 2010 GMT

Ubuntu Women World Play Day: The deadline for submissions is May 14th! Enter the contest for your chance to win one of these fabulous prizes: a ZaReason Terra A20 netbook with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, a Dell 10n with Ubuntu Moblin Remix, or a prize pack of random goodies from The Ubuntu Shop and a gold USB necklace from ZaReason. All winning entries also come with a subscription to their choice of either Ubuntu User or Linux Pro Magazine. UDS: If you attend the upcoming Ubuntu Developer's Summit, be sure to meet our editor Anika Kehrer and blogger Amber Graner. I'm looking forward to getting lots of updates from those fabulous ladies. Check out this BBC article, Girl geek appeal: Women's...

Facebook: Friend, or Frenemy?

May 03, 2010 GMT

Last week Ubuntu User, in partnership with The World Company, provided live streaming from the Free State Social in Lawrence, Kansas. This first-time event was a huge success – the tickets sold out, people participated remotely via live stream, and the speakers provided a nice mix of expertise.My favorite talk was Gowalla co-founder and CEO Scott Raymond's Location-Based Social Networks. (Did you know that Scott used to live here in Lawrence, Kansas? Now you know.)I wasn't familiar with Gowalla before Scott's session, but now Gowalla is available for the Blackberry so I plan to give it a spin. At the end of Scott's talk, he took some audience questions. One audience member asked Scott...

Motivation and Open Source

Apr 19, 2010 GMT

Check it out! Mackenzie 'maco' Morgan and Celeste Lyn Paul appear in this PBS News Hour clip: Examining the Motivations of the Modern Workforce. The clip is about 9 minutes long, but I recommend that you watch the entire piece, which starts with a discussion about money as a motivator and ends with a discussion about open source.

Formative geek experiences, self-confidence, and Cathy Malmrose roundup

Apr 15, 2010 GMT

The Geek Feminism Blog is having an exceptionally fabulous week. They've posted a nice roundup of articles about Cathy Malmrose (CEO of ZaReason), and they offer excellent advice for improving your self confidence, an issue many women (and men) in IT struggle with. Today Mel Chua asks, "What have your formative geek experiences in the past year been?" Check out her post and let her know what's been inspiring you.

Juliet Kemp Weighs in on Lightweights

Apr 14, 2010 GMT

Juliet Kemp, admin extraordinaire, wrote a detailed review of the LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) on LinuxPlanet. Check out her reviews of other lightweight systems, the Xfce desktop and Window Maker desktop.Juliet also contributed to our June issue, which heads to the printer this week. Look for it on newsstands worldwide in May.

Ubuntu Women Announce World Play Day Competition

Apr 14, 2010 GMT

Over on the Fridge is an announcement about the Ubuntu Women's World Play Day Competition. To participate you just need to submit a photo of a girl (up to age 12) playing with Ubuntu. The photos will be posted on the Ubuntu Women site to "... allow parents of girls to demonstrate that it really is ok to be intrigued by the shiny screens, blinking lights, tappity-tap of keyboards, and faint whirs of computer fans." Read the announcement for competition details. (I suppose my 13-year-old daughter will be bummed to learn that she doesn't meet the age requirements and can't win the grand prize, a Dell Mini 10n. They really do grow up so fast...)