ROSE Blog: Rikki's Open Source Exchange

Rikki Endsley
WindyCityRails: Childcare

Jul 03, 2009 GMT

The WindyCityRails event will be held September 12 in Chicago. A few weeks ago, Dana Jones told event organizer, Raymond T. Hightower, that onsite childcare would help increase attendance by women. On her blog, Dana writes, "Ray was very enthusiastic about the idea, and actually followed through on researching childcare alternatives for WCR! The Westin – which is hosting the conference in September – partners with two childcare centers! Now, it’s not inexpensive, but what is when it comes to conferences?"Liana Leahy responded to Dana's blog post and pointed out that there are plenty of dads who will benefit from the childcare, too. She writes, "Making daycare...
Raising Women Programmers

Jun 25, 2009 GMT

I ran across a post on SnowWrites today called "Will women programmers be extinct?" Blog author Donna Snow writes about the shortage of women working as programmers and says, "As a mom of five daughters (and one son) I have just realized I’m contributing to this lack of interest in technology. Even though I’ve spent the last ten(10) years working with Open Source projects and talking about it, none of my girls are interested in the field at all." Donna also shares the story of how she got involved with open source and wonders how we can get more girls, such as her daughters, interested in programming. She writes, "It’s a very lonely existence being one of...
OSCON 2009 Keynotes (#oscon)

Jun 25, 2009 GMT

Two women will give OSCON keynotes this year. Alison Randall will give the Welcome on Wednesday, July 22 (9a.m. in Exhibit Hall 3). On Thursday, July 23, Infotrope's Kirrily Robert will talk about Standing Out in the Crowd (9a.m. in Exhibit Hall 3). The OSCON site says: What’s it like to be a woman in an open source project that’s 99% men? What’s it like to be a woman in a project that’s 75%... women? Kirrily Robert, who has worked on both kinds of projects, will talk about the differences, and what we can learn from majority-female open source projects. Kirrily is also the person to thank for the Geek Feminism Wiki. Have you booked your hotel room and plane tickets to OSCON...
Chip Chick meets Intel's Genevieve Bell

Jun 25, 2009 GMT

Recently Chip Chick (aka Helena Stone) attended the IntelUpgrade event where she met Genevieve Bell. Genevieve, an anthropologist and Director of User Experience with Intel's Digital Home Group, led a session called Ethnography Update “Women & Technology”. Today Chip Chick posted a blog about Genevieve's session, which examined how women use technology in different places. Chip Chick observes, "It is fascinating to comprehend, that even though we are living in a global village where our own social and economic actions can effect others on the other side of the planet, and international communication between individuals is so common, that different communities in different...
So you want to be an open source consultant?

Jun 22, 2009 GMT

One of the nice things about smaller events is that your odds of meeting people go way up. For example, I've followed Esther Schindler on Twitter (@estherschindler) and got some face time with her at Open Source Bridge. Esther attended the popular "How to earn an open source living without taking on investors or selling your soul" talk at the event last weekend. She shares what she learned from it over on the JavaWorld site: Starting a Business as an Open Source Consultant.
Open Source Bridge 2009 Underway

Jun 18, 2009 GMT

Open Source Bridge 2009 kicked off yesterday morning in Portland, Oregon. In her introductions, Selena Deckelmann told the audience that one-third of the presenters at this inaugural event are women. In fact, the event organizers went out of their way to invite women to speak. In addition to being a particularly woman-friendly event, Open Source Bridge feels like a great "first" event to attend if you've ever wanted to go to an open source conference but haven't quite worked up the nerve. For example, Cat Allman and Leslie Hawthorn's talk offered helpful hints for getting started in free and open source. They suggest that you start by finding a need that matters to you and...
Open Source Meets Needlework

Jun 12, 2009 GMT

About a year ago I wrote about Open Source Embroidery (and included a picture of an Audrey Hepburn pillow I embroidered, even though I doubt Audrey ever heard of Linux), and soon after that our World News editor included the project in her column. Today I ran across a Wired online article, Geek Art: Needlework Brings Together Programmers, Crafters. Author Priya Ganapati writes, "Open source programmers and crafters may seem like they come from different worlds. Still, the two communities have much in common, says Ele Carpenter, the founder of Open Source Embroidery, a largely British movement." Check out the article for more about the artists and some great photos of the...
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