Selena Deckelmann Interview

Oct 15, 2008 GMT

Maria Webster posted a great interview with Selena Deckelmann over at dotfiveone.com. Maria asks, "What do you expect from a 'geekspace for women'?" Selena says that she wants the focus to be on women and their accomplishments, adding, "There’s such a need to promote the work that women do – a lot because women don’t promote themselves, and also because there’s a real lack of mentorship for women."

Call for Presentations: LinuxChix mini-conf 2009

Oct 13, 2008 GMT

LinuxChix announced that they'll be holding a LinuxChix mini-conference at the January 2009 Linux.conf.au in Hobart, Tasmania. The announcement says, "This mini-conf exists to encourage women with an interest in free and open source technology to share their ideas, network and improve their presentation skills." Organizers are calling for presentations by women in free and open source, and they recommend topics that fall within technical, professional development and productivity, and community categories. To see examples of previous presentations, visit: http://conf.linux.org.au/programme/tuesday#linuxchix The announcement also says: While LCA is a technical conference and...

Linux Netbooks and Return Rates

Oct 10, 2008 GMT

Recently there have been quite a few news stories about the return rate for Linux netbooks, including Kristin Shoemaker's Linux Netbook Returns: Not Surprising, but Likely Avoidable. Those of us who work with Linux and open source tend to forget that often for the average American consumer, open source is still a relatively abstract concept. If you don't work in IT, hate reading manuals, and only use computers for specific tasks, such as email, shopping, and paying bills online, you probably don't want to spend an evening figuring out why your printer won't work with your new Acer Aspire One. Kristin points out: "More netbooks -- Linux, or otherwise -- in "standard"...

Fight or flight for mid-level women in tech

Oct 02, 2008 GMT

The Anita Borg Institute recently released a study, which was co-authored with the Stanford University Clayman Institute for Gender Research, called Climbing the Technical Ladder: Obstacles and Solutions for Mid-Level women in Technology. The survey participants were 1,795 technical men and women at seven high-tech companies in the Silicon Valley region. Fifty-five percent of respondents were classified as mid-level, 19.9 percent were high level, and 24.6 percent were entry level. At more than 80 pages, the report isn't a quick read, but findings and recommendations, graphs, and interviewee quotes throughout the pages help highlight major points. Among other findings, the report says...

CeBIT Open Source Call for Projects

Oct 01, 2008 GMT

CeBIT 2009 will be held March 3-8 in Hannover, Germany. Open source projects have until October 30 to bid for a free booth at the event. An international jury will decide by November 30 who receives the free booths, and winners will be announced on Linux Pro Magazine/Linux Magazine online. Find out more or apply now on the Call for Projects page.

Groklaw: Now Serving Fun Classes on the Bill of Rights

Oct 01, 2008 GMT

In December, I'll start paying off the student loans I took out for my Master's degree, which I finished in May. Meanwhile, I've caught myself surfing the classes offered at nearby junior colleges and universities. Don't tell my family. Some days I have fantasies of switching careers and opening a roller rink. Other days I think about studying law (intellectual property, anyone?). Maybe I just want to be a roller derby version of Pamela Jones when I grow up. Yesterday Pamela posted "The Purpose of the Fifth Amendment to the Bill of Rights" on Groklaw. She links to a video lecture, Talking to the Police by Virginia University's Professor Duane, which discusses the Fifth...

Famous Programmers: Few Women on the List

Sep 29, 2008 GMT

A new article on Grok Code (which I found thanks to Slashdot), "Famous Programmers From Adleman to Zimmermann," looks at 222 famous programmers. The author provides graphs that illustrate "projects that propelled them to fame, the number of projects it took to make them famous, and the relative numbers of men and women who make up this elite group of famous hackers." The breakdown: 97.07 percent men, 2.48 percent women, and .45 percent transexuals.