Category Archives: Open source

Halloween, Red Hat style, home style

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halloween2014_06We had an amazing Halloween. Of course, it’s a fun day for the family, but also at work. Halloween is important at Red Hat because of our history. 20 years ago this year, the famous Halloween release of Red Hat Linux was out in the wild. Now, it’s evolved into one of the most trusted, secure, and reliable versions of enterprise-ready Linux.

We have an awesome Halloween party at the office. Starting at 2:00 pm on Friday, Red Hat Associates gathered at the Lincoln Theater for a skit from our Corporate Leadership Team. Continue reading →

Soaking in OpenStack and the Georgia Aquarium

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OpenStack Summit Atlanta 2014

openstack_summit_2014_ATL_06The agenda was overflowing at the OpenStack Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. There were almost 5,000 people attending keynotes, sessions, networking, and a little bit of night life. I’ve had a blast, learning as much as possible from the OpenStack fire hose. Here’s what my experience looked like from the OpenStack Summit, including some amazing pictures from the Georgia Aquarium. Continue reading →

Are You Ready to Become a Citizen CIO?

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Photo Credits: @snajmi

Photo Credits: @snajmi

Are citizen CIOs a threat to local governments or a blessing in disguise? With government IT departments producing more open data and participation from community interest groups and citizens on the rise, we’re beginning to see the start of a new movement within open government: telling our government which technologies to deploy. Citizens are identifying—and some are creating themselves—the next wave of applications and resources for their municipalities, such as a crowdsourced answering platform for city services, an open data catalog, and a civic infrastructure adoption website for fire hydrants and storm drains. With this, the role of the citizen CIO is beginning to emerge. Continue reading →

Red Hat Craft Fair: A huge success for salsa and books

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Red Hat Craft FairOn Thursday, December 12, I participated in my first Red Hat Craft Fair. It’s an event held at Red Hat headquarters where the crafty folks or their spouses/family members get a chance to sell their home goods to Red Hatters. I thought it would be a good idea to sell my book and my salsa. It turned out to be a good idea. Continue reading →

Raleigh CIO Gail Roper Visits the Code for Raleigh Brigade

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cfa_brigadeOn Thursday, October 3, a small group of civic geeks gathered at the Raleigh Public Record space at the AJ Fletcher Foundation to host a conversation with the City of Raleigh CIO, Gail Roper during our monthly Code for Raleigh meet-up. She has just over 20 years of experience as a CIO, with past roles at Austin TX, Kansas City, MO, and now Raleigh, NC. Roper’s passion is around digital connectivity, inclusion, and how those factors impact lives. She also believes that access to information can change a persons view on things. Roper’s goal for the City of Raleigh is to not just be the most wired city, but to be the most connected city. Continue reading →

Book Chapter 1: What is open source?

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If you’re curious about open source, here is an excerpt describing what open source is in plain English from The Foundation for an Open Source City, a book that explores the five elements of an open source city. If you missed the introduction, be sure to check that out too. There is also a great resource on opensource.com that answers What is open source software?

Chapter 1: Defining an open source city

Before we define the elements of an open source city, it’s important to establish a baseline of knowledge. The concepts of open source, open government, and open data are new to many citizens. In order to make our government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative, we’ll need to start by exploring these definitions. Continue reading →

Civic Hacking Lessons from Raleigh, NC

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Image credits: Laura Barnes Hamlyn

Image credits: Laura Barnes Hamlyn

One of the key parts to open source is sharing. And that comes in many forms. On the software development side, that means sharing your code. But on the civic hacking side, it starts with sharing stories and lessons learned—both successes and failures.

Fellow Code for Raleigh co-captain Chad Foley and I joined a Code for America Google Hangout with Kevin Curry and Hannah Young to share our story. How Code for Raleigh got started. What’s working well for us. Where are we going next. Check out our Hangout and let us know what you think. Continue reading →

Ready for OSCON | Open source city book special

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Open Source City stickerOpen source experts and those interested in open source will be descending upon Portland, OR this week for OSCON (Open Source Conference) by O’Reilly.  I arrived on Friday and attended the Community Leadership Summit (CLS), an unconference focused on community management and leadership.

I’ll be posting a summary of my adventures and takeaways from the Community Leadership Summit on opensource.com this week. As a teaser, I’ll say that I participated as Continue reading →

In the News, Sporting my Red Hat

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Image courtesy of Russ Stephenson

Image courtesy of Russ Stephenson

“Raleigh is a great place to call home” said Jim Whitehurst, CEO of Red Hat. Whitehurst led off as dignitaries from all levels of North Carolina government spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony held at Red Hat Tower on Monday, June 24, 2013.

Governor Pat McCory thanked Red Hat for their commitment to the urban core. Chairman of the Wake County Commissioners, Joe Bryan, highlighted the need for a grocery story in downtown Raleigh. After talking with a few Red Hat associates who live near downtown, Bryan took the opportunity to talk about improving the quality of life for downtown to attract more companies like Red Hat. Continue reading →