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OpenSource.com Releases First Ever Open Source Yearbook (opensource.com)

Posted by yaelk on from the hags dept.

Community manager Rikki Endsley writes: The open source label was created back in 1998, not long after I got my start in tech publishing. Fast forward to late 2014, when I was thinking about how much open source technologies, communities, and business models have changed since 1998. I realized that there was no easy way (like a yearbook) to thumb through tech history to get a feel for open source. Sure, you can flip through the virtual pages of a Google search and read the "Best of" lists collected by a variety of technical publications and writers, much like you can thumb through newspapers from the 1980s to see how big we wore our shoulder pads, neon clothing, and hair back then. But neither research method is particularly efficient, nor do they provide snapshots that show diversity within communities and moments of time. The idea behind the Open Source Yearbook is to collaborate with open source communities to collect a diverse range of stories from the year. We let the writers pick the criteria, which means the yearbook isn't just full of the fastest, most popular, smartest, or best looking open source solutions. Instead, the yearbook offers a mix of open source solutions and projects, from a range of writers and communities, to offer a well-rounded (albeit incomplete) glimpse at what open source communities and projects looked like in 2015. The yearbook is now available for a free download.

48 comments

  1. I'm only interested if by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm only interested if the pictures in it look like my senior yearbook picture: nerdy, awkward, and a little bit hungover.

  2. Download? by 110010001000 · · Score: 3, Informative

    What is this, 1995? Downloading from a PDF? Shirley it is possible to just view it in HTML?

    1. Re:Download? by 110010001000 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Oh wait I see the reason now: they are harvesting email addresses so they can send you spam. No thanks! But welcome to 2016.

    2. Re:Download? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      All of the articles are available in HTML format linked from the same page.

    3. Re:Download? by jfbilodeau · · Score: 2

      Mod parent up!

      'Open' source my ass. Anyone got a direct link to the PDF?

      --
      Goodbye Slashdot. You've changed.
    4. Re:Download? by mishehu · · Score: 1

      If you got open sores, I feel for you, son. I got 99 problems, but herpes ain't one.

    5. Re:Download? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Here you go: https://opensource.com/sites/default/files/2015_open_source_yearbook.pdf

    6. Re:Download? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      I agree, way to ruin whatever good work you did opensource.com. I was excited by the idea until I hit the forced "give us your email and we'll send you a link" - and realized that they blew it.

      I don't know who to be more mad at, the person who made the choice to hide things behind an email wall or the people that allowed this to be linked to. :/

    7. Re:Download? by 110010001000 · · Score: 2

      Well now don't I feel like a horses ass?

    8. Re:Download? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Based on the direct link to the pdf someone posted it looks like the blame should fall on Rikki Endsley who is the opensource.com community manager.

      So disappointed.

    9. Re:Download? by jfbilodeau · · Score: 1

      I'm sure your doctor can prescribe something for ya.

      As for me, my open sore is call Windows. Thankfully, there's a cure for that.

      --
      Goodbye Slashdot. You've changed.
    10. Re:Download? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      You shouldn't - whoever came up with this (apparently "Community manager" Rikki Endsley) is the real horses ass. And seriously, who gives a sh*t about an "Open Source Yearbook?" Come to think of it, who gives a crap about opensource.com?

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    11. Re:Download? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just looked at this for the what the fuck value of finding out what idiot thinks that Open Source was a new thing in 1998

    12. Re:Download? by mspohr · · Score: 1

      Shirley can view it in HTML. OTOH, you may not be able to figure it out.

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    13. Re:Download? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, you should... and you should really stop sucking horse cocks too.

    14. Re:Download? by KGIII · · Score: 2

      Bugger 'em. I have a spam email address. I now have the PDF.
      http://www.filedropper.com/201...

      Open source it is, then.

      I too missed the option to get it by HTML but I wanted the PDF. In order to get the PDF, it took like ten new tabs and fourteen button clicks to download it and then giving them my email address and awaiting the arrival of the email - which included tracking in the address, to a limited use download link.

      I'm thinking they have a different view of open source than I have. I mean yeah, I guess, it's open - in that I can edit it and it's even free. However, the concept of sharing includes ease, not a bunch of hoops. I selected to not get any additional email from them - not checking any boxes. Lets see if they adhere to that request.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    15. Re:Download? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is this, 1995? Downloading from a PDF? Shirley it is possible to just view it in HTML?

      Yes it is; and don't call me Shirley.

    16. Re:Download? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1
      Anyone who's been hanging around slashdot for a few years will find that it's just more of the same ... and you'll already know more than what's in the pdf. Looks like every non-serious linux mag for the last couple of decades.

      I really miss serious magazines like the C User Journal. (kind of went sideways when it became the C/C++ User's Journal).

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    17. Re:Download? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      become irrelevant?

    18. Re:Download? by KGIII · · Score: 2

      Ha! I remember those. (I haven't cracked open the PDF yet.) I do remember those. I remember when eWeek was actually good and InformationWorld was still reputable. In the 1980s there were tons of magazines but, alas, it wasn't until the late 1980s that I even began to *like* using computers.

      This is gonna be a bit long. You have been warned! At the end is your free million dollar idea. If you make it, I will buy 10. I will buy another 40 for gifts and spares. I suspect that even you will want one. Yes, even with your eyesight.

      I touched my first one, I went to a ritzy preparatory school, in something like 1969. We had a link to one of the larger universities (Concord maybe?) somewhere around 1971. We even had our own observatory and a giant telescope and, get this, we could actually send images out over the network back then. Err... I'm pretty sure? I did not take any of the astronomy courses but I did go get high and then go up and look at the stars in the middle of the night. Yes, yes that was awesome.

      Then, after my first enlistment, I went to school. Again, I was accepted into a very nice (but expensive) school. The GI Bill paid a lot of it and computers were, to me, mostly useless. They didn't do a damned thing unless you knew how to make them do stuff. I seem to recall liking Zork. Other than that, I hated computers. But, I did pick up a Trash 80. And a Vic 20. I think this was pre-Amiga. I kind of liked those a little better, they were largely useless.

      Ah - but I discovered some magazines and could type code. Except, I couldn't type worth a damn and still hated them. I could load games via cartridge, cassette, or diskette. (Don't copy that floppy! Like hell I won't.) I started to get a bit of network access. That was pretty boring. I re-upped and came back out and computers really hadn't changed that much from my perspective. I did some courses while I was enlisted but not many. I'd reenlisted to get more of that GI Bill lovin' and I needed it.

      Back to school... *sighs* As I said, they were still largely useless but things started to change. And oh boy did they change. Man did they change fast. I could dial into the school and then access so many things. I could dial into local BBS' hosted/owned by private parties. I sent an email to Australia - and it got there... It took like six hours but it not only got there, I got a reply! I was starting to hate them less and less.

      Then, I had no choice but to use them. That's kind of the whole premise of my career. It was kind of mandatory. Only I had no formal training - just some typing of BASIC into the system and writing a few small programs to learn a bit more. BASIC was obviously not going to cut it. So, more magazines! More reading! I had a subscription to C User's Journal - I'm pretty sure. I seem to recall that one issue came with a diskette that had a compiler on it. If I'm remembering correctly, the magazine sometimes came with disks but not all that often. I want to say that they might have been free(ish) for subscribers only and that they weren't included in the newsstand issues but that one could order it from the newsstand issue if they wanted - I think it needed PoP/UPC and a couple of bucks shipping? I may be conflating a couple of different publications.

      So, yes... I remember those. And newsgroups. Man, if it hadn't been for newsgroups, I'd be a penniless bum today. We were quite a different crowd back then. I was *grateful* for the help and helped others where I could. I'd try to make a couple of free hours, every day, for Usenet. 'comp.lang.c' was a frequent haunt back then. I appreciated some of the help enough to gift hardware and, on more than one occasion, we knew each other well enough so we'd gift money to someone in need. We used real names and damned if someone wasn't gonna get tossed on their ear for trolling. My oh my, how the times change.

      And the physical books? Oh, I still have them. Worn, written in, and maybe even missing pages. But, as you mentioned, the print magazines... Those wer

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    19. Re:Download? by antdude · · Score: 1

      "Don't call me Shirley." :P

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    20. Re:Download? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Surely 110010001000 is on to something!
      Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM2K7sV-K74

      _

    21. Re:Download? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      You might want to look at this and the cheaper version (which will only get cheaper as time goes on). The older 27" is still a grand, but that's a serious price drop from the original. Who knows - $500 in 3 years?

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    22. Re: Download? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you kidding me? That is the total opposite of what he asked for. That's a full fledged computer. He stated that he doesn't want a full fledged computer. He wants a dedicated ebook/emag reader.

    23. Re: Download? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      It's easier to remove features than to add them.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  3. Oh... Viruses... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And MS wanna me runining a malware to listen for music. Just like being denied to execute a game because there's no audio... Hmm... So, since when trojan horses became systems? Oh, sorry, only the good ones right? The ones against missiles and shit, right. Okay.

    1. Re:Oh... Viruses... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know this is OT but I seriously hope you're the same person posting at around the same time every day. Or almost every day, that is. I'll post as AC too.

      Strangely enough, I've been reading your posts for a while now and wondering who the hell you are and who you're leaving the messages for. However, I've been reading 'em. If anyone else has been reading them, they kind of tell a story. They're loosely connected but connected nonetheless.

      It's a little late to follow along but, at the moment, it appears that MS is fucking with them and they're unable to play a game. They were having some issues with family and friends(?) and neighbors(?). It's not Gre. No, it's not Gre. You guys don't know Gre. I like Gre. Gre's a cosmonaut only he's a web cosmonaut. If you're a forum admin of any note, you may get a visit from him - depending on the forum software you use. He has... He has ideas about how communication should function, it's all rather circular and more or less concentric circles - with a few twists.

      This person, however, isn't really all that cryptic - just disjointed. Look at the site tomorrow, around the same time, and they're telling us a tale. Well, more a diary. You can follow along and things weave in and out but there's usually a point - it just takes a couple of days to reach it and they might get sidetracked.

  4. greed fear ego based wmd on credit rulerships.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    suck the life right out of us? way past time to move onward..

  5. An open source yearbook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who wants to look at pictures of white beta males?

    1. Re:An open source yearbook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe they were moved out of beta and into "release candidate"

  6. TRS-80 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I was using open source software on my TRS-80 and on my Kaypro 4. CPM has a huge range of free and in beer and speech software

  7. First ever? Not quite... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe the first ever *American* OpenSource yearbook.

    http://www.opensourcejahrbuch....

  8. Do they have prom photos? by drew_kime · · Score: 1

    How about "Most Likely to Succeed"?

    Math club?

    How am I supposed to collect signatures on a PDF?

    --
    Nope, no sig
    1. Re:Do they have prom photos? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      > How am I supposed to collect signatures on a PDF?

      That depends on how geeky you are. If you're only a little geeky, print it out. If you're geeky and a nerd, print it out and send the individual pages to the people involved to get signatures - or get them in person at conventions and LUG-type events. If you're really geeky, get them all signed with their public keys. If you're really geeky, nerdy, and don't mind a few criminal acts then get them signed with their private key.

      After all, you're only a stalker if you've been convicted!

      Now get out there and get some signatures! (You could ask 'em to sign with their public key, in person, and in ink or binary.) If you do so, no matter which one, I won't like you any more than I already do (or don't) but I will respect you.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    2. Re:Do they have prom photos? by drew_kime · · Score: 1

      That's perfect. "Can you sign my yearbook PDF with your public key?" I hope that becomes a thing.

      --
      Nope, no sig
    3. Re:Do they have prom photos? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      I hate to admit it but you're not alone in wanting that to become a thing. They say great minds think alike, I'm inclined to suggest that so don't not-so-great minds and crazy people. I'm not sure what it says about either of us that we want it to be a thing but it would be awesome. They could even open the PDF in a plain text editor and sign their particular section of the yearbook. Hell, they could even encrypt a message and sign it and include the message in its encrypted form. It could even be marked up or buried in the plain text.

      Being geeks and it a matter of pride, I'd not be sure if it's better hidden from casual view and buried in the actual code that makes up a PDF or if it would be better?

      Oh! Ha! I've never actually disassembled a PDF before. I thought it would be just like any other markup and readable via plain text and just have markup around it, much like one can do with some other document formats. It looks like that is not the case and all the more geeking out can be had.

      I fired up Bless as my go-to for discovery and it looks like, even better, it's probably possible to hack at it with a hex editor. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

      Either way, I concur. This should, very much, become a thing. Emailing out copies, "Can you sign my yearbook?" I wonder how many would respond? Sadly, this might be one of those things best noticed on social media sites. That pretty much means that I'm unable to assist in getting this to the point where it's popular enough to become a thing.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  9. Hey user 110010001000 .. nice TROLL ! by tetraverse · · Score: 0

    Hey user 110010001000 .. nice TROLL ! link

    1. Re:Hey user 110010001000 .. nice TROLL ! by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      +4 insightful...no troll.

  10. Re:Cue SJW / Gamergate comments by tlambert · · Score: 1

    OK, what exactly is wrong with "Steve Jobs Wozniak"?

  11. 1998?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I switched from SuSe Linux (which was a repackaged slackware at that time) to FreeBSD in 1997. The site is also sponsored by RedHat and featues their pet projects. Sometimes I get the feeling that RedHat is Redmond in disguise.

    1. Re:1998?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      big deal? I wish this world was ruled by linux companies. It would be x1000 times better world.

  12. ah, opensource.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Take a look top right when you check out the side, and ponder that logo.

    The place is basically a RH PR outlet.

  13. Re:Cue SJW / Gamergate comments by GuB-42 · · Score: 1

    "Steve Jobs Wozniak" was a very successful combination, combining a brain and an asshole into a complete being that bear fruit.
    Too bad the asshole took over completely.

  14. Re:Cue SJW / Gamergate comments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So "diverse range of stories" was you trigger. Dude,,,, chill pillll....

  15. Clickbait-y section titles by Gibgezr · · Score: 1

    The table of contents is hilarious, I'll just list the first few....they are all the same as these:
    "6 creatives ways to use ownCloud"
    "10 cool tools from the Docker community"
    "6 useful LibreOffice extensions"
    "5 handy Drupal modules"
    "5 favorite open-source Django packages"

    It's utter dreck, far worse than I anticipated.

  16. first clue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The open source label was created back in 1998

    I remember seeing the term "open source" used as far back as at least 1992, possibly sooner. From what I remember, it was more of a gradual usage of slang that turned into an official term. Just like all other slang, this did not happen at any one particular moment, and it sure as hell wasn't "created". The only people who think like this are egotistical rich fuckers, the type who hire talented people, steal their ideas, then say that because they "own the patent" that they are the ones who invented it. They actually think that this is how the world works.