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My Open Source Experience Podcast
Open doesn't Always Mean Accessible
Season 2, Ep. 14
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By definition, open source projects and communities are supposed to be accessible. And while the code is always openly available, the remaining parts of the ecosystem might be further out of reach than you would think
In this episode of the My Open Source Experience Podcast, Michael Dexter, Ildiko and Phil explore the open source ecosystem from two perspectives: business and accessibility. Businesses rely on open source software, soemtimes unknowinlgy, all around the globe as digital infrastructure doesn't exist without it any more, and yet, making it integral part of the business strategy is a constant struggle for companies. And yet, even when companies and individuals reach the point of investing their time, money and resources into open source projects it appears to be more difficult than it is supposed to be. Michael, Ildiko and Phil are discussing these challenges and digging into how to address them.
Learn more about:
- The relationship between open source and business interests
- The fragility of funding in the open source ecosystem
- The role of open source foundations
- Stages of involvement in open source projects
- Maintainer shortage and how to bring people (back) into open source projects
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6. Tech Transformation with Open Source
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5. How to Cut Costs with Open Source
42:14||Season 3, Ep. 5Open source is still often looked at as free software, as in no cost. Those who think this is the value of OSS, they usually use and integrate it in a more expensive way than they should.In this episode of the My Open Source Experience podcast Philipp Ahmann talks about his experience with open source in the automotive industry, which is very sensitive to development, innovation and maintenance costs. He also shares a story about attempting to fix a plane's entertainment system in flight. Did he succeed?Learn more about:- Cost savings through relying on open source- The importance of reusability, and how open source supports that- Vendor lock-in with open source- The price of maintaining a fork downstream
4. Bring the Solution Then Ask for Permission
43:18||Season 3, Ep. 4Open source in the corporate world is often counterintuitive, since the norms, practices and processes are very different, or at least they seem like. But it doesn't have to be that scary and complicated as it looks.In this episode of the My Open Source Experience podcast, guests talk about their experience with making open source work within a company, to the extent of working upstream. Topics cover management layers, corporate structure, change management and how individuals experience participating in open source communities.Hear more from:- Stormy Peters on (the lack of) social norms, open source champions and the maintenance lock-in of proprietary code within companies- Magnus Buhrgard on the fears middle layer management has about open source and landing OSS code in a product- Samson Goddy on the importance of speaking the business language and the challenge with corporate company structures when it comes to open source- Tom Sadler on what motivates or keeps individuals back from contributing to open source- Austen Bryan on how to succeed with implementing changes in an organization
3. Cutting OSPOs, Cutting Opportunities | My Open Source Experience Podcast
42:31||Season 3, Ep. 3In life, in industry and sometimes in open source, we keep re-inventing and re-implementing things. If all software development happened behind closed doors we didn't have any other choice but to do duplicative work and slow down innovation.In this episode of the My Open Source Experience podcast Stormy Peters shares how the desire to avoid wasteful practices in software development drove her to open source. Her career has been revolving around OSS and she put her passion and growing experience into good use by helping companies, big and small, to build structure, processes and practices to be able to invest and engage in open source.Learn more about:- How to enable a company to rely and engage with open source- Challenges with open source licenses and copyright- Building an OSPO- Company acquisition and how to approach that from an OSPO- Tools that help investing in and working with open source- The concepts of an old and a young OSPO- The evolution of an OSPO
2. Let's Get Down to Open Source Business
48:37||Season 3, Ep. 2Open source can be intimidating, and sometimes hiding in plain sight.In the past decade the telecommunications industry has been going through their open source transformation journey, which is bumpy at times. This is an industry segment that is highly regulated and standardized, which can clash with the fast-paced and flexible nature of open source.In this My Open Source Experience podcast episode, Magnus Buhrgard shares some of his insights about the telecommunications industry, and its relationship to open source.Learn more about:- Open source initiatives and projects in the telecommunications industry- Why mostly telecom operators are the ones who start new open source projects- What middle-layer management dislikes about open source- Business reasons and value to adopt and invest in open source
1. Important Snippets from the OSS Landscape
48:08||Season 3, Ep. 1This is the kick-off episode of Season 3!The first episode of the season touches on a 5 important topic areas that are key to the open source ecosystem, one way or the other: events, AI, open source maintainers, Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and open source in the public sector.Episode highlights:- Stephen Walli shares his experience and thoughts about the value of open source events- Ildikó highlights some key upcoming open source conferences around the globe- Ria Farrell Schalnat points out some of the challenges in the AI space regarding licensing and copyright- Kelsey Hightower talks about open source maintainers, and highlight some important differences between open source as a license type and as a community- Federico Gonzalez Waite shares some learnings from the journey he had with the Mexican government through their open source transformation- Ildikó shares some important details about the CRA
MOSE Shorts - 28: Open Source Should be Taught in School
09:14|Good education is crucial, also, the earlier in your life you're expodsed to an experience the better the chance it quickly becomes a skill. Despite of how long open source has been around, it is still not integral part of education, tech, legal or other. Should this change?In this segment of the My Open Source Experience podcast Ria Farrell Schalnat talks about how she was teaching an adjutant class at a university that was touching on open source, specifically because she didn't get that education during her studies. She also shares what challenges people she knew faced during learning about open source.Learn more about:- Why it is important to have open source as part of academic curriculums- In legal terms, not all licenses are the same, even if they are all open source licenses, and why that poses challenges for lawyers- Conventions versus case law- In legal circles, community plays a crucial role to figure out new areas of law and legislations, for instance AI- Is it time to have the next generation to graduate as open source experts?!
MOSE Shorts - 27: How to Remove Hidden Barriers
04:09|In this MOSE Shorts segment, Clare Dillon talks about her overall onboarding and contribution experience.While she's been more active in communities that focus on knowledge sharing and where writing code is not the norm, she highlights the importance of understanding the community before starting to work upstream. Newcomers need to learn the community's language, not the spoken language but rather terms, phrases and communication styleThis step is very important, and it can also be harder than it seems or needs to be. For example, if your community is heavily dependent on acronyms and special terms, you need to make sure you have resources for newcomers to be able to learn those, and be able to participate and have meaningful conversations within the community!
MOSE Shorts - 26: MBA and Tech: If, When and How
07:30|Tech and business seem to be very far from each other, but they can't exist without each other, and it's best if people have a level of understanding in both.In this MOSE SHorts segment, Phil and Ildiko are chatting with Austen Bryan about getting the education that one needs for their carrier. Austen went to school to learn about tech first, but shortly after finishing he decided it wasn't enough for him and he went back to also get an MBA. In this segment he shares his experience, and talks about what he would differently. The group also touches on bad management, and what that can lead to.Learn more about:- Options and preferences to study business- When it's best to get an MBA- Bad managers and servant leadership