Distributions, or why Universe matters
Most of us know what makes open source software better than their proprietary counterparts. However I would like to stress one purely technical advantage of Linux distributions when compared to their...
View ArticleOn burnout and technical management
Jono posted recently the slidedeck for his famous 12 stages of burnout presentation. I highly recommend this presentation, especially to technical teams working from home. I think we are especially...
View ArticleGTD with RTM
Following my colleague and friend Mathias's advice, I've been using GTD (Getting Things Done) to keep myself organized for some time now. A recurrent question is "what software are you using ?". I...
View ArticleGPG key transition
I've recently set up a stronger (4096R) OpenPGP key, and will be transitioning away from my old (1024D) one. The old key will continue to be valid for some time, but i prefer all future correspondence...
View ArticleWhy Open Core is wrong
Open core is a business model where the base version of a software would be released as open source while some advanced features would be closed source. It's been under a lot of discussion lately, so...
View ArticleThe 6 dimensions of Open Source
Why do people choose to participate in Open Source ? It's always a mix of various reasons, so let's try to explore and classify them. Technical The first dimension is technical. People like open source...
View ArticleThe real problem with Java in Linux distros
Java is not a first-class citizen in Linux distributions. We generally have decent coverage for Java libraries, but lots of Java software is not packaged at all, or packaged in alternate repositories....
View ArticleThe art of release management
Last week I started a new job, working for Rackspace Hosting as the Release Manager for the Openstack project. I'm still very much working from home on open source software, so that part doesn't...
View ArticleMy desktop backup solution
I was inspired by a good blogpost by Martin Pitt to setup my own desktop backup solution. I liked the idea of not requiring the computer to be on all the time, and having the backup pushed from the...
View ArticleThe importance of shared understandings
In his book Where in the world is my team, Terence Brake outlines the three challenges that global and virtual teams face. There is Isolation (reduced contacts and difficulty of trust building can...
View ArticleWhat will be in OpenStack Bexar release
OpenStack is busy with so much development activity it's hard to keep up. 42 (!) specs were targeted for the 3-month long Bexar development cycle... and there are more than 150 active branches. Over...
View ArticleOpenStack Bexar BMPFreeze report
The OpenStack Bexar release now passed BranchMergeProposalFreeze. Branches containing new features or changing the behavior of the software can still require an exception and be proposed, but there is...
View ArticleOpenStack Bexar FeatureFreeze report
The OpenStack Bexar release now passed FeatureFreeze. Branches containing needed new features or changing the expected behavior of the software can still require an exception and be proposed, but their...
View ArticleAgile vs. Open
I've been asked multiple times why open source project management does not fully adopt agile methodologies, which are so great. Or what are the main differences between the two. Agile is good for you...
View ArticleUpstream projects vs. Distributions
You can globally split open source projects into two broad categories. Upstream projects develop and publish source code for various applications and features. Downstream projects are consumers of this...
View ArticleOpenStack Project Technical Leads (PTLs)
I'd like to quickly precise what will be expected, from a release management perspective, from the Project Technical Leads (PTLs) some of us will nominate and elect in the following weeks. PTLs, like...
View ArticleComing up in OpenStack Cactus...
In a bit more than a week, we will hit FeatureFreeze for OpenStack "Cactus" cycle, so we start to have a good idea of what new features will make it. The Cactus cycle focus was on stability, so there...
View ArticleOpenStack Cactus BMPFreeze report
Our time-based release cycles are cadenced by a number of freezes and milestones, and we just passed BranchMergeProposalFreeze for the Cactus cycle. Feature branches should have been proposed by now,...
View ArticleCactus is done, now Diablo
Our 2011.2 release, codenamed "Cactus", was finally released early on April 15. The Diablo merge window opened a few hours later, and in 8 days the developer community will gather in Santa Clara to...
View ArticleDiablo Design Summit
Just a few days from now, lots of OpenStack community members from around the world will gather in (hopefully sunny) Santa Clara for the OpenStack Conference and Design Summit. As I explained here,...
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