The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Post-FIRE => Topic started by: Zette on March 09, 2019, 08:14:04 AM
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Does anyone here contribute to an open source software project? How did you find it and get involved?
My background is 15 years of embedded software experience, mostly in C with a brief exposure to Python. I was a SAHM for 12 years, then found a “unicorn” job (20 hr/wk at a startup developing educational video games in C# and Unity) that will be ending soon.
I want to do something I find interesting, and thought open source projects might be worth checking into and good for the resume. How would I get started?
Ultimately my goal is to find another unicorn job that meets three criteria 1) interesting to me, 2) part-time with flexible hours, and 3) pays something. (I don’t need the money but find it helps to motivate me to put the hours in.)
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I would be interested in this as well... I'll post just to stay locked into this thread.
NWOutlier (Steve)
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Do you have any ideas? We could start a Mustachian open source project? I've been trying to brainstorm of what idea could reduce environmental impact.
Out there right now is:
https://farm.bot/ (https://farm.bot/)
I've been looking at https://www.drawdown.org/solutions (https://www.drawdown.org/solutions) for trying to spark an idea on what might be a good project that we could measure the actual environmental impact of. Any thoughts?
Some of the drawdown solutions that I think may have possibilities:
- Smart Thermostats
- Ride Sharing
- Retrofitting
- Reduced Food Waste
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I don't, but I love Haiku - when Windows 7 finally becomes 'obsolete', I'd love to move to that rather than.. well, anything else honestly, I'm allergic to 10, and Linux just makes me angry.
https://www.haiku-os.org/
I'd love a bloat-free web browser that can still do adblocking. Still, probably better to support Firefox.
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Since you have experience in educational video games, why not look for open source video games or educational tools in a subject you find interesting?
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Please share when you find it. :)
I think it's incredibly hard to find a software job with part-time hours from the start. The real path forward appears to be working full time first then negotiate part time arrangement. Most companies will flat out refuse, but it's worth a shot.
If your expertise is embedded C, I'd angle for an appliance company that relies heavily on Linux and get some contributions to the kernel through them. I hear it's less intense now that the LKML madman is on leave.
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Do you have a favorite piece of open source software? If so, go to its website, and they will tell you how contribute.
There are several places to look for lots of projects:
Good ol' gnu: https://www.gnu.org/home.en.html
Sourceforge: https://sourceforge.net
You could also go it alone with a small app, or ask local teachers what they would like to see.
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Wow. I was just thinking of posting about this when I saw this thread.
I have contributed to multiple open source projects, but my current employer doesn't allow it. I'd suggest that you find something that "scratches your itch." You're going to be most motivated to put time into something that also solves a problem for you.
When I FIRE, I hope to go back to contributing to open source. I'd like to also do some paid work around open source projects, perhaps through short-term contracts. Otherwise, I might go back to work once in a while for a year or two at a company that uses or contributes to open source, even if it pays relatively less than my megacorp.
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I would love to contribute to an open source project. Need something that I believe in.
Would prefer something in the Unix/Linux world, not the Microsoft world. Maybe something web related.
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I would love to contribute to an open source project. Need something that I believe in.
Would prefer something in the Unix/Linux world, not the Microsoft world. Maybe something web related.
Wow that really narrows it down! :)
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I would love to contribute to an open source project. Need something that I believe in.
Would prefer something in the Unix/Linux world, not the Microsoft world. Maybe something web related.
Wow that really narrows it down! :)
Yup ;-)
I wish I could narrow it down. Working in jobs where contributing to open-source was not an option (Wall St). I was hoping for some inputs from this forum...
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After writing code all day the last thing I want to do for fun is... write more code. But that's just me...
Have you checked out meetup.com (or something similar)? I signed up to hear about presentations for some new tech and I get monthly emails reminding me of everything they have listed. If you're in a major metropolitan area or there are lots of universities there are likely lots of interesting technology groups and discussions going on. Some of it is cutting edge technology as well as hack-a-thons, etc. The groups may not specifically be for open-source projects but it would put you in the same circles as like-minded inquisitive people and may lead to useful connections. Just a thought.
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I added a major feature that was well requested (and we needed it for my work actually).
Then I realized a Slack group would be good for it.
Then... I became a maintainer on the repo.
:-)