Top 10 Resources for Exploring the World of Open Source
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As an engineering or security manager, a key part of your success is being able to keep up-to-date with the emerging trends and developments in the open source world. However, where can you find the right resources, and who’s even got the time to look?
Thankfully, here at Mend.io we’ve searched the internet and found 10 open source resources that every software manager should follow to help their developers open source code with confidence.
#1: OpenSource.com
The home of open source info on the web. This site provides information on the latest open source projects, organizations as well as a calendar listing for all open source related events. There’s also a varied article section, with topics ranging from health, government, business, and law.
If you or your team really want to be part of the conversation, you can also submit articles and share your experience with the community. The site prides itself on being a node for the open source community. Where people can come together to discuss open source’s broader impact beyond the tech world.
#2: Linux
When it comes to open source, the Linux foundation is much more than just Linux. It’s goal is to ‘create the largest shared technology investment in history’ and it certainly looks like they are on the right track.
The foundation is offering certification for both system admins and engineers, but also basic training courses to help you get your team’s Linux’s skills up to scratch. Courses typically cover such topics as open source virtualization, developing Linux device drivers and Linux Kernel Debugging and Security. To see what courses are currently running, just check out Linux’s course schedule. However, if you choose the in-house corporate training route, you can adapt the curriculum to suit the needs of your developers.
The affiliated Linux.com website also offers the latest open source news, Q&A boards and forums where they can ask any Linux related questions. On just a quick look I discovered that by 2018 open source will make up 20% of the storage market. Pretty impressive don’t you think!
Between the Linux Foundation and Linux.com, there is really something for all Linux and open source users.
#3: TLDR Legal
Having trouble understanding the legal language of your open source licenses, well TLDR legal can help you out. Just type in the name of the software or service, and away you go! You’ll be provided with a summary of any actions you can, can’t and must perform, all in plain English. The site also allows you to track license changes over time – which I think is quite neat.
With this resource, open source licence transparency is only a click away.
#4: GitHub
How could we forget GitHub. the world’s largest open source code repository. However, GitHub is also so much more.
GitHub Blog offers up information on new features, conferences and new hires. There’s even a section for meetups if your developers wish to hang out with fellow open source users!
#5: Books, books, books
Sometimes you just have to hit the books in order to get truly immersed in the open source world. When that time comes, Amazon has you covered with a great selection of books about open source.
Besides the famous The Cathedral & the Bazaar, you can also find other great books to learn more about the history, philosophy and get down to real-life advice, like Open Source for the Enterprise: Managing Risks, Reaping Rewards and Producing Open Source Software: How to Run a Successful Free Software Project.
#6: Webinars and presentations
If your engineers feel like brushing up on all things open source without leaving the comfort of their chair, have we got a host of Webinars for you!
With more webinars and presentations than you can shake a stick at, covering everything from the open source security to open source licenses, you can find it all in BrightTALK and the Linux Foundation. You may also find some useful presentations on SlideShare.
#7: Slashdot
This website, originally billed itself as News for Nerds, stuff that matters, features community stories and links to user submitted news articles. There are seven main topics covering a broad range of topics, and open source is one of them. Each story has an attached comments section, and moderators rate the comments from 1-5 and post remarks such as insightful, interesting, redundant or troll etc.
The site is also well known for its Open Source bias. This is demonstrated by it running its content and moderation system via an open source management system licensed under the GNU General Public License.
#8: LinkedIn groups
With over 200,000 professionals signed up, LinkedIn Groups are a great place for developers to network, collaborate and learn more about open source.
Some great groups we found are Open Source, Open Source Technologies and Open Source Compliance Center, but there are a great deal more.
#9: Meetups
Open source is more of a passion than a profession for your developers. So why not suggest some great open source events they can attend to meet with like-minded techies.
Meetup.com lists a huge array of events where open source enthusiasts meet to discuss emerging trends, swap open source success stories, present new projects and exchange ideas. Events take place all across the globe, from New York, San Franciso, and Philadelphia, to locations further afield such as Tel Aviv, London, Bangalore and more.
#10: Mend.io
With articles containing cutting-edge information and insightful commentary on everything open source, I would feel slightly remiss if I didn’t offer up our blog as a resource to check out.
From emerging trends, security vulnerabilities, license compliance and more, our blog gives managers and engineers the knowledge to get the most out of open source
Ready, steady, open source!
With these 10 resources, you can be sure that your developers will never miss an open source beat.
Now you can rest easy that your developers can use the quality, security and cost open source has to offer to keep your enterprise ahead of the competition.
