9 holiday gift ideas for open source enthusiasts in 2022
Opensource.com
Fri, 11/25/2022 – 03:00
What do you get the open source enthusiast that has everything? More open source, of course! We asked our community of contributors to share their favorite gift ideas. The end of the year is full of holiday spirit, but these gifts are perfect for any reason or season.
Programmable hardware
I would love to recommend the Digirule2. I want one for myself! Unfortunately, they are out of stock.
The Digirule2 is an 8-bit programmable minimal instruction set computer in the style of the Altair 8800, where you enter a program in machine code. It’s a great way to explore programming, or to teach others how programming works at the hardware level with machine code. Every program instruction is an 8-bit binary code that you enter via switches and LEDs on the ruler. You can enter programs with up to 256 instructions.
Since I was unable to buy one, I wrote an 8-bit programmable minimal instruction set computer for Linux, called the Toy CPU.
Linux screensavers for Windows machines
Give the gift of one of these two Linux distributions that run as screensavers for Microsoft Windows systems.
Price is $0. Download them here:
https://people.redhat.com/chward/QemuSaverOpen/QemuSaverOpen-1-6.zip
https://people.redhat.com/chward/QemuSaverOpen/QemuSaverOpenGames-1-4.zip
—Chris Ward
For java lovers
For the open source developer who loves coffee, the Spinn is amazing.
Raspberry pi alternative
The ODROID-H3 is a single board computer billed as a Raspberry Pi killer. It’s selling for $165.
Mastodon
If you’ve made the leap to Mastodon, set up a monthly donation to your home server.
Open source router
The open source router Turris Omnio.
- OpenWRT based
- Performant hardware
- Not quite cheap though
Books
Standard Ebooks produces new editions of public domain ebooks with really nice formatting, an open source workflow, have no DRM, and cost $0 to download. They essentially provide the finishing touches for the work started by Project Gutenberg. One of these ebooks could be a nice $0 gift (in the event that you’re strapped for cash) for somebody who loves reading the classics or obscure.
Every open source enthusiast needs a copy of Virus Bomb and Bullseye Breach. Enjoy the fiction. Use the education. Jerry Barkley is just an IT contractor trying to earn a living and feed his family. He never worked for the government. He’s no superhero. But reactions to the cyberattack scenarios he runs up against and the solutions he comes up with are as real as can be. Maybe real superheroes are ordinary people who step up when called.
Music
Music makes a great gift. Think about buying interesting music in open formats – FLAC, or vinyl(!!!) for example – for your friends and loved ones.
Open source essentials
Open source swag from projects like the Open Source Initiative and Freewear would make an excellent gift. Freewear donates proceeds from each t-shirt purchase back to the project.
- A Raspberry Pi
- Stickers from your favorite conference or project
- Project donations and memberships
Another idea is to finally make that code contribution you’ve been putting off. That’s a gift to a loved one who uses the software (and to the project’s maintainers).
If you’re still unsure of what to get, download and print one of our many eBooks or cheat sheets for that special someone in your life.
Our community contributors share their gift ideas for fellow fans of open source.
Opensource.com
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Jim Hall is an open source software advocate and developer, best known for usability testing in GNOME and as the founder + project coordinator of FreeDOS. At work, Jim is CEO of Hallmentum, an IT executive consulting company that provides hands-on IT Leadership training, workshops, and coaching.
My official role is Solution Architect at EPAM working from home in Rhode Island. My unofficial role at any organization I work for is resident Drupal fanatic; I believe strongly in contributing to the Drupal community and supporting open source in any way I can.
I’m the organizer of the Drupal Providence Meetup, an Acquia-certified Site Builder, a co-host on Talking Drupal, and a co-organizer of the New England Drupal Camp. I hold a bachelor degree in Web Management and Internet Commerce, as well as an associate degree in Web Development from Johnson & Wales University. Throughout my career I have crafted Drupal solutions for organizations like CVS Caremark, Leica Geosystems, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Marriott International, Rhode Island School of Design, and Getty Images.
When I’m not immersed in the world of Drupal, I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, drinking craft beer, coffee, and cooking!
Educator, entrepreneur, open source advocate, life long learner, Python teacher. M.A. in Educational Psychology, MSED in Educational Leadership, Linux system administrator, Follow me at @Don_Watkins .
Mastodon ID
Stephan is a technology enthusiast who appreciates open source for the deep insight of how things work.
Stephan works as a full time support engineer in the mostly proprietary area of industrial automation software. If possible, he works on his Python-based open source projects, writing articles, or driving motorbike.
Seth Kenlon is a UNIX geek, free culture advocate, independent multimedia artist, and D&D nerd. He has worked in the film and computing industry, often at the same time. He is one of the maintainers of the Slackware-based multimedia production project Slackermedia.
After surviving multiple layoff rounds at Digital Equipment Corporation, a large computer company in its day, I started Scott Consulting in 1994. A larger firm bought Scott Consulting in 1999, just as the dot com bust devastated the IT Service industry. A glutton for punishment, I went out on my own again in late 1999 and started Infrasupport Corporation, this time with a laser focus on infrastructure and security. I accepted a job offer with Red Hat, Inc. in 2015 as a Senior Technical Account Manager.
I’m also a published author. Jerry Barkley is an IT contractor, not a superhero. But after he uncovers a cyberattack that could lead to millions dead and nobody believes his warnings, if he doesn’t act then who will? Real superheroes are ordinary people who step up when called. “Virus Bomb” and “Bullseye Breach” are available everywhere books are sold. More info at https://www.dgregscott.com/books. Enjoy the fiction. Use the education.
My family and I live near St. Paul, Minnesota.
Seldom without a computer of some sort since graduating from the University of British Columbia in 1978, I have been a full-time Linux user since 2005, a full-time Solaris and SunOS user from 1986 through 2005, and UNIX System V user before that.
On the technical side of things, I have spent a great deal of my career as a consultant, doing data analysis and visualization; especially spatial data analysis. I have a substantial amount of related programming experience, using C, awk, Java, Python, PostgreSQL, PostGIS and lately Groovy. I’m looking at Julia with great interest. I have also built a few desktop and web-based applications, primarily in Java and lately in Grails with lots of JavaScript on the front end and PostgreSQL as my database of choice.
Aside from that, I spend a considerable amount of time writing proposals, technical reports and – of course – stuff on https://www.opensource.com.
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