Today is day 18 of my 29 Days of Open Source Alternatives series, where I'll be exploring open source alternatives to proprietary software in the categories of Game Development and Multimedia, Development Tools and Platforms, Productivity and Collaboration Tools, and more. If you'd like to see the list of the open source alternatives I'll be covering this month, head over to my 29 Days of Open Source Alts Page or if you're interested in some of the top OSS projects of last year, check out this list. This is the last post is in the Productivity & Collaboration Category.

I remember the first slack I joined. I was just learning how to code, and I got involved in a Moms in Tech group. The founder of the group and I met up for coffee while my one-year-old played nearby, and she told me to join the group's slack.

Today is day 17 of my 29 Days of Open Source Alternatives series, where I'll be exploring open source alternatives to proprietary software in the categories of Game Development and Multimedia, Development Tools and Platforms, Productivity and Collaboration Tools, and more. If you'd like to see the list of the open source alternatives I'll be covering this month, head over to my 29 Days of Open Source Alts Page or if you're interested in some of the top OSS projects of last year, check out this list. This is post is in the Productivity & Collaboration Category.

Designers today have many options for design tools. But navigating closed ecosystems, subscription models, and limited integrations makes it all, well, complicated. And to add to this complication, I want to share another option that might reshape the design experience: the open source tool, Penpot.

Today is day 15 of my 29 Days of Open Source Alternatives series, where I'll be exploring open source alternatives to proprietary software in the categories of Game Development and Multimedia, Development Tools and Platforms, Productivity and Collaboration Tools, and more. If you'd like to see the list of the open source alternatives I'll be covering this month, head over to my 29 Days of Open Source Alts Page or if you want more open source to learn-to-code programs, check out this list. This is our first post in the Productivity & Collaboration Category.

Have you ever heard of the concept of a "second brain"? A "second brain" is an external, digital system for storing, organizing, and retrieving information. The concept is that it's like an extension of our own brains because it helps us to retain knowledge, improve productivity, and foster creativity by removing some of the cognitive load on our own brain. Notion and Evernote are popular tools used in this context.

Today is day 14 of my 29 Days of Open Source Alternatives series, where I'll be exploring open source alternatives to proprietary software in the categories of Game Development and Multimedia, Development Tools and Platforms, Productivity and Collaboration Tools, and more. If you'd like to see the list of the open source alternatives I'll be covering this month, head over to my 29 Days of Open Source Alts Page or if you want more open source to learn-to-code programs, check out this list. This is our first post in the Productivity & Collaboration Category.

My first job after college was as a GED (Graduate Equivalent Diploma) instructor. That means that I was teaching people in the United States who had left high school how to pass their GED exam. I do not consider myself an organized person. (See my last post if you want to learn why.) But one day, my department lead showered me with praise for being so organized. And then I thought, "The dirty clothes on my floor at home aren't connected to my organization at work." They held separate space in my brain.

Today is day 13 of my 29 Days of Open Source Alternatives series, where I'll be exploring open source alternatives to proprietary software in the categories of Game Development and Multimedia, Development Tools and Platforms, Productivity and Collaboration Tools, and more. If you'd like to see the list of the open source alternatives I'll be covering this month, head over to my 29 Days of Open Source Alts Page. This is our second post in the Productivity & Collaboration Category.

A couple of years ago - mid-pandemic - I was diagnosed with ADHD. Maybe it was unsurprising to people who knew me, but it was surprising to me. I didn’t have the symptoms I had heard about. I did well in school, I accomplished all of my tasks, all-in-all I was what some might consider incredibly productive. What I learned about myself and my ADHD is that I had created decades of coping mechanisms that I didn’t even realize. I tended to lean into the things that I was good at.

Today is day 12 of my 29 Days of Open Source Alternatives series, where I'll be exploring open source alternatives to proprietary software in the categories of Game Development and Multimedia, Development Tools and Platforms, Productivity and Collaboration Tools, and more. If you'd like to see the list of the open source alternatives I'll be covering this month, head over to my 29 Days of Open Source Alts Page or if you want more open source to learn-to-code programs, check out this list. This is our first post in the Productivity & Collaboration Category.

Chances are, you either have a calendar schedule or you've interacted with someone else's scheduler. I have been incredibly resistant to having one myself, although I have tried (and didn't love) Calendly in the past to help schedule podcast episodes. At this point, it's necessary for me to have a way to easily schedule meeting, kids' events, and whatever else is happening. To do this, I investigated three open source alternatives to Calendly: cal.com, Fossify Calendar, and Easy!Appointments.

Today is day 11 of my 29 Days of Open Source Alternatives series, where I'll be exploring open source alternatives to proprietary software in the categories of Game Development and Multimedia, Development Tools and Platforms, Productivity and Collaboration Tools, and more. If you'd like to see the list of the open source alternatives I'll be covering this month, head over to my 29 Days of Open Source Alts Page or if you want more open source learn-to-code programs, check out this list.

When I first started learning to code, I started with freeCodeCamp (FCC). I had spent the last nine years of my life teaching college English, and I needed a change. And what I found, changed my life. I had gone through some major life trauma, and I was stuck. I was stuck in the thoughts that cycled through my mind, stuck in loneliness, stuck in a world that kept moving without me.

Today is day 10 of my 29 Days of Open Source Alternatives series, where I'll be exploring open source alternatives to proprietary software in the categories of Game Development and Multimedia, Development Tools and Platforms, Productivity and Collaboration Tools, and more. If you'd like to see the list of the open source alternatives I'll be covering this month, head over to my 29 Days of Open Source Alts Page or check out my bonus lists: open source games and open source learn to code programs.

Before coming into tech, I spent ten years in academia. I always found it frustrating that so much research was guarded behind paywalls. Why were we preventing people from valuable research that could allow us to grow in our areas of expertise? Now, I was in the humanities and not the sciences, but once I learned about ResearchHub, I was intrigued.

Today is day 9 of my 29 Days of Open Source Alternatives series, where I'll be exploring open source alternatives to proprietary software in the categories of Game Development and Multimedia, Development Tools and Platforms, Productivity and Collaboration Tools, and more. If you'd like to see the list of the open source alternatives I'll be covering this month, head over to my 29 Days of Open Source Alts Page or if you want more open source to learn-to-code programs, check out this list.

In the United States, it's National Pizza Day! That means we're going to start this post with a pizza story.

Today is day 8 of my 29 Days of Open Source Alternatives series, where I'll be exploring open source alternatives to proprietary software in the categories of Game Development and Multimedia, Development Tools and Platforms, Productivity and Collaboration Tools, and more. If you'd like to see the list of the open source alternatives I'll be covering this month, head over to my 29 Days of Open Source Alts Page or check out my bonus lists: open source games and API Development Tools.

We all need feedback. If we went to grow and succeed, we need to understand our strengths and weaknesses. And I'll bet that many of us have filled out a feedback form to give product feedback.