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Author Archives: ToddLewis

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About ToddLewis

Todd started the Open IT Lab in January 2011 to promote open source awareness, education and application. He also founded and serves as Chair of POSSCON, one of the largest open source conferences in the Southeast, and serves as managing partner of Palmetto Computer Labs, an open source consulting firm. His focus on open source started after reading David Wheeler’s “Why Open Source Software/Free Software (OSS/FS, FLOSS, or FOSS)? Look at the Numbers!”. He continues because of the numerous opportunities open source creates for anyone interested.

Thirty Attend Javascript Survival Guide Workshop

March 20th, 2013 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined | Promote IT - (0 Comments)

Javascript(2)Thirty technologists attended the Javascript Survival Guide workshop on February 26 at IT-oLogy. Hosted by the Open IT Lab, the event drew people of all backgrounds and experiences, from the computer science student at the university level to the seasoned web developer.

Javascript is an open source client side scripting language used to create enhanced user interfaces and dynamic websites – it’s a language every developer should know. The workshop’s purpose was to provide useful information designed to steer attendees away from javascript’s cliffs and canyons and lead them towards clear, concise and powerful code. Client side javascript can feel like a big open wilderness if you haven’t been immersed in the culture and best practices.

Brad Dunbar, a developer at Pathable Inc and a graduate of the University of South Carolina, served as workshop instructor and did a fantastic job. He will offer an additional workshop for the javascript beginner in upcoming months.

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Ubuntu Workshop Another Success

March 6th, 2013 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined | Promote IT - (0 Comments)

The Open IT Lab at IT-oLogy led another successful Ubuntu workshop on Thursday, January 24.

The workshop was the fifth Ubuntu offering since the Lab opened and served as an introduction to Ubuntu from the desktop users perspective. Ubuntu Linux is a free and open alternative to Windows or Mac OS X, and the world’s third most popular home computer operating system.

Topics such as how to navigate the desktop, install and manage software and software updates, and take advantage of the features that Ubuntu offers the desktop user were covered by Jim Salter. He also discussed how to customize the UI look and feel, what multimedia support options exist, and more about the Linux file system.

As Ubuntu continues to grow in popularity the Open IT Lab will continue to offer workshops. The next offering will take place in April.

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Overflow crowd for Drupal 101 & 102 Workshops

February 26th, 2013 | Posted by ToddLewis in Grow IT | IT-oLogy Defined - (0 Comments)

Nearly 20 people attended the Drupal 101 & 102 workshop on Saturday, February 23 at IT-oLogy. Even with the terrible weather outside, attendees of all ages and experience levels gathered in the Distance Learning classroom to learn more.

The purpose of the workshop was to introduce the open source Drupal content management system and framework, in use by about 2% of the world’s websites, and to provide an opportunity to extend upon that baseline knowledge. The course was a combination of the Drupal 101 and 102 classes offered previously at IT-Ology and gave attendees an opportunity to learn a lot in a single day of instruction.

Those in attendance learned to build their own website using Drupal Gardens, and to take advantage of Drupal features such as content types and views to develop custom applications. Tech-savvy people with no programming experience used the point and click interface to build sites and the API/framework allowed programmers to develop unique applications.

The nearly 20 people for this workshop, combined with the 30 attendees for the separate Drupal 101 and 102 workshops earlier in the month, meant more than 50 unique individuals learned more about Drupal in February at IT-oLogy.

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IT-oLogy Teaches People to Build a Computer from Scratch

February 7th, 2013 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined | Promote IT - (0 Comments)

The Open IT Lab at IT-oLogy hosted its first ever Build a Computer from Scratch workshop on Saturday, February 2.

The workshop targeted those that have wondered what goes on inside a computer and served as a unique hands-on opportunity for attendees to build a desktop computer from scratch. People with all levels of experience participated, from the less experienced college student to the seasoned IT professional that had never looked inside a computer to see how it works.

The workshop explained and demonstrated common components, such as the case, power supply, motherboard, memory, hard drive, and optical drive. Attendees were also shown how to install and connect these pieces to build a working machine.

Finally, the Ubuntu Linux operating system was installed and explained.

By the end of the two our event attendees learned about safety procedures, tools for computer assembly and repair, computer terminology and measurement units (RAM, SSD, BIOS, SATA, Intel Core, gigabytes, etc.), the basics of computer components and cables, installing and connecting basic computer components, Linux-compatible hardware, and how to install the Ubuntu operating system.

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The Value of Version Control/Git Presented at IT-oLogy

February 6th, 2013 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined | Teach IT - (0 Comments)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Open IT Lab at IT-oLogy presented a “Version Control/Git/GitHub” workshop on Thursday, January 17. Many computer science students and local IT professionals attended.

Version control is a common tool used by software developers to keep track of changes in code or documents. By using version control and “checking in” changes made to a project into a repository responsible for managing a project, it’s possible to examine old versions, revert mistakes, determine who made changes, enable easier collaboration, and provide better organization for projects of all sizes.

Jarrell covered topics like creation of a repository, repository organization, common git workflows, working with remote repositories, how to use the staging area and manage commits, adding and removing files, creating branches, managing tags, viewing logs, reverting changes in a repository, viewing changes between commits, viewing the status of the working tree, and many others.

Attendees walked away with valuable knowledge that will help them manage projects and track code more effectively.

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First 100 Tickets Now Available for POSSCON 2013 – World Class Open Source Speakers and Content

January 10th, 2013 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined - (3 Comments)

The first 100 tickets are now available for the 2013 Palmetto Open Source Software Conference (POSSCON). The cost is $99 per ticket and includes both days of content. After these are sold, the next 100 will be made available for $149.

POSSCON 2013 will be held at IT-oLogy on March 27 and 28 and will feature track sessions, hands-on training and social and networking events. Tracks will include web development, system administration, education, training, and demonstration.

World class speakers will again be featured, including Bradley Kuhn, Executive Director, Software Freedom Conservancy; Italo Vignoli, Founder and Board Member, Document Foundation; Jonathan Leblanc, Technology Evangelist and author, PayPal; Steven Vaughn Nichols, Editor and Columnist, CBS/ZDNet, Computer World and Network World; and many, many more.

Top companies like Google, Red Hat, PayPal, Groupon, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, and many others will again attend and participate.

Started in 2008, POSSCON is an annual gathering of industry experts, thought leaders, IT decision makers, software programmers and educators around the topic of open source. The conference has steadily grown since it began, and in 2012 approximately 600 people from 20+ states attended, 20 colleges and universities and more than 75 private and government organizations were represented. Open source is a philosophy and methodology based on making source code available and redistributable.

Major sponsors include IT-oLogy, Google, SIOS, Hewlett Packard, Engine Yard, Red Hat, SPARC, GitHub and Life Cycle Engineering.

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23 Attend Kernel Virtual Machine (KVM)

December 10th, 2012 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined - (0 Comments)

23 people attended the Kernel Virtual Machine (KVM) workshop held Thursday, November 29 at IT-oLogy. KVM is a full virtualization solution for Linux and is open source.

Jim Salter, a nationally known open source expert, conducted the workshop and answered questions from attendees. His talk started with an introduction to KVM and quickly moved to mixed-use environments. Using KVM, one can run multiple virtual machines running unmodified Linux or Windows images.

Attendees, which included technologists of all ages, learned how to set up KVM and how to install and manage virtual machines (Windows, Linux, or other) under Ubuntu. Several put the newly obtained knowledge to use immediately and began using KVM.

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Open IT Lab Hosts 28 Students from Fairfield Central High School

December 10th, 2012 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined - (0 Comments)

The Open IT Lab hosted 28 students from Fairfield Central High School in Winnsboro County, SC. The trip took place Wednesday, November 28 and was part of a field trip designed to make students aware of career opportunities in the information technology field.

Todd Lewis led the students on a tour of IT-oLogy and explained why and how the organization was formed. He also showed the students the Open IT Lab, explained open source, and why knowledge of open source technology is extremely important.

Fairfield Central High School students traveled to IT-oLogy
to investigate careers in Information Technology

Jeremy Bicha conducted a 1.5 hour workshop just for the students on the fundamentals of electronic design. The Arduino, a micro controller manufactured by IT-oLogy member Sparkfun Electronics, was used to demonstrate the principles of electronics engineering and computing. Students worked in teams to build their own machine and make it perform various functions.

Stacey Feaster, Career Specialist at Fairfield Central High School, summed up the field trip. “[The students] gained practical application experience and real-world knowledge they will use in choosing a career path. We appreciate the incredible opportunity provided to our students.”

Senior Natrone Trapp thought the trip was beneficial to him as he looks toward his professional career. “I am more certain about my Computer Science Major and feel this field trip has provided me with the information I need to make the right choice about my future. I can’t wait to attend college and use and develop design software.”

 

Quotes from Career Central Newsletter

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First Student Android Appathon a Success

December 10th, 2012 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined - (0 Comments)

The first ever Student Android App Development Contest was hosted by the Open IT Lab, IT-oLogy and the University of South Carolina on Saturday, November 17. It was a tremendous success with more than 10 teams competing from across South Carolina.

This was the first Android application development contest exclusively for students in the state of South Carolina. Teams from the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, and various high schools entered and demonstrated applications of all types. SCANA, RhythmLink, and Blue Acorn from Charleston were sponsors and made it possible.
Winners Joseph Maley and Jacob Harrelson pictured here with
representatives from SCANA and Blue Acorn, sponsors of the contest.

Winners of the contest were Joseph Maley and Jacob Harrelson of Clemson University. They formed the ‘Cube Steaks’ team and developed an application called ‘Dinosaur Tycoon”. Drew Heavner of USC and Felix Fischer also received special mention. Felix is a 9th grade high school student and developed an impressive Bluetooth TicTacToe application.

 Eight teams from across SC demonstrated applications at IT-oLogy on November 17

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Twenty Five Attend Version Control/Git Workshop

October 26th, 2012 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined - (0 Comments)

25 people attended the Version Control/Git/GitHub workshop held at IT-oLogy on Thursday, October 25. The Open IT Lab hosted the event and Jarrell Waggoner, the Lab’s Program Manager, served as the instructor.

The workshop focused on version control, which is a common tool used by software developers to keep track of changes in code or documents. Git is an immensely popular distributed version control system used to manage numerous open source projects, including the Linux kernel. GitHub is a commercial website and service that makes it easier to manager git repositories.

Attendees ranged in experience levels and included students, professors and local IT professionals. Each walked away with information they could put to immediate use, such as how to create a repository, how to use the staging area and manage commits, how to add and remove files, how to create branches, manage tags and view logs, and much more.

The Open IT Lab is planning to offer the workshop again in December. If interested please contact Todd Lewis at todd@palmettocomputerlabs.com for more information and to register. Seating will be limited.

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