affirmME

I am super proud of our browser extension. I think our idea generation process was super cool, with me starting off with a super generic idea like an affirmation generator (much like another group’s quote generator) and Rohit starting with a more advanced idea with a browser extension that would use an LLM to analyze the contents of your webpage. I feel like we were able to find a happy medium with a to-do list/affirmation generator that had elements we could all contribute to. Plus, it is super useful! I wish that I had the RAM required to use it because I would definitely be a superuser. I’m curious to see if anyone else will contribute to the project because there are so many potential improvements, like different tabs of the to-do list for different topics so you could separate “shop for groceries” from all your schoolwork, or a way for users to customize affirmations or give context about themselves to improve the quality of the affirmations.

Other Extensions

It was really interesting to see the different directions other groups went in, especially considering how broad the initial ask was. There are definitely some I’d want to try out, like the highlight and tab-down extensions, both of which would be extremely helpful with jotting down notes. I’m especially interested in tab-down because I’d like to compare the experience to side-by-side application windows and contribute if I like it more, considering they mentioned a few areas for improvement.

Biggest Takeaway

I feel like I had two main takeaways:
a. You can really create a project for anything you want, and chances are there are a lot of open-source projects I had never even thought about but would love to contribute to. To think more deeply about this as we’re choosing our projects to contribute to, I want to map out my day and just think about everything I use and interact with and see if there’s any project for that.
b. There are really so many ways to contribute without writing a line of code, and all are equally important for the project to work properly.

I think another lesson I learned was to really make sure I had the hardware requirements for whatever project I choose to work on as well, because it was a bummer to not be able to test out the final product and contribute on that front.

OSS Conference

I loved Kelsey Hightower’s keynote speech and how he was able to use analogies to introduce and describe the idea of open source. I thought it was a great introduction to what he was talking about and made the speech overall far more palatable and interesting for people that are less experienced with open source. I’ve never really thought about it much before this class, and I know that watching this video would’ve been a helpful introduction to the field and its importance.

Sometimes, as a business student, I’m especially amazed by the idea of open source, which is why I’m especially interested in learning more about why it could be a smart business idea. Because of this, I also really liked his untreatable disease thought experiment. He also made it feel so approachable in the way he spoke about it.

Craig McLuckie’s keynote speech was also very engaging, though less basic and introductory to open source. It felt super topical, even though it’s been a year. I also think that the statistics he brought up and his overall use of images and slides were super effective in conveying his message.

I also liked the conversation with Linus Torvalds and getting to hear about the development of Linux. The interviewer also asked great questions so it was a good balance of touch on new technologies/ being topical while also talking about past development, what they’re currently improving, and more. Even without it being a formal speech, it’s clear that he’s very knowledgeable and he communicated when he wasn’t. I also appreciated his outlook on software development as a career.

Presenting

I feel like I’ve been presenting my whole life, from debate in sixth grade to MUN during high school and just generally being a business student now, but there’s always so much to learn and improve from. I think all the groups did well on Monday for more informal, brief presentations, but a few things I hope to improve on are body language and speaking slowly and clearly, since those are the things I get feedback on the most. They’re also the most important in my opinion, because the way you carry yourself when presenting—in terms of your posture, the space you take up, tone, and clarity—matters 10 times more than anything you’re actually saying. They communicate your confidence in your subject matter and make people want to listen and engage with you.

I feel like this is seen best in Kelsey Hightower’s and Craig McLuckie’s presentations, since they were more formal presentations. In both, they took advantage of the space around them and their body language to communicate confidence, spoke clearly, and also started with hooks that made them far more engaging. I also think they highlight the difference between using slides versus not, and how to use slides effectively. No one wants to read three paragraphs while you’re talking!