The Change Mode Podcast

dotJS conference special, episode 1: In this episode of the Change Mode podcast, dotJS speaker, Jessica Sachs shares her unconventional journey from starting in manual QA at 16 to becoming a key figure in the open source community. She discusses her transition to programming, her pivotal role in maintaining Vue Test Utils, and her current work at HeroDevs. Offering insights on "making your own luck," the importance of community involvement, and her views on testing, advocating for a flexible, problem-solving approach.

Learn more about Jessica and her current projects on github or follow her on x.

Do you have an open-source story of your own that you want to share? Join us for an episode of Change Mode, apply now to be a guest.

Shoutout to our incredible podcast host, Marine Gandy, our resident Drupal expert and DevRel Engineer at Platform.sh. There’ll be plenty more from Marine coming soon, stay tuned!

Follow us on X to get the latest updates on upcoming episodes.

Summer Special. In Episode 6 of The Change Mode Podcast, host Chad Carlson sits down with Randy Fay, the lead maintainer of DDEV, to dive into the world of development environments, TRS-80 nostalgia, and the evolution of open-source communities. Randy takes us on a journey from his early days in programming to his pivotal role in creating DDEV—a tool that’s changing the game for web developers using Docker. With a dash of humor, Randy breaks down how DDEV offers a consistent, isolated workspace across operating systems and why this is a game-changer for devs juggling multiple projects.

Whether you're a seasoned dev or just tech-curious, Randy’s insights on community-driven development and DDEV’s roadmap for 2024 will keep you hooked. Plus, he shares the importance of financial support from sponsors like Platform.sh, which helps the project thrive. Don't miss out on learning how DDEV is empowering developers worldwide and what exciting new features are coming soon—trust us, it’s a conversation you won’t want to miss.

02:30 - Randy's early interest in programming, starting with a TRS-80 Model 1

04:15 - Transition from teaching to programming, starting with documentation

06:45 - Early work on home automation and mobile data (CDPD) projects

09:30 - Introduction to PHP development and the Drupal community

11:45 - Explanation of DDEV and its purpose in web development

14:30 - Origins of DDEV from the “Drud” company

17:00 - Impact of Docker on local development environments

19:15 - Discussion of DDEV being written in Go and its advantages

22:30 - Focus on contributor training and growing the DDEV community

24:45 - Financial support for DDEV, including sponsorship from Platform.sh

27:30 - Introduction of Stas Zhuk as a paid maintainer

29:15 - DDEV's plans for 2024, including improved add-on ecosystem

32:45 - Impact of add-ons on community involvement

35:00 - Randy's interests outside of software (mountain biking)

36:15 - Thoughts on documentation and effective communication

38:30 - Randy's greatest strength: supporting and helping others

40:00 - Projects Randy is most proud of, including DDEV and CDPD work

Thank you to Randy for taking us on his journey, but it doesn’t end there! Check out the links below to learn more about Pol’s ongoing projects and stay in the loop with his work and in the DDEV loop.

DDEV

GitHub

Do you have an open-source story of your own that you want to share? Join us for an episode of Change Mode, apply now to be a guest.

Follow us on X to get the latest updates on upcoming episodes.

Embark in an unconventional open source journey with Pol Dellaiera in episode 5 of the chmodcast. It all starts with saving every euro to buy his first computer as a kid… Then it goes to Drupal, Symfony, and now Nix, where Pol’s contributions as a maintainer with commits rights make the lives of PHP developers easier than ever. Package manager, operating system and even functional language: Nix does it all. Let’s dive in!

00:20 — Episode introduction

01:45 — SymfonyCon Brussels

03:00 — Introducing Pol Dellaiera 

05:03 — A love for computers that leads to a career in IT

08:31 — Open source journey, from Drupal 5 to Symfony to Nix

18:31 — Installing NixOS and saving configuration files 

21:45 — Maintaining and adding packages to Nix

24:20 — Nix language

26:36 — Example of a contribution to Nix

30:33 — How many people work on Nix?

32:43 — How to use and contribute to Nix?

34:40 — What’s in the future for Nix? (Flakes!)

37:33 — Silly questions time!

41:10 — Next episode teaser

Thank you to Pol for taking us on his journey, but it doesn’t end there! He just published his master’s thesis about “Reproducibility in Software Engineering”, 20+ years after completing his bachelor’s degree! Check out the links below to learn more about Pol’s ongoing projects and stay in the loop with his work.

Mastodon

GitHub

Blog

Master’s thesis “Reproducibility in Software Engineering”

Nix & NixOS 

Do you have an open-source story of your own that you want to share? Join us for an episode of Change Mode, apply now to be a guest.

Shoutout to our incredible podcast host, Marine Gandy, our resident Drupal expert and DevRel Engineer at Platform.sh. There’ll be plenty more from Marine coming soon, stay tuned!

Follow us on X to get the latest updates on upcoming episodes.

Dive into the world of hardened JavaScript, LavaMoat, and JavaScript security with Zbyszek “ZB” Tenerowicz (@naugtur) in episode 4 of Change Mode. From at-home HTML trial-and-error to building inclusive 3D gaming engines, ZB dives into his open-source journey and the incredible projects he continues to work on every day. Including a passion and dedication to organizing and public speaking at international developer events. Let’s get into the episode! 

00:22 —  Introducing Zbyszek (ZB) Tenerowicz, JavaScript security expert

02:00 — The journey to open-source and LavaMoat 

03:22 — From at-home HTML to Silicon Valley 

08:57 — Security at Metamask, the self-custody wallet

10:11 — The creation of LavaMoat 

14:53 — What is hardened JavaScript? 

21:02 — Security and JavaScript, keeping up with NPM 

25:21 — Who’s contributing to Endo? And how you can too 

29:22 — Getting into public speaking 

31:21 — Organising international developer events with MeetJS Poland 

36:35 — The open-source community and dream project 

39:20 — Inclusive gaming, building 3D game engines 

43:10 — If you could invent a new permission, what would it be? 

Thank you to ZB for taking us on his journey from at-home, trial-and-error HTML to leading JavaScript security at LavaMoat and Endo. Check out the links below to learn more about ZB’s ongoing projects and stay in the loop with his work.

GitHub

X

MeetJS 

LavaMoat 

Endo

Do you have an open-source story of your own that you want to share? Join us for an episode of Change Mode, apply now to be a guest.

Shoutout to our incredible podcast host, Marine Gandy, our resident Drupal expert and DevRel Engineer at Platform.sh. There’ll be plenty more from Marine coming soon, stay tuned!

Follow us on X to get the latest updates on upcoming episodes.

Join DjangoGirls board members, Aisha Bello and Leona So, for this week’s episode of Change Mode as we celebrate 10 years of this incredible non-profit.

Created to inspire women from all backgrounds to get interested in technology and enter the world of programming, Aisha and Leona share their journeys into open source and their roles in DjangoGirls today. Dive into how they built their own Python communities, ran their own local events, and the importance of creating safe, welcoming spaces for women in tech. 

00:30 — Share your open-source love story 

01:05 — Celebrating 10 years of DjangoGirls 

03:13 — Introducing our guests, Aisha Bello and Leona So 

04:30 — Leona’s journey into open source: from maths teacher to DjangoGirls

07:47 — Aisha’s open-source story: building a Python community in Nigeria 

13:39 — The creation of DjangoGirls Manchester and Chester

16:39 — Never underestimate the power of the open-source community 

18:26 — Do we need in-person events to truly build a strong community?

23:25 — The DjangoGirls podcast: a long-distance relationship 

28:24 — How to balance work, life, and open source

34:47 — What’s next for DjangoGirls? 

37:44 — The importance of belonging for women in tech  

42:00 — If you had permission to do anything for a day, what would you do? 

46:22 — If you could invent a new permission, what would it be? 

48:17 — What do you think is your greatest power? 

Thank you to our incredible guests, Aisha and Leona, for joining us for this episode to discuss their journeys as women in tech and development. Follow Aisha and Leona’s incredible work with DjangoGirls on X and GitHub. 

Do you have an open-source story of your own that you want to share? Join us for an episode of Change Mode, apply now to be a guest.

Shoutout to our incredible podcast host, Marine Gandy, our resident Drupal expert and DevRel Engineer at Platform.sh. There’ll be plenty more from Marine coming soon, stay tuned!

Follow us on X to get the latest updates on upcoming episodes.