This week Reddit released their backend code for download and as open source. Being open source anyone can download and improve upon the Reddit code. This is a win for people who want to be Reddit clones, as well as a win for Reddit who gets the benefits of features, bug fixes, and more from anyone who contributes. 

If you are interested in the project or want to grab the code, head over to the Reddit Trac Open Source Project.

BarCampKC is scheduled for May 9th and 10th in Overland Park, KS.

BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants — often focusing on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats.

Unlike other BarCamps, BarCampKC will have no actual camping out and all the sessions will be planned the night of the 9th during the meet and greet time.

If you are in the KC area, or want to come even if you aren’t, check out the BarCampKC page or the blog and put your name on the Wiki.

I will be running the audio equipment to record as well as live stream the audio for the Alternageek Tech Show either through TalkShoe or BlogTalkRadio. The links and stream will also be available the day of the event at Alternageek.com

I have owned NixNews.com for some time and until the last few days it has existed purely as a Linux news river. Originally built on WordPress with RSS aggregator plugins, NixNews grabbed Linux and open source from all over the internet and compiled the links in one place while linking back to the original posting site for reading. The downside to this form factor was that it was nearly impossible to moderate and duplicates appeared more often than not in the river with large streams of posts from one site or another resulting in an uneven mix of news.

After initial testing and tweaking, NixNews.com has been reborn into a user voted Linux news and article site. I have tagged it beta, and it just that, an early beta service that will still have bugs to be worked out. I have taken the testing as far as I can go on my own and am opening it up and announcing it’s release. Please take the time to visit, register, vote/bury the stories, and submit new posts. I would like to see NixNews grow in it’s niche as a valuable resource for information to the Linux community. I welcome your bug reports as well as any suggestions you might have for it’s function, interface, design, or feed aggregation.

As the tax deadline in the US draws near those rushing to meet the deadlines are probably well aware now of exactly what your financial status is from the last year. Tax time for me usually means that I reevaluate my spending and savings and look at revitalizing my budget. There are some excellent cross-platform apps that I think work even better than the clunky old standards. Here is a quick rundown (that is by all means not a comprehensive list) of a few apps you can use to manage your budget and your finances:

• GnuCash - GnuCash allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income, and expenses. As quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register, it is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports. It is backed by an active development community and is blossoming into a full-fledged accounting system. GnuCash has also released a Windows binary. GnuCash is open source and free.
• Buddi - Buddi is a personal finance and budgeting program, aimed at those who have little or no financial background. Buddi will run on almost any computer which has a Java virtual machine installed. This can include Windows, Macintosh OS X, Linux, and many other operating systems. Buddi is released as an open source application and is free (donations accepted).
• PearBudget - Free while in beta, PearBudget is a simple system that helps you build a clear spending plan and track your spending record.  It removes all the overkill in other financial apps and just helps you track a budget. A wizard interface and simple language takes the frustration out of planning (and sticking to) a budget. Multiplatform.

Image "Money Rose“ from Flickr by distinguish 

Beauty :)