If you code or test or like to roll up your sleeves and pitch in to help on projects that are both cool and needed, even if you are a beginner, listen up!

Every year Google’s Summer of Code (GSoC) program pays thousands of new contributors to help improve selected projects.  They began this program in 2005, and it’s been a smashing success.  Many of the tools you use every day have been developed or enhanced by GSoC.

A couple years ago, the program got a major upgrade.  Quoting Wikipedia:

Google announced a massive expansion to the Google Summer of Code program in November of 2021. The updated program allowed anyone over 18 to participate, which significantly broadened the scope of the program which used to just focus on students and new grads. Google also rolled out both medium and large projects to give open source organizations flexibility to tackle more complex projects.

So it’s no longer just for CS students!  Any open source beginner is eligible this year.  Remember, even Linus Torvalds was a beginner once.

Your Opportunity with BorgBase

BorgBase is a provider of managed backup storage was always a big open source contributor.  If you open a thread on LowEndTalk asking what backup system people use, a lot of the responses will include BorgBase.  They directly support Borg, Borgmatic, and maintain Vorta, a popular desktop GUI.

This year all those projects have joined forces to participate in GSoC and work on new features and improvements!

Anyone who is an open source beginner or student can apply and suggest a project that suits their skills and availability.  Have you noticed how many times the word beginner has appeared in this article?  It’s open to all and you are encouraged to bring your ideas to the table.

If you didn’t formally contribute to open source before, you will learn valuable technical and community skills, as well as see your work used by tens of thousands of users. This also looks good on a résumé or curriculum vitae (CV).  Or you can just casually drop a mention of it in your next job interview.

While not everyone can be accepted, BorgBase will be providing a free Medium Backup Plan ($80 value) to anyone making substantial contributions that are merged into one of the participating projects.  Cool!

So let’s review.  By participating, you can

• Get paid by Google
• Get a free Medium Backup plan from BorgBase
• Gain invaluable experience contributing on open source projects
• Contribute to the future of BorgBase and improve the project
• Dazzle admissions boards, potential employers, and probably your romantic interests with tales of your contributions

For possible projects, tasks and how to apply see the official ideas page or ask your questions on IRC.

While you’re here, you might enjoy our interview with LowEndTalk’s @m4nu, who started BorgBase and is the proprietor of PikaPods, an excellent dead-simple it-just-works hosting service for apps.

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raindog308

Dread Lord of LowEnd Content at LowEndBox

I'm raindog308, techno polymath and long-time LowEndTalk community Administrator. My technical interests include all things Unix, perl, python, golang, shell scripting, vintage operating systems such as MVS, and relational database systems such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

I also enjoy using LEBs! I have an empire of little guys for VPNs, larger guys for apps, and big guys for databases and storage. When I'm not in front a screen I'm into German Shepherd dogs, quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop roleplaying games, and forest hiking.

I enjoy writing technical articles here on LowEndBox to help people get more out of their systems. You can find me on LowEndTalk @raindog308

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