So you've decided to join the world of open-source software developers; welcome! As you may or may not realize, there are a lot of things to consider when open-sourcing a project. It isn't simply a matter of setting your code free into some anarchic void. For starters, you need to consider a software license, the means of distribution, creating documentation, how to manage contributions and whether you intend to offer support. Also, keep in mind that when we refer to open-source, we don't necessarily mean free. If I haven't scared you off already then let's get started.

Tomorrow I plan on posting the first in a series of posts devoted to helping people who may be considering open-sourcing a project of theirs or even those, like myself, who jumped into open-source without much planning. Originally this started as an article devoted to open-source using Adobe technologies like ColdFusion and Flex but, in the end, almost of the considerations ended up being language-neutral. The plan for the moment is for this to be a four part series covering: 1) Structuring your project; 2) Licensing your project; 3) Hosting your project and 4) Handling community contributions. Its important to note that while some people make a living immersed in the world of open-source, I am primarily an knowledgeable observer. The point is, feel free to interject or correct if you have anything to add to the articles as my information is not definitive. Also, I will link to the articles from here as I post them.

Part 1 - Structuring for your Open Source Project

One new project and two updates this week. A light week in terms of new or updated projects but a lot of announcements and a good amount of tutorials and reviews came out (plus my last update was late making this a short week). There has been a lot of posts and discussion around several projects lately, especially Mango Blog, ColdBox and Transfer. Seems like these projects have garnered an active and vocal community of users, which is especially good for POSS projects like ColdBox and Transfer. On that topic, I hope to post the first in a series of posts this week about considerations when starting an open-source project (specifically focused on Adobe products). Keep an eye out if this is a topic that interests you.

Continuing my series of posts that review App Store apps specifically with iPod Touch in mind, today we review Super Monkey Ball by Sega. My son has Super Monkey Ball for the GameCube, Wii and Nintendo DS, so we are clearly fans of the series (though the Wii version stinks to be honest). If you are a fan of the series you will likely enjoy the iPhone/Touch version. If you aren't experienced with the series, you should be aware that it has always been extremely difficult and frustrating at times - which has led to some undeserved negative customer reviews for this version.

In a response to my post Good Enough to Touch? Apps for the iPod Touch, fellow blogger Kyle Hayes decided to compose his first guest post - a review of the new Texas Hold'em game offered on the recently released App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch owners.