February 2015 Summaries

The Piratocat Shirt, featuring a design inspired by nautical themes and playful references to Ruby and Perl programming languages, invites enthusiasts to embark on a whimsical adventure across the "Sea Es Es" while being cautious of the fictional Octokraken. Created by Brandi Firestine, this shirt is available for purchase in the GitHub Shop, offering a unique blend of tech culture and maritime fun.

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is approaching, and GitHub is offering 20 expo passes through a contest to engage participants in gaming-related events like the Game Career Seminar, the Independent Games Festival, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. To enter, participants need to submit a form detailing their favorite gamedev-related GitHub repository by February 24th at 11 pm PST, with GitHub employees selecting the top 20 submissions. Winners will be notified via email and must arrange their own accommodation and transportation. Organized by Lee Reilly, Senior Program Manager at GitHub Developer Relations, the event encourages attendees to visit the GitHub booth during the conference.

GitHub for Mac has introduced a redesigned Changes tab to streamline the process of reviewing and syncing modifications, allowing users to concentrate on their specific changes. The update simplifies the process of amending a recent commit with an "Undo" button and includes an option to enable automatic syncing after committing. These enhancements are part of a broader vision for the platform, and users with GitHub for Mac already installed will receive the latest version automatically. Feedback is encouraged to improve the experience further.

Git Merge 2015 is set to take place in Paris on April 8-9 at La Gaîté Lyrique, with tickets priced at $99 USD, and all proceeds benefiting the Software Freedom Conservancy. The event begins with a choice between advanced Git training or guided tours of Paris on April 8, alongside an exclusive Git Contributors Summit. The main event on April 9 will feature talks by notable speakers such as Junio Hamano from Google and Rick Olson from GitHub, providing attendees the opportunity to learn, discuss, and collaborate on the future of Git. The event will conclude with a special Git birthday celebration, marking a decade of the version control system's existence.

A newly released shirt available in the GitHub Shop, written about by Brandi Firestine, offers a unique feature that allows wearers to display their GitHub username or project name directly on the clothing, making it both a practical and creative choice for tech enthusiasts.

Git 2.3.0, the latest major version of the Git command-line utility, introduces several notable features and improvements aimed at enhancing performance, convenience, and security. Among the highlights is the "push to deploy" feature, which allows developers to push changes directly to a server's repository, automatically updating the current branch if no local modifications exist, though it may not suit all projects due to potential deployment inconsistencies. Additionally, a new cloning option enables faster data transfer by borrowing objects from existing local clones, while Git's default push behavior has been made more conservative to prevent accidental pushes to incorrect branches. The update also introduces a flexible SSH invocation via the GIT_SSH_COMMAND variable, improved credential handling for automated scripts, and other minor enhancements such as smarter path management during checkouts and force options for branch deletion and renaming. This release also addresses a critical security vulnerability fixed in December, underscoring the importance of upgrading to ensure system security.

GitHub has implemented a new security measure to enhance user confidence when committing code to public repositories, by automatically emailing users if they accidentally push an OAuth Access Token with a git push command. This precautionary step includes the revocation of the token to prevent unauthorized actions, thereby safeguarding user accounts and maintaining the security of sensitive information. For additional security practices, users are encouraged to consult resources like "Keeping your SSH keys and application access tokens safe" available in GitHub Help, as highlighted by Neil Matatall.

GitHub is organizing an innovative event called GitHub Universe, blending elements of a festival and a conference to engage anyone passionate about software development. Scheduled for October 1-2, 2015, at Pier 70 in San Francisco, the event aims to unite the entire software community, from independent developers to large teams, and from open-source projects to commercial applications, to explore software design, development, and deployment. Attendees will experience a vibrant community atmosphere, hear from leading industry speakers, participate in in-depth training and immersive activities, and learn about the latest updates from GitHub. Updates and announcements about the event, including ticket sales and speaker details, will be shared on the GitHub blog and the GitHub Universe conference website.

A Patchwork hack night was announced for Tuesday, February 10th, 2015, co-hosted with Xero in Melbourne, aimed at beginners in Git and GitHub. The event promised a hands-on workshop where participants could learn Git and GitHub, culminating in their first merged Pull Request and a contribution to the open source community. With no prior coding experience required, attendees would engage in activities such as a Hello World tutorial, small group sessions, and lightning talks from community members. GitHub staff and local mentors, including @michaeltwofish, @rachelmyers, and @Foggybtmgirl, were set to provide guidance throughout the event. The event was free, with food and refreshments provided, and participants were encouraged to RSVP as either attendees or mentors.