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- 5 dependencies became thousands
5 dependencies became thousands
This week we're discovering why no single tool catches everything when auditing dependencies across six package ecosystems from Python to Docker, learning how open source tools like Unsloth, Axolotl, LoRA, and QLoRA turned LLM fine-tuning into a practical developer workflow, comparing Linux Mint, Fedora, and Manjaro to help beginners choose their first distribution, and taking on the "Last Distro Standing Challenge" to finally pick your daily driver.
We're also discovering how engineers are redefining their roles as AI handles mundane tasks, why critical thinking matters more than ever, and how Vercel v0 enables non-designers to prototype quickly as Adhithi Ravichandran joins us on the podcast. This is edition #67 of the We ❤️ Open Source newsletter. Made and curated by Jason & Todd.🙂
This week we'll look at...
We're live and in person on June 24!
Join us for an evening meetup at Cisco's RTP campus
There is a lot of interest around the topic of our next meetup, and it's one of special interest to our community - Running Agents Locally with Open Source: From Laptop to Kubernetes. The speaker, Legare Kerrison, a Developer Advocate at Red Hat, is fantastic and will deliver a ton of value to attendees. Seating is limited, so RSVP today to save your spot!
Articles
 | Fine-tuning used to require a research lab and enterprise GPUs. Open source changed that. Unsloth, Axolotl, LoRA, and QLoRA have turned LLM fine-tuning into a practical developer workflow. This post shows you the full stack and when to use it. WHY WE ❤️ IT: Fine-tuning used to sound like a research problem. This post proves it's a developer workflow now with a case study to seal the deal. |
 | Choosing your first Linux distribution doesn't have to be overwhelming. Don compares three excellent beginner-friendly options—Linux Mint, Fedora, and Manjaro—breaking down hardware requirements, desktop environments, and what makes each one special for new Linux users. WHY WE ❤️ IT: Don distills 25 years of distro hopping into a practical guide. Instead of overwhelming beginners with endless options, he focuses on three solid choices with clear guidance on picking the right one. |
 | Tired of endless distro hopping? Learn Linux TV introduces the Last Distro Standing Challenge. Use Ventoy to test multiple Linux distros from one flash drive, compare two at a time in live mode, and delete the loser. Repeat until only one distro remains your daily driver. WHY WE ❤️ IT: Jay enforces one brutal rule throughout the challenge: One distro stays, one gets deleted, no exceptions. |
What's in your technology toolbox?
You selected five dependencies. Your project is shipping thousands. Viral Chhasatia from AWS walks through six package ecosystems, from Python to Docker, showing why no single tool catches everything and why your SBOM from last quarter is already outdated. If you distribute software, this one's for you.
WHY WE ❤️ IT: Viral walks through six package ecosystems hands on so you don't have to figure out dependency auditing for each one on your own.
From the We ❤️ Open Source Podcast
 | Discover how engineers are redefining their roles as AI handles mundane tasks, why critical thinking matters more than ever, and how Vercel v0 enables non-designers to prototype quickly as Adhithi Ravichandran joins us on the We ❤️ Source podcast. WHY WE ❤️ IT: No designer on the team? Vercel v0 lets engineers prototype quickly and iterate without design skills. |
Featured podcast shorts
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Wrap Up
If you've made it this far (thank you!), check out everything we do, our YouTube channel with 1000's of open source talks, the many meetups we host around the southeast and NYC, the All Things AI spring event we co-host, and of course All Things Open, the largest open source tech conference on the US east coast.
We hope you learn something new this weekend!
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