The theme for Kubernetes v1.29 is Mandala
Each Kubernetes release is the culmination of the hard work of thousands of individuals from our community. The people behind this release come from a wide range of backgrounds, some of us industry veterans, parents, others students and newcomers to open-source. We combine our unique experience to create a collective artifact with global impact.
Much like a garden, our release has ever-changing growth, challenges and opportunities. This theme celebrates the meticulous care, intention and efforts to get the release to where we are today. Harmoniously together, we grow better.
Another Kubernetes release, and this time I played the role of Release Notes lead. Extremely fortunate to have had a great team of shadows, and also a great team in general - Priyanka Saggu did a great job as Release Lead, in particular, and it always amazes me how smooth things go considering the complexity and the volunteer nature of the participants (although it really shouldn’t).
You can check the main updates in the blog above, and also in the Release Notes.
More than the technical aspects of the new release (and there are plenty), this was once again a great experience. I have this dreadful need to fill what I perceive as “free time” with things, which is particularly concerning given the number of things that interest me. My increased participation in Kubernetes is at least partially related to this, but also made easier through the way the community really fosters participation. This is quite different from the much more “do it or GTFO” scene in the 90s/00s, which in hindsight likely alienated a lot of brilliant people. The Hacker Crackdown, now that I think of it, also makes similar observations on the 80s/90s scene.
Anyway, it’s clear to me that treating people with care and respect is a marked improvement, even if a nostalgic view of the past (plus survivor bias) might creep in... and this is why it’s ultimately “easy” to contribute and keep active in several fronts.