Interesting development work, if you can find it in Linux ?
There are quite a few tiny Linux distros that need a few finishing touches; that you might help and make a name for yourself.
DSL 3.0 has a program pppconfig that needs streamlining to reduce keystrokes. to rework PAP and chat script to get dynamic IP address of ISP from firewall data. Needs remastering.
LuitLinux 0.4 has the pppconfig configuration script needs recoding and remastered. Illustration of codes appear on a link on their forum, howto section. Needs remastering. This link(if you find it) will solve all the problems of all these tiny Linux distros.
Mitrax 1.0 which is an Austrumi with FvWM95 window manager has problems with ppconfig codes due to serial ports installed wrong ttySx. Needs remastering.
Byzantine 5.0 needs java script to install dialup modem and pppconfig with wvdial. Then squashfs and growfs too, to work with compressed image in the future. It needs more work than others.
Puppy 2.x needs PAP in gkdial to fill in static IP address or use dynamic IP address. It works with chat protocol, now.
All of them has the same needs, more or less. If you can fix one, you can fix them all. Have some fun with Linux coding, it will hone your skills in Linux dialup modem connection to ISP telephone number(the main business of AOL).
More development work in Linux if you can find them ?
Most of Linux kernel development work is taken but Linus does it poorly with no quality control(traceabilty and adequate testing) as we know it. To build a castle on any loose amd shifting sand(Linux 2.6.x kernels) is not very solid work.
Debian works on kernel independency, which is using microkernels in application software on browser windows.
This concept gives you the opportunity to integrate all the drivers once your install script reads the bios PNPOS. Bios gives the cpu multimedia instructions and video plus audio codec requirements.
You can have a birds eye view of Linux applications integrating under browser control center, which is toolbars and taskbars. You stuff applications in as a many a window as you can doing multitasking, using threads on many levels(L2 cache for posix packets, threads in drams for windows, history in hdd swap file), all in protected memory page or banks.
Take any operating system distro, and you will have a field day. Good luck, start with some tiny Linux distro to cut your teeth. After all you don't want to be stuck in some never never land of a Linux kernel(browser obsoletes mono) sink holes.
Famous footnote of all times:
Microkernels(files) are the very direct instructions of hardware cpu, video, audio or any chipsets. You use interpreters(QNX files, video basic interpreter or even Java emulation interpreter) to do VHDL microkernel conversion to hex coded binary instructions thru ascii code machine language.
VHDL is very high level design language. each VHDL word or group of words(name of a file) is a line of codes in a file. You launch that file to get work done. Microsoft uses vey long file names to make VHDL easy to work with. Object technology(SAP) made VHDL famous; Gates Basic also.