I have to admit it, I'm a junkie. I love free software, freely licensed, BSD baby. Everything I do with computers revolves around some form of free software. OpenBSD runs on most of my computers. I grew up with Unix computers for longer than I can remember. It is my system of choice. In the past six years, I've done some kernel projects usualy involving maintaining, porting, or modifying network drivers, hard disk controller drivers, 802.1Q vlan drivers, and I even spent some time to do the initial ALTQ port to OpenBSD so that I could try it out. In the past four or five years I've spent most of my time in the networking arena.
Why does my computer use revolve around free software? It's the best way to go for people who want to get intimate with their systems (Like Austin Powers would say, "Yeah, baby!!!") In a world full of "Intellectual Property," this intimacy is a freedom. To be able to deal directly with the concepts and representations true to the underlying details of the protocols, algorithms, software, and hardware is priceless. And really, it's the Internet. It's usually rare that anything I find particularly interesting or gratifying is available first through a piece of commercially developed software. I just don't get excited about Windows XP. Actually, I get excited about new features in command line FTP.
What am I doing these days? Helping to build BendTel and therefore build a better future for Internet connectivity
in Central Oregon. Besides, I need that quality IP transit so that I can solve
other problems in concert with the fine teams of
Yellowknife Wireless and Network Media.