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Bill Metzenthen
Linux :
Akteure : Personen :
Bill Metzenthen : Übersicht
07-Dec-2001/09-Jan-07
Übersicht
Bill was a 46-year-old Ph.D. student when he first began
``using Linux 0.97pl2 and submitting bug reports in August 1992.'' He
gave up the ``research environment'' of his job as an electronics
engineer to study theoretical physics. This led him to the mathematics
department at Monash University. At the time, Linux did the things he
needed, while UNIX systems were too expensive for personal use. Bill
says, ``I was sick of the closed world of proprietary software.'' This
was the impetus for his work in free software. He went from using MS-DOS
and Turbo-C to DJ Delorie's port of gcc (djgpp). Linux took him in the
direction he wanted to go.
Bill's involvement with mathematics gave him the ability he needed to
help improve the FPU (floating-point unit) emulator in djgpp. Not being
able to afford a machine with an FPU provided him with ``the motivation
to work on an emulator.'' Linux had poor support for FPU emulation, so
Bill transferred his work to Linux and continued the development. He
isn't too involved with kernel development these days, but still
maintains the FPU emulator.
He sees Microsoft as the biggest threat to ``World Domination'', but
hopes the recent ruling against Microsoft will benefit the revolution.
The commercialization of Linux is a necessary element to continued
success, he points out. And what of profiteering from the volunteered
work of others? ``Profiteering is an inherent part of capitalism as it
exists today. Greed is good'', he says.
As for the future of Linux, Bill believes the desktop interface will
need to be dumbed down. He adds,
The trick is to keep the dummies away from the underlying operating
system so they can't burn themselves ... sometimes you have to put a
fence around dangerous places to protect people. Unfortunately, some
people are still perverse enough to blame you if they climb the fence
and fall over the cliff.
Outside the computer world, Bill is secretary of the Federation of
Victorian Walkers. He tries to spend time away from the screen, but
rationalizes that ``there are times when I become aware that I am
probably devoting too much time to some activity, but life is full of
illusions and the sense of wasting time is probably just another
illusion.''
Bill Metzenthen's e-mail address is
bill@melbc.org.au.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=4037.
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 Metzenthen, B.: |
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