“Jon “maddog” Hall has over 25 years of experience in the
industry, 17 of that with UNIX. He has been a software developer,
systems administrator, product manager, marketing manager and
professional educator, and is now Executive Director at Linux
International. He worked at Compaq Computer Corporation in the
Digital UNIX Marketing Group and for Bell Laboratories. Prior to
that he was Department Head of Computer Science at Hartford State
Technical College.”
“EL: We all know the exciting history of Linux and some of its
obvious benefits, such as cost and reliability, but what are some
less conspicuous benefits today’s corporate CIO may not be aware
of?”
“Hall: Before Linux, I would visit a college or university and
find the students using Windows and Macs in the computer labs.
This, of course, made me wonder where we would get the new
programmers and systems administrators for enterprise computing in
the future. After Linux started being used by college students, I
began to see these students taking an interest in networking and
systems administration that went beyond just using the
computer.”