My Platform for the 2018-2019 openSUSE Board Election

Introduction and Biography

I started my Linux in 2003 back when you could go into the local software store and buy a boxed set of SUSE, Redhat or Mandrake. So, I started on Mandrake, later Mandriva. About 2005, I gave openSUSE my first spin due to better hardware support with dial up modems and sharing the blazing 56 kbaud speed with the other computers on the network. I shifted to openSUSE full time in 2011 after some distro hopping because the structure and layout just made sense as compared to the other available offerings.

I started contributing to openSUSE in 2013 when I had a need to document the process to set up using the smart card system for openSUSE Linux. I compiled the works from several sources to make a repeatable process to properly set up the smart card. Not long after, I had to start understanding how install Oracle Java, updated those instructions on the wiki and it kind of snowballed from there. I discovered at that point I started to really enjoy documenting processes of getting things working and rather than just keep my instructions for myself only, I used the fantastic openSUSE wiki to share my knowledge.

My day job is working for Whirlpool Corporation in the Advanced Design and Innovation department. I primarily work with CAD. I have worked on proof of concepts in utilizing Virtual Reality systems for design validation and am moderately experienced in utilizing 3D Printers.

As far as hobbies go, beyond playing with anything Linux, I enjoy retro tech; especially the Commodore 64, well, pretty much anything Commodore but the 64 was my first computer. I also enjoy baking and thanks to openSUSE and its many tools, it has made my kitchen life much more efficient.

Why I am running for the openSUSE Board

In my incredibly biased opinion, I think openSUSE is the best distribution of Linux but not just for Leap and Tumbleweed, for everything else that goes along with it: the Open Build Service, openQA, Kiwi and YaST. There is an incredible story to be told about what makes openSUSE great. Whether I am on the board or not, I make it a point to tell this story and share it with whomever is interested. I would like to continue the tell and further refine that story.

The impact I would like to make as a member of the openSUSE Board

As an official member of the board, it will be my mission to be an ambassador of the project to as many communities of which I am able and share what makes openSUSE great. For reasons that don’t make sense, openSUSE is often not in the broader conversation and it needs to be there. All the fantastic innovations and refinements to Linux and the related open source software need to be told.

My second mission is to do my best to network within the community to the best of my ability to continue to improve and refine the openSUSE documentation through wiki to make openSUSE even more accessible for anyone interested. It is my ambition to assist in understanding how to work with openSUSE as clear as possible. I want to make the learning process of the openSUSE project as enjoyable as possible. openSUSE should have the best, clearest, easiest to understand and approachable wiki out there.

My third mission is a selfish one. It is to make openSUSE the go-to distribution for all things in the engineering and manufacturing industry. Linux has been creeping into the industry more and more and it only makes sense that openSUSE should be the distribution of choice for the home hobbiest, small and large businesses alike. Not only is Leap and Tumbleweed technically very sound distributions but the additional components, OBS, openQA and the Wiki make it the ideal ecosystem to deploy a targeted spin of the distribution or series of meta packages to bolt onto Leap or Tumbleweed to serve the industry.

Why should openSUSE members vote for me

I will be open and accessible to openSUSE members and the community. I will remain positive and highlight all the good in the project and the people within it. I will make a concerted effort to improve training and empowering users to learn, grow and own their hardware through openSUSE and it’s tools. As a board member, I will do my best to network with the right individuals to bring about further improvements to the project. I will make it a point to uplift and edify the many contributors and make sure they know how grateful I am, along with the community for their time and talents. I want to ensure that openSUSE is the open, welcoming and grateful community of which to be a part.

Whether I am elected to the board or not, this entire process is a win for me. I am thrusting myself in front of the openSUSE community and in this process, I hope to get to know as many of the wonderful contributors as possible. My hope is that I become more known so that I may better contribute to documentation and make working with openSUSE even more enjoyable and individually empowering for all.

One thing people would find interesting about me that is not well known

I have not made it a secret that I am a fan of old tech and especially Commodore. As a teenager, I made a game for the Amiga in the 1990s called Gator Mania. It is a 2D platform side scrolling game. I spent well over a year programming in AMOS Professional where I had to create my own method of displaying the screen tiles with the limited graphics memory, file format for the game levels, level builder, did the pixel art (with the help of and artist friend) and animation and for the time, created the best (in my opinion) character physics I had experienced at the time. I wanted to do more with the game but the Amiga fizzled out on me and I sort of moved away from the platform.