JoelGoguen

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Joel Goguen

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Canada

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jgoguen

https://launchpad.net/favicon.ico Launchpad Profile

jgoguen

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jgoguen on irc.freenode.net

https://launchpad.net/@@/team Registered Linux User

#391952

http://ubuntucounter.geekosophical.net/favicon.ico Registered Ubuntu User

#15951

1. About Me

I am a Computer Science student at the University of New Brunswick (Fredericton) in Canada. I’m doing my degree as a part-time student, trying to complete my degree without loans. I worked for Q1 Labs from January 2006 to December 2006 as a Quality Assurance Specialist, then again from April 2007 to November 2008 as a Software Developer, first with their integration team and later with their Security Team. Currently, I work for my university's help desk as a technical support specialist.

I first started using Linux in March 2004 with Mandrake 9.1. Before Ubuntu, I'd also tried Red Hat 9. I started using Ubuntu shortly after Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty) was released and have been using Ubuntu ever since. I've tried Fedora and Gentoo alongside Ubuntu, and currently use Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid).

I started programming in late 2000, when I started learning Visual Basic 6. Currently, I can use the following languages and scripting languages:

  • Java
  • C
  • Python
  • PHP
  • Perl
  • BASH

2. My Involvement

2.1. Ubuntu Forums

I spend my time on the forums trying to help users with problems, primarily in Absolute Beginner Talk, General Help, and Security Discussions. I focus mostly on unanswered posts, although I do go looking for answered threads not yet marked as Solved to see if I can help there. I'm a member of the Ubuntu Forums Beginners Team, and once I believe my contributions to unanswered posts are significant enough I plan to apply for consideration for the Unanswered Posts Team.

2.2. Launchpad

I'm currently a member of the Ubuntu Translation Team for Canadian English, where I help with localizing packages to Canadian English. I'm also a member of the Launchpad Beta Tester group, and I've very recently decided to start working with the Ubuntu Bug Squad.

2.2.1. Wiki

I try to go looking for pages on the community wiki that could use some attention. You can view wiki pages I've edited with a brief list of changes here.

The list below are pages which I have made a major contribution to, either by doing a major re-write of the page or by contributing a significantly to the content.

2.3. Other

Aside from everything mentioned above, I'm a member of the Ubuntu Canadian Team. There's no Ubuntu group in Fredericton, New Brunswick (where I live), but I'm working with the Linux Users Group here.

3. My Vision for Ubuntu

First and foremost, I would like to see Ubuntu become a serious competitor to Microsoft Windows. As Apple has already demonstrated, anything made easily available to users which is superior to Windows will become well known and widely used. I believe that Ubuntu, being superior to Apple OS X, has the potential to achieve the same fame as OS X and surpass it.

Next, I would like to see Ubuntu at the point where Bug 1 can be closed as a fixed bug. I fully agree that non-free software is holding back innovation and I believe that non-free software is preventing the adoption of technology in parts of the world that can't afford proprietary software, but don't know about the alternatives. Non-free software also raises concerns about document preservation. Older versions of Microsoft Word documents are already unreadable using recent versions of Microsoft Office. They will remain unreadable without software to open them, since Microsoft has not published the documentation necessary to write fully compatible software. The OpenDocument Format addresses this, and I believe that Ubuntu is the ideal platform to promote these open standards with.

I would also like to see Ubuntu become the system of choice for governments, businesses, and other institutions. Most of the institutions who could benefit the most from using Ubuntu are also the ones who are most resistant to using it. Governments could save money on licensing fees that could be redirected to any number of programs and groups that could make good use of it. A single provincial government in Canada spends an estimated $80-million annually on Windows Vista licenses alone. That's not including older versions of Windows, or licenses for Microsoft Office either. If a single provincial government could save that much money by switching to Ubuntu, imagine how much the entire nation of Canada could save their taxpayers. I believe in using the best tool for the job, and I believe that Ubuntu is not only the best tool for almost any job, but is flexible enough to become the best tool for the few jobs that still require a Microsoft Windows system.

Finally, I want to see Ubuntu become the system of choice for educational institutions of all levels. I believe that because of how impressionable young people are, this is important enough to be its own goal. If young children are exposed primarily (or exclusively) to Ubuntu from a young age, they will be more likely to choose Ubuntu later in life. Schools, faced with ever-shrinking budgets, could save a significant amount of money by using Ubuntu and have more to spend to improve the quality of education for their students.

4. Future Plans

In the short term, while I finish my Computer Science degree, I plan to get more actively involved in the Ubuntu Forums. I am currently working toward becoming a member of the Ubuntu Forums Beginners Team. Since most of the work I have been doing on the forums for this purpose has been answering unanswered posts, I also plan to apply for consideration for the Unanswered Posts Team once I have made a better contribution to unanswered posts on the forums. I would also like to become a member of the Ubuntu Bug Squad. Once I believe I have made a more significant contribution to the Ubuntu community, I plan to apply to become an Ubuntu Member.

In the long term, I would like to get involved with FOSS development. Ideally, this would mean developing for Ubuntu and working for Canonical, but anything that allows me to contribute to open source development is good. I would also like to spend more time promoting Ubuntu in my community.

5. Testimonials

  • Your testimonial here
  • Your testimonial here
  • Your testimonial here


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