Ubuntu Wiki

Hi, I'm Lesley. A games journalist and tech author from the UK.

Contact information

About Me

I am a games journalist and tech author. I have been using GNU/Linux since the late 1990s. I have experimented with a wide range of OSes, including OS/2, Be OS, FreeBSD, and various Linux flavours. I currently use DSL, CentOS, and Ubuntu, depending on the purpose of the machine.

I am an author and tech reviewer for Packt Publishing, a computer book publisher that donates a percentage of their profits from books on FOSS to the developers of the project, and also runs an annual Open Source Software Award. I enjoy working with Packt because of their positive attitude towards FOSS developers.

My Contributions

Bug Triaging - I participate in Bug Days, and have joined the Five a Day group.

Localization work - I help to localize Ubuntu packages into British English, and also do some translation. I'm a Star Trek fan so it's fun to practice my Klingon. I'm currently learning Japanese (but only have a basic knowledge), and will expand my translation work once my understanding gets stronger.

Beta test Launchpad

Support on UbuntuForums and in IRC

Advocacy - as part of my freelance work I have introduced many small businesses to the concept of FOSS. I rarely evangelize (I find it turns people off), but if a FOSS tool fits someone's purpose, I will suggest it, and support the new user during the transition period.

Bug Fixing

I occasionally patch simple bugs in Ubuntu, and also work on Gnome bugs tagged as "Gnome Love" on Gnome's Bugzilla. Some of the patches I have submitted in Ubuntu so far are:

Grammatical Error in Description of Cheese

Other Open Source Project Involvement

List admin for the LinuxChix Courses mailing list.

Joined the FSF Community Team - which monitors various news sources and responds to articles, clearing up misconceptions and explaining the Free Software Foundation's work and philosophy.

Tech reviewer for a book about Ubuntu which will be published by O'Reilly in early 2010.

To improve my programming skills I work on simple Gnome patches (tagged Gnome-Love).

Future Plans for Ubuntu

I am currently learning packaging. I am interested in Python / PyGame so starting with packages related to that.

Availability for Mentorship

I am based in the UK, and work from home, so I am usually available between 10AM - 8PM GMT.

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