More stuff from OSCON 2009

Speaking of people I had a chance to meet… I got to meet Rick Clark, Canonical’s, Server Manager. Rick and one of the people that he works with, Soren Hansen gave a session on “Building a Private Cloud“. If you follow the link you will find more about Rick & Soren.

What I noticed most about Rick and Soren was the fact that they took the time to answer my questions and explain cloud computing with patience. Not once did Rick make me feel like I was stupid for asking, “Why would cloud computing matter to me?” He smiled then explained what he could in the few minutes he had before his talk. I was working a booth in the Expo area of OSCON, so I did not have the opportunity to hear the talk he and Soren gave. Then he saw me again he told me a little more about it. His explanation of things did not impress me as much as the fact that he took the time and informed me in a way I could understand. He never patronized me or made me feel like he didn’t want to be there.

With very complex subjects like cloud computing talking to knowledgeable developers is sometimes very intimidating to mortals, ok non-technical people, like me. Rick was able to wipe away that fear and talk to me like a human being. He really put the human element into the Ubuntu Operating System, like the t-shirt said “Linux for Human Beings” but this was more like “Linux designed by human beings“. Knowing that the Canonical Developers are people who don’t mind talking to novice users, really makes the “Ubuntu Spirit” shine.

Not only did Rick make me feel less intimated, so did Jono Bacon, Canonical’s Community Manager. I met Jono for first time at the Community Leadership Summit. I felt like I already knew him but it was nice to meet the person behind The Art of Community and to say thanks for the opportunity to review the book and lend a helping and at the Community Leadership Summit.

Other folks I meet from Canonical were Stuart Langridge, John Pugh and Nick Barcet. All of whom just reinforced that the Canonical employees were not in a bubble, they took the time to say “hi” and just hang out with the LoCo teams. They really make everyone feel like we are all on the same team regardless of contributions, and that everyone belongs!

Thanks everyone! Ya’ll rock! Keep up the good work. 🙂