David A. Harding
Friday, 11 Nov 2005
Now I want to install Ubuntu. I want to use GNOME. I want a Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. I want to play with lauchpad.
Jeff Waugh didn't give a boring marketdroid or a confusing technical talk. He gave one of the great talks that make special events like this worth attending.
Now I want to support Ubuntu, because their goal is good. I want to support GNOME, because their goal is good. I want to buy a Nokia 770, becuase they supported GNOME. I want to play with launchpad, because it's goal is good.
Mr. Waugh didn't talk about what's out there, what's happening in GNOME and Ubuntu, and try to put it in context. What he did is put me, and everyone else in the audience, in the shoes of a GNOME developer, a Canonical employee working on Ubuntu, and a free software developer.
Using a strong speaking voice and a spot of miming, he conveyed what is was like to be on the GNOME mailing list, at a Ubuntu conference in Montreal, at a GNOME conference in Norway, at linux.conf.au (to be held in New Zeland next year, home of, ``our sheep loving friends''), and at random places along the way. Like the train bound for Bogtrotters(?), UK.
He used a lot of profanity and innuendo, but to good effect. He took several opportunities to make fun of puritanical Americans. In turn, we spent time scratching our heads and wondering what ``rolladoors'' are. It was good for a lot of laughs. He made fun of Australians too, and told us that Fosters beer was strictly ``export quality; not fit for domestic consumption.''
He talked about freedom. He used a slide of Saint Ignacius (though I doubt many got it). He offered an excellent quote of Sean Neakus's, ``I came for the quality. I stayed for the freedom.'' And he reminded us that, ``freedom is not just for geeks.'' Of course, he said that with an accent, and I transcribed it, ``freedom is not just for geese.''
It was the best LUG/IP presentation I've ever been to. As Mr. Waugh might say, it was ``really, really sexy.'' I hope we'll see him again.