Meet Team76: David, Lead Platform Engineer

What was your first computer?

The first computer I used was a Packard Bell - stocked with a screaming fast Pentium Processor clocked at 133 Mhz ( a big upgrade at the time ). Windows 3.1 never looked so good. No really - it never looked good. My first computer that I could call my own was a Dell Dimension 900 - it was the last holdout to use a Pentium slot CPU - a P-III 500 Mhz with 128 MB Ram. I still have it to this day and will never get rid of it - sentimental value and such.

When did you start using Ubuntu?

Late 2004 - 4.10 was my first release. It was - as my friends explained it - Debian with a bit of sensibility to having a release schedule.

What is the first distro that you used?

Slackware! I believe my first release was right around the 4.0 time... 1999/2000? Up until 2002 or so Slack was king in my book - it's still a very solid distribution, but the Debian package management system stole my heart. That and solid hardware support.

When is your Birthday?

I don't believe in celebrating my birthday - and as such I vehemently defend the secret of the day from public knowledge. My college roommate at Purdue once went so far as to steal my wallet and grab my driver's license so that he could figure out my birthday - when he told me ( with a huge grin I might add ) I told him that was too bad, but it wasn't my real birthday ( it in fact was ). I explained further that I had simply filled out a fake birthday a few months later than my actual birthday when applying for a driver's license and that they accepted it ( after all, the DMV workers seemingly did little more than copy the information you gave them onto a permanent card ). He bought it - hook, line, and sinker. It wasn't until a few years later when I was a groomsman in his wedding that I told him it was all a charade to keep him from telling everyone my birthday. I can remember specific instances of people bugging me about my birthday - and him looking at me with a wink thinking he was in on the secret. Priceless.

Favorite Food?

Hole-in-the-wall ( spicy ) Mexican. There's nothing like a smothered plate of 5 ingredients ( tortillas, meat, cheese, beans, and salsa ) randomly mixed together and somehow called different dishes. Really now - a burrito is a taco is an enchilada is a taquito ( need I go on? ) - but somehow it's all just so dang good.

Favorite Song?

Anything 90s Alternative - you know, Barenaked Ladies, Third Eye Blind, Goo Goo Dolls... let's say "Semi-Charmed Life" for today.

Find out more about David