AaronToponce

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 * Creator of the Irssi help page [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Irssi found here]

Aaron Toponce

[http://www.pthree.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/ubuntu_utah.jpg]

About Me

Hello. I'm Aaron Toponce (atoponce), and I have been a long-time Ubuntu user and hacker. I am a member of the UtahTeam, active on IRC and semi-active on the forums. I first started Linux in '99 with Slackware, moved to RPM-based distros and settled down on Ubuntu when Warty was released.

Using Ubuntu

As mentioned above, I started using Ubuntu when version 4.10 "Warty Warthog" was released thanks to a presentation by ["Tristanbob"] at an [http://www.oalug.com OALUG] meeting. Since then, I have had no reason to use any other distro. Ubuntu has been the one for me, and I have no regrets.

My only computer that I really wanted Linux on was my trusty HP Pavilion Laptop "Herules". Slackware, RedHat, Fedora Core, Mandrake and SuSE Linux all left something to desire when it came to recognizing my hardware. I was either configuring the power management, my display, wireless, the touchpad or a number of other hardware issues. SuSE recognized everything the best up to that point, but still really didn't do everything I needed.

Along came Ubuntu.

On first install, all of my hardware was recognized except for wireless, which came much later (after finding out I had "interesting" hardware). Ubuntu just worked. It truly was "Linux for Human Beings", as I didn't need to be an uber-geek getting it working. But what really grabbed my attention, was the Debian package management. I was astounded and elated that I no longer had to worry about dependencies.

Sometime between Hoary 5.04 and Breezy 5.10, I discovered the great Ubuntu community. No other distro even held a candle to the expansive and literally "titanic" community that Ubuntu had become. The forums, wiki, documentation, blogs, mailing lists, IRC channels, etc., etc., etc. It amazed me, and it still does to this day. It really is the community that makes Ubuntu great.

Since using Ubuntu as my main, and only, operating system, I have made a number of personal philosophy changes in my life to go hand-in-hand with the Ubuntu philosophy. These changes have made me a better person (a few are listed below):

  • Using only Free Software, codecs and services.
  • Removing all my pirated software, music and videos, never to look back.
  • Advocate the use of Free Software at every turn.

Yes. I was among the number who had downloaded music from Napster and movies/software from Kazaa. After discovering Ubuntu, I realized that I needed to be more honest with the software community, and delete and remove all the offending content. It was difficult, but necessary for me. It was very liberating and I feel 10 times better than I ever have felt before. Ubuntu made this possible. Ubuntu made me want to change my life for the better.

Advocation

A number of years ago, I was given the opportunity to serve a mission for my church. While on my mission, I learned how to speak to random people on the street and start up a conversation. This really brought me out of my shell, as I was very soft-spoken before.

Since returning home, and now since using Ubuntu, I have been able to use those skills that I learned on my mission by talking to people about Ubuntu. I have approached people in the grocery store, gas station, school and even church about Ubuntu.

During all this proselyting, I realized that I need a bag of some kind to carry around CDs and such to hand out. This brought about the purchase of an Eddie Bauer lumbar bag (about 1/2 the size of a backpack) that has been dubbed the Geek Bag. I have taken advantage of Shipit and downloading the ISOs, and have personally handed out just over 1,000 Ubuntu CDs, thanks to no fear of speaking to anyone, and the Geek Bag.

Significant Contributions

  • Creator of the Irssi help page [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Irssi found here]

  • Personally distributed 1,000 Ubuntu CDs since the release of Warty.
  • Maintain a regular Bittorrent seed of the latest Ubuntu iso's sharing ~3GB/month.
  • 300+ posts on the forums, and counting.

  • Active member of the UtahTeam.

  • My automobile license plate says it all: "UBUNTU" (see above)

Contact Me

CategoryHomepage

AaronToponce (last edited 2009-12-19 15:48:39 by c-24-10-200-153)