AaronToponce

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Aaron Toponce

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

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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 TristanRhodes 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, and essentially Debian, 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. Since, I have always discouraged the use of pirating software. Not only is it dishonest, but it hurts the Free and Open Source community, communities like Ubuntu, more than the developer of the pirated software.

As of Jan 2007, I have Ubuntu Edgy on my laptop, home desktop and work desktop and Dapper is powering my home server, which powers 4 personal sites and 2 commercial sites.

Advocacy

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. Currently, I am working with the Weber County School District in Utah, through the help of my wife (a grade 2 school teacher), to setup and distribute Edubuntu to the computer labs. 25 disks have currently been handed out, and results from the disks are forthcoming.

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.

Ubuntu-Utah

When becoming an Ubuntu user, I hoped to create a Utah-specific LUG. While logged onto Freenode, I thought I would search to see if a channel for Ubuntu-Utah had already existed. I noticed that it had, and there was only one other user: ChristerEdwards (Kuyaedz). Christer and I immediately became friends, even though we live about 2 hours apart from each other.

I am now listed as an alternate contact for the UtahTeam. As alternate contact for the team, I have given a few presentations to the team [http://www.aarontoponce.org/presents found here] and have helped secure a central location for us to meet. I am also an operator in the #ubuntu-utah channel on Freenode.

As a member of the Ubuntu-Utah team, and President of [http://www.oalug.com OALUG], I have brought many members of OALUG to the Ubuntu-Utah group. Since my initial meeting Christer in the Fall of 2005, the group has grown to a user base of over 30, 10-12 of which, I personally brought over. During the OALUG meetings, the Ubuntu-Utah group is always brought up for those in OALUG who need help with their Ubuntu installation. The forums, wiki, mailing lists and IRC channels are generally announced in the group.

I don't know what I would do, if it weren't for Christer and the Ubuntu-Utah group.

Significant Contributions

  • Distributed 1,000 Ubuntu CDs since the release of Warty.
  • Distributed 25 Edubuntu CDs to the Weber County School District.

  • Mailed out 10 Ubuntu CDs with Christmas cards for the 2006 Holiday Season (thanks TristanRhodes for the idea).

  • Maintain a regular Bittorrent seed of the latest Ubuntu iso's sharing ~3GB/month.

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

  • 450+ posts on the forums, and counting.

  • Active member of the UtahTeam.

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

2007 Aspirations and Goals

These are the goals and aspirations that I have for the 2007 year. These are personal goals that I would like to accomplish. In order for them to be solid, they need to be measurable and specific. Each goal needs to be completed by year-end, if I am to call it accomplished.

This is more for me, than anything, as unless I write down my goals, I won't accomplish them. I figure, what a better to place to put my goals than on my wiki page. Smile :)

  • Become an official Ubuntu Member.
  • Help others on the forums with over 1,500 posts (about 100 per month).
  • Become active in Launchpad by testing and reporting 120 bugs (about 10 per month).
  • Hand out 300 Ubuntu CD by year-end (about 25 per month).
  • Write 5 how-to wiki pages.
  • Blog 120 posts about specific Ubuntu topics.

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