[Sussex] Thoughts On Contrubuting to the Community

[James Smith]

Well, this is getting a bit intense, but I'll share my contributions
if you like, though my views may not please some on this list...

I'm a software engineer. I can write code, I do it all the time.
However, I've never contributed any code to Linux or the wider
platform that it is part of. Am I not living up to my obligations?
Maybe not... (I have done some open source stuff, but not a lot:
http://www.floppy.org.uk/work/oss/)

For me, my computer is a means to an end, not an end in itself. I
prefer to use Linux because it makes my job easier, makes me more
effective at what I do, and that's ALL. I have no problem with using a
closed-source ATI kernel driver for instance, because it allows me to
do the work I need to do.

However, what I try to do with my PC is to contribute to a much wider
community than that part which runs Linux...

I teach programming languages: http://web3d.vapourtech.com/
I dabble in political issues: http://www.saveparliament.org.uk/
I'm working on ways to help the environment: nothing online yet, but
coming soon.
If I find something out that might help someone else, whether computer
related or not, I blog it (not that anyone reads it):
http://www.floppy.org.uk/blog

But, for all of those things, the computer, the OS, and the tools it
runs are a tool, and nothing more.

Does that count?

cheers,
James