Introduction

[Michael Hill <mdhillca gmail com>]

My name is Mike Hill, and I'm a new Foundation member. I recently
started contributing to the documentation effort with User Docs and
System Monitor Docs.

I began using Debian in late 1996. In 1998 I moved from a position as
a Designer/Drafter at the engineering company where I'm still
employed, to Network Administrator with  50-100 users. Outside of work
I was involved with the SGI Linux port in a build/test capacity, by
virtue of having an Indy as a home computer.

In 1999 I discovered GNOME and Ottawa Linux Symposium through the SGI
Linux list, and Neal Stephenson through a Cryptonomicon review on
Slashdot. At work I was running Debian firewalls.

In 2003 I replaced a NetWare/Exchange Server network with
Samba/Openexchange running on SLES. I was downloading and building
Evolution and Epiphany on my administrator desktop machine.

In late 2004 I started running Ubuntu, and no longer had to install
GNOME explicitly. The following year the company was acquired by a
much larger one; I became IT manager, but my SLES server was replaced
by a number of Windows ones. GNOME continued running in the background
without my attention, until...

In February 2010, Linux Magazine columnist and local SF writer Marcel
Gagne blogged about GNOME Shell. I tried it and was enthralled. I
periodically attempted to get it running on Ubuntu, and sometimes
succeeded.

In March of this year, Jim Campbell posted to the Toronto LUG list
that the docs team was coming to town. I jumped at the opportunity to
get involved, and went out to meet Shaun and the crew. I needed a
dependably-running GNOME 3 and was armed with the Live DVD and my
Ubuntu laptop. Tiffany showed me that GNOME Shell needed to be killed
in order for it to truly live on Ubuntu, and Phil taught me how to
install git with zypper on openSUSE. I switched to openSUSE.
(Periodically I attempt to get GNOME 3 running on Debian.)

I'm indebted to the Foundation for sponsorships to this year's
Summits. I've posted further, briefer thoughts about these on my blog,
below (not on Planet GNOME yet). I'm delighted to be a Foundation
member.

Mike
http://mdhill.posterous.com/