Im Interview: Will Backman von BSDTalk
Will Backman dürfte vielen kein Begriff sein, die Stimme allerdings ist den meisten BSD Nutzern sicherlich bekannt. Will Backman ist der Mann hinter BSDTalk, dem ersten Podcast über die BSD Systeme. Erst kürzlich haben wir Mario Heide, eine der Stimmen von pofacs.de interviewt, Will konnte sich nun auch etwas Zeit nehmen und unsere Fragen beantworten. So kann man sich ein Bild über die Stimme von BSDTalk machen.
Das nächste Interview steht noch nicht fest, es werden in Zukunft aber noch weitere Interviews folgen.
grunix.de
Will, tell us a bit about yourself (how old are you, what is your job,...)
Will Backman
Currently, I'm the Director of Technology at a school district in Maine, and I also teach computer courses at the University of Maine. I graduated with a degree in Political Science, but I have been lucky to find employment in a field that matches my hobby.
grunix.de
When was your first contact with a computer, and do you remember the brand and model?
Will Backman
I was born in the early 70's, and I remember when my father brought home a big box with a Tandy TRS-80 Model One. I used it to connect to Compuserve and run up the phone bill playing games. In Junior High, I had a TRS-80 Model 3.
grunix.de
Whats your favourite operating system and why?
Will Backman
I really like any of the operating systems that follow the Unix design philosophy, but what I use depends on the job that I need done. I spend most of my time in Ubuntu or OpenBSD, and recently more time with OSX because of requirements at the school district.
grunix.de
What kind of computer hardware are you using in private and why?
Will Backman
At home I have a basic AMD system that I use as my desktop, but I like to collect old hardware. I have two SGI machines, two Apple PPC machines, an IBM RS/6000, and the remains of a few other old x86 systems.
grunix.de
When was you first contact with OpenSource?
Will Backman
A friend gave me an O'Reilly book on running Linux that included a CD with Redhat (maybe 2.0?). I enjoyed the challenge of installing it, and never stopped. It was fun to have a Unix-like OS at home.
grunix.de
How did you get into podcasting, and what made you decide to launch bsdtalk?
Will Backman
I had to commute a lot for my last job, so I listened to podcasts to help pass the time. I couldn't find any podcasts devoted to BSD, so I decided to give it a try. It is a lot of work, but the BSD community has been very friendly and supportive.
grunix.de
How time-consuming is podcast?
Will Backman
Each interview takes around 30 minutes to record, and then I might spend another hour editing and adding a little content.
grunix.de
What kind of software/hardware are you using to produce a podcast and, are you using a regular phone or something like skype for the interview?
Will Backman
I edit the audio using Audacity, but the interviews have been recorded using a variety of software and hardware, depending on what the other person has on their system. I often use Skype out, but I was also using a commercial VoIP service for a while.
grunix.de
Is there a subject you would like to do an podcast with and whom would you like to interview?
Will Backman
I'm happy to talk with anyone, including users and developers. Everyone has a story to tell, and they all contribute to the community.
grunix.de
How many listeners does a podcast have?
Will Backman
According to the server logs, there are between 3000 and 5000 downloads, although I'm not sure how many people actually listen.
grunix.de
Are you a member of one of the BSDs or a member of a BSD/UNIX group?
Will Backman
I don't attend any user group meetings, although I do try to make it to conferences when I can. There is a local LUG, and I really should attend. If I lived in NYC, I imagine that I would make it to the NYCBug meetings.
grunix.de
Where can we met you in real life?
Will Backman
I try to make it to any open source conference in the New England area, and I should be at BSDCan.
grunix.de
Will, thank you very much for the interview.
Schutz der Privatsphäre - eine Entwicklung Eine Art Rückblick zu dem bisherigen Verlauf von Steve. Im Interview: Will Backman von BSDTalk Interview mit dem Macher des bekannten BSD Podcasts, BSDTalk. Axel S. Gruner mimte wieder einmal den ra...
Aufgenommen: Jan 05, 09:13