Five open source experts have been proclaimed gurus by the Linux Foundation, a title awarded for outstanding contributions to the FOSS community.
One of the reasons Linux works so well is because of its community — an army of pro bono tech support and IT experts who, via forums and Q&A boards, will get you up and running, help you customize and configure, and be your safety net in the world of OSes without operating manuals.
So when the Linux Foundation decided to pick a roster of true gurus — no social media-style “experts” here — it looked at the Linux.com users who showed the most participation and contribution in 2010. Between February 2010 and February 2011, these individuals made up a significant chunk of the more than 500 community blogs, 4,500 message board posts, 2,600 comments, and nearly 700 answers to questions posed by the community on Linux.com.
Not only does this contribution show these Linux users are committed to furthering the aims of the FOSS community; it’s also a nice implicit recommendation on their CVs. According to tech job site Dice.com, Linux knowledge is still a widely sought after skill, with demand growing 47% over the past year.
This year’s Ultimate Linux Guru is Matthew Fillpot, a technology enthusiast that constantly works on new projects for “nothing more than new knowledge.” He’s a development and training specialist at an international travel company and has been a Linux user since 2000. Fillpot has been a Linux.com moderator since early 2009, and as the Ultimate Linux Guru, he will receive a fully loaded “Dream Linux Machine.”
This year’s other gurus include:
- Aaron Aceves, a software engineer at Softek
- Andrea Benini, a sysadmin and product manager at Pluriservice
- Shane Hatcher, a student who is planning a career as a Linux Systems Administrator
- Istimsak Abdulbasir, a tech enthusiast and Linux.com moderator
Each of these experts will be invited to attend this year’s invite-only Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit in San Francisco, where they will participate in the annual Linux.com Planning Meeting. Each guru has also received a Guru badge on his Linux.com profile.
More About: foss, Linux, linux foundation, linux gurus, open source
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