Interview with Matthew West

1. Why did you want to participate in the creation of this course?

I have been interested in putting together some sort of training or course for Linux and Unix for students that caters for scholars through to adults. I just never had the time or the motivation to just do it amongst all the other stuff. So the opportunity like this was just great.

2. What is your impression of the work done by The Shuttleworth Foundation?

The Shuttleworth Foundation does a lot of good stuff. I am very keen to see what the results are of their projects to put Linux into schools with the SLUG group. I am looking forward to seeing more students arriving at university with a good working knowledge of Linux. This would be a great improvement over the way it is currently.

3. How do you see this course benefiting the Linux community?

I do not see it benefiting the Linux community per se, but rather the South African community as well as the rest of Africa. Helping people to develop skills that are actually going to help them in the workplace. Open Source is also great because you can get the software without any outlay of money which means it is ideal for developing countries, but this is also the way, it seems, the world is going. So to have skill in that area is a very valuable thing.

4. Do you believe Open Source Software has a place in the business environment?

Definitely!

5. What did you learn whilst participating in this course?

I prefer working with FreeBSD. I now remember why I did not take to working with certain brands of Linux. FreeBSD is also an Open Source product.