Anniversary of LPI Certification in Brazil and remembering Rocket Science

Paw Prints: Writings of the maddog
Seven years ago, in early December, I helped to proctor the first Linux Professional Institute (LPI) test in Brazil, which had been hosted by 4Linux in Sao Paulo. At that time I gave out a "Linux License Plate" made by Compaq (nee Digital) Computer Corporation and a clock made from a CD-ROM signed by Linus Torvalds.
This year I have been invited back on December 5th to proctor another exam, and this time I will be giving out yet another Linux License Plate and another CD-ROM signed by Linus....but alas not made into a clock.
I was wracking my brain trying to come up with an appropriate student gift for the seven year anniversary of LPI Brazil's first test. I did not have time to make a "CD" clock and even if I had the time, I did not have all the parts.
Finally I was stumbling through my house (you have to experience my house to appreciate this statement) and I came across a CD of "Extreme Linux" made many years ago by Red Hat. I think the CD is about twelve years old, as it is based on Red Hat Linux 5.0, which was released in December of 1997, so it pre-dates my work with LPI Brazil, and comes close to pre-dating some of LPI's younger test-takers.
The CD is in a real plastic jewel case (yes, I know it is enviromentally unfriendly, but we did not know any better), with a paper insert telling the history of the Beowulf Systems and why they were important. The paper insert is also funny, as it calls the code "rocket science", due to its linkage with NASA and CESDIS.
Red Hat thought that this would be a "sleeper" product and no one would buy it, but they sold many, many copies. They think that many of the copies were never unwrapped. People bought them just so they could say they had "supercomputer software on their shelf".
Finally, the CD is signed by Mr. Linus Torvalds when he still took the time to write "Happy Linuxing", and sign it with something that was a halfway legible "Linus Torvalds". His latest signature is more like "L" followed by a line, and "T" followed by a line. I still remember the look that Linus gave me as he signed these CD's (probably he was thinking "that crazy maddog") but he likes me so he signed the CDs for me.
I wish I had the time to have Donald Becker of Penguin Computing to autograph the CD before giving it to the student. Don is one of the originators of the Beowulf concept and writer of a lot of the early Linux ETHERNET drivers. Since I have a few more of these CDs, perhaps I can twist Donald's arm to sign them some day over a beer...
Carpe Beerem! (but not right before your LPI exam!)
maddog
comments powered by DisqusIssue 268/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
Escuelas Linux 8.0 is Now Available
Just in time for its 25th anniversary, the developers of Escuelas Linux have released the latest version.
-
LibreOffice 7.5 has Arrived Loaded with New Features and Improvements
The favorite office suite of the Linux community has a new release that includes some visual refreshing and new features across all modules.
-
The Next Major Release of Elementary OS Has Arrived
It's been over a year since the developers of elementary OS released version 6.1 (Jólnir) but they've finally made their latest release (Horus) available with a renewed focus on the user.
-
KDE Plasma 5.27 Beta Is Ready for Testing
The latest beta iteration of the KDE Plasma desktop is now available and includes some important additions and fixes.
-
Netrunner OS 23 Is Now Available
The latest version of this Linux distribution is now based on Debian Bullseye and is ready for installation and finally hits the KDE 5.20 branch of the desktop.
-
New Linux Distribution Built for Gamers
With a Gnome desktop that offers different layouts and a custom kernel, PikaOS is a great option for gamers of all types.
-
System76 Beefs Up Popular Pangolin Laptop
The darling of open-source-powered laptops and desktops will soon drop a new AMD Ryzen 7-powered version of their popular Pangolin laptop.
-
Nobara Project Is a Modified Version of Fedora with User-Friendly Fixes
If you're looking for a version of Fedora that includes third-party and proprietary packages, look no further than the Nobara Project.
-
Gnome 44 Now Has a Release Date
Gnome 44 will be officially released on March 22, 2023.
-
Nitrux 2.6 Available with Kernel 6.1 and a Major Change
The developers of Nitrux have officially released version 2.6 of their Linux distribution with plenty of new features to excite users.