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Major Linux Hardware Donor Is a CNN "Hero"
christian.einfeldt writes "James Burgett of the Alameda County Computer Resource Center calls himself a 'tattooed freak' and a recovering drug addict, but CNN is calling him a hero (video) for diverting tons of computers from landfills, installing Ubuntu Linux on them, and giving them out to schools, non-profits, and poor people. Burgett's filmed interview is currently leading a CNN contest among videos of 'ordinary people' whom CNN considers everyday heroes, narrowly edging out the video of a man who is saving gorillas from extinction. In his interview, Burgett points out that the people working for him are also recovering drug addicts or recovering mental illness patients." Update: 10/02 23:46 GMT by KD : Reader stefanlasiewski posted a journal article describing how, bewilderingly, the state of California is threatening to shut down Burgett's ACCRC.
...when he found himself in a public washroom installing Vista for $20.
(just kidding...keep up the great work!).
Get the gorrillas to start using linux. That would surely win the top prize then.
Good for him, on a number of levels.
First, on a personal level, for taking control of his life back.
Second, on an environmental level, for saving unnecessary rubbish from a landfill somewhere.
Third, on a charitable level, for donating the results of his work.
Fourth, on an economic level, for using free software and cast-off hardware to do something useful.
Fifth, on a geek level, for using Linux to do it.
My hat's off to you, sir.
Interestingly, James is asking voters to vote for the other folks:
"Vote for the gorillas. 25 grand and fame that id probably just piss away anyway is not worth a specie.".
Nice honest opinion from the Hero.
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
It's not like his installing linux on old computers is keeping the other guy from saving gorillas; or that every computer installed leads to a gorilla not being saved. Rather it's merely that the video of the guy installing linux is slightly more popular than the video of the guy saving gorillas.
And it's not like he's hurting the knowledge about the gorilla program because I hadn't hear of either until today. If it weren't a guy installing linux (but instead a woman making sandwiches for hungry orphans) then it would have never made it on slashdot.
So, we can call it a win for both.
"In his interview, Burgett points out that the people working for him are also recovering drug addicts or recovering mental illness patients"
Or as we call them on Slashdot, 'Linux System Administrators'.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
hear hear... and you can bet your ass someone at gorilladot.org just learned what Ubuntu is!
Walk with Music;
Fuck humans. What have they ever done except fuck the planet six ways to Sunday?