This is one of many short video segments which will be added to the Digital Tipping Point (DTP) archive. Thanks to Thomas King, a writer for Linux.com and LXer, for doing the rough editing for this series of interview segments!

This series of 15 video segments features Jon Maddog Hall, who has long been instrumental in guiding and promoting the development of Free Open Source Software, and in particular the operating system called GNU-Linux, sometimes called Linux for short. Among other things, Maddog secured the acquisition of a powerful commercial grade computer early on for Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel. This hardware was one of the things that allowed the Linux kernel project to gain greater visibility in the corporate user world. This was an important step in the commercial maturation of GNU and the Linux kernel project, as both projects together subsequently have become mainstream Free Open Source Software projects underlying the business operations of some of the world's largest companies. The support of major corporations is one of the forces that has allowed GNU-Linux to develop to a point where it is now visible and relevant to the average user, and might now start affecting how most people think of intellectual property and computing. So Maddog Hall was present early on to nurture the Linux kernel project across a key bridge in its development.

Specifically, this series of video segments captures a speech that was given by Maddog toward the conclusion of the FISL Conference 5 in Porto Alegre. It was a keynote speech, which means that it was heavily attended by hundreds of people, as you will see in segments 14 and 15. Maddog covers the importance of developing a thriving Free Software industry in Brazil. He gives an historical view of how the computer industry developed, a history in which he was an active participant.

Since this was such a large crowd, we could not get our camera very close to the stage, and so we had to zoom rather markedly to be able to get Maddog's face. As a result, this video is somewhat more grainy than we would like. But the audio is reasonably good, and Maddog is always a compelling speaker, storyteller, and historian, and so we are sure you will enjoy this classic Maddog talk. You will be amazed to see how Maddog connects with this crowd. Remember, this is a crowd of largely technologists, the kind of people that are (incorrectly) stereotyped as being reserved and not outgoing. But you will see in segments 14 and 15 that Maddog gets the crowd on their feet. Quite amazing. Let it not be said that the Free Open Source Software movement is merely a technological movement limited to making the best computer software. There is something else going on here.

It is worth noting that segment 02 of this series is our 1000th 5-minute video segment posted to the Internet Archive's Digital Tipping Point Video Segment. It is mostly by chance that this segment happened to be segment 02, with a small minor tweak on our part. We rough edit and upload our massive tape library in the approximate order that it was shot. Gabriella Coleman's 13th segment of her second set would have been our 1000th segment, but we feel that Gabriella would see it fitting to defer loading her 13th segment in deference to Maddog's decades of contributions to the Free Open Source Software movement, and so we temporarily bumped her out of place. Her 13th segment will be segment 1017 instead.

In segment 14 (Tape 108~008), Maddog urges people to bring two more people to the FISL conference next year, and one of them should be a Microsoft Windows user. He switches topics to patents, and talks about how foolish it would be if da Vinci had sued Michelangelo for patent infringement for using da Vinci's patented brush strokes. He then says that every year, people ask him how to get Linux Torvalds to come to Brazil. Maddog then pulls a stunt where he asks the crowd to chant "I love you Linus" three times, then "please come to Brazil" 2 times, then "Software Libre" over and over again. And it works!! A completely unrehearsed stunt, and it works!! Maddog actually gets a crowd of software developer to chant in unison in a foreign language (English)! It's a funny moment. And Maddog pans the crowd with his camera as he does so.

Segment 15 (Tape 108~009), Maddog winds down his speech with a nice touch, thanking the crowd for their participation in his speech. The crowd applauds him enthusiastically and chants Software Libre again spontaneously. The remarkable thing about this presentation is that it is not an average technical or business presentation.

This footage is our raw rough-cut footage. It lacks transitions, music, special effectsor finish rendering. It is our "source code". Please feel free to rip, mix and burn this footage consistent with our Creative Commons license as disclosed on this page.

All of the segments in this series can be found here:

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv107_pa_19_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_003.ogg (segment 01)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv107_pa_19_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_004.ogg (segment 02)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv107_pa_19_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_005.ogg (segment 03)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv107_pa_19_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_006.ogg (segment 04)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv107_pa_19_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_007.ogg (segment 05)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv107_pa_19_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_008.ogg (segment 06)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv108_pa_20_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_001.ogg (segment 07)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv108_pa_20_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_002.ogg (segment 08)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv108_pa_20_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_003.ogg (segment 09)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv108_pa_20_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_004.ogg (segment 10)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv108_pa_20_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_005.ogg (segment 11)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv108_pa_20_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_006.ogg (segment 12)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv108_pa_20_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_007.ogg (segment 13)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv108_pa_20_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_008.ogg (segment 14)

http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv108_pa_20_john_maddog_hall_brazilspeech_009.ogg (segment 15)

If you like this segment, please consider typing up a summary for it and emailing that summary to Christian Einfeldt at einfeld@gmail.com. Your work will be credited and posted on this page.

The DTP will be many, many films created by the global open source video community about how open source is changing their lives. We, the DTP crew, are submitting this footage for anyone to rip, mix, and burn under the Creative Commons Attribute - ShareAlike license. We welcome edits, transcriptions, graphics, music, and animation contributions to the film. Please send a link for any contributions to Christian Einfeldt at einfeldt at digitaltippingpoint.com.

Or, if you would like to contribute by directly transcribing this particular video segment, you can do so by going here:

http://digitaltippingpoint.com/wiki/index.php/Tape_108

and typing the audio as you hear it into the wiki. Please be sure to add the transcription for this segment under: Segment 008, Jon Maddog Hall
You can find other ways to contribute by going to our wiki front page here:

http://digitaltippingpoint.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Thanks for viewing our video!

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