I learned how to use a computer on DOS and Windows. My first
programming projects were written in QBASIC and my first Web
applications were written in VB using ASP on Windows 2000. The
first job where I made decent money was developing a SQL
Server-based application. I bought my first car, an engagement
ring, and a honeymoon with money from making software on Windows.
Needless to say, I found a lot of intellectual and financial
fulfillment from Windows over the years.
That first real job also allowed me flexibility in what
technology I could employ, and I helped implement a features
using Redis on top of Ubuntu. This was a fun time, because my
company basically paid me to study a new technology and to gain
experience using it. On my own, I began to use Linux and to
embrace open-source ideas, one of which is that the consumer is
also the producer. I changed my mindset about what it means to
use software: for open-source projects, it often …
[Read more]