I first touched a PC in 1984. I really got hooked when I saw that I could actually send messages to another computer by connecting to the telephone line via this device called a modem. This truly fascinated me. My next fascination was writing programs, using a language called "Basic". I'm sure one of the reasons I was so fascinated with writing programs on the PC was because the only programming I had done was using Fortran, via the keypunch machine, and submitting a stack of cards to the batch operator. My how the technology has advanced since then. I don't recall the year I began my journey with UNIX, but I do recall that it was on an AT&T 3B15 minicomputer. All I ever saw was a dumb (kinda like me about UNIX at the time) terminal. From there, I graduated to Sun Microsystems offerings of UNIX - SunOS and Solaris. Yeah, I was a certified SCSA and SCNA. I worked hard for those certifications. I was so proud. I carried the flag for Sun back then, like I carry the flag for Red Hat now. I've also used IBM's AIX brand of UNIX, and HP's HP-UX brand of UNIX. I don't recall the first Linux I got my hands on, nor am I sure of the year I took the plunge. I do have some CDs with Red Hat Linux 4 on them. Well, I've always been one to hitch my wagon to the leader of a particular technology. In the world of Linux, I think it's safe to say that Red Hat is the undisputed king of that world. When Red Hat introduced their Red Hat Academy, I made a mad dash to get on board. However, the cost was just a little bit prohibitive for my institution's budget. Still, I never took my eye off of using Red Hat Linux, or becoming a Red Hat Academy. When I discovered that the cost to become a Red Hat Academy had been removed, I went into high gear to establish the partnership. I've been proudly associated with the Red Hat Academy now for...I forget. One thing I haven't forgotten, is that I'm a self-appointed, self-anointed evangelist for this program. The learning opportunities, along with the support the Red Hat Academy provides to students and instructors is exceptional!
