Chris DiBona
Encyclopedia
Chris DiBona is the open source
and public sector engineering manager at Google
. His team oversees license compliance and supports the open source developer community through programs such as the Google Summer of Code and through the release of open source software projects and patches on Google Code
. For his work on Google's public sector software, he looks after Google Moderator
and the polling locations API.
Before joining Google, he was an editor at Slashdot
and co-founded Damage Studios. DiBona has a B.S. in computer science from George Mason University
and a M.S. in software engineering from Carnegie Mellon University
. He also co-edited Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution
and Open Sources 2.0.
(a podcast
that was spun off from the popular This Week in Tech
) with Leo Laporte
. The show premiered on April 7, 2006, and features prominent guests from the free software/open source community. He also appears on This Week in Tech and CrankyGeeks
from time to time and was in the documentary Revolution OS
. On July 29, 2007, Laporte announced that due to commitment issues, DiBona was stepping down as host of FLOSS Weekly. Several other hosts took his place, including Randal Schwartz, Jon "Maddog" Hall and Jono Bacon
. Laporte also noted that he hopes to post the show on a regular basis.
annually with Tim O'Reilly
of O'Reilly Media and Timo Hannay
of Nature
on the Google campus in Mountain View, California.
commentator on TechTV
's The Screen Savers
, during 2004 and parts of 2005. His stories concentrated on fun applications and consumer use of Linux.
. DiBona served on the advisory board of imeem, a San Francisco, Ca. based social networking firm, and advises PicPlz, a San Francisco start-up.
Interviews
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
and public sector engineering manager at Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
. His team oversees license compliance and supports the open source developer community through programs such as the Google Summer of Code and through the release of open source software projects and patches on Google Code
Google Code
Google Code is Google's site for developer tools, APIs and technical resources. The site contains documentation on using Google developer tools and APIs—including discussion groups and blogs for developers using Google's developer products....
. For his work on Google's public sector software, he looks after Google Moderator
Google Moderator
Google Moderator is a Google service that uses crowdsourcing to rank user-submitted questions, suggestions and ideas. It was launched on September 25, 2008. The service allows the management of feedback from a large number of people, who can vote for the top questions that they think should be...
and the polling locations API.
Before joining Google, he was an editor at Slashdot
Slashdot
Slashdot is a technology-related news website owned by Geeknet, Inc. The site, which bills itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters", features user-submitted and ‑evaluated current affairs news stories about science- and technology-related topics. Each story has a comments section...
and co-founded Damage Studios. DiBona has a B.S. in computer science from George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
and a M.S. in software engineering from Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. He also co-edited Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution
Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution
Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution is a book published by O'Reilly Media. It is an anthology of essays written by luminaries of the open source and free software movements...
and Open Sources 2.0.
FLOSS Weekly
He formerly co-hosted FLOSS WeeklyFLOSS Weekly
FLOSS Weekly is a free software / open source themed podcast from the TWiT Network. The show premiered on April 7, 2006, and features prominent guests from the free software/open source community. It was originally hosted by Leo Laporte; his cohost for the first seventeen episodes was Chris DiBona...
(a podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
that was spun off from the popular This Week in Tech
This Week in Tech
This Week in Tech–casually referred to as TWiT, and formerly known as Revenge of the Screen Savers–is the weekly flagship podcast of the TWiT.tv network...
) with Leo Laporte
Leo Laporte
Léo Gordon Laporte is an Emmy Award winning, American technology broadcaster, author, and entrepreneur. A former resident of Providence, Rhode Island, he now lives in Petaluma, California with his wife Jennifer and two children, Abby and Henry....
. The show premiered on April 7, 2006, and features prominent guests from the free software/open source community. He also appears on This Week in Tech and CrankyGeeks
CrankyGeeks
Cranky Geeks was a technology-related Internet show produced by Ziff Davis Media centered on discussion of technology topics of the week. It was hosted by industry pundit John C. Dvorak...
from time to time and was in the documentary Revolution OS
Revolution OS
Revolution OS is a 2001 documentary film that traces the twenty-year history of GNU, Linux, open source, and the free software movement.Directed by J. T. S. Moore, the film features interviews with prominent hackers and entrepreneurs including Richard Stallman, Michael Tiemann, Linus Torvalds,...
. On July 29, 2007, Laporte announced that due to commitment issues, DiBona was stepping down as host of FLOSS Weekly. Several other hosts took his place, including Randal Schwartz, Jon "Maddog" Hall and Jono Bacon
Jono Bacon
Jono Bacon is a community manager, writer, musician and software developer, originally from the United Kingdom, but now based in California...
. Laporte also noted that he hopes to post the show on a regular basis.
Science Foo Camp
DiBona runs Science Foo CampScience Foo Camp
Science Foo Camp, also known as SciFoo, is a series of interdisciplinary scientific conferences organized by O'Reilly Media , Nature Publishing Group and Google Inc., based on an idea from Linda Stone...
annually with Tim O'Reilly
Tim O'Reilly
Tim O'Reilly is the founder of O'Reilly Media and a supporter of the free software and open source movements.-Life and career:...
of O'Reilly Media and Timo Hannay
Timo Hannay
Timo Hannay is managing director of Digital Science in London, United Kingdom, which provides software and services aimed at scientific researchers and research administrators. He formerly worked for Nature, which, like Digital Science is owned by Macmillan Publishers.Hannay is a recognized expert...
of Nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
on the Google campus in Mountain View, California.
TechTV
DiBona was a LinuxLinux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
commentator on TechTV
TechTV
TechTV was a 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming...
's The Screen Savers
The Screen Savers
The Screen Savers was a live American TV show on TechTV. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV on May 11, 1998. The Screen Savers originally centered around computers, new technologies, and their adaptations in the world...
, during 2004 and parts of 2005. His stories concentrated on fun applications and consumer use of Linux.
Other activities
DiBona formerly served on the board of Our Good Works, a non-profit that looks after the volunteer matching website Allforgood.org. He's also a visiting scientist (formally a visiting scholar) at the MIT Sloan School of ManagementMIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
. DiBona served on the advisory board of imeem, a San Francisco, Ca. based social networking firm, and advises PicPlz, a San Francisco start-up.
External links
- DiBona's Weblog
- Chris DiBona on IMDb
- Revolution OS (IMDb)
- All for Good helps you find and share ways to do good
Interviews
- BBC interview
- BBC Backstage interview at Google Developer day 2007 London
- Interview with Google's Chris DiBona on Summer of Code at GroklawGroklawGroklaw is an award-winning website covering legal news of interest to the free and open source software community. Started as a law blog on May 16, 2003 by paralegal Pamela Jones at Radio UserLand, it has covered issues such as the SCO-Linux lawsuits, the EU anti-trust case against Microsoft, and...
- Interview with Chris DiBona: How does it feel to be a Linux evangelist? at Linux GazetteLinux GazetteThe Linux Gazette is a monthly self-published Linux computing webzine.-History:It was started in 1995 by John M. Fisk as a free service. He went on to pursue his studies and become a medical doctor. At Mr. Fisk's request, the publication was sponsored and managed by SSC...
- Interview with Chris DiBona on IT Conversations
- Linux Link Tech Show interview (audio), 2006
- Chris DiBona on Cranky Geeks
- Interview with Chris DiBona (audio), 2006 on LugRadioLugRadioLugRadio was a British podcast on the topic of Linux and events in the free and open source software communities, as well as coverage of technology, digital rights and politics....