Patrick Volkerding
Encyclopedia
Patrick Volkerding is the founder and maintainer of the Slackware Linux distribution
. He is the "Slackware Benevolent Dictator for Life
." Volkerding earned a Bachelor of Science
in computer science
from Minnesota State University Moorhead
in 1993.
For a short while, Chris Lumens and others assisted with his work on Slackware. Due to the lack of a continuing revenue stream following the sale of his publisher, Walnut Creek CDROM
, to BSDi
(which was ultimately sold to Wind River Systems
), these people had to be let go. For the last several years Patrick Volkerding has managed Slackware with the help of many volunteers and testers. Volkerding brings out new releases of Slackware roughly once a year.
in "Slackware" is a homage to J. R. "Bob" Dobbs: "I'll admit that it was SubGenius inspired. In fact, back in the 2.0 through 3.0 days we used to print a dobbshead on each CD."
and beer lover. Early versions of Slackware would entreat users to send him a bottle of local beer in appreciation for his work.
Patrick is a Deadhead
. As of early April 1994 he had been to as many as 75 shows.
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...
. He is the "Slackware Benevolent Dictator for Life
Benevolent Dictator For Life
Benevolent Dictator For Life is a title given to a small number of open-source software-development leaders, typically project founders who retain the final say in disputes or arguments within the community....
." Volkerding earned a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
from Minnesota State University Moorhead
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Minnesota State University Moorhead is a four-year, public university located in Moorhead, Minnesota. The school has an enrollment of nearly 7,500 students and 337 full-time faculty members. MSUM is a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system...
in 1993.
For a short while, Chris Lumens and others assisted with his work on Slackware. Due to the lack of a continuing revenue stream following the sale of his publisher, Walnut Creek CDROM
Walnut Creek CDROM
Walnut Creek CDROM was an early provider of freeware, shareware and free software on CD-ROMs. The company was founded in August 1991 by Bob Bruce and was one of the first commercial distributors of free software on CD-ROMs...
, to BSDi
Berkeley Software Design
Berkeley Software Design Inc. was a corporation which developed, sold licenses for, and supported BSD/OS , a commercial and partially proprietary variant of the BSD Unix operating system for PC compatible computer systems...
(which was ultimately sold to Wind River Systems
Wind River Systems
Wind River Systems, Inc. is a company providing embedded systems, development tools for embedded systems, middleware, and other types of software. The company was founded in Berkeley, California in 1981 by Jerry Fiddler and David Wilner. On June 4, 2009, Wind River announced that Intel had bought...
), these people had to be let go. For the last several years Patrick Volkerding has managed Slackware with the help of many volunteers and testers. Volkerding brings out new releases of Slackware roughly once a year.
Slack
Patrick is a SubGenius affiliate/member. The use of the word SlackSlack
-Places:*Slack, West Yorkshire, a village in Calderdale, England.*Slack River in Pas-de-Calais, northern France*Slacks Creek, Queensland, a suburb of Logan City, Queensland, Australia-Other:*Charlie Slack, American basketball player...
in "Slackware" is a homage to J. R. "Bob" Dobbs: "I'll admit that it was SubGenius inspired. In fact, back in the 2.0 through 3.0 days we used to print a dobbshead on each CD."
Personal
Patrick is an avid homebrewerHomebrewing
Homebrewing is the brewing of beer, wine, sake, mead, cider, perry and other beverages through fermentation on a small scale as a hobby for personal consumption, free distribution at social gatherings, amateur brewing competitions or other non-commercial reasons...
and beer lover. Early versions of Slackware would entreat users to send him a bottle of local beer in appreciation for his work.
Patrick is a Deadhead
Deadhead
Deadhead or Dead Head is a name given to fans of the American jam band, the Grateful Dead. In the 1970s, a number of fans began travelling to see the band in as many shows or festival venues as they could. With large numbers of people thus attending strings of shows, a community developed...
. As of early April 1994 he had been to as many as 75 shows.
Works
- Volkerding, Patrick, and Reichard, Kevin, Linux System Commands, IDG Books/M&T Books, 2000, ISBN 0-7645-4669-4
- Volkerding, Patrick, Reichard, Kevin, and Foster-Johnson, Eric, Instalación y configuración de Linux, Temas profesionales. Madrid: Anaya Multimedia, 1999 ISBN 84-415-0816-X
- Volkerding, Patrick, Reichard, Kevin, and Foster-Johnson, Eric, LINUX Configuration and Installation, M&T Books, 1998, ISBN 0-7645-7005-6
- Volkerding, Patrick, and Reichard, Kevin, Linux in Plain English, MIS:Press, 1997, ISBN 1-5582-8542-3