P. J. McDermott This is my personal Web site, which contains personal and professional information about me, technical guides on GNU/Linux and UNIX, and essays on computing ethics and freedom. About Me ======== I am: * A hacker (that is, a playful tinkerer interested in exploring the limits of technology). * A knowledgeable user of GNU/Linux. * A competent software author. * A fan of freely- and semi-freely-licensed heavy metal and rock music. * A student in the [2012 Google Summer of Code][gsoc-2012] program [working with the Debian Project][gsoc-appl]. * The leader of a project to develop a fully-free [embedded operating system distribution][proteanos]. * [Associate member][fsf-am] #10830 of the Free Software Foundation. * A recent university graduate with a degree in computer science. * A self-taught student of U.S. and international copyright law and free software licensing. * The former leader of my university's undergraduate GNU/Linux special interest group. * Trained in karate. * Licensed to operate motorboats. * Certified for open water SCUBA diving. [gsoc-2012]: http://www.google-melange.com/gsoc/homepage/google/gsoc2012 [gsoc-appl]: http://wiki.debian.org/SummerOfCode2012/StudentApplications/PJMcDermott [proteanos]: http://www.proteanos.com/ [fsf-am]: https://www.fsf.org/register_form?referrer=10830 New === * [A presentation on the disputed legal validity of software contracts](talks/software-contracts/). * [A workshop on the UNIX shell](guides/shell-workshop/) I gave at NJIT. To Come ======= * More essays on computing ethics and freedom. * Technical guides on GNU/Linux, especially one related to the boot process (an apparently popular topic with which I'm quite familiar).