One of the best known names in the computing universe, Maddog visited Facens on a historic day for the Campus and for students. On a visit by Facens, the board director of the Linux Professional Institute participated in various activities, visited the Innovation Centers and, at the end of the night, filled the auditorium to tell a little more about his career and “How to start a business with little or no money ”. Known for his friendliness and being one of the most accessible personalities in the world of technology, the free software guru has been in the computing field since 1969, having worked with all types of computers and, over time, served as a programmer, systems administrator , university professor, product manager, technical marketing manager, author and also “trouble maker”, as he says.
Since 1991, he has traveled the world spreading free software and, in 1994, he met Linus Torvalds, which would become a major milestone for technology. “When I met Linus Torvalds, in 1994, I started promoting Linux more or less full-time,” he says. The nickname “maddog” (mad dog, in English), came about when he was head of the Computer Science department at Hartford State Technical College. Some students called him that because of his strong temper. Today, he says he prefers to be called by name, but he also goes by “crazy dog”. Those who accompany him know that the nickname does not live up to the figure. Jon can easily be found at technology conventions, walking and talking to people, always very calm and approachable. Anyone who attends Campus Party, for example, must have seen this nice, white-bearded man camping out with other computer enthusiasts.