Episode: 388
Title: HPR0388: Interview with Beth Lynn of OLF
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr0388/hpr0388.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-07 19:33:44

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Oh!
Okay.
I'm going to interview her now.
I'm going to interview her, I'm going to interview her.
No, I wasn't.
Oh, what, you just now?
Well, yeah.
This is Clat 2.
I'm at South.
No, exactly where you will like it, Bob.
I was just talking about it.
No.
I want to explain that.
It's cooler in here.
This is Clat 2.
I'm at the Southeast Linux Fest.
I'm going to speak now with Beth Lynn from Ohio Linux Fest.
Hi, Beth Lynn.
Hi.
It's great to be here.
What do you think of the festival so far?
It is beyond my wildest dream, incredible, phenomenal, absolutely superb.
Wow, cool.
I'm impressed as well.
It's very exciting.
From what I can tell, from what I kind of understood from Dave's podcast,
you were a little bit of a mentor for this, for this.
I mean, I don't know.
You probably don't think you were, but I mean, I think they learned a lot from you.
You know?
Is there any sense of, I don't know, pride?
I feel like a proud grandmother.
I'm kind of large.
I'm only 29 years old.
Yeah.
If I am the so-called mother of the Ohio Linux Fest, I believe that I would be considered
the grandmother of this Southeast Linux Fest.
Fantastic.
I think that's a cool title.
I don't know why.
It just sounds like, and you could come down next year in like one of the southern bell
outfits.
I don't know why I see that either, but I'm seeing you on a porch sort of in a rocking chair
for a while.
It's like that's my best, so I don't know.
It's really fun.
You think a one day festival is a, I mean, was it worth it to drive?
What did you drive like 14 hours or something like that over the course of two days to get
here?
Yeah.
It was a long home, but it was doable just because it just began.
There are a lot of people who have day jobs, and there are other conferences out there
that are trying to do it for profit, where they will try to get people to come in during
the work week, and that doesn't work for the community that's about to be a weekend.
Obviously, Ohio is a very, it's seen very much as a community festival.
I don't know if you know that or not, but that's what people say about it.
You're like, this is a community driven, community focused festival.
I was just people by the people or the people.
So that's a contested decision?
Absolutely.
Okay, cool.
In terms of Ohio Linux Fest this year, is there anything to look forward?
I mean, I know you're not, I guess, that you're not the chair this year, but I mean, is there
anything exciting happening in the works or anything you want to pitch about it?
Well, like I said, we have been shown on Friday, September 24th.
We are doing OLFU again, where we are doing several tracks of training.
Yeah.
There are going to be three tracks for administrative administrators, the League of Professional,
which together are the main three classes that they have in the past.
We will also have something new this year called the Linux-based class
from a partner that we've made with free geek Columbus.
Oh, cool, okay.
Where we're going to be doing a build one, get one,
tour the program there, within OLFU, people who don't know anything about computers
are going to get their hands on hardware, install Linux, learn about how to use
basic Ubuntu things, and then take that computer home with them.
That's incredible.
That's really cool.
That's a fantastic idea.
We will also be doing LPI training on that day.
Right.
Now, the LPI training is lots of training to our $350.
But you get the whole weekend for that.
Cool.
Now, how much would you expect to pay for the Linux SpaceX with a build one, get one?
500 bucks, I would say at least.
Really?
We are pricing it at $250.
Wow.
That is great.
That's really cool.
I mean, I took a Unix course for a little while, and I learned so much in that class.
I think it was a two day, you know, not a full day, obviously.
It was like a two half day class.
I learned so much in it.
I mean, so something like that, someone wants to learn even just like a little bit more than, you know,
I mean, if they're coming from another OS and they want to get into Linux,
that might be a really good way for them to do that.
Because that's really cool.
Yeah.
And the deal of getting a computer to take home with you ain't bad either.
Now, one Saturday, we're going to do our traditional show where we will have the option
of this quarter pass for $65.
That includes a bunch of new t-shirts.
Cool.
But if for whatever reason you don't have $65, please just come.
Just come.
We will check.
You in under the free pass, and you get to come in completely free of cost.
We really do believe this is a thing for everybody.
You know, it's not that often that you see an organization back up their beliefs in freedom
or in everyone having the same opportunity, whatever.
We've actually saying if you can't pay, come anyway.
You know, I mean, that's really, I think it's really phenomenal.
It's a cool thing that you guys do, and it shows a lot of, I guess, integrity or whatever.
I certainly impresses me.
And Ohio Linifeth, I mean, last year was the first year I went.
But it was everything that everyone said it was.
You know, they were, I heard a lot of great things about it, and it was that.
It was really fun.
The atmosphere there was really great.
So, yeah, I was impressed.
So, are you going?
Are you working it?
Are you going there this year?
Am I going to the Ohio Linifeth?
Where else would I be?
Well, I don't know.
I don't know what you do in your spare time.
Maybe you're busy.
So, you will be there.
Yeah, I can't think of any place I would rather be Ohio Linifeth.
Absolutely.
I got the new tagline for this year.
Well, the new tagline for this year is a celebration of 40 years of union.
Oh, that's right.
Yeah, I forgot.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, I didn't forget, but yeah, that's cool.
So, I guess, I mean, that's a cool reason to have the basics of Linux for the big 40-year anniversary of the Ohio Linifeth.
Yeah.
Can you tell us about the OS that we all kind of dim from?
Yeah.
Canos are the Douglas McElroy, who was king in our spots, believe it or not, where you really want to get to the story of what exactly caused this little project called Unix to take off and get moving.
Doug, it's a man to break it down and nearly describe the origin of Unix.
Incredible pieces of it, such as the pipe.
Wow.
Ever since then, he's been teaching at Dartmouth College.
Oh, okay.
He's got a lot to say.
Yeah.
So, Doug, that will be our morning keynote with Doug Moritz, the evening keynote to end this day, but we will have Sean Powers talking about the future of Linux.
Very cool.
Now, Sean Powers is that blogger with the Linux channel, and within the Linux journal, he puts together a weekly how-to
for people who are new to Linux.
You don't need to have a lot of Linux experience, you'll begin a lot of podcasts and show them what exactly we're supposed to do.
He does it, and it's not a long involved sort of thing that he has down for half an hour to really only take a minute to get through some of the blog videos.
It's all good stuff.
Cool.
For a day job, he actually works for a school district as a administrator supporting Linux.
Yeah.
If anybody is a future of Linux, children, really need to get Linux and education at a very early level, and that's exactly how we're going to take off in the future of Linux.
It sounds like a really exciting, like it's going to be an exciting festival this year.
So, yeah, I can't wait to leave me there.
And thanks for talking to me.
That's cool.
Cool.
Yeah, granted.
You know that you'll make it to the highlighting sets this year?
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah, we're out when you'd rather be.
I really cannot think of another place, actually, so it works as a tagline, but yeah, thanks a lot.
Thank you for listening to Hack with Public Radio.
HPR is sponsored by Carol.net, so head on over to C-A-R-O.N-C for all of us here.
Thank you.
Thank you.
