What Difference Does UK’s Reliance On Google Really Make?
Every faith and culture has its travelling gurus -- its wandering wise men, who spread thought and enlightenment as they traverse the globe, preferably while maintaining an excellent beard.
Computer science is no different. And that's where Jon 'Maddog' Hall comes in.
Outside of computer circles, his name might not seem that familiar. But Hall, 63, has been one of the leading voices in the free (or open source) software movement for many decades.
An author, educator, programmer and currently the executive director of Linux International, he has travelled the world speaking on the benefits of free software, and most recently has given several keynote talks at the global Campus Party technology conference.
In September he will speak at the next Campus Party, to be held at London's O2 arena.
We managed to catch up with Maddog to ask about Campus Party, but we also touched on several other big issues affecting the tech world - among them whether the UK should consider moving its data off US-owned surveys. Oh and porn. We talked about porn.
This is an edited transcript of a longer telephone interview conducted with HuffPost UK.
To get this out of the way, I imagine you get asked where the name 'Maddog' comes from five to six times a day?
At least, yeah. And Ill just tell you that at the age of 63 Ive learned to control my temper better than I could at the age of 27.
Fair enough. Perhaps we should start with the O2 Campus Party - how did you get involved with these kinds of events?
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What Difference Does UK's Reliance On Google Really Make?