Meet the People that develop or use Vinux.

Read short biographies of some of the people who develop, support or use Vinux!

Meet the Geeks... (Listed in alphabetical order by surname).

Sina Bahram:

I am a PhD candidate at NC State University in the USA working on human computer interaction.  My research focuses on dynamic translation of user interfaces, with an emphasis on multi-touch environments being used by blind users.  I have been heavily involved in assistive technology and Linux accessibility since 2003 and I am a co-author of the remote access bridge, which facilitates cross platform, latency free, communication between Windows and Linux, Linux and Linux, and even Mac and Linux environments. Furthermore, I am the current administrator of the Jaws scripting list and am a long time member of various blind mailing lists. I greatly enjoy helping strangers from around the world who are new to blindness or have been blind longer than I've been alive.  I especially enjoy turning these online strangers into friends. I am extremely excited about the Vinux project and enjoy beautiful women, walks on the beach and good wine...

Scott Berry:

My name is Scott.  I am 37 years old and have been in the computer industry as of this year for 22 years.  I am an Assistive Technology Instructor in Minnesota as well as an A Plus and Microsoft Certified Professional.  I am going back to school to finish up a 2 year degree in computer Information Technology and then hopefully a four year degree in Linux.  I have been using Linux for about nine years on and off.  My hobbies are:  ham radio, computers, watching satellites on the computer, reading and learning.  I hope to help Vinux prosper and grow.

Michael Coulombe:

I completed two years at the College of the Desert after High School. My interest was small engines. You couldn't have paid me to look at a computer in those days. After I decided to write an outline for a movie I saw a use for a computer in my life and started working with them. In time I got involved with Linux which later led me to Vinux. I guess I have always liked experimenting and building things, planning a story requires the same kind of thinking I do everyday when working on electronic projects. Because you are still building and finding ways to get things to work together. Just as one small transistor can make features possible in a electronic project. One small part in a scene can make other scenes possible in a movie...

Bill Cox (aka WaywardGeek):

Big geek for waaay too long.  Spent many years at Electronic Design Automation startups writing mostly 'place and route' code.  Currently 46 years old, author on 21 patents, and suffering from symptoms similar to Stargardt's Disease.  Probably will be coding with aid of magnification for many years...

Storm Dragon:

Blind from birth. My first sentence was "Hey Doc, watch out with that damned scalpel!" unfortunately it was too late for my poor eye sight. Oh well, that's what you get for being born in the Moonshine capital of the world. I have 2 associate degrees one in broadcasting and the other in computer programming. I will be 34 years old in a few days. I started using Linux full time in late 2007...

Mobeen Iqbal (aka renegade334):

I've been blind from birth.  I am a technician dealing in hardware, electronics, networking, communications and software testing as well as training VI people how to use computers - I've been doing this for over 6 years now!  My involvement with Vinux stemmed from when I was working with Tony Sales in the Research and Development Department every Wednesday while I attended the college in which he now teaches.  He had been talking about building a version of Linux and I told him I'd be interested in testing it.  I'd been using Ubuntu with Wubi up until then, but then Tony made Vinux - a breath of fresh air.  It worked, it was simple, and it was worth getting to know.  I like things that just well, work.  The only thing that didn't work was Wubi, so that's why I made the Virtual edition.  The first Virtual Edition was 1.3 and we've never looked back.  It gives people a chance to try Vinux to the full, then hopefully switch from Microsoft completely...

Donald Marang (aka SpeedyChair):

I had an exciting career as a Satellite Systems Engineer/Computer Architect on NASA projects like the Space Station, but mostly for agencies where even their name is secret. I  can tell you more if you like, but I prefer not to because my blindness would make it harder to shoot you.  I have been an advocate for Open Standards, interoperability and cross platform distributed networked systems.  I have been a dedicated fan of the Internet since 1984 (the year I graduated, not the book).  I am promoting and using Vinux because it supports all of those goals as well as  injecting usable accessibility into the major Linux  distributions!  It is a fantastic distro, and I am proud to be associated with it.

Tony Sales (aka drbongo):

I am now 45 years old and currently teach Psychology and Sociology at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford, UK. I started out my career as a lecturer in Philosophy after completing my Doctorate on Ludwig Wittgenstein. I got interested in computers because I had a philosophical interest in Artificial Intelligence and retrained as an ICT Teacher after spending 6 years working as a volunteer in Zambia, Southern Africa. I joined the RNCB in 2004 as an ICT Lecturer and then gradually drifted into the R&D Department where I worked until it was closed down last year! I started the Vinux Project because I wasn't satisfied with the accessibility support in the most popular Linux distributions and just got fed up of waiting for things to improve. So I took matters into my own hands and decided to try and build a Linux distribution aimed specifically at blind and partially sighted users. I am also the inventor of the 'Knobson' the 'Guitar with Knobs On!' for visually impaired musicians...

Rob Whyte (aka Fudge):

I work in adaptive technology and education in Australia. Seeing a void online, I started an accessible mIRC script and an IRC network in order to offer support, advice and assistance to the visually impaired and their online support networks. Hosting the Vinux IRC chat room as Fudge I hope to be able to continue to offer support where I can, for newcomers to Vinux and their overall adaptive technology needs...

Do you feel left out?

If you want to have your own short biography listed here or you would like to change/update your existing biography then please use the form on the Contact page to drop us a line...