Books by John Hall

Jon 'maddog' Hall is the executive director of Linux International, a vendor organization dedicated to promoting the use of the Linux operating system. He has been in the computer industry for more than a quarter of a century (somehow, that sounds more impressive than just "25 years"), the past 18 years of which have been spent using, programming, and admiring the Unix operating system. Jon works for Compaq Computer Corporation, where he is helping to shape Compaq's strategy with respect to Linux. Previously, Jon was the department head of computer science at Hartford State Technical College, where his students lovingly (he hopes) gave him the nickname 'maddog' as he tried to teach them operating system design, compiler theory, and how to live an honorable life. While working for Digital Equipment Corporation in May of 1994, 'maddog' met Linus Torvalds, and was intelligent enough (his critics say 'maddog' was just lucky) to recognize the potential of the Linux operating system. Linux changed his life, mostly by providing him with 22--hour workdays. Since 'maddog' has started working with Linux, however, he has also started meeting more girls (in particular, his two godchildren). You can usually find Jon speaking at various Linux conferences and events ('maddog' just barks), and he has also been known to travel long distances to speak to local Linux user groups. Paul G. Sery is a systems administrator employed by Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is a member of the Computer Support Unit, Special Projects, which specializes in managing and troubleshooting Unix and Linux systems. When he's not beating his head against systems administration problems, Paul and his wife, Lidia, enjoy riding their tandem bicycle through the Rio Grande valley. They also enjoy traveling throughout Mexico. Paul is the author of Linux Network Toolkit and the coauthor of several other books. He has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of New Mexico.