A long-time Linux user, Dennis Kibbe teaches Linux System Administration at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona. Dennis is a contributing author to "Introduction to the Command Line" by GNU Press and a member of the Phoenix Linux Users Group. The SCALE Team caught up with Dennis to talk about his SCALE 11X presentation, "GTD with Emacs," which takes place on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in room Los Angeles A.
Q: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background?
A: I am Adjunct Faculty at Mesa Community College's Network Academy teaching Linux Operating System, Linux System Administration and Linux Network Administration. I have been teaching Linux for over 6 years and using Linux since 1999. Mesa Community College, located in Mesa, Arizona, is one of the top community colleges in the nation.
Q: Without tipping your hand on the actual talk you're giving (unless you want to), can you give us an idea of what we might expect?
A: While most Linux and UNIX users know that Emacs is a text editor they may not know that Emacs can be used to run your life and help you keep on top of commitments you have made to yourself and others. Org-mode is the "killer" app inside Emacs that does this.
Q: Is this your first visit to SCALE? If so, what are your expectations? If not, can you give us your impressions of the event?
A: This will be my eighth year at SCALE and my first year speaking. SCALE is truly THE Linux event I look forward to each year. No one I've recommended SCALE to has been disappointed.
Q: So, which is better Emacs or vi?
A: I stay out of the "editor wars." Both Emacs and vi are great text editors (Of course, Emacs can do so much more.). Think of them as musical instruments which also have a steep learning curve, but once you start to become comfortable with either your productivity goes way up.
Q: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
A: Even vi users are welcome to attend my talk on Emacs.