Ubuntu Wiki

About Me

Professional Profile

My name is Alvaro Leal, I'm 32 years old and live in Brazil. I started using PCs when I was 12 and 4 years later I already had a job working with IT and Telecom for a small ISP (those were the dial-up connection days). In this ISP I got to try UNIX (SunOS) and play with common Internet services (Webserver, FTPd, IRCd, Sendmail, etc) and shell scripting for the first time. It's been 16 years now and I have never really stopped.

In later years I made a move from the IT jobs to the Marketing, Research and Strategy areas, working at large ICT consultancies. It gave me the opportunity to work with the largest global IT vendors and cooperate with worldwide and LATAM teams of analysts, as well as learn a lot about the IT market dynamics. By 2006 I helped build a Market Intelligence firm in Brazil with a few colleagues from previous jobs and I still work for this company.

I'm currently trying to go back to a "pure-IT" job. I have started a business-plan for a new IT Services company aimed exclusively at providing Ubuntu-based IT services for SMB. Current negotiations include Ubuntu deployment for companies with large PC/Server installed baes, virtualization services, development and customisation services for medium and large-sized OEMs.

My full CV can be accessed at my public LinkedIn Profile

Education

Skills

IT and Programming

I have worked with many different types of hardware (PCs, Thin Clients, Network Appliances, Storage, VoIP Infrastructure, Fixed and Mobile Carriers' equipments, etc) and software (mostly all popular Operating Systems, ERP, CRM, SCM, BI and other applications). I can code in ANSI/ISO C but, because of work-related demands, I have learned to use it with the WinAPI32. I'm having a lot of fun with going back to C programming, but now with other FOSS APIs. Unfortunately I think I was born without the set of neurons needed to properly adopt C++, but Python is pretty much OK for me and I grew to like RAD. Most of the time none of that is needed as I'm a BASH fanatic. I do a lot of prototyping in BASH before converting large scripts into C code.

Market Analysis and Business Development

Project Management and Leadership

I had the opportunity to manage teams in both technical and management tasks. Most of the time I tend to look at things in a methodical and analytic way, enumerating priorities and transforming ideas into teams and projects. My leadership vision is to lead by example: People do not respect projects and do not engage into activities when the delegation group does get their hands dirty.

Activities and Personal Interests in the Ubuntu Ecosystem

IT Communities and UbuntuForums Ubuntu+1 sub-forum

I have been a regular at the Dev-C++ IDE forums for many years and have provided guidance and support for countless users at many other forums in Brazil. Although I used Conectiva Linux for many years, I was sold to Ubuntu the first time I tried it (it was HH in 2005/2006 if I'm not mistaken). I registered to UbuntuForums in 2007, but I still had too much delegated to me in other local communities, so basically I lurked at UbuntuForums.org everyday without really participating (it was mostly an information source for me). I only started to change it by end of the LL cycle and beginning of MM in 2009/2010, by gradually leaving other local communities and forums in order to be able to focus exclusively on Ubuntu and have UbuntuForums as my main community. That was done by the end of NN. Throughout the OO and PP cycles, I have been active, on a daily basis, in the Ubuntu+1 sub-forum and got really attached to that community.

Ubuntu+1

I have found, at the Ubuntu+1 sub-forum, the exact type of activities, discussions and people that I enjoy the most. Testing Ubuntu with the guys there became a primary activity in my daily routine. Things changed during the PP cycle, as a new goal of keeping the development releases "usable" created DRs users (not just testers) and, therefore, a need to support them. We have been providing support for users everyday, as their threads are moved by the forum staff from others sections of UF to the Ubuntu+1 sub-forum. Gladly, it also brought more people with interest in testing to our small community. I felt like it was time to do more, and so I started the U+1 Team.

The U+1 Team

A new and improved QA-Team and Ubuntu Testing Structure

Goals at the Ubuntu Community

UbuntuForums: Increase the number of regulars at the Ubuntu+1 sub-forum

UbuntuForums: Improve the quality of the support at the Ubuntu+1 sub-forum

U+1 and QA: Enable testers to create/improve automated tests

U+1 and QA: Prepare Ubuntu+1 support, QA for new gadgets and devices

U+1 and QA: Improve integration of UX/UI to QA and testing teams

Contact Info

LaunchPad: Effenberg0x0
UbuntuForums: Effenberg0x0
IRC: Effenberg0x0 @ irc.freenode.net (#U+1)