To whom it may concern...
 

The first computer i remember my family having was an "Atari ST" (a personal computer, not to be confused with Atari's videogame console) because Macs were too expensive and DOS was not as good. Later we got a "Performa 550" which ran Mac OS 7. I've used a Mac as my main home computer ever since then: a "G3" Mac desktop, a 15-inch laptop running OS X, and (currently) an iMac i got a few years ago which is still going strong. I'm quite certain my next major home computer will be an Ubuntu desktop from system76.com though (i already have one of their "net top" computers). If i manage to improve my linux skills i will probably remove Ubuntu and install either Arch or "Linux From Scratch" on it.

I'm also interested in creating a "Live USB" installation of linux. The best way to do this i've found so far is "Method 0" on https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LiveUsbPendrivePersistent . The downsides are: being Ubuntu, seems like it's quite heavyweight (for a USB device); you have to click on "Try Ubuntu" every time you boot; and it comes configured with all these really generic defaults (eg, your username is "ubuntu"). I hope to find (or create) something more lightweight and more customized, but that will still run on more computers than just the one used to perform the installation.

I've been using Linux for work more lately (where i also use Windows and Mac, doing development work on a cross-platform project in C), and while my experience with Linux has never been that great, the software freedom aspect really appeals to me and makes me want to believe in it, learn it, and contribute.

Finally i'll mention that from what i have heard/seen of the Linux kernel's founder/leader i do not find him to be very admirable... quite off-putting really, and it almost makes me want to get into something more like one of the BSDs instead... but on the other hand linux is really a lot bigger than the kernel or just one person, so i think i'll just deal with it. Linux seems to have the biggest community and the most momentum right now.

Well, i am procrastinating on my work so i'd best get back to it. Take care.