Don't even mention that fellows name. Here read this for nite reading
Linux developer labours for love
Corel's David Neil fell for operating system
long before investors did
SIMON TUCK
Thursday, December 16, 1999
OTTAWA -- IN
It's turned out to be a stable, long-term relationship but it started out with
a bang -- or at least a crash.
Planted in front of a computer screen in his Ottawa basement late one
night about five years ago, David Neil was quietly surfing the Internet
when he stumbled upon a reference to Linux.
A software programmer both by trade and hobby, Mr. Neil did a quick
search on the fledgling operating system and found plenty. "I was only
looking for development tools," Mr. Neil remembers. "It happened by
accident."
It was love at first sight for Mr. Neil, now a senior software engineer for
Corel Corp. and Linux, one of the industry's hottest trends.
The operating system is increasingly seen as an inexpensive alternative to
Microsoft Windows. Its popularity has also made stock market darlings of
Ottawa-based Corel and other Linux players.
But for Mr. Neil, now one of Corel's top Linux programmers, his affair
had a rocky start. When he first tried to download Linux to his home
computer that night, his machine sputtered and erased everything on his
hard drive.
But he wasn't deterred.
With his computer back in full force the next morning, Mr. Neil became
so enthralled with his new programming toy that he installed it on some of
his company's computers and moved his home computer up to the main
floor so he could see his family once in a while.
"I just loved playing around with it . . . It's probably no different from
someone who loves skydiving -- they just love to jump out of a plane,"
says Mr. Neil, who at the time was a fibre-optics specialist at Bell
Canada.
But after two decades with Bell, Mr. Neil longed for a change of scenery
and moved to Corel to try his hand in the blossoming software sector. "I
was basically 40 years old, and I figured it was long enough with one
organization."
In 1997, Mr. Neil, now with Corel, was approached about getting
involved in the company's big plunge into Linux. It's wasn't a tough call.
"It was a dream come true -- I literally had to pinch myself."
Mr. Neil says he's not too surprised that the alternative operating system
is taking off.
"Most of us who are working on it realize it could, and probably should be,
based on its technological merits, the next big thing," he said. "We know
it's good."
Ming Poon, the man who asked Mr. Neil to get involved in the project
and who first suggested Corel get involved in Linux, said he never
doubted the operating system's potential. He suggested Corel do
something with Linux almost three years ago but was told to forget it.
"They told me I'm crazy."
But nobody's saying that now.
Linux has become the source of a stock market frenzy. The sudden
"discovery" has been driven in recent weeks by three key events: Last
week's announcement from Dell Computer Corp. that it plans to use the
upstart technology in a new line of high-end servers; last month's ruling
by a U.S. judge that Microsoft Corp. acts as a monopoly; and the focus
on Linux at last month's Comdex computer show in Las Vegas.
The market's sudden obsession with the one-obscure technology has
turned a host of tiny, revenue-starved startups in stock-market darlings.
Mr. Neil admits it's probably gone a little overboard. "I think anybody can
agree there's a lot of speculation out there."
Linux has already been embraced by a decent chunk of the business
market. The momentum is such that International Data Corp. of
Framingham, Mass. predicts in a new study that Linux use will grow 25
per cent over the next four years. IDC also wrote that Corel is
particularly well-positioned to take advantage of the Linux trend, thanks
to the version of the operating system it released last month.
Linux has given Corel a much-needed, short-term boost. Mr. Poon says
that in that sense, his company's Linux project has already been a
success. "One of the goals of the project was to bring some excitement
back to the company."
The ever-cool Mr. Neil says he doesn't let himself get too carried away
with the hype.
"There's a lot of young people [at Corel] who get a lot more excited than
me," he says with a chuckle. "They're really hyper."
But he admits that working on Linux has allowed him to recharge his
batteries and meet lots of new co-workers, many of whom have taken
advantage of the share price boost to cash in on stock options. "It's
amazing how many people come by and say 'hi' now."
Site seeing
corel.com
CURRICULUM VITAE
Who: David Neil
What: Senior software engineer, Corel Corp.
Job description: Helps put together components for his company's new
line of Linux software products
Education: Concordia University in Montreal and the State University of
New York
Why he does it: Working on Linux "is probably no different from
someone who loves skydiving -- they just love to jump out of a plane."
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