Speaker Interview: Stephanie Lockwood-Childs

SCALE 13x welcomes Stephanie Lockwood-Childs, who will speak on "A Tale of Two Build Systems: Buildroot and OpenEmbedded" on Saturday SCALE 13x at 4:30. The SCALE Team took a few minutes to talk with Stephanie about Linux and Munchkin.

Q: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background?

A: I'm a software developer purely because I discovered Linux while in grad school; freedom to dig down and learn how the whole system works turned programming from frustration to fun. Today I'm president of both my local LUG (hi SBLUGers!) and VCT Labs, a small engineering-services company specialized in Open Source. Come to think of it, VCT Labs is practically a subset of SBLUG, with all of our engineers long-time members and presenters. Linux is not just a job, it's a way of life - http://vctlabs.com/

Q: You're giving a talk on A Tale of Two Build Systems: Buildroot and OpenEmbedded. Without tipping your hand on the actual talk, can you give
us an idea of what we might expect?

A: My goal is to give attendees an idea of which build system might be the better suited for a particular project, and impress them with how great both Buildroot and OpenEmbedded are in their own ways.

Q: Why would I care which one is better for a particular project, instead of just going with what's most popular?

A: Because it can save you time, money, and/or frustration.

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 is far from my first visit -- I have attended every SCALE. Normally I'm not that fond of conferences, but SCALE is a big exception... not only because I love attending, but "big" as in it has gotten to be so huge an event! Thousands of people, but still a community atmosphere and the traditional low fees that many people can afford without company sponsorship? Amazing.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

A: Any SCALE attendees who are familiar with the terror of a level 1 Potted Plant (or are interested in learning) should come look for me in the room with tables on Game Night. My beloved other half and I plan to continue our tradition of bringing a giant D&D Munchkin set (original plus a half dozen or so expansions) and finding out who gets to be Top Munchkin for the year. http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/game/

[SCALE Team interview by Larry "The Munchkin Shark" Cafiero, who vows to win at Munchkin this year.]