Richard Stallman
When my children ask about Martin Luthor King or Cesar Chavez, I tell them
there is *nothing* more powerful than someone totally acting on his or
her beliefs. That's Richard Stallman. He wrote the manifesto that created
free-source software. He and his group guided the movement. Even after
the majority of the movement decided they wanted someone more personable
to publicly represent them (and doesn't that happen after every revolution),
he continues guiding us and keeping us honest.
Thank you Richard. Without you, there would be no GNU/Linux, no Perl,
and certainly no UMENU.
Linus Torvalds
Leadership. So rare and so valuable. Linus Torvalds provided the Bazaar
(as opposed to Cathedral) leadership so necessary to Linux' success. And
now that Linux has succeeded, those proprietary guys can never turn back
the clock. Thanks Linus.
Larry Wall
I could spare only a few days to create the first version of UMENU. That
ruled out C and C++ -- great languages but not quick enough. Enter Perl
-- free, ubiquitous, easy, lightning development speed, and created by
Larry Wall. Thanks Larry.
LUGs
Linux User Groups give each of us help and clout. Through our LUGs, we
learn faster, keep up better, and write better software than our counterparts
in the proptter software than our counterparts
in the proprietary software world.
I'd like to give special thanks to Greater Orlando Linux User Group
(GoLUG), as well as my old LUGs, Linux Enthusiasts and Professionals
(LEAP) and Everyones Linux User Group (ELUG).
Teachers and Mentors
Teachers Across the World
Those that can, do. Those who can't, teach. Yeah, sure!
Fact is, those who are so good that doing now bores them, and so noble
as to work for the tiny salaries every society seems to offer their teachers,
teach. They do it for the greater good. Because without teachers, there
would be no doers.
Frank Little
Frank, you taught me discipline and design -- the two most important factors
in my success as a developer.
Ric Fransozi
Ric, you taught me real-world programming, production, deadlines. You made
my entry into the profession possible.
Jerry Hull
Jerry, you taught me love of programming, and the social aspects of programming.
Those late night restaurant runs/brag sessions served acquainted me with
the social skills so necessary for my profession.
Jeff Jones
Jeff, my first mentor, what can I say. From your patience with the silly
mistakes of a first semester DP student, to your insults driving me to
do the impossible (for two cents), to all those referrals, you've been
a huge part of my career.
Mike Welch
Mike, you knew everything when I was green. You were so patient, explaining
what you could and giving me source code for the rest. Though I'll never
be half the programmer you are, I think you'd be proud to see me now.
Miss Massey
Miss Massey, you gave a sixth grader a chance, even though he had a reputation
as a troublemaker and poor student. If it hadn't been for you, the rest
wouldn't have mattered.
Mrs. Troyer
Mrs. Troyer, you were determined to have your entire eighth grade class
speak the king's English. Your success with me was less than complete,
but good enough to become editor of a 600 visit/day website. Well done,
Mrs. Troyer.
Family
Sylvia
Sylvia, you've taught me love, family, and how to live a good and intelligent
life. I love you.
Brett, Rena and Valerie
Brett, Rena and Valerie -- you've taught me to go for success instead of
fearing failure. You're kids, but you know something I almost forgot.
Mom and Dad
Mom and Dad, you made me. Almost every basic principle, you taught me.
Your son, the Webmaster.
UMENU Co-Conspirators
A huge thankyou to David Billsbrough, who through the years has given
excellent feedback on successive UMENU versions. David successfully
converted an old version of UMENU to run on Windows, and he created a Ruby
language subset of UMENU.
As for you other UMENU Co-conspirators, we don't know each other yet.
But we'll come together, with big brains, big ideas and big
hearts. And our combined power will be far beyond the sum of our parts.
UMENU will make computing easier.
Copyright (C) 1999-2004 by Steve Litt