ITWire

"Hopefully with the next version I can tie everything together from introducing the concept of free software and Linux, providing steps on how to try Linux, and support those who need help. My goal is for it to become the site to send someone to who knows nothing about free software and for it to answer all their questions and get them interested. Once the site is in a state that I am happy with, I will look into promoting it around the web to get visitors from a range of backgrounds and see what happens from there."


At the archives, Smart works as software product manager in the Digital Preservation section. "It is our job to make sure that digital-born Commonwealth records are made available for future generations. This is a difficult task, much more so than keeping a piece of paper or physical object.

"Our preservation method is 'migration'. Through our own in-house software called Xena (http://xena.sourceforge.net), we take digital records and convert them into open formats. For example, we convert Office documents to ODF. It's all about risk management. The idea is that in 20, 50 or 100 years time while we may not be able to open a Word document, we should be able to read a copy that is in an open standard.

"Open standards and Free software are what make all this possible. It is great to be paid to develop Free software and to use Linux every day."

If all these facets of Smart's personality do not set him apart from the average geek, then there's one more which certainly should. He's engaged; his fiancée, Mendy, is working overseas in Macau. "She likes the geeky side of me and it certainly comes in handy for her should her laptop play up."

And again unlike the average geek, he's looking forward to the next generation of Smarts - who, he hopes, will all be fans of the penguin. "I'm sure that my future children will be playing with plush Tux dolls instead of barbies and will be hacking from an early age," he says.