Telling it like it is, the Allison way

Sam Varghese
Saturday, 23 January 2010 08:40

Opinion and Analysis

Jeremy Allison caused a stir in 2006 when he announced that he was leaving Novell because the company had signed a patent indemnification deal with Microsoft.

One could well argue that someone with his reputation could easily do this, as he wouldn't have had a problem finding a job anywhere.

But then, just tell those who raise this argument that a couple of gentlemen by the names of Miguel de Icaza and Nat Friedman stayed behind at Novell when Allison left and see how quickly silence prevails.

Allison's been in Wellington for the last week or so, attending the annual Autralian national Linux conference where he gave a packed auditorium an idea of what it is like to have an elephant in the room.

The pachyderm in question? Microsoft.

A well-known Samba hacker, he is a down-to-earth bloke. He is friendly and simple, ambling along in his mismatched clothes, occasionally gesticulating frantically as he talks, either to the people around him or else to someone at the other end of a mobile connection.

He's on one such call, pacing up and down like a caged tiger in the area near the foyer of the 11th LCA's Open Day, where I wait, like a stalker, to accost him and remind him that we exchanged emails before the conference and agreed to have a chat.

As soon as the call ends, he darts off with surprising speed, but stops when I come up to him. A broad smile breaks over his face as he recalls my name and we move back into the foyer for a brief while to capture his image on film.

Allison looks harmless but appearances are deceptive; behind that calm exterior lurks a razor-sharp wit and a forensic mind.

He lives in the US now, and became a citizen in 2004. Had to do it, in order to vote that fellow out, he says with a laugh.

It takes a while for me to register that he's talking of one George Dubya Bush. He grins as he sees the recognition dawn on my face.