Phil Shapiro

2672 points

Washington DC-area

Phil Shapiro has been an educator, teaching students from pre-school to graduate school for the past 35 years. He currently works at a public library in the Washington, DC area, helping youth and adults use their public Linux stations. Between 2007 and 2012, he blogged for PC World magazine on various technology topics and currently writes for Ars Technica, MAKE magazine, FOSS Force, TechSoup for Libraries, Computers in Libraries, Information Today magazine, and Opensource.com. Visit him at his antique ebook store.

Library Journal Movers & Shakers Award, 2024

GoFundMe for medical expenses

And see his library dance videos on YouTube.

Octave Ukes

Stories menu (old)

New stories menu (new)

Pairs Math Game

Updated resume (2022)

WashPost - The Man Who Gives Computers to Kids (May, 2000)

PCWorld - Does Free Software Restore Dignity?

PCWorld (original article)

I like to teach. David tenor guitar

The Day My Mind Became Open Sourced

Professional associations and organizations I support:

Internet Press Guild
Women in Film & Video
Washington Apple Pi
Northern Virginia Linux Users Group
Virginia Macintosh Users Group
Omaha Linux Users Group
Columbia Area Linux Users Group
Let's Play America
HacDC
East Harlem Tutorial Program
Higher Achievement
Small Things Matter
Carpe Diem Arts
Vietnamese American Services

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Journalism I support

MAKE magazine
NPR
Hackaday
CoolTools
FOSS Force

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"All of the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today." - Chinese proverb

"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." - Eden Phillpotts

Open Source Sensei People's Choice Award Conversation Starter Award 2015 Social Sharer Award 2015 Author Contributor Club Accessibility

Authored Content

Best Buy saved by open source thinking?

A popular chain of consumer electronics stores in the U.S. laid off thousands of workers in mid-July this year. Yes, I'm talking about Best Buy, and their future prospects are…

Gigabit Internet project is a makerspace in the making

When I first heard of Chattanooga's municipal gigabit Internet project in 2010, the first thing I wanted to know was the name of the Linux user group in Chattanooga. When you…

Open source makes you bolder

I earn a living at a public library in the Washington, DC area. About a year ago I was trying to explain Twitter to someone for the fifth time that week. The person listening…

The day TuxPaint became contagious

I work at a public library with 28 Linux stations made publicly available in four separate rooms. The room in which I spend most of my time has 10 computers, and elementary…

Can an iPad be used to promote free and open source software?

I have many Linux-using friends who have no plans whatsoever to buy an iPad, and I respect them for having that stance. They are opposed to closed, locked, proprietary systems…

neon sign with head outline and open source why spelled out

The day my mind became open sourced

I can remember so clearly the exact day my mind became open sourced. It was a crisp and sunny November day in 1973. After class in middle school, I called up my best friend…

Authored Comments

Smiling librarian standing in front of bookcase

pshapiro

1 Sep 2015

Back to school: 5 open source programs for students and teachers

Whoa, I learned some excellent and valuable tips in this blog post. Thanks, Charlie. If you were to write a book, I'd pay triple the cover price -- because that's how much it would be worth.

pshapiro

3 Aug 2015

Torvalds 2.0: Patricia Torvalds on computing, college, feminism, and increasing diversity in tech

A new world is a-borning -- and it's a hopeful one. Thanks for this excellent interview with the future.