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I have to concentrate. I've searched through my backups to find all of my old work, and I'm going through everything. I have to get this right.

Tomorrow, I have 3 job interviews, and two of them are for embedded systems, something I would love to go back to. I've done quite a bit over the last few years, but it wasn't my primary task, unfortunately. At BlueKanGo, I've done some semi-embedded systems (read: Ultra light-weight Linux systems), and some embedded (Linux on a PDA), but it wasn't my primary task. At Odixion, I did some robotics systems, as well as embedded CD/DVD burning/duplication systems. All of that was extremely fun, and I love embedded systems, for their simplicity (relatively speaking, when compared to PCs), and their robustness. I also love the challenge of doing everything in a tight footprint, and getting it right the first time round.

So, what processors have I used? Well, there is the good old 68k, my first love. It was the processor that powered the Amiga 500, my first "real" computer, It's the processor I learnt assembly on. Years later, in a French school, we fiddled about with a 6502 just to learn about digital processors, memory management and a little bit of assembly. I had great fun with that, believe me!

Years later, again, same fun, but a much more advanced architecture. This wasn't about flashing lights or playing Tic Tac Toe, this was about controling a robotic arm, picking up CDs, putting them on a tray, moving the tray to the right position and handing over the control to a printer, then taking over again, putting it in the right place, picking it up again and putting it in the output bin. Add a little bit of advanced coding in there, to calculate the weight of the CD, the correct acceleration to use, and even the time it takes to get from one point to another, all that to calculate if the robotics are working well, of if maintenance is needed. That was fun!

Again, years later, embedded systems at BlueKanGo. The new version of their Netbooks was, at one point, ultra light, the entire OS residing in an 8Mb image, containing a minimal X, web browser, and that's about it. It was proof-of-concept, and it didn't stand up to today's requirements (sound, video and Flash), but it was a good starting point. The stage 1 and stage 2 were compiled for LPIA in mind (Low Power Intel Architecture) and it was fast, even on an Atom.

During the last few years, I've also been having great fun with an hx4700 (more detailed pages available on my blog), creating at first a Linux-based agenda, then more specialized systems (webserver, MySQL server, even a NAS at one point, "juste because I could"). It is a great platform, and it has been a joy to play about with. It is still next to me, and I still play about with it. It is one of the best machines I've owned!

L'heure est venue de finir mon en cours au travail, écrire des pages et des pages de données, et de tout donner a quelqu'un d'autre. Entre mes projets de netbook, les clients avec des demandes spécifiques, un peu de developpement par ci par là et également les dossiers de sécurité réseau, je vais avoir du boulot pour tout écrire, et j'ai très peu de temps pour le faire. Mais bon, il faut le faire! Je refuse de laisser mes collègues dans cet état, et je refuse de laisser un projet qui n'est pas 100% terminé, ficelé et prêt.

Une fois que tout ça sera fini, il y a un autre sujet que je vais devoir creuser - un travail! J'ai déjà pris contact avec quelques connaissances, et mon CV attend déjà dans quelques boites. J'ai déjà quelques pistes, rien de précis, mais au moins j'ai quelques pistes. Maintenant, j'aimerais bien trouver quelque-chose sur Nantes même, mais il y a des projets super intéressants dans les villes voisines. On verra bien. J'attend avec impatience mon déjeuner de mercredi pour plus d'informations. Croisez les doigts pour moi! Je vous tiendrai au courant.

Oh, j'avais oublié, pas de Java.

Et voilà, c'est reparti. Ce n'est même plus drôle.

Après 6 mois avec BlueKanGo, l'heure est venue de faire mes adieux. Les raisons sont simples, et compréhensibles. Après un changement de stratégie, tous les projets R&D très longue durées ont été mis en attente, ce qui veut dire que je n'ai plus de place. Alors nous voilà.

La réunion elle-même s'est très bien passée, les deux côtés comprenant parfaitement l'autre. Mon travail a été reconnu, et j'ai eu des remerciements pour ce que j'ai fait, mais ça ne fait pas tout, surtout en face d'une crise économique. Tout le monde doit s'adapter, tout le monde doit évoluer.

Alors, me voilà, encore un ingénieur Linux qui cherche du travail. Mon CV est sur le site, dans la partie "A propos", si quelqu'un est tenté...

J'arrête officiellement le 21 Septembre, ce qui veut dire que je ne ferai plus les fameux 5 heures de voyage par jour. Mes collègues vont me manquer, mais les transports en public, un peu moins déjà...

After 3 months with Expectra, my mission is coming to an end. My goal was to create a version 2.0 of their new notebook OS, and unfortunately, there are still a few things to do. There are always things to do! While I might not have been able to do everything I wanted to do, BlueKanGo are still happy with what I've done, and are eager to let me carry on what I've been doing. This time, no more missions, no more temporary work, we've been talking about a contract and we've reached an agreement.

BlueKanGo needs a Linux expert, since most of their machines will be pre-installed with Linux, and this is where I fit in. BlueKanGo also wants to be closer to the Open Source community, and I'm confident that I'll be able to help them. I'm already preparing a few ideas that I'll present to management soon.

Here I am, with my Waterman, waiting for a few bits of paper to sign. They had better come soon, the R&D team have already emptied the celebratory sweets!

Fin des vacances! Après deux semaines de "vacances" (à savoir fin de contrat, recherche, etc), je retourne au travail. Le problème, c'est que je ne sais pas où encore. J'ai 5 offres, j'en ai déjà éliminé 3; soit ils sont trop loin (Grenoble?!), ou alors pas assez intéressant. Quand à Paris... heuu... sans commentaires.

Demain matin, je vais probablement aller à Rennes, pour ce qui semble être un boulot très intéressant. Je viens d'avoir un entretien de 3 heures, qui a priori s'est bien passé, puisqu'ils m'ont fait une proposition sur le champ, et demain, on règle les derniers détails. J'ai toujours quelques questions, mais le travail semble extrêmement intéressant, et le projet est comme un rêve. Plus sur ça demain...

Fin des vacances. Demain mon train part à 7h25, et je "commence" à 9h... J'espère que je n'ai rien oublié...

The world economy isn't at it's best right now, and it's safe to say that we are going through... "interesting" times. Whilst our parents and grand parents might have spent an entire lifetime for a single company, that just isn't true any more. So here I am, once again, on the job market. Maybe one of these days I'll find something stable, and somehow be able to make bigger plans (Lolo is screaming for kids, for example), Never say never.

So, what's next? Well, I moved to Nantes for this job, and I actually like where I live, for once, so I'll do everything I can to stay here, even if the offers are a little bit far for the time being. I have possibilities in Grenoble, Lyon, Dinan and Paris. The paris job sounds interesting, and I'm looking forward to the job interview on Friday. Friday the 13th... Good news or bad news? Time will tell.