Prot Asks: Ekaitz about Guix, bootstrapability, FOSS advocacy, and the Basque country

In this video I talk to Ekaitz Zárraga, a free software engineer and contributor to the Guix project, among others. I start by asking a few basic questions about the background of Ekaitz and the way to becomig a Guix contributor. We then talk in-depth about the work the Guix project does to ensure that software is reproducible all the way down to the compiler. I learn about the technicalities involved in this endeavour and get a sense for how difficult the task of ensuring bootstrapability is. Ekaitz makes this happen on the RISC-V processor, which has its own set of challenges. Our next big topic is about the work Ekaitz does in general, which includes the promotion of Free Software. I learn about the specifics of those contributions, such as how Ekaitz teaches various technical skills to people. We explore the relevant insights one gets from knowing all the different needs and sensitivies people have. In the final third of our exchange, I ask Ekaitz about his homeland in the Basque country to get a feel for how life is there, what is the history of the place, and what are some of the current trends in their everyday life.

Links from Ekaitz Zárraga

These are the software projects I mentioned:

https://guix.gnu.org/
https://bootstrappable.org/
https://www.gnu.org/software/mes/
https://github.com/oriansj/stage0-posix
https://github.com/fosslinux/live-boo...

And this is my blog where people can learn about what I do (i try to document most of my process):

https://ekaitz.elenq.tech/

And my freelance work:

https://elenq.tech/en/

About "Prot Asks"

In this new video series, I talk to anybody who is interested to have a video call with me (so do contact me if you want!). The topics cover anything related to Emacs, technology, and life in general. More here: https://protesilaos.com/prot-asks/.