Hitting the road
Today was my last day at Novell.
I joined in 2003 when Novell bought Ximian, the Linux startup I founded with my dear friend Miguel de Icaza ten years ago.
Novell gave me some incredible opportunities and the freedom to work on exciting projects, for which I am very grateful. I learned a lot, and had the chance to work with some wonderful people. It was a great ride.
Now, having just gotten married, and with my latest project, SUSE Studio, out the door, it feels like a natural breaking point and time for something new.
So my freshly-minted wife Stephanie and I are seizing this chance to travel around the world in 2010. We don’t have a fixed itinerary or return date and we want to keep it that way as much as possible.
There’s a lot we want to see and we don’t know what we’ll be able to fit in. So we’re going to see where the wind takes us.
Along the way I hope to find some useful volunteer opportunities, and maybe hack on some just-for-fun projects on the side.
I’ve been working professionally with computers since I was 15 and I love being engrossed in work. But this trip can only really be described as a lifelong dream which we are incredibly grateful to have a chance to do.
We’ll stick around in Munich for a few months first, to deal with some administrivia, and to enjoy the mountains in the winter. After that, there’s no real plan.
It’s likely that when we’re done traveling my next move will be to start a company in the US. It’s hard to imagine myself doing something other than founding a startup. But you never know. I’m open to anything.
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to a break and to waking up tomorrow morning to a new adventure.
Also, I just started a podcast, Hacker Medley, which is pretty fun so far. Check it out 
.
James Mason, 'bear454' on 8 January 2010 at 1:56 am
As an avid SuSE user, thank you for the contributions over the years!
Good luck and enjoy your travels – you are in a very lucky position.
If you find yourself in Washington State get a hold of me – I’d love to meet the man behind the curtain.
Cat on 8 January 2010 at 1:58 am
Congrats
you’re living the dream now!
Jeje on 8 January 2010 at 2:28 am
Well done! Your dream is another “release”
David Chua on 8 January 2010 at 2:37 am
Hey Nat,
Good luck with your endeavors!
Thank you for the great experience over the last summer. I really enjoyed working with you and the rest of the team.
Enjoy your sabbatical!
Matt Ryan on 8 January 2010 at 5:27 am
All the best to you, Nat. It was great getting to know you briefly back in 2003 when you joined us at Novell. Good luck in your future.
Allen on 8 January 2010 at 6:02 am
Looking forward to see u folks in India (am sure India is in the list).
Nat Friedman on 8 January 2010 at 6:22 am
India is definitely in the list
Shreyas on 8 January 2010 at 8:13 am
Awesome! Looking forward to seeing you in India!
Srini on 8 January 2010 at 6:08 am
Hey Nat,
Wish you good luck for your future dreams!
Sankar on 8 January 2010 at 6:18 am
Good luck for your future dreams
Vijesh on 8 January 2010 at 6:30 am
All the very best Nat for all your future dreams.
Jeremt on 8 January 2010 at 6:31 am
Big congrats and have a blast!
Jeremy on 8 January 2010 at 6:31 am
Yes I can type my own name.
Wieland K on 8 January 2010 at 6:41 am
Good luck in your journey!!! Awesome !
Ian McKellar on 8 January 2010 at 6:55 am
Congratulations Nat. My wife and I are loving our year off traveling around the world. It’s been a great chance to recharge, get to know each other and ourselves better, and for me even have some time to hack on free software on my laptop
A year is not as long as you think – we had to massively cut our list of places to visit so that we’d have enough time anywhere to settle in.
Nat Friedman on 8 January 2010 at 7:22 pm
Thanks Ian! Your trip is definitely an inspiration for us
Any tips would be appreciated…
Bryan Cardoza on 8 January 2010 at 8:01 am
Congrats and enjoy exploring and recharging.
Johann on 8 January 2010 at 8:05 am
Hi Nat,
Good luck and happy adventure;-) Is South Africa on the travel map?
Johann
Shyukri on 8 January 2010 at 9:43 am
Wish you all the best Nat. It was great to meet you even for a week
Put Bulgaria on the list too
rodrigob on 8 January 2010 at 10:34 am
Enjoy ! The world is such a wonderful place to discover.
Laurence Pitt on 8 January 2010 at 10:49 am
Good luck Nat!
You will be missed at Novell, but at the same time I wish I’d had the chance to do what you’re off to do now.
k on 8 January 2010 at 11:05 am
I can clearly remember your first session in Barcelona Brainshare in a
little crowded room where we sat on the floor just to see you and
where I became the fan of you and your projects.
Sad to hear that you’re moving forward but amazing to see how someone could make his (and sometimes ours) dreams come true. Good luck for the next chapter of your life and if your road leads to Hungary in the future and I could do anything for you just drop me a mail.
best,
k
iain on 8 January 2010 at 11:19 am
Good luck, Nat, take care and have fun
Philippe on 8 January 2010 at 11:20 am
Nat,
Bon Voyage !
Merci pour tout ce que tu as donné à Novell …
Tx for all you ‘ve given to Novell …
Au plaisir de te revoir en France…
It will be a real pleasure to see you again in France…
J’ai une maison dans les Yvelines qui vous est ouverte quand vous voulez…
Best Regards,
Philippe
Rodrigo Moya on 8 January 2010 at 11:26 am
Whatever you do next will be a success for sure, as you did with Ximian, so even if you don’t need it, best of luck for you!
And have a lot of fun in that trip!
Sonja on 8 January 2010 at 12:56 pm
Congrats
Enjoy life.
AlbertoP on 8 January 2010 at 1:22 pm
Good luck for everything! Enjoy your trip and have fun.
Andres on 8 January 2010 at 1:22 pm
Why anyone wants to stick around munich for some time while wanting to discover the world is a miracle to me though
Have fun
Alexandre on 8 January 2010 at 1:45 pm
You stole my dream! Just kidding
Wherever wind takes you, keep in mind that some local guys might want to meet you and shake your hand.
Dave Richards on 8 January 2010 at 1:49 pm
Nat,
If you and your wife want to dig your toes in white sand and hang for a few days and see everything we have done since your last visit, you are very welcome here at Largo.
andre klapper on 8 January 2010 at 1:51 pm
Nat, thanks for lots of stuff. My life would have probably turned into a completely different direction without some of the stuff you’ve pushed in the last ~10 years. Enjoy the trip, and drop a line when you’re in Prague!
Aaron on 8 January 2010 at 4:44 pm
You know, you’ve had the same employer for 10 years. That’s longer than most people our age. Longer than almost anyone our age I can think of. Longest I made it was five — working for you.
Matthew on 8 January 2010 at 4:59 pm
Nat,
Always enjoyed reading your writings and enjoy using the software you have created. Enjoy your journey.
Matthew
Peter on 8 January 2010 at 5:58 pm
GL HF!
Nat Friedman on 8 January 2010 at 7:22 pm
Well said.
El Pop on 8 January 2010 at 7:37 pm
Good Luck, remeber: “Happiness is beyond the computer”
Send your journy photos
Best Regards… Fernando “El Pop” Romo.
Ted Haeger on 8 January 2010 at 7:49 pm
My thanks to you for the great times collaborating at Novell, from the first launch of NLD, to the ups and downs of launching Hula, to the support you gave us at Novell Open Audio, and on to the fun we had on stage at BrainShare 2007. Keep being the positive, inspirational person that you are, and best of luck in whatever you do next.
Vavai on 8 January 2010 at 8:57 pm
Good Luck, Nat.
Contact me if you wish to travelling to Indonesia.
Frank Feldmann on 9 January 2010 at 7:21 am
Nat, enjoy. I’m writing to from Sri Lanka on a holiday in the Ceylon area. We are staying at http://www.teatrails.com and it is just amazing this place! You have to consider this spot!
Plenty of volunteer work opportunities as well here now that the 37 year war is over!
Also, having lived in New Zealand for a few years I highly recommend you go there as well, south island in particular.
Enjoy!
Miguel Branco on 9 January 2010 at 5:37 pm
Cool
About to do the same with my girlfriend after several years working as a s/w engineer at CERN. Our idea is to travel through south east asia, then go to Kathmandu (Nepal) from May-July, where I’ll probably help out local NGOs setup wireless connectivity to remote areas… Nothing settled yet from our side, but check it out; you may find something interesting there.
cheers
Greg Jones on 9 January 2010 at 7:31 pm
Hi Nat,
It was a pleasure to work with you at Novell. You have great , energy, and vision. I wish you and your wife much happiness and success as you move on.
Best,
Greg
oldcpu on 10 January 2010 at 12:53 pm
Have a great trip !
I was raised in North America and spent most of the 1st part of my adult life working there in North America. Then starting in 1996 I took a 3 year sabbatical from engineering, and lived in Asia, traveling mostly around there. My only regret was that I did not do that earlier.
I now find myself working in Europe, and in part my travel around Asia opened my eyes to the opportunities all around the world.
There is so much to see, and so much to experience. Have a wonderful time. Take lots of pictures, and keep a diary/record of the dates/times of your travels. The memories you will collect will be enormous.
Rich on 11 January 2010 at 12:02 am
Best of luck in your future endeavours, keep us posted.
Michael Zucchi on 11 January 2010 at 12:07 am
Yo Nat,
Well congratulations, on both getting married and having the opportunity to get out and look at the world. Both should be eye openers. Well so long as you get off the beaten track a little bit anyway.
Surprised you stuck with Novell quite so long – mainly because it was just such a long period of time for a young kid
. And you would’ve had the opportunity to go create another start-up just about any time, which was a hell of a lot more fun. But also because their culture was so … corporate.
Cheers,
Michael
Jose Almandoz on 11 January 2010 at 12:19 am
Nat, is hard to see you leave Novell but I wish the best. Good luck and stay in contact.
Jose
Linc on 11 January 2010 at 2:19 am
Hello,Nat,
Welcome to China!
since you said travel around the world.
Bob Sutor on 11 January 2010 at 4:21 am
Best of luck and looking forward to seeing what you do next!
Marco on 11 January 2010 at 4:45 am
You are much welcome to the Amazon.
Contact me if you need a guide.
Have a blessed 2010.
Chenthill on 11 January 2010 at 5:53 am
Hope you are heading towards this (http://nat.org/blog/2009/04/change-the-world/)
All the best nat!! have fun 
Welcome to India!!
ronnie on 11 January 2010 at 10:24 am
Nat,
A big thank you for bringing up the Suse Studio project. Been using it lately and love it.
I hope you have a very enjoyable trip, I don’t know how big a chance Hong Kong would be your destination.
Have a lot of fun!
ronnie
castete on 13 January 2010 at 8:12 am
Nat,
Gracias por la dedicacion en el mundo de software libre, gracias por el trabajo que hay en ello, gracias por inspirarnos a otros a seguir ayudando a que esto siga adelante y no se detenga, persoanas como tu hace de esta vida algo mas agradable
Saludos desde Chile.
Miguel on 13 January 2010 at 4:43 pm
Good luck!
mjmac on 14 January 2010 at 12:26 am
Hey Nat!
Congrats on taking that first big step toward fulfilling your dream… As for what’s next, I have a humble suggestion: When you’ve finished gallivanting around the globe, you can convince phik to come back to the correct hemisphere (sorry zucchi!), join forces, and rule the world! Or maybe just start another interesting company.
No pressure.
Jeremy Zawodny on 15 January 2010 at 8:31 pm
Woohoo!
Enjoy the time off.
Sara Winge on 16 January 2010 at 12:15 am
Bon voyage, Nat. When you figure out where you’ll be in the first week of March (Global Ignite Week), look for the closest Ignite(s). If you’ll be near Sebastopol, come on up and do a talk at ours!