Jonathan Oxer (born 26 July 1970, London, England) is a computer programmer, Debian developer, author, entrepreneur, and Free Software activist.
In 1987 Oxer was one of a group of students from the school who conducted an extra-curricular project to use information published by researchers at IBM Zurich, the University of Alabama, and the University of Houston to create a sample of yttrium-barium-copper-oxide (YBCO) superconductor capable of exhibiting superconducting properties at the temperature of liquid nitrogen, which at the time was the highest-temperature superconductor yet created[2] Oxer's contributions to the project included writing software to plot the optimum cooling curve of the material to maximise crystal alignment during the annealing process.
[5] Additionally, Oxer runs a site and YouTube channel SuperHouse featuring DIY video tutorials on home automation.
[8] He subsequently convened the Debian Miniconf in a different city every year in conjunction with Linux.conf.au: Perth in 2003, Adelaide in 2004, Canberra in 2005, Dunedin (New Zealand) in 2006, Sydney in 2007, and Melbourne in 2008.
As a result of the way the letter was worded some recipients misinterpreted it as a demand for payment for use of the trademark, causing a negative backlash within the FOSS community.
[12] During his incumbency Oxer was a vocal opponent of changes to Australian intellectual property law mandated by the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement, and in particular the broader definition of technological protection measures.