Linux, Open Source, and Tech Journalism
OSCON is over, or at least very nearly over. It’s been a long, but fun, week. Much fun has been had, many sessions have been seen, my session went OK, and all is well. Here’s hoping that the flight back is uneventful and I get a few winks on the redeye flight.
My final report will be up on Linux.com next week. See you in Florida…
Because I haven’t traveled enough this year (*cough*) I’m on my way to Portland, Oregon for Ubuntu Live and OSCON 2007. Assuming we take off, it’s raining mightily here at the Sarasota airport as I type this waiting for the plane. (God bless airports with free and plentiful Wi-Fi connections…)
I’ll be at OSCON all week, and I’m giving a talk on Thursday, more or less the same talk that I gave in January at Linux.conf.au, and also covering the show for Linux.com. Should be a good time, I had a great time giving the talk in Sydney.
If you’re going to be in and around OSCON, feel free to drop in for the talk, or drop me an email. I hope to talk to lots of interesting folks while I’m at OSCON.
I’m on LinkedIn and Facebook, and I’ve found LinkedIn just ever-so-mildly useful, and Facebook not at all — at least not yet — but I’ve noticed the volume of invites is picking up.
Wondering about a few things:
Which is not to say anything negative about the person, just that I don’t necessarily feel I can actually say “yeah, they’re super” with gusto. And, I’d hate to damn someone with faint praise or render the whole concept meaningless… though perhaps the recommendations are really as meaningless as the connections, and it’s just considered de rigueur to grant a recommendation when asked. (If you look on my profile at the folks I’ve endorsed, though, I do heartily stand behind those endorsements.)
Oh, and I can’t let a post about LinkedIn go by without a comment about its ridiculous pricing structure. They offer free accounts, which are somewhat limited, and then the next account level starts at nearly $20 a month.
That’s just freaking ridiculous, folks. The LinkedIn folks would make a lot more dough if they offered a $20 a year account or $5 a month account. I’m not paying $20 a month for the privilege of slightly more convenient “introductions” and whatever. Drop the price, find some way to add additional value, or something… but $240 a year isn’t going to fly with the present offerings.
Would love to hear other folks thoughts on these services.
Let’s say a person is in possession of a brand-new (or very nearly) MacBook Pro. Let’s also say that said person wants to put Linux, preferably Ubuntu, on said MacBook Pro. Which of the 3.2 million howto’s is most accurate for ways to put Ubuntu on the MBP, and will result in minimal pain in dual-booting and the ability to use wireless and all peripherals?
I’m told it can be done, but finding information on it, well… that’s another story entirely. Yes, I could experiment, but I honestly don’t have the time or patience right now for trial and error. I want something as easy as a standard Ubuntu install — slip in the disc, install, reboot, enjoy. Failing that, a particularly well-drafted howto that is accurate would be appreciated. (Anyone working on a specialty Ubuntu distro for MBPs and/or Apple hardware in general?)
Once again, my blog has been suffering neglect. This time around, it’s due to being entirely too busy to blog… because I have just spent much of the last month traveling or moving.
As of the first week of July, I picked up and moved to Bradenton, Florida. I’m still waiting for my stuff to arrive (I have some moving horror stories to share once my stuff does arrive…) but I’m more or less settled in and working on getting used to the heat and humidity. Further updates as events warrant…