Community-cation

So yesterday I was getting that "must-fiddle-with-my-computer" feeling again and I heard about this new extension for Firefox called Ubiquity. Good timing, I was in the mood for a new toy.

Ubiquity is really brand new: its release from Mozilla Labs is 0.1, this baby is right out of the delivery room. Despite that, it's a pretty solid piece of software, as prototypes go.

A lot of folks have been asking me what's going on with me on LDN, since they haven't seen me writing very much online. The truth is, I have veen writing, a lot. It's been mostly e-mails, telling people what's going on with LDN, getting things organized, plotting the next phase of my plans to rule the-- er, provide a high-quality resource for Linux developers.

This morning I was rolling through my blog feeds, catching up the latest news in the world o' Linux, when I noted an interesting piece of artwork in Celeste Lyn Paul's obso1337.org blog.

So there, on the front page of the Wall Street Journal Thursday morning, I read that Jerry Seinfeld will be participating in a $300 million PR blitz-o-rama to promote Vista. (A PC Pro article reports the same thing.)

Really? Has it come to this?

One of the things that still challenges me as a long-time Linux user is dealing with source tarballs. While I have no problems with simple make and make install commands, there are times when dependency he--er, heck still drives me nuts (though, admittedly, that's not a far drive).

Such was the problem when I was faced with a new Linux computer, a couple of long trips, and a need for some mental junk food.

A couple of weeks ago, I was on the MAX in Portland, heading back to my hotel after an... interesting post-OSCON party hosted by Sun. (Sumo wrestler suits? Really?) I was riding the train with a friend who lives downtown and I was explaining to her just exactly what my new job with the Linux Foundation was and what we wanted to do with the Linux Developer Network.

So, having made it through the launch of LDN yesterday, I thought it would be nice to take a step back  and point out what is the coolest functionality of the new site: the Linux Application Checker. This thing, I have to say, is one sweet application.

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be there at the beginning of something big. Like when three guys from Seattle decided to open up a new coffee store in 1971. Or when some kid decided to build a new operating system for his PC to do a university project.

It's easy to look at things that are huge now and remember that once upon a time, all of the hubbub was just an idea.

If you're lucky, though, you might just have a chance to be there at the beginning. When something huge begins as somethng small. Today I feel pretty lucky.