A Tip for Podcasters

Not that I'm in anyway above reproach for my many podcast crimes against humanity, but…

When recording, do not allow Dorito munchers in your podcast studio. It makes for bad audio.

Salad Dodging and SUSE Converts

Quothe Becherer:

Ok Ted Haegar [sic] you salad dodger… your shamelss [sic] Novell propaganda at LinuxfestNW paid off… you win… I'm going to install SuSE.

Quothe Haeger:

Bwuh huh huh ha ha!

Okay, so maybe somehow brother Bacon's "salad dodger" term has somehow been flipped back upon me. But no matter on that, nor Becherer's use of my Xgl screenshots. Another SUSE convert.

Banshee and Podcasts

Novell Open Audio listener Jay Martinez emailed to ask "Can anyone address how to handle podcasts on suse 10.1?" prompting me to investigate.

On May 8th, the Banshee project's Aaron Bockover posted about a podcatching plug-in for Banshee. The creator of the plug-in, Michael Urbanski, posted several screenshots, too.

[Update 1:25 PM MDT]
I IM'ed with Aaron briefly after reading his blog and got this additional information.

• The 0.11.x release of Banshee will include an additional " banshee-official-plugins" package, which has podcasting, minimode, internet radio, and some other plugins in it
• Since SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop has long since passed its code lockdown date, it will include Banshee version 0.10.x. We geeks will need to add 0.11.x when it's available. That's disappointing, but understandable given the care that needs to go into testing enterprise products.
• The Banshee roadmap on the Banshee wiki now sports the latest updates for what's coming

Review: SUSE routs Vista

Surfacing on digg.com is a Steven Vaughan-Nichols article titled "Get ready for the Vista/SUSE smackdown!" In it, Vaughan-Nichols compares a recent Vista beta with his tests of SUSE Linux 10.1, concluding that SUSE Linux trounces Vista. I believe the expression he used was "SUSE Linux really kicks the coatimundi's ass." (I may be paraphrasing a bit.) Vaughan-Nichols uses SUSE Linux 10.1 as a preview to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, which seems a fair path to take to compare the still-to-be-released Vista beta with the still-to-be-released-but-sooner-than-Vista SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

Since I cannot rah-rah better than the article, I'll point out my only minor point of contention with what is otherwise a glowing comparative review: Vaughan-Nichols' calls Xgl "SUSE Linux's answer to [Vista's] Aero Glass." Seems to me that there should be some kind of "he who releases first" principle applied here. Since neither the Xgl project founders nor Microsoft's Aero Glass developers can really claim credit for the idea of using the graphics acceleration capabilities in current GPU hardware, credit should go to those who first deliver an OS that can use it. But Steven J. gets the most important part right: Xgl works.

Of course, when it comes to desktop Linux, Vaughan-Nichols is a friendly. The 2007 market is where we'll see the battle fought for real.

Jeremy Allison on Novell Open Audio

SAMBA man Jeremy Allison is here in Novell's Utah offices this week. Erin Quill and I will be interviewing him tomorrow at 10:00 MST for Novell Open Audio.

If you want us to ask Jeremy anything in particular, send your questions to openaudio@novell.com. If we use your question in the interview, I'll send you a NOA "I ask tough questions" t-shirt.

Wiki: Vaughan-Nichols Attacks, HKswan Defends. Film at Eleven.

Generally, Stephen J. Vaughan-Nichols does a decent job covering the OSS/Linux beat, but his recent article "Wikis Are a Waste of Time" overlooks some important details about wiki technology. Like, that a wiki is all about the community behind it. Wiki is more culture than technology.

I was all set to write a scathing and insightful rebuttal to Stephen, but then I found a response from "hkswan" that actually is insightful and appropriately non-scathing. So I call attention to it here, and sent some poor bloke that I Googled and found to have used hkswan as his handle on some random wiki out there.

Kent:
I got your name from an obscure page linked from a Google search. If you are the hkswan who posted this response (http://www.eweek.com/talkback_details/0,1932,s=25992&a=178925,00.asp?m=17536) to Stephen Vaughan-Nichols' recent article on wiki, I commend your eloquence in response. You're dead on that it's implementation that makes a wiki work, not the technology.

–Ted

Novell Open Audio: Identity Manager and News from Support

In addition to doing our second "News from Support" segment, the latest edition of Novell Open Audio features Bill Street and Volker Scheuber, two of the engineers on Identity Manager. These guys really kick the wallabee's ass when it comes to involving their end users. In the interview they describe how they post their nightly builds for end users, and how they have built a user community that directly influences the product's development. I feature Linux a lot on NOA, but there's some really cool stuff going on with the identity products.

Both Bill and Volker blog on Cool Blogs, so you can check them out there, too. Volker tells me that he recently stirred up quite a few comments on one of his recent posts…

Novell Users Groups Moving Linux Forward

It's very cool that Novell User Groups, like the one in Sydney, are part of the news about the advance of Linux.

This story tells it. Congrats to the guys in Syndey for making the newswire.

Noogies all Around!!

or…I did it all for the NUGI

We launched a new Novell Users Group in Indianapolis today. That's a NUG. In Indianapolis. Hence, "NUGI."

Group co-founder Norm O’Neal is the classic die-hard community leader: so full of passion about Novell software that nothing can hold him back. Along with some of his cohorts in the Indianapolis area, Norm managed to pull over 50 people from the greater Indianapolis area. People came in from Fort Wayne, which is a bit of a drive. A couple people even came in from Kentucky.

I spoke on "Desktop Innovation at Novell" once again, showing SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10. It's a presentation I have yet to tire of. As usual, Xgl stole the show. When I present to technical users, I focus a lot of the talk on how this "desktop for basic office automation" is also designed to appeal to technical users. I show how the time has come for classic network administrators who remember how much of a hassle Linux used to be should now come back and reconsider. A lot of the stuff they want is now there.

It works. The Indianapolis gang seemed really intrigued and eager. (To my friends at Microsoft: Do not be alarmed. Be afraid. Be very afraid.)

I also got to meet the head of Indiana's school system–you know, the one that is deploying Linux for every student. Very cool. "When we first set out on the project, people thought we were crazy. Once they saw Novell Linux Desktop 9, they sort of went, 'Oh, okay.'" I paraphrase his words, of course. He agreed to talk to us on Novell Open Audio, too.

All in all, well worth the trip. Here's a link to NUGI's site.

SUSE Linux Drivers Covered on Novell Open Audio

Yesterday, our audio guy Mike set a goal to get our Identity Manager 3 Designer interview online today.

But then Erin Quill came in and told me that a Novell press release got slashdotted. I read the announcement, and then read the comments.

Too much misunderstanding. I scrambled to get Kurt on the phone, and he graciously made time for us this morning (6:00pm in Nuremberg), and even brought Susanne Oberhouser in on the deal. Cool!

So, that's what we cover in this latest edition of Novell Open Audio.

Coming up on Monday, the Identity Manager interview will post, and we even added in another "News from Support" with our favorite Scottsman, Dave Mair.

Back from Vacation: Stuff to Do

vacation was good

stuff to do

1. 1. Make new editions of Novell Open Audio…especially on IDM3
   2. Plan some videos…
   3. Help out with inaugural meeting for a new user group in Indianapolis
   4. Synch up with the SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 team to see what's up

oh, yeah…I also need to check in with the boss to see whether I still have a job…no telling what loose ends I forgot I was leaving. Those that I do know about, I wish I didn't.

Jamaica

This week I'm taking my wife to Jamaica to decompress. I'll be back later.

More Xgl Stuff: Desktop Hexagon

Beta 11 features a couple cool things in Xgl.

First, the cube plugin is no longer constrained to four faces. Here it's a hexagon (click image to go to view options)

Also of interest is an configuration interface that Guy Lunardi has been advocating to include. I'm not sure whether it was included in beta 11 as just a test, or if it is now considered "in." It certainly makes a more friendly configuration interface compared to using gconf-editor, but it lacks some of the options.

Here's a peek at it (click the image to see all 4 pages):

New Edition of Novell Open Audio

We finally pulled together a new edition of Novell Open Audio and got it posted late last night.

I'm going on vacation next week, but we also recorded an intro for the upcoming SUSE Linux 10.1 interview with Michael Loeffler. Erin Quill will be conducting that one. Send in your questions.