My first post for the website of Linux Journal magazine is an op-ed about the initially rocky history of KDE4.

[update: It's been posted around a bit on Redit, LXer, Raiden and Linux Today amongst others.]

[update #2: I'm not going to blog about every post that I make on the site now as it would quickly fill up the site and push other stories off the bottom. There is now a sidebar about my LJ posts. I'm my third month of working for them, and so far, everything's going great.]

Expect to see about four posts from me each month for the site. It’s a bit of extra cash and a chance to work with a great team. I’m looking forward to having a platform to discuss Linux, and the magazine has a great community surrounding it. Check out the site if you’re not already familiar with the magazine. It reminds me of Micro Mart in a way because the content is fairly eclectic and the target group is more hobbyist and end-user orientated than the other Linux mags. This makes it a perfect fit for me, as I’m more of a desktop user than a corporate admin sort of guy.

I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into this new position. I might cobble together some sort of side bar keep people informed about my posts to the site.

This week’s Micro Mart (issue #1079) features my latest op-ed article that asks if the UK needs its own official Linux distribution. It’s another six pager and fairly off the wall, but hopefully it will get people thinking.

The core idea behind having a national Linux distribution is that it would form part of a simultaneous push towards open source software in education, government offices and businesses. In my opinion, open source initiatives are bound to struggle unless they are carried out on every level of education and industry at the same time, and “UK Linux” would be a way of doing this. I also take a look at other national Linux distributions such as the Russian and Chinese ones. Available for the rest of the week.

[update: there's a bit of chat about the article on the forum]

This week’s Micro Mart (Issue #1075, two pounds as usual) features my 6 page overview of Ubuntu Studio. Hats off to the layout guy as it’s another great looking article. Along with my assessment of the distribution itself and the included software, I get into some details about MIDI and Audio in general. Just in case you’ve not come across it before, Ubuntu Studio is a Linux distribution optimised for audio work. Can a simple free download, when burnt to a blank disk, turn your computer into a fully fledged home studio? Find out by reading the article.

The next article to appear in MM will feature one of Mike’s Brilliant Ideas!, much like the stuff that I got started with, back in the OS News days. It’s another six pager and full of radical and strange thoughts about a scheme that might just save the world.

Stay tuned for details.

Linux.com have published my current article. I hope the community find it an enjoyable read. I never know how people are going to take articles like this one. I said in my RISC OS article, “I hold the opinion that if you are truly a fan of something, you can accept criticism of it. You don’t have to be loyal to something that is genuinely good.” I wonder where platforms like Amiga and OS/2 would be now if a few more people had complained?

From the article:
These problems span the entire Ubuntu experience but they all have two things in common: they are all solvable and they are all serious enough to evoke the dreaded, “I tried Linux but it didn’t work”.

I’ve finished an article for Linux.com called “Moving my mother over to Linux“. This is the first article that I have had professionally edited, and it’s a weird experience, having someone alter my words. Not to worry, the editor, Lee Schlesinger, seems to know what he’s doing

It’s a bit brief at 1,700 words but better concise than flabby.