I participate in a lot of mailing lists, including Python and Zope related lists, local interest groups, various open source projects, and even the high traffic Linux Kernel Mailing List. Mailing list participation is important for working with people. I’m subscribed to about 50 lists right now. So many subscriptions would be practically impossible to manage with an ordinary email setup, because they would dilute my inbox. I have tried many solutions and have finally settled on a method that makes me happy.
Category: Linux
Ubuntu 9.04 Versus Gentoo
Ubuntu 9.04 is now in beta and I’m tempted to upgrade. I want to help test it. I even started “update-manager-kde -d”, but it warned me that since the new version is not yet fully tested, it could make my computer unstable, release a new strain of computer virus, kill babies, and reinstate Bush Junior as president. So I canceled. Am I chicken?
That situation makes me awfully uncomfortable. It happens with every binary Linux distribution I have tried. It never occurs in Gentoo, however, where all upgrades are incremental. Breakage happens, but when it does, I only have to fix or revert a relatively small part, not the whole system. It appears that such incremental upgrades are only manageable with a source-based distribution, but of course a source-based distribution requires more technical skills.
I think I’ll stick with Ubuntu right now because its support for KDE 4 is better than what Gentoo currently offers. From what I can tell, Gentoo got in a big fight over how to package KDE 4, causing them to fall behind in stabilizing KDE 4. That fight seems to be over now, so perhaps Gentoo will catch up and lead again. I will seriously consider a switch when Gentoo marks the latest version of KDE 4 as stable.
Skype: How to Record a Call in Linux
I just found a good call recorder for Skype on Linux and I thought I’d share the link, since search engines like Google are apparently not yet aware of it. Install it and start interviewing for podcasts. 🙂