[Discuss] Fotoxx (and Forth) at BLU

[richb at pioneer.ci.net (Rich Braun)]

Indeed, that was an intriguing trip down memory lane!  I once learned Forth
and wondered what happened to it--the explanation about how much work it would
have been to keep on top of device drivers as the PC industry exploded was
very interesting.  (I happened to be sitting next to Shankar, who works for an
employer coping with that same issue:  graphics drivers for Linux have never
been quite at the forefront, and even with the massive resources of Ubuntu,
drivers remain a bugaboo).

In the battle of the distros, I note one area where OpenSUSE is out in front
of Ubuntu:  Dick Miller suggested getting Fotoxx from the developer's site
rather than the Ubuntu package repo.  Indeed, there is a moldy version on the
Natty/Universe repo (10.7 vintage July 2010).  If you install from the
OpenSUSE Build Service, you'll find version 11.10--right at the bleeding edge
(well, almost--Dick was showing us a 11.11 preview version last night).  Over
the past year, I've noticed that OpenSUSE's build/test distribution site has
dramatically improved.

Usually when a presenter goes (well) past the scheduled time, I lose my
interest.  Not so with Dick's talk last night!  Even though we had no time for
audience Q&A, this was one of the most worthwhile meetings.  Passion for the
open-source dev process really came through: we got to see one side of the
one-on-one dialog between user & developer (a retiree now living in Germany). 
Thanks again.

-rich