tbradshaw.net

It’s been almost five years that I’ve been using Gentoo almost exclusively as my primary desktop distribution and my preferred server distribution. And not without reason, Gentoo has a lot of things going for it. The detailed and “manual” installation process taught me tons about Linux, I really like portage, and I’ve always appreciated the attention given to the console environment in Gentoo.

You never really use a GUI to configure anything in Gentoo, but with the souped up bash completion and great vim highlighting support and snazzy colored output, you never really need to either. While it seems counter-intuitive, I really think that Gentoo is still the best distribution for learning Linux. There’s nothing hidden from you, but you get great documentation.

However, as time as gone by, the draw of Ubuntu kept getting stronger. For all of the benefits of Gentoo as a distribution, they no longer seem to have any leadership or vision. Nothing interesting or new has happened in Gentoo for a very long time. In contrast, Ubuntu is certainly the “new hotness” with innovative ideas and processes coming out all the time. It’s much more “hold your hand” and “easier” to use, but it’s still Linux and you can still do anything you want if you’re willing to get under the hood. Here at work, we’ve been looking for an alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and it looks like Ubuntu Server LTS might be the answer we’re looking for.

Of course there’s been a lot if things done “differently”, but after the initial unfamiliarity was over, none of the differences are poorly thought out or arbitrary, just different. My first reaction in general to installing and configuring Ubuntu as been “dreamy”. Configuring has been a snap; the GUI tools that are available are both optional and effective.

I think I might be here to stay for a while.

Each year, I picture myself writing this epic post-QuakeCon wrap up that somehow manages to adequately express my appreciation for all of the people I work with there for another amazing year. Each year, I never really get around to writing it.

So, in strong respect for the “something is better than nothing” principle, I thought I would at least throw up a short blurb. It was another amazing QuakeCon with it’s own set of unique challenges and accomplishments. It’s awe inspiring the quality of the team that has been created by the event, and I’m honored to have had the opportunity to work with them.

A notable change from this year was the inclusion of Lindsay on the volunteer team. She assisted Casey ‘Spicey’ Hysell with entertainment, serving as an assistant to several of the on-stage contests and providing support labor for tasks like rolling t-shirts. Not only was it great to have Lindsay contributing to an event that has been such a large part of my life, but it was just phenomenal how warmly she was welcomed and how well she fit in. I think that experience is equal parts high-quality friends from QuakeCon and Lindsay fantastic, personable personality. Word on the street is that she’s even been offered a staff position next year on Spicey’s team.

Otherwise, the event held many highs and lows, just as all truly worthy challenges do. There was a strong likelihood that this would be my last QuakeCon, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with just how much effort the organization is willing to exert to keep me on the executive board. If anything is markedly different post-QuakeCon this year compared to any other year, it’s how much effort there is to try and make QuakeCon a continuous, year-round effort, rather than a quickly assembled event as it sometimes tends to be.

This is especially true for the software development team. We’ve already started building a new project management framework to start development nearly immediately. I look forward to the foundational improvements that we will be making for the event–and for ourselves–as the custom software starts development for next year’s QuakeCon. If this pace can be maintained, 2009 will certainly be the greatest QuakeCon ever.