OStatic

Brian Proffitt recently tackled the topic of distro-hopping over on LinuxPlanet. Proffitt wonders whether the practice might be passe or something to be discouraged, but it's here to stay and should be encouraged rather than looked at askew.

Distro-hopping, if you're not familiar with the term, is the practice of switching Linux distributions. While some users find a home and stick with one Linux distribution, others hop around and try out several distros. Sometimes in an effort to find the One True Distro, other times just because the variety between distros is something to be enjoyed and experienced. Whatever the reason, it's a good thing for the user and community when people have experience with more than one operating system.

Most people who attend an open source conference typically walk away with t-shirts, stickers and other accessories branded with the logo of their favorite distro or open source project. If you don't go to those events, you can still buy cool stuff to show your support or to give as gifts this holiday season.

Here are some Web sites to check out:

The openSUSE team announced today the release of openSUSE Build Service 1.0. If you haven't been deeply involved in the production side of an open source project, the significance of this announcement may escape you. But in the long run, many everyday Linux users stand to benefit from this tool - if it catches on with developers.