ChannelWeb picks openSUSE as one of the “10 coolest Open Source Projects of 2008,” alongside Fedora, Firefox, and OpenOffice.org. Good stuff. 

With the openSUSE launch last week, I spent quite a bit of time talking to press — either on the phone, via e-mail, and on IM — about openSUSE 11.1.

In 2009, I hope that many members of the openSUSE community will have opportunities to speak to press at one point or another, in order to promote and educate about the work that’s being done within openSUSE. I can give high-level overviews of features and trends in the community, but no one is going to explain the importance of work on specific projects as well as the people who actually do the work. So don’t be surprised if you get an email from me or someone in Novell PR saying “hey, can you talk to somebody about your work…?”

Since I’ve been on both sides of the fence (interviewer and interviewee), I’d like to give a few suggestions for talking to press if the opportunity presents itself:

• Be expansive — I’ve noticed that many developers give fairly terse answers, up to and including responses like “you can see what’s new in the release notes.” While technically accurate, it’s not what reporters and journalists (or their editors and readers) are looking for. Take the opportunity to explain the features and how they benefit their intended audience. If you wonder why some projects get better press than others, one reason is that the projects in question understand how to work with press and give them material to work with.I can’t stress this one enough. When a door is opened and you have the opportunity to talk about the good work that’s being done, take it. Give some detail, and show enthusiasm.Responding to questions is sort of like creating a useful bug report. Saying “it doesn’t work” gives the developer little to work with. Saying “look at the release notes” gives the reporter little to work with.

• Be responsive — if you say you’re going to respond by a certain day or time, do so. If you can’t, try to pass the request on to someone who can respond in a timely fashion. (Which is one good reason to involve PR – part of their job is to find the right person to respond and shepherd the response through in time to meet the reporter’s deadline.)
• Be polite — the standard of communication between developers is, let’s face it, fairly blunt. Successful interactions with the press need to be diplomatic. If an article gets a fact wrong, a polite correction is OK – a flame isn’t. The adage about not picking fights with people who buy ink by the barrel still applies, even when there’s no actual ink involved.If it helps, try to remember that press are not generally able to be experts on all thing they cover. (This goes back to rule 1 – be expansive…) Most reporters genuinely try to get the facts right, and when they don’t will welcome polite corrections.
• Be on message – as a reporter, I hated talking to executives who’ve gone through media training and think that a good interview practice is to parrot the same responses to every question in order to “stay on message.” I don’t recommend that.However, I do recommend thinking about what you are trying to accomplish by participating in an interview. If you want to highlight XYZ features in the latest release of a project, make sure you get that message across.Do not feel obligated to stick with the original premise of a question. If a reporter gives you something like “Well, lots of people say that project ABC is better at blah than your project, why is that?” Reframe the question, and don’t give a quote that reinforces a position you don’t agree with. (I get a lot of questions trying to position openSUSE as a competitor to Fedora, for instance, rather than as a competitor to Windows. I won’t go down that path. While I’m happy to talk about what makes openSUSE unique and interesting, the goal is not to win users away from Fedora, it’s to spread Linux to users stuck on proprietary platforms like Windows.)

  Also remember, you should never feel obligated to answer all of a reporter’s questions. A “that’s not my area,” or the like is perfectly acceptable.

• Be careful – remember that when you’re talking to press about a story, everything you say is “on the record,” and don’t count on information being offered “off the record” staying that way.I’m not saying that many reporters will purposefully report information offered off the record (though some will), I’m saying that all reporters are human and subject to mistakes. Information that’s not offered can’t be reported. And don’t confirm “rumors” and such — sometimes a smart reporter will take a shot and luck into getting someone to confirm it.
• Be the media – don’t wait for press to come knocking at your door. If you’re working on projects that you can talk about, do so. Early and often. Blog and use social media (Twitter, Identi.ca, Facebook, etc.) to mention your work, hitting milestones, any hurdles that the community could help with. Join the openSUSE-marketing mailing list / team if you’re working on a project that could benefit from publicity and ask for some assistance in publicizing. (Remember, of course, that as blogs are often quoted by IT press, you shouldn’t say anything on your blog you don’t want to see on the front page of Slashdot or Digg…)

I can’t overstress that last bit. It’s easier than ever to get the word out about open source projects, and taking the time to blog and so forth about work being done on projects can pay off big time.

Just a quick reminder – when you install openSUSE 11.1, please be sure to run Smolt to send the hardware profile to the Smolt project. I’m looking over on the Smolt Web site and the participation seems to be a bit less than 30% in terms of people who’ve run Smolt vs. people who seem to have installed openSUSE and run an update.

Every bit helps, and the more hardware data the Smolt project has, the better.

You should be prompted to run Smolt the first time you run the updater. If not, you can run Smolt from the command line or run it using “smoltGui” (see the Smolt site for more info).

I’ve installed openSUSE 11.1 on a couple of systems, but my work-issued laptop is still running 11.0. I wanted to wait until the release fun quieted down before I made the switch on my main work machine, but today’s the day — I’m backing up my data right now, and getting ready to do a fresh install of openSUSE 11.1 x86_64 on my beloved ThinkPad.

(Done, and everything works beautifully…)

No comments on the coverage, just links to the (English language) stories I’m aware of so far. This includes news stories, reviews, and a few tutorials. Feel free to send me links if you see additional coverage that I’ve missed.

Linux Developer Network | openSUSE 11.1 Sports New Free Street Cred: “Eventually, the conversation turned to this new release itself and what changes it brings to the operating system table. What was of interest to me was that the least visible change to the distribution could prove to be the most significant to proponents of free software.”

OStatic | Leapin’ Lizards: openSUSE Jumps to 11.1 Tomorrow: “On Thursday, the openSUSE project will make available its stable 11.1 release. I was fortunate enough to take a sneak peek at the new release this week, and while the changes aren’t quite as dizzying as those between 10.3 and 11.0 (understandably), they work nicely to make this new release both eye-catching and functional.”

Ars Technica | The Lizard Roars: openSUSE 11.1 Officially Released: “OpenSUSE 11.1, the next major version of Novell’s community-driven Linux distribution, is scheduled for release on December 18. The new version will include updated software and some important new features that enhance the quality of the distribution.”

The Open Road | openSUSE 11.1: A new license signals renewed community: “Novell officially released openSUSE 11.1 on Thursday, unleashing a torrent of new features like a Linux 2.6.27.7 kernel, improvements to YaST, and others.”

Computerworld UK | Novell rejigs OpenSUSE licensing: “Novell’s openSuSE project is becoming more open, as a new release due out Thursday includes licensing changes that make it easier to redistribute the Linux OS, and a build service to encourage more contributions from developers.”

Heise Online | OpenSUSE 11.1 has arrived: “The OpenSUSE developers have delivered version 11.1 of the OpenSUSE distribution, just in time for Christmas. As well as the updates to the component packages of OpenSUSE, some innovation has taken place compared to the previous version. Most importantly, the developers have implemented a strict separation of free and proprietary software. The OpenSUSE DVD now contains only freely distributable applications, allowing people to legally copy and distribute the DVD.”

ZDNet UK | openSuSE 11.1 Released: “The openSuSE Project made their 11.1 release available yesterday. I have downloaded and installed it on both of my laptops, and it looks very good. At least for the specific hardware and environment that I use, it is a significant improvement over the 11.0 release.

Daniweb | Joe “Zonker” Brockmeier Discusses openSUSE 11.1: “Joe ‘Zonker’ Brockmeier is the Community Manager for openSUSE. He has been involved with Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) since 1996 when he discovered FOSS while a college student and was hooked. For most of his career he has worked as a technology journalist covering Linux and open source topics. Most recently, he was Editor-in-Chief of Linux Magazine prior to joining Novell in February of 2008.”

NetworkWorld | OpenSUSE gets more open with new user license and build service: “Novell’s openSUSE project is becoming more open, as a new release due out Thursday includes licensing changes that make it easier to redistribute the Linux operating system, and a build service that will encourage more contributions from open source developers.”

BetaNews | openSUSE 11.1 Linux OS leaves beta: “The newest edition of the Novell-sponsored OpenSUSE Project’s Linux OS, contains a number of new enhancements built both internally and through the open source community.”

InternetNews | Latest OpenSUSE Has OpenOffice Goodies: “Novell’s community openSUSE Linux distribution is out with version 11.1 today offering updated open source applications, a new license and a new take on the KDE Linux desktop GUI.”

Ars Technica | OpenSUSE 11.1 released. Lizards dance with joy: “OpenSUSE 11.1 has finally been released and it has finally convinced Ryan Paul to switch from Ubuntu. We published his early look this past Monday, which is a great overview of the update. OpenSUSE 11.1 includes over 200 new features including an updated release of GNOME, which has undergone many improvements since the OpenSUSE 11.0 release. 11.1 also includes an updated release of the Banshee media player.”

DesktopLinux | OpenSUSE rev’s license, build system: “The Novell-sponsored openSUSE Project announced the availability of version 11.1 of its open-source openSUSE Linux distribution. Version 11.1 offers a new license that eases redistribution, and it’s the first version developed with the openSUSE Build Service, which improves collaboration and transparency among contributors, says openSUSE.” (Says openSUSE?)

ZDNet | Tough Love with openSUSE 11.1: “From a pure technical achievement, openSUSE 11.1 is at package parity with the best Linux distributions available — such as Fedora 10 and Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex 8.10. In many ways it’s more polished, as clearly it has a lot of customization work that went into it to make it well-integrated, but at the same time, the distribution still feels like it was designed for people who know what they are doing, not for regular end-users. By trying to be a Server, Developer, and end-user Desktop platform at the same time, its target audience remains unfocused and its scope is too big. It’s now the Linux equivalent of the Swiss Army knife with 50 separate tools in it.”

Lifehacker Australia | OpenSUSE 11.1 Adds OpenOffice.org 3.0, Other Improvements: “OpenSUSE is out with an 11.1 release that rolls in the latest improvements to GNOME, KDE, the Linux kernel and more, as well as packaging OpenOffice.org 3.0 (which we’ve toured) and renovating the built-in printer and partition tools. Grab an live CD image or torrent link to try it out.”

Channel Register | Novell dishes up openSUSE 11.1 details: “The next big release of Novell’s community-driven SUSE Linux distro is set to land on Thursday. Ahead of that, the firm has released details about what customers can expect from version 11.1, including a new licence in which the EULA has been ditched.”

ZDNet UK | OpenSuse 11.1 aims at user-friendly desktop: “Novell has launched version 11.1 of OpenSuse, its desktop-oriented, community-supported version of Linux.”

PC Pro | Novell delivers OpenSUSE 11.1 details: “Novell has released further details of what we can expect from the next version of its SUSE Linux distro.”

Neowin | Q&A with Joe Brockmeier at Novell: “If you read the Linux section of the Neowin forums recently, you will know that Neowin was recently given the opportunity for a Q&A session with Joe Brockmeier. Also known as Zonker, Joe has been using Linux since 1996 and currently works as the openSUSE Community Manager at Novell. I had a few questions of my own, but found the best questions came from our members.”

Linux.com | openSUSE 11.1 makes Christmas come early: “It’s that time of the year again. No, not Christmas — it’s the time of the year we get the latest versions of our favorite Linux distributions. Version 11.1 of openSUSE is being released today. Designated as a point release, there are enough new goodies to warrant a new install or upgrade.”

HowtoForge | The Perfect Server – OpenSUSE 11.1: “This is a detailed description about how to set up an OpenSUSE 11.1 server that offers all services needed by ISPs and hosters: Apache web server (SSL-capable), Postfix mail server with SMTP-AUTH and TLS, BIND DNS server, Proftpd FTP server, MySQL server, Dovecot POP3/IMAP, Quota, Firewall, etc. This tutorial is written for the 32-bit version of OpenSUSE 11.1, but should apply to the 64-bit version with very little modifications as well.”

HowtoForge | The Perfect Desktop – openSUSE 11.1 (GNOME): “This tutorial shows how you can set up an OpenSUSE 11.1 desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge.”

Linux Magazine Online | openSUSE 11.1: “OpenSUSE 11.1 rolled out today, sporting more than 230 new features, many updates, and a brand new license. The newest release is also the first built entirely on the openSUSE Build Service.”

iTWire | Novell releases openSUSE 11.1: “The latest version of Novell’s Linux distro, openSUSE 11.1, has been released, with 230 new features, improvements to YaST, major updates to GNOME, KDE, OpenOffice.org, a new license and plenty more.”

Release day is finally here! I hope that all the people who’ve worked hard on this release have a chance to step back and marvel at what has been accomplished by the openSUSE Project.

Despite a short release cycle, switching build systems, and a pesky power outage that slowed development for a few days, the project has put out another solid release and kept the Web infrastructure from melting under the load, too.

I’d really like to give a big “thank you” to all the people that have been involved in this release. The very best part of my job is working with all the contributors who make openSUSE Linux happen. I couldn’t ask to work with a more dedicated or more talented group of people. They deserve major thanks for making it all happen. And, of course, the upstream projects, too — without the help of the wider community, openSUSE Linux wouldn’t be possible.

So, if you haven’t already, head over to the announcement and then to the download page and get yourself some fresh openSUSE 11.1. (I hear it makes a great Christmas present…)

As we get ready for the 11.1 release, I have been upgrading my machines to 11.1 so that I have the same desktop experience as all the people who will be installing openSUSE 11.1 — either as their first experience with openSUSE or their first experience with Linux in general.

One of the things I do with every new release I try out is to check various mail clients and see how (or if) they’ve improved.

Last time I tried Evolution with Novell’s Groupwise, I was less than happy with its performance and stopped using Evo after a short while.

I set up Evolution in 11.1 with my Groupwise account this time around, and I’ve got to say — so far, it’s really performing well. After the 11.1 dust settles, I hope I’ll have a bit more time to write up some more lengthy comments about Evolution, but if you haven’t tried Evolution in a while take it for a test drive in 11.1.

One of the things that we want to do as a project is to have more community involvement in major decisions, like the release schedule. Right now, we’re discussing the proposed 11.2 release schedule on the openSUSE-Project mailing list. Yes, 11.1 is not out the door yet, and we’re already talking about the 11.2 release.

From Michael’s email on opensuse-project:

First we talked about July ‘09 release to come close to an 8 months release cycle. But KDE 4.3 is scheduled for release on June 30th and probably an OpenOffice.org release will be out end of June as well – both wouldn’t make it into a July openSUSE 11.2. Therfor we’re now thinking about a September release. Beside of getting the most current OpenOffice and KDE in this would even have one additional upside. It probably would be just in front of our openSUSE conference. So the conference could be used for very a focused openSUSE 11.3 planning. But it has its downside as well. Finalization of the release would happen during the summer holiday season. To address this we we added one Beta to stretch the development time a bit.

Here’s what we’re talking about:

2009-02-05 openSUSE 11.2 Alpha 0
2009-03-05 openSUSE 11.2 Alpha 1
2009-04-02 openSUSE 11.2 Alpha 2
2009-04-30 openSUSE 11.2 Alpha 3
2009-05-28 openSUSE 11.2 Alpha 4
2009-06-25 openSUSE 11.2 Beta 1
2009-07-09 openSUSE 11.2 Beta 2
2009-07-24 openSUSE 11.2 Beta 3
2009-08-06 openSUSE 11.2 Beta 4
2009-08-20 openSUSE 11.2 RC1
2009-09-03 openSUSE 11.2 GM
2009-09-10 openSUSE 11.2 Public Release

The downside of this is that it would probably miss the GNOME release. But I’m not sure we can satisfy all schedules. (If anyone can persuade the GNOME & KDE folks to sync up their release schedules, that would be spiffy.)

If you’re interested in participating in the discussion, head over to openSUSE-project and chime in. If you’re not subscribed, now would be a great time to do so! (To subscribe to the project mailing list, just send an email to opensuse-project+subscribe@opensuse.org)

A question has come up a few times recently that I’d like to throw out for discussion: How can we show some of our outstanding contributors that we recognize and appreciate their efforts, without offending other contributors who are also doing outstanding work?

While I was in Nuremberg last week, I had several conversations (and a few online) about the fact that we have some really excellent community contributors and wouldn’t it be great if we could have awards or something to say “thanks!” and recognize those folks publicly.

I know of quite a few people who definitely deserve an award for all their hard work on openSUSE — both inside and outside of Novell’s walls. And that’s just the people I’ve noticed — which is to say, no matter how you slice it, we’d end up missing some people.

Thoughts and suggestions?

Looking around, I’m seeing a lot of great stuff going on in the openSUSE community — watching the openSUSE-marketing list, I’m seeing a lot of work being done on Sneak Peeks and publishing and translating openSUSE Weekly News.

And there’s more! The Contrib repo is moving forward, which should be a major step forward in terms of getting new packages in and maintained by community members and making those easy to access for openSUSE users.

There’s work being done to support ARM in the openSUSE Build Service. I had a chance to sit down with Martin Mohring in Munich to talk about ARM and openSUSE on new platforms while I was in Germany last week, and I’m really impressed and excited by all the work that’s going into supporting ARM with openSUSE, and the possibilities.

Oh, and I keep hearing something about a release next week, too… If you haven’t, make sure you grab one of the countdown banners and display them proudly on your Website! Like so:

I guess this is why Ars says that openSUSE is one of the best distros of the year:

OpenSUSE is one of the oldest Linux distributions, but it has gone through some significant changes since its original launch in 1994. Under Novell’s stewardship, OpenSUSE has become significantly more inclusive and community-driven. The distro announced its first community-elected board this year and has grown its base of contributors considerably. The distro has also made major technical advancements, including major improvements to its package management system and support for installation from a Live CD.

OpenSUSE delivers a powerful user experience and is one of the few distros that provides equally outstanding support for both GNOME and KDE. Its KDE 4 environment is the best out there, which is why OpenSUSE has become the reference distro for all of our KDE reviews. Its GNOME environment is also top-notch and provides the perfect selection of applications in the default installation.

I’m continually impressed and inspired by all the work that goes into openSUSE. As always, there’s always more work ahead. But, if you step back and look at the state of the project today compared to a year ago, or two years ago, there’s been clear progress on every front — and no signs of slowing down.