About tombh

[tombh]

Recently I've not been keeping up with the various threads I'm involved with, there are a few reasons for this. I think mainly it is that I've been using Debian as my main system for a couple of weeks now, but also because I've got a new job which means it's harder to get sneaky peeks at the forum during the day.

I don't want to give the impression that I've finished with Puppy, but I have to be honest and say that I'm finding it harder to see a future in Puppy. This is of course largely to do with Barry's retirement, and those that read the Coop thread will now that I'm keen on a more formal approach to the development of Puppy. Again I don't want anyone to think that I'm against the direction Puppy currently finds itself steering, but more that it just doesn't excite me personally.

I use my computer everyday for work, and it's incredibly important how well supported and stable the operating system that runs it is. I am certainly interested in the future of Puppy and will continue to try and follow things. However, I simply don't have the inclination to continue with some of the development work I'm involved with at Puppy, namely wNOP, Petch and the community website. Of course I will endeavour to maintain a reasonable presence so as not to leave anybody in the lurch, as it were.

So with regards to the website, if there is anyone willing or interested to become more involved then I'd be happy to show them the ropes. Something that I've been meaning to suggest anyway, regardless of all this, is to rotate the main contact email address. There can sometimes be regular emails, so it would be good if someone else would like to take this over.

So never say never, I don't know what the future holds, but I just thought I'd let you know how I felt.

With my warmest wishes,
tom

[cb88]

seems you have boarded my boat

what would be nice is if you could upload a modified xorgwizard script that does the nvidia and ati driver auto configureation...

I was trying to figure out how that works yesterday and couldn't find what schripts you were using except for some edits in xorgwizard or maybe i just missed it

[alienjeff]

@tombh

I'm very sorry to read that you're drifting away from the pack, though I'm not the least bit surprised.

Like you, more than a few people in the past have tried to add some structure to and gently formalize Puppy. Barry and a number of his closest allies have always been vehemently opposed to such things, so it was all a painful exercise in futility. A number of very generous and talented folks left Puppy Linux, which is not their loss, but instead Puppy's.

Debian is a wonderful OS. I'm sure you'll appreciate it's robustness and feel at home with its community. I've moved on to Arch for my main desktop box.

You've made significant contributions to Puppy Linux and its community, Tom. I, for one, would like to thank you for all you've done. You've left two serious shoes to fill ...

[Sage]

Jeff and I are not always in tune, but on this one there's not a Rizla between us. Many thanks for the enjoyment you have given. Glad to hear that your talents are being recognised with a new employer.

On second thoughts, how about the last para. of my :
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 551#244551
I have the business experience, you've got the talent - all we need now is a bank loan.............................

[tronkel]

@tombh

I think mainly it is that I've been using Debian as my main system for a couple of weeks now

I second what AJ has said about your involvement with the Puppy project.

Having tried pretty well all of the major Linux distros myself, Debian certainly seems to be the current top dog of the larger distros.

In the mini-distro sector though, Puppy occupies the same position as does Debian in the larger distro sector. How does it compare with WindowsXP/Vista? - Debian wipes them both off the map without trace IMHO.

I reckon that whatever route Puppy now goes down with its structure (co-op/loosely managed or whatever), it could/should learn from the way that Debian controls its quality standards. Debian is doing something correctly here, that seems to escape other distros, Puppy included, as well as some other very big names in the Linux world.

Maybe after using Debian for a bit, you could form some sort of opinion as to why this might be the case and come back here and spill the beans as to what you have found out.

In the meantime, all the best to you.

Tronkel

[Béèm]

Tombh, I wish you success in the direction you take.
A pity for PuppyLinux, but a thanks for what you did.
I had some hope that petch would go into the direction of the Puppy Software Installer made by MU in the 3.xx serie.

I can share your feelings about the direction Puppy takes.
I have expressed my thoughts already that puppy lacks a structure and there is a lot of rush to go from version to version.

There are things like user-friendliness which aren't too well taking into account. I mean by this that puppy still is short of easy configuration facilities and if one follows closely the questions in the forum this is pretty obvious.
But so be it.

Have good luck.

Bernard

[darrelljon]

Even if the Puppy project struggled, it could switch to a Debian base. If the Puppy project still struggled, the ideals of a small fast usable distro will prevail.

[dinky]

Kudos matey! Understand totally, and wish you my support. Have replied more thoroughly in the Ripple thread, and look forward to seeing you around... oh, and please leave us your CF scripts, they are truly awesome!!!! Cheers matey,

~Dinky

[prit1]

Hi Tom,

I second AJ's words as well. I personally had chance to work with you on the Puppy website and find out the gem of a person you are. Your skills have blessed Puppy very much. I love the website, Petch and especially wNOP. I carry it with me all the time and show it off to people.

Now I use petch most of the time whenever a package is needed.

Thanks a lot for all your contributions.

Best wishes for your future ventures.

Regards,
Prit

[BarryK]

Even if the Puppy project struggled, it could switch to a Debian base. If the Puppy project still struggled, the ideals of a small fast usable distro will prevail.

How about an Ubuntu base? I have hinted on my blog that this interests me, even if it does result in a fatter Puppy. After 4.1.1, I'm planning to work on some wild new ideas, that are so different that it can't be considered as another Puppy or puplet or even a fork, it would have to be a new distro. But, these are just ideas I've got floating in my head

-- like a distro based on Ubuntu packages, NO Puppy packages at all, NO repos required for Puppy.
-- distro built entirely from a script that downloads Ubuntu packages, pulls them apart and builds a slim distro that looks and feels much like Puppy.

Heh heh, these are just wild ideas for now, don't take it seriously unless I actually do come up with such a magic script.

[alienjeff]

@BarryK

That was a most peculiar way of bidding tombh adieu: so personal and heartfelt ...

[wow]

@cb88 and dinky: cfwizard patched (compiz)

@tombh: How about Muppy and Grafpup? They're live and kicking
Hope we'll meet again.

[cthisbear]

" so personal and heartfelt ."

" Heh heh, these are just wild ideas for now "

"""""""""""""
AJ....I don't think that Barry means anything mean or
shallow with those remarks.

Remember his windmill and bike stories on his blog?

I think that he acts like a little kid that comes to
the beach for the first time.

It's a " wow look at this" moment.

But he's never an obnoxious kid.
And every day is Ground Hog Day for Barry.
Enthusiam abounds.

To me he's like the professor....
certainly not nutty but generally nice.

::::::::::::::

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Sumner_Miller

" In an improvised physics demonstration he attempted to drive
a straw through a raw potato.
A paper straw does not have the strength but if
you pinch the end, the trapped air acts as a piston,
easily piercing the Potato.
For the first time in his career he could not get it to work
and loudly exclaimed Australian straws ain’t worth a damn".

The next morning, Sumner Miller arrived at his Sydney
University laboratory to find one million drinking straws
on the floor with a telegram reading
"You might find one of these fitting your requirements".
He later stated "I sat amongst the straws with straws
stuck in my hair and ears.
But clearly I had made a mistake.
I should have said: "Australian potatoes ain’t
worth a damn," and I’d have cornered the potato market!"


Cadbury Commercial : Julius Sumner Miller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbTBPS_Dtv8

//////////////////////////////////

tombh:

All the best.
I personally think that Puppy will survive.
New people will come on board and some disembark.
I just hope that the majority enjoyed the ride.

Chris.

[Caneri]

Hello my Friend and pirate,

It's been a wonderful time talking with you, via voice, and just reading your ideas here on the forum and on your personal web site.

I'll try to continue with your well thought out ideas..meaning the co-op/core group. You are a good leader me babber.

I'm a tad speechless but you know how I feel and that's what matters so all the best from my house to your house...you pirate! aaarrrr.

Your Friend,
Eric

[Lobster]

I've got a new job

Great news. Good luck with that. Very pleased to hear that.

I remember when MU got a job.
All the programs he wrote and compiled, would no longer be created.
Then he got an even better job allowing him to create Muppy, which a lot of people find invaluable.

Interestingly Barry has indicated potential new directions for Puppy, Unipup or 'Kitten' (A Puppy for cats by cats) that no other developer could even realistically attempt.

Personally I favour the base of Ubuntu/Debian or Slackware (for stable extra programs) with indigenous Puppy friskiness - who knows what will happen though.

Such fun..

I am hoping that Petch will be in Puppy 4.2 (that is up to Warren) and that new flavours of Ripple (strawberry and raspberry?) will be created by Dinky or other Compiz Fusion fans.

Taking on the website will be a major learning experience in CMS (Drupal) for anyone willing and able. A great opportunity to build on your considerable contribution. Thanks for offering to help with the transition.

Having spoken with you on many occasions, I feel sad that we may have lost your interest but proud that Puppy has given you so much - which people can read about here in an interview with Tom
http://tmxxine.com/wik/wikka.php?wakka=TomInterview

I feel that those involved with you have gained considerably. Ask yourself if you can stay and build on the affection and friendship that people feel? Where is the growth? What heals the heart?
Puppy needs you more than Debian.
What do you need?

I will leave you with this Buddhist quote from Longchenpa
which is either profound and meaningful or more likely just a joke:

Since everything is but an apparition, having nothing to do with good or bad, acceptance or rejection, one may well burst out in laughter.

[ttuuxxx]

Even if the Puppy project struggled, it could switch to a Debian base. If the Puppy project still struggled, the ideals of a small fast usable distro will prevail.

How about an Ubuntu base? I have hinted on my blog that this interests me, even if it does result in a fatter Puppy. After 4.1.1, I'm planning to work on some wild new ideas, that are so different that it can't be considered as another Puppy or puplet or even a fork, it would have to be a new distro. But, these are just ideas I've got floating in my head

-- like a distro based on Ubuntu packages, NO Puppy packages at all, NO repos required for Puppy.
-- distro built entirely from a script that downloads Ubuntu packages, pulls them apart and builds a slim distro that looks and feels much like Puppy.

Heh heh, these are just wild ideas for now, don't take it seriously unless I actually do come up with such a magic script.

Hey Barry you can count me in on that idea with Ubuntu. I think it would be a nice change of pace,. It would make it so much eaiser to have say a gnome or kde desktop, Just point and click, not 50Hrs or so of package building, but just 1 or 2 clicks and maybe 150MB download.
That could be very interesting indeed.
But wouldn't we need a basic repo for all the puppy only software, Plus things like Gimp & Inkscape are about 5 times larger on Ubuntu so having a regular reduced in size, Just essentials repo would be handy. They use dbus and other bloatware software etc
But hey I'll support it, No doubt aboot it
ttuuxxx

Tombh
Well it was nice having you around, I'm sure your make the debian forum etc a better place. Puppy will always be here if you choose to come back. Take care
ttuuxxx

[BarryK]

@BarryK

That was a most peculiar way of bidding tombh adieu: so personal and heartfelt ...

The undercurrent in my post was that I might do something interesting that will cause him to stay around. It was an indirect way of responding sympathetically!

[alienjeff]

@BarryK

You're using the wrong bait. Reread tombh's original post.

[Sage]

Never liked Ubuntu, probably due to an aversion to Gnome (desktop, that is, not necessarily apps). And so far, Xbuntu has proved a whisker short of rubbish. However, with this morning's 8.10 releases and, in particular, this:

"Xubuntu 8.10 features a new plugin for the Totem movie player that fetches free digital content from the BBC. To enable it, start Totem (Applications -> Multimedia -> Movie Player), enable the plugin (Edit -> Plugins -> BBC content viewer) and select "BBC" from the drop-down labelled "Playlist".

Thanks to the BBC and Collabora for their work developing this feature. "

it seems worthwhile revisiting the situation. Would be interesting to hear whether non-UK citizens can benefit yet?

The incredible bloat has always been off-putting, too, so let's see if BK can slash through the dross.

[Pizzasgood]

I don't want to give the impression that I've finished with Puppy, but I have to be honest and say that I'm finding it harder to see a future in Puppy. This is of course largely to do with Barry's retirement, and those that read the Coop thread will now that I'm keen on a more formal approach to the development of Puppy. Again I don't want anyone to think that I'm against the direction Puppy currently finds itself steering, but more that it just doesn't excite me personally.

I think that it's necessary to begin informally while people get used to it. As we go, the need for a little structure will become apparent. It might seem like learning things the hard way, but we'll figure it out.

Puppy's going to go through a dull period for a little while everything gets sorted. I think it's likely to become much brighter in the long run.

Remember, the surfer does not drive the wave, he rides it.


Nothing wrong with taking a break from Puppy, even if you don't yet realize that it's only a break