Welcome From The Chief Editor

WOW! 60 issues. That translates into five years since I signed on as the Chief Editor of The PCLinuxOS Magazine. Throw into that mix eight special editions. When I originally agreed to be the magazine's editor, the original plans were to only do the job for a year or so, then turn it over to someone else. And here it is, five years later!

During that time, we've resurrected the magazine and put it back on a monthly publishing schedule. Other nay-sayers said there wasn't enough information to write about for a monthly publication schedule. Really? With nearly 14,000 packages in the repos, I think in the past five years we've just barely scratched the surface. Plus, the Linux landscape, and PCLinuxOS specifically, is always in a continual state of flux. Things change. Things evolve. There are updates all the time. Some of our favorite programs disappear, only to be replaced with newer ones. There are additions all the time. We've also introduced new, recurrent monthly columns, like Meemaw's monthly graphics tutorials, ms_meme's Nook, georgetoon's Double Take & Gimp Tip, ms_meme's Forum Foibles, and more multipart article series than you can shake a stick at. Yes, I think we've proven that there is plenty to write about to keep the magazine on a monthly publication schedule.

Oh ... and the magazine's death reports slightly more than five years ago ... they were WAY over exaggerated.

Indeed, it has been a fun (and arduous) past five years. Sure, we've had our ups and our downs. Some months, the content for the magazine practically writes itself. Other months, it is a struggle to come up with the content. Sometimes, the latter happens because of "writer's block." Other times, it's because "life" gets in the way and it's difficult to find time to sit down and write the articles. Some of the articles I initially thought would be the hardest to write ended up being the easiest to write. On the other side of that coin, some of the articles I thought would be the easiest to write ended up being some of the more difficult articles to write. I'd also like to thank all of those who have helped with the magazine over the past five years.

This month's cover image, designed by Meemaw, celebrates the bountiful fun that can found all across the U.S. at county fairs. July is the time of year in the U.S. when county fairs are in full swing, providing a lot of family fun.

Until next month, I bid you peace, happiness, serenity and prosperity.