Oh, my beloved Penguin brethren. These be such good days.

Pudgy little penguins pop up everywhere. My brothers and sisters, Domino runs on Linux. Domino! Imagine telling your boss a year ago that Domino would run on Linux. The laughter would have sent you careening down the hall like a player in one of those old vibrating electric football games.

Know-nothing journalists' ignorant articles upset us. Two years ago, we'd have been thrilled to see our name spelled right. Forbes magazine knows who Linus is and Linux gets as much coverage at Comdex as Brand M. It seemed like big news the first time I saw Linux mentioned in ComputerWorld. Lately, I've seen articles on or mentions of Linux in USA Today, Time magazine, Popular Mechanics and Home PC. I can't remember the last time I had to explain to anyone more evolved than an amoebae what Linux is.

Lest I forget:

(choose one) Microsoft The anti-Sun The Satan of Redmond Bill's School of Bad Code and Broken Promises has been bodaciously bopped by someone whose middle name is Penfield.

Sadly, we seem unable to fully enjoy our bounty. My regular forays into Linux Today (I'm way too uncool to be allowed on Slashdot) and other forums reveal a perennial angst punctuated by fits of paranoia and self-righteous indignation.

Are there problems? Sure.

Mozilla remains an unfulfilled promise. Mass-appeal applications are still sparse. Where oh where is Quicken, or a decent substitute? The huge MS-Office monster continues to create serious resistance on the desktop. A nice Notes client to go with that Domino server. Quicktime, anyone (with all of the codecs, that is) ? Etceteras, Etceteras.

Nothing that won't pass. Nothing that isn't being worked on. When you get right down to it, Linux life is going incredibly well.

Nevertheless, we have momentous arguments over how free is free and whether free is free speech, free beer, free will or Free Willy. Hardened IT types battle over Linux's enterprise readiness. General conclusion? Fine for web and mail servers, not ready for starships. Do I detect an Eric Raymond essay here? "The Gas House and the Glass House?"

Some tremble before the shadow to the north (Microsoft, not Canada!!) Others fight FUD with an earnestness that would shock that wascally wabbit. Flame throwers face off against horrified Miss Manners desciples. God bless you all. A little paranoia adds spice to the mix. Besides, "they" really are out to get us.

I guess I wouldn't change anything after all. Part of what makes Linux fun is that so many people care enough to stick their 2 cents in. Still, it would be nice to take a day , every now and then, to remember that we're all on the same side. On those days, we could bask in all of the wonderfulness that is coming our way.

Who knows, we might even save a few kind words for the sad gray drones of M-land. The way things are going, they're likely to need some shoulders to cry on.

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