Letters to the Editor

I loved your recent feature on Tcl/Tk programming. Please keep finding top quality writers like Stephen Uhler. I also appreciated the Perl article. But the reason LJ is so great is that it applies high editorial standards to discussion of topics that are typically served by nothing more formal than FAQs. So I'd like to see more articles like the Tcl one that aren't for absolute beginners but instead try to teach a bit of the art of some skill or explore some hidden corner of a powerful program. This is the knowledge that is hard to come by.

Keep up the good work,

—Grant Reaber

You will be glad to know (if you missed it before) that the Tcl/Tk column is slated to be a bimonthly column, and issue 18 has another of his columns.

We will continue to try to find a mix of articles for readers at all skill levels from novice to expert. At this point there are a lot of powerful programs that aren't being used at all, and we have been working on a lot of articles to introduce readers to new programs that have not had the publicity they deserve. I'm hoping this will help produce the need for more advanced articles about the same programs later. This way, the more advanced articles have a chance for wider readership. And the correlary is that right now, most of the more advanced articles are on topics that have wide interest, like the Tcl/Tk column.

I understand there has been work on versions of Linux for less common computers, like Micro Channel Bus PCs and MACs. What is the status of these ports?

—Ken Jones

We are not aware of any active work on support for MCA. Support for some PowerMACs may be available at some point, but don't hold your breath.

We regularily cover active porting efforts in Linux Journal. Stay tuned...

Matt Welsh, author of Linuxdoc-SGML and Linux Installation and Getting Started, recently finished the first leg of his country-wide tour to promote his book Linux Installation and Getting Started. His first stop was in Seattle, where Linux Journal staff members Phil Hughes and Amy Simpson met him at the airport. After a whirlwind tour of the Seattle area (and an unsuccessful attempt at locating a geoduck, a large bivalve found in the waters around Seattle) and a dinner of sushi and sake, he was whisked away to a local bookstore for his first talk. About 70-80 people were on hand—including a large contingent of Microsoft employees—to hear Matt talk. The audience was technically adept, and very receptive to Linux, and Matt did an excellent job despite the fact that the space alotted for the talk was more suitable for half the number of people that showed up.

The first leg of his tour ran from August 14th through August 20th, with stops in Seattle, Denver, Kansas City, St. Loius, Dallas, College Station, and Austin. Highlights of his trip include receiving an honorary citizenship to the city of Austin, signed by the mayor, and signing the guestbook at his St. Loius bookstore right below Newt Gingrich, and right before Anne Rice. Matt reports that the tour went quite well, and says he now has a much greater appreciation for the time usually allotted for sleep.