Welcome From The Chief Editor — November 2010

November, in the United States, is a time for reflecting on the things that we are thankful for. This is largely due to November being the month when Americans celebrate the landing of the "Pilgrims" at Plymouth Rock, along Cape Cod in Massachusetts, with our Thanksgiving holiday. The founding of the settlement at Plymouth Rock by those fleeing religious persecution started the earnest European colonization of the North American continent.

So what are you thankful for?

As for me, I am thankful for this wonderful OS, called PCLinuxOS. I am thankful for the tireless, selfless work of Texstar and our development team to make PCLinuxOS the best Linux distro around. I am thankful to be a part of the wonderful PCLinuxOS community. I am thankful for the administrators and moderators of the PCLinuxOS forum, for working hard to maintain order and civility there. I am thankful for all the volunteers who freely give their time and efforts to help make this magazine possible. I am thankful for all of the great new friends I've made all around the globe, as a result of this great Linux OS.

On a more personal note, I am thankful for my wonderful wife, Laura. I am thankful for my job, and the good life I live and lead. I am thankful for my friends and family. I am thankful for the ability to help people in my daily job, and all the people I cross paths with as I carry out my job responsibilities. I am thankful that my wife and I have good health. I routinely run across folks from all walks of life that many would say have been dealt a really bad hand, and who, time and time again, muster up the strength to battle back. Many of their stories are inspiring. I am thankful for the companionship of our two cats, Buddie and Kitty, and our dog, Lucky.

This month, we wrap up our coverage of the LXDE desktop environment. First, I cover how to customize the way hardware events are handled on your computer with LXDE installed, in my LXDE: All Hail The Halo Of halevt article. I also show you how to customize some of the behavior of the LXDE desktop, in my LXDE: Meet The Heart & Soul – lxde-rc.xml article. I finish up with a roundup of items about LXDE that are too short to warrant their own article, but are nonetheless important, in my LXDE: Tips & Tricks article.

Meemaw presents her sixth article in her OpenOffice series, taking a look at OpenOffice Base, the database program of OpenOffice. Darrel Johnston gives us a close-up view of Syllable, in his Alternate OS: Syllable - Part 2 article. Pete Kelly reveals the "magic" of xbindkeys, a command line utility that can help customize your Linux desktop, in his Get Slick With xbindkeys article. Leiche shows us another lightweight Linux app, with his Shotwell: A Lightweight Linux Image Handler article. Gary Ratliff, Sr. continues his trek through the alphabet of computer programming languages, with his Computer Languages A to Z: Q, R, S article.

Mark Szorady is back with another installment of his monthly Double Take & Mark's Quick Gimp Tip column. Ms_meme returns with another installment of Forum Foibles, as well as two new entries into ms_meme's Nook. To wrap it all up, we have a column celebrating the 7th Birthday of PCLinuxOS, and I present another game review in my Game Zone: PopCap Games article.

In commemoration of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, this month's cover features a (public domain) image from American artist Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, depicting the signing of the Mayflower compact by those early settlers who landed at Plymouth Rock.

As you go forth into the day, use this time of year to remind yourself of the things you are thankful for. Until next month, I wish peace, happiness, good fortune, serenity and tranquility to each and every one of you.