Linux-y things I am thankful for

Thanksgiving is in a few days, and talking about “things I am thankful for” is pretty traditional this time of year. 

So, here we go. Here’s my list of Linux-y (and free software-y) things I am thankful for in 2016. (At least the ones I could remember when I sat down to write this list.)

1. I am thankful for the developers of cmus, tmux, midnight commander and all of the other projects that help make using the shell in Linux such a productive and enjoyable experience. 

2. I am thankful for the developer of lolcat. You make my terminal so much more colorful—even when it doesn’t need to be. The ridiculousness of what you have created fills my heart with joy. 

3. I am thankful for Canonical and Ubuntu. I may not agree with how they do things (and I seem to be agreeing with them less and less lately), but I’m happy they’re around doing their own thing. They’ve helped raise awareness of Linux and free software—and that’s not nuthin’. 

4. I am thankful for the team behind Tor. What you do is important. Keep going. We’re with you. 

5. I am thankful for the openSUSE community. You make cool things. I like cool things—and thanks for letting me be a part of your world. 

6. I am thankful for LibreOffice and The Document Foundation. Because of your hard work, I have an amazing WYSIWYG office suite—one that is an absolute joy to work in. 

7. I am thankful for System76, Zareason, Pogo, Dell and all of the other companies making and selling laptop and desktop PCs pre-loaded with Linux. Being able to buy a laptop with certainty that it has been tested with at least one modern Linux distribution makes our lives so much easier. 

8. I am thankful for the Fedora Project. I’ve poked a lot of fun at you over the years, and you’ve handled it with style. Plus, you gave us the Beefy Miracle, the best code-name for any software release in history. For this, I am eternally grateful. 

9. I am thankful for the Raspberry Pi, the CHIP and all of the other small, cheap, Linux-powered computers out there. Not only have you inspired so many about what is possible to accomplish, but you give nerds like me a way to justify buying a bunch of little PCs without emptying our bank accounts. 

10. I am thankful to the team behind the MATE desktop environment. Thank you for keeping the GNOME 2 legacy alive—and giving me a fast, lightweight, good-looking easy-to-use GUI. (I would thank other desktop environments, but today I’m using MATE. So, MATE gets the thanks.) 

Last, but not least …

11. I am thankful for Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman and all of the other leaders of the free and open source software world (there are simply too many to list here). 

You crazy guys have dedicated a huge portion of your life to building and promoting software projects that help shape the world in wonderful ways. Because of the work you’ve done, my life is better. And, even more important, the life of my kids is better.