"It's been almost a year since I last interviewed Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier, who is the community manager at openSUSE. I sent him several questions to answer by email. I was curious about the new version of openSUSE, 11.2, along with his increasing use of social media to promote it. I also wanted to know how people curious about open source operating systems could get started.
"RM: What are some of the key features in the new version of openSUSE?
"JZB: Free beer! No, wait... that didn't make it into this release, except at the openSUSE conference, where we did consume rather a lot of free beer.
" * First, we have a ton of updated software and new packages in 11.2. We have the latest KDE and GNOME desktop environments, which include updates and improvements almost too numerous to mention.
* The openSUSE KDE team has done a lot of work improving networking for 11.2 and also integrating OpenOffice.org and Firefox into KDE, and we've made Firefox the default for the KDE desktop.
* Some new software debuts in 11.2 for social media fans. We have included Choqok and Gwibber in KDE and GNOME, respectively. They're both microblogging applications that make it really easy to manage multiple social network accounts.
* KDE and GNOME have gotten new and very attractive themes, too."
