Linux Magazines

English Open Chat
21

Hey!

Sorry, I’m a bit late to this thread; we put out a free book on learning PHP with LXF135, and it kinda tired me out!

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words about Linux Format. I would agree with robertsmits that paying newsstand prices in the US is expensive - try the URL we give out in our podcast for a really good price: Magazine Subscriptions & more | Linux Format | MyFavouriteMagazines (whaddaya mean you don’t listen to our podcast? Heathen! The best Linux podcast around. Honest. | TuxRadar Linux)

Using that URL, you can subscribe to 13 issues for around US $110 and save half your money. We also have various special offers in the magazine; you might want to shop around to get the best price.

yester64: Amiga Format was awesome! I still have my Amiga in a cupboard, along with a handful of favourite games - Xenon 2, Detroit, Cannon Fodder, etc. That said, I use to pick up Amiga Power too. They used to print one letter from their name on the side of each magazine so that when stacked them up it would read AMIGAPOWER. I remember one chap writing in asking them to make a special edition with a “D” on the side because they wanted to spell MEOW I’M A GRAPE GOD for some reason. Ah… great days.

<< Why LinuxFormat don’t wrote about openSUSE 11.3 >>

We do have a review, but it’s in the October issue. OpenSUSE is quite unique among distros in that it can be sometimes have a very long release candidate cycle, so we always wait until the thing has been released as final before we even start thinking about it. Owing to the long delay, we put the review online here: Reviewed: OpenSUSE 11.3 | TuxRadar Linux

<< they are outrageously expensive and full of tedious adverts. >>

I don’t think anyone could say that Linux Format is full of adverts - in fact, we have very few! That said, I have recently been offering free adverts to various good causes - the FSF has a half-page with us every issue, and we’ve also helped LinuxFund, LugRadio and OggCamp. I hope these don’t offend too much!

Anyway, my email address is paul.hudson@futurenet.com - you’re always welcome to get in touch with feature ideas, or even complaints that we run too many adverts!

Paul

Paul Hudson
Editor, Linux Format
Linux Format | The #1 source for Linux

PS: we have another free gift coming with LXF136, and it’s quite possibly the most loopy thing you’ll ever see on a Linux magazine. Hey, we had some spare marketing budget - why not? :wink:

22

Paul

This would generally be considered Spam and I bet your life we get a load of spam reports on it. I would have thought you would know better than posting like this. Don’t be surprised if one of the Mods nukes it.

23

Hey!

Maybe my definition of spam doesn’t match yours. If I had come here selling Viagra tablets, then, yes, that’s spam and deserved to be deleted. Instead, I came here because people were writing about the magazine I run, asking questions about why we hadn’t run an OpenSUSE review and complaining that they paid too much in the US. Pointing to them to the free review we put online, providing them with a link to help them pay less money, and doing a little Amiga reminiscing…? I’m surprised and actually annoyed that comes under the same heading.

Paul

24

Hi Paul
Please refer to the openSUSE Forum Terms and Conditions: openSUSE Forums FAQ “Advertising/Spam”

25

Hey!

Thanks for providing that link. It might be helpful if those terms and conditions were perhaps outlined or even just linked to when you created an account?

I don’t really have the patience to type out a version that may or may not conflict with what you consider spam, so I’ve taken the easy route and re-posted the message on the Linux Format site: Annoyed by OpenSUSE’s forums | Linux Format - I hope me linking to a website is OK.

Paul

26

It might be helpful if those terms and conditions were perhaps outlined or even just linked to when you created an account?
Paul, we will certainly look at making things clearer.

27

I’ve read the original post and I have to say that the spam classification felt a little bit harsh in this case; it was on topic, relevant and may of helped a member or two save a bit of money. No bad thing these days!

I know that the line has to be drawn somewhere and speaking as someone who won’t be posting an ad (well, until my fake Rolex watches that add 3 inches to your old chap while simultaneously increasing the size of your girlfriends boobs, burning off your body fat and increasing your staying power are ready at least) I wonder if that post might have scraped by even if by the skin of it’s teeth?

28

@ hudzilla

Yes, i remember Amiga Format very well. At that time Peter Molyneux was not the star he is now and there was a report on popolus i think.
We had in germany Amiga Magazin the defacto authority in regards of Amiga.
Long time…

In todays world you get a lot of information through the internet, but it is hard to figure out what is truely journalistic and what is biased or simply just rumors or misinformation.

So in that regard i still see value in a magazine or newspaper since it has to pass the test of reality.

The only magazine i really looked into was so far Linux Journal. Not bad, but more aimed at nerd level since it goes more into substance than the average user.
What would be nice is a programming workshop like in the old days.

I’ll appreciate the info :slight_smile:

29

Same here. Use to get Linux Journal, but now Linux Pro Magazine w/DVD. It’s unfortunate, but Tux magazine stopped publication.

Check out:
Linux Gazette
http://en.opensuse.org/OpenSUSE_Weekly_News (Is this the right URL?)
Full Circle Magazine Online in PDF format. It’s Ubuntu, but still can learn.

Definitely consider a subscription. It’ll be less expensive. Amazon sells Linux magazine subscriptions.

30

can you put me down for one of those watches, please!

hmmmm, no i think i’d like to have two…

–
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD [posted via NNTP w/openSUSE 10.3]

31

Hi All
The post deleted has been restored and I have sent an email to Paul apologizing;

Hi Paul
I’m the one responsible for removing your post from the openSUSE Forum
‘Linux Magazines’ thread and after discussion with our other moderators
we have agreed to restore your post and I wish to apologize for any
misunderstanding with it’s removal.

We are very aggressive on things that look like spam and that the
forum users have come to expect it to be dealt with very quickly and
that helps us maintain a high quality of “signal” in our forums; that
aggressiveness often applies regardless of the forum, even if it’s a
forum where the rules could/should be relaxed a bit more like
general-chat or soapbox.

Kind Regards
Malcolm Lewis
Global Moderator
openSUSE Forums <http://forums.opensuse.org>

cc:<http://forums.opensuse.org/english/community/general-chit-chat/442466-linux-magazines.html&gt;

32

I’ve added you to my spam (I mean mailing) list

I’ve never heard of half the magazines being mentioned in here. I’m going to have to hit Google.

33

Malcolm
Thanks for putting Paul’s missive back it made the thread look a bit weird without it being there :wink: sort of like the elephant not in the room iykwim :smiley:

As a mod over at lxf-forums I know that spammers and trolls are a pain

34

We just hope Paul is able to forgive our mistake.

35

On Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:36:01 GMT, malcolmlewis
<malcolmlewis@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:

>Hi All
>The post deleted has been restored and I have sent an email to Paul
>apologizing;

Not sure what’s going on, but Paul’s “spam” post never made it to the
usenet feed, as far as I can tell. It’s not in my news reader and I
can’t find the message-id on the server,
<hudzilla.4fjdq3@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org>.

In the end, I had to go to the forums to read Paul’s post, something I
hardly ever do.

When these types of cancel/restore occur, is there a method to also
repair the usenet feed?

36

On Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:20:28 +0000, vince wrote:

> When these types of cancel/restore occur, is there a method to also
> repair the usenet feed?

There isn’t a “USENET feed” (USENET is a specific interconnected NNTP
infrastructure) - I assume you mean the NNTP interface.

The answer to the question is no, there isn’t a way to push an individual
message through. That’s one of the limitations we deal with here.

Jim

Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C

37

I think I have to agree with MalcomLewis when he pulled the Linux Mag’s hudzilla response. I look at it as a blatant plug form a member of staff of the mag for his mag.
As a (linux) journalist he should at least be savvy enough to be able to use a bit of common sense and decency before making such a plug. … But then perhaps I’m older and they don’t teach the younger ones these things.
(And to think I was considering subscribing to the mag for a change!)

I also find his response to ranting about the opensuse forum to his magazine readers/users on his own forum a bit churlish.
Personally, I have used most distros and use most of their forums, but openSUSE is the only one where you will get the users telling you outright that another distro is better suited to your needs! How’s that for non-bias/tolerance!

Getting back to the subject/topic:

Linux Magazine (English/German) is one of the better European mags, not only for the dvd content, but also in that they offer a pdf only sub which is handy and cheaper for non European residents.
Content is also good.
(If I got a new sub to this, I would go for the pdf version and not the print one again)

Linux Mag is fine if there is an issue that covers a topic that interests you, but in many cases the dvd isn’t worth it. (One of the latest issues had ubuntu netbook which anyone would have dowloaded when the latest release was published and not months later. In any case the package manager would have updated your relase if you were running the older one.
The standard of English is also appalling for an English mag with native English speaking contibuters.

I haven’t had a regular sub to an American mag for over 10 years, since leaving South Africa. (The US mags don’t really make the newsstands here.) When I did have one or have come across them here in UK, I have found they are pretty good content wise.

Another interesting one for new users is the Indian Linux 4 You. It covers some interesting topics, not covered in other mags.

The trouble with all computer magazines/publications though, is that they are soon obsolete. So unless there is a topic that interests you or you need some reading while travelling, you can get most of the info from the web and the money for the sub you bought is probably better spent on a good linux reference book for the cli or general sys admin. No matter how much distros change, the cli/bash and good sys admin principles always remain.

You can usually get info on most of the topics covered in the print editions online any way, but if you are a new user perhaps you would want/need to try a magazine sub. The choice is yours, but go to a news stand for a few months and use the ‘touch, feel, browse’ principle till you find one you like and then buy a sub.
(You probably did this before using openSUSE as well)

38

Pardon the OT:

Personally, I have used most distros and use most of their forums, but openSUSE is the only one where you will get the users telling you outright that another distro is better suited to your needs! How’s that for non-bias/tolerance!

Just to be fair: to me this does not seem to be typical for openSUSE-users, but rather for forums.opensuse.org, or even more specific: a certain group of members here. I have seen distro-flames many times in different boards, but none of them feature so many and extensive and useless flamewars as f.o.org.

39

Sorry if it was unclear, but I did mean the response you usually get here on the opensuse forums.

As a test, try asking on fedora or ubuntu for help in installing on an old system with low ram and see what response you get.
Here you will get suggestions for opensuse and guys telling you that perhaps one of the specialised low memory distros may be quicker/better suited.
SUSE is great, but it doesn’t always fit, so just like your clothes say, you use a different distro for different things. … After all they are all linux derivatives and each has its good and bad points. (So no need to flame any of them, just perhaps their support users who are narrow minded)