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Linux Mags that are Worth Subscribing to?
RyuMaou asks: "I'm a relative newbie to Linux and as such, I want to start reading up on it, in all its various flavors. I've got a couple of books, but they're almost out of date as soon as they're printed these days. So, I decided to try a Linux-centric magazine. Any recommendations on which Linux magazine is the best? And, why?"
to first post just to annoy fpers?
-knewter
Also, SysAdmin is excellent for an all-around continuing education. There is much more Linux specific content here in th epast couple of years, and the general Unix knowledge to be gleaned from its pages is incalculable.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
I'm not a subscriber, but I've read Linux Journal a few times. It is very helpfull and well ballanced. I've heard great things about it from people who ARE subscribers. There are some other good ones, but I think LJ is near the top.
I have been getting Linux Journal for about 6 months ... been pretty happy with it .. not everything is great .. but pretty much every issue has something really good ... I have been collecting them to get to all those things .. and the stack is getting much to large ...
5th post Yeehaa.. But for the record, I like LinuxJournal.
Being called a dork on Slashdot must be like being called the retard in special ed.
Ok - you who get paper Linux journals (including Linux Journal, har har) tell me what you get (besides a toliet-friendly reading format) that you don't or can't online? Since 1999 I've cancelled all my paper journals and only read things online. Am I missing anything? (Since I got my 802.11b-enhanced laptop, I've solved the "formatting" problem...)
-- @rjamestaylor on Ello
Not because it's a bad magazine, but because the articles are very technical, and seem to be more oriented towards admins rather than home users. The original poster says he's a newbie to linux.
I was a subscriber to Maximum Linux, which I thought was a great newbie magazine. It came with cdroms full of useful software so you wouldn't have to scour the net for stuff, and the articles were aimed at desktop users. It went belly up though, and my subscription was replaced with wired.
Why not just go to your local Barnes and Nobles and see what's on the rack?
I've been subscribing to Linux Journal for a number of years now. I enjoy most issues, but have been wondering who exactly the target audience is. One article extremely expert article (ie. explaining how to write video4linux drivers) will be juxtaposed with a newbie article (ie. a list of useful shell commands like "du" and "df".)
;)
My hypothesis is that the number of people who would want to subscribe to Linux based magazines isn't large enough to be able to faction even further into gearing it towards either newbies or experts.
The nice thing about this format though, is that once you find yourself getting more expert with the system, you can go back and learn how to write those v4l drivers.
Wow, an article mentioning Linux that doesn't have any posts involving Microsoft! Anyway, I thought I'd add that Linux Magazine has accepted Microsoft as an advertiser. Title of Microsoft's ad reads:
"compare and understand the technology" (page 18, Nov. 2001, Linux Magazine). I'm really at a loss for how to feel about this.
a.) Microsoft is funding linux in a way
b.) Seems strange to advertise "understand the technology" to a group of people who understand that that's very difficult without source code.
c.) This has nothing to do with Linux!
My most prominent feeling is (c). So i guess it comes down to, is targetted advertising the responsibility of the advertiser or the publisher? I read Linux magazine to learn about Linux, and Linux related/enabling products (good rackmounts, software, linux based ISPs). But then again, I'm sure you'll find Microsoft ads in many magazines about cars, fashion, etc., so why should Linux be different?
Linux Magazine is a fine publication, but I prefer LJ a bit more, and depending on the issue, I can really enjoy a $14 Linux Format now and then.
Actually, for someone new to Linux, Maximum Linux was an *excellent* magazine. Granted, the point is moot, since it is sadly gone, but while it was around it was the best Linux magazine out there for those who were less than Linux veterans. Except for an odd dozen or so pages, tops, Linux Journal is an exceedingly poor choice for newbie Linux users. If anything, it would scare them away from the OS. Yes, I like LJ, but I've been using Linux for a good 4 years now.
Okay, I'll probably not make friends here, but I actually like Open Magazine. First, it's free... but at the "price" of lots of advertisements and very little "meat". Sure, I read Linux Journal, too. But Open Magazine has lots of eye candy--racks, SANs, even clusters. That's actually how I found out about a couple of hardware vendors that specialize in Linux products... and I've been extremely happy. All of the articles are also written so that you can read them easily enough and your boss might actually understand it, too. Just don't expect to become a CIO of a Fortune 500 company by just reading Open Magazine, though ;)
Long, cute, or funny Sigs are just another form of over compensation, used by geeks, nerdz, etc.
So all the Linux magazines try to appeal to everyone. In doing so, they guarantee that every issue you get will have lots of articles that you don't care about.
And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
none. i don't subscribe to any print media.
don't subscribe to any online media either.
ive read linuxjournal a few times, its decent,
but doesn't have the info im after(don't know
really what im after..) i used to drool over
performance computing..byte was good too..both
are out of print though. i don't visit unixreview.com much either(the online home of performance computing i think). i even dropped all the free subscriptions i was getting from those companies that give them since i never read them anymore(no time, or at least i dont make the time).
I got lots of books when I started playing with Linux, and you know what? They were all pretty much useless. The only way to lean Linux is to use it. Expect to mess up a lot of the time and delete your files on a regular basis, but the best way to learn is to make mistakes. If nothing else, you will get really good at the install process.
I know this is offtopic, but does anybody know about the background of Doc Searls? What code has he written? What documents has he forged? What projects has he led? What battles has he fought? Has he been with Linux from the beginning? How did he get involved with the magazine? Is his heart truly Klingon?
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
What I would like to know is when are these companies going to get smart and start distributing the info via CD or simple download. I don't order the dead tree version and don't want out of data archives. Instead, I simply want a CD sent to me monthly with the magazine on it. It is cheaper, lighter, and much easier to search.
and it even accepts input from amateurs. So if you think you've got something useful to say, you send the editors it.
;)
It does appear to be a web-only mag though, so if you're not comfortable with that (shrugs
Apart from that, Linux Journal is good, and I've been known to read Linux Magazine, and to look at other ones.
"I his bow, and spun and wove, likes you." Vere de Vere out of my mould's mouth dragged me of the voluntary apes.
I generally take a trip to Borders once a month and return with both of these.
Sysadmin isn't specifically a Linux magazine, but it frequently has some damn good articles involving Linux and will show the novice the kind of things Linux and other Unices are really good at.
Linux Journal is the other magazine I read regularly, it has a good mixed bag of articles and opinions.
Someone else mentioned Linux Gazette, it's web-based only and is a 'sister' of Linux Journal. It has some very good technical articles and it's free (sponsored by various companies).
You won't learn everything from magazines though, see them as a catalyst for further research through books, web sites, man pages, and most of all, your own experimentation.
Yours Sincerely, Michael.
I read both Linux Journal and Linux Magazine. Linux Journal is a pretty good overall magazine, but as far as actual useful information, Linux Magazine is tops. They have Randall Schwartz doing a monthly Perl column that is worth it alone for me. If you're in the UK or have a good bookstore, Linux Format seems to be a great magazine with a monthly CD, although it's $13.95 over here which is a bit pricey.
Lots of pictures of naked penguins, but I only read it for the articles. Honest.
Baz
there are at least two populist linux magazines published here in the uk.
Linux Format has just started a version with a DVD coverdisk, great for those of us who don't want to download XFree86 over a modem...
http://www.linuxformat.com/
Linux Magazine was originally German and all the articles read like they'd just passed them through Babel. it has come on leaps and bounds since the english office opened up though. wish they'd supply usage instructions for the cover mounted cd though, they don't even mention the contents in the mag.
http://www.livepublishing.co.uk/linux/
both are a good mix of articles and reviews with Linux Format being more newbie friendly, some of the LM articles are just plain weird.
andy
All computer magazines are nearly worthless. Takes 2-3 months to go to print. The only things that are ALMOST worth reading are weekly mags like InfoWorld and such
The Computer Source Magazine has had many well written "getting started with Linux" articles over the last few of years. It is a free print publication for the Puget Sound area, but it has all of it's articles archived online. Go to the archive and search for linux on the page.
I react to only the most volatile substances.
By running your own linux box, you have to be your own admin and user, while being your own programmer is highly arguable (although it would be to your benefit to learn at least the basics of some unix shell languages). So, while you might not be directly interested in some of the articles when you first read the magazine; just set it aside and it might be something that you'll be interested in later.