New Linux News Portal - LinuxDailyNews

An anonymous submitter writes "Five popular independent Linux websites today unveiled LinuxDailyNews, a collaborative portal site where visitors can get thumbnail glimpses of the latest news and content from each participating site. The founders of LinuxDailyNews are Open for Business, DesktopLinux.com, LinuxDevices.com, and Linux and Main. Those sites were joined before rollout by member site KernelTrap.org, and other sites are expected to be added in the future."

Comments

But can they

[HowlinMad]

survive the first round of the /. effect?

Re:But can they

[HowlinMad]

glad to hear it!!

Advertising for the competition?

[Clay Mitchell]

Fascinating. Does Slashdot not consider this site competition? It's generally considered bad business practice to promote the other guy, but hey this is a Linux World so normal business rules need not apply.

I guess since this site doesn't does go as in-depth as Linux Daily News, they don't feel that they are competing... but Slashdot is a very Linux-centric site...

Re:Advertising for the competition?

[mark_lybarger]

maybe /. is trying to off load some daily traffic to other news sites. i know my browser could stand a new homepage, gives the firewall logs something new to chew on.

Re:Advertising for the competition?

[maxl_stylee]

Slashdot isn't just a linux focused news page. As you've read it covers anything from robots to world hunger. I don't think it will be too much competition, not in the sense of replace slashdot all together anyhow.

Re:Advertising for the competition?

[WanderingGhost]

but hey this is a Linux World so normal business rules need not apply.

Why not? Slashdot is part of a for-profit company, and they did not "commoditize the news" as open source software has been commoditized. And even in the "Linux World", where software is a commodity... Have you ever seen Red Had promoting Mandrake, Caldera, or SuSE?

The usual business rules should apply.

Re:Advertising for the competition?

[CProgrammer98]

Slashdot is more than just a news site, it's a community where nerds and geeks can discuss (with varying degrees of intellegence) the issues of the day appertaining to the geek community.

This new site is purely news as far as I can tell. No feedback, no user comments (just a lame survey that doesn't even display the right count of votes on the main page)

Anyone can do this using rdf feeds or the php scripts someone else mentioned.

Re:Advertising for the competition?

[displague]

LinuxDaily is being warm welcomed with a walloping Slashdot Effect. I think they'll learn their lesson. They need lighter HTML, and stronger servers.

Re:Advertising for the competition?

[uninet]

Not really. While the side bars are RSS based, the middle column only features original reporting from the member sites - that isn't something that can be accomplished with RSS.

Best,
Tim

but but...

[jeffy124]

what about newsforge.com? their site specifically says "The Online Newspaper of Record for Linux and Open Source"

C001

[halftrack]

4ll y0ur 1inux n3w5 n33d5 4re b310n9 t0 u5.
(Was that right?)

There's a whole lot - and you can have them too

[mwillems]

There are of course many Linux news sources, and if you run a php-based web server they are easily added (simple drop-in code) to your web server - my private web site at www.mvw.net, for instance, has news from slashdot, the register, and newsforge. The scripts are at:

http://swamp.chl.chalmers.se/backends/

He currently has about 40 sources, primarily linux orienteded.

Re:There's a whole lot - and you can have them too

[Scooter]

Indeed - I did think of adding

http://linuxdailynews.net/backend.php

to my own Nuke site's headlines. Headlines from a headlines site :-/

It's obviously a phpNuke site - shame they didn't credit the phpNuke team anywhere on the front page.

My own site carries headlines from slashdot, movieheadlines, barrysworld and planetquake3

Re:There's a whole lot - and you can have them too

[costas]

My website is not linux-focused, but it also aggregates news from tech news sites --and also filters them, ranks them (based on user opinion) and links to the discussion on /. or K5 if it was linked from there: memigo

Re:There's a whole lot - and you can have them too

[raulmazda]

I use newsisfree.com to glob together the headlines from my usual news sources. I migrated there shortly after geekboys.org died.

Re:There's a whole lot - and you can have them too

[uebernewby]

Nope:

Site Designed and Powered by Universal Networks(TM) Web Site Solutions(TM).

These content management thingies all look the same anyhow.

Is that Slashcode or PHPNuke?

[randomErr]

Are they using SlashCode or PHPNuke on this portal?

Re:Is that Slashcode or PHPNuke?

[GroovBird]

According to the bottom of the page, the site is running something from Universal Networks. Apparently they also designed the site. I can read a lot of stuff about being licensed under the GPL, too. It's not very clear, honestly.

Dave

Re:Is that Slashcode or PHPNuke?

[CProgrammer98]

It's done by UniversalNetworks and their site states:

What software do you use to develop your site?

We use SuSE Linux 7.1 (Linux 2.4.9 with X11 and KDE 2.2) operating system for our web development workstations. Our other tools include Corel Photo-Paint 9, the GIMP 1.2, various GNU Project tools, and a few different text editors (including Kate and Pico). We do not use any WYSIWYG tools for creating our site so that we can achieve the highest level of compatiblity with all modern web browsers.

What CGI scripts do you use?

We use many of our own tools including our free StatsPlus, Go2It!, ReadyForm, GuestCall 2000 and a custom set of registration and downloading scripts. If you're interested in more of the details of our CGI setup, please feel free to contact us at contact@uninetsolutions.com.

Re:Is that Slashcode or PHPNuke?

[kampit]

You can check the page source..

<meta NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="PHP-Nuke 5.5 - http://phpnuke.org">

Re:Is that Slashcode or PHPNuke?

[Scooter]

They are talking absolute rubbish - it's phpNuke.

Check these:-

http://linuxdailynews.net/admin.php
http://linu xdailynews.net/backend.php
http://linuxdailynews. net/modules.php?name=Section s

All phpNuke URLs. They've removed or moved some of the modules such as "stats.php", "submit.php" and so forth but I could tell it was Nuke within about 1.2 seconds of the page appearing in my browser...

I did think for a nanosecond of setting up a site like this using Nuke (which comes with style sheets for rendering rdf and xml headline files) but then - I thought - thats just a bit too parasitic and well - lame.

Shame on them and "Universal Networks" for not giving the Nuke team a credit!

Re:Is that Slashcode or PHPNuke?

[CProgrammer98]

I agree, I was just reporting what they *claim* to be using. I found it very odd that their home page diodn't mention the new Linux site at all, in fact the last news item on theor homepage was dated in 2001.

All a bit strange!

Re:Is that Slashcode or PHPNuke?

[uebernewby]

Let's see - suppose I'd build my own content management system in php. What would I call the page where site admins get to do their admining?

Ok. Now I need a name for the page that contains the backend. "stuffrunningasabackend.php"? Nah ...

Best make my system modular - saves so much trouble when I'm trying to fix something afterwards. Let's see, what do I need for that....

Do you have any idea how many php content management thingies are out there, some of which are indeed offshoots of phpNuke (which is considered to be unsafe as hell, which is why there's so many alternatives)?

Re:Is that Slashcode or PHPNuke?

[uninet]

It's running a blend of a very light weight version of PHP-Nuke and custom caching scripts I wrote.

Best,
Timothy R. Butler
Open for Business/Universal Networks

After UnitedLinux...

[WanderingGhost]

LinuxUnitedNews? :-P

Looks like fragmentation is also a problem in this area. And I do remember having read the same story, for example, in Slashdot and Linuxtoday several times...

RDF Feeds?

[phoxix]

Will they have RDF feeds?? I have my own start page, in which i just pull the headline links so I can easily read what I want, and skip what I don't want.

(For those of you that use those funny slashdot boxes to the right of the comments, should be aware that those are created by the Netscape RDF format.)

Sunny Dubey

Great Idea!

[OmniVector]

This would be even better if all the distros could get together and post news on here as well.

I always did find it confusing to have to visit a ton of sites to find up to date info.

Re:Great Idea!

[anpe]

http://www.distrowatch.com/

Now it makes sense

[evil_roy]

Now it makes sense why internet.com pulled their finger out and consolidated their very neglected holdings. They weren't just being nice at all. linuxnewbie has been screaming out for a face lift for over a year now. Competition did the trick.

Don't worry

[gazbo]

Even though they're not running on slashcode they will still go bankrupt in a short while and maintain the LNUX status quo.

Re:Don't worry

[uninet]

Actually, we won't, because LDN doesn't need to make money. LDN has already has guaranteed sponsorship from its member sites.

-Tim

Portal of Portals?

[peterdaly]

Does anyone else find it interesting that in a way this is a portal of portals?

-Pete

Re:Portal of Portals?

[WanderingGhost]

I don't even like the word "portal". Portals tend to have too many gizmos and unnecessary features. Keep it simple! Split it in several parts.

Here you go...

[ringbarer]

The feed's at http://linuxdailynews.net/backend.php, producing good old RSS 0.91.

The best thing about PHPNuke sites (and the best way to check if a site's running Nuke) is the automagically generated backend.php file. Usually, a site administrator doesn't have to do anything to enable it, and it makes slurping site content so much easier.

Is there a LDN Slashbox available yet?

Slashdot != Linux Central

[Vengie]

Umm, just because you read the same info twice doesn't mean that Slashdot == Linux Central. While yes, there is an overabundance of Linux articles on slashdot right now, the fact of the matter is that slashdot is "News For Nerds" not "News for Linux Nerds". I'm sure the *Bsd crowd is not too happy with the comparison. Ditto for OS x'ers. Can't we all just get along? ;)

America-centric?

[scott1853]

What's with Tux in the Uncle Sam hat? I thought Linux developers/users came from all over the world. I know Slashdot is rather U.S.-centric, they even say so in the FAQ, but they didn't put the stars and stripes in their logo.

Re:America-centric?

[scott1853]

That's actually pretty funny, I didn't notice the shirt.

Re:America-centric?

[srussell]

Scan the articles on the site:

Why is our Tux wearing a party hat? Tux is wearing his special outfit in honor of the first annual 'wIndependence Day' -- a special celebration which takes place this year on July 4th. wIndependence Day celebrates the burgeoning use of Linux on business, government, educational institution, and personal end-user computer desktops as an alternative to dependence on Microsoft's Windows operating system and associated products. Enter this year's essay contest for the best 500-1000 words on how you kicked the Windows habit before July 3rd at midnight. Awesome prizes are being provided from great companies including the leading desktop-oriented Linux distributions and productivity tools. Enter before the deadline to be eligible!

Linux Weekly News

[DeadBugs]

Linux Weekly News now offers daily updates on it's front page in addition to putting out a great weekly news section.

wtf.. their mascaotte sucks

[fenux]

common, do they really think that giving tux the
"done-before" uncle sam outfit gives it an independant look? like You americans made linux. or worse like you are they only indepandant country. I think lately tux has been abused in so many forms i should be getting pissed about it, but really? uncle tux????

Re:wtf.. their mascaotte sucks

[Scooter]

Hmm whilst I agree with some of your sentiments, as a non-US person, I feel that if the owners of the site are American , then why shouldn't they fly their flag? They could have put the stars and stripes on some other bit of the site mind - it does tend to imply that somehow the Linux kernel and the GNU products that make up the other 80% of the average Liniux kerneled OS are somehow US inventions. Many of the coders may well by American, but I'm willing to bet the majority of the average GNU/Linux OS was developed outside the USA. I've not looked it up or anything, but I'd be surpised if it turned out to be a mainly US effort.

So, the mascot may suck, but not as much as your spelling :P

About the logo

[kievit]

I see that the logo is a penguin with an Uncle Sam hat on its head and a sign on its belly which I would interpret as 'No Windows'.

I do not think of Linux as a typically or purely American phenomenon; it is cosmopolitic, not bound to a particular nation. Maybe the logo is temporary and mainly inspired by the 'Windependence Day' pun; or maybe the logo-choosers live and work in the US and wish to counter the assertion by some linux-haters that linux would be 'communistic' and 'un-American'? I would appreciate if somebody could provide with some info about the motivation of the 'American' part of the logo.

I do not really like the 'no Windows' suggestion, as it would suggest that Linux has only been created for Windows-haters. I like it that Linus Torvalds (when asked about his opinion about it in interviews) usually says that he does not care about Microsoft and their products. He just works on Linux, tries to make it an excellent piece of software, and MS may do what they like as long as they don't interfere with his project. MS is not relevant for somebody who is just happy with Linux, so there is no reason to honor MSWindows with a prominent (albeit negatively colored) place in a Linux news site logo.

Re:About the logo

[denzombie]

The pinguin could also be wearing the hat because Independence Day is coming up.

Re:About the logo

[twoshortplanks]

Interesting points, but the reason behind all of this is explained in the lead story.

It's not a long-term logo.

Re:About the logo

[aggressivepedestrian]

I see that the logo is a penguin with an Uncle Sam hat on its head and a sign on its belly which I would interpret as 'No Windows'. I do not think of Linux as a typically or purely American phenomenon; it is cosmopolitic, not bound to a particular nation.

Jeez, read the page. From the very first story on LinuxDailyNews:

Why is our Tux wearing a party hat? Tux is wearing his special outfit in honor of the first annual 'wIndependence Day' -- a special celebration which takes place this year on July 4th. wIndependence Day celebrates the burgeoning use of Linux on business, government, educational institution, and personal end-user computer desktops as an alternative to dependence on Microsoft's Windows operating system and associated products.

Re:About the logo

[kievit]

Thanks, but that 'lead story' is very recent and was not there yet when I wrote my comment!

It is now clear to me now that this American hat and the polarization versus windows is only temporary; well, go ahead and have your party, this is apparently your way of celebrating 4th of July. I suppose that next week Tux will have a different outfit.

I maintain my point that you would only do MS a favour if you would always (not just in these days) stress linux as an 'alternative' to Windows, a safe haven for MS-haters. Because then it is not truly independent of Windows, just like without Tom Jerry wouldn't exist.

Re:About the logo

[MyHair]

From the article: Tux is wearing his special outfit in honor of the first annual 'wIndependence Day' -- a special celebration which takes place this year on July 4th.

I find it mildly disturbing to try to make a publicity event coincide with a national holiday, or at least in the way they are trying to borrow from the real holiday.

I'm not about to write my congressman about it or stage a protest, and I realize retailers run 4th of July sales for everything imaginable, but there's just something about the way they're co-opting the holiday that bothers me.

Re:About the logo

[Webmonger]

Sure, but.

It's American clothing. It's clearly derived from American Independence day. Speaking as a Canadian, this does nothing for me. ['cept demonstrate the incredible power of American myopia yet again.]

Re:About the logo

[aggressivepedestrian]

Canada? Isn't that some place up north? You have internet connections there?

Another way

[pubjames]

Want daily Linux headlines? Once again, Google provides:

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=linux

How about a lightweight version?

[SCHecklerX]

Other than slashdot, the only way I typically read online news (salon, reuters, cnn, weather.com, etc) is via my sony clie.

I didn't see an avantgo-friendly page link on this site.

A few other sites:

[SCHecklerX]

linux orbit
linux journal
OSNews.com
The Linux Game Tome

Great...

[ultrabot]

I thought I wasted enough time with slashdot and linuxtoday...

However, it's good to get some non-mainstream sites in there also (kerneltrap).

Re:"Independent"

[uninet]

No the penguin is for wIndependence Day, sponsored by DesktopLinux.com, an LDN member.

Best,
Tim

MyHeadlines @ www.jmagar.com

[jmagar.com]

If you run a PHPNuke, PostNuke, Xoops, MyPHPNuke, or any MySQL and PHP based website you should really check out MyHeadlines. It allows each of your users to subscribe to what ever news feeds thay want, it comes with a categorized DB of over 2500 sources. This module can plug directly into your site, and is fully customizable with a documented API.

Get it here: http://www.jmagar.com

Cheers,
Mike

another site

[asv108]

Another linux news site that I like is pclinuxonline, they deal more with desktop oriented distros and it stays current.

Re:another site

[felipeal]

they deal more with desktop oriented distros and it stays current.

I hope the rest of the site is more current than their survey, otherwise we're doomed:

World Cup Final: who will win?
Brazil
Germany
Texstar :)

YASS

[cefek]

Whoops, looks like it's just yet another slashdotted site.

Go, check google's cache people.

The Tux with the Patriotic Hat (Explanation)

[uninet]

I mentioned this in a few of the threads that asked about the hat, but I thought more people might see this if I posted a top level response. The penguin with the American flag hat is for wIndependence Day. :-)

Best,
Tim (LDN Founding Member - OfB.biz)

Grrr

[rmassa]

Perhaps I'm just silly but...
Why couldn't they have just teamed up with lwn.net? They've been around a long time and already have a very nice web site and a large reader base. Seems like a better idea to me.

Re:Too bad the site sucks ass

[uninet]

I don't understand what you mean. Our site is done, the grammar is fine... where's the problem?

Thanks,
Tim

Competition for Slashdot, HA

[hayden]

Does Slashdot not consider this site competition?

Surely you jest! The fine community that is the slashdot readership provides a much richer experience than ever thought possible. What with the first posters, Portman and the hot grits thing, karma whores, and who can forget the "BSD is dead" guy/girl. They don't stand a chance.

It's generally considered bad business practice to promote the other guy, but hey this is a Linux World so normal business rules need not apply.

Well the editors can't spell, have poor grammer, don't read the articles before posting, post the same article multiple times, choose articles by flipping a coin, why should they be any better at business decisions?

HebdoLinux.org

[nomis80]

Check out http://www.hebdolinux.org. Daily and past news from dozens of sites. 5 languages supported. All is archived and it's been this way for many years.