Linux periodicals (was: Two-week alert! Python for 2006 ...)

[Jefferson Kirkland]

On 1/16/06, Ben Scott <dragonhawk at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 1/16/06, Jefferson Kirkland <numberwhun at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I stopped my subscriptions to LJ quite a while ago when they started
> > their focus on things like clusters and other highend stuff, including
> > reviews of high end systems that only businesses can afford.  They
> > definately turned from the user base to the Enterprise base.
>
>   I would theorize that reflects changes in Linux.  There was a time
> where even the "simple" user tasks in Linux were rather more
> difficult, and there was a great deal of change in the tools and
> techniques available.  The Internet was also not as prevalent as it is
> today.  That justifies a periodical publication.  The fact that, hey,
> X actually works on Linux was *news* back then.
>
>   These days, when most Linux distros include an installer that does
> everything but click the mouse for you, there isn't as big a need for
> a periodic publication on user topics.  It's an established field, so
> to speak.  Such things don't lend themselves to periodicals, they lend
> themselves to books, tutorials, and the like.  And for the casual user
> who is looking for news on product releases and the like, the Internet
> does a mostly better job, and is free.  That's a tough market to
> compete in.
>
> -- Ben "Not that this helps anybody" Scott
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>

And I fully agree with you Ben that it signifies a significant change in
Linux, but they also have to realize that they will probably, and have, lost
some of their subscription base due to the overwhelming coverage of the
Enterprise type topics.  Just because one is a sysadmin doesn't mean they
are working on clusters all day.  I just think that it would be prudent to
put all of the Enterprise specific topics into their own periodical seeing
as how the amount of information these days pretty much warrants it.

Regards,

Jeff Kirkland
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