What Linux Content Should We Write?

Rob Williams · 02-09-2009, 12:21 PM

From our front-page news:

Over the weekend, I decided to do a little maintenance on the site, and at the same time, I checked out some of our categories to see where we need to push a little more focus to. Some categories need more love than others, but when I peeked inside our list of Linux content, I was pretty-much shocked. The last real Linux article we had was in August of 2007, one that took a deep look at how to take full advantage of rsync in order to properly back up your machine. The information there is still completely relevant, so it's still very much worth checking out.

One reason I found our lack of recent Linux content a little strange is due to the fact that I run Linux as my main OS, and have for just about three years. So, why I haven't thought much about writing Linux content in recent months is beyond me, but I'd like that to change. There was a lot to write about back then, and there's sure a lot more to write about now. To add to things, we have a lot of visitors running Linux, so it's clear we need to publish some more relevant content to them.

So, my question is this. If you are a Linux user, or a wannabe Linux user, what type of content would you like most to see on our site? How-tos? Top (5, 10) lists? Distribution reviews? General information articles? In the past, we've published varied content, but every-single article performed quite well, so there seems to be great interest all over the place. One of the most fun articles I've written was game emulation under Linux, which was probably because it forced me to game a little bit. That article is also still worth checking out if you want to open up vast amounts of opportunity for gaming, or simply want to go back and play a classic console game you grew up with.

If you have any ideas, please feel free to post them in our related thread (found below), and we'll definitely consider all recommendations. Availability of time will come into play here, but I've enjoyed writing Linux content in the past, so I expect that fitting it into my schedule wouldn't be too difficult. I have been working sporadically on one piece of content that I hope will be posted in the next month or two, although I won't talk much about it now. It should be a good one though, and perfectly compliment what has become our number one piece of content of all time (and yes, it's Linux-related!).

madstork91 · 02-09-2009, 12:45 PM

I would personally like to know more information on linux builds...

Maybe even develop some sort of chart showing what can be done in what, with what, or something.

I have long be drawn to the possibility of linux, but having my hands tied by it scares me, and I'm not sure which hand would be tied, and how loose that knot would be.

Emulation for different software/games would be a plus too... I mainly run photoshop, warcraft 3, Steam (left 4 dead), openoffice, and sketchup lately.

Some of those might not have a prayer in hell of running in linux... but which? I know openoffice run in it... and I know there is a Firefox build for it... But can I still DOTA?

I also run rocketDock and a few GUI things that as I understand it are similar to things linux has been doing for years... But what are the names of those apps? Where can I find them? And do I have to do some scripting to get them to work properly?

These are all serious questions I have about Linux... and they are honestly hard to answer unless you are talking to someone in person about them because no website that I know of actually addresses them specifically... They assume that if you are talking about linux, you should, to a certain extent, already know.

Kougar · 02-09-2009, 08:31 PM

There are some good Wikis, although not sure if there is a specific one to meet your needs. That's just how linux is, can't just jump in and use it for daily life without doing plenty of homework.

There was one very detailed wiki on the majority of the editions/derivatives of Ubuntu that covered the key differences and focuses of each, for example. I keep referring back to that one when I need to look up something Ubuntu related.

moon111 · 02-10-2009, 06:42 PM

I'd like to see an idiot's beginner's guide to installing, setting up, etc. I've been trying to install ubuntu, and it's a royal pain. The way the install is, it's confusing when asking about partitions. It asks for a username.. password, and when you continue, it just keeps on asking for another one... it never ends. You'd think after awhile you could continue forward instead of going backwards. Then when it looks like it's all good and wants to reboots, it ejects the CD and then just hangs there. This is terrible software that makes that Windows 98 cd look might sweet about now.

Rob Williams · 02-11-2009, 01:57 PM

madstork91: You make some good points there, and I'd imagine that a lot of people would have similar questions. For games or Windows applications, the best place to go to would be WineHQ's AppDB and see if there are notes on a particular program. In the case of Warcraft III, it has "Gold" status, which means that it's probably going to run fine for anyone, on any distro. The highest honor is "Platinum", but that's awarded only to applications that will run fine on most any configuration.

Your question does spawn one idea for content though. I could maybe do an article of a "Top 10" applications that run under Wine. There are MANY of these lists out there, but most are ignorant and assume everyone else shares the same tastes as they do. For a list like this to be worth anything, it should cater to the vast majority of people. Though, that's easier said than done.

moon111: That's a good idea... and one I might very-well do. I agree, because the first time I installed Ubuntu, I couldn't believe how complicated it was. It's simply if you know what you're doing, and for the most part, I do (install Gentoo once by command-line and you pretty much can use any partitioner), but when I took a look at it, I was stumped.

The issue is simple though. I don't think that installer has the capability to create a new partition, although it might. The best thing to do in the case of any Linux distro is to use a partitioning program (for Windows, or a Live CD, like GParted LiveCD) to repartition your drive. You'd just need to create an ext3 partition and then the Ubuntu installer should look far more straight-forward.

02-09-2009, 12:21 PM	#1
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	What Linux Content Should We Write? From our front-page news: Over the weekend, I decided to do a little maintenance on the site, and at the same time, I checked out some of our categories to see where we need to push a little more focus to. Some categories need more love than others, but when I peeked inside our list of Linux content, I was pretty-much shocked. The last real Linux article we had was in August of 2007, one that took a deep look at how to take full advantage of rsync in order to properly back up your machine. The information there is still completely relevant, so it's still very much worth checking out. One reason I found our lack of recent Linux content a little strange is due to the fact that I run Linux as my main OS, and have for just about three years. So, why I haven't thought much about writing Linux content in recent months is beyond me, but I'd like that to change. There was a lot to write about back then, and there's sure a lot more to write about now. To add to things, we have a lot of visitors running Linux, so it's clear we need to publish some more relevant content to them. So, my question is this. If you are a Linux user, or a wannabe Linux user, what type of content would you like most to see on our site? How-tos? Top (5, 10) lists? Distribution reviews? General information articles? In the past, we've published varied content, but every-single article performed quite well, so there seems to be great interest all over the place. One of the most fun articles I've written was game emulation under Linux, which was probably because it forced me to game a little bit. That article is also still worth checking out if you want to open up vast amounts of opportunity for gaming, or simply want to go back and play a classic console game you grew up with. If you have any ideas, please feel free to post them in our related thread (found below), and we'll definitely consider all recommendations. Availability of time will come into play here, but I've enjoyed writing Linux content in the past, so I expect that fitting it into my schedule wouldn't be too difficult. I have been working sporadically on one piece of content that I hope will be posted in the next month or two, although I won't talk much about it now. It should be a good one though, and perfectly compliment what has become our number one piece of content of all time (and yes, it's Linux-related!). __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

02-09-2009, 12:45 PM	#2
madstork91 The One, The Only... Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: TEXAS! Posts: 1,434	I would personally like to know more information on linux builds... Maybe even develop some sort of chart showing what can be done in what, with what, or something. I have long be drawn to the possibility of linux, but having my hands tied by it scares me, and I'm not sure which hand would be tied, and how loose that knot would be. Emulation for different software/games would be a plus too... I mainly run photoshop, warcraft 3, Steam (left 4 dead), openoffice, and sketchup lately. Some of those might not have a prayer in hell of running in linux... but which? I know openoffice run in it... and I know there is a Firefox build for it... But can I still DOTA? I also run rocketDock and a few GUI things that as I understand it are similar to things linux has been doing for years... But what are the names of those apps? Where can I find them? And do I have to do some scripting to get them to work properly? These are all serious questions I have about Linux... and they are honestly hard to answer unless you are talking to someone in person about them because no website that I know of actually addresses them specifically... They assume that if you are talking about linux, you should, to a certain extent, already know. __________________ ..

02-11-2009, 01:57 PM	#5
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	madstork91: You make some good points there, and I'd imagine that a lot of people would have similar questions. For games or Windows applications, the best place to go to would be WineHQ's AppDB and see if there are notes on a particular program. In the case of Warcraft III, it has "Gold" status, which means that it's probably going to run fine for anyone, on any distro. The highest honor is "Platinum", but that's awarded only to applications that will run fine on most any configuration. Your question does spawn one idea for content though. I could maybe do an article of a "Top 10" applications that run under Wine. There are MANY of these lists out there, but most are ignorant and assume everyone else shares the same tastes as they do. For a list like this to be worth anything, it should cater to the vast majority of people. Though, that's easier said than done. moon111: That's a good idea... and one I might very-well do. I agree, because the first time I installed Ubuntu, I couldn't believe how complicated it was. It's simply if you know what you're doing, and for the most part, I do (install Gentoo once by command-line and you pretty much can use any partitioner), but when I took a look at it, I was stumped. The issue is simple though. I don't think that installer has the capability to create a new partition, although it might. The best thing to do in the case of any Linux distro is to use a partitioning program (for Windows, or a Live CD, like GParted LiveCD) to repartition your drive. You'd just need to create an ext3 partition and then the Ubuntu installer should look far more straight-forward. __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

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02-10-2009, 06:42 PM	#4
moon111 Partition Master Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 266	I'd like to see an idiot's beginner's guide to installing, setting up, etc. I've been trying to install ubuntu, and it's a royal pain. The way the install is, it's confusing when asking about partitions. It asks for a username.. password, and when you continue, it just keeps on asking for another one... it never ends. You'd think after awhile you could continue forward instead of going backwards. Then when it looks like it's all good and wants to reboots, it ejects the CD and then just hangs there. This is terrible software that makes that Windows 98 cd look might sweet about now.