The Mag - not as helpful as I'd hoped!

[gundam_rx78nt1]

Nelz and all the other editor/writer of the magazine... it seems that a great majority of the posts here is asking for the same thing... more of this less of that, or if you are going to have this then you need that and that and that. See the posts on "Whether to renew my subscription or not" on the forum. Some of us did get a subscription to this magazine for the tutorials. Some of us didn't. Now for those of us that got it for the tutorial, how long is the gimp tutorial going on for? It is in the "advanced" stages for me. I open it up and don't even know where to start. If you had a downloadable section of past tutorials, I wouldn't mind paying for some of them. Not all of your readers have access to the past issues. Oh, don't get me started on the book that you published last year. I couldn't get a copy of it, oh but wait, that is volume 2. What about the info on volume 1? Where can I get that? Sure you will say buy it or order it, but is it worth the cash that I will be spending (being that I am in the US). It is already $165.00 for a yearly subscription and next one will be higher than that.

So, I do agree with a downloadable section for beginners. Everybody will benefit of 'getting back to basics". Some will realize that they forgot something that can help them now but because they didn't use them frequently they just simply forgot. For example, you have had an article about backup rules. I run a home server and without paying for an exclusive backup backup program ($200.00+ so I can get to use my tape drive or dvd-+rw)... how do I do it? What are the commands? How can I redirect it to the tape drive and then do incremental backups? These are the things that I would like to know. Windows has programs like that that are at an affordable price range. Linux backup for the desktop is... how to say it... An Undiscovered country? Those are the things that some readers can benefit from.

Ok, I am ranting here now. Got to go. My puppy needs to be walked.

[nelz]

The Complete Linux Handbook? That wasn't volume 2, it was version 2. It was an update, not a sequel.

Yes, everybody wants more of this and less of that, but this and that are not constants. As I said in my last post, be more specific about what you want and you are more likely to get it.

[bigjohn]

One thing I would say to bigjohn is that while you have made some good points, they tend to be vague. You would be more likely to get what you want by giving specific examples of what you want.

Yeah, sorry, you're probably right. Though if you'd spent the greater part trying to configure bloody SAMBA for the best part of 5 days, then I'm sure you'd be vague (especially when I know that all the information is out there, if only I could decypher what the hell "they" are on about).

[nelz]

OK, so you want a "SAMBA for Dummies" article? That's a more useful request

[towy71]

bigjohn not the only one
Dick aka perpetual dummy

[guy]

Andychanelle asks if some of the beginner's articles are a bit advanced.
I would say some of them are getting that way, but it is good to show that beginners can do useful stuff. It's okay at this level but don't go any deeper unless it fulfils a real need. IMHO a two-part article, with the first carefully introducing the basics and the second getting to where the author originally intended, is sometimes worthwhile. I will read the new GNOME mini-series with interest

If these were repackaged as an online resource, it would be great. Sitting down to organise the subject areas for the resource would be a good way to identify new articles, too. Don't rule out a (bi?)annually updated "Starting with Linux" LXF special in the newsagents either!

Nelz asks for specifics. Here's a "beginner's" need. The biggest issue I face is accessing all my old stuff, and maintaining two systems because I need to keep Windows for the odd killer app or tricky file format.

What are the pros and cons of dual-boot vs. separate boxes?

How do I network a new Linux box to my Windows PC, so I can browse its FAT32 (98/SE/ME) and/or NTFS (NT/2000/XP) filesystem?

How to write to the Windows filesystem (dual-boot and networked)? And (how) can I get the PC to read/write the Linux filesystem (does it make a difference which Linux filesystem I use, e.g. whether I choose a journaling filesystem or not)?

And what's the best way to set up a single home for all my stuff, with a suitable backup regime? For example I presently have two PCs, and manually back up all my stuff from one onto the other - there must be a slicker way.

How do I import my Outlook (or in my case, Turnpike) emails and address book into (say) Thunderbird, and set up spam filtering?

In fact, I think there's scope for an "Opening the windows" regular series.

OK, a lot of this stuff will appear in articles like, "Getting to know Samba" or "Customising Thunderbird" or whatever, but if I am a newb then I don't recognise the buzzwords and don't read the article. And those articles probably won't look at the compatibility issues in the most helpful way.

Anyway, hope this is specific enough to give some ideas.

[andychannelle]

Guy:

I have been intending on republishing all my beginners stuff (with appropriate updates) online for some time. I've even started trying out a few formats. One thought I had was to do the text on a standard blog (http://www.beginners-guide-to-linux.co.uk) and then have images posted on something like Flickr, which means I could reduce costs a lot and attempt to get some payback through Google Adsense or something.

Much of the stuff you have mentioned has been covered in the series I've been doing, but it's difficult to say to Nick or Paul I'm going to cover Samba again, when I've done it 18 months ago. The online thing would cover this well.

Andy

(edited so it makes sense at 8pm, July 31st)

[bigjohn]

guy 1, nelz 0 - erm, sorry nelz, I couldn't resist that one.

But guys post is pretty much what I feel, though guy as comes across as "smarter than the average bear"! Whereas me, well I'm a stinkin' 'orrible trucker. So apart from the fact that me and me wagon could crush yer car without even scratching my paint, which I'm sure most will agree is a pretty useless ability, my world isn't one of servers, hard drives, ram, kernel compiling etc etc, it's one of grease, servo's, fifth wheels, 1mm of tread all round, suzy lines, safety dog clips and wheel nut pointers.

I like to think that I'm reasonably "well read", but Shakespear, Tolstoy, Marx, Bacon, Nietzche, Jung etc, amongst many others, it in no way prepares you to tackle poorly written technical documentation. Especially if it has to be read for a particular goal. Those who consider themselves "enthusiasts" are more likely to have the mindset for such a task.

I might have been at this "linux lark" for over 3 years now, but I only consider myself a "user" (or n00b), when it comes to most "things linux".

[AudioMove]

bigjohn if online doc doesnt do it for you take a trip to o'reilly books, their the best and i set up samba using "using samba" by o'reilly awhile back and it works a treat. Everyone has bitched about online doc been not so good but i thik thats where o'reilly comes in, if u cant understand some docs use the books as their nearly always guaranteed to sort you out.

[guy]

Andy, I said earlier that

OK, a lot of this stuff will appear in articles like, "Getting to know Samba" or "Customising Thunderbird" or whatever, but if I am a newb then I don't recognise the buzzwords and don't read the article. And those articles probably won't look at the compatibility issues in the most helpful way.

For example back in the spring you did a two-parter on EMACS. Wouldn't Gedit and whatever KDE provide have been easier for us Wordpad bunnies?

Yes, you have covered a fair bit of what I need but it's not always easy to recognise the key information when I stumble across it.

I'm not saying your articles are not a great help (or I wouldn't have so many backnumbers to check back through!). Customising Firefox and System Maintenance (apt and RPM), to name but two, were really useful. Just that there's always room for improvement. Keep it up! Of course, if you could prise enough pages out of Evil Nick for two beginner's articles each month....

[andychannelle]

I think the EMACS things were by Biaggio Lucini. I have covered word processors in the past, but not text editors - I thought they would be of more interest to programmers rather than mere mortals, but then I've obviously fallen into the trap of thinking that text editors=EMACS, Vi, Kate etc. rather than a tool for writing short bits of text with less concern about formatting. Command line is a last resort for me - give me menus and icons any day.
I do plan on doing some stuff on note taking apps in future so this could include basic text editors like KWrite, as I think they sort of fall into the same region of use.

[jjmac]

bigjohn wrote:
>>
(I find some of MSs' marketing techniques distasteful, but my selection of linux so that I have some choice often leaves me bewildered. Because IMO too much choice is no choice at all).
>>

hmmmmm, MS have been very good at training their resource base to accept a particular standard level as being <cough> normal </cough>. It is a hard habit to break. When you go into a major deptment store, you are able to ignore all the things on the shelf if you want to ... but just 'cause your not into skiing (grin) does that mean they shouldn't be on offer. The whole thing is silly, but then ... i haven't really read it through yet. Is it worth it ?


jm

[guy]

I think the EMACS things were by Biaggio Lucini.

Oh, aye. Blame it on someone else. Best not mention the editor who accepted it, eh? I can see you'll go far, me lad.

[towy71]

vi, emacs gah! much better to stick with wordstar, or rather joe, uses the same arcane keystrokes ^kh etc, oh happy days of innocence
and Guy you're a cynic

[nelz]

You can change the keystrokes in Joe, but by the time you've worked out how to do that, you've already got used to the arcane ones. now, if I could only stop using ^kx (then save command in joe) in Kate, where ^k deletes the current line