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Linux Foundation Purchases Linux.com

Posted by kdawson on Tue Mar 03, 2009 06:24 PM
from the new-life dept.
Software Announcements Linux
darthcamaro and several other readers have noted that the Linux Foundation has bought Linux.com from SourceForge Inc. (Slashdot's corporate parent). The Linux Foundation (employer of Linus Torvalds) will take over the editorial and community stewardship for the site; SourceForge will continue to supply advertising on it. "[Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim] Zemlin says the Linux Foundation wants to build a collaborative forum where Linux users can share ideas and get information on the Linux operating system. A beta of the site will be released in the next few months. ... Linux.com is being redesigned as a central source for Linux software, documentation and answers regardless of platforms, including server, desktop/netbook, mobile and embedded areas." What do you think should be on Linux.com?
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Firehose:Linux Foundation Purchases Linux.com by Anonymous Coward
[+] Linux.com Relaunched Under New Management 70 comments
mikesd81 writes "Linux.com has been relaunched under the direction of the Linux Foundation. The goal of the site is supposed to be a community hub that lets the Linux community participate and contribute their knowledge. An initial look as the site is today makes it look like a news site. Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin insists that the plan wasn't for Linux.com to be a breaking news organization but rather as a resource for the Linux community as a whole."
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Linux Foundation Purchases Linux.com 25 Comments More /

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  • howtoforge.org does that just fine (Score:5, Informative)

    by lordsilence (682367) * on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:27PM (#27057411) Homepage
    Howtoforge.org has fulfilled that role for a long time which Linux.com aims to do now.

  • Linus kernel (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:29PM (#27057437)

    Linux Torvalds? The guy that made the Linus kernel?

  • LinuxAppStore (Score:5, Interesting)

    by godglike (643670) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:29PM (#27057441)

    The one-stop, easy-install, multi-distro place for all your linux software needs.

    • Re:LinuxAppStore (Score:5, Interesting)

      by RiotingPacifist (1228016) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:47PM (#27057673)

      What about a hardware store? showing off and linking to the latest Linux hardware deployments and Linux supported hardware?

      Also:
      *news & articles (like the old linux.com, not just newsvac) covering the kernel, server & desktop developments
      *NOT a major forum (there are plenty another just spreads the chance of you coming across somebody knowledgeable enough to fix your problem thinner)
      *PERHAPS: A wiki (that is mainly based around merging the less distro specific stuff from gentoo,arch & other wikis)
      *A parody of getthefacts that just plain laughs at microsoft.

    • Re:LinuxAppStore (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Tenebrousedge (1226584) <tenebrousedge AT gmail DOT com> on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:52PM (#27057721)

      That's one good idea.

      So, an App section, a Knowledge Base, a What-is-Linux? section, a News section, a forum, hmm. I don't know whether it would be worthwhile to reproduce or relocate the information from kernel.org, kernelnewbies.org, and/or distrowatch.com, but it seems like all of those websites have sprung up because linux.com was being used for other purposes.

      I'd want all of those websites to be conglomerated into one source, but I don't know what problems that could present.

  • Yes! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by quixote9 (999874) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:30PM (#27057455) Homepage
    A centralized source of Linux info would be GREAT! Especially if it had a search function that pointed you to a good complete answer to inexpertly phrased questions. Right now, pointing newbies at Google is one of the big linux turnoffs for them.

  • Make it beginner friendly (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Xs1t0ry (1247414) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:31PM (#27057461)
    Most of us experienced users know where to find good help and info so I think they should make linux.com primarily a site for beginners. It would include a broad overview, tutorials, howtos, information about distros and a lot of zealous pro-linux content to spread the love. linux.com is the obvious domain name for someone looking to learn about linux. Notice I say primarily for beginners and not totally. It should of course contain more detailed information.

  • That's fine and all (Score:5, Funny)

    by Daimanta (1140543) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:33PM (#27057497) Journal

    but does it run Linux?

  • A redirect (Score:5, Insightful)

    by apankrat (314147) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:33PM (#27057505) Homepage

    A redirect to .org seems to be an appropriate option.

  • Role of linux.com? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jgurling (1333517) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:37PM (#27057535)
    I don't know for a fact, but I'd guess that a number of visitors will be people who have heard of "that linux thing" and punched in www.linux.com to find out more. While I think it's great that Ubuntu is great for having critical mass and gaining mainstream momentum, I also think it's in everyone's interest to explain, in simple terms, that Linux != Ubuntu, and that Linux is, in a manner of speaking, a whole lot more than Ubuntu.

  • Here's to some serious improvement! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by red_blue_yellow (1353825) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:39PM (#27057565)
    With such an obvious name, linux.com is where many newbs go first. The forums were not that great to begin with, and in the last few weeks they even lost all formatting, including newlines. I'm glad to see that such an important domain name will be put to good use now.

  • A "face" for Linux. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by JustinOpinion (1246824) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:39PM (#27057577)

    What do you think should be on Linux.com?

    One thing I would like is for it to be a clear and professional page that invites and excites people to learn more about Linux.

    What I mean is this: Right now if you google "Linux" [google.com], the first hit is linux.org [linux.org]. That site has some good info, and even has an explanatory paragraph about what Linux is... but (how to put this nicely?) it doesn't look professional. It doesn't scream "this is a sophisticated and powerful (yet user-friendly) system supported by (and supporting) billion-dollar industries." Instead the impression a first-time visitor will get is that Linux is arcane, old-fashioned, and disorganized.

    The fact is that when any of us talk to others about Linux (whether as a home desktop or for business-use), the person will go and search "Linux" and end up being confused. So I would like "linux.com" to have a really carefully designed frontpage, that explains what Linux is, looks very professional (maybe with tie-ins to big-name companies to make the suits feel more comfortable), and helps people get what they need (links to downloads, FAQ, community sites, all that good stuff...).

    The Ubuntu homepage [ubuntu.com] is pretty good in this regard. I'm sure I'm not alone in having switched over the last few years from telling people to "read more about Linux" to telling them to "read up on Ubuntu". It's just easier to pick a distro for them (they can always change when they learn more), and Ubuntu has put a nice "face" on the Linux ecosystem. Their homepage doesn't overload you with info, and provides clear links to downloads, community, etc.

    So while I hope linux.com becomes many things to many people (and has all the news and content that we geeks want), I hope they take this opportunity to make the mainpage a useful portal for people who want to learn more about Linux. (Since it will be an obvious place for a newbie to first look.)

      • Re:A "face" for Linux. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Blakey Rat (99501) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @07:58PM (#27058387)

        Oh my CHRIST! You're right, I didn't even believe it.

        The text, when you visit http://linux.org/ [linux.org] reads:

        Incorrect Site

        For comprehensive information about Linux please visit our proper site, www.linux.org.

        Please update your bookmarks and any links you may have to this old site.

        What it should read is something along the lines of:

        Duuuh

        Despite Linux's popularity, this site is run by people who aren't smart enough to point linux.org and www.linux.org to the same page. (It apparently worked in the past, but we broke it.)

        Please update your bookmarks and any links you may have to this old site, because we pointlessly and broke all our own links when we broke our own site and probably slaughtered our own pagerank in the process.

        I agree wholeheartedly with the parent. It's amazing that a site like this still exists in 2009... heck I'd much rather see http://linux.org/ [linux.org] just 404 or time-out then give you this crap. "Proper site!" Unbelievable.

  • My list (Score:5, Funny)

    by microbee (682094) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @06:58PM (#27057793)

    1. monthly debate on the best Linux distro
    2. monthly debate on binary kernel modules, proprietary software and GPL, plus ridiculing RML's mustache
    3. quarterly email exchanges between Linus Torvalds and other users with the latter calling the former former arrogant bastard and the former calling the latter "a bunch of wanking monkeys"
    4. weekly discussion on how Windows sucks and bookkeeping on the number of chairs thrown out of Redmond buildings
    5. monthly whining about how slow Debian development is
    6. bi-annually mention of Hurd and that it's going to be ready "soon"

  • Advertising (Score:5, Funny)

    by Hatta (162192) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @07:05PM (#27057883) Journal

    "The Linux Foundation (employer of Linux Torvalds) will take over the editorial and community stewardship for the site; Sourceforge will continue to supply advertising on it."

    Good, I was worried they would run out.

  • Welcome to linux.com (Score:5, Funny)

    by shutdown -p now (807394) <[moc.liamg] [ta] [h91tni]> on Tuesday March 03 2009, @08:10PM (#27058497)

    Welcome to Linux.com!

    You can do anything with Linux, anything at all!

  • domain not sold.. was given. (Score:5, Informative)

    by nsanders (208050) on Tuesday March 03 2009, @08:22PM (#27058615) Homepage

    The article never said it was sold and I know that it wasn't. It was given by Sourceforge to the LF. But hey, this is slashdot and headlines almost always are incorrect :-)

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