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Linux Software

Linux.com is Up 97

Posted by CmdrTaco from the its-minimal-but-its-live dept.
kernel was the first to tell us that Linux.com has some content. You can also read a Press Release. The most notable piece of information is that the site will be managed by Trae McCombs (Slashdot author, Themes.org guy, and VA Employee). He will be slave to a board of directors that will hopefully help make sure that Linux.com does in fact fulfill what it should: support the community). The board of directors includes me, scoop, mandrake, Chris DiBona, Nick Petreley, and representatives from Oracle and SGI.
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Linux.com is Up More

Linux.com is Up

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  • Yes (Score:1)

    by Erbo ( 384 )
    Not to mention that any domain in ".com" has higher intrinsic value because of the long standing default behavior of many browsers, which is to turn the name "foo" typed into the URL field (assuming "foo" is not a valid DNS name) into "http://www.foo.com".

    Netscape did this for a long time, and still does it in recent versions if you turn "Internet Keywords" off. M$IE does it too, except that it tries several different variations (".com," ".org," and ".net"), but it always tries ".com" first.

    Regardless of whether browsers "should" be doing this or not, the fact is, they do do this, and it behooves somebody to produce a worthwhile resource, so that when some person tries typing "Linux" into their browser's URL field, they get a page with plenty of worthwhile information. It's good to see that VA is stepping up to the plate here.

    Eric
    --

  • Nice colors.. Better than linux.org at any rate.
  • Yeah, it needs frames, some animated gifs and a cheezy midi file, gratuitous javascript and some porno banners. Also wheres the warez and MP3 sections?
    Remember if ain't got a black background and text of a color not found in nature it ain't leet.

    PS don't forget the blink tags and the scrolling marquee.

    On a serious note... Congrats to all involved, it's gonna be good.
  • look at the HTML source of www.transmeta.com.
    then look at the source for www.linux.com.

    that was my first thought.
  • Uhh, you're missing the point of a democratically-styled people-controlled movement. Everybody gets their say, regardless of their "credentials." Perhaps finding some way of doing elections would be better.
  • Ahh, but where are these contributors? Looking at the linux.com board, I see a bunch of suits, some columnists, and a handful (one or two) actual contributors. It would seem that money (that of SGI and Oracle), not code contributions, were the deciding factor. Not to mention Petreley's good press.
  • Well, if the *content* is fair and unbiased, who gives a flying fig what company holds the domain? And I see it as a good move for VA Research (this is the same company that most of you were weeping over after the Dell/IBM announcements). Oh yeah, note that *no* distribution representatives (as far as I know) are on the board, and I pray that it stays that way (btw, I thought that you all were worried about Red Hat=Linux in the eyes of the PHBs?).

  • I don't begrudge VA Research a little self-promotion. They're in a position to host linux.com, we aren't (though in another two to three months we will be). I just hope it doesn't turn into a 100% VA Research self-promotion site at the expense of other hardware vendors committed to Linux, such as (gasp!) Linux Hardware Solutions and Penguin Computing.

    As for the choice of folks like Oracle and SGI to be on the board, that's just plain bizarre... the Linux community is just an (interesting) sideshow for these folks, the majority of their action is elsewhere, they're in the Linux community for a few quick bucks and if the money doesn't materialize they'll just go elsewhere. No offense, that's just the truth. They're businesses, after all, not charity, and Linux isn't their main product. On the other hand, I suppose VAR is hoping for investments from them :-}. Or maybe they just hope that having these guys on a "linux.com" board of directors will get them hooked on Linux so that they WON'T pull out when the going gets tough?

    -- Eric
  • I believe it was Ga. Tech that hosted ftp.debian.org, until the Powers That Be there decided to kick it out because it did not fit within their "acceptable use" policy.

    Mindspring is now providing connectivity for ftp.debian.org, while Linux Hardware Solutions provided the rack-mount Linux box w/27gb of hard drive space.

    -- Eric
  • Like our new boxes? You can't sneer about how generic they are now, hmm? Glad to see you found an Internet connection at the show. Maybe you will remember your password someday (grin).

    Me, I personally am not going to be doing a "linux.com" clone. I am too busy getting OIMS to the point where it is usable, i.e., where it can handle all normal business processes needed by the average small manufacturing business (I finished the recieving portion today, hurray! so now I can do inventory management all the way from sales quote to build order to shipping on the outgoing end, and all the way from purchase request to receiving on the incoming end, but a lot more needs to be done). I just hope that the people doing it do a good job, that's all.

    -- Eric
  • if you need a committe to decide content for a website then you need help with something other than content.
  • Look at the board of directors or whatever you call it. Fred Van Kempen is one of them.
  • Liz Coolbaugh is definately one of the coolest heads in the linux media
    ^~~^~^^~~^~^~^~^^~^^~^~^~~^^^~^^~~^~~~^~~^~
  • They're coding.
  • Actually, in retrospect, this board is absurd.

    It doesn't reflect MY Linux community. It might yours. Since I/we didn't have any say in who's on the board and who's not, like a general election by the Linux community at large...

    It don't mean squat.

    Clever marketing by VA Research? All it means to me is a bunch of people that have control over the linux.com Website, nothing more.

  • It is a page that supposed to further the commercial awareness of Linux, so yes it should be a .com.

    In addition to this linux.org is owned by Linux Online, a commercial entity devoted to making money off of banner ads on www.linux.org, and after numerous approaches to takeover/buy the domain they won't give it up.
  • "VA has a excellent track record of supporting

    the Linux community with everything from
    hardware to bandwidth," said Rob Malda, editor
    of Slashdot.org. "Slashdot.org is pleased to see
    VA continue this trend by developing Linux.com
    into a high quality portal that will be maintained by
    the open source community."


    Guess it doesn't to scratch back once in a while :).

  • Yes, Nick Petreley gave us some of the first-ever press coverage for Linux. And it's always been positive (his latest Bruce Perens/OSI rant aside).
    -russ
  • Well.

    There are accepted solutions to the problems with these sites. The main solution is called CSS1. Now, there is lacking CSS support in most browsers so far, but it's a matter of time before that's remedied. Also, one can, with ingenious use of server-side scripts and templates, maintain two versions effortlessly, one with abuse of tables for layout, and another with CSS, and let people choose (set defaults based on browser version).

  • Looks like just a great bunch of people that have helped contribute a great experience on a grand scale. For a commercial Linux site, this looks like a good link not to be ashamed about. There seems to be great potential for professionalism, eye candy, and a good way to get the suits and family type looking.

    In my opinion, a board does not get any better than that! I am amazed that they sacrificed the time and committed to it and hope they will enjoy it all the way. They need support and are worthy of it.
  • It's a nice-looking page, but it needs Tux on there somewhere. What is the point of spending years developing a free operating system, if not to get penguin logos on every web page from here to Timbucktoo? :-)
  • I have 3 complaints which I will voice here.

    1) I posted a sincere comment here and it was unfairly deleted
    2) I feel this story was "retired" prematurely.... perhaps because of the content of some posts.
    3) The low number of posts here may be attributable to wholesale censorship on Slashdot.

    Why is it that we criticize the government and Microsoft for not listening to users, and yet here posting a contrary opinion causes your post to be censored?

    My *opinion* was why should an individual receive "over a million" for Linux.com for something that belongs to the community? IMO Linus is the REAL owner of linux.com - he holds the "Linux" trademark. By only a small stretch - isn't Linux.com a "derevitave work" of Linux?

    This may not have gone to "the highest bidder", but a million bucks is still alot of cash. And since this is now owned by Intel... OOPS I mean VA, I expect non-Intel support to take a downturn (as it already has with Alpha). We can look the the Intel-->Be example... "What PowerPC port?"

    I suggested the money be divvied up between the people who wrote free software. This doesn't have to translate into cash - it could help defray the costs of running FSF website, for example.

    I certainly went out of my way to avoid causing any offence, but I see that I did just by stating an opposing opinion. Excuse me for being so freakin idealistic.

    I'm very disenheartened by this -- I don't think censorship should be exercised so lightly. I mean no insult by QUESTIONING AUTHORITY here, but isn't the point of a "board" supposed to be a representitive body of the Linux Community. If this is REALLY true then discussion here should not be snuffed out when it raises uncomfortable questions.

    Is "the board" really an enforcement body? This is certainly a valueable chokepoint in the community, and something that would be extremely valuable to corporations such as Intel and VA.
  • Nick Petreley has been promoting Linux for years in Info World. He was supporting Linux long before it was fashonable and doing so in a clueful manner. He supports Linux because he thinks it works and is far too well known and respected to need to brown nose anybody.

    I don't know where you get your information, but you should find a more reliable source.

  • With this board, it will be too easy to produce a "Linux is a great business opportunity! Look at all these cool ads for non-free software that runs on Linux!" site.

    Rob, see if you can pull in at least one person who actually writes free software to keep 'em honest (in addition to you, of course).


  • Another Portal Potty...this one trendily built around a microcommunity...


    And why not? Anyone whose site gets as many hits as Slashdot's should morph into a .com portal...


    Smart move.
  • "effort" and linux.org do not belong in the same sentence.
  • Good idea. Get on it, Rob. ;-)
  • I think this is a very bad idea. Any Linux site should include many references to the beloved penguin. It's even the /. icon for the topic!

    EMYL

  • Oh good. (Score:1)

    by JAZ ( 13084 )
    Looks fine with lynx, what's the problem??
  • The network information center's database was last updated yesterday. Any conversation about who currently holds ``linux.com'' is pure speculation.
  • ...".com" stands for "company" or "commercial". GNU/Linux is about non-proprietary. These two sets are logically disconnected...

    Read the post above...non-proprietary does not equal non-commercial.

  • Finally! Transmeta.com has been mirrored! :)
  • It's a transmeta.com mirror is what I meant
    to say. It's an exact copy! ;)
  • All we do is bitch and complain and then nominate someone else to do the work.. Not very free software like.. If you think its ugly then you go and make a beeter look and submit it, if you can't then shut the hell up..

    Oh lets vote Rob Malda to do more work for us, he doesn't seem to have enough to as it is.... doesn't matter what time i come to /. there is new material. Posted for *us* to read..

    Rob your time and effort is appreciated, i think its time you stood up for your self and the next time someone so gracitiously decides to volenteer you for something you ask them 'what they have done lately..' other than collect a fat paycheque while spending time viewing your site!!


    Anyone can find the problems but only the few can present the answers.
    -7021
  • "VA Research Linux Systems is now the registrant of the Linux.com domain."

    $ whois linux.com

    Registrant:
    Linux/PRO Intl Support Group (LINUX2-DOM)
    Hoefbladhof 27, 2215DV VOORHOUT
    NL

    Domain Name: LINUX.COM

    Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
    Van Kempen, Fred N (FNV) waltje@INFOMAGIC.NL
    +31 (35) 6980059 (FAX) (520) 526-957 (FAX) +31 (35) 6980215
  • Really.. I havnt even seen one Positive post about this yet, and all this even before any of you know what is to become of Linux.com. Lets wait and see what happens before we decide we dont like it.

  • I believe that it is most important that Linux.com promotes Linux without all the negative attitude toward other operating systems (which will remain nameless) that can be found throughout the Linux community. That sort of thing only hurts Linux by strengthing the view a lot of people have, that most Linux advocates are simply bitter toward a certain large corporation. (see posts that are sure to follow)

    Unfortunately the highly vocal portion of Linux advocates help this view to survive. I know there are a lot of us who don't neccessarily hate that corporation, but really belive that Linux has a lot of potential for what we do. We also believe that competition is what makes things get better, and the destruction of one monolith only leads to another soon taking it's place. Having only one option, whether it is the one currently dominate OS or whether it is Linux is a Bad Thing.

    If a product is worth anything, it will stand on its own merit, and people will use it. Telling people what they are using is bad, and that they are ignorant because they are using it, and they should be using product x, never sells product x. It insults people and that's not what we want.

    We want to educate and enlighten people on the advantages of Linux. We want to show them why it is right for them. We want to show them how it can work with other operating systems. What Linux needs is a new image, one without flames.

    Linux needs something like Linux.com to provide a central PR push. Linux.com should pick up the ball and try to shake off all of the bad stigma attached to it. I see a lot of good names on the board, and hope that these people work to assure that Linux has a chance to really succeed in the coming months.

  • At last: a site where (perhaps) some attention will be given to the millions of users who'd like to try Linux but are scared by its hacker image and its high cost of entry (in time terms.) I hope it all goes ok...
  • I think under the board of directors they go the names switched, I saw Malda listed with Freshmeat, and I think scoop was listed with Slashdot. I am looking at this at 640x480, and alot of stuff is cut off, mabe I am missing somthing...

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