[ILUG] While we're talking magazines...

[Ruairi Newman]

On Thu, 2004-02-26 at 15:29, Dermot Daly wrote:

<snip>

> 
> The reason I am asking is that I have been buying LXF for a year or so -
> It varies from good to bad, and am interested in seeing if there's
> better options out there.
> 
I tend to get PC Plus, and Linux Format when I bother at all.  I find PC
Plus more useful overall tbh.

> Here's why I say LXF varies from good to bad:
> 
> Good: Sometimes they've got pretty good articles giving you a complete
> description of a particular topic, covered completely and consicely
> (e..g "What on Earth is....rsync").
> Bad: I really couldn't care less how to use blender - Don't think it
> belongs in here at all

Why not?  If the article on rsync belongs in there, why doesn't the
article on blender?

> Good: Reader's rescue, etc. gives a place for people to ask questions,
> and also a place to publish how they have fixed their own problems
> Bad: Supplying a Distro that trashed many CDROMs (was it a mandrake ?)

This wasn't their own fault, nor was it Mandrakesoft's.  LG decided to
allow a standard ATAPI (flush?) command to overwrite the drives
firmware, breaking with the ATAPI standard.  This was not documented
outside LG's own internal documents.

> Good: For keeping up to date with open source projects you may not have
> heard about, and seeing whats going on out there in general
> Bad: Supplying on 2/3rds of Fedora (what is the deal with that?).

Was this on CD?  LXF rarely (if ever) supplies more than 2 CDs.  Fitting
3 CDs worth of content on two CDs could be a mite tricky.

> Good: Offering both CD and DVD options of the cover disks. (In general
> the cover disks are good)
> Bad: Supplying a "free" Linux Pro with each edition - (Why don't they
> just call a spade a spade and include it as one big advertising
> feature).  Linux Pro my arse.

Now THAT is just nitpicking.  And last time I read it, some of the
"advertorials" had some interesting information in them anyway.

> Opinions?
> 

You wanted opinions?  You got 'em. ;)

R.

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