Random anecdote: someone told me a bunch of years ago that LJ was looking for guest authors. So I submitted a couple of articles to them and they published them. This is when I found out that they were paying $400/article. Mind you, I sent them my stuff with absolutely no expectation of compensation. I was just happy to share what I knew and it was kinda cool to see my name in LJ. But hey if you promise money, I’ll take it. They struggled to pay me for like almost a year and eventually did by putting it on a company credit card, which was apparently the only way they could pay anyone because the other accounts were either frozen or off limits or some such. They folded shortly after this. So to every reader out there who was disappointed by them folding, I am sorry I contributed to that.
I am glad to see them try again, though I don’t know how this will work. This content is just a lot less relevant today than it was two decades ago.
To add my own similar anecdote, they mailed me a check (overseas, I might add). I didn't cash it, as it seemed like LJ needed the money.
I am likewise glad to see another try, but hopefully it won't try to emulate a generic tech/Linux blog. They had a niche for deep dives and original content, but I wonder how viable that really is in 2020.
I loved Linux Journal, Linux Magazine and I loved CUJ and a couple of other Mexican tech magazines I used to purchase when I was young.
I Miss curated quality "push" information with substance. For me, the internet has brought really good "pull" information and put it at my fingertips, but I always enjoyed to get to know about some subject that I was not looking for, and was even not related to what I was looking for.
Nowadays, I use a combination of Feedly, HackerNews, Slashdot OSNews and others to try to get some interesting articles, but 90% of it is low quality SEO blurbs and a lot of it is repetitive.
Let's hope that Linux Journal returns with the same quality it had before.
Funny side story: Back in the mid 1990s I couldn't get Linux Magazine in my town in Mexico, but I had a cousin in Alaska. I subscribed and gave her address, and every 6 months or so she will travel to Mexico and give me batches of the magazines. It was a great time when I got to catch up on the great stuff in that magazine.
I miss the thrill of visiting the local news stand and purchasing my favourite computer magazines. The internet has diminished some of that excitement with its always-available / quick-consumption model.
Quality content is worth paying for but I would like to see publishers accept payment in smaller increments, as opposed to the current model of "we'll bill you $100 per year".
>I loved Linux Journal, Linux Magazine and I loved CUJ
Also DDJ, Byte (before got too commercial, aka ads over 70% of content), Unix Review, PC Magazine), etc.
Even JavaWorld, etc., some time later, were good for a while.
But Linux Magazine still exists? I ended up with a subscription to it when Linux Voice closed and got folded into it. I get a copy once a month in the mail.
EDIT: Ah, it seems it's called "Linux Pro Magazine" in the US. Maybe a different "Linux Magazine" you got?
Wow. I guess there is some good news in 2020, after all!
I wrote a monthly column for LJ for 20 years (!), and loved it, both as an author and as a reader. (I also loved hearing from people around the world who read it. Many of the subscribers to my "Better developers" weekly newsletter about Python tell me that they used to read my columns.)
Linux Journal died twice in the last few years, and when it closed in the summer of 2019, we were sure that this was the end.
Then I got e-mail from someone a few weeks ago, asking if I knew anything about Slashdot buying LJ. I had no idea, and asked a few other LJ alumni on Twitter what they knew, which was nothing. The info was on Slashdot's site, but there weren't any other details other than the mention of a purchase.
Let's hope that it works out this time around. I wish the best of success to Slashdot, the new Linux Journal, and the readership.
Not sure entirely what niche they are aiming for. I don't think there is space in todays media environment for something in between superb depth (LWN) or breadth (Phoronix).
I think it's for a more leisurely read. Not everybody consumes technical updates in such depth as those websites offer.
There are plenty of Linux online magazines, not just those two, and they do just fine. It's never a bad thing to have more Linux-related content, different opinions, and to see things from new angles.
I'm curious too. Of the "old" sites LWN is the only one I keep reading.
I just reached a point where I stopped caring about slashdot, kuroshin, linuxjournal, the register, and similar sites.
The only "old" site I still miss is freshmeat, I guess these days software discovering is achieved via github, but I have recurring thoughts that some curation of "20 new releases" and "10 new projects" might be interesting. Of course as soon as I think that I realize that people who follow node, golang, python, and similar niches would have no interest in other software so the dream dies.
Advogato is another site I wish still existed, but my involvement there was only sporadic, at best.
Linux Journal did end its activities late last year so it's not surprising that they couldn't simply bring everyone back.
In fact, I hope the people who got laid off found new jobs a long time ago.
I miss the days of an actual printed journal you could buy on a newsstand. Microsoft Systems Journal was a really good one at one point! (and a special shout out to Byte Magazine, not that it's a journal).
Credit to this group. I've had a SourceForge address in place for 20yrs or so that forwards to my main email and it kept working through after their acquisition in 2016 of Sourceforge.
That's a nice announcement to see. How are Sourceforge and Slashdot these days? It's cool to see this umbrella opening up. Have the dynamics changed for SF and /. since the purchase? I interact with Sourceforge for downloads a few times a month, but I don't spend much time there otherwise.
I can't remember the last time I downloaded from Sourceforge. I wouldn't ever trust them again unless they basically started from scratch and were ran by completely different people.
It seems to still work. I haven't really been a user since 2012 (although I just checked and my password from then still works..) Right now it seems to have similar stories to here.
Though if you scroll to the bottom you see the click bait type ads prevalent to the modern web
I'm glad that Linux Journal is back. However, I hope that they are back with a business model that is sustainable. Some of the most iconic magazines (e.g. MAD) couldn't make it with their traditional business model.
maybe just make it an ads-supported linux blog site? linux is everywhere, if the blog articles are of high quality, i think there are many potential followers
Given the terrible state of the digital ad market (programmatic FTL) for even publishers with tens of millions of uniques a month and the propensity for LJ readers to (understandably) run an ad-blocker, I’d say this is a bad idea.
This isn’t 2005 anymore or 2010 or even 2015, when you could just slap on some AdSense ads and pay some of your bills. Let’s not even talk about LJ’s ridiculous overhead of designing a PDF magazine every month instead of just having a damn website (I guarantee you the “print” ad sales did not cover the costs of putting the digital publication together, not even close).
I’m glad it at least seems like the archives will be safe but this is the third timed in three years that LJ has died and been reborn...forgive me for being cynical and not expecting much from this.
[+] [-] IgorPartola|5 years ago|reply
I am glad to see them try again, though I don’t know how this will work. This content is just a lot less relevant today than it was two decades ago.
[+] [-] g_p|5 years ago|reply
I am likewise glad to see another try, but hopefully it won't try to emulate a generic tech/Linux blog. They had a niche for deep dives and original content, but I wonder how viable that really is in 2020.
[+] [-] punnerud|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gonzo|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|5 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] xtracto|5 years ago|reply
I Miss curated quality "push" information with substance. For me, the internet has brought really good "pull" information and put it at my fingertips, but I always enjoyed to get to know about some subject that I was not looking for, and was even not related to what I was looking for.
Nowadays, I use a combination of Feedly, HackerNews, Slashdot OSNews and others to try to get some interesting articles, but 90% of it is low quality SEO blurbs and a lot of it is repetitive.
Let's hope that Linux Journal returns with the same quality it had before.
Funny side story: Back in the mid 1990s I couldn't get Linux Magazine in my town in Mexico, but I had a cousin in Alaska. I subscribed and gave her address, and every 6 months or so she will travel to Mexico and give me batches of the magazines. It was a great time when I got to catch up on the great stuff in that magazine.
[+] [-] wooptoo|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vram22|5 years ago|reply
Also DDJ, Byte (before got too commercial, aka ads over 70% of content), Unix Review, PC Magazine), etc. Even JavaWorld, etc., some time later, were good for a while.
[+] [-] phaemon|5 years ago|reply
EDIT: Ah, it seems it's called "Linux Pro Magazine" in the US. Maybe a different "Linux Magazine" you got?
[+] [-] reuven|5 years ago|reply
I wrote a monthly column for LJ for 20 years (!), and loved it, both as an author and as a reader. (I also loved hearing from people around the world who read it. Many of the subscribers to my "Better developers" weekly newsletter about Python tell me that they used to read my columns.)
Linux Journal died twice in the last few years, and when it closed in the summer of 2019, we were sure that this was the end.
Then I got e-mail from someone a few weeks ago, asking if I knew anything about Slashdot buying LJ. I had no idea, and asked a few other LJ alumni on Twitter what they knew, which was nothing. The info was on Slashdot's site, but there weren't any other details other than the mention of a purchase.
Let's hope that it works out this time around. I wish the best of success to Slashdot, the new Linux Journal, and the readership.
[+] [-] em-bee|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dddw|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] stefan_|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zapzupnz|5 years ago|reply
There are plenty of Linux online magazines, not just those two, and they do just fine. It's never a bad thing to have more Linux-related content, different opinions, and to see things from new angles.
[+] [-] stevekemp|5 years ago|reply
I just reached a point where I stopped caring about slashdot, kuroshin, linuxjournal, the register, and similar sites.
The only "old" site I still miss is freshmeat, I guess these days software discovering is achieved via github, but I have recurring thoughts that some curation of "20 new releases" and "10 new projects" might be interesting. Of course as soon as I think that I realize that people who follow node, golang, python, and similar niches would have no interest in other software so the dream dies.
Advogato is another site I wish still existed, but my involvement there was only sporadic, at best.
[+] [-] TwoNineFive|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] legerdemain|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] senux|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gabereiser|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rconti|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lsllc|5 years ago|reply
Somehow reading online articles isn't the same.
[+] [-] merrick33|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] themodelplumber|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ravenstine|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] blackhaz|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] acomjean|5 years ago|reply
Though if you scroll to the bottom you see the click bait type ads prevalent to the modern web
[+] [-] runawaybottle|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sloshnmosh|5 years ago|reply
~XKeyScore~
https://www.theregister.com/2014/07/03/nsa_xkeyscore_stasi_s...
[+] [-] exikyut|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jasoneckert|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kbenson|5 years ago|reply
I didn't know that, and you just made me very, very sad. :/
[+] [-] ymgch|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wgjordan|5 years ago|reply
closing its doors, no apostrophe.
I take this to mean the editors weren't hired back? Refer to the closing message for proper grammar [1]:
> On August 7, 2019, Linux Journal shut its doors for good.
[1] https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/linux-journal-ceases-pu...
[+] [-] panpanna|5 years ago|reply
Many of their excellent articles were useful to everyone, not just linux users. (I think I learned docker and mongodb from their articles).
If they start selling subscriptions again, please consider supporting them by getting one for your company.
[+] [-] AdmiralAsshat|5 years ago|reply
Pretty much everywhere else is PDF or Mobi only. And yeah I can work with Mobi, it was just nice to have the open format supported.
[+] [-] fouc|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] HashingtheCode|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TwoNineFive|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ausjke|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] filmgirlcw|5 years ago|reply
This isn’t 2005 anymore or 2010 or even 2015, when you could just slap on some AdSense ads and pay some of your bills. Let’s not even talk about LJ’s ridiculous overhead of designing a PDF magazine every month instead of just having a damn website (I guarantee you the “print” ad sales did not cover the costs of putting the digital publication together, not even close).
I’m glad it at least seems like the archives will be safe but this is the third timed in three years that LJ has died and been reborn...forgive me for being cynical and not expecting much from this.
[+] [-] jlgaddis|5 years ago|reply
The type of web site that probably has the highest percentage of visitors that use ad blockers?
[+] [-] wishysgb|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tyfon|5 years ago|reply
Now give me the print edition! I really miss reading LJ at the loo :)
[+] [-] hkt|5 years ago|reply