Very Computer

While on/in line at the neighborhood supermarket -- I was reading the
current Newsweek article about Windows 95. I looked everywhere in the
article and the related side-bars to find even a brief mention of Unix
and/or Linux. Nope...can't say that I even located a word ending in
either "ix" or "ux" in the relatively lengthy piece. (There was a
side-bar at the end of the article that was quite favorable toward the
Mac, though).

Well -- this didn't surprise me. After all, Newsweek is a general-market,
mass-circulation magazine and one can't expect them to even be aware of
the non-mainstream operating systems. A mention of Unix or Linux in the
piece would've been an unexpected surprise.

While NOT on/in line at the supermarket, I read through another offering
from the press...

What I *can't* understand is the apparent lack of knowledge displayed
by Ray Valdes in his "A Surfeit of Servers" lead article in "Dr. Dobb's
Developer Update." This is a journal that purports to deal with "Trends
and technologies for the Professional Programmer". A paragraph on
page 3 includes this phrase: "...the vagaries of UNIX and Linux (such
as rebuilding the kernel to add support for a new device or using vi
to edit configuration files) remains MYSTERIOUS and INACCESSIBLE
to most." [Emphasis added].

I'm beginning to get the idea that a single issue of Linux Journal
contains more mentions of Linux than the entire corpus of ALL mainstream
magazines and computer-related journals combined (at least since the
Bronze Age). And...those that do write of Linux (such as Dvorak and
this citation from DDJ/DU) either get the story wrong or, at best,
damn the efforts with faint praise.
--
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      Linux for fun, M$ for $$$...and the NFL for what really counts!
=============================================================================

: While on/in line at the neighborhood supermarket -- I was reading the
: current Newsweek article about Windows 95. I looked everywhere in the
: article and the related side-bars to find even a brief mention of Unix
: and/or Linux. Nope...can't say that I even located a word ending in
: either "ix" or "ux" in the relatively lengthy piece. (There was a
: side-bar at the end of the article that was quite favorable toward the
: Mac, though).

Tell them they need to carry Linux Journal. :-)  Seriously, we are
appearing in places that even surprise us.  Harass places like
CompUSA--they carry Linux books, they should carry a Linux magazine.

If you do know of a place that should carry the magazine, contact our

--
Phil Hughes, SSC, Inc. P.O. Box 55549, Seattle, WA 98155  (206)PUBS-REF

Quote:>>> Publishers of pocket references for UNIX, C, ..., Linux Journal <<<

Given that I doubt any of us is going to shell out for ads in their
magazines -- I think the only way we're ever going to get reasonable
coverage in the (not very) free press is to push very * this
point.  Try to shame them into discussing Linux.

HEY PC-WEEK WHY DON"T YOU EVER COVER LINUX?  IS IT BECAUSE WE DON'T
ADVERTISE IN YOUR MAGAZINE?

--
Sphere.

Find a Linux/GNU Group for you: http://www.veryComputer.com/
Buy Free UNIX!
Microsoft is prohibited from examining any packet containing data
originating on any machine which I am using. (Not that I can stop them.)

: And you're surprized?  When did you ever take out a full page ad in
: any of their rags?

: Given that I doubt any of us is going to shell out for ads in their
: magazines -- I think the only way we're ever going to get reasonable
: coverage in the (not very) free press is to push very * this
: point.  Try to shame them into discussing Linux.

: HEY PC-WEEK WHY DON"T YOU EVER COVER LINUX?  IS IT BECAUSE WE DON'T
: ADVERTISE IN YOUR MAGAZINE?

They did.  Quite a bit of hoopla came out when Linux 1.0 was released.
Dvorak (whom everyone hates now I guess) said:

For $34.95, there's no excuse not to have Linux as a primary or alternative
operating system on your workstations. Yggdrasil is the leading provider of
this stuff in the country. If you have any interest in Unix, you should call
these guys now. Oh, the name refers to some mythological Norse tree. They'll
be glad to explain it. Highly recommended. Bargain of the year.

Inside track.
PC Magazine: Dec 20, 1994

And how about PC Week giving Linux its 'product of the week' award for 1.0:

Linux 1.0, a free Unix clone developed on the Internet, is easily one of the
most interesting products PC Week Labs has come across in a while.

(Sometime last August I believe)

This whole argument reminds me of the one stop light that you always hit.
You never remember when you drive up and it's green, but you always remember
when its red.

BTW, Computer Select (August '95) gives me a listing of 144 articles
that mention Linux in the article.  Among those, I'd guess 20-30 are
listings of BBSes that have Linux and others are product announcements.

-Mark

--

"You're one of those condescending UNIX Computer users!"
"Here's a nickel, kid.  Get yourself a better computer." (6/24/95 Dilbert)