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| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Good reaction (by mootjes on 2007-03-05 09:25:39 GMT from Belgium)
Dear Ladislav,
While I didn't notice the need for a change, others might have. I think it's a great attitude that you openly ask the opinion of the masses. Fits the open source view ;)
Keep up the great work!
2 • Good efforts! Keep it up! (by Lance on 2007-03-05 09:32:08 GMT from United Kingdom)
Hi,
I am a casual visitor to distrowatch and the weekly news.
So often I am hitting the pages late.
So I can understand and see the point of cutting the latest news section.
I normally enjoy/need the info on Distros.
So if a particular distro has done something interesting or updated their kernel etc. I'll often look here first for many distro things rather than surf a dozen other sites.
I wonder if less latest news and more heres an insight into this or that facet of a distro might work.
Lance
3 • DistoWatch Weekly (by julien on 2007-03-05 09:36:03 GMT from Belgium)
Dear Ladislav
Please keep it like it is, its perfect.
4 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Dennis on 2007-03-05 09:37:01 GMT from Germany)
Hi!
First of all, I want to thank the people behind distrowatch and distrowach weekly, because, in my opinion, they are doing a great job and delivering a high quality news side.
I definitely think that you should continue distrowatch weekley, even though a lot of other news sides exists. One big advantage of distrowatch weekly is that you get the news of all distribution of the last week in one newspaper and not in small pieces. This is really important to me, because I have hardly time to track the news of the distribution I am running and distrowatch weekly gives me the opportunity to see the big picture.
Therefore, I would love to see the news summary section being kept or even extended. Additionally, a tricks and tips section would be good, which doesn't need to concentrate on one area, because I have often stumbled across an article, which didn't really interest me, and suddenly realized that this tool would really easen up my work. (Please, keep this section, too).
And a small section which gives the reader a small introdcution to new featues / technology and explains what it is..
The one thing I hardly read are interview, just because they don't interest me that much... but this is just my opinion.
So keep up the good work.
Bye,
Den
5 • My 3 top sections are.. (by Anonymous on 2007-03-05 09:52:41 GMT from Greece)
..News summary, Distribution reviews and overviews and Opinions and commentaries.
6 • Best Distribution(s) (by Mike-uk on 2007-03-05 09:53:12 GMT from United Kingdom)
I'm waiting for PCLinuxOS 1.0 to arrive at final and for this versions repos to catch up to the old repos (my reason for using this distro).
It's usable now and it is "simply the best". Not only the wide range of apps and the ability to easily create a "live" backup/remaster to dvd - it simply works from the word go. With all the rubish repos and software installers about - not to mention restrictions on what you're allowed to install there is little wonder that this is a clear leader on the Desktop (I've tried most of them!). It is also highly "polished".
The other distro that interests me is SLAX. Not as a desktop but as a usb botable rescue system. The strong feature of this distro is it's modular apps which means simply dropping a module onto the "live" usb to be able to use that app.
I have openoffice plus every kind of graphical app (including google earth) and the whole lot only takes up 600MB. I've had to add things like a bootsplash (which I would like to see the kernel already configured for) so it lacks "polish" but, like the earlier mentioned distro, it's fast.
Just my 2 cents.
7 • DW and the future (by Andy on 2007-03-05 09:55:21 GMT from United Kingdom)
I couldn't live without the Monday round-up of the previous weeks news. I think DW weekly has a good balance of putting together what's important whilst vetting out what's not.
Please, please if nothing keep the weekly News Summary!! It's so boring trolling through countless sites to get the weeks news. DW weekly just makes things simple and keeps me up to-date on what's happening in the world of Linux, BSD and Solaris, All in one single hit.
I also love the Interviews, and written user experiences.
8 • Please do not remove news section (by Daniel Arteaga on 2007-03-05 09:58:47 GMT from Spain)
Dear Ladislav,
For me the news section is very useful. I don't have time to read other linux web pages, and a weekly summary of the status of the distributions is very convenient for me.
Keep up the good work, and many thanks,
9 • Distrowatch Weekly (by Jordi on 2007-03-05 09:58:56 GMT from Spain)
Greetings from Barcelona, Spain. I'm one of your 20,000 weekly readers, and I must say I love this newsletter. Keep it as it is, if you like, I personally believe it's top-notch. However, as you asked for new ideas, here is one that I think could be useful:
What I'd like to see in future DW Weekly issues is a Comparison Review between two or more Linux distros. I mean, every distro has its strong points and its weaknesses, but the unexperienced user sometimes has to decide between two options, not knowing which is the best. For instance, last week I heard positive reviews about Linux Mint. But I already was using Kubuntu and I didn't know if it was worth the change. Eventually I chose to make the switch because I read in a blog the following line:
"LinuxMint = Ubuntu + Automatix + nice look"
It was not true at 100% (there is no Google Earth, Azureus or Real Player from the start) but all the media codecs were there saving me further installation (in the end it was the only reason why I install Automatix). So to me this review was useful. At least I knew what to expect and the reviewer gave me a reason to choose Mint over Ubuntu.
Sometimes I see positive reviews for Fedora or Opensuse, which is normal come to think of it because, hey, they are two of the best distros out there. But if I had to choose one over the other, who could provide a good reason to choose? The only way is to make a comparison between the two, saying "Fedora is better in X,Y, Z but Opensuse has A,B,C". These are the kind of useful reviews that many readers would appreciate.
Or maybe it's all rubbish and I'm writing nonsense. Anyway, thanks for bringing us DW Weekly. We truly appreciate the effort.
10 • No subject (by ac on 2007-03-05 10:03:11 GMT from Hungary)
Of course DWW should stay, but we don't really need tips and tricks or terminology - we just need to keep the news and reviews.
11 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by d00m3d on 2007-03-05 10:06:01 GMT from China)
>When you've read through the following section, please comment below and
> indicate the top 3 sections or features that you (would) find most valuable as a
>reader. Also please state which section, if any, you'd be happy to see dropped.
In order of preference, I value the followings as the most valuable to readers.
Distribution reviews and overviews.
Interviews with distribution developers.
Tips and tricks.
DWW is indeed a very great weekly summary. I feel guilty to make suggestions to drop anything.
By the way, the donation to Sidux is cool. It should help Sidux developers to their mission (impossible?). :)
12 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Ladislau on 2007-03-05 10:11:33 GMT from Romania)
I visit this site day by day and I am very happy with distrowatch.
Regarding the DistroWatch Weekly the format is OK for me. Anyway the most intresting part (for me) is the reviews of some new distro or releases.
I think that a section with tips & triks is also a good ideea.(security, firewall, servers config are good candidates for tips...)
Thank you for your good work,
Ladislau
13 • RE: The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Duncan on 2007-03-05 10:13:38 GMT from Australia)
Keep doing whatever fits into your available time. I always enjoy an end to end read while skipping over articles on distro's I don't follow. The main priority for me is that the DistroWatch website with it's regular updates doesn't suffer at the expense of DW Weekly. I've been a daily visiter to the DW site for about a year and use it as my main source of information as I slowly settle on one desktop distro (PCLinux?) and one portable distro (Puppy?).
Regards, Duncan
14 • Distrowatch weekly future (by Stu on 2007-03-05 10:18:17 GMT from United States)
I feel you should keep on pretty much as you are. While there are plenty of other resources for Linux News, yours is the place where all the recent releases of various Distros is put together in a fairly convienient and easy to understand way. Then again, I've only been running Desktop Linux since 2003, and having to learn pretty much everything by myself, I've only recently begun to appreciate the information you provide. You might consider dropping to bi-weekly issues if that would be easier for you, but otherwise I wouldn't make any drastic changes.
Thanks!
15 • RE: The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Dextro at 2007-03-05 10:19:55 GMT from Portugal)
I for one enjoy the current state of DistroWatch Weekly. I don't really have the time or the state of mind to filter through the many linux-oriented websites out there on the web to find the latest news and latest distribution releases so I download a copy of the distrowatch weekly to my smartphone and read it on the bus to my university. It's the place where I get my main info on linux and of all the sections suggested in the article I would love to have them all to read every week (or even on an extended monthly version).
One suggestion I have though concerns the Tips & Tricks section. What if instead of making your own tutorials you just link to a couple you fond on the web concerning one of the many areas you mentioned (Bash, Gimp, KDE, Gnome, etc...), probably one advanced, one for newbies and one for those in-between.
Overall DistroWatch weekly is a great source for information about the Linux world and I for one am I happy reader for about half a year now (if not more).
16 • Distrowatch Weekly (by Linuxaverage on 2007-03-05 10:22:26 GMT from Belgium)
I rarely post comments on Distrowatch Weekly, but I read it almost every week and always feel excited when I see a new issue is out. To me it's the best weekly summary available of what's going on in the wonderful world of free operating systems.
Every section in this newsletter is interesting, I wouldn't drop anything, you could maybe add some kind of tips section, but to me the newsletter is great as it is, I'm sure most readers will agree.
Of course there will always be criticism but until those critics publish a better weekly summary (which is almost impossible) I'm sure everyone looks forward to next week's good old DW weekly :)
17 • More humour (by Lobster on 2007-03-05 10:22:59 GMT from United Kingdom)
I like the interviews, the comments, the ranking system, the newsletter. I would like to see more humour. Perhaps some guest articles. I find Distrowatch is very good and widely appreciated. Long may it continue.
18 • RE 9 : Are comparative articles a good idea? (by dbrion on 2007-03-05 10:23:20 GMT from France)
There is a risk of enormous work, even for readers ( I suppose there are 130 distrs which natively support my speech and my keybqrd; I remove 10 system rescue, 30 live CDs;
if I systematically compare the 90 remaining, that makes 45*89 pairs ; If I furthermore suppose there is one comparison a week, it will have an historical interest ...
For US keyboards, it would be somewhat more Sysiphian....)
The occurrence of simulation (with qemu, VMplayer or VirtualBox) makes tests far easier to individuals, at least for a limited hardware.
The DistroWatch data bases can give an idea of the presence/absence of essential softs, the rest is to discover by oneself...
I think trying some distrs, noticing what is missing and trying to install that from source (this is the only portable way as package managers diverge, it is traditionnal and formalised by GoboLinux,say,...) is a milder way : one can appreciate some new softs/ideas even if ones favorite softs is missing.... => the notion of "best" sistr is somewhat irreal to me, even if Manichean reasoning is easier..
19 • The future of distrowatch (by rex on 2007-03-05 10:28:05 GMT from Ireland)
Though there are many sites running coverage, there is only one definitive source from which all visits must start and that for me is here with disrowatch, whether it be reviews or just news. I would we exceptionally sorry if the site and its great content and information were to go anywhere else.
News, reviews and modules versions are essential for me and you peeps do a great job at it.
Thanks
20 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Åke Nilsson on 2007-03-05 10:28:23 GMT from Sweden)
Keep up the good work. Critisism often comes from people who wants everthing free to their liking and that are not willing (capable) to give input for improvments.
nilsson01
21 • I use this site as my default home site online (by Bob on 2007-03-05 10:30:43 GMT from New Zealand)
I enjoy Linux, and the mix of info on distros, linux news, stats and comment gives linux flavour to start every online excursion. The strength of the site for me is the generally brief summaries of distro/linux stuff with links to chase more detail if wanted. If tips,hints and tricks were to be a new section, it would work if it was brief; an editorial comment on the usefulness or otherwise of topics at an existing page or site. Then, over time the commentary and links would be a useful resource itself.
For me the distro info is top, then stats, then news , commentary is optional, although often interesting, and developer interviews can easily get indulgent...if they are fun to do, then do them, I'm sure we'll read 'em but if they are not there I wouldn't miss them.. Again, links to their blogs is possibly a compact way to recognise them but keep the magazine tight.
Good work
best wishes
bob
22 • news section (by Artiom Lunev on 2007-03-05 10:33:15 GMT from Israel)
Thank you for your work. Please keep news section.
23 • Weekly News in One Place (by Auronandace on 2007-03-05 10:34:04 GMT from United Kingdom)
I've got to say, I don't often comment but I do read your distrowatch weekly regularly. I agree with the other comments that mention they like to read only one site in order to get a weekly round-up. This is the valuable service you provide and is very much appreciated by your many readers. It's because of this audience that the content gets changed, but sadly not everyone has a say or wishes to comment. So I have an idea that might prove useful:
Perhaps you could set up a poll of some kind with people to vote on the features to be kept or added. You probably know of a way to keep the votes anonymous and restricted to once per person.
I hope this suggestion helps and wish you all the best. Keep up the good work!
24 • Feedback (by Caraibes on 2007-03-05 10:35:55 GMT from Dominican Republic)
Hi Ladislav,
First of all, I am a faithfull reader of DW & DWW... Please keep it up, as I always look forward mondays to read my DWW... I enjoy the news, because it is all in one place, I enjoy the rants, because it is part of the feel...
-"indicate the top 3 sections or features that you (would) find most valuable as a
reader" :
*News summary.
*Distribution reviews and overviews.
*Distribution reviews and overviews.
But then, all of what you offered sounds great, so don't give up !
-"Which distribution release are you most looking forward to in the coming months?" FEDORA CORE 7 !!!!!
I just enjoy DW a lot, so I would say you should hunt for some "helpers" to keep up with the rythm...
All the best from the tropics !
25 • don't stop!! (by aunzim on 2007-03-05 10:37:16 GMT from Spain)
It's my first comment, but I've been reading this section for long now. it's a very useful to know all the news from the linux distro in a résumé form. I hope you don't stop, and other people join in your effort
26 • DistroWatch Weekly (by kanishka on 2007-03-05 10:41:43 GMT from Italy)
I really enjoy DWWeekly, especially commentaries and first looks. The News section ages too quickly to be really useful, so if I should drop something I'd drop that.
What I can't find (or can't find enough) in other websites are commentaries and opinions, so I think that if possible you could improve them; tips&tricks and news are found everywhere (and in DW Main page!), and they're not the point of a weekly newsletter.
Oh, and I second the comparative reviews idea ;)
Summarizing: comments and opinions on everything Linux are the hearth of the newsletter IMHO, these are things that I can only find there.
Keep up the fantastic work!
27 • DistroWatch Weekly (by kanishka on 2007-03-05 10:43:55 GMT from Italy)
Ooops sorry, "hearth" is really "heart" in my previous comment ;)
28 • Says who? (by Pierre on 2007-03-05 10:45:48 GMT from Jordan)
I for one read DW Weekly religiously and if it is even 30min late, I get upset :) I use Windows, but this newsletter is my best window into the world of Linux, and what I learn from it is shaping a lot decisions I'm about to make about moving to Linux or BSD. I suspect I'm not the only one with this point of view.
As for more sections: the Tips and Tricks get my vote. You can even have them user contributed by us (the readers). One modification would be to label how advanced the user needs to be to able to pull off the trick (e.g., beginner, intermediate, advanced). Store them in a database, and as people learn more, they can search the archives for "harder" tricks.
Pierre
29 • my vote (by Stephane Rouberol on 2007-03-05 10:47:31 GMT from France)
Hey
congrats for your job!
the weekly is great
I vote for:
News summary.
Tips and tricks.
Distribution reviews and overviews.
thanks
S.
30 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Felix Pleşoianu on 2007-03-05 10:47:45 GMT from Romania)
Hi there,
I've been reading distrowatch.com for about 6 months now, including DW. I find the newsletter very useful the way it is now, especially... well... the weekly news! Interviews are also interesting. They don't have to be perfect; after all they don't just give dry information, they also tell something about the people being interviewed. If there was one section I'd drop, that would be the upcoming releases. Then again, I don't know what to replace it with, so perhaps it should stay.
Keep up the good work!
31 • Future of Distrowatch Weekly (by Magic Banana on 2007-03-05 10:50:27 GMT from France)
Like many other people, I really appreciate a weekly summary of what's going on in the FLOSS world. I don't have time to track tuxmachines.org or equivalent news sites Please don't skip this section.
A section discussing "social troubles" related to the software industry (treacherous computing, DRM, software patents, agreement between Suse and Micro$oft, etc.) would be a good addition (maybe not on a weekly basis) and I would really appreciate it.
32 • DW Weekly (by ersen on 2007-03-05 10:54:57 GMT from Turkey)
one of the main reason that i hit this site is dw weekly. every monday i am waiting to read impaitently. news is my favourite.
also Interviews with distribution developers will be fine.
ersen
33 • DWW (by Marcel on 2007-03-05 10:57:57 GMT from Netherlands)
Hi Ladislav,
please do not change DWW! Ofcourse the information can be found elsewhere too, but DWW brings it all together in a nice easy-to-read manner, that makes my mondays more pleasant.
Thanks for doing this Great Work for us all!
34 • News Letter (by Dave KC1DI on 2007-03-05 10:58:33 GMT from United States)
First I must say Thank you for the 192 issues thus far. They have been of great interest to me as I've followed the growth of Linux. Having been a Linux user since early 1995. It's been a good journey thus far. I happen to like the concise lay out of the News letter. But would like to see a short section each week on new applications. I believe of of the most frustrating things faced by new adopters of Linux is finding and installing applications that do not come bundled with there particular distribution. One of the reasons Ubuntu is so popular is that it has a wide choice of application available. Unfortunately if you need an application in any distrobution that the maintainers have not included in their respective repositories it can take hours , especially in the RPM mode tracking down the application you want with all it's dependencies. anything that could be of help to the new comer would we a welcome boost.
Just my two cents worth-- and Please keep up the good work my time like yours is very limited and I find the no nonsense approach that you have used in the Distrowatch weekly a great asset.
35 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Lorne on 2007-03-05 11:08:39 GMT from Malaysia)
I look forward to each issue.
Great site. Appreciate all your good efforts.
36 • Preserving DistroWatch Weekly (by Mark South on 2007-03-05 11:12:57 GMT from Switzerland)
Ladislav, if it feels like you need to change DWW because it's taking up too much time, then it's inevitable that you will change it. I'd be happy to see DWW change if it means that you will keep on doing it. To explain why it's important to me, I would highlight the fact that your news summary is informed and concise. Like many others, I don't have time to trawl slashdot and linuxnews, so having a solid weekly summary is valuable. Also, as a long time regular reader, I feel that I understand your attitudes, preferences, and biases, something that is not easy to deduce from reading articles by random writers scattered over the web.
One suggestion for content is to publish a weekly list of articles that you would like to include in DWW, and assign them to volunteers. This would enable you to build up a stable of DWW contributors over time.
So please, keep on doing DWW, keep the news section and keep covering new, interesting, and marginal distros. I, for one, really appreciate it.
Best wishes to you and your readers,
Mark
37 • DWW is the Voice_Of_Linux_Users (by Michael scb on 2007-03-05 11:19:40 GMT from Malaysia)
Dear Ladislav,
You lead, You convey. The weekly has been conveying opinions of linux users !
These opinions are as important as the news. You don't have to drop anything unless it affect the quality of the website.
Cheers !!
38 • Favorite parts of DistroWatch Weekly (by UZ64 on 2007-03-05 11:22:46 GMT from United States)
My favorite part of DW Weekly is the distro review/overview section. Following that would be the opinions and commentaries section, and then the developer interviews.
To be fair, the News section is not really that important as there are plenty of great sources for it, but it is nice to have a short summary. If it were to disappear, I probably wouldn't miss it too much, but I certainly wouldn't complain if it stays (I read it myself).
I like the distro overview section so much, my only real wish is for it to get a bit more attention. I'm left disappointed when there's not at least a mini-review of a distro in DWW... it's always nice to get a little tour of a new or little-known distro no one else has written a review for.
39 • The Future of Distrowatch (by Make on 2007-03-05 11:24:02 GMT from Germany)
I've ben reading DWW for years now and am always looking forward to the next issue. Thanks for sharing your insight and writing skills.
For me the news section is a rather vital part, because it filters out the unimportant stuff and adds valuable backgound/perspective to the things that matter. Quality and depth in favour of sheer quantity - not a bad concept in my opinion.
I also like occasional developer interviews and would like to read contributions from guest editors in the future.
Cheers, Make
40 • New tip and tricks section? Interviews. (by dbrion on 2007-03-05 11:27:38 GMT from France)
I like thie idea of tips and hints at first sight, but it would be dangerous : for CLI and bash amateurs, it can only be a magic sentence to accomplish a task. It would convince begiiners that, say, bash is something magical (I know it is logical and can be deduced from man reading, say)...
=> these tips and hints should remain very occasionnal. (I do not mean tips in DWW were uninteresting)..
Interviews are interesting, and it was partly interviews who led me to some interest in *BSDs . The fact that interviewed pple have very different sensitivities can make your readers think a little, even if they have not the same mind-orientation...
I do not know the proportion of beginners among DWW readers, nor whether the ratio of bored people increaased over time (nor whether the number of readers got anomalously low). [It would be a good starting point for a poll]
41 • Debian-Installer RC2 -- Status and schedule (by hound_dog on 2007-03-05 11:31:33 GMT from Finland)
A status update and release schedule for Debian-Installer release candidate 2 was published yesterday on the debian-boot mailing list. This should be the final version of Etch-installer and lacking this installer is currently the main blocker for the Debian 4.0 "etch" release.
http://lists.debian.org/debian-boot/2007/03/msg00115.html
42 • DWW (by Pumpino on 2007-03-05 11:39:21 GMT from Australia)
I look forward to DWW each week too. I often check the site every few minutes when it's due for release. It's a ritual for me. It's perfect the way it is. The only thing I would like to see more of is interviews with distro creators. I'd love to read an interview with Texstar (PCLinuxOS) and Andreas (OpenSUSE).
If you interview Andreas, perhaps ask him why OpenSUSE has dropped to nearly a 12 month release cycle. SUSE was always released in April-ish and October-ish. Check the release dates on DW...almost like clockwork until this year. Maybe this is the beginning of the end.
43 • DWW (by istoyanov on 2007-03-05 11:54:57 GMT from Bulgaria)
Thanks, Ladislav, for another nice issue of DWW!
I enjoy the monday read @ DistroWatch just as it is, so keep the excellent work as usual:)
44 • Future (by ex-man on 2007-03-05 11:56:46 GMT from United States)
I like DWW as it is. It's nice to get a summary of the last week's big news after we have had time to think about matters and get a complete story.
Some information about hardware would be good and that is not easily found. Specifically, how do you find Linux-compatible wireless cards, for instance? DistroWatch could use its reach to help those vendors making their hardware available for Linux users. This is the kind of thing that would help users of Linux a lot, and would also give hardware vendors an incentive to provide drivers.
45 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Rop on 2007-03-05 11:56:49 GMT from Netherlands)
PLEASE, keep up the good work!
DistroWatch Weekly is my favorite monday reading! I can't live without it.
46 • Italian point of view (by Agente Roger on 2007-03-05 11:56:56 GMT from Italy)
For me it is easily perfect as it is! My first choice in Linux/BSD news world..... Keep on rocking!
47 • Distrowatch Weekly (by SMS on 2007-03-05 12:01:06 GMT from United States)
Please keep Distrowatch Weekly as it is, NOBODY can be up on everything all the time and I don't think anyone seriously expects this. I look forward to reading D.W. every week. Thank You.
48 • Don't drop the news section (by David Bandiera on 2007-03-05 12:02:23 GMT from Belgium)
Yes, I know, many sites cover the OSS news, but not everybody feels like browsing these sites on a daily basis.
I really appreciate having a "week summary". And I would enjoy more opinions and commentaries.
Cheers
49 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Stefan Daniel Schwarz on 2007-03-05 12:02:40 GMT from Germany)
My top three favorite parts of DistroWatch Weekly:
1. News summary (definitely keep it!)
2. Opinions and commentaries (definitely keep it!)
3. Distribution reviews and overviews
I'm not so interested in the following options:
- Interviews with distribution developers
- Tips and tricks
A new feature I'd like to see is:
+ Terminology
This might even be more interesting than Distribution reviews and overviews!
That said, thanks for your hard work and keep up the great effort! I'm always looking forward to reading the latest DistroWatch Weekly as soon as it's published...
50 • Can't get enough DistroWatch (Daily) (by Doc Holiday on 2007-03-05 12:02:50 GMT from United States)
I'm probably one of your more extreme and long time visitors. I may visit Distro Watch two or three times a week and I'm also subscribed to the RSS feeds for Latest Distributions and Latest Packages. I love to know the latest distributions and packages and ofcourse the weekly newsletter. Anyway, I believe your site is well done as-is. I know whatever you improve on will only increase my visits-per-week. I love the Tips and Tricks idea.
51 • Don't change (by Eddy Nigg on 2007-03-05 12:02:58 GMT from Israel)
Hi Ladislav,
Even for someone like me, involved with our own distribution (StartCom Linux) and other projects, it's always refreshing to read this weekly. Sometimes I find, that I missed some news item and find it handily here. I also find it interesting and important to understand what others do (more of the same or new concepts). And at last, it is a great opportunity for all vendors alike, to get from time to time some special attention by DW weekly :-)
Personally I'd suggest not to post howto's and tips and tricks, but keep up all the rest...but then, there are some which need exactly that...in short: DON'T CHANGE!
52 • very good job (by sbeel on 2007-03-05 12:04:50 GMT from Egypt)
hi DW team,
its very good this way, its great
thank you guys for every thing you do
53 • The Future of Distrowatch (by hawk on 2007-03-05 12:05:53 GMT from Denmark)
I read DWW every week I can. It is unique due to its multi-distribution coverage. Other news sites does not have the deep understanding of the diversity of the distros displayed here, and I think it would be good to focus on that.
So, if I could nudge you in a direction for my own selfish reading pleasure, it would be to avoid stuff centered around any particular distribution.
Tips & tricks should be avoided except if it has a flavor like "how to do X in different distros", "how to troubleshoot an unknown distro when it won't boot after first install", or (I think you had an article like the following) "how to keep 100 distros on a single harddrive".
I also think reviews could be limited unless they are doing something new and interesting (which we might expect to find its way to other distros in the future). In particular, I would prefer an in-depth review occasionally rather than a quick review often. However, there are other sites doing that also...
Anyway, DWW is already good and thank you doing it until now!
54 • DW ROCKS ! (by Daniel on 2007-03-05 12:09:06 GMT from France)
Dear Ladislav,
I have some kind of ritual every Monday on my lunch break I read every bit of DW and please don't even think stop writing, this will break my normal life cycle, wow :).
It's true that there are many news sites, but DW is very close to my Linux experience. My point is that you don't write like a journalist or some kind of Linux professional but like a normal user this makes DW very different from other sites. What I'd like to see in DW is of course the news section, tips and tricks section and also a user experience about installing, testing or just working with one distro. I now the last one will some kind difficult to manage.
Thank you very much for the great job you're doing !
Keep up the good work !
55 • The Future of DWW (by srlinuxx on 2007-03-05 12:12:08 GMT from United States)
I can certainly understand how time consuming producing the DWW must be and I'm sure you must be suffering from burn-out and over work. We would understand if things must change.
However, it would leave a gapping hole if it were to change too much or disappear completely. Thank you for mentioning my site, I try hard to deliver breaking news as soon as possible, but you never fail to surprise me with your news section. Sometimes I think to myself, 'how did he find /that/?' :D With your years of experience and devotion to the community, you have developed connections and sources some of us only wish we had. The news section is an absolute staple.
The Features section (reviews, interview, or commentary) is also very interesting, but I imagine another that takes considerable time. I know personally how difficult it is to write a thorough and professional review of a distro. I've been working years on trying to hone the craft and read yours when available in awe. Your gift in the use of language and ability to craft thoughts and ideas concisely is the mark of a true writer. Most of us, myself in particular, are wanna-bes and amateurs in comparison. Again, your years of work in the community is also reflected in the insights only you can bring to such reviews.
So, the top 3 for me are: News, Features, and New to Database.
I love the New to Database section as it offers ideas for new distros to test and perhaps write about.
The one I could do without is Released this week, although it might be the section that demands the less work as you've already covered those within the past week, which is why I could live without them.
In summation, I love DWW the way it is. It would be my wish that it remain very much the way it is, but the community would understand if it had to change. You work has been invaluable and very much appreciated. As others have said, you /are/ the definitive source.
Good luck with your decision,
Susan
56 • DWW (by boily on 2007-03-05 12:14:00 GMT from Canada)
For me, DWW is a must read. Why? Because it has a great summary of what is currently happening in the Linux distributions world. Even if the news have appeared some days before on other sites, I do not worry because I know I will find everything I need to know each Monday on one page.
I do not think that a tips & tricks section would be justificated in DWW. It does not directly concern distributions, else if it is about how to install one in particular.
Continue the great work!
(and sorry for my bad English!)
57 • Don't change DistroWatch Weekly (by bonecus at 2007-03-05 12:20:08 GMT from Italy)
Hello i'm sorry for my english it is not good.
I work with linux from 2000 and i begin to use mandriva. Now i work with mephis, pclinuxos and sons (sm), zenwalk and ubuntu.
I think you have done a great work. I read distrowatch daily. It is very usefull for me because the newa are very interesting. Thank to your job i hae discovered and worked with many linus distro.
Don't change DistroWatch Weekly. It is ok.
I am admin at www.pctrio.com with my friends Ceccus and Max79. We try to help newbie in IT solving problems in our forum; we have a Linux section and an open source space too.
Thanks.
58 • Various (by Steve on 2007-03-05 12:22:57 GMT from United Kingdom)
Hi Ladislav,
...your website is highly regarded - and it seems to me the best way forward is to use the Open Source spirit. I like the suggestion by Mark (#36) - keep an article "wish-list" and people can volunteer to take on an article; ideally 2 - 3 people with a deadline (? 2 months). This is to keep it fresh and also to encourage completion.
Why not have a non-specific article too? For instance, I have had the joy of trying about 15 distros on my "odd" hardware and only found 2 which meet my needs + work with that combo. My hardware is new... so others will have this joy too. That looks like an article!
Here is another.
I am a system user rather then a techie - and always feel that each distro assumes it must take a "brute force" approach to everything. Why can't there be 2 standardised environments kept on local media - 1) the hardware environment with suggested drivers and known-to-work settings, and 2) the user environment with all their work, data, desktop fiddles, account data, emails etc. Why? Because every time I load in a new distro these have to be rediscovered and 101 variations of the same old problems crop up. And where is my data?? I want that stuff to survive a change from distro-A to distro-B to distro-C.
Automagically. And to do that - all that's needed is an agreement to define certain data areas in a common format.
(now that could lead to a spin-off action group, rather then just an article..)
The other way forward for DW is - take payments and give up the day job. Always a risky route; LWN has found this a troubled path.
Hmm.... :) use the power of the Source!
Steve
59 • Long live DistroWatch! (by John on 2007-03-05 12:27:07 GMT from United Kingdom)
Without wishing to belittle the value of the weekly newsletter, there are, as you say many Linux comment sites on the Internet. Where DistroWatch excels is in the table of distros with what they each contain - and, to a slightly lesser extent, the rating table, which, however 'rough and ready', does give an approximate picture of relative popularity. These I would miss very much. The newsletter I also enjoy, but not to the same extent. But keep up the good work!
60 • ..extra point (by Steve on 2007-03-05 12:27:08 GMT from United Kingdom)
DW is a rarity. It is a common meeting point for all enthusiasts, not just a forum of fans hot on distro X.
And that is a valuable thing.
Steve
61 • Timing (by Yoyo on 2007-03-05 12:35:43 GMT from Mexico)
Maybe the time is right for a Distrowatch donation to go to Distrowatch.
62 • DW is great (by Martin on 2007-03-05 12:41:10 GMT from Sweden)
I usually come here many times a week, but i never come late for the DW Weekly, it's one of my monday must read. Keep up the good work.
63 • The future of DDW (by Scott Kennedy on 2007-03-05 12:44:29 GMT from Australia)
1. News Summary. Keep the brief overview of whats happenning in the Linux world. I read DDW every week and when something catches my eye, I'll then go and chase more information from other sites. The thing is I hear it first from DDW. I like the perspective taken here focusing on a positivity missing on some other sites that seem to go on and on; here it's all about the next achievement that we can see, maybe try out and know Linux is growing and getting better all the time.
2. The reviews and overviews are great, this is the heart and soul of Distrowatch and ties in with the published release cycles and list of distributions and polling of who's interested in what. Definately a keeper.
3. Tips and Tricks.... I would like to see more info on featured distributions about actual USING that distribution and setting a distro up and seeing what else gets added in after a couple of months daily use; links to "unofficial guides", and other supports specific to a distro. And I would like to see more on apps you can't live without that no matter what flavour distro you are running that always seem to find their way back on your system. I've used "Wifi Radar" for example on a couple of distro's now, lets hear what else I really shouldn't be without.
Take my appreciation of a fine publication, I enjoy the read every week and look forward to next weeks issue.
Cheers SAK
64 • Distrowatch weekly (by Ted To on 2007-03-05 12:48:04 GMT from United States)
I like it exactly the way it is. Sure there are always ways to improve it but given your particular resource constraints, I wouldn't suggest adding or removing anything.
65 • Nothing wrong with DWeekly, but.. (by Orson on 2007-03-05 12:54:33 GMT from United States)
..it's the "page hit ranking" that disturbs me.
http://dkukawka.blogspot.com/2006/11/how-to-cheat-distrowatch-ranking.html
66 • Sidux is mature (by Nelson Lobo on 2007-03-05 12:54:49 GMT from India)
If anyone thinks that Sidux is not up to the mark, try it out and you will be in for a surprise. Except for resolution problem which I corrected in a minute, there was no other problem at all.
67 • DW and DWW (by micha on 2007-03-05 12:55:11 GMT from Germany)
Hi
first of all, thank you for that great website and with it, the information all around opensource.
Im reading this side as often i can - nearly every day.First of all new Distros or new versions/releases of the known one interests me.
On DWW my favorites are:
ALL, but interviews. Because they are seldom useful for me (but thats just my point of view).
Agreeing with others, I would like to see new section in DWW and that is a list of pros and cons of some distros - well known and really new one. That is may helpful for a decision between two or three distros to use as me standart-desktop or -server.
keep up that great work
thanks!
68 • The Future of Distrowatch (by Peter on 2007-03-05 12:57:02 GMT from Australia)
Dear Ladislav,
Thank you for the excellent work on the Distrowatch website including DWW and I think the sucess of this site is because of the balanced content that you provide with true passion that a commercial site just can not attain even if you through buckets of money to the site maintainers and content creators.
I look forward to reading DWW each Monday night as that is when it comes available here in Austalia so I would really miss it if it was not available with most of what it now contains. There is alway items that I may not have an interest in but I still appreciate just skiming over the item for a heads up on what is happening in OSS.
It has often been after reading a review in DWW that I have downloaded a distro to try them, mostly LiveCD as it is easy to check them out to see if it is what I like and how it functions on my hardware.
Please keep up the monthly donation as this is a very positive function of DWW.
The 3 Features I find most valuable and are in order of priority:
1. Opinions and commentaries
2. Distribution reviews and overviews
3. News summary
The feature to drop as far as I am concerned if you did need to reduce some aspects would be tips and tricks as well as terminology.
Thanks for your hard work and effort with distrowatch as it is a site I usually check every day.
Regards Peter
69 • Diminishing usefulness? Hardly! (by Morten Juhl Johansen on 2007-03-05 13:00:22 GMT from Denmark)
Quote: "[...]Several critical comments were expressed in a recent DistroWatch Weekly forum by readers who argued that the usefulness of this publication had been diminishing over the last few months."
What a steaming, Ubuntu-colored pile of ********. Distrowatch Weekly has all that is needed: Knowledge, rallying-point reputation, good language and a good frequency.
I think that many people would be proud to be a Distrowatch writer, but a lot are too intimidated by the high level of the newsletter.
70 • Keep up the good work (by t2kburl on 2007-03-05 13:01:02 GMT from United States)
I get my Linux news primarily from DWW and have enjoyed the format in which you present it. ie. sprinkled with opinions. Thank you, Ladislav and keep up the good work.
71 • DWW future (by Fredrik on 2007-03-05 13:05:37 GMT from Sweden)
First of all I want to thank you for all the effort you put in DWW. DWW has been a regular part of my Linux experience which started little more than a year ago.
I really apprechiate the News summary, even if there are others available on the net. What makes this summary special, is your comments to the articles you include. This gives an extra dimension to the news which I haven't found anywhere else.
Distribution reviews/overviews: As you state yourself, reviews are time consuming. But such information can be found elsewhere, especially for the main distros. What I apprechiate are the overviews of the lesser known distributions. The most important information to me is the 'quality feel' of the distro: are the ISO:s correct, is the documentation updated, etc.
I'm not that interessted in interviews, but I realise some people are.
I really think you should drop the idea of 'tips and trix'. As someone said above, this is a distro-inspecific site and I think I it hard to keep a t'n't section 'generic'. There are so many other sites doing this, so I don't think DWW should bother with it.
Terminology might be interesting, but I've heard about this thing called 'Google'...
Oppinions and comments: as stated above, I think this is what makes DWW special, be sure to keep it and if you have the possibility, give us more of it.
Once again, thanks for your efforts, you make me survive mondays
/Fredrik
72 • comment (by David Gypsy on 2007-03-05 13:07:45 GMT from Malawi)
I for one am a happy customer! I regularly visit Distrowatch and see it as the one place I can find lots of Linux info under the same roof. If I need to find out if a new version of XYZ has been released, Distrowatch is the first stop.
Keep up the good work, and ignore the multitudes of naysayers who exist purely to cause misery to others.
David
Malawi
73 • Distrowatch Weekly changes (by Robert on 2007-03-05 13:07:51 GMT from Canada)
Hi Ladislav,
I read DW every monday, as I personally do not have all the (free) time necessary to read everything published about the OSS movement. The news summary is interesting to me for that exact reason.
Distribution reviews and overviews. Useful too, since as you mention, you draw attention to other distros that are not always making front-pages. Always interesting to read.
# Interviews with distribution developers. This is probably the part I like the most! :-) Difficult to write, but always a good read. It's really nice to see who's behind the wheel of our favorite (or even totally unknown!) distros.
# Tips and tricks. As you mention, security and encryption are less glamorous, *but* are relative to the OS world, whereas tips and tricks for programs are not. Script tricks are nice to know too, though.
# Terminology. Ah yes.. That would be a nice addition to DW. To be able to lookup terms at Wikipedia, you first have to know they exist! Sometimes definitions we think we know are just not precise enough, and since OSS is in perpetual evolution, terminology evolves just as rapidly.
# Opinions and commentaries. Good read too, as as opposing ideas and opinions - when done in a constructive manner - almost always brings something positive to the reader. One man's trash is another man's treasure! When distro X makes a change affecting something major, you'll always see somebody point out that distro Y does it this or that way, and it gives (me, at least) another opportunity to download one more ISO.. :-)
Thanks for your hard work. It's really appreciated!!
74 • Don't Do Away with DWW! (by Jon Gagnon on 2007-03-05 13:13:05 GMT from United States)
I am fairly new to Linux, (I've been dabbling since 2003, and now I use OpenSUSE exclusively on my laptop, since the beginning of this year). I think DWW is a good way to get a quick "big picture" view of the Linux world. I particularly gain from the future distros (Upcoming) and the news tidbits. I work as a SysAdmin in a heterogeneous environment (Solaris / Linux / Windows), so for me DistroWatch Weekly provides a good snapshot of what's going on and what's coming! Keep it up!
75 • i love this site keep it all! (by lefty.crupps on 2007-03-05 13:13:16 GMT from United States)
Great site and the best way to wake on a Monday morning.
I'd like the site to remain, but it would be fun to see:
Distribution Reviews and a brief paragraph (maybe taken from the Distribution's site or written by a fan) about what makes it special. For example, a Brazilian distro this week uses the TexasFlood boot system -- whoa, what is that and what can you tell us? Why don't others use it?
News Roundup - always seems to have last week's news, and a bit more that I somehow missed
Developer's interviews are great
Tips and Tricks - agreed, find some very useful links or blog posts and throw them up for the week. Maybe you can accept submissions for these!
76 • distrowatch (by anand on 2007-03-05 13:14:01 GMT from Trinidad and Tobago)
ive been visiting distrowatch on a regular basis for sometime now. I get all my linux updates via this site. Keep up the excellent work.
77 • DWW (by nightflier on 2007-03-05 13:19:53 GMT from United States)
What I read and enjoy:
1. News summary
2. Opinions and commentaries
3. Distribution reviews and overviews
Thank you for your effort.
78 • usefulness of terminology (by dbrion on 2007-03-05 13:20:12 GMT from France)
from # 71
"
Terminology might be interesting, but I've heard about this thing called 'Google'...
"
The problem with google is that it may be misleading or over"informative". The advantages of having _occasionnal_ terminology included (or recommanded links, ie links who have been tested by the writer; they already exist in DWW) are twofold :
* pple can refer to them and know someone else found them potentially useful.
* they can be kept for times one has little to say (no opinion?, no new distr releases). If I have a good memory, readers began to complain being bored 2 weeks ago, when there were few releases : informing pple wifi exists -say- and one can find good reading in at http:xxx.yy.zz can be very useful.
79 • IF IT AINT BROKE (by leigh on 2007-03-05 13:20:51 GMT from Australia)
First of all a big thank you to ladislav for all your great work with DWW . I hope you realize how appreciated you are to us linux users.My personal opinion is that it's great the way that it is so hopefully things won't change to much.Also a big thank you to Susan Linton at tuxmachines for her great work at keeping us all up to date with the latest linux news.
80 • Keep it coming (by Adrian on 2007-03-05 13:29:00 GMT from United States)
Just to give my opinion, I like keeping up with the changes in linux distros with the distrowatch newsletter. I do have one suggestion though.
While you are correct in saying that the linux distro scene is constantly updating and it is hard to keep up, I can also disagree with that statement. Looking at the progress of linux as a whole, the fact that there are so many distributions dilutes the progress and good ideas keep popping up in just a single distro. Then eventually the others will steal it.
I think that moving to a newsletter every month (or preferably every 2 weeks) would reduce your workload per week and still provide a forum for admins to keep up with changes. After all noone is going to rewrite a distro, or come up with a revolutionary idea in 2 weeks. And if they do, then most serious users won't throw them on their live boxes anyway.
A 2 weekly review of the most important changes will keep me informed without letting me get too out of touch. Keeping the newsletter the same size as current issues will mean that less important distros get less coverage, but in my opinion those developers should be putting their efforts into a more popular distro and progressing linux faster rather than providing their ideas and time to a fringe distro which benefits virtually noone.
For the distro I actually use (Freespire) I'll be watching them on their website anyway for changes, so will be up to the day on things which actually affect me.
81 • No subject (by Gordon McEwen on 2007-03-05 13:32:01 GMT from United Kingdom)
I visit and read Distrowatch Weekly every Monday - it's a great digest. Please make sure to keep the DWW Reviews and Misc. news sections. I also appreciate reading the commentaries and opinions. Tips and tricks can be found elsewhere.
82 • The Future of DistroWatch Weekly (by gabbman on 2007-03-05 13:34:30 GMT from Canada)
It's hard to improve on perfection, perhaps Tips and Tricks contributed by community members or something along those lines, without adding to your workload.
83 • Opinions & Commentaries (by Bruce Beardall on 2007-03-05 13:34:57 GMT from United Kingdom)
I think Opinions & Commentaries could be expanded. It would be especially nice to see how decisions made in technology and OSS impact on real world situations. It might be a tall order but interviews with company managers/purchasers / IT Managers / schools etc could be very insightful.
Hope this helps, in the meantime, keep up the good work. DistroWatch rocks!
84 • Keep it as it is (by ceti on 2007-03-05 13:35:50 GMT from Brazil)
Greetings from Brazil!
The first thing I do every Monday morning is read DWW. I love it from top to bottom. Please, keep it as it is. Don't drop anything and, yes, add Terminology.
Thanks!
85 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-03-05 13:39:36 GMT from Finland)
My favourite part of the DistroWatch Weekly are the news and commentaries.
- News for the reason that when reading something such as Tuxmachines it is very easy to miss things if you don't check regularly, here you get a nice summary of some of the more important events. I also like the format of having everything on one page, easily accessible.
- Commentaries for the reason that I like someone helping to interpret what is really happening.
For something new, I think the "terminology" part could be interesting. Perhaps it could be something similar to how the distribution reviews and overviews are, but for new technology and interesting applications?
I'm quite new to the Linux world, and I've read DistroWatch Weekly regularly for about a year now. I think it's a quality publication, and I appreciate the time you are putting into it.
86 • No subject (by Arpad Gered on 2007-03-05 13:42:19 GMT from Austria)
Being a regular DWW reader for more than two years, I must admit, that I don't see much need for change. Actually, the only sections reoccurring weekly are the news and the overview sections. Everything else is changing. One week we have a review, next an interview and then someone writes an opinion on a controversial topic.
The news are set apart from the reports on other sites by your commentaries. So maybe you should concentrate on commenting news rather than reporting them. After all DWW is called a "weekly opinion column".
As for reviews and interviews: original content is always welcome, but I don't think that there absolutely needs to be a review or interview each week.
The Tips & Tricks part seems a bit tricky (pardon the pun). I can imagine that most users would like to see their special problems answered which are most likely distro-specific. So unless there are interesting distro-neutral and not too technical (I'm speaking for myself here) topics it wouldn't be worth the extra effort. Much less a weekly article. How about making a contest: users should write the Tips & Tricks they think would benefit most/all DWW readers. They will be published over a length of time and rated by the readers.
Basically the same applies for Terminology, though such a section would mostly be consulted by the least tech-savvy readers. How about slowly building a separate section instead? Then again it might be better to place a prominent link to Wikipedia (preferably in the articles themselves).
Anyway, keep up the good work and thank you for all the reading pleasure.
87 • Software develop under linux (by Anonymous on 2007-03-05 13:47:13 GMT from Germany)
Is there a distro special made for developing software for linux and windows? how to compile (c++), and write a make- file, software for windows xp under linux?
88 • DWW future (by Béranger on 2007-03-05 13:49:53 GMT from Romania)
Ladislav, please just DON'T STOP!
We all need DWW's news and reviews!
I don't feel this is the place for tips & tricks, but for the news and small reviews, this is the best place!
89 • thanks for DistroWatch (by Ken Yap on 2007-03-05 13:51:12 GMT from Australia)
It's one of the things I look forward to at the start of the week. Thanks for all that you have put in over the years.
I check the news regularly using the RSS feed feature. Since the weekly summary is just a compilation of the week's announcements, I imagine it would not take much extra time. So do retain it.
Why not have guest editors and guest reviewers more often? Especially for new releases. That might take some of the burden off you Ladislav.
Once again, thanks for everything.
90 • DWW (by Spiritraveller on 2007-03-05 13:52:05 GMT from United States)
I enjoy reading DWW each and every week.
And I thank you Ladislav for keeping it interesting.
I really don't see anything to complain about.
91 • Fixing Distrowatch Weekly (by Ubu Walker on 2007-03-05 13:54:59 GMT from United States)
I am an avid reader of Distrowatch Weekly. Unfortunately, over the past few months, I've been disappointed with some of the content. I think Distrowatch Weekly should be, first and foremost, an overview of the current happenings in the world of Linux distributions with a dash of opinion.
I think that the newsletter should be shorter. I understand that the goal of covering every single small distro is noble; however, it makes maintaining the newsletter difficult. Distrowatch should be mindful of its audience. I imagine that at least 60% of readers run at least one of the top ten distros. That means focusing on the communities of those distros. I think its swell to cover the 'small frys', but why waste energy writing about a distro that has only 10 people using it, unless it brings something truly unique to the table or is interesting in its own right.
92 • Comments on DistroWatch (by Michael R on 2007-03-05 13:55:35 GMT from United States)
Ladislav,
I come to DistroWatch to keep track of what's current and coming in the Linux world in general. Five minutes on DistroWatch gives me an overview that covers all the major distributions. That's worth a lot to me and I hope you keep it up.
The content I most appreciate would be: news summary, distribution reviews and overviews, opinions and commentary. The rest is also good but I admit I often just skim through the interviews; I'm more interested in what's happening and what knowledgable people think it means.
93 • Resulinux boot time?? (by Rahim on 2007-03-05 13:56:12 GMT from Ecuador)
What in the world, at http://www.linuxhard.org/resulinux/ it says
"-Boot mais rápido que as distribuições líderes brasileiras, chegando de 0 a kde em até 7 segundos"
-or-
"Boots faster that the leading brazilian distributions, going from 0 to KDE in about seven seconds"
Is that possible?
94 • Like DWW just the way it is (by Snowman on 2007-03-05 13:57:16 GMT from Canada)
I read it weekly just like clockwork. I don't have time for all the news, this just gives me what I want the tip of the iceburg!
95 • Commentary: The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by wayne scott on 2007-03-05 13:58:38 GMT from United States)
I would like to see "Distribution reviews and overviews" kept because like you said, small, new distros are reviewed. I look forward to it each week. I would also like to see "tips and tricks." I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for this website. I hate to seem like somebody that need a life, but I check this website several times every day for new stuff. My favorite distro is "PCLINUXOS" and I can't imagine how I would have found it if it hadn't been for your reviews. Thanks again and keep up the good work.
96 • DWW is perfect as it is (by Steve Riddett at 2007-03-05 13:59:11 GMT from Ireland)
I really look forward to reading DWW every week, yes there are lots of other sources of information on Linux (which I also read) but DWW gives me a concise round up, and also Ladislav's views, which I value. It is a unique resource.
I also read your (Ladislav's) column in Linux Format, which is good, but it's only once a month.
I hope you can keep DWW pretty much as it is. Please don't do tips and tricks I think that would be a waste of time and I would rather hear more about a general overview of the state of Linux Distro's which is what you give us right now.
Thanks so much, and I hope you can keep going.
Steve
PS. I would like to see you cut down the amount of time you spend on it to 1 day at most, I think 1.5 days is too much. If that means less content, so be it. Only give us what you can afford to give us.
97 • distrowatch (by anand on 2007-03-05 14:02:05 GMT from Trinidad and Tobago)
ive been visiting distrowatch on a regular basis for sometime now. I get all my linux updates via this site. Keep up the excellent work.
distrowatch is the first site i check EVERY morning (mon-sat) and frequently during the day.
Doing LINUX? then distrowatch is the number 1 site to refer to first. !!!!
98 • Distrowatch to continue. (by D Byram. at 2007-03-05 14:04:37 GMT from United Kingdom)
Dear Ladislav, wonderful site which I enjoy and suggest to inquisitive others. I don't know of any other sites offering what your site does and as distros come and go your site is the most readable and informative. I drop in most days a week so please keep up this outstanding work. Best regards. Derek.
99 • I Luv DWW (by Paul Bailey on 2007-03-05 14:07:04 GMT from United States)
I love DistroWatch Weekly and read it faithfully every week. I read it mainly because it is a good recap of the week's news. I try to to keep up with the news daily but sometimes if I'm traveling or busy DWW gives me the news I've missed. I wouldn't take anything away from it, but if you want to add new sections that sounds great.
100 • Distrowatch Weekly (by David Weber on 2007-03-05 14:07:37 GMT from United States)
I find Distrowatch Weekly to be very useful for keeping on top of the latest Linux world. I pull in your RSS feed, check it daily, download distros of interest and read relevant portions of the weekly summary. Keep up the good work.
Thanks,
36 year veteran of software/hardware development.
101 • The future (by Duncan Snowden on 2007-03-05 14:10:25 GMT from United Kingdom)
I'm a fairly new reader (within the last year or so), but it's already clear to me that you've built up a great deal of respect among your readers. I think you should bear that in mind: the news digest isn't "just" a summary; it's an authoratitive, trusted digest of the week's news. That's a good reason to keep it.
Another is something others have pointed out: it's difficult to keep track of the news when there's so much happening. DWW makes it easy to pick out what's important quickly.
The ideas for new features are good... if you have the time. But if it all gets too much, at least keep the news. It's obvious from the comments so far that a lot of people besides myself would miss it.
102 • Ubuntu 7.04 test5 (by M1k@ H@cK on 2007-03-05 14:10:33 GMT from Italy)
What's going on Ubuntu?
I cannot even install that release!
Ubuntu quality is gone?
Yes....I am afraid so!
103 • DWW (by sc1 on 2007-03-05 14:12:51 GMT from Argentina)
I read DWW every Monday like clockwork. I appreciate having a summary of the wide world of Linux distros in one convenient place. My favorite sections:
News summary
Distribution reviews and overviews
Opinions and commentary.
Please keep it up!
104 • Suggestion (by linbetwin on 2007-03-05 14:13:27 GMT from Romania)
Wow, you have a very loyal readership, Ladislav, and you surely deserve it!
I have a suggestion for the interview section: how about interviewing developers from major distros before a release? Ask them what's new in the coming version, what sets it apart from other distros, etc. Linux 2.6.20? OpenOffice 2.2? GNOME 2.18? Sure, we can read that in the announcement, but what's new and/or improved from a regular user's point of view?
Thank you for all your hard work, Ladislav.
105 • DW future (by pp on 2007-03-05 14:14:11 GMT from United Kingdom)
3 most important sections:
1. Opinions and commentaries.
2. News summary.
3. Interviews with distribution developers.
I think DW should concentrate in its "core" area: *The distro scene*. Linux scene is experiencing an amazing outburst of creativity, competition and evolution. It should be documented, commented, analysed. You should help us to see the *big stories* that are unfolding.
Forget the secondary stuff like tips, tricks and terminology. So much reviews is coming up elsewhere, that linking to them in the main page and the distro-specific pages is enough. Only if impartiality is specifically needed or some issue becomes large, should DW make a review or rather a comparison of several distros in some specific regard.
Another thing that I think should be dropped are the main-page announcements of alpha and beta releases. They are already in the "Upcoming Releases and Announcements", and distro-specific fans will find their alphas and betas by themselves. With the current practice there is actually the risk that a newbie downloads an alpha, and get disappointed with "bugginess of linux".
As a last point, I think opinions are an integral part of DW, and I'd like to encourage you to give them. The only thing that I have found repulsive is when opinions get a moralistic tone, like with the ban on Linuxtoday some time ago. I think technical solutions and questions of user friendliness should
take over the free software ideology. But that's just my opinion.
Thanks for the work over the years. I've been a loyal fan of your site.
106 • RE 87 Cross building under Linux (by dbrion on 2007-03-05 14:19:11 GMT from France)
"Is there a distro special made for developing software for linux and windows? how to compile (c++), and write a make- file, software for windows xp under linux?"
I feel any distr having a bash can suffice, but you should add more compiling tools (cross compilers never are shipped whith a distr). You should of course know how to natively compile under Linux (which is simpler)....
There is an interesting list of cross tools in
http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/pub/Rtools/mingw-cross5.tar.bz2 (Just untar)
http://cran.r-project.org/doc/contrib/cross-build.pdf gives the way to use it for a somewhat complex application; basically, you have a building chain under Linux, and then you fake the compiler, linker to make Windows .exe and .dlls
This has worked for years under Mandriva and WhiteBoxes, as far as I tested....
Then, if you want to test your apps, you can reboot under XP, find an XP box or use an emulated Windows (W98 suffices and has a low Mem print) under, say, qemu (MCN has VirtualBox installed, if you prefer; Mandriva2007 PowerPack has VMWare ; qemu is free and can be easily installed) (or test an executable under wine). Both can be compiled if they are not in your Linux. I prefer qemu, and I installed in my emulated Windows msys/mingw, as I am accostumed to shell scriptings..
I hope it will be useful to someone (these are things I do often under Linux, and they are not complicated)...
,,,,
107 • Distrowatch suggestions? (by Javier on 2007-03-05 14:22:16 GMT from Costa Rica)
Hi! First of all, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SO GREAT AND WELL DONE WORK! I really appreciate the Weekly and all the site, of course, and meanwhile I read today's comment I smile when I remember me when I found this place by the time that the Weekly was at their 6th newsletter.... Since that time, I always return again and again,all the and I dont remember if I even leave a couple of weeks without check this Great site.
I really worried about Your comments and hope that the Weekly could be maintained as today, and I really think that is really good and always well focused and extremely neutral in their content so I always have the pleasant of feel that the comments are always fine and well balanced.
Anyway, if may be a must to sacrifice something because the time involved... IMHO, I could live without the interviews and may be opinions and commentaries, because I am not so sure about if the main companies would really care about it. I really like the Tips and terminology, since a a Newby I remember all the time the frustation of try to found simple, CLEAR and humble explanations about the basics of LiNUX, since the net is FLOODED with lots of Info&Docs wrote in very Complicated&Uncomplete ways by people with too big egos, that ALWAYS start assuming that You are a master of the cli. Please absolutely DONT remove the News and Distro Reviews, since then are lots of the essentials of this Good Site.
But over all, Thank You very much again for such hard and good work!... please dont take too much the so-so feedbacks form someones... by now You know that We are Thounsands that really appreciate the good work that You give to Us all the time, week after week!
Please keep the GOOD Work and Thanks again! Best Regards form Costa Rica! (and please excuse my bad english too! ;-) )
108 • DW Change? (by Snowman on 2007-03-05 14:22:52 GMT from United States)
Why change? The page is fine as it is. I visit the page every day to see what's going on. Even though I've chosen to use Sabayon and PCLOS, I still like to see what is new in the world of linux.
109 • Ubuntu dominates (by Anonymous on 2007-03-05 14:23:48 GMT from Iran, Islamic Republic of)
Well the fedora project has failed to impress me since day1. Every single release had at least one major show stopper that had nothing to do with hardware drivers or software choices. I'll keep trying every release until they get it right.
I zenwalk on my aging p3 laptop as a replacement for xubuntu. It was surprisingly faster but the repositories were miles behind leaving me to hunt down slackware packages or compile from source. Netpkg is great, the repositories were not.
As for opensuse... well don't even bother.
110 • DW (by gmx99 on 2007-03-05 14:26:02 GMT from Italy)
Hi Ladislav & Team,
now, i think i'm not aloan when i say, that every wensday and thursday i'm looking forward to monday and DW hoping there's no delay... ;-))
I watch distrowatch.com every day and nevertheless this summary DW is very interesting. Reviews and overwiews, tips and tricks, opinions and commentaries are important for me.
Thank you for your work!
Greetings,
gmx99
111 • Commentary: The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by wayne scott on 2007-03-05 14:26:51 GMT from United States)
I would like to see "Distribution reviews and overviews" kept because like you said, small, new distros are reviewed. I look forward to it each week. I would also like to see "tips and tricks." I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for this website. I hate to seem like somebody that need a life, but I check this website several times every day for new stuff. My favorite distro is "PCLINUXOS" and I can't imagine how I would have found it if it hadn't been for your reviews. Thanks again and keep up the good work.
112 • WHAT I LIKE FROM DISTROWATCH (by Eduardo on 2007-03-05 14:27:39 GMT from Chile)
Ladislav:
You asked our opinion about Distrowatch and I am pleased to tell you.
In order of preferance I like:
1.- Distribution reviews and overviews.
I like very much these reviews because I can obtain if a distribution is valuable for me.
2.- Opinions and commentaries.
I also like very much your personal opinions.
3.- Tips and tricks.
I need technical tutorials about topics like WI-FI setting, GRUB setting, VMWare setting, Apache setting, Mono development, etc.
Trying to learn more I usually buy an Spaniard monthly magazine called TODO LINUX ("All Linux") and I read Tux magazine.
4.- Interviews with distribution developers.
It is interesting but somehow highly technical for me.
If you can explain in simple words the interview is more valuable for us.
5.- The thermometer by default should reflect the last month because 6 months is too much time.
Congratulations once more and thank you for this great website.
Eduardo
113 • Likes/Dislikes. (by Cleveland Consultant on 2007-03-05 14:31:52 GMT from United States)
I can do without the:
"Released Last Week" section, since I check Distrowatch every day to see what distros and packages have been updated. But, I suspect that news section is actually automated.
"Interviews" - I generally skip those.
"DistroWatch.com News" - it's nice you donate to projects and all, but I tend not to read this part.
"New distros, addtions" -- I don't look at that either, since I check Distrowatch daily to see what distro-release news there is.
----
I do like the:
Summary, Commentary, and Misc. News - gives me a quick place to get a summary of what's happening. I don't regularly look at other Linux news sites, so this is a plus for me.
Upcoming releases - nice to see when to expect them :)
----
What would make a nice addition:
I am mainly into software development. As such, I like to hear how the development of underlying technologies for Linux/OSS is progressing. A piece about the direction of KDE/QT would interest me, as would an article about what's coming with Gnome, or with PHP, Python, etc and which distros plan to make (early) use of new features. Or, how Mono is progressing, etc. There are all sorts of frameworks and toolkits related to many distros that could make a nice topic.
In general, I really love this site though! I appreciate your hard work!
114 • Distrowatch Weekly (by Gordon Latimer on 2007-03-05 14:32:21 GMT from United States)
Keep up the good work, I read it every week and rely on it for my main source of news on new and updating Linux Distros. I would keep it the way it is.
115 • DWW (by Piet on 2007-03-05 14:33:48 GMT from Netherlands)
It was a shock to read the first few lines today, as it seems a hardly hidden announcement to stop with this noble work. To me is is still a very important source of information.
I do not have the expertise to volunteer so I hope somebody else wil. I hope you will keep up the good work for a long time. I do read is every week and I have the rss-feeds led to my netvibes page.
116 • DW weekly changes (by Andrew Mc on 2007-03-05 14:36:10 GMT from South Africa)
Please don't change anything.
I love not having to browse a million sites to get my info (yes I know about RSS)
I enjoy the tone of the reviews, news and interviews presented.
I think DWW is awesome.
DW is on my list of most visited sites (several times per week) and I always check to see if a new DWW has been released.
Thanks for an awesome site!
117 • The Future of Distrowatch (by Charles Paslay on 2007-03-05 14:38:55 GMT from United States)
Continue to do what you have been doing. DW is the first thing I read on Monday mornings and I check it daily to see if there are any new distros out. I would hate to see your site disappear. So, keep as much fun in DW as you can for yourself. It is impossible to be everything for everyone so I wouldn't bother trying.
118 • trolls of wrath (by areuareu on 2007-03-05 14:40:14 GMT from France)
Dear Ladislav,
I have read DWN from number one, and I wait for it impatiently every monday.
I don't read the 'this week's distro' part because, as I look at your site almost every day, I don't see any reason to read it twice.
I am sorry to say that the part I find more and more boring is the reader's comments one. At the beginning of DWN, I have learnt a lot from these comments which were helpful and well informed.
Now most of these are 'I have installed _my_precious_.2.0.omega3 and it is the best distro I ever tried because the wallpaper is cool, it has recognized my wifi card and I can play dvds'.
So my opinion is: get rid of the reader's comments (including mine) and keep everything else as it is. Unfortunately, it won't save you much time.
119 • DW Suggestion (by Joe Labeck on 2007-03-05 14:43:35 GMT from United States)
I've never written to you before, but I read DW almost daily, and I NEVER miss DWW. I think it's probably the best, most concise collection of Linux news on the Web.
One comment I saw was very good. Someone suggested some sort of comparison of distros. I'd like to expand that idea a bit. I've seen articles in the past that try to decide which is the "Best". What is really needed is a series of articles showing which distro is best for a particular user.
The best distro for a wireless laptop a few years old is not the same as a new laptop is not the same as a desktop publisher. The end use determines the best for a particular user.
I think people would be willing to volunteer to write such an article, and you could solicit suggestions for what type of end-use should be covered.
Whatever you do, please leave the news section. It's my one best source, and thank you for all the great work.
120 • Distrowatch (by rx182 on 2007-03-05 14:45:36 GMT from Canada)
Do not stop the newsletter! It makes my mondays more enjoyable ;-)
By the way, you could only keep these sections up:
News summary (a must)
Distribution reviews and overviews (another must)
I don't care much about the rest :
121 • The future of DW (by Rickard Welin on 2007-03-05 14:46:00 GMT from Sweden)
i think is good as it is, a nice summery of what happed the past week in the Linux/BSD world mixed with a review or a interview.
Keep up the great work.
122 • Distrowatch RULES!! (by Rev on 2007-03-05 14:48:21 GMT from United States)
Distrowatch is fine just the way it is and anyone that says to the contrary is a boob. The site neatly summarizes what is going on. You can check on the latest release of a particular distro and get a snapshot of what the distro is about. To me this site is like what a stock ticker is to an investor. I also like the page hit ranking which is an nice indicator as to how the distros are doing against each other. The site is neat, tidy and to the point with out long winded bloviating from truckulent poppinjays. Most importantly, this site saves me time because of the way things are organized. I check in and leave in seconds with out having to read some mile long scrawl. Distrowatch gets to the point and I like that. If I want details and commentary then I can go to the other sites or google what I need.
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Toasty approves this site.
123 • i love the newsletter (by Jason on 2007-03-05 14:51:21 GMT from United States)
I love the weekly newsletter. It might be nice to see more interviews with people involved with distro production so we can learn what they are currently working on for the next release. It also always interesting to here about the things the makes a distro different from others.
124 • RE:--- (by Serge Lussier on 2007-03-05 14:51:34 GMT from Canada)
Hi there, ( Warning: my low english skills may be funny to you :-) )
First, The initial homepage of all kind of browsers on my home/mobile compturers are all set to Distrowatch :-)
I hit new "Distrowatch Weekly (news)" every issue. May be I do not always read everythings - because not all topics are of interest to me, even if there is only little informations about the topics I am interested, I think it is worth keeping it. If I can have some updates from Distrowatch, I will certainly digg to and hit the official web site that holds/created the information - that means that my point-of-view is that DW have contributed to expose the news and direct interested readers to the originated publisher.
My two cents.
Please keep up with this great feature.
Yours
Bretzel
125 • DistroWatch (by Randall Cooper on 2007-03-05 14:52:15 GMT from Italy)
News summary: I like it this section and find it very interesting. It's a great quick way of keeping up.
Distribution reviews and overviews: Please keep. It's a great way to learn briefly about what other distros are doing.
Interviews: I'd remove these before even the News summary. I haven't learned much from them. They tend to the esoteric: either they're explanations of internal and obscure distro disputes or they're "up close and personals" which I never liked when ABC did them during the Olympics either.
Tips and Tricks: I imagine this would be a great section, though I worry about how to keep it useful. I'd focus on things that Linux doesn't do well. So help with wireless connections and viewing WMV files and the like.
Terminology: Fine, though I'd suggest that this be done hand in hand with Tips and Tricks, so that users can know what you're talking about in those.
Opinion and Commentary: Yes, excellent section. Your opinions seem to me to be less belligerent and more balanced than most I read. I think you bring a valuable perspective to the Linux discussion.
In all, I simply want to add my praise to what I suspect is a chorus: Distrowatch weekly is a great part of the Linux experience. I look for it every Monday morning and read it quickly and with great interest. Thank you for your contribution.
126 • DWW great as is (by Omari on 2007-03-05 14:55:43 GMT from United States)
I think DWW is great as is. I find it very useful and don't think it has diminished in usefulness at all.
Please, NO "tips and tricks" section. There is already enough of this stuff on the net. I wouldn't mind it so much if you got volunteers to do it because then it wouldn't diminish time spent on rest of DWW.
Guest commentaries would be nice if about general distro matters.
But overall I think the format and content is already superb and very useful and unique--Tuxmachines et al don't offer anything quite like DWW. Keep up the good work.
127 • Suggestions (by A69 on 2007-03-05 15:13:43 GMT from Bulgaria)
I think it is a good idea to include "featured program of the week" (or somtehing similar) section
There is no really need to summarize releases past week -- if someone's interested, it can read the news anyway.
The "new additions" section is good
"Tips and tricks" is most welcome.
Finally, you're right about other sites, but Distrowatch is the best -- it is simply very well organized I does it job. THANKS!
128 • Relevancy of DWW (by JRfromTX on 2007-03-05 15:27:06 GMT from United States)
While I can understand that there are now tons of articles being written about linux distributions, reviews, etc. on other news sites and blogs, I must admit the reason why I always trust DW is because for the most part, the views published on DW tend to be less biased than other sites I visit. I feel that the DW team has a good sense of it's responsibility to report distro news without creating much controversy and flaming. Am I saying DW is THE source for unbiased linux information, honestly no..I dont know if there is one yet.....Am I saying that DW is A source that I trust...yes. And perhaps I am wrong, but I feel like there are a lot of us that feel this way, and I feel would we all feel that DWW is a good source to keep us all up to date on whats going on in the non-corporate *nix/bsd world. Your efforts and time is much much appreciated
129 • RE 80 Small distrs should be considered as precious.... (by dbrion on 2007-03-05 15:28:41 GMT from France)
" the fact that there are so many distributions dilutes the progress and good ideas keep popping up in just a single distro."
I found good ideas in many tiny (in the meaning of DWW rankings) distrs.
I 'll just pick two of them, almost at random :
*Gobolinux formalised the work of users who want to add functionalities to Linux (their systyrans forgot)
I never will use Gobolinux, but I am very happy of knowing it exists and this idea of compiling and putting where one can is not that weird...
*Knowscience (tiny DWW ranking) has a nice list of scientifical apps.
It can be used it as a live CD, or to find nice apps and recompile them from upgraded sources.... Even if she would not work at all, her existing is very useful.
" Then eventually the others will steal it."
They chose to be open sourced, else they would have patented...
"Keeping the newsletter the same size as current
issues will mean that less important distros get less coverage,
but in my opinion those developers should be putting their efforts
into a more popular distro and progressing linux faster rather than providing their ideas and time to a fringe distro which benefits virtually noone."
Their existence and their being known through DWW was beneficial to me (and I know many other pple can build from source)...It was not as Linux distributions, but as an idea support.
(then, I just have to download and build from source newer versions of the apps one likes, it is very simple).
It is obvious taht sys"admins" want to have just one head, not to think that much about adequating many versions to their users needs... Intellectual laziness leads to weird ideas, such as Linux competition (which is unfeasible)...
130 • Future of DistroWatch (by James Sparks on 2007-03-05 15:35:21 GMT from United States)
I have read DistroWatch since it's beginning and find it a very valuable resource. Distro reviews and announcements are about all I use it for because I like to make up my own mind about the various flavors. I don't have time to search out all of the new releases though and DistroWatch helps facilitate this. On occasion I have found that tips and tricks are most useful. I'm not in the IT profession and have only 1 friend that I have been able to get converted to Linux. Between the 2 of us, there is limited knowledge. Any tips and tricks on managing home networking, including using SMB is appreciated. I use Linux to manage my multimedia files between the 6 machines in my home.
THX, keep up the good work.
131 • weekly news (by bobby on 2007-03-05 15:38:27 GMT from Canada)
I want to express support for the weekly news. It is something that I try not to miss every week. In particular I am interested in news for several particular distros like - Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora.
The format is very condensed and useful.
Thank you for all your effort
132 • DWW Future (by Mario Vanoni on 2007-03-05 15:41:06 GMT from Italy)
Remember and follow always
the old UNIX (K&R not BSD) rule:
keep it simple and small.
133 • Thoughts on DWW (by ScottC on 2007-03-05 15:43:45 GMT from United States)
I've been reading weekly for most of a year now, and I also like having the weekly roundup. In my opinion, I often find that the released last week section is very similar to the regular page updates, and could possibly be left out. I would rather read a section that points out one or two up-and-coming and promising, but lesser known distros that I might enjoy. I would really like to see a section for Linux newbies, as I'm sure they often get directed to this site, the section could discuss KDE/GNOME/etc or a good newbie distro, or answer a common newbie question for instance. The miscellaneous news interests me, especially when it deals with issues like dunc-tank or patent issues. The award is also interesting to read about.
134 • Distro Watch Weekly (by Jeff Greer on 2007-03-05 15:47:13 GMT from United States)
Please continue DW Weekly edition. As you mentioned in the editorial, the weekly summary is one of the best sources of up to date information. For me, the format is perfect. Thank you.
135 • State of DistroWatch (by rexbinary on 2007-03-05 15:49:41 GMT from United States)
I think it's just fine like it is, and I enjoy reading it very much. :)
136 • Another staunch supporter of Distrowatch Weekly (by Luke on 2007-03-05 15:56:49 GMT from United States)
I read every bit of it, and I love it! I am one of those who don't check up on Linux news every day, so all of it is essential reading for me. I never check any other Linux-related site (except for help) unless you link to it. I am also one of your loyal readers who would love to see DWW expanded!
However, I understand wanting to reduce your work load. In the short term I would say just figure out which section takes you the longest and spend less time on it. For the long term you could make the DWW expansions (or possibly one of the current sections) community-generated, where the users can vote on which volunteer contribution will make it into the next distrowatch. That way, if somebody has a particularly interesting tip or trick, it would make it in one DWW, but the next time the article might be a review of a less-known distro that deserves recognition.
Of course there is work in starting this up (possibly through forums?), but it might reduce your workload in the long run. Whatever you decide, keep up the great work!
137 • DDW (by Eric at 2007-03-05 15:57:55 GMT from Canada)
The news summary is what keeps me coming back to read DDW, even though I check tuxmachines anyways. I don't know why. It just seems interesting the way you put it.
As for the rest of the stuff, I read it, but never on Monday morning. Usually only when I come back home from school/work.
(plus everything other positive comment)
138 • Future (by octathlon on 2007-03-05 15:58:50 GMT from United States)
Thanks for your work on Distrowatch.
My top 3 section favorites are:
- Distribution reviews and overviews - especially other than the "big" distros and ones that have something special about them.
- Opinions and commentaries.
- News summary.
I don't think a tips and tricks section is really that relevant to DWW and sounds like a lot of work. But if you would like to have it, you could just mention useful tips and provide links to pages that provide the details.
"Ubuntu dropping its much coveted 3D desktop features due to what they believe is lack of maturity of these new desktop technologies.": Fawns are timid creatures easily spooked by 3D objects. I hope the next mascot Ubuntu picks will be a bolder animal not so afraid to include technology that shows off what Linux is capable of compared to other OS's.
139 • The Weekly (by Jesse on 2007-03-05 16:00:22 GMT from Canada)
Ladislav,
I'm one of your Monday regulars. DWW is an excellent way to
get all the relavent news in the Linux/BSD communities
in one place. Please keep the news round-up as I prefer to
get it all at once, rather than gather snippets from other websites.
Please also keep up the reviews and first-glance pieces. They
are a great way to see what new pieces of technology are
floating around in the distros.
Thank you for all your hard work.
140 • Usefulness of DW (by Eric on 2007-03-05 16:10:12 GMT from United States)
I like Distrowatch Weekly. Please keep it going.
There are many distros that may otherwise be overlooked
141 • In defence of the news summary (by Coin on 2007-03-05 16:16:39 GMT from Norway)
I actually quite enjoy the news summarys. Other sources tends to be more comprehensive, but that also means that the good stuff is harder to sort out. I always find the news-section interesting.
142 • No subject (by johncoom on 2007-03-05 16:17:04 GMT from Australia)
Firstly thank you for providing the Linux comunity with DistroWatch
I agree with almost every thing pp wrote in 105. Especially this paragraph
Another thing that I think should be dropped are the main-page announcements of alpha and beta releases. They are already in the "Upcoming Releases and Announcements", and distro-specific fans will find their alphas and betas by themselves. With the current practice there is actually the risk that a newbie downloads an alpha, and get disappointed with "bugginess of linux".
PLUS - as some others have pointed out the concept of having a Tips 'n Tricks does not seem applicable here as so many are distro specific and are better suited to each distro's forums
LASTLY the "Interviews with distribution developers" if continued, these should be much more rigorous and selective in what you actually publish - to use your words "while others, especially those who work on commercial projects, tend to add too much marketing drivel." - EG: the one you recently did with a certain lady, I found to be atrocious - I think if people can not (or will not) answer your questions properly then you should not publish evasive answers or marketing drivel.
That is my 2 cents worth
143 • Top 3 Sections or Features (by Mark on 2007-03-05 16:23:05 GMT from United States)
News Summary
- I don't always see news related to the smaller distros, so having them here is nice.
Distrobution reviews
- I like your reviews of the smaller distros, wouldn't see many of them otherwise.
Tips and Tricks
- I'd suggest either user submitted tips and tricks or when those aren't forthcoming, a list of links to recent tips and tricks available elsewhere would be nice.
144 • My 3 Votes to Sidux, Pclos, Blag/FC6 (by Lycan on 2007-03-05 16:27:09 GMT from United States)
All my love towards Ubuntu has been dying each day faster.
My support and vote is going towards SIDUX.. PCLOS... and BLAG60k based on FC6.. and also FC6 itself even though yum sucks
145 • Need for Distrowatch (by David Chu on 2007-03-05 16:35:05 GMT from United States)
I have been a regular reader of Distrowatch for more than a year now. I think you have done a tremendous job in organizing the various distro info and offerings that no one else has done. Whenever I need to find a distro or some information, distrowatch is my first choice. Distrowatch format is well organized and serves a definite purpose that other blogs don't.
There is a lot of noise and bias commentaries on various distributions from various distro fanatics. I think they are fun to read, but as a person who is a general Linux enthusiast, I prefer to read the articles and distro reviews here because they all seem relatively straight forward without much bias, and I definitely appreciate it. Also, there is no reason for expanding just to compete with other blogs. I enjoy the ability to read the articles and reviews in about an hour or in one seating. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing !
Keep up the good work,
David
146 • DWW (by voislav on 2007-03-05 16:35:06 GMT from Canada)
I love the current format of a news redux and mix of reviews, commentaries and/or interviews. The short format is what attracts the most readers, where one can get the weekly review of the OSS and then follow up the stories of interest. There are always going to be a dissatisfied minority, after all you can't please all the people all the time. I see that some people are against the released last week section, but it's the section that takes the least work and I think it would be nice to retain it.
I would be against tips and tricks, these should be left to the communities of the respective distros. With the number of distributions around and the pace of change these would be point of contention (there is only 51 issue a year) and would be obsolete before long.
147 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-03-05 16:38:55 GMT from Italy)
suggestion: have robert back
148 • DWW Future (by Jared on 2007-03-05 16:39:35 GMT from United States)
Definitely, keep DWW.
I enjoy your commentaries (although I don't always agree, but that's okay), I like the reviews of the lesser known distros and I really like the tips and tricks when you have them. The interviews are also great. I could take or leave everything else.
My concern is the extreme burden you have putting DWW together each week. May I suggestion that you open DWW to the community to support and write. You can still oversee the content and give your stamp of approval for each article presented. I think you can contribute a commentary each week, but allow volunteers to write the other topics covered in DWW. You may even want to have a volunteer editor to help oversee the flow of articles submitted, proofreading, editing and submitting articles/topics to you for approval. I'm involved in a small way in the PCLinuxOS mag (as a proofreader) and I think they have a great process that can be modeled for DWW. I think they present a very professional product, all produced from novices.
I know I would love to be published on DWW maybe for a review on a lesser known distro or offering a tip and trick of the week. This can be my way of contributing back to the community of OSS and Linux, since I don't program and don't have alot of money. I would think you would have several people willing to volunteer their time to help produce DWW. I know I would.
Who out there is willing to contribute back to Distrowatch? Let Ladislav know how you're willing to contribute. I believe in the the ideal of an open community. I've seen great things happen with this type of philosophy, Linux/BSD is a testament to the fact. The same thing can happen for DWW.
149 • Key feature (by Buster on 2007-03-05 16:40:44 GMT from Canada)
For me, the key feature of the Weekly is the SUMMARY of important developments in Linux for that week:
1. News, including people in the news
2. Reviews of distros we might want to consider
3. Your personal overview of what is going on in the Linux world
Thanks for your efforts over the years.
150 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Hervé on 2007-03-05 16:42:29 GMT from Belgium)
Hello from Belgium
Please keep your weekly newsletter going......
It is very interesting and gives all the latest information in a "nutshell".
Kind Regards
Hervé
151 • Distrowatch Weekly (by Phil on 2007-03-05 16:50:29 GMT from United States)
I like Distrowatch the way it is. No glitz or flash, just an easy to read format. I depend on your news updates and reviews, and look forward to them every Monday. Tips and tricks for bash might be nice but since your current format seems keeping you busy enough that should probably be left to the individual distro's forums. I know I could subscribe to news feeds from many of the different distros but frequently I have found a new distro that I never would have considered by reading you weekly . Thanks for all your work and PLEASE keep it up.
152 • Distrowatch is great (by Jon Germany on 2007-03-05 16:51:38 GMT from United Kingdom)
I think Distrowatch weekly is fine as it is. I can see that the news section may not be so important now with so many other sites catering to this. But Distrowatch is that important that it is a daily visit for me and Distrowatch weekly is my weekly must have fix of info & facts. Like this week I am looking forward to reading the article on "Kadischi". I always wondered how to build my own custom live CD. I would also like to understand more about compiling, Kernels, & how to build my own distribution by taking an already good one like Mepis & then modifying it into something more to my vision of the way a distro should be. I have only been using Linux for a year now & hunger to have a better understanding of things.
Keep up the good work. If you have time this week after reading all these comments left for you. lol.
153 • Monday Morning (by Marco on 2007-03-05 16:52:37 GMT from United Kingdom)
Every Monday morning, I wake up get dressed, walk to the train station and wait for my train to get into London City.
It is terrible on Monday's, because most of the trains are delayed and every train is really packed.
But I am always in a good mood, because a few hours later I can enjoy reading the Distrowatch Weekly together with a nice cup of tea.
Please Ladislav - do not stop writing your excellent newsletter!
Many thanks,
Marco
154 • Love Distrowatch (by Sam on 2007-03-05 16:57:36 GMT from United States)
Keep it up. I am addicted to distrowatch. It's the first thing I look at every morning.
155 • future of dw-weekly (by leon pogrzebacz on 2007-03-05 17:02:21 GMT from Austria)
what i like mostly on dw is:
# distro reviews / overviews
# news summary
# from time to time i use to read interviews
i would appreciate to find here a central ressource for tutorials covering gui oss like scribus, inkscape, gimp, oo and others, also tipps & tricks regarding linux-admin tasks like backup/restore, sw-deployment, synchronisation of directories etc. would be fine.
anyway, you've done a very good job so far which i appreciate a lot - for me dw is my linux starting-point - i just sometimes lookup additional sites if i find something interesting on dw.
thank you for your work & br,
leon
156 • Dw weekly (by knux on 2007-03-05 17:07:06 GMT from Portugal)
New Note 9
Please don't drop the news summary -- it's the most important part of distrowatch weekly to me. I'm trying not to follow too many sites and blogs (spent too much time reading them) and the summary keeps it neat and simple, every monday.
Distribution reviews on the other side, there are already tons of sites doing reviews, overviews, etc, of most distros, and I'm guessing that much of the time spent preparing dw weekly is on this section, that could be dropped.
Terminology is a waste of time imho, just link a few words that pop up to wikipedia articles and those of us not familiar with the terms can look it up.
About interviews and opinions, they're interesting sometimes, I would keep them.
So my top 3 would be: News Summary, Interviews and Opinions.
157 • DWW (by Jordi on 2007-03-05 17:08:48 GMT from Spain)
DWW is perfect as it is right now, why change a thing when it's perfectly useful to a lot of people?.
Please keep DWW as it is now, i enjoy reading it every monday :)
158 • future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Mike Elkevizth on 2007-03-05 17:10:46 GMT from United States)
I certainly hope that the "News" section of DistroWatch Weekly sticks around. I enjoy being able to come to the site every Monday and get a quick summary of what happened the previous week. I realize that there are many other news sites out there with more detailed information, but I enjoy having a quick summary that I can get in one place rather than searching multiple other sites. If a particular subject catches my fancy, then I can click on a link and usually read up more on the specific issue. Please continue to keep up the great work on this wonderful piece of the pie.
Thanks,
Mike
159 • DistroWatch Weekly comments (by GreenWolf70 on 2007-03-05 17:18:12 GMT from United States)
# News summary: Maybe the week in review. What was the important news for the week and not the info flush you see elsewhere.
# Distribution reviews and overviews. My favorite. Summaries are fine, just provide links for more details.
# Interviews with distribution developers. Yes.
# Tips and tricks. Beginner stuff like partitioning, video driver install, and modifying boot programs. Keep it short with quick summaries and links to details.
# Terminology. Just a link to a WiKi in the endnotes.
# Opinions and commentaries. Yes.
# State of the GUI: Transition from the commandline. Where Linux, in general, stands in ability to do everything from the GUI in Linux, i.e. driver installs, program installs, partitioning, wireless install, firewalls, virus detect, spyware, etc.
# Gaming: Which MMO's run native in Linux? What significant PC games are now running in Linux, including commercial games. How Linux gaming compares to Win/Mac/Console games.
BTW, DistroWatch is the only Linux site that I look at on a daily basis. Good job.
160 • Distrowatch direction? (by AnnFS on 2007-03-05 17:29:38 GMT from United States)
I do at least scan the News Summary, Distribution Reviews, and Upcoming Releases and Announcements, Imo, DW's strength is making readers aware of what distributions are available ... I prefer that emphasis continue.
There are plenty of other websites that do Tips and tricks and Terminology. The one thing I'd welcome more of is, put plainly, industry gossip. Afaik there is no Cringely or Dvorak covering Linux.
161 • Keep the DistroWatch Weekly. (by Jason on 2007-03-05 17:31:03 GMT from United States)
Being a loyal reader, I find the DistroWatch Weekly to be a small condolence for having to start a new work week on Monday. Though a few times in the recent past, I must admit feeling a bit disappointed when the newsletter is less rounded and more of a news summary. I think this week's is a good effort (which I appreciate; and you have my gratitude for the entire publication). Please continue with the effort.
162 • Distrowatch Weekly News (by Scribe63 on 2007-03-05 17:31:48 GMT from United States)
I have to confess, i'm a distrowatch addict, i recovered from my slashdot addiction but then found this site. I hit distrowatch everyday sometimes more than once a day for the past couple of years.
It's definitely a great resource for introducing and learning about the capabilities of distros from a business and DIY perspective. For some reason i get excited when new versions of established distros are released or when new ideas for new distros are released into the wild to fill a void and serve a particular purpose (Remember the agent Mr.Smith from the Matrix).
That being said;
1. Distrowatch news should remain focused braking news about established and and new distros. This is Uniqueness established by your site.
2. Contributions of Tip and Tricks revolving around the purpose of specific distros sounds good.
3. Useful practical opinions and insight based on professional and home user experiences, about specific distros also sounds good.
4. Interviews of distro/application developers, and reviews of their distros/applications can be consolidated to get to know and celebrate the developers and and their distros/applications.
5. Terminologies, to establish common lingo (Open-Suzuh, OpenSusee)
I know that openly developing and maintaining a distro is a labor of love, and the knowledge gained from participating in such a process is enormous. Cooperation for advancement of distros as oppose to duplication amongst distros that serve the same purpose makes for more unified communities. Choice is great, but sometimes it can be confusing and a little stressful, especially when features works in one and not the other that serve the same purpose.
That's my five cents, NUFF Respect to the distro/application developers worldwide and continued success to all.
163 • Newsletter (by Mitch Porter on 2007-03-05 17:33:41 GMT from United States)
Ladislav,
Quality content should be a priority but not at the expense of family, income producing or personal responsibility time. Instead of seeing the glass half empty we should consider all that has been done on behalf of the Linux community via DistroWatch. Open source is about community and contribution. Let's offer solutions as a true community honestly seeking truthful critiques as freely as we give them. Here in the States DistroWatch's Linux info (and the internet in general) has proven a vital link to the Linux world. (Usually weeks if not months ahead of most publications.) Often subjects of interest and distros discussed vary to give the community a brief but yet full scope on the health of the open source Linux community. Ladislav cannot do it all all the time... Free for a newsletter should not always mean at one's complete and exhausting expense. Let those who have the talent use it to the best of their ability. If you use, work, or play with Linux and can write a quality review then please do so. Ladislav could pick which contributions to insert and edit into DistroWatch. Contributers would not have to have face/name time as regulars just open, honest and sincere reviewers benefiting the entire community. If it takes someone a month (between life's events) to test drive and write...great! To "everyone" not all Linux news is good news even if it is up to the minute or a few days old. Not all Linux "issues" and/or "distros" interest everybody. [Sidebar: One of the best groupware open source apps is "Lucane" yet how much "interest" (even according to their website) in it is there? It is one sweet app!] The problem with Linux is the same as everything else "buzz"! Distros come and go yet the one's with the most buzz are not always absolutely the best ones. Tickling the ears of the community is not the purpose of DistoWatch. Ubuntu and all that it offers is great at building interest (especially nubies) as it climbs the charts but it hardly answers every need for everyone. Distros also grow as their local communities grow. Mint and PCLinux are perfect examples! That's the beauty of Linux distros and DistroWatch! Programmers and geeks are at a different place than the occasional and inexperienced Redmond convert (like me) (who compare Linux distros to XP/Vista!) who still need to actually work while learning something new. DistroWatch helps by touching the top of the distro info mountain by "watching distros", a job it does quite well. How many distros are there in the community? Let's except responsibility for our own or lack of involvement (even writing, sharing, using, checking out or playing with various distros!) in the community. Let us serve graciously using the talents we have been given while esteeming others higher than ourselves.
And keep on DistroWatching...
164 • Comments (by Michael on 2007-03-05 17:47:22 GMT from United States)
I visit distrowatch several times every week.
I love:
the package versions on the nightly snapsots
the News Summary
the reviews (I wish the reviews sections in the distro specific pages were updated more frequently)
165 • DistroWatch Weekly (by j on 2007-03-05 17:51:48 GMT from United States)
I find you publication most useful. It keeps me abreast of the linux world in a concise format.
There are always some who complain; yet they offer no alternative, as that would require them to do something.
Keep up the good work.
Regards.
166 • My two cents (by Joe on 2007-03-05 17:57:21 GMT from United States)
I would like to say thanks, and I like many others, like DW the way it is. You do a wonderful job putting this together.
However, If you asked me what to cut, I would say, focus on what DW is about. As the old saying goes, 1 program 1 task. Focus on what is happening with Distro's and interviews with Distribution developers. I too, would like to read about tips and tricks and read about other events in the OSS comuity, but all that takes you away from your task, reporting on Distro's.
Anyway, I love what you are doing here, I love the idea you are asking the people what they would like to see. I don't see that outside the OSS comuity and it's great to see. Keep up the great work.
167 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Brent Wood on 2007-03-05 17:57:22 GMT from United States)
While I enjoy the information provided by the weekly format, I would think that when information about a particular distribution proves to be just a snippet, it would easier to provide a link to the source with an enticing headline. The weekly could then contain more in-depth review and opinion pieces and hopefully require less time to create. The folks that are already following specific distributions are probably well ahead of announcements about prerelease this and beta that. Save the details for the source site or the detail pages here on the site. Whatever happens with the weekly I will still vist the site at least weekly, but I do enjoy the recap and review/opinion pieces. Thanks for a great resource.
168 • distros anticipating (by tzerkit on 2007-03-05 18:05:18 GMT from United States)
i'm really looking forward to the new mandriva but the distro i'm most anticipating is fedora 7. from what i've been reading about version 7 this could be the one to really put fedora on the map. can't wait!
169 • My sugestions (by Tashi on 2007-03-05 18:05:41 GMT from United States)
Your site is about Distros, keep the focus on there. Don't stray too far.
I would like to second (3rd, 4th....) the suggestion that you open up for other volunteers. This can (and cannot) help with your time if you concentrate on specfic areas.
I do have one suggestion to add that I did not see in all of these worthy comments.
Distro Revisit. There are about 10-20% active distros that get regular posts. And then the number goes steadly downhill from there. I would like to see a small section on "Where Are They Now" Pick a distro that has not sent an update in a while or perhaps some that have on the Waiting List for awhile and see how they are doing. Are they still being maintained. A brief updated summary for what they are doing and something about their future goals for the distro.
This has three advantages:
1. Raise their profile to the rest of the community
2. Allows you to eliminate some Distros that have fallen by the way side.
3. Allows you upgrade(or downgrade) distros between your regular database and the waiting list.
170 • Distrowatch Weekly (by dthacker on 2007-03-05 18:06:11 GMT from United States)
I disagree with your critics. I find the roundup of news and new releases a valuable time saver. I don't have time to surf through dozens of news sites. The interviews are good as well. People may interview well or poorly, but that is not within your control. I say leave the majority as it is, and possibly do more reviews. I'm backing up my request with free labor. If you have a review you'd like to see done, let me know and I will download the distro and write it.
Thanks! Dave
171 • mepis 6.5 final (by john golden on 2007-03-05 18:10:47 GMT from United States)
Mepis 6.5 beta 6 installs and works well.Its a very easy and stable sysrem to use.thanks to the mepis team for such a great system.john
172 • DW Weekly (by Per on 2007-03-05 18:14:49 GMT from Denmark)
I like DistroWatch Weekly and hope it keeps running. Quoting dthacker, "I don't have time to surf through dozens of news sites.", I completely agree. DW Weekly summarizes the most important OS news every week. This makes it much easier to keep up with the development of my OS of choice.
A Tips'n'Tricks section would be very welcome, especially for the command line.
- Per
173 • Comments about DistroWatch (by P Caldwell - Dallas, Texas on 2007-03-05 18:16:55 GMT from United States)
I am all for keeping it going. It has been the place where I could watch for Linux releases and with them, the contents of a release. Often it is a very quick check while I am on-line.
As an example, I was looking at a small number of distros as possible replacements for what I run (which is Slackware 11.0). I eliminated some after I examined what components were and were not available. I have other distros here in my office just to keep my options open.
I have been a Linux user since March 2000, SuSE 6.3. I am a computer geek so 1) I'm not fond of graphical setup tools; 2) if I can find the right help notes, I don't mind changing parameters via file editing. I do believe I have learned a lot (!) since I started and frequently try new things to assist with what I do.
A final point, I may not get caught by your counting schemes as I keep cookies turned off on my browser (a security precaution).
P.
174 • Distrowatch (by Luddite on 2007-03-05 18:19:31 GMT from United Kingdom)
Ladislav,
I visit Distrowatch almost everyday & have done so for a few years.
DW is an incredibly valuable asset to the GNU/Linux, FOSS community.
I don't think there is much wrong with it actually.
The repository of data on all the various ditros is unmatched AFAIK.
I think the critics you refer to a re a vocal minority, not a quiet, & satisfied majority.
Maybe more volunteers to help out with articles is all that is needed.
If you have time, how about a user satisfaction survey?
I give you 10/10!
175 • Distrowatch Weekly (by Anonymous on 2007-03-05 18:26:58 GMT from United States)
I like it as it is. I know on some of the reviews/opinions you took some heat (Fedora comes to mind), but that resulted in a positive outcome as they created release notes shortly thereafter. If certain sections are becoming too time consuming, perhaps some Distrowatchers could contribute exclusive reviews and/or interviews for DWW.
176 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Nybronx on 2007-03-05 18:31:20 GMT from United States)
Ladislav,
May I add to the masses, Great job. I found DistroWatch so long ago that well I can't remember the date. But I am religious in my reading of DistroWatch Weekly every Monday. As others stated, this is my first stop also for anything regarding Linux/BSD. I respect and value the reviews. Tips and Tricks would be nice, however I find that tip/trick A doesn't work so well with distro Z. So maybe that should be an area that users contribute to. Place a call out for a distro Z and have actual users of said distro give the tips/tricks/opinions seems to be a way to go.
"Several critical comments were expressed in a recent DistroWatch Weekly forum by readers who argued that the usefulness of this publication had been diminishing over the last few months."
I truly am amazed that anyone would make such a comment. Are they regular readers? I'm not sure. True some sections I find I can gloss over (released last week say). However sir DistroWatch Weekly in my opinion is one of the most relevant OS sites I have ever found, and hope to see continued.
Ladislav, just ask and I am sure many (myself included) will be more than happy to assist.
177 • The future of Distrowatch Weekly (by Walt Schumacher at 2007-03-05 18:31:54 GMT from United States)
Here are my comments on your six categories, in the order in which they are of interest to me.
Thanks again for a great service to the community!
1. News summary. This is one section that I particularly like! I think you have a broader perspective on distros than any other site, and a more impartial one than most others. Tuxmachines really doesn’t do it for me.
2. Distribution reviews and overviews. Quick "first looks" are exactly what I want. A handful of overviews are more useful to me than one or two full evaluations. If I’m interested in what you say, I’ll look into it more elsewhere.
3. Opinions and commentaries. I would definitely look at this, and would expect to read a good bit of it.
4. Tips and tricks. I’ll look, but it would need to be fairly elementary for it to be of use to me.
5. Terminology. At this point I wouldn’t think of Distrowatch to answer questions of this sort, and I would think of terminology as something for the user to look up, not as a “push” feature from a newsletter.
6. Interviews with distribution developers. I don’t much like the interview format in journalism in general, but I will skim interviews with developers of projects that are of particular interest to me. I could do without this section.
178 • DWW features (by Adrian Sevcenco on 2007-03-05 18:38:05 GMT from Romania)
First i have to say that DW was the first site with which i begun my Linux adventure :) Besides the fact that i read it every day for the latest news, DW is the site that i recommend to all beginners in Linux. So, congratulations Ladislav for a significant
contribution to our lives and also to Linux and OSS community.
As a seen it i don't know what can be changed ... i have only one suggestion :
if its possible to include some info about new packages .. links to change logs or something... in this way besides news and info about distros we can find whats new in the software.
Also it would be nice a Tips'n'Tricks section ... not something fancy, it would be ok just to have links to the tutorials on the net
Thank you for your work
179 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-03-05 18:40:01 GMT from Belgium)
I enjoy receiving and keeping up with "DistroWatch Weekly" Magazine.
It has proven to be a very resourceful and a reliable Linux distributions news source.
Keep up the great work !
Kind Regards...
John
180 • The future of Distrowatch (by John Jones on 2007-03-05 18:52:16 GMT from United Kingdom)
Items I'd like to see kept/added; -
Distribution reviews and overviews.
Tips and tricks (on all mentioned subjects except security and encryption).
Opinions and commentaries.
I'm personally quite happy with Distrowatch as it is; I look forward to reading it every week, and i check regularly for new and interesting distros to try.
Keep it up.
181 • DWW (by Hman on 2007-03-05 19:00:15 GMT from United States)
I wwould like to DITTO what # 117 said And add that I think YOU ,Ladislav are "one of a kind",Thanks again from another devoted reader.
182 • The future of distrowatch (by George Ainsworth on 2007-03-05 19:04:24 GMT from United States)
I'm an IT professional who is a Linux novice in a K-12 public school district. I find the current content and structure of Distrowatch very helpful in giving me a high altitude fly over of what's going on in the community. For those items I'm deeply interested in I can drill down to learn more, be it through links you provide and/or google. I'm primarily interested in the freeware aspect of linux, the only commercial exceptions being SUSE and Redhat. My focus is on the desktop OS experience with minimal interest in the server side. Interoperability with Windows is important to the process as well.
I don't think DistroWatch is broken, at least not for me.
Thanks for asking - George
183 • tips and tricks and interviews (by dbrion on 2007-03-05 19:07:07 GMT from France)
The more I read and think, the more I find tips and tricks a bad idea:
I make the hypothese there is no time constraint. If tips are given, beginners will think Linux is magic/esoteric and CLI/bash/script amateurs will be considered as ego-minded wizards. most of them use scripting as a way to make thing reproducible (it is a necessity, not for pride nor for comfort), and giving good bases to beginners seems more useful (and there are sites for that).
Interviews were criticised, as they were either maketing-oriented or over technical. For marketing-oriented interview, that reminds there are things other than Linux, and, though it is not the best part of life, why criticize them?
For over-technical interviews, perhaps links to terminology could be interesting (systematic links, without context, would be tedious, as neither the author nor the readers could see immediate interest; allowing anyone to translate an interview can raise some desire to learn?)..
(I suppose thereis a fair proportion of beginners; as things evolve, everyone begins in a domain).
Little distributions should be treated as they are to-day, or with even more emphasis (they can give good ideas, nice links, original screens; this interests me more than Mandriva/Suse sins, I can read about in specialised newspapers...).
I never saw why two readers (out of xxx) writing they were bored were sufficient to imagine changes in DWW, unless there was some other causes (number of readers lgetting lower?). There is a moment where DWW is less useful (say, for cross compiling, or making stats with ones computer. I fear readers hope too much from DW)...
184 • No subject (by Jaramin on 2007-03-05 19:07:18 GMT from Canada)
I like all the sections and Distrowatch Weekly is the first news I look at each monday. I love a good recap, it's one of the strong points of DW. All the rage seems to be about blleding edge news on other sites, and I feel quality suffers from it, and I guess this is what I like about the weekly recap.
185 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-03-05 19:07:54 GMT from United States)
DW is a good wrap-up of weekly goings-on. That's why I read it weekly. I can go elsewhere for the other stuff, but to get this content, I either have to check some site daily or wade through other laborious stuff. I vote to keep DW as is.
186 • DistroWatch Forever! (by Chris Hildebrandt on 2007-03-05 19:20:35 GMT from Austria)
Hi Ladislav,
as several projects I was/am involved (see link above) have received a lot of help from you and DistroWatch (you again), the minimum of help I can offer to keep it going is to create some content for you. I am thinking of a series of articles, critical and seriously technical (might include developer interviews) where I could do some real hardcore reviews. I would ry to add some chili and humor, too - however I can't promise to be objective. If this is interesting for your readers and does help you, please let me know.
Greetings,
Chris
"An operating system must operate."
187 • DistroWatch weekly (by Thanasis Stamos on 2007-03-05 19:22:06 GMT from Greece)
The only thing that I don't read is the released distros of the previous
week.
Because I have already read them during the previous week :)
I particularly like the interviews with distro founders/maintainers/engineers.
Thanasis
188 • The future of DistroWatch (by Don Sanderson on 2007-03-05 19:28:04 GMT from United States)
I'm not quite sure how to start this so first I'll just say _Thank You!_ for all of your hard work, and a wonderful resource.
As a so called 'Value Added Reseller' who actually takes the term literally, I'm always on the lookout for products that can help my customers get their work done efficiently, simply, and in a cost effective manner.
About a year ago I looked into Linux again after several years away from it. I was actually shocked to see just how far it had matured.
Distrowatch has been my 'start page' ever since. Guided by it's 'page visits' ratings and links to reviews I now run (AND use) Linux on a regular basis. I feel that very soon Linux will be ready for my customer base.
I see little here that I feel should be changed, it is one of the most useful sites that I visit.
I _would_ very much welcome more of your personal opinions on the distros.
Don
189 • Keep on keeping on... (by Wanlace Yates on 2007-03-05 19:33:06 GMT from United States)
I have found DWW to be an excellent weekly snapshot of state of the Linux/OSS community. I would not recommend any big changes to the format - from the looks of the other comments, I think I have strong support there.
The only other comment I have is this: if this endeavor is a growing piece of your time, be more explicit about how and what we should contribute towards the content. I think there are a lot of dedicated DWW readers who can contribute as well, if we know the deadlines, word limits, formatting standards, and other criteria. More of a 'community process' if you will.
190 • Submitting articles and input for DistroWatch (by Andy on 2007-03-05 19:38:31 GMT from United Kingdom)
Hello Ladislav,
I'm sorry to be so informal as I have never mailed you before.
I'm sure many people thought the same when reading DWW #192: How could we help? So many people read DistroWatch and would love to contribute articles to help where we cannot donate money ( as we're equally broke :-/ ).
How could we do so? Suggestions for file formats best for you would be great so as to not send useless files to you, and subjects for articles would be greatfully received. Is there a forum to contribute? The more formats available, the more chance we can help. I, like many many others will happily write about Linux if given direction.
Yours hopefully, and appreciating everything you've done (and we've taken for granted)
Andy D
191 • Future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Sean Cahill on 2007-03-05 19:44:25 GMT from United Kingdom)
Hi,
First up, I would like to say that you are doing a great job as it is.
DWW is the weekly fix / concise overview etc. and those who criticise are a minority who
fail to appreciate that open source is open-ended and virtually impossible to cover all aspects of it even as a full-time job never mind in a 1.5 day time-frame.
Up to 20000 readers does NOT seem to indicate a half-baked publication, which few will bother to read ( so DWW is obviously still relevent ) and it is NOT about competing for best newsletter (best is a superlative that is subjective and if a minority out there doesn't like it, well ... F**K them !! ).
Your page is ultimately your page and should be respected, though you are democratic / open about it and welcome ideas / opinions from all sides. ... and your time is your time and people should just appreciate the great work being done rather than negatively pointing to "omissions" in such a vast subject.
I find it difficult to pick a top 3 but I think the emphasis should be put on Miscellaneous ( News ) i.e. you should NOT have to worry about the standard / or feel obligated but just do your thing and put in what you feel and enjoy doing.
News summary, Distro reviews and overviews , Tips and tricks, and Upcoming Releases and Announcements .... I like the Upcoming / Future stuff ... something to look forward to.
Along the miscellaneous route ... perhaps a "Snippets" section ... a bullet point ?? with brief overview ( one-liner ) with a link to someone elses article ?? i.e. You found something interesting, create awareness but do less work on your part ??.
The bottom line for most people is probably the (weekly)fix, a good-vibe place to drop in on, fine as it is now but even if it became less frequent / smaller, the main thing is that you enjoy doing it and ( without obligation ) I would appreciate if it continues in some shape or form into the future.
Thanks a lot ... all the best
Sean Cahill ( the old fogey )
192 • Distrowatch News comments (by ezsit on 2007-03-05 19:45:39 GMT from United States)
I have been checking Distrowatch for a few years and love Monday mornings for the chance to read the Weekly news edition. I would hate to see it go away. I most enjoy the
News Summary
Distribution Reviews
New Distributions Added
New on the Waiting List
Comments
The one section I could easily live without is the: Released Last Week section. The other section that I have no interest in is the list of donation recipients.
I enjoy the interviews, but these certainly aren't necessary too often.
Keep up the fantastic job you do at Distrowatch.com. This is my all-time favorite, most visited, and informative site in the Linux world. Thanks again.
193 • Suggestion For Distrowatch Weekly (by Sphinx on 2007-03-05 19:46:24 GMT from United States)
Tell your critics to STFU and don't change anything, those losers come with popularity, no avoiding them, just another sign you're doing a great job.
194 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by b b on 2007-03-05 19:52:28 GMT from Germany)
It would be usefull to have a database were you ca put in a textfield a program for ex.: "gimp", and than it searches for all distributions who have this program (pardon me my bad english!!!)
195 • Future of Distrowatch (by Glenn on 2007-03-05 19:55:02 GMT from Canada)
Hi.
Personally i like it the way it is. If I want more detailed information such as Tips & Tricks etc then i go to a WIKI or FORUM for that.
Interviews with developers really do not do much for me and I generally skip over that unless it has an affect on all Linux direction (eg. MS & Novell partnership). Distrowatch is a great Map for me and i reference it daily. Even if it is a bit behind in announcements at times, so what? If i was so keen on a Distro becoming available then I'd join their forums and lurk on their sites to keep myself aware. I do like your Overviews of a popular distro and think it worth the read. In the end I'd evaluate it more in depth if I was truly interested. Heck if it was not for a comment about how a lot of people are raving about Puppy I would not have gone for it.... It is my favorite distro now although I use others for heavy duty commercial work. I have never had so much fun with any operating environment and I've beein in the field since Dinosaurs stalked the earth. .. :-)
Keep up your work,,, it is much appreciated .
Glenn
196 • Distrowatch and other thoughts (by PastorEd on 2007-03-05 20:00:31 GMT from United States)
Ladislav -
First off, let me add my voice to the throng. I really appreciate Distrowatch, and I look forward eagerly to every Monday because of DWW. Because you asked, here are my thoughts about the structure of DW itself, in no particular order -
1) Distro reviews: I always appreciate these. You have a very readable style, and you get at some of the core issues of each distro you review. A must-keep.
2) Personal opinions: Your specific opinions, Ladislav, keep this site from feeling too sterile. When I read DW, part of what I get is your specific insights. It's like reading the Editorial page in a Linux magazine. A must-keep.
3) Interviews with developers: personally, I very much enjoy reading your interviews with developers. I find it captivating to read what's going on behind the scenes in the hearts and minds of those who are working on Linux.
4) News summaries: I read a lot of Linux news during the week, so I personally could probably go without the summary; however, I know right away if I've missed something crucial if you've reported it and I've not read about it. Good to have.
5) Info about up-and-coming or not-well-known distros: just because I have my personal Linux favorites doesn't mean that my choices are the only ones I should know about. It's very good to find out about distros that are off my radar screen. A must-keep.
6) Comments from readers section of DWW: always one of my favorites. It reminds me that we're a part of a COMMUNITY, all around the world. Very cool.
==Suggestions==
Perhaps you could have a community-submitted section which would include tips/tricks, articles, reviews, etc. That way, you wouldn't have to generate the content yourself. And to save yourself significant editorial time, you could pick a trusted few to screen different "departments" on your behalf: Tips/Tricks could be screened by someone, Reviews by someone else, etc.
==Other Thoughts==
I appreciated reading about Ubuntu Muslim Edition. VERY cool - I'm not a Muslim, but I am interested in being able to study the Q'uran in greater detail. Just reading the notes from the UME distro will be helpful in selecting which packages I should install. I already have a plethora of Biblical study tools... so finding out what people of other religions use to study their texts is interesting to me.
==Final Thought==
Keep up the excellent work, Ladislav! (I must say, though, that I do kind of miss that old table of distro logos that used to be at the top of the page - which will give you some insight as to how long I've been reading your work...!)
197 • changes (by Mike Davis on 2007-03-05 20:07:46 GMT from Canada)
I too recommend keeping the news. It provides a nice summary of major items. A weekly perspective helps prevent the 'flavour of the nano-second' mentality that pervades modern news. I find the information presented there refreshing and if I have time and interest I do tend to explore the topics deeper.
Even when scanning the back issues of dww the news portions provide a much needed context to the distros in question and the *nix world in general.
198 • Distrowatch (by IMQ on 2007-03-05 20:08:45 GMT from United States)
I have enjoyed going to DW since the very beginning. Ladislav Bodnar has been doing an excellent job at making the site a pleasurable visit.
I enjoy reading news about the new releases, upcoming releases, comments and opinions, etc.
I think DistroWatch is perfectly fine the way it is.
Thanks Ladislav for all the work you do.
199 • We all can contribute! (by Nando on 2007-03-05 20:20:38 GMT from Italy)
Why not to involve some other peaople into DW Weekly? I suggest to ask readers to write a little article on a specific focus (a distro review, some tips and tricks and so on) and then send it to you for a try; writers you consider good enough to collaborate will send you an article once a time, or once a month, once a week, etc...
So you can write just a little bit less (an half, for example, plenty of hot news; people that write once a month surely can't write 1 mnth old news...) and publish for the other half of DW weekly some articles (perhaps some distro review or technical tutorials, so people can have time enough to try and write) written by FLOSS enthusiast like us ;-)
For the organization a news-writers mailing-list can be enough to organize the work.
Just my 2 cent. :-D
Bye, and congratulation for your work!!!
200 • Comments (by Nitromaster at 2007-03-05 20:22:03 GMT from Ireland)
I have been reading this newsletter since august. Its very good, All sections are excellent, Maybe you should release a PDF copy of it though?
Also there should be more comprehensive reviews of distros not within the newsletter, (on seperate pages)
201 • future of dww (by random guy at 2007-03-05 20:26:54 GMT from United States)
i say keep it exactly the same as it is but more people have to volunteer to review new distros. i read it every week right away but doesnt take long enough as there is not as much content as i want.
guys be true to linux and volunteer. linux means working together!
202 • RE: # 102, 144 (by Anonymous Penguin on 2007-03-05 20:28:47 GMT from Italy)
So some people are beginning to realize that Ubuntu is not the best thing after sliced salami after all.
I never, ever liked Ubuntu, plus I found that it was getting worse with every release.
203 • DistroWatch Weekly Future (by Phillip (from Australia) on 2007-03-05 20:32:02 GMT from Australia)
I am a long term avid reader of DistroWatch Weekly and long may it continue. I enjoy all sections.
204 • Future of Distrowatch Weekly (by Claus Futtrup on 2007-03-05 20:33:46 GMT from Denmark)
Dear Ladislav and all DW readers.
I enjoy reading your news summary with great pleasure. I do not have enough time to read up on all the news sites and blogs out there, but rely on DW to boil down all the important news. For me, this is a keeper.
The DW reviews and overviews are a great pleasure to read - and often sports some comments afterwards. We can agree or disagree, but in either case it is a pleasure to read. Constructive criticism is important here and it also gives distro maintainers something to think about.
Whenever DW features an interview I always enjoy reading it. It is interesting to read about a distribution with the view of an insider. Often it shows sides of maintaining a distribution that are otherwise not displayed. It also shows a human side of computing which can sometimes be well hidden in a technical world.
Regarding the tips and tricks option, maybe yes, keep it to a couple of tips and keep it "cycling" between desktop tips, bash scripts, server tips, security tips etc. so that it hits everybodys interest from time to time, but personally I can live without it since I consider DW more of a news site than an "educational magazine" where such a topic would be a better fit.
With terminology you talk about new technology. I think it would fit well with DW if new technology was mentioned - eg. new services, new kernel modules, etc. which could be of major interest to distro maintainers - and the rest of us, just trying to keep up. If it's in wikipedia, then all you need to do is mention it to explain it shortly and then show us an URL for more information. In this respect I’d like DW to introduce us to new terminology in the field.
Your presentation of opinions and commentaries regarding what is happening to certain distributions of your choice is interesting and in the same "thread" as your reviews.
The things I don’t read is the section on releases from last week – but maybe others finds it an interesting overview. I also skip over the upcoming releases and announcements.
Your monthly donation is a very nice contribution to the OpenSource world. Congratulations to Sidux for a flying start. For future ideas I recommend a project like Xfce, which is showing stability and is becoming more popular as more distributions are adopting it.
Best regards,
Claus Futtrup
Zenwalker
205 • Release cycle (by aguafuertes on 2007-03-05 20:33:50 GMT from Germany)
Ladislav,
first of all, thanks for your work, both on the website and the newsletter. It helped me a lot when entering Linux-land a year ago.
Maybe you could cut back on the regularity of DWW editions - monthly instead of weekly? This would allow for more in-depth writing and/or commentaries and still be less time consuming.
Best wishes!
206 • ... (by aguafuertes on 2007-03-05 20:37:05 GMT from Germany)
well, just realized that it would be DWM then, instead of DWW :)
207 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-03-05 20:43:06 GMT from United States)
Wow, I agree with everything that everyone around the world has said except for what started this whole topic of conversation that what you do is redundant and is not worth while, Ladislav.
I have put a lot of thought in what I want to say here and not put my personal opinion into this because it echos a lot of what everyone is saying. But, what everyone is saying is dancing around the real issue and that is making Ladislav life a bit easier without changing what we've come to expect around here and have been taking advantage of around here for many years (me included).
First I want to debunk what Ladislav said about this site being redundant and found elseware. Yes in a perfect world if everyone was doing their job this site would be redundant. But it is not and the ones that are providing this information for us are not cross referencing it, removing the marketing spin and making it international in nature. That is the the strong point of this site. The news sites are just trowing it out and the the distro sites are very narrow in nature and are getting to be incomplete and poorly maintained (just plain slack).
Now, the problem is that Ladislav has taken the responsibity for everyone else in the community to cross reference everything and filter out the crud and should just be doing that and not be doing double duty by creating a weekly newsletter. But, I don't suggest the weekly digest should go away it should just be cross referenced from the main news pages that get filed under their distribution which is the greatest service of this site.
I think with a bit of up front work and small bit of set up work Ladislav you could do this minor change that would save you a bunch of work and make any additions of features easy to maintain because they would be self filing.
The weekly newsletter/digest and the main news page would be a series of links to the story filed under the distro. The headlines and stories would be split on the main page by development and distribution announcements and maybe the last 3 interviews and stories. Everything on the main page will be by date so the newsletter would create itself by using a date range of the links.
Tips or anything new will just be a section on the main page.
Some of the tips may have have to be from what the distro is based not by each one with notes to which ones it does not apply to. The weekly comments could point directly to the story or release annoucement directly and split from the general weekly distro wars thread that does not relate to the stories of the week.
Some packages may need a bit of background when they are listed in a distro. It took me forever to figure out what XMMS was let alone how to use it and what was needed to track down to add to it to play a DVD.
The strong point of this site is everything in history is stored under the distro and can be cross referenced between the other distros that are based off or on it for the world that is our community.
Thank you again for the great job you are doingI wouldn't change a thing unless it would make it easier for you or anyone else to handle.
Scott
208 • Future of Distrowatch (by Kenneth H. on 2007-03-05 20:43:15 GMT from United States)
Of course there is room for distrowatch !
I personally enjoy reading up on the newer distro's added to the list. It is nice to see what might be next in the distro world.
I would also like to see an article submission area where the everyday "distro" user can read about what Tom, Dick or Harry wrote about concerning the new alpha release of xyz distro...
Just my 2 cents.
209 • as is !!! (by zipidachimp on 2007-03-05 20:45:37 GMT from Canada)
I access this page daily, second only to 'the kneeslider', as a means of keeping up on distro updates.
in a short form, easily read, progress in my favorite distros can be monitored, and new discs can be ordered from www.osdisc.com.
also, flame wars in the weekly comments section are a cheap amusement!
stay as you are!
210 • DW Weekly (by James G on 2007-03-05 20:51:31 GMT from United Kingdom)
With regard to whether DW Weekly is relevant, yes it definitely is to me. I don't trawl the Linux sites religiously, so I always turn to your column on Monday for an overview of what's been happening. Please keep the news and the 'pint sized' distro reviews, as those are what I look for each week.
Thank you for taking the time to produce such good work.
Cheers
James
211 • The Future of DW (by parkash on 2007-03-05 21:16:42 GMT from Germany)
I really enjoy the News Summary, Distribution reviews and overviews sections, and would like to see a "Tips and Tricks" section.
I like your page so much... And please, if you need help with it, don't hesitate to contact me ;)
Sincerely,
David Vazquez-L.
212 • Distrowwatch Weekly (by Fred on 2007-03-05 21:20:10 GMT from United States)
Hi Ladislav,
I look forward to it every Monday (despite the fact that my comments don't get published :-).
Really like the commentaries and insights into the motivations and technical merits of the various distros. I feel some of this info is not easily available elsewhere, or at least supplements other sources. Even if its opinion, an informed opinion is valuable.
My least favorite section is "Released This Week", since I allready know this from reading Distrowatch all week!
Keep up the good work.
Fred
213 • DWW sucks!!! (by tomcat on 2007-03-05 21:23:08 GMT from Germany)
Ha! Gotcha. :D Of course, DWW does not suck at all. Every monday morning I am happily awaiting the new DWW. It is like bread and butter. If you don't have it at your disposal, you know that you miss something.
The only thing that I found rather "boring" were the interviews (I guess this is because I don't like to read interviews that much as I have to write dozens of them myself as a journalist). Apart from the interviews, everything is very, very good imho. Also your comments althouth I don't agree with them now and then.
A tips&tricks section for the bash would be nice, as the main problem (as I see it) is that many people are still afraid of the cli. Showing them a lot of tips and tricks, things that can be done with a cli easily but almost never with the gui tool, might change their minds. Also: There are so many nice tricks with the cli, I cannot remember even 2 percent of them! Thus this would be a great learning thing and I guess that the one or the other "geek" can easily send you a nice bash command and explain what it does (and for whom this is useful (e.g. mail-server admins)).
Please keep contributing. I would miss DWW!!!
PS: Nice decision to sponsor Sidux. I use Fedora and Debian but do like what those guys do with such limited resources.
Well, the most anticipated release is for me - of course - Fedora 7. Second place goes to Mandriva (as I already have Etch up and running).
214 • New DistroWatch (by Anonymous on 2007-03-05 21:26:22 GMT from Romania)
The new DistroWatch website must include fist watch of all new release of the new distributions available.
I'm interested on FreeBSD/DesktopBSD. Please, if you can include more about BSD versions.
For tip&tricks section I suggest you to include some tips for novice that come from Windows.
Regards.
215 • comments (by jwm hogenboom on 2007-03-05 21:33:59 GMT from United States)
Keep on doing what you're doing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd be distraught without, or without you!!!!!!!!! keep on going!!!!!!!!
signed -> jwm hogenboom, usa
216 • Distrowatch (by GG Higgs on 2007-03-05 21:42:59 GMT from United States)
Don't change a thing....informative content that I've become accustomed to...20,000 readers has to convey something to you...people like it. I appreciate the time and effort you put into Distrowatch...thank you and keep up the great job.
217 • Distrowatch Weekly (by Lee Parmeter on 2007-03-05 21:52:51 GMT from United States)
Don't change a thing! I look forward to each Monday morning issue. I always find a hidden treasure in your weekly blog. I think this old saying sums it up for me: "If it aint't broke, don't fix it!"
218 • SUGGESTIONS (by Alex on 2007-03-05 21:56:07 GMT from Spain)
Lots of people comes here only to read a quick review about what happened last week (ONLY), so you could drop:
# Distribution reviews and overviews
# Interviews with distribution developers
# Tips and tricks.
#Opinion an commentaries
Thanks for your great job.
Alex (Spain)
219 • Weekly usefulness (by David on 2007-03-05 21:56:51 GMT from United States)
I've truly enjoyed the Weekly and look forward to reading it each Monday morning to kick of the workweek. I noticed that the description said that the News section "is one section that could be removed from future issues." But I honestly have enjoyed this one section the most. This site is one place where I can find a quick synopsis of the the major distros' updates and also a well-balanced commentary on the directions these distros are taking. I hope that this section can persist and continue to contribute useful assessments of where open source distros are heading.
220 • DistroWatch Weekly (by david_e on 2007-03-05 22:03:09 GMT from Italy)
Sorry, don't have time to read all the comments. I just want to say thanks Ladislav for your hard work. I do really enjoy reading DWW every Monday.
Please don't change distrowatch weekly into another "a-lot-of-fun-things-not-related-each-other" blog. When I read DWW I am just looking for __distro__ info. Nothing more nothing less. I can understand "apt-get tips", as it's something related with how different distros do it.
As for bash tips-and-tricks (not distro related), help for new user etc... are all good things, but simply this is not the right place for them: I'll not look for them here and I would be disappointed if I couldn't find info's on distros here, just because the other stuff is more popular.
221 • a vote not to stop dww... (by bhrich902 on 2007-03-05 22:05:39 GMT from United States)
i read dww every monday, look forward to it actually and would not like to see it end, thx for the work.
But, since opinions are being requested i would like to see this sections do away with since to me they just take up space:
-released last week
-development and unannounced releases
-upcoming releases
-new distributions added (database and waiting list)
They might not be much but should take off some time from putting this page together. anything else that replaces this is more than welcomed by me, thx...
222 • Writing/Getting articles (by Adam Johnston on 2007-03-05 22:11:00 GMT from United States)
I don't normally comment, but I just thought if you have some set sections maybe you could set it up so people could submit articles to you that fit into those categories. You could just evaluate and include them versus having to write them and it keeps the whole process informal, so I can easily write and submit an article from the distrowatch page without having to try and become a permanent volunteer or waste your time bugging you to let me write something. Lets you stay in control and get some good content choices perhaps.
223 • Distrowatch = 'distribution watching' (by phil on 2007-03-05 22:17:07 GMT from United States)
My humble suggestions! (LAMP web developer, linux hobbyist for many years, now Fedora Core 6 only on desktop + Dell Latitude D500, keep old Win2000 box for TurboTax, digital camera app, photoshop)
1- Narrow your focus to distributions. You are THE distro expert, people will come to you for expert original content, opinions, news, ability to overview your field of expertise. Suitable subjects are then: news about distros, news about distro leaders, controversy like Microvel, trends in distros, screenshots.
2- Weekly: why? why not blog your news when it occurs or you have time to write it, one article at a time? I expect that journalists like yourself would prefer to write a paragraph when the hot-news adrenaline hits. Might increase your page hits if you become more up-to-the-minute. Will help avoid weekly deadline burnout! An occasional review, interview would be good, if original. If you provide a page of 'last 2 weeks blogs', that will satisfy the people who can't live without a weekly summary, and you don't have to have a deadline any more.
3- Remove: general Linux news and tips, better covered by googling or in the totally excellent Linux Format magazine which carries your Distrowatch column. Remove: redundancies like 'Released Last Week', News Summary if just links, Terminology.
thanks for all your work! - phil
224 • Recommendation for future of DW (by Turker Dundar on 2007-03-05 22:22:18 GMT from Australia)
First of all a BIG thank you to Ladislav for his dedication to bring this informative web site called Distro Watch to Unix/Linux fans.
DW is doing a fantastic contribution to the community. it is hard to follow up what goes on in development world of Linux/Unix. And DW brings the most to its readers.
If I may make a little recommendation to make this web site to get full attention of more relevant readers; it is would be to make space for Open source products newly created or have been used long time and prefered to others similar. Some little info like how to use them, their configuration tips how to benefit from them..etc
Just to make reader aware of their existence.
Regards,
Turker Dundar
Brisbane, Australia
225 • a vote not to stop dww... (by bhrich902 on 2007-03-05 22:26:07 GMT from United States)
i read dww every monday, look forward to it actually and would not like to see it end, thx for the work.
But, since opinions are being requested i would like to see this sections do away with since to me they just take up space:
-released last week
-development and unannounced releases
-upcoming releases
-new distributions added (database and waiting list)
They might not be much but should take off some time from putting this page together. anything else that replaces this is more than welcomed by me, thx...
226 • Distrowatch weekly (by Gary Richards on 2007-03-05 22:27:38 GMT from Australia)
I have only been aware of the distrowatch site for a few months but it has been a very useful and interesting resource to me. I would like to see a section perhaps where people can ask/suggest changes which might then be picked upby many distros or even new projects started. There are some things/ideas that just don't have a home yet.
Thanks for the great work. It will be sadly missed if it is not continued.
Gary Richards
227 • No subject (by pete on 2007-03-05 22:31:34 GMT from Austria)
please keep news section
228 • usefullness is not diminishng (by msharp on 2007-03-05 22:32:08 GMT from Canada)
I still find the weekly update to be fresh and filled with good info.
i guess some people may not find it usefull due to the fact it is weekly so maybe the info could possibly be a week old.
If you tried to keep it any more usefull or fresh, you would have to end up making a full time job of it.
distrowatch is and will remain to be a valuble resource to myself and other s even if nothing changes.
keep up the good work
229 • DistroWatchWeekly (by JS on 2007-03-05 22:41:31 GMT from United States)
I don't read "all those other sites", I only read Distrowatch.
230 • The Future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Anonymous on 2007-03-05 22:46:37 GMT from United States)
I feel like the following sections would have the most impact in DWW:
News Summary - Yes, you can find news regarding Linux on many other sites across the net. I usually am one surfing around all of those sites at least once a day. However, by having a news summary section, it pools all of the important news into one area, which is useful for people who might not have time to go looking for news. It's a great resource for beginners who do not know where a lot of the online resources are located. Also, I will sometimes find out about something first in DWW.
Distribution reviews and overview - I feel this is a great asset to the newsletter not only because it covers less well-known distributions, but because it can also be a great resource for beginners who are trying to get a feel for what distribution would be good for them. I know there are a lot of other sites on the internet that take care of this in a more in-depth manner, but I feel that having a quick "first look" is beneficial because it can get someone's interest sparked in that distribution, sort of like a movie trailer, and then it will be that attention grabber that will cause one to go out and find out as much as they can about that distribution and maybe even try it out.
Tips and Tricks - As someone who is sort of new to Linux and a new reader of DWW, I feel that this section would be a great benefit to a lot of readers. It could act as a reference for someone to come to when they are trying to accomplish a task. I would think the most useful tips and tricks would be those for the command line and bash scripting in the form of mini-tutorials and short HOW-TOs. I think the section should stay away from specific application tutorials (as suggested GIMP) and niche sectors (as suggested encryption).
I hope my comments help with the future of this great newsletter!
231 • Keeping Distrowatch Wonderful (by Bill Savoie on 2007-03-05 23:10:36 GMT from United States)
Thanks Ladislav for all the work you do. Gosh this is just Monday afternoon and look at all these people in gratitude for what you do. Hundreds are thankful. Unfortunately that does not guard against burn out. Growth has it's down side. I am the current president of the Alabama Chess Federation. The last three presidents have burned out and quit. My focus during my administration has been finding other people to help, and getting out of the way. This year they have a place to shine. Last Saturday we had the largest chess tournament in the state of Alabama this year, and I did very little. I did not make one public speech. There were 60 other people who stepped up to the plate. They made custom tee shirts with the name of the chess tournament, food supplied at cost by volunteers, many tournament directors, a book seller drove 500 miles to sell chess books. It was a big event. I did not burn out.
To get more focus, one must do less. Less action and more being. Kind of like the amplification of mediation, to just do less, but more things right. You can encourage others to write. If you like you publish. It is also nice to have some timeless articles, that allow you to go on travel and get some down time. Life is good. Linux is a work in progress. Make up your own rules. If you like we will surely like. Trust yourself and fly.
232 • Future of DWW (by Przemysław Pawełczyk on 2007-03-05 23:12:11 GMT from Poland)
I opt for highly filtered news on:
1) technology (kernel, etc)
2) hybrid distros (Solaris/Linux, Hurd/NetBSD etc)
3) open/free apps removing propriatory ones (flash,nv,ati,realplay, wifi, etc)
I'd cancel:
1) tips and tricks
2) news summary
3) released last week
Regards,
Przemysław Pawełczyk
233 • The Future of Distrowatch Weekly (by psic on 2007-03-05 23:20:59 GMT from Slovenia)
I almost never comment on the weekly newsletter, though I always read it. I think it's a great way to stay in touch with what's going on in the Linux world. I don't have time to read pages such as TuxMachines, but this is a nice newsletter which keeps me (and many others) up-to-date.
If you are thinking of taking anything out, than I'd say the 'Released last week' area. The news is the most interesting for me, since it chronicles the goings-on in the Linux world which I probably wouldn't hear if it wasn't for DW.
Anyways, keep up the good work!
234 • DWW (by Brad Leonard on 2007-03-05 23:25:37 GMT from United States)
I wouldn't change a thing, Distro Watch Weekly is just fine as is.
Thanks,
Brad
235 • Distrowatch Weekly Ideas (by n01getsout on 2007-03-05 23:37:02 GMT from United States)
I would skip the "tips and tricks" and "terminology" sections as there are many other sites where users can go to find this information, it tends to become outdated quickly, and would require a large amount of effort to make complete.
Whatever you decide to add or change, I think you should focus on user generated content. The "opinions and commentaries" section would be easy as you could just suggest a topic and let the users do the rest. This may require a great deal of effort to create if you want it to be automated like Digg or Wikipedia, but you could just call on your readers to submit articles manually and spend less of your time writing and just read and post the good articles you receive.
Personally, I wouldn't care if you just left Distrowatch Weekly as it is. I read it every week and the fact that 15,000 to 20,000 others do as well should tell you that you have it pretty damn good as it is. Thanks for giving us penguin lovers a great resource.
236 • The Best Sections (by Rhys Adams on 2007-03-05 23:42:31 GMT from Australia)
Please, PLEASE don't stop putting out DWW. It is a great newsletter which I read every week and it helps me keep track of what's happening out there in the Linux world. As for my favourite sections, I think that the following sections are most important:
>News Summary
It's good to not have to spend 20 minutes every day on different sites to be able to keep up with the news. This needs to stay.
>Distro News and Overviews
Even if it isn't in-depth, it can provide a good look into a distro that might not be all that popular. It's really helpful when I'm looking out for new distros to try out.
>Tips and Tricks
I think this would be a worthy addition to DWW. I'd specifically like to see some bash tricks (I'm not yet a bash pro) and security tips (even if they do seem boring).
>Opinions and Commentaries
Even through you asked for 3 important ones, I DO care what your opinions are. It's good to see another opinion as opposed to the official press release.
DWW is a great way to start my week and I hope you continue.
Rhys Adams
237 • Weekly Newsletter (by Jay Trott on 2007-03-05 23:44:54 GMT from United States)
I shamefully admit that I have not always read the DistroWatch Weekly, but over the passed few months have come to look forward to it. I find it informative and can find something new in it each week. Though I've been a Ubuntu user for a year now and have been learning about Linux for over a year and a half, I still feel there is so much more I need to learn. This publication helps with that.
I like the suggestions for tips and trick and terminology listed. I know I would find that helpful.
I understand what a burden it must be and I appreciate so much the effort you put forth for our benefit. Perhaps as a way to ease the weekly load you can publish it bi-weekly or even semi-monthly. That would help free up some of your time for what I'm sure are more productive things.
I hope that you will find a way to make some changes that will keep it alive and going.
238 • distrowatch improvements (by allen woodby on 2007-03-05 23:52:10 GMT from United States)
Keep doing what your doing, I think some information on how things inter-connect/work inside linux would be great as well as tips & tricks... I think everyone enjoys finding a easier way of doing things....
239 • News is my daily spot to check how the LINUX distros are progressing (by paul hagedorn on 2007-03-06 00:10:35 GMT from United States)
I use UBUNTU more than Windows.
I like a little blurbs or whatever to key on then look at more commentary where ever it leads maybe on other sites.
It is like letting a little to start my day.
paul
240 • (preferably comparative) contributed distros reviews (by Didier on 2007-03-06 00:21:23 GMT from France)
I enjoy DW as a portal pointing to distro news and reviews. However I find most reviews available on websites superficial. As a result they may be highly subjectiv or fail to convey the specificity of a distro. Therefore I fully support the idea of comparative reviews, maybe contributed by DW readers.
On the other hand, in-depth reviews would be too long, especially if they compare several distros. Therefore I would find it interesting to find reviews that compare in details how various distros address a specific aspect of linux systems, e.g. package management, performance optimisation, boot process, etc... The fact that DW covers so many different linux flavors might make it a suitable site to put such material. On the other hand it would be more technical than the present DW content.
The other thing I miss is comparative software reviews. While I found it relatively straightforwards to choose a distro, it proved more difficult for me to select a windows manager or a latex front-end. However I presume DW should remain focussed on distros, not on applications.
WRT to DWW as it stands presently, I find 'released last week' and 'news summary' somewhat redundant which daily DW announcements.
241 • Change nothing! (by Alfredo Ramonda on 2007-03-06 00:23:24 GMT from United States)
distrowatch is the only source of news that I use in relation to Linux distributions. I have downloaded more than 50 distros from your website, and I enjoy imensely the articles written here.
Of all the sources of information about Linux, you are at the very top!
Thanks for being there.
AR
242 • DWW is great as is. (by Fractalguy on 2007-03-06 00:35:49 GMT from United States)
I enjoyed reading certain other blog sites every day but then they changed format, added more bloggers, made following the threads harder and messed up the appearance in my browser. And to top it off, I couldn't find my favorite bloggers very easily. So I found within a month I wasn't going there anymore. (Didn't like all the MS ads anyway.) So I advise to leave well enough alone and stick with making your personal contribution to Linus your own way. It is your personality projecting here that I think is a major attraction. If you dilute too much, you will lose it.
I like DW and I'm still here after three years of reading it. Back then I knew of Red Hat (from work) but discovered Linux from KNOPPIX (in Moving to Linux) and Mandrake 9.2 (Linux Format) but it was distrowatch that pointed me to Mepis, SuSE, Lindows, and PCLinuxOS. I settled for PCLinuxOS based on an matrix analysis similar to this article's approach http://beranger.org/index.php?article=2536. My chart of three years ago focused on screen resolution, working sound, apps to view/listen/edit media like images, sound, video... I forget the exact list. In those days I didn't know of Linux FSF purity and just wanted it to work. I'm still using the very same release of PCLinuxOS (it has worked so well). I do have a new HD in waiting for PCLOS 2007 final.
Distrowatch is a must on my daily Net fix along with Groklaw.net and fxer.com. I enjoy checking in on the alphas and betas of many distros as they appear (LiveCD only since I'm not going to install them). And guess what, I just got my copy of "Live Linux CDs" by Negus, tells how to make your own distros (live and install) featuring half a dozen distros on its DVD.
I've read all the articles here up through 238 and will remark on a few. I depend on the release announcements often finding out about them here first. Even if I'm tracking the latest of my main distro like PCLOS (yup, saw it here first, burned it and booted TR3 livecd already).
About 129 • RE 80 Small distros should be considered as precious.... by dbrion, he mentioned KnoSciences. I looked it up, looks interesting. Now without without tracking the little ones, a gem like that will be missed. I recall finding Beatrix here when it first came out. Too bad the author is too ill to continue with it, it is now being extended by a few other guys. So if a distro doesn't report in every three months, it would be a great loss to have it deleted from the data base. This is the only place I know of to look for info on some of these as a matter of history if nothing else.
And finally, I liked 186 • DistroWatch Forever! by Chris Hildebrandt where he quotes "An operating system must operate." I might re-phrase it as "An operating system must not kill the user!" (thinking of WGA).
All the best to you Ladislav!
243 • The Way it is (by Don Go on 2007-03-06 00:38:10 GMT from Philippines)
just the subject...I like the way the distrowatch weekly it is...besides the other sites a little bit cluttered for my taste...I like the way the weekly is presented...summarized and lean...
244 • Comment on DistroWatch future (by Mark Czora on 2007-03-06 00:40:22 GMT from Australia)
Hi all. I don't know about your 'high and mighty' readers who have something negative to say but I find your blog the only MUST READ linux website out there. Leave the tricks and tips and glossy reviews to the others. You guys do something no one else does - give a thorough overview of ALL distros and updates as well. I am new to linux and would have been totally lost without your information on the inclusions in each distro. The only area I can see for improvement would be in the packages contained in each distro. Things like 3d desktops and access to 3rd party drivers and software are issues that separate the distros and things that probably concern at least half of your readers, judging by the questions that come up in various forums. A new distro chooser tool where one could insert required features and software as well as the usual configuration and package management questions would help the community as well. All in all, I think you people are doing a great job and I will continue to check in regularly. Regards, Mark
245 • Special feature (by ernani ubalde on 2007-03-06 00:50:03 GMT from Philippines)
Sorry about my english i live in the Philippines.
Im still learning linux and its features. I really like to learn about OSS and programs.
I would like to see and read special feature about open source softwares and programs such in the package list of the distros? Like in the Sourceforge.net ..But not too technical.
Such special features tackle...whats hot, how to use, how to use with other packages, tips and tricks and its dependancys.
Though it is very complicated. But i think many will enjoy reading it. I hope my suggestion will be considered.
Thank you for delivering good articles. Good luck and Congratulations to Distrowatch succcess!
246 • about comments. (by Peter Mack on 2007-03-06 00:55:12 GMT from United States)
As we move along, I am becoming very interested in distro policy, and the resources of one versus another. Some have excellent repositories for updates and tend to keep them up. Others are not so good. I am very interested in life cycle of the distro. Some like Foresight simply update their way through life and occasionally click off a snapshot so new people can get on the train. Others like Ubuntu tend to limit updates to time slots where each distro has newer things to work with while the existing distro gets fewer updates. In this case the upgrade process from disto to succeeding distro , needs to be rock solid and capable of handling 800-900 files flawlessly. Each distro time slice remains rock solid in what it does do but the jump from one to the next is a bit scary.. Many of the distros address niche targets such as music or a particular part of the world.. Your comments on these things when they occur to you would be greatly appreciated. All in all, I do read the DWW weekly and I appreciate your efforts.
247 • keep 'em coming! (by David on 2007-03-06 00:56:25 GMT from United States)
As a Linux noob, I find distrowatch.com to be a great one stop site to catch up on Linux news. Distrowatch Weekly is the one publication I read regularly about Linux--it serves as my radar screen for what's going on in the world of Linux outside my own distro. Count me as a happy camper who is grateful for the time and effort you've donated to the community.
248 • My opinion (by Maec on 2007-03-06 00:57:01 GMT from France)
Helo,I am french, I don't speek very well english, don't read it fine,
but I like very much the Distrowatch weekly which I understand fine, and where I found lot of pleasure to read.
Very well writen, good synthesis.
Continue, and thank you for the time spend.
249 • I enjoy distrowatch throughly (by lowks on 2007-03-06 01:01:59 GMT from Malaysia)
I don't know about the others but i enjoy the whole of distrowatch and do not relish the idea of any section being dropped
250 • Distrowatch Weekly : Don't change anything (by tuxdriver on 2007-03-06 01:10:10 GMT from Germany)
Ladislav,
the time has come to thank you for the outstanding work that you're doing here. I've been a daily visitor of DW for several years now and as far as Linux is concerned, your website is my first choice of information. In the same way I appreciate DWW as a great weekly summary, that should not be changed in any way. After finishing one issue I always look forward to reading the next one, it's perfect work in my point of view.
Sincerely,
tuxdriver
251 • what i like and dislike about distrowatch (by Project_2501 on 2007-03-06 01:12:06 GMT from United Kingdom)
what i like about distrowatch:
* news news news - this is the main thing. i get my linux distro news from distrowatch. including news about upcoming releases and delays and forks. insid news such as interviews with mandrake insiders, is great.
* info - if i want a specific distro (firewall, nas, live, music...) i look up distrowatch. homepages, support pages, .. its all in the distro profile pages.
* popularity of distros. though not scientific they are useful to an extent - keeping in touch with the zeitgeist.
* occasional selected features in the weekly news.
what i don't like:
* nothing - its all good.
what i wouldn't like:
* user contributed reviews and features. the quality is hard to maintain. you'll end up like osnews.com - and why would we need 2 osnews.com sites!
252 • DWW assistance (by Soloact on 2007-03-06 01:16:45 GMT from United States)
Perhaps you could find writers and assistance from such a source as Linux Format magazine, where you already have a monthly entry. They may have some on their staff who may be willing to help out.
Just a thought.
Have a great today!
253 • linux stew (by Cliff Skoog on 2007-03-06 01:25:41 GMT from Ireland)
Hi
I'm addicted to this site, despite spending too much time in XP.
There's lots to say, I feel, but I'm not sure how to prioritize.
Laptops are more important for the future of Linux than is generally convenient to admit. Getting suspend, wireless, sound, screen resolutions, and second monitors to work could hardly be more important for the wide uptake of Linux. This would be one good focus for 'tips and tricks'. Together with this, any focus that could help get more drivers written would be good for Linux.
Other very important topics for tips and tricks and consistent attention seem to me to concern upgradability of distro versions: reinstalling seems to often entail losing too much of one's suite of programs, and configuration, if not data. Then there is help on maintaining multiple distributions on a single computer--help with GRUB etc.
Similarly user options for multimedia, CD-DVD burning, databases, DTP, HTML editing, etc., etc., need to be more generally known. One program doesn't fit all any more than one distro. It would be great to tabulate which distros offer which programs for which functions. The related issue are distro repositories, it would be good to see which of these programs are in which distro's repositories, together with a way to keep track of, categorize, and compare different distro's repositories.
I've tried out Sabayon and Elive, but not yet Symphony because, honestly, both KDE's and Gnome's UI seem merely functional in wrongheadedly old fashioned ways. Elive is not quite ripe enough to use or put on others systems, but it sort of knocked my socks off, that a UI that increased the transparency of using Linux could go hand in hand with running things significantly faster. I'd like to see more emphasis on getting the Linux UI turned toward the future, I don't know if Enlightenment is the way to go, but it sure is better comparatively--why is it not more generally acknowledged, supported, and used for development? (E-buntu, please?)
I really liked the Linux news feed you had for awhile, though often there were too many mediating links to get to the actual article and I was frustrated that I couldn't change the scroll speed.
Generally despite all of these things that I think are important, I'd like to use Distrowatch as a hub from which I can radiate out to the important new things that are happening with Linux, so some way of giving news does seem worthwhile.
Well, there it is, unedited, my whole enchilada. Hope sifting through it has been OK for you, and that it can help with revisioning what you want to do with one of my absolute favorite sites.
Thanks!
Cliff
254 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by BJ on 2007-03-06 01:25:54 GMT from Korea, Republic of)
DistroWatch Weekly has been one of the most inportant resource about Linux/BSD for me, and I would be greatly disappointed if the publication stops. Reading DistroWatch Weekly is a pleasant way to start a week for me. Please continue the publication.
BJ
255 • DW Weekly must continue (by Osw Cab on 2007-03-06 01:48:12 GMT from Colombia)
Is the first web page I read on Mondays and is always informative and fun. I think its structure is very dood as it is right now altough it could be nice to see more tips & tricks from time to time.
Thanks Ladislav and go ahead with the good work.
256 • Continue Distrowatch or not? (by Gordon on 2007-03-06 01:52:51 GMT from United States)
If time is becoming scarce, how about eliminating news on each and every beta/alpha of all the developing distros???? and devote the savings in time to more matured distros and their news. Just a suggestion. Keep up the great work as I enjoy reading and trying out most of the mainstream linux distros.
257 • Comment on Distrowatch Weekly (by Razzmonid on 2007-03-06 02:08:52 GMT from Philippines)
I would like to say that your weekly Monday column is still great as to give compact news on the start of the week, though it may already be available in other forms, it is still good to see it on one single page.
I can't think of other things to add other than what was already mentioned,
already what was being presented seems to fit the bill. I would miss it very much if Distrowatch would go. It has been a part of my Daily Monday routine about whats up and coming in Linux and other distros as well. I'll just say that keep up the good work, your site has been a great source of news, 15k-20k of people outweighs the few critics that gives negative views of your site...
258 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Shad Butler on 2007-03-06 02:26:20 GMT from United States)
Please do not remove this, I enjoy reading through it to find the highlights of important developments in the Linux arena.
259 • Monday News (by Dan ODonnell on 2007-03-06 02:38:37 GMT from United States)
I have been a faithful reader for a couple of years.... There is nothing better to me then to distrowatch.com news on those manic Mondays... don't change a thing.
260 • DW (by Darkman on 2007-03-06 02:45:06 GMT from United States)
I began my Linux odyssey with DistroWatch several years ago. There would be a hole in the open source world without DW. The two are synonymous in my mind. I hope DW is with us for many years to come.
261 • Continuation of Distrowatch (by Barrie Smith on 2007-03-06 03:00:58 GMT from Australia)
I look at this site weekly at least.
Its most valuable contribution for me is the ability to go to a single site, get a synopsis of any existing distro and have a link which allows me to go to that distro's home page.
For this alone, I would be sorry to see the site disappear. I teach IT with a strong bias to linux/unix in a tertiary technical college and centralised information such as distrowatch saves me many hours a semester.
As a last resort I could live with fortnightly rather than weekly updates.
262 • DWW (by Rudolfo on 2007-03-06 03:28:04 GMT from Canada)
I believe the news section could be shortened. To tell the truth, I don't care very much about being informed of the alpha release of a distro based on a distro based on Knoppix. Giving information of stable releases would be enough. People generally don't get into alpha testing before they're convinced there's been a good stable release before.
Most beginners could use some basic linux administration instead.
263 • No subject (by Michael Zapf on 2007-03-06 03:28:53 GMT from United States)
The loss of this site or a direct 90 degree turn of this site, would remove a place to visit that has it all. Reviews, views, distributions, comments and future information about the Linux community. I am not an expert in Linux, but I enjoy your site. It is one of only two Linux sites I have bookmarked. I come here for the latest and greatest. Without this site many of us newbees would be losted and the growth of Linux could suffer. Keep up the site and all the info you can, we need it.
264 • Long live distrowatch weekly (by Allan on 2007-03-06 03:40:06 GMT from Australia)
Ladislav,
Distrowatch weekly is my number one source of linux news. I particularly look forward to the new and distro review sections.
Keep up the good work.
Allan
265 • Future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Darrell on 2007-03-06 03:41:37 GMT from United States)
I'm a frequent visitor and always look forward to a new issue. I think you do an excellent job and am willing to leave the content entirely up to your discretion.
Thanks, and keep up the good work!
266 • Weekly (by alb1954 on 2007-03-06 03:47:02 GMT from United States)
I check this site daily and enjoy it very much. The news and reviews are most important to me. Thanks so much for this great resource.
267 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-03-06 03:47:38 GMT from Hong Kong)
sorry for my english, and off-topic, but, i wish to say, unless linux makes it easier to install and configure device drivers(like video driver and print driver), and, have a broader support of devices(like wifi), and, stronger support of input methods, linux will never have broad user base of desktop users. i think, linux is more than good for servers, but for desktop, it is a complete different. as a desktop user, i only concerns about if it work or not. whether it works 'efficient' or 'fast' is a much lesser concern. you cannot take a server 'mentality' to build linux for desktop users, that is want i want most to say.
268 • Distrowatch weekly content (by Sayth on 2007-03-06 04:39:20 GMT from Australia)
HI, I regularly read the Distrowatch weekly and love it how it is. I could only offer that I have enjoyed your interviews with distro developers and maintainers so I would like to see more of this, also maybe to lighten your load you could have guest writers that maybe could explain how the new different technologies (D-trace etc) would impact the end users and desktop, server etc. Will the sun kernel replace the linux kernel and so forth.
Kepp up the good work.
PS wouyldn't bother with how-to's there are many already out there on forums such as linuxquestions and linuxforums and linux.org the list goes on.......
269 • Keep the News summary section (by Steve on 2007-03-06 05:03:57 GMT from United States)
I really enjoy the "News summary" section, and I'd hate to see it go. Even if it's just a few bullet points, I like to see what happened the previous week in the world in Linux distros. It's useful to put info in there that's not related to a distro release (like maybe mergers, release delays, controversial happenings, etc.)
A "Tips and tricks" section would be a good idea.
270 • Keep the weekly! (by B1GfOot on 2007-03-06 05:04:48 GMT from Australia)
DistroWatch weekly is where I come to get my hit of up to date Linux and BSD news. I do not know where else I would find it all summed up so well!
271 • DistroWatch - DistroWatch Weekly (by Welkiner on 2007-03-06 05:17:13 GMT from United States)
Ladislav,
I first set DistroWatch as my browser start page in late 2001 I believe, or it may have been early 2002. That has never changed since. That is also my vote of confidence in you to make the best decision for DistroWatch. So far, you have a pretty good track record.
I do agree with an earlier comment that more "Links" to "Tips, Tricks, Interviews, etc, etc, might be more bang for the buck. DistroWatch is the Central Clearinghouse for Linux/BSD.
Whatever direction you take, I'll be here 'till the end.
Thanks again for all you do,
wb
272 • comment on distro.... (by Ron on 2007-03-06 05:22:57 GMT from United States)
The page is just fine.It is my most visited page.If you were to add how to's etc that would all be a plus for the ever increasing visitors as you have noted.This is coming about in that I feel Microsoft has shot it's self in the foot with the current Vista offering thus opening the door wider than ever for Linux.Anything you can offer to help this transistion can only benefit the Linux community.The only thing I miss is the Rootly news sidebar.I didnt like it when it started rolling but as with anything you have to experiment to see the result's and I'm sure there is a good reason Rootly is not being offered no more.It does not change my opinion of the page at all.I come here to see the latest in Linux offerings and I get what I come for everyday.Please keep up the good work on your end and I'll keep spreading the Linux offerings to folks on my end.Thank you again!!..Ron
273 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Jeff at 2007-03-06 05:57:54 GMT from United States)
I am relatively new to linux and have found distrowatch to be an amazingly useful learning and research tool. I don't have time to keep up on all the daily news reports on other sites so I always take the time to read 'DistroWatch Weekly' in order to catchup on any important developments.
Your commentary is very much appreciated and has greatly helped me to get my bearings in this sometimes confusing world of open-source operating systems.
My votes are for:
News summary
Opinions and commentaries
Distribution reviews and overviews
Thank you Mr. Bodnar; for all your efforts.
274 • DWW (by Philip Charles on 2007-03-06 06:22:21 GMT from New Zealand)
What I like
Distribution reviews and overviews.
Opinions and commentaries.
Future releases
275 • DW Weekly as it is (by Ariszló on 2007-03-06 07:00:21 GMT from Hungary)
I like it as it is. If I did not, I would have criticized it heavily.
276 • Future of Distrowatch Weekly (by Akuna on 2007-03-06 07:10:38 GMT from France)
Even though there are other Linux weekly or daily publication, yours happens to the only one I have cared to read for regularly without missing a single one for the past 3 years & judging from these week's numerous reactions on the subject, I'm not the only one.
The only section I always skip is 'Released last week' since I usually check your homepage all through the week as well (I used to be sort of a distro junkie before I finally adopted & got involved with Zenwalk/ZenLive last year... and even though these days I do not try most of them like I used to, I still like to look & check them out - but on your daily pages, not on DWW)
As far as I am concerned you could replace that section with a 'Tricks & Tips' section which I feel would be more useful & informative.
But whatever you do, & whichever way you finally decide to do it, please don't quit DWW... I do not believe there are other publications who give a weekly capsule recapitulation of the most relevant Linux Distro news in such a fashion as DWW. It would be a big shame if it came to an end.
277 • Please continue (by Stefan Fredriksson on 2007-03-06 07:22:17 GMT from Sweden)
Hi,
I just wanted to say that please, continue with the weekly newsletter. I installed my first Linux some 10 years ago and I really enjoy reading the newsletter. I read distrowatch.com a few days a week but newsletter is really the little extra that keeps me comming back.
I am not totally certain what sections should be added/removed but personally I like the news summary. Ofcourse alot of the news can be found elswhere but for me the newsletter sure has a place in bringing the latest news about Linux and I read them every week.
278 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Don on 2007-03-06 07:38:48 GMT from United States)
I very much like DistroWatch Weekly just as it is. If time pressure forces you to eliminate one part, I agree that the News Summary should be first to go.
I'm mainly a hobbyist Linux user. I'd welcome a "Tips and Tricks" section on just about any subject, but not if it comes at the expense of what you are already doing. Same for a "Terminology" section.
I find it incredible that DistroWatch Weekly gets only 15 or 20k readers per week. Not that 20k is a trivial number but I find it so valuable and interesting that I would have guessed 10 times that!
Keep up the good work,
don
279 • Distrowatch Feedback (by Dominic Leland on 2007-03-06 07:46:16 GMT from United States)
I understand the possibility of the current iteration of "Distrowatch Weekly" needing an overhaul. I have been a fairly faithful reader for a couple years at least.
I like the "First Looks" of new distributions. While full reviews would probably be overkill, Seeing a new distro in action is nice.
Interviews are also a good idea. Perhaps if you could announce ahead of time about an upcoming interview, interested readers could send in proposed questions (AKA: "jsmith asks 'How does your distro plan to implement featureX? How does your stance compare to how Fedora handles it?'"
Tips and tricks are also a good idea. Maybe trade off. One week have "The top 10 bash timesavers" and the following week something a little more in depth like "A Beginner's Guide to Xen on Ubuntu."
A section that seems redundant is the news section because it's often just a recap of the distro announcements I've been following all week. I like the news stories that elaborate, like the news item that talked about frustrations between Gentoo's developers and users, or Daniel Robbins returning from Microsoft. It's also important to hear the "It's time to bid adieu to the ending of _______."
I'm anxious to see distrowatch continue and grow. I've come to rely on it over the years and do not want you to stop. Keep up the good work DW.
280 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by René on 2007-03-06 07:51:49 GMT from Germany)
Dear Ladislav,
First of all many thanks for contributing this site and your time to the Linux/BSD community!
I would like to see a continued weekly newsletter with the following sections:
- Distribution reviews and overviews
[- Interviews with distribution developers]
- Tips and tricks / System layout and scripts to keep all settings and user files between upgrades / Migrating from Windows
- Spreading the word (Major deployments, marketing projects, portable / Windows runnable distributions / releases. See OpenOffice.org "In the media" and spreadfirefox.com)
Greetings from Germany,
René
281 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Kenneth Gjesdal on 2007-03-06 07:56:39 GMT from Norway)
I can't remember how long I've read the DistroWatch Weekly, but its been some time now, and I'd be sad if it would go away. I'm not using Linux as much as I'd want to, but I like reading minor and major facts and tidbits that the Weekly gives.
Keep up the good work.
282 • PClinuxOS 2007 Test3 (by chinchin on 2007-03-06 09:09:50 GMT from Turkey)
There is a big Problem by PClinuxOS, it is the Scanner-Problem. The Package XSANE don't connect with the All-Scanner. Forexample My Scanner ( Mustek ScanExpress 1200 UB) failed in the Scanner-List. So I can' t scannen with PClinuxOS 2007 Test 3.
283 • Fed Up With Debian Delays; Can Ubuntu Save The Day? (by RoachBoy on 2007-03-06 09:14:44 GMT from Kenya)
When Mark Shuttleworth launched Ubuntu many people saw it as an unnecessary duplication of effort and a threat to our beloved Debian. I’ll admit that I was one of those people and Mark probably had his moments of doubt too. But now, with the release of Debian 4.0 running 3 months late, I can see the kind of frustration that led to the creation of Ubuntu. I’m working on a proposal to supply a medium-sized organisation with software. I prefer Slackware and Debian to the other distros. I’ve made no secret of this fact on this forum. However, Slackware would be a nightmare to install and configure on multiple machines and I have no intention of installing Debian 3.1, which is too old, or a release candidate of Debian 4.0. Which brings me to Ubuntu. One 670 MB CD does not contain all the software that I need. “So, why don't you “apt-get” from the Internet?” you might ask. Well, this is Africa, the wrong side of the Digital Divide, so you can forget about apt-getting packages off the Net. Which is one of the reasons that I like Debian. It comes with all the packages on CD or DVD. Now, if Ubuntu also came with all the packages on CD or DVD then it would be a viable option for me. But it seems that the assumption once again is that we can download what we need from the Internet. Strange thinking for a project that was conceived by someone who’s very familiar with the situation in Africa. So folks, give us all the packages on DVD or on CD so we can get away from the tyranny of Debian which is chronically unable to release on time! Heck, don’t give them to us, sell them to us! We understand that Free Software is about free as in speech and not free as in beer.
Now to more serious matters. Regarding changes to the Distrowatch Weekly format, I say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Ciao
P.S. Yes, I know that RHEL 5.0 is running late too, but I’m talking about Debian!
284 • RE 283 There is also the Holy Delay tyranny (by dbrion on 2007-03-06 09:36:59 GMT from France)
This leads to bugs and amusing things.
What are , say, 5 months delay in a mans life (this delay can be used reading, gardening....)?
The most amusing thing I saw with an Ubuntu derived distr was the yaw they wrote cibarA in the starting page of nov. 2006 "EdU"BUntu.. (This was a bright future for the masses education).
I suppose such a _thing_ was released in time. Though I noticed in this weeks DWW one can have UBUntus derived which have good Arabic (from right to left) writing, I do not think Ill ever try Ubuntus (I prefear wait and be sure nothing will be wrong, and not see such huge blunders { there may remain some nasty less evident bugs})..
Even if I am in Europe, I do not wqaant to have IT downloads (and certainly not automagic ones) : it is not a matter of rich/poor continent, but of common sense...
285 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Anonymous Penguin on 2007-03-06 10:15:39 GMT from Italy)
Ladislav,
There is absolutely nothing to change in DWW, it is fine as it is, IMO.
I have only one wish: that it were possible (but not compulsory) to register and log in this forum.
286 • Future of DWW (by Hawkeye_52 on 2007-03-06 10:15:48 GMT from United States)
Ladislav,
Say it isn't so! The idea that you must change DWW because of work overload is almost unthinkable for me.
DW is my internet homepage; it is an informational 'security blanket' that I scan it everyday, more than once. Beginning about 3 years ago, the general information I found here, along with the insightful "Opinions & Commentaries" section of DWW, gave me the data, the links, and the confidence to move from a 'Windows-centric' world of computing to one where I am now totally open source. I am deeply indebted to your website, and its current format, and will be very disappointed if there has to be changes made.
That being said, if somethings have to go, I suggest 'Tips & tricks' and 'Terminology' as sections that could be downsized or eliminated. If those sections stay in, maybe they could be driven by submissions from specific distros. Let any distro that is active submit to these sections as a way of highlighting their product; you merely review, select submissions, and provide editorial oversight. Also, maybe the 'News summary' section could be a 'link to the information' format such as provided by http://linuxhomepage.com/, where you filter the news based upon your view of its importance, but without having to do much writing about it.
As far my top three sections, 'Opinions & commentaries' is an absolute must; I would be in favor of expanding this rather that shortening or eliminating it. You provide a valuable overview of what is going are, or should be going on, in the open source community. Also, your editorial comments on 'the good, the bad, and the ugly' of specific distros is not only interesting to read, but causes reactions and actions within those distros that you highlight. Next, 'Distribution reviews & overviews' is extremely interesting for the casual reader, while it provides an 'informational trampolene' for those who enjoy the hobby of 'distro-hopping'. Last, 'Interviews with distribution developers' is very useful to me in evaluating individual distros.
I hope that this resource burnout that you are experiencing can be resolved with some additional volunteer help; I wish I had the skill and expertise to jump in, but I feel woefully inadequate as a journalist. If not, I hope the suggestions prove useful.
287 • RE 284, Debian Delays (by RoachBoy on 2007-03-06 10:32:01 GMT from Kenya)
I suspect that a large part of Debian’s delays may be attributable to inadequate methods of managing the community. Hopefully, Martin Krafft’s research (http://martin-krafft.net/phd/) will help to improve the situation.
288 • What the??? (by Brent on 2007-03-06 10:45:08 GMT from United States)
Hey, I was reading some of the comments by others. I am pretty new to this whole linux thing and have really learned alot from your page and I read that you may be quitting. I just got one thing to say...
I just set your page as my homepage.
So what does that tell ya to do.
Keep up the good work! Because without your site I wouldn't have gotten into it.
Thanks
289 • Your Newletter (by Lowell on 2007-03-06 10:54:02 GMT from United States)
Please, please, please keep writing the newsletter. I looked at Tuxmachines.org, and I just have to say that in general the articles are not nearly as well written or knowledgeable as yours. You might want to watch the "Mandriva going bankrupt" stories, but other than that your doing a great service for Linux. Keep up the good work!
290 • RE: 283 (Fed Up With Debian Delays) (by hound_dog on 2007-03-06 11:05:12 GMT from Finland)
Yeah, Debian 4.0 is now three months late from the original schedule and it will probably take one more month before it will be released. Four months is a long time but it's not nearly as long as the delay before Debian 3.1 "sarge", which was released 18 months late from the original schedule. And, still, people have been very pleased with Debian 3.1 once it was released. Debian 4.0 will be a huge improvement over 3.1 and some of us think that good things are worth waiting for.
The Debian 4.0 release process hasn't been quite as bad as it may look. Debian "etch" has been for the most parts ready for release since December but there were a couple of unresolved release blockers that have delayed the final release: the kernel, the installer (which needs the kernel), and some difficult-to-fix bugs. The delay has allowed Debian developers to add some extra polish (translations, themes...) and, of course, to fix more bugs. There has also been talk of adding the option for PPPoE network configuration into the installer -- hopefully this new feature has managed to make its way into the Debian-Installer RC2, which is now scheduled to be released in 19.3.2007. After the Installer RC2 release, the final release of Debian 4.0 "etch" should be very close.
http://lists.debian.org/debian-boot/2007/03/msg00115.html
291 • RE: # 290 (by Anonymous Penguin on 2007-03-06 11:12:22 GMT from Italy)
I couldn't agree more. And in any case a prerelease Debian is a lot more stable and bugfree than most other Linux distros after release, IMO.
292 • What are my expectations from the future issues of DistroWatch Weekly? (by Ray Stefancsik on 2007-03-06 11:26:22 GMT from Sweden)
I vote for:
Distribution reviews and overviews.
News summary.
Tips and tricks.
293 • Distrowatch News Coverage (by Rodger on 2007-03-06 11:35:52 GMT from United States)
There are so many distros now!! Perhaps a paragraph about the new weekly releases. But not the 'news release' hype. Rather a bit about it's strengths/weakness. For example, distro xxx is primarily for system recovery, or is designed to run as a server, or is a streamlined, light version so as to fit on an usb memory stick. Or is security oriented, perhaps to run as a firewall for a small network. etc.
I have been 'playing' with linux for about two years, and have found your articles to be not only useful/helpful, but also 'a lot of fun'.
Thank you
294 • Keep on the great work! (by mix on 2007-03-06 12:54:04 GMT from Russian Federation)
I think, distrowatch is 1) one of the best Linux-related sites over there,
2) definitely the best site publishing weekly news. The first three items
in the list are enough to keep it being very good. Tips and tricks
can be submitted elsewhere, e.g., to linuxgazette.
295 • Feedback (by Iain Cheyne on 2007-03-06 12:54:40 GMT from United Kingdom)
1. Opinions and commentaries.
2. Distribution reviews and overviews - you cover the lesser known distros. Your end of year roundup was superb.
3. Interviews with distribution developers.
News summary - you tend to have an interesting experienced outlook which is worth listening to.
Tips and tricks - not interested.
Terminology - not interested.
I like DWW the way it is.
296 • Suggestions for Distrowatch (by Michael Kornblum on 2007-03-06 13:37:03 GMT from Mexico)
You know, Ladislav that the more popular a publication becomes, the more complaints you'll get. That unfortunately is the nature of the beast. Some people will love you, others will hate you, but for the most part -- they will pay attention. I will say that I like the news section very much. It's usually my first stop for checking out what goes on in the linux world. The fact that it's well organized on one page, makes it all the more easier than if I had to hit multiple sites. So please don't get rid of that feature.
297 • Future of Distrowatch Weekly (by maconulaff at 2007-03-06 13:43:09 GMT from United States)
Ladislav,
First, I want to thank you for the previous 192 issues. Distrowatch is a regular stop for me and I love your weekly newsletter just as it is.
I like the news section, the new distros, and reviews in that order. I do read many of the interviews, but that is not the key reason I visit your site. It is the summaries of what has been released, the status of others, and what new is coming that bring me back time after time.
Your site has become an icon in the Linux community. You provide the menu to the incredible feast of offerings available to those interested in Linux.
I would prefer to see the Distrowatch Weekly be published less frequently than to alter format significantly. It is fa antastic publication the way it is. If your present situation requires you release the DDW less often, I understand entirely. Too many people do not recognize the amount of work and time you put into this quality publication.
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication!
298 • DWW (by MarcM on 2007-03-06 14:19:05 GMT from United States)
I think DWW is excellent as is! It's the one thing I read every week no matter what. Thanks, Ladislav, for the great job you do!
My personal favorite sections are
-News summary
-Distribution reviews and overviews
I enjoy the quick rundown of news and the brief intro and screen shot of distros that I wouldn't have time to install and review myself.
299 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Joe on 2007-03-06 14:41:55 GMT from South Africa)
It is essential that you keep the DistroWatch Weekly going. We are an ever changing society and especially here in South Africa where our government is changing to an open source society. Your website as well as the weekly news can just help us in anyway. I know which ever route or additions you make to the DistroWatch Weekly will be to the benefit of the Linux community.
300 • Site improvements (by Don on 2007-03-06 14:42:34 GMT from United States)
Hello, I am an incompetent user, as opposed to a newbie. I have been playing with Linux for about 5 years. It never dawned on me that Wikipedia would have definitions for these mysterious terms. Now that I know, thanks to your article, I will certainly look there, and will not need a glossary. That said, I would have enjoyed a glossary or a link to the Wikipedia definitions. I think beginner forums / tutorials might be a good idea. The individual distributions all have specific information, but many of us would like to understand basic stuff, like file system conventions, or whether messing with nwrapper to implement some obscure driver is a pipe dream. The focus would need to be on how things work, as opposed to "the fix". The distro-sites have the fixes, but they don't teach, or ever seem to say why something works.
I view your page nearly daily and truly enjoy it. You provide a valuable service.
301 • weekly (by Psionides on 2007-03-06 14:45:04 GMT from Poland)
Of course there is a need for Distrowatch Weekly! :) I read it every week. Concerning specific sections - I read mostly "miscelanneous news", sometimes "reviews". I don't think I need "tips and tricks" or "terminology", but that's just me, if it's needed - no problem for me.
302 • Rotating feature stories (by octathlon on 2007-03-06 15:55:31 GMT from United States)
It sounds like an overwhelming vote to keep the news summary.
As for other things, instead of choosing between keep and eliminate, maybe it could change to a monthly rotation, for example:
One week Distro Review, one week Opinion/Commentary about current issues in the Linux world, one week an interview, one week a Tips and Tricks article. Just an idea.
As for the distro reviews, I would hate to lose them and I'd like to see more of them. I would like to see these include a category-type review, for example: audio-visual distros - comparing the features of what is out there for those who want to do graphics, music, & video editing. Other "which distro is best for" categories - scientific, SOHO (small business), MythTV box, low resource/old machines, high-end/ultimate in coolness, etc. etc. If the category was decided on in advance, hopefully some people could contribute a writeup of their experiences.
303 • RE 300 (why I do not want tips) and 287 (Research delays) (by dbrion on 2007-03-06 16:13:49 GMT from France)
RE 300 : you prerfectly explained what would be the real needs of a beginner who wants to go beyond a magic fix. Support for such needs exists ( wikipedia, bashcurecancer.com, books, man files in Cygwin, any Linux).
I am afraid DWW would likely lose his talents (explaining why little distrs should be tested is a very useful contribution to Free Oses, and it that I most appreciate) and I fear noone knows the proportion of beginners who have such sensible needs and who are conscious of that...
RE 287
" Hopefully, Martin Krafft’s research (http://martin-krafft.net/phd/) will help to improve the situation.".
This is a link to a resarch _project_, which will _perhaps_ be concretised by a PhD . I do not know whether this project has been accepted...
For the results to be validated, it takes at least 2 years (unless in Ireland PhD candidates are very very smart)...
=> Ne vendez pas la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué.
Many of my colleagues think that living with less bugs is worth waiting one year more; 4 months is then of little importance (and it is small to in face of research time scales)....Debian is exceptionnal for that, it is a real blessing they continue and there are hundreds of less rigorous distrs....
304 • Keep it coming! (by Dave MacCormack on 2007-03-06 17:23:11 GMT from United States)
Distrowatch is in my top 5 sites regularly visited.
I think the character of distro-reviews could be altered a bit since linux has matured so much in the last three years. Too often it's just an installation and screenshot review. That was great when just getting linux going was an accomplishment. I would find the following elements very helpful in a review:
Positioning: mass-market, developer, IT-server, multimedia, special-purpose
suitability for older equipment, laptops, internationalization
Installation: with an eye to the positioning, ie disk setup, multimedia support
wireless support, power management, desktop support,
developer support
Operation: Boot time, Terminal-window creation time (important to developers
IT folks), Multimedia functionality (ease/timeliness DVD rip/copy)
Shutdown Tiime, Suspend/Hibernate functionality. Office app
startup. Internationalization support. Package management.
Community
Support: Web site, Wiki, Forums, Newsletters, IRC, third party sites
Web presence (how much is out there)
I think you do a great job in generally trying to characterize distributions in light of several of the criteria mentioned above. It would be nice to see reviews with supporting evidence behind the characterizations
Hope this helps,
davemac
305 • distrowatch weekly (by t_freddy on 2007-03-06 18:21:06 GMT from United States)
When I started reading the weekly news letters that you post, I was a newbie like no other. Though I am far from where I want to be in the linux community as far as experience, I have to say that your news letter has benefitted me the most by way of awesome explanations, great reviews and views on the different distro's avalable, and the separation between politic's and actual news. PLEASE keep up the great work, some of us depend on it!
306 • Good things about DistroWatch (by David Mitchell on 2007-03-06 19:27:58 GMT from Australia)
G'day Ladislav,
Things I enjoy most about DistroWatch are:
- review of new distros. You often pick distros that I've got an interest in, but don't have time to review personally. Your reviews, while generally brief, usually hit all the key points I'm interested in, and I'm very grateful to you for satisfying my curiosity about new distros as they come out
- interviews. While the quality varies, you generally get across the prime objective of the guys being interviewed. When a new distro gets released, often it gets lost in the general "noise"; however, when the key developers are able to say "This is why we created a new distro; we're focusing on X", then it gives a context for why they felt they've gone down the path of creating a new distro
I'd really appreciate some more in-depth discussion of the various BSDs. I suspect like many other readers, I'm interested in the BSDs as a server platform because of their reputation for reliability, but don't have the free time available to dig through the necessary background information.
I probably get the least value out of the "News" section, as it's generally information I've come across during the week already. That said, it's all good info.
Thanks for 3+ years of Distrowatch
307 • distro watch comment (by Jay on 2007-03-06 20:00:36 GMT from United States)
I don't think radical change is necessary. I scan DW 1-3 times a week. What I like are the distro rankings, to see how these change with releases, and the news of new alphas, betas, RCs, and new versions. I follow Mepis, xubuntu (and therefore all the buntus) closely. But I am interested in all of them, obscure security distros, small scale distros like Puppy, DSL etc.
One of the best things is if I click on say Mepis, it links to a page that has the status of the distro, and many links to reviews. This is a time saver tying all of the links together. (also a nice selection of where to buy CD/DVD of distros-so cheap-makes the long downloads and failed md5s seem like a waste).
One idea which you allude to is the growth of the number of distros, so an article showing this growth might be interesting, though it may exixt somewaher already.
308 • DW comment (by Jay (again) on 2007-03-06 20:13:13 GMT from United States)
After looking at the site again, and the pages for each distro, one thing missing is some kernel information for the latest stable versions of each distro and latest beta for example.
I don't know how much overlap there would be, but a focus article on kernel developments and how they are introduced into the distros would be interesting.
Thanks again
Jay
309 • DWW (by Ed Perchyshyn on 2007-03-06 21:03:42 GMT from Canada)
Good Job, Ladislav
If you don't want to include news of distro related things, then maybe point
to those other sites that have had the news posted, mentioning the subject
matter. Personally, I look to DWW for distro news, interviews etc.
You don't want to become another forum site. Therefore, no tips and tricks,
no terminology explanations, etc.
310 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Robert on 2007-03-06 21:12:27 GMT from Canada)
DistroWatch Weekly. Simply the best!
Cheers!
Robert
311 • distrowatch content (by kornelix on 2007-03-06 22:41:58 GMT from Germany)
I like the idea of a news collection that "cherry picks" the best stuff so I don't have to spend lots of time checking many web sites. I hope you can keep this up. Thanks for the ride so far.
Mike
312 • distrowatch (by chabil on 2007-03-06 23:24:18 GMT from United States)
no more no less love it the way it is. dont know how you keep
up with all the distros but i would not be as into
linux and open source without you. i should set
distrowatch as my home page as it is one of the first places
i browse . hope you keep up the outstanding job,
there are alot of good sites that do have alot of
good info but to much like going school , who wants
to study all the time? your site has a ton of info i can
grab what i want in a flash and return later just to check
if any thing new has happened.
313 • DWW (by Patrick Krug on 2007-03-07 00:00:29 GMT from United States)
I concur that if something needs to be dropped, the news summary is the thing to drop. Linuxtoday.com and the slashdot.org both do a good job with new general information. And I do "read" as opposed to scan the rest of the offerings in DWW regularly.
Thanks for letting us comment on the content and all your hard work that was very helpful for a 2003 noob whose only previous experience was with redhat! I'm now a very content Mepis user with Puppy running on some older machines that I've donated to families without means to purchase their own systems.
314 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by nick on 2007-03-07 00:23:48 GMT from United Kingdom)
Hi Ladislav! :o)
I really love your current publication of DistroWatch and don't think it is in great need of changing. It has been a brilliant introduction for me into the world of Linux and BSD. I particularly like the way you write and get a strong sense of how much you care about this subject.
News Summary: I find this the most interesting bit, and think it closely meets your brief of watching distros! Please don't drop this section! I think the occasional comment you make on news items gives me an insight into your view and makes a great addition to the factual reporting.
Distribution reviews and overviews: I really like this section too and think the screenshots and occasional graphics add important elements which helps me through the text. Perhaps more graphics and logos of distros would add brightness and interest?
Interviews: I find these sections a bit lengthy sometimes and agree with you they sometimes don't come out well. I do like it when you comment on other interviews that you've read or heard elsewhere.
Tips and tricks: I read these on other sites if I have time. I think your style of writing is great for newcomers and general interest as well as those who care about the subject and would be concerned that overly technical content could scare people away.
Terminology: If you were to use terminology when reporting on news then I would appreciate any explanation you could give me, but I'm not keen to read a dedicated section on jargon unless it's related to an important new development that distros are adding into their releases.
Opinions and commentary: I really think you are striking the right balance between opinion and open-minded curiosity already and would be concerned if you tried to include more - doesn't everyone else spout strong opinions enough alrealy? ;o)
Thank you very much with your great site and good luck with any changes you decide to make.
Very best wishes,
Nick
315 • distrowatch direction (by jlarue at 2007-03-07 00:44:13 GMT from United States)
Like so many others, I hit this site every Monday. I flip to your section of Linux Format. Why? Because you've done something right.
I think Distrowatch should be, in this order:
* the database. One stop shopping for new and revised distro info.
* selective news. Your top picks. WHY something is important.
* trends. From your perspective, culling through all this data, where are things going? You could do this by package listings, by desktop environment, by package management (as you've done in the past), by business model, or by anything that catches your eye. What interests me is meaning. So a short essay on any of these things, from your perspective, would be instructive.
Having said all that, I also think things are just dandy the way they are. Great stuff, and I mean it. Live long and prosper.
316 • No subject (by William Oddie on 2007-03-07 00:58:05 GMT from United States)
The most important thing I can think of that needs doing is an update of the 'Major Distributions' section.
317 • Sounds depressing... (by Raymond on 2007-03-07 01:01:33 GMT from United States)
Your website is wonderful, in all aspects. How can you sound so depressing. This turn me down, where else can I find a compilation of all the news about the linux world. Nowdays I do not have time to sit down to read a bunch of technical stuff. Just an snapshot about what is new. is ok like you do now. A section for asking help and changing experiences by newbies like me would be wonderful.
But change that mood man! Your work is very appreciated in this other side of the scree.
318 • future of distrowatch (by Philip Doane on 2007-03-07 01:14:47 GMT from United States)
I think Distrowatch.com is fine just as it is. I read the Distrowatch Weekly every week. I like its compactness and information. I also go to the web pages for individual distributions of Linux. I read home pages and reviews of the distributions. I look primarily for easy to use and understand distributions.
Philip
319 • Distrowatch.com opinions (by John Johnson on 2007-03-07 01:26:29 GMT from United States)
After I arrive at work the first thing I do is read distrowatch, the second is check my 401K . So you may surmise correctly that I really like your page, the weekly section is informative and the links/stories on topic. Please don't stop the web page, but don't let it run your life either. I have found that many people love to point out your shortcomings (as they perceive them) but do nothing of their own. I would pay no attention. Keep up the good work & as my Suse screen says "Have Fun!".
Thanks for work
JJ
320 • Your Work (by Jeffery Fallin on 2007-03-07 01:32:49 GMT from United States)
Correct me if I'm wrong.....but I don't see anywhere (on Distrowatch.com) a place where you ask for help via money. Yes I know you have the advertisments that help (?) but after seeing and reading Distrowatch for a long time myself I think it's now about time for you to get compensated for the hard work that you put in to this most excellent website.
With that said, I don't know that much about linux but I'm also not a novice when it comes to installing and evaluating a distrobution on my laptop. Distrowatch is the first place I come to find out about distros (new and old) and where to download them to try.
If I can help further let me know...I can write from a novice's point of view about linux and windows items or just help in or with other things. Keep up the good hard work, I for one look forward to reading everything here on Distrowatch.com
thanks,
jeff
321 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Anonymous on 2007-03-07 01:35:39 GMT from United States)
Please don't stop DWW. I look forward to it every week and think you are doing a great job.
322 • distrowatch (by Tom S. on 2007-03-07 01:39:41 GMT from United States)
I really appreciate your publication. I like to keep aware of OS changes and track Linux fairly closely. I try about ten distributions a year, either live CD or full install (or both) and use your site for information and links. If you are looking for places to cut, I think install reviews are covered prety well at other sites although I look at most reviews no matter who does them. A possible feature to add might be user information about problems with specific distributions by problem category (and hardware?). One of my systems is AMD/Nvidia and for 8 out of 19 distributions, the initial install has video problems and for 3 of those 8, I can't find any boot parameters that will make it work.
Thank you for your work
323 • SIDUX, BLAG, FC6, PCLOS (by LycanNYc on 2007-03-07 02:02:36 GMT from United States)
All I want to say is SIDUX lives on
The greatest Debian Sid livecd/distro
BLAG60k for being the best and only FC6 distro
PCLOS for being easier than Ubuntu LOL
And Ubuntu for having a good community turning into a whole crazyness and distro going nuts
324 • Ways to Improve (by Anonymous on 2007-03-07 02:11:19 GMT from United States)
Go back to your roots. It was much better and more focused when you only did Linux. I don't always have time to check the site but when I do, I could care less about BSD. Linux has proven in it's short lifespan to go where BSD never could, mainstream acceptance.
325 • The future of distrowatch weekly (by andrew on 2007-03-07 03:01:45 GMT from New Zealand)
Simply put, I think Distrowatch is great and look forward to the weekly newsletter. I am happy with it as it is, but understand the very real pressure on your time. So my suggestion would be:
News summary. Great to have this in one place. Keep it.
Distribution reviews and overviews. I enjoy reading something about the newer or less welll known distro's and you have provided a few Gems. Include as time allows.
Interviews with distribution developers. Not of so much interest. Drop it.
Tips and tricks. Please add and remember variety is the spice of life
Terminology. It's always useful to have a concise explination of what something means or how it works. I'd love to see it.
Opinions and commentaries. I like hearing your opinion and who cares wether I agree or not.
Your doing a great job, keep it up.
326 • kudos for DWW (by Guy McCarthy on 2007-03-07 03:06:05 GMT from United States)
Well, I appreciate that you may feel compelled to change the content or even (gasp) cease publication altogether. I just want to say that I really enjoy the column and I hope that you decide to continue.
Its OK with me if you scale it back to reduce the time commitment. For myself, I rarely read the other news sources, so the weekly highlights are welcome.
Best Regards,
Guy
327 • comments (by Paul Whiteley on 2007-03-07 03:09:34 GMT from Canada)
First of all, I may be missing something, but I don't see an obvious way to get Distrowatch sent by "push" (mail-list or RSS); I would certainly find that helpful as a way to keep up with new distros in the Linux world.
As to what I value, it is especially 1. reviews and 2. opinion pieces; I would also appreciate pieces from other contributors if you could find some! Terminology articles 3., about what new things are and how they work, would be more interesting to me than "tips and tricks"-type articles (Drop).
You could try accepting reader-written opinion pieces about distributions; that might be an easy way to bring in a diversity of opinion at little personal effort. You would need to vet and possibly edit the contributions, but people should be motivated to produce quality by the guaranted exposure . . .
Thanks for you work,
paul
p.s. my parents have summer place in Door County WI
328 • suggestion (by jerome yorysh on 2007-03-07 03:48:44 GMT from United States)
keep doing what you are doing, it's like reading a newspaper. I scour over the section that interests me and I set aside what doesn't.
I love the fact that it's all in one place and you report earlier than other printed sources, I like your section in linuxformat.
I can't help but download the latest and greatest, also to read about a distro that doesn't interest me is good, hard to know what is out there.
don't be discouraged by nay sayers. there is always a critic so ask them to contribute and see how quiet the get.
thanks again
jby
329 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-03-07 05:41:17 GMT from United States)
Most people are saying don't change a thing and then pile on more things for you to do. I agree with #207 let the daily news flow into the weekly and for each story of the week, add your comments/updates/issues/experences to post #1 and let people add their comments. End of the week close the story in the weekly newsletter and add it to the disto page and archive the weekly newsletter. Don't lose anything but make your life easier.
330 • Choices, choices... (by Anonymous on 2007-03-07 05:51:44 GMT from United States)
Sidux, PCLinuxOS 2007, or wait for Debian Etch? What a tough decision!
331 • RE 287 Debian current state (by areuareu on 2007-03-07 07:07:24 GMT from France)
I am not so sure that the Etch delay is due to management problems. I am currently running Etch and I download every day 30->60 Megabytes of updates. Apparently, they are working hard to give us the most up to date and stable release ever. As it is, it's already _very_ stable.
332 • Thanks! (by DrCR on 2007-03-07 07:09:40 GMT from United States)
Hey, just wanted to say I really appreciate DistroWatch and its weeklies. May or may not know the "other" sites, but DW is my one-stop shop right now and something I really appreciate. So a big thanks to you!
DrCR
333 • Lets be more bloggish! (by Jack on 2007-03-07 09:32:47 GMT from Czech Republic)
I would like you to be more personal on this page - what YOU think about those news (basically press releases), what's YOUR experience with particular piece of software. Something like serious blog. And there's no need to restrict on OS's either. Just what you find interesting - there's usually not that much important stuff happening in a single week.
Also personally, I don't care about those little unknown linuxes that apppear and disapper in a month. They usually don't bring much new anyway.
If you'd make DWW into a personal yet serious OSS/IT blog, I'd be a glad person...
PS: BSD rulez!
334 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Paul Juarez on 2007-03-07 11:26:25 GMT from United States)
I like it the way it is. Yes some of the mentioned new items would be nice. However, if you do not receive help in the content I would not expect it to change.
That said I enjoy all the articles.
Thank you,
Paul
335 • DWW Commets (by Douglas on 2007-03-07 12:28:41 GMT from Germany)
Being one of the persons who commented, I want to say that for sure I want DWW to continue!!!! I wrote what I wrote go get improvement or should I say a return to what I liked in the past? I love to read DWW, please keep this in mind.
My comment about the tips is that this site is about distros, so to me that means that this is about getting the best distro on your computer for yourself or about testing out all the new stuff and different ways to set up Linux thus the tips should help us in this. Gimp is great but not to relevant to me to DWW. How to set up, test and perfect your install or your running of a distro is important or else how to improve your chosen distro with say better fonts or something or maybe make it faster.
The other day I discovered Slingshot. Tips pointing to this program would have made my day years ago. How could I have missed this software for so long? Not much needs be said about slingshot although the documents are really lacking. LOL
Best
Douglas
336 • DWW the best! (by Marcelo on 2007-03-07 13:44:22 GMT from Dominican Republic)
DWW is the best fast information over the BSD and Linux operating systems. Fast, one time in the week, objective and rich in information.
Make more DWW, week for week !
best regards
Marcelo M.
Marcelo Technology
only first quality operating systems and aplications
337 • comments on Distro weekly (by Robert S. Giambrone on 2007-03-07 14:28:25 GMT from United States)
Most Valuable:
Distribution reviews and overviews.
Interviews with distribution developers
Opinions and commentaries.
-------------------
I also am new to Linux after leaving Windows. I find Distro weekly invaluable. Keep up the excellent work.
338 • KEEPING DISTROWATCH.COM (by Jonathhan on 2007-03-07 14:48:01 GMT from United States)
First,Im A God fearing Family man.Second,I am blue collar hard working Mill hunky.third I am a three year newbie . I was A ten year windows goofball.. I work midnights and get off work at 7:30 am and home by 8:00 am . I walk into my home and go straight to one of my three computers in the livingroom and on the home page of any of the four to five browsers that I use, is your web page..I read up and down , in and out..Letalone download the latest distros..I try them all..I also have looked at the other sites and in my newbie opinion ,, Your Site is like the linux bible to me....Thank you for that...If there is anything this simple old linux nut can do to help ! Please let me know....Keep the good work going and God bless.....Jonathan
339 • distro.lafox.net is dead. (by alexej on 2007-03-07 14:52:35 GMT from Ukraine)
subj
lafox.net also gives "This domain is expired, please renew it. Please contact us for more information."
???
340 • Distro Watch Comments (by joe secone on 2007-03-07 15:23:04 GMT from United States)
I have been trying out various Linux distributions for about 5 years. I have probably tried a few dozen different releases. I now depend on DistroWatch Weekly for all of my installations. It provides me with everything I need: download info, reviews, problems, hints, etc. I would personally not change anything.
I would like to thank you for what you do. I know it must be a very time consuming task, but as you can see, it has helped a lot of users to try out Linux and hopefully stay with Linux.
341 • changes (by jk on 2007-03-07 15:49:39 GMT from Germany)
Please don't cut the news section, I don't have time to read through many news pages and really appreciate the summary.
A short overview over less-known distributions is a nice things too. You can read a report about Ubuntu, OpenSuse or Fedora everywhere, but it's hard to find places which write about Zenwalk, Arch, Vector or other less known distributions.
Interviews are mostly interesting, I love reading them.
Regarding the tipps I would like to see little things not everybody knows, not some beginners tutorial about using software xyz, there are enough of them already. Mh, things like setting up a local spam filter would come into my mind as well as little bash scripts to do certain things.
Terminology would be appreciated as well, as I won't take a look at wikipedia without knowing about certain technologies.
Opinions are sometimes good to understand the effects of a decision, but should be used exaggerated.
342 • Re 333 :" little unknown linuxes that apppear and disapper in a month" (by dbrion on 2007-03-07 16:29:15 GMT from France)
What were the size and life expectancy of Linux in 1991?
. I do not feel entitled to judge about the life expectancy and interest of an unknown linux, and I am very grateful to Distrowatch to make them known: sometimes I find a good idea, a nice application , an interesting shipping list....
For example, elpicx who is in waiting list (not even hit rated...) made one ex sysadmin of my friends very happy (at least he told me). I think there are good manuals inside, which may interest beginners who want to know bash scripting (it taught me a little)...
I found last year "http://freescience.info/" where one can find (I think : I did not use it for that) printable books about bash scripting, CLI and Linux (complete cellulotic books may be more comfortable than wikipedia if one has no IT connection, or if one breaks ones computer, or if one travels....).
I maintain the main interest of DistroWatchWeekly IMvHO is to make known little unknown distrs (I can read from big known ones, their marriages, their blunders, etc.... at my newpapers seller)....
343 • DWW changes (by Thankful on 2007-03-07 16:46:12 GMT from United States)
Thank you for your hard work! Awesome job!
My suggestions:
Focus on your strengths - weekly DWW with new distros news, distro reviews, scheduled distro releases, DW site news, comments. These are unique to your site.
Replace news section with page with headline links or RSS feeds from other news-focused Linux sites; if this is not viable, simply create a static list of links to news sections of those pages
Eliminate tips and tricks - each viable distro has/should have its own forum. Here again, you could create a page with a static list of links to user forums.
Thanks again!
344 • distrowatch future (by Steve Wanta on 2007-03-07 17:06:20 GMT from United States)
Keep it up. I check it most every day. It wouldn't hurt to loose the interviews, as they get a little long winded, and the news. Adding tips would be nice - simple things - adding programs from source ( and more importantly- removing them afterwards ). More command line basics for us novices. Otherwise, keep up the great work. Steve
345 • dww (by ray carter at 2007-03-07 17:20:28 GMT from United States)
OK, my 2 cents:
1) I would agree with a previous poster who suggested that not every feature need be included every week.
2) It has always seemed pointless to me to have a summary of what was released last week - I check the site daily, so I know what was released last week.
3) I thought you had some excellent 'tips' in previous issues - I still refer to the one on using rsync to download ISOs. That's something I'd really like to see added back in - would certainly not need to be in weekly - maybe once a month.
4) I realize there is a lot of work involved. If you were to post a list of particular areas in which you like to 'farm out' some of the work there might be some folks interested in helping. I could do that on a fairly regular, but not totally regular basis - I'm retired, and have several hours free each week during which I could do some work - but I'd certainly need some 'direction'. It might be that the management of volunteer help would be more effort than doing the work - maybe a few test cases.
346 • on the future of DW-Weekley (by Charles Reynolds on 2007-03-07 17:44:12 GMT from United States)
I appreciate the overview of major news items every week. The reviews are my favorite part of DW-Weekly specifically because it almost always is of a less well-known distribution. I generally skip the interviews; and opinions are better handled on a more forum-oriented site. Terminology doesn't really belong in a web-zine because Google so readily provides links to appropriate glossary-type pages. Tips-n-tricks are neat and they do have their place in a zine, but I don't think they are necessary.
I would like to see projects highlighted which can help reduce community fragmentation. LSB, GNUstep, perl, python and Mono are just a few points of interest. Package management issues have had a lot of coverage, recently. What is the future, there? Are we seeing a move, by the big distros, to create a more homogenous software package and management scheme?
347 • The future of DW (by Steve Brennan on 2007-03-07 20:18:59 GMT from New Zealand)
Hi Ladislav,
Part of my weekly ritual is reading Distrowatch Weekly. I for one would miss it if it went. Please keep it going just as it is.
Warmest Regards
Steve
348 • Subscribing to Disto Watch Weekly Podcast (by Nick Feuerstein on 2007-03-07 21:24:43 GMT from United States)
How do you subscribe to the podcast. I have been looking around with no success. I like the podcast so don't turn it off. I got into linux listing to DW. would you e-mail me the subscription link.
think you Nick
349 • WOW (by Eric on 2007-03-07 21:39:09 GMT from Canada)
Hey there Ladislav, THATS ONE WAY TO COOK UP A STORM!!, lol, the amount of posts on this topic and DWW is amazing, almost 350 posts!! If you happen to get this far in your reading I would also like to suggest you dont stop, sure many others would be able to fill the gap but Distrowatch is more than just a gap filler, you have an unpresidentwed amount of honour and pride to be able to voice to such a wide niche of users For many, Distrowatch, including myself, was the most important site and resource for influencing the move to linux, I LOVE this site, and even though you may not feel like you and Distrowatch matters, OMFG YOUD BE WRONG, I visit this site at LEAST 5 times everyday!! just to see whether there are new dev releases, podcasts, or newsleters. I was one of the guys that helped on your ultimate final decicion opon the MINIX debate;), and you seemed to also go along with my very opinion almost to the letter :D (search for Eric in the comments;)) But yes doing your distrowatch weekly is a very important part of my week, but if the task is becoming a bit tedious maybe consider 1ce every 2 weeks, but PLEASE no less than that, PLEASE NO LESS THAN 1 Distrowatch newsletter every 2 weeks. This site and newsletter is a big part of any seasoned BSD/GNU/Linux user on a globel scale.
Thats my opinion so hopefully you get to read my post as its almost at the #350 spot :P.
Also I must say that your choice on supporting Sidux with your donation is a great appreciation, i have been using it since the 3rd pre-release and it has only gotten better. We all like a Debian based distro that STAYS compatible with its roots;) none of that forking and breaking compatibility crap, lol, so thats what really makes it a HOT target, ANYTHING debian based RULES :), since for the record I'm no fan of .rpm based distros, too slow......
You take care Ladislav and hope u continue either a Weekly or BI-Weekly newsletter, its very important to helping BSD/GNU/Linux get adopted into the masses especially at a VERY important year when people choose to jump ship from Windoze because of the rediculous Vista.
350 • Distrowatch (by tom on 2007-03-07 22:19:23 GMT from United States)
Distro watch is a great resource. I can see where it has grown to be larger then 1 person can handle.
My suggestions, for what they are worth,
1. Ask for help. surely in this large reader base there are qualified individuals willing to help ~
2. The reader comments ~
A. Can it be converted to a forum ?
B. Can it be cleaned up ? IMO it seems there are too many flames, too off topic.
Again, I'm sure there are qualified individuals willing to help.
In summary, continue distrowatch, recruit some help. If you are burned out, take a break :)
351 • The Future of DistroWatch (by Anthony Tomlinson on 2007-03-07 23:13:33 GMT from United States)
First of all, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't stop making DistroWatch!! If not for you & your site, I would never have really given Linux a shot. Thanks to your excellent resource site, my decision was easy. You gave me a starting point to compare Debian vs. RPM distros, you have me the first news of Ubuntu, which I have used ever since the first release (thanks to your review). I have used Linux exclusively ever since. However, to be honest, now that I'm an advanced user, I don't need this site nearly as much as I used to, but I still view it once per week, as opposed to daily. Now, to answer your question on the sections:
* News summary: I don't feel that this should be removed, however, let's revamp it. You & your helpers don't have to report news own your own. How about making it somewhat like Digg? It could be a one stop resource for Linux distro & software news. Stories could be pulled from tuxmachines, LXER, LWN, Groklaw, etc.
* Distribution reviews & overviews: Since you all don't have time to do any more than a "first look" quick review, I suggest keeping this "first look" section & then link to other sites, again like Digg does. OSDir & their screenshots reviews are one example of the sites you could pull from.
* Interviews with distribution developers: Definitely keep this, but as you said, the readers could also submit questions for the interviews.
* Tips and tricks: Again, let's make this resource for all the good tips & tricks sites, once again based on the Digg model. HowToForge & The Linux Documentation Project come to mind & there are many other sites to pull links from.
* Terminology: A terminology section would be most helpful, but again, you don't have to do the work. Create a GNU/Linux, BSD, & Solaris terminology section, but have the entries linked to the Wikipedia definitions.
* Opinions & commentaries. I would definitely like to see more of these. Keep up the good work.
So, to sum it all up, DistroWatch has been an indispensible resource. Let's make it even better by making it the central repository for all distro related news, tips, reviews, interviews, etc. found on the web. DiggstroWatch! (Just kidding.)
352 • All (by Margaret Wills on 2007-03-08 01:27:48 GMT from United States)
I have read and loved your site "DistroWatch" for years! Everything about Linux I need to know I come here. Thank you for giving Linux the best!!
353 • DWW Future (by Rick on 2007-03-08 03:10:01 GMT from United States)
I love the distro reviews. Other sites rarely look at the smaller or niche distros. It's OK that the review is not in-depth. If the quick first look is interesting we can install the distro and see how it works.
The interviews are good. Especially interviews with people involved in the less commercial distros or projects.
Commentaries are great! Stir the pot and get us all thinking! (but not flaming, eh?).
354 • newsletter (by vapor on 2007-03-08 04:26:13 GMT from Canada)
When visiting your site, I almost always read the newsletter. I really enjoy it, and it is one of my main sources of linux news.
355 • Newsletter (by Kiki Cerise on 2007-03-08 05:20:22 GMT from United States)
Your newletter is WONDERFUL.
As a writer, I have learned to listen carefully to comments from readers to determine a variety of factors. I ask myself the following:
-- Is the comment constructive and helpful? Did the commenting person offer suggested changes for improvement?
-- Is the comment merely from a those who like to whine and put down others? Remember, the Internet attracts all kinds of riff-raff--more so than ever before. Some people lack basic social skills and know of no other way to feel good about themselves other than to put down others. These people are AKA trolls.
I find your newletter to be of great service! It doesn't matter if I agree or disagree with something that you wrote. I would not have know about many releases if you had not included them in the newsletter! I look forward to it every week.
If on some weeks you lack the resources to write up a "full" newsletter, then post what you can.
Keep up the excellent work!
356 • We are talking about DWW and NOT the Distrowatch web page. (by Scott Wilson on 2007-03-08 06:57:53 GMT from United States)
I think it is interesting that everyone is commenting about how great DWW is, which it is. (I usually get up early on Monday to read while sipping my morning brew.) But I see people are confusing DISTROWATCH.com with the DISTROWACTH WEEKLY.
From the post that I have read, while everyone seems to enjoy reading DWW, no one has asked about what are your requirements on being a volunteer writer? I remember you mention a few issues ago, with the growth and popularity of Linux. I can see how you are getting overwhelmed with creating DWW
"Nowadays it takes about 1.5 days to complete the task. This is, unfortunately, about as much as I am prepared to spend on it so unless I am able to find new volunteer writers, I don't see much scope for extending the publication with new sections - at least not without dropping some of the existing sections."
Since no one has asked, Besides a think skin, what are you looking for in a writer?
Is DWW geared for the Guru or the newbie?
Tips and Tricks NO, there are other pages for that.
Interviews with the creators of the flavors of Linux YES
Interviews with Linux Personalties of Linux Yes
Distribution Release summaries Yes
Terms maybe a place on the main web page
Reader Comments, so many times the comment section gets hijacked, or POST are made that you can tell that they did not read the weekly, and are posting because they can. In a way I would like to see them “monitored”
My Mondays just would be the same with out a fresh copy of DWW
357 • Tips & Apps (by Matt on 2007-03-08 09:24:48 GMT from United States)
I would love to have a section with little known applications that you should know about! Tips would also be nice! I like the column, but some minor things could spice it up a bit :) Thanks for all the hard work!
358 • Distrowatch Weekly (by vdb on 2007-03-08 09:58:01 GMT from Italy)
Hi !
There is no doubt that distrowatch has become, over the years, a reference for many of us following the world of Linux.
The prompt news about the many distributions out there is sort of addictive. ;-)
But what I really look forward to, is the Distrowatch weekly issue, not just for the news but very much for the opinions shared in the articles.
I think improving the "tips&tricks" section would be a good idea, but really the Distrowatch weekly, is OK as it is.
I dare say that without the Weekly issue, Distrowatch would not have so much appealing to me any more.
Regards
vdb
359 • DistroWatch Weekly (by Jim Osbourne on 2007-03-08 10:37:22 GMT from Thailand)
Ladislav Bodnar,
Just a note: I read your column ref DistroWatch and I must say that for one I do appreciate your efforts. I make it a point to read DistroWatch weekly and enjoy the Distribution Reviews and Overviews section the most.
As far as the other “sources” of Linux info go, I find them often to be superficial rants that lack in substance. I like your summaries and objectiveness.
Again, I wish to let you know that I appreciate your efforts. Thank you.
Jim Osbourne
360 • What about occasional links to book/bookreviews? (by dbrion on 2007-03-08 10:45:40 GMT from France)
There is a fine line between books and distributions, according to xLFS (I knew of their existing though DWW anounces, and I think it interested many pple -at least cowmetLinux, who is in waiting list)... I feel there are many beginners who read DWW, and their real needs cannot be supported : it is amusing one time, then it becomes tedious, to explain in 20 lines ONE bash command which could be man-ned (even from Cygwin ; I do not know for OpenSolaris)....
Knowing from books (I know there are good ones, some of them may be freely downloaded) and from simulation methods can allow beginners to ask for less support and be happier. (If Linux/BSD/... grows fast, I suppose there will be more and more beginners....).
The problem with wikipedia is that is is browsable, and not meant to be printed. Some cellulotic doc, though not that innovating!, can be very useful in case of IT/computer failure(I do not know for modern Linuxes, but for older ones, there was a risk of not being able to read electronic doc or getting IT support for a long unpleasant time [ see elive last announces in DWW and bug fixes]).
361 • Future of DW (by Larry Cafiero on 2007-03-08 17:46:17 GMT from United States)
First of all, I'm relatively new to the FOSS movement, so I don't think I've seen everything out there. But of all that I have seen, I am a frequent visitor -- we're talking first thing I visit (before going on to lxer.com) on a daily basis -- to DistroWatch because overall it is very, very informative. I especially like your pages on individual distros because it provides a lot of information, and a variety of links to visit if more information is needed.
I would not change a thing about it, and I think it's a valuable resource to both the everyday GNU/Linux user, as well as to the beginner (and also to those of us in the media covering FOSS).
Don't change a thing, and keep up the great work.
Larry Cafiero
Editor/Publisher
Open Source Reporter
http://www.opensourcereporter.net
362 • DWW written with the novice in mind (by Wetcoast on 2007-03-09 01:10:11 GMT from Canada)
Here is where I see DWW shine. An overview for novices. "You wanted Linux? Here are the news of new distributions with links to DW summary pages for comparison."
While the veterans may come back to DW, novices might be frightened away, (and cause us all grief when they foul-up), and not come back.
Not everyone has even downloaded or used Linux when they visit.
On Google, distrowatch comes 11, the second page of default so it is likely to be read, especially when we see after ten dull links
"DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.
News and feature lists of Linux and BSD distributions.
distrowatch.com/ - 7 Mar 2007 - Similar pages"
So they visit and the plethora of features brings them in, makes them download and install and we have a new programmer for every 10 new visitors--a benefit for all of us.
363 • DISTROWATCH (by SamH on 2007-03-09 05:51:08 GMT from New Zealand)
I read Distrowatch most weeks.
It is usually my first port of call on the way to more information.
Content and balance lives up to name.
I appreciate the news section; please don't drop it.
Tips and tricks seems to me beyond the scope of the publication.
Comment on new technologies/applications/directions - eg Beryl - would be welcome.
Opinions and commentaries? I'm not so sure. And if you're pressed for time...
364 • An ever increasing workload (by areuareu on 2007-03-09 08:28:53 GMT from France)
One day or another, Ladislav won't be able to cope with the increasing influx of new distributions. From december 18th, 141 distinct distributions have issued a new version, not counting the multiple RC, alpha or releases, which could double (triple?) that number. Every one implies at least an update of the package version list. This number outperforms the count of distinct distribution releases for the whole year 2003.
These announces, especially the RCs, are necessary for the distributions to 'recruit' testers but they add a huge amount of work on Ladislav's shoulders.
Is there a possibility to reduce this workload, or to share it between some privileged contributors? It may be the way to go, since there is no sign of shortage of neu distributions, at least in the near future.
It is not sufficient to say 'Don't change anything' if even that is impossible.
If everybody wishes to keep DWN as it is, something has to be done to alleviate either the DWN load or the remaining tasks regarding the site.
Cheers
365 • Elive (by Andrew on 2007-03-09 10:27:53 GMT from New Zealand)
Elive is a strange distro. It has huge potential but lacks any real documentation and a good forum. They produce regular updates which don't seem to fix any problems. They only seem focused on the art work and design. It's a real shame. Sidux is the distro of the moment. Take note Elive.
On Distrowatch don't change a thing.
366 • RE: # 365 (by Anonymous Penguin on 2007-03-09 12:20:55 GMT from Italy)
Elive seems to share the same problems (unsolved bugs) with Dreamlinux.
But to be honest I have found also Sidux to have its fair share of problems.
367 • DWW lives! (by Jim Anderson on 2007-03-09 14:07:29 GMT from United States)
I visit your site several times a week and it is first on my own
list of Linux resources.
To me DWW is very valuable - I do not have time to go through
all the multitude of other Linux-related sites although many of them
have much useful information too, looking to see when a particular distro will be released, or where to find an iso.
I believe your work is an very helpful to the open source movement, and to a wide community - even benefiting those who never visit you site, through the influence of friends, colleagues, and teachers who do.
You will never know how much good you do!
368 • please, keep up with the good work (by V. on 2007-03-09 21:01:12 GMT from Brazil)
Its been a long time since this site is my main source for news about Linux. I enjoy it at the point that i choose *this site* over the several others available on my own language (portuguese).
As for the sections, my top 3 favorites:
1 News summary
2 Opinions and commentaries
3 Interviews with distribution developers
About dropped sections, i dont think it is necessary, unless you found it too time-consuming to maintain.
369 • comments on DWW (by Paul on 2007-03-09 21:57:22 GMT from United States)
I think what differentiates DWW is its capacity to serve as a clearing house for information on the huge assortment of distros - who can possibly follow what they are all doing? The hits per day ratings are unique as well!
I like the lists of reviews, too.
I think the developer interviews are duplicated elsewhere on the web.
I read the news every week and I find it informative.
370 • First visit (by Ken Sprouse on 2007-03-10 03:52:32 GMT from United States)
Greetings from Oakmont Pennsylvania. This is my first visit to your site and I have to say that thus far I am impressed. Are you involved with or do you create any podcast activity? I have become an avid consumer of podcasts, or netcasts if your prefer, over the last few months and really enjoy the Linux oriented ones. Please keep up the good work as I explorer the site further.
371 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Scott on 2007-03-10 04:40:16 GMT from United States)
Hi:
It is difficult to point out which sections of Distrowatch are my favorite. Mainly, since I began seriously looking at and starting to use Linux, this has been THE site I have used to search for and watch the developments of many Linux distros. I have also found the DWW page and the podcasts valuable. It helps to know what is going on in the Linux world and your insights into the thinking and issues of the people involved, as well as the distros themselves are appreciated. Your rss feeds are useful, particularly the feed showing just released distros.
To me this is the central nexus for Linux, this is where I go to start researching a distro or often just to jump to a distros home page, if I haven't bookmarked it.
Please keep up the great work!
Scott
372 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Anonymous on 2007-03-10 06:09:22 GMT from Australia)
I think you are best placed to evaluate what is worthwhile.
There are news sources aplenty. Perhaps instead of news, you could post links to such sources as newsforge and linux.com, although I think tuxmachines has it covered.
If I was in your shoes, I would do whatever gave me the most satisfaction. I think opinions and commentary could use an airing. Even reviews of the differing points of view on topical issues. Whatever floats your boat.
You could think about a fortnightly or monthly rag instead of a weekly.
373 • The distribution release for which I'm waiting. (by Terry on 2007-03-10 06:23:41 GMT from Australia)
The previous comment (372) was mine as well. I was concentrating on not including my email (it results in so much spam) and forgot to enter my name.
I'm waiting for PCLinuxOS. I'm kicking the tyres on KateOS right now and want to look at Arch some time. That will be enough for this year.
374 • RE# 373 (by Werewolf on 2007-03-10 11:27:00 GMT from Romania)
Hi!! i'm waiting for Texstar to release PCLOS too. BTW if you are going to test distro's have a look at Frugalware (i'm sure you won't be dissapointed if the bash is not a stranger to you :) )
375 • The future of DistroWatch Weekly (by Vukota on 2007-03-10 21:15:05 GMT from United States)
Hi Ladislav,
First of all, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SO GREAT AND WELL DONE WORK!!!
I don't' think that you should drop any section from DWW. I am reading them all whenever I can!
Regarding suggestions, I think you should ask and look for the help either through donations or through contributions.
Regards,
Vukota
376 • Why not threading the comments (by Rarsa on 2007-03-10 21:23:32 GMT from Canada)
After reading your opinion section and distros evaluation, I jump to the comments.
It is interesting to know what people are thinking about the happenings and development of Linux, both on the political and technical sides.
Sometimes it is very difficult to follow a conversation unless you read the 190 or 300 posts (highly unlikelly)
I'd suggest threading the comments.
377 • PClinuxOS is a Pure Ballon ! (by xyungelost on 2007-03-11 00:30:47 GMT from Turkey)
PclinuxOS is a Pure Ballon. With the KDE It have no Chance in the Future ! There are many many failur in the Production.
Populismus is Populismus...
No Chance in the Future !
My Regards ...
378 • The Future of DWW (by Videoguy on 2007-03-11 03:08:59 GMT from United States)
From past experience, I've found that writing a "future of" article can generate a lot of activity. Sadly, it rarely produces the outcomes one desires.
Much of the sniping that has graced these pages in recent times has nothing to do with the fine content provided by the editors. More often than not, the sour notes are from the participants in this comments section.
I believe, as evidenced by the accolades expressed above, most visitors truly appreciate the work that Ladislav does. Rather than tinkering with DWW, maybe all that is needed is a commitment by the regular visitors to minding our P's and Q's.
Regards
379 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-03-11 14:17:36 GMT from France)
I do not agree with these points :"They only seem focused on the art work and design. It's a real shame"
If it were a real shame, Monsieur Brognar would not make it accessible for all the people who want to test it and enjoy their claim that she is experimental and one should be aware of it (it is a button one has to click : I wish all the other distrs did!) and a very nice desktop (even if buggy, which could not notice from fast tests, what is the matter: nobody and no Linux is perfect).
Anyway, any opinion is respectable, if there are arguments (and elive's bug fixes are for your post!!), and makes the interest of DWW readers comments (pple I keep on disagreing taught me much by leading me to cross-verify what they wrote...).
Pehaps elive is meant to be looked at, while more "serious" distrs exist and are given tasks like compiling anything is missing or is late (in the best case, 50% of the apps I need are not shipped with distrs, or are late versions in Fedora and openSuse=> I have to upgrade them and it will lead me to recompiling almost anything with unknown distrs. I know from DWW this traditionnal way is not that silly/uncommon {sorry: these adjectives are not synonyms in my language}).
I maintain the main (and not redundant) interest in DWW letter is the part given to small distrs and the kind, sensible and intelligent way they are treated. Were it not, I could have ignored KateOS, DSL (pity it has no gcc shipped with, but it can be added) and elive ...
BTW, making DWW monthly would put it in concurrency (in France) with pages of paper monthly magazines, at least for well established Linuxes...
380 • Cor 379 (by dbrion on 2007-03-11 14:19:51 GMT from France)
# 379 subject was RE 365. (and comments on DWW present policy and the advatages of bash ).
381 • re 380 • Cor 379 (by dbrion) : elive (by Fractalguy on 2007-03-11 18:26:29 GMT from United States)
Well, I couldn't wait to try the latest elive. I was deep into livecd testing Mint (for more than 24 hours) when I saw the elive announcement here. So I dropped everything to boot on the HD and get it from a mirror site.
Mint, BTW, doesn't use my swap so I found after over night running a memory bug had over-run my 1BG RAM requiring an eventual killing of X and relogging in. My files were still there but the experiment was bogged down by cach maxed out and couldn't launch some aps.
I found the new elive much improved over the last release, it recognized my nVidia with 1280x1024 (finally). I enjoyed an elive evening listening to its "radio", and using the night theme with smoked glass.
I also downloaded Opera and Nvu so I could do some editing. Nvu looked different: it had the left side pannel deployed by default - nice. Both Mint and elive have a large repos.
IRC chats have guys hanging out to help with just about any distro. One guy on elive's, Gwildor, was very helpful.
382 • Nice work Ladislav (by Bill Savoie on 2007-03-12 03:43:13 GMT from United States)
As you can see 382 comments! That is some kind of record. As you must already know, there is a tipping point for Linux. Some place where it is easier to go Linux than Windows.. I think we are there already, and the rest will be history. DistroWatch is the warm tender introduction to Linux, a place where the world watches change happen. Confidence in the open source products that you download for free on the Internet! It will never be the same again in Kansas. Click your heals toto - there is no place like home - home is now going to be called Linux! Was it the killer application Open Office, or just all the hundreds of great software, or a place to watch it all called "DistroWatch" which is the straw that broke the spell of Bill Gates? My pick is Ladislav - nice work guy.
Number of Comments: 382
Display mode: DWW Only • Comments Only • Both DWW and Comments
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