LXF Team Blog

Using the UK’s Terrorism Act, some people have been arrested at the University of Nottingham. That’s pretty worrying by itself if you ask me, but let’s assume for a moment that those two did something really suspicious and had to be picked up. Now check out this quote from Superintendent Simon Nickless of the Nottinghamshire police: “Feedback is that people accept that this is the sort of operation that is necessary and reasonable for the welfare of communities.”

OK, so he’s saying that people are telling him it’s OK to arrest folk under dodgy terrorism laws. Again, we’re going to carry on assuming that the two arrested people were suspicious and needed to be arrested. Here’s the really scary part:

Jonathan Ray, a spokesman for the university, said the institution “has been co-operating fully from the outset throughout this inquiry”.

He went on: “Nottinghamshire Police have stressed that there is no risk to the university community or to the wider public. Here, at the institution, we fully accept that this sort of police operation is necessary and reasonable for the welfare of our communities.”

The moral of this story seems simple: say what the nice policeman says, or get arrested.

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A few issues ago I requested that readers email me to say whether LXF was too hard, too easy, or just right. 57% said it was just right, 13% said it was too easy and 30% too hard. As a result, we’ll be making no drastic changes to the magazine, because the majority think it’s fine as it is and the remainder make up a bell curve. That said, there is a slight slant towards “too hard”, so from LXF107 onwards we’re going to be making a few minor changes - the overall balance of the magazine will stay the same, but we hope to squeeze more from what we’re printing.

- In LXF107, you’ll find the First Steps tutorial has now been split into two two-page tutorials rather than one four-page tutorial. As a result, newbies who think “blah, the first steps tutorial isn’t for me this month” have another at least one other tutorial to try rather than having four pages of information they can’t use.

- In LXF107, you’ll find an all-new section devoted to system administrators. Chris Brown has written several tutorials for us recently and we’ve had lots of feedback from readers asking for more of the same. Well, we’re turning it into a regular feature: Chris will have four pages of opinion, tutorials and hands-on sysadmin advice from LXF107. It’s a new section, so it may take a month or two to bed in, but we think it’s going to be a great addition to the magazine going forward.

- In LXF108, we’re redesigning the Newbie Zone again. We took the old “Essential Linux Info” pages and made them a bit simpler, but we’re still getting people saying they just don’t understand what those pages mean. So we’re going to strip them down a bit further, moving information to the disc and replacing it with more hands-on information on things such as installing software and fixing common problems.

- In LXF108, we’re also redesigning the LUG pages, partly because we’re sick of printing the same map when it never really changes, and partly because you can get better information online with a simple Google search. We’re replacing it with a new community spread focusing on upcoming events and community news. You’ll notice that LXF107 carries an advert for LugRadio Live 08, and this community section is really an extension of that - I really believe that free software is best when shared!

- In LXF109, we’re launching a special fashion supplement being run by our new Fashion Editor, Graham. If you have any designs for Tux cross-stitching projects, make sure you mail them in!*

So: a little bit easier with the First Steps stuff, a little bit harder with the sysadmin section, and more community focus elsewhere. Small changes, I know, but the LXF formula isn’t something we want to fiddle with until it breaks! We’re also looking at improving the disc interface at some points - if you have any suggestions for things you’d like to see, email me at paul.hudson@futurenet.co.uk.

* Not strictly true.

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Before I get inundated with requests to model sensible clothing on daytime shopping television and in Sunday newspaper supplements (see Paul’s post below), I thought I’d share a more fitting image of myself from a couple of weeks ago. I fell off my mountain bike while riding the North Face trail in the Grizedale forest. A stupid mixture of too much air in my tyres and wet riding conditions sent my bike one way and me t’other (in Mike’s local dialect). It looks worse in the photos than it really was, and the bruising has almost gone. By the end of my week away, I was able to get back on my bike and ride the trail again without incident.

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If you’re thinking about subscribing to LXF and are currently not completely convinced, check out the new subs gift that will be going live from LXF107:

Yes, it’s an LXF-branded coffee mug. Our subs team are incredibly creative, don’tcha know. Of course, you’ll only get one of them, but it’s neat nonetheless. If you’re already a subscriber and won’t be renewing any time soon, you’ll have to content yourself with this excellent picture of our very own Graham Morrison using his LXF mug:

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LGM

Originally uploaded by evilnick

Greetings from sunny Poland, where the third annual Libregraphics meeting has just finished. A longer than ever conference schedule still couldn’t manage to fit in all the stuff people wanted to say, and there will be much scribbling for me to do now to bring an exclusive report to the next available issue of Linux Format.
I have loads of pics too, but mostly of Wroclaw, which is a really beautiful and friendly city, and pretty cheap to visit too. I had to post this pic of AndyFitz though, which demonstrates that, while using a VOIP sevrice, everyone’s favourite megaportable EeeeeeePC neatly transforms into the world’s largest mobile phone!

Key facts about Poland:
* Their kings all appear to have been very grumpy
* there are about 3.5 Zloty to the £
* They have Zappikanki and pierogi
* Based on my small range of Empirical data it is always very hot and sunny here
* The people are polite and friendly
* I do not really understand why people want to leave here and drive buses around Bristol.

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Last weekend I had the opportunity to stay in territories unknown with a friend based over yonder (thanks Hil!). But where was I? See if you can guess from these pics. First person to get the answer right wins either a holiday home in the Cotswolds or a packet of Smarties (prizes may vary).

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Readers of LXF 106 may have already turned to page 60 and seen our special feature, “The Linux Pub Quiz”. Now, generally we’re quite a light-hearted magazine, but it’s rare we do something like this. That said, I think you’ll enjoy it - the questions are very varied (and some are really hard!), and it really works to give a good overall feel of just how wide the Linux world is. So: if you’ve attempted the Linux quiz and scored over 80 without using Google or any other such information resource (no mean feat, trust us!) drop me an email at paul.hudson@futurenet.co.uk - we’ll print a list of the highest scorers in the next available issue. If lots of people get the same score, then it’s the people that email first who will make the cut. Yes, we’re trusting you to be honest, and unless you want your email address printed in the magazine you should tell me your name!

Note: if you scored 80 or under, I’m afraid the most recognition you’ll get is to post whinging comments to this blog post

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