I have a copy of the Linux magazine - October 2005 Edition - which I purchased at the time because it came with a DVD: a full SUSE Pro 9.3 software disc ... but I never installed it. I now want to try Linux, and I am writing to ask if SUSE Pro has been superseded or would it still be worth installing? If it has been superseded, what has replaced it?
Dermot Hayes
| LM |
Major distros put out a new version once (or often twice) per year. Much has changed since our October 2005 "Web Design" issue - especially with SUSE, which has thoroughly restructured its product lines. Although the disc will probably work on your computer (especially if you owned the computer in 2005), you are better off finding and installing a new version to take advantage of bug fixes, security updates, and many new features. Also, you might run into version compatibility issues with websites or shared documents, not to mention you won't receive new updates and fixes because the version you are using is no longer supported.
The nearest equivalent of the old SUSE Pro distro on the October 2005 DVD is the freely available openSUSE (currently v11.2), which you fill find at http://www.opensuse.org. Or watch future issues of this magazine for the next openSUSE release on DVD.
As a Linux convert I have become a preacher for Linux. I have converted many to OpenOffice and a few others to Fedora or Ubuntu.
The big issue everyone has is with printing. Although USB direct-attached printers seem fairly stable, many people now are buying a printer that has network capabilities so that all systems Windows/Linux/Apple can connect and provide a central printer. However, a simple HowTo to provide guidance to the end user is really missing.
Any chance of doing an article? I don't expect a full function for every printer by manufacturer, but some sort of simple overall guidance and some tips would help users who are having problems.
Printing is an area Linux is weak compared to Windows; we lose many users because they can't set up printing.
Thanks, Nik
P.S. Great magazine can't wait for it to arrive.
| LM |
Linux has gotten much better at handling printers through the years, but you are right that printing problems still occur, and they are a major source of anxiety, for new users. We have covered Linux printing in the past, but the landscape has certainly changed since our Print cover theme back in November 2004. We'll try to line up a nice big printing article sometime in the next few issues. In the meantime, everyone should visit http://www.LinuxPrinting.org (which now links to the Linux Foundation's OpenPrinting web page) for information on printing in Linux. There, you'll find configuration and driver information, as well as a CUPS tutorial, user forums with answers to printing questions, and software.
Thanks for the great magazine and keep on giving us even better.
I was a little bit anxious by a phrase in your September issue, page 23, in the article by Kurt Seifried which read "... and it wasn't too long before we got JavaScript from Sun and a variety ..." The JavaScript programming language is originally from Netscape, as you probably already know, and even though it is now one of Sun's trademarks, I believe that phrase may be just a little bit misleading for younger generations.
Emre Sevinc
| LM |
Yes, you are right. Our apologies. JavaScript was developed by Netscape under the name Mocha, and it was later called LiveScript before taking the name JavaScript. To be fair, it is worth pointing out that Netscape and Sun apparently stirred up much of this name confusion intentionally as part of a co-branding effort. According to Wikipedia:
"The change of name from LiveScript to JavaScript roughly coincided with Netscape adding support for Java technology in its Netscape Navigator web browser. JavaScript was first introduced and deployed in the Netscape browser version 2.0B3 in December 1995. The naming has caused confusion, giving the impression that the language is a spin-off of Java, and it has been characterized by many as a marketing ploy by Netscape to give JavaScript the cachet of what was then the hot new web-programming language."