I don't mind too much that you rearranged things so I now have to search for the familiar. I suppose in time I will get used to it. However, what I will not be able to ever like is the printing of text in a light color, so much so that it is difficult to read. The most glaring examples are in the INFO sections at the end of each article with the web references. When the color of the type is light, it is difficult to differentiate a period, a semicolon, a colon, a dash, etc. I read for information, and I would like to get that information as fast as possible. It is very discouraging to mistype a reference over and over because it is impossible to read. There must be a better way.
Rodney Leinberger
| LM |
We apologize for the inconvenience. A new design includes lots of details, and it is often difficult to spot all the possible complications. We will take a look at the Info box text and look for ways to improve readability. We agree that legibility is of paramount importance.
The article titled "File Sentinel" in the June 2010 issue improperly describes Set UID as giving the executable the rights of the user executing the bin. This is incorrect; suid gives the bin the rights of its owner. Similar error with guid.
PS: While I normally don't read Linux Pro too much, I was really impressed with the articles on Shinken and Security Blanket. Uncovering new and useful programs is a great service for Linux geeks.
Thanks!
Luke L.
| LM |
Oops, looks like that one slipped through. Thanks for the feedback. We are happy to print this correction.
We are glad you liked the Shinken and Security Blanket articles. Our mission is to help our readers discover interesting and useful applications that run on Linux. Thanks for tuning in.
Your excellent editorial in Issue 117 entitled "Saving XP" may have underestimated how far Linux has come. As a Linux user for the past two years, with almost as many years in IT as John "maddog" Hall, I did not need any convincing. But the confirmation of the practicality of Linux came when my wife kept complaining about her rather slow Packard Bell notebook running under Windows XP Home. The system was taking several minutes to boot, and it was really slow overall, despite my best tuning efforts. So I bit the bullet and installed Ubuntu 10.04 (having swapped out the hard drive to keep her Windows environment intact - just in case she could not get on with Linux).
Problems? A few. I failed to get the internal WiFi card working - despite extensive searches of the Internet, including downloading and compiling drivers. But a Belkin WiFi dongle solved the problem. It worked first time - with no configuration apart from the WPA key. Other problems: A very glitchy screen in bootup (it is a non-standard screen size), but the problem is completely resolved when Ubuntu loads. And the ACPI system is non-compliant, so shutdown is manual.
My wife has taken to Ubuntu Linux like a duck to water. The system boots very efficiently, and she has had very few problems with using Linux programs instead of the old Windows stuff.
So, I think Joe Casad is right: Microsoft has spread a lot of FUD about a product that is more than fit for the purpose and is actually as easy - if not easier - to install and use as Windows.
Christopher J. Steggles
| LM |
Thank you for your comments. If everyone who succeeds with installing Linux over Windows tells the story, the result can only be a bigger user base for Linux.