Announcing the First Issue of TUX

The first issue of TUX will be released February 14. If you've yet to subscribe to this new digital magazine, please hurry and do so now. Subscriptions are FREE! If you have already subscribed, we thank you and hope you enjoy your soon to be delivered first issue of TUX.

The following article is featured in the premier issue of TUX and is written by our publisher, Phil Hughes.

Welcome to the first issue of TUX. Twelve years ago, I was the Editor putting together the first issue of Linux Journal. At that time, the biggest criticism of the idea for starting a Linux magazine was that all the information was available on the Internet. That was true, but the reason for a magazine was that someone needed to organize that information and present it in a convenient format.

As the amount of information grew, it actually became harder for someone to find what they wanted. Back then, however, most people using Linux were quite technical. As Linux evolved, it became a very suitable platform for a user—that is, someone who is not a computer professional but who uses a computer. That use could be in the office, in school, or at home.

If we compare Linux to a car, many more people drive cars than build them or even repair them. Linux is the same. Linux Journal is for the people who build and repair. TUX is for the drivers. That is, if you simply want to drive Linux and not have to lift the hood, TUX is for you.

If, however, you are not a new Linux user, don't run away. New Linux applications continue to appear at an amazing rate. Although you may have used Linux for years, there are likely to be a lot of programs that are new to you. Us old-timers know there usually are many ways to do the same thing. No matter how much experience you have, TUX is going to show you some new ways.

Although much of the information you will find here is available on the Internet, just like the information for the builders and mechanics of Linux was available there 12 years ago, there is still a need for organization and presentation. Fortunately, the tools we have available to use the Internet have changed.

A typical Internet connection offered speeds of about 2,000 characters per second. Today, connections at 10–1,000 times that speed are not uncommon.

With TUX, we have decided to take advantage of that change. Besides getting the information to you much more quickly, there are many other advantages of delivering TUX to you electronically. Here are a few:

You will be able to get copies of back issues immediately.

In addition to what traditionally would appear in a print publication, we can make other material available in different formats including audio and video.

Also, cutting down trees, making them into paper, putting ink on them and mailing them costs money. We have decided to pass the savings of a digital TUX on to you. Although this may be going a little overboard, we have decided to make TUX free. That is, no catches, no hidden costs. The only losers are the printing company and the post office.

Why have we selected do distribute TUX as an electronic magazine rather than only as Web pages? First, http://www.tuxmagazine.com is the magazine Web site. It has articles, comments, polls, and other information. But, current Web technology (and the quirks of various Web browsers) don't offer the type of quality we want with TUX. In addition, many of you will want to save your copy for off-line viewing.

What Is in Issue 1 Enough about what we are doing. Here is what you have right now. We decided that the theme of this issue would be Getting Organized. As technology has crept into our lives, everything that was supposed to get easier, got harder. Remember the idea of the paperless office? Or of not having to get yet another electronic or mechanical gadget fixed?

Well, most of you already are using computers but is that computer a real organizational tool? It has likely helped in some areas but not in others. So, why not get off on the right foot with your Linux system and get organized?

Right off the bat, two things your Linux system can help you organize are your music and digital photo collections. I mention these first because everyone—not only the Linux user—can appreciate what can be done here. James Gray explains how to use KAudioCreater as an organizational tool as well as how to pick the right output format to meet your size and quality restrictions. Once you have that audio on-line, Dee-Ann Leblanc details how to use amaroK to listen to it and a lot more. Finally, Aaron Seigo shows you how to manage your photo collection with digiKam.

Schedules are another area where Linux can help. Lauri Watts shows you how to organize multiple schedules and, if you want, export your calendar as a Web page. This leads into syncing your Palm Pilot, and KOrganizer and KPilot are Jenn Vesperman's tools of choice.

RSS feeds offer a way to stay up to date on the content of many Web sites. Kevin Brandes shows you how to get KNewsTicker configured to manage this job for you.

Many of you likely spend a lot of your time in a Web browser. Articles by Nigel McFarlane and Marco Fioretti help you turn this into a more enjoyable and productive experience.

The KDE environment is here to be your slave, but you need to learn how to ask for what you need. Phil Nelson explains how to get KDE to tell you about your computer, Lew Pitcher shows you how to unclutter your desktop, and Aeleen Frisch offers tips on customizing KDE to act the way you want.

Sometimes people see an application running on a Linux system and say, “I can't belive that comes with Linux.” Although there is more than one such application, The GIMP, which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, has had people saying that for a long time. Michael Hammel introduces you to The GIMP and to his series on what you can do with The GIMP.

Finally, we round out this first issue with an editorial by longtime Linux user and famous columnist Nicholas Petreley and some quick looks at products. We're pretty proud of what we have here, and we hope you find it useful.

What's Next? We have a basic editorial calendar, but for the most part, that is up to you. TUX is about how to do things. We have collected a lot of ideas from computer users we know, but we need more. If there is something you would like to see covered in TUX, I encourage you to send e-mail to editor@tuxmagazine.com and describe what you are looking for.

What's important to us is that we want to show you how to do things with Linux. There is a lot written about why Linux is great and some about why it isn't great. That's not the job of TUX. Our job is to help you so that you will tell us, and the rest of the world, that Linux is great.

http://www.tuxmagazine.com/