Six months ago I blogged about some changes we were making in the magazine to help readers get more value from their hard-earned pennies. Well, those changes were only the beginning, and we have a couple of other ideas we're thinking about. But before we dive in, we'd like to know what you think.
So, here's what we're thinking:
We've had lots of phone calls and emails from readers who can't find You Can Code for sale near them. I can assure you it is for sale worldwide, which means if you can't find it then we have a distribution problem somewhere. Fortunately, the trade marketing manager who slaves away to get LXF into your mitts every month has volunteered to tackle the problem personally, which means that if you can't find You Can Code for sale near you, email him and say which city/country you live in and he'll try to sort it out.
In the grand scheme of things, I don't really care whether you use Linux, BSD, Mac OS X or even Windows - it's your call, and you need to be productive with your computer so use whatever suits you best. But please, please, please use OpenOffice.org rather than Microsoft Office. I know that OOo is missing some of the MSO features. And I know - oh, how we all know - that OOo makes lackadaisical caterpillars look nippy.
For regular blog-watchers: I wrote a post here earlier about the possible removal of the MikeOS article from Wikipedia. It started as a light-hearted look at internet arguments and what constitutes a "notable" article (I'm fine with it being deleted if that's what the guidelines say), but it grew to involve too many names and people, and I didn't want to look like I was airing dirty washing in public or anything like that.
I've noticed recently that a large number of PC laptops ship with their trackpads aligned off the centre of the unit, instead directly under the spacebar. This is taken to its most extreme in the Dell Studio 17-inch laptop, which has a numeric keypad on the right of the main keyboard, so the whole keyboard is off centre, and even the far right of the trackpad is still to the left of the centre of the whole unit.
I know it's not great news for Brits travelling to the US for bargains, but the pound has fallen drastically against the US dollar. As Linux Format continues to be made in the UK (despite our pleas to be transported to somewhere like Cabo San Lucas), that means our American friends should be seeing major price drops both on the newsstand and in subscription prices. Prices in Canadian dollars and Euros have also come down, although it's not as marked as for Americans.
After much hard labouring, our second special magazine dedicated to teaching programming is on sale now across the world. Unlike the previous "Code It!" special, "You Can Code!" is 100% dedicated to using Linux and other open source technologies to produce projects.
You've all heard the rumours of wild parties and 14-hour Unreal Tournament marathons at LXF Towers -- well, now you can see for yourself! We currently have a work experience placement available for a budding Linux journalist to join us in Bath for a week. As part of Team LXF, you'll help out with writing articles, attending meetings and making crucial decisions (such as which Subway vouchers to use).
UPDATE 30/10/08: Greenhouse has been renamed 'Qt Creator', and a technology preview is now available. More information can be found here: https://trolltech.com/developer/qt-creator
