Evolution
Evolution

As our industry evolves, we evolve to stay with it. The goal, of course, is to keep delivering exciting and thoughtful content to our readership, and we're proud of how we've managed to do that through the years.
Dear Reader,
Sometime around a year ago, I used this space to talk about the advantages of small magazines banding together to take on the big players in the market. The big players aren't just other magazines, but also, other companies that inhabit the supply chain leading from us to you: distributors, shippers, truckers, and retail outlets.
As our industry evolves, we evolve to stay with it. The goal, of course, is to keep delivering exciting and thoughtful content to our readership, and we're proud of how we've managed to do that through the years.
The newest development in our ongoing evolution is to welcome the readers of another excellent magazine into our community: I would like to welcome Ubuntu User readers, who are receiving this issue instead of Ubuntu User.
I know Ubuntu User well, since I served as the founding editor when we launched it back in 2009. UU was the brainchild of our US Linux Pro Magazine office. We wanted more space to cover the emerging phenomenon of Ubuntu Linux, and we thought the Ubuntu topic had diverged enough from what we were covering in Linux Pro and Linux Magazine to warrant another magazine.
Ubuntu User was well served through those eight years by several able editors, including former senior editor (and former Linux chef) Marcel Gagné and Rikki Endsley, now the editor and community manager for Opensource.com. Most recently, UU editor Paul Brown has done an excellent job with exploring the tools of the Ubuntu environment and still keeping the focus on community.
But while we were evolving, Ubuntu was evolving, too. When we launched UU, Ubuntu was a community distro with the emphasis on the desktop. Now the story coming out of Canonical and the Ubuntu team is about cloud, containers, servers, and IoT, which is more like the stuff we talk about here in Linux Magazine. Ubuntu is still a great desktop system, but the emphasis is changing in ways that remove the necessity for maintaining separate editorial streams.
When we launched UU, Ubuntu had a well-defined look and feel. The developers took a new direction when they invested in the Unity desktop, which caused some splintering to other *buntu flavors. Now the official version is going back to Gnome, but users will no doubt continue to use Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Mate (which I use), and the latest sensation: Ubuntu Budgie. Vast numbers have migrated to Linux Mint, the Ubuntu derivative that has outranked Ubuntu on the DistroWatch page hit ranking every year since 2011. Rather than trying to chase them all at once, we eventually came to the conclusion that, at least at this point in our evolution, we can serve our readers better by acknowledging that the real focal point for the UU audience is Linux.
Starting with this issue, we will serve the Ubuntu and Linux readers directly from this one magazine. Welcome over, Ubuntu User readers. We think you'll like what you find. Our Linux Voice section continues some of that good energy and community spirit you know from Ubuntu User, and you'll also get that to-the-point power-user focus we specialize in at Linux Pro and Linux Magazine.
I should also add, in case you haven't noticed, we use many of the same kinds of articles by the same authors we used in Ubuntu User: Erik Bärwaldt and Ferdinand Thommes, who were frequent Ubuntu User contributors, both have articles in this issue. Other UU authors, such as Tim Schürmann, Frank Hofmann, and Karsten Günther, will continue to write for Linux Magazine as they have in the past.
You'll also find other great authors and articles in this issue of Linux Magazine, which features a practical look at some innovative tools for home automation. Keep reading – we hope you like what you find!
Joe Casad, Editor in Chief
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
News
-
KDE Plasma 6 Looks to Bring Basic HDR Support
The KWin piece of KDE Plasma now has HDR support and color management geared for the 6.0 release.
-
Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta Ready for Testing
The latest iteration of the Bohdi Linux distribution is now available for those who want to experience what's in store and for testing purposes.
-
Changes Coming to Ubuntu PPA Usage
The way you manage Personal Package Archives will be changing with the release of Ubuntu 23.10.
-
AlmaLinux 9.2 Now Available for Download
AlmaLinux has been released and provides a free alternative to upstream Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
-
An Immutable Version of Fedora Is Under Consideration
For anyone who's a fan of using immutable versions of Linux, the Fedora team is currently considering adding a new spin called Fedora Onyx.
-
New Release of Br OS Includes ChatGPT Integration
Br OS 23.04 is now available and is geared specifically toward web content creation.
-
Command-Line Only Peropesis 2.1 Available Now
The latest iteration of Peropesis has been released with plenty of updates and introduces new software development tools.
-
TUXEDO Computers Announces InfinityBook Pro 14
With the new generation of their popular InfinityBook Pro 14, TUXEDO upgrades its ultra-mobile, powerful business laptop with some impressive specs.
-
Linux Kernel 6.3 Release Includes Interesting Features
Although it's not a Long Term Release candidate, Linux 6.3 includes features that will benefit end users.
-
Arch-Based blendOS Features Cool Trick
If you're looking for a Linux distribution that blends Linux, Android, and web apps together, blendOS might be what you're looking for.