Leading independent Linux websites form one-stop news portal

By Timothy R. Butler | Posted at 12:05 AM
LinuxDailyNews Hits the Web during wIndependence Week

July 2, 2002 (The INTERNET). Five popular independent Linux websites today unveiled LinuxDailyNews, a collaborative portal site where visitors can get thumbnail glimpses of the latest news and content from each participating site. The founders of LinuxDailyNews are Open for Business, DesktopLinux.com, LinuxDevices.com, and Linux and Main. Those sites were joined before rollout by member site KernelTrap, and other sites are expected to be added in the future. "LinuxDailyNews fills a big void in this community," said Timothy R. Butler, editor of Open for Business and originator of the idea behind LinuxDailyNews. "Finally, there's an easy way to find the best news and content from the leading independent Linux, Open Source, and Free Software news sites."

"Two years ago, during the 'Linux-and-dot-com bubble' many of the most popular Linux websites were swallowed up by the likes of Internet.com, ZDNet, and VA Linux," observed Rick Lehrbaum, founder of LinuxDevices.com and DesktopLinux.com. "After the bubbles burst, a number of significant independent Linux websites have reemerged and are now becoming important leaders of the Linux community. LinuxDailyNews is intended to establish a collaborative network of world-class, independent Linux websites which carry the latest news and content from a spectrum of perspectives."

Because each of the five websites offers a distinct 'flavor' of news and information, visitors to LinuxDailyNews can quickly access news and other content from multiple points of view. Using convenient 'drop-down' menus, readers may opt to view content filtered by a specific topic or member website. In addition, searches of all member sites' content can be initiated directly from the LinuxDailyNews home page.

"LinuxDailyNews isn't meant to be a competing news portal, but rather a complementary one," emphasized Dennis E. Powell, editor of Linux and Main. "Linux users rely on traditional portals such as LinuxToday and NewsForge, and rightfully so. But if those sites are the orchestra, we're the chamber ensemble. Each of our unique 'instruments' plays an important role in LinuxDailyNews by providing news and content from differing perspectives, making the site a 'must visit' each day. Not instead of visiting the other portals, but in addition to them."

"All of the sites that comprise LinuxDailyNews are alone great resources, but combined they become a very valuable tool," observed KernelTrap owner Jeremy Andrews. "This free service will be a big boon to everyone interested in Linux and open source software. I'm excited to be a part of it."

LinuxDailyNews provides all the headlines from its member sites, plus brief synopses of original content from each. Because each member site has its own unique Linux and open source perspective, LinuxDailyNews represents a broad spectrum of areas of interest and comment covering numerous aspects of Linux-based computing. Since those many voices do not always have the same approach, big stories are sure to be covered from multiple angles, resulting in a broader understanding of a particular event.

"I am really excited about this announcement," Butler added. "LinuxDailyNews provides a service that our community has needed for a long time -- a convenient way to find the latest headlines and original content from a well balanced set of high quality, independent Linux news sources."

About the member sites

  • Open for Business -- OfB is "the independent Open Source migration journal," a news magazine that has a razor sharp focus on Linux in the enterprise. OfB.biz provides the latest news for IT managers interested in migrating to Open Source solutions for everything from the desktop to the datacenter. Open for Business also features reviews that keep an eye on the deployment readiness of products, as well as interviews and editorials.

  • Linux and Main -- With the slogan, "Linux for the rest of us," Linux and Main is aimed at the non-enterprise, non-developer crowd: The hobbyist, the desktop user, the follower of developments in the increasingly important technopolitical battles that will determine the course of the Internet and desktop computing. Concentrating on original content, Linux and Main brings a lively writing style and, often, stories you'll see nowhere else.

  • LinuxDevices.com -- This highly popular website, which won Linux Journal's coveted 'Editor's Choice: Website of the Year' award in 2001, is universally accepted as the leading authority on using Linux in smart devices and other embedded system applications. The site features news, articles, product listings, resource links, 'quick reference guides'has become widely known for its focus on the growing use of Linux on the desktop. In addition to daily news and articles focused on Desktop Linux, other initiatives include the Windows-to-Linux migration FAQ, online polls, the recent 'first annual wIndependence Day celebration', a highly popular discussion forum devoted to using -- and learning to use -- Linux on the desktop, and the Desktop Linux Resource Directory.

  • KernelTrap.org -- Interesting to experts and newbies alike, KernelTrap offers an ongoing discussion of open source kernel development, the lowest level piece of an operating system. In addition to providing daily news derived from many popular kernel development mailing lists, KernelTrap also offers an in depth series of profile interviews with the kernel developers themselves.

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