News Archives • Linux Tips

News: Linux-Tips Has Reached It’s Two Year Anniversary!

The headline says it all, Linux-Tips has reached its two-year anniversary! Let me tell you, it has been a whole lot of work! Oh, man, has it been a lot of work. If you want another meta article, read on to appreciate the news with me!

A bit like Sisyphus, there’s always another article two write – and the boulder never reaches the top of the hill. As I finish one article, I’m already starting to consider what the next article will be.

But, I’ve had some help. Out of the 366 (this will make the total 367 published articles) posts, about 10 will have been from other people. I’m grateful for every single one of those. Man, am I grateful…

I suck at making images, or I’d make a celebratory image to show the joy of reaching this milestone. So, use your imagination and pretend I created such an image – and did a good job at it.

I’m aware that this is the 2nd meta article in a row.

I do not care. Nope. I care exactly none. I have none cares.

See the first article was:

Welcome to Our New Home!

The first article with real content came one day later (instead of the usual two days later) because it seemed like the thing to do at the time. It’s an article I’ve referenced a couple of times, but it never got much attention. I used it as the litmus test when checking to see if the site was being indexed in search engines. So, at least it served some purpose!

How To: Generate Sufficiently Complex Passwords In The Terminal

We’re older than two years, as there was an earlier site. That site still exists, but many articles will automatically redirect to here. That original site was the motivation to start this site. That site was the motivation to write a new article every other day. That site is:

Original Linux-Tips

Celebrating a Two-Year Anniversary!

Before starting this article, I did some checking…

The site’s articles total more than 270,000 words. That’s a whole lot of keyboard pounding! I regret nothing!

If you read 250 words per minute, it’d take more than 18 hours to read the entire site, from the first post to the last post! Good luck with that!

The site has shown millions of pages to hundreds of thousands of people. Only about 180 comments have been written, but that’s not bad for a site of this nature.

I don’t even want to guess how many hours I’ve invested in creating, maintaining, and curating this site. Depending on the article, we’re looking at about an hour as an average – counting research, writing, formatting, and editing. Things then get scheduled for automatic publication, ensuring I have a new article every other day.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The article gets shared and I deal with questions, suggestions, and general feedback. I pay attention to search engine optimization, doing my best to rank well in the search engines (I’ve given up on ranking at Bing). I also then pay attention to the ads, though that’s not all that tough. Most of you have blocked ads and not whitelisted my site. (Hint! Hint!)

Today, the site ranks near the top for a whole lot of search terms. Alas, they’re not the most popular search terms – but it’s nice to see the site in the top position for some words and phrases. It might seem like a small thing, but it’s big to me!

Man, if you only knew…

While the site looks nice and simple, there are a whole lot of changes between this and regular WordPress sites. (WordPress is the software that runs the site, which I use as a CMS more so than a blog.) For example, there are seventy-something plugins. Those all must be maintained.

Further, there are daily backups, a duplicated process with weekly updates being done in triplicate. Fortunately, those are processed more or less automatically, though I do sometimes need to test them to ensure they work. Those have to be monitored.

There’s always something that needs to be done and seldom is there enough time (and motivation). Still, I take a bit of pride in keeping my site secure – and keeping private any information you share with me. Heck, I probably pay even more attention to security because I am responsible for some of your private data.

Wow…

You know, I started this project not knowing where it would lead me. I don’t think I expected to make it two full years without missing a single publication date. I don’t think I expected to make it a full year. I also didn’t expect the results, and those results (including the feedback) are what seems to keep me motivated to keep this project going.

I complain about the cost, but it’s not too expensive. It’d be nice if it paid for its expenses, but that’s fine. I think you can be pretty sure that I’ll find a way to keep the site up and running, regardless of costs. Y’all chewed through a bunch of CDN bandwidth last month, but it looks like it’ll be cheaper this month.

Meh… It’s not too expensive, though this site consumes enough resources to warrant moving it to a VPS. Right now it’s still on shared hosting. I could probably find someone willing to sponsor the site (a hosting company) given that it’s all about Linux. I don’t think I’m going to bother doing so.

All-in-all, I think the majority of articles have done alright. Boy, have I whiffed on a few of them. Fortunately, someone’s always willing to chime in when I’ve made a mistake! (I’m very, very grateful when people do so and I try to make any necessary corrections promptly. I am not perfect, however.)

So…

Yeah…

That’s it… It’s been two ****in’ years! I’m as surprised by this as you are!

Closure:

I think I’ll have a glass of wine or three to celebrate the two-year anniversary. This isn’t the kind of article to bother optimizing for search engines, which is nice. I will kinda proofread it, though lately I’ve been cheating in that department and using Grammarly. That helps and has impacted my writing style – in a good way.

But, perhaps there’s an article in that? Some future articles, perhaps? LOL Maybe I should sign up as an affiliate and then write the article while using affiliate links?!? You never know. Heck, I don’t even know. So, if you did know, you should tell me so that I would know… That sounds reasonable!

Thanks for reading! If you want to help, or if the site has helped you, you can donate, register to help, write an article, or buy inexpensive hosting to start your site. If you scroll down, you can sign up for the newsletter, vote for the article, and comment.

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NEWS: List Your LUG At A New LUG Repository

Today’s article is just going to be a brief new article where I share the news of a new LUG repository. It’s an effort to provide a centralized location for those looking to find or promote a LUG. Read on, to learn about a new LUG Repository.

What is a LUG?

A ‘LUG’ is a Linux User Group. You’ll sometimes see folks call them a GLUG, which would be a GNU/Linux User Group. A LUG is a group of Linux users that have formed an organization, often a loosely organized group, to help and inform people interested in the GNU/Linux operating system.

Though they’re not as popular as they once were, there are still many of them, though the pandemic appears to have slowed some down. They still exist and there’s no real central repository – until now.

By the way, local user groups existed long before Linux was around. The PC market was largely prompted by people who participated in groups like that, as OEMs came to realize that the niche could be profitable. Today, you’ll find people still meeting in person, meeting online, or meeting both online and in person.

The Solution:

The admin, @Rob, saw the problem – that there’s no centralized place for people to find their nearest LUG. You can use your favorite search engine and hope for the best, but finding a good repository of LUG information wasn’t realistic – and those that do exist are often woefully out of date and appear to be unmaintained.

Because of this, the Linux.org site now has a way for you to add (or convince your LUG leaders to add) your LUG to a repository that will hopefully become a great asset for LUG-organizers and those searching for their local LUG.

If you are an organizer or can ‘speak for’ your LUG, you can add your LUG to the repository here:

Linux.org LUG Repository

To avoid abuse/spam, you will need to register to manage your LUG. Once registered, you can then manage your LUG’s information after listing it.

The goal here isn’t to control anything but to provide a service that was otherwise lacking. So, there are no costs associated with adding your LUG to the repository.

Disclosure:

I am ‘KGIII’ on Linux.org and am a moderator of the forum. All attempts have been made to remove any potential biases.

Closure:

There you go. There’s a bit of news. Some of my readers will come from Linux.org already, so they should already know this. However, a bunch come from elsewhere, far more than come from Linux.org, so this is aimed at those users – especially if they want to add their LUG to the LUG repository.

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A Few Good Linux Channels

Today’s article is going to be a nice and quick one, where I show you (what I think) a few good Linux channels – on YouTube, of course. Why? Because why not! It’s a good thing to share more content and all sorts of people like video content. So, to find my opinion on a few good Linux channels, read on!

I actually may have different picks than other sites. Well, I assume other sites have top-ten lists of good Linux channels. See, I don’t prefer to learn via video, at least not Linux things. I prefer text, as it’s far more information-dense per unit of time invested. Well, it *can* be far more information-dense per unit of time.

However, that doesn’t mean I don’t watch any Linux content, it’s just not that often and my picks might be different than what you pick. If you have a favorite channel list, you can always add it as a comment. Heck, if you leave that comment here this might turn into some sort of repository of solid Linux channels. I have an edit button!

Alright, this intro is long enough. It’s a quick and easy article!

A Few Good Linux Channels (On YouTube):

You don’t need an open terminal for this exercise! Imagine that! You have a browser open already, so you’re all set.

I don’t know how to embed a full channel, though I do know I can embed single videos. You don’t want to watch those channels on this site, you want to watch them where they came from, so I’m not going to bother embedding a video or trying to figure out how to embed a full channel.

1. Linus Tech Tips

Description:

Linus Tech Tips is a passionate team of “professionally curious” experts in consumer technology and video production who aim to educate and entertain.

Link:

https://www.youtube.com/@LinusTechTips

2. Switched To Linux

Description:

Switched to Linux is a channel about Technology, Privacy, and Linux. What sets this channel apart from my colleagues is that this channel focuses on real world applications with Linux. We have moved beyond theory and get down to what is important: Production.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoryWpk4QVYKFCJul9KBdyw

3. Brodie Robertson

Description:

He hasn’t written one. So, I’d say:

Good, solid contributions to the Linux-education realm. He’s fairly opinionated but a fun channel to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCld68syR8Wi-GY_n4CaoJGA

4. Average Linux User

Description:

His has not written a good description. I’ll say:

More great content. His content is definitely one of the more thought-out content out there. He also offers his videos in text format. That’s something I appreciate.

And there you have it… I ended up sharing four of them because I figure we’d count Linus’ page by default. I figure most Linux users (that frequently consume video) will already be subscribed to his channel.

Again, feel free to add your favorites. Who knows? It might end up as an article that gets edited with new material when said material becomes available.

Closure:

There you have it, another article! This time, we’ve covered what I think are a few good Linux channels. If you’re going to watch Linux content, you might appreciate these channels as much (perhaps more than) I do. I will not be doing a YouTube channel. You’re welcome!

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How To: Find Linux News

Today’s article will be really easy for anyone to follow, as I share how it is I find Linux news. It’s amazing how many people don’t keep up with any Linux news. Read on, as this is sure to be a fairly short article.

I might even speculate that most Linux users don’t keep up with Linux news. I’d speculate that it’s an even smaller group that does things like read the release notes for their updates and upgrades. They don’t read the notes about software upgrades and they don’t definitely don’t pay attention to what’s going on at the project(s) level(s).

This is too bad. There’s a lot to learn and gathering information is good.

These are the people who are then surprised by things that were covered in the release notes, just as people are surprised by changes that have been covered by the journalists. (Well, I’m going to call them journalists for the sake of this article, and to avoid unneeded complexity.)

Now, I admit that I’m not always as diligent as I would suggest others be. I can be pretty lazy. I might even move to a new distro point release without actually reading the release notes. So, do as I say, not as I do!

Or not…

Just keep up with what you want to keep up with. For the most part, you’ll be just fine. Anyhow, I am not feeling all that great and I need a quick/easy article. So, you get this article about finding Linux news.

How I Find Linux News:

Below, you’ll find some links to news sites that I use when I want to keep up with Linux news. If you have your own sites, feel free to add them as a comment below. If you want your site added, feel free to ask in a comment below and I’ll take a look.

My first stop is quite often just an aggregator. It’s not complete, but it’s useful. I’ll often visit some of their aggregated URLs in person. If you just visit one site, this is a good choice:

tuxurls.com

My next choice is a site that tends to have plenty of content. I try to catch them daily, but obviously don’t always have time to do so:

linuxtoday.com

This next choice also has a ton of content. In theory, you can comment on the stories, but there’s not a lot of community involvement in those regards. Still, they tend to have a bunch of Linux news:

lxer.com

This next one doesn’t always have the same amount of content as some of the others, but it’s usually pretty good. Plus the site is well-designed and it even looks like a proper news site:

linuxinsider.com

If you want less content, but things like tech data and well-thought-out articles that tend to be a bit more in-depth, then you would do well to consider this site long-lived Linux news site:

phoronix.com

This next site tends to have some good content – and it’s reader-supported. As such, you will find there’s some decent commentary here. If you don’t know what to think about an article, you can head to the comments and someone will tell you what to think! See:

lwn.net

There are more but this is the final one I’ll list. I know, not everyone likes Google. But, their news section is usually pretty good at finding Linux news that might not have been covered elsewhere. I actually tend to check this one fairly frequently. The link should work for you, regardless of where you live:

news.google.com/search?q=Linux

So, those are a few of the places I go to for news. You should also consider finding your distro’s news outlet (often a blog of sorts). There you can keep up with distro-specific things and find stuff like release notes. You should be able to find that on your own.

Closure:

There you have it, you have another article. This time, we’ve seen a few of the places I go to when I want to find Linux news. I try to keep up with a bunch of it, and some subjects interest me more than others. If nothing else, you may want to consider keeping up with the news published by the distro you’re using. You’ll know more and not be surprised when changes happen.

Thanks for reading! If you want to help, or if the site has helped you, you can donate, register to help, write an article, or buy inexpensive hosting to start your own site. If you scroll down, you can sign up for the newsletter, vote for the article, and comment.

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Meta: The State Of Linux Tips #14

I try to do this every month, and this month’s no different, it’s time for a meta article about the state of Linux Tips. This is only the the 14th installation, so I’m obviously not very good at doing this every month. Still, they’re easy enough articles to write and it’s a good night to write one.

So, if you’re interested in what’s going on here at the site, read on! If not, there will be a more informative article in just two days. Well, assuming I keep up the current publication schedule.

Speaking of which, this is the 324th article to be posted at Linux Tips. I’ve had a few helpful articles along the way, but have managed to keep the publication schedule up for this entire time.

I didn’t expect to make it this long. Indeed, it was pretty amazing when I did it for just a year. Here we are, finishing up the second year. Ho hum…

Some Numbers:

Traffic still expanded in December, but the growth was slower than it had been lately. We can be reasonably sure that this has to do with the holidays. Still, it was nice to see the growth. For example, for December:

There were more than 11,600 unique visitors.
They visited more than 18,700 times.
We consumed about 18.5 GB of bandwidth.
Russia was the 2nd most user of my traffic.
96% of my traffic used Linux.
86% of my traffic used a browser that identified as Chrome.
Linux.org provided about 2% of what Google Search provided for visit.
Linux.org provided the most repeat visitors.

As you can see, there’s not much that has changed.

This month, January 2023, looks to be similar with regards to unique visitors – but might actually have slightly fewer people in the ‘visits’ column. Again, it’s likely due to the holidays. Quite a bit of my traffic comes from work-hours in the US. So, the holiday slowdown certainly would explain that.

I’m going to skip the next section and just bring this to a close. The reason I’m skipping the next session is that it literally hasn’t changed. The most popular pages are still the most popular pages.

Also, we’ve captured the number 1 slot at Google for ‘ask a good support question’, which is nice. That doesn’t attract a lot of clicks, but there are some. It’s a nice page to have ranking that well.

Meta Article Closure:

I see no reason to drag this article out. Exactly the same articles are as popular as they were the month before this. You can click back through the Meta Articles if you want. I’ve never had a site this popular, so I’m not sure if that’s normal. It seems to me that it’d be fairly normal.

Until next month…

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