Diggnation Should Cover Linux More

[mr56k]

They talk quite a bit about windows and the mac. There is nothing wrong with that either. It would be nice to see them cover some Linux related material though. I have just started using Ubuntu about 2 months ago and have since stopped using osx and windows vista. Anyways just a thought. Show still rock's regardless. Later

[vehemens]

The problem is they talk about the top stories on Digg. Not what they want to. Of course they go off on tangents on certain stories... but until a good linux one interests the community at digg.com long enough to hold a top ten spot, subsequently making it relevant to be talked about on that weeks podcast/vidcast, or they go off on a tangent about an interesting linux story they heard, when discussing a non-linux popular story, we'll have to be resigned to the fact that Linux won't get much of a look in.

I can't understand Alex love for Vista though... I was so repulsed by it I installed linux.

[kungfujesus]

Kevin and Alex both are somewhat Linux newbs. They've been living in a windows and mac oriented world for far too long.

I too am baffled by their love for this new OS which limits the capability of your hardware, has built in evil code to limit your bandwidth, has terrible IO performance, has zillions and zillions of bugs listed all over everywhere, has terrible performance on DX9 games and probably OpenGL games as well, has built in DRM (evil code), and every article or magazine ever reputable has turned down the piece of shit known as vista to say that there is no apparent reason to migrate to this OS, especially when it's in its buggy infancy.

Sorry for the runon sentence, it was hyperbole to prove my point. Much of it needed to be said.

[Enelysion]

Not to be offensive, or say that I do not personally agree with you, but posts like that are one of the reasons why people don't even give Linux a shot. Lets be honest. Most of us like Linux, thats why we are here right now. But Linux isn't and probably never will be for everyone.

I refuse to use vista, but I know plenty of people who do, and they don't care about inefficiency or DRM, all they want to do is use the Internet, upload photos, and play some games. They never want to touch a command line, the idea of installing an OS frightens them and they really can't be bothered to work out driver issues. Now, I will not claim that either of the hosts fall into this category, because both of them are far better than I am at computers, but who can blame them? Each OS has its own strengths, but the strengths in Linux only really shine if you want to get involved and really learn the OS, something that some people, even experts, don't want to do.

Back on topic, Linux stories are never really the top dugg, and neither of the hosts use it, so there is no reason for them to address it, just like all the other topics with little/no attention on the show.

[kungfujesus]

Ubuntu is pretty grandma safe, why don't they try that?

[Schalken]

I would also be happier with one or two Linux oriented stories every now and then. There are just enough stories about Linux in the upper rankings on Digg, like when Ubuntu Feisty was released. I just dont think they talk heaps about Linux because they don't know enough about it to have good conversation.

I also dont want it to only be about Ubuntu and GNOME.

[spacelobsters]

I dont think diggnation is really the place for linux or unix, what we need is a podcast totally dedicated for these two fellas, something really geeky and technical. Something for sysadmins and programmers, not aimed at people new to the OSs.

[tommyfullington]

Seeing as neither host uses Linux as their primary operating system it is highly unlikely that it will get mentioned. Although I have a feeling they may talk abou the eeepc sometime, they have to right?? Cuz it's cool. As far as our own podcast, you know all of us sound like nerdy dousche bags on the air waves LOL. That includes me. Our podcast would be really boring and run on coffee. How many linux dorks work in tech support, as programmers or sys admins. The answer is, most of us. So how cool will our podcast be?? Not too cool. Unless we put an emphasis on ViVa La Linux REVOLUTION! lol

[amkrisis]

Yeah

There's a lot of stuff on Ubuntu on digg for example.
I'm a Ubuntu user and am very happy with it!
I had some troubles installing 7.04 (new ATI gfx) but was happy to see the support on the Ubuntu forums, got it fixed in no time.

Now I'm on 7.10 which installed right out of the (free!) box/cd!

[Brundlefly]

Okay, there's only 9 posts in this thread, so I'm going to skip the quoting and just address three points I saw.

Number 1... Kevin and Alex do a great show. Obviously, we all watch it because we're all commenting on it. However, despite popular belief, they don't always cover the 'top' stories from Digg. I suppose most people probably don't catch it, but listen when they announce how many people dug a particular story. Usually, it in the 2 or 3 thousand range, but it's not uncommon for them to hit stories in the mid hundreds range. Basically, they talk about whatever they personally find interesting. Not a bad thing, just saying.

Number 2... the computer literacy of Alex and Kevin. For anybody who's never done it, check the wikipedia entries for Alex and Kevin and mentally piece together the history of these two guys. First, they worked together on The Screen Savers, an extended cable network show. I'm just guessing that the network didn't just hire two jackasses off the street with no technical knowledge of computers to co-host a tech show. Kevin is a co-founder of Digg as well as Revision3, both built from the ground up under Kevin's guidance. Hell, Revision3 is the new "brat pack" for geeks like us with almost every show hosted by a former co-host of either TSS or Tech TV. I won't say that I've ever met them and held a conversation, but I'm willing to bet that they know Linux decently. Maybe Kevin more so than Alex, but you don't get to be where he is in this industry at the age of 30 without at least a fundamental working knowledge of Linux basics. As for Kevin specifically, watch the episodes of TheBroken and see him hack with Linux. I'm fully confident that Kevin knows his Linux. He may not prefer it to his precious Apple products, but trust me dear friends, he knows it. I wouldn't even presume to call him a newbie. Which leads me to my next point...

Number 3... The show is not about Apple Vs. Mac Vs. Linux. It's about Digg stories. It happens to be hosted by two people who, as a coincidence, happen to use different products which do come up in conversation a lot because, being two tech geeks, they choose to do a lot of tech stories.

Number 4... last but not least... Let's be honest, MOST people who use a computer are not tech geeks. Most people just want to check their e-mail and surf the web and maybe do some office work at home. We younger generation folks (under 35) do a lot of stuff on our comps that is NOT representative of the larger picture. My mom is not playing games, collecting MP3s, or watching DVDs on her computer. She's not hacking her Iphone. She's not concerned with WTF Beryl or Compiz are, and she sure as heck wouldn't know what you were talking about if you asked her what extensions she has on her browser. Statistically, most people just stick to the basics on their comp. And that's fine, not a thing wrong with that. But... and here's my point... remember a few episodes back on Diggnation when Alex was reviewing the story about the Playstation 3 poster in the UK and how it totally marketed the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player and then added, at the bottom in fine print that it also played games? That's the biggest problem with Linux today. We all know it rocks for various reasons, but they way we portray it in our daily lives has it totally stereotyped for non-Linux users. They think that you have to be a cyber-geek with a working knowledge of how to write script in Java and HTML and Perl and Python (and other 'scary' words) to even turn the computer on. Personally, I have limited knowledge of many different distros, but I know Ubuntu, because it's what I use. It's the distro that I found that gave me the confidence to 100% leave Windows. And I know that you don't have to be hacker to use it and enjoy it. Anybody can load Ubuntu for free and enjoy it, with a lot more ease than Windows. Yeah, you CAN do amazing things with Linux, but that is all by personal choice if it's what you do. If you don't want to get into coding, you don't have to, and you'll never see anything that suggests otherwise if you're a basic user. You don't have to use the terminal or command prompt. It's not that Ubuntu is 'grandma safe' (awesome term, btw), but that it gives you the option to be the type of user you want to be and are comfortable being, and doesn't make you feel inferior either way. That said, there's not a single thing that Alex and Kevin do on the show that is in any way, shape, or form difficult. They browse the web, and that's about it. Maybe call up a document or two when it comes time to read the sponsor blurbs. Let's not underestimate them and say that they aren't using Linux on the show because they don't know how.

[AlaskaLoneWolf]

I couldn't agree more. And, it really pisses me off too. I mean, people and their stereotypes. So easy to cram someone into a filing cabinet.... oh, and by the way, I still hate Vista. (Just throwing that in there, in case anyone thinks I had some last second conversion.) I am actually going to print up some tee-shirts that have the Windows Vista Home logo, y'know, all backlit and what-not, with a little cigarette-box type Surgeon General's Warning. WARNING: This Product is known to contain Windows Vista and has been known to cause suicide in labratory animals in the State of California.

Linux rules. Open source forever.