How about a Ubuntu Cafe Magazine?

[jenhsun]

Have a community magazine might be a cool thing to gather good howto articles and people thought. Have some spaces for advertisements to sell and return to the community foundation. By the way, the magazine should be free to everyone and form as e-magazine like. People can just download it and have fun to read.
I don't know we already have that kind of magazine or not. However, this community is huge, it's cool to have more "central" , "graphical" and ....you know what I mean.

A stupid idea from me.....:guitar:

[adam.tropics]

Not an entirely bad idea, though you are right in that it has been done...sorta..

Check out the project page here (https://launchpad.net/ubuntu-magazine), or the wiki page here, (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuMagazine) though I am not sure how active the project is these days.

[the.dark.lord]

Have a community magazine might be a cool thing to gather good howto articles and people thought. Have some spaces for advertisements to sell and return to the community foundation. By the way, the magazine should be free to everyone and form as e-magazine like. People can just download it and have fun to read.
I don't know we already have that kind of magazine or not. However, this community is huge, it's cool to have more "central" , "graphical" and ....you know what I mean.

A stupid idea from me.....:guitar:

Cool idea, I'm all for it.

[guitarmaniac]

sounds very good.
i was really excited about the ubuntu magazine, but it never happened.
and the tuxmagazine stopped as well.
Linux Format is the only decent linux magazine in the newsagents and its $20AU a pop.
But theres no point talking about it unless someone plans to do something about it.
I have no magazine editing skills but will contribute if I can find as use (such as digging up useful howtos etc).
I hope this gets off the ground.

[Brunellus]

The question is: who will bell the cat? Who's willing to front the dollards/pounds/rand/zloty/quatloos to print this and ship it?

[jenhsun]

The idea is e-magazine or e-newspaper. We don't need to ship or print.
Just let people download it for free.
The $$ comes from page advertisement.
Articles come from contributors and this community.
.........
all you can image.....

I know we have a huge community. It's a social network liked myspace and so on. That would be cool to have that.
:guitar:

[Brunellus]

The idea is e-magazine or e-newspaper. We don't need to ship or print.
Just let people download it for free.
The $$ comes from page advertisement.
Articles come from contributors and this community.
.........
all you can image.....

I know we have a huge community. It's a social network liked myspace and so on. That would be cool to have that.
:guitar:
Let it be so. Wake me if and when it gets off the ground.

[guitarmaniac]

Well does anyone have a website that they can host this on (or attatch it to a post and sticky it?)
For artwork if someone posts in the art & design section of this forum I'm sure there will be ppl willing to help.
@jenhsun are u going to be the editor? do u have any ideas on what to include etc? do u know anyone who will pay for advertising? I dont believe we need it, just get a few of the forums frequent posters to write an article or two a week on a given topic.
Look to tuxmagazine or linux format for ideas on how to set the magazine up.
I dont think it would be that hard if u can rack up a good team.

[maniacmusician]

Well does anyone have a website that they can host this on (or attatch it to a post and sticky it?)
For artwork if someone posts in the art & design section of this forum I'm sure there will be ppl willing to help.
@jenhsun are u going to be the editor? do u have any ideas on what to include etc? do u know anyone who will pay for advertising? I dont believe we need it, just get a few of the forums frequent posters to write an article or two a week on a given topic.
Look to tuxmagazine or linux format for ideas on how to set the magazine up.
I dont think it would be that hard if u can rack up a good team.
Well, that's the hardest part. Good teams are....rare.

Also, it would still be pretty hard. You need web designers, people who know something about marketing, etc. If you want to become a credible source, it takes a hell of a lot of work.

After you get everything planned and are ready to roll, you can probably get hosting from www.cutlersoftware.com . It's a hosting service maintained by a user from this forum (phatfiddler) and he offers free, fast, large hosting for Linux projects. You really should only approach that after the planning stages are thoroughly completed, and you have a team, things like that.

[jenhsun]

About the e-magazine stuff, here are some examples:

http://www.insecuremag.com/

http://www.o3magazine.org/


Then ...well, you can think now.

:popcorn:

By the way, please don't mix too many idea into a simple thought. Let's step by step might be better.

[guitarmaniac]

I dont think it has to be anything too professional (at this stage anyway).
I mean think back to highschool, remeber the school magazines.
Just something to let the ubuntu community know whats happening in the world of linux, with a few articles at the end to help the noobies get their hands dirty.
if it takes off and people like it, then we can worry about advertising and all that professional stuff.
just my two cents though, it was jenhsun's idea so he/she calls the shots.

[guitarmaniac]

I dont think it has to be anything too professional (at this stage anyway).
I mean think back to highschool, remeber the school magazines.
Just something to let the ubuntu community know whats happening in the world of linux, with a few articles at the end to help the noobies get their hands dirty.
if it takes off and people like it, then we can worry about advertising and all that professional stuff.
just my two cents though, it was jenhsun's idea so he/she calls the shots.
EDIT: sorry about the double post :P

[jenhsun]

I dont think it has to be anything too professional (at this stage anyway).
I mean think back to highschool, remeber the school magazines.
Just something to let the ubuntu community know whats happening in the world of linux, with a few articles at the end to help the noobies get their hands dirty.
if it takes off and people like it, then we can worry about advertising and all that professional stuff.
just my two cents though, it was jenhsun's idea so he/she calls the shots.
EDIT: sorry about the double post :P


Totally agree. That's what I am talking about.
You guys can take a look at my above post's link and take a look at what they are doing. Offer good and great free magazine for people and do the promotion for some products.

We have a hung community, remember? :lolflag:

[jenhsun]

< Ubuntu Cafe Forums Magazine/Newspaper >
1. Artwork contributors: Cover, article's clips art and so on. The art might get from openclipart.org ...we don't need fancy stuff. We just need the sharing from artists. In fact, artists like to show their work of arts, i believe. That's the nature of artists mean.
2. HowTo Contributors: about any kind of installation, problem solving stuff as you can imaging. We can let the community exports/geeks to publish their articles. Who don't want his work to be published?? He will be famous soon, man.
3. Editor integration: Need a guy to integrate everything together. Use Word or other publishing software into a PDF file. That's it.

About the advertisements, I think we don't need that hurry. You know what, if this magazine or newspaper is worldwide separated, some companies will be popup.

My stupid idea is from this community. We have MSDN, Linux...so many kinds of magazines around the world, right?
But the community base magazines are rare. By the way, Ubuntu is a OS for the community and it's a famous OS. Can't you see the connection?

[Brunellus]

The community exists without magazines because the community is linked by means other than print.

Selling advertising is a tough proposition if you cannot tell your potential advertisers about the size and composition of your readership (which is why newspapers put such stock in their Certified Audit of Circulation numbers).

Again, nothing stops you from putting a rag out. But I'm just pointing out that the simple existence of the community is a guarantee of nothing.

[jenhsun]

This community exists because people need help as fast as possible. The forum is designed for them.
Newspaper and magazine are designed for standard issue, problems and further research.
Online forum has different characters between standard publishing.
In fact, even the forums and blogs also have very different nature existed.

Does Microsoft sells MSDN for major profits ? No.
So what is the idea of the magazine or newspaper means?
In addition, did I say something about we have to do the sales and advertisements now? No.

Our world is built from the human society. The more people we have, the more powerful influence we will. From some major crop. like Google, Microsft, Myspace or other non-tech company like Walmart....and so on. What's the factor of these company to be succeed? The answer is "people supported". Not their cool products and service.
In fact there are so many great stuff just like a star, up to the world then fallen. The reason's because there are less and less people continuing to support it.

Anyway, sorry about my poor English (not my native language).
I like to thank some people supported my idea.
Funny things is, I try to guide people about a potential market.
However, I think they still haven't see the light.

I think my idea and this thread could end here now.

[lyceum]

About the e-magazine stuff, here are some examples:

http://www.insecuremag.com/

http://www.o3magazine.org/


Then ...well, you can think now.

:popcorn:

By the way, please don't mix too many idea into a simple thought. Let's step by step might be better.

This one is my fav..

http://www.blenderart.org/download.html

I do not have time to help, but I may be able to provide webspace for it if you need it. I really like this idea.

[jenhsun]

This one is my fav..

http://www.blenderart.org/download.html

I do not have time to help, but I may be able to provide webspace for it if you need it. I really like this idea.

BlenderArt 3D Magazine, this is cool.
I love art very much. thank you, lyceum.

[macogw]

Luigi, AdSense doesn't care how many users you EXPECT, just how many end up clicking. There's also the places that pay you per 1000 times the ad is shown (get 1000 page views, get cash)

[dbbolton]

i think this idea is rendered counterintuitive by a simple equation:

(?f=11) :⇔ 0; (publishing) → $; ~ ⊢ (?f=11) > (publishing)

[lyceum]

< Ubuntu Cafe Forums Magazine/Newspaper >
1. Artwork contributors: Cover, article's clips art and so on. The art might get from openclipart.org ...we don't need fancy stuff. We just need the sharing from artists. In fact, artists like to show their work of arts, i believe. That's the nature of artists mean.
2. HowTo Contributors: about any kind of installation, problem solving stuff as you can imaging. We can let the community exports/geeks to publish their articles. Who don't want his work to be published?? He will be famous soon, man.
3. Editor integration: Need a guy to integrate everything together. Use Word or other publishing software into a PDF file. That's it.

About the advertisements, I think we don't need that hurry. You know what, if this magazine or newspaper is worldwide separated, some companies will be popup.

My stupid idea is from this community. We have MSDN, Linux...so many kinds of magazines around the world, right?
But the community base magazines are rare. By the way, Ubuntu is a OS for the community and it's a famous OS. Can't you see the connection?

My 2 cents on why this is a good idea:

1. Time stamp. Not everyone gets the Ubuntu e-mails. My Linux Format is a month old by the time I get it. I still read the news, even though it is old and I already read about it at Google.news, OSdir.com, here, or where ever. It is always good to get another perspective. New users do not always know where to get the news, and it can be a good look back in time for some people.

2. Easy access. New users do not want to search the world for info. An e-mag is very convenient for them. Rather than look for how-to's, a mag would have them (with pictures if done right). The cover would throw out things about what is inside, making it easier than a search.

3. Pictures in the how-to's. When I first for started I did not know things like "terminal" or what ever. I wanted to see pictures of how to do what I was doing, as I just did not know what was going on. An e-mag can have these, making life for new users easier.

4. There can also be fun things, like voting for the best screen shot for the past month, etc. There are ways to make it fun to keep it going after the new user phase.

This is a project that I wanted to do myself, but planed on working on next year. I have already found an editor, he will work for free. He is an English teacher. I will gladly do the covers, if you would like (I am too busy to do anything else right now). I am also working on a "marketing" website for FOSS that will be focused on Ubuntu right now to help get the word out about free software. I will gladly give you room, for free, to place the mag and you would not have to get any sponsors, so everything could be free. If you want to get sponsors to make some $$'s for the mag, that would be up to you. I would start it as bi-monthly until you get the contributers you need.

Here is what I feel is needed at this point:
A list of what goes in, and contributers to put it there.
here is a list of what I would like to see, please add-to or remove items as you see if.

1. Letters. Letters from the community just like any other mag has. What did you think of this or that? What would you like in the mag?
2. Editor's comments. Every good mag has a small one page letter from the editor about what they think of the mag and why you should read it.
3. News. This could be a re-right of the Ubuntu mailing list letters, stuff gathered from Google (it would have to be legal, no cut and paste. It could talk about what is said instead.)
4. Fun stuff. Who has the best desk-top? Who has the best Avatar, what ever.
5. Recommended programs. What is good in the FOSS world, and why?
6. How-to's. Customize your desktop for Gnome, KDE, etc... Use Blender, Gimp, OpenOffice.org, etc...

Okay, sorry that was so long. :)

[jenhsun]

My 2 cents on why this is a good idea:

1. Time stamp. Not everyone gets the Ubuntu e-mails. My Linux Format is a month old by the time I get it. I still read the news, even though it is old and I already read about it at Google.news, OSdir.com, here, or where ever. It is always good to get another perspective. New users do not always know where to get the news, and it can be a good look back in time for some people.

2. Easy access. New users do not want to search the world for info. An e-mag is very convenient for them. Rather than look for how-to's, a mag would have them (with pictures if done right). The cover would throw out things about what is inside, making it easier than a search.

3. Pictures in the how-to's. When I first for started I did not know things like "terminal" or what ever. I wanted to see pictures of how to do what I was doing, as I just did not know what was going on. An e-mag can have these, making life for new users easier.

4. There can also be fun things, like voting for the best screen shot for the past month, etc. There are ways to make it fun to keep it going after the new user phase.

This is a project that I wanted to do myself, but planed on working on next year. I have already found an editor, he will work for free. He is an English teacher. I will gladly do the covers, if you would like (I am too busy to do anything else right now). I am also working on a "marketing" website for FOSS that will be focused on Ubuntu right now to help get the word out about free software. I will gladly give you room, for free, to place the mag and you would not have to get any sponsors, so everything could be free. If you want to get sponsors to make some $$'s for the mag, that would be up to you. I would start it as bi-monthly until you get the contributers you need.

Here is what I feel is needed at this point:
A list of what goes in, and contributers to put it there.
here is a list of what I would like to see, please add-to or remove items as you see if.

1. Letters. Letters from the community just like any other mag has. What did you think of this or that? What would you like in the mag?
2. Editor's comments. Every good mag has a small one page letter from the editor about what they think of the mag and why you should read it.
3. News. This could be a re-right of the Ubuntu mailing list letters, stuff gathered from Google (it would have to be legal, no cut and paste. It could talk about what is said instead.)
4. Fun stuff. Who has the best desk-top? Who has the best Avatar, what ever.
5. Recommended programs. What is good in the FOSS world, and why?
6. How-to's. Customize your desktop for Gnome, KDE, etc... Use Blender, Gimp, OpenOffice.org, etc...

Okay, sorry that was so long. :)

Cool, lyceum. It's looked like you have more detail about the community cafe mag.
I think we don't need to rush it. Let's step by step to organize it.
The idea is for this community. :)
Anyway, I will contribute some of my time and work with you and others who love this idea.

[lyceum]

Cool, lyceum. It's looked like you have more detail about the community cafe mag.
I think we don't need to rush it. Let's step by step to organize it.
The idea is for this community. :)
Anyway, I will contribute some of my time and work with you and others who love this idea.

I agree, no rush. Just let me know how I can help, and I will do what I can. For now, ideas and web space are all I have time for :? But I will do what ever I can when I can :) If you are taking charge and would like to talk to my friend the wanna be editor, drop me a message and I will get you his contact info.

[euler_fan]

An e-mag sounds like a good idea to me as well. It would be fun to get (and help make) something like that. I don't know if anyone mentioned this or not, but having one article in it every issue that is more advanced might help attract attention from more advanced users looking for sweet hacks.

The R Newsletter does something like this and might be another source of inspiration.

I would be willing to put in a bit of time and sweat-equity into this thing, at least for the next year.

[ali4949]

This is an excellent idea. I have some experience doing web design and I ll be more than willing to donate my time, skills and help get the magazine started. Being able to download the magazine in pdf format as well from the site would be great. Looking forward to seeing this idea come together.

[jenhsun]

No Problem, Dear All
We all work together for a dream.
Please remember to subscribe this thread. We can put any idea right here, one by one.
Anything Cool? or something not good? What do you like to have?

And YES, everyone will have his / her own article, photo or artwork published after submitting, no matter you're newbie or geek. In fact, new user's words could convince more people. Why? because his / her essay will not only attract new users, but it can rise more experience personalle criticism and improvement.

I hope this is an unusual magazine, a community based and collaborative project.

OK, you idea, NEXT!

[euler_fan]

Has anyone come forward to host this thing yet? I know it may be a little early for that to have happened, but without hosting . . .

EDIT: I could be convinced but I don't have a site, server, or enough content to justify them. :(

[ali4949]

Hey all
I was reading the official ubuntu mag charter and all that good stuff.. does anyone know if they are moving forward, cuz if thats the case then the point of having a second "community magazine" is moot. As far as hosting and server space goes, its not that expensive and I m sure we would be able to recoup that cost with selling ads. Has anyone suggested a name??? Is it going to be Ubuntu Cafe Magazine??

[lyceum]

Hey all
I was reading the official ubuntu mag charter and all that good stuff.. does anyone know if they are moving forward, cuz if thats the case then the point of having a second "community magazine" is moot. As far as hosting and server space goes, its not that expensive and I m sure we would be able to recoup that cost with selling ads. Has anyone suggested a name??? Is it going to be Ubuntu Cafe Magazine??

It does not look like anything has been done in like a year. I would say no.

[ronniet]

Is the magazine idea still on the go?

I was thinking about starting up a free emag on the 'buntu family of distro's a while back. I have some spare server space and don't mind spending some pennies on a .org name.

Are there enough people willing to write though?
How about a show of hands?

I've done magazine/brochure stuff in the past using Windows and Adobe InDesign but since i'm now Windows free it'd probably be done in maybe OpenOffice and exported as a PDF (don't really have the time to learn Scribe, last time i used it it was really buggy). I'd be more than willing to do the web site and the layout of the mag, and help write stuff...

I was thinking (like someone suggested in another art related thread) that it'd be mostly comprised of How-To's, with plenty of screenshots. Take info from some of the mailing list stuff and put that in there too (since most people probably don't subscribe to the mailing lists) which would almost serve as a Q&A section. Try and get interviews with people in the 'buntu scene.

I'm quite sure if we bashed heads we could get a nice list of contents to fill each month...

First thing i'd say is a name, with that I could get a quick website up, and most ideas/discussions for it could move to its custom site, save clogging this place up with magazine stuff... hm?

Waddya say people?...

[lyceum]

I am a busy guy, but I really want to see this happen. I am willing to do art program how-to's, like layers in GIMP or basics in Blender. I you want a monthly art section for new users (as the GIMP is not that easy) I will do it. Just give me a due date.

[ronniet]

I am a busy guy, but I really want to see this happen. I am willing to do art program how-to's, like layers in GIMP or basics in Blender. I you want a monthly art section for new users (as the GIMP is not that easy) I will do it. Just give me a due date.

Thanks lyceum, so I could put you down for gimp/blender stuff? Cool... No due dates as yet but feel free to make a start on something, plenty of screenshots! :)

Anyone else want to put their name down for anything?... I'd like to get a backlog of articles (and interest!) before I starting making a layout or anything...

infact... i think i'll maybe start a new topic since most people may assume this idea is dead... :(

[jenhsun]

Thanks lyceum, so I could put you down for gimp/blender stuff? Cool... No due dates as yet but feel free to make a start on something, plenty of screenshots! :)

Anyone else want to put their name down for anything?... I'd like to get a backlog of articles (and interest!) before I starting making a layout or anything...

infact... i think i'll maybe start a new topic since most people may assume this idea is dead... :(

Idea is dead? no...:lolflag:
We're all watching and reviewing the idea from all of you.
However, reality bites, you know. I believe most of us don't have full time to do this. That's why I said let's step by step, no rush, leave your idea here for a dream.
Come on, we need more..:KS

[guitarmaniac]

for the name how about ubuntu full circle? that was one of the proposed names for the officail ubuntu magazine which never got off the ground and I quite like it.
I dont really have the time to help out much (maybe the odd article here and there) but I would love to see it get off the ground, so I will be following what happens closely.

[jenhsun]

for the name how about ubuntu full circle? that was one of the proposed names for the officail ubuntu magazine which never got off the ground and I quite like it.
I dont really have the time to help out much (maybe the odd article here and there) but I would love to see it get off the ground, so I will be following what happens closely.

Cool name, guitarmaniac.

The idea for this thread is trying to collect all visitors' ideas and brainstorming. So if anyone leave his own idea here, that's wonderful. He's in, too.
I hope the beginning of the e-magazine generation is everyone's effort. From the beginning to the end, the community brew.

[lyceum]

Thanks lyceum, so I could put you down for gimp/blender stuff? Cool... No due dates as yet but feel free to make a start on something, plenty of screenshots! :)

Anyone else want to put their name down for anything?... I'd like to get a backlog of articles (and interest!) before I starting making a layout or anything...

infact... i think i'll maybe start a new topic since most people may assume this idea is dead... :(

At this point, it looks like there are only a hand full of people really interested in making this. I would like to propose the following: have 4 topics, and each of us grab one. I am currently creating a web page, so I will take notes on everything I do. I am planing on using Blender, GIMP, Bluefish and trying a few different FTP programs (gFTP, Filezilla and the like).

GIMP & Blender (and any other art program I use) - I will write a how-to for everything I do. These can be spread out to many different issues.

Bluefish - The same, I can write a how-to for making web pages with Bluefish, for people use to WYSIWYG's.

FTP - I will write up a comparison of how each worked and why I liked the one I chose the best.

This way, when ever you need an article, there can either be a corner where I walk you through how to make a website or you can just use what you want to keep the mag stream lined. I really think that if we really want other people to sign up, we will need to make something, as we are not the first group to talk about it and at this point we really have not gotten much further. My 2 cents, let me know what you thing.

-edit-
I would also propose that the mag come out every other month until we can get enough people to help. I would really like to have something before Feisty +1 so there can be a special issue about it, I am guessing it is too late for 7.04 ;)

[Nolander]

Hey all.

Love the idea sounds great. i would love to contribute at the moment im studying web design. and i have plenty of free time cos I'm jobless. so any think u need help with just give us a shout ill be there in a jiffy.

nolander

[ronniet]

The idea for the emag is still going and with a 'beta version' on the go (ie: cover and layout) : http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=396003

I've started a mailing list (url is in my sig) for those wanting to put their name forward for writing articles and discussing things... please sign up and write stuff! :)

[jenhsun]

Great, We have a site from ronniet
http://openfish.info/drupal/

Thanks ronniet for your coordinating the people and spend your time on this idea.
I hope everyone could go to take a look at this site, support your idea and make the ubuntu magazine dream come true.