i am a student eager to learn linux. i would love to get free copies of this tux magazine. please somebody help me in this matter.

Even distros like Xandros and Linspire weren't interested in putting ads here? Seems like a good place to do it.
I've been a subscriber since the first issue. Lots of good articles and I love the fullscreen pdf format (a lot better than Zinio IMHO).
I'll gladly accept my year free subscription and will sign up for another year when the times come. By that time I hope we'll have enticed the writers to get some GNOME software articles in the mag. Ubuntu is on my machine.

Dear Editor,
I am wishing a good and bet flop of yor mag which wants to
divide Linux user into GNOME and KDE.I remember editor Ur ways
of writing an article on Ubuntu and shows of Kubuntu as
their main release.hey hey Losers out there U r goonna flop.editors mango
parasite every A$$ there r fakes.they jus wanna evangelise
others to KDE $$hit.so BAAAAAAAAD BYE Losers
read:
http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000187

TUX is a great magazine and continues to improve with each issue.

Given the scarcity of ads I've wondered since day one how it could carry on as a free publication . As someone who moonlights as a freelance writer just to help the family make financial ends meet, I know how much time, effort, and expense it takes to produce AND maintain such a publication.

That said, $9 +change for twelve issues is immensely generous subscription price and I for one will gladly ante up.

As for all you naysayers, whiners, and gripers...

I sure hope your not sitting at the internet cafe sipping your $5 grande latte while you type your criticisms about having to cough up $0.83 an issue - because the only thing more repulsive than a hypocrite is a freeloader...

It seems, this is a bad time for Open Source publication - just today I received an e-mail from Tectonic magazine, that they would discontinue the publication of their magazine - I quote:

"Free Speech Publishing cc, the publisher of Tectonic Magazine,
regrets to announce that it has decided to discontinue publication of
the magazine.

The decision to close Tectonic Magazine is not one we wanted to make
nor a decision we took lightly. The encouragement and positive
response from readers has consistently exceeded our expectations and
has made us proud of the magazine and glad that we could play a role
in the growth of free and open source software in South Africa.
Unfortunately the financial burden of producing and distributing the
magazine has made its continuation unsustainable."

and

"We concluded that although our readership was ready for a magazine
focused on open source in the marketplace, the advertisers are not
yet ready to support open source."

and, which is the most surprising

"We do ask that all subscribers who paid for a subscription after May
2006 please contact us so we can arrange a suitable refund with you."

So, even the subscription model was not enough for that magazine.

I think Tux is one of the best information sources ever created, and I read each issue cover-to-cover, but I just don't think I will pay for a subscription. One of the things that attracted me to Internet in the first place was the model of "free content supported by advertising." I know that some publications have moved to the paid subscription model successfully, but frankly the concept seems abhorrent to me. I hope you will reconsider, or at least attempt a compromise "donation" model first. Everyone NEEDS to be reading Tux, and as a subscription-only product your readership will never be large enough to generate ad revenue. It's the old "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" situation.

I have just switched from Debian to Ubuntu on my laptop and utilise the gnome desktop. Take a look at Fedora/ RedHat, whose default desktop is gnome. So, sorry, but as long as the magazine's focus is on KDE I wont' be subscribing (Full stop)

I'm new to Linux and this magazine is definitely an asset. I haven't even converted my computer over yet but I read every article, including all the back issues. I download the latest issue and copy it to my Palm. Makes great reading wherever you are. Ten bucks is little enough to pay for all the information available in one location. I wager the people complaining the most are the ones that sit in the bookstore coffee shop and read through all the magazines while sipping their small coffee and then placing the wrinkled magazines back on the shelves instead of actually paying for them. Remember this isn't "free beer" but free to choose and help the programmers (authors) to make a living sharing their skills with others. Have you bought any of the popular Linux magazines off the stand for a great article or review? There went $15-20 for one issue.

I have been really surprised by the negative comments on this page. So, tuxmagazine wasn't able to sell enough advertising to fund their system. That's sad. Question: do you have a job or a source of income? Doesn't it seem fair that the writers in this magazine have a source of income too? They have to eat and need a place to live just like you. Also, if this magazine was "crap", why on earth did you read it? It might have been only a 10 minute read, but you still read it, didn't you? Are you really in the habit of reading crap?

Although I have given up on Linux for hardware reasons, I still continue to read this magazine. Ok, some of the writing style is conversational, which isn't my preference but I still read it. If you can do better, do so. Otherwise kindly shut up and stop offending the people who spent a lot of time, effort and money on this project.

nice work from the start but not that nice .... still, there are more free Linux related e-magazines outhere, just use your favourite search engine...

I received the news of the paid subscription of TUX being implemented, and from what I read, the dues were to start next year. Why, then, am I getting a 'page cannot be displayed' when trying to download this months news?

If it wasn't for Tux my wife would still be too afraid to even try linux. After seeing me pick up my learning curve and all that I could do with my linux machine thanks to Tux's articles two months ago she switched her PC to Kubuntu linux and has only gone to Windows to get some browser settings and files from her windows partition.....then she deleted M$'s partition!

Our family will continue to read Tux for sometime to come I believe. It would be nice if they could have sustained it for free but I also feel better about their opinions on linux distro's since none are their advertizing partners! I will pay with a smile and just hope they can find advertizers willing to pay for ad space.

P.S. Tux ppl, who do I forward contact info to if I find a business interested in advertizing? Willing to try to scare up advertizers if it means our publication may be free again.

Several things here. I'm a relative linux newbie, a couple of years, but have converted two of my 4 PCs to linux exclusively (SuSE 10.1 (started with 9.1) and SLED 10.0 respectively). I love it! Your magazine came along shortly after changing over my first linux box. What an awesome idea you Tux people have here! I read every issue cover to cover even if it isn't something I'm interested in.

Anyone who might think there aren't costs involved in putting such a fine publication together, maintaining such a vast database of subscribers and tying up the bandwidth it takes to get each issue to the subscribed readers must be really confused about the ways of the world. I can't believe cost hasn't become an issue before now.

I'll finish by stating that I will gladly support your pub with a paid subscription. It is easily worth the price of admission. While many of us wish to further the acceptance and use of linux, you actually do something about it. I applaud your efforts. If a paid subscription will help you pay your costs, I will gladly contribute thward that end. Furthermore, if those who are b1tching about such a meager price choose to not participate, I'll gladly pay even more if that's what it will take to keep Tux Magazine as an available resource to those who might want to make the change but are afraid to test the waters.

Are there any plans to offer print subscriptions? I'd subscribe to a print version.

LINUX IS FREE.-
And there always other free magazines/programs when one fools its readers/users and become a paid one.-
No more TUX for me and fo the friends I recommended it! Ha!!

What I don't understand is why anyone would read TUX at all if they think that it is a container of excrement (aka crap). If someone thinks that TUX is crap or a scam then maybe the best thing to do is just keep moving on until something better is found (Windows???) - even while TUX is still free. For the people that think that the value is not there yet then hopefully the 83 cents per issue may fix that - if not you can always bail out. But that feeling does show that there is something worth reading in TUX and that small something just might be worth 83 cents.

I really think that community is the basis for Linux related objects including TUX. If the 'interested' community can improve value to the point that it can be distributed for free once more then everyone gains - even the people that are not interested in the community process or willing to pay for anything will gain. If it stays as a paid subscription model then hopefully the value will increase enough to catch the interest of those that think it is lacking in value at the moment.

Personally I look at TUX as rendering an important service to improve people's awareness and knowledge of Linux. I also strongly believe that the value of TUX is definitely worth the price. I would even endure the flames by offering a donation to start my subscription 1 year early if it will benefit the community at large.

Jeff-

I think its great..... What do you get out of the mags you pay for at the store? Yes, you get a CD/DVD, but for me I don't really use any of it. I have spent thousands of dollars of the years and have noting on my computer to show for it. .83 is not much to pay for a good mag. On wish I hope for though is the get a little more technical, keep the newbie stuff but include some extra things to help us who have used linux for years. That would make a supper mag.... We need the step by step for programs we may not have used but extra info on how to really make linux shine.. Just for anyones info I use Unbutu, yes gnome most of the time, and love it, best distro that I have found... Keep up the good work TUX.....

If you cant afford .83$ a month for this mag you are truly a LOOSER.
Tux tried to get the advertising funds to keep going.. Didnt happen. I know, I worked for a publishing company.. they stay away from e-mags and e-papers.. Cuts into their proffits. I for one wish to support TUX, I think the developers and writers deserve to eat lunch once in a while! If you dont want to support it.. fine.. but shut up about it. Your not going to get a free ride in life. So grow up. You want quality and information? YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. OOOhh I can hear it now that information and news should be free..
Well I guess your not PAYING for your internet connection then.. Or mabey Mommy and Daddy are still supporting you.. The creation of this e-mag costs money kiddies.. cant pay for it?? go hide in a hold and keep thinking that life owes you a living.

Well, well, well... $.83/month its not expensive... so what these cries babies are doing?

Dont like? Buy another printed, more commercial, more superfluous that put on your face a Micro$oft commercial! Go man/girls/babies you are free to do what you want!

..

Sad to hear that TUX will become paid subscription e-mag. Possibly 100,000 subscriber that u can count but there's another reader that just got this magazine from subscriber's copy...possibly there's millions of TUX reader.

Maybe TUX still can be free is some millionare want to donate their money to TUX magazine (possible?). Hope so. Maybe u can convince most of the commercial Linux distro to invest some of the money into TUX publishing so they can push their Linux distro to be de facto desktop OS. TUX is kind of effective tool for them to promote their Linux distro.

Reason.... TUX just make most of the newbie feel welcome to use Linux (as their main target). No such ego centric articles or answer can be found in ur magazine and its good for Linux newbie. Hope in one year period from now, TUX can get enough investment to maintain this e-mag as free subscription.

It's not worth it to get a magazine in an online format and pay for it. You better just buy other magazines in printed format.

The publishing company of Tux fooled all you readers of Tux. Its marketing strategy was always to make you read the magazine cause it was free and thus, making you a fan of the magazine. Now when they realised that they have a lot of readers, they are trying to make money off you (which is part two of their marketing plan).

Boycott this magazine and company that is trying to profit from potential new Linux users. The publishing company has fooled you by making you think that they really want to help newbies by providing a free magazine. Those of you who will buy this magazine will only be promoting these types of marketing strategy, so if you're planning to pay, you should feel guilty about it.

Jess
--www.linuxquestions.org

In the UK, a typical print magazine will cost around £4-£5 (with DVD of things I could downloads anyway). The price of TUX is only slightly more than this for a whole year.

Until there is a massive market for Linux magaines the prices will stay high, because there is limited demand for advertising. Compare the thickness of a Linux mag and (eg) Computer Shopper, then count the ads and compare the cost.

I fully expect to continue the subscription when it comes to paid renewal. I like TUX, I like its informal attitude and hope that doesn't change. It feels more like I'd be paying a group of fun Linux fans/hackers to continue writing a magazine I enjoy, and less like I'm just putting some money into the hands of a big publishing house.

I have enjoyed TUX Magazine since it's inception. I don't think that a price of less than one U.S dollar a month is going to discourage me from continuing.
Why do some people in the Linux community feel that everything should be "free", as in free beer. NOTHING is FREE. There are costs associated with any business endeavor, and unless the publishers can either break even or hopefully turn a reasonable profit, it will cease to provide said product. If you don't want to pay it's your right not to, but to chastise the publisher for trying to have a working business model is just wrong.

I've been a Linux user for only a year, but I've thoroughly enjoyed the helpful articles in TUX, presented in a stylish and easy-to-read format. When I got the e-letter announcing the change to paid subscription, I thought to myself: "It's well worth the price." I see a lot of negative comments in response, but that is to be expected. I believe that TUX has reached a level of maturity that justifies the subscription price. To comment on some of the suggestions from others: yes, I would love access to a CD; yes I would also pay for a print version, but the PDF version is fine; as an Ubuntu Dapper user, I would love more GNOME articles. Congratulations on reaching this new stage in your development... I'll be right there with you.

I too feel that the contents of Tux are not worth the new price. I also feel that a printed copy would better fit the price. An Indian Linux magazine offers more info, CD & DVD and wider coverage of topics. I'm not just a newbie. I also do programming. No doubt Tux gave good articles but I wouldn't pay for them.

Definitely the second would be the better choice for me. After all Tux did not want money to flow out of our economy ;-)

I'm working on my own small norwegian pdf-based programming magazine called u8n and I have always thought that TUX had found a solution on how to make profit on a free magazine which I could learn from, but to bad, it seems now that I were wrong.

Any chance of an alternative payment method (besides cheque) for those of us in other countries without credit cards? Paypal, bankdeposit, etc?

I heard about using Linux as desktop OS for years but I wouldn't give it a try before reading TUX.
I'm quite sure I'm not the only one switching OS because of TUX. It make me worry that less people will make the change like me after TUX become paid magazine. Well, for a starter, he/she probably won't pay a year of TUX just to see if Linux fits.
I believe TUX has its market being a free mag, but I'm not sure now. It make so much sense that free mag for the free OS.
That said, I will paid for my subscription after the trial period.

I can't believe Tux Magazine is moving to a paid subscription model. This is a huge change for me. A change that I will not accept. Some of the articles have been great but I can not justify the price tag for this magazine even though it is a lot cheaper than a lot of other magazines.

For the magazine to start charging I think there should be a lot more content as well as covering a lot more diverse topics such as news and reviews.

I truely am sorry to hear this but you have lost me as a reader

It was fun and I've enjoyed it while it lasted but it's time to say goodbye. It was an enjoyable read - I will miss you Mango - but there was never anything life-changing. I thought the advertising was covering your costs; how wrong I was.

It's winter here in the southern hemisphere and time this little penguin moved on.

Why would I pay a subcription for something that is crap when it is free? I can just about put up with it now but I'll forget it this summer. The only good thing about TUX was that it was free...the contents leave a lot to be desired.

In any case, the magazine for new Linux users should have taught by now that using an IRC client, web forum etc, all (and more) of the magazine's info can be found for free elsewhere.

Finally the one thing that tempts me to PAY for a linux magazine is the distro CD/DVD on the front. TUX can't really offer that can they??? Perhaps they might start charging people for downloading free ISOs off their servers.

Bob the Builder

The mag is really cool, but, honestly, it still is inadequate and needs to improve in various areas. I hope making the subscription a paid one will help u get the resources u need to unleash ur complete potential, because, given ur good performance so far, we know you do have a lot more to offer. But be careful about piracy, it is easy to copy and share rather than buy.

And as far as print version is concerned, am not much for it, coz I live far from US/Europe, so when it comes it gets expensive, and cant really afford it. But it will be cool to have both options too. Do include ads to keep the cost down. Maybe you could use google adwords in the ebook version...

I've been with TUX mag since they started back in 2004. (That's when I started using Linux). Although my subscription ends in July 2007, I doubt I will renew.

Its not that they're switching to a paid-subscription model, but mainly because I think I've outgrown the magazine's focus. Nowadays, I actively read through docs, manuals, wikis, forums, and mailinglists of the tools I use, as well as search on Google for all the info I need. (I haven't read TUX mag in months, so I'm a little surprised that they're on issue #15!)

TUX mag will be always good for the PC user just starting out on their Linux/open-source journey, but I see such things as a stepping stone as your Linux skills grow.

I'm not saying TUX mag is useless, but if you're one of those people that are always actively seeking information, then you'll outgrow them, as the focus of their content no longer really applies to you...eg: You're not gonna find articles or info about configuring grsecurity or SELinux, C/C++/Python/Ruby/Perl/etc programming or how to write device drivers in TUX mag! (Its not their focus).

So no, I don't have plans to renew after my 12 month freebie offer.

Of course, its entirely up to you if you want to renew. You may like what TUX mag offers.

Well, spending additional money isn't good for my account, but after all I expected this move sooner or laterand since TUX-Mag is nice and the price seems reasonable I will presumably stay with it. I would like to stress that I am not interested in a printed version, because the shipping to Germany would increase the costs tremendously. It is furthermore much easier to keep an archive with PDF-FIles. So at least I would like to keep the choice.
I hope that the number of articles will increase as well.

Good luck
Stephan

I thought tux wasn't going to do this, or was I wrong?

Buy a subscription to this e-zine, and help support the cause. No reason for TUX to keep mooching off of its big brother, after all.

The quality of articles that TUX contains alone makes a paid subscription well worth it. Besides, it's better than paying more for a printed magazine that barely fits the needs of a burgeoning Linux user (and yes, I still subscribe to LJ anyway ;) ).

However, if there were ever a printed edition of TUX, I would pay extra for it...

The modest subscription price won't keep me away, especially as the articles over the past year are what helped me convince family members to make the switch the *Nix. ;-)