Linux Dot Gag
1999-06-04 20:16:31
Just in case you were wondering at what point the Hacker Revolution ended, man, it's officially OVER. Turn off the lights, sweep up the confetti, and shed a private tear over the dumbing down of Linux.
If you haven't checked it out already, it's worth your time to give a good look to Linux-dot-com.
Yeah, I know, I know. I expect too much. It's a fairly well proven rule that sites that have the name something-really-good plus "dot com" are in general really lame, nowhere near as good as the something-really-good itself. I mean, take for example Beer-dot-com, Gar-dot-com, and Burrito-dot-com.
But, at the same time, Linux is different. It's not something good highjacked by evil fucklords on the Internet -- it's something good that was MADE by the Internet. In a way it is the Internet.
So, you could kind of wish to see some of the hackerosity that originally created Linux on the site that bears its name. Wish away, though: it's not to be found on Linux.com. This site is PURE COMMERCIALISM, with blecho corpy look straight outta the labs of VA Linux Systems(half of the Evil Cooption Duo with RedHat Systems).
The content is wholly aimed towards the corporate user of Linux. Or, well, the corporate investor, more likely. It's got lots of pointers to industry rags talking about Linux for the Enterprise (gack), Linux @ Work (gack gack gack) and Linux vs. NT (super-triple-uber gack).
There's links to all the usual boring bonehead sites - slashdot.org, User Friendly (I hate this stupid comic), Freshmeat, gar gar gar. All the stuff that bores you to tears. It's the Dumb-Down Bundt, locking arms on the march to World Domination.
So, if you have the stomach for slick gar gar gar, and you don't have the computer knowledge to pick your own ass without an "Ass-picking for Dummies" book, you'll enjoy Linux.com. Otherwise, don't even fucking bother.

T O P S T O R I E S
John Dvorak has passed. I’m of mixed emotions. First off I’m more positive about his contribution to the overall technology journalism of the early PC days through the 90s, despite how many things he got wrong. He was a firebrand and commanded attention. (More...)
America's National Recording Registry Inducts Culturally Significant Artist - Weezer!
America's Library of Congress calls them "defining sounds of history and culture" and "audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage." Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Weezer! (More...)
The Crossroads are real and The Blues is a place; The enduring myth of Robert Johnson (More...)
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
What the hell is going on with Sony?
Is anyone else as confused as I am with what's happening with the Sony Playstation network hack? (More...)
A Nobel Prize-Winning Author Describes Liquor
Curled up cozy with a good book? All warm and snuggly and thinking about friends far away? So am I, reading the greatest story by the greatest writer -- when he suddenly starts waxing philosophical about liquor! (More...)
Report from Spiritual Machines
Arkuat gives you the inside scoop on the "Spiritual Machines" panel and conclave. Wacky excitement ensues! (More...)
So I was walking around the Tenderloin looking for stray twenty-dollar-bills that might have fallen into gutters, and I was thinking, as I often do, about my mother. (More...)
My dear and close friend, Porn Maven Shannon Mariemont, sent me a titillating message the other day about her new project: the PornOrchestra. Her desire, at most, is to reinvent the porn soundtrack and, at least, to receive a cease-and-desist order like all her cool friends did last year. (More...)
Paranoid Strippers & Psychotic Crack Dealers (Tales of Christmas Eve)
Christmas day, for the last 17 or so years has bored me. I find that the real fun and excitement always takes place on Christmas Eve. Every other year, it's the excitement of the metaphorical hunt instead of the kill. Otherwise, it's just plain bad craziness. (More...)