Linux Foundation Launches Linux Lovers Paradise

When the Linux Foundation acquired the Linux.com domain from SourceForge earlier this year, it vowed to relaunch the site as more than just a go-to place for Linux-related news. The new site went live this morning and it's sporting enough bells and whistles to make any Linux enthusiast proud. The community has itself to thank, of course, since they came up with most of the ideas.

In the true spirit of open source, the Foundation designed a new collaborative and interactive Web site that feeds on the collective wisdom of the community. Based on ideas from Linux users, developers, and enthusiasts, the redesigned site provides a multi-faceted method for gathering information and distributing knowledge in a way that's approachable for both novice and experienced users.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the new and improved Web site is the "Linux Guru" feature. Registered users can earn points and work their way up to guru status by participating in various activities around the site. The top five contributors will be invited to the annual Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit, and the top 50 will be showcased in the Foundation's annual report. Each year, one user will also be crowned the "Ultimate Linux Guru" and win a fully-loaded Linux notebook computer, signed by Linus Torvalds.

The site has five main features that are an important aspect of working with and understanding Linux:

• News - Original content and analysis are featured in this section, along with content from FOSSBazaar, MoblinZone, and other Foundation workgroups.
• Community - Here's where registered members can connect and network with each other, and create groups that focus on specific niches in open source.
• Distribution Central - Highlights of this section include original content provided by community managers and representatives of each distribution, and also provides a place for leading distros to interact with users right inside the Linux.com ecosystem.
• Learn - This is where users will find Man Pages, HowTos, and other Linux documentation, as well as a forum for posting questions and getting answers from the community.
• Directory - This section houses a collection of user-contributed software and user-reviewed applications, books, hosting services, and the like.

Linux.com has seen various iterations over the years, but this latest version seems destined to stick. The Foundation deserves a hat tip for creating a Web site that demonstrates both the power of Linux and the knowledge of its community.