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There are a few Linux News sites that I frequently check out. One day, after reading yet another “Top 5” blog posts, I asked myself, why do I still go here? I am not going to answer that question here, but what I will be doing is going over some of the issues I have with the majority of Linux related blogs and news sites.

There are to many “Top 5” or “10 Must Have” posts that showcase programs that, really, anyone who has been using Linux for even 6 months should already be familiar with. Just looking at the front page of lxer.com, they have 4 such blog posts.

12 killer apps for linux
11 of the Best Free Linux Chemistry Tools
5 Useful Unity Lenses You Can Install Right Now!
5 Links for Developers and IT Pros

Out of those 4, the only one that is rather legitimate is the one for Free Chemistry Tools. This is a list that linuxlinks.com does from time to time where they showcase some of the best of the best of various free software and once in a while, commercial-ware. All of the other ones are either just the author trying to cater to people who have just started using Linux yesterday or someone just compiling a list of links for people to check out. And I feel that these types of posts are useless.

Here are a list of other links from the front page of lxer.com, take a guess at what they all have in common.

Wineskin Pro 2.3 released
Why I Love Bodhi Linux
Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal), Reviewed In Depth
Sabayon 5.5 Xfce Review
Review: Pinuy OS 11.04 Mini
Firefox 5 Release: new speed, same illness
Kde 4.6.4 has been released! With installation instructions for Ubuntu
Wine 1.3.22 Released
Peppermint OS Two Review
KDE SC 4.6.4 Is Available for Download

And there are a few more, I got bored continueing on with this list.

So, what do the all have in common? If you said that they are either reviews about a distribution or that they are press releases of the latest version of some piece of software, you are correct. I, for one, do not care of either of those. I will pick a distribution and use it, if I don’t like it, I will try something else. I do not need a review to tell me to try something. Furthermore, newly released software only matters to me if I do not follow releases of said programs on their project pages and I compile everything myself. For example, I wouldn’t have known of Firefox 5 being released because I don’t follow their releases page, but I also don’t care because when my distribution adds it to their repository is when I will upgrade. If I was compiling all of my software from source, then I would care deeply, but if I cared that deeply, I would be subscribed to their mailing list, apply the patches myself and compile everything on my own. To me, this is just wasted space on the internet.

The last group of sites that I have a large problem with are those that really cater to people new to Linux. I have been using Linux for 7 years now and I work with Linux professionally as a Sys Admin. I do not need How-Tos on installing Chrome 12 or how to change my wallpaper. I need posts that go over things like building your own lenses in Unity or setting up your own software repository for Debian or CentOS.

This was one of the reasons why I started my blog, because this kind of information is hard to find. I wanted to make my blog catered more towards those that have been using Linux for a while, but may not know a lot about one particular area, much like my posts on IPTables. I showed a collegue of mine the post on dropping brute force packets with IPTables and was really impressed with it. So much so that he implemented it on his machine. The reason I showed him that was because he was looking at alternative solutions that worked by blacklisting on the software level and not on the hardware level. But, I digress.

The point of this post was more of a rant on the current state of Linux related blogs and news agrigators. I want to see more detailed and technical posts and less posts to hold the hands of people new to Linux.

And before anyone points out the hypocracy of this post considering I made a post about gaming in Linux, I just want to say, that post was more of a rant on those that claim there are no games on Linux and that many of the bigger named development companies are wrong in their thinking.

The last time I posted about this, I talked about the word “fun” and how it is such a bogus term used for what one enjoys doing. This time, I want to go over some of the commonalities found within the female profiles found on match.com. The following are things that I have noticed most, if not all, women post in their profiles.

1)They like to have fun.

Well, of course they do. But, more interestingly is the fact that they rarely say what fun actually is. I talked about this in greater detail in my previous post, so let’s move on to the next one.

2)They enjoy going out and staying home.

This is another one where they really say something without actually saying anything at all. So, what they are saying by this is, they enjoy everything. That is very misleading. I’m sure that when the work day is over, there is an activity that they will more times than not participate in. I guess they leave that part out to let the viewer determine what that activity is.

3)They are sports fans.

Why are all the female sports fans single? What character traits do they have that links sports to their inability to maintain a steady relationship? Typical guys want their significant others liking sports, so why are they still single?

4)They love to laugh.

Laughing seems to be another popular theme among online profiles. However, I feel that this is like the word “fun”, it should be understood, an unwritten rule. Laughter means enjoyment, parallel to pleasure, so it should go without saying that they like to laugh, everyone likes to laugh.

5)They are looking for kind, caring, loving guys.

And all the different similar words used to describe decency. Most will not include other characteristics that they are looking for in a partner. This leads me to believe that other than a decent person, they don’t really know what they want or they don’t really care. And given my list of rejections, I’m more inclined to believe it is the former of the two.

There was one more commonality that I noticed but was inclined not to include it in the list because these words did not show up as often as I expected, but was still pretty common. And that is their need to not play games. Yet, with such little original information in their profiles, they are playing a game, the game of Figure-Me-Out-On-Your-Own-If-I-Let-You.

With all of this being said, where does that leave us? In short, hit or miss, expect a lot of missing.

I was never really one to follow trends. In fact, I was actually one of those unheard of trend setters back in middle/high school. Always starting trends, but never getting credit for it because I wasn’t in the “popular” group. I never paid attention to advertising and always judged a products merits on what it actually is, made of or feed back from people who actually used it. The way I see it, most computer enthusiasts are just like this. Sure, there are plenty of advertising for all of the various products out there, but they are only seen as press releases to tell everyone there is a new product. Most computer enthusiasts will take the time to research the product before making a decision before making a purchase.

First, let us look at the “popular” group and see just how they are influenced to make a purchase. The first place that manufacturers will attack are the popular television channels. Which channels are most popular with kids? Those that show rebellion against parents and authoritative figures, namely, MTV. Do kids watch VH1? Sure, why not? But VH1 is more catered to older viewers that have already gone through their rebellion phase. Now, these advertisers will create commercials that further show rebellion to make the kids think that they can only be “cool” if they buy their products as well as define just what exactly “cool” means. Ironically enough, this is also seen in just about every medicine commercial (seriously, taking a pill to ‘control’ herpes will not make me want to go boating down some rapids) but, that is a whole other argument. So, these kids are shown images of physically attractive people being surrounded by other physically attractive people, all the while, showing one thing in common, they are all wearing the same brand name. This makes the kids think that in order to be physically attractive (which the majority of kids have self esteem issues to begin with, this makes it even easier) they need to buy this name brand. This also gives the kids a sense of belonging, making them feel like they are part of a group. Yet, the kids eat this up and that is how Aeropostale can charge 60 dollars for a shirt that looks like it was from the Salvation Army.

Now, let us look at people like me, the outcasts of the school. We tend to look at those “popular” kids and scoff at them. We try to make fun of them for not having any say in who they are. That, their like and dislikes have been dictated to them from companies who invested millions of dollars to basically brainwash the youth into buying their products. But, are the outcasts any different? Now, the type of outcast I an talking about specifically are the hardcore gamers. Many, if not all, will try to tell people that they aren’t influenced by advertising. That they take the time to weigh the good and bad of their gaming systems/computers/games before making a purchase. This, however, is only part of the problem. In my opinion, the gamers are more trendy than those trendy “popular” kids.

Let us break this down. Gamers don’t know of any game that is not being advertised. They only purchase what their friends are playing. Very few actually buy games from their own free will. Some computer games will incorporate special features that can only be seen on the latest and greatest hardware, making the gamer go out and spend hundreds of dollars for a video card just so they can get +5 FPS out of their latest game purchase. The games advertises will say things like “GAME OF THE YEAR! says Idiot Gamer Magazine”, “Must have!, says IGM” and the like. At least with the clothing advertising, they don’t mention how “great” their products are. They leave that up to the consumer to decide. Where as the advertising for video games basically tell you that you MUST buy their game because it really is THAT good. This type of advertising can be seen all throughout Japan, where there are no limitations to how a company advertises their products. Billboards that read something like “Drinking this water will bring happiness and joy to you and your family” are very common.

Furthermore, these kids still want a feeling of belonging, so they will play the games that their friends play or that are the most popular (sounding familiar?) just so they can feel like they belong to a group of kids with like minds. Never really wanting to try something new unless every one of their friends also tries it out (which is hard for people, sometimes).

The thing that makes me believe that gamers are more trendy is that, even though they are heavily influenced by advertising and their peers, they look down and scoff at the “popular” kids for not having individuality, not realizing that they are hypocrites for doing just what the people they look down on do.

Bah, I’m tired of this topic now.

I’m going to stray from technology for a moment to get something off my chest.

I spend some free time browsing online dating sites and looking at profiles. It is astounding just how many women have no idea on what they actually like. At least, according to their profiles, they are totally inept at formulating their ideas into words. One recurring word that pops up a lot is the word “fun”. Let me post this questions to all two readers of my blog. After reading the following profiles, what do you think this person means? I will remove the majority of the profile and just keep the parts thats will further prove my point.

“i love to have fun ,i use to live in EB and now live in Old Bridge ( it suxs ),i like to meet new people, like watchin hockey GO DEVILS!!! i like being lazy too ,but mainly try to figure out wht to do with my life”

“I’m pretty mellow and easy to get along with. I love having fun and doing stupid shit that gets me in trouble..”

“I love to try new things and have fun.”

“im a crazy fun lover. im pretty sarcastic if ur not used to me or my personality. i love giving everyone a chance i wont drop ya unless theres a reason. i can attempt a good time sitting in a an empty room. im a dorky goofball who just likes to have fun. i really like being around my friends and haveing a good time.”

“I like to have fun and just be out there…..If you wanna know more just simply ask me….”

“I am a fun, easy going girl. Just trying to make my way each day:) I am funny. Sometimes smart. I love my friends to death and ill do anything for them”

“I basically am interested in meeting sane, fun, and kind people.I love to be active and social. On occasion though, I enjoy sitting at home listening to music or laying on the couch.”

“I’m a really fun and ez going person. i do alot of crazy shit but i dont it cause i want to.”

“i’m pretty much excited about everything, and i love a good time. i like people, really.”

“i like to have fun
im spontaneous
i hatee drama and i dont cause any
im really easygoing
i love to meet new people
talk to me =]”

Now, these few profiles were found in a matter of a few minutes. It seems to me that everyone likes to have fun. But, what exactly IS fun? And is there anyone in the world that doesn’t enjoy a good time?