The Future of Techiemoe.com

[techieMoe]

Looking at the threads I've started on this forum other the years I realized that Techiemoe.com has been around for almost 4 years in its current form and at least another 2 or 3 in various previous implementations.

Some of you might have noticed my rants aren't coming out as quickly as they once did. There's a reason for that: I'm have trouble getting excited about them any more. I started the rants section of my site originally as a place to blow off steam and perhaps (as an afterthought) pass on useful fixes to annoyances I ran into when trying out different Linux distributions.

Much has changed in my life over the past 6 years, and the world of Linux desktops hasn't exactly stood still either. I have a wife, a house, a dog, and a career. I'm finding it harder to be frustrated by little things like how a distro's installer works, and if you've read some of my more colorful rants, you'll know I'm much more interesting when I'm frustrated.

I'm a lot more discerning about what I try out and what I don't, and honestly I don't try out distributions with the hope of finding one that works any more. Over the years I've tried close to fifty versions of Linux, some in several iterations, and I've pretty well settled on what works for me. The vast majority of distributions I try these days work just fine, and any annoyances are more in the manner of presentation than any inherently missing functionality.

I guess what I'm saying is, I think it's time Techiemoe.com moved on. I'm not sure if I'll be launching a new site with a different slant or just hanging up my rant hat next to my "unemployed college student" hat and my "angsty high school graduate hat."

Folks deserve to read things done by someone who's passionate about the subject matter, and although I'm still passionate about Linux and helping folks on this forum, I just can't get excited about parroting what minor improvements this or that distribution has in its latest release any more.

I welcome any and all comments on this, and suggestions on what you might like to see from me in the future, if anything. I know most of my audience is from this forum, so you guys are the ones whose opinions matter most to me.

[rokytnji]

Always liked your rants. It always helped me on whether or not to decide to blow a cdr or not. Lots of useful info there to. I can relate on the real world priorities though. I hafta bounce back and forth from my motorcycle office desktop to helps folks here and sometimes I just get tired myself.

What I would like to see I guess. Is some software test I guess instead of a whole distro. Some neat new stuff is out there like Guayadeque . I know it is a mouthful to say but it is light when compared to discontinued songbird.

[daacosta]

Nowadays Linux is so mature that you don't have the same issues that made it impractical:

Wireless? Easy
Printing? No problem
mp3 support? piece of cake

You have alternatives in software that runs in linux that are, if not more, at least as professional as their counterparts.

Not surprisingly, your rants portray that and since everything just works, your rants end up being bland...

If I were to make a suggestion it would be to draw comics... I love those Moe...

[Lakshmipathi]

Though I'm not a regular visitor to your site. From time to time , I used to check the site. If you are not interested continuing with your current stuff. Try and think about something which is very interested for you to share with linux community and continue with the site with new thoughts -- attract new user base.

my site used to contain stuffs about linux undelete - I'm also thinking about changing my site to something else ,ie traget different kind of user base -- because btrfs is coming soon - undelete will never be an issue with that.

[techieMoe]

If I were to make a suggestion it would be to draw comics... I love those Moe...

Definitely something I'm considering. I've got a few ideas bouncing around, and I'm just waiting for some free time. With my wife spending 3 nights a week in graduate school this summer I'll probably have some.

[Roxoff]

Folks deserve to read things done by someone who's passionate about the subject matter, and although I'm still passionate about Linux and helping folks on this forum, I just can't get excited about parroting what minor improvements this or that distribution has in its latest release any more.

Perhaps what you need is not to be 'ranting' or having a dig at particular distributions, but instead take a long look at stuff that is poorly implemented or is hard to use in the upstream packages? There are times when using Linux I just sit there and think 'why is this done this way - it's pretty dumb', but never say anything... Of course, I can't think of a single concrete example of this right now.

[elija]

I think you should rant about slackware and then post the *ahem* correspondence. Either that or cartoons++

[techieMoe]

I'm weighing a lot of options right now. My contract with my current webhost is up next week, and I've chosen not to renew. I've transferred my domain registration from them to a third party so it won't matter where I end up.

I'm doing a trial month with a host called SquareSpace, which looks promising. The main thing that draws me is the easy access to modify and post to the site (there's an iPhone app for it too), and easier posting means more posts and hopefully more interesting content.

I'm also thinking very hard about which rants I want to carry over. My back catalog is impressive, sure, but I'm not sure I want to keep associating myself with some of my older, less than pleasant rants. There's something to be said for a clean break.

If you want to play around with the very, very beta site on Squarespace, take a look here-

TechieMoe.com - Aways Honest, Sometimes Funny - Moe's Blog

I'll redirect the domain when my old host account expires.

[TaZMAniac]

You have to keep some of those rants.
When I'm frustrated with a task or piece of software I read them and realize I'm not the only one in the same boat and at times my boat isn't sinking like yours!


Many times I can fully identify with your rants!

[techieMoe]

Until I find a better way to integrate them into the new site, I'll probably have a static archive of the old site linked somewhere on the new one.