Linux tips and tricks

[nomko]

How come that most websites containing tips/tricks for Linux are completly outdated? I know that some sites are created by Linux enthusiasts, but some sites look very professional. When i do a search on the internet i mostly see sites dating back to 2007. I was just wondering...

[Lasher]

Because they evolved into forums like this one and wiki's like this:https://wiki.archlinux.org/.

There's still a ton of places to get the latest news and repo's on http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/ and http://www.webupd8.org/ (It's not hard to translate Ubuntu into Mint) and there's still a bazillion blogs all over the place. It all depends on what you are looking for really.

[igor83]

Any info that is very old (say, three years) is outdated in 90% of all cases. Yet Google pulls results from 2007 and beyond. So you have to search again and again, and sometimes refine the search with more specific search criteria just to answer a simple question about Linux or Windows or anything else technical-related. Combine this problem with their dropdown list that obscures the first 2-3 search results, and it is apparent Google is like a wild beast that needs taming. So I created my own home page and my own Google search to search for results < the last 30 days, and my home page is all I ever use, at least for the first search. I should probably stop using Google altogether, but the thing is that they do have a monopoly. A lot of webmasters ban other search engines altogether or give them short shrift, and Google does tend to get everything on the web that is worth getting, and it is fast, if nothing else. The Google bot works pretty efficiently too compared to other bots like MSN. What is needed is an interface for Google, like Linux Mint for Ubuntu, to tame Google and make it more user-friendly.

I haven't found a reliable way to disable Google's accursed dropdown list, however. My script from Greasemonkey quit working a couple days ago.

[nomko]

Any info that is very old (say, three years) is outdated in 90% of all cases. Yet Google pulls results from 2007 and beyond.

That's what i mean. Everything is mostly outdated and in most cases not applicable anymore. I even found some sites that showed some tweaks for Ubuntu 6.06....

So I created my own home page

Can i take a look on your homepage?

and my own Google search to search for results < the last 30 days, and my home page is all I ever use, at least for the first search. I should probably stop using Google altogether, but the thing is that they do have a monopoly. A lot of webmasters ban other search engines altogether or give them short shrift, and Google does tend to get everything on the web that is worth getting, and it is fast, if nothing else. The Google bot works pretty efficiently too compared to other bots like MSN. What is needed is an interface for Google, like Linux Mint for Ubuntu, to tame Google and make it more user-friendly.

I haven't found a reliable way to disable Google's accursed dropdown list, however. My script from Greasemonkey quit working a couple days ago.

I found Google unreliable in most searches. Most results are outdated or has nothing to do with the topic i'm searching for.

I should probably stop using Google altogether, but the thing is that they do have a monopoly.

That's not true. Google hasn't a monopoly, there are many other websearch sites. The point of Google is that everybody knows Google due to a strong marketing of Google. That's why almost everybody uses Google.

[igor83]

That's what i mean. Everything is mostly outdated and in most cases not applicable anymore. I even found some sites that showed some tweaks for Ubuntu 6.06....

For things like language and history and culture, Google is not so bad. Technical info has a short shelf life, and Google should know that. However, Google ranks sites based in large part upon # of incoming links, so an established & old site has the advantage in page rank over a "young upstart" until such time that people hopefully begin clicking on it and linking to it--if that ever happens...

So I created my own home page

Can i take a look on your homepage?

I'm not promoting it, as I don't feel it is ready for use by others. For one thing, it looks good to me, on my monitor, but would it look good on somebody else's? Not necessarily. You see, it looks good on a screen with 1024 x 768 resolution or better, but not so good on my own 800 x 600 plasma monitor. The .css uses a div that has a fixed width of about 990 pixels, you see. Also, my choice of colors and font style is, well, my own. I prefer a black background and bright text. Modification of the .css is necessary to tweak the page to the user's preference, and not everybody is down for that. However a generic version is available for download. My own version is more customized, for instance with my home address programmed into the Google Mapping service, and my own location programmed into the Weather link, and so on. On my system, I have also separated the .css from the .html in order to offer a different background to my friends, as not all of them like a black background. So when I improve upon the .html, adding, modifying or deleting links, an automated batch file distributes it to my other users via the network, while the user's .css file remains unchanged, preserving their design preferences.

I should probably stop using Google altogether, but the thing is that they do have a monopoly.
That's not true. Google hasn't a monopoly, there are many other websearch sites. The point of Google is that everybody knows Google due to a strong marketing of Google. That's why almost everybody uses Google.

[/quote]

Monopoly is too strong a word, bad choice on my part, but I do think other search engines are at a distinct disadvantage...I have found it difficult to divorce myself from Google, which is why I coded workarounds to continue using it. But recently, I have been experimenting with Bing. I'm not sure whether I like it better yet or not.

[sanda]

Google
. . .
their dropdown list that obscures the first 2-3 search results

Ah, so I'm not the only one who ran into that problem.

The solution I found is:
firefox "Scriptish" extension (enhanced greasemonkey) + "Googlifix" userscript from userscripts.org
^--- this userscript expands all the "search by date" options (etc) and displays them to a lefthand column

other handy userscripts for massaging google pages:
"Google Hit Hider by Domain" userscript
"googlePrivacy" userscript
"resurrect Google cache n related links" userscript
"google images autopager n englarger" userscript

How come that most websites containing tips/tricks for Linux are completly outdated?

I would like to think that Google is floating the longstanding (yet outdated, unfortunately) pages to the top as a result of assigning them more credibility.

[igor83]

Google
. . .
their dropdown list that obscures the first 2-3 search results

Ah, so I'm not the only one who ran into that problem.

The solution I found is:
firefox "Scriptish" extension (enhanced greasemonkey) + "Googlifix" userscript from userscripts.org
^--- this userscript expands all the "search by date" options (etc) and displays them to a lefthand column

other handy userscripts for massaging google pages:
"Google Hit Hider by Domain" userscript
"googlePrivacy" userscript
"resurrect Google cache n related links" userscript
"google images autopager n englarger" userscript

Thanks for the tip. Last greasemonkey script I tried broke somehow, maybe after Google updated their user-unfriendly interface. I might try the above, if I continue using Google. RIght now I think I'm using DuckDuckGo.