Linux Format free to download for 24 hours only

Posted at 11:59pm on Tuesday March 3rd 2009

As promised, we hosted a full high-res copy of the latest Linux Format magazine right now. Sadly, it was for 24 hours only, and you were too slow!

Still, we have some other incredible content you might want to read, not least of which are these five:

Note that the Linux Starter Pack is available only as a low-res PDF. If you'd like to see it made available as a high-res torrent, let us know in the comments below.

Answers to predictable questions

Are you going to be putting this issue online again?

No, sorry - you missed your chance.

I downloaded it. Can I give it to my friends?

Sure. There's no DRM, so you can give it to as many friends as you like.

Is it true the issue is now on The Pirate Bay?

We wouldn't know. We wouldn't recommend you go and search there for yourself. And we certainly wouldn't recommend you download it from there to enjoy the issue at your leisure. Come to think of it, we don't even know what The Pirate Bay even is.

I've searched and searched and can't find this anywhere!

Just post on a forum - over 21,000 people downloaded the high-res PDFs (and thousand more snagged the low-res PDFs), so you're bound to find someone who will share them with you.

Can I buy Linux Format in the US/Australia/Canada/Outer Mongolia?

Linux Format is on-sale worldwide every four weeks. Yes that includes the US. Yes that includes Australia and Canada. Yes, that even includes Wales. Not Outer Mongolia though - sorry! You can find find more information on buying LXF, including information on your nearest stockist if you're in the US, by clicking here.

If you can't find an issue, or if you just happen to feel like saving a huge amount of money, take a look at the price of a subscription - we think you'll be pleasantly surprised, particularly if you're in the US.

Note that all our subscriptions come with free access to over 1200 PDFs from our back issue archive.

Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about this offer - keep your eyes peeled, because there's a lot more to come...

You should follow us on Identi.ca or Twitter

Your comments

Is this a sign of things to come?

Ugly_spud (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 4:19pm

I know in recent months there has been increasing numbers of people requesting the option to suscribe to a downloadable .PDF of Linux Format at a reduced rate. Is this a testing of the waters?

Re: Is this is a sign?

TuxRadar - March 3, 2009 @ 4:39pm

No. We're doing this as a one-off thank you for everyone's support.

Catch or no catch?

ConcernedCarrot (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 6:34pm

"(legally at least!)"
Are you hinting that it will not be legal for me to share my downloaded copy with other people? How does this reflect the "No DRM. No cost. No catches."-line?

Re: Catch or no catch?

TuxRadar - March 3, 2009 @ 6:56pm

There will be no DRM on it, meaning that you can run it on any device you want and it won't "time out" or something horrible like that. It's yours. We're giving you a personal copy for free. We're not giving away the copyright to the article, if that's what you're asking - that means you can't redistribute the PDFs freely. This isn't a "catch", this is just standard copyright law.

However clearly without any DRM there's nothing stopping you from giving them to everyone, torrenting them, printing them, selling them, whatever. We'd rather everyone obtained the PDFs directly from us, but we can't stop you redistributing them for eternity. If someone does decide to put the whole thing on The Pirate Bay in 48 hours, I doubt we'd be particularly upset! ;)

This is something that Magnatune pioneered and we're happy to follow their lead.

Cool!

PompousPenguin (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 8:46pm

Wow, this is so cool! Thanks, guys!

wow +1 very good :)

aminesoft (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 9:00pm

wow +1
very good
:)

/.

CJLL (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 9:08pm

Will the servers cope?

huh...

scroobious (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 9:08pm

I must be missing something -- everything on that page is available to subscribers only. Is this a UK-only thing?

Please provide a direct link

ping tojo (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 9:12pm

Please provide a direct link to the PDF. We're too lazy to navigate your poorly designed web page.

Getting the PDFs

TuxRadar - March 3, 2009 @ 9:16pm

scroobious and ping tojo:

The link to the Linux Format website shows what's in the current issue, and provides access for LXF subscribers (after logging in).

Come 12am GMT, you'll be able to download the complete issue straight from this page.

All this hyper over a stinkin PDF ?

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 9:19pm

"This page will be updated later tonight, so just point people here."

I find it hilarious that they consider themselves so "kind", and applaud themselves, just because they provide this PDF "DRM FREE!!!11".

I mean, the community, us really, provides KDE to the world for free, drm-free of course, not just once but again and again.

omg, oh holy newspaper. thank you. thank you. drm-free? wow, i'm so impressed.

Linux users

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 9:29pm

And here again we have typical linux a$$holes looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Re: All this hyper over a stinkin PDF

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 9:29pm

<< I mean, the community, us really, provides KDE to the world for free, drm-free of course, not just once but again and again. >>

It's so good of you to take credit for producing KDE. Good work - you're clearly an awesome coder!

<< omg, oh holy newspaper. thank you. thank you. drm-free? wow, i'm so impressed. >>

Wait... you cry when people use DRM. You're now crying when people don't use DRM. Would you rather they didn't give stuff away? This is a magazine that's on-sale right now. They lose money by giving it away free. Who loses out from this?

Relax...

Dante (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 9:30pm

Some people actually do Linux related things for a living, so free comes with a price tag for them. Get over yourself.

PDF Downlaod

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 9:31pm

I use PDFs routinely, but the reason I subscribe with an overseas subscription is because I love taking the magazine with me. I highlight, circle, add post-it flags, have photocopies of important items sent to my employees. Paper is un-PC, but it will only die when I do (very ego-centric observation.) For utility and quick communication in the workplace, PDFs are superb! PLEASE don't let the paper go!

A little more than just DRM free...

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 9:33pm

I am utterly confused by the 'stinkin pdf' author. If you had included DRM, he would have given you crap. As you haven't he still gives you crap. Amazing really. But at least crap is DRM free. Which I suppose might bring another little mini-rant in my direction this time. As it happens my crap is DRM'd to the hilt. My toilet actually has a license in order that I may send my proprietorial waste product down the pan. How I would have liked to included the above comments to keep my crap company. They would get on really, really well together.

For myself, I have been reading Linux Format for years now, and have found the mag to be an excellent source of all things tux with more than a passing interest for the UK LUG's. I'm right up for a free download, and thank you LF!

People should really relax

Jesús Guerrero (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 9:55pm

I am not affiliated to the publication, and I haven't bought a magazine about Linux for years because everything I want and need is available on the net. But comments like the ones above about the freedom shows only ignorance.

First, it's a gift, take it or go away, but don't complain. They haven't claimed that the publication is GPL'ed or under a creative commons license that allows freely sharing it, so they have absolutely no obligation to make you happy at all. Take it or leave.

Second, the term free in this context has nothing to do with freedom. It's just about money.

I am an open source lover, but I don't try to impose my view of the reality to anyone else in such unkind way.

Q: "I mean, the community, us really, provides KDE to the world for free, drm-free of course, not just once but again and again."

A: That's ok, it's your choice. That doesn't mean anything at all for the rest of the world. YOU acknowledged to put your work under the GPL, a lot of us do. But that doesn't mean that you/we can force anyone else to do the same.

As said, if you want it, take it. If not, just keep moving, politely.

I'm a subscriber...

Happy Bunny (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 10:35pm

... and I'm astonished that anyone would knock such a decent offer. I'll expect to see the magazine go on sale in newsagents for nothing the same day that editorial staff discover zero salary is adequate for buying their groceries.

Great idea to do this as a one-off, perhaps as a taster to get some more subscriptions? Hope it works, you deserve success. I've sub'd for more than 5 years, and look forward to its arrival each month. In most respects I'm close to paperless, but a magazine is different. Even if I could get full PDFs for free I'd still pay the subscription to get the paper-based mag. Might do without the DVD if I made a saving.

Please ignore the critics. How they got enough brain cells to even solve the Captcha I can't imagine.

PS: I came here to check the page before posting it to my local LUG.

Cool - does it come with a

Marty Fried (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 10:43pm

Cool - does it come with a free AOL disk? I'm running low on floppies.

PS.
(Excuse my ignorance if they don't still come with the disks - I haven't read any print magazines in a while).

PPS.
OK, I don't actually even have a floppy drive installed, but free is free.

:-)

Well, I want to thank you

Pastor Ron (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 10:47pm

Well, I want to thank you for offering the free PDF; it's kind of you. I look forward to browsing through the magazine.

I see nothing wrong with charging for your print magazine; you have a business to run, and paper isn't free.

Again, thanks.

Wow, thanks!

Smartboy (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 10:53pm

I just wanted to say thanks, especially since not everyone appreciates what huge loss the magazine is taking. I buy your magazine once in a while, but it is refreshing to see it giving back to the community like this. So keep up the good work. :)

Well, thanks!

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 11:01pm

there *really* is nothing more to say but thank you!

Thank you Linux Format!

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 11:01pm

As a new Linux user what has astounded me is gestures like this. The sense of community, of shared interests and values and the never ending willingness of ideas and support available for all things TUX!

Well done LFM and thank you!

Yes, agreed, thank you!

Jason 'vanRijn' Kasper (not verified) - March 3, 2009 @ 11:41pm

Just wanted to add my thanks, guys. This is really nice and appreciated! =:) Also, I'd be very interested in a PDF version that costs less than the standard one!

hello

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:15am

hello :)
thanks for your effort

Any chance of a direct download link?

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:22am

I can't download torrents (behind a proxy); any chance of a direct download link, or will I have to miss out?

Thanks!

Simon

Where is the .pdf?

DaveL (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:24am

The link is to a torrent. I don't have torrent... Can we have link to the .pdf that will work without jumping through hoops?

please seed

Pinheiro (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:26am

ok in the words of a true one eye man "please seed"

Thank you very much Linux

Debianero Rumbero (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:33am

Thank you very much Linux Format crew for this present :)

P.S. Some people are complaining about a gift, what a bunch of hijosdeputa. Please, mature!

Thank you for the pdf:-)

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:34am

Thank you for the pdf:-)

Your magazine is very good imo. Will look for the next number in store to buy.

Thanks For The Gift!!!

Browncoat Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:36am

I appreciate your generosity!

it's the kde issue. i almost

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:40am

it's the kde issue. i almost didn't download it because i'm really upset about kde4.
signed
recent kde refugee

Mislead

DaveL (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:42am

I'd love to have copy and it's is great that the current issue is available in this way(*). But to provide it only by a torrent locks out any number of people. How many machines come with a torrent client out of the box?

(*) Having wandered off to the Linux Format site and seen the outline of contents I will probably actually go and buy a real copy tommorow.

Re: Mislead

TuxRadar - March 4, 2009 @ 12:45am

If traffic dies down in about 18 hours, we'll put up direct download links. Right now, we have almost 1000 people trying to download it, which would completely frag our Apache server!

Of course, the flip side of this is that if traffic doesn't die down, we won't put up direct download links - so we would really recommend installing a BitTorrent client!

What about the disc? :P

Mehall.co.cc (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:47am

Any chance of upping a .iso of the cover disc too?

Surely that wouldn't be too bad since it's all free to get stuff anyway? (I just like the collection put together)

The perfect DRM:

David Gerard (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:55am

Asking nicely. Well done :-)

HTTP/FTP file download?

Hans Rödtang (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:55am

What about us who are on a network where BitTorrent is blocked? I was look forward to this download :(.

E.T

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:56am

Does the magazine has the phone home plugin activated so if i open it with the adobe reader i will collect ¨anonymous¨ data to be use on some kind of users (LF reader behavior)??...anyway thank you i really love the magazine (printed version)........

Torrents and proxies

Simon (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 1:01am

>Of course, the flip side of this is that if traffic doesn't die down, we won't put up
>direct download links - so we would really recommend installing a BitTorrent
>client!

Tuxradar: many thanks for responding to myself and DaveL. I'm afraid no matter how much you "really recommend installing a BitTorrent client!", it would not really help: I naturally have one installed, but my university, like most UK Universities that are part of the JANET network, allows internet access only through a public proxy that blocks torrenting.

Naturally, if you wish to disallow university students from taking up the offer, that is, of course, entirely your prerogative.

Thanks anyway,

Simon

In response to E.T

TuxRadar - March 4, 2009 @ 1:04am

E.T: Rest assured, there's nothing like that here. PDFs don't even have the capability to 'phone home', as far as I'm aware! These are just articles from the mag -- we want to give back to the community. So please fret not, and enjoy them!

Here I can't use torrent

jjss (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 1:06am

Here I can't use torrent either. Could you provide a direct link?

Thank you!

Adam Monsen (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 1:08am

Too cool. Thanks, LinuxFormat and TuxRadar!

DVD download also available

TuxRadar - March 4, 2009 @ 1:21am

Update! We've added the ISO image of the DVD that comes with LXF 116:

http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/torrents/lxf116.iso.torrent

Grab the ISO, burn it to a DVD, and you'll get an exclusive Linux Format dual-booting disc which features OpenSUSE 11.1 and Linux Mint 6. There's also Slackware 12.2 and a bag of extra software and guides to explore. Enjoy!

Is it so hard to upload it

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 1:24am

Is it so hard to upload it to rapidshare or any other file sharing service? If you care about the bandwidth... I know that torrent is one of the best options, but not everyone can use it.

Win7 all over again?

Mehall.co.cc (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 1:31am

Everyone saying they want a direct link: I might offer one at some point, but it WILL kill my bandwidth.

Remember what happened when Microsoft released the Win7 Beta without using torrents for the files?

Yeah, thats what would happen here.

Even with Linux distrobutions, most people end up using http/ftp methods rather than torrent, and then you have torrent users who don't seed.

It's HARD to offer something to the internet.

If I decide to up a copy, I will put a link on the front page of my site (mehall.co.cc) and I will post on Identi.ca and Twitter about it (@mehall on both)

@TuxRadar: Great! Thanks! I've got the iso queued, waiting to start the download. (Finishing something else first.)

Thank you! Thank you!

parnote (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 2:11am

Thank you, Linux Format! Living across the "pond" in the States, I cannot afford a subscription to your magazine ... as much as I would like to. The $126 subscription fee is just a bit (ok ... quite a bit) steep. So thank you for giving me this opportunity to peruse your fine publication for free.

@ recent kde refugee - why?

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:04am

>"it's the kde issue. i almost didn't download it because i'm really upset about kde4."

Upset? Why?

KDE4 is great!

http://www.tuxradar.com/content/20-all-new-tips-kde-42

KDE 4.2 is fast and stable.

http://www.itnewstoday.com/?p=198

KDE4 improves by leaps and bounds with every 6-month update. With the new "improved performance" version of Qt4 released very recently (Qt4.5), KDE 4.3 will be even faster still.

What is there to be upset about?

HAHAHAHA

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:04am

FAIL VIRAL MARKETING!

TPB

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:14am

Would everyone like to add the Pirate Bay's trackers?

http://tracker.thepiratebay.org:80/announce

udp://tracker.thepiratebay.org:80/announce

Someone has upped this, so lets get this seeding there too.

No torrents here... can

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:16am

No torrents here... can anyone share a .pdf?

@3:04am: Hm, if you're serious that KDE has adopted a sane 6 month release cycle like Gnome and Ubuntu, then it would be great news.

Thank You

GoinEasy9 (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:21am

I've been purchasing Linux Format and Linux Format Pro for years. They are great mags, and I find them as useful additions to the Linux community. Thank you for the pdf. I've fully downloaded it and am now seeding the torrent.

Thanks again

PDF

Mehall.co.cc (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:22am

I'm currently ftp-ing the .zip you get from the torrents to two locations, so I have at least a half-a-chance at not having the bandwidth eaten inside of two minutes.

And I think they have, yes.

KDE on WIN is looking good too.

Thank you! As parnote said,

Mackenzie (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:22am

Thank you! As parnote said, the price is rather prohibitive for USians...especially us poor college students...so thank you!

KDE release cycle

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:32am

>Hm, if you're serious that KDE has adopted a sane 6 month release cycle like Gnome and Ubuntu, then it would be great news.

It isn't news.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDE_4#Release_schedule

January 11 2008 KDE 4.0 released
July 29 2008 KDE 4.1 released
January 27 2009 KDE 4.2 released
July 28 2009 Planned release of KDE 4.3

Plus maintenance releases in between these.

i hate kde4. i hate widgets.

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:36am

i hate kde4. i hate widgets. i hate dolphin. i hate folderview. i hate plasma. i hate plasmoids.

kde4 does absolutely everything wrong. it is amazing that i cannot find 1 thing to like about kde4. i've tried. i cannot use it. i hate absolutely everything about it starting with that ugly, transparent, mouseover popup toolbar, folderview thing on the desktop.

mandriva is trying to make it look and feel like 3.5 but all it amounts to is that they look like they are trying cover up the fact that it is kde4.

why is kde4 being promoted like a microsoft product (improved performance, faster, and faster, the best thing since sliced bread)? what a load of crap.

Obviously someone who hasn't tried it.

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:50am

>improved performance, faster, and faster, the best thing since sliced bread)? what a load of crap.

How can the best thing since sliced bread be crap?

Seriously, it is faster.

>mandriva is trying to make it look and feel like 3.5 but all it amounts to is that they look like they are trying cover up the fact that it is kde4

Actually, that is KDE4 itself. You can set the KDE 4.2 behave exactly like KDE 3.5 if you want (but of course, sadly, you can't set the KDE 3.5 desktop to be like KDE 4.2, because KDE3 doesn't have that power & flexibility).

Mandriva 2009.1 ships its default KDE 4.2 desktop settings to make it present like KDE 3.5.x. Kubuntu sets the default 9.04 desktop to present like KDE 4.1. If you don't like one way or the other ... then set it to the way that you do like.

As for faster and better ... it is faster and better. What is more, further performance improvements are coming (due to Qt4.5) in the next planned release.

Enjoy.

Nice!!!

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:50am

Thank you!

Linux wannabe geek

Spider from NZ (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 3:52am

Just thought I'd add a thank you.
I don't buy magazines much anymore, most of the content I look for is on the 'net and seldom can I find a magazine with much I haven't stumbled on myself or had a tech mate send me a link about.

In saying that, I'm downloading this one to have a look through, may even print out a few articles as well to have on hand should I need them.

Thanks are owed to the NZLUG newsgroup for posting the link to here.

Keep up the good work.

HTTP Upload

Mehall.co.cc (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 4:04am

Visit mehall.co.cc and you will see a link.

The bandwidth will probably not last long (though I'm not entirely sure what the limit is)

I do have another place I can upload the .zip to (and am in the process of doing so) but IIRC, it's bandwidth will be maxed even more quickly.

Please, only use these if you cannot torrent for whatever reason.

(the second one should maybe be up in an hour, but I'll probably go sleep)

i have tried it and i don't

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 4:05am

i have tried it and i don't like it and i ain't gonna use it. why are you fanbois trying to push it on me? if i don't like something then it is NOT better. it's different but not better. you fanbois need to stop with microsoft rhetoric.

waste of time

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 4:18am

Ok. this' gonna hurt somebody.

I wasted my time downloading the damn torrent just to find a very poor organized electronic magazine. When I opened the pdf files, I got... NOTHING. ALL BLANK.

THANK YOU FOR WASTING MY TIME!

AND NO, I WON'T BUY YOUR MAGAZINE. If you can't make a simple PDF file work, what will you teach me!?

Thanks for free Linux Format and KDE 4

Klemen (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 4:26am

Many thanks to the team at Linux Format for such a generous offer. Most of us appreciate it a lot and I hope you don't get discouraged doing the same some time in the future.

At this point I also have to say thanks to all working hard on KDE 4. I've just recently started to try Linux and KDE 4 is actually the first desktop that actually keeps me in Linux and away from Windows for longer time. It looks absolutely gorgeous and I love how you can construct your own desktop from widgets, something like Lego bricks. Hack it even made my girlfriend interested a bit into this penguin think :)

So again, big thanks to all!

It is your opinion, but you may put others off

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 4:34am

>i have tried it and i don't like it and i ain't gonna use it. why are you fanbois trying to push it on me? if i don't like something then it is NOT better. it's different but not better. you fanbois need to stop with microsoft rhetoric.

Microsoft rhetoric? Get real.

Here is some counterpoint opinion for around the web to provide some much-need balance to your unwaranted rants against KDE 4.

Firestly, here is a KDE 4.2 desktop presented just like a KDE 3.5.x.one:
http://origin.arstechnica.com/news.media/screenshot180.png

Some comments from around the web:
http://www.itnewstoday.com/?p=167
http://blog.solnic.eu/2009/01/18/my-sweet-desktop-environment-kde-42-rc
http://www.kdedevelopers.org/node/3864
http://introducingkde4.blogspot.com/2008/11/plasma.html
http://forum.soft32.com/linux/News-KDE-Screenshots-Myths-Debunked-ftopict475646.html
http://randomtechoutburst.blogspot.com/2009/01/kde-42-im-tired-of-pundits-heres-my.html
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/12/hands-on-kde-4-2-beta-1.ars
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/6655/1/
http://blog.sayakbanerjee.com/?p=95

And some screenshots:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KDE_4.2_desktop.png
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Linux-KDE-4-2-RC1-Photos/0,130061733,339294489,00.htm
http://www.abhishekrane.com/2009/02/27/kde-42-screenshot-tour/
http://www.planetjonny.com/2009/02/my-kde-42-screenshot/
http://www.lampwebsitedesign.com/index.php?linux&release=KDE%204.2
http://www.opendesktop.org/?xcontentmode=34&PHPSESSID=5ab56f45dabecbe10346e8144cb2edf1

Enjoy, everybody.

kde4 sux

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 4:50am

kde4 sux

Awesome!

dgrierms (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 4:54am

I plan to try this issue for free and then consider subscribing, or at least picking up a copy at Barnes & Noble when I can.

kde4 blows

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 5:34am

http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/6655/2/

"The KDE Project has had a rocky year since KDE 4.0 was released. It has faced a barrage of criticism, some of it justified and much of it not -- and some unfairly abusive, no matter how valid. But, with the release of 4.2, the pressure should be off. KDE can still use additional enhancements, but, after KDE 4.2, almost all of the criticism is going to sound increasingly petty and spiteful."

Hear hear.

I wonder what parties might there be who would have some kind of self-interest in spreading false negative vibes about KDE4?

Hoax?

Dionysius (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 7:03am

I thought this was an elaborate hoax, until I went to the Linux Format site, and found that tuxradar is their own site: and this piece is linked right from the front of tuxradar.

So it must be a very elaborate hoax!

Anyway, it is downloading really fast for me (I am in the UK) about 130 kilobytes per second, which is about the limit of my connection this morning. There are lots of people seeding the torrent, and I will leave it seeding myself as long as possible to keep your download quick (at least if you are in the UK)

Great quality

Dionysius (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 7:22am

Re: waste of time

To the user that only got a blank file, check your bittorrent settings (or get a different bittorrent client) and try again.

I downloaded a zipped bundle of 50 PDF files, in beautiful print quality (with an HTML index)

This is very generous of the magazine, who has no doubt paid talented artists and writers a few bob to produce this. Thanks all!

Thanks!

RJ (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 7:35am

Thanks for the free issue. I saw your magazine once in one of the local news stand. I'll keep an out for future issues now that I got a chance to read some great articles.

Hope they carry it at the news stand. :)
If not I'll make a request.

Thanks again

Thank you very much

Webber (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 7:49am

Really appreciate the effort, and I congratulate the increase in your sales. Keep up effort, and keep your chins up!

Thanks. Great Mag

Apatosaur.9 (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 7:54am

I buy these from my newsagent in south Africa. Thank you for this kind offer!

Gonna buy

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 8:49am

I downloaded the Hi-version and I must say that I want to get this magazine to my collection. So need to go find place where to buy this!

Why someone might ask? Because KDE 4.2 is historical because even it is KDE4, it ain't same as KDE 4.0.x or 4.1.x series what most users bash all the time because they have not tested current one. (Now I have 4.2.1 installed on my system, the development version)

@Mehall.co.cc Thanks!

jjss (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 8:57am

@Mehall.co.cc
Thanks!

@Mehall Thanks again

DaveL (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 10:14am

Thanks for the link. Still working at 1000GMT and 400kbps so about 4'29" to download. B-)

Tuxradar I do fully appreciate your problem but it's not beyound the ability of man to limit the number of concurrent connections and/or the bandwidth allocated to each connection to protect your server. The latter being a bit harder than the former. I have the other problem that I will be at work and effectively off line from in an hours time until about 0100 tommorow, but that is my problem. B-) I'll probably still buy the mag mainly for the cover disc.

Thank You! I'm a subscriber

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 10:19am

Thank You! I'm a subscriber from Norway.

Thanks

ScaryClam (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 10:28am

Just got an email from my co-worker asking me to get this for him as he's off site today. Thanks for putting this up! The PDF quality is great and I'll leave this to seed for a few more hours!

big thanks to linux format

kde4.de (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 10:46am

for the free download version :-)

blendo from http://www.kde4.de

I'm a stranger here!so,

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 11:07am

I'm a stranger here!so, what' this?

sweet

neuro (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 11:15am

I've started seeding both the PDFs and ISOs from a dedicated server ... it's quite scary to see the ISO being uploaded to others at a total of 80Mbps! Thanks, LXF guys, for doing this; supremely charitable and much appreciated. To echo the first poster's sentiments, I'd love to see a PDF+ISO subscription version :)

browsable pdf?

testerus (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 11:20am

An all-in-one-pdf with hyperlinks within would resemble a real magazine much better. How does one page through 50+ PDFs?

Re: browsable pdf?

neuro (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 11:26am

Use Ghostscript perhaps?

http://www.linux.com/feature/36815 has pointers.

Thank You!

Dinesh Shah (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 11:43am

Thank you Linux Format for taking initiative to free the content. This is big step for publishing industry towards freedom.

Keep it up!

LXF roolz lol

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 11:53am

LXF roolz lol

You're more than welcome.

Mehall.co.cc (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:00pm

I guess I either underestimated demand, or have more bandwidth than I thought :P

I hope everyone gets the .zip, and the other (more limited I'm sure) mirror is about to go up now too.

Thank you

tombott (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:01pm

I'm a regular Linux Format reader and would like to say thanks for this great gift.
To everybody moaning about it being a torrent, quit it.
You can't d/l torrents, poor you, if you've got a hosting service and a shedload of bandwidth going spare let me know and I'll happily upload the PDF for you.
And why on earth would anybody want to use RapidShare?

Swweeeeeet!

TrecherousCretin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 12:15pm

Nice one.
Keep up the good work guys + gals!

Direct http link plz

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 1:33pm

Please can you provide a direct http link, no torrent allowed on my network. Really want a copy :)

Thanks

DIRECT LINK

Mehall.co.cc (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 1:48pm

Sorry for anyone who missed me saying it:

visit mehall.co.cc (feel free to have a look while you're there) and you can find a direct link to the .zip

Also: since it's linux Format... couldn't you have tarball'd it? =[

Thanks!

PhantomTramp (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 1:49pm

A little "puppy dog" salesmanship as we like to call it here across the pond.

The Tramp

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - March 4, 2009 @ 2:05pm

A torrent means people who download it are redistributing (parts of) it to others. You seem to not want us to redistribute it so why the torrent? Are you gonna sue us?!?? Seems a bit strange to me.