magazine format

overview
We have experimented with a number of different formats since the launch of the first issue, but the general concept has remained the same. The new format involves two issues a month, the regular issue which contains monthly columns, and a special issue which takes an in-depth look at a particular project or topic. Information such as events and the editorial, have been moved to the special issue.

Why the switch to A4?
Most of the world uses A4, the big exception being the United States. The printers sitting around in most US offices are capable of printing A4, and A4 paper is readily available from a number of suppliers in the United States, so why make the rest of the world suffer?

Why the switch from O3 to o3?
The magazine was originally launched with an upper case O. This was easily mistaken for the number zero, so we quickly changed it to a lower case o.

What are the columns?
The new format has nine columns, designed to appeal to a wide range of audiences. Appliances, looks at software appliances, hardware appliances, virtualization, software as a service, and other topics related to delivering server and network appliances. Server side looks at daemons, configuration, deployment issues and other server related material. Database and Storage covers topics related to open source databases, as well as storage technologies such as iSCSI, NFS, etc.

IP networking looks at challenges and solutions at a network level. Mobility looks at Wireless and Mobility technologies, primarily WiFi and related technologies. Security looks at server, network and application security. Userspace focuses on the desktop, both Linux and MacOS X solutions, for the corporate desktop as well as the developer / IT administrator.

Web Apps looks at open source web 2.0 technologies, web services and anything related to delivering content over HTTP. Finally, Voice and Media looks at VoIP solutions such as Asterisk, SIP and streaming media solutions such as Icecast.