The Most Comprehensive AMD Radeon Linux Graphics Comparison

[b15hop]

Doesn't the lack of a conclusion punish normal users more than those using adblock? Both have to click through all pages to draw their own conclusions, but those using adblock probably won't be as annoyed by that as those getting the full ad load.

How about making the site more enjoyable to read instead of ranting at your readership? Get a writer or at least proofreader to straighten out the style. Make article urls contain the article title, then the intra-site links at least show where they go. Put proper links to relevant sites first in the articles, instead of hiding them between a dozen self-referential links. Anandtech, lwn.net (and computerbase.de for their diagrams) could serve as examples for what to strive for.

"Phoronix - Michael's blog about Linux and 3D and benchmarking and beer and stuff" doesn't seem a very attractive site to subscribe to. Get yourself a personal blog, push the beer and stuff there, and make Phoronix a "Linux hardware review site".

Well I was a paid subscriber and have to agree with this. There isn't much competition regarding this so maybe another forum has to initiate some incentives to do something about it. No point advertising when the content isn't up to par... I guess it's something but not enough.

Otherwise why stay on topic when the topic will forever be flawed.

[smitty3268]

However, it's pretty clear to me now that this site is self-destructing. Michael has been trying to sell it off because he's no longer passionate about the topics, and no one is buying. He's frustrated, and starting to take it out on his readers which is just going to cause a downward spiral.

Is this fact or rumour?

Michael has posted before that he wanted to retire and let other people take over Phoronix. Then he posted that he was running into trouble making that happen.

I have no idea if he was actually trying to "sell" Phoronix or not, but he clearly wants out.

The constant harping on AdBlock since that time has made me wonder if he's trying to boost revenue numbers for a potential sale, but that's admittedly speculation. It could be he just wants to bring in a few people to write content for free and can't find them.

[bridgman]

Might be worth reading Michael's actual posts, I don't think he talked about "wanting out" other than maybe from the business side.

[b15hop]

Michael has posted before that he wanted to retire and let other people take over Phoronix. Then he posted that he was running into trouble making that happen.

I have no idea if he was actually trying to "sell" Phoronix or not, but he clearly wants out.

The constant harping on AdBlock since that time has made me wonder if he's trying to boost revenue numbers for a potential sale, but that's admittedly speculation. It could be he just wants to bring in a few people to write content for free and can't find them.

Well I must fit in an entirely different category. I was a paid subscriber who still uses AdBlock simply because I am a traditionalist. I have used the internet since before Ad's existed, and therefore Ads annoy me. They annoy me so much, that I would rather fund the AdBlock than this site! If Michael chooses different to his customers "or audience", it would do himself more damage than good. What surprises me is that he's technically already advertising hardware already. Any positive review of AMD drivers, nvidia drivers, or the like, is a sale in my eyes. Why do we need more Advertising? The article is itself an advert. It's telling me what graphics card I should be buying!! Why should I be bombarded with something that distracts me away from the site! It would be like walking into a supermarket and finding advertising inside about the competing shop next door.

[Panix]

Might be worth reading Michael's actual posts, I don't think he talked about "wanting out" other than maybe from the business side.

I hope not.

Imho, I think Michael is one of the best mods/forum admins/owners I've ever come across if not the best. I don't know of any other site where so much freedom is allowed. There's content here that would be be removed at other places. I think a lot of the whining babies should give Michael a break.

I'll take the liberal philosophy that seems to exist in this forum and tons of ads if that's what is included.

I concur with Q and a few others: how come some of us have no problem with the ads while others feel they are suffocating with them?

I'm not sure what the Premium members get since I thought they don't get the ads then.

But, I don't feel I need to use adblock at this site. There's tons of forums and computer-based sites that have ads. All these places need to generate revenues somehow.

If you want to criticize the articles that's something different.

Someone suggested that this article (in this thread) should have had a few modifications such as TOCs since it was 30-something pages. That would have been very useful. Probably more work but it would have made it convenient to go to certain sections and know what/where the topics were. 'Have to admit it, it is a good idea and is used on other sites with their articles.

With that all said, imho, I think we should get back to the topic and if people want to complain about ads, maybe do it in a separate thread or directly?

Anyway, that's my two cents. Very minor complaints from me and more like suggestions, really.

[b15hop]

I hope not.

Imho, I think Michael is one of the best mods/forum admins/owners I've ever come across if not the best. I don't know of any other site where so much freedom is allowed. There's content here that would be be removed at other places. I think a lot of the whining babies should give Michael a break.

I'll take the liberal philosophy that seems to exist in this forum and tons of ads if that's what is included.

I concur with Q and a few others: how come some of us have no problem with the ads while others feel they are suffocating with them?

I'm not sure what the Premium members get since I thought they don't get the ads then.

But, I don't feel I need to use adblock at this site. There's tons of forums and computer-based sites that have ads. All these places need to generate revenues somehow.

If you want to criticize the articles that's something different.

Someone suggested that this article (in this thread) should have had a few modifications such as TOCs since it was 30-something pages. That would have been very useful. Probably more work but it would have made it convenient to go to certain sections and know what/where the topics were. 'Have to admit it, it is a good idea and is used on other sites with their articles.

With that all said, imho, I think we should get back to the topic and if people want to complain about ads, maybe do it in a separate thread or directly?

Anyway, that's my two cents. Very minor complaints from me and more like suggestions, really.

A few good points. You're right that it's better to have poor style and plenty of content rather than no content and plenty of style. Too much style and no content is usually known as bling. Leave bling to M$ and Apple. Where else would most of us go for such content anyway? Pretty much no where... So either Phoronix evolves, which it has done in the past. Or it stays the same.

What this means is that maybe we need a change. Michael would benefit with a vote with a forum thread, on what features people want in his articles. He's ultimately the main person that will know what direction he's heading with the site.

• More professionally written content, with ToC (table of contents), introduction -> content -> conclusion
• Less intrusive advertising
• Some kind of optional facebook integration

Anyone else like to add? Probably should start a forum thread. x)

[log0]

Interesting comparison(I mean the thread topic). I find the CPU load numbers quite puzzling, 3-5 times lover than catalyst. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...berfest&num=36

I somehow had the idea the open source drivers would be CPU limited. No multithreading with catalyst too, load < 25% for a 4 core CPU? I asume 100% is full CPU utilisation. Would be great if one of the driver developers could comment on this.


To the Phoronix and Michael critics: Stop derailing the thread! Want to whine about it? Get you a fscking blog!

[jrch2k8]

A few good points. You're right that it's better to have poor style and plenty of content rather than no content and plenty of style. Too much style and no content is usually known as bling. Leave bling to M$ and Apple. Where else would most of us go for such content anyway? Pretty much no where... So either Phoronix evolves, which it has done in the past. Or it stays the same.

What this means is that maybe we need a change. Michael would benefit with a vote with a forum thread, on what features people want in his articles. He's ultimately the main person that will know what direction he's heading with the site.

• More professionally written content, with ToC (table of contents), introduction -> content -> conclusion
• Less intrusive advertising
• Some kind of optional facebook integration

Anyone else like to add? Probably should start a forum thread. x)

very good points i can live without TOC and conclusions should be fine when is needed (i don't believe this specific article should have one, like i said before this is not a "what to buy" article is more like a "see which architecture present the bigger challenge" type of article ) like in many other articles.

another think that would be useful is an article target or tags to discern the target audience of the article like:

1. The Most Comprehensive AMD Radeon Linux Graphics Comparison --- Techies, Mesa dev, GPU lovers, etc
2. Desura Game Platform Goes Into Beta On Linux --- Gamers, Techies, buyer, average consumer

that way you can be warned of what type complexity the information have and if is in your interest to read, which i think will reduce dramatically the number of whiners

about the whiners i dare you to point me out another site which at least has 10% of the information richness about linux and alikes
beside phoronix (The H maybe but most articles about OSS are from phoronix and linux.com follow the same direction)

[TheCycoONE]

The key with ads is blending them into the site and keeping them relevant. Phoronix doesn't seem to have figured that out yet - I would use Ad Block just for this site because they are so annoying. Contrast that with Google or Slashdot or Linked In.

[disi]

this thread belongs into "off the wall" or something...