an easy step-by-step "cookbook" way of getting the job done. Without
     learning what is, to them, a programming language.

     [Ben] This, though, isn't possible. If there was a single subset of
     complex  commands  that every Linux user needed - yeah, sure. We're
     certainly not going to hide it from them. Since EPID, so are the tasks
     they need to accomplish - and that's why shell scripting is a language,
     flexible enough to accomplish tasks that _aren't_ predetermined.

     You *can't* have power and flexibility without complexity. We're not here
     to teach people The One True Way to use a buzzsaw; if they don't learn the
     whys and the wherefores and the safety considerations (not just the
     requisite motions), they are going to get their hands chopped off. If it
     was totally safe, then it wouldn't cut the lumber.

     If you have a list of common tasks for which you use your "magic lines",
     great - feel free to expound on why and how. If people find them useful
     and clamor for more, I'll be the first to admit to being wrong.

     [Tom] Each time I tried to start an article in this vein, for example, I
     quickly discovered that I lacked the in-depth knowledge and experience to
     do an adequate job.

     [Ben] Don't you think that that's an indicator? Think of it this way: the
     folks who created the standard Unix toolkit were trying to address the
     same concern that you're voicing now. If there really was a need for a
     specific task, why would they have omitted it? If a utility was useless,
     why  wouldn't they have dropped it? Over time, the toolkit has been
     polished to a high gloss due to the huge number of people using it - and
     so  it  becomes a classic example of Open Source development, where
     worthwhile projects survive, and others dive into complete obscurity. If
     you find yourself lacking in experience for this task, it may well be
     because far more experienced people - and lots of them - have already done
     the job you're trying to improve on.

     [Tom] As to your other ideas - which I uniformly like and think valuable:

     Here's a rough top-of-my-head list of topics:

     *  The  Hardware  Department:  Pick some bit of hardware that isn't
     automatically handled by Linux, or isn't handled well, and show the user
     what to do to make it work (cookbook fashion). Another topic might be the
     sort of benchmark article LG did recently. Another might be helping a user
     select a good video card (or printer, etc.) to use with Linux.

     [Ben] Heh. If it isn't handles well, that's a bug worth filing. However,
     there's hardware out there that's complex to set up regardless of the OS -
     and I think that it would be a good idea to set up a Hardware Corner where
     we discuss exactly that. This will, however, require some knowledgeable
     folks to contribute their experience.

     Say, how about this: what if we contact OEMs for the various types of
     hardware and see if they'd be willing to give us an article on setting
     their stuff up under Linux? I'll bet that most of them would be pretty
     happy to get their product's name in print.

     Would anybody care to volunteer to select companies and prod them?

     [Tom] * The To-Do List: Pick a task (or a series of them) the user might
     want to do, and again, show them cookbook-style

     [Ben] Those would be the shell, Perl, etc. tips that have been here all
     along.

     [Tom] * Finder Free: Pick a Windows or Mac application, and discuss the
     "free software" alternatives. For CLI apps, you might want to include a
     script file that makes using them (almost) as easy as a GUI.

     [Ben] Oooh, nice. Wanna write this? :) BONUS: I'd be happy to help you
     with the CLI part, if and when it's applicable.

     [Tom] * Up Against the Wall: Security issues are very much on people's
     minds these days. Linux security issues, and solutions are different from
     Windows. Topics here might include: how to update different distros (those
     without a built-in mechanism to do this), how to configure a firewall,
     etc.

     [Ben] [Nod] We've had security articles here before; however, we don't
     have a regular "security" writer. It would be nice if we did. I could do
     some good bits myself, but I'm being extra-careful not to overload myself
     on the LG side - I have 1) a bad reaction to being overloaded and 2) work
     commitments that can pretty much shut me down for days at a time. For now,
     doing the gig and trying to puzzle out these issues with everyone's help
     is about as much as I want to handle. I've also got an article in process
     for this month, and that feels like I'm already skating on thin ice.

     [Tom] * Brain Surgery For Beginners: Pick a Sys Admin task that someone
     might want to do (configure Samba comes to mind), and describe the steps
     most  people  will  really  need  to  do, pointing them to specific
     documentation elsewhere for problems.

     [Ben] Ditto.

     [Tom] * Paint and Wallpaper: GUI desktop issues. Some topics here might be
     how to use Superkaramba, as well as [26]KDE and Gnome topics (perhaps a
     step-by-step on upgrading from one version of KDE or Gnome to another for
     the non-rocket-scientist)

     [Ben] Ditto.