Dear Linux Magazine Reader,

Many of you will probably wonder

why we put Windows Vista on the cover of this month’s issue. “So many other computer magazines are hyping Vista,” you'll say. “Why does a Linux magazine have to do it? Aren't you supposed to be a refuge from Windows hype?” Hype, however, is the whole reason why an issue like this is necessary. The problem isn’t that these other magazines mention Vista; the real problem is that, all too often, they mingle their coverage of Vista with a spoon-fed version of the Microsoft world view. In Microsoft’s view of reality, Linux hardly even exists, but the best response to this limited perspective is not to imagine a world in which Windows doesn’t exist. A more productive path is to take up the challenge of providing the information our readers will need to keep Windows and Linux connected. Windows is part of the landscape, like a tree or a rock. If you happen onto it, you have to either go around it or figure out some way to deal with it. In either case, it helps to have good information. Our goal is to report on things you’ll need to know to keep your Linux systems running smoothly in mixed environments.