Table of contents for July 2020 in Linux Format

Mats Tage Axelsson I want to get my hands on the new NixOS release (20.03). The package configuration system is a completely new way of thinking about packages. You can operate many versions of any application in parallel without dependency issues. Advanced rollback capabilities are also built-in, making it straightforward to test beta software. Jonni Bidwell Maybe it’s optimistic, but I’d like to see elementary OS 6.0. The current version is so smooth, even on my aging company-issued laptop. After my Pop!_OS and Regolith reviews, my hot take is that tiling window managers will be all the rage in 2020. Nick Peers Having installed elementary OS on my ageing MacBook to give it a fresh lease of life, I’m very much looking forward to seeing the best bits of Ubuntu…

As part of a programme called the Lenovo Linux Community Series – Fedora Edition, Lenovo is going to start offering Fedora pre-installed on a small range of its new laptops when selected for customisation. The specific models are the ThinkPad P1 Gen2, the ThinkPad P53 and the ThinkPad X1 Gen8 range of laptops, with more models being given the Fedora option if there’s sufficient demand from customers. Lenovo has been working with Red Hat – the business behind Fedora – to ensure that Fedora 32 Workstation is ready to run on Lenovo hardware. Mark Pearson, senior Linux developer from Lenovo, said, “Lenovo is excited to become a part of the Fedora community. We want to ensure an optimal Linux experience on our products. We’re committed to working with and learning…

Regolith Linux has the goal of “reducing unnecessary clutter and ceremony” from the desktop. This piqued our interest because (a) frankly we can’t stand unnecessary pomp and ceremony here at Remote LXF Towers and (b) Regolith uses the i3 window manager on top of Gnome. It’s a wild combination. Why? Tiling window managers, and i3 in particular, are hard to get to grips with. You may have seen screenshots of hardcore Linux users’ desktops with translucent, titlebar-less terminals with razor-thin borders, the characteristic i3 status bar displaying tens of Emacs-ridden workspaces and stock prices, and Conky on the desktop displaying local weather and system resource usage. You can set all that up on any minimal Linux distro. However, it takes time and patience… lots of patience. And then, when you’ve…

Performance is generally limited by the processor and its accompanying chipset specification that’s going to dictate memory and bus speeds. These types of devices will be using the onboard GPU for any 3D capabilities and accelerated video decoding. All but one use Intel processors, the standout being the Acer R 13 running an Arm-based MediaTek SoC. Classically these tend to offer lower performance, but better battery life and decent video and 3D capabilities. For testing we have GeekBench 4.1, which is a suite of tests that cover generic processor loads, storage loads, memory access loads and GPU compute loads. Jetstream 2.0 is the latest evolution of a string of browser-based benchmarks that run processor loads in Javascript and WebAssembly. Finally, for an attempt at GPU testing we ran WebGL Aquarium…

For connections the Acer R 13 does well, with USB C, USB 3.0, full-size HDMI and microSD with headphone jack and lock slot. The USB C doubles as charger, DisplayPort and USB 3.1 transfers. You’ll find dual-band 802.11ac wireless and Bluetooth. The Flip C434 doesn’t exactly stretch itself on ports, but does at least manage two USB C ports, an USB 3.1 port together with headphone jack and microSD slot. There’s also dual-band 802.11ac wireless and Bluetooth 4.0. The 720p webcam is useable, but only just in low light. With the Pixelbook Go there’s just two USB C ports (used for charging too) but at least there’s still a 3.5mm audio jack, but that’s it. The good is 802.11ac 2x2 MIMO wireless and Bluetooth 4.2, while that quality 1080p webcam…

1 Make room To create an empty partition for your Ubuntu installation, you’ll first have to squeeze your existing Windows partition. Fire up the Disk Management tool in Windows, and right-click your main partition that’s typically assigned the drive letter C. Then select the Shrink Volume option from the pop-up menu. 2 Shrink Windows This brings up the Shrink dialog that shows you the total size of the hard drive and the maximum amount of space that you can squeeze out of the selected partition. To create a new partition, specify the size of the partition in the space provided in megabytes and click Shrink to start the process. 3 Updates and plugins After your computer boots from the Ubuntu installation medium, it’ll display a checklist. Toggle the two available…

We can’t emphasise enough that benchmarks are largely irrelevant at this point, because RISC-V implementations are going to be targeting embedded, low-power, controller and enthusiast boards. No one is going to be releasing a consumer-level laptop or desktop at this early stage. There is a question, though, of how efficient the ISA is versus other commercial implementations. A thorough micro-op analysis of, say, x86-64 versus RISC-V compiled binaries is the sort of thing good PhD theses are made from. In fact, that was exactly what was done back in 2016; you can see an outline of the report on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii_pEXKKYUg), which shows RISC-V binaries are competitive in micro-op density, and can outperform x86 and ARMv8 code, with a number of potential compiler optimisations being highlighted from the study. For…

Controlling the General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) pins of the Raspberry Pi is usually done using languages such as Python, but in this tutorial we look at Go,an open source project developed by a team of Google and community enthusiasts. The language is easy to understand if you’ve already learnt Python or Arduino. Our project is a simple tool to check the status of a server and report the status using LEDs. Hardware setup< Please refer to the circuit diagram in the download for this issue for wiring guidance. Software setup To install Go, visit https://go.org/dl and download the latest version for ARMv6 (go1.14). Next, open a terminal and navigate to the download directory. Extract the contents of the download into the /usr/local/ directory, creating a new directory called go.…

1 The main toolbar Navigate back and forth, use address field for searching, open pages in different tabs and more. Everything you need is here! 2 Discover more with this switcher It’s not just the browser. Get to know the email tool, WYSIWIG web composer, address book and IRC chat utility. 3 Create your own web sites Mozilla’s web composer is one of the best program of its kind. Edit HTML/CSS code and preview changes instantly. 4 The stunning email app Seamonkey Mail is a powerful POP3/IMAP client with all the essential features that you would expect from Thunderbird. 5 Customise it your way The Settings window is global for all Seamonkey components. There are many settings that you might want to alter here.…

Version: 0.2.1 Web: https://github.com/mkaz/termgraph There were days when bulky chart plotters and data ‘recorders’ were the only electronic devices for data visualisation. Not that the history is repeating itself, but we quickly recalled such vintage scientific devices after running Termgraph. This software is designed to print charts and plots in your Linux terminal using the power of Python. It’s another reason to keep on using CLI and sideline overcomplicated graphical tools. Termgraph can draw bar graphs, colour charts, stacked charts and even use emojis for displaying values Together with tile-based terminal multiplexors (like Terminator), Termgraph is ideal for setting up multiple crime-drama-like mission control desktops (no deaths involved, hopefully). To get all the fancy stuff up and running, start by installing Termgraph, which is a piece of cake: Once it’s…

Version: 36.0 Web: https://github.com/paperwm/PaperWM Despite the odd complaint that labels Gnome Shell as poorly customisable, the opposite is true. Gnome enables the building of extensions, from simple notifications to sophisticated subsystems (such as the JS-based port of Kdeconnect for Gnome Shell). Another example of solid extensions is PaperWM. This is a tiled window manager that changes the perception of the Gnome desktop, and how people manage open windows and tasks. When PaperWM is running, each window is maximised by height and stacks next to the previous one in the form of a line. That said, switching between windows implies side-scrolling, similar to turning pages of the traditional paper notebook. From its early buggy releases, it’s now ideal for everyone unhappy with the default window management in Gnome Shell. Yet PaperWM…

Version: 0.3.1 Web: https://github.com/alainm23/byte Most music players for Linux fall into two categories: simpler ones that inherit the grace of Winamp, and those once inspired by iTunes that organise your collection and run a media library. The rest of the players often utilise the original concept of managing music, and the good example is the stylish Babe-Qt that we reviewed in LXF230. It started as a GTK3 app and later on moved to Qt5, but if you’re missing this player in the GTK world, then we’ve got a replacement: Byte. Someone must have filled the niche of a GTK-based music player that would have lots of features while looking good and occupying a small amount of desktop space – not much more than a floating widget. Byte is advertised as…

When you want to start a new project using electronic components, the first thing that comes to mind is a schematic. You imagine what components you need and how to draw the schematic. Once you’ve managed to come up with a design or perhaps tweaked an existing design, you’ll want to make a breadboard. But wait – maybe you want to test it without the physical circuits. This is useful so you can catch simple mistakes and avoid building circuits that will just break your components. This way, you’ll save yourself the trouble of fixing things that should be clear for the more experienced. There are several ways you can insure the viability of your current design. Simulation is one. To show how to do this, you’ll create a circuit…

Clone me better Back up, replicate and deploy – we explore the most effective ways of cloning your drives and systems. Google Stadia gaming on Linux Google is trying to bring stream gaming to the masses, discover how you can hack it to play on Linux. Simulating Arduino Don’t worry about having to buy more hardware to play with – we explain how you can just simulate Arduino hardware. Build your own ebooks Crack out the open source and start authoring your own ebooks. You could become the next publishing sensation! Contents of future issues subject to change, but our Lockdown hairstyles remain consistently bad!…

Since the release of the Steam-Wine hybrid gaming system Proton, the number of games available to Linux has rocketed to over 11,000. However, even tested games that are reported to be Platinum quality has now passed 6,000 in those two years. Originally the Platinum rank applied to around 40 per cent of Linux titles, but as Proton has improved over the years this has increased now to around 50 per cent of all Linux games. More details can be found at https://boilingsteam.com/proton-brought-about-6000-games-tolinux-so-far.…

I have questions Thank you for the magnificent magazine. I have some questions for you. I used to run Ubuntu and recently changed to Mint to give it a try. I’m actually restoring old machines to have a second life with Linux. Which one do you recommend for an 11-inch low-powered Chromebook? What alternatives do you recommend for Spark with its functions on open source? Is there any reliable service alternative to unroll.me? What’s the best value VPN service out there, securing anonymity and price? Federico Winer, Loughborough Neil says… So you want to replace ChromeOS? It depends, really. You can use the Crouton system as part of ChromeOS, and Ubuntu has a guide that will work with both x86 or ARM models: https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/installubuntu-on-chromebook. However it’s not optimal, so if…

Ubuntu is often credited with making Linux useable on desktop, and make no mistake they did and do an awful lot, but they also stand on the shoulders of a few forgotten giants. Mint made Linux even more attractive, initially by taking Ubuntu and giving it a traditional desktop (and a Flash player), beginning a new trend largely unseen in Linux: giving users what they want (crazy… – Ed). ElementaryOS stands out as being one of the new top-tier home distros, thanks to its beautifully designed desktop with its macOS-like stylings. Another standout distro from the new generation is Pop!_OS, made by Linux system manufacturer System76. Being an OEM, it wanted to be able to ship an OS guaranteed to work with its hardware. But also, borrowing a feather from…

Surely this is where it ends? One bug is attacking the train being defended. Another is about to destroy an apartment building. And for every building lost, a Power Grid point is lost. We’ve only one left and once it’s gone, the Vek win. If you’ve played FTL, you’ll remember the clammy-palmed panic it’d conjure as you’d face another seemingly no-win situation. Into the Breach will bring that feeling right back, and it’s wonderful. It’s a turn-based tactics game in which your squad of three mechs is pitted against a swarm of ground-dwelling bugs, the Vek. Each level is played out across just five turns on an eight by eight grid, and your ultimate goal is survive, to build up the strength of your mechs and to make it to…

Taking the form of a Macbook Pro the Acer R 13 certainly looks the part with its all-aluminium chassis. It’s a two-in-one design so the screen rotates right round and back on to itself. Despite its good looks it doesn’t feel all that sturdy, with noticeable flex when you pick it up with one hand. This was proved with our drop test where the display popped out, although the device kept on running. The updated Asus Flip C434 was released towards the end of 2019 with larger everything. It’s built around that 14-inch display keeping its usual aluminium chassis with convertible fold-back display. Despite its excellent looks, when we drop tested it this model came off worst of any we’ve come across, including suffering from a cracked screen. The Google…

We looked at resolution, colour quality including gamut, brightness measured in nits and give our general impression of the display for day-to-day viewing. The Chromebook R 13’s 13.3-inch, 1080p panel shows crisp images, but with unimpressive colour and brightness. Furthermore, it only managed 64 per cent of the sRGB spectrum: it’s accurate but just not punchy. This isn’t helped by the average 254 nits brightness that it managed. The Flip C434 has an eye-catching 14-inch 1080p touch screen, which is fairly bright and vivid, if short of groundbreaking. Tiny bevels are nice but that gloss screen will be reflective as hell if you use it outside. The 14-inch display covers a decent 93 per cent of the sRGB colour gamut, according to our colorimeter and manages an above average 286…

Just uttering the phrase “Installing Linux” will send a shiver down the spines of most humans, but it’s not as terrifying as it used to be. Don’t get overzealous, though: it’s still possible to wipe out your existing OS by pushing the wrong button, and you should spend a couple of hours trying out Ubuntu before committing to installing it. USING THE ISO IMAGE “We know that many PCs and most laptops don’t have optical drives nowadays, but that’s okay – the image can be written to a USB stick.” Running the live environment, or installing to a virtual machine will give you a handle on the look ‘n’ feel of this pinnacle of free software. There are a couple of hoops to jump through before we get there though.…

Coming from Windows or macOS, Ubuntu at first glance appears dramatically different, and perhaps even a little daunting. But don’t worry, soon it will feel just like home. Your first port of call might be the Applications menu, which you can access by clicking in the top left of the screen, or by pressing the Super (Windows) key. This shows any running applications, or if there aren’t any will show frequently used ones. So the first time you click it this view will be barren. You’ll find a grid of installed applications (pictured in the annotation below, which hopefully helps you get your bearings) by clicking in the bottom right, so have a nosey around to see what interests you. The standard install includes everything you need to get started,…

Monopolies aren’t all bad. At least, they don’t have to be. But with a single corporation owning the rights to the x86 instruction set, the consumer processor market is hardly abuzz with competition. It’s true enough that AMD’s star is on the ascent, but that’s been helped by a decade of stagnation by Intel, ever since the heights of the original Core 2 releases. The situation is an indication, though, of what would happen if x86’s only competitor dropped out of the processor market: Intel could stop all development and you’d still have no option but to buy its processors. It isn’t healthy to overspecialise. “But there’s Arm!” you rightly cry. Arm is a peddler of intellectual property, though. The company licenses its design and manufactures nothing itself. It’s a…

There are certainly precedents for open hardware being successful, even if that comes with a few hiccups along the way. One of the better-known projects is Arduino, an Italian-designed microcontroller range that has its software and hardware designs licenced under Creative Commons. The schematics and designs for the boards have open licences, even though the Arduino name itself is trademarked. In fact, there was a legal spat between the founders over the trademark, but thankfully that was resolved in 2017. Arduino’s open nature has enabled it to flourish as a core component in the more niche maker area, because it enables smaller specialist hobbyist companies to manufacture Arduino-compatible boards. Certainly, part of the RISC-V initiative is to deliver an open ecosystem in line with Arduino, alongside the open-source software. An…

Another Raspberry Pi is here! But hold your horses – it’s not the Raspberry Pi 5. Instead, it’s still the Raspberry Pi 4, now with 8GB of LPDDR4-2400 RAM. That’s double the amount found in the previous highest-spec model. So now we once again have three different Raspberry Pi 4 models (2, 4 and 8GB of RAM) after losing the 1GB version earlier this year. Physically and electronically the 8GB model is all but identical to the previous models of Raspberry Pi 4. The only difference is the identification numbers etched on to the RAM chip: on our review unit it was a Micron 0A447 D9ZCL. The 8GB Raspberry Pi will work with the same accessories as previous Pi incarnations, and will fit into the same cases. The same heatsink…

There are many reasons why you need to work with audio files. Perhaps you’re considering setting up a podcast, to distribute recordings of talks, lectures, presentations or sermons. You might want to give your website a bit more panache by adding some background audio. Or personal projects could benefit from a splash of audio. Recording interviews, maybe for school or university projects, or in conjunction with family history research, come to mind. So we’re going to see how to record and edit audio using the free open source Audacity software. Unless you’re editing audio that someone else has recorded, you won’t be able to do anything until you’ve made a recording and so this is an obvious place to start. So, assuming you’re going to be using an external microphone…

Version: 4.0 Web:http://audacious-media-player.org We haven’t reviewed a music player for Linux for a while now, mainly because there are so many available. However, we have strong feelings for XMMS-inspired players, which is a good-enough reason to give the new Audacious 4.0 release a whirl. We started by building the software from source (no packages were available at time of writing) and discovered that while Audacious is quick and easy to build, it requires the audacious-plugins package to run. The latter has much more build dependencies, of which some are optional, but they give a good impression of the program’s huge range of features. It’s impossible to list everything here, but the player covers most known audio formats, supports JACK output, LADSPA effects, gapless playback, tag editing and more. Audacious continues…

Version: 5.7.0 Web: https://github.com/Ulauncher/Ulauncher The traditional desktop model, with its files, folders, a rubbish bin and a desktop remains unchanged after decades, even amid the growing shift towards touch screens and mobile devices. However, if you still use Linux on a desktop computer, you might be keen to discover more efficient ways of launching programs than just clicking their shortcuts. This author’s daily desktop is Plasma and that is why he uses Kicker, the versatile, smart and super-fast launcher that can also search, process numbers and more. However, users of other desktop environments normally don’t use Kicker, although they may have similar tools, such as the search provider that’s built into the Gnome Shell. One such alternative is Ulauncher, which is handy for searches and launching programs. It could replace…

Version: GIT Web: https://github.com/felixmariotto/Edelweiss This one is a rare example of browser-based walk-n-explore quest games that’s somehow more than just a demo. Edelweiss is a 3D first-person exploration game where you play as a schoolgirl who lives in a world of blocks with sheer ivy walls, rocks and few older inhabitants. More questions than answers so far, but it’s easy to make progress in Edelweiss thanks to the built-in training tips. Approach the ‘old granny’ and press Space to receive instructions. Move your character around and try to climb some walls with roots and branches, proceed further into the level and find more grannies who will explain other parts of the game. There are no enemies at this time, but it’s still possible to die when jumping down from a…

Version: 2019.11.10 Web: https://github.com/vookimedlo/vooki-image-viewer We’re confident that your current image viewer (the thing that pops up when you double-click an image file) is a decent bit of (open source) software that can do its job well. The reason why a regular Linux user may want to look around and seek out alternative viewers is that they need better performance and nicer ergonomics. However, we were a bit sceptical when we came across Vooki Image Viewer – not only because of its name that causes spelling issues when written without spaces, but also because most image-viewing features already exist. However, Vooki proved itself useful and advantageous in many regards. The application is advertised as simple and fast, which means that it provide a limited set of frequently used features (rotated, flip,…

Over the past few issues we’ve been taking a look at how to program classic video games, from the side-scrolling platformer to the lunar module lander. This issue we’re going to develop a 2D top-down perspective video game. Also known as birds-eye or overhead view video games, top-down perspective video games present an overview camera angle, looking directly down on the game world. Think of the original The Legend of Zelda and Grand Theft Auto games as prime examples. It’s difficult to know what the first 2D top-down game was, although Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is credited with the conception and development of Spacewar! in 1961 and 1962, respectively. That’s a whole two decades before the original Donkey Kong, for perspective. Built for the Programmed Data Processor-1 (known as…

Open source software powers much of the internet, along with the underlying software used by businesses big and small. So why isn’t open source software powering our governments? That’s a position The Netherlands government has just committed to, calling it Open Source by Default1 . This is in response to various hurdles that had to be overcome for legal release and for the use of open source by The Netherlands government, which have been raised since 2017. A key issue is that the government publishing Free Software could be considered unfair competition under current market regulations. The EU restricts government-subsidised industries or products, which this could fall foul of. Doing so would only be legal if the government abides by a strict set of regulations. The Dutch minister for internal…

Young and minty I suspect that I may be the youngest reader of your magazine. I’m 12 and enjoy reading Linux Format, and thanks to you I’ve started to learn to code in Python. I run Mint 19.3 on a £40 HP computer that I bought from eBay, and have recently added a 250GB HDD alongside a 60GB SSD that I run Mint on. The thing is, every time I boot, three in four times it’ll boot normally, and the other time it’ll boot into a built-in shell. This had never happened before I added the HDD! Isaac O’Connor, Warminster Neil says… Oh wow, that’s amazing to hear, I thought that all our readers were over 40! Congratz on being so proficient with Linux, Python and tinkering with PCs –…

You might not think you ever wanted to move and resize windows without using the mouse, but it makes working with multiple applications simultaneously much smoother than with the usual Gnome workflow (which gently nudges you towards working in one or two applications at a given time). The tiling feature means new windows automagically fit and tile into available desktop space, so your desktop is always full. Tiling window managers are generally the preserve of power users (just search for “i3 configuration guide” if you don’t believe us), but Pop’s effort to bring tiling to the masses is admirable. Auto-tiling is off by default, but we’d recommend that you try it out. If you’re already a master of tiling window managers then it’s likely that the tiling in Pop will…

Outside of the Acer’s convertible features, which seem more novelty than something you’ll want to use, another disappointment were the speakers. These lack any real volume, and while converting the device to make the speakers more prominent helps, this is hardly a punchy audio performance. There’s is a comfortable 64GB of storage. Asus has managed to do the near-impossible and included a set of decent speakers in a laptop. They can pump out a reasonable amount of volume, retain a modicum of base and just about hold it together with high tones, while also handling vocals well. It has its Flip convertible feature and an impressive 128GB of storage. The Go lacks biometrics and two-in-one features despite that touchscreen. The audio lacks base and features scratchy highs, although there’s enough…

The Chromebook world has come a long way since the first Google Cr-48 back in 2010. From what was seen as a barely usable device to something that could be your daily driver, capable of running Linux tools and Android apps. This Roundup covers a full spectrum of specifications and prices; our final judgement tries to take into account that if you’re after a budget Chromebook then the Google, Lenovo and likely the Asus won’t be considered. Conversely, if you’re looking for something more capable then you’ll probably discount the HP and Acer. You should also keep in mind that a number of these models offer alternative specifications. We’d pick out the Yoga C630 as an example; we tested the 4K model, which is hard to find and frankly we’d…

Naturally, everything under the Ubuntu hood has been refreshed. The new 5.4 kernel brings support for new hardware and fixes for old. What most home users will be interested in is the desktop, and you’ll find Gnome 3.36 looks and behaves better than ever. It seems like there’s been a two-year game of bug whack-a-mole, both within Gnome and Ubuntu’s take on it, to address niggling performance and memory issues. But with this release, it’s smooth like the inferior type of peanut butter. “The darkening” has come finally to Ubuntu. Like so many desktops and programs it now offers a dark mode, which some people find easier on the eyes. Light or dark, we think you’ll love the new bold icons and Yaru theme. Gnome’s application folders feature, by which…

1 Get VirtualBox Head to www.virtualbox.org and download VirtualBox 6 for your operating system, be that Windows or OS X. Install it and be aware you’ll need at least 20GB of space drive space to store the virtual OS file. You’ll also need the Ubuntu ISO file from www.ubuntu.com/desktop/download. Once installed start it and click the New button and call it Ubuntu. 2 Create a machine Choose Ubuntu and the bits should match the ISO you downloaded, then click Next. Under Memory we’d recommend 2,048, but if you have an 8GB PC 4,096 is best. You can leave all the rest as default settings, apart from the dynamic hard drive size. The default is 8GB, but we’d suggest at least 32GB if you can spare. Finish and click Start to…

1 Activities Clicking here (or pressing the Super key) launches the Activities view. Helpfully, it shows previews of running programs. 2 Search Box Start typing in the Activities view (there’s no need to click in the box) to search Apps, Docs and more. 3 Calendar and Notifications area Click here to control music, see any appointments (if you’ve connected an appropriate service) or activate Do not Disturb mode. 4 Status Menu Network settings (including VPN), volume controls and application indicators can be found here. The button in the bottom left launches the all-important Settings tool. 5 Applications menu Click here to open/close a view of frequently used applications. You can see all installed applications from the selector at the bottom of this menu. 6 Dock Launch your favourite applications from…

We made a big deal last issue of the fact that 32-bit PC users won’t be able to enjoy this new release. There’s no upgrade path from 32-bit 18.04, as there was from 16.04 – the last LTS to offer a 32-bit install medium. And that’s a bit of a shame because it’s great. But those users can continue to use 18.04 for another three years, so no need to panic yet. Also gone from the default install is Python 2, and the vast majority of packages in the repositories have been upgraded to use Python 3. The older version reached end-of-life at the start of this year, but the package is still available for the few projects that still rely on it. Finally, a small thing, but one that…

Let’s change tack and talk about software, because the majority of the world’s servers and virtual machines do run Linux. But why? This sounds like a contradiction, but it’s not because the software is free (technically, yes it is, but it costs to deploy and support it). It’s because the software has been freed under the GNU GPL (General Public License). Back in the day, Microsoft required a Windows licence for every physical processor in a system. Think about that for a moment. For your single-core desktop, who cares? But even modest workstations had dual CPUs. And what about enterprises that run warehouse-sized server installations? Even worse, what do you do if you want to spin up infinities of virtual hosts on the fly? The open licence nature of Linux,…

The Raspberry Pi Camera Module is one of those add-ons that we love to play with. Creating images and videos using a Pi in real time is still mind blowing for most, but the two previous first-party camera modules have suffered with a fixed focus lens – albeit one of good quality – and fragile construction. Enter the Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera, a new module that ups the image quality with a new 12MP sensor and supports interchangeable lenses and tripod-mounting. The module is larger and, at £50 without any of the required lenses, quite a bit more expensive than prior models. However, the increased resolution and flexibility make it a great choice for photography-intensive projects. A 12.3 megapixel Sony IMX477R sensor offers significantly more pixels than the 8MP…

A deep-dive into Pi networking solutions resulted in this tutorial. The goal was to uncover a Pi configuration that would enable the routing of network traffic from a wired network to a wireless network. The aim is to build a network router using a Raspberry Pi. The Pi router would be responsible for moving network traffic between a wired Ethernet network and a wireless Wi-Fi network. The Ethernet network is a local area network (LAN) with hosts (PCs) connected. The Wi-Fi connects to a larger network via a network access point (AP). A router is required to move traffic between the two networks. We’re going to build that routing device while exploring the network theory. Strap in, people! The Pi router will use a number of networking services. The LAN…

Known to be over 1,200 years old, chess remains a key test of strategy, mental ability, computational power and is generally a good way of passing the time. If you can represent an eight by eight grid with suitable symbols for the pieces then you can have a game of chess. So why not play chess in your terminal? While we wait for Jonni to write something far more engaging and informative on how to have fun with chess and open source, we’ll have to make do with the slim pickings we can squeeze into these two pages. Partly this was all kicked off by stumbling across a dreadfully written bespoke open source chess game, which had some ginormous fixed-state machine built from an unfathomable number of nested if statements.…

Version: 1.1.1 Web: https://github.com/AdnanHodzic/auto-cpufreq People who run Linux on laptops realise the importance of optimisations that help to manage battery usage and power states. Back in LXF250 we reviewed two Hotpicks that brought a lot of relief to such Linux installations: TLP and Ananicy. However, we’re always looking for ways to make things even better for our readers, so here is another deserving OSS Hotpick for your laptop: Auto-cpufreq. This is a small set of Bash and Python scripts that enable the ‘performance’ CPU governor when the power cable is plugged in, and switch to ‘powersave’ when the battery is discharging. So far, so not very innovative – TLP works in a similar manner – but Autocpufreq doesn’t stop there. In addition to switching governors, this tool considers more conditions.…

Version: 1.2.0 Web: https://github.com/fangfufu/httpdirfs There are many ways of publishing a local file system directory as a web page using different types of web servers. However, the reverse action is less known about, although it’s also often requested. What we mean is mounting a remote host as a local file system, which can be done in seconds with a help of the marvellous Httpdirfs tool. This small piece of software supports any URLs that point to file and directory listings, such as typical web-hosted pages with Linux ISO downloads or various lists of publicly available tar.gz of open source software. Httpdirfs turns in a stunning performance thanks to its multi-threaded mode for FUSE and Curl that it runs under the bonnet. What’s more, this tool enables permanent caching of everything…

Version: 1.10.0 Web: www.openttd.org Few Linux games can change your life dramatically, but OpenTTD surely can. This old-school transport simulation game still looks very 90s, which makes sense when you realise it’s an open source recreation of Transport Tycoon Deluxe from 1994. And it’s a game that can suck hours out of your day (in the nicest possible sense). In OpenTTD, you manage and direct a company that earns money from transferring cargo or people, and it’s up to you to decide what types of vehicles you’ll use for that task. As such, there are lots of gaming scenarios. You can pick buses, trams, trucks, trains, ships, aeroplanes and make money by delivering passengers, mail, goods, or setting up industrial supply chains. The OpenTTD fan community is huge, and perhaps…

Were we to conduct a poll, asking for the identity of the first ever electronic computer, we’d get a diverse range of responses. Colossus, as created for code-breaking at Bletchley Park in England, would surely get a look-in. It probably was the world’s first programmable electronic computer, but it wasn’t universal since it was designed for specific tasks. On the other side of the pond, ENIAC, which was developed at the University of Pennsylvania, is another strong contender. Unlike Colossus, it was universal, but it was programmed by switches, dials and patch leads. While both of these pioneering machines were firsts in their own ways, there’s little doubt about the identity of the machine that paved the way for the information revolution that took place during the second half of…