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100 Articles

Jonni Bidwell The records tell of a rogue who, masquerading as a GCC packager, managed to sneak an arcane stanza into the source. The result was that whenever a certain string was input to any program compiled by this tainted GCC including new versions of GCC)… ah well, that would be telling! Nick Peers I’m perfectly happy to compile stuff from source so long as the instructions are clear and legible so I don’t have to think too hard about it. However, if an up-to-date snap, flatpak or AppImage exists, I’ll always take the lazy option and choose that. Les Pounder I don’t compile much from source: a project found on GitHub, or an emulator for an old computer. The last serious project I compiled from source was before the release of the Raspberry Pi…

Jonni Bidwell The records tell of a rogue who, masquerading as a GCC packager, managed to sneak an arcane stanza into the source. The result was that whenever a certain string was input to any program compiled by this tainted GCC including new versions of GCC)… ah well, that would be telling! Nick Peers I’m perfectly happy to compile stuff from source so long as the instructions are clear and legible so I don’t have to think too hard about it. However, if an up-to-date snap, flatpak or AppImage exists, I’ll always take the lazy option and choose that. Les Pounder I don’t compile much from source: a project found on GitHub, or an emulator for an old computer. The last serious project I compiled from source was before the…

Kernel of truth

Compiling the kernel from source was always a key moment in many Unix courses. After all, there was a time when everyone who wanted to seriously learn how to admin a system would need to learn this skill. Not that it’s that complex a thing to do – you just need the right files, tools and a modicum of time. Rightly so, modern Linux distros have neatly hidden away this complexity with just outliers such as Gentoo (see LXF276) or Linux from Scratch (see page 48) requiring this step. As always, getting your hands dirty with such things is a fantastic learning experience. And Jonni’s here to step you through the process. He reveals everything you need to know about building your own kernel, the benefits and tweaks you can…

Kernel of truth

Kernel of truth

Compiling the kernel from source was always a key moment in many Unix courses. After all, there was a time when everyone who wanted to seriously learn how to admin a system would need to learn this skill. Not that it’s that complex a thing to do – you just need the right files, tools and a modicum of time. Rightly so, modern Linux distros have neatly hidden away this complexity with just outliers such as Gentoo (see LXF276) or Linux from Scratch (see page 48) requiring this step. As always, getting your hands dirty with such things is a fantastic learning experience. And Jonni’s here to step you through the process. He reveals everything you need to know about building your own kernel, the benefits and tweaks you can make,…

Kernel of truth

Linux malware grows by 35%

THIS ISSUE: Upsurge of Linux malware Polkit exploit highlighted Governments target privacy Framework’s firmware open sourced During 2021 malware targeting Linux devices increased by 35 per cent. The majority of malware instances involved IoT (Internet of Things) devices caught up in DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks. IoT devices encompass a range of gadgets. Many of them are internet-connected and run some form of Linux distribution. People who buy a smart fridge, for example, may not know the security implications, which makes them attractive targets for hackers looking to create DDoS attacks, as they ‘recruit’ a large number of low-powered devices to perform such attacks. According to a Crowdstrike report (https://bit.ly/lxf287crowdstrike), XorDDoS, Mirai and Mozi malware were involved in over 22 per cent of Linux threats in 2021, and there…

Linux malware grows by 35%

Linux malware grows by 35%

THIS ISSUE: Upsurge of Linux malware Polkit exploit highlighted Governments target privacy Framework’s firmware open sourced During 2021 malware targeting Linux devices increased by 35 per cent. The majority of malware instances involved IoT (Internet of Things) devices caught up in DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks. IoT devices encompass a range of gadgets. Many of them are internet-connected and run some form of Linux distribution. People who buy a smart fridge, for example, may not know the security implications, which makes them attractive targets for hackers looking to create DDoS attacks, as they ‘recruit’ a large number of low-powered devices to perform such attacks. According to a Crowdstrike report (https://bit.ly/lxf287crowdstrike), XorDDoS, Mirai and Mozi malware were involved in over 22 per cent of Linux threats in 2021, and there were 10 times…

Linux malware grows by 35%

Major Linux exploit found

A serious new vulnerability has been found in polkit’s pkexec application, which is installed by default in many Linux distros. Due to its popularity, and the fact that it’s used to control system-wide privileges, the vulnerability has resulted in a major security issue for millions of Linux systems. Its discovery by researchers at Qualys (you can read the announcement at https://bit.ly/lxf287qualys) has got a lot of people concerned, with US National Security Agency (NSA) cybersecurity director Rob Joyce writing on Twitter (https://bit.ly/lxf287tweet) that the vulnerability “has me concerned. Easy and reliable privilege escalation preinstalled on every major Linux distribution.” According to researchers, this vulnerability has been included since the first release of pkexec in May 2009, and any local user can exploit this vulnerability to obtain full root privileges. It…

Major Linux exploit found

Major Linux exploit found

A serious new vulnerability has been found in polkit’s pkexec application, which is installed by default in many Linux distros. Due to its popularity, and the fact that it’s used to control system-wide privileges, the vulnerability has resulted in a major security issue for millions of Linux systems. Its discovery by researchers at Qualys (you can read the announcement at https://bit.ly/lxf287qualys) has got a lot of people concerned, with US National Security Agency (NSA) cybersecurity director Rob Joyce writing on Twitter (https://bit.ly/lxf287tweet) that the vulnerability “has me concerned. Easy and reliable privilege escalation preinstalled on every major Linux distribution.” According to researchers, this vulnerability has been included since the first release of pkexec in May 2009, and any local user can exploit this vulnerability to obtain full root privileges. It didn’t take…

Major Linux exploit found

US government wants your messages

Senators in the US are once again pushing for the EARN IT act to be made law. If passed, the act would bring in sweeping internet regulations that some fear would give third-party companies and the government access to the private messages of civilians. It could even lead to penalties for companies that offer end-to-end encryption, which would affect messaging services like WhatsApp, Signal and iMessage. The EARN IT act also focuses on Amazon, with creators of the act accusing the company of not properly scanning content it hosts on Amazon Web Services. With many websites using AWS, this could mean that large swathes of the internet are scanned by governmentapproved software such as PhotoDNA, which integrates with law enforcement databases. The Electronic Frontier Foundation explains the act at https://bit.ly/lxf287earnit.…

US government wants your messages

Senators in the US are once again pushing for the EARN IT act to be made law. If passed, the act would bring in sweeping internet regulations that some fear would give third-party companies and the government access to the private messages of civilians. It could even lead to penalties for companies that offer end-to-end encryption, which would affect messaging services like WhatsApp, Signal and iMessage. The EARN IT act also focuses on Amazon, with creators of the act accusing the company of not properly scanning content it hosts on Amazon Web Services. With many websites using AWS, this could mean that large swathes of the internet are scanned by governmentapproved software such as PhotoDNA, which integrates with law enforcement databases. The Electronic Frontier Foundation explains the act at https://bit.ly/lxf287earnit. The bill…

Michael Meeks is general manager at Collabora Productivity Collabora Online (COOL) 21.11 has arrived. It packs online collaborative document-editing goodness into an easy-to-obtain update. We packed another year of rendering and interoperability development into the LibreOffice Technology core. COOL itself brings a swathe of UX improvements. One piece I worked on is performance: profiling and optimising our client-side Javascript to make the experience slick and smooth. Previously, we thought any interaction issues were caused by network latency or by excessive server-side work. However, after doing end-toend profiling we found the browser was the primary culprit. After persuading it not to re-render the DOM on each web-socket message we got a big step-change in slickness. Other big wins were background document saving, accelerated multiuser editing, and a mature diagramming component. Another…

Michael Meeks is general manager at Collabora Productivity Collabora Online (COOL) 21.11 has arrived. It packs online collaborative document-editing goodness into an easy-to-obtain update. We packed another year of rendering and interoperability development into the LibreOffice Technology core. COOL itself brings a swathe of UX improvements. One piece I worked on is performance: profiling and optimising our client-side Javascript to make the experience slick and smooth. Previously, we thought any interaction issues were caused by network latency or by excessive server-side work. However, after doing end-toend profiling we found the browser was the primary culprit. After persuading it not to re-render the DOM on each web-socket message we got a big step-change in slickness. Other big wins were background document saving, accelerated multiuser editing, and a mature diagramming component. Another improvement was exposing…

OPINION OLD AND UNTRUSTED

Keith Edmunds is MD of Tiger Computing Ltd, which provides support for businesses using Linux. It’s mostly a straightforward task to find out what software powers a web server. A simple examination of the returned headers will often display the version of Apache, and frequently the version of PHP, too. A well-known site that I recently looked at was running Apache 2.2 and PHP 5.4. The headers gave the exact versions, but we don’t need them. The Apache website states that, “No further evaluation of security risks will be published for 2.2.x releases” after December 2017. As for PHP, even the most recent version of 5.4, 5.4.45, was released over six years ago, with security support ending at the same time. This website is a high profile e-commerce site, and…

OPINION OLD AND UNTRUSTED

OPINION OLD AND UNTRUSTED

Keith Edmunds is MD of Tiger Computing Ltd, which provides support for businesses using Linux. It’s mostly a straightforward task to find out what software powers a web server. A simple examination of the returned headers will often display the version of Apache, and frequently the version of PHP, too. A well-known site that I recently looked at was running Apache 2.2 and PHP 5.4. The headers gave the exact versions, but we don’t need them. The Apache website states that, “No further evaluation of security risks will be published for 2.2.x releases” after December 2017. As for PHP, even the most recent version of 5.4, 5.4.45, was released over six years ago, with security support ending at the same time. This website is a high profile e-commerce site, and it’s running software with…

OPINION OLD AND UNTRUSTED

Framework open sources its firmware

Framework’s innovative laptop, which comes with a modular design that enables you to swap out and replace various parts, now has open source firmware. As Framework announced in a blog post (https://bit.ly/lxf287framework), the team has published its Embedded Controller (EC) firmware for the Framework Laptop on GitHub (see https://bit.ly/lxf287embeddedcontroller), which is based on the chromium-ec EC firmware created by Google for Chromebooks. Framework’s firmware is shared under the BSD 3-clause license that enables anyone to modify, share and repurpose the code. The firmware covers how the laptop handles lowlevel functionality, according to the Framework team, such as “power sequencing, keyboard and touchpad interfacing, and controlling the LEDs in the system.” It’s great to see Framework open source its firmware, making its laptop a more attractive purchase for many people. Since its launch, the…

Framework open sources its firmware

Framework open sources its firmware

Framework’s innovative laptop, which comes with a modular design that enables you to swap out and replace various parts, now has open source firmware. As Framework announced in a blog post (https://bit.ly/lxf287framework), the team has published its Embedded Controller (EC) firmware for the Framework Laptop on GitHub (see https://bit.ly/lxf287embeddedcontroller), which is based on the chromium-ec EC firmware created by Google for Chromebooks. Framework’s firmware is shared under the BSD 3-clause license that enables anyone to modify, share and repurpose the code. The firmware covers how the laptop handles lowlevel functionality, according to the Framework team, such as “power sequencing, keyboard and touchpad interfacing, and controlling the LEDs in the system.” It’s great to see Framework open source its firmware, making its laptop a more attractive purchase for many people. Since…

Framework open sources its firmware

FreeCAD Project Association formed

A major milestone has been passed for FreeCAD development, with the nonprofit FreeCAD Project Association (https://bit.ly/lxf287fpa) being set up in Belgium. The aim of the association is to protect FreeCAD’s existence as a free, community-owned project, and will help raise funds and act as an official body. It won’t be used to rule over or own FreeCAD, but to help communicate with other projects and third parties. FreeCAD (https://freecad.org) is an opensource 3D modeller, primarily used for designing real-life products and objects. It’s a popular free alternative to AutoCAD for architects, and the formation of this association has been warmly received by its users.…

FreeCAD Project Association formed

FreeCAD Project Association formed

A major milestone has been passed for FreeCAD development, with the nonprofit FreeCAD Project Association (https://bit.ly/lxf287fpa) being set up in Belgium. The aim of the association is to protect FreeCAD’s existence as a free, community-owned project, and will help raise funds and act as an official body. It won’t be used to rule over or own FreeCAD, but to help communicate with other projects and third parties. FreeCAD (https://freecad.org) is an opensource 3D modeller, primarily used for designing real-life products and objects. It’s a popular free alternative to AutoCAD for architects, and the formation of this association has been warmly received by its users.…

FreeCAD Project Association formed

LibreOffice 7.3 Community now out

The Document Foundation (TDF) has announced a new version of LibreOffice (https://bit.ly/lxf287tdfblog). LibreOffice 7.3 Community brings a number of new features and fixes that are primarily aimed at making the switch from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice much smoother for new users. Interoperability between the suites has been improved, including the performance of LibreOffice when importing Office files, such as .doc, .docx and .xlsx. Change tracking has been changed to better work with Microsoft docs, and LibreOffice’s Help tool has been improved, and again focuses on making the software as welcoming as possible to ex-Office users. According to The Document Foundation’s blog post, LibreOffice 7.3 Community’s new features were developed by 147 contributors, while 641 volunteers have helped create localisations for 155 languages – and the latest version launched in 120…

LibreOffice 7.3 Community now out

The Document Foundation (TDF) has announced a new version of LibreOffice (https://bit.ly/lxf287tdfblog). LibreOffice 7.3 Community brings a number of new features and fixes that are primarily aimed at making the switch from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice much smoother for new users. Interoperability between the suites has been improved, including the performance of LibreOffice when importing Office files, such as .doc, .docx and .xlsx. Change tracking has been changed to better work with Microsoft docs, and LibreOffice’s Help tool has been improved, and again focuses on making the software as welcoming as possible to ex-Office users. According to The Document Foundation’s blog post, LibreOffice 7.3 Community’s new features were developed by 147 contributors, while 641 volunteers have helped create localisations for 155 languages – and the latest version launched in 120 language versions,…

ABSOLUTE LINUX 15.0 Based on Slackware Linux, this distro now has a new version available to download. Absolute Linux 15.0 comes with the IceWM window manager, LibreOffice 7.3 and other popular applications. As the release announcement states (which you can read at https://bit.ly/lxf287absolutelinux), this release is “still rocksolid. Still without systemd,” and will run on “modest” hardware. It’s worth noting, however, that unlike Slackware, Absolute Linux is 64-bit only. PEPPERMINT OS 2022-02-02 Peppermint OS has a new release – the first for over two years. Focusing on being as user-friendly as possible, Peppermint OS 2022-02-02 is now based on Debian 11, and comes with the Xfce desktop environment. It also introduces a new Welcome to Peppermint tool that offers you a choice of software to help customise the distro and…

ABSOLUTE LINUX 15.0 Based on Slackware Linux, this distro now has a new version available to download. Absolute Linux 15.0 comes with the IceWM window manager, LibreOffice 7.3 and other popular applications. As the release announcement states (which you can read at https://bit.ly/lxf287absolutelinux), this release is “still rocksolid. Still without systemd,” and will run on “modest” hardware. It’s worth noting, however, that unlike Slackware, Absolute Linux is 64-bit only. PEPPERMINT OS 2022-02-02 Peppermint OS has a new release – the first for over two years. Focusing on being as user-friendly as possible, Peppermint OS 2022-02-02 is now based on Debian 11, and comes with the Xfce desktop environment. It also introduces a new Welcome to Peppermint tool that offers you a choice of software to help customise the distro and choose default applications.…

Matt Yonkovit Head of open source strategy and silly hats at Percona Recently, the open source community has seen big questions about security and safety. First, we had Log4j that affected tens of thousands of applications. Then two widely used Javascript libraries – colors and faker – were sabotaged by the maintainer responsible for them. He claimed he was tired of other companies profiting from his work. Over the past 20 years, a common argument against open source has been that you can’t trust it. The argument goes: “Open source is not maintained by a single entity. Malicious things can make it into the source code. Do you really trust the creators?” This was rekindled when University of Minnesota researchers submitted Linux patches with defective code to see if they would get…

Matt Yonkovit Head of open source strategy and silly hats at Percona Recently, the open source community has seen big questions about security and safety. First, we had Log4j that affected tens of thousands of applications. Then two widely used Javascript libraries – colors and faker – were sabotaged by the maintainer responsible for them. He claimed he was tired of other companies profiting from his work. Over the past 20 years, a common argument against open source has been that you can’t trust it. The argument goes: “Open source is not maintained by a single entity. Malicious things can make it into the source code. Do you really trust the creators?” This was rekindled when University of Minnesota researchers submitted Linux patches with defective code to see if they…

MEASURE THE PULSE

Jon Masters has been involved with Linux for more than 22 years. I enjoy following technical discussions on Twitter. In the pandemic era, when we can’t meet up so easily at conferences, this is a good way to keep in casual contact with a number of folks, as well as to gauge the “pulse” of what’s happening in the broader community, beyond the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), or any one specific Linux distro or project list. There are many talented folks who you can interact with directly, including numerous developers. One of those I enjoy following is Alyssa Rosenzweig. She’s perhaps most famous for her work leading the Panfrost project, which develops Open Source drivers for Arm’s Mali GPUs (used in many phones and other devices, but with a proprietary closed…

MEASURE THE PULSE

MEASURE THE PULSE

Jon Masters has been involved with Linux for more than 22 years. I enjoy following technical discussions on Twitter. In the pandemic era, when we can’t meet up so easily at conferences, this is a good way to keep in casual contact with a number of folks, as well as to gauge the “pulse” of what’s happening in the broader community, beyond the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), or any one specific Linux distro or project list. There are many talented folks who you can interact with directly, including numerous developers. One of those I enjoy following is Alyssa Rosenzweig. She’s perhaps most famous for her work leading the Panfrost project, which develops Open Source drivers for Arm’s Mali GPUs (used in many phones and other devices, but with a…

MEASURE THE PULSE

Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux 5.17-rc4 (Release Candidate 4). The RC was named Superb Owl in honour of the US Super Bowl annual American Football game, which is often misspelt. The name is meaningless as far as the kernel is concerned, and is only referenced in a single place, but Linus does like to use it for running gags. There was recent coverage on the Hacker News website claiming 5.17-rc2 had been released as I Am Satoshi (a reference to the anonymous Bitcoin creator). That turned out to be a fake joke commit by kernel developer Matthew Garrett (@mjg59) that, thanks to a GitHub quirk, could be confused as coming from an official clone of Linus’s tree. That Polkit vulnerability Another month, another security vulnerability. This month’s fun…

Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux 5.17-rc4 (Release Candidate 4). The RC was named Superb Owl in honour of the US Super Bowl annual American Football game, which is often misspelt. The name is meaningless as far as the kernel is concerned, and is only referenced in a single place, but Linus does like to use it for running gags. There was recent coverage on the Hacker News website claiming 5.17-rc2 had been released as I Am Satoshi (a reference to the anonymous Bitcoin creator). That turned out to be a fake joke commit by kernel developer Matthew Garrett (@mjg59) that, thanks to a GitHub quirk, could be confused as coming from an official clone of Linus’s tree. That Polkit vulnerability Another month, another security vulnerability. This month’s fun comes in the…

Neil Bothwick likes turning readers’ woes into wins! Q Prickly display issue Is there something I can use to collect all my LAN data/network/disk space information into a dashboard? I have several computers running (including virtual machines) and I want to send their data to a dedicated server that will show me all the information on one screen. Derrick Long A There are a number of ways of collecting this information, depending on what you want to do with it. Based on your brief description of your needs, Cacti (www.cacti.net) would seem to be a good fit. Cacti is a web application, so you’ll need a web server such as Apache installed on one computer on your network, then install Cacti on that. This can be done by downloading a…

Neil Bothwick likes turning readers’ woes into wins! Q Prickly display issue Is there something I can use to collect all my LAN data/network/disk space information into a dashboard? I have several computers running (including virtual machines) and I want to send their data to a dedicated server that will show me all the information on one screen. Derrick Long A There are a number of ways of collecting this information, depending on what you want to do with it. Based on your brief description of your needs, Cacti (www.cacti.net) would seem to be a good fit. Cacti is a web application, so you’ll need a web server such as Apache installed on one computer on your network, then install Cacti on that. This can be done by downloading a tarball from the web…

WRITE TO US Do you have a burning Linuxrelated issue that you want to discuss? Write to us at Linux Format, Future Publishing, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA or email lxf.letters@ futurenet.com. Fire them all! I’m writing in about Nick Peers’ article, which appeared in LXF283, December 2021. He discussed PDF editing and mentions opening a PDF using the document viewer Evince. Unfortunately, Evince will not always display a PDF correctly. PDFs generated using Microsoft Office Word (I presume that was the program which Nick used) aren’t always displayed correctly. Master PDF Editor does display any PDFs correctly and if opened in LibreOffice Draw and then exported, the file will now display correctly in Evince. As for filling in forms, Master PDF Editor can do it but it’ll usually be easier using LibreOffice Draw…

WRITE TO US Do you have a burning Linuxrelated issue that you want to discuss? Write to us at Linux Format, Future Publishing, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA or email lxf.letters@ futurenet.com. Fire them all! I’m writing in about Nick Peers’ article, which appeared in LXF283, December 2021. He discussed PDF editing and mentions opening a PDF using the document viewer Evince. Unfortunately, Evince will not always display a PDF correctly. PDFs generated using Microsoft Office Word (I presume that was the program which Nick used) aren’t always displayed correctly. Master PDF Editor does display any PDFs correctly and if opened in LibreOffice Draw and then exported, the file will now display correctly in Evince. As for filling in forms, Master PDF Editor can do it but it’ll…

LETTER OF THE MONTH

Get creative? I would like to know if your organisation prints a magazine dedicated solely to open source multimedia for artists who are using the full suite of creative software such as Inkscape, GIMP, Krita, Blender, OpenShot, Audacity and GDevelop and anything that’s relevant individually or in combination, much like computer arts. In other words, everything open source can offer an independent artist, graphic designer, games programmer/developer, photographer, film maker and special effects including music that the modern art environment now demands. I find that the content of Linux Format is just too general for my interests and only ever occasionally throws a few crumbs aimed specifically at the open source multimedia artist. Otilia Chanetsa Neil says… I’d love to cover more creative elements, but the remit of the magazine…

LETTER OF THE MONTH

LETTER OF THE MONTH

Get creative? I would like to know if your organisation prints a magazine dedicated solely to open source multimedia for artists who are using the full suite of creative software such as Inkscape, GIMP, Krita, Blender, OpenShot, Audacity and GDevelop and anything that’s relevant individually or in combination, much like computer arts. In other words, everything open source can offer an independent artist, graphic designer, games programmer/developer, photographer, film maker and special effects including music that the modern art environment now demands. I find that the content of Linux Format is just too general for my interests and only ever occasionally throws a few crumbs aimed specifically at the open source multimedia artist. Otilia Chanetsa Neil says… I’d love to cover more creative elements, but the remit of the magazine is really on the technical aspect…

LETTER OF THE MONTH

SUBSCRIBE Sign up today and get your PowerKick wireless charger

YOUR GIFT! WORTH £50 Don’t miss out, subscribe now! Product features » The PowerKick wireless power bank delivers functionality and convenience. Its clever suction cups secure the charger to a smartphone or other device while charging. » The built-in kickstand props the device up in either landscape mode for video viewing or portrait mode for video conferencing, all while charging. » Indicator lights provide information on the status of device charging, as well as the current charge of the 10,000mAh lithium polymer battery. SUBSCRIBE NOW! www.magazinesdirect.com/lin/a26b Call 0330 333 1113 and quote A26B DON’T MISS! Includes 5 years of Linux User & Developer issues PLUS: Exclusive access1 to the Linux Format subs area! 1,000s of DRM-free PDF back issues and articles! Get instant access back to issue 66 (May 2005)…

SUBSCRIBE Sign up today and get your PowerKick wireless charger

SUBSCRIBE Sign up today and get your PowerKick wireless charger

YOUR GIFT! WORTH £50 Don’t miss out, subscribe now! Product features » The PowerKick wireless power bank delivers functionality and convenience. Its clever suction cups secure the charger to a smartphone or other device while charging. » The built-in kickstand props the device up in either landscape mode for video viewing or portrait mode for video conferencing, all while charging. » Indicator lights provide information on the status of device charging, as well as the current charge of the 10,000mAh lithium polymer battery. SUBSCRIBE NOW! www.magazinesdirect.com/lin/a26b Call 0330 333 1113 and quote A26B DON’T MISS! Includes 5 years of Linux User & Developer issues PLUS: Exclusive access1 to the Linux Format subs area! 1,000s of DRM-free PDF back issues and articles! Get instant access back to issue 66 (May 2005) with tutorials, interviews, features and reviews. At linuxformat.com CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE! NOT FROM THE UK? Turn…

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Intel Core i5 12400

SPECS Socket: LGA1700 Process: Intel 7 10nm Cores (P+E): 6 + 0 Threads: 12 Cache: 18MB L3, 7.5MB L2, 480KB L1 Clock: 2.5GHz (4.4GHz turbo) Unlocked: Complicated GPU: UHD Graphics 730, 24 EU, 300MHz (1.45GHz Max), OpenGL 4.5, OpenCL 2.1 Memory: 128GB max, No ECC, 2-channel Memory speed: DDR5 4800MT/s, DDR4 3200MT/s PCIe lanes: 20 (16+4, 2x8+4) Base power: 65W Max power: 117W The easy approach to this review would be to dismiss the Intel Core i5 12400 as one of the leastinteresting processors from the 12th Gen Alder Lake generation of CPUs. Yet if we did that, we’d be dismissing one of the best mainstream chips ever made. The first clue is the Alder Lake silicon goodness beneath that broad heatspreader, but there are no hybrid cores here. Instead, it’s packing six of Intel’s Performance Core; Efficient cores are nowhere to be seen. This…

Intel Core i5 12400

ArchLabs 2022.02.12

IN BRIEF Originally inspired by BunsenLabs, the distro began to bring over the concepts of the popular minimalist Debian-based distro on top of an Arch base. However, over the years the distro has changed considerably and is best described as a Arch distro for the experienced Linux user. SPECS CPU: 1.4GHz Mem: 1GB HDD: 15GB Build: 64-bit only Over the years, the ArchLabs distro has deviated considerably from its origins. It now suits users who want to exploit Arch’s famed customisability to build their installation from scratch, but with some added conveniences to minimise the time it takes to deploy a pure Arch system. ArchLabs caters to users who aren’t afraid of the command line, but want to run a desktop distro without spending a lot of time to compile everything from scratch. Unlike some of the other…

ArchLabs 2022.02.12

Intel Core i5 12400

SPECS Socket: LGA1700 Process: Intel 7 10nm Cores (P+E): 6 + 0 Threads: 12 Cache: 18MB L3, 7.5MB L2, 480KB L1 Clock: 2.5GHz (4.4GHz turbo) Unlocked: Complicated GPU: UHD Graphics 730, 24 EU, 300MHz (1.45GHz Max), OpenGL 4.5, OpenCL 2.1 Memory: 128GB max, No ECC, 2-channel Memory speed: DDR5 4800MT/s, DDR4 3200MT/s PCIe lanes: 20 (16+4, 2x8+4) Base power: 65W Max power: 117W The easy approach to this review would be to dismiss the Intel Core i5 12400 as one of the leastinteresting processors from the 12th Gen Alder Lake generation of CPUs. Yet if we did that, we’d be dismissing one of the best mainstream chips ever made. The first clue is the Alder Lake silicon goodness beneath that broad heatspreader, but there are no hybrid cores here. Instead,…

Intel Core i5 12400

ArchLabs 2022.02.12

IN BRIEF Originally inspired by BunsenLabs, the distro began to bring over the concepts of the popular minimalist Debian-based distro on top of an Arch base. However, over the years the distro has changed considerably and is best described as a Arch distro for the experienced Linux user. SPECS CPU: 1.4GHz Mem: 1GB HDD: 15GB Build: 64-bit only Over the years, the ArchLabs distro has deviated considerably from its origins. It now suits users who want to exploit Arch’s famed customisability to build their installation from scratch, but with some added conveniences to minimise the time it takes to deploy a pure Arch system. ArchLabs caters to users who aren’t afraid of the command line, but want to run a desktop distro without spending a lot of time to compile…

ArchLabs 2022.02.12

IN BRIEF As its name states, the UBOS distro is designed to put you in charge. An Arch derivative, the distro simplifies the rollout and management of popular web tools. The distro is available for 64-bit PCs, all editions of the Raspberry Pi including the Zero, as well as virtual machines, containers, and cloud. UBOS is a distro that helps reduce the amount of time required to set up and maintain common network programs and services. Essentially, UBOS automates much of the administration, reducing actions such as deploying complete web tools, securing the connection with SSL certificates and more, down to a single command. You can use the distro on a variety of physical, virtual and cloud hardware. Deploying it is as simple as uncompressing the downloaded image for the target platform, and…

IN BRIEF Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding and had its first release almost three decades back, in 1993. This makes the distro one of the two oldest Linux distros that are still actively maintained, with the other being Debian. They say, “If you want to learn Debian, use Debian. If you want to learn Fedora, use Fedora. But if you want to learn Linux, use Slackware.” This still holds true. One of the unique aspects that differentiates Slackware from the other distros is its glacial pace. Even as the distro is actively developed behind the scenes, it doesn’t put out releases as often as some of the current crop. So while most modern distros, such as Ubuntu and Fedora, release every six months or so, Slackware follows the “release when it’s ready”…

IN BRIEF As its name states, the UBOS distro is designed to put you in charge. An Arch derivative, the distro simplifies the rollout and management of popular web tools. The distro is available for 64-bit PCs, all editions of the Raspberry Pi including the Zero, as well as virtual machines, containers, and cloud. UBOS is a distro that helps reduce the amount of time required to set up and maintain common network programs and services. Essentially, UBOS automates much of the administration, reducing actions such as deploying complete web tools, securing the connection with SSL certificates and more, down to a single command. You can use the distro on a variety of physical, virtual and cloud hardware. Deploying it is as simple as uncompressing the downloaded image for the…

IN BRIEF Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding and had its first release almost three decades back, in 1993. This makes the distro one of the two oldest Linux distros that are still actively maintained, with the other being Debian. They say, “If you want to learn Debian, use Debian. If you want to learn Fedora, use Fedora. But if you want to learn Linux, use Slackware.” This still holds true. One of the unique aspects that differentiates Slackware from the other distros is its glacial pace. Even as the distro is actively developed behind the scenes, it doesn’t put out releases as often as some of the current crop. So while most modern distros, such as Ubuntu and Fedora, release every six months or so, Slackware follows the “release…

Valve Steam Deck

SPECS CPU: AMD Zen 2, 2.4–3.5GHz Core: four cores, eight threads GPU: AMD RDNA 2, 1–1.6GHz GPU units: Eight RAM: 16GB LPDDR5, 32-bit quad-channel Storage: 64GB eMMC, 256GB NVMe, 512GB NVMe Display: 7-inch LCD touchscreen, 1,280x800, 60Hz Audio: Stereo speakers, 3.5mm jack, dual mics Comms: Wi-Fi 2.4/5GHz 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C (DisplayPort 1.4 support), microSD UHS-I Battery: 40Whr Size: 298x117x 49mm Weight: 669g The Steam Deck isn’t just a games console. It’s a PC, which means you can plug it into a monitor or TV, hook up controllers or a mouse and keyboard, install Linux or even Windows if you prefer. As with any PC, you can use launchers other than Steam and even take it apart if you want to. But the Steam Deck has some unique features that give it a more streamlined, console-like experience. The new version of…

Valve Steam Deck

Ubuntu alternatives

Pop!_OS 21.10 Mint 20.2 Cinnamon Bodhi Linux 6.0.0 Lubuntu 21.10 Zorin OS 16 Core R4 Michael Reed likes all of his alternatives to be as alternative as possible. HOW WE TESTED… Having installed each distribution, it was time to start playing around. This consisted of using the distribution for a while to carry out typical desktop computer tasks such as browsing the web and running software such LibreOffice. We also tried installing some software using the package management facilities of the distribution, noting any difficulties along the way. In addition to the standard desktop computer tests, we loaded each of the distributions up on an old laptop fitted with 2GB of RAM and a 1.66GHz single core hyperthreaded CPU, because we were curious to look for problems when the system is really under strain.…

Ubuntu alternatives

Valve Steam Deck

SPECS CPU: AMD Zen 2, 2.4–3.5GHz Core: four cores, eight threads GPU: AMD RDNA 2, 1–1.6GHz GPU units: Eight RAM: 16GB LPDDR5, 32-bit quad-channel Storage: 64GB eMMC, 256GB NVMe, 512GB NVMe Display: 7-inch LCD touchscreen, 1,280x800, 60Hz Audio: Stereo speakers, 3.5mm jack, dual mics Comms: Wi-Fi 2.4/5GHz 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C (DisplayPort 1.4 support), microSD UHS-I Battery: 40Whr Size: 298x117x 49mm Weight: 669g The Steam Deck isn’t just a games console. It’s a PC, which means you can plug it into a monitor or TV, hook up controllers or a mouse and keyboard, install Linux or even Windows if you prefer. As with any PC, you can use launchers other than Steam and even take it apart if you want to. But the Steam Deck has some…

Valve Steam Deck

Ubuntu alternatives

Pop!_OS 21.10 Mint 20.2 Cinnamon Bodhi Linux 6.0.0 Lubuntu 21.10 Zorin OS 16 Core R4 Michael Reed likes all of his alternatives to be as alternative as possible. HOW WE TESTED… Having installed each distribution, it was time to start playing around. This consisted of using the distribution for a while to carry out typical desktop computer tasks such as browsing the web and running software such LibreOffice. We also tried installing some software using the package management facilities of the distribution, noting any difficulties along the way. In addition to the standard desktop computer tests, we loaded each of the distributions up on an old laptop fitted with 2GB of RAM and a 1.66GHz single core hyperthreaded CPU, because we were curious to look for problems when the system…

Ubuntu alternatives

The default applications

Pop!_OS comes with a slim selection of essential applications for general use such as Firefox as the web browser and Geany as the email client. There are some office applications such as LibreOffice, a USB image writer and a scanner tool. Overall, there’s a GNOME flavour with choices such as Totem video player and Evince document viewer, although this distribution seems to have picked up the odd GNOME habit of giving applications generic names such as Files, Videos and Document Viewer. The Bodhi Linux application selection is stripped down to the essentials with more system-configuration tools than actual applications. Perhaps it could have included a few more extras? The choices are appropriate for a distro that bills itself as lightweight such as Leafpad text editor, Ephoto photo manager and Thunar file…

The default applications

The default applications

Pop!_OS comes with a slim selection of essential applications for general use such as Firefox as the web browser and Geany as the email client. There are some office applications such as LibreOffice, a USB image writer and a scanner tool. Overall, there’s a GNOME flavour with choices such as Totem video player and Evince document viewer, although this distribution seems to have picked up the odd GNOME habit of giving applications generic names such as Files, Videos and Document Viewer. The Bodhi Linux application selection is stripped down to the essentials with more system-configuration tools than actual applications. Perhaps it could have included a few more extras? The choices are appropriate for a distro that bills itself as lightweight such as Leafpad text editor, Ephoto photo manager and Thunar…

The default applications

Install and first run

All of the installation sequences stuck close to the Ubuntu standard. They all offered encryption, but the option was slightly hidden in the case of Bodhi and Zorin OS. Some would prefer to be dumped into the desktop on a first run, but we’ve given points for distros that add some setup hand-holding at this point, particularly if it’s skippable for those who don’t need it. We liked the way that the Pop!_OS installer gave some layout and theme configuration options while installation was in progress along with some tips on the UI. Annoyingly though, the (nonskippable) first-time run greeter repeated some of these questions and information. The Mint Welcome application was a normal-looking application (which we liked) and offered some configuration options. It also popped a reminder about checking for appropriate…

Install and first run

Install and first run

All of the installation sequences stuck close to the Ubuntu standard. They all offered encryption, but the option was slightly hidden in the case of Bodhi and Zorin OS. Some would prefer to be dumped into the desktop on a first run, but we’ve given points for distros that add some setup hand-holding at this point, particularly if it’s skippable for those who don’t need it. We liked the way that the Pop!_OS installer gave some layout and theme configuration options while installation was in progress along with some tips on the UI. Annoyingly though, the (nonskippable) first-time run greeter repeated some of these questions and information. The Mint Welcome application was a normal-looking application (which we liked) and offered some configuration options. It also popped a reminder about checking…

Install and first run

Community and support

What we want to see are the products of a vibrant community such as active forums and a healthy ecosystem of tutorials. Linux Mint has the benefits of being one of the most popular Linux distributions in its own right. Although it ploughs its own furrow to an extent, most fixes that work on Ubuntu still work with Mint, even though you may have to adapt them slightly. The official Linux Mint forum is highly active and has many sections. Mint is well known online, and there are plenty of tutorials to be found without too much effort. The Bodhi website frontpage points users to the official wiki. This is handy because the Moksha is intricate and non-standard. Pop!_OS has an unofficial forum (https://pop-planet.info/forums) that has some activity and where you could probably…

Each of the distributions has its own take on exactly how the desktop works, but they’ve all stuck to a fairly conventional layout. In other words, you should be able to make a guess as to roughly how they all work at first glance. Even though they all have scope to be customised, we’re going to focus on the default setup that each distribution offers, noting how easy it is to make minor changes. When we’re considering the scoring, we want the basic functionality to be fast, smooth and intuitive. Beyond that, we’re looking for added customisations that the developers have made, which improve the user experience and introduce extra features. In each case, if you couldn’t get on with the desktop environment, you could install a different one – this is…

Each of the distributions has its own take on exactly how the desktop works, but they’ve all stuck to a fairly conventional layout. In other words, you should be able to make a guess as to roughly how they all work at first glance. Even though they all have scope to be customised, we’re going to focus on the default setup that each distribution offers, noting how easy it is to make minor changes. When we’re considering the scoring, we want the basic functionality to be fast, smooth and intuitive. Beyond that, we’re looking for added customisations that the developers have made, which improve the user experience and introduce extra features. In each case, if you couldn’t get on with the desktop environment, you could install a different one –…

Included extras

By default, Pop!_OS offers a recovery partition, which is a bootable copy of the installation media. The installer, when run from this environment, can detect the existing Pop!_OS installation and carry out a ‘refresh installation’ to repair any damage when the installation is damaged. In addition, standard Linux software can be run from within it because it’s a live environment. Zorin OS has facilities for installing and running Windows programs on a fresh installation. As such, from the get-go it’s possible to right-click .exe or .msi files and select ’Install Windows Application. You can install WINE on other distros to achieve the same effect, but on Zorin OS this functionality is set up by default and integrated into the user interface and documentation. Zorin OS also includes a custom application called Zorin…

Community and support

What we want to see are the products of a vibrant community such as active forums and a healthy ecosystem of tutorials. Linux Mint has the benefits of being one of the most popular Linux distributions in its own right. Although it ploughs its own furrow to an extent, most fixes that work on Ubuntu still work with Mint, even though you may have to adapt them slightly. The official Linux Mint forum is highly active and has many sections. Mint is well known online, and there are plenty of tutorials to be found without too much effort. The Bodhi website frontpage points users to the official wiki. This is handy because the Moksha is intricate and non-standard. Pop!_OS has an unofficial forum (https://pop-planet.info/forums) that has some activity and where…

Included extras

By default, Pop!_OS offers a recovery partition, which is a bootable copy of the installation media. The installer, when run from this environment, can detect the existing Pop!_OS installation and carry out a ‘refresh installation’ to repair any damage when the installation is damaged. In addition, standard Linux software can be run from within it because it’s a live environment. Zorin OS has facilities for installing and running Windows programs on a fresh installation. As such, from the get-go it’s possible to right-click .exe or .msi files and select ’Install Windows Application. You can install WINE on other distros to achieve the same effect, but on Zorin OS this functionality is set up by default and integrated into the user interface and documentation. Zorin OS also includes a custom application…

Adding software

Although there are many ways to add software to a Linux system, we’re only interested here in the GUI methods that are provided by default by each distribution. Pop!_OS features a custom shop application that uses standard repositories or Flathub as its sources. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include the all-important reviews and ratings of Ubuntu Centre. We like to see distribution developers coming up with original applications, but we’re not sure what extra features the Pop!_Shop adds over the standard Ubuntu software shop. Zorin OS also draws its potential software pool from the standard repositories, Snap and Flathub. This time, the shop application looks like it might be a customised version of the standard Ubuntu shop, but it also lacks the reviews and ratings. Neither Zorin nor Pop!_OS includes a front-end for apt…

Adding software

Adding software

Although there are many ways to add software to a Linux system, we’re only interested here in the GUI methods that are provided by default by each distribution. Pop!_OS features a custom shop application that uses standard repositories or Flathub as its sources. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include the all-important reviews and ratings of Ubuntu Centre. We like to see distribution developers coming up with original applications, but we’re not sure what extra features the Pop!_Shop adds over the standard Ubuntu software shop. Zorin OS also draws its potential software pool from the standard repositories, Snap and Flathub. This time, the shop application looks like it might be a customised version of the standard Ubuntu shop, but it also lacks the reviews and ratings. Neither Zorin nor Pop!_OS includes a front-end…

Adding software

Variants offered

For each distro on test we’re basing our comparison on its main edition, but each one feature has at least one variant. You might only need a single release, but we mark more highly for releases that can cover a number of use cases. You might want to keep the same core distro in different roles, for example. Linux Mint has an upgrade cycle and versioning system that’s detached from the main Ubuntu one, but the releases themselves are based on Ubuntu LTS versions. Linux Mint refers to its variants as ‘editions’, and the main edition is based around the Cinnamon desktop, a feature-packed, modern desktop inspired by the classic GNOME desktop. There’s also an edition based on the MATE desktop, a direct continuation of the GNOME 2.x era desktop. For…

Variants offered

Variants offered

For each distro on test we’re basing our comparison on its main edition, but each one feature has at least one variant. You might only need a single release, but we mark more highly for releases that can cover a number of use cases. You might want to keep the same core distro in different roles, for example. Linux Mint has an upgrade cycle and versioning system that’s detached from the main Ubuntu one, but the releases themselves are based on Ubuntu LTS versions. Linux Mint refers to its variants as ‘editions’, and the main edition is based around the Cinnamon desktop, a feature-packed, modern desktop inspired by the classic GNOME desktop. There’s also an edition based on the MATE desktop, a direct continuation of the GNOME 2.x era desktop.…

Variants offered

The Verdict Ubuntu alternatives

Overall, we were impressed with what we saw. All of the distributions we’ve considered succeed in offering the feel of a customised OS experience rather than a generic Linux build with a standard desktop slapped on top. They all made the standard Ubuntu desktop look a bit stale in comparison while benefiting from the rock-solid underpinning that Ubuntu offers. We’ve decided to make Pop!_OS the overall winner against strong competition. We got on well with the COSMIC desktop environment. It’s bound to be a subjective experience, but the default aesthetic appealed to us, and we felt that the desktop workflow, which can largely be carried out from the keyboard, was fast and efficient. The software selection is slim without being bare-boned, but between the Ubuntu repositories and Flatpak, it should be…

The Verdict Ubuntu alternatives

The Verdict Ubuntu alternatives

Overall, we were impressed with what we saw. All of the distributions we’ve considered succeed in offering the feel of a customised OS experience rather than a generic Linux build with a standard desktop slapped on top. They all made the standard Ubuntu desktop look a bit stale in comparison while benefiting from the rock-solid underpinning that Ubuntu offers. We’ve decided to make Pop!_OS the overall winner against strong competition. We got on well with the COSMIC desktop environment. It’s bound to be a subjective experience, but the default aesthetic appealed to us, and we felt that the desktop workflow, which can largely be carried out from the keyboard, was fast and efficient. The software selection is slim without being bare-boned, but between the Ubuntu repositories and Flatpak, it should…

The Verdict Ubuntu alternatives

BUILD THE KERNEL

Linux, if you want to be annoyingly precise about it, isn’t a complete operating system. It is but a kernel. And like the kernel of a seed pod, it requires all the surrounding bits to be useful. A bootloader can happily load a Linux kernel with no init system specified, and it will just sit there. Without userspace applications (for example, systemd in the first instance) telling the kernel what to do it will simply idle. Yet it has the potential to do anything. The kernel includes everything you would think of as being a low-level component of the operating system, as well as some things you might think belong elsewhere. This includes drivers, filesystems, network protocols, schedulers (process and I/O), memory allocators and all kinds of other treasure. In the early…

BUILD THE KERNEL

BUILD THE KERNEL

Linux, if you want to be annoyingly precise about it, isn’t a complete operating system. It is but a kernel. And like the kernel of a seed pod, it requires all the surrounding bits to be useful. A bootloader can happily load a Linux kernel with no init system specified, and it will just sit there. Without userspace applications (for example, systemd in the first instance) telling the kernel what to do it will simply idle. Yet it has the potential to do anything. The kernel includes everything you would think of as being a low-level component of the operating system, as well as some things you might think belong elsewhere. This includes drivers, filesystems, network protocols, schedulers (process and I/O), memory allocators and all kinds of other treasure. In…

BUILD THE KERNEL

Grasp the kernel basics

When you think of an operating system (OS) it ought to be an umbrella term for the ‘thing’ that’s responsible for everything your computer does after the BIOS/UEFI hands over control to the bootloader. For popular systems such as Windows and macOS it’s easy to lump everything together thusly. There’s no choice of desktops, no option to boot to a (real) command line and no real way to replace core applications (like Explorer and Finder). On Linux it’s clear that things are much more modular. The progression from UEFI to bootloader to kernel to login screen is much more demarkated. If you’re quick you can even identify the moment the kernel hands over to the initialisation system (for example, systemd or runit). Yet it turns out that every operating system…

Grasp the kernel basics

Grasp the kernel basics

When you think of an operating system (OS) it ought to be an umbrella term for the ‘thing’ that’s responsible for everything your computer does after the BIOS/UEFI hands over control to the bootloader. For popular systems such as Windows and macOS it’s easy to lump everything together thusly. There’s no choice of desktops, no option to boot to a (real) command line and no real way to replace core applications (like Explorer and Finder). On Linux it’s clear that things are much more modular. The progression from UEFI to bootloader to kernel to login screen is much more demarkated. If you’re quick you can even identify the moment the kernel hands over to the initialisation system (for example, systemd or runit). Yet it turns out that every operating system…

Grasp the kernel basics

Compiling a kernel

To compile your own kernel using Ubuntu (or any distro that uses Ubuntu kernels, for example Mint, elementary OS, but not Pop!_OS) the first step is to get hold of the kernel sources. The official channel for vanilla kernel sources is https://kernel.org, but this isn’t necessarily the best place to start. Instead, we’ll use an Ubuntu kernel, which includes numerous patches and backported features. It also has the advantage of coming with a configuration very close to what you’re currently running (in fact it’s identical if you have the same version). So if we make only small changes there, then we’d hope the resulting kernel still has all the functionality of the old. Besides the kernel source files, we also need the required build tools. If you’ve ever compiled anything before you’ll…

Compiling a kernel

Kernel minification

By this point the chances are you’ve already had a look around the config menu and have noticed there’s an awful lot of stuff in there you don’t need. This is probably true, and a lot of people are interested in making the kernel smaller. People building for embedded systems, where storage space and memory are scarce, naturally will want to pull as much stuff as possible out of the kernel. We’ve mentioned that there isn’t really a performance or memory hit from having so many unused drivers compiled as modules. However, there is a disk space hit, although perhaps not as large as you might think (see box, below). Another reason for removing things is demonstrated by the Linux-libre kernel. Here, drivers that require proprietary firmware or microcode have all been…

Kernel minification

Compiling a kernel

To compile your own kernel using Ubuntu (or any distro that uses Ubuntu kernels, for example Mint, elementary OS, but not Pop!_OS) the first step is to get hold of the kernel sources. The official channel for vanilla kernel sources is https://kernel.org, but this isn’t necessarily the best place to start. Instead, we’ll use an Ubuntu kernel, which includes numerous patches and backported features. It also has the advantage of coming with a configuration very close to what you’re currently running (in fact it’s identical if you have the same version). So if we make only small changes there, then we’d hope the resulting kernel still has all the functionality of the old. Besides the kernel source files, we also need the required build tools. If you’ve ever compiled anything…

Compiling a kernel

Popular patches

We’re always impressed by Colorado-based System76 and its contributions to Linux. Not only does it make glorious hardware and a fine desktop environment, it’s also put in a lot of effort tweaking behind-the-scenes kernel settings. This work has culminated in the System76 Scheduler service, which tweaks the kernel’s CFS (Completely Fair Scheduler) settings for lower latency when on AC power. You don’t even have to be using Pop!_OS to take advantage of it, but if you are it’ll automatically prioritise foreground applications, as well as common desktop processes such as Gnome Shell and Kwin. Garuda Linux is making a lot of headlines lately. The slick, eye-candy heavy, Arch-based distro includes a couple of daemons that ought to improve responsiveness. First there’s Ananicy (ANother Auto NICe daemon), which automatically renices (gives greater…

Popular patches

Kernel minification

By this point the chances are you’ve already had a look around the config menu and have noticed there’s an awful lot of stuff in there you don’t need. This is probably true, and a lot of people are interested in making the kernel smaller. People building for embedded systems, where storage space and memory are scarce, naturally will want to pull as much stuff as possible out of the kernel. We’ve mentioned that there isn’t really a performance or memory hit from having so many unused drivers compiled as modules. However, there is a disk space hit, although perhaps not as large as you might think (see box, below). Another reason for removing things is demonstrated by the Linux-libre kernel. Here, drivers that require proprietary firmware or microcode have…

Kernel minification

The maker’s Coolest Projects goes Global!

Now named Coolest Projects Global, this is your chance to have your maker project revealed to the world this year – and it doesn’t even have to be finished to be eligible for entry! The aim of Coolest Projects is for young people to have their amazing array of projects showcased for all to see, to offer inspiration, to get mentoring, to generate excitement and perhaps to get some merch and prizes! The event is open to anyone up to 18 years old, working either independently or in groups of up to five people. The final event in early June will be a live online celebration that everyone can join in with. Registration for the event is open until 11 May. Projects can be registered in the following categories: Scratch, games, web,…

The maker’s Coolest Projects goes Global!

Popular patches

We’re always impressed by Colorado-based System76 and its contributions to Linux. Not only does it make glorious hardware and a fine desktop environment, it’s also put in a lot of effort tweaking behind-the-scenes kernel settings. This work has culminated in the System76 Scheduler service, which tweaks the kernel’s CFS (Completely Fair Scheduler) settings for lower latency when on AC power. You don’t even have to be using Pop!_OS to take advantage of it, but if you are it’ll automatically prioritise foreground applications, as well as common desktop processes such as Gnome Shell and Kwin. Garuda Linux is making a lot of headlines lately. The slick, eye-candy heavy, Arch-based distro includes a couple of daemons that ought to improve responsiveness. First there’s Ananicy (ANother Auto NICe daemon), which automatically renices (gives…

Popular patches

The maker’s Coolest Projects goes Global!

Now named Coolest Projects Global, this is your chance to have your maker project revealed to the world this year – and it doesn’t even have to be finished to be eligible for entry! The aim of Coolest Projects is for young people to have their amazing array of projects showcased for all to see, to offer inspiration, to get mentoring, to generate excitement and perhaps to get some merch and prizes! The event is open to anyone up to 18 years old, working either independently or in groups of up to five people. The final event in early June will be a live online celebration that everyone can join in with. Registration for the event is open until 11 May. Projects can be registered in the following categories: Scratch,…

The maker’s Coolest Projects goes Global!

PHYSICAL COMPUTING

PJ Evans cut his teeth on home computing in the 80s, and is now technical director at The Very Good Email Company. My name is PJ Evans of House Sinclair. Well, that was me in the 1980s when I fought against pretenders to the eight-bit throne such as House Commodore or those sneaky Welsh Dragons. Although we may have had our differences on colour-clash versus brown soupy displays, one thing we could all agree on was that the BBC Micro belonged in the classroom, despite the fact we seethed with jealousy at Elite. However, I was won around by the Beeb’s User Port: a simple way of talking with the outside world. With the help of my design technology teacher, my GCSE project hooked up a BBC to a brace of relays…

PHYSICAL COMPUTING

PHYSICAL COMPUTING

PJ Evans cut his teeth on home computing in the 80s, and is now technical director at The Very Good Email Company. My name is PJ Evans of House Sinclair. Well, that was me in the 1980s when I fought against pretenders to the eight-bit throne such as House Commodore or those sneaky Welsh Dragons. Although we may have had our differences on colour-clash versus brown soupy displays, one thing we could all agree on was that the BBC Micro belonged in the classroom, despite the fact we seethed with jealousy at Elite. However, I was won around by the Beeb’s User Port: a simple way of talking with the outside world. With the help of my design technology teacher, my GCSE project hooked up a BBC to a brace…

PHYSICAL COMPUTING

Network install

Raspberry Pi has released a new beta bootloader for Raspberry Pi 4 and 400 devices that enables a very interesting new feature: OS installation over a network. And Raspberry Pi is looking for help testing it out. Network installation essentially runs the Imager in the board’s memory. This means you can download and flash a new OS using an Ethernet internet connection. More at www.raspberrypi.com/news/networkinstall-beta-test-your-help-required.…

Network install

Network install

Raspberry Pi has released a new beta bootloader for Raspberry Pi 4 and 400 devices that enables a very interesting new feature: OS installation over a network. And Raspberry Pi is looking for help testing it out. Network installation essentially runs the Imager in the board’s memory. This means you can download and flash a new OS using an Ethernet internet connection. More at www.raspberrypi.com/news/networkinstall-beta-test-your-help-required.…

Network install

FLIRC Pi Zero Case

IN BRIEF With the sleek good looks of an Apple device, FLIRC’s Raspberry Pi Zero case has the cooling power to keep even an overclocked Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W cool. It also looks great on our keychain and desk. GPIO access is good, and your micro SD card is well hidden inside the aluminium case. You might be wondering why anyone would need a case for a Raspberry Pi Zero. It’s a fair point: the Raspberry Pi was designed to operate in the open – something that co-creator Pete Lomas has said at numerous events. However, cases protect the Pi and in the case of FLIRC’s £13 Raspberry Pi Zero case it also keeps the Pi cool, too. This isn’t FLIRC’s first Raspberry Pi case. FLIRC’s Raspberry Pi 4 case is…

FLIRC Pi Zero Case

FLIRC Pi Zero Case

IN BRIEF With the sleek good looks of an Apple device, FLIRC’s Raspberry Pi Zero case has the cooling power to keep even an overclocked Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W cool. It also looks great on our keychain and desk. GPIO access is good, and your micro SD card is well hidden inside the aluminium case. You might be wondering why anyone would need a case for a Raspberry Pi Zero. It’s a fair point: the Raspberry Pi was designed to operate in the open – something that co-creator Pete Lomas has said at numerous events. However, cases protect the Pi and in the case of FLIRC’s £13 Raspberry Pi Zero case it also keeps the Pi cool, too. This isn’t FLIRC’s first Raspberry Pi case. FLIRC’s Raspberry Pi 4…

FLIRC Pi Zero Case

Assemble a Micro Dot pHAT news ticker

OUR EXPERT Les Pounder is associate editor at Tom’s Hardware and a freelance maker for hire. He blogs about his adventures and projects at bigl.es. YOU NEED > Any Pi > Raspberry Pi OS > Pimoroni Micro Dot pHAT > Get the code: https://github.com/lesp/LXFMicro-Dot-News/archive/refs/heads/main.zip Lately there’s been a lot of news – some good, most of it bad. And to keep up with the constant series of events and developments from around the world we constantly check our devices… but what if a Raspberry Pi could give you the news headlines every five minutes? This project uses Pimoroni’s Micro Dot pHAT to scroll the news across the vibrant red displays, keeping you up to date. Micro Dot pHAT comes as a kit, which means that we need to solder each of the displays to the pHAT board. Please…

Assemble a Micro Dot pHAT news ticker

Create your own Chromecast device

OUR EXPERT Mats Tage Axelsson would love to broadcast about all things Linux 24/7. We’re sure that it would be must-watch TV. We all spend an inordinate amount of time consuming video and music. Many of these services are streamed via browsers, but that’s not always the best way to enjoy it. Another key issue: where to display it? Sure, you can watch videos on your laptop – and let’s face it, you probably do – but how often do you just hop over to the sofa to continue enjoying a classic album or the latest must-watch TV series (I’m literally catching up with Buffy – Ed)? With the correct setup, you can make this happen. You can also store your own media on a server and stream it to your TV or…

Create your own Chromecast device

Assemble a Micro Dot pHAT news ticker

OUR EXPERT Les Pounder is associate editor at Tom’s Hardware and a freelance maker for hire. He blogs about his adventures and projects at bigl.es. YOU NEED > Any Pi > Raspberry Pi OS > Pimoroni Micro Dot pHAT > Get the code: https://github.com/lesp/LXFMicro-Dot-News/archive/refs/heads/main.zip Lately there’s been a lot of news – some good, most of it bad. And to keep up with the constant series of events and developments from around the world we constantly check our devices… but what if a Raspberry Pi could give you the news headlines every five minutes? This project uses Pimoroni’s Micro Dot pHAT to scroll the news across the vibrant red displays, keeping you up to date. Micro Dot pHAT comes as a kit, which means that we need to solder each…

Assemble a Micro Dot pHAT news ticker

Create your own Chromecast device

OUR EXPERT Mats Tage Axelsson would love to broadcast about all things Linux 24/7. We’re sure that it would be must-watch TV. We all spend an inordinate amount of time consuming video and music. Many of these services are streamed via browsers, but that’s not always the best way to enjoy it. Another key issue: where to display it? Sure, you can watch videos on your laptop – and let’s face it, you probably do – but how often do you just hop over to the sofa to continue enjoying a classic album or the latest must-watch TV series (I’m literally catching up with Buffy – Ed)? With the correct setup, you can make this happen. You can also store your own media on a server and stream it to…

Create your own Chromecast device

LINUX FROM SCRATCH

Part Two Did you read “Linux From Scratch” in the title of this article and didn’t run away screaming into the night? Then you were either intrigued by the premise presented in the last issue of Linux Format, or are a very special Linux fan indeed. But as the title says, we’re going to get right to it in this follow-up article. So get ready for the nuts, bolts, and other assorted components of Linux From Scratch. In the sake of efficiency, you should have the following prepared before diving into the following sections: > Lots of patience. > A steady hand for copying and pasting terminal commands. > A love of reading (plain black text on white or grey backgrounds). > High bravery levels in the face of compilation errors. > An i386- or x86_64-based…

LINUX FROM SCRATCH

Rapid fuzzy finder

FZF Credit: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf OUR EXPERT Shashank Sharma is a trial lawyer in Delhi and an avid Arch user. He’s always on the hunt for affordable geeky memorabilia. hen looking for files on the desktop, you may often rely on the search feature of your favourite file manager. The conventional searching approach is to apply an exact search, so that only files or directory that are a perfect match to the search string are displayed. A fuzzy search, on the other hand, performs an approximate search, and instead of identifying exact matches, displays matching results with each keystroke. The fzf utility identifies itself as a general-purpose fuzzy finder. Released under the MIT License, the crossplatform tools can be used across all flavours of Linux. Installing fzf Despite the usefulness of the tool, the project isn’t offered as part…

Rapid fuzzy finder

LINUX FROM SCRATCH

Part Two Did you read “Linux From Scratch” in the title of this article and didn’t run away screaming into the night? Then you were either intrigued by the premise presented in the last issue of Linux Format, or are a very special Linux fan indeed. But as the title says, we’re going to get right to it in this follow-up article. So get ready for the nuts, bolts, and other assorted components of Linux From Scratch. In the sake of efficiency, you should have the following prepared before diving into the following sections: > Lots of patience. > A steady hand for copying and pasting terminal commands. > A love of reading (plain black text on white or grey backgrounds). > High bravery levels in the face of compilation…

LINUX FROM SCRATCH

Rapid fuzzy finder

FZF Credit: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf OUR EXPERT Shashank Sharma is a trial lawyer in Delhi and an avid Arch user. He’s always on the hunt for affordable geeky memorabilia. hen looking for files on the desktop, you may often rely on the search feature of your favourite file manager. The conventional searching approach is to apply an exact search, so that only files or directory that are a perfect match to the search string are displayed. A fuzzy search, on the other hand, performs an approximate search, and instead of identifying exact matches, displays matching results with each keystroke. The fzf utility identifies itself as a general-purpose fuzzy finder. Released under the MIT License, the crossplatform tools can be used across all flavours of Linux. Installing fzf Despite the usefulness of the…

Rapid fuzzy finder

Store and search your research notes

ZOTERO Credit: www.zotero.org OUR EXPERT Nick Peers says Zotero is the answer to his haphazard organisational systems. Zotero bills itself as your personal research assistant. It’s a free tool for not just collecting notes from a variety of sources, but also organising them, sharing them and even using them as citations and bibliographies within your documents. Zotero exists as two primary components: a desktop client and a browser extension, known as a web connector. This component enables you to capture all or part of a web page and add it to your collection. More on how that works shortly. By the time you read this, installing Zotero may be a simple affair using the Zotero-deb wrapper (see https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-deb) for details, but at time of writing the author was in the process of transferring the package hosting…

Store and search your research notes

Store and search your research notes

ZOTERO Credit: www.zotero.org OUR EXPERT Nick Peers says Zotero is the answer to his haphazard organisational systems. Zotero bills itself as your personal research assistant. It’s a free tool for not just collecting notes from a variety of sources, but also organising them, sharing them and even using them as citations and bibliographies within your documents. Zotero exists as two primary components: a desktop client and a browser extension, known as a web connector. This component enables you to capture all or part of a web page and add it to your collection. More on how that works shortly. By the time you read this, installing Zotero may be a simple affair using the Zotero-deb wrapper (see https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-deb) for details, but at time of writing the author was in the…

Store and search your research notes

May the forth be with the Jupiter Ace

XACE Credit: https://github.com/lawrencewoodman/xAce OUR EXPERT Les Pounder is associate editor at Tom’s Hardware and a freelance maker. He blogs about hacks and makes at bigl.es. We go back to 1982 to discover that not all home computers came with BASIC. The Jupiter Ace, from the Cambridge-based Jupiter Cantab Limited computer company was an oddity of the era. The Jupiter Ace looked like a cross between a ZX81 and a hot rod and we quite like that. The design of the Jupiter Ace was down to its creators Richard Altwasser and Steven Vickers, who had previously been part of the ZX Spectrum design team. The Jupiter Ace had 2KB of dedicated video RAM, which offered a performance boost over the ZX Spectrum. Packing a Z80 CPU running at 3.25MHz and a minimum of 1KB of RAM,…

May the forth be with the Jupiter Ace

BACK ISSUES MISSED ONE?

ISSUE 286 March 2022 Product code: LXFDB0286 In the magazine Not all VPNs are created equally – find out how to avoid second-rate services and maintain your privacy online with our in-depth feature. We also test five GUI text editors, show how to build a distro from the ground up using Linux From Scratch, emulate an MSX, set up multi-boot USB devices, code a 3D game world, and reveal the tools for managing your passwords from the command line. ISSUE 285 February 2022 Product code: LXFDB0285 In the magazine Stay one step ahead of the nefarious perpetrators of ransomware with our in-depth feature. We bring you tutorials on rock music effects, offline password management and creating a virtual network lab. Discover how to set up a temperature display for your Raspberry Pi and build web…

BACK ISSUES MISSED ONE?

May the forth be with the Jupiter Ace

XACE Credit: https://github.com/lawrencewoodman/xAce OUR EXPERT Les Pounder is associate editor at Tom’s Hardware and a freelance maker. He blogs about hacks and makes at bigl.es. We go back to 1982 to discover that not all home computers came with BASIC. The Jupiter Ace, from the Cambridge-based Jupiter Cantab Limited computer company was an oddity of the era. The Jupiter Ace looked like a cross between a ZX81 and a hot rod and we quite like that. The design of the Jupiter Ace was down to its creators Richard Altwasser and Steven Vickers, who had previously been part of the ZX Spectrum design team. The Jupiter Ace had 2KB of dedicated video RAM, which offered a performance boost over the ZX Spectrum. Packing a Z80 CPU running at 3.25MHz and a…

May the forth be with the Jupiter Ace

BACK ISSUES MISSED ONE?

ISSUE 286 March 2022 Product code: LXFDB0286 In the magazine Not all VPNs are created equally – find out how to avoid second-rate services and maintain your privacy online with our in-depth feature. We also test five GUI text editors, show how to build a distro from the ground up using Linux From Scratch, emulate an MSX, set up multi-boot USB devices, code a 3D game world, and reveal the tools for managing your passwords from the command line. ISSUE 285 February 2022 Product code: LXFDB0285 In the magazine Stay one step ahead of the nefarious perpetrators of ransomware with our in-depth feature. We bring you tutorials on rock music effects, offline password management and creating a virtual network lab. Discover how to set up a temperature display for your…

BACK ISSUES MISSED ONE?

3 GREAT WAY S T O SUBSCRIBE Print, digital-only, and print+digital bundles! » USA From $132 For 13 issues » REST OF THE WORLD From $132 For 13 issues » EUROPE From €100 For 13 issues IT’S EASY TO SUBSCRIBE! Visit www.magazinesdirect.com/linux-format Call +44 0330 333 1113 Lines open Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, UK time…

Make your home as smart as possible

HOME ASSISTANT Credit: www.home-assistant.io Part One Don’t miss next issue! Subscribe on page 16 OUR EXPERT Matt Holder has been a fan of the open source methodology for over two decades and uses Linux and other tools where possible. QUICK TIP A huge number of smart home manufacturers are supported, including Ikea Tradfri lights, Phillips Hue and the Unifi network controller. Find out more: www.home-assistant.io/integrations. Smart Home and Internet of Things devices have been popular for a number of years now. Unfortunately, the Internet of Things doesn’t have the best name in terms of security issues, thanks to poorly coded or secured devices. How many times have we read about hardcoded administrator-level accounts being left enabled on devices? Canonical and Microsoft provide IoT platforms with security in mind. When using commercial smart home/Internet of Things devices it’s important to…

Make your home as smart as possible

Publishing your own slick ebooks

LIBREOFFICE Credit: www.libreoffice.org Part Two Missed Part One? Turn to page 62 to get hold of it EXPERT Michael Reed is a Linux nerd and a selfpublished author. Guess which one pays the bills. QUICK TIP If you need help when using LibreOffice for your book project, the LibreOffice website has a comprehensive traditional manual. See https://documentation. libreoffice.org. We’re going to take a basic ebook and make it shine with the help of images such as photographs and charts. We’ll also add some features that are appropriate for non-fiction books, such as tip boxes, an index and citations within the text. Finally, we’ll get a bit further into what it takes to upload your files to services that can print books or make them available as ebooks. This month’s tutorial picks up from where part one left off in…

Publishing your own slick ebooks

Make your home as smart as possible

HOME ASSISTANT Credit: www.home-assistant.io Part One Don’t miss next issue! Subscribe on page 16 OUR EXPERT Matt Holder has been a fan of the open source methodology for over two decades and uses Linux and other tools where possible. QUICK TIP A huge number of smart home manufacturers are supported, including Ikea Tradfri lights, Phillips Hue and the Unifi network controller. Find out more: www.home-assistant.io/integrations. Smart Home and Internet of Things devices have been popular for a number of years now. Unfortunately, the Internet of Things doesn’t have the best name in terms of security issues, thanks to poorly coded or secured devices. How many times have we read about hardcoded administrator-level accounts being left enabled on devices? Canonical and Microsoft provide IoT platforms with security in mind. When using…

Make your home as smart as possible

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