Issue #201 / Aug 2017

Highlights:

This month we show you the Network Security Toolkit, a smart collection of powerful security tools bundled into a single interface. Other highlights include:

• I-Nex – a graphical tool for monitoring system information (page 56).

• Calamares – universal Linux installer (page 48).

Check out Linux Voice for a look at interactive scripts, a brief history of Ubuntu, and a tutorial on the ImageMagick photo processing utility (page 69).

SERVICE: Welcome

Voting Records

Politics is everywhere this year. It is hard to get away from the news – and it seems that most of the talking is done by people who aren't too interested in finding any kind of common ground with other viewpoints, which makes it all the more excruciating for the ears. I'm well aware that people read Linux magazines to get away from politics.

SERVICE: This Month's DVD

Ubuntu 17.04 (32-bit Live) and Devuan 1.0 (64-bit Live)

NEWS: NEWS

Updates on technologies, trends, and tools

NEWS: Kernel News

Chronicler Zack Brown reports on the latest news, views, dilemmas, and developments within the Linux kernel community.

NEWS: Event Report – OpenStack Summit

OpenStack Summit Boston

Contrary to rumors, OpenStack is far from dead.

: Network Security Toolkit

Track security vulnerabilities with Network Security Toolkit

Securing networks against attackers is not a trivial task. The Network Security Toolkit is a convenient solution for users who want to keep a collection of security tools in easy reach.

: Flatpak and Snap

Exploring the new Flatpak and Snap package formats

The new container-inspired package formats Flatpak and Snap have landed in the territory occupied by conventional Linux package systems such as RPM and Dpkg.

: Open Hardware – Open Keyboard

Input Club

The open source keyboard community has been hard at work developing high-quality, customizable keyboard firmware.

: Advanced Layout with LibreOffice Writer

Looking Your Best on Paper

Some documents deserve extra attention to design and typographic detail.

: Charly's Column – Brewing Helpers

The sysadmin's daily grind: Brewing helpers

Columnist Charly looked into so many mash tubs during brewery tours that he wanted to try his own home brew. He did a little research and found some open source projects that could help.

: Data Storage Media

Test real and fake disks for bad blocks

When it comes to cheap flash memory, buyers should beware. Fake flash memory often offers only a fraction of the advertised storage capacity. With no visible calibration mark, discerning counterfeits is problematic. Here's a test to weed out fake disks.

: Master PDF Editor 4

Editing PDF documents with Master PDF Editor 4

The commercial software tool Master PDF Editor 4 lets you edit the most important portable document format of our times.

: Calamares

Installer framework Calamares at a glance

Calamares helps you create simplified routines for installing a distribution, but there are some pitfalls, as we explain.

NEWS: Journalctl

Evaluate systemd logs using journalctl

The journal is the systemd component responsible for viewing and managing logfiles.

: I-Nex

Reading hardware information with I-Nex

I-Nex is a graphical tool that quickly gives you a detailed overview of the hardware installed in your computer.

: Programming Snapshot – Multilingual Programming

Multilingual programming for retrieving web pages

We show you how to whip up a script that pulls an HTTP document off the web and how to find out which language offers the easiest approach.

: Command Line – vim-abolish

Advanced filtering utilities in Vim

Whether you are writing code or text, vim-abolish can help you customize search and replace functions in Vim.

LINUX VOICE: Introduction

Introduction

 

LINUX VOICE: News

The Linux Voice view on what's going on in the world of Free Software.

 

LINUX VOICE: Will WannaCry Change Things?

Drying the tears of WannaCry

LINUX VOICE: Distrospective

Canonical has pitched Ubuntu as an OS for many purposes – desktops, servers, convergence, and the cloud. We look at the distribution's checkered history and where it's heading.

LINUX VOICE: Doghouse – Optimization

Optimization

Understanding how optimization works is just as crucial to fast code as a good compiler.

LINUX VOICE: FAQ – Apache Spark

Apache Spark

Spread your processing load across hundreds of machines as easily as running it locally.

LINUX VOICE: Core Technologies – Dialogs

Interactive Scripts

Some shell scripts are silent; others communicate to users extensively. Learn how to make their dialog smoother with, er … , dialogs.

LINUX VOICE: FOSSPicks

Graham tears himself away from updating Arch Linux to search for the best new free software.

Sparkling gems and new releases from the world of Free and Open Source Software

LINUX VOICE: Tutorials – ImageMagick

Protect Your Privacy with ImageMagick

Ben Everard wants to keep his location open, but only vaguely.

LINUX VOICE: Tutorials – Markdown

Markdown: One Format to Rule Them All

Create attractive and structured documents from the comfort of your text editor – and convert them to a huge array of formats.