FOSSPicks
FOSSPicks
This month Graham looks at Neuronify, Undervolt GUI, Entropy Piano Tuner, Gnome Internet Radio Locator, Hatari, and more!
Neural network simulator
Neuronify
This may be the first time we've ever looked at a piece of software that attempts to simplify neural networks. It may even be the first time we've looked at any software dealing with neural networks. This is because neural networks are complex, and without academic imperative, they're not something you can easily understand. But that's exactly what Neuronify is trying to do – help beginners explore and begin to understand neural networks. A neural network (in the computing sense) models the behavior of neurons in the brain in an attempt to learn things from datasets that would ordinarily be difficult to discover without specific and exhaustive analysis. Thanks to big datasets being created by companies like Google and Amazon, neural networks have become a huge field of research in software engineering and could hold the key to the future of vital services, such as health care and transportation.
Neuronify makes a bold claim – it wants to make it possible for you to work on neural simulations without prior computational experience. It does this by allowing you to build "circuits" in a graphical interface that are always live and running, much like an electrical circuit. These circuits produce feedback for you to see exactly what's happening. When you launch the application, easily installed from a snap, there's a simple tutorial to guide you through the key elements. Each stage of the tutorial is itself a working circuit that's active so you can see what's happening. This starts with the nodes you'll be using in the circuit: a current source, a "leaky neuron" that fires a signal when its potential passes a threshold, and a voltmeter that displays the value of that potential.
The application itself works much like a software modular synthesizer. You add elements from the palette on the left and connect these together using nodes. It's easy to work with but difficult to interpret any results without further study. Fortunately, there are many brilliant examples included that go much further than the simple tutorial. Because they're all annotated, you can learn a great deal simply by reading the accompanying text and studying the output. Also check out the button hidden at the top of the toolbar labelled community. Click on this, and you'll be able to explore simulations created and shared by other Neuronify users. There are currently only a handful, but they're often complex and show where that application is being used and studied.
Thanks to the beautifully implemented user interface (UI) and animation, it's fascinating to watch and play with the speed controls or the connections, even when you have no greater context or understanding. That may be the whole motivation behind making it so easy to get into neural networks: Because even when you're playing, you're reinforcing the ideas and patterns in your brain, so you can have a better sense of what neural networks are and how they might be implemented.
Project Website
![](/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/issues/2019/222/fosspicks/fig27d6fe4c061c6039c3afff5eb49e8991.png/746069-1-eng-US/fig27d6fe4c061c6039c3afff5eb49e8991.png_large.png)
CPU tinkering
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
NVIDIA Released Driver for Upcoming NVIDIA 560 GPU for Linux
Not only has NVIDIA released the driver for its upcoming CPU series, it's the first release that defaults to using open-source GPU kernel modules.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 24.07 Released
If you’re into rolling release Linux distributions, OpenMandriva ROME has a new snapshot with a new kernel.
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.