FOSSPicks
LANDrop
There are many ways to share files, but the ad hoc, local file-sharing functionality found on Android and Apple devices has become very popular. This hasn't been easy to replicate on Linux – because people don't use Linux enough because it's missing features such as these. LANDrop is a refreshing change from the norm. It's an open source, ad hoc, local file-sharing tool that supports nearly all platforms equally, including iOS, macOS, Android, Windows, and Linux. It promises to seamlessly let you share files without giving up your privacy, going through an online proxy, or even using cellular data. You don't have to worry about how a third-party may intercept the transfer, and it does all of this while being open source. All the data required for a transfer is stored on your device, and the only data visible to whomever you are sharing a file with is the device name, type, and IP address. Even these can be turned off.
There are official apps for iOS and Android (the latter via a non-store APK), which makes transferring files with friends much easier, or you can, of course, build the package yourself. On the Linux desktop, after building and running the background daemon, the app will helpfully notify you that it's now running and can be managed via its small panel icon. From this icon, you can change your device name and whether your device is discoverable, along with where you want files to go. If device discoverability doesn't work, or you don't want to use it, you can also resort to sharing raw IP addresses, which obviously adds an extra technical step. This option is available when you choose to send one or more files, which can be listed in the Send to window before you simply click Transfer. Your files are then quickly and efficiently copied to the remote device.
Project Website
Technical text editor
KeenWrite
There are now (probably) more people writing words than ever before. Whether it's an email, feature specification, social media post, blog post, article, tutorial, or even a book, technology has liberated us. Any old text editor can be used for small documents, but as soon as you need to organize your writing, edit, reference your research, or single source a part for reuse, you typically need to find a more ambitious option. We've previously looked at novelWriter, a brilliant Markdown-based IDE for collecting your thoughts alongside writing and editing your words. KeenWrite is another writer's IDE, with a more unique proposition. It too offers a writing environment, but with a greater emphasis on the "development" in the IDE part.
What makes KeenWrite unique, and more like a programmer's development environment, is that it's a Markdown editor that uses string interpolation to separate and modularize the content you write from the presentation and layout. The main view is split into three panes, with the middle pane being the traditional editor, the right pane holding a real-time preview of the output, and the left pane holding variables. These variables are literally the key to string interpolation because they allow you to assign key and value pairs within a YAML-formatted document that can then be referenced and interpolated in the main Markdown document. A simple example would set a book's title as a string, with the string then used in the Markdown rather than the name itself. The book's title can then be easily changed as quickly as it takes to change the string name, which is always reflected in the real-time preview. The editor helps with all of this by offering autocomplete for the key and value pairs you define. The editor also integrates R syntax, SVG support, Mermaid, Graphviz, UML elements, Pandoc-like HTML div
elements, and PDF output.
Project Website
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
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.
News
-
Linux Mint Finally Receiving Support for Gestures
If you use the Linux Mint Cinnamon desktop, you'll be thrilled to know that 21.2 is getting support for gestures on touchscreen devices and touchpads.
-
An All-Snap Version of Ubuntu is In The Works
Along with the standard deb version of the open-source operating system, Canonical will release an-all snap version.
-
Mageia 9 Beta 2 Ready for Testing
The latest beta of the popular Mageia distribution now includes the latest kernel and plenty of updated applications.
-
KDE Plasma 6 Looks to Bring Basic HDR Support
The KWin piece of KDE Plasma now has HDR support and color management geared for the 6.0 release.
-
Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta Ready for Testing
The latest iteration of the Bohdi Linux distribution is now available for those who want to experience what's in store and for testing purposes.
-
Changes Coming to Ubuntu PPA Usage
The way you manage Personal Package Archives will be changing with the release of Ubuntu 23.10.
-
AlmaLinux 9.2 Now Available for Download
AlmaLinux has been released and provides a free alternative to upstream Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
-
An Immutable Version of Fedora Is Under Consideration
For anyone who's a fan of using immutable versions of Linux, the Fedora team is currently considering adding a new spin called Fedora Onyx.
-
New Release of Br OS Includes ChatGPT Integration
Br OS 23.04 is now available and is geared specifically toward web content creation.
-
Command-Line Only Peropesis 2.1 Available Now
The latest iteration of Peropesis has been released with plenty of updates and introduces new software development tools.