Issue #265 / Dec 2022

Highlights:

Most Linux users know that this futuristic technology leverages the weird power of quantum mechanics. But how does it really work? What can I do with it? Are there tools available today that will help me experiment? This month we take a deep dive into quantum computing.

SERVICE: Welcome

Betta Get Betta, Meta

When Facebook renamed itself Meta in honor of its new vision of a virtual reality metaverse, I knew they were taking their initiative very seriously. I will admit, though, it was a little difficult to figure out what they were talking about.

SERVICE: This Month's DVD

Manjaro 21.3.7-220816 and Arch Linux 2022.10.01

NEWS: News

In the news: TUXEDO OS; Native GPU Driver for Apple Silicon; Linux Kernel 6.0; System76 Skips Pop!_OS 22.10 to Focus on COSMIC Desktop; New Look for System76 Thelio; Ubuntu Software Store Rumored to Replace Gnome Software; and a New Arch-Based Linux Distribution.

NEWS: Kernel News

Chronicler Zack Brown reports on the little links that bring us closer within the Linux kernel community.

: Quantum Computing

An introduction to quantum computing

The peculiar world of quantum mechanics points the way to a whole new kind of computer. If you're wondering how quantum computers work, we'll give you an inside view.

NEWS: Qiskit

Qiskit – Practical open source framework for quantum computing

Qiskit is an open source framework that aims to make quantum computing technology both understandable and ready for production.

: Puppy Linux

Running with the Pack

Not just one operating system, Puppy Linux is a diverse collection of lightweight operating systems designed for efficiency.

IN-DEPTH: Atuin

Tracking command history across multiple computers

Atuin adds some handy queries to the shell history function, while letting you synchronize your command history across the network.

IN-DEPTH: deb-get

Easy access to third-party software with deb-get

Deb-get gives Debian and Ubuntu users easy access to third-party software.

IN-DEPTH: Back to the Future

Replacing history with McFly

McFly improves on the venerable history command with a customizable interface and contextualized results.

IN-DEPTH: Programming Snapshot – Go Photo Organizer

Organizing photos by date with Go

In this issue, Mike conjures up a Go program to copy photos from a cell phone or SD card into a date-based file structure on a Linux box. To avoid wasting time, a cache using UUIDs ensures that only new photos are transferred.

IN-DEPTH: Zing

Introducing the Zing zero-packet network utility

Zing is a lightweight, zero-packet network utility similar to ping that provides ping functionality without the payload.

: CircuitMess Nibble

Easy entry to microcontroller programming

The Nibble kit by CircuitMess is a freely programmable mobile game console that makes getting started with microcontroller programming a breeze.

: Pico Sleep Mode

Optimize battery use for the Raspberry Pi Pico

The Raspberry Pi Pico's high-performance chip is trimmed for I/O and does not try to save power. However, a few tricks in battery mode can keep it running longer.

LINUX VOICE: Introduction

This month in Linux Voice.

LINUX VOICE: maddog's Doghouse

Language "efficiency"

The efficiency alone of a programming language doesn't show the full picture.

LINUX VOICE: Parcel Service

Innovative Linux Package Managers

The traditional package management systems on Linux are now somewhat outdated, but AppImage, Flatpak, and Snap see some interesting new management systems enter the fray.

LINUX VOICE: JChemPaint

Representing paint molecules with JChemPaint

Drawings of molecules can be made with a graphics program like Inkscape. But structural formulas turn out even better if you use the JChemPaint professional molecule editor.

LINUX VOICE: FOSSPicks

After vowing to not be impressed by AI-generated images, Graham has spent this month communing with Stable Diffusion like it's some locally installed oracle or prophet of truth.

LINUX VOICE: Drawing Trees

Structure your ideas with Heimer mind maps

Mind maps help you organize your thoughts and ideas in a clear-cut tree structure. Heimer can help you draw those trees.