MEET THE TEAM

This issue, we’re setting up Qubes OS for total privacy. What little thing do you do to help bolster your privacy or security either on or offline?

LINUX FORMAT

The #1 open source mag Future Publishing Limited,

Reassuringly expensive

Linux Format has cost £6.49 for over

Rust vs C out of control

The promise of memory-safe Rust code provokes ugly debates leading to police intervention.

Snapdragon support improving

ARM64 image of Ubuntu 24.10 to support X13s.

MANY TONGUES

Italo Vignoli is one of the founders

REDISCENT EVILS!

Dave Stokes is a technology evangelist at

Linux is finally a real-time OS!

The culmination of decades of hard work was realised in September.

Microsoft adopts SPIR-V

In a surprise move, Microsoft moves to the open format.

MS hands over Mono to Wine

Microsoft donates Mono to Wine, urging migration to modern .NET.

Distro Watch

What’s behind the free software sofa?

SMART AUDIO

Julian Bouzas is a senior software engineer

RT ARTISTS

Jon Masters is a kernel hacker who’s

Kernel Watch

Jon Masters summarises the latest happenings in the Linux kernel, so that you don’t have to.

Answers

Got a burning question about open source or the kernel? Whatever your level, email it to answers@linuxformat.com

Mailserver

LoRa, LoRa laughs As an LXF fan/reader, I’m

Helpdex

shane_collinge@yahoo.com

Snoop

THE BEST NEW OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE ON THE PL ANET

Nuclear

MUSIC PLAYER

Media Downloader

Version: 5.0.1 Web: https://mhogomchungu . github.io/media-downloader/

Concessio

LEARN FILE PERMISSIONS

Endless Key

Version: 0.9 Web: www.endlessos.org/key

Tuta

EMAIL CLIENT

Fire Dragon

Version: 11.18.1-1 Web: https:// firedragon.garudalinux.org

AntiMicroX

JOYSTICK BUTTON MAPPER

LibreQuake

Version: 0.07-beta Web: https://librequake.queer.sh

NNN

FILE MANAGER

Micro

Version: 2.0.14 Web: https://microeditor.github.io/index.html

Framework 13

Brandon Hill loves what this is doing for his eyes!

4MLinux 46.0

Nate Drake dives into this innovative, lightweight Polish distro to pose the burning question: are you 4M or against ’em?

Liya 2.0

Nate Drake takes a gander at this rolling Arch-based distro offering powerful performance and a slick interface. Shame about the updates.

PorteuX 1.6

Nate Drake delves into this Slack-based distro. Does it live up to its claims of being fast, small and portable?

RebeccaBlackOS 2024

Nate Drake is getting that Friday feeling as he discovers all that’s awesome about this celebrity-themed distro with Wayland support.

World of Goo 2

Recycling goo has The Management ecstatic at the chances it’ll give Kerry Brunskill to reuse all of their old work to increase profits.

Media servers

Without wishing to turn into a couch potato, Michael Reed examines five media servers that mean he could become one if he decided to.

Basic server install options

Hopefully, you’ve got a good array of options for setting up the server.

Initial setup process

Let’s get some folders set up, media shared and cover other basics.

Network access to content

Open standards over the network.

Access over the internet

For when you want to access your media wherever you are.

Support and documentation

Help to get it set up, make it work how you want and troubleshoot issues.

Official client app

The clients are front-ends that allow you to interact with your content.

Add-ons and extra features

Pushing systems beyond their basic media server functions.

Media servers

T he reason we chose Kodi as our winner

ALSO CONSIDER

Emby ( https://emby.media ) is a media

Build Your LINUX FORTRESS!

Chronically insecure and unreasonable Jonni Bidwell needs reasonable operational security. With Qubes, and containment and isolation, he finds a solution

The Qube-ic formula

What on earth is Qubes? How can it stop your traitorous activities being noted by hostile governments?

Stacking secure Qubes

Enough with the waffle, we hear you cry. Fine, let’s get this Qubes thing installed and set up.

Configure your Qubes

Find out where Qubes differs from other distros and join the single-use society with Disposable qubes.

Sending packets over Qubes tubes

Get Qubes working the way you want, find out how networking works, and start making your own qubes.

Free AI courses from Pi Foundation & Google

The hottest current topic can now be picked up by educators for free online.

Pi Rust

Embedded stability.

Pico VS Code

Easy coding time.

THE IMPRESSIVE POWER OF PI

Les Pounder works with groups such as

Recalbox 9.2

Les Pounder travels back to a time when a pocket full of change could open the door to whole new worlds.

Ultramarine Linux

Les Pounder knows that good looks will only get you so far, and Ultramarine Linux has the looks, but sadly none of the performance.

Work with Pi Pico temperature sensors

HEAT SENSORS

THE DHT11 AND DHT22

OK, one more sensor. The venerable DHT11, the

Power projects with the best Pi Pico LEDs

RGB LEDS

OPEN PROTOCOLS MATTER

Google and Amazon might be behind the latest IoT protocol, but Tam Hanna is just the guy to bring it to the masses, with a little help from Arduino…

Clean up filenames

You don’t have to get up at 4am and practise yoga to find balance in life. Shashank Sharma found inner peace by cleaning up filenames.

Secure the Linux system and its files

The ever-watchful Nick Peers discovers how Linux is built from the ground up to help keep you and your data secure.

IRC: the oldest chat system going on strong

Chatterbox Nate Drake walks you through how to set up and secure your very own IRC server, as well as master its many commands.

Radio astronomy – tune in to the aurora

Radio astronomy isn’t as difficult as you might think. Mike Bedford shows how to get going with just your PC audio system and some free software.

Upgrade it: Enhance your viewing pleasure!

It’s worth spending more on a good display, because you could be using it longer than any other component, says Neil Mohr.

Pixio PXC277 Advanced

The best budget 1440p display to grab right now.

Gigabyte M32UC

An “entry-level” 4K high-refresh gaming display.

Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q

The best choice for budget 4K gaming.

BenQ 23.8” MOBIUZ EX240N

1080p displays aren’t dead or buried yet!

Dell S3221QS

Best all-round choice if you fancy curves in your life.

BenQ SW321C PhotoVue

A 4K display targeting photo and video professionals.

Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP

The best gaming OLED display – but at a price.

Dell UltraSharp UP3218K

For extreme 8K resolution and price, this is for you!

Simplify network configs with Tailscale

No one calls Stuart Burns a simple man, but he appreciates tools that simplify his admin life, especially for networking.

MAXIMISE YOUR SEED SPEEDS!

Nate Drake introduces you to one of the internet’s best kept secrets to turbocharge your downloads and uploads.

Using Osquery to explore your system

Ever-curious David Bolton shows how to use the Osquery application to view your system via a series of SQL select queries.

Add some history to the LXF Shell

Refusing to ever learn from anything, Ferenc Deák realises that adding history to the LXF Shell will help him repeat his mistakes.