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300 issues of Linux Format – can you believe it? What are your predictions for Linux or your favourite open source project over the next 300 issues?

Freed software

Saying “free software” has always caused confusion. Most

Newsdesk

THIS ISSUE: Li bre Office upgrade New Plasma due to hit screens Cool phase of Debian 12 Non-GNU Linux

POD BOD

Jon Masters is a kernel hacker who’s been

Kernel Watch

Jon Masters keeps an eye out for all the latest happenings in the Linux kernel, so 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

WRITE TO US Do you have a burning

BACK ISSUES MISSED ONE?

ISSUE 299 March 2023 Product code: LXFDB0299 In

OpenShot

Version : 3.0.0 Web : www.openshot.org These

Rsync

Version : 3.2.7 Web : https://rsync.samba.org Linux

Aria2

Version : 1.36.0 Web: https://aria2.github.io No

Claws Mail

Version : 4.1.1 Web : www.claws-mail.org C

Akregator

Version : 5.22.1 Web : https://apps.kde.org/akregator If

Konqueror

Version : 22.12.1 Web : https://apps.kde.org/konqueror Unless

Pidgin

Version : 2.14.12 Web : https://pidgin.im A

FlightGear

Version : 2020.3.17 Web : www.flightgear.org F

SuperTuxKart

Version : 1.4 Web : https://supertuxkart.net As

Qemu

Version : 7.2.0 Web : www.qemu.org Q

CPU-X

Version : 4.5.2 Web : https://thetumultu ousunicornofdarkness.github.io/CPU-X

SAVE YOUR OLD PCS!

We help keep the lights on by running your old hardware for longer: easy upgrades and 32-bit installs galore!

LINUX FORMAT

The #1 open source mag Future Publishing Limited,

Debian GNU/Linux 2.1

It may be a bit behind the times, but Debian is one of the best distributions on the market.

SUSE Linux 6.3

We test this long-established German company’s latest distribution effort. Can it hold off the competition?

Ubuntu 5.04

Andy Hudson hopes this is one hedgehog that won’t get squashed.

Linux-Mandrake 7

Simplicity and a wide range of applications make this a great distribution for all Linux users.

Key Linux distros

There are Linux distros aplenty, but Mayank Sharma is on the lookout for the ones that play a key role in the Linux-sphere.

Installation media and mechanisms

For anchoring them to your disks.

Customisability & administration

Mould them to your liking.

The end user experience

How does it all come together?

Reach and appeal

Who do they target?

Help and support

What do you do if you’re stuck?

Spins and derivatives

Can I pimp my ride?

Package management

Want to flesh out your installation?

The Verdict

Key Linux distros

ALSO CONSIDER

Two distros that have created an identity for

The Best OPEN SOURCE Software Ever!

In an attempt to trigger controversy, Michael Reed and Neil Mohr unequivocally state these are the greatest free software apps ever. Probably. We’re just trying to be helpful.

Top of the FOSS!

Some of the most notable projects in history.

THE OLDEST OF OPEN SOURCE…

Open a terminal and you have access to

GIMP 2.10.32

If you want to work with image processing, GIMP should be your first port of call.

Ardour 7.2

It’s the most fully featured open source digital audio workstation (DAW) on Linux.

Wireshark 4.0.2

Makes it easy to see the sensitive data travelling around your network.

LibreOffice 7.5

When it comes to traditional office duties, LibreOffice covers all bases.

Visual Studio Code 1.74

When it comes to open source development tools, the first thing you need is a programmer’s editor.

Kdenlive 22.12.1

Kdenlive can handle most video-editing tasks, and new features are being added all the time.

Dolphin 22.12

With a bit of configuration, Dolphin can scale up to a power user’s tool.

Cockpit 283

Monitor a server and do maintenance via a web interface? Yes please!

Terminal tools

Think GUIs are for wimps? More of a terminal type? Try these…

I’m so cool I run Raspberry Pi

The Coolest Projects showcase is up and running, and open to entries.

No more blues

Perk up your APIs.

Compute this!

Rack-mountable trouble.

THE RE TURN OF CAMJAM!

Brian Corteil is a maker, amateur robot designer

Waveshare Zero to Pi3

Transform your Pi Zero into a Pi 3, they promised Les Pounder, but it’s more like adding on go-faster stripes.

Master RPi.GPIO

Les Pounder goes back to the early days of the Raspberry Pi – and his career – with this classic library!

Control your Pi robot with Bluetooth

Loving the feeling of power, Les Pounder shows us how to remote-control your robot with Android devices and Bluetooth.

Free our SOFT WARE!

Taking anything for granted is dangerous, so Jonni Bidwell and Mike Saunders revisit how the free software movement got started to help free us from proprietary tyranny!

In 2011, boy genius Mike Saunders met Stallman at the Institute of Engineering and Technology in London, where he put to him some of the questions you’d asked…

RMS: First, I want to tell you about

Find it faster!

Traversing hundreds of GBs of data and thousands of folders is a tall order, unless you’re Shashank Sharma, who knows just the tool to find files fast.

Jump to a federated social network

Nick Peers reveals how you can get up and running with this free, decentralised and non-profit alternative to Twitter.

Runing with the GNU Debian Hurd

Matt Holder goes against the Hurd to try the other GNU kernel and a ready-built operating system to run it all.

Universal layer text effects with GIMP

Posters use them, films and presentations are hard to imagine without them: text effects. Attract attention with Karsten Günther and GIMP.

Set up your terminal and email like it’s 1983

Jump in the hot terminal time machine with Mats Tage Axelsson who emails from the command line using the latest technology.

Clang-ing the kernel

Jonni Bidwell shows you how to configure a mainline kernel, then compile it, artisan-style, with LLVM/Clang.

Fantastic Mr Firefox

Nick Peers takes a trip down memory lane to reveal the story behind the rise – and slight fall – of Mozilla’s popular web browser.

WEBSOCKET

Create your first WebSocket service

APL: going strong after all these years

It might be almost 60 years old, but the APL programming language continues to have an enthusiastic following, as Mike Bedford reveals.

Write your own classic Pong game

Matt Holder takes a trip down memory lane and creates a Pong-style game, for all your retro gaming needs.