Linux Format UK Issue 135 (2010 September)
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LXF135
FREE DVD Three awesome distros to
LXF
September
2010
THE ESSENTIALS
Packed with Linux advice »The ultimate hands-on guide
§
W
Ubuntu 10.10: sneak preview
»The Meerkat approaches
How Chrome could consign free software’s biggest success to the history books
KOffice 2.2: first hands-on review » New features; old problems?
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Welcome
What we do » We support the open source community by providing a resource of information, and a
forum
for debate.
» We
help all readers get more from Linux with our tutorial section - we’ve something for everyone!
» We
license
all
the source code we print under the GNU GPLv3.
in
our
tutorials section
» We give you the most accurate, unbiased and up-to-date information on
all
things Linux.
Who we are Firefox
well
is
extensions. brilliant,
known
for its vast
awesome
range of
We asked the team: what’s the most
Firefox vs
magical extension you could ever need?
It’s
Chrome?
not easy being popular - ask just about any
celebrity harassed daily by paparazzi.
Graham
Mike Saunders
Morrison
"AutoStallman.
“Retro
web mode. Adds
It
Neil
BUNK and MARQUEE
‘Linux’
cheerfully prefixes
user,
I
need an extension that
out all references to
tags to every page."
Bothwick
"AsaleetGentoo
seeks
on a page and
tells
them
with ‘GNU/!’
me when Firefox
has finished compiling. Er,
When
Firefox
was the plucky underdog, alpha geeks were happy to stump up cash to buy T-shirts, stickers and even adverts in the New York Times, but now that it has managed to overtake Internet Explorer in a few countries, those
same
geeks are looking for greener pastures. You’d almost think we fear
becoming mainstream!
wait a minute..."
It’s
almost an inevitable part of the software
lifecycle that
added with each new version, but with Firefox itself forking off from the overweight Mozilla codebase it’s
features are
easy to see why there’s a natural fear of time, Google
Andrew Gregory
Andy Channelle
Mendoza
“The ‘UK Threat
"Awrongopinionfilter.lt
“A fake-working-mode
indicator
extension. it
looks
One click and
like
I’m
busy with
the mag, not watching
Mexico fail at football."
is
not scary
enough. want I
it
to send
MI5 round to my house don’t click
I
five
on
it
blocks
every
if
all
pages that
(ie
that
same
Chrome has come out of nowhere, introducing new ideas into the browser space, offering
unparalleled performance
and a super-clean user
that basically gets out of your way as
contain opinions that are wrong
the
a dozen fresh,
Efrain Hernandez-
Level’
bloat. At
interface
much as possible -
even the earliest releases of Firefox would have struggled to
I
don’t agree with.)"
match Chrome’s performance.
seconds!”
But all like
is
not
lost:
Firefox is fighting back,
and so far
it
looks
everyone’s a winner - Firefox is improving,
improving, they’re
Chrome is both open source, and that means the
Linux desktop just keeps getting better! Andy Hudson
NickVeitch
Explorer simulator? Fails
"Firefox? Web? don’t know what that is... just
automatically reports
David Cartwright "How about an
Internet
I
“An
evil
extension.
to render pages, crashes
give
me something that
cute kitten videos
non-stop and gives your
can browse Gopher and
YouTube as illegal
bank details to the
I’m happy."
content.
It
all
on
Mwahahah!"
Russian mafia."
Paul
Hudson
Editor
» [email protected]
Susan Linton
ShashankSharma
‘Tdloveaflamewar
"I
starter.
It
automatically
adds ‘and that’s why my distro
is
better than
yours’ to every text form
want a ZX Spectrum
Bob Moss “It
doesn’t matter to
mode that plays
me. ran away from the
beeping noises and
web after had a really
flashes the border while
harrowing dream about
a page
LOLcats..."
is
loading."
I
I
that you submit.”
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF13 5
|3
LINUX
FORMAT
Contents which the sweat of our brows
In
is laid
bare for all to enjoy.
rWVSSm %y>v l
Reviews Home Accountz money
Organising your This at least
makes
it
this
22 quite, quite dull.
easy!
Eschalon Book We
is
23
II
Cox from
cage to old-school role-playing game.
release Alex
his
try
Fi refox
vs Chrome Open source is >
Wow!
It’s like
a post-nuclear
the winner
Lord of the Rings but on Linux! ,
Q
24
Eclipse 3.6
The most complicated IDE in the world gets even more features. What do we think?
25
WordPress 3
it a blog? Is a CMS? No, it’s WordPress\ Now with new theme goodness.
Is
.
it
What on Earth is.
before
>
Huginp56
.?
WebM Google’s attempt to
Mctilu;
.
it
Stitch your photos together kill off
gets too big
H.264
and
make something beautiful
p60
The world’s most popular blogging
engine
is
now a CMS
too.
26
Qt Creator 2 The
finest
C++ code editor in
the world.
27
KOffice 2.2 Not the
finest office suite in the world.
Talking heads
(?(? The
NHS
National
OO Programme
for IT
the largest civilian IT project ever
is > Krita, the image-editing app,
is
one of
the better parts of KDE’s office suite.
Nick Veitch, concerned taxpayer p6
4 LXF135 September 2010 1
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Tweaking Benchmark your box Is
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Probably not. Learn
how to benchmark
your system and find out for sure.
Regulars at a glance
ImageMagick Command-line
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88
Get to grips with one of the most powerful
News
6
Red Hat comes up with new cloud buzzwords, while Google geeks up on the command line.
User groups The
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it
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Procmail Email recipes
96
When a program doesn’t get updated much
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hot are these picks? Really hot,
that's
What ImageMagick can’t do
isn’t
the sun for a
then answered your questions.
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could only be Dr Chris
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What you missed from last month, the month before, and more.
>
all!
Our subscriptions team are
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www.tuxradar.com
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September 2010 LXF135
|5
THIS ISSUE: Red Hat » Google CLI » Mandriva » Cisco » Shiva 3D » Pendrivelinux
ENTERPRISE
Red Hat reveals
new cloud services Vendor continues to buck economic trends and
H
the company’s Cloud Business
become the
said that having
leading vendor of cloud computing infrastructure
and services software.
The Red Hat Cloud Foundations
lead the field
in
deployment,
it
demonstrated
unit, it
was time to put that new avenues for
experience into
is
we made
growth. “Just as
designed to help businesses create,
place to run mission-critical
deploy and manage private and public
applications with
clouds based on either ‘infrastructure
Linux, we’re focused
as a service' or ‘platform as a service'
cloud a safe place for enterprise applications,’’
pull
together elements from Red Hat’s
he
Linux a safe
Red Hat Enterprise on making the
said.
“Red Hat
is
at the
forefront of the industry with a broad
operating system, virtualisation and server
could
Linux development and
an entirely new family of products
models. The various packages
portfolio of enterprise cloud solutions,
management tools and
and
is
driving the expansion of the
new users, from developers to
middleware from JBoss, and then
cloud for
marry these to comprehensive
enterprises, with our
documentation, online resources and
offerings available today.”
expanded cloud
a forward-thinking
release
Certified for the future
was
move that would
To support the
enable customers to begin planning their strategies for
systems and
moving beyond
Hat
new product
also expanding
its
infrastructure builders.
range,
Certified
Provider Program to take
local
into the cloud. This
is
in
Red
be
vital.
It’s
partners
NTT Communications and
Through the programme, developers
more
networked future.
new
will
get
full
access to the
latest
Red Hat
disk images created with specific
performance and security optimisations
provide cross-platform certification on
will
last
IBM,
in
enterprise cloud developer Savvis.
looking forward to a
more
and so
interoperability
expanding now to take
The programme
was launched
June
Amazon's Web Services technology.
Foundations
Cloud
involves working across architectures,
in
> Cloud
is aimed at companies
training options.
The company said the
new product lineup.
Scott Crenshaw, vice president of
aving survived the recession with aplomb, Red Hat has
ambitions to
unveils
for cloud
computing, as well as new
updating services designed to allow for
year to
flexible
costs.
resource scaling with lower
Some
of the plans also include
flexible licencing that allows
Desktop and server virtualisation
users to
migrate existing server instances into the cloud infrastructure.
move
Red Hat has intergrated its desktop and server virtualisation
beyond
products with the release of
consolidation to a
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualisation
pervasive datacenter-wide
2.2.
The company said the
integration of desktop virtualisation
step
in
was an important
improving scalability
and security as more companies start to move away from local installation
and towards
networked solutions.
“As enterprises look to initial
server
more
the solution expands
its
at Savvis, said the
desktop
certification
virtualisation
are looking to us to provide leading scalability and
virtualisation adoption.”
economics,” said Navin Thadani,
The software is certified for Red Hat and Microsoft systems, including Windows 7, and features desktop deployment and management tools.
senior director, virtualisation
business at Red Hat. "Already experiencing traction with server and cloud deployments,
immediate impact on the cloud
computing
industry,
and would
1
www.linuxfonnat.com
give
more businesses access to this new way of working. "Expanding our relationship with
Red Hat
Certified
Red Hat to become a Cloud Provider adds
value to our Savvis of
managed cloud
Symphony
services,
tailored for the enterprise,"
6 LXF135 September 2010
officer
new software and programme would have an
today with the delivery of our
management capabilities to help more customers to break down the barriers to
virtualisation strategy, they
Bryan Doerr, chief technology
reach
portfolio
which are he
said.
Newsdesk SEARCH
Newsbytes
Command line
»
The Eeebuntu
distro,
aimed
netbook users, has put
name behind now called Aurora.
copyright-baiting
and
is
at
its it
control for Google Search giant ups geek cred with CLI app control. or over a
F
Aurera
decade now, the web
has sat atop the internet spoiling users with pretty graphics
its
»
and simple buttons and widgets. Well, finally
Google has seen sense and
away this
stripped
cloud platform based on a
combination of
modern
Ubuntu and
Dell
hardware,
KVM virtualisation.
and given proper users the
interface
command (sort of)
hip,
The Planet has launched a new
line
»
search tools they have
demanded.
The new
series of
command
Debian Lenny has been
updated to version
Eclipse integrated
line
environment
tools for Google services works with a
5.0.5.
The
development
no longer included.
is
Users of Unreal I RCd server
including YouTube, Picasa, Blogger,
»
Google Docs and Calendar.
hackers access to their systems.
small set of
web applications at
available as a (either is
Deb
present
It’s
downloadable package
or Tar) and, as
is
only
fitting,
available only for Linux. This hasn’t,
for
Windows
version from the
Python core.
> The first time you run a service you’ll need to
[email protected]”
The package depends on Python
however, prevented one user from building a
example, would use the following:
google contacts add “Bob R. Todd,
or 2.6 and gdata
>= 1.2.4.
2.5
Installation
instructions are available at http://
The syntax looks fairly familiar. Adding a new contact to your account,
may have
inadvertantly given
The Unreal3.2.8.1.tar.gz
file
on the
UnrealIRCd website had been replaced with a version containing a
anyone
authenticate
backdoor
through your normal browser.
noticing (this version has since
exploit without
been taken down).
code.google.com/p/googlecl/wiki/
software
System Requirements
protection.
In future,
PGP A fix can be found at
will
be signed with
http://fbrams.unrealircd.com/ viewtopic.php?t= 6562.
DISTRIBUTIONS
»
What’s happening to Mandriva?
it
F
Mandriva has been saved from
that recently tried
bankruptcy by the timely
to
intervention of
its
CEO Arnaud
is
API.
for
> Mandriva’s
52% of Linux sales, is
community
its
model
commercial and
Laprevote said that confidentiality
agreements prevented him naming the investors
who had chipped
in to
save
edit
may
a Fedora-like community development testing model.
In
2003, Mandriva
French
legal
protection
filed for
the
equivalent of bankruptcy
agreement with the courts to repay
speculation that Linagora, an open
creditors over a nine-year period.
v
'
1
777.
prove too
expensive for a
company with very
little
money.
»
The SCO vs
Novell case has
been resolved, with the judge
deciding that Novell
owned the
copyrights to Unix and that
and was saved by an
the company, but there has been
lew' Jis
packaging
focus on Red Hat-like subscriptions and
and
obligations.
to involve ditching the
good-looking
boxed
likely
software method of distribution and
find a business
and
DWG files.
plan to
healthy, but Laprevote has apparently
satisfy both
a free version available
reinvigorate the
convinced
will
OS X, with
buy Mandriva,
company, which 10 years ago
company can
coming to
new professional 2D CAD package, is Linux, Windows and Mac
DraftSight, a
grade
industry-standard
accounted
that
MPEG-
The card can handle 16 video
that can read, write
Mandriva community that the
that the
multi-input
first
and 16 ALSA audio streams.
company's finances weren't looking
jittery investors
the
involved.
The
Laprevote. Over recent months,
speculation has grown within the
is
written around the Linux kernel's
»
source specialist
Bluecherry has released what
says
4 hardware compression GPL driver
French distro maker pulls out of bankruptcy spiral at last minute. rench distribution vendor
Video security specialist
its
www.tuxradar.com
had
failed to license
them
SCO
correctly.
September 2010 LXF135
|7
Newsdesk TABLET COMPUTING
Comment
No escaping work New tablet aims to keep you in touch with the office.
Michael
N
Meeks
wherever you go.
etworking specialist Cisco
network hardware market with
PC running Android.
focused tablet
The Cisco Cius
rm
support and a
C/utter-animated goodness, but
built
on the
very latest technologies. This release debuts Evolution Express and a rewritten, beautiful
Banshee-based media player with integrated playback panel. With new ways of interacting with devices, social networking, and messaging
provides an increasingly polished, fast-
booting experience even on cheap hardware.
Another big improvement
this
is
a touchscreen
device with both Wi-Fi and
not only slathered with attractive graphics and
month came
OpenSUSE build service (OBS). It’s used by projects like MeeGo and OpenSUSE for building distributions, by
is
markedly faster, and better
at
client
The Cius has a front-facing camera supporting 720p video streaming and Cisco’s
own Telepresence software.
On the
back, a second
camera
with noise-cancelling microphones.
>
The Cius will dock
providing
how
offers
5MP stills and VGA streaming along
some
into a station
desktop-like functionality.
healthcare professionals advance
patient care;
how
retailers deliver
service experiences to consumers, or It
how
universities deliver world-class
will
come with a docking station, which has USB and DisplayPort connections
education to their students."
and a telephone handset.
openness
of the platform, with a
area of
Development Network set
Tony Bates, senior vice president
and general manager,
enterprise,
The company
its
is
Android developers
how the network is changing the way we live, work, learn
target the device.
and
early 2011
play.
epitomises
This platform can transform
stressing the
new
aside for aspiring and experienced
commercial and small business, Cisco
The Cius
is
and
who want to
expected to go on sale will
in
cost “under $1,000”.
DEVELOPMENT
Shiva
people are packaging for various distributions at http://build.opensuse.org. Naturally, the
3G
desktop
stay connected.
said, "This
companies such as Dell for packaging tools and by various open source projects. The new release brought an improved Web Ul, with better tools for collaborating and merging changes. Perhaps best of all, it also removed the need to authenticate before you could browse, making it far easier to see the goodies
virtual
to enable workers to
with the 2.0 release of
2.0 version
is
pushing further into the non-
i
1.0
Netbook was released -
it
.
the announcement of a business-
This month,
MeeGo
.
3D goes further
Development engine get support for Wii, iPad, Android and WebOS, and a new community site.
using your cluster for shorter build times.
One
of the lesser-known distributions
targets
is
Windows,
it
via cross-compilation
from Linux (of course). My friend Fridrich Strba spent his hack week polishing and packaging Evolution for Windows.
The
slickness of
compiling the Linux way, from pristine source in
the build-service,
is
a huge contrast to the
sad way many commercial Windows apps are created. Often they use a manual, IDE-based
process to build a source tree packed with binary 32-bit
DLLs
of
dubious
tens of libraries pasted
in.
origin, with
Transposing the
granular Linux model to windows, under the watchful eye of the build service, yields a great result:
be
well-maintained
built
Windows apps should
S
is
new
community website to
pull
platforms with its 3D game engine. The company has also added support for new platforms including the Wii,
Android and iPad to
its
already
The company said the growth in platform support was matched by the growth in extensive support package.
its
developer network and that a
community site would help its 22,000 active developers to work and collaborate
CEO
in
Phillip
more
interesting ways.
Belhassen said
it
a pseudo-engineer, semi-colon lover,
and amateur pundit.
was
important to tap into the passion of the
8 LXF135 September 2010
about the power and ease-of-
use of the platform, as well as our single licence program,
we know that we need
www.linuxformat.com
to also have the best resources tools outside of Shiva
developer network. “As more people
on Linux.
Novell OpenOffice.org hacker
3D, has launched a
together developers working across
find out > Michael
toneTrip, the developer of ShiVa
community,” he will
serve to
said.
fulfill
the engine and
and
3D for the
“The new
that need as
site
we grow
show the world what
Shiva can do.”
The package includes a complete SDK, physics engine, a oceans
editor,
terrain
and
path finding and a
graphics engine that can be tailored to the supported devices.
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Newsdesk DESKTOP
Comment
Build your own flash drive distro
^
David Cartwright I
Promiscuous computer users can take their environment wherever they go...
P
had a rather
strange
experience
can create
giving users
distro,
live
a
via
has a new tool that
distributions
from a
wide range of Linux distros with very
support team of a large router manufacturer
ends with
recently (clue: starts with C,
little
effort.
The small Windows package, which
isco).
Manager phone systems in two of the offices look after, and both had the same issue - namely that their clocks were drifting further and further from reality. This puzzled me rather - not least because have Cisco
which has
in
access to their desktop
USB-based
with the tech
I
endrivelinux,
specialised
Call
is
available
from www.pendrivelinux.
com, can create a USB bootable
drive
I
all
I
had to do was stop and restart the
client services
into line,
wasn’t a problem contacting the
We contacted Cisco tech it
so
NTP server.
NTP server (yes,
long and hard, and told us that
it
really
is
a proper
NTP
Windows box not that nasty nearly-NTP protocol Windows uses natively). This was a bit of a puzzler,
server application running on a
because our setups were certified engineering
built
by a
Ubuntu 10.04 netbook
iterations
on
if
will
live
of using
distribution
its
server.
I
mentioned the story to the instructor
and he was incredulous. Of course a Windows server
is fine,
he agreed, since
NTP. think he found I
So here
I
sit,
it
NTP
is
NTP
rather amusing, actually.
wondering to myself how
going to get these phone systems back
I’m
server or proxy features, or
I’d
use those. So
doesn’t run Windows. look...
I
pair of
RHEL 5.0
network management/monitoring boxes data centres. They’ll do
> David
is
an
IT
in
The
office suites,
integrated development environments.
consortium of hardware vendors
the Nintendo Wii
working within the
embedded
which gives
users access to on-demand TV, targetting the higher
end
of the
UK be
will
market
due to the fast processor required to decode the stream. The other bad news is that you’ll need to be running Android
mercy
2.2,
and so may be
of your
Intel,
ARM
a
ecosystem
has banded together to create a new
has launched
service,
on the Samsung,
distribution focused
platform. Freescale, IBM,
ST-Ericsson and Texas Instruments are
all
involved
dubbed
in
the non-profit project,
Linaro.
> Bosch Multimedia has a history of
designing Linux-based products for
at the
handset or service
>
In
the
use
in
the driving seat, but has decided
to partner with
week that Apple released
Monta Vista
its
to improve
iPhone
4,
Google announced that
my
Michael Bolle, senior vice president of the Business Unit Automotive Navigation and Infotainment Systems
it
has sailed past 160,000 activations
at Bosch, said MontaVista
per week. Developers were told to
because
in
potential
users towards the end of the year Intel
releases
its
when
port of the mobile
x86 architecture, making more attractive to netbook and smartbook builders.
consultant with a penchant for
LXF135 September 2010
on
web servers and
> Not to be outdone by
iPlayer service for the Android
cross-platform integration, ICT and proper beer.
10
browsers,
from releases on
BBC
for the
nicely.
web
> Following on
expect a further explosion
seem to have a
of tools usable
Packages available include
itself.
much-touted (and right-hand biased)
going to have to dig up something that
Oh
any computer they come across.
time to market on new products.
sync.
in
USB
easier for users to carry
around a collection
ability to
provider to dish out an update.
my network switches don’t have NTP
Sadly
I’m
is
is
Embedded Linux news
platform.
I
it
USB over a
Pendrivelinux site also offers a massive
and iPhone, the
Then last week, went on a training course, and we got to the bit about setting up the time
making
the
For those less adventurous, the
I
a perfectly acceptable platform
is
make changes to the system
do the work. checked with them and they confirmed that NTP is NTP is
of supported distributions
Windows, which can be run from a drive,
The advantage
fully-
according to Cisco’s guidelines.
list
range of software for Linux and
USB
necessary.
CD/DVD
The
long and appears to grow every week.
even download the
partner supplier - so they were perfectly
Windows
>
hard disk data destroyer.
The package drive
gOS,
such as Plop Linux or
team working for a Cisco
qualified to
and
there, or
more specialised rescue
DBAN
the
latest version of
32-, 64-bit
in
required ISO and format your
support. They
was that we were using a Windows
the problem
you want to have the
distributions
clearly
it
with just about anything, whether
or even
on the Cisco boxes and they
would come straight back
thought about
NTP
built
www.linuxformat.com
it
OS
of
its
was chosen
extensive knowledge of
the Linux platform. "For over ten years,
MontaVista has been a pioneer
embedded
the
in
software market with
its
Linux products, support offerings, and ability to deliver
he
said.
complete
solutions,”
Newsdesk
Comment
Hitting the mirrors What’s behind the free software sofa?
MEDIA PLAYER W_C is
most
surely the
useful video
Nick Veitch
playback software on any operating system, so a new version
is
always
worth checking out. VLCl.l ups the
As was
ante by including hardware
waiting
I
acceleration of video streams,
improving performance and
for reducing the drag on other parts of
with large
acceleration of H.264 formats on
and ATI under Linux as
>
well
VLC 1.1 should make much
less of
an impact on system performance.
Excellent
you’ve had problems
if
amounts
my body literally RF waves
of
in
electromagnet (MRI scanners are
lit
up
a giant cool),
I
couldn’t help but overhear a few of the staff
as the usual array of bugfixes. videos on your laptop. Get
1080p Lady Gaga
playing the latest
my
my
appointment to have
your computer. The software features
Nvidia
in
local hospital
it
from
www.videolan.org.
bickering about technical difficulties. Not with
the scanner, thankfully, but something to do with transferring records from one system to
another and forwarding them to
DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT For
some
users, the
has been a traumatic and potentially ill-advised adventure.
Timothy
Pearson was one such person who, with an eye to the strengths of
source, has taken revive
it
open
upon himself to
KDE 3 and make
it
it
largest non-military IT project ever. Started
usable on
You can download the new, old version as a Lucid (10.04) Kubuntu >
Step back
KDE 3.5 on
in
time and upgrade to
Lucid Lynx.
org/Kubuntu/Kde3/Lucid
first
don’t work, and
how come
several of the
original contractors, including Fujitsu,
walked away from the
IMAGE EDITING
could have been funded for 10 years to do the job.
create incredibly complex layered r
things for
New features
like
Layer Groups, support
window management and
of fifths’ crop guide of
and a
collection
>
Gimp 2.7.1 offers a future with
better layer
management.
JAVA WEB SERVER The Apache Software Foundation has released version 7 of the Java
web
server Tomcat.
support
It
features
for Java Servlet 3.0,
Pages (JSP)
2.2,
JavaServer
and Expression
Language (EL) 2.2
new
full
specifications.
release should be
more
it
parts of
new ‘rule
grungy brushes.
fair,
it
isn’t
seems that
that the software
is
just
what the users want or need. The new UK government had said that the project was to be scrapped buggy,
Photoshop CS4 keybindings,
better
To be
A
V?
include big
small changes such as the
have
project. At the current
projected cost of £13 billion, you have to start wondering how many open source coders
Gimp 2.7.1 has been released with a raft of new features to appeal to both Photoshop users and those who artwork.
in
components were due in 2004. When the project was last re-assessed, the deadline was shifted to 2014... There are loads of reasons why various bits 2002, the
the latest generation of computers.
release at https://wiki.kubuntu.
some outside
happens all the time, but it did make one wonder about the billions of pounds that seem to be spent cyclically on inventing new software infrastructures for the NHS. The NHS National Programme for IT is the sure
clinic. I’m
move to KDE 4.x
The
it
it
at least are
isn’t really
expected to go, although
gone quiet on the future of the project for the moment. One can’t help but think that a more open, consensual and peer-reviewed approach would have been sensible. The NHS isn’t a corporation, and its needs (and ours!) reflect that. And at the very least, if open source methods had been used, it would have been a lot easier to fix it - rather like my elbow, hope - than chuck it all away and try things have
I
to start again.
reliable
Tomcat is seeing
with a better user experience and
>
improved performance.
update
in
its first
major
four years.
> Nick
is
the peg-legged ex-captain of the good
ship LXF,
www.tuxradar.com
who now dwells
in his
shed.
September 2010 LXF135
1
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Linux user groups
United Linux! Meet up with like-minded open source fans - both
below)
is
a
local
but
Join the
group of Linux users or Unix geeks,
Stowell’s note
group meetings, even
on Supercollider (see
if
that’s not every
month.
even need to be Linux-specific. Supercollider example, because
one
it’s
T
for
uninitiated. Yet
someone
with a
little
all
it
all
It
London
doesn’t
held
a perfect
holds together.
of
hurdle that often confuses people and stops
all
Brain share is
why some
make a great if
in
any one
subject could be shared across other groups
A Supercollider devotee could
in
astounded audience.
drum up support for some of these disparate
and technical subjects, and might even regular group meeting of online,
some
sort.
If
make a
difference to them. His
first
day-long
matters to you more than creating It
will
certainly
to
capture.
be very interesting to
Tim
how people have responded
O'Reilly's call to
arms.
www.ukuug.org
a
an enigma
in
in line-noise,”
which sounds
a brave promise to us.
Damian
like
money and
hear the results of what people have
that, “by lunch time, Perl’s
no longer seem
principles
more value than you
promises
will
people to start working on
projects that genuinely
done, and
will
In
the
delve into
some
complex stuff, including code
regex recursion and backtracking control.
It
sounds
like
if
you enter this
session a beginner, you’ll be sure to
flourish into a
these events were
leave as an expert.
A month
you could even get people travelling to
go and learn something they’re interested
Perl. Levelled at
his
with
in.
[email protected]
later,
the
UKUUG
Open Tech 2010. This
informal, low-cost,
is
is
hosting
an
If you’re in London between August and September, visit the UKUUG.
>
one-day conference
Community News Herefordshire shines If
you’re
in
the Hereford area of
Vim): testing
the GUI tools to
and documenting
make sure they
Stowell
work as expected - even
check out the Herefordshire
letter
were coded by a Mac user!
some great
saw the “Help wanted” in LXF133 and dropped us
a line to
let
us know that the
things for the community, such
Supercollider user group could
as the supply of low-cost PCs to
always do with a hand.
local
community groups
through the Community
“Supercollider, the First
programme. Monthly meetings are held on the third of
each month
in
Wednesday
a cafe near the
centre of Hereford, where there’s free Wi-Fi
and parking.
http://bit.ly/cOmKd
14
Super Colliders wanted Ardent Supercollider user Dan
the UK, then you really should
LUG. They’re doing
LXF135 September 2010
awesome
sound synthesis language (see our tutorial
in
LXF128),
users.
Some things that
Some more ambitious on the
wiki
page
if
they
ideas are
for the (sadly
unapproved) Google summer-
ft
of-code Supercollider
S up.rCallldnr
i.
now
Supercollider
Is
10 years
submission: http://tinyurl.
LXFers
Emacs/
more
well melntnlned srte Tor Supercollider can
. Prnn
be Found «t
program.
c'dl
Downloads
com/gsoc-sc3. We recommend
is
always looking for help from
could do: improve the
a
embedding, user-defined assertions,
would
certainly help
It
about
last year, for
is
O’Reilly's plea, early
include working on something that
his
should have a broad appeal.
seriously
audio track, for example, while an Arduino lover could build front of the
it’s
programmers,
afternoon,
create a simple interactive
in
being
who
“work on things that matter." This
Expressions (properly)’, Damian
like
your area.
a robot gerbil
first is
hosted by the
is
Mr Damian Conway, and as
wrapped
regular event for
the expertise
summer. The
mystery wrapped
kind of organised, synchronised,
your user group, especially
announced
Perl
regexes
beginner sessions might
this
in
Entitled ‘Understanding Regular
taking
their interest further.
Which
response to Tim
mid-August and
tutorial
initial
them
hosting two excellent events
involvement
an
that
It’s
that promises talks by people
you might have guessed by
takes to
it
in
he UKUUG, the UK’s Unix and Open Systems User Groups, is
fantastic
experience to
spend 10-20 minutes explaining the basics and how
is
own
its
of those technologies that
appears to be magic to the is
UKUUG for some late summer learning.
doesn’t need to be this way. Dan
it
source software that’s deep enough to warrant
application
internationally.
e normally think of user groups containing
a reminder that there's a great deal of open
break this spell
and
Waterloo Sun
Specialist subjects
W
locally
• Wesleyan nljhtly tu ids of SuperColldtr Sesvtr lor MbiOS X * PwanlMd SxerColdcr Ser-er ry rariB X from. Sfj-cefof pc
.
anyone who’s interested to join the ‘sc-users’ mailing
list
and
discuss.” For further information,
>
Vim/Gedit integration (eg
point your browser
can’t play an instrument,
sending messages to and from
http://bit.ly/bzmwhP
www.linuxformat.com
at:
If
you want to create music, but
Supercollider might be the answer.
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Write to Paul at Linux Format Future Publishing,
ID
Many of software
I’ve
been a subscriber for some
30 Monmouth
BA1
Street, Bath
2BW or [email protected]
month!
Letter of the
time and a constant Linux user for over
two years. use XP
for
I
Netbook jeeps
my work as a software developer in
a laboratory, but never at
home. have a dual -boot system I
with
XP because my daughter
loves iTunes but she ,
is
n 2007, the Asus Eee
quite
my Linux-based XPC downstairs. also have an old Samsung 6000 laptop with 256k memory that
I
happy to use Shuttle
I
PC
seems to have happened
netbooks recently. They have
up notes,
it
was a
drifted
solid-state hard drive instead
looking for replacement
straightforward, reasonably
One such complaint is no decent web
design software. As
it
happens,
it
of
priced and excellent at what it was designed for. I’ve used an Asus EeePC for
‘all’
price
in
because they
basic jeep
blow to the
is
original concept.
speed and
functionality.
all,
in
Windows has, by upped the price
Paul says: Thanks for your email,
support for debugging PHP.
Richard.
NetBeans also ‘keeps out of the way’ with HTML, unlike Bluefish
Hopefully you can, at
some
the future, do a Roundup
of web design software, as
would
like
I
to hear your views on
We last ran a Roundup of
whistles, the
their bells
netbook
is
now,
ED Mint, please! Linux Mint
is
is all
when
a
you want and
you need!
Mike Reed Paul says: You’re absolutely Mike:
right,
come on, netbook
makers - get back to your roots as soon as you can and put Linux to
work as the fast,
operating system
domain
becoming very
light
it is!
your magazine devoted more
the topic -
time to
it’s
hardly a fast-moving
area of development! Rest assured that
we will do another one
future.
in
the
We do occasionally run
standalone reviews when there’s a
the subject.
significant release,
Richard Austin, Barnsley
Bluefish 2.0
in
such as
LXF132.
popular, so
it
high time that
it’s
including adding
it
similar to
Windows ones,
but using only Linux.
web editors in LXF115, so think maybe it’s a bit too soon to revisit I
I
might add.
in
and
all
and have
conditioning and a sat nav,
my
humble opinion, has to be the NetBeans IDE because of its
point
The use
of Microsoft
the screen, so
the best of them
to
VW Golf, which
pretty
but there are times
all
little
the price but a great deal to the
Plus for general work. However,
been looking
a dreadful
Linux contributed very
necessity,
I’ve
into a
or another. This
dramatically. With
use Bluefish
seems that the
may be very air
several years but found that
I
It
known chain of PC stores) now supporting Windows in one sort
the drawback was the size of
is!
brilliant.
(according to a well-
sometimes but prefer Quanta
yes there
original
netbook
software for Windows
that there
original
are
was the jeep the laptop world - simple,
is
shame as the
a
jumped
Linux operating system and a
equivalents.
is
concept for the netbook was
its
and so on. The reason
of a hard disk
This
to
more
expensive laptop. With
my letter is
and purposes, a
makers are trying to turn the
no
frills
for
intents
all
spec of low-price simplicity and
low-cost,
alternative to the
something
away from the
to
laptop - albeit a small one.
Designed as a useful tool
and allowing the user to type
often read of people
with a slightly larger
for surfing the internet
Apache/PH P/ MySQL/ Firefox
I
it
version. However,
quite happily runs Lubuntu/
that
to replace
appeared on the market.
to
I
have played around with a
few mail servers: Axigen,
Communigate, Exchange Scalix ,
your DVD.
and Zimbra are probably the
Tom
best-known ones. have only just
Prendergast, England.
Paul says: We already included Mint on LXF134, LXF129,
LXF121
I
become aware of Zara fa so will probably give
and others before that. What more
There’s so
do you want?
some
it
a bash one day.
much
pretty cool
out there, and
VMware
appliances around too.
AD replacements
E I
just read
about the idea of
Best regards, Peter McCrackan Paul says: think this I
is
that warrants
Exchange/Active Directory
investigation, although
replacements
in
as you can
your July only just into
edition. Errr,
it’s
June here
‘down under’ you
in
an area
some serious
running articles about
maybe you guys don’t June and just ignore it,
know... like
slipping straight through the
summer into July? I
work
in
a Windows shop and
that’s cool; I’m
happy with
that.
But at home I’m a Linux guy and often
16
1
LXF135 September 2010
wonder about setting up a
www.linuxformat.com
> Mint:
better as a distro or as a
sauce? You decide!
Mailserver
imagine test
all
it
such as NetBSD and Haiku OS. We
takes quite a while to
of thoroughness.
I'll
see
if
which you can try all sorts of
can find
I
THREE DISTROS AND SOFTWARE GALORE
have multi-booting discs from
the options with any degree
someone up to the job! As for the dates, magazines are on their own special time zone. Happy Xmas!
distros
from a single boot menu.
ubunl
We have software for Gnome, KDE, developers, syadmins... We have
Same old DVD
I
think that the three
magazine PDFs and more.
most
distros,
If
Edition
1004
23
10.04
quad-booting discs, (j
the
UK can do better than
esoteric projects are
duplicating the contents of each other’s cover disks.
less of the
it
is
ED I
today. Please
Keep
Vatlator
never be list!
it
secret PLUS: KOffice
is
live in
Ubuntu-based operating system using
And much more
a simple
Gnome as its window
I’ll
manager, with the only goal to
say
again:
it
if
internet privacy,
you're a big fan of
up the
you should use
up the app, connected the debugger and said: “There you go, now step through it and
build environment, fired
Mike says: Sameness?
I've just
supply an installable
coverdiscs
Tor active by default for
hide.
anonymous web browsing. Just
idea that only criminals need to
make sense of it.” Sometimes
browse anonymously.
they even managed to find and
last five
(130-134). They have included 23
run the
We've
live cd,
live
cd with
connect to the
Tor even
if
you have nothing to
We need to strip away the
and
given space to such distros as
internet, start Fi refox
Vector, Slitaz, Absolute,
without setting anything up
ED What’s up, docs?
you’re free from censorship!
Regarding Dr Brown’s
CrunchBang and all
Unity.
We explore
sorts of lesser- known projects
Paul says:
I’ve
said
it
before,
fix
and
That always worked, and
about how to set a good
think the
same way. want to
example (LXF133); as somebody
contribute,
who
but
is
comment
a big Linux and open
who
is (I’d like
community must sadly agree with Dr Brown - the open source community does not prioritise
free software documentation.
,
I
think
it
community because
all
it
is)
2010
me (for money, that
we always
let
i I
(
I
Enter
La
o nc
h
I
the ‘new guy’
get
touch with the author
in
and
offer to help,
helping
fix
errors
translating into
become a The
(IVIJJ
Digital
languages.
fields
Deadline for entries
17 Sept 10
Entrepreneur
on the
internet.
2009 winners included
Ecommerce Entrepreneur Nick Brown, Eazyfone Group
With fifteen different categories, you can
Education Entrepreneurs i-education
stake your claim as
one
of the UK’s digital
entrepreneurs of the
Enter your business
existing
digital
pioneers leading their
Dave Boon, Historic Futures Green Entrepreneurs 2009
in
new
Awards seek out the
“Being recognised by the DEA as online entrepreneurs is fantastic for our business”
and
new
documentation, or perhaps even
We helped him or her set
to
is
of a project
documentation such as examples,
of simple
now
documentation. All you have to
entrepreneur of the year
ENTREPRENEUR
UJ
ropes.
it in bold: anyone can help write free software
going to write
that can be by writing
problems to start learning the
the principle!
mm M
n n U U
I’ve
In
so important that I’m
fact, that’s
do
the years of coding
debug a couple It’s
me a clean
Paul says: Anyone can help write
got behind
have anything to hide.
skills,
amount
something back to the
In
you don’t
only have a limited
start
limits contribution.
if
got the
with a willingness to give
hurts our
use Tor- yes, even
I’ve
and good documentation. Regards JarlOstensen
documentation, and
online,
I
I
and
of patience. Just give
to
competent coder
I
you value your privacy
I
OS community could
source fan, and
> If
the bug!
wish the
think) a fairly
i
tutorials
counted up the
different distros to try out.
I
4 snapshot,
2.2, Fi refox
- see index.html for f (til software descriptions
>
documentation, anything but
It is
.
We try to get a good balance of content on our DVDs, but we’re not telepathic: if there’s something you want to see, let us know.
countries with
censorship.
sameness.
,
thought up for people
the-way software,
Chris O’Grady
I
- the
“sameness” will
present to you Vatlator!
who
same, more out-of-
this stifling
light
more
quantity of software (and distros) than
I
on your Christmas card
the variety and
in
maybe
to you, then
LXF
coverdiscs used to be far
wide-ranging
and
Ultra fast uit
perfect Linux flavour for mini laptops and older PCs
masses of software, podcasts and
widely available Linux magazines in
i3
Netbpok#
Editior
podcasts, newbie guides,
ED
ubuntu
ak
£
••
Charlie
l>harks
now
Hodgson
& England fly haflf
at www.digital-entrepreneur.co.uk
Green Entrepreneurs Historic Futures
year 2010.
Proudly sponsored by
UKFCISb
Mailserver
Becta what?
down under
Linux
On Tech Radar today the
In
which we chronicle the efforts to get LXF to - and cheap! - as possible.
Australia as fast
“Government claims closing
D Subscribe!
Becta saves £10m" story caught
my interest. As this will remove
In
the central control from schools
been
and
of Linux
local authorities
could
it
recent
occasion the magazine arrived
months there have about the price
letters
newsstand
Format in Australia
and the two-month delay
offer openings for the increased
two days before
in
was due on
it
the UK!
in
With performance
like I
use of Linux and open sources
arrival. Yes,
within education. Could you
frustrated by those aspects
Keep up the good work.
possibly look at this and perhaps
as well as the magazine’s
Jeff Shrowder
what benefits Linux can
rather spotty availability
assist those
in
that the
For
me
it
I
did the sums.
was a
no-brainer:
subscribe.
Ian McNicol
recognise that there are
Paul says: I
It's
out of our remit. bigger,
those for
a very interesting
think
it’s
perhaps a
Some of the
we ran in yesteryear didn’t prove of much interest to our
stories
whom such an
titled
in
not easy.
its
the boxout
I
Last year
my subs cost me
a letter to the
less than
AU$15.40 each
just don’t get
it.
been receiving the
my
my costs will
mag
Europe.
who do
not reside
my letterbox to collect
(currently)
and pay
issue.
charges to do
miles
in
I
can get
it
from
their
greater.
So may Tux smile
upon
who need
all
to be
to savings and
increase their enjoyment of a
my
as
UK
great
locals
,
“Buttons right or wrong”
on the Distrowatch pages of LXF134. A closer inspection revealed that the sizes of
some
of the coloured sectors of the
chart bear no relation to the
percentages reported
in
the
legend. For example the
This chart
It is a past its sellby date and has gone to be recycled into a scattergraph.
>
is
useless chart.
useless. It’s
sector (dark blue)
is
‘I
hate
it’
way over
19%
is
boxes.
supposed to represent
be around
‘I
don’t use Ubuntu’
represent
me to
20% of the area of
the chart but
time
Er...
that's
about
the
all
excuse can give - sorry! I
is
supposed to
I
have read your magazine for
tutorials
1% of respondents!
somebody forget how
ID Hitting the links about two years. With many have tried
I
magazine,
installing
Rob McCallum,
installing a
Paul says: The problem here
a
where we spend our time
deciding which kind of chart
www.linuxformat.com
have
in
your
come across a
Arch for the
it
was
first
new program,
time,
or
trying to helpfully hack the is
cunning disconnect between editorial,
I
hurdle or two, whether
pie
charts are supposed to work?
Northamptonshire
LXF135 September 2010
their
of respondents. Even
sector (light blue) looks to
Did
where they spend
choosing colours and shading
chart but, according to the legend,
conveys the information best, and art,
25% of the total area of the
worse, the
18
those
mag right on time. Jan Boers Cookernup, newsagents. Western Australia
also get
mag almost as soon
all
my savings are even
shown the path
it
less than newsagent’s so.
shoes not
worn out walking
month and do have to walk as far as
be even lower.
to this the time saved,
petrol not used,
not
many
my copy every
get
I
Add is
exchange
rate looks to be even better so
about either the cost or delay of getting the best Linux
others also
letterbox at
issue. This year the
All
the time Aussies complaining
only voiced by us but
AU$13.50 per The current issue, ‘on sale 24 June’ arrived yesterday, the 27th. On one
right
and
editor
is
2!
around. But this complaint
current issue just days after the ‘on sale’ date -
E Chips or mash?
associated legend
is
month there
real time-
Most every
it!
Subscribing has meant that
delivered to
with that pie chart and
I
just don’t get
for the last several years I’ve
afraid.
Something wasn’t quite
saying that,
up-front outlay
little
government-focused
wider readership, I'm
In
I
Stereotypes are a
saver for us.
D Subscribe
Eventually
use of Linux should be greater.
story, but
in
newsagents.
in
education and
who feel
took out a two-year renewal.
> offer.
This could prove beneficial
saving costs
used to be
I
that
wonder that recently
it’s little
kernel
and submit corrections.
With these hurdles, the various authors always assume that their set of instructions/tips/
Mailserver
r workarounds and so on are the
industry standard that
only hurdles people
thousands of organisations
This brings suggestion.
add a
me to my
the end of each
and the
tutorial
around the world
think you should
I
link to
will face.
website?) and read more
more hurdles
information, about
may not have
that the authors
had space to explain and add
magazine
into the
article.
other magazines do
but
this,
I
don’t think you should feel like you are copying. This would be
more
like
can
I
borrowing, such as
you that
tell
B
Joseph Really great place to you should check it out!
many
I
just as well
today as
is
one
was designed.
few standards
it
when
did
offending article and
your authors’ input would be
was me, that
I’ll
have the
dawn! Unless
0 More from Mail
Virginia
Regarding LXF133 and Craig
we
Paul says: The problems describe and help
fix in
Bartlett's letter,
There
the
magazine are genuinely the ones that
we feel
users are most
to encounter. Obviously
likely
we can’t
cover every scenario, but you’re right in saying link to
we could do more to
resources online.
get this changed
in
I’ll
try to
is
Gentoo, though
as pure as the
A sysadmin replies
First off,
congratulations on a
superb publication. surprised at the
I
am
always
amount of
Porthole.
read
it
in
I
is
out there.
In
the case of
other things that
among
is still in
is
an
it
does seem
not avoiding
it
some evil because we don’t
for
the
reason, but just
in
have enough confidence that
back.
I
anything
a
in
of flux right now. We're
“just
words on paper”. Wind on
to the real world in
Android
iPhone
is
in
2010 and
catching up with
the
US
having
left
Windows Mobile dead in the water. Chrome is coming up fast
we write would add Gentoo
on the inside and Google
community and/or
help people do
dropping Windows from
someone will no
something more meaningful with
56k
This
all
real
dial-up
computer
has gone very
(in spite
of only using a
modem) was the
all
the distros
I've
Linux.
an
If
you have a good idea
article, let
for
me know!
desktops with
all
is
its
the
implications that has
on the
general public.
0 Soothsayer Steve
Affordable and
more able
competitors to the iPad run
my father, who
used to connect since Ubuntu
Linux Format January 2008’s
Linux. Even
Studio
Newsdesk had a story called
uses
“Google mobile ambitions”,
becoming cool. I’m not looking for “The Year of Linux” I’m hoping for “The Era of Linux” LL Owen
7.10.
Paul says:
course
magazine, but
huge state
Toorox since then and for
prime time.
development. LDAP
I
substantially to the
John Sherman
Please... of
like
some time
development and not ready for
it’s in
it
have installed and been running
easiest of
LDAP
as
Linux Format, although it
Android on mobile phones proves that Linux works just about anywhere you need it - and looks great, too!
>
not exactly
real thing
you have avoided
well.
LXF133, one of your correspondents claimed
it’s
install
know this because
background
misinformation about Linux there
way to
uses the Gentoo ports tree via
Distrowatch
E
“Gentoo Please
a simple
plague since a mention
future!
it
is.
Randy Cayea Haymarket, ,
it
me know the
Let
writer executed at
valuable to the readers.
a
agree with you:
I
of the
have the forums, but believe I
much
article you're referring to.
on solving the problem
Constitution. Yes, you
as
it is
down exactly
can’t really track
that keeps
US
fire is
an art - it's more cooking with a gas more nuanced than cooking
grill,
or James Madison borrowing
the
wood sport a 5
George McKeown, Montrea/
LDAP
to
Over Wood as
a Sweaty, Smoky Sport Grilling over a
Paul says: Without more specifics
Suffice to say,
Mason
eat,
instinctive than
ideas from John Locke to write
of Rights to
Grilling
IT projects,
and has nothing to do with Linux or Windows.
the Declaration of Independence
Bill
56 mfris
been the
investigation has
which
help prepare a
Jennifer I'm ok
A,
conclusions on a superficial
Thomas Jefferson borrowing
ideas from George
N
management about any project when you base your convincing
downfall of so
know
I
(
*
L
management for over 20
years,
readers can go to (maybe your
many
in
O
in
different flavours. After being in IT
where
like,
used
is
I
really
want to give
Gentoo more coverage
in
the
which Microsoft
in
CEO Steve
Ballmer described the project as
it.
is 81,
Slowly but surely Linux
is
Paul says: definitely agree that I
if
^00 FiW AB0&
IN
I
^oO FIND A B06. IN
if
VqO Pimp
A
INTgdfJET e.*PLod£C
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Steve Ballmer hasn't been the best
in
at
,
UJlLl. Ulv'c
‘VoOTlJO fj&E
fcLA«:eV£S^-Wj 1
0
making
predictions, but
I
wouldn't count Microsoft out just
SoAE rtitCoSoPT C.OONS
yet
'
- they still have a war chest
of
some $50 billion and a huge, huge number of developers ready to spring into action should the
company ever make up its mind about a new direction. Still, in the meantime Linux is thriving, and we should
all
be grateful for Android,
Chrome and more! EES
www.tuxradar.com
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|19
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the latest software and hardware reviewed and rated by our experts
All
GRAHAM MORRISON has just added an improbability layer to his
Meeq sequencer.
Our pick of this month’s releases: Home Accountz
We are geeks
O just
this
ne of the most surprising
in
are
now
tiny applications with
very limited functionality. The tens
thousands of tools, games,
and jokes that
live
and easy to
install,
we can
II...
23
4.
something by
learn
27
KOffice 2.2 Andy Channelle took a
lot
of stick
for slating the previous version, but
he was brave enough to agree to
new version. Has Team KDE redeemed itself?
look at the
for a sequel.
WordPress 3
little
to
compete with desktop applications, yet users are often happy to pay a small fee for them and download them in their thousands. The attraction must be that each is easy to understand, guaranteed to work users,
switching to Qt Creator 2.
on
Android’s Market offer very
could be because
it
the developers used KDevelop
beer tokens.
Eschalon: Book
is
the last version,
They might
The sequel to an Ultima- like RPG game we rather liked last year. Our Alex spent more than 20 hours wading through the world, but we’re not sure he’d accept a commission
revolution
KOffice turns out to be as poor as
designed to save you a few imperial
smartphone
how many people
utilities
of
side-effects of the recent
interested
of
If
popular accounting application
26
Qt Creator 2
22
Impose your own austerity measures using a new version
24
Eclipse Helios
is the perfect chance up on the world’s most popular IDE and one of the most important free software apps
This release to catch
Eschalon: Book
II
28
what seems like an eternity as WordPress 2.x, the best blogging and CMS platform has received a After
major update. But will your layouts and plugins still work?
p23
—
Qt Creator 2 p26
and as Linux
learn a lot
from
this.
App storage The average package repository full
of stuff that, with a
install
is
of
launch icon and an
polish, a nice
easy
little bit
mechanism, could
become just as
popular,
addictive, as the
easily
and
smart phone
As good as Qt Creator is,
equivalents. Various distros have
> Return to the world of isometric gaming,
>
tried to create app-store like
pagan symbolism and poor hygiene.
become a good programmer.
it
can’t help
Graham
interfaces to their repositories, but
they’ve
all
failed.
They need user
need to
reviews, they
offer
screenshots, and they need one-
Our verdict explained
click installation.
The developers behind Osmos, announced that the
six
All
we
(reviewed last issue), recently
weeks they
spent developing the Linux version
review are rated
from 0 to
10, with
demand
well spent.
The spike
in
after the Linux release
Mac and Windows. There’s the demand
was
bigger than for both
applications,
has the All
skill
we need
for
and the community
to satisfy that is
demans.
a package manager
with screenshots and reviews.
[email protected]
10
LINUX
the best
we use to
is
verdict
FORMAT
Stuff award. Only
being highest. The
VueScan
8.6.10
Ed Hamrick
considered for this
Developer:
award - scoring highly isn't enough
Web: www.hamrick.com
usually features,
performance, ease of
by
categories
was time
crowd may receive our prestigious Top
the products that
rate products are
money, but software available without a charge might be rated
the
recommended
on documentation instead of
of the software. In
value for money. Regardless of
this will
the four criteria used,
we always
distribution
some cases
be hand compilation
using GCC, but
$80
(£54, Professional)
Features
When reviewing free software, we will usually use
use and value for
Price:
9/10
itself.
if
Performance Ease of use Documentation
»
There simply
with
it
isn’t
9/10 10/10 9/10 anything to compare
on Linux, or possibly any other
operating system you
may choose.
the developers
give an overall score out of ten.
recommend Autopackages these
Products that stand out from the
will
Rating 9/10
be used instead.
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|21
Reviews Accounts package
Home Accountz While he was prospecting for the best accounts package home users can buy, Bob Moss struck the motherlode. There’s gold in them thar hills!
R
In brief...
egular readers
will
our review back
in
remember LXF131
(May 2010), where we gave this
» A cross-platform
product’s
accounts package
expensive enterprise cousin Business
designed for
home
more heavyweight and
Accountz a respectable 7/10. Despite
See also: GnuCash.
users.
providing a
terrific
experience for
anyone regardless
of their experience
with business accounts, tax and ledger, lost
it
marks because
tag and
its
failure to
enterprise needs
of
its
£400 price same
address the
many of its
competitors could.
However,
its
and more
lighter
Home
specialised counterpart
Accountz e scapes these
criticisms.
provides only the functionality that absolutely necessary, and
Accountz you need no of
like
prior
Business
knowledge
accounts or banking to take
advantage of everything that
Accountz can
company.
bank statement data all
in
QIF or
import
OFX
days.
difficult
banks and, thanks to
it
platforms.
in
Where Home Accountz
distinguishes
itself
from the other
competing solutions, however,
is
end-user support provided by
its
could do with
Toth
is
itself is
first
very
a
intuitive
screen you encounter
an overview screen that shows you
tree view you can expand, shrink
minimum
ability
of effort.
a
and
your own assets and bank accounts
to create
how
a drop-down
is
no more use
and you can
edit anything very
the date the
Visual
An auto-generated graph
account
of recent transactions
can help you avert
come very
financial disaster.
it
arrived
in.
As you create transactions you notice changes
in
1
LXF135 September 2010
much for the
in
the
Home Accountz is rest of us. E23
www.linuxformat.com
Verdict A
Home Accountz Price: £39.99
Features
8/10
Performance Ease of use Value for money
9/10 9/10 9/10
»
Covers everything home users need and more than justifies the price tag.
will
value over your
detailed overview, with expenditures
22
so though this
not appeal to those
Web: www.accountz.com
into cells or
was made, the payee, the account the money came from and the
finances then this will naturally
very
a tax return at
Developer: Accountz
transaction
spreadsheet to track your
will
FORMAT
menu depending on the
easily. Fields include
you’ve ever used a
package
file
fiscal year,
LINUX
than using a spreadsheet.
Simply enter fixed data
field,
If
Despite
Most home users don’t need to
accounts industry
You can also
period to see a detailed view of
Creating a transaction
Oderkig
KDE 4.
use the right-hand pane to define a time
difficult charity
in
in
look
the overall ease of use and
the end of the
Hip
Paytte*
out of place
monitor a payroll or
iiiia
Intuitive
little
this niggle,
tag.
is
parent
HralaplDf:
that
functionality completely justify the price
previous months.
Fjrdwn
is
Gnome menu, and the app can
current balance automatically. This
customise thanks to the
SA
meaning you
to or have paid in the past.
the
your finances have changed over Docuttcira
etc,
can easily query those you owe money
your expenses, income, net worth and
with the
mnsKibis
also a whole section of the
The only complaint we have
the
Features at a glance
is
name, address, email,
easy to use The
is
payee contact information such as
it
is.
The package
many different
red while income
in
the installer uses the 'Other' section
It’s
being written
There
grows overtime.
than
marked
the usual black on white typeface.
application dedicated to maintaining
We suspect this will no doubt change as Home Account? s userbase
indeed.
Java, operates across
it
being more comprehensive than
using a spreadsheet.”
I
left in
Home Accountz does have a
support forum but
the major high-street
“Creating a transaction
no more
intuitively
who aim to respond within two working
and free
already
is
Home Accountz provides
email support directly to technicians
Home Accountz can
format from
> You can see your transactions over previous months and current balance as soon as you launch Home Accountz. And doesn’t the Java interface look great?
full
Home
offer.
Like the well-known
GnuCash,
It
is
Rating 9/10
Reviews
Eschalon:
Book 2
the kind of strange man who actually enjoys starving to death while fighting rats in a dungeon. A perfect reviewer for this game, then.
Alex Cox
is
In brief...
T
humpy, the most feared
fighter
Everdale. Slaughtered by a rat
in
after 17 consecutive
missed
» Turn-based
swings of
isometric
wizard of Port Kuudad. Could conjure a
roleplaying in fireball classic
80 s form.
Swords, sorcery,
and a whole dead
lot
of
out of thin
air,
managed
but
to
die of severe dehydration while standing
a
right next to
lake.
Mr Sneaks, the
rogue of Wolfenwood, erased from
rats.
Similar to
his cudgel. Paul Daniels,
Sacred
existence after attempting to put on
Gold or Nethack. trousers.
All in
a day’s work.
Eschalon Book II is planted
same
rich
compost as
mulch made up
of
games, shredded
its
in
the
prequel, a
ground up Ultima
AD&D
books, and a
topsoil of interminably turgid fantasy
novels. Its quests are generally of a relatively
standard fare - go there,
that
- padded with almost
lore.
It
game
fits
kill
biblically dull
the mould of an Ultima-style
perfectly, then.
Now this is an RPG: numbers related to 'bludgeoning weapons’ a dark scary dungeon, and 5 hit points to play with.
>
RPG
Being an begins
in
a
sequel, the
game
most predictable manner:
you’ve lost your
memory along with any
trace of the fighting or wizarding
skill
refreshing to see an RPG that leaves the tough choices to you.” “It’s
I
you may have developed
in
the previous
classic balance
seems schoolmistressRPGs
other bugs to be ironed out by the time
quest deliverers have no sense of your
you get your hands on
missions, and the
eligibility for their
game's monsters don’t scale to your level.
This
means you’ll
inevitably
end
of ever returning
an example of
Saving the
game
regularly
is
therefore
turn-based combat, bashing monsters
given the lack of any auto-save feature.
up
who you
in
and what
are
musculature
particularly
your quest to find out is
going on.
Building your character’s isn’t easy.
Eschalon s
Tweak your quest The early game of resources.
combat,
is
is
by a lack
HP regeneration, even out painfully slow,
off
starting a
saving
game rules
don’t expect service
when
you next need a potion.
effect
more
-
it
makes combat
difficult, too.
in
plot
er,
old
the
you
on
fuel for at least a
RPGs, though,
demo
entirely fixed,
is
of potential characters
If
it’s
you're
new to,
worth trying
before you buy. 533
Verdict A
Eschalon Book
II
Games
Web: www.basiliskgames.com
range or
afflicted with a disease.
refreshing to see an
not just a pretty
number
Developer: Basilisk
new character. You
when enemies are
when you're
And it’s
the
FORMAT
system, for example, or you could turn
often rains in Eschalon.
not especially varied,
rare.
could switch off the frankly tedious food
Brewing storms
if
and although the
LINUX
particularly ineffective, outrageously
when
It
huge
as
it
Its
and the
early breed of health potions are
You can mess with the
Weak shopkeepers
is
narrow genre.
couple of runs through.
made tricky
expensive and disappointingly
Are the staff offering you bad prices? Kill them! Just
world
its
offer should give
of
Features at a glance
happy to recommend
no chance
alive.
Book IFs sadistic
Despite Eschalon design, we're
paramount importance,
well
attended by the developer.
up being sent on errands that you have from
though, as
it
forums are bustling and
Basilisk's
of
levelling
We fully expect this and
completely.
of today. To give a simple example,
game. Thus follows a long period of
and
caused the game to segfault and drop
harsh against the more forgiving
It's
RPG that leaves the
Price: $25 (approx £17)
Gameplay
6/10
Graphics Longevity Value for money
8/10
tough choices up to you.
» A solid continuation
The version of Book //we got to play - a relatively early Linux build, granted - had some rather odd bugs, primary of
faint-hearted.
which was one of trickiest to cope with:
5/10
7/10
o/Eschalon’s Ultima -esqi/e mechanics. Not for the
Rating 7/10
deadly trousers. Equipping trousers
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|23
Reviews IDE
Eclipse 3.6 Once bloated and overrated, Nick Veitch sheds new light on the one development environment that has set out to rule them all. In brief... » All in one open source IDE,
A
t
the end of June each year,
some things have become more or less certain. One of them is that there will be a new release open
of Eclipse, the all-encompassing
especially good for Java. Also
see
source IDE that was spawned by IBM
and given to the world at
NetBeans.
large
Since the 3.x series released
in
2001.
in
2004,
each year has seen a version increment in
what
is
now a
purposeful and
coordinated train of development. This enables to focus on
and
it
one
all
the related projects
big release per year,
brings a kind of dependability
that you don’t often see
the open
in
source world. As well as making to pick the release date, for corporates,
it
is
who have a
it
easier
also helpful
release cycle
>
Now with added
only IDE you
will
Linux support, Eclipse really
ever need. You can even use
is
it
making a play to become the
to build
KDE applications!
they can rely on.
come up with new features, some
This year Eclipse has
some
excellent
which are long overdue - support
for
Git as a repository, increased support
also the
Web apps,
Eclipse anyway, but there
a no-brainer for corporate development “It’s
I
work on Java.”
both
cloud and mobile are well supported
effort
XML. Python
improvements to the Pulsar
mobile Java project.
is
a
lot
sort of total environment
addition of
official
in
more
being expended on creating
some
- hence the
JavaScript support,
including a debugger,
is
supported
via the third-
PyDev plugin (which is neat for making Google App Engine projects). party
and other web
With support for so
extensions both from the Eclipse team
and
third parties, Eclipse
for business
is
a no-brainer
development work on Java,
and more than
authoring improvements.
many different many
Java environments, and so
suitable for
anyone
working on a Java-based project. The
and other web tools, a new ‘Marketplace’ client to make it
for JavaScript
easier to find the plugins you need
and
Not just Java
lure for
One of the preconceptions that people
getting stronger, but
have about Eclipse is that
when
it’s
just a
Java
The C/C++ extensions have
although they haven't been universally
support for the tools Linux developers
updated to support the
popular with Linux developers.
use on a day-to-day basis for languages
latest
Java
soon
been
Features at a glance
Linux desktop. Yes, Eclipse does provide
available for Eclipse since
after the project
was
released,
Part of the reason for this
to integrate
its
is
that
make
projects with a
it
common
Linux development toolchain. Sure, you
could use GCC, but there
use the
win-*). -
Hi fcUce tv Ed psc
1h.11
GNU Autotools or
Valgrind or
Linux developers. Starting last year, the
h*i
Horiiwv rot i.j... Nr v,o
Eclipse Linux Tools project
i
Ed
shhzt
working on an
official
began
plugin to
add
this
Pydev - Python IDE tor Eclipse !» 4 pl-O'1 ll-*t cttidci Dilp.r In Sc u.ctl Pylt lT«iPjtrw'>. r. useb advamcd type iiYctant led.i tfjo u
Pytto.
Maven
Integra tior for Eclipse
lew « *1
iK vl *
6
functionality,
and
this
is
really its first
proper outing.
Find the plugins you need with the all-new marketplace client.
Mobile development Add Pulsar as a plugin or as standalone for mobile
Java development.
supported too. Eclipse now has an official
Fortran plugin to
PHP and
go alongside
Ruby, as well as various
web
technologies including JavaScript and
24 LXF135 September 2010
www.linuxformat.com
but
it
any more than the basic
other than Java.
M3
LINUX FORMAT
Verdict
Eclipse 3.6 (helios) Developer: The Eclipse Foundation Web: www.eclipse.org Licence: Eclipse Public Licence
Features
9/10
Performance Ease of use Documentation
8/10 6/10 7/10
» It isn't quite therefor desktop C++
Of course, other languages are
Marketplace app
also lacks
was no
many of the other tools available to Mylyn
some excellent time-saving tools,
easy
provision for trying to build packages,
Edtw.org.
less clear-cut
Platform project, which has been
IDE.
Eclipse has so far failed to
trt
is
actually
Enterprise Edition specifications, and
* » usMVkvsm
it
comes to developing for the
C/C++ tools. On the Java side, one of the major areas of interest is the Web Tools extra support for Linux
Mytjn
it
web development work is
development, but still a super choice for anyone working with Java.
Rating 8/10
Blogging
client
Reviews
Word Press 3.0 The world’s most popular blogging software has CMS ambitions. Andy Channelle sees whether it’s getting too big for its boots. In brief... » Simple blogging software that’s had
a funny turn and thinks
it’s
a CMS.
See also: Blogger,
W
ordPress
is
probably the
most popular piece
newsfutures
blogging software available, Dashboard
and version 3.0 demonstrates the
in
the
Drupal, Joomla.
If
likes of
Right
Updates
Joomla and Drupal
Akismet Stats
site
&
running
5
Posts
1 Page
11 Categories
Add New
hitting the will
should simply be a case of
Automatic Update
once
and can be accomplished
in
Approved
0
Pending
0 Spam
Tags
Change Theme
Theme Mystique with 9 Widgets
^ Media
You are using WordPress
Unks
you have your database and Webserver set up,
0
Post Tags
New
installations are equally simple,
0
Categories
which
link,
appear on the Dashboard.
Discussion
0 Comments
Posts
Posts
with a recent installation of WordPress, installation
Now
Content
CMS game.
you already have a
Dashboard
fff
Dashboard
ambitions of the development team to take on the
Search Engines Blocked
of
3.0.
Akismet blocks spam from getting to your blog, but there's nothing the
in
your spam queue at
moment.
[0 Pages The blog
a
(~P
Comments
tin)
Appearance
is
currently under the protection of Private WordPress.
couple of minutes. Recent Comments
The Dashboard, where blog configuration and posting are handled,
has been given a
lot
some
polish
more information
single click.
and makes
>
The new dashboard
is
easy to use and benefits from excellent documentation.
available within a
You get the feeling that
you’re working within a dynamic system
system
easier to
is
Drupaf s, making
it
manage than
WordPress 3.0 isn't as
comprehensive as a more mature
simple to create
navigation systems that can be built
I
“The Dashboard makes a lot more information available with one click.”
into
solution such as Drupal or Elgg, but
the theme or added to pages via
widgets.
The views/query options
come close to those available
in
don’t
Drupal,
but they give WordPress the potential to build
more sophisticated experiences.
content authoring. This true
when
is
focused on giving the user the
The WordPress community provides
blogging as easy as possible.
heaps
The
menu
introduction of a comprehensive
system, complete with drag and
extensive
naming, makes
it
the
more elaborate
sites that the usual
In fact,
the
menu
BuddyPress p
I
ugi n
In fact,
the
out of the box
ability to is
- creating
involve running the distribution,
and
would
great to see
Version 3.0 ships with a new,
theme that also has
structure
Hack your CSS
commenting.
The CSS
theme coupled with the CSS
with code hinting, but
editable options.
the guts of a theme.
editor could do
provides easy access to
into
It's
is
logical
editor built
good introduction to CSS
www.tuxradar.com
Verdict
Developer: The WordPress team
Web:
http://wordpress.org
GPL
editing
9/10
Features
8/10
Performance Documentation
9/10
»
the TwentyTen
you’re curious about
management system. 523
Ease of use
the WordPress back-end provides a
pretty if
In fact,
blogging engine or content
Licence:
and comprehensive
TwentyTen
in
WordPress
menu-
and the CSS
The new default theme is widget and menu enabled and contains a lot of user
a
and a great
anyone interested
FORMAT
plenty of
backgrounds and header images. easy to work with, thanks to
make the In all, this is
fantastic piece of software
LINUX
options for widgets, columns,
functional, well designed
minimal.
it
integrated into the core of the system.
friendly
is
this
WordPressMU
it’s
them
learning tool for
use BuddyPress
version. Previously this feature
of
the mechanics of administrating a
the result of one of the in
but the editing needed to
most
CMS could do, including - via
more significant innovations
Features at a glance
possible
Facebook-like social networks.
blogging fayre, with multiple, dynamic
views of your content.
it’s
do almost any job that a more
drop reorganisation and custom possible to create far
create bespoke post categories) don’t yet have a graphical interface available,
functionality.
With a few quick additions to
options such as post types
(which enables the administrator to
simplest experience and making
add
especially
software core, the themes and plugins.
Plugins and widgets of plugins to
is
comes to updating the
it
Some of the that
is
manage and feels more user friendly in both management and
also simpler to
The perfect introduction
10/10 to
and CMS software. We love we want you to love it too.
blogging it,
and
Rating 9/10
web design.
September 2010 LXF13 5
|
25
Reviews IDE
Qt Creator 2.0 A month after the release of KDevelop 4, Graham Morrison
reviews
arch nemesis. But which one’s best? There’s only one way to find
H
In brief...
ot
its
out...
on the heels of KDevelop 4,
and several months before we anticipated, Nokia released
» A development
version 2 of
environment for
Qf development environment. It had been expected
its
groundbreaking
integrated
C++ programmers who use the Qt framework. Also
be part of Qt4.7 which
consider Eclipse,
testing. Instead,
KDevelop 4 or
part of Nokia’s
plain old Kate.
it
is still in
to
alpha
has been released as
Qt SDK 1.0, a
slightly
modified version of Qt that includes a device emulator and support for
MeeGo. You can
also grab
it
as part of
the Qt 4.6.3 package and as a
standalone project. Fortunately, installation
easy.
is
You grab a large binary, make
this
Qt Creator*s debugging capabilities are greatly improved - it can even debug image types by rendering their output to a temporary window.
>
executable, and run
command
line.
user account,
from the
it
you do
If
this
from your
the required
all
files install
automatically, including a link to Creator in
your Desktop
folder. Clicking
on
this
launch the IDE. You won’t even need
will
the Qt development
libraries,
as these
are included by default. Ubuntu users,
we’ve seen, and for the
first
time, can
I
overview of the
some
Ul,
then
move on to
docs.
All
of this
embedded
is
need to
done through the
the
of our 1.x projects
now work
project at a time,
now make a
lot
is
that
more sense
your Qt code using a series of Python
helpers that automatically inspect certain
Qt and standard datatypes.
There are
still
a
number of annoying
design decisions, such as the watch
Qt, to start developing.
using the panel on the left-hand side.
window only appearing
A lot has changed since version 1.0, which now feels more like a prototype than a major release. The new launch
The only problem with
but Creator 2.0 is a massive step up.
is
one
of the best
this is that
never clear which project build
and
The
run.
their well
iii
mult
•
it's
Add
going to is
to use the
new target selector tool, just below the between projects to
Features at a glance
is
solution
build icon. This enables
build, displaying
name beneath the play icon, as
as
letting
l!
M
you choose between
QInac * si|on(QSize(20Q, 200), Qliage: sfanl fill [QColor(2QQ. 10, 33).rqbn
lacks
useful options.
Deluge uses
the System
integration of
Tray to
only a middleweight
when
show
FORMAT
Verdict
Deluge
use.
Version: 1.2.3
“For essential features,
basic
you may have
handled by the main app, but
I
you may have to
UNUX
information.
does work,
It
on resource
pretty light
is
a bad
isn't
It
Website: http://deluge-torrent.org
what many people would consider
essential features
this.
is
be fixed
will
by any means, though
comes to
and
many clients.
in
the software
imminent, so perhaps that
as current speeds and connected or
control uploads
for
downloading has finished. At the time of
The status bar along the bottom
panel.
from the download
directly
there a torrent searching
download speed continues moving after
your current downloads),
interest (say,
file
is
One annoying thing about this
pretty straightforward left
nor
list,
through Deluge
much fuss. There's no option to
launch a
is.
layout of the
installed directly
without
it
desktop of choice
-
example.
for blocklists or scheduling, for
GTKfor
the desktop interface, but
myself get, absolutely soaking wet.
let
to delve
into the plugins.”
» Middle-of-the-road performer, does get
lots
but
it
of development love.
Rating 6/10
KTorrent KDE-based client that uses the
A
pps based on KDE are expected to be
full
Extra functionality
of settings,
options and menus, and this
is
no exception. KTorrent wouldn't easily be mistaken for a
- every
pixel of its
Mac OS X application interface seems to
want to communicate urgent information, or request
be
set. For
those
impart
some
who aren’t frightened
may wish to
useful details, this
terms
is
provided by
and again these show the
micro-management touch. The bandwidth scheduling can be set on a giant calendar, so
if
you want to allow
unlimited uploads on Thursdays only, is
the only client that
KDE app
of old,
will
do
it.
and leaving
it
up to you to work out not.
KTorrent was the only client that
is
managed connections to all the available peers in the time
of the underlying
it
took to
download the
exceeds every other
clocked up the fastest time. Like
player
client here,
lacks the tracker,
it
and UPnP media
honest, the searching too.
is
a
every feature and option to user control
technology, KTorrent easily matches or
for Vuze, as
It’s
much
exposing pretty
whether you need them or
probably no bad thing. In
plugins,
this
some option to
by overt functionality or upset that their application interface
libktorrent library.
except
media
server. To
a
be
bit lacklustre,
test torrents,
and
it
also
some
of the other clients, KTorrent can also
be run
in
a headerless mode, and
includes a built-in
web
> Options,
settings and
more things to twiddle with.
interface.
Although a number of search
which
off
is lazy,
on the respective website,
and not as
qBittorrenfs
effort.
KTorrent has
all
useful as
Aside from that,
the bases covered.
FORMAT
Verdict
KTorrent Version: 4.0
Website: http://ktorrent.org
engines are included, KTorrent just
palms you
UNIIX
I
“KTorrent easily matches or exceeds every client here.” www.tuxradar.com
»
Chock-full offeatures,
spare the
if
you can
effort to configure
them.
Rating 9/10 September 2010 LXF13 5
|31
Roundup BitTorrent clients
Monsoon Just to be different, here’s one with the MonoTorrent
T
his rather simplistic application
started
as an offshoot or
life
As most
of the other clients
we might
here use the libtorrent library,
have expected some performance
were.
CPU
It
most
did hijack
cycles, but also
most
an
individual torrent
Like Vuze
There are
possibility of storing
up
the
and no mention
DHT or
what you want.
Monsoon is a promising project that in some time,
library
Peer
The feed
engine includes filter
Monsoon software
I
follows a very familiar theme, with
LINUX
FORMAT
verdict
options.
Monsoon
has been updated recently.
Version: 0.21 Website: www.monsoon-project.org
hijacked the CPU cycles, but managed a blistering throughput.” “It
supported by MonoTorrent). the
>
subscription
hasn’t had a release
Exchange (although these are
Visually,
some advanced filtering make sure you get exactly
no plugins
scripting,
of
in this
pretty simple to set up.
although the underlying MonoTorrent
file-
handling department. However, there’s
no scheduling, no
it's
options to
different
locations, this client at least serves in
Many
includes a feed subscription.
video podcasts are distributed
test Gust pipping KTorrent).
the basics of features
file.
and KTorrent, Monsoon
up the
With a watch folder for incoming
in
As with
to set various options, including
download
and completed ones
a main
roundup, this does extend to the ability
way, and
active
left,
the middle and a
of the other clients in this
fastest average time for the local
and the
in
a
blistering throughput, clocking
torrents
view
for the selected torrent below.
of the available
managed
down the
list
changing the bandwidth settings for
Monsoon - and there
differences from
sortable
tabbed selection of information screens
natural extension to the
Mono Torrent project - a torrent library written using the Mono implementation of .NET.
categories
library.
» Lacking
in
finesse
and features, but
an aggressive downloader.
Rating 5/10
qBittorrent A Qt-based client with some very nice touches on offer.
T
Far from pointless, though,
his cross-platform client
conforms more or standard “right
less to the
main table
tree,
the
is
search engine. Using a plugin
mechanism
to enable various torrent
panel and detail tabs underneath”
sites,
school of interface design. Only the
amalgamated search strategy that’s
large
and
friendly buttons along the top
show that you're
many of the other clients Although
it
Monsoon or
not using
listed here.
has the impression
being quite minimal, there’s
of
much
goodness hidden under the hood.
subscription section for aiding
buried
away
all
is
good
in
your search term
(and choose a category for more
fill
and watch the screen
up with matches from the supported
sites,
arranged
in
order of seed health.
A great timesaver! It’s
sorts of options
here, but the layout
useful than the one-at-a-
example. Just type
with downloading series or video
podcasts. There are
more
time approach offered by KTorrent, for
specific results) It
supports a sophisticated feed reader/ filter
often
qBittorent implements an
terms
pretty middle-of-the-road of
also the
performance
consumption
in
of resources, but
and easy to follow. On the other hand,
those few extra touches
some tooltips for the many options and
more
settings wouldn't
of
supplied
banned
it
IPs (should
thousands,
it's
slightly
in
somewhat
of features.
useful for general torrenting than
“The amalgamated
you have
the
pointless.
32 LXF135 September 2010
LINUX FORMAT
amount
large
Verdict
qBittorrent Version: 2.2.8
Website:
http://qbittorrent.
sourceforge.net
with a blocklist), though with
these usually numbering
it
Neat searching
options and a
shows the
equivalent of an event log, as well as list
make
>
the likes of Monsoon.
go amiss.
There's a console that
the
in
the tests and
I
search strategy is a great timesaver.” www.linuxformat.com
»
There are a lot of very good things hidden in this simple-looking client
Rating 7/10
BitTorrent clients
Roundup
Torium Good for resource-starved systems, but only as a
F
or lightweight use,
it
come much
lighter
Consuming
less
the average actually
Crucially, encryption is
doesn't
than
this.
memory than
MP3 file, this tiny client can
manage to do a good download
job at reasonable speeds, but
were looking
for bells
and
you
if
whistles,
you
came to the wrong tree. The that's
interface
is
because there aren’t actually that
many features. The single
shows
columns - just enough
a table with six to serve
panel
up the torrent name and the
current speed and progress.
If
swarm diagrams, you’ll need to grab a crayon and draw them yourself. You can get some additional info on the loaded torrents by right-clicking them and choosing Properties, which does at least
(although
that
limits, it’s likely
hard to find peers
it
DHT is actually implemented)
as more and more clients default to at
an encrypted
connection. Of course, there are
many other features you may miss, but Torium does manage to fetch and seed torrents with a degree of
competence, so the basics are there. If
you absolutely must have a torrent
client
on some
really, very,
extremely
resource- restricted device, this might just
work out for you, but the
modern
features
means that
lack of
> Torium is
very light on
LINUX
both resources
Torium
it’s
unlikely to function well for anything
but the most popularly seeded
and download
Version: 0.4.2
files.
Website: http://bithack.se/projects/ torium
There's a
banned
menu
IP
list,
“If
list.
option for loading a
but
it
doesn't actually
I
seem to do anything.
» Lightweight in
you were looking for bells and whistles, you came to the wrong tree.”
locations, as
as view the current peer
verdict
and features.
enable you to manipulate
priorities
well
list.
imposed bandwidth you might find
you were
expecting fancy graphs or graphical
on the
As this
is one of the ways many clients get around ISP-
missing feature
least preferring
pretty stark, but
last resort.
the extreme, at the
expense of missing crucial features.
Rating 3/10
Transmission How do you make something easy to use and packed with features?
Y
ou have to put
some sort of become the
in
special effort to
default (and thus, automatically
most popular)
torrent client for Ubuntu.
transfers.
A simple
updating progress
bar and transfer speed readout has all
you need to know, though
to be said that the
lists
it
+
/uld
—
Hi
,
came
of streamlining everything it
In it
so simple that
some
it’s
in
the guise
and making
to
make
do the very specific thing
you wanted to do, which
is
always the
if
Another plus point for Transmission is
overhead. Like it
some of the
others here,
can also be run as a headless
web
client
with an optional
the point of foolproofery. There doesn't
Transmissions pared-down resources
other repsects, Transmission
up to
is
date with support for proxying,
all
the
DHT/PEX and magnet technology as well as LAN peer latest
detection, encryption
The
client
and
mean
it
will
easily
Transmission
He
lUcItlBjC]
MS U-22*>
-
Down
2
JHwnVurtng rr«n 3]
of
33 co»n«trol p«cj
tewilMdng fCwn 17
of
2? coonoctcd pctr; - Down
fit
ff«n *1
6D cwv>«tod pew5
of
simple - unless
you have too
simple
is
Ljrfc
to Oipto&’d
-
Cotn 64
Delete
rim
ji>j
nenKve
> Transmission is
lots of
fixes
Magrut
Vtpfy Local Data
on an embedded
development mode, with
changes and
11
5*1 locution
full-on
If
H Con
is still in
being added regularly.
UNIIX FORMAT
many torrents.
what you want, look no
further than this.
Verdict
Transmission Version: 2.0
Website: www.transmissionbt.com
blocklists.
use interface. The scrolling main window shows either all torrents, active
downloads and paused
-
interface.
set-top box or NAS.
has a friendly and easy-to-
torrents, seeds,
rf f.O rrci-r rlni p»rr?
the focus on reducing the resource
case when applications are simplified to
seem to be any form of control over how many torrents are active at a time, which is a shame because this is a good way of fine-tweaking performance. In
3?
you're dealing with
lots of torrents.
hard to go wrong.
instances, this does also
difficult
unmanageable
fropcities-
do become OcMikiiiftrij lrc Vuze isn’t
some areas,
in
palms you
effectively just
using
downloading speed, even with the
it
KTorrent shines
real-world factors,
internet, latency issues
may be
up automatic times when
example, fine-tune the number of
important not to read too
In
remove some
such
it’s
clients
at [email protected]
Table of features Name
Deluge
KTorrent
Monsoon
qBittorrent
Torium
Transmission
Vuze
Version
1.2.3
4
0.21
2.2.8
0.4.2
2.0
4.4.0.6
Web
http://delugetorrent.org
http:// ktorrent.org
www.monsoon-
WWW.
http://bithack.
WWW.
project.org
qbittorrent.org
se/projects/ torium
transmissionbt.com
http://azureus. sourceforge.net
Toolkit
GTK
KDE
Mono/GTK
Qt
GTK
GTK
Java/GTK
PEX
X
[1]
Yes
DHT
X
[2]
Yes
Magnet
X
X
Yes
X
Yes
Limit-scheduling
via plugin
via plugin
X
X
Yes
Playback
X
via plugin
X
X
Encryption
X
X
Prioritising
Yes
Scripting
via plugin
X
X
X
X
Auto-shutdown
X
X
X
X
X
IP filter
via plugin
Search
X
Memory (in
test)
CPU Time
Memory [1],[2]:
[4]
(idle)
via plugin
yes [3]
X
Yes Yes yes
X
No
X
yes
21MB
42.5MB
68.5MB
24MB
7.8MB
14.5MB
119MB
28%
26%
68%
20%
25%
18%
24%
172 seconds
110 seconds
108 seconds
165 seconds
184 seconds
123 seconds
439 seconds
17.5MB
35.5MB
13.1MB
11MB
5.1MB
7.4MB
95MB
Support claimed, but didn't seem to work [3]: Didn't work on test system, but media files will play
in
default system app
anyway [4]: Tine taken to download our four test torrents
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF13 5 |35
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Distrowatch
a
This month’s roundup of news from the vaults of Linux distro development SUSAN LINTON is
owner/
operator of machineSdOrg.
Meerkat forces Ubuntu 10.10 Users’ appetites whetted by early
Peace out
F push.
f
or Linux geeks this
the season to be the big
It
is
-
jolly
summer distro PCLOS
started with
2010 and
will
OpenSUSE
end with
11.3. In
planning reports from the latest Ubuntu release.
U
and
his
buntu 10.04 was no before Mark Shuttleworth
before Lucid Lynx
was released
codename
be Maverick Meerkat. Shortly
a wonderful time of
year for distro hoppers.
all
come with latest
of these distros
common. Each
their original tools
features to
and
team would not migrate to
Developer Summit, more details
a recent kernel, the
Many add
would
Gnome Shell 3.0 for Maverick. However, at the May Ubuntu
desktops and updated
software.
of version 10.10
afterward, Shuttleworth stated that his
While everyone has their
lots in
it
had been decided that the
its
and Mandriva releasing their
have
Rhytmbo* playing
merry band were making
offspring, Slackware, Fedora,
favourite,
Rhytmbox not running
plans for their next release. Even
between
we’ve had Ubuntu and
latest. It’s
Typical case.
Minimal case:no playec* integrated
sooner out the door
utilities
make them even more
IT'S
A MOCKUP
emerged. Reports stated that the
new watchword ‘Design',
in
Maverick was
and that the
chief goal
>
Soon
Sound Menu appeared, Ubuntu P submitted mock-ups demonstrating the possibilities.
after sketches for the Unified
artists Daniel
version’s
was to improve the first-
some
decoration instead of the window
Rhythm box will remain the
speculation as to the future
manager) with a laundry
music
emphasis on the differences
appearance and operation
problems that would
played out by infighting
Ubuntu. One of the
between users, each arguing
Shuttleworth outlined plans for
announcements came as
the merits of their favourite
Window
Me Menu
and disparaging the
as they have inevitably been
to
user experience, leading to
we’ve seen
useful. In the past
rest.
called).
of
posts by
first
Indicators (or windicators,
The
idea
is
of
is
this
year things
going to see
some
bit different.
Chromium will be supported. The
Games menu may see some
as message
changes, but no specifics have
confirmation notifications,
seeing less
insults.
I
What’s going on? Has the Earth spun off
its
is
taking hold.
smartphones are getting
Many
desktop
is
all
the
believe the
dead. Or could
it
be
that Linux users have just
discovered that Linux
and
fighting
themselves
you
think,
is
Linux
among is
silly?What do
Dear Readers? Are
the fanboys growing up? [email protected]
get a
new
History tab as well as a ‘featured applications’ gallery.
Underneath, Maverick will use a 2.6.35 version kernel working
status bar with windicators and a
character counters for the text
temporary overlay status bar on
area,
the right-hand side of the
with remote services.
title
38 LXF135 September 2010
bar
(where the window control
much like in Some indicators
and
applet
will
also see
The sound
some major
the “Unified Sound Menu,"
in 10.10.
allow users to control
all
it
apps through the menu instead just the
level
and saved
status.
Several developers from the
KDE camp have spoken
out
against these client-side
fact,
it
system volume
will
and
Some application decisions made already too.
have been
www.linuxforniat.com
of
add features such as
item-specific options.
decorations (so called because
root.
level. In
play control buttons, playlists,
point
in
may run as normal
sound
online status, progress indicators,
some
the future,
rootless
X
upcoming X.org implementations
will
volume
At
Ubuntu may see a
server. For security reasons,
Dubbed
improvements
Google Chrome.
being mooted for 10.10 include
1.9 snapshot.
faster synchronisations
buttons used to be)
the application controls the
i
will
with X.org 1.8 server or perhaps a
Other believe that
focus.
developers have spoken out against client-side decorations.”
Ubuntu
yet.
Software Centre
axis?
Some may say that cloud computing
KDE
“Several
I”m seeing less
“fanboyism.” I’m seeing less fighting. I’m
be the default web browser, but
been decided
seem to a
default
ShotwellwlW
manager. Firefox will continue to
The
well.
What’s new? But
player, but
replace F-Spot as the photo
result.
Less controversial
new features such
to replace the
list
This
is
a
bit
user instead of
complicated on
several layers, so users
see this
until 11.04.
may not
What has been
Meerkat
approved
for
Originally
planned only for the
CD, btrfs
is
now in the
is btrfs.
as an user-install option.
www.ubuntu.com
live
blueprints
Distrowatch
The future’s green
Full
OpenSUSE 11.3 Minor version
Fedora 14 Developers ask for more more user feedback early on.
update bring major version goodies.
T
he next version of
OpenSUSE
is
partition can't
up
firing
Kernel
smoothly, with very few major is
will
now allow
eases the set up of RAID arrays.
until release.
This development cycle has gone
issues. While 11.3
be mounted or
partitioner
cloning of disk layouts, which
rockets and counting
down the seconds
The
read.
its
Mode Setting will now
be available for all
a minor
Intel
and
ATI, Nvidia
graphics chips, and Nouveau
be the default Nvidia Xdriver.
version update, there are plenty of
will
fresh goodies for users to love.
Grub 2 and Upstart are included
OpenSUSE 11.3 will
as options, and mkirttrid will
ship with
Linux kernel 2.6.34 and
Zypperand
improved power saving features,
files.
two new filesystems and tons
much-desired
new drivers. While available
to set
the
it
btrfs
in 11.2, 11.3
up
is
the
of
was
new
ability to
install
to continue even
remove
Gnome 2.30.1, and be joined by an
if
supported
a
feel,
put off by the
but
things did or did not go during the
some were
number
awaiting after the
of
Fedora 13 developmental cycle. They've decided to prolong the
updates a few
install just
feedback-gathering period after
sources other than the mailing
automagic printer setup, but
such as the forums, Identica and
some spoke
Twitter.
of the painfully slow
users
HAL
The
developers and eager testers, listing
(it’s
earning a
around Ubuntu camps.
It's
as
is
may appreciate that
August. The roll
Gnome live CD.
attractive
and
to
and GCC4.5.
the >
www.opensuse.org
The
installer
Hit
a simple idea
D U D D
main fevtovJtvnv:
some Gufw firewall
intuitive interface.
configuration quick,
easy and painless. The centralised location will
save
lots of
will
on 14 October. Unless
final
up,
go
release should
gold on 26 October.
saw some changes and
streamlining with Fedora 13.
http://fedoraproject.org
list distro
pages on DistroWatch.com,
May (average hits per day)
Number of hits
Distro
to organise the
make system
beta
something major crops
buzz
Mandriva’s renowned control centre, the is
first
out on 21 September
follow
Borrowing the layout and appearance from goal
String
on 3 August
with a release candidate to use,
11.3 will include
Hi
one
will fall
with an alpha released on 17
configuration tools of Ubuntu and
in
at that time
The Software
Ubuntu
lot of
third-party utilities such as the
well.
Freeze
and sometimes those turn out to be the best ones. His idea
be branched
will
from Rawhide
developer Benjamim Gois is
will
submission deadline on 27 July.
Robert Laughlin).
7 April-7
lldefonso da Silva
key milestones. Planning
continue through feature-
after physics professor
The 10 most visited project by
release cycle has been
completely removed from
3.2.1
for
posted for the benefit of
first
codename,
announced as Laughlin
Ubuntu Control Centre A small
more visible
contributions be
those wishing to participate.
next release, with one of the
list,
also suggested that
part Fedora users were pleased.
Firefox 3.6.4, OpenOffice.org
been dropped. Look, green!
include
desktop. However, for the most
Gnome
missing.
OpenSUSE
finally
was
Fedora 14
Whatever desktop you
Being long since deprecated,
It
will
Qt and GTKl.x will be the
has
1,
some stated guidelines for artwork
boot and poor performance of the
enjoy the
is
now
alpha
everyone praised the new
on-demand package installation when a file or package
and
days following release. Almost
named
officially
will
The first meeting of the design team mostly discussed how well
largely
positive reviews. Folks liked
decisions, the
Xfce 4.6.1 will
LXDEon the DVD. KDE
users
May to
Planning has started on the
On the desktop, KDE 4.4.3,
in
survive
edora 13 was released at the end of
the look and
after
software packages are removed.
non-fatal storage failures, allowing
the
Yast will have the
ability to
unneeded dependencies
enables users
at install. Also
installer
now
be able to copy needed firmware
its
F
steam ahead
time and effort over
Ubuntu’s currently chaotic System Menu.
Tasks are grouped by categories providing convenient and easy-to-find
you’ll find
Configure Proprietary Drivers,
Sound Configuration and Setup firewall configuration,
Printers.
A
Network Connections,
Bluetooth Configuration are
some
of the
modules organised under Network and Internet. The System entry brings up things like Time and Date and Default Applications.
under Software Manager include Ubuntu
Under Personal Settings is Login Screen, Instant Messaging Accounts, Ubuntu One,
Software Centre, Manage Software Sources,
and such.
System Updater, and Upgrade to Latest Development Release. Under Hardware
this software that
access. For example, available modules
will
Some
include
it
users are so excited about
they are hoping Ubuntu
as early as Maverick Meerkat.
D 0 D 0 D
Ubuntu
3,527
Fedora
1,617
PCLinuxOS
1,429
Linux Mint
1,383
OpenSUSE
1.217
Lubuntu
1,051
Debian
1,038
* 4
Mandriva
973
4*
Arch
768
Sabayon
766
» DistroWatch.com monitors the popularity of distributions
based on the number of visits to each
of
its
distro-specific pages. While these figures don’t represent
the actual
install
base,
were hot during each
www.tuxradar.com
* 4
it’s
an indicator
of
which distros
specific time period.
E3
September 2010 LXF135 39 |
Firefox
The darling of free software is facing a threat, and ffTfiiiTTr!T¥Tl5>Tninvestigat it’s from a former ally.
F
some spectacular
irefox is the open source project your nonopen source friends are most likely to have heard of. It’s also the one they’re most likely
static,
to have used. In fact, Firefox has brought
source browser has been able to go from zero to
open source
into the light of
getting coverage alongside
the usual technology
This
it’s
of
its
own
slogans,
enabled us to ‘take
back the
web’.
become such
“After
is
Google’s Chrome,
built
It’s
initial
some
spectacular growth, the Firefox
this
to.
a dominant force online that site builders can
Internet Explorer is no longer the only browser,
means
with
7%
of slowing
down.
many of the same
Linux users
finally
have access to an
unabridged version of the web on their desktops.
40 LXF135 September 2010
It
now has to
environment where
an easy target
www.linuxformat.com
is
comprehensive plan
just the
learn to
it’s
at the watering hole, just
development, and
However,
the browser yet. This period.
and
Firefox’s
Google has a wide and for
Chrome’s future.
mission has stalled.”
no longer ignore Firefox rendering compatibility as they used
year has been
motivations that drove
same time,
using the language of
one
success, the Firefox last
and things are about to get worse. A competing open
and systems. At the
initial
market share, and doesn’t show any sign
mainstream attention,
all
But after
mission has stalled. Growth over the
it’s
not over for
end of the honeymoon
adapt and evolve
in
an
not the only open source browser
and Internet Explorer is no longer
for destruction.
Firefox _
Mozilla Firefox
View
Edit
File
Bookmarks
History
Help
Tools
http
:
n
//www. n u xfo rmat .co m I
Google
v-
i
*
The story so The preamble to
S
tarting
life in
Firefox’s next great adventure.
2002, Firefox was the antidote to what
authors saw as the bloated,
Mozilla’s Application Suite. Mozilla inherited a lot of
community. As a
its
result,
it
found
still its
not Linux.
Netscape, a
ally
company that needed to monetise the browser and different
Phoenix 1.0 works in Windows, but
>
its
feature creep of
full-fat,
appearance and aesthetic from close
assert
far...
it
very
satisfy a
difficult
to
own independence.
Frustrated, Blake Ross
and pruned
and David Hyatt copied Mozilla
functionality, while a colleague,
Ben Goodger,
took what he saw as a dysfunctional user interface and turned
it
into the
make
minimal theme that helped
Firefox
Phoenix 1.0 such a success. The release notes proclaimed, “
Phoenix is not your father’s Mozilla browser.
fast
It’s
a lean and
browser that doesn't skimp on features.”
Phoenix was enough of a success that Mozilla decided to
push the browser forward as an
months followed
a “long,
according to Goodger, but Firefox 1.0 was released,
official project.
finally,
The next 18
Chrome sent out shockwaves because
all-consuming road,”
difficult,
on November 9 2004,
and the world
done a
Firefox, reinventing a
feature creep.
rejoiced.
It’s
fast, light
majority of websites.
Ascendency Firefox's
to
its
growth
is
as
it’s
essentially
minimal interface
in
the face of
and very compatible with the vast
Combine this with
its
makers’ insider
knowledge on how to enhance Google application
much thanks to
its
circumstance as
features and foresight. During those early years,
it
is
it
was
able to take advantage of Microsoft’s poor Internet Explorer security record, as well as
its
reticence
in
browser. This led Firefox on a trajectory that
now gives all
of
well.
it’s
easy to see why
By May 2010, Chrome had captured
it’s
done
7% of worldwide
browser users. While usage data doesn’t yet suggest these users have switched from Firefox, they’re certainly potential
updating the
almost a third of the browser market, and nearly
performance and searching, and so
Firefox users
it
it
who’ve found a better
back and keeping
at
alternative.
It’s
winning
loyalty that’s the challenge for Firefox.
»
the expense of various versions of Internet Explorer. Firefox has helped bring
anti-phishing protection
But more importantly,
it’s
allowed non-technical, non-Linux
people understand what open source software
can do. Firefox is free
for
How things look on Wikimedia
tabbed browsing, extensions,
and genuine security to everyone.
all
users,
is
and what
it
and works on a massive
variety of platforms.
Google Firefox
used to enjoy an excellent relationship with Google,
thanks to the fact that about
90% of Mozilla’s revenue is
generated from Google being the browser’s default search
became strained when Google its own open source browser and released the first version for Windows in September 2008. What’s interesting about Chrome is that there are two
engine. But the pairing
announced plans to create
versions of
it.
It’s
the
official
available as a binary. But
Google product and
because
it
relies
is
only
on so many free
software libraries - including WebKit Portable Runtime and
SQLite - Google also releases the source code under a project
it
calls
Chromium. When
built, this is identical
Chrome, with a few exceptions: the
to
logo’s different, there’s
no
auto-updater and no usage statistics are sent to Google.
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|41
Firefox Mozilla File
View
Edit
Bookmarks
History
v
Help
Tools
http://www.tuxradar.com
*
Chrome
Firefox vs
How are the two browsers different, and how are they the same? o understand why two major browsers are competing
same space, it’s important to see how they And you can only do that with a proper comparison. Last month, we ran our comprehensive Roundup of web browsers, and we don’t want to go over the same old ground. We gave Firefox an excellent score of 9/10, for the differ.
reflecting
its
long-term
reconfigurability. This
reliability, relative
speed and
a score that’d usually win a Roundup,
is
Chrome also in the running, it wasn’t to be. We gave Chrome an outstanding 10/10, and it subsequently won our award for the best web browser on Linux. but with
JavaScript The most
cited reason for
Chrome being chosen over
is its
speed. Since
that
Chrome has changed most browser can
fast a
release,
its
feel.
This
it’s
is,
users’ expectations of
in part,
lot
advanced
features,
how
>
because websites are
more complicated, filling every
becoming a crevice with
Firefox
not an exaggeration to say
it
You can test out your browser’s capabilities, and compare with others, using the SunSpider benchmark.
available
and because most other web
the language to provide functionality. But then, so does the
browsers pre-date the web 2.0 revolution that’s taken so
rest of the
many of our desktop-bound
some
applications into the cloud.
most of this online interaction was through Chrome development team went all-out to
The
Realising that
JavaScript, the
make
its
JavaScript performance revolutionary.
they upgraded the user experience for every
In
doing
version of
lines of
Chrome caused
doesn’t add
JavaScript code.
a storm
when in
it
was
the
SunSpider JavaScript benchmark, and 35 times faster than
so,
Internet Explorer
site
feature-rich cloud applications rely heavily
first
site left that
through a few
revealed to be almost twice as fast as Firefox 3.0.1
based on JavaScript code. Google obviously had a vested interest -
many of its own
web. There’s hardly a
usability logic
engine,
on
7.
This
was
all
thanks to
its
V8 JavaScript
and while benchmarks are always contentious
because they place
unrealistic loads
on browsers, most
WebKit vs Gecko After you get past a certain threshold, the isn’t just
about speed.
It’s
W web
about how pages are
rendered, and both Firefox and
Chrome use
Netscape. As a result of
its
longevity,
life
at
Gecko is
often accused of being complex and inefficient.
WebKit is the young pretender that started out as KDE’S
HTML layer before Apple for a year or two.
decided to drop
modifications on to a server,
its
high-profile
it’s
now used
web browsers -
it
several
including Apple's
Safari and the latest version of well as in
in
main
justification for sticking
There’s no doubt Mozilla has a deep
committed to include an
more
its
future.
Recent enhancements
Ogg decoder, an OpenGL layer and,
importantly, Google’s
Konqueror- as
products from Nokia, Palm, Bitstream
WebM
video codec,
little
In
of how they both render pages, the may be subjective, but you can see how
terms
quality
both engines are dealing with the evolving
HTML 5 specification. After the release of version four,
Chrome became one of the first
tests that judge a browser’s coherence. In the
efficient it’s
than
far less
final test, for instance,
Chrome scored 100/100.
complex. This has led to the Mozilla foundation
Firefox 3.6.3, by comparison, scored 94/100.
fending off requests to switch
This disparity
42 LXF135 September 2010
its
browser’s
from each.
seems to be
more
and
Gecko can only manage to support two It’s rapidly changing, though, and Gecko does include features such as drag and drop, which WebKit has yet to implement fully.
while
reason to stick with an older technology.
browsers to pass the Acidl, Acid2 and Acid3
lightweight, clean
HTML 5
elements and 20 of the 28 form elements,
which was added to Gecko 1.9.3. But without
and Adobe. WebKit is widely considered to be Gecko, but more importantly,
having different capabilities. WebKit, for
example, supports 12 of the 24 basic
control.
users feeling the advantage, there
When
borrowed the code
WebKit was born, and
Gecko being
understanding of the technology, and seems
different engines. Firefox uses Gecko, the
longstanding layout layer that started
Tenderer, with the
with
is
a result of the layout engines
www.linuxformat.com
>
Both Chrome and Firefox outperform IE in
the Acid 3 test, but
Chrome is
better.
Firefox _
Firefox
n
Google
when they used Chrome.
people could
feel
SunSpider
an interesting attempt to mimic many
is
the difference
:r
different
real-world scenarios, including decompression, encryption,
general mathematics and sting handling.
woven
their own JavaScript new engine called TraceMonkey.
responded with
Firefox developers
optimisations,
into a
This added something called Trace Trees to the original
SpiderMonkey engine, and improved performance by looking through the code for compiled. V8,
much
common
paths, which were then pre-
comparison, attempts to pre-compile as
in
as possible by turning JavaScript into machine code
code when
rather than byte
it's first
executed, and handles
the dynamic nature of JavaScript by patching the
through
speak
runtime system.
its
It’s
inline
code
complicated, but the results
for themselves.
We ran
Chrome 5.0.370 against each them has
Firefox 3.6.3 and
other with SunSpider 0.9, and the gap between
grown. Firefox completed the tests
in
1,475.1ms while ,
Chrome took just 444.5ms - almost three times faster than the speed
it
attained on
its
shows that users
of both browsers
a
have benefited from the
used
one
in all
when
it
example
result, there’s
comes to
including
it
and we
toolkit
built
of
what open
never been any
as a default browser
From KDE, the
Linux use, Chrome’s use of
Gnome
same without any alterations that make Firefox look the
will
“Firefox is deeply ingrained with Linux, and we often consider the project to be one of our own.”
it
Gnome environment. Toolbars, menus,
requesters and themes
modification.
is
same programmers’ result, can feel more
using GTK, the
used to create Gnome. As a
integrated within the
says makes sense. Without the long-standing tradition of
own; one of the
but the most ardent KDE-based distributions. This
because Firefox is
file
sensibilities,
of our
flagships we’re proud to herald as an
hesitation
was the the lead developer for Firefox Chrome project, but what he
before taking to the helm of the
deeply ingrained with Linux
source can achieve. As a
a foreign accent”. Instead, they
GTK for the user-interface. This is slightly ironic
considering Goodger
is
final
integration
and
GTK has been able to forgo
strike out
on
its
application looks different to both
own. As a
result,
.3
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the default
theme
feel of
choices, but
the
Gnome and KDE, and
consequently alienates neither. The theming engine '
borders enabled,
avoided cross-platform toolkits because applications that use
both promising improvements for the future.
Desktop integration
Chrome looks
familiar with the
system bar and
them end up “speaking with
Firefox
)
a
feel
As Chrome developer Ben Goodger explained, Google
competition to build a screaming JavaScript engine. They’re
often consider the project to be
and can
rough around the edges. But not as rough as Chrome
Chrome, which
original
application are purely cosmetic,
like
little
can sometimes seem.
debut. However, Firefox also
peformed much better than the
KDE
look
Gnome,
is
reflected as
more
one
Chrome can be coerced
of
into a
5WJ0 I
wide range of
Google
skins.
Most noticeable, however,
window to make top GoofltfSwrch
cm Fwins Lucky
is
the lack of top
This
title bar.
because Chrome has repositioned page tabs to the top
title
better use of the available real estate.
is
of the
The
bar usually gives you responsibility over your
desktop’s window manager, the part that controls where the
windows go and how their borders are drawn. Chrome usurps Mwosina Praqumra;
Busim-ls
Sownm
the window manager by hiding
it
windows behave
its own Ul to why the browser’s
and pushing
the edge of the borderless window. This slightly differently to
is
those of your native
desktop and why, especially when compositing I
CM'fle tHfCkqinra drupe
can be
less stable
than
provide the option to re-instate the >
Chrome
is
the default
many new fans, and is used as browser on many netbook distributions. winning over
selecting
is
Firefox. Linux versions of
www.tuxradar.com
in
it
window border by
Use System Bar and Borders from the
menu that appears
enabled,
Chrome right-click
the space after the tab view.
»
September 2010 LXF135
|43
\
Firefox
B
Mozilla
View
Edit
File
Bookmarks
History
V
Help
lools
http://www.linuxformat.com
* Security and stability The most important feature for a browser don’t see: security.
is
all
of
one that users
and purchasing information, music,
email, messages, banking photos...
is
A typical browser session might shuttle
which could be at
where open source
risk
if
a leak springs up. This
really shines, with
both Firefox and
Chrome offering up their sources for scrutiny. As a they harbour very few surprises. But perfection into so
many
it’s
lines of code,
result,
impossible to build
and both browsers
will
need updating as and when problems are discovered. Firefox takes a wonderfully
publishing a severity. In
the
open approach
to security by
of vulnerabilities, coloured according to their
list
first
four
which 13 were judged
months
critical.
of this year, there
were 25,
of
There’s even a security blog
which often responds to users' concerns and media reports. At the time of this issue going to
I
print,
it
included an overview
8 has now closed many of the security and feature gaps that initially made Firefox so appealing.
> Internet Explorer
“Firefox takes the wonderful open approach to security by
medium
publishing vulnerabilities.”
development teams are happy to work together.
of the
new
plugin-checker extension and
updated to warn users about which has
itself
had recent and very
The Chromium security you’ll
need to delve
how
vulnerabilities in visible
although most of these issues occurred within
There are also signs that both Mozilla and Google’s
Mozilla that discovered
it’s
an important bug
engine, for example - no doubt
been
Adobe’s Flash,
their
in
and
forums to discover
new
was
quest to speed up
their
own JavaScript engine. And both
Its
Chrome’s V8
in
projects offer bug-
hunting incentives. Google and Mozilla offer
problems.
portal isn’t quite as open,
into the security
risk,
WebKit rather than the wider Chrome application.
$500 for every
security problem discovered, although Mozilla has a
slight
advantage: you also get a
T-shirt.
what’s going on. This reflects a desire to keep vulnerabilities discreet, not
The
one to hide what could be serious security
risks.
update, released at the beginning of June,
last stable
fixed nine serious vulnerabilities
and two problems judged as
Threads When problems do slip through,
it’s
other pages you have open that’s
have 10 tabs open
in
Firefox and
Chrome’s ability to
won
it
supporters.
you open a new page with a
broken Flash animation, you lose everything.
Chrome's multi-process running
One
Extensions Manager and choose
of the best Firefox extensions
we’ve seen
is
HTTPS Everywhere -
offers functionality that
it
Chrome can't
which You’ll
sites will
still
always use HTTPS.
need to be careful on
HTTPS can be
currently can’t match. Developed by
insecure networks, as
the Electronic Frontier Foundation
broken and spoofed, but that’s a far
and the Tor
more arduous task than simply
Project, the extension
ensures you use an
HTTPS
running Wireshark, so don’t panic.
an
read
it.
You might think intercepting
is
a specialist task, but anyone
in
the
be replaced with
it’s
even Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 includes
an
do
so.
offer to re-open the tabs
project, but
Firefox
had long ago
it’s
The best
it
Firefox
hasn’t,
you were using when you It
does have
its
own
‘sandbox’
the peer-review process, which has been
installed
through the
However, there
A brilliantly simple idea enables HTTPS connections for many sites.
>
is
plugins
now
some good
run within their
Chrome. This removes one
in
official site.
news. With the release of
Firefox 3.6.4, a version of the browser that 3.7,
and
can manage
running for more than three years, that ensures quality
add-ons
HTTPS Everywhere is
browser, click Preferences
will
access ones running within other sandboxes.
straightforward (see https://eff.org/
https-everywhere). Restart your
If
almost impossible for a process running within a sandbox to
relaunch a crashed application.
such as Wireshark.
to
doesn’t affect the
This approach also has a positive effect on security, as
is
see your messages using only a tool
itself
keeps each tab
Aw snap’ message, and you can reload the page or give up.
currently has no plans to
running a wireless access point can
Installation of
it
assimilated one of Chrome’s best features. But
and
data
it
entire application. Instead, the tab view
When
browsers and remote sites so that traffic
Chrome, only
an isolated process known as a sandbox.
window sandboxing, you may think
encrypts data between
people can’t intercept your
in
with which
abilities,
something crashes within a sandbox,
connection as often as possible.
HTTPS
In
the current tab stops responding. This feature owes
HTTPS Everywhere
shield
you
If
own
of the
was destined
to be
processes, as they do
in
most common causes for
Firefox Firefox
Hv
v
an application-wide crash, but
doesn’t stretch to
it
web pages Nokia N900 Review Linux Action Show! Jupiter Broadcasting
I
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and won’t help you with a poorly written Flash
application. File
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paid-for portals that
let
web
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h
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"if
now many and many more
such instances, spawning
in
HTML 5’s specification
products such as RealPlayer. But
the rendering
in
^
v
Tools
browser would be expected to
launch an external application
embeds this ability
&
Bookmarks
History
browser. There are
you stream movies,
HTML 5, a
for music. Before
View
Edit
v [§] Mosi Visited
I
music and watching videos have become
essential functions of your
Google |
layer. Firefox
has been at
the forefront of this revolution, embracing free formats such
as
Ogg Vorbis and Theora. You
Vorbis music a
file,
for
new window and
MP3 file,
only need to click on an
example, and
played back automatically. Click on an
by comparison, and Firefox will go back to asking
which external application you’d This
is
move away from
like
to use to
like
a feature that’s going to
important, with sites
the
become
HTML 5.
of Engineering at Mozilla puts
making video a
“this
it,
But
it’s
also going to be
As Mike Shaver, VP
modern
problem facing Firefox in a
specific
dominated by patent-encumbered codecs ones used by YouTube and Vimeo - H.264.
In
H.264
is
is illegal
it
is
it
and very much look forward to us separately - towards that end.”
it
is
not legal to use or
Killer Despite
distributing
over the internet or broadcasting
it
H.264 content
is
only
in
WebM seems to have momentum, with grow
it
Chrome,
Firefox
into a position
and
Google gave
this that's likely to
happens, Firefox will be
not, Linux users will
online content. But
still
it’s
in
have to
also a
in
its
little
doubt that Google developed Chrome to satisfy
its
own agenda. With
own
its
operating system just around the corner
and a serious foothold it
needed
its
in
own
the mobile portal to the
one that could present Google’s applications
the best
It’s
light.
Firefox doesn’t have those
a browser that’s been developed to bring the possible.
As stated on
its
it
own web
should always put
no matter what temptations are placed
users
first,
While
Chrome is based on open
end
source,
when she discovered
of April,
in
it’s
a long
at
its feet.
way from
like Mozilla.
on additional packages to collaboration,
like
anything
just
something
else.
best
“Non-profit organisations
can make mistakes. They can be boring and If
it
a botanical garden
seeing wasn’t a tourist honeypot but a
non-profit organisation
If
the best-possible position.
chance for greater
at the
she was interested
inclusion
the licence’s language.
rely
be a foundation of
Mozilla’s future growth. There’s
Mitchell Baker, Chair of the Mozilla Foundation, said
WebM a new licence to remove ambiguity
and decouple copyright patents
WebM
announced
one
being as open as Firefox.
where
going to be a big part of Firefox 4, and
Mozilla hacker Robert O’Callahan
in
future, there’s
and opportunity on the web”. This means
H.264 support becomes a non-issue?
after
external codecs.
page, Firefox has a mission to “promote openness, innovation
WebM or the often-criticised Ogg Theora.
is
full-featured,
Chrome can’t compete with: freedom.
web to as many people as
effect until
open format, and that means
to use a truly
and tools
restraints.
the end of 2010.” [This has since been extended to 2016.]
WebM
web with
working - together and
and the
this talk of function
online world,
over the airwaves requires
for free-to-the-viewer internet delivery
Regardless,
Embedded
feature
all
aspect of Firefox that
the consent of the MPEG-LA, and the current fee exemption
will
all
I
produces or consumes H.264-
IE9 pledging support, but
>
a patented technology,
encoded content. Indeed, even
is
believe that
future, not
share our desire to have a
market,
solution
much
many others
“Despite talk of function and future, there’s one aspect Chrome can’t compete with: freedom.”
The
very
videos are the
It’s
either Google’s
"I
Google (both the Chrome and YouTube teams), Vimeo and high-performance, unencumbered, natively-integrated video,
the
to use without paying licence fees to
the MPEG-LA. Without such a licence, distribute software that
like
not currently a suitable technology
many countries,
meaning that
as Michael Shaver wrote recently:
in
He then
web”.
future
“For Mozilla,
it.
an important step
is
the
first-class citizen of
goes on to describe the
open
increasingly
Vimeo and YouTube already making
Flash to
a particularly tough challenge for Firefox.
choice.
Ogg
be embedded within
will
it
ineffective just
But the chance that the whole thing was
dumb designed to get
money felt much, much
www.tuxradar.com
lower.”
It’s
the
people there to extract
same for
Mozilla.
September 2010 LXF135
|45
Firefox
8
Mozilla
View
Edit
File
Bookmarks
History
A
Help
Tools
http://tinyurl.com/manky-munkey
*
The future of
Firefox
4 is due later this year. We find out what it’s going to offer.
Firefox
The
Firefox team has a lot to think about,
much time. plans for
it
Firefox
4 is due
were outlined
Mike Beltzner,
in
in
and they don't have
November, and many
May
Firefox's director.
Firefox
in a web presentation by He asked, firstly, who uses
the browser? Apparently, there’s a
updates
will
occur
interruptions
between early
split
use a sleek theme. Early mock-ups look very
will
Chrome. Reading the
of the
Security
in
details, there’ll
the background,
“The
word in the plan was
first
list
but there wasn’t an all-out
‘fast’,
adopters, mainstream users and developers, and the
them
all
o
the
will
show you your
manager shows a correspond to a
list
relationship
of websites, with a
site’s capabilities.
customise pop-up blocks. But while privacy for data
new
you don’t
explicitly share, Firefox
may be an
issue
4 is going to have
your favourite websites and even open tabs.
HTML 5 There’s been a
lot of
work on the
HTML 5 rendering layer, and
multi-touch gestures sound exciting. There’s also been
progress on animation with
CSS 3 transitions, along with a
new remote JavaScript debugger,
profile
manager and
of Firefox 4
Firefox
You can keep online services,
such as your email,
in
the
^
same
^
tab position no matter where
you launch
it
in
I
Mozilla.org
-
Home
jflPwttlfioSa
I
x
of...
oQ
Mozilla Firefox Startjfe*<
Tl* Planet
Mozilla
i
the order of
tabs you have open.
E 'ITER
•
FIR E
FOX
•
THUNDE RBIR
O LEARN ABOUT MOZILLA
Movable tab bar The
list
of tabs
can be moved
OUR COMMUNITY
from the top to the bottom border of the window.
OUR PROJECTS
mozilla.org
OUR CAUSES
Movable menus The menu bar class as the
is
now
in
the
same
bookmarks bar and
can be enabled and moved according to preference. fifin Mnpj
o Multi-touch
Sandboxed add-ons
A
You can
lot of
work seems to have
been done to make the
HTML 5
and
rendering engine work well with
will
multi-touch gestures.
session with
46 LXF135 September 2010 1
restart,
install if
Minimal design The new
add-ons without a
an add-on crashes,
it
no longer take the entire browser it.
a
designed to help you share
social aspect, with features
s
Application tabs
You
equally.
It was no surprise that the first word in the plan was ‘fast’. What was interesting was that there wasn’t an all-out race for benchmark dominance; it was more to do with what the user sees. Beltzner gave an example of how a progress meter’s design might affect how speed is perceived. As a result,
Our best-guess mockup
far,
of permissions that
more version of the browser has to cater for
So
could choose to disable geolocation data, for example, or
benchmark dominance.”
race for
I
site.
be no startup
restart.
also important. There’s going to be a
permissions manager that with a
there’ll
and add-ons won’t need a
is
like
be no modal dialogues,
default
theme
Privacy controls is
now sleek,
Customise popup blocking, cookie
simple and minimal, with a dramatically
knowledge and personal information
reduced number of buttons
sharing on a per-site basis using the
and status
bar.
www.linuxformat.com
in
the toolbar
Permissions Manager.
new
Firefox Firefox
•JJv Google
WebGL - all interactive
As
part of Mozilla’s new web standard to bring 3D graphics to web pages, as tried by VRML.
well as the rhetoric
JavaScript
is
about the interface
being overhauled. The
|
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apple nitro
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method JIT
tracing JIT
JIT
inferring speed,
new engine
is
called
JaegerMonkey, and attempts to improve some of SpiderMonkey/ s clever trace routines with simpler, more efficient
codes that compile
overanalysis. This
perfect for cases
is
JIT
entire subroutines without
don’t work because an application
in
which trace routines
isn’t repetitive
enough.
At the end of May, David Mandelin, a Mozilla programmer responsible for JavaScript development, announced that
JaegerMonkey was doubled
it’s
at the half-way point. Results indicate that
although benchmarks say V8 and Apple’s Nitro.
efficiency,
its
slower than Google’s
But speed
isn’t just
about
profiles to
and JavaScript.
Ul
asked the Reddit community
it’s still
Mozilla’s
for their multi-minute launch
improve speed and, hopefully, image.
Competition The
how
real test is
Firefox
is
going to adapt to a market that’s
> www.arewefast
embedded and locked-down devices that won’t necessarily make things easy for people who want Google’s Chrome OS is a prime example. It’s a to use being dominated by
yet.com shows
benchmark results for
it.
complete operating system
There’s a similar situation ruled
itself
around Chrome.
that’s built in
Firefox 4.
the mobile market. Mozilla
out of the iPhone, stating that Apple
made
it
too
hard to create a competing browser, and Apple hasn’t relented on
no browsers
its
rule,
Android’s a different story, and
iPhone competitor. As a a mobile version of
becoming the only
It
real
been trying to create
result, Mozilla’s
browser.
its
other than to allow Opera.
is
released an early-Alpha
version for Android, Fennec, at the end of April, which had
most
of the
desktop features, including add-on support. But
clear that there’s a lot of
it’s
work to
going to fare against Chrome. Mozilla
to boost co-operation
P fi
know how
pragmatic.
conflict.
Firefox
It
wants
Beltzner said,
it
to win
it
hasn’t been
us,
it.”
skill,
financing and
in this
community to succeed.
position before; for years, Firefox has
been the standard open source browser. But competition good.
If
Mozilla really
beneficiaries
in
wants to win, that makes us
a contest that
may transform
is
all
Linux.
ES
Installing nightly builds fl-Eji.-iii-v
'it
±
If README |3
and play down
is
in
Mozilla has the
But
do.
Regardless of plans, most users want to is
“We watch our competitors and our competitors watch and we are
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when the fix for the bug has been
is
as simple as translating an English word into
produced and uploaded to the main code base.
translator;
» Fix Released When the bugfix has been
the language of your choice.
users (most typically
then
I
the Importance
is
field: this is
This information indicates
it.
needs to be
» Critical
fixed.
in
loss risk, set
bug that causes
to the
a
is
good
significantly affect the ability to
I
in
the
first
has translations enabled
the Translations button
Preferred Languages
like
main translations page,
selected and
to translate into.
click
and
in
tick
Now go
back
the language that you
combo box select
Untranslated
show all items that need a translation. Now enter the new translation into the New Translation Items, which
option.
issues that don’t
use the software, this
click
Now click Choose
which languages you would
the software, this
engineers!
and within an hour had 10
part, find a project that
to this.
» Low For unimportant problems and good
To take
functionality or involves a security or data-
it
is
different translations available.
the project.
significant
If
in
translations
(such as Ubuntu), and then
» High Very disruptive bugs should be set to this. » Medium a bug is causing a significantly noticeable problem
call for
Answers
a great place to convert
your users into support
massive.
I
bug
urgently the
has the following options:
a serious
If it’s
regressions
It
how
is
uploaded an application that wrote to Launchpad,
announced a
a very important
any bug report and you should take great care when
changing
it’s
The Launchpad translations community
the latest release of the software),
set to this.
it’s
Next part of
in
released to
contribute as a
is
box.
will
Be sure to preserve any
additional
symbols or formatting
when adding your translation.
a
setting.
» Wishlist Many bugs will
Wrapping things up
be reported as feature requests
and you should mark them as this.
Launchpad
» Undecided
and we’ve only just covered the tip of the iceberg. Throughout
Use this
if
you’re unsure which of the above
each
options to use. Finally, there’s
the bug
is
the Assigned To
assigned to
if
field,
which indicates who
a developer has chosen to take care
Underneath the yellow table
discussions are
is
listed in
a hugely powerful development environment
of the core
components
that we’ve introduced today are
a rich wealth of features and capabilities for helping your
communities thrive and
build great software.
I
recommend
you continue your journey and take a look at https://edge.
of producing a solution.
takes place. Everyone
is
is
welcome
where the bug conversation to participate
chronological order.
important word of advice
is
and the
One
launchpad. net/+tour to explore many didn't
pretty
to
let
have space for
in this article.
of the features
we
Have fun and don’t forget
us know about your projects! E33
that you should never post a
comment that essentially says, "This bug affects me too”. Alternatively, at the top of the
Affect
You?
link
-
click
bug report
mark that
it
does indeed
Finally,
if
you’re especially interested
report and would
like
is
a Does This Bug
the yellow button to the right of
it
affect you.
to keep
comments that are added to
In in
a particular
bug
click
the Subscribe button
in
with
it,
Translations
is
component we're going to take a look at is the Translations feature, known as Rosetta. With any project final
it,
that uses the standard gettext translations
in
framework for enabling
code can be imported, and Rosetta provides a
simple interface to allow anyone to contribute a translation.
What’s wonderful about this feature
is
it
also provides
developers have created other
interfaces that use
back-end.
The
interface,
a Python programming library and,
the right sidebar to be emailed updates and changes.
Ground Control adds simple
addition to Launchpad’s powerful
web-based
up to date with changes and it,
The desktop as your IDE
to
One
Launchpad as the
of the
most
interesting
Ground Control by Martins Owens,
available at http://ground-control.
org.
Ground Control provides
integration of built into
manager
Launchpad and Bazaar
the the Nautilus f\\e in
Gnome.
buttons to a directory view to
let
changes, all
fix
Nautilus
bugs and other features,
without ever touching a
line.
in
you check out branches, upload
Ground Control was
command
originally
designed for a non-technical
documentation collaboration group
in
the Ubuntu community, and together with the
Launchpad web
provides a fantastic
interface
it
way to
collaborate on projects.
that you don't have to
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|
55
Hugin
how
always better! Guest reality enhancer Nathan Sanders show you to stitch dozens of photos into one huge image using Hugin.
More
is
A
is worth a thousand words; a good panorama is worth a thousand pictures. The most beautiful scenes in nature just won’t fit into your digicam's viewfinder. If you can’t squeeze the whole mountain into the frame or if you can’t
hesitate to shoot handheld: an ordinary tripod won’t
picture
necessarily be helpful, since you are aiming to rotate
around the camera lens rather than the body.
» Don’t be shy with your field of view. You'll crop of the edges of your panorama, so
see the forest for the trees, the cross-platform photostitching application
Hugin is just what you need. Use
improve on your camera's resolution and
field of
features of interest are well within the frame. it
to
view by
» Time your photos carefully, since objects moving between shots could produce strange results. A swaying tree branch
merging many photos into one.
might produce a minor misalignment
Actively developed since 2003, Hugin
is
a wxWidgets
point,
front-end for a suite of open source panoramic photography
GPL and available compiled for many Linux and BSD distributions, Windows, and Mac OS X.
tools.
It’s
licensed under the
once per frame
off
your old
digital
install
together any set of overlapping images, but
you’ll
if
your panorama. Hugin
will
you’ll
minimise seams between photos
mode to
if
Hugin will open the JPEG or TIFF images output by most
stitch
get better
digital
cameras, as well as
PNG and HDR files.
RAW images, though, you’ll
you follow these photography guidelines:
» Overhang each photo by about 30% to guarantee that you have plenty of common features to help you align the
If
you shot
need to convert them before you
get started.
To introduce you to Hugin,
we'll
walk you through the
image. Since the edges of your photos are vulnerable to
production of two panoramas.
First,
aberrations, larger overlaps can improve uniformity.
panorama composed
few photos and, second, a
» Move the camera as little as possible between shots to minimise parallax error
in
the
final
you
hold the white balance
and exposure constant between shots.
Hugin from the Hugin can
results
in
use your camera's manual
camera,
used as a control
automatically correct for the errors of the casual
photographer,
Dust
if
and a car driving through your scene could show up
» Even though the stitching process in
Taking pictures LXFDVD and follow along with this tutorial.
probably want to
make sure the
planet' stitched
more
composition. Don’t
of just a
a simple one-row ‘little
from three rows of images and posing a few
challenges.
Panoramic projections Remember child
looking at Mercator
maps
as a
and concluding that Greenland was
roughly the size of South America? Using the
wrong
projection can distort features
panorama, so
scroll
Hugin’s preview
The
in
your
through the options
in
window and choose wisely!
default projection, equirectangular, simply
and longitude to an xy grid -
maps
latitude
this
usually appropriate for long, skinny
is
56 LXF135 September 2010 1
panoramas. The
rectilinear projection
is
just
what a pinhole camera would produce and similar to what your eyes see, but leaves the edges of a wide field looking stretched out. The fisheye projection produces the
same
name. Equirectangular panini preserves vertical
and
radial lines,
which gives a great
sense of perspective to architectural scenes.
www.linuxformat.com
Just a few of
Hugin’s 19 panoramic projections applied to a 120 degree scene.
From top to bottom:
same
distinctive look as the lens type of the
>
equirectangular, rectilinear, fisheye,
and equirectangular panini.
Hugin
w A I
Ble
Pjfienir-iA
praaa Assistant
Ttitili
Ramcml
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D Load your images
Align the photos
To begin, open Hugin select the Images tab and drag and drop your photos in. You want Hugin to sort through your images and line them up how they were in the real world. To do that, it needs to know the points that each of your images have in common: control points. If you don’t mind stepping into a patent quagmire, you can find a variety of tools that integrate with Hugin to automatically generate control points. If you have one installed, just click Create control points. ,
s»
u
aal |
GpHntzer exposure |
|
the drop-down
menus to
them out as far as
load
possible.
When you’re done,
tab, select Positions (incremental, starting
down menu, and
hit
switch to the Optimiser
from anchor) from the drop-
Optimise Now.
attener |
|
l_^j
|4-*».50S0Jpa
D One last tweak
Take a peek Preview panorama button on the toolbar to get a quick look at your panorama now that your images are lined up. If you don't like what you see, click on the Straighten button on the Fast Preview toolbar Hit the Fast
to automatically centre,
zoom to fit and straighten
out your row of
images. We’ve used the Crop button to shave off the ragged edges of this panorama. To see how well your images are aligned, select Difference in
mode drop-down menu at the bottom of the preview window and then mouse over an overlap. The overlap will appear black if the agreement is perfect, but you'll see coloured outlines if it’s a bit off.
the Blend
Use two adjacent photos and then click on an identical feature in each image and click Add to create the control point. Aim to add at least five control points per image pair and try to spread identify control points manually, switch to the Control Points tab.
a
Control Ports
Crcp |
To
You may still be able to see seams even though the images are lined up perfectly. This is due to slight differences in the white balance and exposure. To fix these issues, turn to the Exposure tab, choose the 'Low Dynamic Range, Variable White Balance' preset from the drop-down menu and hit Optimise Now. To see the results in the preview window, make sure you enable Photometries on the toolbar. Finally, open the Stitcher tab and click Calculate Optimal Size to set the output resolution. You can choose JPEG, PNG or TIFF output with varying compression under File formats. When you’re fully satisfied, click on Stitch Now.
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135 57 |
Hugin
Step by step:
A little planet
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:
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Blend mode:
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left
Bend mode
D Bad control points
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1
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323.0x305.1 1
three
A
Open the
Fast Preview and click Photometries on the toolbar.
on any image,
If
the colour
photometric parameters by hand. Use the Identify button on the preview window toolbar to determine what its image number is. On the Camera and Lens tab, select the culprit image and open the Photometric tab at the bottom. Modify the Exposure (EV) value to change its brightness, and the Red and Blue multipliers to is
off
try modifying
its
When you're done, open the Stitcher tab and pick an output size. You can output at the full resolution of your photos but be prepared for it to take hours, even on a modern machine. alter its colour.
www.linuxforniat.com
Hugin
S
titching enlarges the field of view of
you're remiss
if
you don't
your camera, but your
similarly enlarge
camera's colourspace. High dynamic range (HDR)
imaging enables you to capture the details
and the glittering sunlight all
at once.
the shadows
in
To try
it
out, consult
your camera's manual to learn how to manually vary the
exposure
level of
your photos. For every photo you would
have taken for a normal panorama, try to take at least three
an HDR panorama. HDR panorama with Hugin, you only need to change a few steps in your workflow. When you turn to the at different exposure levels for
To stitch your
exposure
choose High Dynamic Range, Fixed Exposure
tab,
from the drop-down menu. To check on your progress, choose the Preview panorama button from the toolbar. This
menu
Output drop-down
window that will
HDR
that the
at the
HDR output. Beware
give you a peek at the
preview uses a simple logarithmic display that's
meant for checking which regions have The
step
last
Merging Hugin
detail preserved,
And Blended Panorama
is
to
check
HDR
option under
output an
OpenEXR file that
includes
all
information from your photos at every exposure this
but
panorama.
HDR panorama
producing an
in
final
Hugin makes corrections to make all your images blend perfectly.
sure
the Stitcher tab before you click on Stitch Now.
in
will
an
is
bottom of this preview
won’t look nearly as pretty as the
the Merged
slower
is
than the OpenGL-accelerated Fast Preview, but there
image may have a
monitor or
Open your HDR panorama
in
it
without
panorama by hand, just by
some
Luminance HDR an ,
open source, cross-platform tone mapping program
Imagine trying to construct a
Since
dynamic range than your
you won’t be able to view
printer,
processing.
far larger
the colour
level.
to
JPEG or other low dynamic range (LDR) file. Tone mapping involves a calculation to assign colours to the convert
it
pixels in
your image according to one of a variety of different
to a
laying
down
a few printed photos on a table and shifting
them around to
While this
is all
them
line
that’s strictly
up.
needed
to
produce a panorama, Hugin does an awful
more. The
lot
business
is
order of
first
geometric correction.
When
operator algorithms. Experiment with different operators to
you selected Everything
produce the most
Optimiser tab, you were instructing Hugin to do far more to
realistic
reproduction of your scene, or
ratchet up the contrast to render a bizarre circus of colours.
align
your images than
in
the
just sort
Hugin determined the exact
Pretty colours Even
if
where
you were unable to shoot images at varying exposures,
Hugin can
still
help you get the
most out
of your colourspace.
it
had previously
Hugin's
them out on the table.
field of
relied
First
view of your images,
on the
corrections do
information from
Exif
your camera. Next, Hugin corrects for
radial lens distortion
using a third-order polynomial model.
Finally,
determines a vector that indicates how
Exposure Fusion
centre of the
CCD deviates from the centre of the lens (the
optical axis).
Each image
in
the Stitcher tab before clicking Stitch
Instead of merging the input photos into an
HDR
image,
parameters before
If
just
one of your photos
underexposed and the adjacent shots look help you preserve as
much
detail
is
better,
over- or
Enfuse can
as possible.
pixels the
plugin.
It
is
able to
errors by virtue of the Enblend
Enblend uses a multiresolution spline algorithm to
up seams between images.
transition line roughly its
pillars.
corrected according to these
smooth over many alignment polish
job
stitching.
With or without this series of corrections, Hugin
Enfuse simply gives weight to the best-exposed areas during the stitching process.
is
terrific
of fixing the
on these
Simply check the Fused And Blended Panorama box under
Now. This turns on Enfuse, Hugin's exposure fusion engine.
a
alignment error
Hugin
many
advanced geometric
First
a
identifies
it
down the centre of the
overlap, doing
best to avoid features that differ (such as a car driving by).
then blends the images together across that
wide brush for smoothly varying features
one
like
line,
using a
sky and a tight
for sharply varying features like grass.
It’s
not enough to align the features of your images,
though; the colours must match up, too. Hugin begins
its
photometric corrections by recalculating the exposure for
each image to optimise their brightness
examines the brightness gradients
levels.
determine three vignetting correction terms. for variable white balance in the
calculate optimal red
optimisation, the
and blue
Exposure
levels for
camera response
Next Hugin
of overlapping If
tab,
images to
you optimise Hugin will also
each image. One
last
curve, normalises the
colourspace of the panorama.
Now that you can stitch images
a pro,
your camera
From top to bottom: normal panorama, enfused panorama, HDR panorama, HDR panorama with high-
be your paintbrush! With panoramic photography and Hugin,
contrast tone mapping. At right: detail views.
you can capture any scene, no matter how
>
www.tuxradar.com
like
let
big.
M3
September 2010 LXF135
|
59
What on Earth WebM
What on Earth is
WebM?
Bob Moss explains how Google’s new patent-free codec could soon make on to a web browser near you. it
So...
what
A codec
is
a codec exactly?
is
a piece of software or a
encode or decode
physical device that can
audio or video data. There are
sounds bad, but in
it
MPEG-LA is the authority
codecs around, with MP3, Ogg Theora and
already supported
DivX among them. They capture audio or visual
Adobe
and convert
input
it
‘container format’.
It’s
worth doing
saving raw binary data (usually a
sound) takes up a huge amount
because
this
Flash,
in all
the main browsers and
Wav file for
and DivX movies.
MPEG-LA has promised
having H.264
period where no-one
one of these ‘codecs’ then?
WebM
is
a container for two
called Vorbis,
is
which
if
Google gets
remains under a free
licence.
why isn’t everyone using VP8 then? VP8 is still a fairly new codec, meaning it
HTML 5
For the free software community, yes.
exactly,
WebM
doesn’t have widespread support just yet.
the
Is
One
WebM
So,
quality.
of disk space,
standard a bad thing?
Not
that
is
meaning that even
licensing,
sued,
has the advantage of hardware-acceleration,
which vastly improves playback
we can compress this to certain levels much quality. Container formats you may be familiar with are MP3, Ogg
codecs.
see
typically
decouples patent licensing from copyright
is
and also had widespread support
but
is
something you
is
General Public Licence v3 and Apache
Licence v2. The difference
charge of
without losing too
So WebM
GNU
from hardware companies. This means H.264
a compressed
into
in
enforcing the patents behind H.264. This
kinds of
all
is MPEG-LA and why want to attack everyone?
Hang on, what does
you’ll
have
royalties, after that,
free to
do
so. This
in
pledged to support
WebM
their
in
browsers
and Adobe will be adding support to
Though
a few years’ grace
Player software.
be pursued for
will
all
However, Mozilla and Opera have already
Moovida,
support
the patent-holders are
If
you’ll also
will
its
Flash
you use Miro, VLC or be pleased to hear that
be heading your way too.
would mean that any free
software with encoding or decoding support
Fair
enough! So what are the key
VP8 and H.264?
come across you’ve ever tried to convert your MP3s or rip CD audio as Ogg files and, as you
for
can probably guess,
software being developed, free software not
between the two for visual or audio
being able to provide playback support for
usually unnoticeable for the
high-quality video legally or even existing free
hardware acceleration
software disappearing.
hardware acceleration, then inevitably H.264
if
content. Vorbis is
widely used
Does
is
in
this
this deals with audio
and
patent-
royalty-free
and
the Linux world.
mean
it’s
litigation.
the case of Vorbis, that
exciting part of
WebM
called
WebM
VP8 that
is
isn't
differences between
and could face
necessarily the use
handles the video side of the
container.
VP8
patent issues?
plugged, the patent issue
Google
itself is
the patent holder for VP8 after
If
you use
now. Once the support gap will
is
be the overriding
between the two codecs.
purchase of On2 (the codec developer)
its
result has added a ‘patent promise' WebM's OSI-approved free licence that
WebM
be available on devices other
and as a
Will
to
than the desktop?
for
Yes.
The plan with hardware partnerships
is
try to create a consistent experience across
did video content?
would mean that any software could provide
different devices of varying
as good as the competing (and non-free)
H.264 format,
it’s
nowhere near as
backers.
The
because
if
latter
is
an important
point,
MPEG -LA were to pursue a
patent
case against Theora, they wouldn’t have the financial
backing to fight
escaped
litigation
this blessing
is
so
far
it.
Theora has
through obscurity, but
also a curse, as
companies
won't adopt a format that has the potential to
them sued.
60 LXF135 September 2010
full
support for the format without facing the
In
the
Which OSI-approved licence does
approved by the Open Source
body that checks to see truly ‘free’
and ‘open
if
Initiative (OSI),
free licences are
source’. This
is
in
the
event of Google being pursued for patent royalties,
grades of hardware.
sees patent rights revoked. This
www.linuxforxnat.com
WebM will
is
all
be able to play
already the case with
be arriving on these
platforms to remain competitive.
a
So how
long can
I
expect to wait for
hardware acceleration?
The major advantage
also
enclosed with a ‘patent promise’ that,
same videos. This
H.264, and
WebM use? WebM uses a BSD-style licence that has been
to
theory, your smartphone, tablet, laptop,
desktop and netbook should
possibility of legal action.
well-
supported and doesn't have big-money
1
difference
a factor.
royalties for the container’s existence. This
does, but the compression-to-quality ratio
get
isn't right
is
so widely supported where
So how does WebM go about avoiding
anyone using the codec won’t be pursued
isn’t
it’s
isn't
quality
end user when
But thought that Ogg Theora already I
It
Aside from the patent issue, the difference
This could lead to less free playback
shines because
indeed true. The
new patent-free codec
of Vorbis, however, but a
liable
technology we’ve
had the whole time? In
H.264 would be
for
a longer head start and
is
H.264
is
that
it's
had
therefore already
supported on most hardware platforms. However, thanks to Google's general aura,
WebM What on Earth we've already seen AMD, various ARM chip
will
makers and Broadcom pledge support. Nvidia
QuickTime
is
also considering adding to support to
system-on-chip Tegra platform, while
promised to also support
it
once
see widespread adoption. This early stages for
it
end
in
starts to
the
hardware support, but VP8
the next few months,
if
the
same codecs for same
order to achieve the
not by the
»
Does VP8 need a
encoder?
There’s no single encoder or decoder that
VP8 requires. FFmpeg is supported for VP8 playback, and
Windows users will
available for DirectShow.
nature of the
find filters
Thanks to the open
VP8 codec and
software development
of this year.
specific
kit
its
associated
»
if
I’m using another
operating system and find myself stuck
along with
Firefox,
Opera and Chrome
supporting VP8 out of the box.
Internet Explorer doesn’t natively support
WebM, but so long as you have the Vorbis and VP8 codecs installed on your machine, WebM still
be playable. Safari users
I
like
So where can watch I
right
viewing
WebM content
now then?
your enthusiasm!
we mentioned
weren't yet released and
the beta stages,
still in
but should be stable enough for general use by the time you read version of
»
This I
this.
The VP8-compatible
VLC should be a full
release.
you want to
sounds excellent! Where can more information?
all
find
http://bit.ly/dpKOnS or view the
technical details about entry.
If
start
WebM content right away, you can sign
It
WebM via
its
latest
Wikipedia
You can also follow progress at the
project’s website
(www.webmproject.org) or
On2’s website at www.on2.com, 523
s a container
for i
versions of the three browsers
via
»
supported browser builds from that
page. At the time of writing, VP8-compatible
You can view the demonstration at Google I/O
with Internet Explorer or Safari?
content should
www.youtube.com/html5 and download one
(SDK) we should see
a wide range of VP8 players and encoders,
What about
HTML 5 beta version of YouTube at
up the the result.
of the
has
support on the software side should be available
install in
its
Intel
is still in
need to
two codecs
a high-quality open video format for the web Its
KJm.
TO
Video files
#
play
W.
directly in
your web browser
It's
100% free
W
and open-source W, u- XV A
using
HTML 5 -i
No
r
plugins
required
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|61
Dr Brown’s Administeria
Dr Chris Brown
Esoteric system administration goodness from the impenetrable bowels of the server room.
The Doctor provides Linux training, authoring and consultancy. He finds his PhD in particle physics to be of no help in this work at all.
down
Drilling
H
ow
long
is
the coastline of Great
Britain? According to the
Ordnance Survey, it’s 11,073 miles. The UK Coast Guide website says 7,760. There’s no right answer, of course;
depends on the scale and what
of the
it
map you
use
wiggliness you drape your
level of
tape measure around. I
mention
by way of comparison with
this
comes who “How many days
the equally ill-defined question that
up time and again
for
deliver Linux training:
those of us
does this course need?” - which
“How much
translates to
is
about Linux?” For most of that
we
enough
learn
Ubuntu Tweak Change the settings you’ve always wanted to, but could never figure out how.
really
there to
know
us, the reality
is
to get our jobs done,
and no more.
T
he
Gnome desktop
customisable. As a
those people
who
is
endlessly
rule, I'm
Danger, Will Robinson!
not one of
fusses over their
The Source Centre screen of Ubuntu Tweak provides a quick and easy checkbox approach to adding PPAs (Personal Package
choice of background wallpaper, or has to
make their window borders exactly the
Layers of knowledge
shade
of pink
However much you
colour
scheme on my Ubuntu 10.04
learn
about Linux
right
(though admit did change the I
I
Archives) to your
desktop),
but one thing
there’s almost always another layer of detail
below the one you’re
fractals?
that. For
It’s like
at.
Remember
example, there’s a
well-known network reconnaisance tool called
Nmap.
In
could describe
default behaviour
manager screen displays a
Now,
a training context, you
it
in
a couple of sentences,
do a one-minute demo, and move
on.
like
you could give examples of Nmap's two
Ubuntu Tweak
jgj
^
book on the subject written by Gordon
jjjj)
Lyon (who
is
Application Center
PPA’s author to run his log in)
you
list
I
will,
468 pages
it’s
P3
probably enough to keep
for a
whole week of rainy
^ 21
commentary on 6th Edition Unix published way back in 1976, John Lions In his
configure
own
scripts as root
packages.
sorts of things that (in
all
cases) there
can
Canonical,
configure
to keep
provides,
I
tell)
in its efforts
not provide any
way to
the standard distribution.
in I
most
no easy, graphical way to
is
It
have to say, a rather eclectic mix of
configuration options, spanning a wide range of areas, not just
this. I'm
Gnome.
For example, you can:
Auto
Programs
Compiz
Gnome setting in the GConfdatabase with
Settings
one was I
course, that you
Settings
Window Manager Settings
know
what the
relevant
setting
called.
(this
particularly interested
was the
in).
» Turn off the dialog that confirms logout and shutdown
Gconftool, provided, of
Desktop icon Settings
GNOME
combinations to start applications).
» Disable the user list in GDM
configure every Start
» Define up to 12 keyboard shortcuts (hotkey
aware that you can
Desktop
summer days.
install his
I
account
Session control
you going
when you
So was dismayed
configure
Source Center
^ Startup
improbable
this
but don’t
of valid
Update Manager
Nmap security scanner). At an
you do
Package Cleaner
Source Editor
also the original author of the
display
where you
if
you’re effectively giving permission for that
things simple, does
Applications
of the
if
login screen.
to discover that (as far as
techniques, which might take an hour or
hand out copies
paranoid
the idea of exposing a
dozen host discovery and scanning two. Or you could
me
names on the
Or
was that the
(the screen
of software
of user accounts.
list
call
about the
really didn't like
I
list
Do be aware, that
repositories.
actions.
» Change the way that file are
shown and
set
in
permissions
the Nautilus f\\e
Personal
observed: “The whole documentation
is
not j||
unreasonably transportable
in
a student’s
,
Default Folder Locations
Manage
Scripts
All
Manage "templates
briefcase.”
(And he was
documents or
printed out on paper, not a
USB stick.) As
countered
in
[
referring to
Shortcut
CD
Commands
System
is
of which leads
me to Ubuntu Tweak, an application that
running on battery power.
» Change the computer's host name.
Advanced Powemnanager Sett...
Kernighan and Pike aptly
their book,
The Unix
{
fixed in recent versions.”
Computer Details
provides an easy,
Hie Type Manager
graphical
way to
a >
Ubuntu -tweaks menus gives you some idea
of the range of settings that you can tweak.
62 LXF135 September 2010
This
isn’t
systematic
Nautilus Settings
Programming Environment “This has been
i
properties window.
» Set how much the display dims when
www.linuxformat.com
feel for
meant as an exhaustive or
list,
comprehensive do, visit
just
some examples to give you
the tool's potential. For a more list
of
what Ubuntu Tweak can
http://ubuntu-tweak.com.
Dr Brown’s Administeria
RRDtool Round-robin database tool Get yourself a comprehensive solution to storing, processing and graphing time-series data.
S It
hould you have ever used any application on Linux
Energiemix
how something
that produces graphs showing
changes over time, chances are you’ve used RRDtool.
combines two
things: a specialised
database for storing
time series data, and a way to generate
pretty,
browsable
graphs from that information. RRDtool comes from Tobi Oetiker (http://oss.oetiker.ch/rrdtool) and
is
the database
number of applications that graph
that underpins a large
performance, system load, resource usage, network
o
traffic,
Do 12:00
network latency, temperature, wind speed... the
RRDtool is not a database tables
and
relations.
It's
in
list
goes on.
the usual sense of storing
specialised for storing and
processing measurements that are generated at regular intervals of time. For example,
I
in
where the readings are actually stored. Each
is
number
specified
RRA is calculated by combining a
of individual
measurements using one of - for example the
several pre-defined consolidation functions
average, the
minimum
readings are
known as consolidated data
or the
number of CDPs that can be created.
it's initially
When all
maximum. These combined stored
in
points (CDPs).
Thus, each day,
week
it
the
The
RRA is fixed when RRA are filled,
an
slots in the
it
simply cycles round, overwriting the oldest data. This
behaviour that earns
name Round-Robin
RRA holds data for a fixed span
is
the
I
of time (perhaps a
temperature database that calculates the average from 10 individual
measurements
(so that
I
get a
have a
fairly
the past In
Fr 04:00
Fr 00:00
00
Fr 08:00
.
the
I
>
fine-grained chart of temperature variation over
week (1008
addition,
multiplied by 10 minutes
is
minimum from 60 data
one week).
RRA that calculates points (so that get a CDP every I
me a chart that's less
fine-grained but reaches back over a year. to create a third
I
A classic
RRDtool graph, where multiple independent measurements are plotted, each
might choose to define an
hour) and keeps 8,760 of them, giving
might also choose
in its
own
colour.
RRA for the maximum temperature. You can
see that the storage capacity of this database
determined at the time
it's
created.
is
My example
fixed,
and
can store
1,008 + 8,760 + 8,760 = 18,528 CDPs.
As mentioned
earlier,
I
measurements at taken
RRA for my greenhouse
could define an
I
Database.
or year) that's defined up-front.
For example,
:
min 14.5 max 55. 7 min 14. 6 max 46. 4 min 603. Dm max 57. 7 min 0 0 max 8. 2 min 3. 8 max 9. 0 min 9. 0 max 32, 7
my greenhouse
once a minute. We define a number of round-robin archives reading that goes into an
:
could define a database that
expects a new reading of the temperature
(RRAs), which
Do
Do 16 00
Heizung Vorlauf Heizung Rucklauf Helligkeit Verbrauch Erdgas Aussent emperatu r Ve rbrauch St rom
these databases expect to be fed
regular intervals.
If
measurements
aren't
when expected (maybe the computer responsible to
the measurements
Unknown
in
is
switched
off
)
they are marked as
the database.
CDP every 10
minutes) and keeps 1008 of them so that, at any one time,
What goes in must come out. We’ve talked about putting data but what about getting
it
in
to an
out? Well,
it’s
RRDtool database,
possible to
dump
out
the contents as text (for example to transfer the database to
another computer) but
it’s
much more
interesting to create a
These can be created as PNG
files, or as SVG or EPS or PDF, so you can include them on a website to be viewed in the user's web browser, or paste them into that
nice graph.
research report you’re writing in
in
OOo. The graphing features
RRDtool offer immense flexibility - take a look at the
screenshot gallery at http://oss.oetiker.ch/rrdtool/gallery to get
an idea
of
what you can do.
commands to create an RRDtool
There are Linux >
Again, multiple graphs are displayed, this time as areas
stacked on top of each other so you can see the
database (rrdcreate), to add individual measurements to
it
(rrdupdate), to generate a graph (mdgraph), and other
total.
administrative functions.
manually from the
What’s a round robin?
familiarisation) or
So you could
command
you could
line (for
drive
RRDtool
testing or
build a real application
around
it
using a shell script. Alternatively, you can do these things
Those red-breasted
when
I
worms unearth become almost spherical in
birds that eat the
little
dig the veg plot
in
spring
their gluttony, but they are not the
here.
A round
around a
robin
circle,
none may be
as
was a
if
is
round robins referred to
was signed by people
petition that
from within other scripting languages - there are language bindings for
Perl,
Python, Ruby,
TCP or
PHP.
You can download the source tarball from http://oss. oetiker.ch/rrdtool/pub along with
links to pre-built binaries
along the spokes of a wheel, so that
identified as a ringleader.
sorts of things since,
them
I
and the concept
of cycling round
It’s
come to mean
for AIX,
HP-UX,
Solaris, Debian,
RHEL, Fedora, Windows, and
all
common to all of
and coming back to the beginning.
even NetWare. You
you can
install
it
may find
in
your distro’s repositories so
with your usual package
Happy graphing!
www.tuxradar.com
management tools.
»
September 2010 LXF135
|
63
Dr Brown’s Administeria
Copying stuff Duplication Following the old Perl mantra of “there is more than one way to do it”, we discover a surprising number of ways to copy a file.
M
y tutorial this month is a real back-to-basics affair, and also one of the most mundane topics I've covered.
about copying
It's
and
Let's begin at
most basic
the beginning, with the cp
looks
it
$ cp source-file the
I
final
its
name of an existing one command. The
the
is
JPEG images
files in
list
For such a basic
my images
into
directory:
images
~joe/images/*.jpg
The
command. At
generated using wildcard expansion. For example,
is
options.
necessary,
destination-file
argument to cp
could copy joe's
$ cp
strictly
like this:
directory you can copy multiple of files
There are more
take a look at half a dozen of them.
we'll
If
stuff.
you might think
tools for copying stuff than
command, cp has a surprising number of
mention three:
I’ll
-r (recursive)
option copies directories recursively.
This option lets you copy an entire subtree of the filesystem.
> You could always copy files using the GUI, but that’s no good if you’re working remotely on a headless server.
For example, after doing this:
$ cp you'll
tree
/boot
-r
end up with a complete copy
in
of the
/boot
that you’re copying to a remote machine.
directory
name “images”
your current directory.
The
-a (archive) option preserves the attributes of the
original
file
made as
as
root,
preserved.
If
much
as possible. For example,
is
made
The -b (backup) option if
you copy over a
that already exists.
The
backup
~
have a
will
appended
to the
tells
You can use
with cp, but
its
will
be
cp
-a option implies
to keep a
backup
you can
on the
server.
third-party copies, file
well
as pushing
when both the source file and the
I
is
scp supports a
one
option
of the strangest animals in the Linux world.”
is in
(-r)
preserve
recursive
and an option to
file
attributes (-p).
There's also an option (-C) to
compress the data as
it's
being transmitted, though
make
main use
installed
an account on them.
“The dd command
to
SSHD daemon
and running on the remote machines, and you need to have
of the
cp's big it
way
are remote.
For this to work, you need the
-r.
home
files in this
from remote machines. You can even do
pull files
destination
As
file
cp’s big brother is
is
using a normal account, the
name.
scp (secure copy) brother.
the copy
the original ownership and timestamps
the copy
copy will be owned by that account. The
original
if
directory
The directory
interpreted relative to james’s
is
my experience
copies just as you can
local
copying
files
to or
from remote
this is
more
if
likely
to slow things
down than speed them
in
LAN
you’re copying across a reasonable fast
up.
machines using an encrypted SSH connection. Atypical
command
might look
rsync
like this:
$ scp \jpg [email protected]:images
rsync
[email protected]. corn’s password:
be used
storml.jpg sunsetl.jpg
100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
is
primarily a (to
197.7KB/S
00:00
command for everyday use”. So we can
135.2KB/S
00:00
make
files
defaults to whatever user I’m logged
Notice the colon - this
is
in
I
leave that part
as on the
off,
it
tells
use
it
trivially
scp
it
to
But rsyncs main claim to fame
is
as a remote
tool. Its delta-transfer
substantially reduces the
amount
algorithm
of data sent over the
network by sending only the differences between the source
and the
existing files
in
the destination. This makes
it
tell
syntax
is
very similar to scp.
I
can copy
my entire
Format article archive to a remote server
Linux
like this:
$ rsync -av Linux-Format-Articles servera.example.com:
How many more command-line tools can you think of that can be persuaded to simply copy we’ll print
files? Let
us know and
the most inventive suggestions.
...
a long
list
of
file
names appeared here
bytes/sec
www.linuxformat.com
...
sent 68556777 bytes received 14403 bytes 5079346.67
total size is
64 LXF135 September 2010
it
“make that filesystem over there look exactly like this one it will do so very efficiently. Its command
over here" and
The copycat challenge
can
rsync source-file destination-file
great tool for backups and mirroring. Essentially you
client).
the key piece of syntax that
though
local file copies:
the account I'm using on the server
(if
tool,
page) as “an improved copy
135KB
synchronisation
thegirls.jpg
man
198KB
190KB 190-lKB/s 00:00 57KB 56.9KB/S 00:00 UNIX_highlighter.jpg 80KB 80.1KB/S 00:00 This copies my JPEG files into the images directory on the machine servera.example.com. Here, james is the name of teachingl.jpg
remote sychronisation
quote the
68497001 speedup
is
1.00
a
Dr Brown’s Administeria
If
txt)
save the
I
file
I'm writing right
now (it’s called copying,
and repeat the rsync command,
instantaneously since
it
What’s in a name?
completes almost
only transmits the differences:
it
dc/ takes its
$ rsync -av Linux-Format-Articles servera.example.com: sending incremental
file list
command
Linux Format Articles/sysadmin-lxfl35/ I
sent 21426 bytes received 161 bytes 4797.11 bytes/sec
When it
68497303 speedup
is
making backups
rsync to a
where
it
stands for
comes from the same
place.
It
looked something
like this:
DD DSN=FOOBAR.DATA.QSAM0080,DISP=OLD,KEEP have repressed most of my memories of struggling with JCL in my paper-
I
lines of
JCL right than the 200
I
more trouble getting the
usually had
lines of Fortran that followed.
a printed error report (understand that
I
had to wait
half a
day
of
I’d
USB memory stick
is
half-
typically get
turnaround time
comma in line 3”. Many a time I’ve wondered why, the computer knew there was a comma missing, couldn’t just pretend was there
for this) saying “missing
if
it
not an industrial strength backup tool, but
via
think
dozen
3173.08
copying to remote machines, rsync can use SSH, or
itself is
line,
tape-and-punched-card student days.
can connect to the rsyncd daemon. rsync by
control language,
//QSAM0080
Linux Format Articles/sysadmin-lxfl35/copying.txt
total size is
name from an IBM mainframe job
“data definition”. The strange syntax, which sits so uncomfortably on the Linux
and get on with
a fine
it
it.
solution for individual professional users.
aimed
features are clearly
wget
at migrating data
between the
Unix/Linux and traditional IBM mainframe worlds. But
wget is a command-line, non- interactive tool
HTTP or HTTPS
from a URL, using FTP,
for
file
perhaps the most useful feature of dd is that you can control
is
the block sizes
copying a
protocols.
The file
written to the current directory. Here's an example:
output
file will
in
which the input
file will
be read and the
be written, and you can specify how many
makes for various
$ wget http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ls-lR.gz
blocks to copy. This
--20 10-06- 14 13:47:53- http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/
For example you can create a
ls-lR.gz
$ dd if=/dev/zero of=allzeros
Resolving archive.ubuntu.com... 91.189.88.46, 91.189.88.30,
1+0 records in
interesting possibilities.
1MB file full of zeros bs=lM count=l
like this:
1+0 records out
Connecting to archive.ubuntu.coml91. 189.88.461:80...
(1.0 MB) copied, 0.00476925 s, 220 MB/s we write a single 1MB block. The syntactic style if=/
1048576 bytes
connected.
Here,
HTTP request
sent, awaiting response...
200
OK
dev/zero to specify a
Length: 9190681 (8.8M) [application/x-gzip]
things
Saving
keep you informed
to: Ts-lR.gz’
=
100%[ 763K/s
=>]
9,190,681
it.
this
to follow links in
(yes,
it’s
-r
again) which
HTML pages, effectively recreating a
the directory structure of the original
case the content
would copy content
is
very useful
into
wget
-r
the directory archive.ubuntu.com
is
a website from
discussed this month, wget
- you can use
unidirectional
push. However, there
is
tool.
It’s
it
to pull
a tool called wput,
if
is
files
to
make
$ tar
the only one
one
you’re interested.
of the strangest
animals
has a weird syntax and a weird feature
Linux world.
It
make simple copies,
to
’
it
/dev/sdal
into
a
file:
s,
54.7
MB/s
cf
tar.
copy it’s
utility
cf
archiving tool than a copy
However, by piping out of and into taryou
copy file hierarchies around. The trick
to
is
to
as the output or input filename, which you can use terwrite to
-
I
copy
its
standard output or read from standard
my Linux Format article folder into /tmp:
Linux-Format-Articles/
Using a similar technique
$ tar
party might be considered a
more an
-
source-dir
I
files
to
1
(cd /tmp; tar xf
we can
-)
pipe through an
SSH
remote systems:
ssh servera.example.com
-
Bet you hadn’t thought of that! 223
surely
can use
it
at the
connection and copy
but not to
dd weirdness is
it
input. Here,
tar xf
The dd command
called
specify
within a script, or on a server without a browser installed.
that
partition
123346944 bytes (123 MB) copied, 2.2557
can use
only works properly for static sites,
between these days. Nonetheless, wget
far
I’ve
dd s desire to how fast did
1+1 records out
My final arrival
when you need to grab files from
Of the tools
copied and
as a disk cloning tool. Here, for example,
gatecrasher, because
and take a very long time! which are few and
it
Gatecrashing the party
For example:
$ wget http://archive.ubuntu.com
practice
it
how much
site. In
copied into a top-level directory
is
named after the site.
In
You can also use
of
1+1 records in
wget also has a recursive option
local replica of
very non- Linux and totally defeats
$ sudo dd if=/dev/sdal of=sdal -image bs=64M
Ts-lR.gz’ saved
-
[9190681/9190681]
it
file is
filename wildcard expansion. Notice
we capture an image of the
in 12s
2010-06-14 13:48:05 (758 KB/s)
tells
like
in
set.
the
You
like this:
$ dd if=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic of=foo
7886+1 records in 7886+1 records out
4037792 bytes but that
is
(4.0
MB)
copied, 0.0290523
rather missing the point.
It
s,
139
MB/s
can make various
improbable data conversions along the way. For example,
it
>
can convert text from lower to upper case (or vice versa), and it
can convert between ASCII and EBCDIC character sets.
(EBCDIC stands for Extended Binary Coded Decimal Information
Code and
is
and not used by anyone it
can pad text
lines
a character code invented by IBM else).
It
you shouldn’t shake sticks at
can swap alternate bytes, and
out to a fixed length.
More penguins
than you can shake a stick at. But then,
Some of these
penguins.
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|
65
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September 2010 LXF135
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The best new open source software on the planet
LXFHotPicks
Nick Veitch When compiling HotPicks,
Eagle Mode » Rakarrack » jGnash » Knitter » Dfeta » Scribus » VirtualBox OSE » Widelands »SDL Sopwith » Pybag » BleachBit
Nick
makes frequent use of Curses. Tell us your favourite programming language at the usual address.
Desktop environment/file manager
Mode
Eagle
Web http://eaglemode.sourceforge.net
Version 0.78.0
A clicking
re
for
you?
enough
controls before you’re competent
enough to navigate from one
too easy just
It’s all
need
really
practise for a few hours with the
life
of a challenge
on icons on a desktop,
What you into the
you finding that modern
just isn’t
is
a paradigm
there’s plenty of
shift
about zooming
panning around Well, step
in
everything
forward Eagle Mode.
fitting into
you’ll
currently
zoom
in
in
The eagle is known for its incredible eyesight, but humans will have to zoom right in to read those files.
>
is
focus.
on a directory
comforts of your desktop environment,
and you
Eagle
either.
to see the level
or
you want. Both the mouse and
KDE
if
Mode can
you
prefer,
run atop
Gnome
to
may need to
it if
you
really
and
you'll slowly
into
There's no need for a picture viewer
want to get the full
Eagle
Mode interface
in
Mode because you can just keep ,
zooming
in
big as
Exploring the Eagle
files,
previews for compatible media types.
but you’re going to
immersive experience. Try zooming
of
see them resolve themselves
have to give up the whole display area
cursor keys are required to navigate the scalable display, and you
Use the
You don’t have to eschew the cosy
see
A toolbar and your complete
merely have to
follows:
keys to change the which object
out far enough
filespace are displayed there,
of detail
A
workspace sees
from the default screen and there).
The basics are as
mouse wheel to zoom in and out, hold the scroll button down and move the mouse to pan about, and use the cursor
the eye of an
zoom
eagle (seriously,
him
help you on your way.
and out and
frantically.
radical redesign of the
documentation on the
website, complete with diagrams, to
world of a scalable, vector-
oriented environment where the action is all
part of the
filesystem to another. Thankfully,
isn't it?
to an
in
you
image file
until it's
as
like.
More tricks It
isn’t just
a
file
manager either. There
are scalable applications available too,
such as a
Main tools The main menu You can zoom
tools lurk
in for
more
up
here. eullnle^ullnicks‘1
eullnick evilnicl
File rrrv-p-
Quick access zoomable
some
zooming
detail.
est.ogg
Shortcut keys to
fluntitled sc .
File
I
2019-35- 31
2010-03-19
10:51 :20l
22:44:M=£:/- I??
untitled. scf
of the
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i
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test sch
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Hi!
H:
Untitled. skt
.
\r-
A context-sensitive tool appears
r~
77.H87137
everyone
Media
files
like.
Read
Eagle
can be played
This
OGG file
a visualisation as
it
is
in situ
if
showing
plays.
For text
files,
Ubuntu,
binary
RPM for Fedora
for Slax, ebuild for
you don't need a
zoom
it.
live in until
ISO image on there to download,
so you’ll probably have no need to build this
68 LXF135 September 2010
for
Gentoo and Sabayon. There’s also a
viewer. Simply
you can read
on
it.
Mode is available in
and Suse, an LZM
me
his take
concept has obviously got something going for
packages
O Here and now
illusion that
want to adopt
attracted a reasonable fan base, so the
eulnUfck evllnick!
you
will
a zoomable user interface (ZUI), but
for playing file.
on the globe on the clock
previous releases have already
r~ 21129 '
o Context sensitivity
in
The author is under no ‘
;:
evil nick evilnick^
the highlighted media
Mandelbrot viewer,
||
evilnick nvilnicl Forget the feeling,
This release includes plenty of
new
effects
including dual flange, convolotron,
done to a
pretty
it
can now
much the same
all
be
effect
on
computer (possibly also assembled
in
for a
few years on Linux. Making
use of the excellent Jack sound architecture,
following for
it’s
its
amazing ease
until
upsampling, a simplified
nothing short of a
features, but to be honest, they’re just
as cool to mess around with too.
is
Rakarrack is already available as a
multi-tap delay
full
board, so you can reproduce
quality of output
all
and
Where the
package
“This release includes
The main panel
plenty of effects and
the knobs and sliders
for the built-in effects,
twiddle
library format,
Jack connection and a host of
attracted quite a
of use.
simply lays out
Have No Name. There may be many readers who have very specific ideas about how to use all these Streets
and a vocoder, changes to the
waveshapers. The new echotron
the Far East). Rakarrack has been
around
shuffle
and you can
you get the
right
improvements to
sound
how about once more with insane
of reverb? Rakarrack, step forward...
and improvements to try,
pedals and expensive electronics from
the Far East, but the modern age has heralded an era where
amounts
for a couple of distros, but for
some reason or other, these packages are way out of date. you want to build If
Rakarrack yourself,
you’ll
development packages libsndfile
try.”
need the
for FLTK, Jack,
and libsamplerate. So long as
you’ve got these,
it
should build cleanly.
Personal finance tool
jGnash Web http://jgnash.sourceforge.net
Version 2.35
K
eeping a close eye on your
set
become dramatically more important in recent years, so it’s always nice to come across some software that offers to do some of the heavy lifting for you. This finances has
self-contained
up accounts with
different
currencies. Reporting facilities are excellent, so
you can draw
how much you spend on
, 1*1
even a tool to help print cheques.
deeper than you need
whole
surprisingly fast, easy
accounts,
doddle to use. This
fill it.
is
it
to,
but
> Set reminders in
on the eye and a
a cross-platform
Java app, but the settings support all sorts of themes, so you can
importing those ever so handy or .csv
files
by
X|if,
joxf
you may have downloaded
from your bank. These neatly fill up
them to, a glance how poor
whichever accounts you
and you can see you
at
tie
look at if
that
make
it
home on the Gnome desktop,
makes you
be a
in
HotPicks, so a few of you
little
unfamiliar
how to
may
run them.
like
many, has been
distributed as a Java archive (.jar
file).
There’s no need to decompress this
by adding the
it
-jar
file,
directly with Java just
switch
like so:
/usr/java/jrel.6.0_20/bin/java -jar
jgnash2.jar
The annoying thing about jGnash is
are.
As well as standard current accounts and savings deposits, you can enter information for stocks and
investment accounts.
This one,
you can execute
happier.
We don’t tend to feature many Java apps
jGnash to help you keep track of your
finances. That way, you won’t forget what’s in the bank.
Information can be entered directly thankfully,
3
iSHBSKHSS
it’s
from the keyboard,
or,
CHK.rn.il
PfJ-
jGnash probably goes further and
app will construct a
tree, full of possible
and then
export details of your exports. There’s
database and automatically build a ready and waiting for you to
pie charts of
pies,
If
you’re an
international globetrotter,
you can even
“jGnash is surprisingly fast, easy on the eye and a doddle to use.” www.tuxradar.com
that
it's
very specific about what
version of Java
it’ll
play ball with. Put
simply, anything other than the official
Sun
1.6 release
is likely
to cause
you
some problems.
September 2010 LXF135 69 1
LXFHotPicks
Knitting visualiser
Knitter Version 0.5.3
A
Web
http://knitter.sourceforge.net
an OpenGL display area and four
you a knitter? Yes, know
re
I
yo
u re
'
No,
read ng Linux Format
different rendering
i
said "knitter", not "nutter”
I
-
only see
we already know where you stand on
but
that score. Anyway, having previously
in
featured cross-stitching applications HotPicks,
See your work
touch to claim their hobby had
software available. That
may be so,
chosen implements,
be noted that they're a
bit
imagination department to
it
should
lacking
when
it
the
comes
make it actually shows them
being knitted
in
front of
OpenGL. Tap
in
your pattern, and watch
in
> This is not a
and although
rudimentary,
map
complete neural
of Mike’s brain,
it’s
a
simple knitting swatch. Easy mistake to make, though.
it's
and yarn
good
cabling looks good, or that those
diamond patterns
you can tap away your
make amendments and re-render the display to make sure your
like
someone trying to type
half
a keyboard, but no doubt
a maternity hospital. With
it
makes it.
WX toolkit and
Knitter relies on the
“Knitter actually shows your patterns being knitted in front of you.”
little
Lisp with
who know about
sense to those
pattern, or
its
it
your socks
perfectly. Knitting notation looks a
pattern.
you’re familiar with knitting
instructions,
in
counterpoint the rows of stockinette
effect.
The lower panel displays the If
glorious
the invisible needles deftly weaving
in
fairly
of the finished object to
out of the ether, faster than a roomful of grannies
useful,
piece. Adjustable needle size
own
Knitter doesn't just help you
you
is
quite easy to get a feel for the finished
still
in
naming said software.
your patterns,
display
width enable you to customise the look
although, ever wary of the pointiness of their
The 3D
the controls are
more advanced, technically - and therefore geekier -
significantly
detailed
how the whole thing hangs together
simulated gravity.
in
some craft types from the
other school of threaded fabrication got in
modes, you can not
how different stitches work,
OpenGL extensions, so you’ll need
both
if
you want to compile
it
from
A binary distribution is also available, but your mileage may vary scratch.
here.
We found
it
worked
Ubuntu, but not Fedora
fine
on
13.
Disk utility
Dfeta Version
Web http://cade.datamax.bg/away/dfeta
1.0
F 1
Flit
felt
vici.
fcrniliul
Help
[evilnick@localhast -]$ dfeta sample /root/.gvfs /bin/df* Permission denied [/dev/sda3] data, 17 samples [/] data, 17 samples (tmpfs] data. 17 samples [/dev/shi*] data, 17 samples [/dev/sdal] data, 17 samples (/boot] data, 17 samples [evilnlck@localhost -]$ dfeta /bin/df; /root/.gvf s' Permission denied Device Mount point j Estimate full at /dev/sda3 Wed Jun 23 2010 / tmpfs /dev/shm [never] /dev/sdal /boot j never] [evllnlck@loealhost -]$ |
1
nr
-
'
:
B
eing able to see into the future
‘predict the date of
your own death'
would be quite handy. Apart
websites, but not as scary. Even
from clearing your gambling
you’re not an IT person responsible for
if
’
:
|
debts and predicting the scripts for
providing storage, this handy
Doctor Who, you'd know when the
is
optimum time to expand your RAID
empty the trash and
little
tool
a nice nagging aid to remind you to recycle
Full in
[
|
|
|
|
|
j
j
j
j
j
12 Hours, [n/a] [n/a]
21 minutes ago
|
more often.
array would be. This delightful tool can’t help
little
line
Get
at
Obviously, for this to work, you need to
command
you with the 11.30
Kempston, or whether that ginger girl
make
will
but is
it
can
it
to the Christmas special,
you when your hard
tell
going to be
change your before you
OK,
full.
but
life,
it
it
drive
might not
could be useful
embark on a major photo
it
sample you
right
regularly.
take, the
The more samples
more accurate
the ongoing averages.
decide to run stored data
it
is
file is
then
tells
you the specific date on
more room.
70
does a few sums and
will tell
It’s like
you there’s no
one of those
LXF135 September 2010
because
it’s
pretty fast
you don’t even know
happening. The best idea
does keep backups (which leads to
is
a
nice aid to remind you to empty the trash.” www.linuxformat.com
to install
it
is
appropriate on your
system) and execute a Cron job. Once a
day
“This handy tool
is
and
it's
your path (/usr/local/bin/ or
wherever
prophesising over
simple. Dfeta
fullness of your drive at
which your disk
painless,
in
it
regular intervals,
time). But
How often you
up to you, but the
some self-fulfilling
is
becomes,
pretty small, although
download every single Linux distro.
The concept
keeps an eye on how quickly you’re filling your does some maths and predicts when it’ll be full.
drive up,
since temporary blips are ironed out of
scanning exercise or decide to
samples the
it
> Dfeta
is
probably enough, but you
make
up your own mind as to how many data
files
you want
in
The only remaining conundrum
how to pronounce
it.
bitty
-/.dfeta. is
DeeEff EeeTeeAy?
Def-Eatah? Dee-Fetah?
Hmmm...
LXFHotPicks
DTP software
Scribus Version
W history.
one
e
Web www.scribus.net
1.3.7
first
featured Scribus as an
up-and-coming project back
it's
examples
of the very best
source office software. a year since
we
last
gone on
gave
(LXF124), and although
terms
of
it
in
a
full
of features,
review
lot
this
of
perennial problems with
problems with the operations,
reliability of
and various
little
bits
is still
>
As
well as great graphics handling, Scribus has a rendered
unmatched
quality of the results. Various
made to tweak
files,
and the tools
text fields,
tools
1.4),
last six
and more,
months making sure the PDF engine up
to scratch
meddlesome
directly into
One word
checkboxes and so on) are
one of the very best examples of open
the
“It’s
or seven is
external
such as Gnuplot, Latex and your documents.
of caution
-
you’re using
if
the stable version of Scribus
the developers have
spent most of the
Linux software. Also, the
Lilypond to render formulae, graphs
for
release (working towards the eventual release of
in
new text rendering boxes use
PDF output to generate version
1.5-compatible
a development
and more.
text tool for inserting formulae, music notation
generating interactive PDFs (buttons,
pieces that just didn’t work as they should. While this
If
still
be surprised by the power of the tools
the
and
available online
your needs are more modest, you'll
additions have been
undo
it's
www.linuxformat.cauk/archives.
and
There were massive
stability.
using only Scribus and other
open source tools at
development release series has
been
Pro power We created a four-page feature back in LXF96
work has been going on under the hood.
One of the
the features needed to
open
that time
an awful
all
into Linux
be impressed.
design professional publications.
many huge changes
there haven’t been in
to be
been nearly
It’s
you haven't delved before, you’ll likely
Scribus has
the mists of HotPicks
in
Since then,
If
DTP
Pick
file
new version It's
and sorting out those
(1.3.3.x),
format has changed and the is
no longer file-compatible.
probably easier to maintain two
versions of Scribus rather than ditch
source office software.”
bugs.
all
your old documents just
yet.
Virtualisation tool
VirtualBox Version 3.2.6
H
USB
such
take control of
as scanners, disc writers or whatever
machines.
the
18 months or so, to the point
in
where setting up a trivial.
alternative
has had a Originally
is
leaps
and bounds
virtual
machine
is
VirtualBox. This project
bit of
a complicated history.
developed by InnoTek,
it
peripherals,
you choose to attach.
in
The other open source
acquired by Sun, which has
was
now been
Great performance In
terms
a mature
of other features, VirtualBox is
and
featureful competitor for
KVM. The straightforward easy setup make if
it
interface
a doddle to use, and
you have enough system resources to
donate your guest OS,
it’s
hard to
the meantime, two versions of
than a
real one.
additions kernel modules, supplied for
source variant and the more familiar
running Linux guests,
open source one we’re talking about
set
The only differences
really are in
it
distros
and
OSE is great for messing around with new
for building loads of experimental software.
easy to
up a networking and graphical
environment for your virtual machine,
the graphics capability. The closed
source version uses proprietary code for RDP, while the
uses a standard display.
has
open source one
VNC server for the
The proprietary version also
USB
control, enabling the guest to
Clr«
tell
the software have emerged - a closed
here.
> VirtualBox
The extra guest
make
9®
0&
and
you’re using a virtual machine rather
sold to Oracle. In
“v'
fans of virt-manageranb the
KVM/QEmu virtual
*
U
ere at Linux Format, we’re big
come on
pretty
©
Web www.virtualbox.org
They've last
OSE
and the settings are so straightforward you’ll hardly
need to consult the
extensive documentation. Get an disc
to create a virtual machine.
There
isn’t
much
point in building
yourself unless you have
hard to tell you’re using a virtual machine rather than a real one.” “It’s
www.tuxradar.com
install
image ready and follow the wizard
are available for
and are kept
all
it
Packages
the major distros
ruthlessly
the time you read
to.
this,
up to date. By
you should be
able to fetch this without any trouble
using your package manager.
September 2010 LXF135
1
71
LXFHotPicks
HotGames Entertainment apps HotPicks
game
Settlers-like
Widelands Web http://launchpad.net/widelands
Version 15
game featured
his
T
HotPicks
in
some improvements in the interim. Last time we looked at the game was promising but had a few too many show-stopping bugs. This it,
time,
a
it’s
lot
more
in
isn’t
point
game - the tutorial campaign
is
prefer the slower pace
intense
micro-management
type of games, but fast
and what order you should construct
type of game.
If
pretty
II,
good idea
you should have a
your
based on Settlers and anyone who’s titles should feel right at home.
of these
you’re looking for
fantastic
enough
if
buildings of
game to
play both
of the bit of
menus could
work,
it’s
look
and fun to
at,
single-player
in
a networked
some
mode or as
game
Widelands has also moved to a
new home at Launchpad. This makes
a
a
bit
and
easier for developers
users alike to get hold of the latest
“Eventually, you’ll be able to create the pinnacle of civilisation.”
workers scurry around
build
is
played one of the classic
it
on. Build
trying to deliver things. Eventually,
you
and
> Widelands
action, this isn’t that
probably do with a
make pathways, then watch
little
if
like
already, since that’s
what the game’s based things,
and furious
Although
you’ve ever played the old
classic Settlers
the
Some
gamers
basics of the different building types
in.
as
to, fuels
a very involved game, rather
merely there to help you learn the
them
are, but,
those old versions of Settlers.
in
delving into the background plot of
the
you
war machine to greater glory.
It’s still
much
too
logistics expert
Napoleon once alluded
Nice and steady
the
graphics and sound.
There
ham
sandwich. This not only shows what a
and has
playable,
some great improvements
be able to create
different types, you'll
the pinnacle of civilisation - a
been
before, but there have
builds.
There are also binaries
available for
most
of the builds,
though these aren’t guaranteed to
work on
Linux distributions.
all
Flight simulator
SMI
SDL Sopwith Web http://sdl-sopwith.sourceforge.net
Version 17.3
mr
i
T
his
may
not exactly be a
flight
magenta with cyan not be tolerated
simulator, but a trip into a
in
piping,
a lawful, clean and
when men were men and flew wood and
good
canvas machines through the
Flying school
simpler, kinder time
soaring with the eagles, and
air,
now and
In
the
who should
universe.
2D
miBw^
realm of Sopwith, the most
down
again pausing to drop explosives on
important key to
remember
anything that upset them.
arrow, which
your plane so you can
Sopwith
is
a re-invention of an
fly right
early classic. Think Microsoft Flight
Simulator, but with
and without any dials
and
guns and bombs,
of those tedious
controls, or
Or many graphics
at
Sopwith, everything
3D graphics. comprised
and
cyan with magenta piping, and
must combat the hideous and
72 1
LXF135 September 2010
Chocks away! Now, where’s the the bomb-release
on the
switch again?
colourful dust as you’re shot
>
trial
player
stall.
You have an
supply of weaponry, and no Pull
back
evil
stick,
experience the surge of
acceleration, then explode into
you don’t want to
If
you
by
find the
you can play the
fire,
“Think Microsoft Flight Simulator, but with
that’ll
ineptitude.
guns and bombs.” www.linuxformat.com
controls to
On
fire
single-
harm you
later levels,
missiles
and dodge return life
down.
bit like
mode where, on the first
the only thing
own
combat a
need complete mastery
of
magenta. The player takes on the role of
without being upside
one’s expecting you to land.
blocks of garish colour taken from a palette of black, white, cyan
left
the
down. As with any plane, the steeper the angle of climb, the slower it’ll go -
infinite
all really. In
is
to
rolls
is
your
you
of the
and bombs
fire. In
WWII, the
expectancy of an RAF
around 87
level,
is
pilot
was
flying hours. In Sopwith,
87 seconds
is
good
going.
LXFHotPicks
File synchroniser
Also released
Pybag
New and updated software that also deserves a look... ED
Version
0.3.1
Web http://pybag.sourceforge.net
Worker 2.178
A twin-panel file manager, now with more accurate volume statistics. www.boomerangsworld.de/worker
Y it's
the
ou
may well think this is some
transport his lunch, but
there. You’ll get a
on computer
form
in fact,
B,
and
on some
USB stick, SD card or MP3 How do you manage to have the
latest files available to are,
files
of
player.
you wherever you
without getting into a massive and
possibly devastating tangle with which file
to
copy where
One
to copy the actual pybag.py file to the
removable media
more cunning than that. You know drill - you have files on computer A,
files
is
mechanism Mike uses to
your data on a secret RAID array
Pybag. This
satellite.
little
deprive you of
in
utility
Now from the
menu,
File
choose Add Root to add the directory on the
local
machine you wish to sync.
Next, de-select Emulation
Mode and
choose Synchronise from the menu to copy the
files
to your ‘bag’ directory.
A comprehensive filter section and of trouble, but
should keep
you may need to
to get the
most out
of
> It’s possibly little
a
confusing,
but Pybags a useful
still
little
Python app.
02.0 mouse clicks for those
ED Clickity
Simulate
with limited hand use.
http://sourceforge.net/apps/ mediawiki/clickity ED
since the
Cdrtools 3.0
A major update to
interface can look confusing to begin with.
trees, in a tree-
won't
managing the synchronisations for you. There are loads of options here -
maybe a few too many,
notes about based jotter.
> Jot
it.
which by
file is
note-taker.
http://bhepple.freeshell.org/gjots
remove the
will
confusion over which
A simple tree-based
study the documentation thoroughly
a
Or you could use
Python
0 Gjots 2.3
from
the location, which you
initialising
should do.
you out
all
it
much space on your
and
target drives
and run
conflict resolution options
first?
solution might be to store
geostationary
first
message about
Linux disc burning,
including dual-layer
The important thing to remember
DVD and
Blu-ray.
http://cdrecord.berlios.de/private/
cdrecord.html
Disk cleaner
ED
Untangle 7.31
Turn a Linux box into a network
gateway with pluggable modules. www.untangle.com
BleachBit Version 0.8.0 Web http://bleachbit.sourceforge.net
B
leach
kills
99.9%
of
improved and now supports a
known
We often wonder unknown ones. We
more Chrome
lot
germs. Dead.
specific applications, including
about the
(and Chromium), OpenOffice.org,
wonder while we're going through our
Skype, Pidgin and a host of other tools.
home folders trying to find files to delete to save space. We wonder while
there’s always a nagging
we're cleaning browser cookies too.
might be wiping something important.
New 2- in-1
BleachBit roots through
your filesystem and destroys it
to) anything that’s
around past
its
(if
you ask
and a
lot
of
those helpful but sometimes dangerous cookies, saved passwords
and the
as easy to use as ever, though
doubt that you
like.
get your networking mess, get Untangle to help.
> Don’t
files
about to be deleted, but that sort of
quick and easy. trial
run and
A good
idea
it
is
ED
being to
own, but
do a
make sure the filters only want them to. 533
in
protecting your accounts,
it
all
can also
days
of
in
the rubbish
that’s built up.
files.
The best open source network www.wi reshark.org Arista 0.93 A simple-to-use transcoder
sniffer.
ED
utility.
www.transcoder.org ED
Mission
An
We’ve featured BleachBit in HotPicks before, way back
some
space by wiping
save a surprising amount of disk space.
foolishly optimistic
Reclaim
valuable disk
one swoop - aside from
022
EDWireshark L4.0rd
>
mode or a cleaner of their much easier to clear
everything
a
www.rcO.org.uk/mairix
pick up the stuff you
it's
Mairix
Index and search mailbox
Most browsers now include some sort of privacy
in
You can, of course, check through the
undermines the point about
been hanging
sell-by date,
It’s
X LO
excellent sideways-scrolling
shoot- 'em-up game.
the
http://missionx.sourceforge.net http:,
LXF117.
Since then, the software’s been
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135 73 1
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Linux Format today!
Tutorials Turn on, log
and
in
let
our experts help
MIKE SAUNDERS wears shades while browsing the web for added coolness... even at night!
9|
make you a smarter Linux user
This month learn how to...
Which browser? ’m going to say something that
I I’ve
may result love
used
that
it
a few grumbles:
in
and loved
Firefox,
was Phoenix, and
4 with
(ugh) Netscape
Motif chunkiness. But gets
it
I
Google Chrome. For years
right in
the
all
it.
Before
Mozilla,
all
of
its
and
lovely ..
With gestures, the rodent you hold
areas that
much more Andy Channelle also
every day can be so
matter.
It
strives to provide a large,
productive.
spacious view of the web, keeping
explores the Shotwell photo manager.
panels and controls to a minimum. points out insecure
dodgy
and
web
Not checking
off
your to-do
..
Gnome 3.0 is coming! Try out the
list?
Grand plans never being realised? Bob Moss knows how you feel, and
swish
shows you the
lain
new desktop
interface
and get a
glimpse of the future with the help of
solution with Planner.
Gray and the mighty
apt-get.
It
potentially
sites without trampling
over your
80 Get the new Gnome 84
Make mice do more 76 Plan your projects
Chrome just
little
all
experience.
Zzzzzooooommmm! But above
fast.
all, it’s
scorch ingly
fast.
I
still
Screamingly, can’t believe
how quickly it loads (cold start) on myXubuntu box. JavaScript performance
is
superb
too.
Still,
Test speed ...86
Script pics....88
Master Bash...92
how fast really is your Linux box? Bob Moss
Editing pictures at the
If
command
introduces Bonnie++ and
Shashank Sharma gone
on the way to writing
Phoronix Test Suite, two
completely insane? No,
scripts.
4 is coming round the corner and may give Chrome a run for its
Just
money -
Firefox
I
really
Firefox team
hope
it
If
the
can adopt some of the
interface features
match
so.
in
CPU-stressing,
Gnome and
memory
maxing benchmarkers.
with equally zippy speed,
because
line
it’s
- has
command
Cluttered, unorganised
mailboxes are
you’re well
line,
than you might think...
terrified
by
the raw power of Procmail.
Shashank Sharma shows
Nick Veitch
shows you how to check for files and directories.
more useful
Move mail ....96
you’re a dab hand at the
you how to harness
it
make
easier.
life
457 times
and
I
may well be tempted back into the
Tip of the month:
land of the fox. Failing that, there’s
On the disk
always Links, or Telnet to port 80.
[email protected]
Labelling disks used to be
common
Of course, that involved a floppy
practice.
memory devices
use,
you can give the
filesystem a label, for example
disk, a
some smudged was often associated with exchanging Amiga game copies at school. Nowadays we use anonymous USB sticks and
Then the card will be mounted at /media/ Music, making it instantly clear what is on it. Cameras sometimes apply a label when they
memory cards that give no clue as to their
format a card, but
Give your Linux skills a boost with our command
when you plug one it’s usually mounted somewhere like /media/ disk, which isn’t very helpful when you want to know what’s on there. This is because the kernel doesn’t know
one, which
line special.
what the disk
On sale now!
possible to give a label to a filesystem.
crookedly stuck-on label and
Expand your Linux knowledge raeMs
fixes
felt-tip
hacks advjcc
EVOWIHMGmiMEDTa.,
pen, and
contents. Even
is
it,
called. Thankfully
though,
formatting a FAT filesystem, which most
www.tuxradar.com
it
is
When
mkfs.vfat -n Music /dev/sdbl
cards.
As
it
isn’t is
card format
it
best to
it,
is
the
same
too helpful let
if
label for
each
you have multiple
the device using the
the above method won’t work,
but you can apply a label to an existing filesystem with dosfslabel /dev/sdbl photosl If
you run the
but no
label,
command with a device name
it
will
show you the
existing label.
September 2010 LXF135 75 1
Steps Beginner-level tutorials for users dipping their toes into Linux First
Mouse: Expand much more than just point, click and scroll. Andy Channelle reveals some of the other nifty things you can do with your desktop friend. Mice can do
>
Change the settings
for your
mouse
if
you have problems
double-clicking at the default speed.
monitor and the mouse seems sluggish. Use the up/down
arrows to change the speed, with the larger number meaning
have to move the mouse less to have a more
you'll
exaggerated
The
effect. Hit
Apply to make the change.
Point Threshold value defines
how far the active area
extends around the pointer. Increasing this
T
he mouse was revolutionary, but
familiarity with
it
has
some of its magical properties. We’re make you marvel at the things you can do with your mouse in KDE. Most of what we’ll be doing here is accessed through the KDE System Setting dialogs, which you taken away
desktop
going to
your
get to by opening the KPanel and choosing
Our
System
expert
Administration and then Keyboard
Mouse
Andy Andy seems to his first steps in
Under the General
tab, click
Computer
if
here,
open
and reversing the
your mouse wheel. of the
decent selection of new cursor themes at www.kde-look.org
When you find one you New Theme button to
under the Xll Mouse Themes section.
select the
downloaded
appear
in
the
list
archive.
The new theme
and can be selected
Now click the Advanced tab. dialog,
so
you’ll
Begin by speeding up the desktop. This can be handy
if
(or
themes)
the normal way.
figures, but in
is
it’s
you’re
and make the mouse here, the longer
at the
clicks are
bottom
quicker. Higher
is
you
seen as a double-click.
useful to scroll
numbers mean
documents or
faster scrolling.
Keyboard substitute It’s
also possible to
long strings of text, but
KDE icon
entry
in
Kvkbd
and,
it
can be useful
in
to
some
in
entering
some situations.
the search bar at the top of the
or virtual keyboard. You'll get a single
the panel. Select this to start the virtual keyboard.
Depending on how your desktop keyboard desktop
in,
isn’t ideal for
will
or,
latter, click
is
configured, the
appear either on the bottom-right of the
if it's
minimised,
in
the System Tray.
If it’s
the
the icon to bring up the main keyboard. You can
move this around by clicking and dragging anywhere on
simple
interface that isn't a key. You
are at the top.
you're using a very large
in
make the mouse stand
a non-visual
mouse movement across your
month We saved files
76 LXF135 September 2010
in
Unusually, this
need to work with
enough. The three things we’re interested
1
The option
panel, type
will
double-click speed
may find that two single
Click the
Install
if
you’re not very dexterous with
degree, for the keyboard. Note that this
pointers. To choose one, select it from the list and hit The change should happen immediately. You'll find a
and use the
useful
have to double-click. Increase this too much, though, and you
Apply.
it
is
objects on the
manage. The higher the number
system
download
if
makes
the Double-Click Interval value can be used
down the
easier to
in
like,
it
such as switching the
you're a left-hander, choosing whether to
Under Cursor Theme, you can change the look
technology since the advent of the Dragon 32.
Last
feel bigger. Similarly,
web pages
in
mouser because
click finger,
to slow
& Mouse, then select
folders with a single- or double-click,
and has
Computer >
the left-hand pane.
scrolling direction of
free software
been interested
in
buttons
have been taking
forever,
Settings.
There are basic options
Channelle
not a precise
dragging the red section
can be entered and then
the cloud and set up www.linuxformat.com
in
To use, simply click the
the
can also resize the keyboard by
the lower-right of the interface.
mouse
click the
into
some space where text
keys to type. The keyboard
KDE keyboard
shortcuts.
First Steps Tutorial
horizons
its
remain above every other window, meaning
will
available.
The
always
it's
icon below the Minimise button (the red cross
at the top-right) features a small
spanner icon and
will
open
up a configuration menu that enables you to dock the keyboard to the lower edge of the window, lock
change the font on the keys or below this
will
reveal the
it
position,
in
The
quit the application.
icon
numeric keypad.
Mouse Gestures You can also assume some keyboard
system
called
Mouse
for instance, the
commands
using a
Gestures. This enables you to control,
Back and Forward buttons on the Konqueror
web browser without needing to let go of your mouse. This system might be somewhat confusing you didn’t know it was on, so the KDE developers have sensibly left it switched if
by
off
Use mouse gestures to define new ways of controlling your computer’s web browser. >
default.
To enable
Mouse
Settings and, under
Gestures, go back to the main System
Computer Administration,
appears.
select the
defined, covering things such as taking a screen grab
press Print Screen.
Some gestures will
they won’t be enabled
initially.
if
Remember that simple gestures are most
because something complicated
Input Actions icon. There are a few input actions already
be
will
Finally, there's
KDE’s useful Hot Corners feature, which
enables you to launch
Begin by clicking the Gestures
commands simply
mouse at one corner of the screen. This
the Input Actions window by clicking the Settings button near
screensaver, but
the bottom of the window.
careful
Once you’ve selected Gestures, press Apply before moving to the actual gesture definitions,
will
be ignored otherwise.
disclosure icon. Select
gesture associated with
it.
of the actions in the
left
mouse
one
point
In
most cases, you
start at the lightest
and then move to the darkest
Finally,
you can
the Trigger tab and drawing a
by selecting the
new gesture
in
Edit
Now from the
choose the Screen Edges
icon. In
and a sen/ice menu
If
will
appear with a
Show Desktop
you have Compiz working, there
will
or Present
be
some
green
edit the action itself by selecting the Action
edit the gesture
of options,
options from there too. Es3
blue.
tab and defining the keyboard shortcut the gesture relates
You can also
list
of these buttons
Windows.
you
look under the Trigger tab, there’s a visual representation of
the motion.
To access this feature, go back to the System Settings
range of options available, such as if
most
small radio buttons on each corner and edge. Click on any
button, sliding
but
useful for starting a
you're not the
if
the centre of the window, you’ll see an image of a screen with
to see the
mouse to the left and releasing. You’ll see the move written in the Comment tab,
can be annoying
by resting the
is
mouse user in the world.
subsequent
For instance, the Konqueror back
button can be called by clicking the the
list
it
screen and select the Desktop entry.
because your changes
Now click the Konqueror Gestures
one
useful,
remember
and to perform.
you
already be defined, but
button. Note that you can get back to this screen from within
on
difficult to
button
Trackpads
to.
in
the box that
If
you’re working on a laptop, you’ll see
a Touchpad section.
options
will
computer, but In
The
available
vary depending on your we’ll
look at the basics.
the General tab, you’ll see an
option to enable or disable the trackpad, information and a slider to set touch sensitivity. In
the Scrolling section, you
may find
options to enable multi-touch scrolling,
> Trackpads are configurable too.
horizontal scrolling, coasting (kinetic) scrolling
The virtual keyboard is pretty good for kiosk-type computers, where a real one might not be suitable.
>
If
you missed
last issue Call
and
can also define multi-touch gestures,
sliders to define the
sensitivity of the tool.
location-based taps (such as tapping
Under Tapping options, you can switch off tapping altogether, which
the top-right corner to simulate a
quite useful
if
is
you’re heavy-handed. You
0870 837 4773 www.tuxradar.com
or
right-
and set the double-click time, as you would with a mouse. click)
+44 1858 438795. September 2010 LXF13 5
|
77
Tutorial First Steps
Shotwell: Photo Need help organising your summer snaps? Then Shotwell could be for you.
T
he time of year has
come again when the
days, beaches, festivals
and a ton
events. Getting a handle on this
brilliant picture is it
of other photogenic
mass of digital data
as important as taking good shots
know
light is at its
best and fingers hover over shutter buttons at sports
the
in
first
place,
only as good as a rubbish one
if
is
almost
because a
you don't
exists.
In this tutorial,
we're going to
and play with
install
new kid on the photo management block that seems likely to replace F-Spot in many Gnome-based distros Shotwell, the
over the coming year. We’ll look at organisation through events, favourites
and tags and then walk through the
process of making your pictures look great and ready for
exposure to the whole world - or just your family. Fedora and Ubuntu users can
install
their respective
package managers, but
this instance to
open up a terminal and
For Fedora 12
and
13,
you can type
distro (10.04/Lucid Lynx)
get
can
install
it's
actually simpler
install
pkcon
in
Ubuntu users working with the
while
the software through in
install shotwell,
by typing sudo apt-
install in
Karmic,
with the following
you'll
command:
with
sudo apt-get
because the which
RPM
is
be prompted to add some content
> Import and navigating to a files into
folder
full
of images,
the main Shotwell window
camera and importing directly from there. Once you’ve imported images, you’ll see two new entries
in
install
on OpenSUSE
is
finally
macro
level.
your images as a giant
is
where you manage your
Select the top entry to see
gallery,
all
organised with the most
recent images at the top.
shotwell
slightly
the left-hand pane, which
library at the
then update with sudo apt-get update, and then
Installing
File
dragging and dropping
have to add a new repository
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yorba/ppa
install
run, you’ll
to your library. This can be accomplished by either going to
or connecting a
install shotwell.
To
On the first
through that.
it
latest version of the it
> If you have an image that you don’t want to see but don’t want to remove, use Hide to take it out of the library.
more problematic
distribution doesn't have a
package
a Shotwell dependency. However, there
for libgee, is
a Shotwell
package available through http://software.opensuse.
oig. After this installs, you'll then have to
install
libgee from
Information station In this
mode, you can double-click an image to see a
version of gallery.
it,
and then double-click again
to get
big
back to the
At the base of the navigation pane you'll see
some
source: http://download.gnomex>ig/sources/
information culled from the Exit part of your photograph,
libgee/0.5/libgee-0.5.0.tar.bz2
which
In all of
the above cases,
you’ll
have a new entry under the
Graphics section of your applications panel once you’ve
give you details such as the date
will
resolution
and geographical
was taken,
its
location of the shot.
The second entry
finished installing.
it
and sometimes information about the exposure
in
the navigation pane
will
say Events.
Select this option to see your collection of images divided into Events,
based on the day they were taken. Double-click
an event to see the images within. You can also see events tree view
the
if
you want by
in
a
clicking the disclosure icon (+) next to
label.
Events can be organised from the main screen. For instance,
you
may have a
batch of holiday photos that are
from the same vacation but have been divided Events because you took together, select the >
first
subsequent events.
Use the Events
and choose Merge
section to
event, then hold Shift
Now
into various
different days. To join
right-click
and
click
any of the selected events
into
an event you'll
find a small
your images by
Slideshow button at the base of the screen. Select
date or event.
a full-screen slideshow of the images
in
this to
www.linuxformat.com
see
that section.
Never miss another issue Subscribe to the #1 source for Linux on page 78 LXF135 September 2010
them any
Event(s).
Whenever you go
navigate through
them on
66.
First Steps Tutorial
management Step by step: Editing and uploading a library With the
favourite photo-sharing
site,
D Find your image
Tag your pictures
Use the Events or Photos option to see your collection. Select a single image by clicking on it with the left mouse button; select a continuous range by clicking the first and then
make many noncontinuous selections using Ctrl+click. You can deselect the whole lot or individual pictures by Shift+clicking the last; or
re-clicking
on them
in
the
same way.
D Crop an image Cropping
is
some
you do it right. Select Crop from the Tools menu and begin to move one edge or corner of the crop box. The grid that appears corresponds to the ‘rule of thirds’, which is a useful compositional tool. You can also constrain the crop aspect ratio by selecting of the presets
While Events are cool,
it's
sometimes better
Tags to organise groups of pictures. With your selections made, right-click one of the images and choose Add Tags. Categorise your pictures by typing in descriptive tags separated by commas. When you hit OK, you’ll see the text added to the image and the tags appear in the navigation pane. to create
IH Export to file
an art and Shot well gives you
tools to help
one
crop and even upload images to your Shotwell is a one-stop shop for snappers.
ability to tag, categorise, edit,
from the drop-down
list
at
With a collection of images selected, go into File > Export to open the export dialog. Here
you can define the quality of the JPEG output (the higher the quality, the bigger the files)
and choose to have the images resampled to a different size. Hit OK and then define the location for the export. Click Save to save new copies of the images.
El Edit
the image
Double-click an image to preview and edit
it
in
mode. At the base of the window are five tools that enable you to make simple edits on the image. To fix problems with exposure or white balance, select the Adjust option and full-screen
then use the various sliders to edit the image. You can undo changes made here and even use
Photo > Revert to go
right
back to the
original.
D Publish to the web It’s also possible to upload images to Flickr, Facebook or Picasa from within Shotwell. Select the images you want to upload, then choose File > Publish and choose the service to upload to from the drop-down menu. You’ll be prompted to sign in or create an account before the images are resized (if this is necessary) and uploaded to your space. 233
the bottom of the window.
Next month
Build a
database with Kexi and sync your data with an Android. www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF13 5
|
79
Project management Take the stress out of your big jobs with free software
Work
Projects:
Bob Moss show you how to manage your projects using free tools on the web and the Linux desktop. Snowed under with work? Then
let
20th-century music, but the techniques used here could be applied to anything you plan to create.
The first tool utility
available
you run
it
we'll
in all
window
you
me some tasks
When you first
run Tasque you
will
be glad to hear that
be asked where you wish
will
to sync your tasks. Users of the Milk
if
remain available so you can
will
it
when your tasks are complete!
Track
will
called Tasque, a lightweight
is
you should notice a tray icon appear. Even
close Tasque s main tick off
encounter
mainstream package managers. When
web service Remember The
this
supported by Tasque, but
is
new
only be able to edit existing tasks rather than add
ones due to
restrictions
imposed by the
service. However, the
application also supports Evolution, so any tasks created either
in
package can be managed by both applications, or you
can allow TasqueXo keep selecting ‘Local
File’
own
its
local
copy
of things
by
from the drop-down menu.
Adding a task could not be simpler. You can
left-click
on
the tray icon to open up the Tasque window, type ‘Send Report' into the top-right then click on Add.
you wish to add
If
a deadline for your task, simply left-click to the right of the
given task and select the date from the drop-down that
A
ny large project (and
many small ones) can be
daunting from the outset.
All
completed. However, you
Our expert
organised,
has created
Many of the problems
Tasks
be glad to know that the world
inherent
in
you can minimise (or
Whether you're
in
Our next tool
the right tools
studying for his computer science
write a student essay, working out the order
degree course.
need to be done and when can help you achieve your goals a reasonable time frame
example
will
and
which things
perfectly within budget.
a local copy of your project
like
Our
you get them. Simply
New
before clicking on ‘Retrieve
which you can then drop down a
When you
create a
left-click
specific
in
boxes to save content
offline,
or
Evolution, select ‘Google’
option. To in
from the drop-
instead of the usual default list all
the available calendars
your Gmail account, ensure you have
typed
in
your full Google account user
80 LXF135 September 2010 1
distributions
and are
Edit
and when
on the icon and select Create In
Search
file
the top-right you can
He
i
All
for
Motes
d
v
Search:
I'
clear.
|
case scnsitri*
1
Note
Last
Changed a
List’.
list
Send Report
si
tetendiy. I3:SS
of
[ lift
make
gjKit
from now on
1^ Search
V Uric
sa**
& s
From now on
Send Report
down
identical
notebook you have created
your calendars. You can then check the
new calendar
has been completed.
the background. These two
Note, then type into the note.
move your note to a
be prompted for a password, after
Google Calendar and sync Evolution for use offline.
in
Ubuntu and Fedora, are almost
a name
it
Gnome tray for mainstream
1
You’ll
to
show
Gnote, which can be best described as
|v
enough, you can keep an online copy on it
is
like
Simply check
invaluable for keeping snippets of information as in
be a project plan to produce a report about
isn’t
be separated under headings
Tomboy without Mono running
A date on the net If
will
are already on the
garden shed or need to in
change colour as the deadline slowly
the box next to a given task to
even eradicate) them.
plotting to build a
will
approaches and
project planning are
rare cases
we think we can create a more realistic
'Overdue', ‘Today’, ‘Tomorrow’ ‘Next 7 days’, etc.
its
inevitable, but with effective organisation using
time
between coding things and
product
own solutions to keep and you too can use them for your own projects.
of free software
Bob Moss
will
final
if
report from our investigation this quickly, or a
date could be a week or two.
wrong, whether going over-budget, taking longer
than expected or simply never getting the
splits his
emerges. This could be today
kinds of things could go
the selected calendar the default, then click
on
OK to apply your changes. You
can follow similar steps to import your Google contacts
«n
ftmveeibfr to gr«t Burt «iffi 0 arm? rn)m J!0W Ch. Ask Hike with this irweatinMion because it’s haul on my
to (itjw slay DMlj
The cnirnterits from Butt gathersch has been a reaily
moment
at
into Evolution in the
‘Contacts’ section of the mail client.
www.linuxformat.com
mage
ms Hint Any aay ‘now tfrs could really alfecc me
investigation
> If you love to take notes with Tomboy but hate the thought of using Mono, Gnote is your new best friend.
Project
management Tutorial
smarter V
Tbsque
All (3)
[New
TJ
|
_
D
v
Add
task... ]
Today 2
Interview Burt Backerach
6/15 -Today [
Tomorrow -
Team-building exercises
Next 7 Days •
6/16
-
Tomorrow
6/17
-
Thu
6/18
•
Fri
6/19 -Sat
Assess wtetter further action must be taken
6/20
-
Sun
6/21
-
Mon
6/22
-
in 1
week
No Date Choose Dat
> To organise a quick and easy to-do list you could do a worse than use the lightweight and intuitive Tasque.
Evolutions calendar installed >
Where previously addresses were needed.
made
it
Evolution has
on
left.
Then
Calendar.
feature
killer
is
that you can highlight text
and
click
is
useful
click
real
click If
in this
regard as
click
on Calendar
is
in
on the left-pane and select Create
this doesn’t
work with your
already use.
the bottom-
New
particular distribution
on the arrow next to New Event on the
far-left of
toolbar above the left-hand pane and create a
on Link to
it
mainstream distributions and ready to
Simply launch Evolution and
extremely simple to import Google calendars.
your project (which you do with the same menu). Gnote’s
all
lot
the
new calendar
be named Investigation’ and contain a
create a
new note with that text as the heading. All text that is same as the heading within the same notebook will link to that note. This means that your snippets of information
from
the
task such as ‘Interview Burt Bacharach’ to continue the
“Failing to plan
musical theme. Create a task by simply right-clicking on the
planning to
associate with each other, so you no longer have to trawl your
relevant date
hard drive looking for quick notes you
be useful with our music
made
in Gedit.
investigation, as notes
during interviews and research on the
This
here. This could
its
start
and end date
and any further details you wish to add.
can be taken
web that can later be we could link some
There
you
are,
however, downsides to this very easy approach.
one task so that
than expected, the
collated together for our final report, so
If
speech from an interviewee's views to the facts behind them.
other tasks do not adjust accordingly to allow extra time,
and write-ups
will
it
lasts longer
it
of a project
is
timing,
because we
need to work out when particular tasks such as research, interviews
alter
meaning you have to move each task individually by that same increase in duration. Also, is hard to track costs and who is doing what (if your project is collaborative). For this reason, a true project management tool is required, and this
Right on schedule Another important aspect
Heed these words!
and selecting ‘Create Appointment'. Here you
can set the title of the appointment,
will
is
fail”.
be started and completed
by.
»
covered overleaf.
is
Communication is key An
emerges with how team members communicate with each other. The usual method is to use email as you can send the same message to multiple recipients and target them at specific project members. However, with this approach there is no guarantee that issue that inevitably
collaborative projects
someone email
in
One instant
If
is
is
going to respond to their
a timely manner, or at
all.
Empathy, as you tend to get quick
the real thing and you can explain
responses and things can be discussed
decisions you
in real
has to be taken with
can be very
this
approach, as
difficult to sift
conversations to find
it
through group
who made what
decisions and why.
finally,
you could
use Google Wave for discussion and variety of
ways
to
communicate with
other people collaborating with you on a
Ekiga to keep
They each come with their pros it’s up to you to decide which approach best suits your project.
in
contact with individuals
messaging
minutes of these meetings as you would
you missed
require that everyone involved has a
good broadband. And
conferencing software such as Skype or or hold group meetings. You can keep
such as
people
collaboration. In short, there are a
You could also use VoIP or video
solution could be to use an client
made to the
involved directly, though this does
time. Unfortunately, great care
last issue Call
project.
and cons, and
0870 837 4773 www.tuxradar.com
or
+44 1858 438795. September 2010 LXF135
|81
management
Tutorial Project
Work
Planner:
management with
Start your engines for in-depth project
P
roject
management tools
will
find that tools
such
When you three panes
combination, these tools can provide a very powerful solution.
options,
Windows users
still
be familiar with Microsoft Project for
will likely
and thankfully the Linux-based solutions
provide an interface.
If
you haven't
tried
The tool we
made
will
cover
is
called Planner,
which
is
installed in
it easy to import Google
Fedora by default under the guise of Project Manager’
Calendars.
Applications > Office. Users of other mainstream distributions
in
this
month's coverdisc.
launch Planner for the
first
the main window. The
in
time you should find
far-left
pane
offers four
named ‘Gantt’, ‘Task’, ‘Resources' and ‘Resource
Usage’ (Gantt
open by default). The middle pane
is
is
where
tasks can be added, edited, removed and subdivided.
any such package
before then you are reading the right tutorial!
has
package manager or on
come in handy for notetaking and tracking your own workload. This means that, in as Gnote and Tasque will
this kind of thing,
> Evolution
should find Planner in their usual distribution repositories and
provide you with a huge
degree of flexibility, though you
Planner.
Finally,
the right-hand pane
is
a pictorial representation of
how long those tasks will take and when they will be executed, to give you an idea of how long the project is likely to take. This
is
a Gantt chart, and uses coloured bars along a timeline
how tasks interact, how long they will take and when they will be executed in a way that makes much more
to denote
sense than reading the middle pane alone.
Make work To create your
task, right-click the middle
first
pane and
select ‘Insert Task’.
Now double-click on the blank name field
and name
Planning Stages’ You
of this,
left
it
‘Initial
and
this
will
important because
is
notice a 1’ to the
is
it
the unique
identifier for that particular task.
Now double-click default,
and
under ‘Work’. Here you
will
means that one day has been
this
that task. You can change this to
one working week
‘lh’
for
one
see
‘Id’
by
allocated to
hour, or ‘lw’ for
(or five days).
Now create a new task named ‘Interview stage’. You will notice the identifier
your first task. but the
if
It
is
is
labelled
‘2’,
but
it
appears underneath
possible to do two tasks at the
same time,
you want the second task to only be completed after
first
then you need to
‘Edit Task’.
then choose your ‘OK’ to confirm,
first
former and select click
on
and
‘Add’
task from the options available. Click
and you should notice that your second task
has shifted to the linking the
right-click the
Under the ‘Predecessors’ tab
right.
Also there should
two tasks together to
reflect
now be an arrow
your changes.
You have just created a task dependency, because task
must now be completed before task 2 can proceed.
Head in the clouds
decide to change the duration of your
second The
have an application on the
ability to
desktop syncing to the cloud in
many areas, If
useful
in
an
on the move then you
apps and data.
However, there
is
you have been
popular,
Google Calendar
in
the world on
bypass these
client applications
theory,
you could even
and
manage your whole project using online tools, but then you come across the
82 LXF135 September 2010 i
> For
when only a dedicated
later.
With your
first
most
These provide you with very
similar
functionality to the offline equivalents,
resources to tasks or allocate
In
tasks into smaller sub-tasks to
micro-manage resources
and management.
but you
a browser anywhere
task then the
for scheduling
for task
syncing most of your data to the cloud,
in
split large
easily
first
length of time.
and within these you have
you can simply use the existing services
any machine.
you can
more
same
services stack up
of online applications are the
Google Tasks
another way.
fact that
how do cloud
Finally,
forward by the
will
miss the
ability to allocate
responsibility to particular people. will
also be unable to ensure that
task follows another
in
You
one
a logical fashion
as you would with a dedicated project
management app such as
project
management
Planner.
www.linuxformat.com
1
you
against our client apps? Google’s suite
is
have no access to your lovingly crafted
Thanks to the
internet connection.
So,
you use a machine
office or a laptop
client
usual caveat that you need a constant
but the main
disadvantage to such a setup portability.
is
will shift
If
application will do, Planner is a totally capable solution.
management Tutorial
Project
through a task You can create and allocate resources, and micromanagers will love the ability to link alternative calendars.
>
>
Name this task
task right-click and select ‘Create Sub-Task'. ‘Consultation’
and leave
it
allocated with Id'. You
that the main task’s time total
time of
all
will
depend on each
other.
sub-task being complete.
If
all is
typing
can simply
in
the duration
click
in this
and
is
well
then the task as a
way
dependent on the
you are completing a personal
liking,
you
and drag the right-hand edge of each task
in
the right-hand pane to alter the size and therefore the length of time
you expect a given task to take to complete.
now define tasks such as ‘Research’ and subsections
like
‘Burt Bacharach’ ‘Rock
We can
split this into
and
Roll’
used by checking the total cost
etc
smaller
in
order
it.
project, but
This
will
be
‘O'
may be more
if
in
some situations where you need to buy materials or pay for work to be done.
Once you have completed
not to your
is
is
it.
task to reflect the costs associated with
whole should now have a duration of three days. If
how each resource
that’s associated with
next to the resources you have chosen to allocate to a given
total
they each
You could now create another sub-task
that’s called ‘Allocate Work’ lasts ‘2d’ first
if
a simple job to review
notice
will
be the same as the
the sub-tasks you create combined
It’s
and each task
you can monitor when
this,
resources are being used over the course of the project by
Usage from the left-hand pane, and you
selecting Resource
can see a breakdown of which tasks are allocated to which resources and for
how much by clicking on Tasks. You can
also edit the status of each task from the Gantt Chart or Task
windows
how much
to view
progress has been
made towards
If
Planner doesn’t
take your fancy,
why not try out to complete our musical report project.
completing the objective as a percentage.
Chandler? You find
Manage resources A resource
is
anything that
complete your project,
is
Collaboration
available to
on. Anything
allocating to a given task that incurs
some
called a resource. To create one, click in
helpful to
people working on your
project. This includes
computers used and so
you and
you are
You’ll
on the Resources option
resource
Now
is
called
and assign a
return to your Gantt chart, right-click on a task all
in
and
the boxes
org or on
this
month’s coverdisc.
come into their own because make up for with their
features they
By far and away the best tool
time.
It
for collaborating
on projects
Google Wave, because
is
threads up and discuss individual points
ability to split
cost.
then on Assign Resources. You can then check
lack
and sharing content however
what that
about
collaboration and sharing features.
the left-hand pane, right-click on the middle-pane and
select Insert Resource. You can then define
all
simply replacing desktop applications. Google Docs and
what they
will
at http://
chandlerproject.
be glad to know that cloud services are not
Microsoft Office Online really
kind of cost can be
it
shines
in
of
its
in real
particular with mind-clouding exercises
where any contribution can be expanded on by another team
member in
time resulting
real
of ideas very quickly.
made and
reverted
wave you have the
Changes
in real
in
you gaining a huge number
to
time.
documents can
also be
As the owner of any given
right to restrict
permissions as necessary
and veto any changes.
And
finally,
when
comes to working on the actual
it
product you could also check out versioning systems to see
changes each Subscribers projects at to
member makes and
will
find
our tutorial on
revert as necessary.
SVN
for
www.linuxformatxom. These
manage any
project,
non-code
tools can
whether that's a new piece
be used
of
software you are developing, a report on the effects of acid
Maximise your resources by monitoring what you are using over the course of the project and when.
>
rain in
Upper
Silesia or
even an elaborate plot to renovate
your house. EES
Never miss another issue Subscribe to the #1 source for Linux on page www.tuxradar.com
66.
September 2010 LXF13 5 |83
Desktop Get the inside view on what’s happening in
Gnome 3.0
Gnome 3.0: A Want to try Gnome’s attempt at refreshing the GUI? With Gnome Shell and the help of lain Gray you can, without abandoning your current install. Enter this
command to add the
relevant PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ricotz/testing This adds the appropriate lines to the sources.list key. Install the
and the
file
new interface with:
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get
install
gnome-shell
Now you can
start a
temporary spawn of the new GUI
with:
gnome-shell -replace
Where’s the bling? At
first
you won’t see anything
different
from a stock Ubuntu
desktop apart from the lack of the bottom panel. The upper panel
is
black and has, from right to
left;
user logged
in,
network connection, volume control, the embedded quicklaunch icons.
In
the middle
is
the day and time (click on this
and an animated calender appears), and on the indicator of
which app has mouse focus
so standard, but
it's
in
left
Activities button that holds the
fundamental differences
in
there’s
an
the window. So far
key to the
Gnome 3.0.
The traditionalist will want to
click
on the Activities to
mouse gesture into the top-left System or Windows button, or Alt+Fl all
access, but a sweeping corner, pushing the
have the same
A
With OS X and Windows 7 giving the masses a new look and feel and KDE having a complete re-write, only Gnome was left tweaking and twiddling and perhaps resting on the laurels of Compiz to give us its eye with
Our
candy.
expert
respond to
lain
Gray is a
engineer
in
industry.
He has
the
It's
it.
taken over 18 months for the
KDE 4, and the first
heavy-development
The testing
control systems oil
install
of a
Gnome
Foundation to
impressions of the
Gnome 3.0 do
new front-end
still-in-
usually requires a fresh
or a test machine, but on your current
install
Gnome
has a couple of methods to try the new interface out
flavours of Linux
without (much) fear of trashing your current
install.
The activities When
activated, the
in
anger
Ee don’t
recommend you use a virtual machine to try the new Gnome, Gnome Shell requires the full power of the 3D graphics card. We also recommend Ubuntu as the easiest system to
main window sweeps back from your
focus with the activities side panel taking up around a quarter of the width of the screen.
There are now four options.
» Find The ‘find’ box works in a similar way to Gnome-Do: when you
enter partial
available choices
not disappoint.
used various almost exclusively since 2001.
effect.
ny modern PC uses a GUI to enable us to interact
will
document
or application
» Applications The Applications section
is initially
minimal, but learns from your actions. This to by right-clicking an Favourites. This
forgotten
is
names the
appear.
list
very
can be added
app icon and selecting Add To
not yet sticky, and the favourites are
when the shell
is
stopped and restarted. There
is
an
as
try
Gnome
Shell,
because
its
system
of personal
package
archives (PPAs).
Whether you're if
installing natively
on on a
you have a system running Compiz then
file
its
virtual
machine,
configuration
needs a minor tweak:
sudo gedit /usr/bin/compiz
On the
last line
change
it
to the following, which
comments
out the fallback respawn into Metacity.
${COMPIZ_BIN_PATH}${COMPIZ_NAME} $COMPIZ_ OPTIONS “$@” $COMPIZ_PLUGINS # exec II
$FALLBACKWM $FALLBACKWM_OPTIONS
> Initially the differences are hard to spot.
Never miss another issue Subscribe to the #1 source for Linux on page 84 LXF135 September 2010
www.linuxformat.com
66.
Gnome 3
Tutorial
new Gnome? arrow that further expands the selection, though at this stage in
development this
contain
all
organised
is
not very well organised.
It
doesn’t
the apps installed, for example, though in
it
is
alphabetical order.
» Places & Devices The
& Devices section is a
Places
Gnome menu.
replication of the Places
menu
» Recent
the Recent Items section, which
shows
all
Items Next
is
in
the current
the document, pictures and videos that the user
has opened. within email
It
includes the temporary items
and downloaded from the
sometimes broken. This section
links are
opened from
and therefore the
net,
continually updates,
and unfortunately still needs some work.
Message The
in
a tray
shell interfaces well with the
area
in
Gnome apps, with
standard
the Empathy IM client instantly docking
the quick-launch
in
the upper panel. Other apps, such as HandBrake, also
use this area to inform the user of information.
The app that best
Gnome 3
links with
Gnome’s preferred music
player.
by Rhythm box,
is
As well as docking
in
the
quick-launch area, Rhythmbox uses the the bottom of the
Gnome
screen to show the currently playing track. area the Message Tray, and
if
you
flick
the
mouse
calls this
Gnome 3.0 gives the
into the
user interface a
new
lease of
life,
but
> I
lower-right corner the
Rhythmbox icon
will
over this and the currently playing song
is
pop
up;
mouse
people are mostly resistant to change and there are niggles (primarily, for us, the organisation of the
displayed with a
Next button to move the
“At first you won’t see anything different from a stock Ubuntu desktop.”
playlist forward. Testing this
Amarok shows that it only plays nice with Gnomebiased applications as
KDE's music player
menu)
that,
if
they're not
sorted out prior to release to the will
mainstream
distros,
cause problems.
doesn’t happen and
If
this
it's
released into the wild too
in
Gnome users will
be
feeling as short-changed as the
early,
Wide view
KDE community did when KDE 4 was first released. That’s unlikely though; knowing the Gnome developers' love of slow and steady improvements we can look forward to a smooth,
When opening or starting a document or application, a will
suffice
used desk space. applications choice.
is
though
this will
A much more
to drag the
app
all
open
controllable
it
up
in
the
slick
last
left
desktop for the future. ES3
>
Announcing,
in this
case, an
update from Rhythmbox.
way to open new
icon into a userspace of your
When the Activities side
back your focus and
those
apps to be as
the centre of the screen.
double-click
all
applications?
useable as the current
with
announces as before
some
Now where did put
panel
is
activated
it
draws
desk spaces are viewable. Apps that
are currently open can be dragged from and to any of the available
desk spaces.
If
a fresh desk space
required the -/+
is
buttons on the bottom-right increase and decrease the
number available. The number of desk spaces maxes out at 16, but even at this amount a description below each app is still
readable and the experience
still
useable.
A button
at the
bottom-left of the deskspaces can be used to toggle from a tiled
arrangement to a
wall view, similar to the
Being bleeding edge software there are
There are minor
stability issues
Compiz wall.
some
See The Light (Album Version) by Green Day from 21st Century Breakdown
issues.
with a few crashes, which can
lead to Metacity being respawned with missing panels.
happens, start a terminal with Alt+F2 and restart
If
j|
you missed
If
this
Gnome 3.
last issue Call
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or
+44 1858 438795. September 2010 LXF135 |85
Hardware: Test Are your upgrades and tweaks really boosting the performance of your setup? Bob Moss can help you find out by using benchmarks. can reduce the number of read/write operations that need to be run and thus increase performance.
The first tool mentioned
(subscribers
will
and
website),
is
use
we'll
the infamous hdparm.
is
our ‘Power up Linux' feature
this in
find the feature
available to
package managers. A
little-
in
We briefly
LXF124
on the Linux Format
download from most
known
distribution
hdparm
feature of
can give you a concise guide to how fast your drive entering just one
hdparm
line in
is
is
that
it
after
the terminal:
-Tt /dev/hda
Remember to replace /dev/hda with your drive location. The command will show you how much data was
output of the read
in
a fixed time
limit,
followed by a reflection of that speed
per second. The cached-read figure should faster
speed than the one below, and the
direct read
access
show
latter
is
a
much
aimed as a
test.
Deeper details However,
if
you'll find
you prefer even more accuracy and
Bonnie++
managers.
It's
in
almost
all
distribution
a very flexible tool indeed,
you only need to enter the following
detail,
and to get
line in
then
package it
running
a terminal:
bonnie-H- /dev/hda
A
Again, substitute
made a software tweak, and not noticed an improvement, you may have found yourself
test will take longer than the previous one,
a PC, or
in
wondering whether the whole exercise was worth
Our
community has thousands
expert
analyse things
Bob Moss time between coding
things and
studying for his computer science
degree course.
like
CPU
of different tools
speed,
movie and your broadband latency - and extremely high
These
level of
accuracy and
all
second
and tests to
how fast you can
of
your
which
expected, since Bonnie++ reads and writes a ‘unintelligently’ (with direct disk access),
it.
This doesn’t need to be the case. The free software
splits his
/dev/hda for the name
ny time you’ve ever replaced a hardware component
at the
test using
drive. This is
to
be
file
then performs a
your hard drive cache. The details you get
end are much more extensive and, thanks to the
render a
with an
detail.
details alone don’t solve the problem, but
benchmarking can. For those who haven’t tried involves taking a
measurement before and
it,
after
this
you make a
change. You can then use the two results to compare
how
your tweak affected things. You could use benchmarking for a broader range of information, but, for our purposes,
comparing before and You may prefer to ‘What
is
after results
sufficient.
a good benchmark?' box opposite to gain a truly
objective result, but this tutorial tests
is
stick to the principles set out in the
will
cover
how to execute
on your hardware and monitor how your system
is
working so you can perform your own analysis and evaluate
which areas of your system could do with a boost. We'll
use hard disk testing as our example. The primary
concerns here are the filesystem and the speed at which the platters rotate, since these dictate Internal buffers
If
you missed
86 LXF135 September 2010
your read and write speed.
can also affect performance, because they
last issue Call
>
If
0870 837 4773 www.linuxfonnat.com
terminal instructions don’t do
on a graph
or
is
it
for you, a wiggly line
a sufficient replacement.
+44 1858 438795.
Benchmarking Tutorial
performance 15
))
Bonnie++
>
bob@lacalhost:'-
'
View
Edit
File
Help
Terminal
Bonnie++
will
[bob@localhost ~]$ bonnie++ -d /home/bob Writing a byte at a time... done Writing intelligently, .done Rewriting. .done Reading a byte at a time... done Reading intelligently. .done start 'em. .done, .done. .done. .done. .done. Create files in sequential order. .done. Stat files in sequential order. .done. Delete files in sequential order. .done. Create files in random order. .done. Stat files in random order. .done. Delete files in random order. .done. Version 1.96 Sequential Output Sequential Input- --Ran Concurrency 1 -Per Chr- --Block-- -Rewrite- -Per Chr- --Block-- --See Machine Size K/sec %CP K/see %CP K/sec %CP K/sec %cp K/sec %cp /sec 89.4 localhost.locald 6G 42 39 18123 7 7307 5 693 82 15808 3 2828ms 193ms 3506ms 7248ms Latency 127B»S 1970 Random Create Version 1.96 Sequential Create localhost.localdoma -create-- --Read--- -Delete-- -create-- --Read--- -Dele files /sec %CP /sec %CP /sec %CP /sec ^CP /sec %CP /sec 5828 61 +++++ +++ 6821 16 4806 56 +++++ +++ 25083 16 297ms Latency 46473us 3691us 228ms 926us 1B96 1.96,1. 96, localhost localdomain ,1, 1276784667,66, ,42.39, 18123,7,7367 ,5.693,8 08,3,89.4,4,16, ,, ,5828, 61, +++++, +++,6821, 16, 4886, 56,+++++, +++,25683, 57, 358 248ms 2828ms 193ms, 1278ms, 1976ms 46473US 3691us ,228ms 297ms, 926us 1896us [bob@localhost -]$ | ,
put your
filesystem
through
its
paces
.
.
.
,
detailed analysis
.
.
.
.
and provide a
.
of the results.
.
.
.
.
.
.
,
,
,
> Like the Microsoft Task
processes and
kill
,
,
,
,
Manager you can view running ;
them from
here.
To
list all
the possible tests you can run,
try:
phoronix-test-suite list-tests
workout
it
and simply replace
gives your drive, includes latency figures or the
time taken for file reads, creation and deletions completed
However, Bonnie++
isn’t just restricted to
which
for
Benchmark tests aren’t designed
to take If
they
all
day!
last longer
than 30 minutes,
phoronix-test-suite run audio-encoding
run,
is
encode speed,
will
we need the following command:
monitoring the
You can set the number of times the test
see various
a given scenario. Our example
in
involve having a look at testing audio
a variety of ways.
entire drive.
list-tests with list-suites to
options to run every test
in
consider adjusting
the size of
files
used
in
the test and the
number of them
used.
take a
will
It
little
bonnie++ into your terminal to see the vast number of options Bonnie++ offers to put your hard drive
generic
through
container formats.
but once
Just type
its
paces.
it’s
Ferocious Pheronix testing your hard drive isn’t
Pheronix Test Suite.
It’s
managers, but there
is
run from your
available by default in
a caveat.
Gnome menu,
A GUI
should
but the library
it
of writing. This
is
disappointing, but the
of Pheronix Test Suite
is still
command
to
on hadn’t
at the line
how fast a
the test to
something better suited to your
this
package to
find out detailed
using:
version
is
only the tip of the iceberg
when
it
comes
measuring your current system’s performance and
identifying areas for potential
number
time
of free tools
and
improvement. There’s a huge
utilities
available out there, so
over to you to experiment and tweak your
maximum
useful to us.
run,
hardware setup.
you can use
This tutorial
on top and
relies
been updated to work with modern distributions
results for
first
phoronix-test-suite system-info
try out
most package sit
the tests on the
complete you should see
system information by
enough then you could
install
WAV file has been encoded to a number of different
Finally,
If
time to
it’s
own setup for
performance. 53
What is a good benchmark? Let’s
say someone
tells
you, "An
Intel
Core 2 Solo processor compiles Firefox
from source
10% faster.” There are we
Next, there are certain things that aren’t really
fashion.
comparable
in
an objective
When you're benchmarking for
Finally, stick to tools for
the platform
you’re currently using. As per the above point,
any benchmark results you got
performance, you should be simply
from Windows tools can’t be compared
know which processor this is being compared to and which version of the
tweaking one thing on nearly identical systems - for instance, finding out
against
source package
whether
differently.
several issues with this. Firstly,
is
don’t
being used for the
Benchmark tests should be
profiling
your kernel actually
Linux,
benchmark
results
you get
in
because the systems work Using different tools means
decreases boot time or not. Checking to
any difference between your before and
repeatable and you should have
see whether Linux boots faster than
after results could
extensive details about the before and
Windows
benchmarking algorithms rather than
test.
after conditions to
compare
easily
results.
really
is
a fun test to
try,
but
it
isn’t
the aim of benchmarking.
an actual boost
in
be down to the performance.
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66.
September 2010 LXF13 5
|87
ImageMagick: Use the power of the command line to enhance your images
ImageMagick: so keen on the command line that he even edits needs Gimp or Photoshop when you have the shell?
Shashank Sharma
Who
images there.
is
Make sure you delete intermediary images, or your hard
>
disk will
convert
fill
up
really quickly.
[OPTIONS]
file
[OPTIONS]
file.
many options for us to go man page for details. A simple
Convert supports too so refer to
its
into here,
convert picture.jpg converted.png
command
is all
it
takes to convert an image to a different
format. You can just as easily resize images with the
W
their graphical counterparts?
command
imagine using the
It’s
certainly hard to
line for
image
processing, something that’s obviously a graphical domain.
Yet,
50% resized.png
convert picture.jpg -resize
hen should you choose command-line tools over
we’re here to
command. Here, the resize option tells convert to scale the image down 50% and save it in a new file called resized.png. Notice how we downsized and converted the file format all in one go!
show you how adeptly you can manipulate
Our
images from the CLI using ImageMagick, a
expert
command-line
applications.
It
The
co/7 ve/t too also I
supports
pixel
sampling, so
this:
convert -sample 80x60 image.jpg thumb.jpg
suite of
can be used to create a thumbnail of 80x60
allows a myriad of operations
pixels.
The
such as converting images between formats, basic drawing
-sample option also supports percentages, so you can also
Sharma
and simple image editing such as cropping, adding
use the
has been writing about free
images, creating
Shashank
3D
effects to
masterpieces and even animation.
Although no one can deny the merits of command-line
software for over four years for
tools
various places,
advantage of using ImageMagick. Most writeups about
including Linux,
com. He's
also
the co-author of Apress's Beginning Fedora.
when
it
comes to batch
its
ideal
Drawing with convert
on system
vast feature set, ImageMagick
can replace whatever graphical equivalent you’re using now.
The
first
tool
called convert.
It
instead of specifying an exact size.
processing, that's not the sole
command-line tools mention how they are low on resources, but with
from the ImageMagick set that
we’ll
use
is
can be used to change images between
various formats and for performing basic operations such as
In
addition to editing images, convert can also be used to
draw various shapes and
but
installed
the -draw
you don't have
if
it
you can
easily install
distributions software repositories.
terminal
window and
When
let's
it’s
using your
installed,
put ImageMagick to
using convert the the ,
Once
it
open a
test.
commands must adhere to
you missed
88 LXF135 September 2010
last issue Call
You can use convert to draw
option.
is
-draw ‘ coordinates’ full
command will
convert -size 80x80 -draw
look
like this
‘line 20,20, 60,70’
line_draw.png
we first use the -size option to tell convert that we want an image 80 pixels wide and 80 pixels high. The two sets Here,
of coordinates respectively for
0870 837 4773 www.linuxformat.com
and polygons using
The format when using the
our shape,
in this
case a
denote the start and end points line.
convert -size 200x100 xc:green
the following format:
If
command
-draw option So, the
by default on most distributions,
text.
curves, ellipses, rectangles, lines, circles
cropping or resizing images.
ImageMagick is
command 30%x30% big.jpg thumb.jpg
convert -sample
or
The command:
backgrounding
+44 1858 438795.
ImageMagick Tutorial
Image editing
^ ImageMagick 6.6.2
creates a rectangular image of green colour with a size of
200x100
pixels.
We can now draw shapes on to
it
like this:
convert background. png -draw ‘rectangle 0,0 30,100’ -draw ‘rectangle 170,0,200,100’
image.png
This draws two rectangles on to our
image, and
we
backgrounding
store the final version as image.png.
When
drawing rectangles, the two sets of coordinates denote the upper-left
and the lower
using the
-fill
option,
convert image.png
corner respectively.
right
You can specify a colour
shapes you're drawing
for the
like so:
-fill
png The -stroke option can
blue -draw
similarly
‘circle
100,50 100,80’
final,
be used to specify the
boundary colour for the drawn shapes. Apart from the regular shapes, convert can also be used to
draw a rectangle with rounded corners, convert -size 120x60 xc:wheat
-fill
blue -stroke wheat -draw
“roundrectangle 25,10 95,50 20,12” roundrect.png
The third
set of coordinates
in
this
case are used to specify
the width and height of the corners.
>
convert,
and then add these to your images for a more
professional look, as we’ll discuss
Order, order!
convert -background wheat
ImageMagick utilities are very
particular
the various options. Here’s a simple overall settings
rule:
about the order of options that provide
come in order they should take effect. So, using the last command to draw a circle as an example, we use -fill before we draw the otherwise convert
black and ignore the
fill
will
draw the
circle in
the default
logos. In fact,
This code block above
command, broken the end of each
Here
utility called
Display.
\
56 label:Design
line tells
so
it’s
you can create text designs using
It,
however is not as good as the CLI
\
tools.
actually just a single convert
is
into parts
easier to read. (The
\ at
convert that there's more to come.)
we use the -background and
-fill
options to specify the
colour of the text as well as the image background. The -font
we use the
label: tag,
which
is
the quickest
way to
finally
create text
using convert.
The canvas ([T
the next section,
and -pointsize options describe the text features, and
option.
You can also create textual designs with convert- think
2D text
in
orange
label.tiff
need to come first. These generally include
the size of the image and such. The other options
circle,
-font Helvetica -pointsize
-fill
ImageMagick
has a graphical
-fill
Comman X
is
generated based on the -background and
colour settings and
is
sized to
match the drawn
text.
You
type the text you wish to create immediately after label:
Ima^e Ma^ick
without leaving blank space.
ImageMagick: compl
When creating text designs with more than one word, you must wrap the
File
Edit
View Transform
Enhance Effects
_d Id Id Id Id Id
label: ’Text
text in single quotes, like so:
Designs with convert’ label_multiword.tiff
Since label: creates the canvas to match the text can’t dictate the position of the text.
If
you
left-align
-format switch
Edit
collection of
if
you have a large
images to convert:
mogrify -format
tiff
it
would make
sized thumbnails of multiple images:
JPG
careful,
however as
this
If
you
you have
to use a different format for the
You can also use mogrify to create same-
Be
originals,
command PNG thumbnails of all your
thumbnails. For instance, this
*.png
mogrify -sample 80x60 *.jpg
Take an image. Rotate it 180. Take some text. Rotate 180. Put all of it together and you get a card.
»
overwrite your existing images!
wish to preserve the
Miscellany
>
or
Batch processing with mogrify You can use IM’s mogrify utility with the
Image
size,
you wish to
command will
files:
mogrify -format png -sample
10%xl0%
*-jpg
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66.
September 2010 LXF13 5
|89
Tutorial ImageMagick
> image.png textonimage.png
centrally align text, use the -size option to create a large
canvas and the -gravity option to set the position of the text: convert -background wheat Use the command
convert
-size
200x200 -pointsize 88
-fill
orange
-font Courier \
-gravity center
font
I
two
to the text overlays
When you're working with
of
supported fonts.
can be
limiting,
since
can't
it
long lines of text, using label:
word wrap and
text
the dimensions specified using the -size option. cases, you can use caption:
in
convert -background black
-fill
200x
-pointsize 88 -size
label: ’Long string of text that
The only -size option.
In
label:
such
it
restrict
text
caption.tiff
and caption:
is in
the
canvas
will
be large enough to
Additionally,
if
lines
the height of the canvas, you
can write a message that can run
into
many lines and the
fit it all.
you don't define a point
size
when
writing
your message, ImageMagick will automatically adjust the font size to
fit
is
non-standard
installed in a
complete path to
name and
in
it
the
command above
Bob’s your uncle.
is
because
depending on the image composition and your
needs to be to encompass the many
we don’t
directory, type the
you don’t need to use the -draw option. This
\
\
When working with caption: you only specify the
of text. Since
colour and
on your images.
the font you wish to use
instead of just the font
width and not the height. This enables convertto create a
canvas as big as
fill
You can experiment with
Unless you have good reason to write text on your image,
red -font Courier
word wraps’
between
difference
may overflow
If
place of label:
-gravity center
different font,
different text.
the -stroke and -strokewidth options to add more character
\
-list
grep Font
list
command, we've used
point size for the
label: ’Aligned Text’ label.tiff for a
In this
into the specified -size of the image.
colour, the
you add to the image might not be readable at
alternate
is
all.
The
to use label: with which you can place text at the
command:
top or bottom of your image with this
convert image.png -background white label: ’Some Text’
-append label.png
command, ImageMagick first creates the text label in memory and later adds on to the image.png file. The -append switch tells convert that we want the text to In this
it
be placed at the bottom of the image. the text
will
be added to the
+swap switch to
the
If
you use -i-append,
right of the image.
reorder the images. The
You can use
command
convert image.png -background: white label: ’Some Text’
Adding text to images Now that we’ve
discussed
+swap -append
how you can
create labels,
about adding them to your images? You can do
ways -
either write
it
onto the image
directly,
image using the techniques discussed
in
how
this in
two
This
trial
and
involved.
error
placed at the
You can also overlay existing images on to other images using the composite
utility like
so:
textonimage.png
first
in
turn.
technique requires the use of convert and -draw:
‘text
-fill
yellow -pointsize 35
100,250 “The Party 2009’”
command tells
Other image effects
coordinates. You can even use the rest of the options
we
discussed above such as -gravity and -stroke and also add
convert -font helvetica
> -draw >
‘text
‘text
-fill
one command:
yellow -pointsize 35
100,250 “The Party 2009’”
-font courier
> -draw
in
-fill
green -pointsize 25
150,300 “Boring”’
we use the -geometry option to specify where we
\
convert to draw the text at the given
text to different positions
Here,
want the text.png image to overlay on image.png.
\
> image.png textonimage.png
there’s a lot of
is
it.
discuss both methods
> -draw
position of text
added below
composite -geometry +90+140 text.png image.png
convert -font helvetica
on images is not as easy as you may think -
is
and then annotate that image on to the main image. We’ll
The
> Getting the
top and then image.png
or create an
the section above
label.png
reorders the two images such that the text
If
you’ve ever seen an artists work, before she puts
colours, you’ll appreciate the charcoal effect.
following
see \
if
command on one the images
you can't appreciate the genius
in
the
in
final
Use the
your collection and
of the -charcoal effect:
convert -charcoal 2 flowers.png drawing.png
The -charcoal options accepts a numerical value
\
that
denotes the amount of charcoal you want to use for the
\
effect. Just
\
as fascinating
is
the pencil effect, which
is
a blend
of various techniques.
One
of the
most popular effects
exposed photographs. This
is
is
brightening under-
done using the -sigmoidal-
contrast option, which increases the contrast without
Be
affecting the bright areas in the image. this
though, as you
may end up with a
careful
when using
highly pixellated image:
convert dark.png -sigmoidal-contrast 2,0% bright.png
This option accepts two values - contrast and mid-point.
The contrast value defines how much
to increase the
contrast. You can use the +sigmodial-contrast option to
decrease the contrast of an image.
many different 3D image. The steps involve adding blur and shade to the 2D image. Your images need to go through
transformations before you
finally
get a
The command convert -size 400x400 xc:black
-fill
white -draw
‘circle
195,190 228,295’ circle.png gives us a basic shape. We're going to text to the
image to create a 2D
convert circle.png
-fill
add some colour and
circle,
bluw -draw
‘color 0,0 reset’ \
> circle.png +matte -compose CopyOpacity -composite >
-font Helvetica -pointsize
40
-fill
red
\
> -gravity center -annotate 0x0 “Logo” 2Dcircle.png
90 LXF135 September 2010 1
www.linuxformat.com
\
ImageMagick Tutorial
Sharing images as PDFs The convert utility lets you to put all your images into one neatly organised PDF file, one image per page, with
command:
a single
convert *jpg allinone.pdf
Convert also
lets
you extract
all
PDF
the images from a
and you can use the %d format specifier (much like the printf format specified in C language) to name the
file,
image
resulting
files,
convert allinone.pdf image_%03d.tiff
%d means a decimal number, and the 0 that follows it means you want leading zeroes in the file name. The 3 after the 0 specifies how many digits the total value should use. So, %03d will create files named image_001.tiff, image_002.tiff and so on.
You can also run the
command without the %d
operator: convert will automatically
numbers to the
append unique
filename,
convert allinone.pdf img.png Is
img*
img.png.O img.png. 1 img.png.2
> In
the
of the
first line
command
the image blue, reset recolours
all
another image. As already mentioned, +clone
above, we’ve recoloured
make
the pixels beginning with
the specified coordinates. The CopyOpacity argument with the
-compose
option copies the transparency channel of the
source image on to the destination image.
working
2D
We now have a
will
leave us with heavily bevelled
The sigma value describes how much you want the image
to
spread (appear rounded) and the radius defines the area of
if
to modify our images to
they are placed under a
light
and dark areas
source.
make
it
seem as
We do this twice to our will
of our image, creating a
shadow,
is
> +swap >
\(
light.png
\(
We now need to overlay these
dark, png
> +swap
\( -i-clone
-threshold
In
the
100% \)
the +clone option
first line,
image
animate
is
animate utility
through If
images run animate
limited to testing, since
is
can’t save the animations. This animation all
will
it
quickly blur
the three GIF files.
you need to pause on an image before moving to the
in
It
sets the time pause
units of 100th of a second.
will
spend four seconds on each image.
will
only run once.
If
The command
Still,
the animation
you want the animation to run many
satisfied with it
The -gravity option
your animation, you can use the
to disk.
Choose the extension
for
your animation - .gif if you wish to use the animation on website and .mpeg or .avi you want to play them on a
\) \
your
used to make a copy is
media If
used to define the white
threshold of the image. The -threshold option
a
in line
which to
three
lay out
animation it’s
will
change
the animation and
its
constituent images:
ball.gif
-page +112+35
ball.gif \
> -delay 10 -page +151+20
ball.gif
-page +62+132
ball.gif \
-fill
gray
> -insert 0
-fill
do now
that's left to
is
create
-flatten
\
> -loop 0 boouncing_ball.gif
it:
\( -i-clone
beige
or newer.
size
> -delay 50 -page +132+62
>
in
best to create a canvas on
speaking, -threshold defines the opacity of our image.
convert 3D.png
is
player.
convert -delay 0 -size 200x150 xc:wheat
a background for
append
only available
ImageMagick 64.7-1
similarly defines the black threshold of the image. Loosely
All
with
the constituting images of your animation are of
according to each. Therefore,
image.
for alignment
if
different dimensions, the
3D
swirl.
l.gif 2.gif 3.gif
of the
image. The -threshold option
This gives us a
and add effects such as wave and
so
like
then used to add the rand() mathematical function to the is
just a series of
is
this easily using the
animations carefully depending on the intended audience for
\
the image sequence. The -fx option
in
You can do
convert utility to save
> -compose Over -composite highlighting
of the last
an animation
basic,
Once you’re
\) \
\) \
-compose CopyOpacity -composite
-i-matte
logo into the
times over, use the -loop option.
-fx ‘rand()’ -threshold -1
-compose CopyOpacity -composite
-i-matte
3D
it
animate -delay 400 framel.gif frame2.gif frame3.gif
often used with the -shade
\( -i-clone
most
between images
two images to form our shaded image, convert
places our
it
next one, use the -delay option.
convert blurred.png -shade 90x180 -normalize dark.png
switch to enhance the contrast.
transform images
the current image sequence and places
after the other.
command,
define the
convert blurred.png -shade 90x0 -normalize light.png
The -normalize switch
its
one
The use
pixels.
blurred image, from the top and bottom. This bright
in
display can
image.
final
At
The -blur option expects two values - [radius]x[sigma].
is
also be used to
Animated images
blurred.png
The next step
you don’t
we must use blur,
convert basic. png -blur 0x4 -blur 0x4 -blur 0x4 -blur 0x4
operation for spreading
if
utility
background created with the rand() function, -insert takes
at the given index. In this case,
Using the -shade option
the sequence;
in
The graphical
used to
use this switch, your final image would only show the the last image
image.
images. To smooth the bevelled edges,
-i-matte
a copy of the last image
is
-tint
-fx ‘rand()’ -i-matte
120
-shade 120x45
We can specify where to place the
image on the canvas using
the -page option. The -delay option can be used to specify
\) \
how
3D_background.png
We’ve created a beige-tinted background
\
for
our
3D
image, but you can alternately place your 3D image over
long each image
the next image
in
will
remain on screen before
we move to
the sequence and you can also define the
pause between loops using the -pause option. BS3
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|91
»
Bash Hack your way around Linux to save time and make life easier
Bash: Fast and Making useful
easy. Nick Veitch invites you to have a the first part of our new programming series.
yourself, in
scripts
is
Bash
You might try: > „.
w e= i
” position
Is
-1
*.png
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick 2450 -rw-rw-r--. 1 evilnick evilnick
Gotcha! The wildcard *
background
^
repe^ P
***“' absolute -
d
.
4
part of the
^
» Project code
-
isn’t
command -
part of the Is
it's
Bash shell. Bash interprets your command, sees
the wildcard and replaces
0 top P os ;ckgroucd b image 2P
Jun 29 12:55 a.png
2450 Jun 29 12:55 b.png
it
with values that match. So, you
Bash script! One of the benefits of knowing a more about Bash scripting and the way the
are writing a
-position*
little bit
environment works
is
that you’ll be able to look at the
problem above and do something just a
more >ls
little bit
cleverer
and
useful:
-1
*.{gif,png,jpg}
-rw-rw-r-. levilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
a.png
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
b.png
-rw-rw-r--. 1 evilnick evilnick
3486 Jun 29 12:56
x.jpg
-rw-rw-r--. 1 evilnick evilnick
3486 Jun 29 12:56
y.jpg
Jun 29 12:56
z.gif
happened there? That's just one
of the
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick 19273
What on
common
earth
little
tricks you'll find in
Bash scripts,
called a
bracket expansion. Basically, Bash resolves the content of the bracket as whatever individual
Y
command >
Our Nick Veitch best
something work to Bash it.
is
is
a
scripts
you use, when
grows
in
We might
the
little
neater,
larger,
it’s
line in it
a
bashl.sh b.png
Bash script. No.
it. It
just
and
you
employ that trick
line, is this:
a.txt
features,
way to make
hazard a guess that one
Now you
Yes,
one
believes that the
to expand the
Is
a.png
expert
most frequent
of the
will
I
-
it’s
just that
it
only has
doesn't use any of Bash's special helpful
executes a simple
command to
current directory. Not convinced? Let’s do a
Say you were adventurous, and wanted
to
bit
list
list
are
obviously,
will
in
in
if
your
save time and
In this
case, the effect
list
of potential files
effort,
and now you can
future scripts.
no doubt about why learning a
scripting can be very useful,
b.txt c.txt x.jpg y.jpg z.gif
really
before (or after), plus each
command to be Is -I *.gif *.jpg *.png. not have saved much space, but our command
is
ou can already write Bash scripts - they just aren't very complicated ones.
came
element inside the brackets.
let’s
take a
little
bit of
Bash
pause to
is. The shell environment is just - an environment - a stage or a framework within which
consider what Bash actually that
the
more then.
the long version
of the directory:
>
Is
-1
total
4
-rw-rw-r--. 1 evilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
a.png
-rw-rw-r--. 1 evilnick evilnick
2868 Jun 29 12:55
a.txt
-rw-rw-r--. levilnick evilnick
151
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
-rw-rw-r-. levilnick evilnick
223
Jun 29 12:55
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
120
Jun 29 12:56
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
3486 Jun 29 12:56
x.jpg
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
3486 Jun 29 12:56
y.jpg
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
19273 Jun 29 12:56
z.gif
Aren't Is
you
list all
the image
files.
‘switch’,
detail.
Now,
bashl.
b.png b.txt c.txt
an option to the
let’s
say you
>
If
you’re taking this seriously you should pick a text
editor that you’re comfortable with. Emacs,
How would you go about it?
month We rounded off our Python
92 LXF135 September 2010 1
You have used a
command that delivers more
wanted to
Last
clever!
Jun 29 12:49
series with a
www.linuxforniat.com
Vi,
Kate all have syntax colouring for Bash, which
Gedit and is
a bonus
programming opus.
Bash Tutorial
simple scripts > echo $foo+l
ploppy+1 > foo=”ls” > echo $foo Is
> foo=”$foo
-al”
> echo $foo Is -al
> echo
‘$foo’
$foo
> echo “$foo” Is -al
> $foo *.png
There are plenty of scipts dotted all over your Linux box. Take a look in /etc/init.d to get a few examples of how some system services are controlled. >
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
a.png
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
b.png
The first thing to note putting the name,
commands can do their thing. Nearly every command you ever execute that actually does something
spaces on either side
your usual
independent from the
commands would Hidden as
is
it
but without the
shell,
shell,
letters or
Gnome/
which to execute commands. Line and
in
humble Bash scripts
slave
away when you
computer to bring up the network, mount
there are a
the background doing
defined by just
Bash will get
names must start
error. Variable
that variables are
you
variables
may wish to
upper case. However,
all
and environmental
use,
which are
all
upper case,
so you can often avoid conflict by using lower case letters
in
»
your own variables.
your
devices, start
the hidden tasks that keep your
all
is
lot of built-in
variables that lines of
open the window manager, and many keep running
services, in
start
is
value. Don't put
underscores.
Convention
KDE/other GUI, the shell is vital to the running of our computer - it wouldn’t even start up without a shell environment
its
with a letter or an underscore, and can contain numbers,
these
have no context within which to operate.
behind the veneer of your swanky
that a variable
of the equals sign or
confused and give you an
is
is
and equals sign and
Cool tricks with keys
operating system running.
There are
Do more Many people will tell you that Bash is good enough for simple when comes to important
tasks, but doesn’t really cut
is
it
true that
it
is
a
little
it
harder and more long-winded to use
the Bash approach (not to mention a
lot less intelligible),
it
is
we will be looking at some of these uses in a future tutorial. As for why you might want to do such a thing when you could easily use Python or PHP, sometimes Bash is
all
you have.
that practically no version of Linux,
We have already said
embedded
or otherwise,
comes without Bash or a Bash like environment, so it’s handy to know just what is possible even with the most -
basic
of tools.
we would do we were looking at a programming language, is how variables are The
first
thing
we should
look
at,
as
memorise the ones you
basically just one: a string. However, the string
HOME Cursor up Cursor Down Ctrl+R
Emacstext
editor,
so
less
if
think you’ll use:
is
Consider this short exercise:
of the
line.
command. command.
Retrieves the previous Retrieves the next
Searches history
for the last
command
command from
Ctrl+O
Executes the found
Ctrl+L
Clears the screen.
Ctrl+U
Clears the content of the
line
Ctrl+K
Clears the content of the
line after
Ctrl+C
Sends the SIGINT usually terminate
Ctrl+Z
is
very
Moves the cursor to the beginning Moves the cursor to the line end.
including the
specified characters.
if
used. You can forget about different types as, there
versatile.
more or
you know that already, you have an advantage. Here are a few of the more useful ones - at least try and
END
by no means impossible, and
well,
shortcuts you can use with Bash, and they
it
throwing networking capability into the mix. While
stuff like
many keyboard
follow the shortcut keys used for the
Alt+F
Alt+B
> foo=”ploppy”
Alt+Del
> echo $foo
Alt+D
Ctrl+R.
up to the
cursor.
the cursor.
signal to the current task,
which
will
it.
Sends the SIGTSTP signal to the current task, which will suspend it. (you can use the fg command to resume it). To return to it later you can enter fg [‘process name or job id’]. Moves the cursor forward one word in the line. Moves the cursor backwards one word in the line. Cuts the word before the cursor. Cuts the word after the cursor.
pioppy
If
you missed
last issue Call
0870 837 4773 www.tuxradar.com
or
+44 1858 438795. September 2010 LXF135 93 |
Tutorial
Bash
As the adds the
variable
'+1'
is
a string, setting
it
$ character
Inside double quotes, placing the
variable
to something +1, just
name will cause the variable's value to be expanded.
Inside single quotes though, substitution, so
rather handy, because
is
you can store and execute It
pays to get
it
is
a
comparator
which means ‘not equal
!=,
So clearly
“).
here,
if
and the
means
script skips to the
comparison.
commands from variables, as we
If
the value
is
fi
is
case we're using the to'
(and can also be
the user ID
is
same as
the
that for the root variable, the value inside the brackets
literal string.
You can also leave out the quotes altogether to have the variable expanded. This
inside the square brackets. In this
written “ -ne
Bash doesn’t do any
you just get back the
ordinary user. The IF statement
first
standard comparison construct, the value to be acted upon
front of a
in
501 for the
usually
We will cover arithmetic shortly.
to the string.
is
false
statement, the end of the
not equal, execution skips to the
we get a message and the script halts. Apart from some reserved values (0-2, 126-165, and 255)
lines following ten,
see at the end of that sequence.
into the habit of
there are no hard and fast rules about exit codes. By
ending your script with an exit
0
if
everything has
gone well. When you
Something slightly useful Before
we get bogged down
too
in
have a look at something that might be
start stringing
script.
Here
is
convention 77
much more detail,
slightly useful in
a complete script you can run at
is often used for ‘Permission Denied’-type you can make up your own - as long as you
errors, but
let's
remember what they mean.
a
home that
So, this script doesn't
do anything, but
it
could be the start
scripts together, exit
conditions are
important.
shows some
variables doing
things. This
code needs to
be typed
to a text editor,
in
“We have discovered that you know more about Bash
saved as exampleLsh, and then executed from the with the
shell
I
command bash
something that does.
is
reasonably secure -
variable
from Bash
normally, but
is
it
more
useful as a test before the
exampleLsh:
script
might do
#!/bin/bash
something that needs root permissions to work successfully.
ROOT_UID=0 ERROR_PERMISSION=77 if “$UID” != “$ROOT_UID”
there are
[
Bash also supports the else and
constructions, and
elif
some special comparators as well. This small
checks whether a particular directory
]
It
you can't change the UID
you think.”
scripting than
of
exists
script
and outputs
something sensible
then
echo “You must run exit
this script as root”
#!/bin/bash
$ERROR_PERMISSION
CHECKDIR- ’examples”
fi
exit 0
The first
if
line starts
characters
# and
instructs the shell
!.
with what
This
is
it
it
was
The Bash homepage links to
this rather useful
manual,
if
you
ever get stuck.
just a
line
else
In
short terms,
it
echo “examples directory does not is
way of making the script execute. On to more
interesting
exit 0
The could access the
environmental variables through Bash? UID
is
one
of
those
which contains the user ID (as a numeric value) of
www.gnu.org/ software/bash/
the user running the Bash shell. This value
manual.
depending on the type
of Linux
is
exist!”
fi
bits...
Remember we said that you variables,
echo “examples directory exists”
that
is
if it
]
then
should be actually passed to the
executable indicated by the following path. >
comment
called that
$CHECKDIR
-d
[
often called a ‘shebang’; the
a special type of
from which
executed as a command,
is
0 for root, and
-d inside the square brackets
is
if
argument
the directory name, which
is
a directory exists
passed using a
in
a special operator
the filesystem. The next
that checks
in this
case
we have
See the boxout above-right for some
variable.
other useful comparisons.
system you're running,
Going loopy We have already seen the standard comparison construction. There is another common structure that we are used to dealing with
when we are programming - the
different types of loops in Bash, but the
often
is
the
for...
da.,
done type
to construct this rather
you might have used: for (( i = 0 i < 10 i++ ;
;
like
of loop.
you would
loop.
one you
in
It
C
is
There are
will
see most
possible
in
Bash
or other languages
))
do echo
$i
done Like
Python though, Bash typically
of values
-
in
generating that iterate
iterates
through a
list
the example above, the inner brackets are list.
You
will
more commonly see loops that
through an array or a
list
generated from other values.
For example: for
i
in $( Is
)
do
Never miss another issue Subscribe to the #1 source for Linux on page 94 LXF135 September 2010
www.linuxformat.com
66.
Bash Tutorial
echo
$i
Other useful comparisons
done
Bash evaluates what case
this
it
is
is
inside the brackets as always.
In
command, so Bash executes it and creates a which we then iterate over. We will cover
a
Stick these inside your comparison brackets for
more about arrays (which dimensional, and more
in
like
Bash are
a python
but you most probably will see
actually one-
list
object)
them used
in
the future,
exists
[ [
> echo $array[l] [
becky[l] [
True True True True True True
> echo ${array[l]} -N SFILE]
[
True
was
> echo ${array[@]}
[SFILEl
becky tabitha sue
SFILE2
-nt
other special actions
$FILE
exists
and has been modified since
exists exists exists
exists exists
it
last read. if
SFILE2, or
> do > echo
if
exists
and is a directory. and is a regular file. and is a symbolic link. and is readable. and has a size greater than zero. and is writable. and is executable. and is owned by the effective
exists
$FILE1 has been changed more recently than if SFILEl exists and SFILE2 does not. True if SFILEl is older than SFILE2, or is SFILE2 exists and SFILEl does not. True if SFILEl and SFILE2 refer to the same file.
...True
]...
in ${array[@]}
i
ID.
exists.
if
> echo $array
for
user
if
True
[
tabitha
True
True
-d
[
becky
$FILE $FILE if $FILE if $FILE if $FILE if $FILE if $FILE if $FILE if SFILE
-a
[ [
like this:
$FILE ] $FILE ] -f $FILE ] -h $FILE ] -r $FILE ] -s $FILE ] -w $FILE ] -x SFILE ] -0 SFILE ]
[
> array=(becky tabitha sue)
>
some
of the results,
list
[
SFILEl -ot SFILE2
]
[
SFILEl
SFILE2
]
$i
> done
-ef
becky tabitha
Then we use an
sue Did you spot the gotcha? Look again: square brackets are
used to
for referencing the array
by index values, but Bash
know that just because you put [1] at the end of something mean to index the way around that is to put
that you
it.
everything that relates to the variable
make sure
the $, to
special value that in
curly brackets after
gets processed as a single
element (and the index starts
first
the
it
in
access the array without an index, you
try to
so
isn't
expands to
all
at 0).
will
entity.
in
is
a
the array,
construction to check whether the
place to return a
use the
list
of the
chmod ugo+x
bit
#!/bin/bash
png
their destination.
Currently, this
script,
command will get in
file in
so you can run
it
bash command. its
working directory
when you execute /usr/sbin or somewhere else in the the filespace
it.
command path, and call from wherever you like. So, we have discovered so far that you know more about it
we have discovered together to do something useful. This short script, when run on a directory, will find all the image files of a certain type and relocate them to their own directory called images: put the few things
filetypes=( jpg
on the
directly without using the
You could save the
Made of win
in
sortimage.sh
This sets the execute
from wherever you are
Now to
matching files, and then we just
mv command to put them
When you save the file, run the command:
we use to generate
list.
it.
The first loop iterates through the elements of the array. The start of the second loop executes the Is command in
you
just get the
The [@] index
the values stored
the for loop at the end, that’s what
If
if...
destination exists, or else create
Bash scripting than you
and how to use variables and
we will be
looking at
integrating
and running external commands through Bash,
and adding
interactivity to
backup
gif
think,
the basic structures of a script. Next time
scripts.
your programs as we build our own
See you then! EES
IMGDIR-’images” if
$IMGDIR
-d
[
]
then
echo “directory already
exists, continuing...”
else
mkdir $IMGDIR fi
for type in ${filetypes[@]}
do for
i
in $( Is *.$type
)
do echo
“this file $i is
being moved”
mv $i $IMGDIR done done exit
0
There are more compact ways to do see what’s going on when the code
have
made an
this,
is
array to store the filetypes
Next month
but
it
is
structured
easier to like this.
We
we want to capture.
Find out
>
You don’t need much more than a terminal window to create Bash scripts. it up nicely so it is easy to read, and create a directory to experiment in.
Set
howto manipulate system commands and www.tuxradar.com
pipes.
September 2010 LXF13 5 95 |
Hardcore Linux Challenge yourself with advanced projects for power users
Procmail: Email Once again frolicking in the glittering paradise of the command line, Shashank Sharma announces Procmail as the perfect mail filtering solution.
0
linuxlala@linuxlala-GCFD: File
fdit
view
~
-
/v
>
Help
Terminal
|
-Resent) ?» -To ):(,*[ th Z] )? cc licenses£Usts\ ibiblio\ org pracnail: Locking 'Vhane/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC.lock' procnail: Assigning "LASTFOLDER=/hone/Um]xlala/Mflil/Usts/CC B procnail: Opening 'Vhone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC" procnail: Acquiring kernel-lock pracnail: Unlocking "/hone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC. tack' procnail: Notified comsat: Unuxlala05754469:/home/Unuxlala/Nall/U5ts/CC B rue Jun 22 20:56:37 2610 .a Subject: Re; (cc-licenses) Alex Bosworth; 'Creative Connons Is Broke*" Folder: /honc/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC 5151 pracnail : [22677) Tue Jun 22 2fl:5Q:3B 2010 pracnail: No natch on “'‘Fron: .Mlinuxlala\£yahoo\.co\.in|gcckybodhi@gn*ail\.ccm}“ pracnail: Hatch on "{ A (?)cc-licenseseiistsV.ibibUo\ .orgpracnail: Locking "/hone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC. lack' cnail; Assigning LASTFQLPER=/hone/lHiuxlala/Hall/llsn/CC H pracnail: Opening "/hone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC" procnail: Acquiring kernel-lock pracnail: Unlocking "/hone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC. lock" procnail: Notified comsat: "Unuxlala?575962e:/home/llnuxldla/Nail/Usts/CC" Tuc Jun 22 20:56:38 2010 Fran linuxlala Subject: Re: [cc-licenses] Alex Bosworth: 'Creative Coanons Is Broken" Folder: /hone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC 41W -
1
-
.
.
•,
:
l,
LINUX
O >
The procmail.log file will inform you what folder each mail dropped into so you can search it for misplaced emails.
is
movies and music, most geeks were happy sharing Procmail recipes, and you can
web
search. Your recipes
will
still
grow and change with time but
looking at what other people are using Procmail for
you to process your emails
their
find these with a simple
enable
will
better.
Depending on your setup, you may need to create a he need for a committed mail
T
directly proportional to the in
number
your inbox. Procmail is a powerful email processing
that you can use to sort emails based on any
rules.
You can have incoming messages sorted
Our
folders based
message the sender, creating rules
on preset
criteria
etc.
and the
ability to
directory. This
into various
has been writing about free
easily discard
mail
filter.
configuration
it
can
distributions carry
including Linux, also
the co-author of Apress's Beginning Fedora.
bother you:
it’s
easily install
it
On
it
on a default
installation.
But don’t
root-owned
in
let
Retrieval
many different tools and
Last
and
in
line tools
are governed by
the /etc/ directory. However,
directories. This
is
why tools
like
Procmail
specific configuration files
those messages. Fetchmail and Gmail both support
POP
when downloading messages from Gmail so that filter
the messages for us.
your
home
directory.
Each
in
configuring Fetchmail to interface with your is
to create a .fetcmailrc
file in
your
user ‘[email protected]’ with password ‘typepasshere’
of the rules in
Mutt, the
step
home directory. Open a text editor and type in this code: poll pop.gmail.com with proto POP3 and options no dns is ‘user’
are called recipes. Long before people were sharing
month We geeked out with
first
remote mail account
your mailbox depending on the configuration.
96 LXF135 September 2010
home
Retrieving mail The
Procmaifs filtering actions are governed by the
file
files
Procmail can
messages from a remote account. Procmail is an MDA, and is responsible for getting the messages sorted and
the
stored
your
Agent (MRA) and a Mail User Agent
retrieve
file in
files
in
incoming messages to Procmail.
home directories.
protocol
MUAs are email clients such as Mutt or Thunderbird. MRAs are programs like Fetchmail or Getmail that you use to
.procmailrc
all
IMAP, but we’re going to configure Fetchmail to use the
(MUA).
into
their
filter
technologies at play. These include Mail Delivery Agent
(MDA), Mail
pipe
messages from a Gmail account and then use Procmailto
this
distro’s software repositories.
a typical mail server there are
email
For our purposes, we’ll be using Fetchmail to retrieve
very stable and popular too, and you can
from your
and save the file as .forward
will
and Fetchmail allow users to create
Since Procmail is no longer actively developed, only a few
various places,
all
your mailbox. Type
regular users don’t have the permissions or privileges to edit
Plus,
spam and messages with executable attachments and makes for a perfect auto-responder.
software for over four years for
in
Most configurable command
of a
run multiple rules on
messages make Procmail a very precise
com. He's
into a text editor
of regular expressions for
Sharma
too to ensure Procmail gets to handle
l/usr/bin/procmail
number of
such as the subject
The use
file
messages before they land
of emails that land
utility
expert Shashank
.forward
filtering solution is
here
options keep ssl sslcertck sslcertpath ‘/etc/ssl/certs’
command-line email
www.linuxformat.com
client.
Procmail Tutorial
power up mda This
» Procmail 3.22
%T
‘/usr/bin/procmail -d
about the extent of what Fetchmail requires from you.
is
You may additionally need to enable
POP forwarding on your
remote account (you have to for Gmail and similar services).
The first two lines are actually just one, we've split them to make easier to read. These just tell Fetchmail to poll the [email protected] or [email protected] account and drop the mail on to the local user. In the third line we have a number of options. The first, keep, tells Fetchmail to not
Ju* »
v
option, Fetchmail will delete
messages
it
lists
from the remote account
Con-figuration
all
Path:
line in
the code block tells Fetchmailto
[J Calendars
incoming messages to Procmail.
all
There are two ways you can automate Fetchmail to look
up and
retrieve
to
new messages from your mail
—
* Memos
Q
account. The
add the
fiance)
.
LX
daemon 300
set
>
to the top of the "/.fetchmailrc
line
Fetchmail check for
The other method Run crontab
75
* * *
into the silent
*
-e
file.
This
will
make
The next step
new messages every five minutes (300
seconds). Use your discretion is
to set
in
setting
up a timed lookup.
up a Cron job to run Fetchmail.
from the terminal and type
crontab
file.
all
five
minutes
in
progress and status messages
all
So, use the
710 or
it
to be not
more than
chmod command to change the
710.
permission to
file
by
command
messages
within this
filtered
by Procmail.
mkdir -/Mail/new
mkdir -/Mail/lists/fedora-devel mkdir
-/Mail/lists/ debian-legal
rules for sorting
~/.procmailrc
all
file
incoming messages. At
its
must contain the following
most
basic, the
information:
SHELL=/bin/bash
fetchmail -vk
from a terminal. This -v option)
to read
We are now ready to populate our ~/.procmailrc file with
-/.fetchmailrc
You can test your ~/.fetchmailrc configuration running the
Mbox mailbox
file
mkdir -/Mail/lists/gnome
lesser, like so:
chmod 710
Procmail to
the
mkdir -/Mail
mkdir -/Mail/lists
~/.fetchmailrc file and requires
We want
messages to the ~/Mail directory and so
mkdir -/Mail/family
about the permissions of the
Evolution to use
you must create
create additional directories.
Fetchmaihs very
strict
lists,
unique directories for each of them.
we’ll
Fetchmail will run every
and mailing
You can
configure
But before you start creating rules for sorting emails
friends, families
deliver
/usr/bin/fetchmail -s
mode, which means
recipes.
from
to inform Procmail of our various filtering
is
be suppressed and not displayed on standard output.
will
0Mail
downloads. The rest of the options concern SSL
The final
encryption.
first is
Of Be* et=
0 learning 0
messages from the remote account. Without this
delete
route
Q revolution 0 Family 0 “Promltechr... .
*
it
will
and messages
run Fetchmail in verbose will
mode (the
not be deleted from the remote
account. You don’t need to use the -k option (keep),
if
it’s
PATH=/usr/sbin:/usr/bin
MAILDIR=$HOME/Mail DEFAULT=$MAILDIR/new
When
running
silent
mode (the-s
in
option), Fetchmail
already a part of your -/.fetchmailrc
LOGFILE=$HOME/procmail.log
file.
will still
Garnish with regex Regular expressions (regexes) are an integral part of the
-/.procmailrc
When used decisively, they can make much more effective. The following recipe
can be used to search the message body
for a
phrase and
move the message to the specified folder.
[0-9]+
Wassup
necessary for Procmail to do
Procmail encounters the phrase ‘wassup’ preceded by
will
If
its
MAILDIR
work.
working directory for Procma//and within
is
the
identifies the directory
move the message
where
all
mail
will
be stored. Any mail that
addressed by any of our recipes lands
above code snippet, we then define a all its
in
the body of a message,
into the silly folder.
you missed
last issue Call
you
in
into
file
isn't
DEFAULT.
for
In
the
Procmail to
logging and debugging information using the
variable. Setting
VERBOSE as yes ensures that
Procmail keeps a detailed log of
one or more numbers anywhere it
messages.
actual error
The above are just variables that contain information
LOGILE
$MAILDIR/silly If
VERBOSE=yes
record
:0B: *
all
file.
your recipes that then
report
LOG-’”
its activity,
and
this
can aid
debugging your recipes.
The PATH programs
it
variable specifies
where Procmail can
may need to use as part of a
0870 837 4773 www.tuxradar.com
or
find
any
recipe. For instance,
»
+44 1858 438795. September 2010 LXF135
|97
Tutorial Procmail
if
you need your music player to play a specific file soon as
you receive that job
Each
offer
.
or recipient, the subject of the
rules
Once
message
a
message or even the message
you can get Procmail to perform a number
such as move the message
of actions
other address,
make sure you there recipe
@ and the
are no false positives.
check the From and Subject
will
The following before
field
:0: *
into a folder, reply to the sender,
some
forward the message to
used before the
performing an action on matched messages.
selected based on your defined
is
is
the email address, as these two are restricted keywords.
You can even perform multiple checks on message to
matching rules to select messages. These include the sender
content.
in
your recipes can contain any number of patten-
of
\ symbol
Also notice that the
you were waiting for.
A Subject:.*techrepublic
A From:[email protected]
etc.
$MAILDIR/lists/techrepublic
Anatomy of a
recipe
There are three parts to
all
So far we’ve discussed some
Procmail recipes.
begin with a colon character^). The next
recipes
All
must
you’re using
an
MRAsuch as
Procmail what action to take should
finally
the third
find a
message that matches the
line tells
if
you wish to forward
it
you can use
need
it
yourself,
this recipe:
* forward French lessons
rules in a recipe.
if
messages regarding
all
French lessons to a friend and also keep a copy of
contains the conditions or rules for matching messages, and If
example,
be. For
line after this
basic recipes but you can
simultaneously perform two operation on a message
to a friend
Fetchmailio retrieve
messages, you don’t
*
need a .forward to route
#and
:0:
file
A From:.*(linuxlala\@yahoo\.co\.inlgeekybodhi@gmail\.com)
on to Procmail.
This recipe instructs Procmailto match against the condition (second into the family directory.
The "From
is
line following
incoming mail
all
:0 c
rules begin with a * character.
The
!
and "Subject
the action
line is
line.
More
learning }
Here we use a nested block (enclosed
often than not, action lines just instruct Procmail what folder to drop
messages
Notice the
|
of an action
into.
symbol
in
the condition
line
above?
It
should
be used when you want to add multiple checks to a condition. In this
we want to check
case,
against the
"From
multiple email addresses
condition. So,
all
be delivered
into the
The order of recipes important.
All
order
until
the "/.procmailrc
a match
message matches the conditions acted upon. This So,
if
any
of
is
is
in
file is
a recipe,
why the default recipe
first in
the -/.procmailrc
You don’t need to type
in
word
anywhere
recipes
the
in
this
the block.
is
it
is
the
immediately
last
on the
recipe that
first
we can’t
list.
file will
be acted upon
case
is
in
if
the parent recipe
In
the
is
true.
is
matching the Subject
true.
The
line for
the
it.
first
action, the
That
is, if
we
in
either of the
c flag
will
is
used to
only run through
don’t use the c flag,
run the mail through the second recipe. The bang
the mail to the specified address.
(!)
we want to forward
before the email address indicates that
Finally,
the second recipe
in
the block delivers the mail to the learning directory.
line like we did above. you've already defined $MAILDIR variable, just typing family instead of If
$MAILDIR/family be dropped
is
enough.
All
matched messages would
into the relevant folder
whether you type
Handling The
recipes.
the complete path of the folder
the action
still
very
found. However, once a
and the message will never get to any of the other
in
in
‘French’
braces) instead
your messages match more than one recipe, the
recipe listed
the
which are used only
parent recipe
copy the message. Typically, a message
incoming messages are matched against the
listed recipes in
it,
in
This block enables us to put multiple recipes
line.
We don't have any condition statements
family folder.
in
within
messages from
[email protected] and from [email protected] will
[email protected]
:0
macros that facilitate matching messages. the condition
A Subject:.*(French)
{
and move the matches
line)
a built-in Procmail macro. "To_
are similar built-in
The
:0 *
$MAILDIR/family
messages
also keep a copy
in
the complete path or just the folder name.
spam
definition of
spam
or junk
messages can vary from
person to person. find PPT attachments offensive, so they I
are always discarded. Also ignored are
subject
in all in
caps,
like this
messages with the
recipe below:
:0 *
A Subject: [A-Z]
/dev/null
Another method
is
to create either a whitelist of
known
and trusted addresses and then you only keep messages
Choosing a mailbox
from these
* Check There are two options to choose from
when deciding a mailbox format. These are mbox and maildir. For our examples in this tutorial,
we’ve used an mbox-
type mailbox, specified -/.procmailrc as Mail and
in
MAILDIR=$HOME/
DEFAULT=$MAILDIR/new.
Had we put
The mbox-type mailbox stores all messages as plain text in a single file. Within the
file,
the beginning of a
message is indicated by a From string and there’s a blank line at the end of
:0: *
? formail -x”From” -x”From:” -x”Sender:” -x”X-Sender:”
-x”Reply-To:” -x”Retum-Path” -x”To:”
egrep
-i -f
$MAILDIR/trusted
on the other hand stores
us a maildir type.
directories as needed.
I
$HOME/.trusted
In this recipe,
Maildir
messages in a separate file per message within the cur, new and tmp directories, moving messages between
a trailing slash at the end
your mailbox:
the message.
$HOME/Mail/ and $MAILDIR/new/ it would have given
in
of the path, as in
in
my whitelist
headers, pipe
them
we use
Formail to extract only the specified
them on to the egrep utility, which then matches
against the addresses listed
an external
utility
in
the .trusted
file.
Formail is
used to process messages and extract
information from within the
message headers.
In
our recipe,
the information extracted by Formail is ‘piped’ to egrep. The
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www.linuxformat.com
66.
Procmail Tutorial
-/.trusted -i
file
contains a
switch to egrep
of
list
You can alternately create a
and create a recipe them.
In
to delete
all
trusted addresses and the
blacklist of
known offenders
messages
originating
directing
locking, so start
from
File
with
messages to a
of
to a
can’t be rescued or
file,
you don't need :
0
configure Procmailto hook up with SpamAssassin,
case
you’ll
need to
install
configure Procmail.
/etc/procmailrc
Once
file
*
I
to
in
which
create the lock again.
condition in size,
it’s
to route
installed, all
size.
This
save us
on
to If
will
line
look for
type
prevent
all
overhead.
message.
original
messages that are
most spam messages are
some
less
In
then 256kb in
messages from being inspected and In the third line, we pass the message
-/.procmail rc
it
will
rewrite
its
Subject
field to
!
!
#
in
a
if
make sure no message
is
you can look through
you want. Save the .vacation
vacation.lock
If
sender’s address not in cache, send
ehc
:0
(formail -rA”Precedence: junk”
\
This
Set an autoresponder
;
\
\
/usr/lib/sendmail -oi
I
may seem
-t
daunting, but
if
you break
the
in
first
recipe ensures three things.
We then
auto -res ponder,
have three condition
known as vacation response or auto-reply. This relies on the vacation utility and its not already installed on your
that auto-reply
system, you should do so now.
The second
also
if
*
.*for
is
two parts
first recipe.
First,
the
W
The h means search headers
and the c tells Procmail to keep a copy its
into
it
actually very straightforward. Let's look at the
it’s
The Whc
wrongly identified as spam.
of Procmail is
am
“I
return. Cheers!”
auto-reply recipe:
waits for a return from Formail.
A very widely used feature
I
and
Store sender’s address in vacation.cache
message to /dev/null but
local directory that
directory
formail -rD 8192 vacation.cache
I
)
it
home
when
read your message
more complex,
cat ^/.vacation
just as easily direct the
best to keep
try to
A X-Loop: [email protected]
*
I
A X-Spam-Status:.*Yes
it's
will
A FROM_DAEMON
*
file:
spam
to
will
I
we need to now create an
.*for
your
file in
-A”X-Loop: [email protected]”
You could
it
and then
include
:0H: *
exists,
# mail containing vacation message.
it
you can now add the following recipe to your
So,
*
#
SpamAssassin.
spam tag.
at a time.
your message. Your message could be a simple
in
Whc:
:0
the
usually quite small
SpamAssassin identifies any of the messages
encounters as spam,
file
we need to create a
indicates to Procmail that this
and may modify the
we
the lock
incoming messages to
SpamAssassin
the colon
line,
since
file
file. If
wait for a period of time
SpamAssassin before you can
or something
in
writing recipes, begin
written to the
file:
filter
message to any file. The :0: file locking where Procmail determines what file the message is being written to and creates
a lock
< 256000
a
need to
locking, since Procmail isn’t
invokes automatic
:0:.
/usr/bin/spamc
is
when
file
The concluding colon ensures that only one message gets by tying
on vacation.
The fw
a
this,
all
writing the
up to mess up the mailbox format. To
fw
recipe
use
file
prevent
you use the recipe to forward
external application, you don’t
the two messages getting mixed
Next, create a .vacation
#Send message
If
matching emails, or to pipe them to an
:.
SpamAssassin.
:0
a feature of Procmail that
When this happens, there’s a
file.
risk of
you wish to be even more thorough with spam, you can
If
is
messages from being corrupted on delivery. Imagine Procmail delivering two messages simultaneously
lost forever. Also, since
your recipe with a :0 instead of a
locking
protects
messages to /dev/null,
remember that these messages
reviewed at a later stage - they are you're not writing these
file
messages to /dev/null instead
direct the
$MAILDIR/trusted. When
When to use file locking
case-insensitive.
the recipe, just replace the .trusted
.spammers and please
all
makes matches
lines.
of the
The
message.
first
makes sure
sent to mails that are sent to your address
The number following the
:
in
a recipe indicates is
there to prevent your auto-reply being sent to
mailing-lists * !
A FROM_DAEMON line is to
!
avoid auto-reply to emails that you
in
a
file
line,
automatically,
but you
we instruct
still
need
to write :0 for
A X-Loop: [email protected] the next
is
now calculated
send to yourself
In
number of
actions. This
and the third *
the
compatibility.
Formail to store sender's address
called vacation.cache.
The next recipe begins with :0ehc. The e guarantees that this recipe
is
executed only
if
the
first
recipe returns a
message that says the vacationxache file doesn’t contain the sender’s address. .vacation
the
When reading emails using Mutt you can press c to change between the mailboxes your emails are sorted
Sendmail to send the
address
man
is in
the cache, no auto-reply
will
into.
hills!
be sent. Refer
procmailex as well as the Procmail man page for
more information about auto-responders, then
>
Next month Run to the
instruct
The two recipes here ensure that senders don’t receive same auto-reply for each email they send to us. Once
their
to
We then
message to the sender.
relax into a
spam-free
life.
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the magazine
In
In
Android and MeeGo have Apple's iPhone in a headlock with their range of Linux-based smartphones -the Palm Pre, the
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HTC
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We also repair your damaged
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the work),
chart the rise of Fedora 13,
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If
Issue 132 June 2010
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In
need Windows
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LXFDVD highlights for
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LXFDVD highlights Eager to unleash the Lynx? We’ve got the latest version of Ubuntu with added packages,
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Two great things happened
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reveal
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you can stop paying for expensive licences by switching your office to
There’s also an interview
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director
Then we look at a
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LXFDVD highlights a distro paradise this month,
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101
Answers Got a question about open source? Whatever your
This month we answer questions on:
email
level,
to [email protected] for a solution.
it
speed up the boot process by not mounting any unnecessary hardware.
0
We
Remastersys Backup
Please Select which option you would like?
D Custom USB
E
Leaving
applications available,
0 Netbook
booting
0 Boot from an
typically
compiling
,
a basic
and a simple
movie player (currently VLC) and, of course, a
monitoring
a printer Disk transfer
OOo
picture viewer
0 Encryption 0 Webcam
invisible disk
0 Transferring
need limited
also only
MS
B Secure moving
browser (currently I've
trawled
Firefox).
Pick
Info
Backup
Backup Complete System
Dlst
Make
a Distributable
copy to share with friends
Distcdfs
Make
a Distributable
copy cd filesystem only
Distiso
Make
a Distributable iso
including user Data
file
only
Modify
Modify the remastersys conlig
Clean
Remove temporary
info
About Remastersys Backup
Quit
Quit Remastersys Backup
-
•
both cdfs and iso
good
will
you want to add
if
be created files to
the cc
cd filesystem must have been completed already
-
customize options
file to
files
my back issues
and picked up some very useful stuff from there,
Custom USB stick
i
but
We need to create bootable copies of Linux on USB
Q:
its
the third step above before
either fairly simple or
rather messy, depending
this,
Otherwise, you need to load the kernel and
good as a boot drive. Is there any way to boot Linux from the second drive? Dave Belton
the
live
is
drive
- 10MB
is
enough - and, using the
Grub config file
When
a system boots
stagel from the looks
in
config
it
first
the
first
place.
loads the Grub
in
a symlink.
sudo
its
probably
sudo
directory to the
.
boot
in
/boot by
Now
reboot and try again.
As the config
need to look at the Grub documentation
The usual cause
refers to kernels as
/boot/vmlinuz-xyz when yours are now at
of
such a
init
scripts or recompile the kernel
SATA card compiled we
instead of as a module, neither of which
sudo
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a hold-over from
See page 104 for Rackspace’s
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when used I
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I
interface.
don't
administration. This month, the prize
2001 Rackspace
is
actually needed.
have a Cannon Pixma MP500,
I
Linux Format
hosting. Since
is
B Transferring printer
Managed Hosting www.rackspace.co.uk
Hosting. Rackspace Hosting
CD
after booting the live
For one,
every
If
being loaded, you’ll need to
isn’t
have space to go into here. Running:
digital
information
failure is incorrectly
specifying the path to the config or kernel.
in,
critical
Grub
fails,
If it
to translate these into meaningful messages.
root=/dev/sdbl
hack the
in
running:
tends to give terse numeric error messages, so
with the driver for your
leader
MBR to use the kernel
grub-install /dev/sda
the module
^
/boot
type:
Grub in the
set
and configs
you'll
of:
link -s
Then
and make sure
will
read something along the lines
which then loads /sbin/init from the
distro’s root partition. You're reaching the first
it
Change
and
partition
live
partition. Edit the
this directory
points to your larger disk, so
files.
kernel,
you could do what many distros do and create
that the root parameter on the kernel line
MBR of the first disk, this then
/boot/grub for the next stage and The Grub menu then loads the
/vmlinuz-xyz, you could change every entry, or
CD, copy the contents of the boot directory
have been able to
in
is in
/boot. Create a small ext2 partition on the IDE
from your large disk onto this
it
which
easy to do because everything you need
CD clearly contains the driver or you wouldn't install to
disk,
love the not-too-minimal user
Anyway, the one thing that
like is
that
I
printer through the I
also can’t find
is
it
I
my
can't get the driver for
automated
online.
routine,
and
What’s interesting
that this isn’t the case with the last two
versions of Linux Mint, both being able to find the driver first thing in the live CD.
Where are the drivers stored
in
CUPS, and
can simply extract the driver from a I
Mint to Patrick
CD
live
my installed Crunchbang? Buddeberg Copying a driver file from one
A‘
another
isn’t
a
good
idea.
It
distro to
may be
incompatible with the software on the
may require other files.
second computer or
it
A better approach
to see which driver
in
is
Mint, then convince
same
driver.
is
used
Crunchbang to use the
The reason Crunchbang
is
»
not
September 2010 LXF135
1
103
Answers
using the correct driver
automatic detection not too
likely,
is
may be that the
fancy,
not working, which
or that the correct driver
is
giving
is
and use the older drive OS - the extra space
for the
you room to play with
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simply not included as part of the standard installation. In that case,
installing
running the printer configuration again. There’s a driver for this printer
the
in
one.
Crunchbang does not include this
whereas Linux Mint does,
default installation,
so the solution
gu ten print
is
in its
Crunchbang, then run the
in
printer configuration again
Printer Settings
and select the
MULTIPASS-MP500 driver up automatically.
CUPS directly
if it
Alternatively,
>
put a
V
is
Clonezilla
one. After copying, you
image
file
new ones,
you can set up
bootloader. Boot from the CD, start Clonezilla
is
that
hard drive and you should be able to boot
can also copy the
and select the Device-Device option followed
am asking I
want to
my box and
it
you want the
the time use
let Clonezilla do its stuff. more work but gives the Partition the new drive
bootloader cloned and
The
probably impossible, but
drive into
tell
third choice
greatest
flexibility.
is
manually using GPartedor
Set up
similar.
80GB drive onto it, including the OS.
/swap and /home being
do a
direct
I
have a
sounds too simple just to
copy operation. Any suggestions
would be very much appreciated. The hard drive
I
have
mind
in
is in
use
in
my other
machine and would simply be screwed into its new home and have all its files erased. Catgate, from the forums You have three main options here. The first,
OS for
an extra
and simplest,
at
all. If
there
drive, there's
room
in
the case
no reason why you
a good choice here. The best
from a
live
fraught with
possible I
to
the
slowly. After
live
sudo
to buy a
start using a Linux laptop in
my
Most of the clients work for are using Windows and the Office applications,
so to
I
I
my documents either
need to convert
PDF or to MS format without
functionality of the
losing the
document.
Theo Rowaan The short answer
is
yes.
The long
answer depends on which Windows applications you need to use.
makes things appear
work faster when they’re
is
situation?
pitfalls,
You can add -v to the options to watch the progress, something that
240GB
any other partitioning scheme that takes your
is
rsync -ax /mnt/oldhome/ /mnt/newhome/
more
/home partition, or
this is
if
Can
my
new laptop one without Windows and Office.
My intention
rsync -ax /mnt/oldroot/ /mnt/newroot/
down, remove the
You could set up the whole of
way to do
my job and most of
MS Office applications
and several other applications related to work.
so mount your partitions and copy with:
don't have plans for the older drive), giving you in total.
copy the
CD - trying to copy system files
from a running system
cannot have both connected (provided you
the second drive as a large
to
contents of each partition manually - rsync is
copy the
to not
is
is
a reasonable
minimum. Then you would have
use a laptop with Windows XP
I
professional for
whatever partitioning scheme you want, with
it
B Leaving the dark side
Beginners menu. Select the source and destination disks,
new drive. GM
safely into your
the
in
transfer the entire contents of the existing
suspicion that
can be used to back up a hard drive to an it directly to another disk.
or to copy
GParted to resize
partitions, or create
The advantage of
I’m not sure why.
160GB hard
80GB drive to the first half of the
it
I
wlttrjifc
fti
and
using Clonezilla
what
W last Jen.
copy your
Clonezilla will indeed
by the Disk To Local Disk option
feel that
I
wir
name
part of the
doesn’t pick this
H
lb rerk
tJCanwi)
on to the new
to use the extra space.
D Disk transfer
^ ^
is
implies a byte-for-byte copy,
160GB
foomatic-db-
to install
,
use Clonezilla to make a copy of the old drive
Gutenprint (formerly Gimp-print) collection of drivers.
The second option
matter of
just a
it's
the appropriate driver package and
TBiW 1?U
I
l*> tjil to stovi •h&fi ift
other distros.
actually working
they
If
are the standard Office ones, there are Linux equivalents: OpenOffice.org instead of Office
,
Gimp instead
of
MS
Photoshop and so
OpenOffice.org can save documents
in
on.
the
formats or export them
copying everything, power
various Microsoft
file
80GB drive and
to PDF, so there’s
no problem there. Internet
boot from
CD again. Open a terminal and
run:
usage
is
at least as
to install the bootloader to the new,
now only,
excellent
good on Linux as on
Chromium are both web browsers that are available on
Windows:
grub-install /dev/sda
Firefox and
l ulWSon
Winner!
This month’s winner
D Secure moving l’m running
Q but
trying to
Ubuntu 10.04 and
move /home to
partition.
It’s all
a
am
new
set up and ready,
my home directory is encrypted, so
copying
files
work.
there any easy
Is
Ideally,
I
across using rsync doesn’t
would
like
way
to keep
directory encrypted on the
Can
I
just
of doing this?
is
touch with us to claim your new camera!
Ubuntu uses ecryptfs
way to transfer everything
its
home
encryption at the filesystem
from a
it
encrypts individual
within a directory, so
(and their
files
you end up with
a normal directory that’s apparently gibberish. Then, ecryptfs
is
layer.
full
of
used to mount
that encrypted directory on another another
/home/user
in this
case,
and
You don’t want to copy the contents of your
directory
is
mounted, and you can’t unmount
across easily?
your
home directory while you’re
logged
This
makes the task
in
rather tricky
www.linuxformat.com
live
partition
easily log directly into the
The simplest option
is
to boot
CD. Mount your original root
home partition and /home with rsync
and your new
copy the contents
of
:
rsync -archive /mnt/oldpartition/home/
in.
Ubuntu,
/
mnt/newpartition/
done this and edited /etc/fstab mount the new home, reboot from the hard disk, check that you’re using the new
After you’ve to
home directory directly, only the encrypted files, but these are hidden when your home
Jaymac, from the forums
104 LXF135 September 2010
where you can’t root account.
everything appears normal.
partition.
for
directory encryption. This doesn’t use
new
copy everything except the
there a
in
directory,
rsync and then set up the encryption again or
Instead,
names)
Jaymac. Get
my home
Private folder and the ecryptfs folder using
later,
A
is
home
partition
and that
all
your
files
are
present and correct. Then reboot back into the live
CD and delete the contents home directory, but not
of the original
the directory to
itself
mount the new
or you won’t be able partition.
NB
Answers
both platforms (as in
is
OpenOffice.org). With this
these programs on Windows, to see
what you want, before switching to
if
they do
you're running a
Linux.
table listing the
Linux and there
in
most popular one
is
machine,
virtual
Windows OS
full it
will
inside the
a
it.
painfully slow.
you use
may not
in
Linux. Just bear in
and
point?)
number of choices. Firstly, you can dual boot, which means you have a Linux distribution and Windows installed on the same computer and choose which to use when you boot the
new operating system
All
the standard distros’ installers
make room for both
quite a
lot,
on a Linux desktop and
number of
distros.
is
included with a large
known
that are
to
list
of
C it
GCC is good at cross-
setting this
up
is
also a
them to work
of work, although
lot
www.kegel.com/
the crosstool script from
crosstool eases the process.
As for getting your sound working, that should function out of the box.
unreasonable to assume that
compilers
devices
looks to be a
like
printers
hardware should be
them working.
will
may be
It
all
external
work, but internal
as soon as you turn
fine
on, otherwise the product
is
it
faulty. Printing is
network rather than trying to plug your printer
I
can't use Git
Can you please help?
into the Ubisurfer.
Elliott
programs
Small devices
like this
of
memory and
It’s
everything else, including specific printer
not
handled by the computer serving
low-powered CPU, but the lack
drivers,
storage space. Compiling
the printer.
software usually requires a
fairly large
That way, you only have to
worry about generic printing support because
aren't really
suitable for compiling software. just the
Windows
on
best accomplished by doing so across the
John
you can use VirtualBox ( also
it
offers -
work and are supported,
included with most distros) to run a
to cross-compile
This also applies to the uClibc that BusyBox
for a small price. Alternatively,
can't get
I
rather complex matter to get
to run
Crossover Office
a variant of Wine that has a
is
one architecture on another. However,
having
my Ubisurfer
on
There are various (mini)
(www.codeweavers.com/products/cxlinux) is
like Tar,
advertised on the web, but
(well,
Windows programs
device
compiling - building software intended for
I
Windows program, Wine is actually)
programs,
them.
another computer. The architecture doesn’t
problems with downloading
BusyBox netbook.
that you have to reboot to switch. For the
some
GM
am
and
for
for a world of
The best way to compile software for an
due to an apparent lack of a C compiler. Because of this, can’t get my printer, sound, CD-ROM and so on functioning yet.
menu. This works well, with the disadvantage
emulation software that enables
Linux,
space
would be heading
embedded
take time to learn to use a
new to
l'm
Q
will
embedded
the library
pain trying to build software on this device.
what would be the
effectively.
really
have to be the same;
operating systems and set up a dual boot
occasional
You
Embedded compiler
detect an existing Windows installation, repartition the drive to
will
it
like
installed software, nor the
mind that
not Windows and does things
is
be a suitable equivalent, which leaves you with
machine.
have problems
header files needed to compile against the
differently (otherwise,
a
you got a compiler
approaches, with their use of dual booting
Linux
particularly
software, there
if
still
system won't have things
what they need
If
Even
common for people to use a mixture of these
org/wiki/Linux_software_equivalent_to_
Windows
SD
You could use an
compiling packages because an
It’s
decreasing as they gain familiarity with doing
specialised
other.
working, you would
Questions wiki at http://wiki.linuxquestions.
Windows_software
one or the
card as extra storage, but this would be
run just about any
Windows software you can throw at
the Linux
in
of
is
not quite as convenient as Wine, but because
Most Windows programs and tasks have equivalent programs
machine on your Linux desktop. This
virtual
may prefer to start using some of
mind, you
is
CUPS on
amount
If
you have a working printer using
»
a Linux desktop system, edit
Frequently asked questions...
WPA
» My house
» What is WPA? WPA is the more secure successor to WEP encryption.
be safe, right? Wrong! Although your laptop may
» OK, thanks for that concise explanation, but
WPA (Wi-Fi is
what
is it?
Protected Access)
a system to ensure the privacy
of data transmitted over
your
I
need
Unless you
accessing your system
network
access point instead of their own (this happens - it’s how a lot of
in all
rooms, so
I
should
run unsecured networks) but
access point beyond a certain
won’t prevent anyone with a desire
may be A wireless card with an antenna will have a much greater
to hack your connection.
distance, other hardware
able
>
range. Suitably
» Do need WPA hardware?
can give huge increases
in
If
your company
want
someone reading your confidential
wired network, where your data
files
really
from the car park?
broadcasts your data hundreds of
» Since you mentioned it earlier, what is WEP? WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy.
metres
This
means that anyone with a
laptop
with a wireless card could read
your data as easily as
if
they were
plugged into your network’s hub.
as WEP. device,
If
it
only
supports WEP.
secure wireless networking. While it’s
a
lot
all, it is
better than no security at
not that
difficult to crack.
may stop your neighbour
It
» suppose have to read man pages and HOWTOs and edit configuration files to use WPA I
I
with Linux?
» How about software? You need WPA support at two the device drivers, which
most have; and a separate program to implement WPA. The most popular program for this is wpa_supplicant, which should
come with your distro and
was the previous attempt to
managing wireless connections.
WPA as well
you have an older
you may find
levels: in
never leaves the security of the
every direction. This
new wireless network cards and
access points support
range.
certainly do. Unlike a traditional
in
All
uses a wireless network with weak
do you
Network Manager is an option,
but Wicd also does a good job of
I
enhanced systems
(or no) security,
computers, wireless networking
it
to.
shielded bunker, you almost
lengths of wire connecting your
people discover their neighbours
not be able to lock on to your
with your laptop. a cave, or a
when they
accidentally connect to your
This
it?
live in
my laptop
doesn’t even connect to the
may not worry you if you only use Wi-Fi at home to get online
wireless networks.
» Do
is big,
j
available
is
from http://hostap.
epitest.fi/wpa_supplicant. This is
the program that handles key
negotiation and authentication.
You certainly could do that living
your
life
if
through Vim really
turns you on. Fortunately, there are graphical configuration tools that
make things quite
a
bit easier.
The most advanced of these is probably Gnome’s Network Manager (www.gnome.org/ projects/NetworkManager) Although
it’s
a
Gnome
project,
there are front-ends available for
KDE and other desktops.
J www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF13 5
1
105
Answers
/etc/cups/cupsd.conf and ensure that
directories, the
it
encrypted data
©©
*
contains these
lines:
is
©LOCAL Browsing On BrowseAllow ©LOCAL These tell
CUPS to
should be able to print
your encrypted data
USB flash
drives
GPRS
USB CD or
would be
It
CD and
live
look at your
directory - the
easier,
SD
Places
card as an external drive wipes out the size
PH
c.'Mebcim-sbvf!iK I
on*
I
Wl ling lor iKtMUKt.. I
D Preload library
BA quick test
B Copy the applet
you see get_cam _image errors when you try to view the webcam, you need to preload the V4L1 compatibility library.
Go to http://localhost:8888 in your browser to see the webcam image is
The properties window in Synaptic shows where the applet is installed, copy it to your Apache web directory, usually /var/www.
D Tweak the HTML
B Add a script
To change the image size or playback rate, tweak the settings in webcam.html. You can also add explanatory text here.
Put the
If
if
shown. This
script,
still
image tests the
B Watch from outside
command and all
make
it
server.
the options
in
a
executable and then you can
start the server
from
its
icon.
www.tuxradar.com
Forward port 80 to the computer running webcam from anywhere, but set up access control. ES
the server to view the
September 2010 LXF13 5
1
107
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Slackware 13.1
strange stuff
the background. For
in
experienced Linux users,
We have the
D
come and go. Some stay while, some make big song and dance when
istros
upstream source code, without
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a
complicating matters. These packages
they arrive and then go nowhere, and
some end up distros.
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life in
1993, Slackware has the
most dedicated fans of any Linux - and it's not hard to see why.
distro
It's
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packages
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Its
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Before you put the
Slackware
DVD
in
your
drive, please
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ISO images, which you can burn to
ISO image duplicates,
The Linux Format DVDs are thoroughly tested and are independently
the
file
contents over.)
is
well
documented, old
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We recommend that you
always
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If
is
you’ll find this
geared towards
on the
installation,
installation.
It
assumes
that
and that you’re not
Ultimately, Slackware
explained
LXFDVD
in
assumes that you
know what you're doing with your
more.
it’s full
and
files.
Linux
of
it’s
It
is
taken
in
In
X Window System and
true Slackware tradition,
obscure jokes and references,
a really entertaining
become a full-on
way to more
Linux guru. For
information see www.slackware.com.
the selection, testing and
Future Publishing can
accept no responsibility for disruption and/or loss to
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You
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Please read individual licences for terms of use.
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If
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member of our +44 (0) 1225 822743.
you would prefer to
talk to a
> Slackware’s installer runs in text
www.linuxformat.com
the
describes
any new software.
DVD software,
in
system configuration,
networking, the
much
you know your way around the scared of editing configuration
is
Distros/Slackware section as
slackbook-2.0.pdf.
line
one to
cover the installation
We’ll not
process
intermediate and advanced Linux users,
the job of
first
run a reliable and up-to-date virus checking program on
While every care
and
not just copy
start the installer.
scripts are
with an Ncurses text- based tool doing
command
the following:
installation of
the
CD-Rs. (Note that you need to burn
the discs, boot from the
you'll learn Linux.”
NOTICE! free before duplication.
"If
learn Ubuntu.
Important
viruses,
The boot
ar.
and everything makes sense. As the
are almost entirely based on the
make
in
supplied as three
Once you have
them without having to fuss around
about as pure a Linux
is
as you can get without going
known
on the
“Slackware is geared towards intermediate and advanced Linux users.”
longest running Linux flavour. Having
»
so you can explore
bliss.
these as direct
staying power of Slackware, the world’s
Slackware
13.1,
Distros section.
being forked into other
But no other distro has the
come to
files,
Slackware,
and tweaks
it’s
latest release of
mode, but
it’s
easy enough to navigate.
More
DVD
softwai
Desktop software
HomeBank, K3b
KOffice,
K light
Office
is
One
a funny old app.
the one hand
it’s
your first account, preset categories
and
great that
and
there's a relatively small
integrated office suite to challenge
OpenOffice.org. in
On the other hand,
our review on page
flaws,
Despite
many KDE fans find
usable latest
27.
suite,
it
in
is
to be a very
and
is
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1995 on the Amiga,
and
for import
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formats
of:
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up
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no!
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spend so much on Fa beige Eggs?
you're a hardcore
KDE
user,
you might
I
command as root. Then you enter homebank to start the app.
final
versatile disc burning
Let HomeBank show how
you are missing any dependencies
have been disappointed that
hugely
this
and ripping tool
hadn't been updated for
KDE 4 for
required to compile the source code,
monumentally
some time,
you
daft your
Cosmetically, the overall interface
purchasing
design
decisions were.
but there are
will
be alerted during the
The other
set
>
have to perform
package manager and
an annual budget view. Version 4.3
new wallet assistant to
will
./configure stage, so find
export, multiple
accounts, various report formats and
brings a
the
(If
money management app for
Linux, sporting a range of
case
install
Note that you
today arguably the most
powerful
software from
built
just a
./configure
make make
HomeBank has been around for many life in
it’s
tar xfvz homebank-4.3.tar.gz
polished personal finance application.
years, starting
you’ve
If
cd homebank-4.3
the Desktop
HomeBank, a
software.
source before,
its
section of the DVD.
Next up
from the
and read the guide to compiling
disc
so we've included the
source code
file
then open up Help/New To Linux on the
it
a perpetual state of
un-finishedness, as you can read about in
HomeBank 4.3, copy the
install
homebank-4.3.tar.gz
LXFDVD to your home directory, and
the powerful (but lumbering)
seems to be
bugfixes.
To
them
install
in
your
them.)
this
month
is
similar to previous releases,
some
such as support
big highlight of the
Desktop section
is
but version 2.0 fixes that.
K3b2.0.
big
new features,
for Blu-ray drives
and
a streamlined interface.
Other software
Internet apps,
O If
ver
in
the Internet section
we
can read Ada, C,
have the BitTorrent clients covered
in
files,
page 30 's Roundup.
you've already read our cover feature,
you may be keen to
find out
how the
and
is
C++ and Eiffel source of comments and
aware
blank lines -
it
calculates purely on
against the competition; so we've
(Integrated Development Environment)
included a development snapshot of
features.
the upcoming 4.0 release on the DVD.
for a
4,0bLtar.bz2 to your It's
It
supports syntax highlighting
wide range of languages, a multi-
pane layout and in-app compiler output
the dev-preview folder inside
into
Internet/Firefox and copy firefox-
viewing.
home directory.
Vixn,
a good idea to back up your Firefox
A more old-school
editor
is
which combines the “benefits of
Vf with GUI
home directory) to, for instance, .moz_ backup. Then extract the .tar.bz2 into
doesn't look
It
from the
Over
better, with Linux
Gamers
an excellent showcases 17 of
Live,
distro that
the finest free software
entertainment
your
titles.
Boot
PC from the LXFDVD
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explore.
Codemetre is an analysis
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suicide in Pingus.
your
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fish.
a panel containing
of
Neverballis reminiscent
Super Monkey Ball, where
you
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and
click to start.
having
on the
For
in
which you
control everyone’s favourite
how
much they differ in their source code.
some high-speed
Tux Racer, > Geany: all the
It
good features of an
IDE, without the bloat.
We like.
www.tuxradar.com
penguin, sliding
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manipulating the landscape with the mouse, while Foobillard is a
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different versions
roll
more
relaxed-
cue sports sim. Then there’s
Shutdown from the menu.
we
around an
launchers to the supplied
games - hover over for the
desktop and choose
that can
Save penguins from
>
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fun, right-click
have a bunch of tools for coders to
of a software project, describing
one
When you’re finished
HTML 5 capabilities.
in
DVD this
month, because we’ve gone
titles,
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is
the resulting directory and run
firefox.
Linux Gamers Live
and
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settings by copying .mozilla (in your
go
And there’s more!
proper source code.
On the editor front we have Geany, a svelte GTK2 editor with some basic IDE
next version of Firefox will stack up
Go
dev tools
a
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puzzler) variant in
on the
the form of
there’s
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something here
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for
try.
September 2010 LXF135
|lll
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On the disc The world’s most popular
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ot a netbook, laptop or low-
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Step by step: Ubuntu Netbook Edition
D Boot Boot your PC from the LXFDVD and select your language. Then you’ll reach this boot menu - just hit Enter to proceed.
112
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September 2010 LXF13 5
|3
LINUX
FORMAT
Contents which the sweat of our brows
In
is laid
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rWVSSm %y>v l
Reviews Home Accountz money
Organising your This at least
makes
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this
22 quite, quite dull.
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Eschalon Book We
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Cox from
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release Alex
his
try
Fi refox
vs Chrome Open source is >
Wow!
It’s like
a post-nuclear
the winner
Lord of the Rings but on Linux! ,
Q
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Eclipse 3.6
The most complicated IDE in the world gets even more features. What do we think?
25
WordPress 3
it a blog? Is a CMS? No, it’s WordPress\ Now with new theme goodness.
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WebM Google’s attempt to
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it
Stitch your photos together kill off
gets too big
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p60
The world’s most popular blogging
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26
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27
KOffice 2.2 Not the
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Talking heads
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NHS
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OO Programme
for IT
the largest civilian IT project ever
is > Krita, the image-editing app,
is
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the better parts of KDE’s office suite.
Nick Veitch, concerned taxpayer p6
4 LXF135 September 2010 1
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September 2010 LXF135
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THIS ISSUE: Red Hat » Google CLI » Mandriva » Cisco » Shiva 3D » Pendrivelinux
ENTERPRISE
Red Hat reveals
new cloud services Vendor continues to buck economic trends and
H
the company’s Cloud Business
become the
said that having
leading vendor of cloud computing infrastructure
and services software.
The Red Hat Cloud Foundations
lead the field
in
deployment,
it
demonstrated
unit, it
was time to put that new avenues for
experience into
is
we made
growth. “Just as
designed to help businesses create,
place to run mission-critical
deploy and manage private and public
applications with
clouds based on either ‘infrastructure
Linux, we’re focused
as a service' or ‘platform as a service'
cloud a safe place for enterprise applications,’’
pull
together elements from Red Hat’s
he
Linux a safe
Red Hat Enterprise on making the
said.
“Red Hat
is
at the
forefront of the industry with a broad
operating system, virtualisation and server
could
Linux development and
an entirely new family of products
models. The various packages
portfolio of enterprise cloud solutions,
management tools and
and
is
driving the expansion of the
new users, from developers to
middleware from JBoss, and then
cloud for
marry these to comprehensive
enterprises, with our
documentation, online resources and
offerings available today.”
expanded cloud
a forward-thinking
release
Certified for the future
was
move that would
To support the
enable customers to begin planning their strategies for
systems and
moving beyond
Hat
new product
also expanding
its
infrastructure builders.
range,
Certified
Provider Program to take
local
into the cloud. This
is
in
Red
be
vital.
It’s
partners
NTT Communications and
Through the programme, developers
more
networked future.
new
will
get
full
access to the
latest
Red Hat
disk images created with specific
performance and security optimisations
provide cross-platform certification on
will
last
IBM,
in
enterprise cloud developer Savvis.
looking forward to a
more
and so
interoperability
expanding now to take
The programme
was launched
June
Amazon's Web Services technology.
Foundations
Cloud
involves working across architectures,
in
> Cloud
is aimed at companies
training options.
The company said the
new product lineup.
Scott Crenshaw, vice president of
aving survived the recession with aplomb, Red Hat has
ambitions to
unveils
for cloud
computing, as well as new
updating services designed to allow for
year to
flexible
costs.
resource scaling with lower
Some
of the plans also include
flexible licencing that allows
Desktop and server virtualisation
users to
migrate existing server instances into the cloud infrastructure.
move
Red Hat has intergrated its desktop and server virtualisation
beyond
products with the release of
consolidation to a
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualisation
pervasive datacenter-wide
2.2.
The company said the
integration of desktop virtualisation
step
in
was an important
improving scalability
and security as more companies start to move away from local installation
and towards
networked solutions.
“As enterprises look to initial
server
more
the solution expands
its
at Savvis, said the
desktop
certification
virtualisation
are looking to us to provide leading scalability and
virtualisation adoption.”
economics,” said Navin Thadani,
The software is certified for Red Hat and Microsoft systems, including Windows 7, and features desktop deployment and management tools.
senior director, virtualisation
business at Red Hat. "Already experiencing traction with server and cloud deployments,
immediate impact on the cloud
computing
industry,
and would
1
www.linuxfonnat.com
give
more businesses access to this new way of working. "Expanding our relationship with
Red Hat
Certified
Red Hat to become a Cloud Provider adds
value to our Savvis of
managed cloud
Symphony
services,
tailored for the enterprise,"
6 LXF135 September 2010
officer
new software and programme would have an
today with the delivery of our
management capabilities to help more customers to break down the barriers to
virtualisation strategy, they
Bryan Doerr, chief technology
reach
portfolio
which are he
said.
Newsdesk SEARCH
Newsbytes
Command line
»
The Eeebuntu
distro,
aimed
netbook users, has put
name behind now called Aurora.
copyright-baiting
and
is
at
its it
control for Google Search giant ups geek cred with CLI app control. or over a
F
Aurera
decade now, the web
has sat atop the internet spoiling users with pretty graphics
its
»
and simple buttons and widgets. Well, finally
Google has seen sense and
away this
stripped
cloud platform based on a
combination of
modern
Ubuntu and
Dell
hardware,
KVM virtualisation.
and given proper users the
interface
command (sort of)
hip,
The Planet has launched a new
line
»
search tools they have
demanded.
The new
series of
command
Debian Lenny has been
updated to version
Eclipse integrated
line
environment
tools for Google services works with a
5.0.5.
The
development
no longer included.
is
Users of Unreal I RCd server
including YouTube, Picasa, Blogger,
»
Google Docs and Calendar.
hackers access to their systems.
small set of
web applications at
available as a (either is
Deb
present
It’s
downloadable package
or Tar) and, as
is
only
fitting,
available only for Linux. This hasn’t,
for
Windows
version from the
Python core.
> The first time you run a service you’ll need to
[email protected]”
The package depends on Python
however, prevented one user from building a
example, would use the following:
google contacts add “Bob R. Todd,
or 2.6 and gdata
>= 1.2.4.
2.5
Installation
instructions are available at http://
The syntax looks fairly familiar. Adding a new contact to your account,
may have
inadvertantly given
The Unreal3.2.8.1.tar.gz
file
on the
UnrealIRCd website had been replaced with a version containing a
anyone
authenticate
backdoor
through your normal browser.
noticing (this version has since
exploit without
been taken down).
code.google.com/p/googlecl/wiki/
software
System Requirements
protection.
In future,
PGP A fix can be found at
will
be signed with
http://fbrams.unrealircd.com/ viewtopic.php?t= 6562.
DISTRIBUTIONS
»
What’s happening to Mandriva?
it
F
Mandriva has been saved from
that recently tried
bankruptcy by the timely
to
intervention of
its
CEO Arnaud
is
API.
for
> Mandriva’s
52% of Linux sales, is
community
its
model
commercial and
Laprevote said that confidentiality
agreements prevented him naming the investors
who had chipped
in to
save
edit
may
a Fedora-like community development testing model.
In
2003, Mandriva
French
legal
protection
filed for
the
equivalent of bankruptcy
agreement with the courts to repay
speculation that Linagora, an open
creditors over a nine-year period.
v
'
1
777.
prove too
expensive for a
company with very
little
money.
»
The SCO vs
Novell case has
been resolved, with the judge
deciding that Novell
owned the
copyrights to Unix and that
and was saved by an
the company, but there has been
lew' Jis
packaging
focus on Red Hat-like subscriptions and
and
obligations.
to involve ditching the
good-looking
boxed
likely
software method of distribution and
find a business
and
DWG files.
plan to
healthy, but Laprevote has apparently
satisfy both
a free version available
reinvigorate the
convinced
will
OS X, with
buy Mandriva,
company, which 10 years ago
company can
coming to
new professional 2D CAD package, is Linux, Windows and Mac
DraftSight, a
grade
industry-standard
accounted
that
MPEG-
The card can handle 16 video
that can read, write
Mandriva community that the
that the
multi-input
first
and 16 ALSA audio streams.
company's finances weren't looking
jittery investors
the
involved.
The
Laprevote. Over recent months,
speculation has grown within the
is
written around the Linux kernel's
»
source specialist
Bluecherry has released what
says
4 hardware compression GPL driver
French distro maker pulls out of bankruptcy spiral at last minute. rench distribution vendor
Video security specialist
its
www.tuxradar.com
had
failed to license
them
SCO
correctly.
September 2010 LXF135
|7
Newsdesk TABLET COMPUTING
Comment
No escaping work New tablet aims to keep you in touch with the office.
Michael
N
Meeks
wherever you go.
etworking specialist Cisco
network hardware market with
PC running Android.
focused tablet
The Cisco Cius
rm
support and a
C/utter-animated goodness, but
built
on the
very latest technologies. This release debuts Evolution Express and a rewritten, beautiful
Banshee-based media player with integrated playback panel. With new ways of interacting with devices, social networking, and messaging
provides an increasingly polished, fast-
booting experience even on cheap hardware.
Another big improvement
this
is
a touchscreen
device with both Wi-Fi and
not only slathered with attractive graphics and
month came
OpenSUSE build service (OBS). It’s used by projects like MeeGo and OpenSUSE for building distributions, by
is
markedly faster, and better
at
client
The Cius has a front-facing camera supporting 720p video streaming and Cisco’s
own Telepresence software.
On the
back, a second
camera
with noise-cancelling microphones.
>
The Cius will dock
providing
how
offers
5MP stills and VGA streaming along
some
into a station
desktop-like functionality.
healthcare professionals advance
patient care;
how
retailers deliver
service experiences to consumers, or It
how
universities deliver world-class
will
come with a docking station, which has USB and DisplayPort connections
education to their students."
and a telephone handset.
openness
of the platform, with a
area of
Development Network set
Tony Bates, senior vice president
and general manager,
enterprise,
The company
its
is
Android developers
how the network is changing the way we live, work, learn
target the device.
and
early 2011
play.
epitomises
This platform can transform
stressing the
new
aside for aspiring and experienced
commercial and small business, Cisco
The Cius
is
and
who want to
expected to go on sale will
in
cost “under $1,000”.
DEVELOPMENT
Shiva
people are packaging for various distributions at http://build.opensuse.org. Naturally, the
3G
desktop
stay connected.
said, "This
companies such as Dell for packaging tools and by various open source projects. The new release brought an improved Web Ul, with better tools for collaborating and merging changes. Perhaps best of all, it also removed the need to authenticate before you could browse, making it far easier to see the goodies
virtual
to enable workers to
with the 2.0 release of
2.0 version
is
pushing further into the non-
i
1.0
Netbook was released -
it
.
the announcement of a business-
This month,
MeeGo
.
3D goes further
Development engine get support for Wii, iPad, Android and WebOS, and a new community site.
using your cluster for shorter build times.
One
of the lesser-known distributions
targets
is
Windows,
it
via cross-compilation
from Linux (of course). My friend Fridrich Strba spent his hack week polishing and packaging Evolution for Windows.
The
slickness of
compiling the Linux way, from pristine source in
the build-service,
is
a huge contrast to the
sad way many commercial Windows apps are created. Often they use a manual, IDE-based
process to build a source tree packed with binary 32-bit
DLLs
of
dubious
tens of libraries pasted
in.
origin, with
Transposing the
granular Linux model to windows, under the watchful eye of the build service, yields a great result:
be
well-maintained
built
Windows apps should
S
is
new
community website to
pull
platforms with its 3D game engine. The company has also added support for new platforms including the Wii,
Android and iPad to
its
already
The company said the growth in platform support was matched by the growth in extensive support package.
its
developer network and that a
community site would help its 22,000 active developers to work and collaborate
CEO
in
Phillip
more
interesting ways.
Belhassen said
it
a pseudo-engineer, semi-colon lover,
and amateur pundit.
was
important to tap into the passion of the
8 LXF135 September 2010
about the power and ease-of-
use of the platform, as well as our single licence program,
we know that we need
www.linuxformat.com
to also have the best resources tools outside of Shiva
developer network. “As more people
on Linux.
Novell OpenOffice.org hacker
3D, has launched a
together developers working across
find out > Michael
toneTrip, the developer of ShiVa
community,” he will
serve to
said.
fulfill
the engine and
and
3D for the
“The new
that need as
site
we grow
show the world what
Shiva can do.”
The package includes a complete SDK, physics engine, a oceans
editor,
terrain
and
path finding and a
graphics engine that can be tailored to the supported devices.
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Newsdesk DESKTOP
Comment
Build your own flash drive distro
^
David Cartwright I
Promiscuous computer users can take their environment wherever they go...
P
had a rather
strange
experience
can create
giving users
distro,
live
a
via
has a new tool that
distributions
from a
wide range of Linux distros with very
support team of a large router manufacturer
ends with
recently (clue: starts with C,
little
effort.
The small Windows package, which
isco).
Manager phone systems in two of the offices look after, and both had the same issue - namely that their clocks were drifting further and further from reality. This puzzled me rather - not least because have Cisco
which has
in
access to their desktop
USB-based
with the tech
I
endrivelinux,
specialised
Call
is
available
from www.pendrivelinux.
com, can create a USB bootable
drive
I
all
I
had to do was stop and restart the
client services
into line,
wasn’t a problem contacting the
We contacted Cisco tech it
so
NTP server.
NTP server (yes,
long and hard, and told us that
it
really
is
a proper
NTP
Windows box not that nasty nearly-NTP protocol Windows uses natively). This was a bit of a puzzler,
server application running on a
because our setups were certified engineering
built
by a
Ubuntu 10.04 netbook
iterations
on
if
will
live
of using
distribution
its
server.
I
mentioned the story to the instructor
and he was incredulous. Of course a Windows server
is fine,
he agreed, since
NTP. think he found I
So here
I
sit,
it
NTP
is
NTP
rather amusing, actually.
wondering to myself how
going to get these phone systems back
I’m
server or proxy features, or
I’d
use those. So
doesn’t run Windows. look...
I
pair of
RHEL 5.0
network management/monitoring boxes data centres. They’ll do
> David
is
an
IT
in
The
office suites,
integrated development environments.
consortium of hardware vendors
the Nintendo Wii
working within the
embedded
which gives
users access to on-demand TV, targetting the higher
end
of the
UK be
will
market
due to the fast processor required to decode the stream. The other bad news is that you’ll need to be running Android
mercy
2.2,
and so may be
of your
Intel,
ARM
a
ecosystem
has banded together to create a new
has launched
service,
on the Samsung,
distribution focused
platform. Freescale, IBM,
ST-Ericsson and Texas Instruments are
all
involved
dubbed
in
the non-profit project,
Linaro.
> Bosch Multimedia has a history of
designing Linux-based products for
at the
handset or service
>
In
the
use
in
the driving seat, but has decided
to partner with
week that Apple released
Monta Vista
its
to improve
iPhone
4,
Google announced that
my
Michael Bolle, senior vice president of the Business Unit Automotive Navigation and Infotainment Systems
it
has sailed past 160,000 activations
at Bosch, said MontaVista
per week. Developers were told to
because
in
potential
users towards the end of the year Intel
releases
its
when
port of the mobile
x86 architecture, making more attractive to netbook and smartbook builders.
consultant with a penchant for
LXF135 September 2010
on
web servers and
> Not to be outdone by
iPlayer service for the Android
cross-platform integration, ICT and proper beer.
10
browsers,
from releases on
BBC
for the
nicely.
web
> Following on
expect a further explosion
seem to have a
of tools usable
Packages available include
itself.
much-touted (and right-hand biased)
going to have to dig up something that
Oh
any computer they come across.
time to market on new products.
sync.
in
USB
easier for users to carry
around a collection
ability to
provider to dish out an update.
my network switches don’t have NTP
Sadly
I’m
is
is
Embedded Linux news
platform.
I
it
USB over a
Pendrivelinux site also offers a massive
and iPhone, the
Then last week, went on a training course, and we got to the bit about setting up the time
making
the
For those less adventurous, the
I
a perfectly acceptable platform
is
make changes to the system
do the work. checked with them and they confirmed that NTP is NTP is
of supported distributions
Windows, which can be run from a drive,
The advantage
fully-
according to Cisco’s guidelines.
list
range of software for Linux and
USB
necessary.
CD/DVD
The
long and appears to grow every week.
even download the
partner supplier - so they were perfectly
Windows
>
hard disk data destroyer.
The package drive
gOS,
such as Plop Linux or
team working for a Cisco
qualified to
and
there, or
more specialised rescue
DBAN
the
latest version of
32-, 64-bit
in
required ISO and format your
support. They
was that we were using a Windows
the problem
you want to have the
distributions
clearly
it
with just about anything, whether
or even
on the Cisco boxes and they
would come straight back
thought about
NTP
built
www.linuxformat.com
it
OS
of
its
was chosen
extensive knowledge of
the Linux platform. "For over ten years,
MontaVista has been a pioneer
embedded
the
in
software market with
its
Linux products, support offerings, and ability to deliver
he
said.
complete
solutions,”
Newsdesk
Comment
Hitting the mirrors What’s behind the free software sofa?
MEDIA PLAYER W_C is
most
surely the
useful video
Nick Veitch
playback software on any operating system, so a new version
is
always
worth checking out. VLCl.l ups the
As was
ante by including hardware
waiting
I
acceleration of video streams,
improving performance and
for reducing the drag on other parts of
with large
acceleration of H.264 formats on
and ATI under Linux as
>
well
VLC 1.1 should make much
less of
an impact on system performance.
Excellent
you’ve had problems
if
amounts
my body literally RF waves
of
in
electromagnet (MRI scanners are
lit
up
a giant cool),
I
couldn’t help but overhear a few of the staff
as the usual array of bugfixes. videos on your laptop. Get
1080p Lady Gaga
playing the latest
my
my
appointment to have
your computer. The software features
Nvidia
in
local hospital
it
from
www.videolan.org.
bickering about technical difficulties. Not with
the scanner, thankfully, but something to do with transferring records from one system to
another and forwarding them to
DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT For
some
users, the
has been a traumatic and potentially ill-advised adventure.
Timothy
Pearson was one such person who, with an eye to the strengths of
source, has taken revive
it
open
upon himself to
KDE 3 and make
it
it
largest non-military IT project ever. Started
usable on
You can download the new, old version as a Lucid (10.04) Kubuntu >
Step back
KDE 3.5 on
in
time and upgrade to
Lucid Lynx.
org/Kubuntu/Kde3/Lucid
first
don’t work, and
how come
several of the
original contractors, including Fujitsu,
walked away from the
IMAGE EDITING
could have been funded for 10 years to do the job.
create incredibly complex layered r
things for
New features
like
Layer Groups, support
window management and
of fifths’ crop guide of
and a
collection
>
Gimp 2.7.1 offers a future with
better layer
management.
JAVA WEB SERVER The Apache Software Foundation has released version 7 of the Java
web
server Tomcat.
support
It
features
for Java Servlet 3.0,
Pages (JSP)
2.2,
JavaServer
and Expression
Language (EL) 2.2
new
full
specifications.
release should be
more
it
parts of
new ‘rule
grungy brushes.
fair,
it
isn’t
seems that
that the software
is
just
what the users want or need. The new UK government had said that the project was to be scrapped buggy,
Photoshop CS4 keybindings,
better
To be
A
V?
include big
small changes such as the
have
project. At the current
projected cost of £13 billion, you have to start wondering how many open source coders
Gimp 2.7.1 has been released with a raft of new features to appeal to both Photoshop users and those who artwork.
in
components were due in 2004. When the project was last re-assessed, the deadline was shifted to 2014... There are loads of reasons why various bits 2002, the
the latest generation of computers.
release at https://wiki.kubuntu.
some outside
happens all the time, but it did make one wonder about the billions of pounds that seem to be spent cyclically on inventing new software infrastructures for the NHS. The NHS National Programme for IT is the sure
clinic. I’m
move to KDE 4.x
The
it
it
at least are
isn’t really
expected to go, although
gone quiet on the future of the project for the moment. One can’t help but think that a more open, consensual and peer-reviewed approach would have been sensible. The NHS isn’t a corporation, and its needs (and ours!) reflect that. And at the very least, if open source methods had been used, it would have been a lot easier to fix it - rather like my elbow, hope - than chuck it all away and try things have
I
to start again.
reliable
Tomcat is seeing
with a better user experience and
>
improved performance.
update
in
its first
major
four years.
> Nick
is
the peg-legged ex-captain of the good
ship LXF,
www.tuxradar.com
who now dwells
in his
shed.
September 2010 LXF135
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Linux user groups
United Linux! Meet up with like-minded open source fans - both
below)
is
a
local
but
Join the
group of Linux users or Unix geeks,
Stowell’s note
group meetings, even
on Supercollider (see
if
that’s not every
month.
even need to be Linux-specific. Supercollider example, because
one
it’s
T
for
uninitiated. Yet
someone
with a
little
all
it
all
It
London
doesn’t
held
a perfect
holds together.
of
hurdle that often confuses people and stops
all
Brain share is
why some
make a great if
in
any one
subject could be shared across other groups
A Supercollider devotee could
in
astounded audience.
drum up support for some of these disparate
and technical subjects, and might even regular group meeting of online,
some
sort.
If
make a
difference to them. His
first
day-long
matters to you more than creating It
will
certainly
to
capture.
be very interesting to
Tim
how people have responded
O'Reilly's call to
arms.
www.ukuug.org
a
an enigma
in
in line-noise,”
which sounds
a brave promise to us.
Damian
like
money and
hear the results of what people have
that, “by lunch time, Perl’s
no longer seem
principles
more value than you
promises
will
people to start working on
projects that genuinely
done, and
will
In
the
delve into
some
complex stuff, including code
regex recursion and backtracking control.
It
sounds
like
if
you enter this
session a beginner, you’ll be sure to
flourish into a
these events were
leave as an expert.
A month
you could even get people travelling to
go and learn something they’re interested
Perl. Levelled at
his
with
in.
[email protected]
later,
the
UKUUG
Open Tech 2010. This
informal, low-cost,
is
is
hosting
an
If you’re in London between August and September, visit the UKUUG.
>
one-day conference
Community News Herefordshire shines If
you’re
in
the Hereford area of
Vim): testing
the GUI tools to
and documenting
make sure they
Stowell
work as expected - even
check out the Herefordshire
letter
were coded by a Mac user!
some great
saw the “Help wanted” in LXF133 and dropped us
a line to
let
us know that the
things for the community, such
Supercollider user group could
as the supply of low-cost PCs to
always do with a hand.
local
community groups
through the Community
“Supercollider, the First
programme. Monthly meetings are held on the third of
each month
in
Wednesday
a cafe near the
centre of Hereford, where there’s free Wi-Fi
and parking.
http://bit.ly/cOmKd
14
Super Colliders wanted Ardent Supercollider user Dan
the UK, then you really should
LUG. They’re doing
LXF135 September 2010
awesome
sound synthesis language (see our tutorial
in
LXF128),
users.
Some things that
Some more ambitious on the
wiki
page
if
they
ideas are
for the (sadly
unapproved) Google summer-
ft
of-code Supercollider
S up.rCallldnr
i.
now
Supercollider
Is
10 years
submission: http://tinyurl.
LXFers
Emacs/
more
well melntnlned srte Tor Supercollider can
. Prnn
be Found «t
program.
c'dl
Downloads
com/gsoc-sc3. We recommend
is
always looking for help from
could do: improve the
a
embedding, user-defined assertions,
would
certainly help
It
about
last year, for
is
O’Reilly's plea, early
include working on something that
his
should have a broad appeal.
seriously
audio track, for example, while an Arduino lover could build front of the
it’s
programmers,
afternoon,
create a simple interactive
in
being
who
“work on things that matter." This
Expressions (properly)’, Damian
like
your area.
a robot gerbil
first is
hosted by the
is
Mr Damian Conway, and as
wrapped
regular event for
the expertise
summer. The
mystery wrapped
kind of organised, synchronised,
your user group, especially
announced
Perl
regexes
beginner sessions might
this
in
Entitled ‘Understanding Regular
taking
their interest further.
Which
response to Tim
mid-August and
tutorial
initial
them
hosting two excellent events
involvement
an
that
It’s
that promises talks by people
you might have guessed by
takes to
it
in
he UKUUG, the UK’s Unix and Open Systems User Groups, is
fantastic
experience to
spend 10-20 minutes explaining the basics and how
is
own
its
of those technologies that
appears to be magic to the is
UKUUG for some late summer learning.
doesn’t need to be this way. Dan
it
source software that’s deep enough to warrant
application
internationally.
e normally think of user groups containing
a reminder that there's a great deal of open
break this spell
and
Waterloo Sun
Specialist subjects
W
locally
• Wesleyan nljhtly tu ids of SuperColldtr Sesvtr lor MbiOS X * PwanlMd SxerColdcr Ser-er ry rariB X from. Sfj-cefof pc
.
anyone who’s interested to join the ‘sc-users’ mailing
list
and
discuss.” For further information,
>
Vim/Gedit integration (eg
point your browser
can’t play an instrument,
sending messages to and from
http://bit.ly/bzmwhP
www.linuxformat.com
at:
If
you want to create music, but
Supercollider might be the answer.
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Write to Paul at Linux Format Future Publishing,
ID
Many of software
I’ve
been a subscriber for some
30 Monmouth
BA1
Street, Bath
2BW or [email protected]
month!
Letter of the
time and a constant Linux user for over
two years. use XP
for
I
Netbook jeeps
my work as a software developer in
a laboratory, but never at
home. have a dual -boot system I
with
XP because my daughter
loves iTunes but she ,
is
n 2007, the Asus Eee
quite
my Linux-based XPC downstairs. also have an old Samsung 6000 laptop with 256k memory that
I
happy to use Shuttle
I
PC
seems to have happened
netbooks recently. They have
up notes,
it
was a
drifted
solid-state hard drive instead
looking for replacement
straightforward, reasonably
One such complaint is no decent web
design software. As
it
happens,
it
of
priced and excellent at what it was designed for. I’ve used an Asus EeePC for
‘all’
price
in
because they
basic jeep
blow to the
is
original concept.
speed and
functionality.
all,
in
Windows has, by upped the price
Paul says: Thanks for your email,
support for debugging PHP.
Richard.
NetBeans also ‘keeps out of the way’ with HTML, unlike Bluefish
Hopefully you can, at
some
the future, do a Roundup
of web design software, as
would
like
I
to hear your views on
We last ran a Roundup of
whistles, the
their bells
netbook
is
now,
ED Mint, please! Linux Mint
is
is all
when
a
you want and
you need!
Mike Reed Paul says: You’re absolutely Mike:
right,
come on, netbook
makers - get back to your roots as soon as you can and put Linux to
work as the fast,
operating system
domain
becoming very
light
it is!
your magazine devoted more
the topic -
time to
it’s
hardly a fast-moving
area of development! Rest assured that
we will do another one
future.
in
the
We do occasionally run
standalone reviews when there’s a
the subject.
significant release,
Richard Austin, Barnsley
Bluefish 2.0
in
such as
LXF132.
popular, so
it
high time that
it’s
including adding
it
similar to
Windows ones,
but using only Linux.
web editors in LXF115, so think maybe it’s a bit too soon to revisit I
I
might add.
in
and
all
and have
conditioning and a sat nav,
my
humble opinion, has to be the NetBeans IDE because of its
point
The use
of Microsoft
the screen, so
the best of them
to
VW Golf, which
pretty
but there are times
all
little
the price but a great deal to the
Plus for general work. However,
been looking
a dreadful
Linux contributed very
necessity,
I’ve
into a
or another. This
dramatically. With
use Bluefish
seems that the
may be very air
several years but found that
I
It
known chain of PC stores) now supporting Windows in one sort
the drawback was the size of
is!
brilliant.
(according to a well-
sometimes but prefer Quanta
yes there
original
netbook
software for Windows
that there
original
are
was the jeep the laptop world - simple,
is
shame as the
a
jumped
Linux operating system and a
equivalents.
is
concept for the netbook was
its
and so on. The reason
of a hard disk
This
to
more
expensive laptop. With
my letter is
and purposes, a
makers are trying to turn the
no
frills
for
intents
all
spec of low-price simplicity and
low-cost,
alternative to the
something
away from the
to
laptop - albeit a small one.
Designed as a useful tool
and allowing the user to type
often read of people
with a slightly larger
for surfing the internet
Apache/PH P/ MySQL/ Firefox
I
it
version. However,
quite happily runs Lubuntu/
that
to replace
appeared on the market.
to
I
have played around with a
few mail servers: Axigen,
Communigate, Exchange Scalix ,
your DVD.
and Zimbra are probably the
Tom
best-known ones. have only just
Prendergast, England.
Paul says: We already included Mint on LXF134, LXF129,
LXF121
I
become aware of Zara fa so will probably give
and others before that. What more
There’s so
do you want?
some
it
a bash one day.
much
pretty cool
out there, and
VMware
appliances around too.
AD replacements
E I
just read
about the idea of
Best regards, Peter McCrackan Paul says: think this I
is
that warrants
Exchange/Active Directory
investigation, although
replacements
in
as you can
your July only just into
edition. Errr,
it’s
June here
‘down under’ you
in
an area
some serious
running articles about
maybe you guys don’t June and just ignore it,
know... like
slipping straight through the
summer into July? I
work
in
a Windows shop and
that’s cool; I’m
happy with
that.
But at home I’m a Linux guy and often
16
1
LXF135 September 2010
wonder about setting up a
www.linuxformat.com
> Mint:
better as a distro or as a
sauce? You decide!
Mailserver
imagine test
all
it
such as NetBSD and Haiku OS. We
takes quite a while to
of thoroughness.
I'll
see
if
which you can try all sorts of
can find
I
THREE DISTROS AND SOFTWARE GALORE
have multi-booting discs from
the options with any degree
someone up to the job! As for the dates, magazines are on their own special time zone. Happy Xmas!
distros
from a single boot menu.
ubunl
We have software for Gnome, KDE, developers, syadmins... We have
Same old DVD
I
think that the three
magazine PDFs and more.
most
distros,
If
Edition
1004
23
10.04
quad-booting discs, (j
the
UK can do better than
esoteric projects are
duplicating the contents of each other’s cover disks.
less of the
it
is
ED I
today. Please
Keep
Vatlator
never be list!
it
secret PLUS: KOffice
is
live in
Ubuntu-based operating system using
And much more
a simple
Gnome as its window
I’ll
manager, with the only goal to
say
again:
it
if
internet privacy,
you're a big fan of
up the
you should use
up the app, connected the debugger and said: “There you go, now step through it and
build environment, fired
Mike says: Sameness?
I've just
supply an installable
coverdiscs
Tor active by default for
hide.
anonymous web browsing. Just
idea that only criminals need to
make sense of it.” Sometimes
browse anonymously.
they even managed to find and
last five
(130-134). They have included 23
run the
We've
live cd,
live
cd with
connect to the
Tor even
if
you have nothing to
We need to strip away the
and
given space to such distros as
internet, start Fi refox
Vector, Slitaz, Absolute,
without setting anything up
ED What’s up, docs?
you’re free from censorship!
Regarding Dr Brown’s
CrunchBang and all
Unity.
We explore
sorts of lesser- known projects
Paul says:
I’ve
said
it
before,
fix
and
That always worked, and
about how to set a good
think the
same way. want to
example (LXF133); as somebody
contribute,
who
but
is
comment
a big Linux and open
who
is (I’d like
community must sadly agree with Dr Brown - the open source community does not prioritise
free software documentation.
,
I
think
it
community because
all
it
is)
2010
me (for money, that
we always
let
i I
(
I
Enter
La
o nc
h
I
the ‘new guy’
get
touch with the author
in
and
offer to help,
helping
fix
errors
translating into
become a The
(IVIJJ
Digital
languages.
fields
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17 Sept 10
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new
documentation, or perhaps even
We helped him or her set
to
is
of a project
documentation such as examples,
of simple
now
documentation. All you have to
entrepreneur of the year
ENTREPRENEUR
UJ
ropes.
it in bold: anyone can help write free software
going to write
that can be by writing
problems to start learning the
the principle!
mm M
n n U U
I’ve
In
so important that I’m
fact, that’s
do
the years of coding
debug a couple It’s
me a clean
Paul says: Anyone can help write
got behind
have anything to hide.
skills,
amount
something back to the
In
you don’t
only have a limited
start
limits contribution.
if
got the
with a willingness to give
hurts our
use Tor- yes, even
I’ve
and good documentation. Regards JarlOstensen
documentation, and
online,
I
I
and
of patience. Just give
to
competent coder
I
you value your privacy
I
OS community could
source fan, and
> If
the bug!
wish the
think) a fairly
i
tutorials
counted up the
different distros to try out.
I
4 snapshot,
2.2, Fi refox
- see index.html for f (til software descriptions
>
documentation, anything but
It is
.
We try to get a good balance of content on our DVDs, but we’re not telepathic: if there’s something you want to see, let us know.
countries with
censorship.
sameness.
,
thought up for people
the-way software,
Chris O’Grady
I
- the
“sameness” will
present to you Vatlator!
who
same, more out-of-
this stifling
light
more
quantity of software (and distros) than
I
on your Christmas card
the variety and
in
maybe
to you, then
LXF
coverdiscs used to be far
wide-ranging
and
Ultra fast uit
perfect Linux flavour for mini laptops and older PCs
masses of software, podcasts and
widely available Linux magazines in
i3
Netbpok#
Editior
podcasts, newbie guides,
ED
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ak
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Green Entrepreneurs Historic Futures
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Proudly sponsored by
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Becta what?
down under
Linux
On Tech Radar today the
In
which we chronicle the efforts to get LXF to - and cheap! - as possible.
Australia as fast
“Government claims closing
D Subscribe!
Becta saves £10m" story caught
my interest. As this will remove
In
the central control from schools
been
and
of Linux
local authorities
could
it
recent
occasion the magazine arrived
months there have about the price
letters
newsstand
Format in Australia
and the two-month delay
offer openings for the increased
two days before
in
was due on
it
the UK!
in
With performance
like I
use of Linux and open sources
arrival. Yes,
within education. Could you
frustrated by those aspects
Keep up the good work.
possibly look at this and perhaps
as well as the magazine’s
Jeff Shrowder
what benefits Linux can
rather spotty availability
assist those
in
that the
For
me
it
I
did the sums.
was a
no-brainer:
subscribe.
Ian McNicol
recognise that there are
Paul says: I
It's
out of our remit. bigger,
those for
a very interesting
think
it’s
perhaps a
Some of the
we ran in yesteryear didn’t prove of much interest to our
stories
whom such an
titled
in
not easy.
its
the boxout
I
Last year
my subs cost me
a letter to the
less than
AU$15.40 each
just don’t get
it.
been receiving the
my
my costs will
mag
Europe.
who do
not reside
my letterbox to collect
(currently)
and pay
issue.
charges to do
miles
in
I
can get
it
from
their
greater.
So may Tux smile
upon
who need
all
to be
to savings and
increase their enjoyment of a
my
as
UK
great
locals
,
“Buttons right or wrong”
on the Distrowatch pages of LXF134. A closer inspection revealed that the sizes of
some
of the coloured sectors of the
chart bear no relation to the
percentages reported
in
the
legend. For example the
This chart
It is a past its sellby date and has gone to be recycled into a scattergraph.
>
is
useless chart.
useless. It’s
sector (dark blue)
is
‘I
hate
it’
way over
19%
is
boxes.
supposed to represent
be around
‘I
don’t use Ubuntu’
represent
me to
20% of the area of
the chart but
time
Er...
that's
about
the
all
excuse can give - sorry! I
is
supposed to
I
have read your magazine for
tutorials
1% of respondents!
somebody forget how
ID Hitting the links about two years. With many have tried
I
magazine,
installing
Rob McCallum,
installing a
Paul says: The problem here
a
where we spend our time
deciding which kind of chart
www.linuxformat.com
have
in
your
come across a
Arch for the
it
was
first
new program,
time,
or
trying to helpfully hack the is
cunning disconnect between editorial,
I
hurdle or two, whether
pie
charts are supposed to work?
Northamptonshire
LXF135 September 2010
their
of respondents. Even
sector (light blue) looks to
Did
where they spend
choosing colours and shading
chart but, according to the legend,
conveys the information best, and art,
25% of the total area of the
worse, the
18
those
mag right on time. Jan Boers Cookernup, newsagents. Western Australia
also get
mag almost as soon
all
my savings are even
shown the path
it
less than newsagent’s so.
shoes not
worn out walking
month and do have to walk as far as
be even lower.
to this the time saved,
petrol not used,
not
many
my copy every
get
I
Add is
exchange
rate looks to be even better so
about either the cost or delay of getting the best Linux
others also
letterbox at
issue. This year the
All
the time Aussies complaining
only voiced by us but
AU$13.50 per The current issue, ‘on sale 24 June’ arrived yesterday, the 27th. On one
right
and
editor
is
2!
around. But this complaint
current issue just days after the ‘on sale’ date -
E Chips or mash?
associated legend
is
month there
real time-
Most every
it!
Subscribing has meant that
delivered to
with that pie chart and
I
just don’t get
for the last several years I’ve
afraid.
Something wasn’t quite
saying that,
up-front outlay
little
government-focused
wider readership, I'm
In
I
Stereotypes are a
saver for us.
D Subscribe
Eventually
use of Linux should be greater.
story, but
in
newsagents.
in
education and
who feel
took out a two-year renewal.
> offer.
This could prove beneficial
saving costs
used to be
I
that
wonder that recently
it’s little
kernel
and submit corrections.
With these hurdles, the various authors always assume that their set of instructions/tips/
Mailserver
r workarounds and so on are the
industry standard that
only hurdles people
thousands of organisations
This brings suggestion.
add a
me to my
the end of each
and the
tutorial
around the world
think you should
I
link to
will face.
website?) and read more
more hurdles
information, about
may not have
that the authors
had space to explain and add
magazine
into the
article.
other magazines do
but
this,
I
don’t think you should feel like you are copying. This would be
more
like
can
I
borrowing, such as
you that
tell
B
Joseph Really great place to you should check it out!
many
I
just as well
today as
is
one
was designed.
few standards
it
when
did
offending article and
your authors’ input would be
was me, that
I’ll
have the
dawn! Unless
0 More from Mail
Virginia
Regarding LXF133 and Craig
we
Paul says: The problems describe and help
fix in
Bartlett's letter,
There
the
magazine are genuinely the ones that
we feel
users are most
to encounter. Obviously
likely
we can’t
cover every scenario, but you’re right in saying link to
we could do more to
resources online.
get this changed
in
I’ll
try to
is
Gentoo, though
as pure as the
A sysadmin replies
First off,
congratulations on a
superb publication. surprised at the
I
am
always
amount of
Porthole.
read
it
in
I
is
out there.
In
the case of
other things that
among
is still in
is
an
it
does seem
not avoiding
it
some evil because we don’t
for
the
reason, but just
in
have enough confidence that
back.
I
anything
a
in
of flux right now. We're
“just
words on paper”. Wind on
to the real world in
Android
iPhone
is
in
2010 and
catching up with
the
US
having
left
Windows Mobile dead in the water. Chrome is coming up fast
we write would add Gentoo
on the inside and Google
community and/or
help people do
dropping Windows from
someone will no
something more meaningful with
56k
This
all
real
dial-up
computer
has gone very
(in spite
of only using a
modem) was the
all
the distros
I've
Linux.
an
If
you have a good idea
article, let
for
me know!
desktops with
all
is
its
the
implications that has
on the
general public.
0 Soothsayer Steve
Affordable and
more able
competitors to the iPad run
my father, who
used to connect since Ubuntu
Linux Format January 2008’s
Linux. Even
Studio
Newsdesk had a story called
uses
“Google mobile ambitions”,
becoming cool. I’m not looking for “The Year of Linux” I’m hoping for “The Era of Linux” LL Owen
7.10.
Paul says:
course
magazine, but
huge state
Toorox since then and for
prime time.
development. LDAP
I
substantially to the
John Sherman
Please... of
like
some time
development and not ready for
it’s in
it
have installed and been running
easiest of
LDAP
as
Linux Format, although it
Android on mobile phones proves that Linux works just about anywhere you need it - and looks great, too!
>
not exactly
real thing
you have avoided
well.
LXF133, one of your correspondents claimed
it’s
install
know this because
background
misinformation about Linux there
way to
uses the Gentoo ports tree via
Distrowatch
E
“Gentoo Please
a simple
plague since a mention
future!
it
is.
Randy Cayea Haymarket, ,
it
me know the
Let
writer executed at
valuable to the readers.
a
agree with you:
I
of the
have the forums, but believe I
much
article you're referring to.
on solving the problem
Constitution. Yes, you
as
it is
down exactly
can’t really track
that keeps
US
fire is
an art - it's more cooking with a gas more nuanced than cooking
grill,
or James Madison borrowing
the
wood sport a 5
George McKeown, Montrea/
LDAP
to
Over Wood as
a Sweaty, Smoky Sport Grilling over a
Paul says: Without more specifics
Suffice to say,
Mason
eat,
instinctive than
ideas from John Locke to write
of Rights to
Grilling
IT projects,
and has nothing to do with Linux or Windows.
the Declaration of Independence
Bill
56 mfris
been the
investigation has
which
help prepare a
Jennifer I'm ok
A,
conclusions on a superficial
Thomas Jefferson borrowing
ideas from George
N
management about any project when you base your convincing
downfall of so
know
I
(
*
L
management for over 20
years,
readers can go to (maybe your
many
in
O
in
different flavours. After being in IT
where
like,
used
is
I
really
want to give
Gentoo more coverage
in
the
which Microsoft
in
CEO Steve
Ballmer described the project as
it.
is 81,
Slowly but surely Linux
is
Paul says: definitely agree that I
if
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in
at
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0
making
predictions, but
I
wouldn't count Microsoft out just
SoAE rtitCoSoPT C.OONS
yet
'
- they still have a war chest
of
some $50 billion and a huge, huge number of developers ready to spring into action should the
company ever make up its mind about a new direction. Still, in the meantime Linux is thriving, and we should
all
be grateful for Android,
Chrome and more! EES
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
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the latest software and hardware reviewed and rated by our experts
All
GRAHAM MORRISON has just added an improbability layer to his
Meeq sequencer.
Our pick of this month’s releases: Home Accountz
We are geeks
O just
this
ne of the most surprising
in
are
now
tiny applications with
very limited functionality. The tens
thousands of tools, games,
and jokes that
live
and easy to
install,
we can
II...
23
4.
something by
learn
27
KOffice 2.2 Andy Channelle took a
lot
of stick
for slating the previous version, but
he was brave enough to agree to
new version. Has Team KDE redeemed itself?
look at the
for a sequel.
WordPress 3
little
to
compete with desktop applications, yet users are often happy to pay a small fee for them and download them in their thousands. The attraction must be that each is easy to understand, guaranteed to work users,
switching to Qt Creator 2.
on
Android’s Market offer very
could be because
it
the developers used KDevelop
beer tokens.
Eschalon: Book
is
the last version,
They might
The sequel to an Ultima- like RPG game we rather liked last year. Our Alex spent more than 20 hours wading through the world, but we’re not sure he’d accept a commission
revolution
KOffice turns out to be as poor as
designed to save you a few imperial
smartphone
how many people
utilities
of
side-effects of the recent
interested
of
If
popular accounting application
26
Qt Creator 2
22
Impose your own austerity measures using a new version
24
Eclipse Helios
is the perfect chance up on the world’s most popular IDE and one of the most important free software apps
This release to catch
Eschalon: Book
II
28
what seems like an eternity as WordPress 2.x, the best blogging and CMS platform has received a After
major update. But will your layouts and plugins still work?
p23
—
Qt Creator 2 p26
and as Linux
learn a lot
from
this.
App storage The average package repository full
of stuff that, with a
install
is
of
launch icon and an
polish, a nice
easy
little bit
mechanism, could
become just as
popular,
addictive, as the
easily
and
smart phone
As good as Qt Creator is,
equivalents. Various distros have
> Return to the world of isometric gaming,
>
tried to create app-store like
pagan symbolism and poor hygiene.
become a good programmer.
it
can’t help
Graham
interfaces to their repositories, but
they’ve
all
failed.
They need user
need to
reviews, they
offer
screenshots, and they need one-
Our verdict explained
click installation.
The developers behind Osmos, announced that the
six
All
we
(reviewed last issue), recently
weeks they
spent developing the Linux version
review are rated
from 0 to
10, with
demand
well spent.
The spike
in
after the Linux release
Mac and Windows. There’s the demand
was
bigger than for both
applications,
has the All
skill
we need
for
and the community
to satisfy that is
demans.
a package manager
with screenshots and reviews.
[email protected]
10
LINUX
the best
we use to
is
verdict
FORMAT
Stuff award. Only
being highest. The
VueScan
8.6.10
Ed Hamrick
considered for this
Developer:
award - scoring highly isn't enough
Web: www.hamrick.com
usually features,
performance, ease of
by
categories
was time
crowd may receive our prestigious Top
the products that
rate products are
money, but software available without a charge might be rated
the
recommended
on documentation instead of
of the software. In
value for money. Regardless of
this will
the four criteria used,
we always
distribution
some cases
be hand compilation
using GCC, but
$80
(£54, Professional)
Features
When reviewing free software, we will usually use
use and value for
Price:
9/10
itself.
if
Performance Ease of use Documentation
»
There simply
with
it
isn’t
9/10 10/10 9/10 anything to compare
on Linux, or possibly any other
operating system you
may choose.
the developers
give an overall score out of ten.
recommend Autopackages these
Products that stand out from the
will
Rating 9/10
be used instead.
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|21
Reviews Accounts package
Home Accountz While he was prospecting for the best accounts package home users can buy, Bob Moss struck the motherlode. There’s gold in them thar hills!
R
In brief...
egular readers
will
our review back
in
remember LXF131
(May 2010), where we gave this
» A cross-platform
product’s
accounts package
expensive enterprise cousin Business
designed for
home
more heavyweight and
Accountz a respectable 7/10. Despite
See also: GnuCash.
users.
providing a
terrific
experience for
anyone regardless
of their experience
with business accounts, tax and ledger, lost
it
marks because
tag and
its
failure to
enterprise needs
of
its
£400 price same
address the
many of its
competitors could.
However,
its
and more
lighter
Home
specialised counterpart
Accountz e scapes these
criticisms.
provides only the functionality that absolutely necessary, and
Accountz you need no of
like
prior
Business
knowledge
accounts or banking to take
advantage of everything that
Accountz can
company.
bank statement data all
in
QIF or
import
OFX
days.
difficult
banks and, thanks to
it
platforms.
in
Where Home Accountz
distinguishes
itself
from the other
competing solutions, however,
is
end-user support provided by
its
could do with
Toth
is
itself is
first
very
a
intuitive
screen you encounter
an overview screen that shows you
tree view you can expand, shrink
minimum
ability
of effort.
a
and
your own assets and bank accounts
to create
how
a drop-down
is
no more use
and you can
edit anything very
the date the
Visual
An auto-generated graph
account
of recent transactions
can help you avert
come very
financial disaster.
it
arrived
in.
As you create transactions you notice changes
in
1
LXF135 September 2010
much for the
in
the
Home Accountz is rest of us. E23
www.linuxformat.com
Verdict A
Home Accountz Price: £39.99
Features
8/10
Performance Ease of use Value for money
9/10 9/10 9/10
»
Covers everything home users need and more than justifies the price tag.
will
value over your
detailed overview, with expenditures
22
so though this
not appeal to those
Web: www.accountz.com
into cells or
was made, the payee, the account the money came from and the
finances then this will naturally
very
a tax return at
Developer: Accountz
transaction
spreadsheet to track your
will
FORMAT
menu depending on the
easily. Fields include
you’ve ever used a
package
file
fiscal year,
LINUX
than using a spreadsheet.
Simply enter fixed data
field,
If
Despite
Most home users don’t need to
accounts industry
You can also
period to see a detailed view of
Creating a transaction
Oderkig
KDE 4.
use the right-hand pane to define a time
difficult charity
in
in
look
the overall ease of use and
the end of the
Hip
Paytte*
out of place
monitor a payroll or
iiiia
Intuitive
little
this niggle,
tag.
is
parent
HralaplDf:
that
functionality completely justify the price
previous months.
Fjrdwn
is
Gnome menu, and the app can
current balance automatically. This
customise thanks to the
SA
meaning you
to or have paid in the past.
the
your finances have changed over Docuttcira
etc,
can easily query those you owe money
your expenses, income, net worth and
with the
mnsKibis
also a whole section of the
The only complaint we have
the
Features at a glance
is
name, address, email,
easy to use The
is
payee contact information such as
it
is.
The package
many different
red while income
in
the installer uses the 'Other' section
It’s
being written
There
grows overtime.
than
marked
the usual black on white typeface.
application dedicated to maintaining
We suspect this will no doubt change as Home Account? s userbase
indeed.
Java, operates across
it
being more comprehensive than
using a spreadsheet.”
I
left in
Home Accountz does have a
support forum but
the major high-street
“Creating a transaction
no more
intuitively
who aim to respond within two working
and free
already
is
Home Accountz provides
email support directly to technicians
Home Accountz can
format from
> You can see your transactions over previous months and current balance as soon as you launch Home Accountz. And doesn’t the Java interface look great?
full
Home
offer.
Like the well-known
GnuCash,
It
is
Rating 9/10
Reviews
Eschalon:
Book 2
the kind of strange man who actually enjoys starving to death while fighting rats in a dungeon. A perfect reviewer for this game, then.
Alex Cox
is
In brief...
T
humpy, the most feared
fighter
Everdale. Slaughtered by a rat
in
after 17 consecutive
missed
» Turn-based
swings of
isometric
wizard of Port Kuudad. Could conjure a
roleplaying in fireball classic
80 s form.
Swords, sorcery,
and a whole dead
lot
of
out of thin
air,
managed
but
to
die of severe dehydration while standing
a
right next to
lake.
Mr Sneaks, the
rogue of Wolfenwood, erased from
rats.
Similar to
his cudgel. Paul Daniels,
Sacred
existence after attempting to put on
Gold or Nethack. trousers.
All in
a day’s work.
Eschalon Book II is planted
same
rich
compost as
mulch made up
of
games, shredded
its
in
the
prequel, a
ground up Ultima
AD&D
books, and a
topsoil of interminably turgid fantasy
novels. Its quests are generally of a relatively
standard fare - go there,
that
- padded with almost
lore.
It
game
fits
kill
biblically dull
the mould of an Ultima-style
perfectly, then.
Now this is an RPG: numbers related to 'bludgeoning weapons’ a dark scary dungeon, and 5 hit points to play with.
>
RPG
Being an begins
in
a
sequel, the
game
most predictable manner:
you’ve lost your
memory along with any
trace of the fighting or wizarding
skill
refreshing to see an RPG that leaves the tough choices to you.” “It’s
I
you may have developed
in
the previous
classic balance
seems schoolmistressRPGs
other bugs to be ironed out by the time
quest deliverers have no sense of your
you get your hands on
missions, and the
eligibility for their
game's monsters don’t scale to your level.
This
means you’ll
inevitably
end
of ever returning
an example of
Saving the
game
regularly
is
therefore
turn-based combat, bashing monsters
given the lack of any auto-save feature.
up
who you
in
and what
are
musculature
particularly
your quest to find out is
going on.
Building your character’s isn’t easy.
Eschalon s
Tweak your quest The early game of resources.
combat,
is
is
by a lack
HP regeneration, even out painfully slow,
off
starting a
saving
game rules
don’t expect service
when
you next need a potion.
effect
more
-
it
makes combat
difficult, too.
in
plot
er,
old
the
you
on
fuel for at least a
RPGs, though,
demo
entirely fixed,
is
of potential characters
If
it’s
you're
new to,
worth trying
before you buy. 533
Verdict A
Eschalon Book
II
Games
Web: www.basiliskgames.com
range or
afflicted with a disease.
refreshing to see an
not just a pretty
number
Developer: Basilisk
new character. You
when enemies are
when you're
And it’s
the
FORMAT
system, for example, or you could turn
often rains in Eschalon.
not especially varied,
rare.
could switch off the frankly tedious food
Brewing storms
if
and although the
LINUX
particularly ineffective, outrageously
when
It
huge
as
it
Its
and the
early breed of health potions are
You can mess with the
Weak shopkeepers
is
narrow genre.
couple of runs through.
made tricky
expensive and disappointingly
Are the staff offering you bad prices? Kill them! Just
world
its
offer should give
of
Features at a glance
happy to recommend
no chance
alive.
Book IFs sadistic
Despite Eschalon design, we're
paramount importance,
well
attended by the developer.
up being sent on errands that you have from
though, as
it
forums are bustling and
Basilisk's
of
levelling
We fully expect this and
completely.
of today. To give a simple example,
game. Thus follows a long period of
and
caused the game to segfault and drop
harsh against the more forgiving
It's
RPG that leaves the
Price: $25 (approx £17)
Gameplay
6/10
Graphics Longevity Value for money
8/10
tough choices up to you.
» A solid continuation
The version of Book //we got to play - a relatively early Linux build, granted - had some rather odd bugs, primary of
faint-hearted.
which was one of trickiest to cope with:
5/10
7/10
o/Eschalon’s Ultima -esqi/e mechanics. Not for the
Rating 7/10
deadly trousers. Equipping trousers
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|23
Reviews IDE
Eclipse 3.6 Once bloated and overrated, Nick Veitch sheds new light on the one development environment that has set out to rule them all. In brief... » All in one open source IDE,
A
t
the end of June each year,
some things have become more or less certain. One of them is that there will be a new release open
of Eclipse, the all-encompassing
especially good for Java. Also
see
source IDE that was spawned by IBM
and given to the world at
NetBeans.
large
Since the 3.x series released
in
2001.
in
2004,
each year has seen a version increment in
what
is
now a
purposeful and
coordinated train of development. This enables to focus on
and
it
one
all
the related projects
big release per year,
brings a kind of dependability
that you don’t often see
the open
in
source world. As well as making to pick the release date, for corporates,
it
is
who have a
it
easier
also helpful
release cycle
>
Now with added
only IDE you
will
Linux support, Eclipse really
ever need. You can even use
is
it
making a play to become the
to build
KDE applications!
they can rely on.
come up with new features, some
This year Eclipse has
some
excellent
which are long overdue - support
for
Git as a repository, increased support
also the
Web apps,
Eclipse anyway, but there
a no-brainer for corporate development “It’s
I
work on Java.”
both
cloud and mobile are well supported
effort
XML. Python
improvements to the Pulsar
mobile Java project.
is
a
lot
sort of total environment
addition of
official
in
more
being expended on creating
some
- hence the
JavaScript support,
including a debugger,
is
supported
via the third-
PyDev plugin (which is neat for making Google App Engine projects). party
and other web
With support for so
extensions both from the Eclipse team
and
third parties, Eclipse
for business
is
a no-brainer
development work on Java,
and more than
authoring improvements.
many different many
Java environments, and so
suitable for
anyone
working on a Java-based project. The
and other web tools, a new ‘Marketplace’ client to make it
for JavaScript
easier to find the plugins you need
and
Not just Java
lure for
One of the preconceptions that people
getting stronger, but
have about Eclipse is that
when
it’s
just a
Java
The C/C++ extensions have
although they haven't been universally
support for the tools Linux developers
updated to support the
popular with Linux developers.
use on a day-to-day basis for languages
latest
Java
soon
been
Features at a glance
Linux desktop. Yes, Eclipse does provide
available for Eclipse since
after the project
was
released,
Part of the reason for this
to integrate
its
is
that
make
projects with a
it
common
Linux development toolchain. Sure, you
could use GCC, but there
use the
win-*). -
Hi fcUce tv Ed psc
1h.11
GNU Autotools or
Valgrind or
Linux developers. Starting last year, the
h*i
Horiiwv rot i.j... Nr v,o
Eclipse Linux Tools project
i
Ed
shhzt
working on an
official
began
plugin to
add
this
Pydev - Python IDE tor Eclipse !» 4 pl-O'1 ll-*t cttidci Dilp.r In Sc u.ctl Pylt lT«iPjtrw'>. r. useb advamcd type iiYctant led.i tfjo u
Pytto.
Maven
Integra tior for Eclipse
lew « *1
iK vl *
6
functionality,
and
this
is
really its first
proper outing.
Find the plugins you need with the all-new marketplace client.
Mobile development Add Pulsar as a plugin or as standalone for mobile
Java development.
supported too. Eclipse now has an official
Fortran plugin to
PHP and
go alongside
Ruby, as well as various
web
technologies including JavaScript and
24 LXF135 September 2010
www.linuxformat.com
but
it
any more than the basic
other than Java.
M3
LINUX FORMAT
Verdict
Eclipse 3.6 (helios) Developer: The Eclipse Foundation Web: www.eclipse.org Licence: Eclipse Public Licence
Features
9/10
Performance Ease of use Documentation
8/10 6/10 7/10
» It isn't quite therefor desktop C++
Of course, other languages are
Marketplace app
also lacks
was no
many of the other tools available to Mylyn
some excellent time-saving tools,
easy
provision for trying to build packages,
Edtw.org.
less clear-cut
Platform project, which has been
IDE.
Eclipse has so far failed to
trt
is
actually
Enterprise Edition specifications, and
* » usMVkvsm
it
comes to developing for the
C/C++ tools. On the Java side, one of the major areas of interest is the Web Tools extra support for Linux
Mytjn
it
web development work is
development, but still a super choice for anyone working with Java.
Rating 8/10
Blogging
client
Reviews
Word Press 3.0 The world’s most popular blogging software has CMS ambitions. Andy Channelle sees whether it’s getting too big for its boots. In brief... » Simple blogging software that’s had
a funny turn and thinks
it’s
a CMS.
See also: Blogger,
W
ordPress
is
probably the
most popular piece
newsfutures
blogging software available, Dashboard
and version 3.0 demonstrates the
in
the
Drupal, Joomla.
If
likes of
Right
Updates
Joomla and Drupal
Akismet Stats
site
&
running
5
Posts
1 Page
11 Categories
Add New
hitting the will
should simply be a case of
Automatic Update
once
and can be accomplished
in
Approved
0
Pending
0 Spam
Tags
Change Theme
Theme Mystique with 9 Widgets
^ Media
You are using WordPress
Unks
you have your database and Webserver set up,
0
Post Tags
New
installations are equally simple,
0
Categories
which
link,
appear on the Dashboard.
Discussion
0 Comments
Posts
Posts
with a recent installation of WordPress, installation
Now
Content
CMS game.
you already have a
Dashboard
fff
Dashboard
ambitions of the development team to take on the
Search Engines Blocked
of
3.0.
Akismet blocks spam from getting to your blog, but there's nothing the
in
your spam queue at
moment.
[0 Pages The blog
a
(~P
Comments
tin)
Appearance
is
currently under the protection of Private WordPress.
couple of minutes. Recent Comments
The Dashboard, where blog configuration and posting are handled,
has been given a
lot
some
polish
more information
single click.
and makes
>
The new dashboard
is
easy to use and benefits from excellent documentation.
available within a
You get the feeling that
you’re working within a dynamic system
system
easier to
is
Drupaf s, making
it
manage than
WordPress 3.0 isn't as
comprehensive as a more mature
simple to create
navigation systems that can be built
I
“The Dashboard makes a lot more information available with one click.”
into
solution such as Drupal or Elgg, but
the theme or added to pages via
widgets.
The views/query options
come close to those available
in
don’t
Drupal,
but they give WordPress the potential to build
more sophisticated experiences.
content authoring. This true
when
is
focused on giving the user the
The WordPress community provides
blogging as easy as possible.
heaps
The
menu
introduction of a comprehensive
system, complete with drag and
extensive
naming, makes
it
the
more elaborate
sites that the usual
In fact,
the
menu
BuddyPress p
I
ugi n
In fact,
the
out of the box
ability to is
- creating
involve running the distribution,
and
would
great to see
Version 3.0 ships with a new,
theme that also has
structure
Hack your CSS
commenting.
The CSS
theme coupled with the CSS
with code hinting, but
editable options.
the guts of a theme.
editor could do
provides easy access to
into
It's
is
logical
editor built
good introduction to CSS
www.tuxradar.com
Verdict
Developer: The WordPress team
Web:
http://wordpress.org
GPL
editing
9/10
Features
8/10
Performance Documentation
9/10
»
the TwentyTen
you’re curious about
management system. 523
Ease of use
the WordPress back-end provides a
pretty if
In fact,
blogging engine or content
Licence:
and comprehensive
TwentyTen
in
WordPress
menu-
and the CSS
The new default theme is widget and menu enabled and contains a lot of user
a
and a great
anyone interested
FORMAT
plenty of
backgrounds and header images. easy to work with, thanks to
make the In all, this is
fantastic piece of software
LINUX
options for widgets, columns,
functional, well designed
minimal.
it
integrated into the core of the system.
friendly
is
this
WordPressMU
it’s
them
learning tool for
use BuddyPress
version. Previously this feature
of
the mechanics of administrating a
the result of one of the in
but the editing needed to
most
CMS could do, including - via
more significant innovations
Features at a glance
possible
Facebook-like social networks.
blogging fayre, with multiple, dynamic
views of your content.
it’s
do almost any job that a more
drop reorganisation and custom possible to create far
create bespoke post categories) don’t yet have a graphical interface available,
functionality.
With a few quick additions to
options such as post types
(which enables the administrator to
simplest experience and making
add
especially
software core, the themes and plugins.
Plugins and widgets of plugins to
is
comes to updating the
it
Some of the that
is
manage and feels more user friendly in both management and
also simpler to
The perfect introduction
10/10 to
and CMS software. We love we want you to love it too.
blogging it,
and
Rating 9/10
web design.
September 2010 LXF13 5
|
25
Reviews IDE
Qt Creator 2.0 A month after the release of KDevelop 4, Graham Morrison
reviews
arch nemesis. But which one’s best? There’s only one way to find
H
In brief...
ot
its
out...
on the heels of KDevelop 4,
and several months before we anticipated, Nokia released
» A development
version 2 of
environment for
Qf development environment. It had been expected
its
groundbreaking
integrated
C++ programmers who use the Qt framework. Also
be part of Qt4.7 which
consider Eclipse,
testing. Instead,
KDevelop 4 or
part of Nokia’s
plain old Kate.
it
is still in
to
alpha
has been released as
Qt SDK 1.0, a
slightly
modified version of Qt that includes a device emulator and support for
MeeGo. You can
also grab
it
as part of
the Qt 4.6.3 package and as a
standalone project. Fortunately, installation
easy.
is
You grab a large binary, make
this
Qt Creator*s debugging capabilities are greatly improved - it can even debug image types by rendering their output to a temporary window.
>
executable, and run
command
line.
user account,
from the
it
you do
If
this
from your
the required
all
files install
automatically, including a link to Creator in
your Desktop
folder. Clicking
on
this
launch the IDE. You won’t even need
will
the Qt development
libraries,
as these
are included by default. Ubuntu users,
we’ve seen, and for the
first
time, can
I
overview of the
some
Ul,
then
move on to
docs.
All
of this
embedded
is
need to
done through the
the
of our 1.x projects
now work
project at a time,
now make a
lot
is
that
more sense
your Qt code using a series of Python
helpers that automatically inspect certain
Qt and standard datatypes.
There are
still
a
number of annoying
design decisions, such as the watch
Qt, to start developing.
using the panel on the left-hand side.
window only appearing
A lot has changed since version 1.0, which now feels more like a prototype than a major release. The new launch
The only problem with
but Creator 2.0 is a massive step up.
is
one
of the best
this is that
never clear which project build
and
The
run.
their well
iii
mult
•
it's
Add
going to is
to use the
new target selector tool, just below the between projects to
Features at a glance
is
solution
build icon. This enables
build, displaying
name beneath the play icon, as
as
letting
l!
M
you choose between
QInac * si|on(QSize(20Q, 200), Qliage: sfanl fill [QColor(2QQ. 10, 33).rqbn
lacks
useful options.
Deluge uses
the System
integration of
Tray to
only a middleweight
when
show
FORMAT
Verdict
Deluge
use.
Version: 1.2.3
“For essential features,
basic
you may have
handled by the main app, but
I
you may have to
UNUX
information.
does work,
It
on resource
pretty light
is
a bad
isn't
It
Website: http://deluge-torrent.org
what many people would consider
essential features
this.
is
be fixed
will
by any means, though
comes to
and
many clients.
in
the software
imminent, so perhaps that
as current speeds and connected or
control uploads
for
downloading has finished. At the time of
The status bar along the bottom
panel.
from the download
directly
there a torrent searching
download speed continues moving after
your current downloads),
interest (say,
file
is
One annoying thing about this
pretty straightforward left
nor
list,
through Deluge
much fuss. There's no option to
launch a
is.
layout of the
installed directly
without
it
desktop of choice
-
example.
for blocklists or scheduling, for
GTKfor
the desktop interface, but
myself get, absolutely soaking wet.
let
to delve
into the plugins.”
» Middle-of-the-road performer, does get
lots
but
it
of development love.
Rating 6/10
KTorrent KDE-based client that uses the
A
pps based on KDE are expected to be
full
Extra functionality
of settings,
options and menus, and this
is
no exception. KTorrent wouldn't easily be mistaken for a
- every
pixel of its
Mac OS X application interface seems to
want to communicate urgent information, or request
be
set. For
those
impart
some
who aren’t frightened
may wish to
useful details, this
terms
is
provided by
and again these show the
micro-management touch. The bandwidth scheduling can be set on a giant calendar, so
if
you want to allow
unlimited uploads on Thursdays only, is
the only client that
KDE app
of old,
will
do
it.
and leaving
it
up to you to work out not.
KTorrent was the only client that
is
managed connections to all the available peers in the time
of the underlying
it
took to
download the
exceeds every other
clocked up the fastest time. Like
player
client here,
lacks the tracker,
it
and UPnP media
honest, the searching too.
is
a
every feature and option to user control
technology, KTorrent easily matches or
for Vuze, as
It’s
much
exposing pretty
whether you need them or
probably no bad thing. In
plugins,
this
some option to
by overt functionality or upset that their application interface
libktorrent library.
except
media
server. To
a
be
bit lacklustre,
test torrents,
and
it
also
some
of the other clients, KTorrent can also
be run
in
a headerless mode, and
includes a built-in
web
> Options,
settings and
more things to twiddle with.
interface.
Although a number of search
which
off
is lazy,
on the respective website,
and not as
qBittorrenfs
effort.
KTorrent has
all
useful as
Aside from that,
the bases covered.
FORMAT
Verdict
KTorrent Version: 4.0
Website: http://ktorrent.org
engines are included, KTorrent just
palms you
UNIIX
I
“KTorrent easily matches or exceeds every client here.” www.tuxradar.com
»
Chock-full offeatures,
spare the
if
you can
effort to configure
them.
Rating 9/10 September 2010 LXF13 5
|31
Roundup BitTorrent clients
Monsoon Just to be different, here’s one with the MonoTorrent
T
his rather simplistic application
started
as an offshoot or
life
As most
of the other clients
we might
here use the libtorrent library,
have expected some performance
were.
CPU
It
most
did hijack
cycles, but also
most
an
individual torrent
Like Vuze
There are
possibility of storing
up
the
and no mention
DHT or
what you want.
Monsoon is a promising project that in some time,
library
Peer
The feed
engine includes filter
Monsoon software
I
follows a very familiar theme, with
LINUX
FORMAT
verdict
options.
Monsoon
has been updated recently.
Version: 0.21 Website: www.monsoon-project.org
hijacked the CPU cycles, but managed a blistering throughput.” “It
supported by MonoTorrent). the
>
subscription
hasn’t had a release
Exchange (although these are
Visually,
some advanced filtering make sure you get exactly
no plugins
scripting,
of
in this
pretty simple to set up.
although the underlying MonoTorrent
file-
handling department. However, there’s
no scheduling, no
it's
options to
different
locations, this client at least serves in
Many
includes a feed subscription.
video podcasts are distributed
test Gust pipping KTorrent).
the basics of features
file.
and KTorrent, Monsoon
up the
With a watch folder for incoming
in
As with
to set various options, including
download
and completed ones
a main
roundup, this does extend to the ability
way, and
active
left,
the middle and a
of the other clients in this
fastest average time for the local
and the
in
a
blistering throughput, clocking
torrents
view
for the selected torrent below.
of the available
managed
down the
list
changing the bandwidth settings for
Monsoon - and there
differences from
sortable
tabbed selection of information screens
natural extension to the
Mono Torrent project - a torrent library written using the Mono implementation of .NET.
categories
library.
» Lacking
in
finesse
and features, but
an aggressive downloader.
Rating 5/10
qBittorrent A Qt-based client with some very nice touches on offer.
T
Far from pointless, though,
his cross-platform client
conforms more or standard “right
less to the
main table
tree,
the
is
search engine. Using a plugin
mechanism
to enable various torrent
panel and detail tabs underneath”
sites,
school of interface design. Only the
amalgamated search strategy that’s
large
and
friendly buttons along the top
show that you're
many of the other clients Although
it
Monsoon or
not using
listed here.
has the impression
being quite minimal, there’s
of
much
goodness hidden under the hood.
subscription section for aiding
buried
away
all
is
good
in
your search term
(and choose a category for more
fill
and watch the screen
up with matches from the supported
sites,
arranged
in
order of seed health.
A great timesaver! It’s
sorts of options
here, but the layout
useful than the one-at-a-
example. Just type
with downloading series or video
podcasts. There are
more
time approach offered by KTorrent, for
specific results) It
supports a sophisticated feed reader/ filter
often
qBittorent implements an
terms
pretty middle-of-the-road of
also the
performance
consumption
in
of resources, but
and easy to follow. On the other hand,
those few extra touches
some tooltips for the many options and
more
settings wouldn't
of
supplied
banned
it
IPs (should
thousands,
it's
slightly
in
somewhat
of features.
useful for general torrenting than
“The amalgamated
you have
the
pointless.
32 LXF135 September 2010
LINUX FORMAT
amount
large
Verdict
qBittorrent Version: 2.2.8
Website:
http://qbittorrent.
sourceforge.net
with a blocklist), though with
these usually numbering
it
Neat searching
options and a
shows the
equivalent of an event log, as well as list
make
>
the likes of Monsoon.
go amiss.
There's a console that
the
in
the tests and
I
search strategy is a great timesaver.” www.linuxformat.com
»
There are a lot of very good things hidden in this simple-looking client
Rating 7/10
BitTorrent clients
Roundup
Torium Good for resource-starved systems, but only as a
F
or lightweight use,
it
come much
lighter
Consuming
less
the average actually
Crucially, encryption is
doesn't
than
this.
memory than
MP3 file, this tiny client can
manage to do a good download
job at reasonable speeds, but
were looking
for bells
and
you
if
whistles,
you
came to the wrong tree. The that's
interface
is
because there aren’t actually that
many features. The single
shows
columns - just enough
a table with six to serve
panel
up the torrent name and the
current speed and progress.
If
swarm diagrams, you’ll need to grab a crayon and draw them yourself. You can get some additional info on the loaded torrents by right-clicking them and choosing Properties, which does at least
(although
that
limits, it’s likely
hard to find peers
it
DHT is actually implemented)
as more and more clients default to at
an encrypted
connection. Of course, there are
many other features you may miss, but Torium does manage to fetch and seed torrents with a degree of
competence, so the basics are there. If
you absolutely must have a torrent
client
on some
really, very,
extremely
resource- restricted device, this might just
work out for you, but the
modern
features
means that
lack of
> Torium is
very light on
LINUX
both resources
Torium
it’s
unlikely to function well for anything
but the most popularly seeded
and download
Version: 0.4.2
files.
Website: http://bithack.se/projects/ torium
There's a
banned
menu
IP
list,
“If
list.
option for loading a
but
it
doesn't actually
I
seem to do anything.
» Lightweight in
you were looking for bells and whistles, you came to the wrong tree.”
locations, as
as view the current peer
verdict
and features.
enable you to manipulate
priorities
well
list.
imposed bandwidth you might find
you were
expecting fancy graphs or graphical
on the
As this
is one of the ways many clients get around ISP-
missing feature
least preferring
pretty stark, but
last resort.
the extreme, at the
expense of missing crucial features.
Rating 3/10
Transmission How do you make something easy to use and packed with features?
Y
ou have to put
some sort of become the
in
special effort to
default (and thus, automatically
most popular)
torrent client for Ubuntu.
transfers.
A simple
updating progress
bar and transfer speed readout has all
you need to know, though
to be said that the
lists
it
+
/uld
—
Hi
,
came
of streamlining everything it
In it
so simple that
some
it’s
in
the guise
and making
to
make
do the very specific thing
you wanted to do, which
is
always the
if
Another plus point for Transmission is
overhead. Like it
some of the
others here,
can also be run as a headless
web
client
with an optional
the point of foolproofery. There doesn't
Transmissions pared-down resources
other repsects, Transmission
up to
is
date with support for proxying,
all
the
DHT/PEX and magnet technology as well as LAN peer latest
detection, encryption
The
client
and
mean
it
will
easily
Transmission
He
lUcItlBjC]
MS U-22*>
-
Down
2
JHwnVurtng rr«n 3]
of
33 co»n«trol p«cj
tewilMdng fCwn 17
of
2? coonoctcd pctr; - Down
fit
ff«n *1
6D cwv>«tod pew5
of
simple - unless
you have too
simple
is
Ljrfc
to Oipto&’d
-
Cotn 64
Delete
rim
ji>j
nenKve
> Transmission is
lots of
fixes
Magrut
Vtpfy Local Data
on an embedded
development mode, with
changes and
11
5*1 locution
full-on
If
H Con
is still in
being added regularly.
UNIIX FORMAT
many torrents.
what you want, look no
further than this.
Verdict
Transmission Version: 2.0
Website: www.transmissionbt.com
blocklists.
use interface. The scrolling main window shows either all torrents, active
downloads and paused
-
interface.
set-top box or NAS.
has a friendly and easy-to-
torrents, seeds,
rf f.O rrci-r rlni p»rr?
the focus on reducing the resource
case when applications are simplified to
seem to be any form of control over how many torrents are active at a time, which is a shame because this is a good way of fine-tweaking performance. In
3?
you're dealing with
lots of torrents.
hard to go wrong.
instances, this does also
difficult
unmanageable
fropcities-
do become OcMikiiiftrij lrc Vuze isn’t
some areas,
in
palms you
effectively just
using
downloading speed, even with the
it
KTorrent shines
real-world factors,
internet, latency issues
may be
up automatic times when
example, fine-tune the number of
important not to read too
In
remove some
such
it’s
clients
at [email protected]
Table of features Name
Deluge
KTorrent
Monsoon
qBittorrent
Torium
Transmission
Vuze
Version
1.2.3
4
0.21
2.2.8
0.4.2
2.0
4.4.0.6
Web
http://delugetorrent.org
http:// ktorrent.org
www.monsoon-
WWW.
http://bithack.
WWW.
project.org
qbittorrent.org
se/projects/ torium
transmissionbt.com
http://azureus. sourceforge.net
Toolkit
GTK
KDE
Mono/GTK
Qt
GTK
GTK
Java/GTK
PEX
X
[1]
Yes
DHT
X
[2]
Yes
Magnet
X
X
Yes
X
Yes
Limit-scheduling
via plugin
via plugin
X
X
Yes
Playback
X
via plugin
X
X
Encryption
X
X
Prioritising
Yes
Scripting
via plugin
X
X
X
X
Auto-shutdown
X
X
X
X
X
IP filter
via plugin
Search
X
Memory (in
test)
CPU Time
Memory [1],[2]:
[4]
(idle)
via plugin
yes [3]
X
Yes Yes yes
X
No
X
yes
21MB
42.5MB
68.5MB
24MB
7.8MB
14.5MB
119MB
28%
26%
68%
20%
25%
18%
24%
172 seconds
110 seconds
108 seconds
165 seconds
184 seconds
123 seconds
439 seconds
17.5MB
35.5MB
13.1MB
11MB
5.1MB
7.4MB
95MB
Support claimed, but didn't seem to work [3]: Didn't work on test system, but media files will play
in
default system app
anyway [4]: Tine taken to download our four test torrents
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF13 5 |35
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Distrowatch
a
This month’s roundup of news from the vaults of Linux distro development SUSAN LINTON is
owner/
operator of machineSdOrg.
Meerkat forces Ubuntu 10.10 Users’ appetites whetted by early
Peace out
F push.
f
or Linux geeks this
the season to be the big
It
is
-
jolly
summer distro PCLOS
started with
2010 and
will
OpenSUSE
end with
11.3. In
planning reports from the latest Ubuntu release.
U
and
his
buntu 10.04 was no before Mark Shuttleworth
before Lucid Lynx
was released
codename
be Maverick Meerkat. Shortly
a wonderful time of
year for distro hoppers.
all
come with latest
of these distros
common. Each
their original tools
features to
and
team would not migrate to
Developer Summit, more details
a recent kernel, the
Many add
would
Gnome Shell 3.0 for Maverick. However, at the May Ubuntu
desktops and updated
software.
of version 10.10
afterward, Shuttleworth stated that his
While everyone has their
lots in
it
had been decided that the
its
and Mandriva releasing their
have
Rhytmbo* playing
merry band were making
offspring, Slackware, Fedora,
favourite,
Rhytmbox not running
plans for their next release. Even
between
we’ve had Ubuntu and
latest. It’s
Typical case.
Minimal case:no playec* integrated
sooner out the door
utilities
make them even more
IT'S
A MOCKUP
emerged. Reports stated that the
new watchword ‘Design',
in
Maverick was
and that the
chief goal
>
Soon
Sound Menu appeared, Ubuntu P submitted mock-ups demonstrating the possibilities.
after sketches for the Unified
artists Daniel
version’s
was to improve the first-
some
decoration instead of the window
Rhythm box will remain the
speculation as to the future
manager) with a laundry
music
emphasis on the differences
appearance and operation
problems that would
played out by infighting
Ubuntu. One of the
between users, each arguing
Shuttleworth outlined plans for
announcements came as
the merits of their favourite
Window
Me Menu
and disparaging the
as they have inevitably been
to
user experience, leading to
we’ve seen
useful. In the past
rest.
called).
of
posts by
first
Indicators (or windicators,
The
idea
is
of
is
this
year things
going to see
some
bit different.
Chromium will be supported. The
Games menu may see some
as message
changes, but no specifics have
confirmation notifications,
seeing less
insults.
I
What’s going on? Has the Earth spun off
its
is
taking hold.
smartphones are getting
Many
desktop
is
all
the
believe the
dead. Or could
it
be
that Linux users have just
discovered that Linux
and
fighting
themselves
you
think,
is
Linux
among is
silly?What do
Dear Readers? Are
the fanboys growing up? [email protected]
get a
new
History tab as well as a ‘featured applications’ gallery.
Underneath, Maverick will use a 2.6.35 version kernel working
status bar with windicators and a
character counters for the text
temporary overlay status bar on
area,
the right-hand side of the
with remote services.
title
38 LXF135 September 2010
bar
(where the window control
much like in Some indicators
and
applet
will
also see
The sound
some major
the “Unified Sound Menu,"
in 10.10.
allow users to control
all
it
apps through the menu instead just the
level
and saved
status.
Several developers from the
KDE camp have spoken
out
against these client-side
fact,
it
system volume
will
and
Some application decisions made already too.
have been
www.linuxforniat.com
of
add features such as
item-specific options.
decorations (so called because
root.
level. In
play control buttons, playlists,
point
in
may run as normal
sound
online status, progress indicators,
some
the future,
rootless
X
upcoming X.org implementations
will
volume
At
Ubuntu may see a
server. For security reasons,
Dubbed
improvements
Google Chrome.
being mooted for 10.10 include
1.9 snapshot.
faster synchronisations
buttons used to be)
the application controls the
i
will
with X.org 1.8 server or perhaps a
Other believe that
focus.
developers have spoken out against client-side decorations.”
Ubuntu
yet.
Software Centre
axis?
Some may say that cloud computing
KDE
“Several
I”m seeing less
“fanboyism.” I’m seeing less fighting. I’m
be the default web browser, but
been decided
seem to a
default
ShotwellwlW
manager. Firefox will continue to
The
well.
What’s new? But
player, but
replace F-Spot as the photo
result.
Less controversial
new features such
to replace the
list
This
is
a
bit
user instead of
complicated on
several layers, so users
see this
until 11.04.
may not
What has been
Meerkat
approved
for
Originally
planned only for the
CD, btrfs
is
now in the
is btrfs.
as an user-install option.
www.ubuntu.com
live
blueprints
Distrowatch
The future’s green
Full
OpenSUSE 11.3 Minor version
Fedora 14 Developers ask for more more user feedback early on.
update bring major version goodies.
T
he next version of
OpenSUSE
is
partition can't
up
firing
Kernel
smoothly, with very few major is
will
now allow
eases the set up of RAID arrays.
until release.
This development cycle has gone
issues. While 11.3
be mounted or
partitioner
cloning of disk layouts, which
rockets and counting
down the seconds
The
read.
its
Mode Setting will now
be available for all
a minor
Intel
and
ATI, Nvidia
graphics chips, and Nouveau
be the default Nvidia Xdriver.
version update, there are plenty of
will
fresh goodies for users to love.
Grub 2 and Upstart are included
OpenSUSE 11.3 will
as options, and mkirttrid will
ship with
Linux kernel 2.6.34 and
Zypperand
improved power saving features,
files.
two new filesystems and tons
much-desired
new drivers. While available
to set
the
it
btrfs
in 11.2, 11.3
up
is
the
of
was
new
ability to
install
to continue even
remove
Gnome 2.30.1, and be joined by an
if
supported
a
feel,
put off by the
but
things did or did not go during the
some were
number
awaiting after the
of
Fedora 13 developmental cycle. They've decided to prolong the
updates a few
install just
feedback-gathering period after
sources other than the mailing
automagic printer setup, but
such as the forums, Identica and
some spoke
Twitter.
of the painfully slow
users
HAL
The
developers and eager testers, listing
(it’s
earning a
around Ubuntu camps.
It's
as
is
may appreciate that
August. The roll
Gnome live CD.
attractive
and
to
and GCC4.5.
the >
www.opensuse.org
The
installer
Hit
a simple idea
D U D D
main fevtovJtvnv:
some Gufw firewall
intuitive interface.
configuration quick,
easy and painless. The centralised location will
save
lots of
will
on 14 October. Unless
final
up,
go
release should
gold on 26 October.
saw some changes and
streamlining with Fedora 13.
http://fedoraproject.org
list distro
pages on DistroWatch.com,
May (average hits per day)
Number of hits
Distro
to organise the
make system
beta
something major crops
buzz
Mandriva’s renowned control centre, the is
first
out on 21 September
follow
Borrowing the layout and appearance from goal
String
on 3 August
with a release candidate to use,
11.3 will include
Hi
one
will fall
with an alpha released on 17
configuration tools of Ubuntu and
in
at that time
The Software
Ubuntu
lot of
third-party utilities such as the
well.
Freeze
and sometimes those turn out to be the best ones. His idea
be branched
will
from Rawhide
developer Benjamim Gois is
will
submission deadline on 27 July.
Robert Laughlin).
7 April-7
lldefonso da Silva
key milestones. Planning
continue through feature-
after physics professor
The 10 most visited project by
release cycle has been
completely removed from
3.2.1
for
posted for the benefit of
first
codename,
announced as Laughlin
Ubuntu Control Centre A small
more visible
contributions be
those wishing to participate.
next release, with one of the
list,
also suggested that
part Fedora users were pleased.
Firefox 3.6.4, OpenOffice.org
been dropped. Look, green!
include
desktop. However, for the most
Gnome
missing.
OpenSUSE
finally
was
Fedora 14
Whatever desktop you
Being long since deprecated,
It
will
Qt and GTKl.x will be the
has
1,
some stated guidelines for artwork
boot and poor performance of the
enjoy the
is
now
alpha
everyone praised the new
on-demand package installation when a file or package
and
days following release. Almost
named
officially
will
The first meeting of the design team mostly discussed how well
largely
positive reviews. Folks liked
decisions, the
Xfce 4.6.1 will
LXDEon the DVD. KDE
users
May to
Planning has started on the
On the desktop, KDE 4.4.3,
in
survive
edora 13 was released at the end of
the look and
after
software packages are removed.
non-fatal storage failures, allowing
the
Yast will have the
ability to
unneeded dependencies
enables users
at install. Also
installer
now
be able to copy needed firmware
its
F
steam ahead
time and effort over
Ubuntu’s currently chaotic System Menu.
Tasks are grouped by categories providing convenient and easy-to-find
you’ll find
Configure Proprietary Drivers,
Sound Configuration and Setup firewall configuration,
Printers.
A
Network Connections,
Bluetooth Configuration are
some
of the
modules organised under Network and Internet. The System entry brings up things like Time and Date and Default Applications.
under Software Manager include Ubuntu
Under Personal Settings is Login Screen, Instant Messaging Accounts, Ubuntu One,
Software Centre, Manage Software Sources,
and such.
System Updater, and Upgrade to Latest Development Release. Under Hardware
this software that
access. For example, available modules
will
Some
include
it
users are so excited about
they are hoping Ubuntu
as early as Maverick Meerkat.
D 0 D 0 D
Ubuntu
3,527
Fedora
1,617
PCLinuxOS
1,429
Linux Mint
1,383
OpenSUSE
1.217
Lubuntu
1,051
Debian
1,038
* 4
Mandriva
973
4*
Arch
768
Sabayon
766
» DistroWatch.com monitors the popularity of distributions
based on the number of visits to each
of
its
distro-specific pages. While these figures don’t represent
the actual
install
base,
were hot during each
www.tuxradar.com
* 4
it’s
an indicator
of
which distros
specific time period.
E3
September 2010 LXF135 39 |
Firefox
The darling of free software is facing a threat, and ffTfiiiTTr!T¥Tl5>Tninvestigat it’s from a former ally.
F
some spectacular
irefox is the open source project your nonopen source friends are most likely to have heard of. It’s also the one they’re most likely
static,
to have used. In fact, Firefox has brought
source browser has been able to go from zero to
open source
into the light of
getting coverage alongside
the usual technology
This
it’s
of
its
own
slogans,
enabled us to ‘take
back the
web’.
become such
“After
is
Google’s Chrome,
built
It’s
initial
some
spectacular growth, the Firefox
this
to.
a dominant force online that site builders can
Internet Explorer is no longer the only browser,
means
with
7%
of slowing
down.
many of the same
Linux users
finally
have access to an
unabridged version of the web on their desktops.
40 LXF135 September 2010
It
now has to
environment where
an easy target
www.linuxformat.com
is
comprehensive plan
just the
learn to
it’s
at the watering hole, just
development, and
However,
the browser yet. This period.
and
Firefox’s
Google has a wide and for
Chrome’s future.
mission has stalled.”
no longer ignore Firefox rendering compatibility as they used
year has been
motivations that drove
same time,
using the language of
one
success, the Firefox last
and things are about to get worse. A competing open
and systems. At the
initial
market share, and doesn’t show any sign
mainstream attention,
all
But after
mission has stalled. Growth over the
it’s
not over for
end of the honeymoon
adapt and evolve
in
an
not the only open source browser
and Internet Explorer is no longer
for destruction.
Firefox _
Mozilla Firefox
View
Edit
File
Bookmarks
History
Help
Tools
http
:
n
//www. n u xfo rmat .co m I
v-
i
*
The story so The preamble to
S
tarting
life in
Firefox’s next great adventure.
2002, Firefox was the antidote to what
authors saw as the bloated,
Mozilla’s Application Suite. Mozilla inherited a lot of
community. As a
its
result,
it
found
still its
not Linux.
Netscape, a
ally
company that needed to monetise the browser and different
Phoenix 1.0 works in Windows, but
>
its
feature creep of
full-fat,
appearance and aesthetic from close
assert
far...
it
very
satisfy a
difficult
to
own independence.
Frustrated, Blake Ross
and pruned
and David Hyatt copied Mozilla
functionality, while a colleague,
Ben Goodger,
took what he saw as a dysfunctional user interface and turned
it
into the
make
minimal theme that helped
Firefox
Phoenix 1.0 such a success. The release notes proclaimed, “
Phoenix is not your father’s Mozilla browser.
fast
It’s
a lean and
browser that doesn't skimp on features.”
Phoenix was enough of a success that Mozilla decided to
push the browser forward as an
months followed
a “long,
according to Goodger, but Firefox 1.0 was released,
official project.
finally,
The next 18
Chrome sent out shockwaves because
all-consuming road,”
difficult,
on November 9 2004,
and the world
done a
Firefox, reinventing a
feature creep.
rejoiced.
It’s
fast, light
majority of websites.
Ascendency Firefox's
to
its
growth
is
as
it’s
essentially
minimal interface
in
the face of
and very compatible with the vast
Combine this with
its
makers’ insider
knowledge on how to enhance Google application
much thanks to
its
circumstance as
features and foresight. During those early years,
it
is
it
was
able to take advantage of Microsoft’s poor Internet Explorer security record, as well as
its
reticence
in
browser. This led Firefox on a trajectory that
now gives all
of
well.
it’s
easy to see why
By May 2010, Chrome had captured
it’s
done
7% of worldwide
browser users. While usage data doesn’t yet suggest these users have switched from Firefox, they’re certainly potential
updating the
almost a third of the browser market, and nearly
performance and searching, and so
Firefox users
it
it
who’ve found a better
back and keeping
at
alternative.
It’s
winning
loyalty that’s the challenge for Firefox.
»
the expense of various versions of Internet Explorer. Firefox has helped bring
anti-phishing protection
But more importantly,
it’s
allowed non-technical, non-Linux
people understand what open source software
can do. Firefox is free
for
How things look on Wikimedia
tabbed browsing, extensions,
and genuine security to everyone.
all
users,
is
and what
it
and works on a massive
variety of platforms.
Google Firefox
used to enjoy an excellent relationship with Google,
thanks to the fact that about
90% of Mozilla’s revenue is
generated from Google being the browser’s default search
became strained when Google its own open source browser and released the first version for Windows in September 2008. What’s interesting about Chrome is that there are two
engine. But the pairing
announced plans to create
versions of
it.
It’s
the
official
available as a binary. But
Google product and
because
it
relies
is
only
on so many free
software libraries - including WebKit Portable Runtime and
SQLite - Google also releases the source code under a project
it
calls
Chromium. When
built, this is identical
Chrome, with a few exceptions: the
to
logo’s different, there’s
no
auto-updater and no usage statistics are sent to Google.
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|41
Firefox Mozilla File
View
Edit
Bookmarks
History
v
Help
Tools
http://www.tuxradar.com
*
Chrome
Firefox vs
How are the two browsers different, and how are they the same? o understand why two major browsers are competing
same space, it’s important to see how they And you can only do that with a proper comparison. Last month, we ran our comprehensive Roundup of web browsers, and we don’t want to go over the same old ground. We gave Firefox an excellent score of 9/10, for the differ.
reflecting
its
long-term
reconfigurability. This
reliability, relative
speed and
a score that’d usually win a Roundup,
is
Chrome also in the running, it wasn’t to be. We gave Chrome an outstanding 10/10, and it subsequently won our award for the best web browser on Linux. but with
JavaScript The most
cited reason for
Chrome being chosen over
is its
speed. Since
that
Chrome has changed most browser can
fast a
release,
its
feel.
This
it’s
is,
users’ expectations of
in part,
lot
advanced
features,
how
>
because websites are
more complicated, filling every
becoming a crevice with
Firefox
not an exaggeration to say
it
You can test out your browser’s capabilities, and compare with others, using the SunSpider benchmark.
available
and because most other web
the language to provide functionality. But then, so does the
browsers pre-date the web 2.0 revolution that’s taken so
rest of the
many of our desktop-bound
some
applications into the cloud.
most of this online interaction was through Chrome development team went all-out to
The
Realising that
JavaScript, the
make
its
JavaScript performance revolutionary.
they upgraded the user experience for every
In
doing
version of
lines of
Chrome caused
doesn’t add
JavaScript code.
a storm
when in
it
was
the
SunSpider JavaScript benchmark, and 35 times faster than
so,
Internet Explorer
site
feature-rich cloud applications rely heavily
first
site left that
through a few
revealed to be almost twice as fast as Firefox 3.0.1
based on JavaScript code. Google obviously had a vested interest -
many of its own
web. There’s hardly a
usability logic
engine,
on
7.
This
was
all
thanks to
its
V8 JavaScript
and while benchmarks are always contentious
because they place
unrealistic loads
on browsers, most
WebKit vs Gecko After you get past a certain threshold, the isn’t just
about speed.
It’s
W web
about how pages are
rendered, and both Firefox and
Chrome use
Netscape. As a result of
its
longevity,
life
at
Gecko is
often accused of being complex and inefficient.
WebKit is the young pretender that started out as KDE’S
HTML layer before Apple for a year or two.
decided to drop
modifications on to a server,
its
high-profile
it’s
now used
web browsers -
it
several
including Apple's
Safari and the latest version of well as in
in
main
justification for sticking
There’s no doubt Mozilla has a deep
committed to include an
more
its
future.
Recent enhancements
Ogg decoder, an OpenGL layer and,
importantly, Google’s
Konqueror- as
products from Nokia, Palm, Bitstream
WebM
video codec,
little
In
of how they both render pages, the may be subjective, but you can see how
terms
quality
both engines are dealing with the evolving
HTML 5 specification. After the release of version four,
Chrome became one of the first
tests that judge a browser’s coherence. In the
efficient it’s
than
far less
final test, for instance,
Chrome scored 100/100.
complex. This has led to the Mozilla foundation
Firefox 3.6.3, by comparison, scored 94/100.
fending off requests to switch
This disparity
42 LXF135 September 2010
its
browser’s
from each.
seems to be
more
and
Gecko can only manage to support two It’s rapidly changing, though, and Gecko does include features such as drag and drop, which WebKit has yet to implement fully.
while
reason to stick with an older technology.
browsers to pass the Acidl, Acid2 and Acid3
lightweight, clean
HTML 5
elements and 20 of the 28 form elements,
which was added to Gecko 1.9.3. But without
and Adobe. WebKit is widely considered to be Gecko, but more importantly,
having different capabilities. WebKit, for
example, supports 12 of the 24 basic
control.
users feeling the advantage, there
When
borrowed the code
WebKit was born, and
Gecko being
understanding of the technology, and seems
different engines. Firefox uses Gecko, the
longstanding layout layer that started
Tenderer, with the
with
is
a result of the layout engines
www.linuxformat.com
>
Both Chrome and Firefox outperform IE in
the Acid 3 test, but
Chrome is
better.
Firefox _
Firefox
n
when they used Chrome.
people could
feel
SunSpider
an interesting attempt to mimic many
is
the difference
:r
different
real-world scenarios, including decompression, encryption,
general mathematics and sting handling.
woven
their own JavaScript new engine called TraceMonkey.
responded with
Firefox developers
optimisations,
into a
This added something called Trace Trees to the original
SpiderMonkey engine, and improved performance by looking through the code for compiled. V8,
much
common
paths, which were then pre-
comparison, attempts to pre-compile as
in
as possible by turning JavaScript into machine code
code when
rather than byte
it's first
executed, and handles
the dynamic nature of JavaScript by patching the
through
speak
runtime system.
its
It’s
inline
code
complicated, but the results
for themselves.
We ran
Chrome 5.0.370 against each them has
Firefox 3.6.3 and
other with SunSpider 0.9, and the gap between
grown. Firefox completed the tests
in
1,475.1ms while ,
Chrome took just 444.5ms - almost three times faster than the speed
it
attained on
its
shows that users
of both browsers
a
have benefited from the
used
one
in all
when
it
example
result, there’s
comes to
including
it
and we
toolkit
built
of
what open
never been any
as a default browser
From KDE, the
Linux use, Chrome’s use of
Gnome
same without any alterations that make Firefox look the
will
“Firefox is deeply ingrained with Linux, and we often consider the project to be one of our own.”
it
Gnome environment. Toolbars, menus,
requesters and themes
modification.
is
same programmers’ result, can feel more
using GTK, the
used to create Gnome. As a
integrated within the
says makes sense. Without the long-standing tradition of
own; one of the
but the most ardent KDE-based distributions. This
because Firefox is
file
sensibilities,
of our
flagships we’re proud to herald as an
hesitation
was the the lead developer for Firefox Chrome project, but what he
before taking to the helm of the
deeply ingrained with Linux
source can achieve. As a
a foreign accent”. Instead, they
GTK for the user-interface. This is slightly ironic
considering Goodger
is
final
integration
and
GTK has been able to forgo
strike out
on
its
application looks different to both
own. As a
result,
.3
j : A-
Linux
/,
J
fvm.goofllc.cu.uk
b
Wtfcm Wap;
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adaptable to the look and
Sti
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D-
/
I
the default
theme
feel of
choices, but
the
Gnome and KDE, and
consequently alienates neither. The theming engine '
borders enabled,
avoided cross-platform toolkits because applications that use
both promising improvements for the future.
Desktop integration
Chrome looks
familiar with the
system bar and
them end up “speaking with
Firefox
)
a
feel
As Chrome developer Ben Goodger explained, Google
competition to build a screaming JavaScript engine. They’re
often consider the project to be
and can
rough around the edges. But not as rough as Chrome
Chrome, which
original
application are purely cosmetic,
like
little
can sometimes seem.
debut. However, Firefox also
peformed much better than the
KDE
look
Gnome,
is
reflected as
more
one
Chrome can be coerced
of
into a
5WJ0 I
wide range of
skins.
Most noticeable, however,
window to make top GoofltfSwrch
cm Fwins Lucky
is
the lack of top
This
title bar.
because Chrome has repositioned page tabs to the top
title
better use of the available real estate.
is
of the
The
bar usually gives you responsibility over your
desktop’s window manager, the part that controls where the
windows go and how their borders are drawn. Chrome usurps Mwosina Praqumra;
Busim-ls
Sownm
the window manager by hiding
it
windows behave
its own Ul to why the browser’s
and pushing
the edge of the borderless window. This slightly differently to
is
those of your native
desktop and why, especially when compositing I
CM'fle tHfCkqinra drupe
can be
less stable
than
provide the option to re-instate the >
Chrome
is
the default
many new fans, and is used as browser on many netbook distributions. winning over
selecting
is
Firefox. Linux versions of
www.tuxradar.com
in
it
window border by
Use System Bar and Borders from the
menu that appears
enabled,
Chrome right-click
the space after the tab view.
»
September 2010 LXF135
|43
\
Firefox
B
Mozilla
View
Edit
File
Bookmarks
History
V
Help
lools
http://www.linuxformat.com
* Security and stability The most important feature for a browser don’t see: security.
is
all
of
one that users
and purchasing information, music,
email, messages, banking photos...
is
A typical browser session might shuttle
which could be at
where open source
risk
if
a leak springs up. This
really shines, with
both Firefox and
Chrome offering up their sources for scrutiny. As a they harbour very few surprises. But perfection into so
many
it’s
lines of code,
result,
impossible to build
and both browsers
will
need updating as and when problems are discovered. Firefox takes a wonderfully
publishing a severity. In
the
open approach
to security by
of vulnerabilities, coloured according to their
list
first
four
which 13 were judged
months
critical.
of this year, there
were 25,
of
There’s even a security blog
which often responds to users' concerns and media reports. At the time of this issue going to
I
print,
it
included an overview
8 has now closed many of the security and feature gaps that initially made Firefox so appealing.
> Internet Explorer
“Firefox takes the wonderful open approach to security by
medium
publishing vulnerabilities.”
development teams are happy to work together.
of the
new
plugin-checker extension and
updated to warn users about which has
itself
had recent and very
The Chromium security you’ll
need to delve
how
vulnerabilities in visible
although most of these issues occurred within
There are also signs that both Mozilla and Google’s
Mozilla that discovered
it’s
an important bug
engine, for example - no doubt
been
Adobe’s Flash,
their
in
and
forums to discover
new
was
quest to speed up
their
own JavaScript engine. And both
Its
Chrome’s V8
in
projects offer bug-
hunting incentives. Google and Mozilla offer
problems.
portal isn’t quite as open,
into the security
risk,
WebKit rather than the wider Chrome application.
$500 for every
security problem discovered, although Mozilla has a
slight
advantage: you also get a
T-shirt.
what’s going on. This reflects a desire to keep vulnerabilities discreet, not
The
one to hide what could be serious security
risks.
update, released at the beginning of June,
last stable
fixed nine serious vulnerabilities
and two problems judged as
Threads When problems do slip through,
it’s
other pages you have open that’s
have 10 tabs open
in
Firefox and
Chrome’s ability to
won
it
supporters.
you open a new page with a
broken Flash animation, you lose everything.
Chrome's multi-process running
One
Extensions Manager and choose
of the best Firefox extensions
we’ve seen
is
HTTPS Everywhere -
offers functionality that
it
Chrome can't
which You’ll
sites will
still
always use HTTPS.
need to be careful on
HTTPS can be
currently can’t match. Developed by
insecure networks, as
the Electronic Frontier Foundation
broken and spoofed, but that’s a far
and the Tor
more arduous task than simply
Project, the extension
ensures you use an
HTTPS
running Wireshark, so don’t panic.
an
read
it.
You might think intercepting
is
a specialist task, but anyone
in
the
be replaced with
it’s
even Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 includes
an
do
so.
offer to re-open the tabs
project, but
Firefox
had long ago
it’s
The best
it
Firefox
hasn’t,
you were using when you It
does have
its
own
‘sandbox’
the peer-review process, which has been
installed
through the
However, there
A brilliantly simple idea enables HTTPS connections for many sites.
>
is
plugins
now
some good
run within their
Chrome. This removes one
in
official site.
news. With the release of
Firefox 3.6.4, a version of the browser that 3.7,
and
can manage
running for more than three years, that ensures quality
add-ons
HTTPS Everywhere is
browser, click Preferences
will
access ones running within other sandboxes.
straightforward (see https://eff.org/
https-everywhere). Restart your
If
almost impossible for a process running within a sandbox to
relaunch a crashed application.
such as Wireshark.
to
doesn’t affect the
This approach also has a positive effect on security, as
is
see your messages using only a tool
itself
keeps each tab
Aw snap’ message, and you can reload the page or give up.
currently has no plans to
running a wireless access point can
Installation of
it
assimilated one of Chrome’s best features. But
and
data
it
entire application. Instead, the tab view
When
browsers and remote sites so that traffic
Chrome, only
an isolated process known as a sandbox.
window sandboxing, you may think
encrypts data between
people can’t intercept your
in
with which
abilities,
something crashes within a sandbox,
connection as often as possible.
HTTPS
In
the current tab stops responding. This feature owes
HTTPS Everywhere
shield
you
If
own
of the
was destined
to be
processes, as they do
in
most common causes for
Firefox Firefox
Hv
v
an application-wide crash, but
doesn’t stretch to
it
web pages Nokia N900 Review Linux Action Show! Jupiter Broadcasting
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and won’t help you with a poorly written Flash
application. File
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paid-for portals that
let
web
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now many and many more
such instances, spawning
in
HTML 5’s specification
products such as RealPlayer. But
the rendering
in
^
v
Tools
browser would be expected to
launch an external application
embeds this ability
&
Bookmarks
History
browser. There are
you stream movies,
HTML 5, a
for music. Before
View
Edit
v [§] Mosi Visited
I
music and watching videos have become
essential functions of your
Google |
layer. Firefox
has been at
the forefront of this revolution, embracing free formats such
as
Ogg Vorbis and Theora. You
Vorbis music a
file,
for
new window and
MP3 file,
only need to click on an
example, and
played back automatically. Click on an
by comparison, and Firefox will go back to asking
which external application you’d This
is
move away from
like
to use to
like
a feature that’s going to
important, with sites
the
become
HTML 5.
of Engineering at Mozilla puts
making video a
“this
it,
But
it’s
also going to be
As Mike Shaver, VP
modern
problem facing Firefox in a
specific
dominated by patent-encumbered codecs ones used by YouTube and Vimeo - H.264.
In
H.264
is
is illegal
it
is
it
and very much look forward to us separately - towards that end.”
it
is
not legal to use or
Killer Despite
distributing
over the internet or broadcasting
it
H.264 content
is
only
in
WebM seems to have momentum, with grow
it
Chrome,
Firefox
into a position
and
Google gave
this that's likely to
happens, Firefox will be
not, Linux users will
online content. But
still
it’s
in
have to
also a
in
its
little
doubt that Google developed Chrome to satisfy
its
own agenda. With
own
its
operating system just around the corner
and a serious foothold it
needed
its
in
own
the mobile portal to the
one that could present Google’s applications
the best
It’s
light.
Firefox doesn’t have those
a browser that’s been developed to bring the possible.
As stated on
its
it
own web
should always put
no matter what temptations are placed
users
first,
While
Chrome is based on open
end
source,
when she discovered
of April,
in
it’s
a long
at
its feet.
way from
like Mozilla.
on additional packages to collaboration,
like
anything
just
something
else.
best
“Non-profit organisations
can make mistakes. They can be boring and If
it
a botanical garden
seeing wasn’t a tourist honeypot but a
non-profit organisation
If
the best-possible position.
chance for greater
at the
she was interested
inclusion
the licence’s language.
rely
be a foundation of
Mozilla’s future growth. There’s
Mitchell Baker, Chair of the Mozilla Foundation, said
WebM a new licence to remove ambiguity
and decouple copyright patents
WebM
announced
one
being as open as Firefox.
where
going to be a big part of Firefox 4, and
Mozilla hacker Robert O’Callahan
in
future, there’s
and opportunity on the web”. This means
H.264 support becomes a non-issue?
after
external codecs.
page, Firefox has a mission to “promote openness, innovation
WebM or the often-criticised Ogg Theora.
is
full-featured,
Chrome can’t compete with: freedom.
web to as many people as
effect until
open format, and that means
to use a truly
and tools
restraints.
the end of 2010.” [This has since been extended to 2016.]
WebM
web with
working - together and
and the
this talk of function
online world,
over the airwaves requires
for free-to-the-viewer internet delivery
Regardless,
Embedded
feature
all
aspect of Firefox that
the consent of the MPEG-LA, and the current fee exemption
will
all
I
produces or consumes H.264-
IE9 pledging support, but
>
a patented technology,
encoded content. Indeed, even
is
believe that
future, not
share our desire to have a
market,
solution
much
many others
“Despite talk of function and future, there’s one aspect Chrome can’t compete with: freedom.”
The
very
videos are the
It’s
either Google’s
"I
Google (both the Chrome and YouTube teams), Vimeo and high-performance, unencumbered, natively-integrated video,
the
to use without paying licence fees to
the MPEG-LA. Without such a licence, distribute software that
like
not currently a suitable technology
many countries,
meaning that
as Michael Shaver wrote recently:
in
He then
web”.
future
“For Mozilla,
it.
an important step
is
the
first-class citizen of
goes on to describe the
open
increasingly
Vimeo and YouTube already making
Flash to
a particularly tough challenge for Firefox.
choice.
Ogg
be embedded within
will
it
ineffective just
But the chance that the whole thing was
dumb designed to get
money felt much, much
www.tuxradar.com
lower.”
It’s
the
people there to extract
same for
Mozilla.
September 2010 LXF135
|45
Firefox
8
Mozilla
View
Edit
File
Bookmarks
History
A
Help
Tools
http://tinyurl.com/manky-munkey
*
The future of
Firefox
4 is due later this year. We find out what it’s going to offer.
Firefox
The
Firefox team has a lot to think about,
much time. plans for
it
Firefox
4 is due
were outlined
Mike Beltzner,
in
in
and they don't have
November, and many
May
Firefox's director.
Firefox
in a web presentation by He asked, firstly, who uses
the browser? Apparently, there’s a
updates
will
occur
interruptions
between early
split
use a sleek theme. Early mock-ups look very
will
Chrome. Reading the
of the
Security
in
details, there’ll
the background,
“The
word in the plan was
first
list
but there wasn’t an all-out
‘fast’,
adopters, mainstream users and developers, and the
them
all
o
the
will
show you your
manager shows a correspond to a
list
relationship
of websites, with a
site’s capabilities.
customise pop-up blocks. But while privacy for data
new
you don’t
explicitly share, Firefox
may be an
issue
4 is going to have
your favourite websites and even open tabs.
HTML 5 There’s been a
lot of
work on the
HTML 5 rendering layer, and
multi-touch gestures sound exciting. There’s also been
progress on animation with
CSS 3 transitions, along with a
new remote JavaScript debugger,
profile
manager and
of Firefox 4
Firefox
You can keep online services,
such as your email,
in
the
^
same
^
tab position no matter where
you launch
it
in
I
Mozilla.org
-
Home
jflPwttlfioSa
I
x
of...
oQ
Mozilla Firefox Startjfe*<
Tl* Planet
Mozilla
i
the order of
tabs you have open.
E 'ITER
•
FIR E
FOX
•
THUNDE RBIR
O LEARN ABOUT MOZILLA
Movable tab bar The
list
of tabs
can be moved
OUR COMMUNITY
from the top to the bottom border of the window.
OUR PROJECTS
mozilla.org
OUR CAUSES
Movable menus The menu bar class as the
is
now
in
the
same
bookmarks bar and
can be enabled and moved according to preference. fifin Mnpj
o Multi-touch
Sandboxed add-ons
A
You can
lot of
work seems to have
been done to make the
HTML 5
and
rendering engine work well with
will
multi-touch gestures.
session with
46 LXF135 September 2010 1
restart,
install if
Minimal design The new
add-ons without a
an add-on crashes,
it
no longer take the entire browser it.
a
designed to help you share
social aspect, with features
s
Application tabs
You
equally.
It was no surprise that the first word in the plan was ‘fast’. What was interesting was that there wasn’t an all-out race for benchmark dominance; it was more to do with what the user sees. Beltzner gave an example of how a progress meter’s design might affect how speed is perceived. As a result,
Our best-guess mockup
far,
of permissions that
more version of the browser has to cater for
So
could choose to disable geolocation data, for example, or
benchmark dominance.”
race for
I
site.
be no startup
restart.
also important. There’s going to be a
permissions manager that with a
there’ll
and add-ons won’t need a
is
like
be no modal dialogues,
default
theme
Privacy controls is
now sleek,
Customise popup blocking, cookie
simple and minimal, with a dramatically
knowledge and personal information
reduced number of buttons
sharing on a per-site basis using the
and status
bar.
www.linuxformat.com
in
the toolbar
Permissions Manager.
new
Firefox Firefox
•JJv Google
WebGL - all interactive
As
part of Mozilla’s new web standard to bring 3D graphics to web pages, as tried by VRML.
well as the rhetoric
JavaScript
is
about the interface
being overhauled. The
|
moz
]
moz method
|
moz method+ tracing
|
google v8
I
apple nitro
I
moz w/o
I
nitro
w/o JIT
|
moz
fv
w/o JIT
I
moz
fv
method JIT
tracing JIT
JIT
inferring speed,
new engine
is
called
JaegerMonkey, and attempts to improve some of SpiderMonkey/ s clever trace routines with simpler, more efficient
codes that compile
overanalysis. This
perfect for cases
is
JIT
entire subroutines without
don’t work because an application
in
which trace routines
isn’t repetitive
enough.
At the end of May, David Mandelin, a Mozilla programmer responsible for JavaScript development, announced that
JaegerMonkey was doubled
it’s
at the half-way point. Results indicate that
although benchmarks say V8 and Apple’s Nitro.
efficiency,
its
slower than Google’s
But speed
isn’t just
about
profiles to
and JavaScript.
Ul
asked the Reddit community
it’s still
Mozilla’s
for their multi-minute launch
improve speed and, hopefully, image.
Competition The
how
real test is
Firefox
is
going to adapt to a market that’s
> www.arewefast
embedded and locked-down devices that won’t necessarily make things easy for people who want Google’s Chrome OS is a prime example. It’s a to use being dominated by
yet.com shows
benchmark results for
it.
complete operating system
There’s a similar situation ruled
itself
around Chrome.
that’s built in
Firefox 4.
the mobile market. Mozilla
out of the iPhone, stating that Apple
made
it
too
hard to create a competing browser, and Apple hasn’t relented on
no browsers
its
rule,
Android’s a different story, and
iPhone competitor. As a a mobile version of
becoming the only
It
real
been trying to create
result, Mozilla’s
browser.
its
other than to allow Opera.
is
released an early-Alpha
version for Android, Fennec, at the end of April, which had
most
of the
desktop features, including add-on support. But
clear that there’s a lot of
it’s
work to
going to fare against Chrome. Mozilla
to boost co-operation
P fi
know how
pragmatic.
conflict.
Firefox
It
wants
Beltzner said,
it
to win
it
hasn’t been
us,
it.”
skill,
financing and
in this
community to succeed.
position before; for years, Firefox has
been the standard open source browser. But competition good.
If
Mozilla really
beneficiaries
in
wants to win, that makes us
a contest that
may transform
is
all
Linux.
ES
Installing nightly builds fl-Eji.-iii-v
'it
±
If README |3
and play down
is
in
Mozilla has the
But
do.
Regardless of plans, most users want to is
“We watch our competitors and our competitors watch and we are
re fox 3 7a 6p re. cn .
====
tlrcFo J.7a«prc.tn-U5 llnux- :68fr.tor.biI
US
.
I
u n;i p
flrah»-3.7fll 5 ipre.
know anything about programming to
when the fix for the bug has been
is
as simple as translating an English word into
produced and uploaded to the main code base.
translator;
» Fix Released When the bugfix has been
the language of your choice.
users (most typically
then
I
the Importance
is
field: this is
This information indicates
it.
needs to be
» Critical
fixed.
in
loss risk, set
bug that causes
to the
a
is
good
significantly affect the ability to
I
in
the
first
has translations enabled
the Translations button
Preferred Languages
like
main translations page,
selected and
to translate into.
click
and
in
tick
Now go
back
the language that you
combo box select
Untranslated
show all items that need a translation. Now enter the new translation into the New Translation Items, which
option.
issues that don’t
use the software, this
click
Now click Choose
which languages you would
the software, this
engineers!
and within an hour had 10
part, find a project that
to this.
» Low For unimportant problems and good
To take
functionality or involves a security or data-
it
is
different translations available.
the project.
significant
If
in
translations
(such as Ubuntu), and then
» High Very disruptive bugs should be set to this. » Medium a bug is causing a significantly noticeable problem
call for
Answers
a great place to convert
your users into support
massive.
I
bug
urgently the
has the following options:
a serious
If it’s
regressions
It
how
is
uploaded an application that wrote to Launchpad,
announced a
a very important
any bug report and you should take great care when
changing
it’s
The Launchpad translations community
the latest release of the software),
set to this.
it’s
Next part of
in
released to
contribute as a
is
box.
will
Be sure to preserve any
additional
symbols or formatting
when adding your translation.
a
setting.
» Wishlist Many bugs will
Wrapping things up
be reported as feature requests
and you should mark them as this.
Launchpad
» Undecided
and we’ve only just covered the tip of the iceberg. Throughout
Use this
if
you’re unsure which of the above
each
options to use. Finally, there’s
the bug
is
the Assigned To
assigned to
if
field,
which indicates who
a developer has chosen to take care
Underneath the yellow table
discussions are
is
listed in
a hugely powerful development environment
of the core
components
that we’ve introduced today are
a rich wealth of features and capabilities for helping your
communities thrive and
build great software.
I
recommend
you continue your journey and take a look at https://edge.
of producing a solution.
takes place. Everyone
is
is
welcome
where the bug conversation to participate
chronological order.
important word of advice
is
and the
One
launchpad. net/+tour to explore many didn't
pretty
to
let
have space for
in this article.
of the features
we
Have fun and don’t forget
us know about your projects! E33
that you should never post a
comment that essentially says, "This bug affects me too”. Alternatively, at the top of the
Affect
You?
link
-
click
bug report
mark that
it
does indeed
Finally,
if
you’re especially interested
report and would
like
is
a Does This Bug
the yellow button to the right of
it
affect you.
to keep
comments that are added to
In in
a particular
bug
click
the Subscribe button
in
with
it,
Translations
is
component we're going to take a look at is the Translations feature, known as Rosetta. With any project final
it,
that uses the standard gettext translations
in
framework for enabling
code can be imported, and Rosetta provides a
simple interface to allow anyone to contribute a translation.
What’s wonderful about this feature
is
it
also provides
developers have created other
interfaces that use
back-end.
The
interface,
a Python programming library and,
the right sidebar to be emailed updates and changes.
Ground Control adds simple
addition to Launchpad’s powerful
web-based
up to date with changes and it,
The desktop as your IDE
to
One
Launchpad as the
of the
most
interesting
Ground Control by Martins Owens,
available at http://ground-control.
org.
Ground Control provides
integration of built into
manager
Launchpad and Bazaar
the the Nautilus f\\e in
Gnome.
buttons to a directory view to
let
changes, all
fix
Nautilus
bugs and other features,
without ever touching a
line.
in
you check out branches, upload
Ground Control was
command
originally
designed for a non-technical
documentation collaboration group
in
the Ubuntu community, and together with the
Launchpad web
provides a fantastic
interface
it
way to
collaborate on projects.
that you don't have to
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|
55
Hugin
how
always better! Guest reality enhancer Nathan Sanders show you to stitch dozens of photos into one huge image using Hugin.
More
is
A
is worth a thousand words; a good panorama is worth a thousand pictures. The most beautiful scenes in nature just won’t fit into your digicam's viewfinder. If you can’t squeeze the whole mountain into the frame or if you can’t
hesitate to shoot handheld: an ordinary tripod won’t
picture
necessarily be helpful, since you are aiming to rotate
around the camera lens rather than the body.
» Don’t be shy with your field of view. You'll crop of the edges of your panorama, so
see the forest for the trees, the cross-platform photostitching application
Hugin is just what you need. Use
improve on your camera's resolution and
field of
features of interest are well within the frame. it
to
view by
» Time your photos carefully, since objects moving between shots could produce strange results. A swaying tree branch
merging many photos into one.
might produce a minor misalignment
Actively developed since 2003, Hugin
is
a wxWidgets
point,
front-end for a suite of open source panoramic photography
GPL and available compiled for many Linux and BSD distributions, Windows, and Mac OS X.
tools.
It’s
licensed under the
once per frame
off
your old
digital
install
together any set of overlapping images, but
you’ll
if
your panorama. Hugin
will
you’ll
minimise seams between photos
mode to
if
Hugin will open the JPEG or TIFF images output by most
stitch
get better
digital
cameras, as well as
PNG and HDR files.
RAW images, though, you’ll
you follow these photography guidelines:
» Overhang each photo by about 30% to guarantee that you have plenty of common features to help you align the
If
you shot
need to convert them before you
get started.
To introduce you to Hugin,
we'll
walk you through the
image. Since the edges of your photos are vulnerable to
production of two panoramas.
First,
aberrations, larger overlaps can improve uniformity.
panorama composed
few photos and, second, a
» Move the camera as little as possible between shots to minimise parallax error
in
the
final
you
hold the white balance
and exposure constant between shots.
Hugin from the Hugin can
results
in
use your camera's manual
camera,
used as a control
automatically correct for the errors of the casual
photographer,
Dust
if
and a car driving through your scene could show up
» Even though the stitching process in
Taking pictures LXFDVD and follow along with this tutorial.
probably want to
make sure the
planet' stitched
more
composition. Don’t
of just a
a simple one-row ‘little
from three rows of images and posing a few
challenges.
Panoramic projections Remember child
looking at Mercator
maps
as a
and concluding that Greenland was
roughly the size of South America? Using the
wrong
projection can distort features
panorama, so
scroll
Hugin’s preview
The
in
your
through the options
in
window and choose wisely!
default projection, equirectangular, simply
and longitude to an xy grid -
maps
latitude
this
usually appropriate for long, skinny
is
56 LXF135 September 2010 1
panoramas. The
rectilinear projection
is
just
what a pinhole camera would produce and similar to what your eyes see, but leaves the edges of a wide field looking stretched out. The fisheye projection produces the
same
name. Equirectangular panini preserves vertical
and
radial lines,
which gives a great
sense of perspective to architectural scenes.
www.linuxformat.com
Just a few of
Hugin’s 19 panoramic projections applied to a 120 degree scene.
From top to bottom:
same
distinctive look as the lens type of the
>
equirectangular, rectilinear, fisheye,
and equirectangular panini.
Hugin
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D Load your images
Align the photos
To begin, open Hugin select the Images tab and drag and drop your photos in. You want Hugin to sort through your images and line them up how they were in the real world. To do that, it needs to know the points that each of your images have in common: control points. If you don’t mind stepping into a patent quagmire, you can find a variety of tools that integrate with Hugin to automatically generate control points. If you have one installed, just click Create control points. ,
s»
u
aal |
GpHntzer exposure |
|
the drop-down
menus to
them out as far as
load
possible.
When you’re done,
tab, select Positions (incremental, starting
down menu, and
hit
switch to the Optimiser
from anchor) from the drop-
Optimise Now.
attener |
|
l_^j
|4-*».50S0Jpa
D One last tweak
Take a peek Preview panorama button on the toolbar to get a quick look at your panorama now that your images are lined up. If you don't like what you see, click on the Straighten button on the Fast Preview toolbar Hit the Fast
to automatically centre,
zoom to fit and straighten
out your row of
images. We’ve used the Crop button to shave off the ragged edges of this panorama. To see how well your images are aligned, select Difference in
mode drop-down menu at the bottom of the preview window and then mouse over an overlap. The overlap will appear black if the agreement is perfect, but you'll see coloured outlines if it’s a bit off.
the Blend
Use two adjacent photos and then click on an identical feature in each image and click Add to create the control point. Aim to add at least five control points per image pair and try to spread identify control points manually, switch to the Control Points tab.
a
Control Ports
Crcp |
To
You may still be able to see seams even though the images are lined up perfectly. This is due to slight differences in the white balance and exposure. To fix these issues, turn to the Exposure tab, choose the 'Low Dynamic Range, Variable White Balance' preset from the drop-down menu and hit Optimise Now. To see the results in the preview window, make sure you enable Photometries on the toolbar. Finally, open the Stitcher tab and click Calculate Optimal Size to set the output resolution. You can choose JPEG, PNG or TIFF output with varying compression under File formats. When you’re fully satisfied, click on Stitch Now.
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135 57 |
Hugin
Step by step:
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three
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Open the
Fast Preview and click Photometries on the toolbar.
on any image,
If
the colour
photometric parameters by hand. Use the Identify button on the preview window toolbar to determine what its image number is. On the Camera and Lens tab, select the culprit image and open the Photometric tab at the bottom. Modify the Exposure (EV) value to change its brightness, and the Red and Blue multipliers to is
off
try modifying
its
When you're done, open the Stitcher tab and pick an output size. You can output at the full resolution of your photos but be prepared for it to take hours, even on a modern machine. alter its colour.
www.linuxforniat.com
Hugin
S
titching enlarges the field of view of
you're remiss
if
you don't
your camera, but your
similarly enlarge
camera's colourspace. High dynamic range (HDR)
imaging enables you to capture the details
and the glittering sunlight all
at once.
the shadows
in
To try
it
out, consult
your camera's manual to learn how to manually vary the
exposure
level of
your photos. For every photo you would
have taken for a normal panorama, try to take at least three
an HDR panorama. HDR panorama with Hugin, you only need to change a few steps in your workflow. When you turn to the at different exposure levels for
To stitch your
exposure
choose High Dynamic Range, Fixed Exposure
tab,
from the drop-down menu. To check on your progress, choose the Preview panorama button from the toolbar. This
menu
Output drop-down
window that will
HDR
that the
at the
HDR output. Beware
give you a peek at the
preview uses a simple logarithmic display that's
meant for checking which regions have The
step
last
Merging Hugin
detail preserved,
And Blended Panorama
is
to
check
HDR
option under
output an
OpenEXR file that
includes
all
information from your photos at every exposure this
but
panorama.
HDR panorama
producing an
in
final
Hugin makes corrections to make all your images blend perfectly.
sure
the Stitcher tab before you click on Stitch Now.
in
will
an
is
bottom of this preview
won’t look nearly as pretty as the
the Merged
slower
is
than the OpenGL-accelerated Fast Preview, but there
image may have a
monitor or
Open your HDR panorama
in
it
without
panorama by hand, just by
some
Luminance HDR an ,
open source, cross-platform tone mapping program
Imagine trying to construct a
Since
dynamic range than your
you won’t be able to view
printer,
processing.
far larger
the colour
level.
to
JPEG or other low dynamic range (LDR) file. Tone mapping involves a calculation to assign colours to the convert
it
pixels in
your image according to one of a variety of different
to a
laying
down
a few printed photos on a table and shifting
them around to
While this
is all
them
line
that’s strictly
up.
needed
to
produce a panorama, Hugin does an awful
more. The
lot
business
is
order of
first
geometric correction.
When
operator algorithms. Experiment with different operators to
you selected Everything
produce the most
Optimiser tab, you were instructing Hugin to do far more to
realistic
reproduction of your scene, or
ratchet up the contrast to render a bizarre circus of colours.
align
your images than
in
the
just sort
Hugin determined the exact
Pretty colours Even
if
where
you were unable to shoot images at varying exposures,
Hugin can
still
help you get the
most out
of your colourspace.
it
had previously
Hugin's
them out on the table.
field of
relied
First
view of your images,
on the
corrections do
information from
Exif
your camera. Next, Hugin corrects for
radial lens distortion
using a third-order polynomial model.
Finally,
determines a vector that indicates how
Exposure Fusion
centre of the
CCD deviates from the centre of the lens (the
optical axis).
Each image
in
the Stitcher tab before clicking Stitch
Instead of merging the input photos into an
HDR
image,
parameters before
If
just
one of your photos
underexposed and the adjacent shots look help you preserve as
much
detail
is
better,
over- or
Enfuse can
as possible.
pixels the
plugin.
It
is
able to
errors by virtue of the Enblend
Enblend uses a multiresolution spline algorithm to
up seams between images.
transition line roughly its
pillars.
corrected according to these
smooth over many alignment polish
job
stitching.
With or without this series of corrections, Hugin
Enfuse simply gives weight to the best-exposed areas during the stitching process.
is
terrific
of fixing the
on these
Simply check the Fused And Blended Panorama box under
Now. This turns on Enfuse, Hugin's exposure fusion engine.
a
alignment error
Hugin
many
advanced geometric
First
a
identifies
it
down the centre of the
overlap, doing
best to avoid features that differ (such as a car driving by).
then blends the images together across that
wide brush for smoothly varying features
one
like
line,
using a
sky and a tight
for sharply varying features like grass.
It’s
not enough to align the features of your images,
though; the colours must match up, too. Hugin begins
its
photometric corrections by recalculating the exposure for
each image to optimise their brightness
examines the brightness gradients
levels.
determine three vignetting correction terms. for variable white balance in the
calculate optimal red
optimisation, the
and blue
Exposure
levels for
camera response
Next Hugin
of overlapping If
tab,
images to
you optimise Hugin will also
each image. One
last
curve, normalises the
colourspace of the panorama.
Now that you can stitch images
a pro,
your camera
From top to bottom: normal panorama, enfused panorama, HDR panorama, HDR panorama with high-
be your paintbrush! With panoramic photography and Hugin,
contrast tone mapping. At right: detail views.
you can capture any scene, no matter how
>
www.tuxradar.com
like
let
big.
M3
September 2010 LXF135
|
59
What on Earth WebM
What on Earth is
WebM?
Bob Moss explains how Google’s new patent-free codec could soon make on to a web browser near you. it
So...
what
A codec
is
a codec exactly?
is
a piece of software or a
encode or decode
physical device that can
audio or video data. There are
sounds bad, but in
it
MPEG-LA is the authority
codecs around, with MP3, Ogg Theora and
already supported
DivX among them. They capture audio or visual
Adobe
and convert
input
it
‘container format’.
It’s
worth doing
saving raw binary data (usually a
sound) takes up a huge amount
because
this
Flash,
in all
the main browsers and
Wav file for
and DivX movies.
MPEG-LA has promised
having H.264
period where no-one
one of these ‘codecs’ then?
WebM
is
a container for two
called Vorbis,
is
which
if
Google gets
remains under a free
licence.
why isn’t everyone using VP8 then? VP8 is still a fairly new codec, meaning it
HTML 5
For the free software community, yes.
exactly,
WebM
doesn’t have widespread support just yet.
the
Is
One
WebM
So,
quality.
of disk space,
standard a bad thing?
Not
that
is
meaning that even
licensing,
sued,
has the advantage of hardware-acceleration,
which vastly improves playback
we can compress this to certain levels much quality. Container formats you may be familiar with are MP3, Ogg
codecs.
see
typically
decouples patent licensing from copyright
is
and also had widespread support
but
is
something you
is
General Public Licence v3 and Apache
Licence v2. The difference
charge of
without losing too
So WebM
GNU
from hardware companies. This means H.264
a compressed
into
in
enforcing the patents behind H.264. This
kinds of
all
is MPEG-LA and why want to attack everyone?
Hang on, what does
you’ll
have
royalties, after that,
free to
do
so. This
in
pledged to support
WebM
their
in
browsers
and Adobe will be adding support to
Though
a few years’ grace
Player software.
be pursued for
will
all
However, Mozilla and Opera have already
Moovida,
support
the patent-holders are
If
you’ll also
will
its
Flash
you use Miro, VLC or be pleased to hear that
be heading your way too.
would mean that any free
software with encoding or decoding support
Fair
enough! So what are the key
VP8 and H.264?
come across you’ve ever tried to convert your MP3s or rip CD audio as Ogg files and, as you
for
can probably guess,
software being developed, free software not
between the two for visual or audio
being able to provide playback support for
usually unnoticeable for the
high-quality video legally or even existing free
hardware acceleration
software disappearing.
hardware acceleration, then inevitably H.264
if
content. Vorbis is
widely used
Does
is
in
this
this deals with audio
and
patent-
royalty-free
and
the Linux world.
mean
it’s
litigation.
the case of Vorbis, that
exciting part of
WebM
called
WebM
VP8 that
is
isn't
differences between
and could face
necessarily the use
handles the video side of the
container.
VP8
patent issues?
plugged, the patent issue
itself is
the patent holder for VP8 after
If
you use
now. Once the support gap will
is
be the overriding
between the two codecs.
purchase of On2 (the codec developer)
its
result has added a ‘patent promise' WebM's OSI-approved free licence that
WebM
be available on devices other
and as a
Will
to
than the desktop?
for
Yes.
The plan with hardware partnerships
is
try to create a consistent experience across
did video content?
would mean that any software could provide
different devices of varying
as good as the competing (and non-free)
H.264 format,
it’s
nowhere near as
backers.
The
because
if
latter
is
an important
point,
MPEG -LA were to pursue a
patent
case against Theora, they wouldn’t have the financial
backing to fight
escaped
litigation
this blessing
is
so
far
it.
Theora has
through obscurity, but
also a curse, as
companies
won't adopt a format that has the potential to
them sued.
60 LXF135 September 2010
full
support for the format without facing the
In
the
Which OSI-approved licence does
approved by the Open Source
body that checks to see truly ‘free’
and ‘open
if
Initiative (OSI),
free licences are
source’. This
is
in
the
event of Google being pursued for patent royalties,
grades of hardware.
sees patent rights revoked. This
www.linuxforxnat.com
WebM will
is
all
be able to play
already the case with
be arriving on these
platforms to remain competitive.
a
So how
long can
I
expect to wait for
hardware acceleration?
The major advantage
also
enclosed with a ‘patent promise’ that,
same videos. This
H.264, and
WebM use? WebM uses a BSD-style licence that has been
to
theory, your smartphone, tablet, laptop,
desktop and netbook should
possibility of legal action.
well-
supported and doesn't have big-money
1
difference
a factor.
royalties for the container’s existence. This
does, but the compression-to-quality ratio
get
isn't right
is
so widely supported where
So how does WebM go about avoiding
anyone using the codec won’t be pursued
isn’t
it’s
isn't
quality
end user when
But thought that Ogg Theora already I
It
Aside from the patent issue, the difference
This could lead to less free playback
shines because
indeed true. The
new patent-free codec
of Vorbis, however, but a
liable
technology we’ve
had the whole time? In
H.264 would be
for
a longer head start and
is
H.264
is
that
it's
had
therefore already
supported on most hardware platforms. However, thanks to Google's general aura,
WebM What on Earth we've already seen AMD, various ARM chip
will
makers and Broadcom pledge support. Nvidia
QuickTime
is
also considering adding to support to
system-on-chip Tegra platform, while
promised to also support
it
once
see widespread adoption. This early stages for
it
end
in
starts to
the
hardware support, but VP8
the next few months,
if
the
same codecs for same
order to achieve the
not by the
»
Does VP8 need a
encoder?
There’s no single encoder or decoder that
VP8 requires. FFmpeg is supported for VP8 playback, and
Windows users will
available for DirectShow.
nature of the
find filters
Thanks to the open
VP8 codec and
software development
of this year.
specific
kit
its
associated
»
if
I’m using another
operating system and find myself stuck
along with
Firefox,
Opera and Chrome
supporting VP8 out of the box.
Internet Explorer doesn’t natively support
WebM, but so long as you have the Vorbis and VP8 codecs installed on your machine, WebM still
be playable. Safari users
I
like
So where can watch I
right
viewing
WebM content
now then?
your enthusiasm!
we mentioned
weren't yet released and
the beta stages,
still in
but should be stable enough for general use by the time you read version of
»
This I
this.
The VP8-compatible
VLC should be a full
release.
you want to
sounds excellent! Where can more information?
all
find
http://bit.ly/dpKOnS or view the
technical details about entry.
If
start
WebM content right away, you can sign
It
WebM via
its
latest
Wikipedia
You can also follow progress at the
project’s website
(www.webmproject.org) or
On2’s website at www.on2.com, 523
s a container
for i
versions of the three browsers
via
»
supported browser builds from that
page. At the time of writing, VP8-compatible
You can view the demonstration at Google I/O
with Internet Explorer or Safari?
content should
www.youtube.com/html5 and download one
(SDK) we should see
a wide range of VP8 players and encoders,
What about
HTML 5 beta version of YouTube at
up the the result.
of the
has
support on the software side should be available
install in
its
Intel
is still in
need to
two codecs
a high-quality open video format for the web Its
KJm.
TO
Video files
#
play
W.
directly in
your web browser
It's
100% free
W
and open-source W, u- XV A
using
HTML 5 -i
No
r
plugins
required
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|61
Dr Brown’s Administeria
Dr Chris Brown
Esoteric system administration goodness from the impenetrable bowels of the server room.
The Doctor provides Linux training, authoring and consultancy. He finds his PhD in particle physics to be of no help in this work at all.
down
Drilling
H
ow
long
is
the coastline of Great
Britain? According to the
Ordnance Survey, it’s 11,073 miles. The UK Coast Guide website says 7,760. There’s no right answer, of course;
depends on the scale and what
of the
it
map you
use
wiggliness you drape your
level of
tape measure around. I
mention
by way of comparison with
this
comes who “How many days
the equally ill-defined question that
up time and again
for
deliver Linux training:
those of us
does this course need?” - which
“How much
translates to
is
about Linux?” For most of that
we
enough
learn
Ubuntu Tweak Change the settings you’ve always wanted to, but could never figure out how.
really
there to
know
us, the reality
is
to get our jobs done,
and no more.
T
he
Gnome desktop
customisable. As a
those people
who
is
endlessly
rule, I'm
Danger, Will Robinson!
not one of
fusses over their
The Source Centre screen of Ubuntu Tweak provides a quick and easy checkbox approach to adding PPAs (Personal Package
choice of background wallpaper, or has to
make their window borders exactly the
Layers of knowledge
shade
of pink
However much you
colour
scheme on my Ubuntu 10.04
learn
about Linux
right
(though admit did change the I
I
Archives) to your
desktop),
but one thing
there’s almost always another layer of detail
below the one you’re
fractals?
that. For
It’s like
at.
Remember
example, there’s a
well-known network reconnaisance tool called
Nmap.
In
could describe
default behaviour
manager screen displays a
Now,
a training context, you
it
in
a couple of sentences,
do a one-minute demo, and move
on.
like
you could give examples of Nmap's two
Ubuntu Tweak
jgj
^
book on the subject written by Gordon
jjjj)
Lyon (who
is
Application Center
PPA’s author to run his log in)
you
list
I
will,
468 pages
it’s
P3
probably enough to keep
for a
whole week of rainy
^ 21
commentary on 6th Edition Unix published way back in 1976, John Lions In his
configure
own
scripts as root
packages.
sorts of things that (in
all
cases) there
can
Canonical,
configure
to keep
provides,
I
tell)
in its efforts
not provide any
way to
the standard distribution.
in I
most
no easy, graphical way to
is
It
have to say, a rather eclectic mix of
configuration options, spanning a wide range of areas, not just
this. I'm
Gnome.
For example, you can:
Auto
Programs
Compiz
Gnome setting in the GConfdatabase with
Settings
one was I
course, that you
Settings
Window Manager Settings
know
what the
relevant
setting
called.
(this
particularly interested
was the
in).
» Turn off the dialog that confirms logout and shutdown
Gconftool, provided, of
Desktop icon Settings
GNOME
combinations to start applications).
» Disable the user list in GDM
configure every Start
» Define up to 12 keyboard shortcuts (hotkey
aware that you can
Desktop
summer days.
install his
I
account
Session control
you going
when you
So was dismayed
configure
Source Center
^ Startup
improbable
this
but don’t
of valid
Update Manager
Nmap security scanner). At an
you do
Package Cleaner
Source Editor
also the original author of the
display
where you
if
you’re effectively giving permission for that
things simple, does
Applications
of the
if
login screen.
to discover that (as far as
techniques, which might take an hour or
hand out copies
paranoid
the idea of exposing a
dozen host discovery and scanning two. Or you could
me
names on the
Or
was that the
(the screen
of software
of user accounts.
list
call
about the
really didn't like
I
list
Do be aware, that
repositories.
actions.
» Change the way that file are
shown and
set
in
permissions
the Nautilus f\\e
Personal
observed: “The whole documentation
is
not j||
unreasonably transportable
in
a student’s
,
Default Folder Locations
Manage
Scripts
All
Manage "templates
briefcase.”
(And he was
documents or
printed out on paper, not a
USB stick.) As
countered
in
[
referring to
Shortcut
CD
Commands
System
is
of which leads
me to Ubuntu Tweak, an application that
running on battery power.
» Change the computer's host name.
Advanced Powemnanager Sett...
Kernighan and Pike aptly
their book,
The Unix
{
fixed in recent versions.”
Computer Details
provides an easy,
Hie Type Manager
graphical
way to
a >
Ubuntu -tweaks menus gives you some idea
of the range of settings that you can tweak.
62 LXF135 September 2010
This
isn’t
systematic
Nautilus Settings
Programming Environment “This has been
i
properties window.
» Set how much the display dims when
www.linuxformat.com
feel for
meant as an exhaustive or
list,
comprehensive do, visit
just
some examples to give you
the tool's potential. For a more list
of
what Ubuntu Tweak can
http://ubuntu-tweak.com.
Dr Brown’s Administeria
RRDtool Round-robin database tool Get yourself a comprehensive solution to storing, processing and graphing time-series data.
S It
hould you have ever used any application on Linux
Energiemix
how something
that produces graphs showing
changes over time, chances are you’ve used RRDtool.
combines two
things: a specialised
database for storing
time series data, and a way to generate
pretty,
browsable
graphs from that information. RRDtool comes from Tobi Oetiker (http://oss.oetiker.ch/rrdtool) and
is
the database
number of applications that graph
that underpins a large
performance, system load, resource usage, network
o
traffic,
Do 12:00
network latency, temperature, wind speed... the
RRDtool is not a database tables
and
relations.
It's
in
list
goes on.
the usual sense of storing
specialised for storing and
processing measurements that are generated at regular intervals of time. For example,
I
in
where the readings are actually stored. Each
is
number
specified
RRA is calculated by combining a
of individual
measurements using one of - for example the
several pre-defined consolidation functions
average, the
minimum
readings are
known as consolidated data
or the
number of CDPs that can be created.
it's initially
When all
maximum. These combined stored
in
points (CDPs).
Thus, each day,
week
it
the
The
RRA is fixed when RRA are filled,
an
slots in the
it
simply cycles round, overwriting the oldest data. This
behaviour that earns
name Round-Robin
RRA holds data for a fixed span
is
the
I
of time (perhaps a
temperature database that calculates the average from 10 individual
measurements
(so that
I
get a
have a
fairly
the past In
Fr 04:00
Fr 00:00
00
Fr 08:00
.
the
I
>
fine-grained chart of temperature variation over
week (1008
addition,
multiplied by 10 minutes
is
minimum from 60 data
one week).
RRA that calculates points (so that get a CDP every I
me a chart that's less
fine-grained but reaches back over a year. to create a third
I
A classic
RRDtool graph, where multiple independent measurements are plotted, each
might choose to define an
hour) and keeps 8,760 of them, giving
might also choose
in its
own
colour.
RRA for the maximum temperature. You can
see that the storage capacity of this database
determined at the time
it's
created.
is
My example
fixed,
and
can store
1,008 + 8,760 + 8,760 = 18,528 CDPs.
As mentioned
earlier,
I
measurements at taken
RRA for my greenhouse
could define an
I
Database.
or year) that's defined up-front.
For example,
:
min 14.5 max 55. 7 min 14. 6 max 46. 4 min 603. Dm max 57. 7 min 0 0 max 8. 2 min 3. 8 max 9. 0 min 9. 0 max 32, 7
my greenhouse
once a minute. We define a number of round-robin archives reading that goes into an
:
could define a database that
expects a new reading of the temperature
(RRAs), which
Do
Do 16 00
Heizung Vorlauf Heizung Rucklauf Helligkeit Verbrauch Erdgas Aussent emperatu r Ve rbrauch St rom
these databases expect to be fed
regular intervals.
If
measurements
aren't
when expected (maybe the computer responsible to
the measurements
Unknown
in
is
switched
off
)
they are marked as
the database.
CDP every 10
minutes) and keeps 1008 of them so that, at any one time,
What goes in must come out. We’ve talked about putting data but what about getting
it
in
to an
out? Well,
it’s
RRDtool database,
possible to
dump
out
the contents as text (for example to transfer the database to
another computer) but
it’s
much more
interesting to create a
These can be created as PNG
files, or as SVG or EPS or PDF, so you can include them on a website to be viewed in the user's web browser, or paste them into that
nice graph.
research report you’re writing in
in
OOo. The graphing features
RRDtool offer immense flexibility - take a look at the
screenshot gallery at http://oss.oetiker.ch/rrdtool/gallery to get
an idea
of
what you can do.
commands to create an RRDtool
There are Linux >
Again, multiple graphs are displayed, this time as areas
stacked on top of each other so you can see the
database (rrdcreate), to add individual measurements to
it
(rrdupdate), to generate a graph (mdgraph), and other
total.
administrative functions.
manually from the
What’s a round robin?
familiarisation) or
So you could
command
you could
line (for
drive
RRDtool
testing or
build a real application
around
it
using a shell script. Alternatively, you can do these things
Those red-breasted
when
I
worms unearth become almost spherical in
birds that eat the
little
dig the veg plot
in
spring
their gluttony, but they are not the
here.
A round
around a
robin
circle,
none may be
as
was a
if
is
round robins referred to
was signed by people
petition that
from within other scripting languages - there are language bindings for
Perl,
Python, Ruby,
TCP or
PHP.
You can download the source tarball from http://oss. oetiker.ch/rrdtool/pub along with
links to pre-built binaries
along the spokes of a wheel, so that
identified as a ringleader.
sorts of things since,
them
I
and the concept
of cycling round
It’s
come to mean
for AIX,
HP-UX,
Solaris, Debian,
RHEL, Fedora, Windows, and
all
common to all of
and coming back to the beginning.
even NetWare. You
you can
install
it
may find
in
your distro’s repositories so
with your usual package
Happy graphing!
www.tuxradar.com
management tools.
»
September 2010 LXF135
|
63
Dr Brown’s Administeria
Copying stuff Duplication Following the old Perl mantra of “there is more than one way to do it”, we discover a surprising number of ways to copy a file.
M
y tutorial this month is a real back-to-basics affair, and also one of the most mundane topics I've covered.
about copying
It's
and
Let's begin at
most basic
the beginning, with the cp
looks
it
$ cp source-file the
I
final
its
name of an existing one command. The
the
is
JPEG images
files in
list
For such a basic
my images
into
directory:
images
~joe/images/*.jpg
The
command. At
generated using wildcard expansion. For example,
is
options.
necessary,
destination-file
argument to cp
could copy joe's
$ cp
strictly
like this:
directory you can copy multiple of files
There are more
take a look at half a dozen of them.
we'll
If
stuff.
you might think
tools for copying stuff than
command, cp has a surprising number of
mention three:
I’ll
-r (recursive)
option copies directories recursively.
This option lets you copy an entire subtree of the filesystem.
> You could always copy files using the GUI, but that’s no good if you’re working remotely on a headless server.
For example, after doing this:
$ cp you'll
tree
/boot
-r
end up with a complete copy
in
of the
/boot
that you’re copying to a remote machine.
directory
name “images”
your current directory.
The
-a (archive) option preserves the attributes of the
original
file
made as
as
root,
preserved.
If
much
as possible. For example,
is
made
The -b (backup) option if
you copy over a
that already exists.
The
backup
~
have a
will
appended
to the
tells
You can use
with cp, but
its
will
be
cp
-a option implies
to keep a
backup
you can
on the
server.
third-party copies, file
well
as pushing
when both the source file and the
I
is
scp supports a
one
option
of the strangest animals in the Linux world.”
is in
(-r)
preserve
recursive
and an option to
file
attributes (-p).
There's also an option (-C) to
compress the data as
it's
being transmitted, though
make
main use
installed
an account on them.
“The dd command
to
SSHD daemon
and running on the remote machines, and you need to have
of the
cp's big it
way
are remote.
For this to work, you need the
-r.
home
files in this
from remote machines. You can even do
pull files
destination
As
file
cp’s big brother is
is
using a normal account, the
name.
scp (secure copy) brother.
the copy
the original ownership and timestamps
the copy
copy will be owned by that account. The
original
if
directory
The directory
interpreted relative to james’s
is
my experience
copies just as you can
local
copying
files
to or
from remote
this is
more
if
likely
to slow things
down than speed them
in
LAN
you’re copying across a reasonable fast
up.
machines using an encrypted SSH connection. Atypical
command
might look
rsync
like this:
$ scp \jpg [email protected]:images
rsync
[email protected]. corn’s password:
be used
storml.jpg sunsetl.jpg
100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
is
primarily a (to
197.7KB/S
00:00
command for everyday use”. So we can
135.2KB/S
00:00
make
files
defaults to whatever user I’m logged
Notice the colon - this
is
in
I
leave that part
as on the
off,
it
tells
use
it
trivially
scp
it
to
But rsyncs main claim to fame
is
as a remote
tool. Its delta-transfer
substantially reduces the
amount
algorithm
of data sent over the
network by sending only the differences between the source
and the
existing files
in
the destination. This makes
it
tell
syntax
is
very similar to scp.
I
can copy
my entire
Format article archive to a remote server
Linux
like this:
$ rsync -av Linux-Format-Articles servera.example.com:
How many more command-line tools can you think of that can be persuaded to simply copy we’ll print
files? Let
us know and
the most inventive suggestions.
...
a long
list
of
file
names appeared here
bytes/sec
www.linuxformat.com
...
sent 68556777 bytes received 14403 bytes 5079346.67
total size is
64 LXF135 September 2010
it
“make that filesystem over there look exactly like this one it will do so very efficiently. Its command
over here" and
The copycat challenge
can
rsync source-file destination-file
great tool for backups and mirroring. Essentially you
client).
the key piece of syntax that
though
local file copies:
the account I'm using on the server
(if
tool,
page) as “an improved copy
135KB
synchronisation
thegirls.jpg
man
198KB
190KB 190-lKB/s 00:00 57KB 56.9KB/S 00:00 UNIX_highlighter.jpg 80KB 80.1KB/S 00:00 This copies my JPEG files into the images directory on the machine servera.example.com. Here, james is the name of teachingl.jpg
remote sychronisation
quote the
68497001 speedup
is
1.00
a
Dr Brown’s Administeria
If
txt)
save the
I
file
I'm writing right
now (it’s called copying,
and repeat the rsync command,
instantaneously since
it
What’s in a name?
completes almost
only transmits the differences:
it
dc/ takes its
$ rsync -av Linux-Format-Articles servera.example.com: sending incremental
file list
command
Linux Format Articles/sysadmin-lxfl35/ I
sent 21426 bytes received 161 bytes 4797.11 bytes/sec
When it
68497303 speedup
is
making backups
rsync to a
where
it
stands for
comes from the same
place.
It
looked something
like this:
DD DSN=FOOBAR.DATA.QSAM0080,DISP=OLD,KEEP have repressed most of my memories of struggling with JCL in my paper-
I
lines of
JCL right than the 200
I
more trouble getting the
usually had
lines of Fortran that followed.
a printed error report (understand that
I
had to wait
half a
day
of
I’d
USB memory stick
is
half-
typically get
turnaround time
comma in line 3”. Many a time I’ve wondered why, the computer knew there was a comma missing, couldn’t just pretend was there
for this) saying “missing
if
it
not an industrial strength backup tool, but
via
think
dozen
3173.08
copying to remote machines, rsync can use SSH, or
itself is
line,
tape-and-punched-card student days.
can connect to the rsyncd daemon. rsync by
control language,
//QSAM0080
Linux Format Articles/sysadmin-lxfl35/copying.txt
total size is
name from an IBM mainframe job
“data definition”. The strange syntax, which sits so uncomfortably on the Linux
and get on with
a fine
it
it.
solution for individual professional users.
aimed
features are clearly
wget
at migrating data
between the
Unix/Linux and traditional IBM mainframe worlds. But
wget is a command-line, non- interactive tool
HTTP or HTTPS
from a URL, using FTP,
for
file
perhaps the most useful feature of dd is that you can control
is
the block sizes
copying a
protocols.
The file
written to the current directory. Here's an example:
output
file will
in
which the input
file will
be read and the
be written, and you can specify how many
makes for various
$ wget http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ls-lR.gz
blocks to copy. This
--20 10-06- 14 13:47:53- http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/
For example you can create a
ls-lR.gz
$ dd if=/dev/zero of=allzeros
Resolving archive.ubuntu.com... 91.189.88.46, 91.189.88.30,
1+0 records in
interesting possibilities.
1MB file full of zeros bs=lM count=l
like this:
1+0 records out
Connecting to archive.ubuntu.coml91. 189.88.461:80...
(1.0 MB) copied, 0.00476925 s, 220 MB/s we write a single 1MB block. The syntactic style if=/
1048576 bytes
connected.
Here,
HTTP request
sent, awaiting response...
200
OK
dev/zero to specify a
Length: 9190681 (8.8M) [application/x-gzip]
things
Saving
keep you informed
to: Ts-lR.gz’
=
100%[ 763K/s
=>]
9,190,681
it.
this
to follow links in
(yes,
it’s
-r
again) which
HTML pages, effectively recreating a
the directory structure of the original
case the content
would copy content
is
very useful
into
wget
-r
the directory archive.ubuntu.com
is
a website from
discussed this month, wget
- you can use
unidirectional
push. However, there
is
tool.
It’s
it
to pull
a tool called wput,
if
is
files
to
make
$ tar
the only one
one
you’re interested.
of the strangest
animals
has a weird syntax and a weird feature
Linux world.
It
make simple copies,
to
’
it
/dev/sdal
into
a
file:
s,
54.7
MB/s
cf
tar.
copy it’s
utility
cf
archiving tool than a copy
However, by piping out of and into taryou
copy file hierarchies around. The trick
to
is
to
as the output or input filename, which you can use terwrite to
-
I
copy
its
standard output or read from standard
my Linux Format article folder into /tmp:
Linux-Format-Articles/
Using a similar technique
$ tar
party might be considered a
more an
-
source-dir
I
files
to
1
(cd /tmp; tar xf
we can
-)
pipe through an
SSH
remote systems:
ssh servera.example.com
-
Bet you hadn’t thought of that! 223
surely
can use
it
at the
connection and copy
but not to
dd weirdness is
it
input. Here,
tar xf
The dd command
called
specify
within a script, or on a server without a browser installed.
that
partition
123346944 bytes (123 MB) copied, 2.2557
can use
only works properly for static sites,
between these days. Nonetheless, wget
far
I’ve
dd s desire to how fast did
1+1 records out
My final arrival
when you need to grab files from
Of the tools
copied and
as a disk cloning tool. Here, for example,
gatecrasher, because
and take a very long time! which are few and
it
Gatecrashing the party
For example:
$ wget http://archive.ubuntu.com
practice
it
how much
site. In
copied into a top-level directory
is
named after the site.
In
You can also use
of
1+1 records in
wget also has a recursive option
local replica of
very non- Linux and totally defeats
$ sudo dd if=/dev/sdal of=sdal -image bs=64M
Ts-lR.gz’ saved
-
[9190681/9190681]
it
file is
filename wildcard expansion. Notice
we capture an image of the
in 12s
2010-06-14 13:48:05 (758 KB/s)
tells
like
in
set.
the
You
like this:
$ dd if=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic of=foo
7886+1 records in 7886+1 records out
4037792 bytes but that
is
(4.0
MB)
copied, 0.0290523
rather missing the point.
It
s,
139
MB/s
can make various
improbable data conversions along the way. For example,
it
>
can convert text from lower to upper case (or vice versa), and it
can convert between ASCII and EBCDIC character sets.
(EBCDIC stands for Extended Binary Coded Decimal Information
Code and
is
and not used by anyone it
can pad text
lines
a character code invented by IBM else).
It
you shouldn’t shake sticks at
can swap alternate bytes, and
out to a fixed length.
More penguins
than you can shake a stick at. But then,
Some of these
penguins.
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|
65
UK subscriptions
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September 2010 LXF135
|67
The best new open source software on the planet
LXFHotPicks
Nick Veitch When compiling HotPicks,
Eagle Mode » Rakarrack » jGnash » Knitter » Dfeta » Scribus » VirtualBox OSE » Widelands »SDL Sopwith » Pybag » BleachBit
Nick
makes frequent use of Curses. Tell us your favourite programming language at the usual address.
Desktop environment/file manager
Mode
Eagle
Web http://eaglemode.sourceforge.net
Version 0.78.0
A clicking
re
for
you?
enough
controls before you’re competent
enough to navigate from one
too easy just
It’s all
need
really
practise for a few hours with the
life
of a challenge
on icons on a desktop,
What you into the
you finding that modern
just isn’t
is
a paradigm
there’s plenty of
shift
about zooming
panning around Well, step
in
everything
forward Eagle Mode.
fitting into
you’ll
currently
zoom
in
in
The eagle is known for its incredible eyesight, but humans will have to zoom right in to read those files.
>
is
focus.
on a directory
comforts of your desktop environment,
and you
Eagle
either.
to see the level
or
you want. Both the mouse and
KDE
if
Mode can
you
prefer,
run atop
Gnome
to
may need to
it if
you
really
and
you'll slowly
into
There's no need for a picture viewer
want to get the full
Eagle
Mode interface
in
Mode because you can just keep ,
zooming
in
big as
Exploring the Eagle
files,
previews for compatible media types.
but you’re going to
immersive experience. Try zooming
of
see them resolve themselves
have to give up the whole display area
cursor keys are required to navigate the scalable display, and you
Use the
You don’t have to eschew the cosy
see
A toolbar and your complete
merely have to
follows:
keys to change the which object
out far enough
filespace are displayed there,
of detail
A
workspace sees
from the default screen and there).
The basics are as
mouse wheel to zoom in and out, hold the scroll button down and move the mouse to pan about, and use the cursor
the eye of an
zoom
eagle (seriously,
him
help you on your way.
and out and
frantically.
radical redesign of the
documentation on the
website, complete with diagrams, to
world of a scalable, vector-
oriented environment where the action is all
part of the
filesystem to another. Thankfully,
isn't it?
to an
in
you
image file
until it's
as
like.
More tricks It
isn’t just
a
file
manager either. There
are scalable applications available too,
such as a
Main tools The main menu You can zoom
tools lurk
in for
more
up
here. eullnle^ullnicks‘1
eullnick evilnicl
File rrrv-p-
Quick access zoomable
some
zooming
detail.
est.ogg
Shortcut keys to
fluntitled sc .
File
I
2019-35- 31
2010-03-19
10:51 :20l
22:44:M=£:/- I??
untitled. scf
of the
i*
i
rv-rv-
211
test sch
'0
Hi!
H:
Untitled. skt
.
\r-
A context-sensitive tool appears
r~
77.H87137
everyone
Media
files
like.
Read
Eagle
can be played
This
OGG file
a visualisation as
it
is
in situ
if
showing
plays.
For text
files,
Ubuntu,
binary
RPM for Fedora
for Slax, ebuild for
you don't need a
zoom
it.
live in until
ISO image on there to download,
so you’ll probably have no need to build this
68 LXF135 September 2010
for
Gentoo and Sabayon. There’s also a
viewer. Simply
you can read
on
it.
Mode is available in
and Suse, an LZM
me
his take
concept has obviously got something going for
packages
O Here and now
illusion that
want to adopt
attracted a reasonable fan base, so the
eulnUfck evllnick!
you
will
a zoomable user interface (ZUI), but
for playing file.
on the globe on the clock
previous releases have already
r~ 21129 '
o Context sensitivity
in
The author is under no ‘
;:
evil nick evilnick^
the highlighted media
Mandelbrot viewer,
||
evilnick nvilnicl Forget the feeling,
This release includes plenty of
new
effects
including dual flange, convolotron,
done to a
pretty
it
can now
much the same
all
be
effect
on
computer (possibly also assembled
in
for a
few years on Linux. Making
use of the excellent Jack sound architecture,
following for
it’s
its
amazing ease
until
upsampling, a simplified
nothing short of a
features, but to be honest, they’re just
as cool to mess around with too.
is
Rakarrack is already available as a
multi-tap delay
full
board, so you can reproduce
quality of output
all
and
Where the
package
“This release includes
The main panel
plenty of effects and
the knobs and sliders
for the built-in effects,
twiddle
library format,
Jack connection and a host of
attracted quite a
of use.
simply lays out
Have No Name. There may be many readers who have very specific ideas about how to use all these Streets
and a vocoder, changes to the
waveshapers. The new echotron
the Far East). Rakarrack has been
around
shuffle
and you can
you get the
right
improvements to
sound
how about once more with insane
of reverb? Rakarrack, step forward...
and improvements to try,
pedals and expensive electronics from
the Far East, but the modern age has heralded an era where
amounts
for a couple of distros, but for
some reason or other, these packages are way out of date. you want to build If
Rakarrack yourself,
you’ll
development packages libsndfile
try.”
need the
for FLTK, Jack,
and libsamplerate. So long as
you’ve got these,
it
should build cleanly.
Personal finance tool
jGnash Web http://jgnash.sourceforge.net
Version 2.35
K
eeping a close eye on your
set
become dramatically more important in recent years, so it’s always nice to come across some software that offers to do some of the heavy lifting for you. This finances has
self-contained
up accounts with
different
currencies. Reporting facilities are excellent, so
you can draw
how much you spend on
, 1*1
even a tool to help print cheques.
deeper than you need
whole
surprisingly fast, easy
accounts,
doddle to use. This
fill it.
is
it
to,
but
> Set reminders in
on the eye and a
a cross-platform
Java app, but the settings support all sorts of themes, so you can
importing those ever so handy or .csv
files
by
X|if,
joxf
you may have downloaded
from your bank. These neatly fill up
them to, a glance how poor
whichever accounts you
and you can see you
at
tie
look at if
that
make
it
home on the Gnome desktop,
makes you
be a
in
HotPicks, so a few of you
little
unfamiliar
how to
may
run them.
like
many, has been
distributed as a Java archive (.jar
file).
There’s no need to decompress this
by adding the
it
-jar
file,
directly with Java just
switch
like so:
/usr/java/jrel.6.0_20/bin/java -jar
jgnash2.jar
The annoying thing about jGnash is
are.
As well as standard current accounts and savings deposits, you can enter information for stocks and
investment accounts.
This one,
you can execute
happier.
We don’t tend to feature many Java apps
jGnash to help you keep track of your
finances. That way, you won’t forget what’s in the bank.
Information can be entered directly thankfully,
3
iSHBSKHSS
it’s
from the keyboard,
or,
CHK.rn.il
PfJ-
jGnash probably goes further and
app will construct a
tree, full of possible
and then
export details of your exports. There’s
database and automatically build a ready and waiting for you to
pie charts of
pies,
If
you’re an
international globetrotter,
you can even
“jGnash is surprisingly fast, easy on the eye and a doddle to use.” www.tuxradar.com
that
it's
very specific about what
version of Java
it’ll
play ball with. Put
simply, anything other than the official
Sun
1.6 release
is likely
to cause
you
some problems.
September 2010 LXF135 69 1
LXFHotPicks
Knitting visualiser
Knitter Version 0.5.3
A
Web
http://knitter.sourceforge.net
an OpenGL display area and four
you a knitter? Yes, know
re
I
yo
u re
'
No,
read ng Linux Format
different rendering
i
said "knitter", not "nutter”
I
-
only see
we already know where you stand on
but
that score. Anyway, having previously
in
featured cross-stitching applications HotPicks,
See your work
touch to claim their hobby had
software available. That
may be so,
chosen implements,
be noted that they're a
bit
imagination department to
it
should
lacking
when
it
the
comes
make it actually shows them
being knitted
in
front of
OpenGL. Tap
in
your pattern, and watch
in
> This is not a
and although
rudimentary,
map
complete neural
of Mike’s brain,
it’s
a
simple knitting swatch. Easy mistake to make, though.
it's
and yarn
good
cabling looks good, or that those
diamond patterns
you can tap away your
make amendments and re-render the display to make sure your
like
someone trying to type
half
a keyboard, but no doubt
a maternity hospital. With
it
makes it.
WX toolkit and
Knitter relies on the
“Knitter actually shows your patterns being knitted in front of you.”
little
Lisp with
who know about
sense to those
pattern, or
its
it
your socks
perfectly. Knitting notation looks a
pattern.
you’re familiar with knitting
instructions,
in
counterpoint the rows of stockinette
effect.
The lower panel displays the If
glorious
the invisible needles deftly weaving
in
fairly
of the finished object to
out of the ether, faster than a roomful of grannies
useful,
piece. Adjustable needle size
own
Knitter doesn't just help you
you
is
quite easy to get a feel for the finished
still
in
naming said software.
your patterns,
display
width enable you to customise the look
although, ever wary of the pointiness of their
The 3D
the controls are
more advanced, technically - and therefore geekier -
significantly
detailed
how the whole thing hangs together
simulated gravity.
in
some craft types from the
other school of threaded fabrication got in
modes, you can not
how different stitches work,
OpenGL extensions, so you’ll need
both
if
you want to compile
it
from
A binary distribution is also available, but your mileage may vary scratch.
here.
We found
it
worked
Ubuntu, but not Fedora
fine
on
13.
Disk utility
Dfeta Version
Web http://cade.datamax.bg/away/dfeta
1.0
F 1
Flit
felt
vici.
fcrniliul
Help
[evilnick@localhast -]$ dfeta sample /root/.gvfs /bin/df* Permission denied [/dev/sda3] data, 17 samples [/] data, 17 samples (tmpfs] data. 17 samples [/dev/shi*] data, 17 samples [/dev/sdal] data, 17 samples (/boot] data, 17 samples [evilnlck@localhost -]$ dfeta /bin/df; /root/.gvf s' Permission denied Device Mount point j Estimate full at /dev/sda3 Wed Jun 23 2010 / tmpfs /dev/shm [never] /dev/sdal /boot j never] [evllnlck@loealhost -]$ |
1
nr
-
'
:
B
eing able to see into the future
‘predict the date of
your own death'
would be quite handy. Apart
websites, but not as scary. Even
from clearing your gambling
you’re not an IT person responsible for
if
’
:
|
debts and predicting the scripts for
providing storage, this handy
Doctor Who, you'd know when the
is
optimum time to expand your RAID
empty the trash and
little
tool
a nice nagging aid to remind you to recycle
Full in
[
|
|
|
|
|
j
j
j
j
j
12 Hours, [n/a] [n/a]
21 minutes ago
|
more often.
array would be. This delightful tool can’t help
little
line
Get
at
Obviously, for this to work, you need to
command
you with the 11.30
Kempston, or whether that ginger girl
make
will
but is
it
can
it
to the Christmas special,
you when your hard
tell
going to be
change your before you
OK,
full.
but
life,
it
it
drive
might not
could be useful
embark on a major photo
it
sample you
right
regularly.
take, the
The more samples
more accurate
the ongoing averages.
decide to run stored data
it
is
file is
then
tells
you the specific date on
more room.
70
does a few sums and
will tell
It’s like
you there’s no
one of those
LXF135 September 2010
because
it’s
pretty fast
you don’t even know
happening. The best idea
does keep backups (which leads to
is
a
nice aid to remind you to empty the trash.” www.linuxformat.com
to install
it
is
appropriate on your
system) and execute a Cron job. Once a
day
“This handy tool
is
and
it's
your path (/usr/local/bin/ or
wherever
prophesising over
simple. Dfeta
fullness of your drive at
which your disk
painless,
in
it
regular intervals,
time). But
How often you
up to you, but the
some self-fulfilling
is
becomes,
pretty small, although
download every single Linux distro.
The concept
keeps an eye on how quickly you’re filling your does some maths and predicts when it’ll be full.
drive up,
since temporary blips are ironed out of
scanning exercise or decide to
samples the
it
> Dfeta
is
probably enough, but you
make
up your own mind as to how many data
files
you want
in
The only remaining conundrum
how to pronounce
it.
bitty
-/.dfeta. is
DeeEff EeeTeeAy?
Def-Eatah? Dee-Fetah?
Hmmm...
LXFHotPicks
DTP software
Scribus Version
W history.
one
e
Web www.scribus.net
1.3.7
first
featured Scribus as an
up-and-coming project back
it's
examples
of the very best
source office software. a year since
we
last
gone on
gave
(LXF124), and although
terms
of
it
in
a
full
of features,
review
lot
this
of
perennial problems with
problems with the operations,
reliability of
and various
little
bits
is still
>
As
well as great graphics handling, Scribus has a rendered
unmatched
quality of the results. Various
made to tweak
files,
and the tools
text fields,
tools
1.4),
last six
and more,
months making sure the PDF engine up
to scratch
meddlesome
directly into
One word
checkboxes and so on) are
one of the very best examples of open
the
“It’s
or seven is
external
such as Gnuplot, Latex and your documents.
of caution
-
you’re using
if
the stable version of Scribus
the developers have
spent most of the
Linux software. Also, the
Lilypond to render formulae, graphs
for
release (working towards the eventual release of
in
new text rendering boxes use
PDF output to generate version
1.5-compatible
a development
and more.
text tool for inserting formulae, music notation
generating interactive PDFs (buttons,
pieces that just didn’t work as they should. While this
If
still
be surprised by the power of the tools
the
and
available online
your needs are more modest, you'll
additions have been
undo
it's
www.linuxformat.cauk/archives.
and
There were massive
stability.
using only Scribus and other
open source tools at
development release series has
been
Pro power We created a four-page feature back in LXF96
work has been going on under the hood.
One of the
the features needed to
open
that time
an awful
all
into Linux
be impressed.
design professional publications.
many huge changes
there haven’t been in
to be
been nearly
It’s
you haven't delved before, you’ll likely
Scribus has
the mists of HotPicks
in
Since then,
If
DTP
Pick
file
new version It's
and sorting out those
(1.3.3.x),
format has changed and the is
no longer file-compatible.
probably easier to maintain two
versions of Scribus rather than ditch
source office software.”
bugs.
all
your old documents just
yet.
Virtualisation tool
VirtualBox Version 3.2.6
H
USB
such
take control of
as scanners, disc writers or whatever
machines.
the
18 months or so, to the point
in
where setting up a trivial.
alternative
has had a Originally
is
leaps
and bounds
virtual
machine
is
VirtualBox. This project
bit of
a complicated history.
developed by InnoTek,
it
peripherals,
you choose to attach.
in
The other open source
acquired by Sun, which has
was
now been
Great performance In
terms
a mature
of other features, VirtualBox is
and
featureful competitor for
KVM. The straightforward easy setup make if
it
interface
a doddle to use, and
you have enough system resources to
donate your guest OS,
it’s
hard to
the meantime, two versions of
than a
real one.
additions kernel modules, supplied for
source variant and the more familiar
running Linux guests,
open source one we’re talking about
set
The only differences
really are in
it
distros
and
OSE is great for messing around with new
for building loads of experimental software.
easy to
up a networking and graphical
environment for your virtual machine,
the graphics capability. The closed
source version uses proprietary code for RDP, while the
uses a standard display.
has
open source one
VNC server for the
The proprietary version also
USB
control, enabling the guest to
Clr«
tell
the software have emerged - a closed
here.
> VirtualBox
The extra guest
make
9®
0&
and
you’re using a virtual machine rather
sold to Oracle. In
“v'
fans of virt-manageranb the
KVM/QEmu virtual
*
U
ere at Linux Format, we’re big
come on
pretty
©
Web www.virtualbox.org
They've last
OSE
and the settings are so straightforward you’ll hardly
need to consult the
extensive documentation. Get an disc
to create a virtual machine.
There
isn’t
much
point in building
yourself unless you have
hard to tell you’re using a virtual machine rather than a real one.” “It’s
www.tuxradar.com
install
image ready and follow the wizard
are available for
and are kept
all
it
Packages
the major distros
ruthlessly
the time you read
to.
this,
up to date. By
you should be
able to fetch this without any trouble
using your package manager.
September 2010 LXF135
1
71
LXFHotPicks
HotGames Entertainment apps HotPicks
game
Settlers-like
Widelands Web http://launchpad.net/widelands
Version 15
game featured
his
T
HotPicks
in
some improvements in the interim. Last time we looked at the game was promising but had a few too many show-stopping bugs. This it,
time,
a
it’s
lot
more
in
isn’t
point
game - the tutorial campaign
is
prefer the slower pace
intense
micro-management
type of games, but fast
and what order you should construct
type of game.
If
pretty
II,
good idea
you should have a
your
based on Settlers and anyone who’s titles should feel right at home.
of these
you’re looking for
fantastic
enough
if
buildings of
game to
play both
of the bit of
menus could
work,
it’s
look
and fun to
at,
single-player
in
a networked
some
mode or as
game
Widelands has also moved to a
new home at Launchpad. This makes
a
a
bit
and
easier for developers
users alike to get hold of the latest
“Eventually, you’ll be able to create the pinnacle of civilisation.”
workers scurry around
build
is
played one of the classic
it
on. Build
trying to deliver things. Eventually,
you
and
> Widelands
action, this isn’t that
probably do with a
make pathways, then watch
little
if
like
already, since that’s
what the game’s based things,
and furious
Although
you’ve ever played the old
classic Settlers
the
Some
gamers
basics of the different building types
in.
as
to, fuels
a very involved game, rather
merely there to help you learn the
them
are, but,
those old versions of Settlers.
in
delving into the background plot of
the
you
war machine to greater glory.
It’s still
much
too
logistics expert
Napoleon once alluded
Nice and steady
the
graphics and sound.
There
ham
sandwich. This not only shows what a
and has
playable,
some great improvements
be able to create
different types, you'll
the pinnacle of civilisation - a
been
before, but there have
builds.
There are also binaries
available for
most
of the builds,
though these aren’t guaranteed to
work on
Linux distributions.
all
Flight simulator
SMI
SDL Sopwith Web http://sdl-sopwith.sourceforge.net
Version 17.3
mr
i
T
his
may
not exactly be a
flight
magenta with cyan not be tolerated
simulator, but a trip into a
in
piping,
a lawful, clean and
when men were men and flew wood and
good
canvas machines through the
Flying school
simpler, kinder time
soaring with the eagles, and
air,
now and
In
the
who should
universe.
2D
miBw^
realm of Sopwith, the most
down
again pausing to drop explosives on
important key to
remember
anything that upset them.
arrow, which
your plane so you can
Sopwith
is
a re-invention of an
fly right
early classic. Think Microsoft Flight
Simulator, but with
and without any dials
and
guns and bombs,
of those tedious
controls, or
Or many graphics
at
Sopwith, everything
3D graphics. comprised
and
cyan with magenta piping, and
must combat the hideous and
72 1
LXF135 September 2010
Chocks away! Now, where’s the the bomb-release
on the
switch again?
colourful dust as you’re shot
>
trial
player
stall.
You have an
supply of weaponry, and no Pull
back
evil
stick,
experience the surge of
acceleration, then explode into
you don’t want to
If
you
by
find the
you can play the
fire,
“Think Microsoft Flight Simulator, but with
that’ll
ineptitude.
guns and bombs.” www.linuxformat.com
controls to
On
fire
single-
harm you
later levels,
missiles
and dodge return life
down.
bit like
mode where, on the first
the only thing
own
combat a
need complete mastery
of
magenta. The player takes on the role of
without being upside
one’s expecting you to land.
blocks of garish colour taken from a palette of black, white, cyan
left
the
down. As with any plane, the steeper the angle of climb, the slower it’ll go -
infinite
all really. In
is
to
rolls
is
your
you
of the
and bombs
fire. In
WWII, the
expectancy of an RAF
around 87
level,
is
pilot
was
flying hours. In Sopwith,
87 seconds
is
good
going.
LXFHotPicks
File synchroniser
Also released
Pybag
New and updated software that also deserves a look... ED
Version
0.3.1
Web http://pybag.sourceforge.net
Worker 2.178
A twin-panel file manager, now with more accurate volume statistics. www.boomerangsworld.de/worker
Y it's
the
ou
may well think this is some
transport his lunch, but
there. You’ll get a
on computer
form
in fact,
B,
and
on some
USB stick, SD card or MP3 How do you manage to have the
latest files available to are,
files
of
player.
you wherever you
without getting into a massive and
possibly devastating tangle with which file
to
copy where
One
to copy the actual pybag.py file to the
removable media
more cunning than that. You know drill - you have files on computer A,
files
is
mechanism Mike uses to
your data on a secret RAID array
Pybag. This
satellite.
little
deprive you of
in
utility
Now from the
menu,
File
choose Add Root to add the directory on the
local
machine you wish to sync.
Next, de-select Emulation
Mode and
choose Synchronise from the menu to copy the
files
to your ‘bag’ directory.
A comprehensive filter section and of trouble, but
should keep
you may need to
to get the
most out
of
> It’s possibly little
a
confusing,
but Pybags a useful
still
little
Python app.
02.0 mouse clicks for those
ED Clickity
Simulate
with limited hand use.
http://sourceforge.net/apps/ mediawiki/clickity ED
since the
Cdrtools 3.0
A major update to
interface can look confusing to begin with.
trees, in a tree-
won't
managing the synchronisations for you. There are loads of options here -
maybe a few too many,
notes about based jotter.
> Jot
it.
which by
file is
note-taker.
http://bhepple.freeshell.org/gjots
remove the
will
confusion over which
A simple tree-based
study the documentation thoroughly
a
Or you could use
Python
0 Gjots 2.3
from
the location, which you
initialising
should do.
you out
all
it
much space on your
and
target drives
and run
conflict resolution options
first?
solution might be to store
geostationary
first
message about
Linux disc burning,
including dual-layer
The important thing to remember
DVD and
Blu-ray.
http://cdrecord.berlios.de/private/
cdrecord.html
Disk cleaner
ED
Untangle 7.31
Turn a Linux box into a network
gateway with pluggable modules. www.untangle.com
BleachBit Version 0.8.0 Web http://bleachbit.sourceforge.net
B
leach
kills
99.9%
of
improved and now supports a
known
We often wonder unknown ones. We
more Chrome
lot
germs. Dead.
specific applications, including
about the
(and Chromium), OpenOffice.org,
wonder while we're going through our
Skype, Pidgin and a host of other tools.
home folders trying to find files to delete to save space. We wonder while
there’s always a nagging
we're cleaning browser cookies too.
might be wiping something important.
New 2- in-1
BleachBit roots through
your filesystem and destroys it
to) anything that’s
around past
its
(if
you ask
and a
lot
of
those helpful but sometimes dangerous cookies, saved passwords
and the
as easy to use as ever, though
doubt that you
like.
get your networking mess, get Untangle to help.
> Don’t
files
about to be deleted, but that sort of
quick and easy. trial
run and
A good
idea
it
is
ED
being to
own, but
do a
make sure the filters only want them to. 533
in
protecting your accounts,
it
all
can also
days
of
in
the rubbish
that’s built up.
files.
The best open source network www.wi reshark.org Arista 0.93 A simple-to-use transcoder
sniffer.
ED
utility.
www.transcoder.org ED
Mission
An
We’ve featured BleachBit in HotPicks before, way back
some
space by wiping
save a surprising amount of disk space.
foolishly optimistic
Reclaim
valuable disk
one swoop - aside from
022
EDWireshark L4.0rd
>
mode or a cleaner of their much easier to clear
everything
a
www.rcO.org.uk/mairix
pick up the stuff you
it's
Mairix
Index and search mailbox
Most browsers now include some sort of privacy
in
You can, of course, check through the
undermines the point about
been hanging
sell-by date,
It’s
X LO
excellent sideways-scrolling
shoot- 'em-up game.
the
http://missionx.sourceforge.net http:,
LXF117.
Since then, the software’s been
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135 73 1
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Linux Format today!
Tutorials Turn on, log
and
in
let
our experts help
MIKE SAUNDERS wears shades while browsing the web for added coolness... even at night!
9|
make you a smarter Linux user
This month learn how to...
Which browser? ’m going to say something that
I I’ve
may result love
used
that
it
a few grumbles:
in
and loved
Firefox,
was Phoenix, and
4 with
(ugh) Netscape
Motif chunkiness. But gets
it
I
Google Chrome. For years
right in
the
all
it.
Before
Mozilla,
all
of
its
and
lovely ..
With gestures, the rodent you hold
areas that
much more Andy Channelle also
every day can be so
matter.
It
strives to provide a large,
productive.
spacious view of the web, keeping
explores the Shotwell photo manager.
panels and controls to a minimum. points out insecure
dodgy
and
web
Not checking
off
your to-do
..
Gnome 3.0 is coming! Try out the
list?
Grand plans never being realised? Bob Moss knows how you feel, and
swish
shows you the
lain
new desktop
interface
and get a
glimpse of the future with the help of
solution with Planner.
Gray and the mighty
apt-get.
It
potentially
sites without trampling
over your
80 Get the new Gnome 84
Make mice do more 76 Plan your projects
Chrome just
little
all
experience.
Zzzzzooooommmm! But above
fast.
all, it’s
scorch ingly
fast.
I
still
Screamingly, can’t believe
how quickly it loads (cold start) on myXubuntu box. JavaScript performance
is
superb
too.
Still,
Test speed ...86
Script pics....88
Master Bash...92
how fast really is your Linux box? Bob Moss
Editing pictures at the
If
command
introduces Bonnie++ and
Shashank Sharma gone
on the way to writing
Phoronix Test Suite, two
completely insane? No,
scripts.
4 is coming round the corner and may give Chrome a run for its
Just
money -
Firefox
I
really
Firefox team
hope
it
If
the
can adopt some of the
interface features
match
so.
in
CPU-stressing,
Gnome and
memory
maxing benchmarkers.
with equally zippy speed,
because
line
it’s
- has
command
Cluttered, unorganised
mailboxes are
you’re well
line,
than you might think...
terrified
by
the raw power of Procmail.
Shashank Sharma shows
Nick Veitch
shows you how to check for files and directories.
more useful
Move mail ....96
you’re a dab hand at the
you how to harness
it
make
easier.
life
457 times
and
I
may well be tempted back into the
Tip of the month:
land of the fox. Failing that, there’s
On the disk
always Links, or Telnet to port 80.
[email protected]
Labelling disks used to be
common
Of course, that involved a floppy
practice.
memory devices
use,
you can give the
filesystem a label, for example
disk, a
some smudged was often associated with exchanging Amiga game copies at school. Nowadays we use anonymous USB sticks and
Then the card will be mounted at /media/ Music, making it instantly clear what is on it. Cameras sometimes apply a label when they
memory cards that give no clue as to their
format a card, but
Give your Linux skills a boost with our command
when you plug one it’s usually mounted somewhere like /media/ disk, which isn’t very helpful when you want to know what’s on there. This is because the kernel doesn’t know
one, which
line special.
what the disk
On sale now!
possible to give a label to a filesystem.
crookedly stuck-on label and
Expand your Linux knowledge raeMs
fixes
felt-tip
hacks advjcc
EVOWIHMGmiMEDTa.,
pen, and
contents. Even
is
it,
called. Thankfully
though,
formatting a FAT filesystem, which most
www.tuxradar.com
it
is
When
mkfs.vfat -n Music /dev/sdbl
cards.
As
it
isn’t is
card format
it
best to
it,
is
the
same
too helpful let
if
label for
each
you have multiple
the device using the
the above method won’t work,
but you can apply a label to an existing filesystem with dosfslabel /dev/sdbl photosl If
you run the
but no
label,
command with a device name
it
will
show you the
existing label.
September 2010 LXF135 75 1
Steps Beginner-level tutorials for users dipping their toes into Linux First
Mouse: Expand much more than just point, click and scroll. Andy Channelle reveals some of the other nifty things you can do with your desktop friend. Mice can do
>
Change the settings
for your
mouse
if
you have problems
double-clicking at the default speed.
monitor and the mouse seems sluggish. Use the up/down
arrows to change the speed, with the larger number meaning
have to move the mouse less to have a more
you'll
exaggerated
The
effect. Hit
Apply to make the change.
Point Threshold value defines
how far the active area
extends around the pointer. Increasing this
T
he mouse was revolutionary, but
familiarity with
it
has
some of its magical properties. We’re make you marvel at the things you can do with your mouse in KDE. Most of what we’ll be doing here is accessed through the KDE System Setting dialogs, which you taken away
desktop
going to
your
get to by opening the KPanel and choosing
Our
System
expert
Administration and then Keyboard
Mouse
Andy Andy seems to his first steps in
Under the General
tab, click
Computer
if
here,
open
and reversing the
your mouse wheel. of the
decent selection of new cursor themes at www.kde-look.org
When you find one you New Theme button to
under the Xll Mouse Themes section.
select the
downloaded
appear
in
the
list
archive.
The new theme
and can be selected
Now click the Advanced tab. dialog,
so
you’ll
Begin by speeding up the desktop. This can be handy
if
(or
themes)
the normal way.
figures, but in
is
it’s
you’re
and make the mouse here, the longer
at the
clicks are
bottom
quicker. Higher
is
you
seen as a double-click.
useful to scroll
numbers mean
documents or
faster scrolling.
Keyboard substitute It’s
also possible to
long strings of text, but
KDE icon
entry
in
Kvkbd
and,
it
can be useful
in
to
some
in
entering
some situations.
the search bar at the top of the
or virtual keyboard. You'll get a single
the panel. Select this to start the virtual keyboard.
Depending on how your desktop keyboard desktop
in,
isn’t ideal for
will
or,
latter, click
is
configured, the
appear either on the bottom-right of the
if it's
minimised,
in
the System Tray.
If it’s
the
the icon to bring up the main keyboard. You can
move this around by clicking and dragging anywhere on
simple
interface that isn't a key. You
are at the top.
you're using a very large
in
make the mouse stand
a non-visual
mouse movement across your
month We saved files
76 LXF135 September 2010
in
Unusually, this
need to work with
enough. The three things we’re interested
1
The option
panel, type
will
double-click speed
may find that two single
Click the
Install
if
you’re not very dexterous with
degree, for the keyboard. Note that this
pointers. To choose one, select it from the list and hit The change should happen immediately. You'll find a
and use the
useful
have to double-click. Increase this too much, though, and you
Apply.
it
is
objects on the
manage. The higher the number
system
download
if
makes
the Double-Click Interval value can be used
down the
easier to
in
like,
it
such as switching the
you're a left-hander, choosing whether to
Under Cursor Theme, you can change the look
technology since the advent of the Dragon 32.
Last
feel bigger. Similarly,
web pages
in
mouser because
click finger,
to slow
& Mouse, then select
folders with a single- or double-click,
and has
Computer >
the left-hand pane.
scrolling direction of
free software
been interested
in
buttons
have been taking
forever,
Settings.
There are basic options
Channelle
not a precise
dragging the red section
can be entered and then
the cloud and set up www.linuxformat.com
in
To use, simply click the
the
can also resize the keyboard by
the lower-right of the interface.
mouse
click the
into
some space where text
keys to type. The keyboard
KDE keyboard
shortcuts.
First Steps Tutorial
horizons
its
remain above every other window, meaning
will
available.
The
always
it's
icon below the Minimise button (the red cross
at the top-right) features a small
spanner icon and
will
open
up a configuration menu that enables you to dock the keyboard to the lower edge of the window, lock
change the font on the keys or below this
will
reveal the
it
position,
in
The
quit the application.
icon
numeric keypad.
Mouse Gestures You can also assume some keyboard
system
called
Mouse
for instance, the
commands
using a
Gestures. This enables you to control,
Back and Forward buttons on the Konqueror
web browser without needing to let go of your mouse. This system might be somewhat confusing you didn’t know it was on, so the KDE developers have sensibly left it switched if
by
off
Use mouse gestures to define new ways of controlling your computer’s web browser. >
default.
To enable
Mouse
Settings and, under
Gestures, go back to the main System
Computer Administration,
appears.
select the
defined, covering things such as taking a screen grab
press Print Screen.
Some gestures will
they won’t be enabled
initially.
if
Remember that simple gestures are most
because something complicated
Input Actions icon. There are a few input actions already
be
will
Finally, there's
KDE’s useful Hot Corners feature, which
enables you to launch
Begin by clicking the Gestures
commands simply
mouse at one corner of the screen. This
the Input Actions window by clicking the Settings button near
screensaver, but
the bottom of the window.
careful
Once you’ve selected Gestures, press Apply before moving to the actual gesture definitions,
will
be ignored otherwise.
disclosure icon. Select
gesture associated with
it.
of the actions in the
left
mouse
one
point
In
most cases, you
start at the lightest
and then move to the darkest
Finally,
you can
the Trigger tab and drawing a
by selecting the
new gesture
in
Edit
Now from the
choose the Screen Edges
icon. In
and a sen/ice menu
If
will
appear with a
Show Desktop
you have Compiz working, there
will
or Present
be
some
green
edit the action itself by selecting the Action
edit the gesture
of options,
options from there too. Es3
blue.
tab and defining the keyboard shortcut the gesture relates
You can also
list
of these buttons
Windows.
you
look under the Trigger tab, there’s a visual representation of
the motion.
To access this feature, go back to the System Settings
range of options available, such as if
most
small radio buttons on each corner and edge. Click on any
button, sliding
but
useful for starting a
you're not the
if
the centre of the window, you’ll see an image of a screen with
to see the
mouse to the left and releasing. You’ll see the move written in the Comment tab,
can be annoying
by resting the
is
mouse user in the world.
subsequent
For instance, the Konqueror back
button can be called by clicking the the
list
it
screen and select the Desktop entry.
because your changes
Now click the Konqueror Gestures
one
useful,
remember
and to perform.
you
already be defined, but
button. Note that you can get back to this screen from within
on
difficult to
button
Trackpads
to.
in
the box that
If
you’re working on a laptop, you’ll see
a Touchpad section.
options
will
computer, but In
The
available
vary depending on your we’ll
look at the basics.
the General tab, you’ll see an
option to enable or disable the trackpad, information and a slider to set touch sensitivity. In
the Scrolling section, you
may find
options to enable multi-touch scrolling,
> Trackpads are configurable too.
horizontal scrolling, coasting (kinetic) scrolling
The virtual keyboard is pretty good for kiosk-type computers, where a real one might not be suitable.
>
If
you missed
last issue Call
and
can also define multi-touch gestures,
sliders to define the
sensitivity of the tool.
location-based taps (such as tapping
Under Tapping options, you can switch off tapping altogether, which
the top-right corner to simulate a
quite useful
if
is
you’re heavy-handed. You
0870 837 4773 www.tuxradar.com
or
right-
and set the double-click time, as you would with a mouse. click)
+44 1858 438795. September 2010 LXF13 5
|
77
Tutorial First Steps
Shotwell: Photo Need help organising your summer snaps? Then Shotwell could be for you.
T
he time of year has
come again when the
days, beaches, festivals
and a ton
events. Getting a handle on this
brilliant picture is it
of other photogenic
mass of digital data
as important as taking good shots
know
light is at its
best and fingers hover over shutter buttons at sports
the
in
first
place,
only as good as a rubbish one
if
is
almost
because a
you don't
exists.
In this tutorial,
we're going to
and play with
install
new kid on the photo management block that seems likely to replace F-Spot in many Gnome-based distros Shotwell, the
over the coming year. We’ll look at organisation through events, favourites
and tags and then walk through the
process of making your pictures look great and ready for
exposure to the whole world - or just your family. Fedora and Ubuntu users can
install
their respective
package managers, but
this instance to
open up a terminal and
For Fedora 12
and
13,
you can type
distro (10.04/Lucid Lynx)
get
can
install
it's
actually simpler
install
pkcon
in
Ubuntu users working with the
while
the software through in
install shotwell,
by typing sudo apt-
install in
Karmic,
with the following
you'll
command:
with
sudo apt-get
because the which
RPM
is
be prompted to add some content
> Import and navigating to a files into
folder
full
of images,
the main Shotwell window
camera and importing directly from there. Once you’ve imported images, you’ll see two new entries
in
install
on OpenSUSE
is
finally
macro
level.
your images as a giant
is
where you manage your
Select the top entry to see
gallery,
all
organised with the most
recent images at the top.
shotwell
slightly
the left-hand pane, which
library at the
then update with sudo apt-get update, and then
Installing
File
dragging and dropping
have to add a new repository
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yorba/ppa
install
run, you’ll
to your library. This can be accomplished by either going to
or connecting a
install shotwell.
To
On the first
through that.
it
latest version of the it
> If you have an image that you don’t want to see but don’t want to remove, use Hide to take it out of the library.
more problematic
distribution doesn't have a
package
a Shotwell dependency. However, there
for libgee, is
a Shotwell
package available through http://software.opensuse.
oig. After this installs, you'll then have to
install
libgee from
Information station In this
mode, you can double-click an image to see a
version of gallery.
it,
and then double-click again
to get
big
back to the
At the base of the navigation pane you'll see
some
source: http://download.gnomex>ig/sources/
information culled from the Exit part of your photograph,
libgee/0.5/libgee-0.5.0.tar.bz2
which
In all of
the above cases,
you’ll
have a new entry under the
Graphics section of your applications panel once you’ve
give you details such as the date
will
resolution
and geographical
was taken,
its
location of the shot.
The second entry
finished installing.
it
and sometimes information about the exposure
in
the navigation pane
will
say Events.
Select this option to see your collection of images divided into Events,
based on the day they were taken. Double-click
an event to see the images within. You can also see events tree view
the
if
you want by
in
a
clicking the disclosure icon (+) next to
label.
Events can be organised from the main screen. For instance,
you
may have a
batch of holiday photos that are
from the same vacation but have been divided Events because you took together, select the >
first
subsequent events.
Use the Events
and choose Merge
section to
event, then hold Shift
Now
into various
different days. To join
right-click
and
click
any of the selected events
into
an event you'll
find a small
your images by
Slideshow button at the base of the screen. Select
date or event.
a full-screen slideshow of the images
in
this to
www.linuxformat.com
see
that section.
Never miss another issue Subscribe to the #1 source for Linux on page 78 LXF135 September 2010
them any
Event(s).
Whenever you go
navigate through
them on
66.
First Steps Tutorial
management Step by step: Editing and uploading a library With the
favourite photo-sharing
site,
D Find your image
Tag your pictures
Use the Events or Photos option to see your collection. Select a single image by clicking on it with the left mouse button; select a continuous range by clicking the first and then
make many noncontinuous selections using Ctrl+click. You can deselect the whole lot or individual pictures by Shift+clicking the last; or
re-clicking
on them
in
the
same way.
D Crop an image Cropping
is
some
you do it right. Select Crop from the Tools menu and begin to move one edge or corner of the crop box. The grid that appears corresponds to the ‘rule of thirds’, which is a useful compositional tool. You can also constrain the crop aspect ratio by selecting of the presets
While Events are cool,
it's
sometimes better
Tags to organise groups of pictures. With your selections made, right-click one of the images and choose Add Tags. Categorise your pictures by typing in descriptive tags separated by commas. When you hit OK, you’ll see the text added to the image and the tags appear in the navigation pane. to create
IH Export to file
an art and Shot well gives you
tools to help
one
crop and even upload images to your Shotwell is a one-stop shop for snappers.
ability to tag, categorise, edit,
from the drop-down
list
at
With a collection of images selected, go into File > Export to open the export dialog. Here
you can define the quality of the JPEG output (the higher the quality, the bigger the files)
and choose to have the images resampled to a different size. Hit OK and then define the location for the export. Click Save to save new copies of the images.
El Edit
the image
Double-click an image to preview and edit
it
in
mode. At the base of the window are five tools that enable you to make simple edits on the image. To fix problems with exposure or white balance, select the Adjust option and full-screen
then use the various sliders to edit the image. You can undo changes made here and even use
Photo > Revert to go
right
back to the
original.
D Publish to the web It’s also possible to upload images to Flickr, Facebook or Picasa from within Shotwell. Select the images you want to upload, then choose File > Publish and choose the service to upload to from the drop-down menu. You’ll be prompted to sign in or create an account before the images are resized (if this is necessary) and uploaded to your space. 233
the bottom of the window.
Next month
Build a
database with Kexi and sync your data with an Android. www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF13 5
|
79
Project management Take the stress out of your big jobs with free software
Work
Projects:
Bob Moss show you how to manage your projects using free tools on the web and the Linux desktop. Snowed under with work? Then
let
20th-century music, but the techniques used here could be applied to anything you plan to create.
The first tool utility
available
you run
it
we'll
in all
window
you
me some tasks
When you first
run Tasque you
will
be glad to hear that
be asked where you wish
will
to sync your tasks. Users of the Milk
if
remain available so you can
will
it
when your tasks are complete!
Track
will
called Tasque, a lightweight
is
you should notice a tray icon appear. Even
close Tasque s main tick off
encounter
mainstream package managers. When
web service Remember The
this
supported by Tasque, but
is
new
only be able to edit existing tasks rather than add
ones due to
restrictions
imposed by the
service. However, the
application also supports Evolution, so any tasks created either
in
package can be managed by both applications, or you
can allow TasqueXo keep selecting ‘Local
File’
own
its
local
copy
of things
by
from the drop-down menu.
Adding a task could not be simpler. You can
left-click
on
the tray icon to open up the Tasque window, type ‘Send Report' into the top-right then click on Add.
you wish to add
If
a deadline for your task, simply left-click to the right of the
given task and select the date from the drop-down that
A
ny large project (and
many small ones) can be
daunting from the outset.
All
completed. However, you
Our expert
organised,
has created
Many of the problems
Tasks
be glad to know that the world
inherent
in
you can minimise (or
Whether you're
in
Our next tool
the right tools
studying for his computer science
write a student essay, working out the order
degree course.
need to be done and when can help you achieve your goals a reasonable time frame
example
will
and
which things
perfectly within budget.
a local copy of your project
like
Our
you get them. Simply
New
before clicking on ‘Retrieve
which you can then drop down a
When you
create a
left-click
specific
in
boxes to save content
offline,
or
Evolution, select ‘Google’
option. To in
from the drop-
instead of the usual default list all
the available calendars
your Gmail account, ensure you have
typed
in
your full Google account user
80 LXF135 September 2010 1
distributions
and are
Edit
and when
on the icon and select Create In
Search
file
the top-right you can
He
i
All
for
Motes
d
v
Search:
I'
clear.
|
case scnsitri*
1
Note
Last
Changed a
List’.
list
Send Report
si
tetendiy. I3:SS
of
[ lift
make
gjKit
from now on
1^ Search
V Uric
sa**
& s
From now on
Send Report
down
identical
notebook you have created
your calendars. You can then check the
new calendar
has been completed.
the background. These two
Note, then type into the note.
move your note to a
be prompted for a password, after
Google Calendar and sync Evolution for use offline.
in
Ubuntu and Fedora, are almost
a name
it
Gnome tray for mainstream
1
You’ll
to
show
Gnote, which can be best described as
|v
enough, you can keep an online copy on it
is
like
Simply check
invaluable for keeping snippets of information as in
be a project plan to produce a report about
isn’t
be separated under headings
Tomboy without Mono running
A date on the net If
will
are already on the
garden shed or need to in
change colour as the deadline slowly
the box next to a given task to
even eradicate) them.
plotting to build a
will
approaches and
project planning are
rare cases
we think we can create a more realistic
'Overdue', ‘Today’, ‘Tomorrow’ ‘Next 7 days’, etc.
its
inevitable, but with effective organisation using
time
between coding things and
product
own solutions to keep and you too can use them for your own projects.
of free software
Bob Moss
will
final
if
report from our investigation this quickly, or a
date could be a week or two.
wrong, whether going over-budget, taking longer
than expected or simply never getting the
splits his
emerges. This could be today
kinds of things could go
the selected calendar the default, then click
on
OK to apply your changes. You
can follow similar steps to import your Google contacts
«n
ftmveeibfr to gr«t Burt «iffi 0 arm? rn)m J!0W Ch. Ask Hike with this irweatinMion because it’s haul on my
to (itjw slay DMlj
The cnirnterits from Butt gathersch has been a reaily
moment
at
into Evolution in the
‘Contacts’ section of the mail client.
www.linuxformat.com
mage
ms Hint Any aay ‘now tfrs could really alfecc me
investigation
> If you love to take notes with Tomboy but hate the thought of using Mono, Gnote is your new best friend.
Project
management Tutorial
smarter V
Tbsque
All (3)
[New
TJ
|
_
D
v
Add
task... ]
Today 2
Interview Burt Backerach
6/15 -Today [
Tomorrow -
Team-building exercises
Next 7 Days •
6/16
-
Tomorrow
6/17
-
Thu
6/18
•
Fri
6/19 -Sat
Assess wtetter further action must be taken
6/20
-
Sun
6/21
-
Mon
6/22
-
in 1
week
No Date Choose Dat
> To organise a quick and easy to-do list you could do a worse than use the lightweight and intuitive Tasque.
Evolutions calendar installed >
Where previously addresses were needed.
made
it
Evolution has
on
left.
Then
Calendar.
feature
killer
is
that you can highlight text
and
click
is
useful
click
real
click If
in this
regard as
click
on Calendar
is
in
on the left-pane and select Create
this doesn’t
work with your
already use.
the bottom-
New
particular distribution
on the arrow next to New Event on the
far-left of
toolbar above the left-hand pane and create a
on Link to
it
mainstream distributions and ready to
Simply launch Evolution and
extremely simple to import Google calendars.
your project (which you do with the same menu). Gnote’s
all
lot
the
new calendar
be named Investigation’ and contain a
create a
new note with that text as the heading. All text that is same as the heading within the same notebook will link to that note. This means that your snippets of information
from
the
task such as ‘Interview Burt Bacharach’ to continue the
“Failing to plan
musical theme. Create a task by simply right-clicking on the
planning to
associate with each other, so you no longer have to trawl your
relevant date
hard drive looking for quick notes you
be useful with our music
made
in Gedit.
investigation, as notes
during interviews and research on the
This
here. This could
its
start
and end date
and any further details you wish to add.
can be taken
web that can later be we could link some
There
you
are,
however, downsides to this very easy approach.
one task so that
than expected, the
collated together for our final report, so
If
speech from an interviewee's views to the facts behind them.
other tasks do not adjust accordingly to allow extra time,
and write-ups
will
it
lasts longer
it
of a project
is
timing,
because we
need to work out when particular tasks such as research, interviews
alter
meaning you have to move each task individually by that same increase in duration. Also, is hard to track costs and who is doing what (if your project is collaborative). For this reason, a true project management tool is required, and this
Right on schedule Another important aspect
Heed these words!
and selecting ‘Create Appointment'. Here you
can set the title of the appointment,
will
is
fail”.
be started and completed
by.
»
covered overleaf.
is
Communication is key An
emerges with how team members communicate with each other. The usual method is to use email as you can send the same message to multiple recipients and target them at specific project members. However, with this approach there is no guarantee that issue that inevitably
collaborative projects
someone email
in
One instant
If
is
is
going to respond to their
a timely manner, or at
all.
Empathy, as you tend to get quick
the real thing and you can explain
responses and things can be discussed
decisions you
in real
has to be taken with
can be very
this
approach, as
difficult to sift
conversations to find
it
through group
who made what
decisions and why.
finally,
you could
use Google Wave for discussion and variety of
ways
to
communicate with
other people collaborating with you on a
Ekiga to keep
They each come with their pros it’s up to you to decide which approach best suits your project.
in
contact with individuals
messaging
minutes of these meetings as you would
you missed
require that everyone involved has a
good broadband. And
conferencing software such as Skype or or hold group meetings. You can keep
such as
people
collaboration. In short, there are a
You could also use VoIP or video
solution could be to use an client
made to the
involved directly, though this does
time. Unfortunately, great care
last issue Call
project.
and cons, and
0870 837 4773 www.tuxradar.com
or
+44 1858 438795. September 2010 LXF135
|81
management
Tutorial Project
Work
Planner:
management with
Start your engines for in-depth project
P
roject
management tools
will
find that tools
such
When you three panes
combination, these tools can provide a very powerful solution.
options,
Windows users
still
be familiar with Microsoft Project for
will likely
and thankfully the Linux-based solutions
provide an interface.
If
you haven't
tried
The tool we
made
will
cover
is
called Planner,
which
is
installed in
it easy to import Google
Fedora by default under the guise of Project Manager’
Calendars.
Applications > Office. Users of other mainstream distributions
in
this
month's coverdisc.
launch Planner for the
first
the main window. The
in
time you should find
far-left
pane
offers four
named ‘Gantt’, ‘Task’, ‘Resources' and ‘Resource
Usage’ (Gantt
open by default). The middle pane
is
is
where
tasks can be added, edited, removed and subdivided.
any such package
before then you are reading the right tutorial!
has
package manager or on
come in handy for notetaking and tracking your own workload. This means that, in as Gnote and Tasque will
this kind of thing,
> Evolution
should find Planner in their usual distribution repositories and
provide you with a huge
degree of flexibility, though you
Planner.
Finally,
the right-hand pane
is
a pictorial representation of
how long those tasks will take and when they will be executed, to give you an idea of how long the project is likely to take. This
is
a Gantt chart, and uses coloured bars along a timeline
how tasks interact, how long they will take and when they will be executed in a way that makes much more
to denote
sense than reading the middle pane alone.
Make work To create your
task, right-click the middle
first
pane and
select ‘Insert Task’.
Now double-click on the blank name field
and name
Planning Stages’ You
of this,
left
it
‘Initial
and
this
will
important because
is
notice a 1’ to the
is
it
the unique
identifier for that particular task.
Now double-click default,
and
under ‘Work’. Here you
will
means that one day has been
this
that task. You can change this to
one working week
‘lh’
for
one
see
‘Id’
by
allocated to
hour, or ‘lw’ for
(or five days).
Now create a new task named ‘Interview stage’. You will notice the identifier
your first task. but the
if
It
is
is
labelled
‘2’,
but
it
appears underneath
possible to do two tasks at the
same time,
you want the second task to only be completed after
first
then you need to
‘Edit Task’.
then choose your ‘OK’ to confirm,
first
former and select click
on
and
‘Add’
task from the options available. Click
and you should notice that your second task
has shifted to the linking the
right-click the
Under the ‘Predecessors’ tab
right.
Also there should
two tasks together to
reflect
now be an arrow
your changes.
You have just created a task dependency, because task
must now be completed before task 2 can proceed.
Head in the clouds
decide to change the duration of your
second The
have an application on the
ability to
desktop syncing to the cloud in
many areas, If
useful
in
an
on the move then you
apps and data.
However, there
is
you have been
popular,
Google Calendar
in
the world on
bypass these
client applications
theory,
you could even
and
manage your whole project using online tools, but then you come across the
82 LXF135 September 2010 i
> For
when only a dedicated
later.
With your
first
most
These provide you with very
similar
functionality to the offline equivalents,
resources to tasks or allocate
In
tasks into smaller sub-tasks to
micro-manage resources
and management.
but you
a browser anywhere
task then the
for scheduling
for task
syncing most of your data to the cloud,
in
split large
easily
first
length of time.
and within these you have
you can simply use the existing services
any machine.
you can
more
same
services stack up
of online applications are the
Google Tasks
another way.
fact that
how do cloud
Finally,
forward by the
will
miss the
ability to allocate
responsibility to particular people. will
also be unable to ensure that
task follows another
in
You
one
a logical fashion
as you would with a dedicated project
management app such as
project
management
Planner.
www.linuxformat.com
1
you
against our client apps? Google’s suite
is
have no access to your lovingly crafted
Thanks to the
internet connection.
So,
you use a machine
office or a laptop
client
usual caveat that you need a constant
but the main
disadvantage to such a setup portability.
is
will shift
If
application will do, Planner is a totally capable solution.
management Tutorial
Project
through a task You can create and allocate resources, and micromanagers will love the ability to link alternative calendars.
>
>
Name this task
task right-click and select ‘Create Sub-Task'. ‘Consultation’
and leave
it
allocated with Id'. You
that the main task’s time total
time of
all
will
depend on each
other.
sub-task being complete.
If
all is
typing
can simply
in
the duration
click
in this
and
is
well
then the task as a
way
dependent on the
you are completing a personal
liking,
you
and drag the right-hand edge of each task
in
the right-hand pane to alter the size and therefore the length of time
you expect a given task to take to complete.
now define tasks such as ‘Research’ and subsections
like
‘Burt Bacharach’ ‘Rock
We can
split this into
and
Roll’
used by checking the total cost
etc
smaller
in
order
it.
project, but
This
will
be
‘O'
may be more
if
in
some situations where you need to buy materials or pay for work to be done.
Once you have completed
not to your
is
is
it.
task to reflect the costs associated with
whole should now have a duration of three days. If
how each resource
that’s associated with
next to the resources you have chosen to allocate to a given
total
they each
You could now create another sub-task
that’s called ‘Allocate Work’ lasts ‘2d’ first
if
a simple job to review
notice
will
be the same as the
the sub-tasks you create combined
It’s
and each task
you can monitor when
this,
resources are being used over the course of the project by
Usage from the left-hand pane, and you
selecting Resource
can see a breakdown of which tasks are allocated to which resources and for
how much by clicking on Tasks. You can
also edit the status of each task from the Gantt Chart or Task
windows
how much
to view
progress has been
made towards
If
Planner doesn’t
take your fancy,
why not try out to complete our musical report project.
completing the objective as a percentage.
Chandler? You find
Manage resources A resource
is
anything that
complete your project,
is
Collaboration
available to
on. Anything
allocating to a given task that incurs
some
called a resource. To create one, click in
helpful to
people working on your
project. This includes
computers used and so
you and
you are
You’ll
on the Resources option
resource
Now
is
called
and assign a
return to your Gantt chart, right-click on a task all
in
and
the boxes
org or on
this
month’s coverdisc.
come into their own because make up for with their
features they
By far and away the best tool
time.
It
for collaborating
on projects
Google Wave, because
is
threads up and discuss individual points
ability to split
cost.
then on Assign Resources. You can then check
lack
and sharing content however
what that
about
collaboration and sharing features.
the left-hand pane, right-click on the middle-pane and
select Insert Resource. You can then define
all
simply replacing desktop applications. Google Docs and
what they
will
at http://
chandlerproject.
be glad to know that cloud services are not
Microsoft Office Online really
kind of cost can be
it
shines
in
of
its
in real
particular with mind-clouding exercises
where any contribution can be expanded on by another team
member in
time resulting
real
of ideas very quickly.
made and
reverted
wave you have the
Changes
in real
in
you gaining a huge number
to
time.
documents can
also be
As the owner of any given
right to restrict
permissions as necessary
and veto any changes.
And
finally,
when
comes to working on the actual
it
product you could also check out versioning systems to see
changes each Subscribers projects at to
member makes and
will
find
our tutorial on
revert as necessary.
SVN
for
www.linuxformatxom. These
manage any
project,
non-code
tools can
whether that's a new piece
be used
of
software you are developing, a report on the effects of acid
Maximise your resources by monitoring what you are using over the course of the project and when.
>
rain in
Upper
Silesia or
even an elaborate plot to renovate
your house. EES
Never miss another issue Subscribe to the #1 source for Linux on page www.tuxradar.com
66.
September 2010 LXF13 5 |83
Desktop Get the inside view on what’s happening in
Gnome 3.0
Gnome 3.0: A Want to try Gnome’s attempt at refreshing the GUI? With Gnome Shell and the help of lain Gray you can, without abandoning your current install. Enter this
command to add the
relevant PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ricotz/testing This adds the appropriate lines to the sources.list key. Install the
and the
file
new interface with:
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get
install
gnome-shell
Now you can
start a
temporary spawn of the new GUI
with:
gnome-shell -replace
Where’s the bling? At
first
you won’t see anything
different
from a stock Ubuntu
desktop apart from the lack of the bottom panel. The upper panel
is
black and has, from right to
left;
user logged
in,
network connection, volume control, the embedded quicklaunch icons.
In
the middle
is
the day and time (click on this
and an animated calender appears), and on the indicator of
which app has mouse focus
so standard, but
it's
in
left
Activities button that holds the
fundamental differences
in
there’s
an
the window. So far
key to the
Gnome 3.0.
The traditionalist will want to
click
on the Activities to
mouse gesture into the top-left System or Windows button, or Alt+Fl all
access, but a sweeping corner, pushing the
have the same
A
With OS X and Windows 7 giving the masses a new look and feel and KDE having a complete re-write, only Gnome was left tweaking and twiddling and perhaps resting on the laurels of Compiz to give us its eye with
Our
candy.
expert
respond to
lain
Gray is a
engineer
in
industry.
He has
the
It's
it.
taken over 18 months for the
KDE 4, and the first
heavy-development
The testing
control systems oil
install
of a
Gnome
Foundation to
impressions of the
Gnome 3.0 do
new front-end
still-in-
usually requires a fresh
or a test machine, but on your current
install
Gnome
has a couple of methods to try the new interface out
flavours of Linux
without (much) fear of trashing your current
install.
The activities When
activated, the
in
anger
Ee don’t
recommend you use a virtual machine to try the new Gnome, Gnome Shell requires the full power of the 3D graphics card. We also recommend Ubuntu as the easiest system to
main window sweeps back from your
focus with the activities side panel taking up around a quarter of the width of the screen.
There are now four options.
» Find The ‘find’ box works in a similar way to Gnome-Do: when you
enter partial
available choices
not disappoint.
used various almost exclusively since 2001.
effect.
ny modern PC uses a GUI to enable us to interact
will
document
or application
» Applications The Applications section
is initially
minimal, but learns from your actions. This to by right-clicking an Favourites. This
forgotten
is
names the
appear.
list
very
can be added
app icon and selecting Add To
not yet sticky, and the favourites are
when the shell
is
stopped and restarted. There
is
an
as
try
Gnome
Shell,
because
its
system
of personal
package
archives (PPAs).
Whether you're if
installing natively
on on a
you have a system running Compiz then
file
its
virtual
machine,
configuration
needs a minor tweak:
sudo gedit /usr/bin/compiz
On the
last line
change
it
to the following, which
comments
out the fallback respawn into Metacity.
${COMPIZ_BIN_PATH}${COMPIZ_NAME} $COMPIZ_ OPTIONS “$@” $COMPIZ_PLUGINS # exec II
$FALLBACKWM $FALLBACKWM_OPTIONS
> Initially the differences are hard to spot.
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66.
Gnome 3
Tutorial
new Gnome? arrow that further expands the selection, though at this stage in
development this
contain
all
organised
is
not very well organised.
It
doesn’t
the apps installed, for example, though in
it
is
alphabetical order.
» Places & Devices The
& Devices section is a
Places
Gnome menu.
replication of the Places
menu
» Recent
the Recent Items section, which
shows
all
Items Next
is
in
the current
the document, pictures and videos that the user
has opened. within email
It
includes the temporary items
and downloaded from the
sometimes broken. This section
links are
opened from
and therefore the
net,
continually updates,
and unfortunately still needs some work.
Message The
in
a tray
shell interfaces well with the
area
in
Gnome apps, with
standard
the Empathy IM client instantly docking
the quick-launch
in
the upper panel. Other apps, such as HandBrake, also
use this area to inform the user of information.
The app that best
Gnome 3
links with
Gnome’s preferred music
player.
by Rhythm box,
is
As well as docking
in
the
quick-launch area, Rhythmbox uses the the bottom of the
Gnome
screen to show the currently playing track. area the Message Tray, and
if
you
flick
the
mouse
calls this
Gnome 3.0 gives the
into the
user interface a
new
lease of
life,
but
> I
lower-right corner the
Rhythmbox icon
will
over this and the currently playing song
is
pop
up;
mouse
people are mostly resistant to change and there are niggles (primarily, for us, the organisation of the
displayed with a
Next button to move the
“At first you won’t see anything different from a stock Ubuntu desktop.”
playlist forward. Testing this
Amarok shows that it only plays nice with Gnomebiased applications as
KDE's music player
menu)
that,
if
they're not
sorted out prior to release to the will
mainstream
distros,
cause problems.
doesn’t happen and
If
this
it's
released into the wild too
in
Gnome users will
be
feeling as short-changed as the
early,
Wide view
KDE community did when KDE 4 was first released. That’s unlikely though; knowing the Gnome developers' love of slow and steady improvements we can look forward to a smooth,
When opening or starting a document or application, a will
suffice
used desk space. applications choice.
is
though
this will
A much more
to drag the
app
all
open
controllable
it
up
in
the
slick
last
left
desktop for the future. ES3
>
Announcing,
in this
case, an
update from Rhythmbox.
way to open new
icon into a userspace of your
When the Activities side
back your focus and
those
apps to be as
the centre of the screen.
double-click
all
applications?
useable as the current
with
announces as before
some
Now where did put
panel
is
activated
it
draws
desk spaces are viewable. Apps that
are currently open can be dragged from and to any of the available
desk spaces.
If
a fresh desk space
required the -/+
is
buttons on the bottom-right increase and decrease the
number available. The number of desk spaces maxes out at 16, but even at this amount a description below each app is still
readable and the experience
still
useable.
A button
at the
bottom-left of the deskspaces can be used to toggle from a tiled
arrangement to a
wall view, similar to the
Being bleeding edge software there are
There are minor
stability issues
Compiz wall.
some
See The Light (Album Version) by Green Day from 21st Century Breakdown
issues.
with a few crashes, which can
lead to Metacity being respawned with missing panels.
happens, start a terminal with Alt+F2 and restart
If
j|
you missed
If
this
Gnome 3.
last issue Call
0870 837 4773 www.tuxradar.com
or
+44 1858 438795. September 2010 LXF135 |85
Hardware: Test Are your upgrades and tweaks really boosting the performance of your setup? Bob Moss can help you find out by using benchmarks. can reduce the number of read/write operations that need to be run and thus increase performance.
The first tool mentioned
(subscribers
will
and
website),
is
use
we'll
the infamous hdparm.
is
our ‘Power up Linux' feature
this in
find the feature
available to
package managers. A
little-
in
We briefly
LXF124
on the Linux Format
download from most
known
distribution
hdparm
feature of
can give you a concise guide to how fast your drive entering just one
hdparm
line in
is
is
that
it
after
the terminal:
-Tt /dev/hda
Remember to replace /dev/hda with your drive location. The command will show you how much data was
output of the read
in
a fixed time
limit,
followed by a reflection of that speed
per second. The cached-read figure should faster
speed than the one below, and the
direct read
access
show
latter
is
a
much
aimed as a
test.
Deeper details However,
if
you'll find
you prefer even more accuracy and
Bonnie++
managers.
It's
in
almost
all
distribution
a very flexible tool indeed,
you only need to enter the following
detail,
and to get
line in
then
package it
running
a terminal:
bonnie-H- /dev/hda
A
Again, substitute
made a software tweak, and not noticed an improvement, you may have found yourself
test will take longer than the previous one,
a PC, or
in
wondering whether the whole exercise was worth
Our
community has thousands
expert
analyse things
Bob Moss time between coding
things and
studying for his computer science
degree course.
like
CPU
of different tools
speed,
movie and your broadband latency - and extremely high
These
level of
accuracy and
all
second
and tests to
how fast you can
of
your
which
expected, since Bonnie++ reads and writes a ‘unintelligently’ (with direct disk access),
it.
This doesn’t need to be the case. The free software
splits his
/dev/hda for the name
ny time you’ve ever replaced a hardware component
at the
test using
drive. This is
to
be
file
then performs a
your hard drive cache. The details you get
end are much more extensive and, thanks to the
render a
with an
detail.
details alone don’t solve the problem, but
benchmarking can. For those who haven’t tried involves taking a
measurement before and
it,
after
this
you make a
change. You can then use the two results to compare
how
your tweak affected things. You could use benchmarking for a broader range of information, but, for our purposes,
comparing before and You may prefer to ‘What
is
after results
sufficient.
a good benchmark?' box opposite to gain a truly
objective result, but this tutorial tests
is
stick to the principles set out in the
will
cover
how to execute
on your hardware and monitor how your system
is
working so you can perform your own analysis and evaluate
which areas of your system could do with a boost. We'll
use hard disk testing as our example. The primary
concerns here are the filesystem and the speed at which the platters rotate, since these dictate Internal buffers
If
you missed
86 LXF135 September 2010
your read and write speed.
can also affect performance, because they
last issue Call
>
If
0870 837 4773 www.linuxfonnat.com
terminal instructions don’t do
on a graph
or
is
it
for you, a wiggly line
a sufficient replacement.
+44 1858 438795.
Benchmarking Tutorial
performance 15
))
Bonnie++
>
bob@lacalhost:'-
'
View
Edit
File
Help
Terminal
Bonnie++
will
[bob@localhost ~]$ bonnie++ -d /home/bob Writing a byte at a time... done Writing intelligently, .done Rewriting. .done Reading a byte at a time... done Reading intelligently. .done start 'em. .done, .done. .done. .done. .done. Create files in sequential order. .done. Stat files in sequential order. .done. Delete files in sequential order. .done. Create files in random order. .done. Stat files in random order. .done. Delete files in random order. .done. Version 1.96 Sequential Output Sequential Input- --Ran Concurrency 1 -Per Chr- --Block-- -Rewrite- -Per Chr- --Block-- --See Machine Size K/sec %CP K/see %CP K/sec %CP K/sec %cp K/sec %cp /sec 89.4 localhost.locald 6G 42 39 18123 7 7307 5 693 82 15808 3 2828ms 193ms 3506ms 7248ms Latency 127B»S 1970 Random Create Version 1.96 Sequential Create localhost.localdoma -create-- --Read--- -Delete-- -create-- --Read--- -Dele files /sec %CP /sec %CP /sec %CP /sec ^CP /sec %CP /sec 5828 61 +++++ +++ 6821 16 4806 56 +++++ +++ 25083 16 297ms Latency 46473us 3691us 228ms 926us 1B96 1.96,1. 96, localhost localdomain ,1, 1276784667,66, ,42.39, 18123,7,7367 ,5.693,8 08,3,89.4,4,16, ,, ,5828, 61, +++++, +++,6821, 16, 4886, 56,+++++, +++,25683, 57, 358 248ms 2828ms 193ms, 1278ms, 1976ms 46473US 3691us ,228ms 297ms, 926us 1896us [bob@localhost -]$ | ,
put your
filesystem
through
its
paces
.
.
.
,
detailed analysis
.
.
.
.
and provide a
.
of the results.
.
.
.
.
.
.
,
,
,
> Like the Microsoft Task
processes and
kill
,
,
,
,
Manager you can view running ;
them from
here.
To
list all
the possible tests you can run,
try:
phoronix-test-suite list-tests
workout
it
and simply replace
gives your drive, includes latency figures or the
time taken for file reads, creation and deletions completed
However, Bonnie++
isn’t just restricted to
which
for
Benchmark tests aren’t designed
to take If
they
all
day!
last longer
than 30 minutes,
phoronix-test-suite run audio-encoding
run,
is
encode speed,
will
we need the following command:
monitoring the
You can set the number of times the test
see various
a given scenario. Our example
in
involve having a look at testing audio
a variety of ways.
entire drive.
list-tests with list-suites to
options to run every test
in
consider adjusting
the size of
files
used
in
the test and the
number of them
used.
take a
will
It
little
bonnie++ into your terminal to see the vast number of options Bonnie++ offers to put your hard drive
generic
through
container formats.
but once
Just type
its
paces.
it’s
Ferocious Pheronix testing your hard drive isn’t
Pheronix Test Suite.
It’s
managers, but there
is
run from your
available by default in
a caveat.
Gnome menu,
A GUI
should
but the library
it
of writing. This
is
disappointing, but the
of Pheronix Test Suite
is still
command
to
on hadn’t
at the line
how fast a
the test to
something better suited to your
this
package to
find out detailed
using:
version
is
only the tip of the iceberg
when
it
comes
measuring your current system’s performance and
identifying areas for potential
number
time
of free tools
and
improvement. There’s a huge
utilities
available out there, so
over to you to experiment and tweak your
maximum
useful to us.
run,
hardware setup.
you can use
This tutorial
on top and
relies
been updated to work with modern distributions
results for
first
phoronix-test-suite system-info
try out
most package sit
the tests on the
complete you should see
system information by
enough then you could
install
WAV file has been encoded to a number of different
Finally,
If
time to
it’s
own setup for
performance. 53
What is a good benchmark? Let’s
say someone
tells
you, "An
Intel
Core 2 Solo processor compiles Firefox
from source
10% faster.” There are we
Next, there are certain things that aren’t really
fashion.
comparable
in
an objective
When you're benchmarking for
Finally, stick to tools for
the platform
you’re currently using. As per the above point,
any benchmark results you got
performance, you should be simply
from Windows tools can’t be compared
know which processor this is being compared to and which version of the
tweaking one thing on nearly identical systems - for instance, finding out
against
source package
whether
differently.
several issues with this. Firstly,
is
don’t
being used for the
Benchmark tests should be
profiling
your kernel actually
Linux,
benchmark
results
you get
in
because the systems work Using different tools means
decreases boot time or not. Checking to
any difference between your before and
repeatable and you should have
see whether Linux boots faster than
after results could
extensive details about the before and
Windows
benchmarking algorithms rather than
test.
after conditions to
compare
easily
results.
really
is
a fun test to
try,
but
it
isn’t
the aim of benchmarking.
an actual boost
in
be down to the performance.
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66.
September 2010 LXF13 5
|87
ImageMagick: Use the power of the command line to enhance your images
ImageMagick: so keen on the command line that he even edits needs Gimp or Photoshop when you have the shell?
Shashank Sharma
Who
images there.
is
Make sure you delete intermediary images, or your hard
>
disk will
convert
fill
up
really quickly.
[OPTIONS]
file
[OPTIONS]
file.
many options for us to go man page for details. A simple
Convert supports too so refer to
its
into here,
convert picture.jpg converted.png
command
is all
it
takes to convert an image to a different
format. You can just as easily resize images with the
W
their graphical counterparts?
command
imagine using the
It’s
certainly hard to
line for
image
processing, something that’s obviously a graphical domain.
Yet,
50% resized.png
convert picture.jpg -resize
hen should you choose command-line tools over
we’re here to
command. Here, the resize option tells convert to scale the image down 50% and save it in a new file called resized.png. Notice how we downsized and converted the file format all in one go!
show you how adeptly you can manipulate
Our
images from the CLI using ImageMagick, a
expert
command-line
applications.
It
The
co/7 ve/t too also I
supports
pixel
sampling, so
this:
convert -sample 80x60 image.jpg thumb.jpg
suite of
can be used to create a thumbnail of 80x60
allows a myriad of operations
pixels.
The
such as converting images between formats, basic drawing
-sample option also supports percentages, so you can also
Sharma
and simple image editing such as cropping, adding
use the
has been writing about free
images, creating
Shashank
3D
effects to
masterpieces and even animation.
Although no one can deny the merits of command-line
software for over four years for
tools
various places,
advantage of using ImageMagick. Most writeups about
including Linux,
com. He's
also
the co-author of Apress's Beginning Fedora.
when
it
comes to batch
its
ideal
Drawing with convert
on system
vast feature set, ImageMagick
can replace whatever graphical equivalent you’re using now.
The
first
tool
called convert.
It
instead of specifying an exact size.
processing, that's not the sole
command-line tools mention how they are low on resources, but with
from the ImageMagick set that
we’ll
use
is
can be used to change images between
various formats and for performing basic operations such as
In
addition to editing images, convert can also be used to
draw various shapes and
but
installed
the -draw
you don't have
if
it
you can
easily install
distributions software repositories.
terminal
window and
When
let's
it’s
using your
installed,
put ImageMagick to
using convert the the ,
Once
it
open a
test.
commands must adhere to
you missed
88 LXF135 September 2010
last issue Call
You can use convert to draw
option.
is
-draw ‘ coordinates’ full
command will
convert -size 80x80 -draw
look
like this
‘line 20,20, 60,70’
line_draw.png
we first use the -size option to tell convert that we want an image 80 pixels wide and 80 pixels high. The two sets Here,
of coordinates respectively for
0870 837 4773 www.linuxformat.com
and polygons using
The format when using the
our shape,
in this
case a
denote the start and end points line.
convert -size 200x100 xc:green
the following format:
If
command
-draw option So, the
by default on most distributions,
text.
curves, ellipses, rectangles, lines, circles
cropping or resizing images.
ImageMagick is
command 30%x30% big.jpg thumb.jpg
convert -sample
or
The command:
backgrounding
+44 1858 438795.
ImageMagick Tutorial
Image editing
^ ImageMagick 6.6.2
creates a rectangular image of green colour with a size of
200x100
pixels.
We can now draw shapes on to
it
like this:
convert background. png -draw ‘rectangle 0,0 30,100’ -draw ‘rectangle 170,0,200,100’
image.png
This draws two rectangles on to our
image, and
we
backgrounding
store the final version as image.png.
When
drawing rectangles, the two sets of coordinates denote the upper-left
and the lower
using the
-fill
option,
convert image.png
corner respectively.
right
You can specify a colour
shapes you're drawing
for the
like so:
-fill
png The -stroke option can
blue -draw
similarly
‘circle
100,50 100,80’
final,
be used to specify the
boundary colour for the drawn shapes. Apart from the regular shapes, convert can also be used to
draw a rectangle with rounded corners, convert -size 120x60 xc:wheat
-fill
blue -stroke wheat -draw
“roundrectangle 25,10 95,50 20,12” roundrect.png
The third
set of coordinates
in
this
case are used to specify
the width and height of the corners.
>
convert,
and then add these to your images for a more
professional look, as we’ll discuss
Order, order!
convert -background wheat
ImageMagick utilities are very
particular
the various options. Here’s a simple overall settings
rule:
about the order of options that provide
come in order they should take effect. So, using the last command to draw a circle as an example, we use -fill before we draw the otherwise convert
black and ignore the
fill
will
draw the
circle in
the default
logos. In fact,
This code block above
command, broken the end of each
Here
utility called
Display.
\
56 label:Design
line tells
so
it’s
you can create text designs using
It,
however is not as good as the CLI
\
tools.
actually just a single convert
is
into parts
easier to read. (The
\ at
convert that there's more to come.)
we use the -background and
-fill
options to specify the
colour of the text as well as the image background. The -font
we use the
label: tag,
which
is
the quickest
way to
finally
create text
using convert.
The canvas ([T
the next section,
and -pointsize options describe the text features, and
option.
You can also create textual designs with convert- think
2D text
in
orange
label.tiff
need to come first. These generally include
the size of the image and such. The other options
circle,
-font Helvetica -pointsize
-fill
ImageMagick
has a graphical
-fill
Comman X
is
generated based on the -background and
colour settings and
is
sized to
match the drawn
text.
You
type the text you wish to create immediately after label:
Ima^e Ma^ick
without leaving blank space.
ImageMagick: compl
When creating text designs with more than one word, you must wrap the
File
Edit
View Transform
Enhance Effects
_d Id Id Id Id Id
label: ’Text
text in single quotes, like so:
Designs with convert’ label_multiword.tiff
Since label: creates the canvas to match the text can’t dictate the position of the text.
If
you
left-align
-format switch
Edit
collection of
if
you have a large
images to convert:
mogrify -format
tiff
it
would make
sized thumbnails of multiple images:
JPG
careful,
however as
this
If
you
you have
to use a different format for the
You can also use mogrify to create same-
Be
originals,
command PNG thumbnails of all your
thumbnails. For instance, this
*.png
mogrify -sample 80x60 *.jpg
Take an image. Rotate it 180. Take some text. Rotate 180. Put all of it together and you get a card.
»
overwrite your existing images!
wish to preserve the
Miscellany
>
or
Batch processing with mogrify You can use IM’s mogrify utility with the
Image
size,
you wish to
command will
files:
mogrify -format png -sample
10%xl0%
*-jpg
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66.
September 2010 LXF13 5
|89
Tutorial ImageMagick
> image.png textonimage.png
centrally align text, use the -size option to create a large
canvas and the -gravity option to set the position of the text: convert -background wheat Use the command
convert
-size
200x200 -pointsize 88
-fill
orange
-font Courier \
-gravity center
font
I
two
to the text overlays
When you're working with
of
supported fonts.
can be
limiting,
since
can't
it
long lines of text, using label:
word wrap and
text
the dimensions specified using the -size option. cases, you can use caption:
in
convert -background black
-fill
200x
-pointsize 88 -size
label: ’Long string of text that
The only -size option.
In
label:
such
it
restrict
text
caption.tiff
and caption:
is in
the
canvas
will
be large enough to
Additionally,
if
lines
the height of the canvas, you
can write a message that can run
into
many lines and the
fit it all.
you don't define a point
size
when
writing
your message, ImageMagick will automatically adjust the font size to
fit
is
non-standard
installed in a
complete path to
name and
in
it
the
command above
Bob’s your uncle.
is
because
depending on the image composition and your
needs to be to encompass the many
we don’t
directory, type the
you don’t need to use the -draw option. This
\
\
When working with caption: you only specify the
of text. Since
colour and
on your images.
the font you wish to use
instead of just the font
width and not the height. This enables convertto create a
canvas as big as
fill
You can experiment with
Unless you have good reason to write text on your image,
red -font Courier
word wraps’
between
difference
may overflow
If
place of label:
-gravity center
different font,
different text.
the -stroke and -strokewidth options to add more character
\
-list
grep Font
list
command, we've used
point size for the
label: ’Aligned Text’ label.tiff for a
In this
into the specified -size of the image.
colour, the
you add to the image might not be readable at
alternate
is
all.
The
to use label: with which you can place text at the
command:
top or bottom of your image with this
convert image.png -background white label: ’Some Text’
-append label.png
command, ImageMagick first creates the text label in memory and later adds on to the image.png file. The -append switch tells convert that we want the text to In this
it
be placed at the bottom of the image. the text
will
be added to the
+swap switch to
the
If
you use -i-append,
right of the image.
reorder the images. The
You can use
command
convert image.png -background: white label: ’Some Text’
Adding text to images Now that we’ve
discussed
+swap -append
how you can
create labels,
about adding them to your images? You can do
ways -
either write
it
onto the image
directly,
image using the techniques discussed
in
how
this in
two
This
trial
and
involved.
error
placed at the
You can also overlay existing images on to other images using the composite
utility like
so:
textonimage.png
first
in
turn.
technique requires the use of convert and -draw:
‘text
-fill
yellow -pointsize 35
100,250 “The Party 2009’”
command tells
Other image effects
coordinates. You can even use the rest of the options
we
discussed above such as -gravity and -stroke and also add
convert -font helvetica
> -draw >
‘text
‘text
-fill
one command:
yellow -pointsize 35
100,250 “The Party 2009’”
-font courier
> -draw
in
-fill
green -pointsize 25
150,300 “Boring”’
we use the -geometry option to specify where we
\
convert to draw the text at the given
text to different positions
Here,
want the text.png image to overlay on image.png.
\
> image.png textonimage.png
there’s a lot of
is
it.
discuss both methods
> -draw
position of text
added below
composite -geometry +90+140 text.png image.png
convert -font helvetica
on images is not as easy as you may think -
is
and then annotate that image on to the main image. We’ll
The
> Getting the
top and then image.png
or create an
the section above
label.png
reorders the two images such that the text
If
you’ve ever seen an artists work, before she puts
colours, you’ll appreciate the charcoal effect.
following
see \
if
command on one the images
you can't appreciate the genius
in
the
in
final
Use the
your collection and
of the -charcoal effect:
convert -charcoal 2 flowers.png drawing.png
The -charcoal options accepts a numerical value
\
that
denotes the amount of charcoal you want to use for the
\
effect. Just
\
as fascinating
is
the pencil effect, which
is
a blend
of various techniques.
One
of the
most popular effects
exposed photographs. This
is
is
brightening under-
done using the -sigmoidal-
contrast option, which increases the contrast without
Be
affecting the bright areas in the image. this
though, as you
may end up with a
careful
when using
highly pixellated image:
convert dark.png -sigmoidal-contrast 2,0% bright.png
This option accepts two values - contrast and mid-point.
The contrast value defines how much
to increase the
contrast. You can use the +sigmodial-contrast option to
decrease the contrast of an image.
many different 3D image. The steps involve adding blur and shade to the 2D image. Your images need to go through
transformations before you
finally
get a
The command convert -size 400x400 xc:black
-fill
white -draw
‘circle
195,190 228,295’ circle.png gives us a basic shape. We're going to text to the
image to create a 2D
convert circle.png
-fill
add some colour and
circle,
bluw -draw
‘color 0,0 reset’ \
> circle.png +matte -compose CopyOpacity -composite >
-font Helvetica -pointsize
40
-fill
red
\
> -gravity center -annotate 0x0 “Logo” 2Dcircle.png
90 LXF135 September 2010 1
www.linuxformat.com
\
ImageMagick Tutorial
Sharing images as PDFs The convert utility lets you to put all your images into one neatly organised PDF file, one image per page, with
command:
a single
convert *jpg allinone.pdf
Convert also
lets
you extract
all
the images from a
and you can use the %d format specifier (much like the printf format specified in C language) to name the
file,
image
resulting
files,
convert allinone.pdf image_%03d.tiff
%d means a decimal number, and the 0 that follows it means you want leading zeroes in the file name. The 3 after the 0 specifies how many digits the total value should use. So, %03d will create files named image_001.tiff, image_002.tiff and so on.
You can also run the
command without the %d
operator: convert will automatically
numbers to the
append unique
filename,
convert allinone.pdf img.png Is
img*
img.png.O img.png. 1 img.png.2
> In
the
of the
first line
command
the image blue, reset recolours
all
another image. As already mentioned, +clone
above, we’ve recoloured
make
the pixels beginning with
the specified coordinates. The CopyOpacity argument with the
-compose
option copies the transparency channel of the
source image on to the destination image.
working
2D
We now have a
will
leave us with heavily bevelled
The sigma value describes how much you want the image
to
spread (appear rounded) and the radius defines the area of
if
to modify our images to
they are placed under a
light
and dark areas
source.
make
it
seem as
We do this twice to our will
of our image, creating a
shadow,
is
> +swap >
\(
light.png
\(
We now need to overlay these
dark, png
> +swap
\( -i-clone
-threshold
In
the
100% \)
the +clone option
first line,
image
animate
is
animate utility
through If
images run animate
limited to testing, since
is
can’t save the animations. This animation all
will
it
quickly blur
the three GIF files.
you need to pause on an image before moving to the
in
It
sets the time pause
units of 100th of a second.
will
spend four seconds on each image.
will
only run once.
If
The command
Still,
the animation
you want the animation to run many
satisfied with it
The -gravity option
your animation, you can use the
to disk.
Choose the extension
for
your animation - .gif if you wish to use the animation on website and .mpeg or .avi you want to play them on a
\) \
your
used to make a copy is
media If
used to define the white
threshold of the image. The -threshold option
a
in line
which to
three
lay out
animation it’s
will
change
the animation and
its
constituent images:
ball.gif
-page +112+35
ball.gif \
> -delay 10 -page +151+20
ball.gif
-page +62+132
ball.gif \
-fill
gray
> -insert 0
-fill
do now
that's left to
is
create
-flatten
\
> -loop 0 boouncing_ball.gif
it:
\( -i-clone
beige
or newer.
size
> -delay 50 -page +132+62
>
in
best to create a canvas on
speaking, -threshold defines the opacity of our image.
convert 3D.png
is
player.
convert -delay 0 -size 200x150 xc:wheat
a background for
append
only available
ImageMagick 64.7-1
similarly defines the black threshold of the image. Loosely
All
with
the constituting images of your animation are of
according to each. Therefore,
image.
for alignment
if
different dimensions, the
3D
swirl.
l.gif 2.gif 3.gif
of the
image. The -threshold option
This gives us a
and add effects such as wave and
so
like
then used to add the rand() mathematical function to the is
just a series of
is
this easily using the
animations carefully depending on the intended audience for
\
the image sequence. The -fx option
in
You can do
convert utility to save
> -compose Over -composite highlighting
of the last
an animation
basic,
Once you’re
\) \
\) \
-compose CopyOpacity -composite
-i-matte
logo into the
times over, use the -loop option.
-fx ‘rand()’ -threshold -1
-compose CopyOpacity -composite
-i-matte
3D
it
animate -delay 400 framel.gif frame2.gif frame3.gif
often used with the -shade
\( -i-clone
most
between images
two images to form our shaded image, convert
places our
it
next one, use the -delay option.
convert blurred.png -shade 90x180 -normalize dark.png
switch to enhance the contrast.
transform images
the current image sequence and places
after the other.
command,
define the
convert blurred.png -shade 90x0 -normalize light.png
The -normalize switch
its
one
The use
pixels.
blurred image, from the top and bottom. This bright
in
display can
image.
final
At
The -blur option expects two values - [radius]x[sigma].
is
also be used to
Animated images
blurred.png
The next step
you don’t
we must use blur,
convert basic. png -blur 0x4 -blur 0x4 -blur 0x4 -blur 0x4
operation for spreading
if
utility
background created with the rand() function, -insert takes
at the given index. In this case,
Using the -shade option
the sequence;
in
The graphical
used to
use this switch, your final image would only show the the last image
image.
images. To smooth the bevelled edges,
-i-matte
a copy of the last image
is
-tint
-fx ‘rand()’ -i-matte
120
-shade 120x45
We can specify where to place the
image on the canvas using
the -page option. The -delay option can be used to specify
\) \
how
3D_background.png
We’ve created a beige-tinted background
\
for
our
3D
image, but you can alternately place your 3D image over
long each image
the next image
in
will
remain on screen before
we move to
the sequence and you can also define the
pause between loops using the -pause option. BS3
www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF135
|91
»
Bash Hack your way around Linux to save time and make life easier
Bash: Fast and Making useful
easy. Nick Veitch invites you to have a the first part of our new programming series.
yourself, in
scripts
is
Bash
You might try: > „.
w e= i
” position
Is
-1
*.png
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick 2450 -rw-rw-r--. 1 evilnick evilnick
Gotcha! The wildcard *
background
^
repe^ P
***“' absolute -
d
.
4
part of the
^
» Project code
-
isn’t
command -
part of the Is
it's
Bash shell. Bash interprets your command, sees
the wildcard and replaces
0 top P os ;ckgroucd b image 2P
Jun 29 12:55 a.png
2450 Jun 29 12:55 b.png
it
with values that match. So, you
Bash script! One of the benefits of knowing a more about Bash scripting and the way the
are writing a
-position*
little bit
environment works
is
that you’ll be able to look at the
problem above and do something just a
more >ls
little bit
cleverer
and
useful:
-1
*.{gif,png,jpg}
-rw-rw-r-. levilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
a.png
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
b.png
-rw-rw-r--. 1 evilnick evilnick
3486 Jun 29 12:56
x.jpg
-rw-rw-r--. 1 evilnick evilnick
3486 Jun 29 12:56
y.jpg
Jun 29 12:56
z.gif
happened there? That's just one
of the
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick 19273
What on
common
earth
little
tricks you'll find in
Bash scripts,
called a
bracket expansion. Basically, Bash resolves the content of the bracket as whatever individual
Y
command >
Our Nick Veitch best
something work to Bash it.
is
is
a
scripts
you use, when
grows
in
We might
the
little
neater,
larger,
it’s
line in it
a
bashl.sh b.png
Bash script. No.
it. It
just
and
you
employ that trick
line, is this:
a.txt
features,
way to make
hazard a guess that one
Now you
Yes,
one
believes that the
to expand the
Is
a.png
expert
most frequent
of the
will
I
-
it’s
just that
it
only has
doesn't use any of Bash's special helpful
executes a simple
command to
current directory. Not convinced? Let’s do a
Say you were adventurous, and wanted
to
bit
list
list
are
obviously,
will
in
in
if
your
save time and
In this
case, the effect
list
of potential files
effort,
and now you can
future scripts.
no doubt about why learning a
scripting can be very useful,
b.txt c.txt x.jpg y.jpg z.gif
really
before (or after), plus each
command to be Is -I *.gif *.jpg *.png. not have saved much space, but our command
is
ou can already write Bash scripts - they just aren't very complicated ones.
came
element inside the brackets.
let’s
take a
little
bit of
Bash
pause to
is. The shell environment is just - an environment - a stage or a framework within which
consider what Bash actually that
the
more then.
the long version
of the directory:
>
Is
-1
total
4
-rw-rw-r--. 1 evilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
a.png
-rw-rw-r--. 1 evilnick evilnick
2868 Jun 29 12:55
a.txt
-rw-rw-r--. levilnick evilnick
151
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
-rw-rw-r-. levilnick evilnick
223
Jun 29 12:55
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
120
Jun 29 12:56
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
3486 Jun 29 12:56
x.jpg
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
3486 Jun 29 12:56
y.jpg
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
19273 Jun 29 12:56
z.gif
Aren't Is
you
list all
the image
files.
‘switch’,
detail.
Now,
bashl.
b.png b.txt c.txt
an option to the
let’s
say you
>
If
you’re taking this seriously you should pick a text
editor that you’re comfortable with. Emacs,
How would you go about it?
month We rounded off our Python
92 LXF135 September 2010 1
You have used a
command that delivers more
wanted to
Last
clever!
Jun 29 12:49
series with a
www.linuxforniat.com
Vi,
Kate all have syntax colouring for Bash, which
Gedit and is
a bonus
programming opus.
Bash Tutorial
simple scripts > echo $foo+l
ploppy+1 > foo=”ls” > echo $foo Is
> foo=”$foo
-al”
> echo $foo Is -al
> echo
‘$foo’
$foo
> echo “$foo” Is -al
> $foo *.png
There are plenty of scipts dotted all over your Linux box. Take a look in /etc/init.d to get a few examples of how some system services are controlled. >
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
a.png
-rw-rw-r-. 1 evilnick evilnick
2450 Jun 29 12:55
b.png
The first thing to note putting the name,
commands can do their thing. Nearly every command you ever execute that actually does something
spaces on either side
your usual
independent from the
commands would Hidden as
is
it
but without the
shell,
shell,
letters or
Gnome/
which to execute commands. Line and
in
humble Bash scripts
slave
away when you
computer to bring up the network, mount
there are a
the background doing
defined by just
Bash will get
names must start
error. Variable
that variables are
you
variables
may wish to
upper case. However,
all
and environmental
use,
which are
all
upper case,
so you can often avoid conflict by using lower case letters
in
»
your own variables.
your
devices, start
the hidden tasks that keep your
all
is
lot of built-in
variables that lines of
open the window manager, and many keep running
services, in
start
is
value. Don't put
underscores.
Convention
KDE/other GUI, the shell is vital to the running of our computer - it wouldn’t even start up without a shell environment
its
with a letter or an underscore, and can contain numbers,
these
have no context within which to operate.
behind the veneer of your swanky
that a variable
of the equals sign or
confused and give you an
is
is
and equals sign and
Cool tricks with keys
operating system running.
There are
Do more Many people will tell you that Bash is good enough for simple when comes to important
tasks, but doesn’t really cut
is
it
true that
it
is
a
little
it
harder and more long-winded to use
the Bash approach (not to mention a
lot less intelligible),
it
is
we will be looking at some of these uses in a future tutorial. As for why you might want to do such a thing when you could easily use Python or PHP, sometimes Bash is
all
you have.
that practically no version of Linux,
We have already said
embedded
or otherwise,
comes without Bash or a Bash like environment, so it’s handy to know just what is possible even with the most -
basic
of tools.
we would do we were looking at a programming language, is how variables are The
first
thing
we should
look
at,
as
memorise the ones you
basically just one: a string. However, the string
HOME Cursor up Cursor Down Ctrl+R
Emacstext
editor,
so
less
if
think you’ll use:
is
Consider this short exercise:
of the
line.
command. command.
Retrieves the previous Retrieves the next
Searches history
for the last
command
command from
Ctrl+O
Executes the found
Ctrl+L
Clears the screen.
Ctrl+U
Clears the content of the
line
Ctrl+K
Clears the content of the
line after
Ctrl+C
Sends the SIGINT usually terminate
Ctrl+Z
is
very
Moves the cursor to the beginning Moves the cursor to the line end.
including the
specified characters.
if
used. You can forget about different types as, there
versatile.
more or
you know that already, you have an advantage. Here are a few of the more useful ones - at least try and
END
by no means impossible, and
well,
shortcuts you can use with Bash, and they
it
throwing networking capability into the mix. While
stuff like
many keyboard
follow the shortcut keys used for the
Alt+F
Alt+B
> foo=”ploppy”
Alt+Del
> echo $foo
Alt+D
Ctrl+R.
up to the
cursor.
the cursor.
signal to the current task,
which
will
it.
Sends the SIGTSTP signal to the current task, which will suspend it. (you can use the fg command to resume it). To return to it later you can enter fg [‘process name or job id’]. Moves the cursor forward one word in the line. Moves the cursor backwards one word in the line. Cuts the word before the cursor. Cuts the word after the cursor.
pioppy
If
you missed
last issue Call
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or
+44 1858 438795. September 2010 LXF135 93 |
Tutorial
Bash
As the adds the
variable
'+1'
is
a string, setting
it
$ character
Inside double quotes, placing the
variable
to something +1, just
name will cause the variable's value to be expanded.
Inside single quotes though, substitution, so
rather handy, because
is
you can store and execute It
pays to get
it
is
a
comparator
which means ‘not equal
!=,
So clearly
“).
here,
if
and the
means
script skips to the
comparison.
commands from variables, as we
If
the value
is
fi
is
case we're using the to'
(and can also be
the user ID
is
same as
the
that for the root variable, the value inside the brackets
literal string.
You can also leave out the quotes altogether to have the variable expanded. This
inside the square brackets. In this
written “ -ne
Bash doesn’t do any
you just get back the
ordinary user. The IF statement
first
standard comparison construct, the value to be acted upon
front of a
in
501 for the
usually
We will cover arithmetic shortly.
to the string.
is
false
statement, the end of the
not equal, execution skips to the
we get a message and the script halts. Apart from some reserved values (0-2, 126-165, and 255)
lines following ten,
see at the end of that sequence.
into the habit of
there are no hard and fast rules about exit codes. By
ending your script with an exit
0
if
everything has
gone well. When you
Something slightly useful Before
we get bogged down
too
in
have a look at something that might be
start stringing
script.
Here
is
convention 77
much more detail,
slightly useful in
a complete script you can run at
is often used for ‘Permission Denied’-type you can make up your own - as long as you
errors, but
let's
remember what they mean.
a
home that
So, this script doesn't
do anything, but
it
could be the start
scripts together, exit
conditions are
important.
shows some
variables doing
things. This
code needs to
be typed
to a text editor,
in
“We have discovered that you know more about Bash
saved as exampleLsh, and then executed from the with the
shell
I
command bash
something that does.
is
reasonably secure -
variable
from Bash
normally, but
is
it
more
useful as a test before the
exampleLsh:
script
might do
#!/bin/bash
something that needs root permissions to work successfully.
ROOT_UID=0 ERROR_PERMISSION=77 if “$UID” != “$ROOT_UID”
there are
[
Bash also supports the else and
constructions, and
elif
some special comparators as well. This small
checks whether a particular directory
]
It
you can't change the UID
you think.”
scripting than
of
exists
script
and outputs
something sensible
then
echo “You must run exit
this script as root”
#!/bin/bash
$ERROR_PERMISSION
CHECKDIR- ’examples”
fi
exit 0
The first
if
line starts
characters
# and
instructs the shell
!.
with what
This
is
it
it
was
The Bash homepage links to
this rather useful
manual,
if
you
ever get stuck.
just a
line
else
In
short terms,
it
echo “examples directory does not is
way of making the script execute. On to more
interesting
exit 0
The could access the
environmental variables through Bash? UID
is
one
of
those
which contains the user ID (as a numeric value) of
www.gnu.org/ software/bash/
the user running the Bash shell. This value
manual.
depending on the type
of Linux
is
exist!”
fi
bits...
Remember we said that you variables,
echo “examples directory exists”
that
is
if it
]
then
should be actually passed to the
executable indicated by the following path. >
comment
called that
$CHECKDIR
-d
[
often called a ‘shebang’; the
a special type of
from which
executed as a command,
is
0 for root, and
-d inside the square brackets
is
if
argument
the directory name, which
is
a directory exists
passed using a
in
a special operator
the filesystem. The next
that checks
in this
case
we have
See the boxout above-right for some
variable.
other useful comparisons.
system you're running,
Going loopy We have already seen the standard comparison construction. There is another common structure that we are used to dealing with
when we are programming - the
different types of loops in Bash, but the
often
is
the
for...
da.,
done type
to construct this rather
you might have used: for (( i = 0 i < 10 i++ ;
;
like
of loop.
you would
loop.
one you
in
It
C
is
There are
will
see most
possible
in
Bash
or other languages
))
do echo
$i
done Like
Python though, Bash typically
of values
-
in
generating that iterate
iterates
through a
list
the example above, the inner brackets are list.
You
will
more commonly see loops that
through an array or a
list
generated from other values.
For example: for
i
in $( Is
)
do
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www.linuxformat.com
66.
Bash Tutorial
echo
$i
Other useful comparisons
done
Bash evaluates what case
this
it
is
is
inside the brackets as always.
In
command, so Bash executes it and creates a which we then iterate over. We will cover
a
Stick these inside your comparison brackets for
more about arrays (which dimensional, and more
in
like
Bash are
a python
but you most probably will see
actually one-
list
object)
them used
in
the future,
exists
[ [
> echo $array[l] [
becky[l] [
True True True True True True
> echo ${array[l]} -N SFILE]
[
True
was
> echo ${array[@]}
[SFILEl
becky tabitha sue
SFILE2
-nt
other special actions
$FILE
exists
and has been modified since
exists exists exists
exists exists
it
last read. if
SFILE2, or
> do > echo
if
exists
and is a directory. and is a regular file. and is a symbolic link. and is readable. and has a size greater than zero. and is writable. and is executable. and is owned by the effective
exists
$FILE1 has been changed more recently than if SFILEl exists and SFILE2 does not. True if SFILEl is older than SFILE2, or is SFILE2 exists and SFILEl does not. True if SFILEl and SFILE2 refer to the same file.
...True
]...
in ${array[@]}
i
ID.
exists.
if
> echo $array
for
user
if
True
[
tabitha
True
True
-d
[
becky
$FILE $FILE if $FILE if $FILE if $FILE if $FILE if $FILE if $FILE if SFILE
-a
[ [
like this:
$FILE ] $FILE ] -f $FILE ] -h $FILE ] -r $FILE ] -s $FILE ] -w $FILE ] -x SFILE ] -0 SFILE ]
[
> array=(becky tabitha sue)
>
some
of the results,
list
[
SFILEl -ot SFILE2
]
[
SFILEl
SFILE2
]
$i
> done
-ef
becky tabitha
Then we use an
sue Did you spot the gotcha? Look again: square brackets are
used to
for referencing the array
by index values, but Bash
know that just because you put [1] at the end of something mean to index the way around that is to put
that you
it.
everything that relates to the variable
make sure
the $, to
special value that in
curly brackets after
gets processed as a single
element (and the index starts
first
the
it
in
access the array without an index, you
try to
so
isn't
expands to
all
at 0).
will
entity.
in
is
a
the array,
construction to check whether the
place to return a
use the
list
of the
chmod ugo+x
bit
#!/bin/bash
png
their destination.
Currently, this
script,
command will get in
file in
so you can run
it
bash command. its
working directory
when you execute /usr/sbin or somewhere else in the the filespace
it.
command path, and call from wherever you like. So, we have discovered so far that you know more about it
we have discovered together to do something useful. This short script, when run on a directory, will find all the image files of a certain type and relocate them to their own directory called images: put the few things
filetypes=( jpg
on the
directly without using the
You could save the
Made of win
in
sortimage.sh
This sets the execute
from wherever you are
Now to
matching files, and then we just
mv command to put them
When you save the file, run the command:
we use to generate
list.
it.
The first loop iterates through the elements of the array. The start of the second loop executes the Is command in
you
just get the
The [@] index
the values stored
the for loop at the end, that’s what
If
if...
destination exists, or else create
Bash scripting than you
and how to use variables and
we will be
looking at
integrating
and running external commands through Bash,
and adding
interactivity to
backup
gif
think,
the basic structures of a script. Next time
scripts.
your programs as we build our own
See you then! EES
IMGDIR-’images” if
$IMGDIR
-d
[
]
then
echo “directory already
exists, continuing...”
else
mkdir $IMGDIR fi
for type in ${filetypes[@]}
do for
i
in $( Is *.$type
)
do echo
“this file $i is
being moved”
mv $i $IMGDIR done done exit
0
There are more compact ways to do see what’s going on when the code
have
made an
this,
is
array to store the filetypes
Next month
but
it
is
structured
easier to like this.
We
we want to capture.
Find out
>
You don’t need much more than a terminal window to create Bash scripts. it up nicely so it is easy to read, and create a directory to experiment in.
Set
howto manipulate system commands and www.tuxradar.com
pipes.
September 2010 LXF13 5 95 |
Hardcore Linux Challenge yourself with advanced projects for power users
Procmail: Email Once again frolicking in the glittering paradise of the command line, Shashank Sharma announces Procmail as the perfect mail filtering solution.
0
linuxlala@linuxlala-GCFD: File
fdit
view
~
-
/v
>
Help
Terminal
|
-Resent) ?» -To ):(,*[ th Z] )? cc licenses£Usts\ ibiblio\ org pracnail: Locking 'Vhane/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC.lock' procnail: Assigning "LASTFOLDER=/hone/Um]xlala/Mflil/Usts/CC B procnail: Opening 'Vhone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC" procnail: Acquiring kernel-lock pracnail: Unlocking "/hone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC. tack' procnail: Notified comsat: Unuxlala05754469:/home/Unuxlala/Nall/U5ts/CC B rue Jun 22 20:56:37 2610 .a Subject: Re; (cc-licenses) Alex Bosworth; 'Creative Connons Is Broke*" Folder: /honc/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC 5151 pracnail : [22677) Tue Jun 22 2fl:5Q:3B 2010 pracnail: No natch on “'‘Fron: .Mlinuxlala\£yahoo\.co\.in|gcckybodhi@gn*ail\.ccm}“ pracnail: Hatch on "{ A (?)cc-licenseseiistsV.ibibUo\ .orgpracnail: Locking "/hone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC. lack' cnail; Assigning LASTFQLPER=/hone/lHiuxlala/Hall/llsn/CC H pracnail: Opening "/hone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC" procnail: Acquiring kernel-lock pracnail: Unlocking "/hone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC. lock" procnail: Notified comsat: "Unuxlala?575962e:/home/llnuxldla/Nail/Usts/CC" Tuc Jun 22 20:56:38 2010 Fran linuxlala Subject: Re: [cc-licenses] Alex Bosworth: 'Creative Coanons Is Broken" Folder: /hone/linuxlala/Hail/lists/CC 41W -
1
-
.
.
•,
:
l,
LINUX
O >
The procmail.log file will inform you what folder each mail dropped into so you can search it for misplaced emails.
is
movies and music, most geeks were happy sharing Procmail recipes, and you can
web
search. Your recipes
will
still
grow and change with time but
looking at what other people are using Procmail for
you to process your emails
their
find these with a simple
enable
will
better.
Depending on your setup, you may need to create a he need for a committed mail
T
directly proportional to the in
number
your inbox. Procmail is a powerful email processing
that you can use to sort emails based on any
rules.
You can have incoming messages sorted
Our
folders based
message the sender, creating rules
on preset
criteria
etc.
and the
ability to
directory. This
into various
has been writing about free
easily discard
filter.
configuration
it
can
distributions carry
including Linux, also
the co-author of Apress's Beginning Fedora.
bother you:
it’s
easily install
it
On
it
on a default
installation.
But don’t
root-owned
in
let
Retrieval
many different tools and
Last
and
in
line tools
are governed by
the /etc/ directory. However,
directories. This
is
why tools
like
Procmail
specific configuration files
those messages. Fetchmail and Gmail both support
POP
when downloading messages from Gmail so that filter
the messages for us.
your
home
directory.
Each
in
configuring Fetchmail to interface with your is
to create a .fetcmailrc
file in
your
user ‘[email protected]’ with password ‘typepasshere’
of the rules in
Mutt, the
step
home directory. Open a text editor and type in this code: poll pop.gmail.com with proto POP3 and options no dns is ‘user’
are called recipes. Long before people were sharing
month We geeked out with
first
remote mail account
your mailbox depending on the configuration.
96 LXF135 September 2010
home
Retrieving mail The
Procmaifs filtering actions are governed by the
file
files
Procmail can
messages from a remote account. Procmail is an MDA, and is responsible for getting the messages sorted and
the
stored
your
Agent (MRA) and a Mail User Agent
retrieve
file in
files
in
incoming messages to Procmail.
home directories.
protocol
MUAs are email clients such as Mutt or Thunderbird. MRAs are programs like Fetchmail or Getmail that you use to
.procmailrc
all
IMAP, but we’re going to configure Fetchmail to use the
(MUA).
into
their
filter
technologies at play. These include Mail Delivery Agent
(MDA), Mail
pipe
messages from a Gmail account and then use Procmailto
this
distro’s software repositories.
a typical mail server there are
For our purposes, we’ll be using Fetchmail to retrieve
very stable and popular too, and you can
from your
and save the file as .forward
will
and Fetchmail allow users to create
Since Procmail is no longer actively developed, only a few
various places,
all
your mailbox. Type
regular users don’t have the permissions or privileges to edit
Plus,
spam and messages with executable attachments and makes for a perfect auto-responder.
software for over four years for
in
Most configurable command
of a
run multiple rules on
messages make Procmail a very precise
com. He's
into a text editor
of regular expressions for
Sharma
too to ensure Procmail gets to handle
l/usr/bin/procmail
number of
such as the subject
The use
file
messages before they land
of emails that land
utility
expert Shashank
.forward
filtering solution is
here
options keep ssl sslcertck sslcertpath ‘/etc/ssl/certs’
command-line email
www.linuxformat.com
client.
Procmail Tutorial
power up mda This
» Procmail 3.22
%T
‘/usr/bin/procmail -d
about the extent of what Fetchmail requires from you.
is
You may additionally need to enable
POP forwarding on your
remote account (you have to for Gmail and similar services).
The first two lines are actually just one, we've split them to make easier to read. These just tell Fetchmail to poll the [email protected] or [email protected] account and drop the mail on to the local user. In the third line we have a number of options. The first, keep, tells Fetchmail to not
Ju* »
v
option, Fetchmail will delete
messages
it
lists
from the remote account
Con-figuration
all
Path:
line in
the code block tells Fetchmailto
[J Calendars
incoming messages to Procmail.
all
There are two ways you can automate Fetchmail to look
up and
retrieve
to
new messages from your mail
—
* Memos
Q
account. The
add the
fiance)
.
LX
daemon 300
set
>
to the top of the "/.fetchmailrc
line
Fetchmail check for
The other method Run crontab
75
* * *
into the silent
*
-e
file.
This
will
make
The next step
new messages every five minutes (300
seconds). Use your discretion is
to set
in
setting
up a timed lookup.
up a Cron job to run Fetchmail.
from the terminal and type
crontab
file.
all
five
minutes
in
progress and status messages
all
So, use the
710 or
it
to be not
more than
chmod command to change the
710.
permission to
file
by
command
messages
within this
filtered
by Procmail.
mkdir -/Mail/new
mkdir -/Mail/lists/fedora-devel mkdir
-/Mail/lists/ debian-legal
rules for sorting
~/.procmailrc
all
file
incoming messages. At
its
must contain the following
most
basic, the
information:
SHELL=/bin/bash
fetchmail -vk
from a terminal. This -v option)
to read
We are now ready to populate our ~/.procmailrc file with
-/.fetchmailrc
You can test your ~/.fetchmailrc configuration running the
Mbox mailbox
file
mkdir -/Mail/lists/gnome
lesser, like so:
chmod 710
Procmail to
the
mkdir -/Mail
mkdir -/Mail/lists
~/.fetchmailrc file and requires
We want
messages to the ~/Mail directory and so
mkdir -/Mail/family
about the permissions of the
Evolution to use
you must create
create additional directories.
Fetchmaihs very
strict
lists,
unique directories for each of them.
we’ll
Fetchmail will run every
and mailing
You can
configure
But before you start creating rules for sorting emails
friends, families
deliver
/usr/bin/fetchmail -s
mode, which means
recipes.
from
to inform Procmail of our various filtering
is
be suppressed and not displayed on standard output.
will
0Mail
downloads. The rest of the options concern SSL
The final
encryption.
first is
Of Be* et=
0 learning 0
messages from the remote account. Without this
delete
route
Q revolution 0 Family 0 “Promltechr... .
*
it
will
and messages
run Fetchmail in verbose will
mode (the
not be deleted from the remote
account. You don’t need to use the -k option (keep),
if
it’s
PATH=/usr/sbin:/usr/bin
MAILDIR=$HOME/Mail DEFAULT=$MAILDIR/new
When
running
silent
mode (the-s
in
option), Fetchmail
already a part of your -/.fetchmailrc
LOGFILE=$HOME/procmail.log
file.
will still
Garnish with regex Regular expressions (regexes) are an integral part of the
-/.procmailrc
When used decisively, they can make much more effective. The following recipe
can be used to search the message body
for a
phrase and
move the message to the specified folder.
[0-9]+
Wassup
necessary for Procmail to do
Procmail encounters the phrase ‘wassup’ preceded by
will
If
its
MAILDIR
work.
working directory for Procma//and within
is
the
identifies the directory
move the message
where
all
will
be stored. Any mail that
addressed by any of our recipes lands
above code snippet, we then define a all its
in
the body of a message,
into the silly folder.
you missed
last issue Call
you
in
into
file
isn't
DEFAULT.
for
In
the
Procmail to
logging and debugging information using the
variable. Setting
VERBOSE as yes ensures that
Procmail keeps a detailed log of
one or more numbers anywhere it
messages.
actual error
The above are just variables that contain information
LOGILE
$MAILDIR/silly If
VERBOSE=yes
record
:0B: *
all
file.
your recipes that then
report
LOG-’”
its activity,
and
this
can aid
debugging your recipes.
The PATH programs
it
variable specifies
where Procmail can
may need to use as part of a
0870 837 4773 www.tuxradar.com
or
find
any
recipe. For instance,
»
+44 1858 438795. September 2010 LXF135
|97
Tutorial Procmail
if
you need your music player to play a specific file soon as
you receive that job
Each
offer
.
or recipient, the subject of the
rules
Once
message
a
message or even the message
you can get Procmail to perform a number
such as move the message
of actions
other address,
make sure you there recipe
@ and the
are no false positives.
check the From and Subject
will
The following before
field
:0: *
into a folder, reply to the sender,
some
forward the message to
used before the
performing an action on matched messages.
selected based on your defined
is
is
the email address, as these two are restricted keywords.
You can even perform multiple checks on message to
matching rules to select messages. These include the sender
content.
in
your recipes can contain any number of patten-
of
\ symbol
Also notice that the
you were waiting for.
A Subject:.*techrepublic
A From:[email protected]
etc.
$MAILDIR/lists/techrepublic
Anatomy of a
recipe
There are three parts to
all
So far we’ve discussed some
Procmail recipes.
begin with a colon character^). The next
recipes
All
must
you’re using
an
MRAsuch as
Procmail what action to take should
finally
the third
find a
message that matches the
line tells
if
you wish to forward
it
you can use
need
it
yourself,
this recipe:
* forward French lessons
rules in a recipe.
if
messages regarding
all
French lessons to a friend and also keep a copy of
contains the conditions or rules for matching messages, and If
example,
be. For
line after this
basic recipes but you can
simultaneously perform two operation on a message
to a friend
Fetchmailio retrieve
messages, you don’t
*
need a .forward to route
#and
:0:
file
A From:.*(linuxlala\@yahoo\.co\.inlgeekybodhi@gmail\.com)
on to Procmail.
This recipe instructs Procmailto match against the condition (second into the family directory.
The "From
is
line following
incoming mail
all
:0 c
rules begin with a * character.
The
!
and "Subject
the action
line is
line.
More
learning }
Here we use a nested block (enclosed
often than not, action lines just instruct Procmail what folder to drop
messages
Notice the
|
of an action
into.
symbol
in
the condition
line
above?
It
should
be used when you want to add multiple checks to a condition. In this
we want to check
case,
against the
"From
multiple email addresses
condition. So,
all
be delivered
into the
The order of recipes important.
All
order
until
the "/.procmailrc
a match
message matches the conditions acted upon. This So,
if
any
of
is
is
in
file is
a recipe,
why the default recipe
first in
the -/.procmailrc
You don’t need to type
in
word
anywhere
recipes
the
in
this
the block.
is
it
is
the
immediately
last
on the
recipe that
first
we can’t
list.
file will
be acted upon
case
is
in
if
the parent recipe
In
the
is
true.
is
matching the Subject
true.
The
line for
the
it.
first
action, the
That
is, if
we
in
either of the
c flag
will
is
used to
only run through
don’t use the c flag,
run the mail through the second recipe. The bang
the mail to the specified address.
(!)
we want to forward
before the email address indicates that
Finally,
the second recipe
in
the block delivers the mail to the learning directory.
line like we did above. you've already defined $MAILDIR variable, just typing family instead of If
$MAILDIR/family be dropped
is
enough.
All
matched messages would
into the relevant folder
whether you type
Handling The
recipes.
the complete path of the folder
the action
still
very
found. However, once a
and the message will never get to any of the other
in
in
‘French’
braces) instead
your messages match more than one recipe, the
recipe listed
the
which are used only
parent recipe
copy the message. Typically, a message
incoming messages are matched against the
listed recipes in
it,
in
This block enables us to put multiple recipes
line.
We don't have any condition statements
family folder.
in
within
messages from
[email protected] and from [email protected] will
[email protected]
:0
macros that facilitate matching messages. the condition
A Subject:.*(French)
{
and move the matches
line)
a built-in Procmail macro. "To_
are similar built-in
The
:0 *
$MAILDIR/family
messages
also keep a copy
in
the complete path or just the folder name.
spam
definition of
spam
or junk
messages can vary from
person to person. find PPT attachments offensive, so they I
are always discarded. Also ignored are
subject
in all in
caps,
like this
messages with the
recipe below:
:0 *
A Subject: [A-Z]
/dev/null
Another method
is
to create either a whitelist of
known
and trusted addresses and then you only keep messages
Choosing a mailbox
from these
* Check There are two options to choose from
when deciding a mailbox format. These are mbox and maildir. For our examples in this tutorial,
we’ve used an mbox-
type mailbox, specified -/.procmailrc as Mail and
in
MAILDIR=$HOME/
DEFAULT=$MAILDIR/new.
Had we put
The mbox-type mailbox stores all messages as plain text in a single file. Within the
file,
the beginning of a
message is indicated by a From string and there’s a blank line at the end of
:0: *
? formail -x”From” -x”From:” -x”Sender:” -x”X-Sender:”
-x”Reply-To:” -x”Retum-Path” -x”To:”
egrep
-i -f
$MAILDIR/trusted
on the other hand stores
us a maildir type.
directories as needed.
I
$HOME/.trusted
In this recipe,
Maildir
messages in a separate file per message within the cur, new and tmp directories, moving messages between
a trailing slash at the end
your mailbox:
the message.
$HOME/Mail/ and $MAILDIR/new/ it would have given
in
of the path, as in
in
my whitelist
headers, pipe
them
we use
Formail to extract only the specified
them on to the egrep utility, which then matches
against the addresses listed
an external
utility
in
the .trusted
file.
Formail is
used to process messages and extract
information from within the
message headers.
In
our recipe,
the information extracted by Formail is ‘piped’ to egrep. The
Never miss another issue Subscribe to the #1 source for Linux on page 98 LXF135 September 2010
www.linuxformat.com
66.
Procmail Tutorial
-/.trusted -i
file
contains a
switch to egrep
of
list
You can alternately create a
and create a recipe them.
In
to delete
all
trusted addresses and the
blacklist of
known offenders
messages
originating
directing
locking, so start
from
File
with
messages to a
of
to a
can’t be rescued or
file,
you don't need :
0
configure Procmailto hook up with SpamAssassin,
case
you’ll
need to
install
configure Procmail.
/etc/procmailrc
Once
file
*
I
to
in
which
create the lock again.
condition in size,
it’s
to route
installed, all
size.
This
save us
on
to If
will
line
look for
type
prevent
all
overhead.
message.
original
messages that are
most spam messages are
some
less
In
then 256kb in
messages from being inspected and In the third line, we pass the message
-/.procmail rc
it
will
rewrite
its
Subject
field to
!
!
#
in
a
if
make sure no message
is
you can look through
you want. Save the .vacation
vacation.lock
If
sender’s address not in cache, send
ehc
:0
(formail -rA”Precedence: junk”
\
This
Set an autoresponder
;
\
\
/usr/lib/sendmail -oi
I
may seem
-t
daunting, but
if
you break
the
in
first
recipe ensures three things.
We then
auto -res ponder,
have three condition
known as vacation response or auto-reply. This relies on the vacation utility and its not already installed on your
that auto-reply
system, you should do so now.
The second
also
if
*
.*for
is
two parts
first recipe.
First,
the
W
The h means search headers
and the c tells Procmail to keep a copy its
into
it
actually very straightforward. Let's look at the
it’s
The Whc
wrongly identified as spam.
of Procmail is
am
“I
return. Cheers!”
auto-reply recipe:
waits for a return from Formail.
A very widely used feature
I
and
Store sender’s address in vacation.cache
message to /dev/null but
local directory that
directory
formail -rD 8192 vacation.cache
I
)
it
home
when
read your message
more complex,
cat ^/.vacation
just as easily direct the
best to keep
try to
A X-Loop: [email protected]
*
I
A X-Spam-Status:.*Yes
it's
will
A FROM_DAEMON
*
file:
spam
to
will
I
we need to now create an
.*for
your
file in
-A”X-Loop: [email protected]”
You could
it
and then
include
:0H: *
exists,
# mail containing vacation message.
it
you can now add the following recipe to your
So,
*
#
SpamAssassin.
spam tag.
at a time.
your message. Your message could be a simple
in
Whc:
:0
the
usually quite small
SpamAssassin identifies any of the messages
encounters as spam,
file
we need to create a
indicates to Procmail that this
and may modify the
we
the lock
incoming messages to
SpamAssassin
the colon
line,
since
file
file. If
wait for a period of time
SpamAssassin before you can
or something
in
writing recipes, begin
written to the
file:
filter
message to any file. The :0: file locking where Procmail determines what file the message is being written to and creates
a lock
< 256000
a
need to
locking, since Procmail isn’t
invokes automatic
:0:.
/usr/bin/spamc
is
when
file
The concluding colon ensures that only one message gets by tying
on vacation.
The fw
a
this,
all
writing the
up to mess up the mailbox format. To
fw
recipe
use
file
prevent
you use the recipe to forward
external application, you don’t
the two messages getting mixed
Next, create a .vacation
#Send message
If
matching emails, or to pipe them to an
:.
SpamAssassin.
:0
a feature of Procmail that
When this happens, there’s a
file.
risk of
you wish to be even more thorough with spam, you can
If
is
messages from being corrupted on delivery. Imagine Procmail delivering two messages simultaneously
lost forever. Also, since
your recipe with a :0 instead of a
locking
protects
messages to /dev/null,
remember that these messages
reviewed at a later stage - they are you're not writing these
file
messages to /dev/null instead
direct the
$MAILDIR/trusted. When
When to use file locking
case-insensitive.
the recipe, just replace the .trusted
.spammers and please
all
makes matches
lines.
of the
The
message.
first
makes sure
sent to mails that are sent to your address
The number following the
:
in
a recipe indicates is
there to prevent your auto-reply being sent to
mailing-lists * !
A FROM_DAEMON line is to
!
avoid auto-reply to emails that you
in
a
file
line,
automatically,
but you
we instruct
still
need
to write :0 for
A X-Loop: [email protected] the next
is
now calculated
send to yourself
In
number of
actions. This
and the third *
the
compatibility.
Formail to store sender's address
called vacation.cache.
The next recipe begins with :0ehc. The e guarantees that this recipe
is
executed only
if
the
first
recipe returns a
message that says the vacationxache file doesn’t contain the sender’s address. .vacation
the
When reading emails using Mutt you can press c to change between the mailboxes your emails are sorted
Sendmail to send the
address
man
is in
the cache, no auto-reply
will
into.
hills!
be sent. Refer
procmailex as well as the Procmail man page for
more information about auto-responders, then
>
Next month Run to the
instruct
The two recipes here ensure that senders don’t receive same auto-reply for each email they send to us. Once
their
to
We then
message to the sender.
relax into a
spam-free
life.
The FreeBSD demon www.tuxradar.com
sit
back and
223
is
coming! September 2010 LXF135 |99
Sony
20/02/2010
n
Tull® Operator
NOKIA
Hames
r\lCJKIA Bad
Roman®
Phones@TechRadar
is
packed witr
comprehensive inaepen UK's most Contacts
Telephone
And when y< smartphone reviews. can one's best, you decided which
OU from over 100, the latest deals online store. options at our
/ /
Deep into technology
issues
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Missed one? Every month Linux Format brings you the best tutorials, the essential reviews and the latest news. But if you’ve missed a must-read feature or a vital program from our expertly compiled DVDs, order your back issue NOW! And remember, you’ll never miss an issue of Linux Format if you subscribe (see pages 66 and 74 for details).
Issue 134
Issue 133
August 2010
July
Product code:
Product code:
LXFDB0134
LXFDB0133
the magazine
In
In
Android and MeeGo have Apple's iPhone in a headlock with their range of Linux-based smartphones -the Palm Pre, the
the
HTC
Nokia N900 and Legend. Fight!
We also repair your damaged
files (well,
have to do
all
you
the work),
chart the rise of Fedora 13,
and
Firefox
it’s on between and Chrome.
If
Issue 132 June 2010
Dual boot made easy
the magazine
In
need Windows
certain things,
LXFDVD highlights for
your delectation.
We present
9 and Mepis 8.5 - three superb
to you Fedora 13, Linux Mint
different distibutions,
for
you know that Facebook could be a filesystem? 10.04. Also, did
Linux flavours to suck on.
LXFDVD highlights Eager to unleash the Lynx? We’ve got the latest version of Ubuntu with added packages,
Kubuntu and Xubuntu. And loads more besides, oh yes. plus
so we’ve made it really easy for you with our guide to virtualisation. We also hear from our man at Canonical about the Ubuntu 10.04 changes, discover the
humongous power of Z shell, crash a plane and
test firewalls.
Product code:
Product code:
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LXFDB0130
LXFDB0129
In
the magazine
you’ve ever been
In
We peer into our crystal
celebrate,
your computer, fear no more: we have the perfect guide to understanding your Linux box.
We also get
stuck into free antivirus
app ClamAV, set Wand Emacs users on the one true path to Nano and get Linux apps on Windows with Cygwin.
To
Two great things happened
in
LXF131: OpenOffice.org got faster and KDE 4 got usable. Try
them
tailored version of
Ubuntu.
reveal
ball
how
to see
what the
future holds for Linux.
you can stop paying for expensive licences by switching your office to
There’s also an interview
free Linux alternatives.
director
Then we look at a
with the
Gnome
Foundation’s executive
LXFDVD highlights a distro paradise this month,
selection of tiny distros,
It's
up the confusing topic of Linux audio, and show you how to lock down your system.
with Mythbuntu 9.10, Red Hat
clear
both, plus our newbie-
order, visit
Select
Or
LXFDVD highlights
we
3.5,
Absolute Linux 13.1.0
and Unity Linux 2010 all testable right from the disc.
the magazine
the magazine our 10th birthday! time fly? To
baffled by what's going in
Phew!
In
on
month, with Dreamlinux
Slitaz 3.0,
It’s
Yes, doesn't
this
March 2010
2010
Product code:
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LXFDVD highlights A huge quadruple-booting DVD
Issue 129
Issue 130 April
Linux exi
love to
experiment with
we show
And, speaking of distros, we’ve harnessed the Lucid Lynx to find out what’s hot in Ubuntu
the magazine
We know you
you how to install both and boot from either.
A spectacular triple distro disc
DISTRO!
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you wanted to make
still
TRY ANY
Product code:
the leap to Linux, but
Issue 131
May 2010
2010
and a range distros.
6
of super-fast mini-
PLUS more than 700
Linux questions answered.
and a group
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of Twitter clients. Plus
LXFDVD highlights
we show you how to
The
stream music through your whole house, hack the Linux kernel and the Google Android OS.
is
latest release of Linux Mint
right here waiting for you,
along with FreeBSD 8 and Tiny
Core Linux Inkscape,
2.7.
Also try out
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www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
Computer from the Browse Magazines
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and then
select
Linux Format.
the back issues hotline on 0844 848 2852 or +44 1604 251045 for overseas orders call
Quote the issue code shown above and have your credit or debit card www.tuxradar.com
details
ready
September 2010 LXF135
1
101
Answers Got a question about open source? Whatever your
This month we answer questions on:
level,
to [email protected] for a solution.
it
speed up the boot process by not mounting any unnecessary hardware.
0
We
Remastersys Backup
Please Select which option you would like?
D Custom USB
E
Leaving
applications available,
0 Netbook
booting
0 Boot from an
typically
compiling
,
a basic
and a simple
movie player (currently VLC) and, of course, a
monitoring
a printer Disk transfer
OOo
picture viewer
0 Encryption 0 Webcam
invisible disk
0 Transferring
need limited
also only
MS
B Secure moving
browser (currently I've
trawled
Firefox).
Pick
Info
Backup
Backup Complete System
Dlst
Make
a Distributable
copy to share with friends
Distcdfs
Make
a Distributable
copy cd filesystem only
Distiso
Make
a Distributable iso
including user Data
file
only
Modify
Modify the remastersys conlig
Clean
Remove temporary
info
About Remastersys Backup
Quit
Quit Remastersys Backup
-
•
both cdfs and iso
good
will
you want to add
if
be created files to
the cc
cd filesystem must have been completed already
-
customize options
file to
files
my back issues
and picked up some very useful stuff from there,
Custom USB stick
i
but
We need to create bootable copies of Linux on USB
Q:
its
the third step above before
either fairly simple or
rather messy, depending
this,
Otherwise, you need to load the kernel and
good as a boot drive. Is there any way to boot Linux from the second drive? Dave Belton
the
live
is
drive
- 10MB
is
enough - and, using the
Grub config file
When
a system boots
stagel from the looks
in
config
it
first
the
first
place.
loads the Grub
in
a symlink.
sudo
its
probably
sudo
directory to the
.
boot
in
/boot by
Now
reboot and try again.
As the config
need to look at the Grub documentation
The usual cause
refers to kernels as
/boot/vmlinuz-xyz when yours are now at
of
such a
init
scripts or recompile the kernel
SATA card compiled we
instead of as a module, neither of which
sudo
A Kodak
with Rackspace
lspci -k
tell
which module
camera Format reader who writes what they judge to
Sysadmin Answers with Rackspace
be best
is
the world’s
has been hosting and supporting mission websites, internet applications,
system
letter related to
Kodak Easyshare M320
digital
is
the
camera.
The 9.2-megapixel Easyshare M320 has a 3x optical
zoom
lens,
enabling you get up
close for tight portraits or pan out for wide
has a 2.7-inch LCD screen
email servers, security and storage services
outdoor shots.
6,000 customers. Rackspace is totally focused and experienced in managing hosting solutions and helping customers
and 21
to suit a variety of compositions. There are
forget about their online infrastructure
memory, USB and AV connectivity and the
through providing Fanatical Support for
camera includes Kodak’s Easyshare photo
for
their hosted applications. For visit
more
ask any questions.
different
scene modes with settings
three flash modes,
for?
If
you’d
like
16MB of internal
So what are you waiting
a chance to win, email your
sysadmin question to Rackspace
Because Rackspace are such nice
month they award a
It
editing software.
www.rackspace.co.uk and
fellows,
prize to the Linux
at
[email protected]. >
the easiest
way to
NB
Q
a hold-over from
See page 104 for Rackspace’s
star letter.
www.tuxradar.com
when used I
Windows. Now, however, boot Crunchbang, and am very happy with it. I
I
interface.
don't
administration. This month, the prize
2001 Rackspace
is
actually needed.
have a Cannon Pixma MP500,
I
Linux Format
hosting. Since
is
B Transferring printer
Managed Hosting www.rackspace.co.uk
Hosting. Rackspace Hosting
CD
after booting the live
For one,
every
If
being loaded, you’ll need to
isn’t
have space to go into here. Running:
digital
information
failure is incorrectly
specifying the path to the config or kernel.
in,
critical
Grub
fails,
If it
to translate these into meaningful messages.
root=/dev/sdbl
hack the
in
running:
tends to give terse numeric error messages, so
with the driver for your
leader
MBR to use the kernel
grub-install /dev/sda
the module
^
/boot
type:
Grub in the
set
and configs
you'll
of:
link -s
Then
and make sure
will
read something along the lines
which then loads /sbin/init from the
distro’s root partition. You're reaching the first
it
Change
and
partition
live
partition. Edit the
this directory
points to your larger disk, so
files.
kernel,
you could do what many distros do and create
that the root parameter on the kernel line
MBR of the first disk, this then
/boot/grub for the next stage and The Grub menu then loads the
/vmlinuz-xyz, you could change every entry, or
CD, copy the contents of the boot directory
have been able to
in
is in
/boot. Create a small ext2 partition on the IDE
from your large disk onto this
it
which
easy to do because everything you need
CD clearly contains the driver or you wouldn't install to
disk,
love the not-too-minimal user
Anyway, the one thing that
like is
that
I
printer through the I
also can’t find
is
it
I
my
can't get the driver for
automated
online.
routine,
and
What’s interesting
that this isn’t the case with the last two
versions of Linux Mint, both being able to find the driver first thing in the live CD.
Where are the drivers stored
in
CUPS, and
can simply extract the driver from a I
Mint to Patrick
CD
live
my installed Crunchbang? Buddeberg Copying a driver file from one
A‘
another
isn’t
a
good
idea.
It
distro to
may be
incompatible with the software on the
may require other files.
second computer or
it
A better approach
to see which driver
in
is
Mint, then convince
same
driver.
is
used
Crunchbang to use the
The reason Crunchbang
is
»
not
September 2010 LXF135
1
103
Answers
using the correct driver
automatic detection not too
likely,
is
may be that the
fancy,
not working, which
or that the correct driver
is
giving
is
and use the older drive OS - the extra space
for the
you room to play with
is tret OjfD srttwre. and cores uitti ffiHLinE HQ WHBtflY* Trr* hjlhh if n.H ipl. tfiolct* »nj *yp|l»bl«, MW livr •? prrs* sclsttico is doit/// Tup oedas are available, y:u cm 111 elone/Tfktora n d|** rc- turtj'lon mini »ti l.-mt12) ais>: ia disk so sortition to pant Lt ion turo rosio-t. 9ei«t node:
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simply not included as part of the standard installation. In that case,
installing
running the printer configuration again. There’s a driver for this printer
the
in
one.
Crunchbang does not include this
whereas Linux Mint does,
default installation,
so the solution
gu ten print
is
in its
Crunchbang, then run the
in
printer configuration again
Printer Settings
and select the
MULTIPASS-MP500 driver up automatically.
CUPS directly
if it
Alternatively,
>
put a
V
is
Clonezilla
one. After copying, you
image
file
new ones,
you can set up
bootloader. Boot from the CD, start Clonezilla
is
that
hard drive and you should be able to boot
can also copy the
and select the Device-Device option followed
am asking I
want to
my box and
it
you want the
the time use
let Clonezilla do its stuff. more work but gives the Partition the new drive
bootloader cloned and
The
probably impossible, but
drive into
tell
third choice
greatest
flexibility.
is
manually using GPartedor
Set up
similar.
80GB drive onto it, including the OS.
/swap and /home being
do a
direct
I
have a
sounds too simple just to
copy operation. Any suggestions
would be very much appreciated. The hard drive
I
have
mind
in
is in
use
in
my other
machine and would simply be screwed into its new home and have all its files erased. Catgate, from the forums You have three main options here. The first,
OS for
an extra
and simplest,
at
all. If
there
drive, there's
room
in
the case
no reason why you
a good choice here. The best
from a
live
fraught with
possible I
to
the
slowly. After
live
sudo
to buy a
start using a Linux laptop in
my
Most of the clients work for are using Windows and the Office applications,
so to
I
I
my documents either
need to convert
PDF or to MS format without
functionality of the
losing the
document.
Theo Rowaan The short answer
is
yes.
The long
answer depends on which Windows applications you need to use.
makes things appear
work faster when they’re
is
situation?
pitfalls,
You can add -v to the options to watch the progress, something that
240GB
any other partitioning scheme that takes your
is
rsync -ax /mnt/oldhome/ /mnt/newhome/
more
/home partition, or
this is
if
Can
my
new laptop one without Windows and Office.
My intention
rsync -ax /mnt/oldroot/ /mnt/newroot/
down, remove the
You could set up the whole of
way to do
my job and most of
MS Office applications
and several other applications related to work.
so mount your partitions and copy with:
don't have plans for the older drive), giving you in total.
copy the
CD - trying to copy system files
from a running system
cannot have both connected (provided you
the second drive as a large
to
contents of each partition manually - rsync is
copy the
to not
is
is
a reasonable
minimum. Then you would have
use a laptop with Windows XP
I
professional for
whatever partitioning scheme you want, with
it
B Leaving the dark side
Beginners menu. Select the source and destination disks,
new drive. GM
safely into your
the
in
transfer the entire contents of the existing
suspicion that
can be used to back up a hard drive to an it directly to another disk.
or to copy
GParted to resize
partitions, or create
The advantage of
I’m not sure why.
160GB hard
80GB drive to the first half of the
it
I
wlttrjifc
fti
and
using Clonezilla
what
W last Jen.
copy your
Clonezilla will indeed
by the Disk To Local Disk option
feel that
I
wir
name
part of the
doesn’t pick this
H
lb rerk
tJCanwi)
on to the new
to use the extra space.
D Disk transfer
^ ^
is
implies a byte-for-byte copy,
160GB
foomatic-db-
to install
,
use Clonezilla to make a copy of the old drive
Gutenprint (formerly Gimp-print) collection of drivers.
The second option
matter of
just a
it's
the appropriate driver package and
TBiW 1?U
I
l*> tjil to stovi •h&fi ift
other distros.
actually working
they
If
are the standard Office ones, there are Linux equivalents: OpenOffice.org instead of Office
,
Gimp instead
of
MS
Photoshop and so
OpenOffice.org can save documents
in
on.
the
formats or export them
copying everything, power
various Microsoft
file
80GB drive and
to PDF, so there’s
no problem there. Internet
boot from
CD again. Open a terminal and
run:
usage
is
at least as
to install the bootloader to the new,
now only,
excellent
good on Linux as on
Chromium are both web browsers that are available on
Windows:
grub-install /dev/sda
Firefox and
l ulWSon
Winner!
This month’s winner
D Secure moving l’m running
Q but
trying to
Ubuntu 10.04 and
move /home to
partition.
It’s all
a
am
new
set up and ready,
my home directory is encrypted, so
copying
files
work.
there any easy
Is
Ideally,
I
across using rsync doesn’t
would
like
way
to keep
directory encrypted on the
Can
I
just
of doing this?
is
touch with us to claim your new camera!
Ubuntu uses ecryptfs
way to transfer everything
its
home
encryption at the filesystem
from a
it
encrypts individual
within a directory, so
(and their
files
you end up with
a normal directory that’s apparently gibberish. Then, ecryptfs
is
layer.
full
of
used to mount
that encrypted directory on another another
/home/user
in this
case,
and
You don’t want to copy the contents of your
directory
is
mounted, and you can’t unmount
across easily?
your
home directory while you’re
logged
This
makes the task
in
rather tricky
www.linuxformat.com
live
partition
easily log directly into the
The simplest option
is
to boot
CD. Mount your original root
home partition and /home with rsync
and your new
copy the contents
of
:
rsync -archive /mnt/oldpartition/home/
in.
Ubuntu,
/
mnt/newpartition/
done this and edited /etc/fstab mount the new home, reboot from the hard disk, check that you’re using the new
After you’ve to
home directory directly, only the encrypted files, but these are hidden when your home
Jaymac, from the forums
104 LXF135 September 2010
where you can’t root account.
everything appears normal.
partition.
for
directory encryption. This doesn’t use
new
copy everything except the
there a
in
directory,
rsync and then set up the encryption again or
Instead,
names)
Jaymac. Get
my home
Private folder and the ecryptfs folder using
later,
A
is
home
partition
and that
all
your
files
are
present and correct. Then reboot back into the live
CD and delete the contents home directory, but not
of the original
the directory to
itself
mount the new
or you won’t be able partition.
NB
Answers
both platforms (as in
is
OpenOffice.org). With this
these programs on Windows, to see
what you want, before switching to
if
they do
you're running a
Linux.
table listing the
Linux and there
in
most popular one
is
machine,
virtual
Windows OS
full it
will
inside the
a
it.
painfully slow.
you use
may not
in
Linux. Just bear in
and
point?)
number of choices. Firstly, you can dual boot, which means you have a Linux distribution and Windows installed on the same computer and choose which to use when you boot the
new operating system
All
the standard distros’ installers
make room for both
quite a
lot,
on a Linux desktop and
number of
distros.
is
included with a large
known
that are
to
list
of
C it
GCC is good at cross-
setting this
up
is
also a
them to work
of work, although
lot
www.kegel.com/
the crosstool script from
crosstool eases the process.
As for getting your sound working, that should function out of the box.
unreasonable to assume that
compilers
devices
looks to be a
like
printers
hardware should be
them working.
will
may be
It
all
external
work, but internal
as soon as you turn
fine
on, otherwise the product
is
it
faulty. Printing is
network rather than trying to plug your printer
I
can't use Git
Can you please help?
into the Ubisurfer.
Elliott
programs
Small devices
like this
of
memory and
It’s
everything else, including specific printer
not
handled by the computer serving
low-powered CPU, but the lack
drivers,
storage space. Compiling
the printer.
software usually requires a
fairly large
That way, you only have to
worry about generic printing support because
aren't really
suitable for compiling software. just the
Windows
on
best accomplished by doing so across the
John
you can use VirtualBox ( also
it
offers -
work and are supported,
included with most distros) to run a
to cross-compile
This also applies to the uClibc that BusyBox
for a small price. Alternatively,
can't get
I
rather complex matter to get
to run
Crossover Office
a variant of Wine that has a
is
one architecture on another. However,
having
my Ubisurfer
on
There are various (mini)
(www.codeweavers.com/products/cxlinux) is
like Tar,
advertised on the web, but
(well,
Windows programs
device
compiling - building software intended for
I
Windows program, Wine is actually)
programs,
them.
another computer. The architecture doesn’t
problems with downloading
BusyBox netbook.
that you have to reboot to switch. For the
some
GM
am
and
for
for a world of
The best way to compile software for an
due to an apparent lack of a C compiler. Because of this, can’t get my printer, sound, CD-ROM and so on functioning yet.
menu. This works well, with the disadvantage
emulation software that enables
Linux,
space
would be heading
embedded
take time to learn to use a
new to
l'm
Q
will
embedded
the library
pain trying to build software on this device.
what would be the
effectively.
really
have to be the same;
operating systems and set up a dual boot
occasional
You
Embedded compiler
detect an existing Windows installation, repartition the drive to
will
it
like
installed software, nor the
mind that
not Windows and does things
is
be a suitable equivalent, which leaves you with
machine.
have problems
header files needed to compile against the
differently (otherwise,
a
you got a compiler
approaches, with their use of dual booting
Linux
particularly
software, there
if
still
system won't have things
what they need
If
Even
common for people to use a mixture of these
org/wiki/Linux_software_equivalent_to_
Windows
SD
You could use an
compiling packages because an
It’s
decreasing as they gain familiarity with doing
specialised
other.
working, you would
Questions wiki at http://wiki.linuxquestions.
Windows_software
one or the
card as extra storage, but this would be
run just about any
Windows software you can throw at
the Linux
in
of
is
not quite as convenient as Wine, but because
Most Windows programs and tasks have equivalent programs
machine on your Linux desktop. This
virtual
may prefer to start using some of
mind, you
is
CUPS on
amount
If
you have a working printer using
»
a Linux desktop system, edit
Frequently asked questions...
WPA
» My house
» What is WPA? WPA is the more secure successor to WEP encryption.
be safe, right? Wrong! Although your laptop may
» OK, thanks for that concise explanation, but
WPA (Wi-Fi is
what
is it?
Protected Access)
a system to ensure the privacy
of data transmitted over
your
I
need
Unless you
accessing your system
network
access point instead of their own (this happens - it’s how a lot of
in all
rooms, so
I
should
run unsecured networks) but
access point beyond a certain
won’t prevent anyone with a desire
may be A wireless card with an antenna will have a much greater
to hack your connection.
distance, other hardware
able
>
range. Suitably
» Do need WPA hardware?
can give huge increases
in
If
your company
want
someone reading your confidential
wired network, where your data
files
really
from the car park?
broadcasts your data hundreds of
» Since you mentioned it earlier, what is WEP? WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy.
metres
This
means that anyone with a
laptop
with a wireless card could read
your data as easily as
if
they were
plugged into your network’s hub.
as WEP. device,
If
it
only
supports WEP.
secure wireless networking. While it’s
a
lot
all, it is
better than no security at
not that
difficult to crack.
may stop your neighbour
It
» suppose have to read man pages and HOWTOs and edit configuration files to use WPA I
I
with Linux?
» How about software? You need WPA support at two the device drivers, which
most have; and a separate program to implement WPA. The most popular program for this is wpa_supplicant, which should
come with your distro and
was the previous attempt to
managing wireless connections.
WPA as well
you have an older
you may find
levels: in
never leaves the security of the
every direction. This
new wireless network cards and
access points support
range.
certainly do. Unlike a traditional
in
All
uses a wireless network with weak
do you
Network Manager is an option,
but Wicd also does a good job of
I
enhanced systems
(or no) security,
computers, wireless networking
it
to.
shielded bunker, you almost
lengths of wire connecting your
people discover their neighbours
not be able to lock on to your
with your laptop. a cave, or a
when they
accidentally connect to your
This
it?
live in
my laptop
doesn’t even connect to the
may not worry you if you only use Wi-Fi at home to get online
wireless networks.
» Do
is big,
j
available
is
from http://hostap.
epitest.fi/wpa_supplicant. This is
the program that handles key
negotiation and authentication.
You certainly could do that living
your
life
if
through Vim really
turns you on. Fortunately, there are graphical configuration tools that
make things quite
a
bit easier.
The most advanced of these is probably Gnome’s Network Manager (www.gnome.org/ projects/NetworkManager) Although
it’s
a
Gnome
project,
there are front-ends available for
KDE and other desktops.
J www.tuxradar.com
September 2010 LXF13 5
1
105
Answers
/etc/cups/cupsd.conf and ensure that
directories, the
it
encrypted data
©©
*
contains these
lines:
is
©LOCAL Browsing On BrowseAllow ©LOCAL These tell
CUPS to
should be able to print
your encrypted data
USB flash
drives
GPRS
USB CD or
would be
It
CD and
live
look at your
directory - the
easier,
SD
Places
card as an external drive wipes out the size
PH
c.'Mebcim-sbvf!iK I
on*
I
Wl ling lor iKtMUKt.. I
D Preload library
BA quick test
B Copy the applet
you see get_cam _image errors when you try to view the webcam, you need to preload the V4L1 compatibility library.
Go to http://localhost:8888 in your browser to see the webcam image is
The properties window in Synaptic shows where the applet is installed, copy it to your Apache web directory, usually /var/www.
D Tweak the HTML
B Add a script
To change the image size or playback rate, tweak the settings in webcam.html. You can also add explanatory text here.
Put the
If
if
shown. This
script,
still
image tests the
B Watch from outside
command and all
make
it
server.
the options
in
a
executable and then you can
start the server
from
its
icon.
www.tuxradar.com
Forward port 80 to the computer running webcam from anywhere, but set up access control. ES
the server to view the
September 2010 LXF13 5
1
107
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FORMAT,
September 2010 Linux Format 109 1
On the disc A wealth
of distros and software to explore...
R
ead on
for
LXFDVD!
all If
» What is Linux? » What is a distribution? » Booting your PC from the DVD » Partitioning your hard drive » Navigating the filesystem » Using the command line » Installing software
the info you need to use the
you’re
new to
Linux,
open up
index.html on the disc and go to the Help section for the guides listed on the right.
Mike Saunders, New Media Editor [email protected]
1
Linux distribution
box,
and keeps out
of
your way -
it
doesn’t try to ‘help’ you by overwriting
your config file changes and doing
Slackware 13.1
strange stuff
the background. For
in
experienced Linux users,
We have the
D
come and go. Some stay while, some make big song and dance when
istros
upstream source code, without
around for a
distro-specific patches
a
complicating matters. These packages
they arrive and then go nowhere, and
some end up distros.
are simple .tgz
life in
1993, Slackware has the
most dedicated fans of any Linux - and it's not hard to see why.
distro
It's
LXFDVD
down the
with cpio or
Linux From Scratch route.
packages
simple, the system
Its
saying goes:
Before you put the
Slackware
DVD
in
your
drive, please
sure you read, understand and agree to
ISO images, which you can burn to
ISO image duplicates,
The Linux Format DVDs are thoroughly tested and are independently
the
file
contents over.)
is
well
documented, old
for
all
certified virus-
We recommend that you
always
in
depth here, nor indeed how
you use Ubuntu, you'll
to use the distro, as this
you use Slackware,
the fantastic Slackware Book, which
If
is
you’ll find this
geared towards
on the
installation,
installation.
It
assumes
that
and that you’re not
Ultimately, Slackware
explained
LXFDVD
in
assumes that you
know what you're doing with your
more.
it’s full
and
files.
Linux
of
it’s
It
is
taken
in
In
X Window System and
true Slackware tradition,
obscure jokes and references,
a really entertaining
become a full-on
way to more
Linux guru. For
information see www.slackware.com.
the selection, testing and
Future Publishing can
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You
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LXF135 September 2010
for further
member of our +44 (0) 1225 822743.
you would prefer to
talk to a
> Slackware’s installer runs in text
www.linuxformat.com
the
describes
any new software.
DVD software,
in
system configuration,
networking, the
much
you know your way around the scared of editing configuration
is
Distros/Slackware section as
slackbook-2.0.pdf.
line
one to
cover the installation
We’ll not
process
intermediate and advanced Linux users,
the job of
first
run a reliable and up-to-date virus checking program on
While every care
and
not just copy
start the installer.
scripts are
with an Ncurses text- based tool doing
command
the following:
installation of
the
CD-Rs. (Note that you need to burn
the discs, boot from the
you'll learn Linux.”
NOTICE! free before duplication.
"If
learn Ubuntu.
Important
viruses,
The boot
ar.
and everything makes sense. As the
are almost entirely based on the
make
in
supplied as three
Once you have
them without having to fuss around
about as pure a Linux
is
as you can get without going
known
on the
“Slackware is geared towards intermediate and advanced Linux users.”
longest running Linux flavour. Having
»
so you can explore
bliss.
these as direct
staying power of Slackware, the world’s
Slackware
13.1,
Distros section.
being forked into other
But no other distro has the
come to
files,
Slackware,
and tweaks
it’s
latest release of
mode, but
it’s
easy enough to navigate.
More
DVD
softwai
Desktop software
HomeBank, K3b
KOffice,
K light
Office
is
One
a funny old app.
the one hand
it’s
your first account, preset categories
and
great that
and
there's a relatively small
integrated office suite to challenge
OpenOffice.org. in
On the other hand,
our review on page
flaws,
Despite
many KDE fans find
usable latest
27.
suite,
it
in
is
to be a very
and
is
highly
1995 on the Amiga,
and
for import
file
formats
of:
can
up
Oh
no!
Why did If
spend so much on Fa beige Eggs?
you're a hardcore
KDE
user,
you might
I
command as root. Then you enter homebank to start the app.
final
versatile disc burning
Let HomeBank show how
you are missing any dependencies
have been disappointed that
hugely
this
and ripping tool
hadn't been updated for
KDE 4 for
required to compile the source code,
monumentally
some time,
you
daft your
Cosmetically, the overall interface
purchasing
design
decisions were.
but there are
will
be alerted during the
The other
set
>
have to perform
package manager and
an annual budget view. Version 4.3
new wallet assistant to
will
./configure stage, so find
export, multiple
accounts, various report formats and
brings a
the
(If
money management app for
Linux, sporting a range of
case
install
Note that you
today arguably the most
powerful
software from
built
just a
./configure
make make
HomeBank has been around for many life in
it’s
tar xfvz homebank-4.3.tar.gz
polished personal finance application.
years, starting
you’ve
If
cd homebank-4.3
the Desktop
HomeBank, a
software.
source before,
its
section of the DVD.
Next up
from the
and read the guide to compiling
disc
so we've included the
source code
file
then open up Help/New To Linux on the
it
a perpetual state of
un-finishedness, as you can read about in
HomeBank 4.3, copy the
install
homebank-4.3.tar.gz
LXFDVD to your home directory, and
the powerful (but lumbering)
seems to be
bugfixes.
To
them
install
in
your
them.)
this
month
is
similar to previous releases,
some
such as support
big highlight of the
Desktop section
is
but version 2.0 fixes that.
K3b2.0.
big
new features,
for Blu-ray drives
and
a streamlined interface.
Other software
Internet apps,
O If
ver
in
the Internet section
we
can read Ada, C,
have the BitTorrent clients covered
in
files,
page 30 's Roundup.
you've already read our cover feature,
you may be keen to
find out
how the
and
is
C++ and Eiffel source of comments and
aware
blank lines -
it
calculates purely on
against the competition; so we've
(Integrated Development Environment)
included a development snapshot of
features.
the upcoming 4.0 release on the DVD.
for a
4,0bLtar.bz2 to your It's
It
supports syntax highlighting
wide range of languages, a multi-
pane layout and in-app compiler output
the dev-preview folder inside
into
Internet/Firefox and copy firefox-
viewing.
home directory.
Vixn,
a good idea to back up your Firefox
A more old-school
editor
is
which combines the “benefits of
Vf with GUI
home directory) to, for instance, .moz_ backup. Then extract the .tar.bz2 into
doesn't look
It
from the
Over
better, with Linux
Gamers
an excellent showcases 17 of
Live,
distro that
the finest free software
entertainment
your
titles.
Boot
PC from the LXFDVD
after selecting
the Development section
explore.
Codemetre is an analysis
compare two
suicide in Pingus.
your
mountain and collecting
desktop. Along the bottom
fish.
a panel containing
of
Neverballis reminiscent
Super Monkey Ball, where
you
arena to collect objects,
and
click to start.
having
on the
For
in
which you
control everyone’s favourite
how
much they differ in their source code.
some high-speed
Tux Racer, > Geany: all the
It
good features of an
IDE, without the bloat.
We like.
www.tuxradar.com
penguin, sliding
down
a
ball
manipulating the landscape with the mouse, while Foobillard is a
racing japes, try Extreme
tool
different versions
roll
more
relaxed-
cue sports sim. Then there’s
Shutdown from the menu.
we
around an
launchers to the supplied
games - hover over for the
desktop and choose
that can
Save penguins from
>
language, you’ll arrive at the
fun, right-click
have a bunch of tools for coders to
of a software project, describing
one
When you’re finished
HTML 5 capabilities.
in
DVD this
month, because we’ve gone
titles,
you can
sample the faster performance and improved
section on the
file,
much different
3.x line at present, but
We don’t have a games
is
the resulting directory and run
firefox.
Linux Gamers Live
and
facilities.
settings by copying .mozilla (in your
go
And there’s more!
proper source code.
On the editor front we have Geany, a svelte GTK2 editor with some basic IDE
next version of Firefox will stack up
Go
dev tools
a
Pingus (a Lemmings- like and - of course - a
puzzler) variant in
on the
the form of
there’s
classic Tetris LTris. Really,
something here
everyone to
for
try.
September 2010 LXF135
|lll
/
On the disc The world’s most popular
distro
-
mobile form!
in
Linux distribution
Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.04
G
ot a netbook, laptop or low-
package
spec Linux box? Love Ubuntu
Edition
but finding
it
a
bit
too
much for
your reduced resolution display or
RAM
limited
banks? Or perhaps you're
way to go. Here are the recommended system requirements: » 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU » 512MB RAM
Netbook
new user interface? Ubuntu
Remix)
is
Edition (formerly
the answer.
loveliness of
It
contains
normal Ubuntu, but
specially tailored for
all
the
compares to 1GB
This
15GB
Netbook
the
» 4GB hard drive space
just looking for a fast, light Linux distro
with a fresh
for the
1.6GHz
desktop
may seem
CPUs now - you
may get
support, a great selection of software
chips too.
and a
experience: because Netbook Edition
slick,
fine-tuned interface that's a
Some
netbooks include their Linux, but
if
you
it
running smoothly on older
The main thing
computing, without
all
whistles of desktop OSes,
(and the boot time
in
the online
contrary,
includes the
its
GUI
it
is
is
it
and
zips along
impressive too).
install
alongside
Windows, setting up a dual-boot menu to choose the start the
OS you want when you
machine.
Interface-wise,
main feature
down the
hc.Jno
*
is
Netbook
Edition’s
the categories panel
left-hand side, which provides
access to large application icons on the
Live netbooks
software apps, ubuntu"
F-Spot and
Ubuntu Netbook
right.
Edition runs in
Programs
mode -
live
click
start in full-screen
the Ubuntu icon
in
the top-
k
Rhythmbox.
SMtO,
mode directly from the LXFDVD, so you
left
don’t need to
Just boot
back to the launcher view. Currently
Enter at
running program icons appear to the
your QLt.. UMp>
PC from
install
the
the boot menu.
©*
If
it
to try
DVD and
it.
hit
you want to
install
Ubuntu permanently on to your
to minimise
right of the
all
applications and go
Ubuntu
logo,
much
like
a
minimal taskbar.
Step by step: Ubuntu Netbook Edition
D Boot Boot your PC from the LXFDVD and select your language. Then you’ll reach this boot menu - just hit Enter to proceed.
112
LXF135 September 2010
in
netbook's internal drive, follow the steps
looks bare - on the
very polished (see
the screenshots). « OtliniSjtiirl QLilcil
4Ltu»iL>t^
There are loads of apps available
below. You can
of the bells
range of software available
>
the Ubuntu Software Center.
the desktop
is
focuses on high-speed portable
want a better-known flavour with a vast
Netbook Edition
Firefbx,
and
The
rather high for a
standard for netbook
That’s not to say
such as
RAM
lightweight distro, but that’s just the
it’s
more constrained
own custom versions of
best-known free
of
edition.
machines. You get excellent hardware
joy to use.
>
Ubuntu Netbook
repositories,
is
EJ
Desktop
El Partition
At the desktop you can explore the included
Follow the prompts to select your location.
on the Install icon (in Favourites and System) to start up the
At the partitioning screen, you can devote
hard drive
another operating system.
software. Click
installer.
www.linuxformat.com
a whole drive to Linux or
install
alongside
Installing software
How do If
you're totally
new to
4
I...?
Linux, after installing
be unsure how to do certain tasks. Here's a
common jobs and how to get them
Accessories
done...
world's
Click Favourites
>
Firefox
Web
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is
Cheese Webcam: Booth
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sMr
supported by
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Files to
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and Calendar
of extensions.
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second most popular browser, which
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most
of the
Browser
» Browse the web
ES Wed Jun
%
Ubuntu you may list
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DVD
Install
Empathy IM
Ubuntu Software
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Ubuntu-Netbool
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