Linux Format October 2021

meet the team

Jonni Bidwell If you like i3 or Sway (or just minimal terminal emulators), spend some time making a semi-decent. Xresources file, then use git to track changes to it and other dotfiles. Now not even you will be able to break your configuration! Les Pounder My love is Openbox which stems from using Crunchbang Linux. The dark aesthetic is soothing and I can tweak Conky to show pertinent information. Tweaking the Conky settings is made easy, they all live in a text file which I edit, save and then reload Conky to see the effect. David Rutland I use the i3 window manager. It’s infinitely customisable via its config file, keyboard driven, and has insanely low overheads. No need to use the mouse to close a window or start up a program. A bonus is…

customised heart

One of the strengths of the open source world is its inherent ability to be customised. I think that’s a real attraction for users that grew up using computers pre-2000s, while the locked-down nature of modern devices, Windows and macOS forces anyone that wants to tinker in depth – or just learn how systems works – naturally towards open source operating systems. Even on the most superficial level having total choice about how your desktop looks and works is key for many Linux users. Just look at the Gnome Wars and how impassioned people get about fundamental changes to desktop design! As we have a fresh release of Linux Mint with its custom Cinnamon desktop, we thought it was high time we took a deep look at desktop customisation. We’ll dive into…

google slams linux kernel

THIS ISSUE: Google questions kernel security Opportunity knocks for LibreOffice Stackoverflow snapshot Mozilla project speaks up Kees Cook’s recent blog post, Linux Kernel Security Done Right (https://bit.ly/lxf281googleblog) makes for interesting reading. Cook, who’s part of Google’s Open Source Security Team, spells out what he see as the major security issues facing the Linux kernel, while also offering advice on how to fix it. While noting that “Linux still remains the largest collaborative development project in the history of computing,” and complimenting its large community, Cook says, “What’s still missing, though, is sufficient focus to make sure that Linux fails well too,” and that “When flaws do manifest, it’s important to handle them effectively.” He highlights areas that need addressing, and starts by calling for substantial investment to make sure the code is as…

libreoffice 7.2 released

LibreOffice has reached version 7.2, and it comes at an interesting time for the office suite. Over the course of the pandemic, many people have found themselves working from home, and the prospect of shelling out for a Microsoft Office licence (or Office 365 subscription) was an unappealing one. This should have been an open goal for LibreOffice, but many organisations are sticking with Microsoft’s offering, while Google Docs appears to be the free alternative of choice, despite its limitations (and taste for telemetry). LibreOffice 7.2 is the ideal opportunity for the Document Foundation to get its office suite in front of new people. Perhaps the biggest feature that can help with this is improved compatibility with Microsoft Office, to ensure that Office XML files can be opened in LibreOffice as accurately…

devs love linux (but prefer windows)

The latest Stackoverflow survey results are in (you can see them all at https://bit.ly/lxf281stackoverflow). Over 80,000 developers from 181 countries participated in the survey earlier this year. The findings reveal how they work, including the apps and operating systems they rely on. While Linux, for example, is a more popular operating system for developers than macOS, with 25.32 per cent of respondents using a Linux distro compared to 25.19 per cent, Windows continues to be the most popular by quite a margin, with 45.33 per cent of respondents primarily using that. Interestingly, this is the first year that people have been able to select Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), which enables devs to run Linux subsystems within Windows – and a not-insubstantial 3.29 per cent responded that they primarily use that. The results…

scores on the doors

Keith Edmunds is MD of Tiger Computing Ltd, which provides support for businesses using Linux. “When you’re responsible for managing Linux systems, it can be helpful to step back and objectively assess how healthy those systems are. Helpful, but not easy. When we’re caught up in the day-to-day running of those systems, it’s sometimes hard to see the wood for the trees. Here at Tiger Computing we’ve drawn on our experience of managing commercial Linux systems for the past 20 years and designed the Linux Reliability Scorecard. It consists of 14 questions, all with yes/no answers. On average, they take just over 60 seconds to answer. The result is a downloadable PDF that will tell you exactly which areas need focus. Maybe it’ll confirm what you already know, or perhaps it’ll highlight some…