Linux Format November 2021

Jonni Bidwell If Reddit is anything to go by then all it takes is a screen grab of an i3 desktop with some sort of sci-fi/manga background, a translucent terminal and Conky proudly showing the handful of running processes consuming but a smidgeon of the machine’s gargantuan memory. Les Pounder With Valve’s upcoming Steam Deck running Arch Linux, we are going to see a big push for Linux gaming, thanks to Steam and Proton. These advancements will filter down to Linux in general, so you will soon be able to frag newbs via your Tux-powered rig. David Rutland If macOS is a Tesla and Windows a Honda Civic, Linux puts an entire dealership at your disposal with distros catering from new drivers to mechanics tinkering under the hood. Or build your own with jacked-up wheels…

Jonni Bidwell If Reddit is anything to go by then all it takes is a screen grab of an i3 desktop with some sort of sci-fi/manga background, a translucent terminal and Conky proudly showing the handful of running processes consuming but a smidgeon of the machine’s gargantuan memory. Les Pounder With Valve’s upcoming Steam Deck running Arch Linux, we are going to see a big push for Linux gaming, thanks to Steam and Proton. These advancements will filter down to Linux in general, so you will soon be able to frag newbs via your Tux-powered rig. David Rutland If macOS is a Tesla and Windows a Honda Civic, Linux puts an entire dealership at your disposal with distros catering from new drivers to mechanics tinkering under the hood. Or build…

So after saying it would never exist, Microsoft felt it necessary to launch Windows 11. Why do we care? Well we don’t, but it’s neat to note that the Linux kernel now comes baked into Windows as part of WSL 2.0. It means people can try out and use Linux and its FOSS ecosystem more easily than ever before. We know many see this as more Microsoft ‘embrace and extinguish’, but this is different. Microsoft can’t own the Linux kernel, can’t shut it down – all it can do is attempt to make access to Linux as easy as possible from within Windows. My view is this simply opens Linux to a wider audience, which has to be a good thing. Right? In this issue Jonni – the poor boy – has…

So after saying it would never exist, Microsoft felt it necessary to launch Windows 11. Why do we care? Well we don’t, but it’s neat to note that the Linux kernel now comes baked into Windows as part of WSL 2.0. It means people can try out and use Linux and its FOSS ecosystem more easily than ever before. We know many see this as more Microsoft ‘embrace and extinguish’, but this is different. Microsoft can’t own the Linux kernel, can’t shut it down – all it can do is attempt to make access to Linux as easy as possible from within Windows. My view is this simply opens Linux to a wider audience, which has to be a good thing. Right? In this issue Jonni – the poor boy…

Sir Clive Sinclair has died at the age of 81. After leaving school at 17, Sinclair worked for a while as a technical journalist before creating Sinclair Radionics in 1961. Its first product was the Sinclair Micro-amplifier, released in 1962. After almost a decade of creating audio equipment, the company began creating popular pocket calculators that were considerably smaller than the competition. However, Sinclair was best known for effectively inventing home computers with the ZX80. Released in 1980 costing £79.95 as a kit, or £99.95 pre-assembled, it was drastically cheaper (and smaller) than any other computer at the time, and it meant having a computer for the home was finally affordable for many people. Selling 100,000 units the ZX80 was moderately successful, its follow-up the ZX81 was far more of…

Sir Clive Sinclair has died at the age of 81. After leaving school at 17, Sinclair worked for a while as a technical journalist before creating Sinclair Radionics in 1961. Its first product was the Sinclair Micro-amplifier, released in 1962. After almost a decade of creating audio equipment, the company began creating popular pocket calculators that were considerably smaller than the competition. However, Sinclair was best known for effectively inventing home computers with the ZX80. Released in 1980 costing £79.95 as a kit, or £99.95 pre-assembled, it was drastically cheaper (and smaller) than any other computer at the time, and it meant having a computer for the home was finally affordable for many people. Selling 100,000 units the ZX80 was moderately successful, its follow-up the ZX81 was far more of a…