Linux Journal - The Original Magazine of the Linux Community

You Need A Budget

Shawn Powers — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:38:00 +0000

This time of year is often rough on finances, and although there are many money-management tools available for Linux, none are quite like You Need A Budget, or YNAB for short. Unlike traditional budgeting programs, YNAB focuses on a few simple rules to help you get out of debt and, more important, to see where your money is going. more>>

The Linux powered LAN Gaming House

Michael Reed — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:12:05 +0000

LAN parties offer the enjoyment of head to head gaming in a real-life social environment. In general, they are experiencing decline thanks to the convenience of Internet gaming, but Kenton Varda is a man who takes his LAN gaming very seriously. His LAN gaming house is a fascinating project, and best of all, Linux plays a part in making it all work. more>>

Creating a vDSO: the Colonel's Other Chicken

Matt Davis — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:43:22 +0000

A vDSO (virtual dynamic shared object) is an alternative to the somewhat cycle-expensive system call interface that the GNU/Linux kernel provides. But, before I explain how to cook up your own vDSO, in this brief jaunt down operating system lane, I cover some basics of vDSOs, what they are and why they are useful. more>>

Your CMS Is Not Your Web Site

Tobby Hagler — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:56:49 +0000

A content management system is a centralized repository for your content. A Web site is a composite of decentralized fragments that are assembled on the edge, in just-in-time fashion as the content is being delivered to users. If it's not a Web site, what does a CMS do? more>>

Casper, the Friendly (and Persistent) Ghost

Shawn Powers — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:30:57 +0000

Creating a live Linux USB stick isn't anything new. And, in fact, the ability to have persistence with a live CD/USB stick isn't terribly new. What many people might not be aware of, however, is just how easy it is to make a bootable USB stick that you can use like a regular Linux install. more>>

Razor-qt 0.4 - Qt based Desktop Environment

Michael Reed — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:49:52 +0000

Razor-qt is a new desktop environment based on the QT toolkit. I installed it from the PPA and gave it a quick go. It’s early days for the project, but it might eventually become a refuge for lovers of KDE 3 in the same way that Xfce has become popular with people who want to recreate the Gnome 2.x experience. more>>

Using Plop Boot Manager for USB Boot

Michael Reed — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:10:34 +0000

Portability is a huge advantage that Linux enjoys over most other desktop operating systems as most major distros work very well when installed to a flash drive. However, there are still machines in service that just won't play ball when it comes to USB booting. Fortunately, I found a nice little utility that can work around this problem. more>>

Moose

Henry Van Styn — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Perl has been around for more than 20 years. During that time, it has received its share of both praise and criticism, and lots of misconceptions surround it. Much of this stems from long-outdated notions of what Perl used to be, but have nothing to do with what Perl actually is today. more>>

Basic Chemistry on the GNOME Desktop

Joey Bernard — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:02:47 +0000

I've realized I've missed out on a huge area of computational science—chemistry. Many packages exist for doing chemistry on your desktop. This article looks at a general tool called avogadro. It can do computations of energy and gradient values. Additionally, it can do analysis of molecular systems, interface to GAMESS and import and export from and to several file formats. more>>

Black Wednesday

Katherine Druckman — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:52:07 +0000

No, it's sadly not a day for shopping. Today, some of the most visited websites are dark to raise awareness of two bills now making their way through the U.S. Congress. more>>

Can we help AT&T solve its mobile data problem?

Doc Searls — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:45:08 +0000

I'm in midtown Manhattan, connected to the Net over my hotel's slow but costly wi-fi connection. Normally when I'm traveling — at least here in the U.S. — I avoid lame hotel connections by using AT&T's cellular data system, usually through my iPhone's "personal hotspot." more>>

ZevenOS - Does it recapture the flavor of BeOS?

Michael Reed — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:28:22 +0000

BeOS was a much loved and highly advanced desktop operating system that ceased active development in 2001. ZevenOS is a Ubuntu 11.10 based system (with a bit of help from Xubuntu) that attempts to recapture some of the BeOS look and feel. more>>

Enter to Win a Free "Oops... Wrong window" TShirt!

Shawn Powers — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:42:29 +0000

We've all done it. Now you can share your humorous and/or awkward blunder with the world! Watch the video below for all the details.

**The drawing is now over, but please continue to enjoy Shawn's video. #tigerblood**

gStrings in Your Pocket

Shawn Powers — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:45:25 +0000

What may sound like a perverse concept is actually one of the many ways smartphones can change your life. If you play a musical instrument but don't happen to have perfect pitch (most of us, sadly), you can buy a tuner, pitch pipe, tuning fork or any number of other aids to keep yourself in tune. If you have a smartphone in your pocket, however, you also can simply download gStrings. more>>

Short Notices: News In Linux Audio

Dave Phillips — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:24:05 +0000

I hope all my readers enjoyed the best of the holiday season. I've been busy with the predictable confusions and minor crises that attend this time of year, but I managed to find time to jot down some recommendations for my readers. Go on, you've been good, give yourself a few extra belated gifts and don't worry if your budget's busted - it's all free software, you can't beat these deals. more>>