Humans are storytellers. One could argue that journalists are even more like storytellers than other forms of humans, but then, you could also make the case that we just echo what is out there in the world.

This issue’s DVD comes with the latest release of the Ultimate Edition distribution.

LF Grows
• The Linux Foundation welcomes four new members
• Gnome 3.4 released
• News Bites

New Releases
• Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel 2
• Vector Linux 7.0 Light
• Linux 3.3
• XBMC 11.0

Canonical’s MAAS
• Metal-as-a-service provisioning tool
• Knoppix 7.0 with kernel 3.2.4
• SUSE milestones

Tech Tools
• MythTV 0.25 out
• Android emulator improved
• Qt 5 Alpha source only release

MythTV 0.25 Released

Android Emulator Improvements Announced

Qt 5 Alpha Released

When a cluster node fails, the Pacemaker high-availability tool launches the services on another node. A lesser known feature is Pacemaker’s ability to put failed services back on their feet in the cluster manager.

Keeping all the Linux clients in an enterprise environment up to date can be a major logistical challenge. Many harassed administrators appreciate a good software distribution system, especially if it is a free tool that doesn’t stress the IT budget.

Logfiles contain records of what happens on a Linux system and the services it runs. Tools like Logcheck and Logsurfer filter out the most important events for the administrator, and they can even trigger an appropriate reaction automatically.

We asked some of our authors to share their favorite automation tricks.

PortSentry monitors your ports and lets you know when they’ve been scanned.

Did you leave your system running? Did you forget to start a critical backup? Control your Linux computer from anywhere with an Android phone.

PowerPoint shapes. We investigate how the two office modules work together.

Klaus Knopper is the creator of Knoppix and co-founder of LinuxTag expo. He currently works as a teacher, programmer, and consultant. If you have a configuration problem, or if you just want to learn more about how Linux works, send your questions to: klaus@linux-magazine.com

To check on the health of a Linux system, administrators can turn to vmstat, iostat, netstat, and ifstat. Or, you can just use the versatile dstat, which combines the features of several tools in a single package.

LXC is fully integrated into the kernel, providing a fast and easy approach to virtualizing individual programs and whole systems on Linux without the need for patches and additional modules.

When it comes to daily tasks such as monitoring network traffic, administrators should choose a tool that is sufficiently functional and not too complicated.

Programmers and Linux administrators appreciate the benefits of event logs. The Glogg tool is the perfect choice for searching even large logfiles.

Combining Puppet, Foreman, Pulp, Candlepin, and Katello lets you deploy software and servers automatically and securely.

On the Amazon Kindle eBook reader, you can save personal clippings, or “highlights,” in a file; later, you can connect the Kindle to a USB port on a Linux machine and grab the data with a Perl script that stores it in a database.

We show how to set up a simple solution for keeping track of your to-dos with the First Things First web application.

The Ardesia sketchpad software and compositing manager allow you to draw freehand on the desktop, so you can quickly sketch a presentation and give the audience an extra dash of information on top.

The digital notes application MindRaider lets you organize and visualize your thoughts as mind maps.

The Bino media player supports various 3D formats and techniques. In combination with a D2342P monitor by LG, you can convert your home PC into a 3D movie theater for just a fistful of dollars.

Once you understand the intricacies of grep, you can find just about anything.

maddog considers the benefits of building your own spin distro.

If we are indeed moving to a post-PC world, then how exactly will data be accessed? A new commercial venture of a popular open source project shows one path to this future.

Chronicler Zack Brown reports on the latest news, views, dilemmas, and developments within the Linux kernel community.