Issue #248 / Jul 2021

Highlights:

Sometimes you want the computer to think for you, and sometimes you want the computer to make you think. This month we present a selection of free Linux tools for learning and thinking. Flash through virtual flashcards with Anki, create mathematical presentations with Manim, and, to keep your mind sharp, take a turn with the gbrainy brain teaser collection.

SERVICE: Welcome

Profits and Values

The interface of politics with tech is always complicated – even when the stated values of the country and the company are similar. But in a world of global corporations and diverging values, the interplay is almost impossible to follow.

SERVICE: This Month's DVD

Ubuntu 21.04 and Fedora 34 Workstation

NEWS: News

In the news: Armbian 21.05 Now Available; StarLabs has Released Another Linux Laptop; Ubuntu 21.04 Adds Support for Active Directory; Gnome 40 Available on openSUSE; Kernel 5.13 Merges Apple M1 Hardware Support: and KDE Launches the Qt 5 Patch Collection. 

NEWS: Kernel News

Chronicler Zack Brown reports on want vs. need, and hiding system resources ... from the system.

: Anki

Virtual flash cards

Anki brings a virtual flash card box to the desktop. Thanks to a useful collection of add-ons, you can adapt Anki to suit your needs, making it one of the most efficient learning tools.

: Dia

Create diagrams with Dia

If you need to make the occasional diagram, Dia gives you professional results with a minimal learning curve.

: gbrainy

A brain teaser game

Gbrainy can help you develop your logical thinking skills with a collection of brain teasers.

: Manim

Illustrating mathematical concepts in video with Manim

Manim lets you program video sequences with a few lines of Python code to present mathematical problems in an engaging and scientifically accurate way.

REVIEWS: Zorin OS

Designing for newcomers

Artyom and Kyrill Zorin set out to design a user-friendly operating system, resulting in Zorin OS, a favorite among new users. Bruce talks to Artyom about Zorin OS and where the project is headed.

IN-DEPTH: Statistics with gawk

Editing statistical data with gawk

With very little overhead, you can access statistics on the spread of COVID-19 using gawk scripts and simple shell commands.

IN-DEPTH: Swiss Army Knife

Document conversion from the command line

Pandoc lets you convert files from one markup format to another at the command line.

IN-DEPTH: Nix and NixOS

Experimental package management with Nix and NixOS

NixOS and the Nix package manager offer a promising new approach to the challenge of managing packages in Linux.

IN-DEPTH: Quick Fill

Python package simplifies algebraic equations

Whether he's filling the bathtub with water or routing electricity through resistors – Mike Schilli juggles mathematical formulas with the assistance of the Python SymPy package.

IN-DEPTH: The sys admin's daily grind: Users and groups

Who, and with Whom?

This time Charly investigates the three most frequently asked questions about user groups.

: Z-Wave Home Assistant

Home Assistant makes the Raspberry Pi fit for the Z-Wave world

Z-Wave components, a RaZberry module, and the free Home Assistant software make the Raspberry Pi a powerful smart home control center.

: Lakka

Explore gaming on the Lakka console

The Lakka Linux distribution comes with everything you need to play retro games and lets you install games directly in the user interface. All you need is a Raspberry Pi and, ideally, a simple gamepad.

LINUX VOICE: Introduction

This month in Linux Voice.

LINUX VOICE: maddog's Doghouse

Choosing the Best Distribution

Which distribution is the best choice for you? It's not an easy question, but maddog offers suggestions for finding the answer.

LINUX VOICE: Micro

Editing text at the command line with micro

Editing text at the command line doesn't have to be daunting. Micro brings the ease and intuitiveness of a graphical editor to the Linux terminal.

LINUX VOICE: Tox

Tox: Text, voice, and video chats without a central server

The Tox protocol uses file-sharing techniques for messaging and audio-video chats, which gives users a greater degree of privacy and freedom.

LINUX VOICE: FOSSPicks

After watching Ubuntu help NASA with its first controlled flight on another planet, Graham spent far too much time this month visiting Mars in Elite Dangerous, via Proton on Linux.

LINUX VOICE: Perfect References

Literature management with Zotero

Reference management software like Zotero helps you easily record and organize citations and create bibliographies.