Issue #152 / Jul 2013

The long anticipated phenomenon of 3D printing, which the futurists have long identified as a potential “disruptive technology,” truly arrived this month with the appearance of the first 3D-printing controversy: 3D printing of cheap hand guns. Pop science prognosticators who have been bleary-eyed over the “promise” of 3D printing seemed caught off guard by the appearance of the first 3D guns. (You mean this wasn’t just for printing heart valves and Ironman exoskeletons?) At last, 3D printing was not just a quirky popular science oddity, but something that could serve as the fodder for moral arguments – by both sides, and a blogosphere seemingly thrilled to have some new material for speech making and hand wringing.

The newest Ubuntu release continues Canonical’s quest for a system that combines an inspired desktop experience with seamless integration to Internet resources. The latest release includes several improvements to the default Unity desktop, as well as an easy interface to online photo archives and convenient access to social networking tools. The futuristic (yet controversial) desktop search feature provides integrated access to resources at Amazon and the Ubuntu store.

News

• US gov embraces open data
• Apache Cdorked.A exploit discovered
• News Bites

New Intel CEO

• FSF scolds W3C
• Torvalds releases Kernel 3.9
• Xen new LF collaboration project

Operating Systems

• Debian 7.0“wheezy” debuts
• Windows XP most likely to be victim of attack.

• SkySQL Merges with Makers of MariaDB
• AMD Announces New Custom Chip Operation
• New Supermicro Storage Solution
• SUSE Studio 1.3
• Nginx 1.4 Released

You won't find a perfect solution to the growing problem of drive-by attacks, but many tools are available to help you keep malicious code off your network.

The Alfresco collaboration tool lets you track documents, share content, and collaborate with team members – and it integrates nicely with Microsoft SharePoint.

The simple but useful adtool lets you manage an Active Directory domain from the Linux command line.

LibreOffice celebrates its birthday with the release of the first version with a 4 in front of the dot. All modules offer substantial improvements and the kinds of changes that warrant a major version. We look at some features worth celebrating.

Many devices now run Linux – but mostly as a closed source firmware that you cannot access. We show how to use OpenWrt to free the TL-MR3020 router from its proprietary firmware and convert it into an all-around server for your home network.

Klaus Knopper is the creator of Knoppix and co-founder of LinuxTag expo. He 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