Linux format - 2020 Annual

180 Pages·2020·40.619 MB·English

by  April Madden

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2020 ANNUAL
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PAGES OF EXPERT KAOS
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2020 annual
Welcome to the Linux Format Annual 2020. From the hottest distros to the
best ways to tweak them, these pages are replete with everything a Linux fan
needs. Whether you’re taking your first few steps in escaping Windows or
you’re an expert user who wants to get more from their open source system,
you’ll find everything you need inside. Learn how to toughen up user-friendly
distro Mint, explore encryption, secure your cloud storage, lock down your
desktop and much more. Plus, check out a host of fun coding and maker
projects, from building virtual machines to exploring quantum computing.
We’ve even rounded up the best open source toolkit to help you do whatever
you want, whenever you want to.

2020 annual
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Linux Format Annual 2020
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Part of the
bookazine series
2020 annual
Essentials
Get to know Linux and the many 
astonishing things you can do with it
10 Hot distros 54 Speed testing storage
What’s the best Linux for you? What’s the fastest file system?
18 Mint 19 powered 58 Flatpack
Get the most from Linux Mint Just what can you do with containers?
26 Escape Windows 62 Systems tracing in Linux just
Run away from Redmond got better
Find out how
34 Smart pattern matching
Search for patterns with grep 66 Working in the terminal using
plain English
36 Automate office tasks Use natural language in the terminal
Script repetitive actions in Libre Office
40 Set up an email server
Set up your own self-hosted server
44 Get to grips with file navigation
Learn about structure
46 Forecast the weather l
Who needs a GUI?
48 PowerShell vs grep
Windows technology on Linux?!
10
52 Managing your tasks and calendar
Organise everything from the terminal
6     Linux Format Annual 2020
Contents
Privacy & Security
Take back control – stop snoopers 
and hackers from ruining your Linux 
70 Hacker secrets
Tools of the trade
78 Harden Mint 19.1
Make Linux Mint stand up to anything
86 Encrypted cloud storage free
Secure online storage with no fee
144 Safer browsers
Lock down leaks and manage memory
94 Escape the cloud
Lock down your data 126
102 Build a secure Nextcloud instance
Make a self-hosted LAMP stack
Projects
106 Restrict user access
Reduce what users can do in your distro Get inspired – start building and 
making with a fistful of projects 
108 Keep your desktop safe and secure
Keep system security tight 126 Virtualisation
Run Linux any time, any place, anywhere...
112 Monitoring users and admins
What are your super users up to? 136 Quantum computing
Learn what it is and how to get started
116 Create secret and secure web servers
Hide your data 140 Build your own plugins
Extend the functionality of WordPress
120 Guide to cryptography
Behind the scenes with encryption 144 Learn to encode video faster & better
Master tools and techniques
148 Create 3D photos
You don’t need special equipment
152 The best maker projects
Time to get hands-on
162 Create your own jukebox
Set up your own touchscreen music player
164 The ultimate open source toolkit
All the FOSS you’ll ever need
70
Linux Format Annual 2020     7
2020 annual
Essentials
Tools and techniques
10 Hot distros
What’s the best flavour of Linux for you?
18 Mint 19 powered
Get the most from Linux Mint
26 Escape Windows
Run away from Redmond
34 Techniques for smart pattern matching
Search for patterns with grep
36 Automate office tasks with simple scripts
Script repetitive actions in Libre Office
40 Set up an email server
Set up your own self-hosted server
44 Get to grips with Linux file navigation
Learn about structure
46 Forecast the weather via the terminal
Who needs a GUI?
48 PowerShell on Ubuntu vs grep on PDP-11
Windows technology on Linux?!
52 Managing your tasks and calendar
Organise everything from the terminal
54 Speed testing storage
What’s the fastest file system?
58 Flatpack and how to (ab)use containers
Just what can you do with containers?
62 Systems tracing in Linux just got better
Find out how
66 Working in the terminal using plain English
Use natural language in the terminal
Linux Format Annual 2020     9
LLiinnuuxx FFoorrmmaatt AAnnnnuuaall 22002200
Mayank Sharma can’t help you find your 
purpose in life, but he sure can help find  
a distribution for your purpose.
inux, the kernel, by itself  Later that year Peter MacDonald  and uninstall packages. The next major 
L wouldn’t be of much use to  created the Softlanding Linux System  milestone in the Linux distribution 
most of us. Version 0.01 of the  (SLS) distribution that offered a software  timeline also happened in 1994 with the 
Linux kernel made its debut in  collection on top of the X11 graphical  birth of Marc Ewing’s Red Hat Linux.
September 1991, but it only made sense  interface, which had only recently been  Together these three distributions form 
to a particular Finnish student and his ilk  ported to Linux. SLS in turn spawned two  the bedrock of the modern Linux 
of uber-geek hackers.  major distributions. The first was  distribution habitat. Although there have 
One of them, Owen Le Blanc of the  Slackware created by Patrick Volkerding in  been other independent distributions 
Manchester Computing Centre (MCC),  July 1993. Over two decades later it  such as Crux, Arch, Gentoo and Puppy,  
wrote a menu-driven installer to install the  remains the oldest Linux distribution  a majority of the current stock is an 
kernel along with a handful of GNU  that’s still actively maintained. The other  offshoot of the three oldest distributions. 
utilities, and in the process created the  was Ian Murdoch’s Debian. Although it  You’ll find hundreds of them on 
first Linux distribution in February 1992.  had been in development for several  distrowatch, all vying for a slice of your 
This distribution allowed even non-Unix  months, v0.91 released in January 1994  hard disk. Over the next few pages we’ll 
users to get a taste of Linux and helped  was its first public release and included a  help you sort through the lot and pick the 
roll in more developers.  simple package system that could install  one that’ll serve you best.
10     Linux Format Annual 2020