Linux User & Developer 138 - Master Raspberry Pi in 7 Days

100 Pages·2014·29.825 MB·English

by  Russell Barnes

RASPBERRY PI GUIDE 44 DDIISSTTRROOSS
THE ROBOT THAT CAN TOW CARAVANS • WHAT IS GPIO? 20+ APPS & TOOLS
www.linuxuser.co.uk
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001 CoverWeek4.indd 1 19/03/2014 17:57
Adventures in
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Full Page.indd 1 18/03/2014 12:11
Welcome
Get
to issue 138 of Linux User & Developer
Linux User
This issue cheaper
… Rob Zwetsloot studied aerospace engineering
at university, using Python to every issue
model complex simulations in
s class. This month Rob has been » Learn to code with Qt
Page 42
making slow-motion videos with
t the Pi camera by throwing plush » Develop apps with Kivy
r toys at each other while wearing a
e Robin Hood-style hat. The men in » Make a real-time CPU monitor
white coats have been notifi ed.
p » Master the Raspberry Pi in 7 days
Tam Hanna has been in the IT business since
x
the days of the Palm IIIc. Serving
e as a journalist, tutor, speaker and Welcome to the latest edition of Linux User &
author of scientifi c books, he has Developer, the UK and America’s favourite open
x seen every aspect of the mobile
market more than once. This issue source and Linux magazine.
u Tam concludes his long-running What do you want to make? Everyone wants to
Code With Qt programming series.
n You can catch it on pages 60-63. make something. Since I was a small boy I always
wanted to build my own robot, which I fi nally
Li Mihalis Tsoukalos is a UNIX system accomplished with Jason Barnett’s help in issue 132.
administrator with expertise in
programming, databases and If, like us, you want to make something with open source
f
maths. He has been using Linux
o software and tools, we’ve got plenty to scratch your itch this
since 1993. In the latest issue,
Mihalis shows us how to probe issue. If you want to create an app or game that you can port
m our networks with Nmap and use
to Android or iOS, Alexander Taylor’s guide starting on page
tshark to examine the data. You can
find his tutorial on pages 48-51. 64 would be a great place to start. Kivy is an exciting new
a
framework for Python that allows you to create incredible
e Sean Tracey is a creative technologist at a
leading digital agency on the south cross-platform applications quickly and easily.
t coast. He spends a lot of his time On page 52, Sean Tracey shows us how to use Node.js and
living inside of Node.js, Python and
r Arduino, which is handy, because the Arduino to make your very own real-time CPU meter and
u this month he shows us how to on page 60 Tam Hanna concludes his series on coding with
make your own real-time CPU
o monitor using these excellent tools Qt. For his fi nal part he shows us how to solve real-world
Y and technologies (pages 52-55). problems by simulating them on your computer.
Jon Masters is a Linux kernel hacker who has Finally, we show you how to become a class act with
been working on Linux for some the Raspberry Pi in our cover feature starting on page 18.
18 years, since he fi rst attended
Over the course of a week you’ll learn how to make some
university at the age of 13. Jon lives
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, impressive Internet of Things projects from scratch.
and works for a large enterprise
Enjoy the issue!
Linux vendor. You can fi nd his
indispensable Kernel Column on Russell Barnes, Editor
pages 16-17 this issue.
Get in touch with the team:
Gareth Halfacree is our resident news
reporter and brings us the latest
developments from all over the [email protected]
open source world, starting on
page 8. Gareth has also put two
new gadgets to the test for us this Buy online
issue – Intel’s Galileo (page 78) and Facebook: Twitter:
the very latest Pogoplug (page 80).
Linux User & Developer @linuxusermag
Visit us online for more news, opinion, tutorials and reviews:
www.linuxuser.co.uk
3Issue 138
003_LUD_138.indd 3 21/03/2014 14:38
Contents
Reviews
Subscribe 73 MSeodifat Cwenatrer egroup test
& save! Could one of these be the multimedia
application you’re looking for?
42 S ave up to 50%
on the shop price.
US customers
can subscribe via
page 84
XBMC Plex
24 Master Raspberry Pi in 7 days

From setup to Internet of Things in a week! MythTV LinuxMCE
78 Intel Galileo
OpenSource Tutorials
Find out how it shapes up
compared to the Raspberry Pi
6 News 44 Host your own webmail server
T he biggest stories from the Cut out the middleman and manage your own 80 PogoPlug Safeplug
open source world webmail in easy steps Cheap, Linux-powered storage
for today’s digital needs
14 Opinions 48 Network scanning with Nmap
The latest from your favourite Probe your network and then examine your 82 Ubuntu 14.04 beta
free software columnists traffi c with tshark Arguably the best release in
recent years. Find out why…
85 Books 52 Make a real-time CPU meter
All the latest Linux-related Use a Node.js-powered Arduino to display the
reads rated current processor usage of your PC
94 Letters 56 Automate tasks with Grunt.js
Your views on the magazine Remove repetitive tasks and make the most
and the open source scene of development time with this task runner
Features
60 Code with Qt (final part)
Solve real-world problems with your code
06 How schools are
grabbing a slice of Pi 64 Develop apps with Python
How teachers are using the Pi Learn Kivy, the exciting new mobile framework
in the new curriculum
On your free disc
18 Master RasPi in 7 days
From installation to Internet 96 Cover disc
of Things in seven projects
Four of the latest distros
for you to try out
18 A warning, not
on this issue’s DVD!
a blueprint 18 Practical Raspberry Pi
Ubuntu 14.04 beta
Extra-governmental agencies Besides our massive 20-page cover
want to censor the internet Linux Mint Debian feature we also find out what the GPIO port
Kubuntu 14.04 is all about and learn about DoodleBorg,
88 Q & A the Pi-powered tank from PiBorg.
OpenELEC & more
Your questions answered
Join us online for more Linux news, opinion and reviews www.linuxuser.co.uk
4www.linuxuser.co.uk
004_LUD_138.indd 4 21/03/2014 15:17
Full Page.indd 1 19/03/2014 11:00
6 News | 14 Opinion | 94 Letters
■ The Raspberry Pi
encourages children to go
from consumers to creators
EDUCATION
How schools
are grabbing a slice of Pi
With the new Computing curriculum set to come into effect in September, David Crookes
looks at how teachers are looking to get in on the Raspberry Pi action
This time last year, Carrie Anne Philbin was a much from the Raspberry Pi, she has made a The education conference in Manchester
teacher. And not just any teacher. In becoming foray into print. Her fi rst book, Adventures In worked well for the Raspberry Pi Foundation
Google Certifi ed and a Key Stage 3 ICT subject Raspberry Pi, is a clear resource that is aimed at and the dedicated team it has assembled
leader at a school in East London, she had grown kids of all ages and a fair few adults too. with the aim of supporting teachers. Last year,
into something else: an evangelist for the power Today, however, she has taken her passion the Raspberry Pi Jamboree staged by Alan
of a small, credit card-sized computer that we all further, assuming the role of Education Pioneer O’Donohoe was sectioned off in its own series of
know as the Raspberry Pi. at the Raspberry Pi Foundation. With teachers rooms in the vast space of Manchester Central.
Her enthusiasm for all things Pi can be having just a few months left to truly nail the This year, with O’Donohoe still at the helm, all
grasped within minutes of seeing her in action. principles of computers before they unleash things Pi were thrown into the main conference
She’s a regular talker at education conferences their knowledge on classes of children, it is her arena. Teachers walking around the venue would
– one of the most recent being at the Education job to show educators the true value of the £25 spot a classroom of the future on one corner, be
Innovation Conference and Exhibition (EICE) machine she appears to love so much. “A year able to buy a Pi on another and listen to talks in
in Manchester. She advocates going along to ago, there perhaps wasn’t much interest in the one of two areas set aside for such purpose. The
Raspberry Jams. She is also the creator of a Raspberry Pi,” she says. “I was one of the fi rst Pi sat centre stage and could not be ignored.
YouTube video series for teenage girls known as teachers to start using it in the classroom but The hope was that teachers, like the Raspberry
The Geek Gurl Diaries. this year, thanks to the number of conferences Pi Foundation team, would understand
Above all, though, Philbin is bursting at the that have introduced it, a lot of teachers have the welcome nature of the change about to
seams to get her overriding message across. become very interested in how it can be used. come in. Philbin says she had her moment of
In believing teachers and children can learn so There is much more excitement about it.” enlightenment around six years ago. Along
6www.linuxuser.co.uk
006-007 Education.indd 6 21/03/2014 14:38
News
The latest in the Linux community
OPEN SOURCE
What’s in the
curriculum?
Although it’s not the sole aim, coding is
at the heart of the new curriculum and it
plays a much larger role than it ever has
done before. In Key Stage 1, for example,
pupils should be taught to understand
what algorithms are and how they are
implemented. Children will be asked to
create and debug simple programs. At
Key Stage 2, pupils need to be taught to
design, write and debug programs that
accomplish specifi c goals and understand
computer networks. By Key Stage 3,
they will be expected to use two or more
programming languages and by Key Stage
4, they need to develop and apply their ■ Carrie Anne Philbin is a big supporter
analytic, problem-solving, design and of the new curriculum, experiencing
computational thinking skills. first hand the effect of the Pi
with other educators, she looked at ICT, saw We’re looking to put across the
what teachers were being given to teach
and questioned its wisdom. “It’s been a long point that computing is fun
time coming and not just something that the
government decided to do,” says Philbin. “This
curriculum change has been needed for a while.” has to be done’. But the time you have as a teacher Scratch’, but we’re looking to encourage teachers
To make sure teachers feel more comfortable to do anything is so small. The government does to be more creative and to put across the point that
with the new curriculum, the Foundation team need to give teachers time to skill up.” computing is fun,” says Philbin.
has been working on a series of packs aimed Primary school teachers will feel the strain more Certainly, the new curriculum outlines what
at teachers and it is also looking to spark their than secondary. They need to teach a much higher needs to be done at the various key stages. And
imagination. “We’re launching a new website that is number of subjects, so devoting extra time and while the government has said that it hopes to
packed with resources to enable teachers to learn expertise to an area as complex as computing will have bred a new generation of creators rather than
and understand in as short a time as possible,” be felt more keenly among them. Making matters consumers in a few years, just being able to open
says Philbin, of the renewed effort ahead of the worse is that they are surrounded by computers pupils’ eyes to the possibilities is seen as progress.
new school year. “The website has lesson plans, that they can do very little with in practical terms – It is the reason why initiatives such as The Hour
schemes of work that teachers can use, guides and yet the Raspberry Pi can change that. Of Code exist. So far it has given a crash course
on teaching yourself stuff and we’re likely to have “You have to consider the environment in which introduction to programming and has around 20
a professional development plan for teachers in teachers work: schools typically have computers million participants in the USA. It has, to date, also
time. For us, it’s important to lend support.” around five years out of date based on Windows,” had around 1.7 million people taking part in the UK.
Even so, the change has had a mixed reaction. says Philbin. “The network administrators keep With Code Clubs, Raspberry Jams up and down
It seems to captivate and yet scare some that tightly locked down. You can’t ping someone, the country, a wealth of online resources and
teachers. One told Linux User that he was keen to run an executable or compile code. It has been the government’s determination to see the new
learn more about the Raspberry Pi and introduce difficult to teach with that equipment.” curriculum succeed, it appears these initiatives
it into his lessons. He liked the inexpensive nature And yet, although the new curriculum have a great chance of affecting long-lasting
of the computer; he loved the accessibility of emphasises coding more than it has ever done change. The Pi, Philbin says, sparks inquisitiveness
Scratch and its use of Linux – but he did have before, programming isn’t, Philbin asserts, in children and they want to know what it is and
a concern. He was worried that the increased entirely the reason behind the change. It is as how it’s used. “When it loads and they start using it
demand would pile more stress on him and his much about demystifying coding, which is why – and start using Linux for the first time and begin
colleagues. He worried that he would not have the curriculum that is about to come into effect issuing commands to the computer – they begin
enough time to get himself up to speed. is flexible to a large extent, allowing for differing to understand and learn,” says Philbin. “With the
“The pressure on teachers is not coming approaches to the subject. But it is also about Pi, it’s also about controlling real-world things. It’s
from schools,” says Philbin. “Schools and senior ensuring teachers have a wide knowledge of versatile and that’s why teachers are realising that,
leaderships within schools are aware that this computing and the possibilities of it that they it may be small, but it’s so incredibly powerful.”
is happening and that teachers will need time to can pass on to kids. “There is a danger that some
adjust. I think it’s coming more from media that’s teachers will just use Scratch forever and it will
saying, ‘It’s coming in September and everything become the new PowerPoint and lead to ‘death by
7www.linuxuser.co.uk
006-007 Education.indd 7 21/03/2014 14:38
OpenSource
Your source of Linux news and views
www.linuxuser.co.uk
Email us directly…
For the latest news and views [email protected]
NEW RELEASE
Ubuntu 14.04 brings
major changes
Optional local menus,
Nouveau as standard,
but no Scopes
Canonical’s latest release of the Ubuntu Linux
distribution, long-term support version 14.04
‘Trusty Tahir’, brings with it considerable
change and preparatory work for what the
company sees as the inevitable melding of the
desktop and mobile environments.
Created out of a belief that long-standing
distribution Debian held too tightly to a slow
release schedule, Ubuntu launched in 2004
with the aim of releasing a new version every
six months. Since that time, founder Mark
Shuttleworth’s company Ubuntu has never
missed a launch deadline by more than a week
or so, and the distribution rapidly grew to the
point where it is generally recognised as the most
popular desktop Linux release.
The latest version, Ubuntu 14.04 ‘Trusty Tahir’,
■ Ubuntu 14.04, codename Trusty Tahir, brings with it considerable
shows that Canonical is at least attempting
change - and in at least one case, a functionality reversion
to listen to community concerns surrounding
its divisive Unity user interface. Perhaps the window, in place of the Mac OS-inspired global Not everything is changing with the new
biggest change in this release is, accordingly, menu found in the toolbar. This is provided as release, however. Founder Mark Shuttleworth
more of a reversion: Ubuntu 14.04 reintroduces a toggle option, with Canonical patching the has announced that the distribution will be
the ability to place menus in an application’s local majority of the bundled GNOME applications sticking with MySQL for its database platform,
to support the new method whereby menus rather than following its competition in the move
appear in the titlebar of applications when to non-Oracle forks like MariaDB. “Kudos to the
windowed and in the global panel when MySQL team at Oracle for engaging openly and
operating in fullscreen mode. in a friendly way, earning the trust of Ubuntu
Another major change in Ubuntu 14.04 lays the collaborators and giving us the confi dence to
groundwork for the next version of Unity, dubbed ship stable point releases in Ubuntu by default,”
Unity 8: the enabling of the open-source Nouveau Shuttleworth proclaimed of the move.
drivers by default, allowing systems based Another feature which has not appeared
around Nvidia GPUs to receive 3D acceleration in Ubuntu 14.04 is the Scopes technology for
support out of the box. The shift comes as Unity, a feature of Unity 8 which aims to make
Nvidia increases its presence in the open source it easier to present data through the Unity
community, contributing code to the Nouveau Dash on devices with varying display sizes and
project to allow support for its latest Tegra resolutions. Designed to help developers support
system-on-chip (SoC) processors. As in previous Ubuntu Touch, Canonical’s latest smartphone-
releases, users can also opt to install the binary- oriented operating system, Unity 8 with Scopes
■ Mark Shuttleworth praised Oracle and stated blob closed-source driver package from Nvidia is installable within Ubuntu 14.04 but will not ship
Ubuntu won’t be moving from MySQL soon for increased functionality and performance. by default until at least 14.10 in October this year.
8www.linuxuser.co.uk
008-011 News.indd 8 21/03/2014 13:56
News
The latest in the Linux community
OPEN SOURCE
RASPBERRY PI Linux calendar
Raspberry Pi turns two
Open Source, Open
Standards
and launches contest
» Business Design Centre, London
il » England
r
Foundation offers cash for binary-blob driver alternative p » opensourceconference.co.uk
A
d Aimed primarily at the public
The Raspberry Pi has offi cially turned two, As an incentive, the Foundation has pledged r sector, the Open Source, Open
marking the occasion with the announcement to pay $10,000 to the fi rst individual or group to 3 Standards conference is to
of an impressive 2.5 million units sold. release open-source graphics drivers capable include discussions on the
The low-cost ARM-based development board of running Quake III at a playable framerate on benefi ts achievable by migrating
to open source, open data, and
was originally projected to sell just 100,000 units the Pi. If you want to get involved, cmpetition
security and standards.
to interested parties, but its initial production details are available on raspberrypi.org.
run sold out in moments, leading to a race to fi nd
International Space
partners to produce more of the boards. Now,
Apps Challenge 2014
production is a global effort and yet demand
appears to be insatiable. ril » Exeter, London, Glasgow, York,
Still, there are those who dislike the board’s p Leicester
reliance on closed-source binary-blob software A » England
to drive its Broadcom BCM2835 system-on- h
t » metoffice.gov.uk/conference
chip (SoC) processor, however – and the not- 3 hackathons
1
for-profi t Raspberry Pi Foundation behind the
- Part of the larger NASA
board is among them. h International Space Apps
The Foundation has announced a contest t Challenge, the Met Offi ce is
2
to create open-source graphics drivers for the 1 running a series of hack days in
board, following the release of documentation the UK to work on space-related
for the VideoCore IV graphics stack found in a challenges with video links to
different BCM21553 processor. “It should be teams elsewhere in the world.
reasonably straightforward to port this to the ■ The Raspberry Pi could soon ditch its
BCM2835, allowing access to the graphics core rreelliiaannccee oonn cclloosseedd--ssoouurrccee ggrraapphhiiccss ddrriivveerrss openSUSE
without using the blob.” aass iitt hhiittss iittss sseeccoonndd bbiirrtthhddaayy il conference
r
p
A » University of Dubrovnik
UPDATES h » Croatia
Intel’s NUC gets 8t » conference.opensuse.org
2
- The offi cial conference of the
Linux update h openSUSE Linux distribution, this
t year’s event will include tracks
4 for technology and development,
2
community and project, end-user
Intel’s Next Unit of Computing (NUC) ultra-
and business interests.
compact motherboards have received a BIOS
update, fixing a bug that could prevent the
Embedded Linux
easy installation of Linux.
y
conference
The NUC boards, which pack desktop-like a
■ A BIOS fl aw that made installing Linux on M
power into a tiny form factor, had received Intel’s NUC boards a pain has been resolved » San Jose Marriott, California
considerable interest from Linux users, in t
s » USA
particular those interested in building compact The latest BIOS update for the boards, 1
gaming systems featuring Valve’s Linux-based which applies to the D54250WYK and - » events.linuxfoundation.org
l
SteamOS software. Unfortunately, a bug in D34010WYK NUC bare-bones kits and ri The tenth Embedded Linux
p Conference, sponsored by
the BIOS provided for the boards and bare- D54250WYB and D34010WYB NUC A ENEA, Google, HP and the Yocto
bones kits would prevent the installation of motherboards, resolves this issue. h Project, continues with its
Linux, with the system attempting to fi nd the The update is available to download from 9t founding premise of a vendor-
bootloader in an incorrect location. Intel’s support site now: http://intel.ly/Nn14eE. 2 neutral technical conference for
embedded Linux developers.
9www.linuxuser.co.uk
008-011 News.indd 9 21/03/2014 13:57
OpenSource
Your source of Linux news and views
www.linuxuser.co.uk
Email us directly…
For the latest news and views [email protected]
EDUCATION UPDATES
US school moves to Linux
Barman
robustness
Ubuntu installed on all 1,700 student laptops
boosted
The Penn Manor School in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania has announced that it is to
provide all its students with Acer TravelMate Barman, the open-source backup and
laptops featuring a pre-installed copy of recovery manager for the PostgreSQL
Ubuntu Linux 13.10. database platform, has now hit version
“Students are given full control of their 1.3.0 along with claims of signifi cantly
laptops. They are permitted to install improved robustness.
programs and experiment with software,” the According to project lead 2ndQuadrant,
school explained in its announcement of the the new release includes an entirely
■ Students are given a laptop loaded with
programme. “They are expected, and trusted, new code infrastructure for output, sub-
Ubuntu 13.10 and a training session
to abide by copyright laws and district policies. processes, remote commands, fi le system
Programme expectations, guidelines, best The use of Linux in place of a proprietary hooks and metadata management.
practices and digital citizen tips were reviewed operating system brings benefi ts beyond The new version also modifi es remote
with all students last December.” freedom to experiment, too: the school has recovery code to behave in-line with local
“We encourage our students to install claimed that its use of Ubuntu 13.10 in the 1:1 recovery and includes correct handling
software and lift the hood of the system to better laptop programme will result in annual savings of of tablespaces that had been created
understand what makes it tick,” Charlie Reisinger, around $360,000 in software licensing fees alone. inside the PGDATA directory in order to
the district’s technology director, explained in an Penn Manor School is no stranger to Linux: prevent content duplication.
interview with Linux.com. “I hope our students three years ago the school looked to replace its As with all its previous versions, Barman
run local webservers, toy with Python or simply classroom machines with Linux OS’ and open 1.3.0 is released under the GNU General
explore graphics programs such as GIMP. source applications. From elementary level and Public Licence 3 and is available to
Linux offers so many opportunities to explore working its way up, the project is now complete download from pgbarman.org.
computing, programming, and the arts.” with the roll-out of the 1,725 student laptops.
HARDWARE
Mozilla announces £15 Firefox OS phone
Ultra low-cost devices aimed at emerging markets
The Mozilla Foundation has announced TThhee ££1155 hhaannddsseett,, wwhhiicchh iiss eexxppeecctteedd ttoo llaauunncchh
another device based on its Firefox OS ttoowwaarrddss tthhee eenndd ooff tthhiiss yyeeaarr,, iiss ttoo bbee jjooiinneedd bbyy aa
software, but this one comes with a unique hhiigghheerr--eenndd rreeffeerreennccee ddeevviiccee dduubbbbeedd tthhee FFllaammee
selling point: it will retail for around £15. aanndd ffeeaattuurriinngg aa dduuaall--ccoorree 11..22GGHHzz QQuuaallccoomm
Powered by an ARM Cortex-A15 processor MMSSMM88221100 pprroocceessssoorr,, aa 44..55--iinncchh FFWWVVGGAA ddiissppllaayy,,
running at 1GHz behind a 3.5in display, the fifi vvee--mmeeggaappiixxeell rreeaarr--ffaacciinngg aanndd ttwwoo--mmeeggaappiixxeell
handset is undeniably low-end. Despite ffrroonntt--ffaacciinngg ccaammeerraass,, 88GGBB ooff ssttoorraaggee aanndd uupp ttoo
its low cost, it includes all the required 11GGBB ooff RRAAMM,, wwhhiicchh ccaann bbee ttoogggglleedd ddoowwnn aass llooww
features such as mobile broadband and aass 225566MMBB ttoo aallllooww ddeevveellooppeerrss ttoo eeaassiillyy tteesstt tthheeiirr
voice, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. aapppplliiccaattiioonnss ffoorr ssuuiittaabbiilliittyy oonn llooww--eenndd ddeevviicceess..
Like the previously-launched ZTE Open, WWhhiillee ZZTTEE ssaaww ssaalleess ooff iittss OOppeenn FFiirreeffooxx
the handset runs the Linux-based Firefox OS OOSS hhaannddsseett eexxcceeeedd ssuuppppllyy wwhheenn iitt llaauunncchheedd
software. Designed to compete with Android at oonn tthhee eeBBaayy aauuccttiioonn ssiittee llaasstt yyeeaarr,, ddeemmaanndd ■■ TThhee FFiirreeffooxx OOSS
the low end of the market, Firefox OS allows any qquuiicckkllyy ttaaiilleedd ooffff.. IIssssuueess wwiitthh tthhee qquuaalliittyy ooff ssmmaarrttpphhoonnee wwiillll
HTML5-based applet to be turned into a mobile- tthhee ssccrreeeenn,, ppeerrffoorrmmaannccee aanndd bbuuggss iinn tthhee rreettaaiill ffoorr aarroouunndd
ready app - making it as easy as possible for web eeaarrllyy--rreelleeaassee FFiirreeffooxx OOSS ssooffttwwaarree iittsseellff wweerree ££1155,, aaiimmeedd
developers to create content for the devices, bbllaammeedd,, bbuutt tthhee FFoouunnddaattiioonn iiss ccoonnfifi ddeenntt aatt eemmeerrggiinngg
the not-for-profi t Mozilla Foundation claims. iitt hhaass iirroonneedd tthheessee oouutt ffoorr ffuuttuurree ddeevviicceess.. mmaarrkkeettss
10www.linuxuser.co.uk
008-011 News.indd 10 21/03/2014 13:57