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What's the best Linux BitTorrent app?

TuxRadar — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:04:52 +0100

Not all BitTorrent apps are made equal. Yes, there's a big range of features such as support for encryption and random port access, but at the same there's also a huge range of speeds - some BitTorrent apps are simply much faster than others. To save you the time of trying them all to find which one works best, we've done it for you: we've put the best BitTorrent apps through their paces, and tried to find which one offers the blend of features and speed that makes it stand out from the rest.

So, if you want to make the most of your internet connection, read on!

Podcast Season 2 Episode 16

TuxRadar — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:52:32 +0100

Title: Mike May Vary

In this episode: Sony was legally allowed to remove the 'Other OS' feature from the Playstation 3, according to Australian lawmakers. Glibc is now really free and KSplice gets into Fedora. We report back from the mid-point of our games development challenge, and ask, what's your favourite Linux improvement?

Open Ballot: what's your favourite Linux improvement?

TuxRadar — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:05:16 +0100

We're gearing up to record our next podcast, and we want you - yes YOU! - to contribute your views in our Open Ballot section. This time the question is, out of all the changes we've seen in the Linux world in the last year, what's your favourite? If you want to go big and say "all of Fedora 13", or if you want to go small and cite the SSE improvements introduced into Glibc 2.11, we don't mind as long as your stick to our simple rules: keep it short, and use a name other than "Anonymous Penguin."

So, if you want your opinion in our podcast, post a comment below!

Reviewed: Linux Mint 9 KDE

TuxRadar — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:17:49 +0100

Ubuntu is dominating the mindshare for desktop distros, but there’s still a place for rivals – even those built on the Ubuntu foundation – to take things in different directions. Mint attempts to create a more polished desktop with a focus on usability and elegance. The core version, like Ubuntu, is based on Gnome, but is accompanied by packages based on other environments – in this case, KDE. But the big question is, can a KDE flavoured Mint do better than Kubuntu? Read on to find out.

Reviewed: KDE 4.5

TuxRadar — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:54:01 +0100

Trepidation. That about sums up the feeling of upgrading to a new version of KDE. You want to like it, but are afraid that whatever has been fixed will be counterbalanced by something rather sucky. This version of KDE has seen 16,022 bugs fixed and 1,723 new feature requests added, so the balance is in favour of not-sucky. Or is it?

Podcast Season 2 Episode 15

TuxRadar — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:36:06 +0100

Title: Gnaborretni

In this episode: Ubuntu 10.10 is going to add gesture support and 11.04 is going to be called the Natty Narwhal. Debian 6.0 has been feature frozen while Oracle sets its sights on Google. Discover how we fared with our Nethack challenge and how we filled the Open Ballot section without an Open Ballot.

Reviewed: Pandora Console

TuxRadar — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:03:54 +0100

If you're familiar with the original GP2X and GP2X Wiz, the Linux-based handhelds produced by Korean techno-alchemists Game Park Holdings, you'll be acutely aware of just how close they came to greatness; both consoles suffered from compromises that prevented them from truly fulfilling their potential. Interestingly, some of the guys in charge of distributing these two machines internationally felt the same way and back in 2008 they set about creating their own dream machine that would avoid the pitfalls that afflicted those two consoles. Read on to discover whether it was worth the effort.

Podcast Season 2 Episode 14

TuxRadar — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:46:32 +0100

Title: KDelay

In this episode: Gnome 3.0 has been delayed while the Gnome team releases its first census results. KDE 4.5 should be here, and Mark Shuttleworth dislikes tribalism. Discover our new 'You Dare Us' challenge, and we reveal our discoveries from the last two weeks. Finally, hear us discuss one of the most compelling Open Ballots in living memory.

Open Ballot: what would you change about Linux?

TuxRadar — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:17:06 +0100

We're gearing up to record a new episode of our great Linux podcast, and you - yes, you! - get to have a say. The question we're asking is this: if you had the resources, what single thing would you change? Would you merge KDE and Gnome? Would you introduce a new package manager? (eek!) Would you find all mentions of "Linux" and replace it with GNU/Linux?

If you'd like your views read out on our podcast, please post your answer below. Make sure you include a name, and please avoid running off a large list - pick one thing and one thing only!

Reviewed: OpenSUSE 11.3

TuxRadar — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:23:43 +0100

The recent series of OpenSUSE releases seems to have been oscillating between trying to deliver the finest up-to-date apps and providing the easiest, most intuitive experience for users. History tells us that it's hard to do both simultaneously, but this release might just have managed to pull it off. We reckon it's worth 9 out of 10 - but why?

Linux Format wallpapers

TuxRadar — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:43:13 +0100

Updated: We've had a number of reader requests to make available some of the imagery we use in Linux Format magazine. Naturally we're happy to share with you all, so we've put this page online where we'll upload artwork as it's requested.

The URL for this page is fixed so you can come back here and check for updates later. As with our podcast, we're releasing this artwork under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0, so feel free to monkey with it if you want.

Android vs iPhone vs Palm Pre vs Maemo: which is best?

TuxRadar — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:48:54 +0100

In-depth comparison: We've looked at three Linux-based phones that give the iPhone a run for its money. There's the Palm Pre, running WebOS; Nokia's Maemo 5-based N900, and the HTC Legend, running Android. Each is a strong challenger to Apple's device, and they beat it today in significant areas. So, which is best for you?

Reviewed: KOffice 2.2

TuxRadar — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:01:28 +0100

Over the last 12 years KOffice has grown in scope and ambition pushing out both good and bad iterations and occasionally suffering from hyperbolic claims that it had no chance in hell of satisfying.

Version 2.2 of the suite, which comprises KWord, KPresent, KSpread, KPlato (project manager), Krita (image editor) and the prodigal Kexi (database), comes into a very changed world. Desktop applications now face serious competition from cloud-based offerings, Microsoft no longer seems indomitable, and mobile has become a vital platform. We put KOffice 2.2 through its paces - read on to find out more.

Podcast Season 2 Episode 13

TuxRadar — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:01:21 +0100

Title: Live from OSCON.

In this episode: A SCO representative finally reveals some of the Linux code SCO had a problem with and OpenSUSE 11.3 is here. Listen to the results of our new challenge, and we ask whether the likes of Red Hat, Novell and Canonical contribute enough back to the community.

How to create an open source community

TuxRadar — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:12:45 +0100

Community. This little nine-letter word is the lifeblood of open source. Barely a day goes by without some aspect of it impacting our lives, be that via Linux, a local book club, your closest group of friends or any one of a million other places. In an age when anyone over 45 seems to have stories about the end of local communities, the open source community is thriving.

But there's not a huge blob of people called 'the open source community'. Instead, there are thousands of smaller groups, each interested in a specific portion of the wider community - such as documentation, translations, local advocacy, mapping, testing, gaming or programming. There's a phenomenal diversity of contributions, despite our common aims. And while each group focuses in on its particular area, each segment fits together like a jigsaw puzzle to form the global open source movement we know and love.

Most of us enter this community by installing Linux, playing around with it and realising we want to contribute. Then we figure out what kind of contributions interest us and look for a community that suits our preferences. Often, we find the perfect place to contribute, but sometimes we reach a dead end or, even worse, stumble upon a community that's doing nothing.

Here, we'll look at how to build a community. Whether you want to help an existing but struggling one get back on its feet or create an entirely new group, the next six pages are designed for you. Everything here can be applied to both online and offline communities, from technical software communities to local book clubs. So go grab yourself a cup of coffee, sneak a biscuit, and get ready to build an empire...

TaskJuggler: a tutorial

TuxRadar — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:47:06 +0100

TaskJuggler is a complete project management solution in that you can use it right from the planning stage through to project completion. It offers comprehensive reports and makes it easy to manage tasks, costs and resources. You can follow the exploits of each of the teams working on the project and determine instantly where you need to allocate more workers to make sure you stay on course. Want to learn how to use it? Then read on!

Z shell made easy

TuxRadar — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:31:43 +0100

Following on from our other articles that make various Linux tasks easy, in this article we'll introduce Zsh (Z shell), a shell that has many of the benefits of Bash and others, plus a lot more on top. After reading this, you'll have a good idea about the power of Zsh and will be able to make an informed decision whether to switch from your distro's default shell. We'll be looking more at the interactive use of Zsh, and less at non‑interactive shell scripts - that is, we'll focus on daily use, and not on scripting and automating tasks.

Podcast Season 2 Episode 12

TuxRadar — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:13:13 +0100

Title: The shortest episode, ever.

In this episode: The first Mozilla 4 beta is here while Nokia is moving rapidly forward with MeeGo for mobiles. We report back on our You Dare Us challenge and hear Paul tackle Python.

Mandriva is alive!

TuxRadar — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:43:24 +0100

Finally, after weeks of uncertainty, we've just received a press release from Mandriva, and we're pasting it verbatim so you can read the news for yourselves. Let us know what you think this all means.

Podcast Season 2 Episode 11

TuxRadar — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:37:34 +0100

Title: The one without Andrew, mostly.

In this episode: Google releases its own command-line tool, Ubuntu drops F-Spot, and has anyone seen Mandriva? Listen to the results of our haiku challenge, and we ask, do you use open source software for freedom or function?