Linux Journal March 2012

by Dave Taylor, Kyle Rankin (Editor), Bill Childers (Editor)

A quick overview of what's in this special Mobile Computing Code in the Cloud with an iPad + Linode* A Look at Plasma Active, KDE's New Desktop for Tablets* Extending IRC to Mobile Devices* Play and Manage Music from the Command Line* Explore the New Face of Thin ClientsDetailed Mobile When Size MattersTechnology is funny. Not too many years ago, the goal was to make acell phone as tiny as technologically possible. Now, phones like the GalaxyNote are striving for aircraft-carrier size. This month, whether you wantto embed a phone into your sneaker or play hopscotch in orderto dial your buddy, we've got you covered. Mobile devices can do almostanything traditional computer systems can do, and oftentimes, they can do itbetter.Reuven M. Lerner starts the issue off with logging. No, he doesn't show how tocut down trees with your Razr, but rather he talks about the importance ofmaking applications that keep a log. Logs are really pointless, until youneed them. Then, they're invaluable. If you need more convincing, listen toReuven; you can trust him to lead you in the right direction. Dave Taylor,on the other hand, I don't recommend trusting—at least not in a game ofScrabble. Dave continues his series on how to be a lying, cheating, filthy,jerk—for educational purposes only, of course! In all seriousness, Daveexplores some really cool scripting using a very practical, if nefarious,object lesson.Our king of nefarious, Kyle Rankin, finishes his series on passwordcracking in this issue. By this time, you've all learned how to do brute-forceattacks with a GPU, so Kyle spends this month explaining how to tweakthings so you can get the mosthack for your buck. I follow Kyle's "educational" article with the secondinstallment of my new column, The Open-Source Classroom. This month, Istart a series on LTSP. Thin clients have evolved a lot since I startedusing them back in 2001 or so. I'll walk you through setting up a lab, andin the next few issues, I'll teach you how to tweak the system. Kyle probablywill follow up with a tutorial on using the distributed CPU power of thin clientsto break in to the local 7-11, but you'll have to wait and see.Mark O'Connor shows how to use Linux on an iPad. No, probably not howyou think, but rather, he explains how to use Linode on an iPad in order todo your work in the cloud. If you want the convenience of an iPad with thepower and flexibility of Linux, Mark's solution is worth a look. BillChilders does a similar feat with his article on IRC proxying to mobiledevices. I've been using Irssi in a Screen session for all my instantmessaging for a few months now, but I'll admit it's rough when I'm out andabout. Logging in to Irssi on a software-keyboard over SSH isn't terriblyfun on a phone. Bill describes how to get the best of both worlds, and atthe same time!Rebecca "Ruji" Chapnik also delves into the command line, but instead ofbridging IRC to a mobile device, she shows how to play music from theconsole. Many Linux users think Ncurses is as GUI as an application everneeds to get (ahem, Kyle Rankin), and Rebecca shows how to use thecommand line to its fullest extent. Stuart Jarvis heads in the oppositedirection and talks about Plasma Active. Tablet computing is still quiteyoung, and the interfaces we use on touchscreen devices are far fromperfect.

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2012

About the author

Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since it was the ARPAnet and is recognized globally as an expert on technical and business topics. He has been published over a thousand times, launched four Internet-related startups, written more than twenty business and technical books and has an MBA and MS Ed.

He runs the popular YouTube consumer electronics review channel AskDaveTaylor, is a columnist for the Boulder Daily Camera and appears in other publications both online and in print. Dave teaches undergrad and graduate courses on marketing, public speaking, film, and media & society at the University of Denver, where he's also a recognized Leader in Teaching Excellence.

Based in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, Dave is an award-winning speaker, sought-after conference and workshop participant, and frequent guest on radio and podcast programs, an active member of his community and father to three young adults who are themselves also avid readers.

You can find Dave online at AskDaveTaylor.com and catch up on his latest film, game, and car reviews at PlanetDave.com.