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Issue 109 (September 2008) - SUSE: Back on top?

Features

• SUSE: Back on top? - It's been in the wilderness for a while, and now it's back. But does SUSE 11 have what it takes to beat Ubuntu in the battle for your desktop? (Paul Hudson)
  
• Error messages explained - We decode the secret meaning behind the most common Linux error messages and help you cure the problems in the process. (Graham Morrison)
  
• Libre Graphics 2008 - Talented artists, developers and Nick joined forces recently for the third annual graphics get-together - here's what happened. (Nick Veitch)
  
• Linux in business - A former Head of IT at Cray and IT Director at Symantec tells us why Microsoft is about to create thousands of new Linux users... (James Litton)
  
• Free music making - Instead of just writing about Linux, Daniel decided to get out there and help a local school with its IT. Here's how he got on. (Daniel James)
  
• Dr Brown's Administeria - Distributed replicated block devices, Kickstart preseeding, and upstart boot system handling (Chris Brown)
  

Coverdisc

• Dual-booting DVD - OpenSUSE 11.0 and Linux Mint 5.0 - two fresh, hip distros. Plus: 64 Studio 2.1, Linux newcomer guides and over 50 great apps (Mike Saunders)
  
• HotPicks - Psychosynth, BlueProximity, Paperbox, EiffelStudio, Wormux, NPush, TuxGuitar, BG-Tiny Linux Bootdisk, YAGTD, Zile (Richard Smedley)
  

Tutorials

• First steps - Explore the Flock social web browser, and get gadgets with Google Desktop (Andy Channelle)
  
• Eee PC: Switch your distro - Need more versatility than the stock Xandros distribution? We explain how to get a new flavour on your micro laptop. (Mike Saunders)
  
• Gimp: Work with your camera - Gimp can do all sorts of advanced image editing, but many people only want to do the basics. We plug in our camera and Gimp up some photos. (Michael J Hammel)
  
• Rails: Add Web 2.0 features - Part 2: With our gallery now covering the basics, we show you how to use cool Ajax techniques and Ruby on Rails helpers to gain instant Web 2.0 credibility. (Alex Young)
  
• Python: Build a GUI for Festival - Python and Qt are perfect for rapid application development - and to prove it, we make a speech synthesis GUI app with a mere 60 lines of code. (Graham Morrison)
  

Reviews

• Penumbra: Black Plague - Dingy corridors? Blood-stained walls? Half-human zombies? No, Nick escapes LXF Towers for the day to immerse himself in a new 3D adventure. (Nick Veitch)
  
• Qnap TS-409 Turbo - Graham finds a 4TB network attached storage device to accommodate his growing collection of generative music files. (Graham Morrison)
  
• JBuilder 2008 - In a break from the convoluted world of C++/Qt, Graham takes a refresher course in brewing coffee, and even finds time to develop some software. (Graham Morrison)
  
• CrossOver Linux 7 - Could this be the one application that enables timid Windows users to make the switch to Linux? We load up Office 2007 and find out... (Simon Pickstock)
  
• Blender 2.46 - Watch out VariCAD. Cinema 4D - run and hide. We're drooling over the gorgeous new render that just appeared instantly from this new build of Blender. (Ben Harling)
  
• Number crunchers - On test: Euler Math Toolbox, Matlab, Octave, Sage, Scilab (Will Tribbey)
  
• Book: C++ GUI Programming with Qt4 - Graham builds a Qt cross-platform app without the help of this book. (Graham Morrison)
  
• Book: Practical Ruby Projects - Genetic algorithms with Ruby? We're intrigued! (Andy Hudson)
  
• Book: Ubuntu Linux Toolbox - Looking to supplement his arsenal, Andy finds this CLI-only book. (Andy Hudson)
  

More

• News: Nokia buys Symbian - Mobile phone giant gears up for titanic struggle against Androids, Blackberries and Apples. Plus: LiPS and LiMo merge, HP opens up Tru64 AdvFS, kernel hackers sign anti-proprietary driver statement, Red Hat's financial outlook (Andy Channelle)
  
• Distrowatch: Great Geeko! - OpenSUSE 11.0 features a new installer, re-written Zypp software manager and cutting-edge 3D eye candy. Plus: Linux Mint 5, Zenwalk 5.2, and distro user stats (Susan Linton)
  
• What on Earth: TimeVault - Get your Mr Fusion and flux capacitor at the ready, and join us on a time-travelling journey through the Linux filesystem... (Mike Saunders)