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Lock out hackers

Surely we don't need to worry about security when we use Linux? Sadly we do, and in an increasingly inhospitable network environment, you need these tools. (Graham Morrison)
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The problem with desktop Linux

Every year since 1993 has been predicted to be the year of Linux on the desktop. But what's needed to make that happen? (Paul Hudson)
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Unisys opens up

Global computing groups don't announce major Linux strategies every day, and it's rarer still do do so on the Cote d'Azur... (Graham Morrison)
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The Linux diaries

Freak wormhole gives Linux Format readers an exclusive preview of a distropian future! (Paul Hudson)
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Sudoku - the LXF bounty

Write a Sudoku solver, and win a share of £500! (N/A)
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Interview: Mark Shuttleworth

He has transformed the Debian community by putting his money where his mouth is. The result is Ubuntu, but why was it started, where is it going in the future, and what does its success mean for Debian? (Mike Saunders, Nick Veitch)
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Security toolkit

Trustix, Smoothwall Express and security software galore. Plus: CentOS 4.1, Gnome 2.10.2, KOffice 1.4, GCC 4.0, Nezuiz (Mike Saunders)
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HotPicks

Afick, Datakiosk, FunBlobReturn, Gnome Power Manager, GNU Wget, Kazehakase, Kdissert, Newton, OpenPKG, The Sheep Killer (Mike Saunders)
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Compression: Ark and File Roller

In which a smallerified Andy Channelle spends too long playing with the excellent compression software available on Linux. Dial-up readers: let this be a warning to you. (Andy Channelle)
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Gel effects in Gimp

Text doesn't have to be flat. We show you how to use layers, filters, curves and blurs in the Gimp to turn the ordinary into the eye-catching. (Michael J Hammel)
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Custom appearances in Emacs

Part 3: Bored with your Emacs interface? Add a little flair to your editor's look and feel. (Biagio Lucini)
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Perl: Flow, files and reports

Part 3: Here we introduce techniques for sophisticated Perl scripting. (Marco Fioretti)
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Gambas: Easy database access

Part 1: Do you need to build a nice GUI front-end for your database? Have you only got ten minutes to do it? Gambas is here to help. (Mark Bain)
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PHP: SimpleXML and XPath

In another cheap attempt to give you all a leg-up in Sudoku bounty, we delve into the use of XML files for fun and profit. (Paul Hudson)
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KOffice 1.4

Integration? Check. Customisation? Check. Compatibilisation? Er... The KOffice family work well together, but it's their lack of cross-platform ability that worries us. (Andy Channelle)
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SmoothWall Corporate Firewall 4

With an old workstation and some Cat5, David has his eyes on security. (David Coulson)
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Amarok 1.3

How much is too much? We check out the most feature-laden media player ever released. (Andy Channelle)
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Dolce Music Flash Cards

It lacks decorum and won't help you make sweet music, but we try it anyway... (Paul Hudson)
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Master Math Word Problems

If Paul has a day to review a program, and that program takes 20 minutes to review, how time does he spend playing Crack Attack? (Paul Hudson)
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VariCAD 2005

Its version numbers are now date-based - but has anything else changed? (Nick Veitch)
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File managers

Looking for a replacement to ls, mv, cp and rm? No? Well you should be? Here's eight of the best: Endeavour Mark 2, FSViewer, Gentoo, Konqueror, Midnight Commander, Nautilus, ROX-filer, Xfe (Richard Smedley)
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News: The last hurrah for SCO?

Emails whizz by, declarations contradict, and tempers get ever more frayed. Plus: Darwinia delay, Linspire pre-installs, Sun's Linux commitment questioned, $10 million for Ubuntu Foundation, Linux From Scratch updated Linux supercomputers (Andy Channelle)
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What on Earth: Cairo

Actually, it's a vector graphics library that will revolutionise the way Linux applications create graphical output - we'll fill you in. (Richard Drummond)
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