Issue 30: Your Cloud: Set Up Your Very Own Online Storage

It’s Linux’s 25th birthday and issue 30 of Ubuntu User. Time to reminisce.

Meizu is well known for its generously equipped smartphones and excellent workmanship. The previous generation, Meizu MX4, was also a powerful device that ran with Ubuntu. However, inadequate software support prevented the MX4 from realizing its full potential. With the release of the Pro 5, do things work better this time around?

This month we bring to you something special: an encyclopedic DVD with 3,000 pages of practical Ubuntu knowledge.

Putting stuff in the cloud is nice and convenient; that is, if you don't mind having your privacy constantly put in jeopardy. There is, however, a way of having the best of both worlds …

ownCloud makes it possible to operate a private cloud on an intranet of almost any size. All you need is a standard LAMP environment, which comes with almost every Linux server.

Most cloud solutions for small networks are based on ownCloud or, less frequently, Seafile. Pydio is the third open source product trying to gain a foothold as a cloud solution.

Leading ownCloud developers, including the project founder Frank Karlitschek, became dissatisfied with the direction of the project, so they started Nextcloud, a fork of the code and a new company. The goal is to create a better balance among the company, clients, and users. We take a look at how Nextcloud is faring.

These package systems have names that make them sound like they could be crunchy candy bars, but in fact, they are formats that could revolutionize software installation.

The latest release of Parrot Security OS has some extremely colorful plumage, which will appeal to both hackers and lay users interested in their systems' safety.

What are the IP addresses for your router, laptop, and coffee maker? Clever Linux tools come to the rescue to help you get this information.

There are often long delays before the customary distributions deliver new KDE versions. KDE and openSUSE now offer images for enthusiasts that have the most current KDE packages.

Elaborate video compositing, blue screen tricks, and other complex video effects normally only appear in high-priced programs like Adobe After Effects, Nuke, or Fusion. Natron is open source, free, and gives high-priced alternatives a run for their money.

Linux systems are well suited for use as a robust platform for computing work and software development. When it comes to gaming, however, most people prefer Windows. Current 3D games with and without Steam support show that this is no longer the case.

Dasher users learn to "type" smoothly without a keyboard. The program works with mouse, touchpad, mouth and eye movement, and (soon) brain-computer interfaces.

If you want to remove areas from a motif inconspicuously, then plugins like Resynthesizer and G'MIC can help by providing the right tools.

Extracting objects from an image is one of the most important techniques for image editing that exists. Gimp offers an entire series of these tools to help you do this.

Ubuntu 16.04 offers almost no changes to the installation process. But, in case you are new to Ubuntu, we'll walk you through upgrading or installing the latest release.

With NetworkManager, you can access the Internet during the Ubuntu installation process. The first step is to download updates to make your system more secure.

The new Ubuntu Software app lets you install just about anything, including free software, purchased apps, and games.

You can watch movies, play music and place calls over the Internet with ease with Ubuntu. You just have to load the right software packages onto your computer. We present some of our favorite multimedia apps.