Dual-Boot GNU/Linux and Android

• Planet Computers' clamshell phone can dual-boot Android and Linux

  Planet Computers' laptop-like Cosmo Communicator phone just became that much more useful to its audience of very particular power users. The Cosmo now supports a promised multi-boot function, letting you run Android (both regular and rooted), Debian Linux and TWRP on the same device without one replacing the other. You'll have to partition your storage and know your way around a boot menu, but this will give you a way to run Linux apps or otherwise experiment with your phone. You won't lose over-the-air updates for Android by installing Linux, Planet Computers said. The multi-boot firmware is available for free, and there are instructions for installing Debian and other software. This still isn't for the faint-hearted. However, it also represents one of the few instances where a phone maker has officially enabled support for operating systems besides the one that ships with the device. The Cosmo is also fairly well-suited to Linux thanks to its keyboard -- you won't have to jump through hoops to use the command line.

• How can IT manage Android Things devices in the enterprise?

  Recent versions of Google's Android OS support a wider range of devices via the Android Things program's APIs and managing some of the newer devices can seem complicated at first. Thankfully, the underlying OS is essentially the same on all Android devices, so the EMM platform management and enrollment processes are usually similar for Android Things devices. The challenge for mobile admins is to develop a version of Android -- using the Android SDK and Android Things APIs -- that functions on these dedicated devices.

Update on Linux support: creation of a CERN Linux community forum

For those, a CERN Linux community forum has been created. Users will be able to post issues that they encounter when using non-CERN-supported Linux distributions and to post solutions. Users are also encouraged to post articles with comments and ideas that could help make this forum more dynamic and useful to them. Various methods for printing and using AFS, SSH, ROOT and other tools at CERN can be found on the internet. The CERN Linux community forum aims to collect these methods, as well as new ones that may be created directly in it.

Python Programming

• Introduction to Python SQL Libraries

  All software applications interact with data, most commonly through a database management system (DBMS). Some programming languages come with modules that you can use to interact with a DBMS, while others require the use of third-party packages. In this tutorial, you’ll explore the different Python SQL libraries that you can use. You’ll develop a straightforward application to interact with SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL databases.

• Introduction to Image Processing in Python with OpenCV

  In this tutorial, we are going to learn how we can perform image processing using the Python language. We are not going to restrict ourselves to a single library or framework; however, there is one that we will be using the most frequently, the Open CV library. We will start off by talking a little about image processing and then we will move on to see different applications/scenarios where image processing can come in handy. So, let's begin!

• Talking to API's and goodlooking tools

  One of my go-to locations for security news had a thread recently about a tool called VTScan. I really liked the idea of not having to go through the browser overhead to check files against multiple scan engines. Although the tool (which is itself a basic vt-cli spinoff) already existed, I was looking for a new challenge, I decided to roll my own and add a few cool features! I'll have a thorough look at how python talks to API's with requests and I look at turning all this API data into a nice GUI application with click. I hope to give you some idea's for CLI styling in the future so I can see more awesome tools by you all!

• From a rejected Pycon talk to a new project.

  Like many others, my talk proposal (early draft here) for Pycon US was rejected. So, I decided to spend some time putting everything in a new project instead. (Documentation here.) It is still a rough draft, but usable ... and since I've mentioned it in a few other places, I thought I should mention it here as well.

Games: Humble Store, Bully: Scholarship and DOSBox

• Humble Store has a 'Tabletop Sale' going, some good Linux games on offer

  It's the start of another glorious week for Linux gaming and another big sale is going on again. Over on the Humble Store, they have a Tabletop Sale now live.

• How to play Bully: Scholarship Edition on Linux

  Bully: Scholarship Edition is a remaster of Rockstar Game’s “Bully,” a game about a young kid working his way through the social hierarchy of high school, meeting girls, making friends, and causing mischief. The game is an open world, which is typical of Rockstar. Here’s how to get it working on your Linux PC.

• DOSBox – Run classic DOS games on your Linux PC

  DOSBox is an open-source software that creates a virtual MS-DOS compatible environment, including sound, graphics, and basic networking. It enables you to run DOS applications without any modifications. Using this wonderful app, you can run your classic DOS games and compilers like Wolfenstein 3D, Prince of Persia, Turbo C++, and MASM on your Linux PC. DOSBox makes use of Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL), a library designed to allow low-level access to hardware components like a mouse, keyboards, sound system, and graphics. It has made the whole process of porting easier to various platforms. Currently, DOSBox runs on several platforms like different Linux, Windows, and macOS.