LinuxCommand.org: Tips, News And Rants

The Chromebook Pixel and the Meaning of it All

2013-03-07T11:59:00.000-05:00

I’m typing this on a Chromebook Pixel. It’s not mine. I borrowed it from my good friend Norman. To start out, I will say that the Pixel is a very nice piece of hardware. It’s extremely well made, has a beautiful display, a pleasing keyboard, and a wonderful touchpad. However, it costs 5 times as much as the new Samsung Chromebook and I’m not sure the Pixel is 5 times better. But even at it’

2012: What a Year for Linux

2012-12-13T13:38:00.001-05:00

Another great year for Linux! Happy Holidays!

The Pioneers of UNIX

2012-10-18T12:52:00.000-04:00

Steve Jobs? Steve Jobs didn't do jack. If you want to know who is responsible for the modern world you have to look at the people working at Bell Labs in the 1970s and 1980s. The people who created UNIX. It was from that invention that we have the modern world. UNIX led to Linux which led to Android. UNIX led to the BSD family of operating systems which led to Apple OSX. UNIX led to the C

new_script Version 3

2012-10-14T17:10:00.000-04:00

The most popular script on the old version of LinuxCommand.org was new_script, a bash shell script that created bash shell scripts. That is, a script template generator. A few months ago I rewrote new_script to modernize it and make better use of bash features, including arrays. The new version is less than half the length of the previous version and yet it does more. Using new_script will save

My Raspberry Pi Adventure

2012-10-04T13:11:00.000-04:00

Last Christmas, my friend Norman Robinson gave me a BeagleBoard-xM computer to play with. The BeagleBoard is a small, single-board, ARM-based computer. As I started to work with it I was impressed with its relative performance and low-power consumption. However, due to its price (approx. $150), I didn't think it represented a tremendous value. After all, I only paid $199 for by HP Mini netbook

Unity Tutorial Video

2012-09-27T14:44:00.000-04:00

I came across this 27-minute Unity tutorial a few weeks back. If you you are using Ubuntu 12.04, or are considering it, check it out. It is pretty through and explains many of its hidden features. Unity remains controversial and I have mixed feelings about it myself. I think that application discovery is more difficult when using the dash than it is using the previous pull-down menu system.

Announcing LinuxCommand.org Version 3

2012-05-08T15:53:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend I went live with a major revision to the LinuxCommand.org site. This update modernizes and improves the tutorials and simplifies the site to bring its content into sharper focus. Both the Learning The Shell and Writing Shell Scripts tutorials have been updated and now incorporate some material from the book. The order of the lessons has also been slightly revised. A few

How Linux Is Made

2012-04-04T10:06:00.000-04:00

The Linux Foundation has released a short video that explains (in very high-level terms) the Linux kernel development process. It goes on to tout Linux as the dominating platform for smart phones, supercomputers, web commerce, and enterprise infrastructure.

Announcing The Linux Command Line from No Starch Press

2012-01-11T12:30:00.000-05:00

Starting today, the printed version of The Linux Command Line will be published by No Starch Press. It is available now wherever fine books are sold, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In October of 2010 I received an email from an editor at No Starch saying that they were impressed with my book and asked if I would be interested in commercially publishing it. This started a long

Evolution of shells in Linux

2011-12-07T16:31:00.000-05:00

A brief article on the IBM developerWorks site about the history of Unix shell programs and their Linux implementations:Evolution of shells in Linux:'via Blog this'

The Strange Birth and Long Life of Unix - IEEE Spectrum

2011-12-02T13:58:00.000-05:00

For those of you interested in where the basic concepts and design (but not code!) in Linux comes from, here is a great article in IEEE Spectrum on the development and history of Unix.The Strange Birth and Long Life of Unix - IEEE Spectrum:'via Blog this'

Stop SOPA

2011-11-16T14:36:00.001-05:00

I just emailed Congress to urge them to oppose the Internet Blacklist Legislation, known as the PROTECT-IP Act in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House. This legislation seeks to give the executive branch power to conduct slash-and-burn campaigns against websites that allegedly host – or even link to – content that infringes on intellectual property rights. That would “

Two decades of productivity: Vim's 20th anniversary

2011-11-02T11:24:00.000-04:00

Two decades of productivity: Vim's 20th anniversary: The Vim text editor was first released to the public on November 2, 1991—exactly 20 years ago today. Although it was originally designed as a vi clone for the Amiga, it was soon ported to other platforms and eventually grew to become the most popular vi-compatible text editor. It is still actively developed and widely used across several

Installing Linux on a 386 Laptop

2011-08-13T12:44:00.000-04:00

I saw an interesting article today. A DIY project installing Linux (albeit old Linux) on a really old 386SX laptop. It can't do very much, but it's one of those projects you tackle "because it's there." You can check out the story here.

Ask Ars: how do I use the find command in a pipeline?

2011-08-01T00:15:00.000-04:00

Ask Ars: how do I use the find command in a pipeline?: In 1998, Ask Ars was an early feature of the newly launched Ars Technica. Now, as then, it's all about your questions and our community's answers. Each week, we'll dig into our question bag, provide our own take, then tap the wisdom of our readers. To submit your own question, see our helpful tips page. Q: I know I can use the find

Google Chromebooks: Some Helpful Tips

2011-07-27T15:23:00.001-04:00

When I was considering the purchase of a Chromebook, I was looking for a device that could fulfill several different usage cases. I had in mind the ability to take the device on vacation and perform the ordinary tasks I usually perform when I’m not at my desk. These include: Document production, primarily blog post composition and editing. Photo management. As I take a lot of pictures when I

Google Chromebook: The Computer You Can't Screw Up

2011-07-17T19:04:00.000-04:00

I’ve had my Samsung Chromebook for a couple of weeks now. A lot has been written about the Chromebook concept, so I won’t go into it in detail here, but in a nutshell, a Chromebook is a specialized small form-factor computing device that is designed to act as an Internet terminal which can rapidly connect the user to network-based services. It provides a software platform for web-based “apps”

New Discount Offer For The Linux Command Line

2010-06-10T05:51:00.000-04:00

I recently got a notice from Lulu stating that, for a limited time, you may receive a 10% discount when you order a printed copy of The Linux Command Line. Details from the notice are as follows: Disclaimer: Use coupon code SUMMERREAD305 at checkout and receive 10% off The Linux Command Line. Maximum savings with this promotion is $10. You can only use the code once per account, and you can't

My Top 5 Bash Resources

2010-06-03T13:03:00.002-04:00

Over the course of writing The Linux Command Line and this blog, I've had frequent need of good reference resources for command line programs including the shell itself, bash. Here is my list of the ones that stand out: 1. The Bash Man Page Yeah, I know. I spent nearly half a page in my book trashing the bash man page for its impenetrable style and its lack of any trace of user-friendliness,

Using Configuration Files With Shell Scripts

2010-06-01T16:08:00.005-04:00

If you have worked with the command line for a while, you have no doubt noticed that many programs use text configuration files of one sort or another. In this lesson, we will look at how we can control shell scripts with external configuration files. Why Use Configuration Files? Since shell scripts are just ordinary text files, why should we bother with additional text configuration files?

Will The iPad Kill The Netbook?

2010-05-27T15:19:00.002-04:00

Ever since Apple announced the iPad, there have been countless stories in the press about the iPad's effect on the netbook market. I'm a big fan of netbooks and I agree that the netbook market is in trouble but it's not because of the iPad. It's because of Windows. Now, I don't mean this as a piece of simple-minded anti-MS snark (though I am fully capable ;-). I'm serious. Windows is the

Site News: 20,000 Downloads And New Series Navigation

2010-05-24T18:53:00.004-04:00

A few updates on the state of the site: The book reached the 20,000 download mark over the weekend. Thanks everybody! This represents the number of downloads performed from the Sourceforge site, but there are probably more since the book is mirrored at a variety of other sites throughout the world. If you have been thinking about purchasing a printed copy of The Linux Command Line, now may be

Project: Getting Ready For Ubuntu 10.04 - Part 5

2010-05-18T15:47:00.003-04:00

For our final installment, we're going to install and perform some basic configuration on our new Ubuntu 10.04 system. Downloading The Install Image And Burning A Disk We covered the process of getting the CD image and creating the install media in installment 3. The process is similar. You can download the CD image here. Remember to verify the MD5SUM of the disk you burn. We don't want to

Project: Getting Ready For Ubuntu 10.04 - Part 4a

2010-05-15T10:54:00.003-04:00

After some experiments and benchmarking, I have modified the usb_backup_ntfs script presented in the last installment to remove compression. This cuts the time needed to perform the backup using this script by roughly half. The previous script works, but this one is better: #!/bin/bash # usb_backup_ntfs # backup system to external disk drive SOURCE="/etc /usr/local /home" NTFS_DESTINATION=/

Project: Getting Ready For Ubuntu 10.04 - Part 4

2010-05-11T18:33:00.003-04:00

Despite my trepidations, I'm going to proceed with the upgrade to Ubuntu 10.04. I've already upgraded my laptop and with Sunday's release of an improved totem movie player, the one "show stopper" bug has been addressed. I can live with/work around the rest. The laptop does not contain much permanent data (I use it to write and collect images from my cameras when I travel) so wiping the hard