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Linux and Open Source
Selena Frye
TechRepublic Staff
Selena Frye

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Gentoo-based Sabayon Linux 8 available for download
Gentoo-based Sabayon Linux version 8 is available. Check out some of the features.
Posted by Selena Frye | February 10, 2012, 12:35 PM PST
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How to make backup files that never exceed a predefined size
Marco Fioretti offers a script that you can use to create backups that don't exceed a certain file size, making it easier to spread backups across various storage media or services.
Posted by Marco Fioretti | February 7, 2012, 12:20 PM PST
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RIP Compiz
Jack Wallen bids a fond farewell to the Compiz desktop compositor, which looks all but dead now that Fedora is dropping it from its upcoming release.
Posted by Jack Wallen | February 6, 2012, 8:34 AM PST | Latest comment by paulfx1
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Why and how to migrate your (old) mailboxes to IMAP and Maildir
Marco Fioretti provides the steps to automatically move your old mailboxes to IMAP and MailDir.
Posted by Marco Fioretti | February 1, 2012, 9:00 AM PST
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iperf: a simple but powerful tool for troubleshooting networks
Scott Reeves demonstrates the use of iperf, which provides basic information on throughput, packet loss, and jitter to help you troubleshoot UDP and TCP issues.
Posted by Scott Reeves | January 30, 2012, 11:26 AM PST
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KDE 4.8 minor tweaks, major improvement
Jack Wallen takes a look at KDE 4.8. Will the latest release of this powerful KDE Linux desktop bring him back to KDE?
Posted by Jack Wallen | January 30, 2012, 8:33 AM PST | Latest comment by nwallette
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Ice.com: Combining the cloud and open source
Not everyone is ready to make the leap to the cloud, but one innovative retailer is showing what benefits they realized by combining open source and cloud tech for a brand-new platform.
Posted by Guest Contributor | January 25, 2012, 1:27 PM PST | Latest comment by CharlieSpencer_Palmetto
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8 ways to use email header info and how to extract it
Marco Fioretti offers a tip to help you sort and process random emails by extracting the email header info first. Here are eight tasks you can accomplish with this script.
Posted by Marco Fioretti | January 23, 2012, 11:04 AM PST | Latest comment by mfioretti
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Apple's dirty little EULA publishing secret
Jack Wallen investigates the Apple iBook EULA and explains why authors better beware of what they are agreeing to if they use the iBook publishing platform.
Posted by Jack Wallen | January 23, 2012, 7:14 AM PST | Latest comment by n4aof@...
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Don't miss developments from Linux.conf.au 2012
TechRepublic Australia is has been covering the Linux.conf.au 2012 conference in Ballarat this week. Here's the low-down on some very provocative sessions.
Posted by Selena Frye | January 20, 2012, 12:32 PM PST
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How to automatically insert photographs in LaTeX files
Marco Fioretti explains how to insert photographs automatically in LaTeX files -- a technique that may be tweaked to suit a number of general uses.
Posted by Marco Fioretti | January 17, 2012, 10:42 AM PST
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Microsoft back to dirty pool with UEFI Secure Boot
With the UEFI Secure Boot it seems MS is back to some of their old, dirtier practices. This time around it involves the ARM platform. Does Windows 8 want to be the only player on tablets and phones?
Posted by Jack Wallen | January 17, 2012, 6:00 AM PST | Latest comment by Deadly Ernest
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Use kismon to view kismet log files
Scott Reeves introduces a GUI front-end available to users of Kismet, the wireless network detecting tool.
Posted by Scott Reeves | January 11, 2012, 9:00 AM PST
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Mandriva in danger of closing its doors
Jack Wallen gives his take on the rumors of Mandriva closing its doors. January 16, 2012 is but a Monday away. Would the closing of Mandriva's doors have a lasting effect on the Linux landscape?
Posted by Jack Wallen | January 9, 2012, 7:38 AM PST | Latest comment by ds4211a@...
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Command line calendars and some little known uses for them
Why would you want to use a command line calendar? Marco Fioretti tells you how they can be used and what the benefits are.
Posted by Marco Fioretti | January 9, 2012, 6:00 AM PST | Latest comment by mfioretti
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Ubuntu tablet on the way? CES buzz for 'concept design'
Will Canonical unveil an Ubuntu-based tablet or smartphone next week at CES 2012? A company blog post promises to reveal an "exclusive Ubuntu concept design." Check out the rumor mill.
Posted by Selena Frye | January 5, 2012, 12:56 PM PST | Latest comment by ubducted
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Linux design needs to be out of the hands of developers
Why does the Linux desktop suffer so much? Jack Wallen thinks he has the answer to this question that has been in play for a very long time. See if you agree with the conclusion Jack has drawn.
Posted by Jack Wallen | January 3, 2012, 6:53 AM PST | Latest comment by vancevep
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How to use shell functions to fetch information online
Marco Fioretti shows two examples of shell functions that you can use for web scraping when all you need is a quick way to extract text from a given website.
Posted by Marco Fioretti | January 2, 2012, 9:00 AM PST | Latest comment by mfioretti
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Fearless open source predictions for 2012
Jack Wallen makes his annual predictions for the coming year. It's going to be a banner year in many ways. See if you agree with Jack's prognostications.
Posted by Jack Wallen | December 26, 2011, 6:00 AM PST | Latest comment by AES2
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Get a Humble Bundle of games for the holidays
You've got seven days left to pick up Humble Bundle #4 -- a package of cross-platform, DRM-free games. Set your own price and designate your purchase for charity if you choose.
Posted by Selena Frye | December 20, 2011, 12:11 PM PST
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Seven great features of OpenOffice and Libre Office that you probably ignore
Free office suite tools like OpenOffice and Libre Office have more advanced features than you might expect. Here are seven that go beyond the common tasks.
Posted by Marco Fioretti | May 21, 2013, 6:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by wnematollahi@...
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How to get Netflix streaming on Ubuntu 12.10
It's taken quite some time, but Netflix streaming video has finally arrived on the Ubuntu Linux desktop. In this easy, step-by-step, Jack Wallen shows you how.
Posted by Jack Wallen | December 10, 2012, 7:00 AM PST | Latest comment by Rick1971
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Best Linux distributions for enterprise computing needs
There are a lot of Linux distributions out there. Out of those hundreds of variations, which are best suited for enterprise-level servers and desktops?
Posted by Jack Wallen | May 28, 2013, 5:45 AM PDT | Latest comment by mla_ca520@...
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How to install GNOME 3.8 on Ubuntu
If you want to try Ubuntu 13.04, but prefer a different desktop than Unity, Jack Wallen shows you how you can install the latest iteration of GNOME Shell (3.8) and why you should give it a try.
Posted by Jack Wallen | April 29, 2013, 8:13 AM PDT | Latest comment by kitico@...
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A house divided: Linux factions threaten success
Linux is at a major tipping point, yet it faces being undermined from within. Jack Wallen calls for the Linux community to end the fighting between the Linux camps.
Posted by Jack Wallen | June 3, 2013, 8:01 AM PDT | Latest comment by Robynsveil
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Linux 101: Easy VNC server setup
If you need to remote into your Linux server, VNC might be the best option. Jack Wallen walks you through the steps of setting up a VNC server on an rpm-based distribution.
Posted by Jack Wallen | March 18, 2013, 7:20 AM PDT | Latest comment by maszsam@...
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Better than BackTrack? Kali Linux offers new brand of pen-testing tools
BackTrack Linux no more. The popular open source package of penetration testing tools now has a new platform and a new name.
Posted by Selena Frye | March 25, 2013, 2:22 PM PDT | Latest comment by iT_BANDiT
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Using smartctl to get SMART status information on your hard drives
Vincent Danen has some tips for using the smartmontools package to obtain important information about the health of your hard drives that could provide early warning signs of problems.
Posted by Vincent Danen | March 30, 2010, 5:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by jack6666
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Lightworks video editor: Another missing piece for Linux
Lightworks has ported its video editing product to the Linux platform, and although it's still in beta, it shows some serious polish and potential.
Posted by Jack Wallen | June 10, 2013, 11:09 AM PDT | Latest comment by emenau
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How to tag all your audio files in the fastest possible way
Marco Fioretti shows you his method for tagging MP3 files with as much automation as possible so that you can impose a little order on music or other audio collections.
Posted by Marco Fioretti | February 23, 2012, 9:00 AM PST | Latest comment by egamingpark
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Chroot users with OpenSSH: An easier way to confine users to their home directories
With the release of OpenSSH 4.9p1, you no longer have to rely on third-party hacks or complicated chroot setups to confine users to their home directories or give them access to SFTP services....
Posted by Vincent Danen | June 24, 2008, 6:07 AM PDT | Latest comment by infam0us1
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Best open source HRM and ERP solutions
There's a reason why enterprise companies "get" Linux and open source. It's not just because of the security and reliability -- it's for the software. Check out this list of best in breed tools...
Posted by Jack Wallen | May 20, 2013, 7:27 AM PDT | Latest comment by mutisokimanzi
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Set up easy file sharing with NFS on Linux
Particularly for Windows-less environments where Samba is not needed, NFS is an easy and reliable way to share files between Linux and UNIX systems. Vincent Danen takes you through the setup.
Posted by Vincent Danen | October 26, 2010, 6:25 AM PDT | Latest comment by techrepublic@...
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How to set up an OpenVPN server
Vincent Danen shows you how to set up OpenVPN and takes you through some of the tricky configuration steps to get you up and running quickly.
Posted by Vincent Danen | October 12, 2010, 6:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by tsepty
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Encrypting and decrypting files with GnuPG
GnuPG, the open replacement for PGP, is an excellent tool to manage cryptographic signatures to files or e-mails for validity and integrity, as well as a tool to encrypt and decrypt sensitive...
Posted by Vincent Danen | February 15, 2008, 12:00 AM PST | Latest comment by jack6666
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Create your own yum repository
Vincent Danen explains how to create your own yum repository with the createrepo tool. One thing it allows you to do is to distribute specialized packages within an organization.
Posted by Vincent Danen | May 11, 2009, 1:30 PM PDT | Latest comment by gigi.mathew-1@...
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How to set up a Linux OpenVPN client
Vincent Danen follows up his tip on setting up OpenVPN server with these steps to set up a Linux client on OpenVPN.
Posted by Vincent Danen | October 18, 2010, 5:00 AM PDT
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Configure Apache to support multiple SSL sites on a single IP address
With Apache 2.2.12 and support for the SNI (Server Name Indication) extension to the SSL protocol, you can configure name-based HTTPS sites, just as you can name-based HTTP sites. Vincent Danen...
Posted by Vincent Danen | October 19, 2009, 6:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by Lunfa
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Arch-based Manjaro Linux touts user-friendliness
Looking for a new Linux flavor to try? The Manjaro team targets newcomers and pros alike, promising ease-of-use and performance.
Posted by Selena Frye | May 15, 2013, 1:21 PM PDT | Latest comment by cvarin
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How to join Ubuntu to a Windows Workgroup
Do you need to join your Linux workstation to a Windows Workgroup? Believe it or not, it isn't a challenging task. In this Open Source blog, Jack Wallen walks you through the steps so that your...
Posted by Jack Wallen | November 2, 2010, 5:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by BrightLibra@...

































