Tag Archives: linux

Using BTSync Behind a Corporate Firewall

BitTorrent Sync is pretty neat. I have been using it ever since Scott recommended it in the quintesential backup thread of 2013. It even made it onto my big list of essential tools. It provides a nice alternative to cloud … Continue reading

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Installing Arch Linux on the PogoPlug

Back in 2012 I wrote about how I set up a $30 linux server by installing Debian Squeze on a PogoPlug. I have been using the device for close to two years, but it died. I grabbed an identical replacement … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged | 4 Comments

Super Lazy Provisioning with Vagrant

It has been almost a year since I posted anything even remotely related to my php series. I guess I should have suspected that SITS would be the death-kneel for the project. It seemed like a good, small sized project … Continue reading

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Unity is not Great

About two weeks ago my work laptop died. The motherboard just bricked itself to pieces and there was no rescuing it. As my old machine was old and decrepit, and I was going to be replacing it with something with … Continue reading

Posted in technology | Tagged , | 16 Comments

Explosive Log Failure

Terminally Incoherent went down this Friday. And when I say down, I mean all the way down – terminally shut as it were. Fortunately, no one noticed. I got no angry emails.Hell, I didn’t even get a friendly “hey, your … Continue reading

Posted in meta | Tagged | 9 Comments

Informative MOTD

Here is something that I usually like to do when I set up new servers: create informative Message of the Day that will remind me what this server is all about and where do things live on it and maybe … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged | 6 Comments

What’s in your Bash Prompt?

I spend a great deal of time on the command line. That’s how I usually manipulate files, do little maintenance tasks, run tests from and etc. Because of this I like to make that environment nice to look at. I … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged | 17 Comments

Bash Tips and Tricks

We haven’t done one of these threads in a while have we? Let’s share our favorite shell tips and tricks. I’ll talk about Bash because that’s what I use in my day-to-day work. If you happen to be Zsh user, … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged | 9 Comments

Ubuntu Disk Cleanup

This fine morning KDE greeted me with a particularly nasty warning: Seems like it is time for some spring cleanup… And by spring, I of course mean winter. But where to start? Well, the best place is usually to nuke … Continue reading

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Your Top Three Unix Tools

Let’s say you set up a brand spanking new Unix/Linux box somewhere, or gain access to a bran new shell account on which you expect to be doing some work. What are the top three things you install first? I’m … Continue reading

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Set up a home linux server for $30 with PogoPlug

What if I told you that you can set up a low powered, virtually silent, fully functional linux home server for only $30 (not including shipping)? Because that’s exactly what I just did. I set up a home server for … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged | 25 Comments

Value too large for defined data type

In my super-massive vim post I have mentioned that CTAGS are the bees-knees of vim lifestyle. A lifestyle which may not be as glamorous as that of marketrioid marsupials for example, but we fucking like it. I just found a … Continue reading

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What is your favorite server OS?

Not so long I was tasked with setting up a web server for a new project. The list of requirements was simple: it needed to run PHP. I was told the rest of the details were up to me. The … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged | 11 Comments

Linux: how do I find the devce name of my USB drive?

Around the time I reviewed Chromium OS, I managed to totally b0rk one of my thumb drives. I somehow botched the dd command, and the device became unusable. When I plugged it in, nothing would happen. Or rather nothing on … Continue reading

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Make my OS Faster

Have you noticed how all prominent operating systems seem to bloat with each release? Windows is probably the best example, but even Ubuntu had slowly gained weight and become more of a resource hog over the years. It’s sad really. … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged | 9 Comments

Kubuntu 9.10 Upgrade: Karmic nVidia Failure

Did they name Ubunu 9.10 Karmic on purpose, and then had it ruin the lives of the wicked people? My upgrade was an absolute train wreck. I spent my whole afternoon, and evening fixing it, and managed to accidentally delete … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged , | 14 Comments

You don’t need to convert them…

Recently a friend of mine approached me with a weird question: how to install Windows on a machine without a CD or Floppy drive. I was intrigued. The obvious question here was “why?” It turned out that he just ordered … Continue reading

Posted in technology | Tagged , | 17 Comments

Slax

My work laptop is a little bit on the heavy side. It works well as a desktop replacement which is how I use it these days. I hardly ever use it without an external monitor mouse and keyboard. I’m actually … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged | 4 Comments

SSH From Behind a Firewall via HTTP Proxy

The other day, I found myself behind a fairly draconian firewall. There are really two philosophies when setting up a corporate network. One is to block everything inbound while allowing everything outbound. The other one is just to block everything … Continue reading

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Favorite Unix Directory

Lion share of my writing here gets done on the weekends. Some are better than others in terms of productivity. If I can knock out 4 articles during those 2 days it really takes a load off my mind. I … Continue reading

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TI Extensa Scholar ESS2

My ancient Compaq Presario is gone. You know which one I’m talking about, right? It was the machine that used to run the Nethack server and then was turned into a very lightweight laptop running Hardy with Ratpoison. Well, it … Continue reading

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OS agnosticism is good for you

I was talking to a student recently about the MS Office 2007 ribbon feature and how it throws many people off at first. I asked her if this was also her experience, but she replied that she had no major … Continue reading

Posted in school and teaching | Tagged | 9 Comments

Virtual Workspaces

I was going through my Google Reader recently and I saw this post about workspaces and started thinking. Didn’t I do a post like that before? I mean, I probably had to, right? Out of all the topics out there, … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Ubuntu: Change Sensitivity of the Synaptics Touchpad

I hardly ever use the touchpad on my laptop. At work, my morning routine is plugging in my external monitor, ethernet cable and the USB hub into the back of my machine. Yes, I could get a docking station but … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Using Dropbox without Gnome

If you haven’t heard about Dropbox you have probably been living under a rock for the last month or two. It is the latest and the greatest file syncing project out there. I usually describe it to people as a … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged | 13 Comments