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News, Opinion, Tutorials, and Community for Linux Users and SysAdmins
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  • End of 10 Events
    • Wake Forest, NC, — 2025-09-20
  • Linux
    • Why I use Linux
    • The real reason we use Linux
  • My Linux Books
    • systemd for Linux SysAdmins
    • Using and Administering Linux – Zero to SysAdmin: 2nd Edition
    • The Linux Philosophy for SysAdmins
    • Linux for Small Business Owners
    • Errata
      • Errata for The Linux Philosophy for SysAdmins
      • Errata for Using and Administering Linux — 1st Edition
      • Errata for Using and Administering Linux — 2nd Edition
  • Open Source Resources
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    • What is Linux?
    • What is Open Source Software?
    • The Open Source Way
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1

Nine traits of the veteran Unix admin

February 20, 2026February 20, 2026
2

A Distributed WordPress Cracking Attack

February 16, 2026February 16, 2026
3

Getting Started With the cd Command

February 11, 2026February 10, 2026
4

A Fresh Look at Manjaro KDE Plasma

February 10, 2026February 9, 2026
5

Dipping My Toes into the Arch World with Manjaro Cinnamon

February 9, 2026February 6, 2026
6

A look at Fedora 43 Server Edition

February 4, 2026February 3, 2026
7

Reasons for Moving to Linux

February 2, 2026February 2, 2026
8

Triangle Linux User Group (TriLUG) February Meeting

January 29, 2026February 10, 2026
9

Update on my Oldest Computer

January 27, 2026January 28, 2026
  • Home
  • David Both
  • Page 22

dboth

David Both is an Open Source Software and GNU/Linux advocate, trainer, writer, and speaker who lives in Raleigh North Carolina. He is a strong proponent of and evangelist for the "Linux Philosophy." He’s been in the IT industry for over 50 years. He taught RHCE classes for Red Hat and has worked at MCI Worldcom, Cisco, and the State of North Carolina. He has been working with Linux and Open Source Software for over 25 years. David likes to build his own computers to ensure that each new computer meets his exacting specifications. He has written articles for magazines including, Linux Magazine, Linux Journal, and Opensource.com. He currently has five books published with Apress, "The Linux Philosophy for SysAdmins", a self-study training course in three volumes “Using and Administering Linux: Zero to SysAdmin,” that was released in late 2019, and “Linux for Small Business Owners” with Co-author Cyndi Bulka.
Hardware History

The Central Processing Unit (CPU): Its Components And Functionality

Image by Michael Schwarzenberger from Pixabay An Introduction To The CPU, What It Does, How It Works, And How It Came To Be The legacies...

David Both
December 17, 2023December 17, 2023
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Hardware History

Computer History and Modern Computers for SysAdmins

Image by David Both: CC-by-SA 4 A historical perspective into the functionality of the CPU and RAM I started my Linux sysadmin path with hardware....

David Both
December 17, 2023December 17, 2023
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Applications Email Linux

Use the Alpine email client in your Linux terminal

Configure Alpine to handle your email the way you like it. Email is an important communications medium and will remain so for the foreseeable future....

David Both
December 16, 2023December 17, 2023
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Curiosity Problem Solving

How curiosity helped me solve a hardware problem

Curiosity fuels the quest for knowledge and truth, whether it's about hardware, open source software, programming, building a PC, optimizing settings, or just learning a...

David Both
December 16, 2023December 17, 2023
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Climate and Environment Environment Linux

How Linux rescues slow computers (and the planet)

Image by Opensource.com: CC-by-SA Don't throw away your old computer. Skip the landfill and revive it with Linux. Mint and Kasen, two of my grandkids,...

David Both
December 15, 2023September 23, 2025
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Books

Understanding the Digital World – A Book Review

Image by: opensource.com CC-by-SA 4.0 Brian W. Kernighan's second edition of Understanding the Digital World is worth a read for computer enthusiasts of any skill...

David Both
December 15, 2023February 3, 2026
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Environment Hardware System Administration

Should I run my computer 24/7?

Does running my computer 24/7 wear it out? There's an argument that it actually extends the life of the machine and saves energy in the...

David Both
December 15, 2023December 26, 2025
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Command Line Linux Tips and tricks

Wordsmith on the Linux command line with dict

Check your spelling with the dict command.

David Both
December 14, 2023December 14, 2023
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Code License Linux

Why sysadmins should license their code for open source

One of the best ways I know to give back to the open source community that provides everyone with incredible programs is to make programs...

David Both
December 13, 2023December 14, 2023
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Linux News

This Website Is Now Secure

For a number of reasons, including the fact that it's been on my todo list for a long time, I have enabled HTTPS (Secure HTTP)...

David Both
December 13, 2023
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In Depth Linux System Administration

Linux su vs sudo: what’s the difference?

A comparison of Linux commands for escalating privileges for non-root users

David Both
December 13, 2023March 2, 2024
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Fedora Linux

A Quick Review of Fedora 39

This review is based on my first month of using Fedora 39. I have performed no formal testing and have not tried very hard to...

David Both
December 12, 2023December 12, 2023
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Linux System Administration

How to be the lazy SysAdmin

Work smarter, not harder, and still do your job well. The job of a Linux SysAdmin is always complex and often fraught with various pitfalls...

David Both
December 12, 2023September 10, 2024
Read More
Hardware Problem Solving

When Does a Power Cord Fail?

When it's junk. I have a self-imposed limit of 12 working computers in my house. Said limit being strongly suggested by my sweetie. It's really...

David Both
December 11, 2023December 12, 2023
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Hardware Linux

My Oldest Computer Died

I had this old Dell Optiplex 755 computer that someone gifted me several years ago. "They" said it was no longer working and they were...

David Both
December 6, 2023September 28, 2024
Read More
Linux

Bash Prompt Changed in Fedora 39

The Fedora development mailing lists have been talking about a new prompt for the Bash shell for some time. The idea was to add some...

David Both
November 24, 2023November 24, 2023
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Posts pagination

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David Both ATO Interview

Last October at All Things Open (ATO) I was interviewed by Jason Hibbits of We Love Open Source. It’s posted in the article “Why today’s AI isn’t intelligent (yet)“.

Random Quote

There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.

— Ken Olson

Links: Moving to Linux

  • 7 Reasons Fedora Might Be a Better Windows Replacement Than Linux Mint
  • 7 Reasons Why Windows Users Avoid Linux (Which Aren’t True Anymore)
  • Best Linux distros to try before Windows 10 support ends
  • How to switch your Windows 10 PC to Linux Mint – for free
  • I replaced my entire Microsoft Office subscription with free open-source apps
  • Isn’t It Time to Switch to Linux? 12 Reasons to Abandon Windows
  • KDE for W10 Exiles
  • Linux: A true story
  • Why Denmark is dumping Microsoft Office and Windows for LibreOffice and Linux
  • Why I Switched to Linux From Windows

“systemd for SysAdmins” Now Available

May 13,2025

My latest book — a #1 New Release on Amazon — “systemd for Linux  SysAdmins” is now available from my publisher, Apress, and on Amazon.

Technically We Write — Our Partner Site

Our partner site, Technically We Write, has published a number of articles from several contributors to Both.org. Check them out.

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  • End of 10 Events
    • Wake Forest, NC, — 2025-09-20
  • Linux
    • Why I use Linux
    • The real reason we use Linux
  • My Linux Books
    • systemd for Linux SysAdmins
    • Using and Administering Linux – Zero to SysAdmin: 2nd Edition
    • The Linux Philosophy for SysAdmins
    • Linux for Small Business Owners
    • Errata
      • Errata for The Linux Philosophy for SysAdmins
      • Errata for Using and Administering Linux — 1st Edition
      • Errata for Using and Administering Linux — 2nd Edition
  • Open Source Resources
    • What is Open Source?
    • What is Linux?
    • What is Open Source Software?
    • The Open Source Way
  • Write for us
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    • Advertising statement
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