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1

Both.org Authors Working on New Books

April 7, 2026April 7, 2026
2

Privacy matters

April 7, 2026March 27, 2026
3

Book Update

April 4, 2026
4

Fedora Prix Fixe Menu Gives Flexibility

April 2, 2026March 28, 2026
5

Why Linux Matters More Than Ever in 2026

March 31, 2026March 27, 2026
6

“Using and Administering Linux” Book Progress Update

March 29, 2026March 29, 2026
7

Use FreeDOS to learn about computers

March 26, 2026
8

From ‘Obsolete’ to Opportunity: How Five Old PCs Found New Purpose

March 20, 2026March 19, 2026
9

Fedora 44 Coming Soon

March 18, 2026
  • Home
  • David Both
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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.
Linux Swap Tips and tricks zram

Make swap better with zram on Linux

The ideal swap configuration depends on your use case and the amount of physical RAM in your host computer. Zram is a compressed RAM disk...

David Both
December 22, 2023March 21, 2026
Read More
Bash Linux Programming

Programming Bash #1 – Introducing a New Series

I use Bash all the time, in part because it is the default shell for most Linux distributions, including Fedora and CentOS, the ones I...

David Both
December 22, 2023June 3, 2024
Read More
Linux Swap zram

Drop swap for zram on Linux

Zram is a tool for creating an in-RAM compressed cache, specifically for use as swap space. I spend a lot of time playing (I mean...

David Both
December 21, 2023March 21, 2026
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Moving to Linux

Why my need for control made me switch to Linux

Linux gives me the freedom to control how I use my computer. Plus, it's free and open source. I am a control freak. I like...

David Both
December 20, 2023February 4, 2026
Read More
Linux Swap System Administration

How I troubleshoot swappiness and startup time on Linux

I recently experienced another interesting problem in the Linux startup sequence that has a circumvention–not a solution. It started quite unexpectedly. I was writing a...

David Both
December 20, 2023March 22, 2026
Read More
Desktop Linux 101 Xfce

8 reasons to use the Xfce Linux desktop environment

This Linux desktop environment is thin and fast with an overall elegance that makes it easy to figure out how to do things. For several...

David Both
December 19, 2023February 4, 2026
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Hardware Linux

Converting to solid-state disks (SSDs) on the desktop

Image by David Both. CC-by-SA 4. If you have a need for speed, you need to consider the switch to SSDs. I know that many...

David Both
December 18, 2023December 18, 2023
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Linux

How to tune the Linux kernel with the /proc filesystem

Image by David Both: CC-by-SA 4. The Linux kernel is a tunable marvel that allows you to make changes to its parameters while it is...

David Both
December 18, 2023February 23, 2024
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Applications Linux Multimedia

Use Audacity to Edit Music Recordings on Linux

Image by: Internet Archive Book Images. Modified by Opensource.com. CC BY-SA 4.0 How COVID-19 caused me to learn Audacity on the fly and learn to...

David Both
December 18, 2023January 6, 2024
Read More
Hardware History

Linux hardware: The history of memory and storage devices

Buckle in for a trip back in time for a look at the early days of memory and storage, and how we got to where...

David Both
December 17, 2023February 22, 2026
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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, 2023February 22, 2026
Read More
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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Posts pagination

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Random Quote

Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature.

— Rich Kulawiec

Why I’ve Never Used Windows

On February 12 I gave a presentation at the Triangle Linux Users Group (TriLUG) about why I use Linux and why I’ve never used Windows.

Here’s the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/live/uCK_haOXPFM 

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)“.

“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.

Technically We Write is a community of technical writers, technical editors, copyeditors, web content writers, and all other roles in technical communication.

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  • Computers 101
    • Hardware 101
    • Operating Systems 101
  • 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
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    • What is Linux?
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