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1

Minty Fresh on a Meerkat: My Latest Linux Setup

September 15, 2025September 10, 2025
2

My start with BASIC programming

September 12, 2025September 8, 2025
3

Read long lines with getline

September 11, 2025September 8, 2025
4

Rhythmbox is a great music player for GNOME

September 10, 2025September 8, 2025
5

Reading the command line with getopt

September 9, 2025September 8, 2025
6

How do I choose a Linux distribution?

September 5, 2025September 5, 2025
7

Using QGIS and MerginMaps for Geospatial Data Work

September 4, 2025September 3, 2025
8

Exploring GNU Algol 68: Formatting numbers as strings for output

September 3, 2025September 2, 2025
9

What you need to know when you buy a new computer

September 2, 2025September 2, 2025
  • Home
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jhall

Jim Hall is an open source software developer and advocate. His first contribution to open source was in 1993 with a patch to GNU Emacs, but he is probably best known for his work on FreeDOS, the open source version of the DOS operating system, and for his work on usability in open source software. In addition to writing open source software, Jim also writes about open source software, including Both.org and All Things Open, and about technical writing at Technically We Write.
Command Line Linux Pandoc

Straight quotes from pandoc

Change pandoc’s curly quotes into straight quotes with this script.

Jim Hall
June 9, 2025June 4, 2025
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Command Line Fun Linux

Viewing PDF documents in console mode

I have a Raspberry Pi 3 that’s sat unused for the last few years. I used to run the Raspberry Pi as a personal “home...

Jim Hall
June 6, 2025May 31, 2025
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Fun Linux Raspberry Pi

Loving the command line with the Raspberry Pi

I’m going to show my age when I share that my first Unix system was a Sun 3/50 workstation in our campus computer lab, when...

Jim Hall
June 4, 2025May 31, 2025
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Linux Open Source Tools Writing

Writing with open source tools

Aside from my other work, I also teach a few university courses about technical writing. One class I like to teach is about writing with...

Jim Hall
June 2, 2025May 31, 2025
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Command Line Linux

Extracting text with awk

The awk script interpreter is a very handy tool for systems administrators, and anyone else who uses Linux at the command line. With awk, you...

Jim Hall
May 30, 2025May 28, 2025
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Fixing problems I really borked it this time Problem Solving System Administration

My first sysadmin mistake

If you work in IT, you know that things never go completely as you think they will. At some point, you’ll hit an error, or...

Jim Hall
May 29, 2025May 27, 2025
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History Linux

A brief history of the Linux desktop

Let’s look back on a brief history of the Linux desktop.

Jim Hall
May 19, 2025May 18, 2025
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Programming

How I use GNU Indent

Let GNU Indent make your source code easier to read.

Jim Hall
May 12, 2025May 5, 2025
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Linux QEMU

Emulating systems with QEMU

Here’s how I boot other systems using virtual machines in QEMU

Jim Hall
May 9, 2025May 9, 2025
Read More
Hardware Linux

Make typing faster with the Keebio BDN9 macro pad

My brother recently gave me a Keebio BDN9 macro pad. It’s a configurable 9-key keyboard that supports all kinds of customizations, including little keycaps that...

Jim Hall
May 8, 2025May 4, 2025
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FreeDOS Fun Programming

Code like it’s the 1980s

Our computers are so powerful today that it’s hard for younger developers to understand what early desktop computing was like. Even more experienced folks can...

Jim Hall
May 7, 2025May 4, 2025
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Programming

Draw in color using Portable Pix Maps

Create colorful images using the Portable Pix Map format.

Jim Hall
April 25, 2025April 19, 2025
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Programming

Grayscale images with Portable Gray Maps

Learn to write grayscale images using the Portable Gray Map format.

Jim Hall
April 23, 2025April 19, 2025
Read More
Programming

Write tiny images using PBM

The Portable Bit Map (“PBM”) image file format was invented in the 1980s as a way to transmit small black and white images as plain...

Jim Hall
April 21, 2025April 19, 2025
Read More
FreeDOS

Get started with FreeDOS 1.4

A lot has happened in DOS since FreeDOS 1.3. Here’s what to expect in FreeDOS 1.4, available now.

Jim Hall
April 9, 2025April 7, 2025
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Linux Opinion

Moving from Windows 10 to Linux

Instead of purchasing a new computer just to run a new version of Windows, consider installing Linux.

Jim Hall
March 27, 2025
Read More

Posts pagination

Previous 1 2 3 … 8 Next

Random Quote

There’s always one more bug.

— Lubarsky’s law of cybernetic entomology

End of 10...

  • End of 10…

Links: Humor

  • Linux: A true story

Links: Interesting info

  • Replace Kubernetes with systemd

Links: Linux

  • Fedora
  • KDE for W10 Exiles
  • Linux Mint
  • Ubuntu

Links: Moving to Linux

  • 7 Reasons Fedora Might Be a Better Windows Replacement Than Linux Mint
  • Best Linux distros to try before Windows 10 support ends
  • Isn’t It Time to Switch to Linux? 12 Reasons to Abandon Windows
  • KDE for W10 Exiles
  • Linux: A true story
  • Why I Switched to Linux From Windows

Links: Open Source Software

  • GIMP
  • LibreOffice

“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.

2nd Edition now Available

All three volumes of this best-selling second edition of my Linux Self-Study course are now available from Apress and Amazon. See the details of this 3-volume self-study course.

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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    • 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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