Skip to the content
Both.org
News, Opinion, Tutorials, and Community for Linux Users and SysAdmins
  • About Us
  • Moving to Linux in the Triangle area
  • 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
    • Submission and Style guide
    • Advertising statement
  • Downloads
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
  • Jim Hall
  • Page 3

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.
File Management Linux

Connect to a Windows drive from Linux

Here’s how I connected my Linux system to a Windows AD fileshare.

Jim Hall
March 21, 2025March 8, 2025
Read More
FreeDOS Linux Programming

Reading a whole file at once

Two methods to load a data file into memory. Use mmap on Linux sysetms.

Jim Hall
March 20, 2025March 20, 2025
Read More
FreeDOS Programming

Old-school programming with Turbo C

Explore retroprogramming on FreeDOS with this popular freeware IDE.

Jim Hall
March 19, 2025March 20, 2025
Read More
Command Line Linux

Update Linux from the command line

Be a power user by updating your system from the command line.

Jim Hall
March 17, 2025March 8, 2025
Read More
FreeDOS Fun Programming

Calculate pi by counting pixels

This is a very simple way to measure pi, but it was a fun exercise and I wanted to share it.

Jim Hall
March 14, 2025January 27, 2025
Read More
AI Opinion

Don’t skip the learning process

Using AI as a tool to do a thing still relies on knowing how to do the thing yourself.

Jim Hall
March 12, 2025March 6, 2025
Read More
AI Programming

Using AI to translate code

I was impressed that AI did so well translating from an old language like FORTRAN 77 into a more modern language like C.

Jim Hall
March 7, 2025March 3, 2025
Read More
AI Programming

Cautions when using AI for coding

While AI agents can help streamline development, keep in mind these cautions when using AI for coding.

Jim Hall
March 6, 2025March 3, 2025
Read More
Command Line Linux

Selective updates using ‘dnf’

Here’s how I update my system except for one problem library

Jim Hall
March 4, 2025February 28, 2025
Read More
Linux Writing

Learning to love ‘groff -ms’

My journey with markup systems began when I was an undergraduate physics student at university. Until then, I wrote class papers using a desktop word...

Jim Hall
February 18, 2025February 15, 2025
Read More
FreeDOS Programming

Draw a Cylon eye in DOS

Have fun by writing a program to simulate a Cylon’s sweeping red eye

Jim Hall
February 5, 2025February 1, 2025
Read More
Command Line Linux

Quoting text with ‘sed’

Another great use of sed to make quick edits to a text file.

Jim Hall
February 3, 2025January 30, 2025
Read More
Command Line Linux

How I automate file edits with ‘sed’

Here’s a neat command line trick to make changes to a text file.

Jim Hall
January 31, 2025January 30, 2025
Read More
Backups Linux

Personal backups with ‘rsync’

Make backups of your personal data in case your laptop is lost, stolen, or damaged.

Jim Hall
January 20, 2025January 20, 2025
Read More
Programming

Using enumerations in C

Using enumerations with enum makes it easy to store values in a program, yet keep the code easy to read.

Jim Hall
January 17, 2025January 10, 2025
Read More
Programming

Using bit fields and bit masks in C

Using bit fields and bit masks is a common method to combine data without using more complex structures.

Jim Hall
January 10, 2025January 10, 2025
Read More

Posts pagination

Previous 1 2 3 4 … 8 Next

Random Quote

Unix is simple. It just takes a genius to understand its simplicity.

— Dennis Ritchie

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.

Subscribe to Both.org

To comment on articles, you must register.

Send your desired user ID, first and last name, and an email address for login (this must be the same email address used to register) to subscribe@both.org with “Subscribe” as the subject line.

You’ll receive a confirmation of your subscription with your initial password as soon as we are able to process it.

Administration

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
  • About Us
  • Moving to Linux in the Triangle area
  • 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
    • Submission and Style guide
    • Advertising statement
  • Downloads

Advertising Statement

Advertising Statement

To the Top ↑ Up ↑