Skip to the content
Both.org
News, Opinion, Tutorials, and Community for Linux Users and SysAdmins
  • About Us
  • 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
    • Submission and Style guide
    • Advertising statement
  • Downloads
1

Saving Public Library Computers With Linux Mint MATE

January 22, 2026January 21, 2026
2

Network Upgrades at Both.org

January 21, 2026January 21, 2026
3

Why I Didn’t Convert My Primary Workstation to BtrFS

January 21, 2026January 18, 2026
4

Create a Linux kiosk at your library

January 20, 2026January 14, 2026
5

Writing a fun turn-based game

January 19, 2026January 7, 2026
6

Converting to BtrFS — Episode 5

January 16, 2026January 14, 2026
7

Why I prefer tar to zip

January 15, 2026January 14, 2026
8

Development isn’t over until it’s packaged

January 14, 2026
9

Tinkering with Immutable Linux: How Fedora Cosmic Atomic Won Me Over

January 13, 2026January 6, 2026
  • Home
  • Jim Hall
  • Page 7

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.
FreeDOS Linux Programming

Writing portable C programs

Jim shares this follow-up to an earlier article about programming across platforms.

Jim Hall
October 25, 2024October 19, 2024
Read More
Community Open Source

Celebrating technical writing with open source software

Celebrate the National Day on Writing by sharing your first article about open source software.

Jim Hall
October 20, 2024October 17, 2024
Read More
Fun Linux

Calculate letter frequency in gawk

Write a gawk script to determine the most (and least) common letters in a set of words.

Jim Hall
October 16, 2024October 13, 2024
Read More
FreeDOS Linux Programming

Programming across platforms

Using these C compiler preprocessor directives to detect the operating system can make it easier to support multiple platforms at once.

Jim Hall
October 15, 2024October 13, 2024
Read More
Open Source

4 ways to write your first article

Write an article about your open source experience.

Jim Hall
October 1, 2024August 11, 2024
Read More
Code Fun Programming

Write a guessing game in ncurses

Use the flexibility of ncurses to create a guess-the-number game on Linux.

Jim Hall
September 18, 2024September 10, 2024
Read More
Linux Programming

Terminal size and ncurses

When programs like vi first came along, terminals had a predefined size: usually 80 columns and 24 lines (actually 25 lines, but the last line...

Jim Hall
September 16, 2024September 7, 2024
Read More
Command Line Linux

Searching text files from the command line

The find command is a powerful and flexible tool to locate files under a path.

Jim Hall
September 15, 2024September 10, 2024
Read More
Fun Linux Programming

Random numbers from the Linux kernel

Let the kernel generate random numbers for you using ‘getrandom.’

Jim Hall
September 14, 2024September 5, 2024
Read More
Linux Programming

A gentle introduction to ncurses

You can create your own programs that use a text user interface to control the screen.

Jim Hall
September 11, 2024September 7, 2024
Read More
Fun Programming

Learn C by writing a number guessing game

The “Guess the number” game is a fun way to learn a new programming language.

Jim Hall
September 7, 2024September 5, 2024
Read More
FreeDOS Text Editors

Editing files with FreeDOS Edlin

Edlin is a classic editor from the early DOS days, but it’s still a fun and useful editor.

Jim Hall
September 5, 2024September 4, 2024
Read More
Both.org Getting Started Open Source

Join the community and share an article

Our community wants to read about your experience and how you use your favorite open source application.

Jim Hall
September 1, 2024August 11, 2024
Read More
Command Line Linux

Check spelling at the command line

Check spelling at the command line like old-school Unix with this cool script.

Jim Hall
August 24, 2024August 16, 2024
Read More
Fun Programming

Guess the number in FORTRAN 77

Explore classic programming in FORTRAN 77 with this sample program.

Jim Hall
August 20, 2024August 13, 2024
Read More
LibreOffice

Count magic bunnies in LibreOffice Calc

Use this tutorial to learn about AutoFill in LibreOffice Calc.

Jim Hall
August 19, 2024August 13, 2024
Read More

Posts pagination

Previous 1 … 6 7 8 … 10 Next

ATTENTION — System Maintenance January 23 — 25

Starting Friday morning, January 23, I’m having Google fiber installed. It’s 3GB symmetric, which is 3x my ATT fiber, costs less, and gives me more control.

I’ll be upgrading the firewall and Both.org server with new NICs and replacing the slower Gb switch as part of this upgrade.

So the web site will be down at various times Friday and through the weekend as I upgrade my network to take advantage of that speed.

I’ll try to choose low traffic times for upgrades, but they’ll probably require an hour or more of downtime. You may experience one of those outages. Please try again later if you do.

Your patience is appreciated.

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

A computer is like air conditioning – it becomes useless when you open Windows

— Linus Torvalds

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.

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 have an account.

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
  • 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
    • Submission and Style guide
    • Advertising statement
  • Downloads

Advertising Statement

Advertising Statement

To the Top ↑ Up ↑