Skip to the content
Both.org
News, Opinion, Tutorials, and Community for Linux Users and SysAdmins
  • About Us
  • Linux
    • Why I use Linux
    • The real reason we use Linux
  • My Linux Books
    • systemd for 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

I need a list of URLs

June 16, 2025June 10, 2025
2

Cyndi: My open source story — Linux, the loyal friend

June 13, 2025June 9, 2025
3

How to remove a stuck kernel from GRUB

June 12, 2025June 4, 2025
4

What USB device is that?

June 11, 2025June 4, 2025
5

How to selectively apply updates

June 10, 2025June 4, 2025
6

Straight quotes from pandoc

June 9, 2025June 4, 2025
7

Viewing PDF documents in console mode

June 6, 2025May 31, 2025
8

AI Terror: The struggle to stay alive

June 5, 2025June 4, 2025
9

Loving the command line with the Raspberry Pi

June 4, 2025May 31, 2025
  • 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.
Fun History Opinion

My open source story

How I got started in open source, from GNU Emacs and installing Linux in 1993.

Jim Hall
May 19, 2024May 19, 2024
Read More
Fun Programming

My first programming language

Apple BASIC was how I first learned how to write my own computer programs.

Jim Hall
May 18, 2024May 25, 2024
Read More
Curiosity Programming Tips and tricks

3 ways to read files in C

There’s the simple way, and there’s the fast way. Let’s compare.

Jim Hall
May 17, 2024May 15, 2024
Read More
Command Line Fun Linux

Using ‘grep’ to play a word game

You can use regular expressions to match letters and patterns, to help you play a letter game.

Jim Hall
May 13, 2024May 9, 2024
Read More
FreeDOS History Open Source

MS-DOS 4.00 released as open source software

Why it’s important that Microsoft released this old version of MS-DOS.

Jim Hall
May 1, 2024April 26, 2024
Read More
History Programming

Writing your own ‘fmt’ program

Learn a little programming to write tools that do things the way you want to do them.

Jim Hall
April 20, 2024April 14, 2024
Read More
Bash Fun Programming

Learn Bash by writing a number guessing game

Learning a new programming language can be a fun exercise.

Jim Hall
April 14, 2024April 5, 2024
Read More
Code Community Fun

Temporary fixes that become permanent

We asked our community for their stories about a “quick fix” that became a permanent one.

Jim Hall
April 13, 2024April 11, 2024
Read More
Command Line Linux Storage Management System Administration

Tweak your system performance with ‘noatime’

Turn off “access time” to make a slight but noticeable improvement on system performance.

Jim Hall
April 11, 2024April 5, 2024
Read More
Fixing problems Web Server

How to debug a web server error with ‘wget’

The wget command line tool can provide detailed information about what’s happening on a web server.

Jim Hall
April 10, 2024April 5, 2024
Read More
FreeDOS Linux VirtualBox

How I boot FreeDOS using QEMU

QEMU is a fast and flexible virtual machine that you configure using command line options.

Jim Hall
April 8, 2024April 2, 2024
Read More
Linux Open Source Software Programming

Exploring the history of technology

Learn about these important milestones in computing history as you experiment with writing your first program.

Jim Hall
March 22, 2024March 16, 2024
Read More
Bash Command Line Tips and tricks

Using ‘if’ in a Bash script

Writing a short Bash script can save typing lots of instructions at the command line.

Jim Hall
March 15, 2024March 15, 2024
Read More
Community Curiosity

How to write your first article

Open source is for everyone! And at Both.org, we encourage everyone to share their open source journey.

Jim Hall
March 6, 2024March 6, 2024
Read More
Fun Programming

Draw a heart for Valentine’s Day

With a bit of programming, you can draw your own Valentine heart in graphics mode on FreeDOS.

Jim Hall
February 14, 2024February 3, 2024
Read More
Community Open Source

Looking ahead to 30 years of FreeDOS

Learn about the origins of this classic open source operating system.

Jim Hall
February 10, 2024February 10, 2024
Read More

Posts pagination

Previous 1 … 6 7 8 Next

Random Quote

If a program is useful, it will have to be changed.

— Laws of Computer Programming

“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.

Interesting Links

  • Replace Kubernetes with systemd

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
  • KDE for W10 Exiles
  • Why I Switched to Linux From Windows

Linux

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

Open Source Software

  • GIMP
  • LibreOffice

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.

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.

  • About Us
  • Linux
    • Why I use Linux
    • The real reason we use Linux
  • My Linux Books
    • systemd for 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

Administration

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Both.org aims to publish everything under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license. Some items may be published under a different license. You are responsible to verify permissions before reusing content from this website. The opinions expressed are those of the individual authors, not Both.org.

Advertising Statement

To the Top ↑ Up ↑