Smart phones have revolutionized human existence. Denigrating jokes have been . . .

A sobering commentary, but nothing new to anybody who has . . .

The Mozilla folks again acted questionably with a new Firefox . . .

Recently some online writers have been sharing that using a . . .

The recent release of Geany 1.38 ends support for GTK . . .

Virtual machine (VM) technology is one of the great features . . .

Often I read forum posts from liberated new users asking . . .

Apparently the hardware requirements for Windows 11 will require some, . . .

Once upon a time I used only Windows . . .

I have no special fondness for Windows or Microsoft, but . . .

There is an old joke. How to know when politicians . . .

About 20 years ago a nice Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet 4200 . . .

Online authors like to discuss how web browsers leak private . . .

There are many online articles touting how Linux is better . . .

I long have enjoyed the flexibility of Linux shell scripting. . . .

While the so-called Predictable Network Interface Naming specification helps certain . . .

Some years I ago I purchased a ASRock N68C-GS4 FX . . .

The default configuration for Linux ext file systems is to . . .

There are some lessons learned after testing disaster recovery scenarios . . .

Usually computer disaster recovery plans presume available backups in one . . .

Disaster recovery testing continues with rebuilding both office desktop hard . . .

Disaster recovery testing continues with rebuilding both office desktop hard . . .

The next step with testing disaster recovery plans is rebuilding . . .

After 40 years of using computers, more than 20 years . . .

Continuing my disaster recovery testing, next was replacing a failed . . .

I have been using the Mozilla Firefox web browser since . . .

While exploring ways to prevent certain network systems from accessing . . .

Many people claim to suffer anxiety and stress from something . . .

I enjoy reading articles and blogs about using older computer . . .

I subscribe to a sufficient number of RSS feeds to . . .

In the home network the only file systems used are . . .

My baloney detectors alarmed when Windows 10 was first released. . . .

A family member decided to replace a mechanical hard drive . . .

For a long while I have noticed many skilled computer . . .

Although not being used in any productive manner, I decided . . .

The living room media player was next in the ongoing . . .

Another oddball disaster struck. I am not a big believer . . .

Many people experience eye strain when using computers. I encountered . . .

Somebody asked about an equivalent apt-cacher-ng software package for CentOS. . . .

Amarok 1.4 from the KDE 3 days was installed in . . .

Remote controls are wonderful devices. Not great for a person’s . . .

I was using the traceroute command while testing a VPN . . .

LibreOffice has a mixed compatibility reputation with MS Office files. . . .

One of the precautions I have taken to avoid a . . .

Embedded devices often suck. No, really. They are challenging to . . .

Reviewing and rehearsing disaster recovery plans is prudent and helpful. . . .

Ransomware is more or less out of control. There are . . .

In my effort to find a stand-alone desktop calendar, I . . .

Continuing my disaster recovery testing, I had one of those . . .

Generally, unlike proprietary operating systems, moving hard disks from one . . .

The Thunderbird Lightning calendar works well enough for me. There . . .

I was content with my new method of monitoring internet . . .

The Microsoft folks purposely obfuscate how to install Windows 10 . . .

I never have been fully satisfied with detecting connected NFS . . .

There is a single Windows 10 system in the house. . . .

I created a new computer work flow associated with a . . .

One day I was greeted with a cryptic message when . . .

I am still using Sylpheed as a second GUI mail . . .

After only a few days I grew frustrated with a . . .

One of the precautions I have taken with learning to . . .

Often I have thought that technical writers should read Hemingway . . .

I long have monitored my ISP connection. Generally the connection . . .

According to the Thunderbird 87 change log, Movemail support was . . .

In the past few years I have lost much faith . . .

I wanted to duplicate a directory tree without copying files. . . .

I found more issues while testing the upcoming Slackware 15 . . .

I was looking to directly access VirtualBox vdi virtual disks . . .

Several times I have used VirtualBox raw disk access. Raw . . .

In my ongoing efforts with learning to use a VPN . . .

I found more issues while testing the upcoming Slackware 15 . . .

I am looking at ways to avoid ISP snooping . . .

I found several issues after creating support scripts to help . . .

I am looking at ways to avoid ISP snooping . . .

Through the past 20 years I have written hundreds of . . .

Resolving a problem is a challenge when something “just works” . . .

Through the years I have observed excited claims about how . . .

I am looking into ways to avoid ISP snooping. For . . .

My first attempt at updating Slackware 14.2 to the upcoming . . .

I have been reading about the ways ISPs can invade . . .

I read that the Linux Mint developers were concerned about . . .

I really dislike updating operating systems. My dislike goes back . . .

Computers are complex machines. Really complex. So complex that many . . .

Once in a while I feel as though free/libre software . . .

Many people pay little attention to their email addresses. Many . . .

Outside of direct participation in forums, my only means of . . .

I am not fond of rapid release development . . .

Living in a rural area I am aware of the . . .

Generally the investment in technical writing is driven by a . . .

Within the past generation the popular acceptance of the world . . .

I have a “system info” script that gathers information and . . .

At work we have a Panasonic Toughbook CF-52F laptop. Previously . . .

Humans tend to tolerate many forms of inconvenience. To paraphrase . . .

At work I convinced the owner to roll out Linux . . .

At work we replaced one office workstation. The new motherboard . . .

The challenges of technical writing often are overlooked or discounted. . . .

Computers are great at automating tasks. One attraction for me . . .

At home I am a Slackware user. At work I . . .

Generally, display/login managers are used when booting into a graphical . . .

Often on many Linux distros removable devices, primarily USB flash . . .

Once upon a time I was hired to help change . . .

Creating a bootable USB flash drive from an ISO image . . .

I've been backing up my personal computer systems for 30 . . .

One of the cardinal rules of writing is explaining acronyms. . . .

For many years on all Linux systems I use I . . .

Many people want to dual boot Linux and Windows. Dual . . .

I spent most of my tech writing days writing maintenance . . .

A common topic in Linux forums is migrating from Windows. . . .

I consider myself a decent speller but I am human. . . .

Since updating to Firefox 78 ESR at work, I have . . .

At work I support both Firefox and Thunderbird . . .

The bug seems to only happen with the MATE 1.20 . . .

A common request in Linux forums is shell scripts working . . .

An interesting opinion why Linux fails on the desktop . . .

The web is filled with examples of useless computer error . . .

At work, in our migration efforts we decided we would . . .

I enjoy working as a Linux admin, but I yearn . . .

I few years ago I shared how I use Linux . . .

A few years ago I was hired as a Linux . . .

In certain ways updating software has become a mess. For . . .

I notice many job postings for user experience (UX) developers. . . .

Some months ago, starting with Firefox 67, the Firefox design . . .

An online conversation had me pause to reflect on my . . .

Computer savvy people long have had a history of being . . .

Way back around 1990 when I had a CompuServe account . . .

I have been connecting to the Internet since the mid . . .

Resolving problems is satisfying. Until resolved the problem can be . . .

Because of my job as a Linux admin I follow . . .

I notice many people asking questions about the dual purpose . . .

I enjoy working as a Linux admin. Yet part of . . .

At work I was asked to install a proprietary software. . . .

Some months ago I decided to use a sledge hammer . . .

These days many people manage multiple computers. A common desire . . .

At home on my laptop I seldom need or want . . .

There are some interesting discussions online about snaps and flatpaks . . .

I am not a professional software developer. I have no . . .

At work I needed to send an email to all . . .

My recent adventure with the duckduckgo search engine stirred some . . .

I entered a search query into the Firefox search box. . . .

I suspected this would happen . . .

Computer security receives decent attention these days. Potential exploits are . . .

A GRUB boot loader security flaw was announced around the . . .

We have six single node Proxmox hosts at work. For . . .

Often I run across online articles about so-called “note-taking” apps. . . .

A fascinating response to a simple question. The answers can . . .

One of my observations about computer software is no matter . . .

Many Firefox web browser users have run into the infamous . . .

At work the techs told me their new ASIX based . . .

Recently I wanted to draw on a grid — using a . . .

The concept of single sourcing documentation long has been the . . .

The home office computer is a pseudo server as well . . .

Some days ago a song line made popular in 1961 . . .

Every person has vices and eccentricities . . .

At work we have one old Dell 2950. I wanted . . .

Sometimes life belches and GRUB fails to function. Here are . . .

Converting a DOS (MBR) partition layout to GPT without losing . . .

For a long time on my Slackware 14.2 host host . . .

I had three operating systems installed on my laptop. I . . .

I began testing a security auditing package . . .

Linux systems are designed to auto suspend USB devices . . .

A common helpful tool when searching for files on Linux . . .

At work I migrated workstations and laptops from Ubuntu MATE . . .

Often people are asked to collaborate in technical writing projects. . . .

An unhealthy habit of many subject matter experts is ridiculing . . .

The cornerstones of tech writing include templates and style tags . . .

I ran into another Xfce and MATE clash . . .

At work we have two workstations with aging motherboards. With . . .

One of the cornerstones of tech writing is a style . . .

Many people want to install a Linux distro without wiping . . .

Many people complain about corrupt files on USB flash drives . . .

A common technical writing question is how to interview subject . . .

At work I ran into a quirk that I am . . .

Common themes in online Technical Writing discussions include organization and . . .

At work I migrated workstations and laptops from Ubuntu MATE . . .

Not creating PDFs directly from digital source documents seems to . . .

A common question I find in online forums is how . . .

A common question I find in online forums is how . . .

Early in my tech writing career I learned a valuable . . .

A disruptive usability pain is when developers change an application’s . . .

At work our migration from Ubuntu to Debian is progressing . . .

At work our migration from Ubuntu to Debian is progressing . . .

One of the more frustrating human replies to receive when . . .

Seems the web has a few “Don’t write documentation in . . .

Configuring the Xfce power manager is a tad quirky . . .

I doubt I will ever acclimate to the way Linux . . .

I have two removable drive bays in my office computer. . . .

A common question in forums and a common topic in . . .

I read some positive reviews of the Feedbro extension for . . .

I monitor outlets for technical writing opportunities. I am dismayed . . .

For some months I have been plagued with LibreOffice launching . . .

At work we don’t have central authentication. Unlikely that will . . .

I needed to compare dconf settings. There are oodles of . . .

Recently I bit myself. Not seriously . . .

A normal day. I booted the office computer. The computer . . .

The stock Debian 10 includes LibreOffice 6.1.5. A newer version . . .

The stock Debian 10 includes WINE 4.0. The newer 5.0 . . .

While progressing at work toward the eventual replacement of Ubuntu . . .

At work I am testing Debian 10. The goal is . . .

At work a fellow employee discovered access to GMail failed . . .

At work I wrote a shell script to sync certain . . .

Computers are complex tools. Sometimes too complex . . .

Today most writing is created using a computer. Even text . . .

At work I have been progressing nicely with converting the . . .

In my quest to migrate work systems from Ubuntu to . . .

I ran across an online article where the author pondered . . .

I notice many online requests for technical solutions to limit . . .

Despite being common, the phrase “right-click” is inaccurate. The phrase . . .

Among free/libre software users, Debian users are known as advocates . . .

At work I began testing office printers in Debian 10. . . .

At work we no longer could print to the office . . .

While helping technicians at work with updating Windows 7 to . . .

At work, after Windows 7 reached end-of-life (EOL) in January, . . .

Similar to people seeking an easy distro for beginners, I . . .

I am mildly surprised to notice 599 previous posts to . . .

One trait is common in many human endeavors, especially software . . .

A common question in many online forums is seeking an . . .

A common recommendation is not to run X as root. . . .

Occasionally at work I provide some nominal Windows support. I . . .

Part of my backup strategy includes cloned disks. The idea . . .

I maintain a virtual machine (VM) of Slackware Current. I . . .

When testing Debian with a live ISO, I noticed vim . . .

Recently I reminisced what the Linux world was like when . . .

The house Internet connection is provided by a Fixed Wireless . . .

Twenty years ago this day many people were exhaling happily. . . .

Technical writing has a certain mystique, which is unfortunate. Technical . . .

In my recent quest to migrate from Ubuntu to Debian, . . .

Today is December 21. Often in the northern hemisphere the . . .

Writing is about communicating ideas. Language provides a variety of . . .

I'm testing Debian as I prepare to migrate work systems . . .

My first exposure to technical writing was writing job aids . . .

I wanted to update VirtualBox from 5.2.28 to 5.2.34 . . .

While testing Debian 10 in VirtualBox I saw the following . . .

I have been testing Debian 10 as a replacement for . . .

Occasionally when using LibreOffice I see a blue banner: . . .

This past summer I experienced a corrupted disk in my . . .

To avoid admin overhead at work I remove all packages . . .

At work we use Proxmox. Decent software. Recently I began . . .

At work we use Firefox ESR. That is a sane . . .

For no significant reason I decided to disable ipv6 on . . .

I am fortunate that much of my job is performed . . .

I was browsing some of my writing and computer notes. . . .

To support my recent effort to reclaim me time, I . . .

A co-worker asked me how to send an email in . . .

Sometimes life is a lot like the old proverb about . . .

At work I discovered that one of our network connected . . .

I ran into a puzzling and then infuriating problem . . .

Ever try to temporarily disable a Thunderbird email account? . . .

For the past couple of months my office desktop occasionally . . .

For many years I have watched other people use computers. . . .

I might have resolved two irritants with xfce4-terminal. I updated . . .

My switch to Xfce has “some pebbles in the shoes.” . . .

At work we use several dozen Mikrotik routers. I am . . .

After my recent migration from MATE to Xfce, I pondered . . .

Lately my Slackware 14.2 64-bit MATE desktop has been freezing. . . .

Since configuring remote SSH and OpenVPN on my router, I . . .

I launched Firefox. I opened a bookmark to a regularly . . .

Powering on a computer only to be greeted with a . . .

I was tinkering with Proxmox with an eventual goal of . . .

I don’t want a monthly phone plan. Pay-as-I-go makes more . . .

I wanted to run some new scripts in some cron . . .

There is a full moon today. Eerie, as this is . . .

To conserve electricity at home, all workstations and laptops are . . .

Recently I poked around trying to learn how to keep . . .

Recently at work a backup server decided to reboot itself . . .

Recently board members of a regional school used a large . . .

I read the following online: . . .

I am no noob to Linux based systems. I have . . .

Early in our migration I configured a way to avoid . . .

At work I use the Oracle repository for VirtualBox. With . . .

One of the frustrating and irritating aspects of free/libre software . . .

Unlike the bulk of the Oracle VirtualBox code, the Oracle . . .

Our migration from Windows to Ubuntu MATE crashed hard . . .

For some years I have noticed on Ubuntu systems, when . . .

At work we started migrating laptops from Windows 7 to . . .

One of our workstations in our migration continues to be . . .

One day I am using Firefox ESR 60.6. Double-clicking on . . .

I had some fun the other day . . .

At work I have to support a WordPress (WP) site. . . .

Recently Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8 was released. The . . .

At work one of our workstations was not migrated from . . .

The recent Mozilla hiccup with an expired add-on signing certificate . . .

Dual booting sucks. Is irritating. Is inefficient. I remember the . . .

At work I have been migrating Windows 7 systems to . . .

At work the Ubuntu 4.4.0-143 kernel update started an avalanche . . .

I work at a small mom-and-pop business. We make do . . .

Recently at work I had a use case to install . . .

For a long time I have been unable to power . . .

At work I have been migrating laptops and workstation to . . .

Part of our migration effort includes a disk imaging process . . .

Recently in Ubuntu MATE 16.04 there was a kernel update . . .

I have been reading about RAID. I am no expert . . .

In our migration at work we ran into an interesting . . .

WINE 4.0 was released. At work we are using WINE . . .

At work in our migration efforts we have successfully migrated . . .

At work in our migration efforts I wanted to add . . .

At work in our migration efforts we still had two . . .

At work NetworkManager (NM) has been a pebble in our . . .

I do not use Slackware Current as a daily driver. . . .

For years I have used a paper calendar in the . . .

Why do web developers and bloggers design web sites on . . .

CentOS 7.6 is a buggy release . . .

About a month after the most recent Red Hat point . . .

I strive towards not using the common terms of success . . .

I helped a person with a new Acer computer. The . . .

While helping a person with a new Windows 10 Home . . .

I helped a person with a new computer that came . . .

For many years I have used a “safe-shutdown” script. One . . .

The Thunderbird Lightning add-on has been in development for many . . .

After my escapades with Thunderbird 60.x and ReminderFox, I decided . . .

In our migration efforts we do not plan to migrate . . .

On my Slackware office system I decided to update Thunderbird . . .

I work at a very small business with less than . . .

In our our migration effort we decided to use Firefox . . .

In our our migration effort we are using WINE. Currently . . .

At work we have a lone CentOS 6 container running . . .

Part of our migration effort includes a disk imaging process. . . .

I converted my ASRock N68C-GS4 FX system into a testing . . .

NetworkManager saves all connections, which includes saving all pre-shared keys. . . .

One aspect of our migration that caused some frowns is . . .

Online data mining and tracking are now full fledged diseases . . .

I hate the current fad of using overlays . . .

After abandoning NFS and moving to CIFS, I decided to . . .

I have been using RSS to follow a few Reddit . . .

On our laptops we have no need for user mails. . . .

NetworkManager (NM) and NFS reared their ugly head to create . . .

Once again CentOS bit me . . .

Another challenge encountered in our migration at work is the . . .

One of the challenges encountered in our migration at work . . .

I ran into two moments where I stared like the . . .

Two days after placing our first two Linux laptops into . . .

To my knowledge there is no way to enable a . . .

Within the first day of placing our first two Linux . . .

The second laptop to convert in our migration effort was . . .

The first laptop to convert in our migration effort was . . .

I dislike default configurations on any operating system and desktop . . .

I was uncomfortable with my recent virtual-to-physical (V2P) effort. The . . .

Although an improvement, I remained unsatisfied after creating a 32-bit . . .

From the respective web page, visitors learn that PuTTY “is . . .

At work we have three Windows 7 systems in the . . .

Recently I updated my sole CentOS 7 virtual machine (VM), . . .

At work we have a use case of using laptops . . .

For a while I have noticed a sluggishness with my . . .

I continue learning LibreOffice Draw. I am not an artist . . .

As I continue my journey with creating network diagrams, I . . .

I want to draw some network diagrams. I have been . . .

I want to draw some network diagrams. I have been . . .

I want to draw some network diagrams. I have been . . .

At work I received some rkhunter emails from a server: . . .

An upcoming project at work is replacing a commercial off-the-shelf . . .

I manage the knowledge base wiki software at work. I . . .

After configuring a RouterOS virtual machine (VM) in VirtualBox, I . . .

I wanted to tinker with Mikrotik RouterOS. One reason is . . .

We replaced a backup server at work because of hardware . . .

After inhaling deep through clenched teeth, I decided to try . . .

I noticed something pleasant after updating LibreOffice to version 6.0.2 . . .

Two months have elapsed since retiring the dedicated server and . . .

I am continuing my efforts to customize the newer Firefox . . .

I am using Firefox 52 ESR. Continuing my adventure with . . .

Some nominal observations about the Mozilla folks claiming to be . . .

Ubuntu 16.04 with the Unity desktop is installed on a . . .

To conserve energy at work I configured three non essential . . .

I have not yet updated to the Quantum series of . . .

I am using Firefox 52 ESR. I have been using . . .

I am using Firefox 52 ESR. I have been using . . .

Slackware 14.2 received a 4.4.115 kernel update related to the . . .

Slackware 14.2 received a 4.4.111 kernel update related to the . . .

I think the NoSquint Plus saga has ended. I had . . .

Since buying the new office motherboard I have been plagued . . .

I haven’t used xine in a couple of years. At . . .

I sigh every time I read a Distros That Just . . .

Some folks had some fun getting Linux running on a . . .

I installed Ubuntu 16.04.3 32-bit in a VirtualBox virtual machine . . .

I was contacted about my previous attempts to configure OpenVPN . . .

A strange VirtualBox quirk appeared on the new new office . . .

I resolved my server crash issue, but not in a . . .

Recently at work I browsed some servers logs. In the . . .

I was fiddling with the first steps of PCI pass-through . . .

As a passing curiosity with the new office desktop motherboard, . . .

I was still experiencing problems with my server. I had . . .

An interesting article appeared online about why The Year of . . .

The Firefox developers seem rather proud of the fact that . . .

After resolving my bricked Asus RT-AC66U router, I wanted to . . .

The DD-WRT developers did me in again while updating the . . .

I still wanted to build a CentOS test system. At . . .

I am not an avid user of desktop icons. I . . .

I have been using Firefox since the Netscape 2.x/3.x/4.x days, . . .

Some time ago my Windows 10 system tried updating to . . .

Lately my server crashed a few times. The first few . . .

With all the noise about the Intel CPU Management Engine . . .

Continuing my desire to create a CentOS test system, I . . .

I am not surprised the folks in Munich are returning . . .

A common question I see in discussion forums is people . . .

My Internet connection went wonky . . .

Once upon a time there was a popular mantra that . . .

A few weeks ago the NetworkManager package was updated in . . .

Years ago I wrote a shell script to monitor unexpected . . .

Among long-standing computer users, the Windows copy dialog joke is . . .

Of late I have been frustrated by annoying CentOS issues . . .

Ever notice that opening single quotation marks in Linux man . . .

There are many online discussions about the following stderr message . . .

Updating Windows 10 really is a nightmare. A way to . . .

I booted the Windows 10 POS. There was a cumulative . . .

To date I have done little more than updating, but . . .

For some time I have noticed that despite configuring a . . .

Laptop security is different from a stationary desktop system. Laptops . . .

Several days after installing the new office desktop motherboard I . . .

Many people prefer copying a movie DVD to their media . . .

I received a new antenna from the WISP owner. The . . .

Some days after configuring a guest account on my HP . . .

I had configured a caching proxy server to cache downloaded . . .

I maintain three to-do lists. For home chores, computer projects, . . .

For the past few weeks I noticed network connectivity had . . .

Recently I had to fix the boot splash on an . . .

After many years I bought a new motherboard for my . . .

Another weekend after attempting to update Windows 10 to the . . .

Updating all CentOS servers at work to 7.4 went smooth. . . .

A person posted an online opinion about package managers. In . . .

Updating a Windows 10 computer is insanity . . .

I enjoy reading about the never-ending battle between advertisers and . . .

Mostly I am ambivalent about systemd. I prefer not using . . .

Much attention was given to the Equifax data breach. Many . . .

VirtualBox is really great software for virtualizing systems on desktops. . . .

I wanted to add a guest account on my HP . . .

I use Slackware on all of my computers, but there . . .

For a long time in CentOS I have been annoyed . . .

After updating to CentOS 7.4, I noticed a peculiar error . . .

VirtualBox 5.1.28 was released on or about September 14, the . . .

Advertising wonks are “deeply concerned” about some new Safari web . . .

One of the trademarks of free/libre software is something always . . .

A decent discussion about user-centric development . . .

CentOS kicked me again . . .

Recently I searched the web using the keywords linux sucks. . . .

Recently I could not use Meld to view the differences . . .

Owners of some online search engines like to claim that . . .

I am using the original Amarok 1.4 on the living . . .

Yet another proposal for avoiding HTML markup in order to, . . .

Analogies almost always break at some point, but they are . . .

An interesting article about the problem of free/libre developers treating . . .

I was reading an article online with a similar title. . . .

Recently I traveled an interesting journey . . .

Currently in the political region known as the United States, . . .

The Google morons, er, engineers, are experimenting with auto-playing video . . .

Be careful what you wish for . . .

Lately I have been noticing articles about people complaining or . . .

On or about August 13 I updated my CentOS 7 . . .

Here is an odd observation. Many people want a true . . .

Technical documentation has long been an uncomfortable element of free/libre . . .

Recently I installed the Nagios and nagios-plugins package . . .

What is the deal with the overwhelming obsession with intrusive . . .

A boot splash is an odd feature. While the boot . . .

A core argument about net neutrality is keeping the Internet . . .

When I created this blog I wanted to view the . . .

Thankfully the Slackware BDFL is not a card-carrying member of . . .

Recently I caused some of my own grief. The resulting . . .

Recently I installed Nagios on my LAN server with the . . .

Recently there was a stink about Firefox using Google Analytics . . .

This is amazing. An exact repeat of a previous failure . . .

The web is filled with useless “How to install....” click-bait . . .

Of course the Microsoft folks want this. This has nothing . . .

I am watchful for information about protecting online privacy. The . . .

I have no memory or recollection where I obtained this . . .

I have a grand aversion to laptop trackpads. Also known . . .

For many years a common bragging point for Linux based . . .

These days web site design really sucks. Sucks bad. Exasperating . . .

While probably not yet conclusive, there is some research that . . .

Within my personal needs I am able to live comfortably . . .

Recently I enjoyed a short vacation. I purposely did not . . .

Yet Another Linux Fluff Piece . . .

I dropped out of college after my first attempt. I . . .

Much noise is made about two factor authentication (2FA) . . .

Walt Mossberg wrote his last planned column. Mossberg is known . . .

Ransomware is getting a lot of press these days. Especially . . .

People in the advertising business are sick people . . .

The WannaCrypt ransomware attack had some people chattering that Linux . . .

Recently for work I had to access a Windows share . . .

This is a typical geek article. Yes, technology evolves. No, . . .

I have been content with my virtual machine (VM) that . . .

Communicating is difficult. I never performed any scientific research, but . . .

Many online discussions exist where people argue about The Year . . .

User interface issues are common topics in this blog. There . . .

At one time I considered myself a Microsoft Word whiz. . . .

Lately I had been experiencing problems with my laptop wireless . . .

A coworker told me about laptop trackpad issues with Ubuntu . . .

I use CentOS 7 at work. Until recently that usage . . .

I need remote access to work related computers. My primary . . .

I decided on another big purge . . .

I seldom use the trackpad on my laptop. Nonetheless I . . .

For a long time I have been irritated with a . . .

About 7 months ago I updated Conky from version 1.9 . . .

Sadly, the first sentence of this article is spot on . . .

I am in a raw mood. I ran across an . . .

I seldom power on my Windows computer. Windows exists mostly . . .

The MATE desktop is a fork of GNOME 2. The . . .

On or about April 10 11:56 AM, many Firefox NoSquint . . .

Dear Web Site Designer . . .

I have been thinking about my future on the web . . .

I discovered a great feature of the Firefox NoScript add-on . . .

I agree with the sentiment . . .

Somebody derived the quaint idea of requiring visitors to prove . . .

For several months I have been using my Asus RT-AC66U . . .

Recently I tried to reboot my router from within Firefox. . . .

All computer systems in the house are now updated to . . .

My server was the last system updated to Slackware 14.2. . . .

While updating the living room media player to Slackware 14.2, . . .

The proverbial handwriting is on the wall. With the eventual . . .

A curiosity encountered during my updating from Slackware 14.1 to . . .

Another problem I encountered with updating my living room media . . .

After updating my office desktop and laptop to Slackware 14.2, . . .

Browsing a discussion forum became annoying after updating Firefox to . . .

Another security irritant is reading system logs. Home users and . . .

I get irritated by pedantic default security configurations on Linux . . .

I have maintained a list of quirks and unresolved issues . . .

A Mozilla Firefox developer shared some thoughts about a possible . . .

For the past several weeks I have been testing Slackware . . .

With the ability to use SSH to provide remote access . . .

Linux based operating systems are a staple of my daily . . .

I have been using Slackware since 10.0. That would be . . .

Although I tested Salix as a potential preferred desktop, I . . .

Satisfied with my preliminary testing in a virtual machine (VM), . . .

Unlike Slackware, the intended Salix package management tool is slapt-get . . .

Of the many mysteries and unfinished stories in my life, . . .

I had grown mildly irritable with the way some things . . .

I returned to configuring an OpenVPN server in DD-WRT. My . . .

I returned to configuring an OpenVPN server in DD-WRT. My . . .

As I progress toward removing the kinks with updating from . . .

An addition to locking the MATE desktop on the living . . .

With my transition of updating from Slackware 14.1 to 14.2, . . .

I expected this day to arrive . . .

In my tinkering with Slackware 14.2 with the intent of . . .

I do not like laptop trackpads. They are not a . . .

In my journey to update all of my Slackware 14.1 . . .

One of the quirks I ran into when migrating from . . .

I stopped my big update to Slackware 14.2 64-bit. A . . .

I am a tad late for the party. Slackware 14.2 . . .

I do not like updating computer operating systems. I am . . .

I dislike miscellaneous error messages, especially uninformative messages. For some . . .

The MATE clock configuration dialog lacks certain controls to customize . . .

For some time I noticed my systems blanking the monitor . . .

An interesting article about current trends in open source documentation . . .

The complexity of computer software never stops astounding me . . .

Occasionally I run across an online article about distraction-free writing . . .

I ran into a perplexing problem with NetworkManager dispatcher scripts. . . .

The Internet, specifically the World Wide Web layer, provides humans . . .

I have been around desktop computers a long time. In . . .

Two things often happen when I run Windows 10 and . . .

Despite all the hoopla about migrating people from Windows to . . .

About weekly a link comes through my RSS feeds about . . .

Can a leopard change its spots? . . .

This is why few people volunteer to help with writing . . .

I keep abreast of and have a decent grasp what . . .

After achieving some success with improved 802.11n connection speeds, I . . .

I am not a security expert or network engineer. I . . .

After struggling with OpenVPN I decided to provide myself remote . . .

Compared to PPTP, configuring OpenVPN is much different than configuring . . .

Continuing my journey to provide remote access to my home . . .

While configuring my Asus RT-AC66U router to allow remote access . . .

I have been wanting to provide myself remote access to . . .

Some time ago I wrote a shell script to monitor . . .

Several days after configuring my RT-AC66U with DD-WRT, I realized . . .

I have decent notes and backups of my Linksys WRT54GL . . .

After failing to successfully install CentOS 7 in VirtualBox, I . . .

A person with whom I work occasionally uses CentOS 6 . . .

I use the same subnet for my LAN wired and . . .

I ran into freezing problems while installing Windows 10 on . . .

When I migrated a person back to Windows, I noticed . . .

Migrating people from Windows to a Linux based system is . . .

Sturgeon’s revelation or Sturgeon’s law states that, “90% of everything . . .

There is a simple solution to eliminating patent and copyright . . .

I have a Windows 10 “entitlement” license. I also have . . .

I do not give a hoot about Mark Zuckerberg’s ego. . . .

Blocking undesired domain names is a security exercise. While advertising . . .

I never much liked advertising. Before the world wide web . . .

I sigh every time I read or hear somebody discussing . . .

Is anybody truly surprised? . . .

My office desktop has a floppy drive. The device is . . .

Lately I have been reading more about router security. While . . .

Microsoft Surface tablets are used by players and coaches in . . .

Typical click-bait content with a misleading title: . . .

Considering the madness of online tracking and the nightmare of . . .

A long time ago, possibly in a galaxy far away, . . .

Recently I read a discussion about how a typical computer . . .

For the past 10 years I have been using a . . .

The primary phone in the home is VOIP through the . . .

I use 32-bit on my 64-bit computers. Moving to 64-bit . . .

Published Oct. 17, 1991 in the Wall Street Journal, Walt . . .

The idea of a safe shutdown shell script is hardly . . .

Searching the web using keywords sandbox, isolate, and VirtualBox for . . .

I have used VirtualBox since the original Innotek days. Each . . .

Although I migrated from KMail to Thunderbird, I have been . . .

In 1991 I bought a 486 system. Alongside an Amiga . . .

My refurbished Lenovo T400 laptop came with Windows XP installed. . . .

I am pleased and content with the way I now . . .

I hope anybody using a Linux based system admits that . . .

Tabloid writers and fanboys all got excited Pavlovian style about . . .

The term corner case is used in software programming conversations. . . .

I am not a distro hopper. While I enjoy updated . . .

In Ubuntu MATE 16.04, Firefox was updated to 49.0. Firefox . . .

For some time I have been unable to install in . . .

I wanted a scriptable way to verify my Ubuntu Apt . . .

On my personal computers I have experienced software viruses only . . .

I use VirtualBox. While I know which systems on my . . .

I updated Ubuntu MATE with the usual kernel-of-the-week updates. Not . . .

Many distro maintainers require users join the kernel-of-the-week club with . . .

I created an Ubuntu Apt Cache Proxy Virtual Machine (VM). . . .

I face bandwidth caps. For years I have maintained a . . .

A common buzzword these days is passion . . .

I avoid Google products and services, which includes Android. Too . . .

This is hilarious . . .

I do not mind when developers include a password strength . . .

Most IT professionals are serious about security in the server . . .

Planned obsolescence is a fact of life with software and . . .

Now that “mobile compatibility” is some kind of web standard, . . .

The Linux kernel is 25 years old today. I was . . .

Desktop Linux Absent from Zemlin’s LinuxCon Pep Rally . . .

I accept that I live in a big world and . . .

Recently an online article prompted many comments about the Year . . .

The Microsoft folks decided, like the Windows 10 design, they . . .

I was thoroughly discouraged with the geek factor of static . . .

For many months I used wordpress.com to host this blog. . . .

Some relationships are unhealthy. Such relationships should be terminated . . .

Firefox 48.0 was released. That means the Mozilla developers no . . .

I surf the web with Firefox and the NoScript add-on. . . .

Since purchasing a few summers ago I have been plagued . . .

About a week ago I was at the hardware store . . .

There are some things many people learn as they age . . .

Somewhere during the recent months I wrote a shell script . . .

Lately I noticed with my Ubuntu MATE 16.04 systems that . . .

In addition to printing woes in Ubuntu, a few weeks . . .

For some oddball reason, since installing I have had no . . .

Thunderbird showed some frustrating design holes . . .

My last major app to migrate is KMail. I saved . . .

I updated the much appreciated SMPlayer from 16.4 to 16.6. . . .

I updated Firefox to version 47.0. Nothing new for me — . . .

Once upon a time there were only single computers in . . .

I wanted first to focus on massaging or converting the . . .

Of the apps I have been migrating, two have been . . .

I have nothing against using closed source or proprietary software. . . .

I do not own or use a smart phone. I . . .

Of late I have been dual booting my office desktop . . .

I have been using SMPlayer to watch Youtube videos. Missing . . .

My escapade with updating Windows 7 to Windows 10 was . . .

Unanswered at this point is how to create a Windows . . .

After installing Windows 10 directly to the Windows 7 partition, . . .

I have Windows 7 installed on a separate machine. The . . .

Free is seldom truly free . . .

A person for whom I installed Linux contacted me about . . .

I reduced my distro usage to two distros. This has . . .

I updated two Xubuntu 15.10 systems to 16.04 using the . . .

While MATE evolves and matures with each release, my MATE . . .

For several weeks I tinkered with the beta version of . . .

An example of the chasm that exists between developers and . . .

Some time ago I helped a person move to Linux. . . .

There is a history of bug reports against the usability . . .

One of the skills learned by technical writers and trainers . . .

I worked in the tech writing field for many years. . . .

Many people offering editing and proofreading tips focus on the . . .

I updated two Xubuntu systems from 15.10 to 16.04. One . . .

I long have enjoyed Ken Stark’s writing style and wit. . . .

Generally, most people do not resist change as long as . . .

I was asked to help update a private wiki knowledge . . .

I was asked to help update a private wiki knowledge . . .

My Happy Feet time with Xubuntu 15.10 ended. In addition . . .

I remember the Saturday Night Live Lily Tomlin “Ernestine” routine . . .

I have a single Windows 7 box. My original hard . . .

Some folks might think I am late to the game, . . .

Next in my app migration list was K3B . . .

Next in my app migration list was Digikam . . .

Next in my app migration list was Amarok. The old . . .

My main server performs most of my movie recording. Occasionally . . .

A popular topic for people migrating from Windows to Linux . . .

Some days ago I awakened from my sleep several hours . . .

I have been tinkering with Xubuntu to improve my understanding . . .

My first gander into Ubuntu territory was Linux Mint 17.3 . . .

I am not an Ubuntu user. After some honest thinking, . . .

After using Xfce for a while now, I can list . . .

I updated my Slackware 14.1 systems to Xfce 4.12 using . . .

Before I updated my Slackware systems to Xfce 4.12, which . . .

While MATE has much to like, my MATE wish list . . .

Matt Hartley wrote a commentary about “dumbing down” Linux. I . . .

A significant majority of people using computers do not care . . .

The first time a Firefox user attempts to use the . . .

The day after I updated my WRT54GL DD-WRT router, I . . .

The other day I wanted to update a startup script . . .

There is a clue that many Linux users do not . . .

I have noticed the past few years how Linux desktop . . .

I have yet to buy a tablet. I am unlikely . . .

With my mind wandering the other day, I pawed through . . .

I have no idea what made me chuckle about a . . .

Software developers seem to relish sharing what they call hidden . . .

I have been looking for convenient ways to remotely support . . .

I have been improving my Windows 7 knowledge and skills. . . .

Lately I have been tinkering with my refurbished Windows 7 . . .

Ever visit the Microsoft support web site? . . .

The Mozilla folks like to swagger with their alleged efforts . . .

GTK development has always bordered on a Cubism perspective. Sorting . . .

I ran into a strange Fedora quirk. I started Firefox . . .

When I use Midnight Commander in the mate-terminal, often I . . .

Within the past year I ran across a few stories . . .

What happened to the Year of the Linux Desktop? . . .

Continuing my excursion into suspend and hibernation, I configured my . . .

I want to configure my new server — actually all of . . .

I notice many vendors using Linux as a base for . . .

Installing a dedicated server exposed some challenges with my work . . .

I am now using a dedicated server in my network. . . .

While building my new server for my home LAN, I . . .

My new server had been running for about 10 days. . . .

In my office desktop I have an Asus M3N78-EM main . . .

I replaced my full scale home theater PC (HTPC) with . . .

My new living room NM70I-1037U media streamer almost always ran . . .

Part of my network revamp plan was to replace the . . .

I ran into an interesting but irritating quirk when I . . .

The ASRock N68C-GS4 FX motherboard contained no PC speaker. I . . .

For my new server I purchased an ASRock N68C-GS4 FX . . .

For some time I have wanted to build a dedicated . . .

For more than a year I have been planning to . . .

Continuing some thoughts from my previous post . . .

Continuing my story with updating Fedora 22 to 23 . . .

On my Thinkpad T400 I used a spare partition to . . .

The ability to block Microsoft from updating users to Windows . . .

Unlike laptops, desktop systems have no fancy quarter moon LED . . .

One of the challenges of living in a surveillance state . . .

I never owned a laptop until a few summers ago. . . .

During my transitional period between my office desktop motherboard dying . . .

I have been reading quite a bit about ransomware. Ransomware . . .

Inconsistency is one of the themes in this blog. Nice . . .

I live in a rural area. I know people who . . .

Continuing with my rant about Firefox 43, a second broken . . .

There are times when I want to enter a room . . .

Desktop environments should never irritate users or get in their . . .

Customizing the MATE panel basically works. Mostly . . .

I am not anything close to a Live distro expert . . .

I use multiple computers and multiple user accounts. One of . . .

The MATE desktop is not part of the official stock . . .

Several operating system updates loom on the horizon for me. . . .

Search engines are getting more frustrating. So much noise to . . .

Most of the time I use the MATE desktop. Like . . .

From the perspective of non technical users, of course . . .

I mentioned that I like the simplicity Slackware provides but . . .

For many years I have used NFS. Works great except . . .

Years ago When I dual booted with Windows NT4 and . . .

I Turned Off JavaScript for a Whole Week and It . . .

I am unable to suspend my desktop system. The motherboard . . .

When I updated from Fedora 21 to 22, more often . . .

Most of what I write in this blog addresses the . . .

Recently in Fedora 21 and 22 I noticed I was . . .

I use a Thinkpad T400 laptop. One of the installed . . .

Using multiple computers creates a desire to centralize work flows . . .

A significant majority of distro reviews are little more than . . .

A problem that bothered me for a long time is . . .

I ran across an interesting quirk. To me this quirk . . .

The menu options created in GRUB are classic geek poop. . . .

With respect to computers and many other products, I do . . .

One of the noticeable impediments in free/libre software is the . . .

There is something Linux distro maintainers do not handle well. . . .

Vendor lock-in and proprietary file formats are the bane of . . .

In addition to not having a Run option directly in . . .

For a while the Microsoft folks have been feigning attempts . . .

There are many online tutorials for learning about Linux based . . .

Once upon a time, notifications among LAN systems were handled . . .

GTK 3 developers seem to revel in perverting traditional desktop . . .

Much has been written about how proprietary software cannot be . . .

A common question asked by Windows users new to Linux . . .

The Mozilla Firefox developers continue their rampage with removing usability . . .

My office computer had been a tad flaky for many . . .

After 8 years my office desktop PC died . . .

A common question asked in Linux forums and covered in . . .

Until this past summer I had been away from the . . .

Ever notice those online articles titled “Things to Do After . . .

Generally the expression “familiarity breeds contempt” means that the more . . .

One of the mysteries that has annoyed me with MATE . . .

While mostly I use Fedora as my preferred desktop system . . .

Despite some shortcomings, I use Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) . . .

While there are many “Best Distro for Beginners” articles on . . .

CentOS (Community Enterprise Operating System) is a clone of RHEL . . .

Here is a simple usability issue I do not understand. . . .

I stopped using Google some time ago. Since my Firefox . . .

I have been using Firefox since the Phoenix days and . . .

I used my laptop for a long spell without suspending . . .

Rant time . . .

In Firefox there two examples of lazy developers . . .

The term RTFM is familiar to many free/libre software users. . . .

I am not a video junkie and am not a . . .

Why has there never been a Year of the Linux . . .

Some time ago I had been trying to install Goldendict, . . .

This past summer I was asked to install a Linux . . .

At one time I was interested in tinkering with Linux . . .

There are certain areas where the most die hard Linux . . .

I do not remember the versions, but months ago while . . .

I have used Conky for many years. I like Conky . . .

I do not use vi[m] or emacs. I appreciate that . . .

With respect to computers a common phrase heard is “Everything . . .

While watching an NFL game, I noticed a significant presence . . .

One of my long-standing peeves with all operating systems is . . .

I do not know whether the Firefox developers performed any . . .

Related to the presumption of being connected 24/7 is the . . .

An unfortunate usability trend has emerged the past few years — . . .

Some Linux users like to poke fun at Windows users . . .

For several years a Windows registry of sorts called dconf . . .

Overall I like the MATE desktop environment, which I use . . .

Along with the frustrating concept of maximizing screen real estate . . .

Linux developers seem obsessed with the idea of “maximizing screen . . .

I have noticed a constant throughout my years of using . . .

There is a trend in Linux desktop design toward tiling . . .

I notice a trend of late. Default terminal configurations have . . .

From a usability perspective, especially non enterprise users, no passwords . . .

The Linux Mint folks are a tad better at usability . . .

Usually distros are designed not to automatically update software. This . . .

I noticed a frustrating design choice while running trial tests . . .

At least monthly I run across an article about the . . .

Linux development includes tech savvy people. Rarely does development include . . .

Every time I read a forum thread where a non . . .

A significant frustration with using free/libre software is the break . . .

A chasm exists between free/libre software developers and most users. . . .