Do you routinely make changes to more than a dozen machines at a time? Read this article to find out about a tool to make that task much easier. more>>

A linguistic look at some tenets of Linux.

Merriam-Webster defines a tenet as "a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true; especially one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession." As it happens, Linux is claimed by two doctrines that are to some degree at odds: those of free software and open source. This contention began when Eric S. Raymond published "Goodbye, 'free software'; hello, 'open source'", on February 8, 1998. Here's an excerpt: more>>

Do you have an old, unused wireless router collecting dust? Have some fun and make a Wi-Fi honeypot with it! more>>

When I write my column, I try to stick to specific hacks or tips you can use to make life with Linux a little easier. Usually, I describe with pretty specific detail how to accomplish a particular task including command-line and configuration file examples. This time, however, I take a step off this tried-and-true path of tech tips and instead talk about more-general, high-level concepts, strategies and, frankly, personal opinions about systems administration. more>>

It's not hard to create functions to ensure that your script doesn't run forever. But what if you want portions to be timed while others can take as long as they need? Not so fast, Dave explains in his latest Work the Shell. more>>