Writing
Articles
136 articles, newest first.
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From Bash to Python
After more than twenty years of doing nearly everything in Bash, I started writing my automation in Python. Four everyday admin jobs side by side in both languages, what Python does better, and where Bash still wins.
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The Real Cost of Neglecting Internal Talent
Passing over your own people, underpaying them, and then papering over it with outside hires and perks like unlimited PTO doesn't save money. It costs more, and the research says so. What goes wrong, and what to do…
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2025 State of Tech Talent Report
The Linux Foundation surveyed more than 500 hiring and training leaders. They expect AI to add value, they're short of people who can build it, and most would rather train their own staff than hire. The key numbers and…
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Breaking the Chains
Email is the system nobody wants to touch, which is exactly why so many organizations are still on Microsoft Exchange and Active Directory. Why moving is hard, why it's worth it, and how to move to Stalwart Mail and…
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We Are Now Powered by the FAIR Package Manager
LinuxExpert.org now gets its WordPress plugins and themes through FAIR, the Linux Foundation's new federated package manager. What FAIR is, why a WordPress site would want it, and what it changes for us.
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Everything You Should Know About Being a Linux Sysadmin, But Probably Don't
A tongue-in-cheek look at veteran Linux sysadmins, the deprecated tools we refuse to give up, the culture we built that scares newcomers off, and the truce both sides need.
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Supercharge Your Workflow
A free, GPL-licensed set of Bash scripts for the jobs Linux admins repeat every week, backups, log rotation, updates, users, services and a basic security audit, written to work across distributions. What's in it and…
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From Licenses to Liberation
I started out on Banyan VINES, NetWare and Windows NT, and came to Linux in 1996 to get out of a licensing problem. A look back at how Linux grew from a workaround into the thing everything runs on, what's still weak…
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What You Can Learn from Building a World of Warcraft Private Server
Standing up a World of Warcraft server emulator is a surprisingly complete lesson in Linux administration, compiling from source, databases, networking and running a community. What you'd learn, how the pieces fit, and…
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Why LinuxExpert.org Is Permanently Leaving Facebook
Meta has said it will end third-party fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram, starting in the US. That was the last push. LinuxExpert.org is leaving Facebook for good, and putting its effort into open, federated places…
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The History of Ethernet
A memo at Xerox PARC in 1973 described a network that shared a single cable and politely retried when two computers talked at once. Fifty years later Ethernet runs from your desk to the AI data centers at 800 gigabits…
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OPINION: Why Linus Torvalds’ Decision to Exclude Russian Contributors is Justified
Last week about a dozen maintainers tied to sanctioned Russian companies were removed from the Linux kernel's maintainers list, and Linus Torvalds refused to reverse it. What actually happened, what it does and doesn't…