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Linux is about the most exciting thing to happen to the computing field in years; since the internet arrived in the UK back in 1989 or thereabouts, maybe even since the invention of the PC.Of course, some people just don't get it. But if you're reading this, you probably want to at least learn a little more.
I published what I believe was the first review in the mainstream computer press (in Computer Shopper in June or July 1994), and I've been using Linux as my main OS since March 1995. Since October 1998, I've been writing a monthly Linux column in Shopper.
Here's where the articles go to die after the magazine comes off newsstand sale. Note that the month indicates the month in which the magazine comes off the newsstands -- the articles are actually written and copy filed about three months before then:
Yeah, I know this hasn't been updated for a long time. I ceased writing for shopper in 2004; I have a backlog of approximately two years of articles that I really need to reformat and add to this site, but am having a wee bit of trouble finding time (due to, for example, selling novels). Watch this space, okay?
- April 2002 Column: An intro to Wireless Nets on Linux
- Backup tools on Linux
- March 2002 Column: Usability, VCRs, and software
- INTERCAL and Befunge revisited
- February 2002 Column: A bestiary of filesystems
- January 2002 Column: Linux business models
- Mail delivery filters and spam blocking
- Linux crypto tools
- December 2001 Column: Terrorist scares, digital cameras
- Linux crypto tools
- November 2001 Column: Insanity and Windows ME
- What the DMCA means to you
- Hardening servers
- October 2001 Column: Microsoft considered Evil
- Back-office tools
- Rapid Application Development tools
- September 2001 Column: User Mode Linux, Maiframes, playing DVDs
- Offbeat Linux distributions
- August 2001 Column: Zen and the art of system administration
- July 2001 Column: All about Linux and PDAs
- The Zope Web Application Framework
- June 2001 Column: Four Legs Good: Two Legs Bad
- Typesetting tools on Linux
- May 2001 Column: Shameless Microsoft bashing
- Typesetting tools on Linux
- April 2001 Column: A brief history of X
- Open source databases
- March 2001 Column: Copyright Nazis and CPRM; speech recognition
- Distros special: zipslack
- Publishing's big bang: the net and book publishing
- February 2001 Column: predictions, SANE, web design
- Linux distro roundup
- January 2001 Column: Weird filesystems, mobile-IP, kernel 2.4
- Running a small office, part 2
- December 2000 Column: GUIs considered harmful
- Running a small office, part 1
- November 2000 Column: IBM's strategy, Plan Nine from Bell Labs
- Web Development Tools on Linux
- October 2000 Column: RIP Bill
- September 2000 Column: Unerasing files, defragging disks
- Read me first!
- August 2000 Column: Broadband networking and Linux
- August 2000 Column: Security logging; Microsoft anti-trust
- July 2000 Column: All about USENET
- May 2000 Column: A brief history of UNIX; DeCSS revisited
- May 2000 Column: Printing on Linux, first look at Mozilla
- April 2000 Column: DVD Hacking, Rebuilding the kernel
- Linux Column March 2000: Laptops on Linux
- Linux distributions revisited
- February 2000 Column: The great Caldera lawsuit; what 2000 holds in store
- January 2000 Column: Commercial apps, Trust, Psion 5/5MX
- Office Applications round-up
- December 1999 Column: Perl, stupid e-commerce websites
- November 1999 Column: SGI gets religion; emulators
- October 1999 Column: On Copyright and Gorillas
- Linux Distributions
- September 1999 Column: IPOs, printing, distros (again)
- August 1999 Column: Distros, PDAs
- Development Tools review
- July 1999 Column: Security, FUD
- June 1999 Column: Linux Expo: Scripting languages
- May 1999 Column: KOffice, Distributions #2
- April 1999 Column: Growth, Distributions #1
- March 1999 Column: Big guys moving in?
- February 1999 Column: Business as usual
- January 1999 Column: Unix is dead ...
- An introduction to Linux
Future plans include a round-up of open source website construction toolkits, coverage of KDE 2.0 and Mozilla, and the usual off-the-cuff rambling about the Linux philosophy, which corporations Don't Get It (and which do), and a smattering of introductory pieces.
If you have a bee in your bonnet or want to know why I'm not covering something, feel free to Bug me.
Meanwhile, Here are some vague meanderings about the subject that haven't appeared in Shopper. Be advised that some of it is a wee bit out of date.
What I'd like to do here is provide an ongoing stream-of-experience sort of thing, explaining why Linux is cool, what's new, and what's worth knowing about; not a simple list of links to explore, but some commentary about the subject.
How to make a livable desktop -- or at least, eleven useful things to know about.
Linux Everywhere -- cool stuff for bringing your Linux desktop to Windows NT (and vice versa).
Making KDE work with other applications: Part 1 -- how to get the KDE desktop to recognize applications and files belonging to other programs. (Obsolescent -- describes KDE 1.0, not updated.)
KDE Themes. More about customizing KDE; this time, how KDE gets its look and feel. (Not just how to use the KDE Control Center!) (Obsolescent -- probably irrelevent from KDE 1.1.2 onwards, which has full theme management.)
Why free software is a good thing -- or rather, why I (as a paid programmer) don't see it as a threat to my job.