1. TechTip: Linux Command Line Basics, Tips, and Tricks

Get more familiar with the Linux command line and add to your Linux skills. By Max Hetrick The Linux shell, commands, and redirection can be intimidating to the Linux novice. The useful commands, tips, and tricks in this TechTip will he

2. TechTip: Manipulating Images with ImageMagick

Edit, convert, and manipulate images with the free and open-source ImageMagick software. By Max Hetrick Editing images can be quite a task if you're using a GUI tool like GIMP or Photoshop, especially if you have dozens, or even hun

3. TechTip: Easily Expand VMware Virtual Guest Disks

Expanding VMware virtual disks can be a complicated task, but by following a few outlined steps, it should become a simple procedure. By Max Hetrick One of the most dreadful and critical system error messages you can receive is the infa

4. OSCON 2008 Highlights

News and highlights from the O'Reilly Open Source Convention in Portland, Oregon. By Max Hetrick The tenth O'Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON) kicked off on Monday, July 21, in Portland, Oregon, at the Oregon Convention Cent

5. TechTip: Windows and Linux File Synchronization

With the open-source file synchronization tool Unison, you can easily keep files synchronized in multiple places locally and on remote machines. By Max Hetrick The cardinal rule of IT is to keep backups of your files. But how can you ea

6. TechTip: Securely Delete Files on Desktops and Servers

Several tools available for Windows and Linux desktops allow you to securely delete files containing sensitive information. By Max Hetrick In the past, I wrote a tip on how to securely erase an entire hard drive and also mentioned that

7. IBM's Project Big Green, Big Green Linux, and VMware Help Consolidate Data Centers

IBM and its Business Partners provide technologies to help companies achieve a green and eco-friendly status, proving their commitment to energy conservation. By Max Hetrick Everywhere you go these days, you hear the hype about turning

8. OpenSolaris Debuts After Massive Three-Year Community Effort

Amazon and the OpenSolaris community at the same time announce the availability of the OpenSolaris OS on Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2).

9. TechTip: Accessing Desktop GUIs and Systems Remotely

Accessing Linux and Windows systems can be as simple as using two open-source tools, SSH and VNC. By Max Hetrick Much of my work for my employer is done at home after normal work hours, when I can access systems much faster because user

10. TechTip: Handling Archived and Zip File Formats the Open-Source Way

Several open-source utilities are available to handle all your archival and zip file formatting needs on both Windows and Linux desktops and servers. By Max Hetrick How do you commonly handle archived and zip file formats on your Window

11. TechTip: Clone Hard Drives and Partitions Using Ghost for Linux

Whether you're backing up, deploying multiple Linux and Windows desktops, or cloning your installation to a larger drive, Ghost for Linux (G4L) can be very helpful. By Max Hetrick One can never have too many backups, trust me. Wheth

12. TechTip: An RSS News Feed Reader for Your IT Department

Easily set up open-source software Planet to consolidate your favorite RSS news feeds into one local news source. By Max Hetrick Do you get tired of visiting dozens of Web site feeds to get your daily IT news? Do you receive too many em

13. TechTip: Monit, the UNIX System Service Watch Dog

Manage, monitor, and automatically repair services, processes, and many other resources with the free open-source tool Monit. By Max Hetrick Many of you have heard me and fellow author Barry L. Kline mention the Nagios utility in the past.

14. TechTip: Easily Back Up Linux Hosts with Synbak

Are you backed up? Linux backups couldn't be simpler if you use the open-source utility Synbak. By Max Hetrick One of the most common mistakes anyone can make is not having a quality backup of data available at their disposal. I kno

15. The Open-Source vs. Proprietary War Rages On

With the open-source approach to software and business models becoming so popular, what does it mean for proprietary-driven businesses? The software industry is a completely different beast than it was just a few years ago. The open-source ph

16. TechTip: Open-Source Asset Management Software

Start tracking all your IT assets, computer and network equipment, licenses, software, and vendors with the free open-source software GLPI. For the longest time, I was searching for a way to combine information about all my IT assets into one

17. TechTip: Track and Analyze Network Traffic with ntop

Use ntop to display, graph, analyze, and sort all your network traffic statistics across all network protocols. There are many utilities available for Linux and Windows that perform various network traffic monitoring and sniffing, sometimes t

18. Scientists Research Internet Replacement Technologies

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is supporting an experiment that could possibly lead to new communication technologies for the future, a new Internet so to speak.

19. TechTip: Implementing an Internal Instant Messaging System

Building an intranet instant messaging system for only company use is easily accomplished with two open-source projects: Openfire and Spark.

20. RFID Uses and Privacy Concerns

With practical uses for RFID growing, so are concerns about privacy and the security of its implementations.

21. Free Tech Support

When co-workers expect free support and services from you, how do you respond?

22. Microsoft Vista Holdouts and IBM's WebSphere Google Deal

Organizations are banning Microsoft upgrades, and IBM is promoting Google Gadgets and new sitemap indexing utilities.

23. TechTip: TrueCrypt Open-Source Disk Encryption Software

With open-source project TrueCrypt, you can easily create on-the-fly encrypted volumes for Linux and Windows.

24. TechTip: Monitoring Your System i5 with Nagios

Easily integrate host and service monitoring into your AS/400 servers and networks with the open-source utility Nagios.

25. A Look at Microsoft's Vista and Microsoft's Relationship with Linux

Security, hardware, patents, DRM, interoperability, bloggerswhat a mess.

26. Oracle vs. Red Hat and the Microsoft/Novell Deal

While Oracle proclaims support for Red Hat products, Microsoft and Novell are partnering up with patent protection coverages.

27. TechTip: Open-Source Host Intrusion Detection

Easily manage log analysis, rootkit detection, file integrity, and more on hosts with Open Source Security (OSSEC).

28. TechTip: Track Network Security with BackTrack

Add an easily customizable network security suite to your open-source arsenal.

29. LinuxWorld San Francisco Highlights

Virtualization talk, Linux on the mobile platform, and a big happy birthday to the Linux OS.

30. Product Review: ACOM's EZContentManager

ACOM's EZContentManager makes the full spectrum of enterprise information content easily findable and accessible.

31. TechTip: Turn Old Hardware into Network-Attached Storage

Who couldn't use a little more storage space?

32. TechTip: Spawning Windows Processes Remotely

You can easily spawn Windows processes remotely without using Active Directory tools.

33. TechTip: Wipe Your Cell Phones Clean Before Disposal

How much private information is stored on your cell phone?

34. Open Source: Where Is It Now and Where Is It Going?

Everywhere you turn, you hear the open source versus proprietary debate. No matter what your position is, open source is growing at both the enterprise and desktop levels.

35. LinuxWorld 2006 Highlights

Virtualization technologies were just one of the hot topics.

36. TechTip: Is Your SSH Configuration Secure?

Securely lock down your Linux SSH ports with DenyHosts.

37. TechTip: Use Open Source to Resize NTFS Partitions

Resize NTFS partitions the quick and dirty way with open source software.

38. TechTip: Managing Windows XP Startup Applications

Take control of your startup applications and services with Autoruns.

39. TechTip: Secure Hard Drive Data Destruction

Destroy hard drive data quickly, safely, and easily.