If-Else Statements in OpenOffice Calc

I do a lot with spreadsheets. And when I work in spreadsheets I work in OpenOffice. Most people know the ins and outs of spreadsheets, but many don't realize just how powerful […]

Monitor your Network the Open Source way with Etherape

Every network administrator needs a good network monitor for network management. But with so many to choose from it's hard to know which one is best. This especially applies to the open […]

Back up your Apache web directory and database with this simple script

I administer a lot of web sites. And all of these web sites need backup solutions. Since most of those web sites use LAMP servers it only made sense to set up […]

eGroupware: Your Exchange Replacement Has Arrived

If your company uses Exchange you might have noticed the license for Exchange now requires a CAL for each user who accesses the Exchange server. In a large enterprise this can become […]

GnuCash: Open Source Accounting/Finance Goodness

For many the idea of Linux accounting and financial software falls squarely in the lap of either Quicken or Microsoft Money. But did you know there was one particular open source alternative […]

Shorten Linux Boot Time with Services

The patience of today's computer user is low. Time is, very much, of the essence. And for some reason that adage applies in spades to Linux computer and Linux server boot times. […]

Getting to Know Linux: Installing From Command Line

For users new to the Linux operating system, nothing beats installing applications with the graphical Add/Remove Software applications found in the main menu of your desktop. But sometimes that ever-so-user-friendly GUI isn't […]

Ease Linux Networking With /etc/hosts

How many times have you gone to your Linux box to administer your network and found yourself developing carpal tunnel from typing ssh -v -l jlwallen 192.168.1.10 -X? Or how taxing to […]

Fedora 10 and the Evolution of Xorg

This is a rant. This is only a rant. If this were a real review you would be notified by your local emergency broadcast station...Now that I have your attention, I want […]

Enable Beagle Searching in GNOME

The Beagle indexing tool takes searching your computer to another level. Beagle uses background indexing so searching is updated in real time and as files are created. Even email is indexed upon […]

Downloading Torrents with Transmission

Torrents are a regular part of a geeks life. Whether it is downloading ISO images, your favorite non-licensed anime, or large-scale backups, torrents are a simple way to manage massive downloads. But […]

Using Cron to Automate Linux Tasks

Linux is one of the most flexible and useful operating systems available. One of the tools that places Linux at the top of the flexibility and usability scale is cron. The cron […]

Burn CD and DVD ISO Images with K3B

You just downloaded the newest version of your favorite Linux distribution but you remembered the first time you did it you were in Windows where you had Nero (or some similar application) […]

Installing Fonts in Linux

If you do much desktop publishing or graphics work in Linux than you might be at a place where you are struggling to get fonts installed. Well never fear - it's not […]

Using The GIMP With Fewer Windows

After only a couple of articles about The GIMP it is clear there are many users that are still unhappy with the interface. With that in mind I thought I would help […]

Getting to Know The GIMP Interface

For many people, the biggest hurdle to using The GIMP is the user interface. When The GIMP began it started out with a very different UI than any other application. That UI […]

Save Your Skin by Customizing Your Bash Prompt

If you do much work at the Linux command line then you know the bash prompt can offer you a lot of information. But by default the prompt itself isn't too useful.  […]

Get Graphic with The GIMP

I almost hesitate to offer up any sort of review for the Linux version of Photoshop. Why? I've been using it for so long it almost seems unfair to "review" something so […]

Get Vertical Titlebars in E16 Themes

I bet you didn't know that you could change the placement of your Enlightenment titlebars. Although not necessarily pracitical, it does make for some impressive desktops, and it allows you to quickly […]

Understanding Linux /etc/fstab

The fstab file has a very key mission for your Linux system. What it does is map devices to directories so those devices can be used. If you plug in an external […]

Collaborate in Real Time with Gobby

If you do any collaborative work you know how difficult some collaboration tools can be. With both MS Office and OpenOffice you can collaborate with notes and track changes. But what about […]

Enable Composite for Window Transparency in Enlightenment

If you have played around with the Enlightenment window manager you know it is, for such a lightweight window manager, pretty impressive. But if you've not enabled compositing, you have yet to […]

Make KDE 4 More User-Friendly by Changing Window Behavior

If you are using a distribution that now ships with KDE 4 you might notice the desktop is less than user-friendly. From the main menu to the panel, KDE 4 has a […]

Abiword: A Lean Word-processing Machine

I like my tools to be efficient. Part of efficiency is opening quickly, not sucking up all of my systems' resources, and saving in various formats. When considering office needs one of […]

Configuring gtkpod for Music Playback

In my recent article I illustrated how to connect your iPod to the Linux application gtkpod. Gtkpod is fairly straightforward, but there can be issues. One of the issues is playback of […]

Connect your iPod to gtkpod

You're new to Linux. You have managed to figure your way around the desktop and you have become accustomed to the application installation process. Now it's time to go about day to […]

Use Aterm for Transparent Terminal Effects

If you're like me you wind up using the command line a LOT. And when I am in the command line I prefer to at least enjoy the experience. To help add […]

Add mp3 support in Fedora 10

One of more frustrating aspects of some modern Linux distributions is that they do not ship with mp3 support rolled in. This is, by design, done because of licensing issues. And granted […]

Installing Applications in Linux with GNOME PackageKit

If you have used Fedora in the past you might be well aquainted with rpm (Red Hat Package Manager).  But if you have taken a gander at Fedora Core 10 you might […]

Installing Linux applications with Aptitude

For those of you who like a little more power behind your tools you will certainly appreciate the Aptitude front-end for the apt package management system. Aptitude is based on the ncurses […]

Getting to Know Linux: Installing applications in Ubuntu

You have finally managed to get Ubuntu installed and you are up and running. And even though there are tons of new and exciting pieces of software on your hard drive, you […]

Install phpmyadmin for easy MySQL administration

I have been working with LAMP (Linux Apache, MySQL, PHP) servers for a long time. But not matter how much experience I have with them one of the first things I, do […]

Convert .mp3 files to .wav files in Linux

With the popularity of mp3 players, and the frustrations of using DRM-crippled music, it is always nice to be able to rip your own mp3 files. There are plenty of Linux tools […]

Connecting to Wireless Networks in GNOME

Connecting to wireless networks in Linux has, for a long time, been a nightmare. Until recently wireless was often a deal breaker in Linux (especially with laptops.) But things have changed. Now […]

Install Linux on a USB drive with UNetbootin

There are so many reasons why having a Linux distribution on a usb drive can come in handy. Fram having a "rescue" OS on your keyring to being able to install a […]

Installing and Configuring Enlightenment E16

Over the  years I have used countless Linux desktops and window managers. But no matter how amazing a desktop (read: Compiz-Fusion) I always seem to wind up going straight back to Enlightenment. […]

How to dual boot Linux and Windows XP

Unlike Windows Vista, Windows XP does not have a built in tool to resize a partition. Because of this you have to make use of another means. One of my favorite tools […]

How to dual boot Windows Vista and Linux

I have had a number of requests for how to documents on dual booting Windows and Vista. Since the process for Vista and XP are different I am going to give them […]

An Illustrated Guide to Installing Ubuntu Desktop

I have had a number of requests for a step by step walk through of a Linux installation. I thought this would be a great way to illustrate how simple installing Linux […]

Get to Know Linux: File System Hierarchy

The Linux file system hierarchy is much different than that of Windows. So much so that it becomes a show stopper for many new users. I hope to clear up a lot […]