Linode and Linux

I've used Linode for the past three years, and before that, another two years (with 3 years of AWS in between). There has been a (reasonable) increase in prices, and not much else since the acquisition by Akamai. Before Linode I used Servint which had more tools but also was much higher in prices, for ... Read more

Hardware Spec Minimums 2024

These specs are meant to help with acquisition decisions. More is usually better, and certainly for future-proofing purchases. Note that these are not adequate for modern games such as Starfield. Desktop and Laptop For processors, there is more leeway, but one should get the latest generation of whichever processor line is needed (e.g, for Intel ... Read more

Smart Control (drive health app)

[smartctl](https://www.baeldung.com/linux/storage-device-check-health) is a tool for testing hard drives. There is a graphical interface called gsmartcontrol which oddly cannot be found in the standard Debian testing repository but is otherwise available.

LMDE to Xfce desktop environment

I've been having trouble with the sleep cycle of a new monitor, such that causes problems with the LXDE lxpanel app. Basically the panel unloads when the monitor sleeps (or awakes). Since lxpanel is more or less frozen, I've looked to other desktop distributions to remedy this. Though I am generally satisfied with LXDE, it ... Read more

Removable Disk Volume Name

To change the volume name of a removable disk (USB / SD), in Debian (or other Linux): Open up > Accessories > Disks Click on device Click on gears icon (Additional partition options) Edit Filesystem Enter partition name

Can I use PPAs on Debian?

PPAs are personal package archives that allow people to distribute application packages to Ubuntu distributions. Since Ubuntu is based on Debian, and PPA packages are in the .deb format, they can theoretically be used in Debian. However, there are several complications that need to be understood: Why PPAs are not recommended for use in Debian ... Read more

Upgrade and Migrate Linode

I've recently migrated between datacenters, but not using any data center tools. Rather this is specific recreation of systems and importing of data. Much cleaner, and it becomes clear that there are advantages to data center processors and database cleanliness. Clearly there are some changes using php-fpm8.2 vs. 7.4 and while the mariadb process has ... Read more

useradd vs. adduser on Debian

adduser is a more friendly interactive tool that asks to create a password, while useradd simply adds a user with or without a password.

Subversion

Subversion is a legacy source code control system. It is run by the Apache foundation. Subversion exists to be universally recognized and adopted as an open-source, centralized version control system characterized by its reliability as a safe haven for valuable data; the simplicity of its model and usage; and its ability to support the needs ... Read more