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Editorial commentary
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Written by Jem Matzan
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May 16, 2005 at 05:18 PM |
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Commentary: In the 8 years I've worked in IT, I've probably called tech support more than 50 times. That doesn't seem like such a large number considering the timespan, but the primary reason for the low number of support calls compared with the number of mysterious problems I've had is because phone support is a joke. After a while I gave up asking for help and just turned to Google and reliable message forums for assistance. My experiences with "corporate" support have been just as fruitless. Staffing phone centers with script-readers seems to be a big, billowing cloud of smoke blown at me from the companies that I buy hardware and software from. Do we really need to continue this charade? There are better methods of end-user support than this. |
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Articles
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Written by Jem Matzan
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May 14, 2005 at 02:04 PM |
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It has been 14 years since the first 64-bit processor -- the MIPS R4000 -- found its way into a workstation. 64-bit workstations once cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, but the introduction of high-performance, low-cost 64-bit CPUs from AMD and Intel has changed the industry's attitude toward workstation design. New architectures are forcing old hardware into obsolescence, but free software can extend those old systems' useful life. |
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Articles
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Written by Jem Matzan
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May 14, 2005 at 01:45 PM |
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Most top-tier hardware vendors are selling AMD64 workstation and server systems these days, including Hewlett Packard, Sun Microsystems, and, more recently, IBM. Oddly enough, most of them are shipping with 32-bit operating systems installed by default. While the AMD64 architecture can comfortably handle both 64-bit and 32-bit software -- even concurrently -- it seems a waste of its potential to disregard the best features of the architecture. While the theoretical speed advantage and expanded resources of 64-bit computing are enticing to those in need of maximum performance, the road to a perfect AMD64 desktop, workstation or server machine is long and treacherous. What operating system will you use? Is there enough 64-bit software available? In this article we'll explore some of the advantages and pitfalls of going totally 64-bit in a 32-bit world. |
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Book reviews
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Written by Ben Leach
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Feb 03, 2005 at 01:23 PM |
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To paraphrase a character from The Matrix, "No one can tell you what the Linux is. You have experience it yourself." It hasn't always been easy to try out GNU/Linux for yourself, but it's getting more user friendly as time goes on. Now we even have books to help, of which Point and Click Linux is the latest. What differentiates it from the rest? |
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Editorial commentary
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Written by Jem Matzan
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Jan 25, 2005 at 01:01 AM |
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What do we do when we have a substandard free software product that we could use, but would be more productive with a proprietary competitor? What sacrifices should we make in order to use a free software program? Originally the GNU Project was intended to provide a free (as in rights) replacement for proprietary Unix -- the dominant industrial operating system at the time. This project was initiated with the understanding that proprietary software would have to be used until free alternatives were made available. Today we have many free replacements for proprietary programs, but are they truly equivalents? Because GNU Project and Free Software Foundation founder Richard Stallman's computing needs are met with BASH, GCC, GDB, and Emacs does not mean that the rest of us can safely cast off rights-restrictive software. Suggesting that we all switch to free software-only systems seems a bit pretentious and narrow-minded, considering the average user's desktop computing needs. |
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Articles
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Written by Jem Matzan
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Jan 25, 2005 at 12:55 AM |
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There are several word processors in GNU/Linux, each with
different goals and features. Some are free software, some are based on
free software, some are proprietary. What do you, as an amateur or
professional writer, need to consider in such programs when moving to
GNU/Linux? If you're not entirely satisfied with your current word
processor or if you're wondering what's available on the GNU/Linux
platform in terms of word processors, this article's for you. |
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Articles
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Written by Jem Matzan
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Dec 09, 2004 at 08:13 PM |
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I've always been comfortable using the command line interface to get
specific tasks done. To me, the command line was a necessary tool as
well as a last resort -- if all else failed, I knew I could count on a
command line program to fix the problem. I already knew that I could do
pretty much anything from the command line if I was willing to sit down,
read manual pages, and learn -- or if I really had to. To prove
it, recently I forced myself to use only the CLI for a week. I ended up
learning a lot more than just a few command line arguments. |
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News and reporting
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Written by Jem Matzan
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Dec 09, 2004 at 08:12 PM |
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Sun Microsystems head honchos Scott McNealy and Jonathan Schwartz often equate Red Hat with all of GNU/Linux. After interviewing both of them on Monday during the day-long Solaris 10 launch event in San Jose, I understood their frame of reference on this matter and many others much more clearly. For the first time in several releases, Solaris is actually a threat to the other players in the operating system market, but Sun's market outlook and publicity strategy may be working against the merits of Solaris 10. |
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