02 Apr
Posted by: Brandon Harper in: Linux, Operating Systems, Tips, Hacks, & Tricks
Currently, my main workstation at home is a Dell Dimension E520 which primarily runs Ubuntu 7.10, but I also dual boot into Windows XP for my photography hobby. One problem I had after upgrading to Ubuntu 7.10 from the default Ubuntu install which the E520 shipped with was getting sound to work. After [...]
26 Feb
Posted by: Brandon Harper in: Apache HTTPD, Apache Tomcat, Culture, FreeBSD, JBoss, Linux, MySQL, OS X, Operating Systems, PostgreSQL, Servers, Tips, Hacks, & Tricks, Windows
This is just a quick entry on how to see which software is using which ports. This comes in handy when trying to install an application server, web server, etc, and are getting errors like "port is in use".
Basically in any Unix type derivative such as Linux such (Ubuntu, RedHat, SuSe, etc.), as well [...]
25 Jun
Posted by: Brandon Harper in: A Day In The Life Of, Culture, Linux, Operating Systems, Tech News
As mentioned earlier, I finally broke down and ordered a Dell Dimension E520 with Ubuntu Linux to replace my doddering primary workstation which is four years old at this point. Rather than writing a review right after opening the box, I thought I'd use the new rig for a few weeks and kick it [...]
20 Jun
Posted by: Brandon Harper in: Linux, Operating Systems, Tips, Hacks, & Tricks
In my experience, the hardest thing to work around when using a VPS for hosting is limited memory. It's definitely a challenge to try and tune a database, web server, and application server for load under the constraints of a VPS plan (typically 512 MB or less of RAM). The best [...]
08 Jun
Posted by: Brandon Harper in: Culture, Linux, Operating Systems, Tips, Hacks, & Tricks
I've had an Dell 1100 laser printer for several years which has been both cost-effective and dependable for my low volume printing needs (coursework, maps, shopping lists, etc.). Trying to find how to get it to work on Linux wasn't quite as easy to find on Google as it should have been, so I [...]
29 May
Posted by: Brandon Harper in: A Day In The Life Of, Culture, Linux, Operating Systems
My current desktop, right around four years old now, has been overdue for replacement for quite a long time. I've been holding out until quad core processors became mainstream at a price point that I was okay with, but I finally caved in to ordering a new machine before that happened now that [...]
26 Apr
Posted by: Brandon Harper in: A Day In The Life Of, Culture, Linux, Operating Systems, Tech News
I have to say I'm pretty annoyed with Ubuntu Linux at the moment. I've been wrestling with it all afternoon and evening to try and get it installed and working on an Lenovo / IBM T60 Thinkpad, and thus far it's been a huge waste of time. After much googling throughout the day [...]
20 Apr
Posted by: Brandon Harper in: Culture, Java, Languages, Linux, Operating Systems, Tech News
Ubuntu 7.04 was recently released, and is the first Linux distribution to include the Java SDK as a standard part of the Operating System. This is exciting news and goes to show that the effort put into open sourcing Java is starting to pay dividends. Being that Java was non-free before version 6, [...]
26 Jan
Posted by: Brandon Harper in: A Day In The Life Of, Culture, Linux, Operating Systems
I'd came across System 76 before and have had it in my del.icio.us bookmarks for awhile, but I didn't realize it was here in Denver. Very cool! I'd probably drop by there sometime if they have any sort of store front, but I'd guess it's just a shipping/building type facility.
For the uninitiated, [...]
11 Jan
Posted by: Brandon Harper in: Culture, Linux, Operating Systems, Tips, Hacks, & Tricks
I came across a page from the TvEase wiki the other day via Digg which specified a few tweaks on how to make Ubuntu speedier. As far as I can tell, they mostly do a few things like toning down memory swapping to disk (hmm, academically that kind of seems like a fundamental algorithm [...]