HOW-TOs

Encrypt Your Dog (Mutt and GPG)

I have been focusing a lot on security and privacy issues in this year's columns so far, but I realize some of you may expect a different kind of topic from me (or maybe are just tired of all this security talk). Well, you are in luck.

Open Axiom

Several computer algebra systems are available to Linux users. I even have looked at a few of them in this column, but for this issue, I discuss OpenAxiom. OpenAxiom actually is a fork of Axiom. Axiom originally was developed at IBM under the name ScratchPad. Development started in 1971, so Axiom is as old as I am, and almost as smart.

Considering Legacy UNIX/Linux Issues

Gah, so frustrating! Ten years ago I wrote a rather popular book called Wicked Cool Shell Scripts, and I'm working on a new edition—a Tenth Anniversary release. There are lots of new scripts, entirely new chapters and updates to the older stuff.

Security Hardening with Ansible

Ansible is an open-source automation tool developed and released by Michael DeHaan and others in 2012. DeHaan calls it a "general-purpose automation pipeline" (see Resources for a link to the article "Ansible's Architecture: Beyond Configuration Management").

Tails above the Rest, Part III

In my first two columns in this series, I gave an overview of Tails, including how to get the distribution securely, and once you have it, how to use some of the basic tools.

rc.local, Cron Style

Occasionally as seasoned Linux users, we run across simple things we never knew existed—and are amazed. Whether it's tab autocompletion, sudo !! for when you forgot to type sudo or even recursive file listing with ls, the smallest tricks can be so incredibly useful. Not long ago, I had one of those moments.

Resizing Images with ImageMagick

Sure, you can open up a graphics program like GIMP and resize an image, but what if you want to resize 10, 50 or 200 images? ImageMagick's convert program is just what you need.

A Little GUI for Your CLI

I've tried pretty much every IRC client available for both Linux and OS X. (I use both platforms during my day job.) No matter how many times I try to find a GUI application that meets my needs, I always turn back to Irssi.

TogetherJS

Want to add real-time collaboration to your Web application? Mozilla's TogetherJS is worth a look.

Command-Line Cloud: rss2email

In my last article, I started a series called Command-Line Cloud. The intent of the series is to discuss how to use the cloud services we are faced with these days without resorting to a Web browser. I spend most of my time on the command line, so that's where I'd most like to interface with cloud services.

Two-Factor Authentication System for Apache and SSH

If you run a publicly accessible Web server for your own use (and let's face it, if you're reading Linux Journal, there's a very good chance you do), how do you go about limiting the risk of someone accessing your site and doing bad things? How about SSH, an even bigger concern?

Create a Mini PC or Server with Olimex's Olinuxino A13/A13Micro

Olimex is a Bulgarian company known for its innovative hobbyist products. It has a wide array of microcontroller-based products, ranging from the small Arduino clones to the very able system that has the Allwinner A13 microcontroller as its brain. In this article, I describe how you can create a working Linux system for the Olinuxino A13 and Olinuxino A13Micro from scratch.

Be a Mechanic...with Android and Linux!

"Check Engine Soon"—that little orange light on your car's instrument panel is possibly one of the more annoying things about modern automobiles. Ever had it pop on during a trip and wonder whether it was just something mundane, like your gas cap being loose, or whether it's something deathly serious and a piston could come shooting out the side of your engine block at any time?

Compojure

In my last article, I started discussing Compojure, a Web framework written in the Clojure language. Clojure already has generated a great deal of excitement among software developers, in that it combines the beauty and expressive elegance of Lisp with the efficiency and ubiquity of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

Two Pi R

Although many people are excited about the hardware-hacking possibilities with the Raspberry Pi, one of the things that interests me most is the fact that it is essentially a small low-power Linux server I can use to replace other Linux servers I already have around the house.

Switching Monitor Profiles

It's funny, when your home office is your couch, you tend to forget how nice it can be when you dock a laptop and have all the extra screen real estate a monitor brings. For many years, I left my work laptop docked at work, and when I worked from home, I just VPNed in with a personal laptop.

Temper Pi

It was inevitable. Back when the Raspberry Pi was announced, I knew I eventually would use one to power a beer fridge.
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