Shell tip: `${var%suffix}` removes the shortest matching suffix. `${var%%suffix}` removes the longest. `${var#prefix}` and `${var##prefix}` work the same for prefixes. Mnemonic: # comes before % on the keyboard. #Linux #SystemAdministration #SysAdmin

A post of mine about the use of vim many decades ago

On it's opening page Bram Molenaar urges everyone to do a donation to Children who are less fortunate, financially, in the State of Uganda

#Vim #VimMasterRace #Bram #Molenaar #programming #technology #Amiga #Linux #Uganda #OpenSource

https://dev.to/radio_azureus/vim-the-beginning-hab

#TIL that you can rip an audio CD in #KDE just by opening it in dolphin and copying out the folder named for the format you want it in.

These are a set of virtual folders that represent the formats supported by your system to rip them into.

How cool is that?

#audiocd #ripping #music #opticaldisc #Linux #tech #deadformats

Alt...

list of virtual format folders OGG OPUS MP3 FLAC etc

welcome home, purple

previously: https://analognowhere.com/techno-mage/what-was-i-to-do/

#unix_surrealism #comic #linux #openbsd #technomage #penguin #fish #art

Alt...

Penguin: "For days we walked. He didn't say a word. But neither did he protest that I was following him. And then, one night, he just spoke." Fish: "We're going to an abandoned MilTek shelter. It used to be the base of operations of the open clan once. It's not on any map. Technically, it does not exist." Penguin: "And neither did we." Fish: "Welcome home."

Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟭/𝟭𝟵 (Valuable News - 2026/01/19) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/01/19/valuable-news-2026-01-19/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday

strlcpy(3)

#unix_surrealism #technomage #openbsd #analognowhere #fish #penguin #mata #linux #comic #art

Alt...

MATA_Bots descend upon Fish's bunker. Bots: "CLEAR! KEEP MOVING, THE FISH IS HERE" Fish: "I'll buy you time. Use the ventilation system. Go wake her up. Get her out." Bots: "GOT A SEALED DOOR. BREACH IT" Fish: "And Purple? Thank you." Bots: "BREACHING! MOVE MOVE!" Fish: "For what it's worth... I wish for unlimited ammo."

I self-host my own e-mail servers for ~25 years now. Just finished he migration to a new system today.

- OS: FreeBSD 15.0-RELEASE
- MTA: Postfix 3.10
- IMAP: Dovecot 2.3
- Filter: Rspamd 3.14

I used Imapsync to migrate the content of my Mailboxes from the old to the new system. Worked absolutely fine.

Having the E-Mail Jail and the mailbox data on an encrypted ZFS dataset (AES256) that's manually unlocked with my passphrase after rebooting the system. Backups are done via ZFS send/recv to by backup server (-w for raw send to ensure, data is encrypted at rest)

- SPF: ✅
- DKIM Signing: ✅
- DMARC Reporting: ✅
- E-Mail delivery to major providers: ✅
- IPv6 working and actually being used: ✅

All working perfectly well. In about a week, I'll decomission the old Debian based system, that I used since 2017!

#linux #freebsd #sysadmin #selfhosting #email #postfix

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Console output, showing FreeBSD Jails, running E-Mail related services.

I’m getting extremely close to being able to use a Linux HTPC to replace my AppleTV. I just need a good remote that works with Steam Big Picture mode and I think I’d be happy enough with it. I tried the flirc Skip 1s with flirc usb and it’s so close. I can control my TV, soundbar, Jellyfin, and YouTube with it but I can’t really control Steam meaning I can’t switch apps. Not sure what to try next.
#SteamMachine #AppleTV #HTPC #SmartTV #UniversalRemote #Linux #SteamOS #steam

New 𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗠𝗕 𝗥𝗔𝗠 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗕𝗦𝗗 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗸𝘁𝗼𝗽 [200 MB RAM FreeBSD Desktop] article on vermaden.wordpress.com blog.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/01/18/200-mb-ram-freebsd-desktop/

#verblog #desktop #dzen2 #freebsd #laptop #linux #openbox #pkgbase #tint2 #x11 #xlibre #xorg

Malware Peddlers Are Now Hijacking Snap Publisher Domains
#linux #ubuntu #snapcraft
https://blog.popey.com/2026/01/malware-purveyors-taking-over-published-snap-email-domains/

My boat!

#unix_surrealism #comic #technomage #openbsd #rust #linux #art

Alt...

Penguin is freaking out: "Oh no! Oh God! Not here too! No! By Linus! It's all rusted!" Fish finds sleeping girl next to a book. He examines the book. It's the ABC of RUST animals.

Linux tip: `fuser -v /path/to/file` shows which processes have a file open. Use `-k` to kill those processes. Essential when "device busy" errors prevent unmounting filesystems. #Linux #SystemAdministration #SysAdmin

Add services, not ports to firewalld: `firewall-cmd --add-service=ssh` vs `--add-port=22/tcp`. Services include proper port ranges, protocols, and dependencies.

🔗 Learn more in my course: https://monospacementor.com/courses/linsys-1/

#Linux #SystemAdministration

You know that #Linux is becoming mainstream on #desktop computers when a Czech consumer magazine focused on product testing, #DTest, recommends switching to Linux.

"However, there is another solution. Fortunately, it is no longer true that only Microsoft operating systems are suitable for ordinary people and that only eccentric IT wizards with a silicon soul can use anything else. Now, a number of GNU/Linux operating systems offer a level of ease of use that is at least comparable to that of MS Windows."

Alt...

A photo of a Czech article which is about the end of Windows 10 support and Linux as a viable alternative even for ordinary users.

Version-control every configuration change. Use git even for single files. When something breaks, you can see exactly what changed and when. Your future self will be grateful. #Linux #SystemAdministration #SysAdmin #Coding

🚨LIVE NOW!🚨 DevOps/SRE Instructor Livestream

On this lovely Thursday, let's chat about #Linux #SystemAdministration, #SelfHosting, or any other topic in the #DevOps and #SRE space you're interested in!

Owncast: https://live.monospacementor.com/

"Never-before-seen Linux malware is “far more advanced than typical”"

"VoidLink includes an unusually broad and advanced array of capabilities."

https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/01/never-before-seen-linux-malware-is-far-more-advanced-than-typical/

#Linux

Jeff Bezos is saying the quiet part out loud. They want to kill local computing.

You will own nothing and be happy. You will rent your computing power from the cloud. You pay a subscription for the privilege of using a computer.

AI demand is artificially spiking DRAM prices and Big Tech is pushing "AI PCs," the squeeze is on to force us into a rental model.

Reject this future.

Keep your hardware local.

Run #Linux.

Own your data.

The "cloud" is just a landlord for your data.

#NoAi #FOSS #OpenSource #Privacy #SelfHost #SelfHosting #BigTech #RightToRepair #RAM #Amazon #EatTheRich

https://www.windowscentral.com/artificial-intelligence/jeff-bezos-says-the-quiet-part-out-loud-bezos-envisions-that-youll-give-up-your-pc-for-an-ai-cloud-version

I have a small confession to make: Obviously I am a #Linux user, but for some inexplicable reason I keep going back to #OpenBSD and I can't get it out of my head. As a desktop/laptop it's certainly less capable, but at the same time it reminds me a lot of GNU/Linux that I originally fell in love with.

If you understand what's going on with me, do tell.

The lost 213th issue of Techno-Mage
"ON THE FRONTIER"
finally haphazardly assembled after 2 years!

https://analognowhere.com/techno-mage/on_the_frontier/

#unix_surrealism #technomage #comic #linux #penguin #openbsd #gentoo #slackware #ubuntu

Alt...

Techno-Mage On The Frontier

Linux tip: `ionice -c 3 command` runs a command with idle I/O priority. It only gets disk access when no other processes need it. Perfect for backups or maintenance tasks. #Linux #SystemAdministration #SysAdmin #Performance

Linux tip: `sysctl vm.drop_caches=3` clears page cache, dentries, and inodes from memory. Useful for testing cold cache performance, but never use in production scripts. Only for debugging! #Linux @#SystemAdministration #SysAdmin

Linux tip: `pidof process_name` returns process IDs by name. Unlike `pgrep`, it matches only the command name, not arguments. Use in scripts where you need exact process name matching. #Linux #SystemAdministration #SysAdmin

Anyone here tried using a Dasung e-ink monitor for development work?

I'm considering buying one so I can use my Framework laptop outside (the LCD panel is only really good enough for cloudy days or shade).

#dasung #eink #linux #freebsd #monitors

Linux tip: `strace -e trace=file program` traces only file-related system calls. Add `-o output.txt` to save results. Reveals which config files, libraries, or data files your program actually accesses. #Linux #SystemAdministration #SysAdmin

When I started experimenting with #Linux again in 2024, I was very impressed at how mature everything had become since I last tried it in the mid-00s. The biggest surprise, though, was #GNOME. It had a level of intentionality and clarity of vision that far exceeded my expectations of a FLOSS project. It made me feel welcome and comfortable.

To the developers of @gnome : Thank you for having the audacity to strive for simplicity in the face of continued criticism from the community. It matters.

Alt...

A screenshot of my GNOME desktop on Fedora. It features a purple-pink gradient wallpaper, and has a light colored top panel courtesy of the extension "Luminus". Three windows are open: 1. Firefox, that has been given an Adwaita-theme using the app "Add Water", showing the website ottoojala.itch.io 2. Gapless, playing the song "Berry Rock" by Lauri Kallio 3. Apostrophe, with the following text: "GNOME <3 Every day, when I sit down at my computer, I feel such appreciation that a bunch of talented people got together to make something as beautifully simple as modern GNOME. (Finland got some love in this screenshot too. I don't know any Fins IRL, but you guys seem cool)"

Linux tip: `systemd-analyze blame` shows which services slow down boot time. Use `systemd-analyze critical-chain` to see the dependency chain causing delays. Optimize the real bottlenecks. #Linux #SystemAdministration #SysAdmin

Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟭/𝟭𝟮 (Valuable News - 2026/01/12) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/01/12/valuable-news-2026-01-12/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday

"No, see, you don't understand, Linux will never catch on, it's just not as intuitive as Windows!"

Meanwhile Windows:

Windows users keep losing files to OneDrive, and many don't know why
https://www.techspot.com/news/110848-onedrive-backup-feature-making-users-local-files-seemingly.html

🤡

#Windows #Linux #Microsoft

Export / Import flatpak programs from a computer to another

https://dataswamp.org/~solene/2023-01-01-flatpak-export-import.html

gemini://perso.pw/blog/articles/flatpak-export-import.gmi
#linux #flatpak #bandwidth

@solene

You don't even need a Linux computer to take part in my course "Basic Linux System Administration" that'll start next week. You can use Pubmox, our community lab infrastructure, to spin up as many Linux boxes as you need. It's only one of the many perks of being a TSR member.

And with the discount code "NY2026", you can save 50% **for the lifetime of your membership**. This sale ends tomorrow, so don't miss out!

https://monospacementor.com/courses/linsys-1/

#Linux #SysAdmin #SystemAdministration

Evergreen

#OpenBSD #RunBSD #Linux #Jokes

Alt...

FishLinux meme with 3 panes: First pane: one person representing linux, the second representing OpenBSD, and a grandma. The grandma says "Hey it's-a the Linux bros!" Second pane: OpenBSD person says: "Mama, why do you never remember my name" Third pane: grandma says "I'm-a sorry, Fish Linux"

manpageblog is written in Python and available for many systems, including #FreeBSD, #OpenBSD, #NetBSD or #Solaris based ones like #Illumos but also on #Linux like #Debian or #Ubuntu.

Changelog v1.6:

• Pagination support added
• Sitemap support added
• SEO optimized
• LD+JSON support added

The project source is available on GitHub at:
https://github.com/gyptazy/manpageblog
You can find a real-life demo on my website at https://gyptazy.com

#opensource #devops #minimalism #purism #web #blog #blogengine #blogging #coding #python #website #manpageblog

Alt...

manpageblog - a UNIX man page themed static blog engine

Linux tip: `iostat -x 1` monitors disk I/O performance every second. Watch the `%util` column - consistently high values indicate I/O bottlenecks. Press Ctrl+C to stop monitoring. #Linux #Performance #SystemAdministration #SysAdmin

Use `journalctl -f -u servicename` for real-time service logs. The `-u` targets specific service units, `-f` follows live output. Add `-p err` for errors only.

🔗 Learn more in my course: https://monospacementor.com/courses/linsys-1/

#Linux #SystemAdministration

Linux tip: `ss -s` provides socket statistics summary. Shows TCP/UDP connection counts and states. Much faster than parsing full socket lists when you just need connection metrics. #Linux #SystemAdministration #SysAdmin

I can say, however, that I've reunited with an "old friend" who is still in great shape. Before I get dozens of replies about it being insecure: in theory, it is, but it's not accessible from the outside. It's isolated within its own network and is only able to connect and fetch backups for 'extreme disaster recovery' (only at specific times, restricted by specific firewall rules). It served its purpose today, and tomorrow, it might be even more useful.

18:33:01 up 3188 days, 4:47, 1 user, load average: 5.09, 4.73, 4.74

Debian, Btrfs, and zero internal dust.
It's kept in a sterile, extremely protected room.

#IT #SysAdmin #Debian #Linux #Uptime #ServerUptime

Fish Alpinism

How I make digital art.

https://triapul.cz/_/1765291397

#unix_surrealism #openbsd #alpine #linux #gimp #art #foss

Alt...

artist keyboard

Salvatore Sanfilippo (creator of Redis, and more) published a beautiful video inspired by my latest blog post. I was really pleased! It's in Italian, but auto-generated English audio track is available.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqbKEx2mBM

#ITNotes #Linux #OpenSource #OSS #OpenSource

DUFF v KORN 2

prev: https://merveilles.town/@prahou/115508225024561937

#unix_surrealism #plan9 #9front #korn #ksh #rc #comic #linux #lo0 #technomage #openblade #openbsd

Alt...

Daemon: "I think that looks pretty good! Don't you?" Kshboy: "Haha, yeah! You made it in troff?" Daemon: "Yeah!" Kshboy: "Cool!" DEAR MISTER DUFF, MY BEST FRIEND AND I WERE WONDERING, IF YOU COULD BEAT KORN IN A FIGHT. WE KNOW OF A GREAT PLACE WHERE YOU COULD DO BATTLE. Daemon: "We can just swap the names with sed for the other letter!" Kshboy: "But how do we get it to them? We don't even know where they live..." Daemon: "I have an idea. Let's rewrite it!"

Alt...

Random penguins hand a leaflet to Techno-Mage. DUFF V KORN DUEL OF THE AGES WHEN: NEXT FULL MOON WHERE: THE BIG HILL OUTSIDE FOSSTOWN WHOEVER DOESN'T SHOW AUTOMATICALLY LOSES! PLACE YOUR BEST AT THE DRUNKEN BIRD BARD OpenBlade: "Oh yeah, I heard about this." Mage: "You heard about this?" OpenBlade: "You have a lot of money riding on Korn btw."

Alt...

Lo0: "YOU AND I WERE MEANT TO BE!" Lo0 KORN TRIBUTE practice Korn: "STOP! That's not what they sounded like..." Mec: "Sorry, Mister K." Korn: "Are you? The gig is in a week. Do better!" Bot_Manager: "YO! CASH MONEY K! Why didn't you tell me about the fight?!" Korn: "What fight?" Bot_Manager: "I could get the band to play there!"

Alt...

Penguin Postman walks up a mountain. Penguin: "Mister Duff? Mail!" Duff: "Vincent! Is it next year already?" Penguin: "No sir, just some admin stuff regarding your fight." Duff: "Fight?"

Static Web Hosting on the Intel N150: FreeBSD, SmartOS, NetBSD, OpenBSD and Linux Compared

Update: This post has been updated to include Docker benchmarks and a comparison of container overhead versus FreeBSD Jails and illumos Zones.

https://it-notes.dragas.net/2025/11/19/static-web-hosting-intel-n150-freebsd-smartos-netbsd-openbsd-linux/

#ITNotes #freebsd #illumos #jail #linux #netbsd #openbsd #ownyourdata #server #smartos #sysadmin #zoneshosting

https://it-notes.dragas.net/2025/11/19/static-web-hosting-intel-n150-freebsd-smartos-netbsd-openbsd-linux/

#ITNotes #NoteHUB #freebsd #illumos #jail #linux #netbsd #openbsd #ownyourdata #server #smartos #sysadmin #zoneshosting

the list

#unix_surrealism #comic #poster #openbsd #freebsd #netbsd #dragonflybsd #9front #plan9 #glenda #cirno #girl #daemon #puffy #rabbit #mata #openblade #penguin #linux #foss

Alt...

MATACORP'S MOST WANTED HACKERS Fish Daemon Cirno OpenBlade Rabbit Frederick "the Hammer" Glenda II Sphence Purple "Penguin" Pentium-M Man Girl

This Isn't a Battle

After reading a post describing the FreeBSD community as 'toxic', I share a different perspective. This isn't a battle. It's a reflection on coexistence, the original Open Source spirit, and the quiet richness of taking a different path.

https://my-notes.dragas.net/2025/11/14/this-isnt-a-battle/

#MyNotes #IT #SysAdmin #FreeBSD #NetBSD #OpenBSD #Linux #OpenSource

bathing

I use @OpenBSDAms btw

#unix_surrealism #openbsd #vmm #vmd #poster #comic #linux #plan9 #glenda

Alt...

Girl and Penguin visit the fish vats.

dating culture clash

#9front #openbsd #gnu #linux #plan9 #dating #comic #unix

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plan9bunny-person meets with a fish-daemon-person. Daemon: "So, how was the date?" Bunny: "He talked about docker for 35 minutes and then asked, if I have wine." Daemon: "Did you tell him you're not Unix?" Bunny: "Yeah, he said: 'oh, like GNU?'"

Plus:
• Fedora KDE pkg mgmt
• Debian vs systemd
• raconn — a smart tool for parallel SSH connections to multiple hostnames/IPs in one ProxyCommand. (https://blog.izissise.net/posts/raconn/)
• UBIOS (China’s UEFI-alt)

Read it 👉 https://newsletter.nixers.net/entries.php#311

“There are no life hacks, only trade-offs.” — James Clear

#Unix #Linux #FreeBSD #FOSS #SysAdmin #ReproducibleBuilds #SSH #Nixers

The Man of MATA pt1

next: https://merveilles.town/@prahou/115271822786360293

pls consider supporting my work: https://analognowhere.com/support

#unix_surrealism #comic #technomage #openbsd #linux #penguin #mata

Alt...

Somewhere in a desert... Girl and Penguin are eating breakfast. Penguin: "Morning, slept well?" Girl: "mhmhmhm" Penguin: "What's today?" Girl checks her school schedule. It's Monday, morning class - history. Girl: "History. Penguin, unenthusiased: "Sounds exciting."

Alt...

Classroom. Fish begins the lesson. Fish: "I wanted to call this class mythology, but Purple said history suggests that some of it might actually be true. Nobody remembers how long ago, but as you know, the world ended. While the inheritors of the ravaged land learned to adapt to their predicament, three brothers, successors of those who brought about the end, set out into the destroyed world to ruin it some more." LAST REMAINING MATACORPBUNKER B_73; three brothers "Well, gentlemen, we ate all the women, children and uly. The water purifier is busted and the only person who could fix it was Parkinson." "We ate her last week." "We ate her last week." "Nothing to eat, nothing to drink. So now what?" "I think it's time to do what our great great great grandparents spoke of - Go outside and restart civilization." "Ugh..."

Alt...

Penguin and Fish are dressed as the MATA brothers. Penguin: "I have the best ideas." Fish: "You're going to have to help us play the third brother." Girl, ecstatic: "School trip!" analognowhere presents: techno-mage in: Girl, Fish and Penguin stand outside their cave home. Fish: "... they gathered a bunch of thumbdrives with ancient CORPO tech and went on a journey to find people and machines they could poison." Penguin: "It's a good day to fuck shit up. Come on, bros!" Girl: "He's really into it!"

Alt...

The three brothers cross the ancient desolate land. "This suuuuuuuuuuuucks." "Shut up."

I found this screenshot again and I still think it's brilliant. The best OS overview I've ever read.
#Linux #FreeBSD

Alt...

Screenshot of a Reddit comment saying this: Time for my OS opinion that's guaranteed to be unpopular with someone... Sun Solaris used to be the OS that required overpriced proprietary hardware and still couldn't compete with Linux. That OS is now MacOS. MacOS used to be the colorful and friendly walled garden OS that your non-techie parents would enjoy but was completely useless to you as a power user. That OS is now Windows. Windows used to be the OS that could run a lot of apps, but was a headache to setup and maintain correctly and would sometimes blow up for no reason. That OS is now Linux. Linux used to be the techie and developer oriented command-line OS that was lacking in desktop apps and might not support your hardware, but once you got it going, was rock solid and had no limits. That OS is now FreeBSD.

Codeberg - We stay strong against hate and hatred

https://blog.codeberg.org/we-stay-strong-against-hate-and-hatred.html

Discussions: https://discu.eu/q/https://blog.codeberg.org/we-stay-strong-against-hate-and-hatred.html

#linux #opensource #unix

UPDATE: I haven't seen Recall in action there. I was just asking the doctor how they'll deal with it.

This morning, I went to the doctor for a scheduled appointment. While she was looking at the results of blood tests from two years ago on the screen (and suggested repeating them for a follow-up), I realized she was using Windows 11. A detail came to mind. The doctor is extremely polite and friendly, so I asked her, "How do you handle the feature called Recall?" The doctor was taken aback and had no idea what I was talking about. I was about to drop the conversation, but she, being a serious professional, immediately called the technicians who manage their PCs to ask for clarification. They downplayed it, saying it's not an issue and that it's a feature "on all PCs, so we can't do anything about it." She started to express that she didn’t like it and wanted it deactivated. No luck: they won’t proceed because, according to them, even deactivating it is "a hack that could compromise future updates." She’s furious and will talk to her colleagues and the decision-makers. She wants secure systems because "there’s patient data involved."

In reality, patient data is stored on servers (which I haven't investigated), but everything that appears on the screen is, in my opinion, at risk.

I’ve offered to help them find a solution—because, if I'm right, all they need is LibreOffice and a browser. In that case, I’ll suggest one of the *BSD or Linux systems and do it for free.

I don’t want to make money off my doctor. I just want patient data to be (sufficiently) secure.

#IT #Recall #Windows #OwnYourData #Security #Privacy #RunBSD #Linux

If you are thinking of moving from Windows to Linux and are not sure where to start, here's the software that I am using day to day:

https://decoded.legal/blog/2024/09/running-a-law-firm-on-free-software-2024-edition/

(Work-focus, as that is where I spend most of my (computing) time, but I am Linux-only for personal computing too.)

And don't forget that many Free software programs have Windows versions too, so you can test before you leap.

Good luck!

#Linux #FOSS