I liked this article about mixing Linux and Open Source software with Proprietary Ones. Without propreitary software running on Linux some people forget that the migration from other operating systems for some people would be unthinkable. The article takes a decent look at the topic.
The title reads "10 Cool freee linux apps..." hmmmm isn't most if Linux free? The apps listed here are all great apps so check it out....
If you have ever been looking for more details than --help or -h provide. Check for a man page. Don't know what command to use to make a copy of a file? Try man -k copy and see what commands come up to help you. man is the original online help system. It is one of the most powerful tools to master for new Linux users. This article gives a brief but helpful intro to man.
Installing a kernel without rebooting is it really a great idea? This is one of the best articles I have seen explaining the new Ksplice Uptrack software. While the author Christopher Smart does a great job showing an example of when you might want to use it on a production server. I found was missing any real effort to warn people about using this in a production server.
It's a situation where just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. I love OpenSource and trust it to do my job every day. At the same time I use software from the three of the largest software makers in the world. In both situations both I and the developers of the software have "Human" days. Whether it's software I support under a multi-million dollar contract or Free OpenSource Software it's all created and deployed by Humans. By "Human" days I mean that we make mistakes and aren't perfect and there are days when we just can't avoid it no matter how hard we try. So risking my business by doing an in-place update of the kernel during my production day is never a good idea. You should always plan and execute these types of changes during the least impactful day and time of the week. You should never build your business on the premise that any given system that can't ever be down. If the system is that critical then it should be built to be redundant.
More than once I have installed kernel updates only to have user land software fail to start afterwards. So if I put a kernel update in without rebooting and there is an issue with my web server software then I can crash the web server and cause an outage. Do this more than once in the middle of a production day and you would be looking for a new job. Kernel changes are no joke no matter how or when you do them. Every linux distro let's you install multiple kernel versions for a reason. Tread softly with this new tool in your tool box. Don't forget to test your change before you implement it in Prod.
I always knew there were a few browsers. I never would have guessed 17(there could always be more). Check out this link and a couple of the browsers. The amount of choice is what I love about Linux and OpenSource in general.
Friday, July 10, 2009 at 12:24AM