Monitoring Linux and Windows hosts with Glances
Sysadmins have many tools to view and manage running processes. For me, these primarily used to be top, atop, and htop. A few years ago, I found Glances, a tool that displays information that none of my other favorites do. All of these tools monitor CPU and memory usage, and most of them list information about running processes (at the very least).
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How to bring more designers to open source
"Most designers don't have a clue about open source," says Eriol Fox of Ushahidi, a non-profit social enterprise that creates humanitarian, open source tech tools. Unfortunately, this means there are few design-related contributions to open source software, and this results in an abundance of poorly designed open source tools.
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What's the most common IT help request you get from friends and family?
We are approaching that time of year when many folks are visiting family members or reconnecting with old friends during the holiday season. Your loved ones may or may not be the most tech-savvy. Our readers tend to fill the sysadmin role after hours. What kind of IT requests do you receive?
The compatibility of the operating system could affect your ability to assist. If you typically use an Android device, are you up for the challenge of troubleshooting an iPhone problem? How many times do you get some form of the question, "How do I _____ in Windows?"?
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Modernize your Linux desktop with Enlightenment
One of Linux's many advantages is its ability to install and run on old computers. What Linux can't technically do is make an old computer's hardware magically perform better. After all, the hardware is the same hardware as ever, and sometimes old hardware feels notably slow when processing modern software that tries to take advantage of new hardware features.
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