Linux Admin

Eleven software projects I can't live without

  1. Arch

    2. I like arch linux as a desktop system because it is simple to use and has the best software availability of any OS ever to exist. Its not as difficult as people seem to think. It gives you all the reasources needed to learn how to use it.

  2. Proxmox

    3. I probably don't need proxmox. However I find it to be convinient and its already setup. Its my hypervisor for my home data center. The real value of virtualization is the ablility to "toss" out a container and try again. Reimaging bare-metal machines is a pain and its a load off your mind. I get to just play without consequences. Almost like a creative mode for computers.

  3. Debian lxc

    4. I think debian is probably the best non-commercial server distribution around. Set it and forget it. All of the work is up front, especially if you need a software package that isn't in the repositories. This means that once I'm done configuring one service, I can move onto the next. I'll just keep accumulating service after service, and they'll just keep running.

  4. Xmonad

    5. Haskell makes me feel like a genius. Xmonad can do a lot of things no other window manager can do. Although I've learned I don't really need to do many of those things. I think I might go back to dwm.

  5. Alacritty

    6. Out of the box alacritty is lightning fast and has features you've never heard of before. A solid choice if you just want to change the color scheme.

  6. dmenu

    7. The best application launcher ever. I've heard it can be used in scripting too. I have yet to tap into it's potential.

  7. XMPP Dino Conversations Prosody

    8. The most secure, private, and somehow also familiar, messaging and calling platform ever. Voip rules

  8. Thunderbird

    9. A solid email client. One day I will ascend to using a terminal based email client like mutt, that day is not today. In the mean time, Thunderbird does everything you'd want from an email client and doesn't snoop on you.

  9. Gnu Troff

    10. I needed a word processor. Wouldn't you know, the terminal has a great one. Groff or Gnu Troff is one of the most powerful word processors ever. Only surpassed by latex. I love it. It took me like a day to learn how to use it, but it will take me a lifetime to master.

  10. VIM

    11. Vi-Improved is the best text editor ever created. It has ruined all other typing experiences for me. I once thought the obsession with it was weird, now my eye brows perk up when I hear the phrase 'vim like key bindings.'

  11. SSH

    12. Game changer. ssh has radically changed the way I use and think about computers. Pre-linux, networking was purely between your device and big tech. None of your devices could talk to each other. If you want to move an ebook from you pc to your ereader. Email or google drive was the solution. Now I have access to every device I own at all times. Its secure and its private.