Tag: Linux

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Ventoy: The Ultimate Multi-Boot USB Tool

Giving friends and neighbors a bootable USB drive containing your favorite Linux distribution is a great way to introduce neophyte Linux users to the experience we all enjoy. Many people have never heard of Linux, and putting your favorite distribution on a bootable USB drive is a great way to break the ice.

I taught an introductory computer class to a group of middle schoolers a few years ago. We used old laptops, and I introduced the students to Fedora, Ubuntu, and Pop!_OS. When the class was over, I gave each student a copy of their favorite distribution to take home and install on a computer of their choice. They were eager to try their new skills at home.

A friend introduced me to Ventoy, which (according to its GitHub repository) is “an open-source tool to create bootable a USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files.” Instead of creating separate drives for each Linux distribution I want to share, I can make a single drive with all my favorite Linux distributions on the drive!

As you might expect, a USB drive’s size determines how many distributions you can fit on it. On a 16GB drive, I placed Fedora Cinnamon and Fedora KDE Plasma and still have over nine gigabytes free to hold other distributions.

Get Ventoy

Ventoy is open source, with a GPL v3 license, and available for Windows and Linux. There is excellent documentation on downloading and installing Ventoy on Microsoft Windows. The Linux installation happens from the command line, so it can be a little confusing if you’re unfamiliar with that process. Yet, it’s easier than it might seem.

First, download Ventoy. I downloaded the archive file to my desktop. Next, extract the ventoy-x.y.z-linux.tar.gz archive (but replace x.y.z with your download’s version number) using the tar command (to keep things simple, I use the * character as an infinite wildcard in the command):

$ tar -xvf ventoy*z

This command extracts all the necessary files into a folder named ventoy-x.y.z on my desktop.

You can also use your Linux distribution’s archive manager to accomplish the same task. After downloading and extracting, you can install Ventoy to your USB drive.

Install Ventoy and Linux on a USB

Insert your USB drive into your computer. Change the directory into the Ventoy folder, and look for a shell script named Ventoy2Disk.sh. For this script to work correctly, you must determine the correct mount point for your USB drive. 

$ lsblk

The results show that my USB drive is mounted at /dev/sda. On your computer, the location could be /dev/sdb or /dev/sdc or something similar.

Once you’re sure of your drive’s location, run the script:

$ sudo sh Ventoy2Disk.sh -i /dev/sdX

This formats the drive and installs Ventoy to your USB. Now, you can copy and paste all the Linux distributions that will fit on the drive. If you boot the newly created drive on your computer, you’ll see a menu with the distributions you have copied to your USB drive.

Build a portable powerhouse

Picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Ventoy is your key to carrying a multiboot drive on your keychain, so you’ll never be without the distributions you rely on. You can have a full-featured desktop, a lightweight distro, a console-only maintenance utility, and anything else you want.

I never leave the house without a Linux distro, nor should you. Grab Ventoy, a USB drive, and a handful of ISOs. You won’t be sorry.

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MyTop Five KDE Apps

I’ve been using Fedora 41 KDE Plasma for awhile now and I’ve already discovered some of the great available apps that I use daily. My top five are: Okular, Spectacle, Gwenview, Dolphin and Konsole.

Okular is a versatile and powerful document viewer. It supports many document formats, including PDF, EPUB, DjVu, and Markdown, as well as image formats like JPEG, PNG, and GIF. Okular has great annotation tools that make adding inline and popup notes and highlighting text easy. I can easily add my text to PDFs. Okular can speak the text if I choose that option. Okular is available on other platforms, including MacOS and Windows. It is open source with a GPL v2 license.

Spectacle is a simple yet powerful screen capture utility. I can capture the entire desktop or just a specified rectangle. I can easily copy and paste the image or save it by default to the ‘screenshots’ folder inside my ‘Pictures’ folder. I can also save images in various formats, including PNG, TIFF, JPEG, PCX, WebP, and many more. I can also annotate and edit screenshots before saving them. The spectacle is available on Linux with a GPL v2 license.

Gwenview is a user-friendly image viewer that includes many powerful tools. I can open images with a double-click, rotate them left or right, crop, flip, adjust colors, remove red-eye, and even annotate. I can view pictures in full-screen mode and even create a slideshow. Gwenview has a ‘Share’ option in the menu bar that lets me send images directly to Google Drive, NextCloud, Imgur or via Bluetooth to another device or user. Gwenview is open source with a GPL v2 license.

Dolphin is a powerful graphical file manager. Dolphin is packed with productivity features designed to save you time. With multiple tabs and split view capabilities, you can easily navigate multiple folders simultaneously, allowing for efficient drag-and-drop file operations between views. The right-click menu offers a plethora of quick actions, such as compressing, sharing, and duplicating files. You can even add your own custom actions for additional functionality. Dolphin is open source with a GPL v2 license.

Konsole is a terminal that runs a command shell. It’s easy to use. It supports a great deal of option with a right click that include tabs, multiple profiles, bookmarks support, saving output. It is available on macOS and Windows. It is open source with a GPL v2 license.

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Fedora 41 KDE Plasma: A Fusion of Performance and Elegance

It has been some time since I last enjoyed a Fedora spin. I began my journey with Fedora when it was first introduced in 2003, having previously used Red Hat Linux versions 7, 8, and 9. In my work for the Franklinville, New York school district, I utilized Fedora to develop content filters, data storage systems, and various other devices. Interestingly, during a trip to Portland, Oregon, I visited a school district that had adopted a Fedora-based Linux terminal server project.

During that trip, we were invited to the Portland Linux User Group, and that night they distributed CD-ROMs with Ubuntu 5.04, Hoary Hedgehog. At the time, I purchased a white-box laptop from a nearby custom builder, and I was having trouble getting its wireless card to work smoothly with Fedora. That particular version of Ubuntu just worked right out of the box. My workflow then revolved around Fedora, but I decided to make this Ubuntu distribution work—and I did.

Recently, after listening to Linux Unplugged and the rave reviews, Fedora 41 was getting along with positive reviews of KDE Plasma from Felim Whitley on Linux After Dark that I decided to download and try Fedora 41 KDE Plasma.

I downloaded the ISO onto my Linux Mint Cinnamon daily driver and created the live USB drive with Fedora. I took a spare Dell Latitude 5410 that I had, and in about ten minutes, I had a Fedora KDE Plasma installed. I have used Kubuntu, and long before that, I had experienced the K-Desktop and decided I liked Gnome better. You could say I was prejudiced. But that prejudice was overcome by the design and layout of this particular Fedora spin.

I have used many Linux distributions since installing Red Hat 6.1 in the late 1990s. I’ve consistently been a Linux Mint Cinnamon user since 2020. Mint Cinnamon is still running on my main machine. Nonetheless, I found this version of Fedora compelling. The workflow is very similar to Mint Cinnamon—the location of the main menu and the panel where I can launch frequently used applications. I have complained about the mirrors supporting Fedora in the past and found mirrors for Ubuntu more responsive. That situation seems to have changed for Fedora.

I have found Fedora’s software center helpful and have installed applications from there. I have also used ‘dnf’ to install applications from the command line. The installation times have been great. I love Fedora’s implementation of Wayland and PipeWire. I also installed Cronopete, which is my go-to backup utility for Linux. I don’t know whether it is the Dell or Fedora, but I have found using my Soundcore Bluetooth headphones easier. I added my Brother multifunction color laser quickly with no additional software installation necessary. I enjoy this version of Fedora.

I’m still kicking the tires. I’m familiar with many software choices and learning to use new KDE software like Gwenview and Spectacle. The beauty of Linux and open source is that so many choices and options don’t exist in proprietary software.

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My Favorite Linux and Open Source Podcasts

I spend a lot of time on the road or walking around my village and enjoy listening to podcasts about various topics. One of my interests is keeping up with the latest news and information about Linux and open source, and that led me to Jupiter Broadcasting, an open-source (both in topics covered and its license) podcasting network. I met Jupiter’s cofounder Chris Fisher when I visited System76 headquarters in 2018.

I am a regular listener to Linux Unplugged, billed as “Your Weekly Linux Talk Show.” Each week, Chris Fisher is joined by Brent Gervais and Wes Payne to discuss the latest developments in Linux and open source. I learn something new with every show, including great show notes with links to all topics covered in the shows. All the shows are released with Creative Commons share-alike licenses.

Jupiter Broadcasting has a family of shows, which includes Coder Radio, which is a weekly show about software development. The network also produces another of my favorite podcasts, Self Hosted which features hosts Chris Fisher and Alex Kretzschmar as they share their experience with self hosting and guide you through their latest adventures. In the show they chat about innovative software and cutting-edge hardware to optimize your network, manage smart devices, and ensure the security of your data on cloud services.

Late Night LInux is a family of shows started by producer Joe Ressington. The Late NIght Linux family includes Late Night Linux, 2.5 Admins, Linux After Dark, Linux Matters, Linux Dev Time, Hybrid Cloud and Ask the Hosts.

All the shows are great, and I started listening to Late Night Linux about five years ago. I look forward each week to engaged conversations and rollicking good times with host Joe Ressington, joined by Sysadmin Felim,  technical writer Graham, and engineering manager Will as they delve into the latest developments and releases in the world of free and open-source software. They also tackle broader issues and trends with a candid approach. Expect colorful language, strong opinions, and ribbing aimed at Félim over AI and the cloud.

2.5 Admins has become another favorite since it debuted. Each week features two sysadmins called Allan Jude and Jim Salter and Joe Ressington, producer/editor who can just about configure a Samba share.

Linux After Dark is another favorite. On each show, Sysadmin Chris Pearse, cloud consultant Gary, and developer/admin May join Joe to talk about their recent Linux-related experiences and discuss some of the more philosophical aspects of being a Linux user.

All the Late Night Linux family podcasts are released with Creative Commons share-alike licenses.

Immersing yourself in Linux and open-source podcasts is a fantastic way to stay updated, learn from experts, and connect with a passionate community. Whether you’re a seasoned enthusiast or a curious newcomer, these podcasts offer invaluable insights, tips, and stories that can help you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of open-source technology.

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Beyond Code: Ways to Contribute to Open Source Projects

I have been using open-source software for almost twenty-five years now. I was a user and an evangelist for open source for the first fifteen years that I used open source software. I didn’t see myself as a coder so how could I give back to the community. That changed in 2011 when I began writing for Opensource.com. I felt guilty that I didn’t do more to support the community.. I failed to realize that there is much more than coding and evangelizing that contributes to an open source community.

Here are some ways you can contribute to open source without being a community evangelist or a programmer. Documentation is one of the most important aspects of any project. It may not be intuitive how to use the software. Take WordPress and Drupal for example. It’s become easier now that you can spin up a virtual machine or a Docker image but there are still many nuances that are not intuitive and that is where good documentation plays an important role.

User testing is another way to contribute. How does the software operate on a variety of different platforms and operating systems. Providing feedback on usability and bugs. Community support by participating in forums and wikis by answering questions and provide support to other users. I have been a Linux user since the late 1990’s and in the early days before the World Wide Web existed the chief method of support was joining listservs and bulletin board. Now there are more resources for users but community support continues to be a great help even for experienced users.

Financial contributions help maintain and develop the project. One of the ways you can support open source is through the Github Secure Open Source Fund. I am a Linux Mint user and I have made regular contributions to the project. GnuCash is another project I contribute to. Consider contributing to podcasters like LateNight Linux. You can support Fosstodon and other Mastodon instances.

Advocacy is one of the principal ways I support open source. You can too. Advocate for the adoption of open-source solutions in organizations, educational institutions, and among peers. There are still many folks in communities around the globe that know nothing of open source and the benefits of using open source software. Thirty-three years after the advent of Linux a majority of the folks I come in contact with everyday have never used it nor do they understand the tremendouse personal and professional benefits they might enjoy as a user.

I advocated for the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System to move away from a proprietary library system. The system adopted Koha which is supported by Bywater Solutions. The library system saved over $60,000 per year and were ready for the pandemic when libaries were forced to close their doors. Moving from an expensive client-server proprietary system to an open source one that needed only a FireFox browser to navigate was a game changer. I learned about Bywater and Koha from an open source using library director.

Consider sharing your open source experience by writing and sharing your journey with technology blogs like Allthingsopen.org. You might consider sharing your journey with others. Volunteer at meetups, workshops and hackathons and open source conferences. Offer others your open source journey at public libraries. There are many ways to give back.

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Essential Linux Commands

I started using Linux in late 1990’s when there were few books around that explained the basics. One of my favorite hand guides back then was the One Page Linux Manual. It had lists of many basic commands that I needed to navigate the files system. Here’s a list of some of the most basic commands than any new users needs to get started using Linux divided into useful categories. Happy learning!

Basic Commands:

  • pwd: Print the current working directory.
  • ls: List files and directories.
  • cd: Change directory.
  • mkdir: Create a new directory.
  • rmdir: Remove an empty directory.
  • rm: Remove files or directories.
  • cp: Copy files or directories.
  • mv: Move or rename files or directories.
  • touch: Create an empty file or update the timestamp of an existing file.
  • cat: Concatenate and display file contents.

File Permissions:

  • chmod: Change file permissions.
  • chown: Change file owner and group.
  • ls -l: List files with detailed information including permissions.

Process Management:

  • ps: Display information about active processes.
  • top: Display real-time system usage and processes.
  • kill: Terminate a process

System Information:

  • uname: Print system information.
  • df -h: Display disk space usage.
  • free -m: Display memory usage.
  • uptime: Display system uptime.

Networking:

  • ifconfig: Configure network interfaces.
  • ping: Send ICMP echo requests to test connectivity.
  • netstat: Display network connections, routing tables, and more.
  • ssh: Securely connect to a remote system.

Text Editing:

  • nano: Simple text editor.
  • gedit: Text editor for the Gnome environment
  • less: View file contents one page at a time.
  • grep: Search files for a text pattern.

Compression and Archiving:

  • tar: Archive files.
  • gzip: Compress files.
  • bzip2: Compress files with better compression.
  • unzip: Extract compressed files.

Package Management:

  • apt: Manage packages on Debian-based systems.
  • dnf: Package manager for Fedora.

This cheat sheet covers the most commonly used commands to help you get started with Linux.

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Mastering space management with ‘dfc’

The dfc command in Linux is a powerful tool that provides users with file system space usage information. It is a tool similar to df which provides a snapshot your file system. Here is a look at my file system using the df command:

don@Jude:~$ df
Filesystem     1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs            6548596      2272   6546324   1% /run
/dev/nvme0n1p2 959786032 288646724 622311100  32% /
tmpfs           32742976     84192  32658784   1% /dev/shm
tmpfs               5120        12      5108   1% /run/lock
efivarfs             192       125        63  67% /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
tmpfs           32742976         0  32742976   0% /run/qemu
/dev/nvme0n1p1    523248      6284    516964   2% /boot/efi
tmpfs            6548592       208   6548384   1% /run/user/1000

I can tell with a quick glance that I still have a lot of space available on my system. Using dfc offers additional features such as color-coded output and graphical representations, making it easier to visualize disk usage at a glance. Here is a quick look at my system using dfc:

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

You can easily see that dfc provides more information and it color and in a format that is more readable for the user. You can turn off the default color option by issuing the following command:

$ dfc -c never

This provides a non color read out of the same data.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

You can display all the file systems including pseudo, duplicate and inaccessible filesystems by using the following command:

$ dfc -a
Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

The dfc command was not included with my distribution and had to be installed from the command line for Ubuntu based distributions.

$ sudo apt install dfc

installation for .rpm based distributions would be the following:

$ sudo dnf install dfc

The command is open source with a BSD-Clause License. You can export the output of the command in HTML, JSON, Tex and CSV formats. The man page provides excellent documentation and explanation of the various switches for the command. Use the dfc -h command display an excellent help menu with all the options for the command.

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Educators to Follow on Mastodon for Innovative Teaching Insights

I have been using Mastodon for almost six years. I continue to be amazed at the quality of discourse and the diverse community of educators and folks interested in education in the Fediverse. If you are a person who is accustomed to algorithm driven centralized social networks then Mastodon is going to seem a bit unusual at first. If you are WordPress user you can connect your blog to Mastodon with the ActivityPub plugin. You don’t need a blog to connect to Mastodon. You just need to create an account on anyone of dozens of Mastodon instances that exist around the world. One you are connected to an instance you can find other users and connect to them whether they are on your particular server instance or not.

Mastodon communications are driven by hashtags which many of you are already familiar with. Some of my favorites are #edtech

A toot on Mastodon is typically five hundred characters long. Like other microblogging platforms you may have used before brevity is prized but there’s more than enough space to get your information across and then you use hashtags to let your audience know what your toot is about.

Here’s a list of twenty-one educators currently using Mastodon.

Eric Sheninger – @esheninger@mastodon.social
Sandy Kendell – @SandyKendell@mastodon.education
Wesley Fryer – @wfryer@mastodon.cloud
Martin Dougiamas – @martin@openedtech.social
Alice Barr – @alicebarr@techhub.social
Miguel Guhlin – @mguhlin@mastodon.education
EdTech Group – @edtech@chirp.social
Clint LaLonde – @clintlalonde@mastodon.oeru.org
Doug Holton – https://mastodon.social/@dougholton
Anna Millis – @amills@mastodon.oeru.org
Open at Virginia Tech – @openatvt@fosstodon.org
SPARC – @sparc@mastodon.social
Project Gutenberg – @gutenberg_org@mastodon.social
Smithsonian Magazine – @Smithsonianmag@flipboard.com
Steven Beschloss – @StevenBeschloss@mastodon.social
Bill Fitzgerald = @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone
WikiEducation – @WikiEducation@wikis.world
CreativeCommons – @creativecommons@mastodon.social
Edutopia – @edutopia@mastodon.education
Cognitively Accessible Math – @geonz@mathstodon.xyz
NPR – @npr@mastodon.social
Open Source Science – @os-sci@mastodon.social

In conclusion, Mastodon offers a refreshing alternative to traditional, algorithm-driven social networks. Its decentralized nature and vibrant community provide an enriching environment for educators and those passionate about education. Whether you’re sharing your thoughts, discovering new ideas through hashtags, or connecting your WordPress blog with the ActivityPub plugin, Mastodon opens up a world of possibilities. Embrace the change and dive into meaningful conversations on this unique platform. Happy tooting!

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The shift to ARM and the rise of Linux integration

Apple’s computers switched from Intel X86 to ARM in 2020 when the company nnounced the M1 in November 2020. Since that time they have continued to release more ARM processors and now they have the M4 and M4 plus. ARM which stands for Advanced RISC machine. ARM is a CPU that uses a reduced instruction set and does not require a separate GPU. All the processing occurs on one chip. ARM processors are designed to be cost effective, consume less power and generate less heat than their X86 counterparts.

Not only does the ARM processor consume less power and cost less but it also has the processing power to effectively power large language models on individual personal computers and AI image generating software very quickly and robustly. Since Apple introduced the ARM processors in their computers there has been a drive to bring ARM to Linux. The Asahi Linux project aims to bring the power of Linux to Apple Silicon Macs. Pinebook Pro has brought Linux to an ARM processor powered notebook computer. Their machine is meant to deliver a solid day-to-day Linux experience.

Manjaro comes preinstalled on Pinebook Pro which can also run Debian, Arch, Armbian, BSD, Gentoo, Fedora, OpenSuse and Q4OS. Despite the progress there is still a shortage of ARM equipped computers for Linux folks to use. System76 recently announced a server line which will be powered by ARM chips. For now Linux users will have to satisfy themselves with the Pinebook Pro and Raspberry Pi 5 which are both wonderful examples of ARM computers.

Microsoft’s Surface Pro is another great example of an ARM powered mobile computer but to date I have not read of anyone installing Linux on it.

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Balancing Power and Portability: The journey of a technophile

When I attended All Things Open a year ago, I carried a Hewlett-Packard DevOne, which I had purchased the year before. Two years ago, I was anxious to try the DevOne because I wanted to try an AMD Ryzen 7 with Linux. It was a platform I had never used. I have been a solid Intel user for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. I liked the size and feel of the computer, but in an all-day conference where I attended all the keynotes and other sessions using the computer for note-taking, tweeting, and tooting, I was disappointed in the battery life.

I came home, put the laptop for sale on E-bay, and decided I was going to buy one of the newer 15-inch M2 MacBook Air computers. I have enjoyed using the MacBook to experiment with Stable Diffusion, DiffusionBee, Llamafile, Ollama, and other applications. I took the MacBook to a half-day conference in mid-April and have used it sparingly since then, but I was determined to give an actual test at All Things Open earlier this week. It surpassed all my expectations for its exceptional battery life. I attended all the keynotes and many sessions where I took notes and live-tooted what I was seeing and hearing, and at the end of the day, each day, I had around seventy percent of battery life. That is simply amazing.

I’m not ready to ditch Linux. I’m writing this article on my main desktop, which runs Linux Mint Cinnamon, but I am impressed with the battery life of the M2 MacBook Air. I have found the M2 chip equal to almost everything I have used it for. Apple has introduced the new MacBook Pro with an M4, sixteen gigabytes of RAM, and 512 GB drive with three Thunderbolt ports and HDMI. I came close to buying one today. I learned while I was at All Things Open that it might make sense for me to get a MacBook with a bit more RAM to continue experimenting with locally hosted large language models.

Being a technophile has its rewards and challenges, and I am presented with another one now. Apple will give me a five hundred eighty dollar trade-in on the M2 MacBook Air. The new MacBook Pro has a fourteen-inch display, and the MacBook Air has a fifteen-inch display. I like the larger display, but there is no doubt that there are compelling reasons to go with the newer, more powerful MacBook Pro with lots of expansion. Should I pay another two hundred dollars for a terabyte of storage, or should I stay with the stock of five hundred twelve gigabyte drives? Lots of decisions.