today's howtos

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Oct 02, 2023

• The minimal-div minimal-span philosophy of this blog

  There are two main "generic" elements. <div> for blocks of stuff, and <span> for a short run of text. I find that most modern websites over-use these elements. I want to reiterate, there's nothing illegal or immoral about doing so; the web police aren't going to take you to gaol. I personally think that writing semantic HTML is easier to maintain, easier to understand, easier for accessibility, and easier for automatically extracting meaning.

  So, for a while now, I've been slowly working on my blog's theme in order to remove as many <div>s and <span>s as possible. I started out with a couple of hundred of each. I'm now down to about 35 of each - depending on which page you're on.

  Here are some of the problems I found.

• Let's Encrypt wildcard certificates - the easy way

  Let's Encrypt is one of these services that seemed impossible just a few years ago. The first certificate I installed on a web server cost me about 60€ per year (for a single site).

  A lot has changed since then and almost every website is now using HTTPS by default (thanks Snowden).

  If you're a homelabber or a web dev you probably host a fair share of websites, some even under the same domain.

• Making a Website is for Everyone

  I realize complexity enters the scene because the web is world wide. There are so many people trying to do so many things with it, that it has to be wide and deep to accommodate all those use cases.

  But I absolutely love the idea of actively preserving a low barrier to entry for future generations of people.

• Resizing images on-the-fly

  As a web architect, one of the many issues is asset management. And the most significant issue in assets is images. A naive approach would be to set an image and let the browser resize the image via CSS: [...]

  However, it means that you download the original image. It entails two problems: the size of the original image and the suboptimal browser-based resizing.

• Single Command to Change CPU Power Mode in Ubuntu 22.04

  This simple tutorial shows how to switch CPU power mode between ‘Performance’, ‘Balanced’, and ‘Power Saver’ using Linux command in Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 23.04, and Ubuntu 23.10. GNOME has options in both ‘Settings’ and top-right system status menu to change CPU frequency by switching between ‘Performance’, ‘Balanced’, and ‘Power Saver’.

• Alan Pope: Recovering my NextCloud Box [Ed: Adopt clown computing, lose your data. Who still remembers UbuntuOne? Alan, do you remember?]

  I just stumbled on an old NextCloud Box in my loft. It’s a quiet Sunday in the house, so I thought I’d see if it still works, and if there’s any data on it. I’m pretty sure I did use it for a while, so there must be something on it.

  Here’s my NextCloud Box in a cardboard box labelled “NextCloud Box”.

• How To Install Ruby on Rails on Fedora 38

  In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Ruby on Rails on Fedora 38. For those of you who didn’t know, Ruby on Rails (often simply referred to as Rails) is a renowned web application framework celebrated for its efficiency and developer-friendliness.

• A Guide to Compiling the Linux Kernel All By Yourself

  A tinkerer's guide to experiencing the compilation of the latest Linux kernel all by yourself.

• How to Keep SSH Session Alive

  SSH (Secure Shell) is the cornerstone of remote access and administration in the world of Linux. It allows system administrators to securely connect to remote servers and devices, making it an indispensable tool for managing Linux-based systems. However, one common challenge that Linux administrators face is the automatic termination of SSH sessions due to inactivity.

• How to Install Gatsby on Ubuntu 22.04

  In this tutorial, we are going to explain in step-by-step detail how to install Gatsby on Ubuntu 22.04 Gatsby is an open-source static generator built on Node.js using React and GraphQL. With Gatsby, one can build fast and modern applications and websites with React.

• 16 Best Free Linux Screen Recorders Available in 2023 (Download)

  Are you someone who makes lots of tutorials or simply wants to show someone how to do something? If the answer is “Yes“, you will need software to record your screen! In general: Make video tutorials. Create presentations. Compile a how-to tutorial.

• Enhancing SSH Login With A Tmux Session Selection Menu In Linux

  Enhance your remote SSH login experience by setting up a tmux session selection menu. Easily switch between or start new tmux sessions with a simple script in Linux.

• How to Install and Use MongoDB on Ubuntu 22.04

  MongoDB is a scalable and flexible open-source database that allows you to store and retrieve large amounts of data. It is designed for modern applications to facilitate application development and scaling.