Unix Digest - Articles

Stop telling people to sanitize user input

Whether you're dealing with a web application or some other application, all user input should always be considered "hostile" and "dangerous", but you should not just universally sanitize user input.

Dinit, the init system systemd should have been

systemd is great as an init system, but - as you know - it's not just an init system, it's a behemoth of a monster.

The reasons for the big discrepancy between satisfied vs dissatisfied developers using AI for coding

To some developers AI seems to be the best thing since sliced bread, while to others, AI is more or less useless. I set out to investigate a little about why there is such a big difference in opinion among developers. This is just some my observations.

Why is your open source project still hosted on GitHub?

Perhaps the younger generation don't know anything about the past "evils" of Microsoft and naively believe that Microsoft is now the good friend to open source, but the truth is that all Microsoft acquisitions of open source projects is a business tactic that is put in place to improve Microsoft's loosing position to open source. It is a matter of control. And you should not host your open source…

If you're a programmer and you feel depressed by AI, don't be!

As with all automated tools, AIs can be useful to a certain extent, but unlike code completion tools or memory debugging tools or profiling tools, not only does AIs often produce bad code, but you also need to seriously consider the moral implications as well other issues when you use them. Especially if you use any of the products from "Big Tech". You cannot simply turn a blind eye!

How I manage my bookmarks

Bookmarks are great, but just as much as I need them, I also find them dismal.

Evilness is when profit is the sole concern

When a company is small it's easy to care about the good and the evil it does, but when a company gets big, typically profit becomes the sole concern and that is when evilness takes root and starts to spread.

Microsoft CEO says up to 30% of the company's code is written by AI - no surprise there

According to an article on TechCrunch Microsoft CEO says up to 30% of the company’s code is written by AI.

The reason why i don't use AI or even code completion

When I code, I don't use AI and I don't even use code completion, this post is about why not.

Hypocrisy and politics in free and open source software projects

What if one of your online friends dies unexpectedly?

A lot of people experience online friends "vanishing" without notice. A new nonprofit project tries to help prevent this issue and it's worth joining and supporting the project!

There is only one reason why Microsoft Windows is the dominating operating system on the PC desktop

The Internet is filled with blog posts, articles on tech media, and videos on YouTube about why Linux is not the main operating system on the PC desktop. "5 reasons why", "10 reasons why", bla, bla, bla. But they are all wrong.

I passionately hate hype, especially the AI hype

I truly and passionately hate hype. From the fakeness of it to the sheer stupidity it represents, but perhaps most of all, because of the devastating consequence it often results in.

Battle testing PHP fopen, SQLite, PostgreSQL and MariaDB on FFS2, UFS, ext4, XFS and ZFS

In this article I share the results of a lab test in which I tested writing data to the filesystem directly with PHP fopen versus storing data in SQLite, PostgreSQL and MariaDB on different filesystems, mainly FFS2 on OpenBSD, UFS on FreeBSD, ext4 and XFS on Linux and ZFS on both Linux and FreeBSD, while unplugging power to hard drives and to the machines mid-writing.

Are Passkeys really the beginning of the end of passwords? I certainly hope not!

As of late, Passkeys are promoted as the killer of passwords and a lot of companies are now manically transitioning from passwords to Passkeys. I don't think that is a good idea.

The proper design process in web development

Today web developers are told that in order to do so-called modern web development they need to use JavaScript frameworks because they are an essential part of modern front-end web development. What a load of rubbish!

The main differences between OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD and DragonFly BSD

People who consider trying out one of the different BSD variants, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD or DragonFly BSD, often ask about the main differences between the four projects. In this article I am going to address that issue.

We have used too many levels of abstractions and now the future looks bleak

A big percentage of so-called experts today only know how to configure tools, but they understand nothing about how things work at the deeper level. This is a real challenge and a big problem for the future.

Bethesda's Starfield is a disgrace to game development and a slap in the face to gamers

Nowadays PC gamers are used as guinea pigs when big gaming titles are released with major bugs, major performance issues, and other similar problems. Even though PC gamers are used as guinea pigs, they still often have to pay full price for the games as well. Game development has turned into a circus and Bertheda's latest title Starfield is a disgrace, not only to game development itself, but also…

One of the most basic requirements for success is also one of the most difficult to get right

Throughout my life I have been involved in many different projects and exciting endeavors, not only computer or technology related, but also within other "spheres of life". Often a project has many different requirements for success, but one thing is almost a universal constant, you have to surround yourself with the right people.

When you use open source software you are not entitled to anything!

Some people who use open source software think or feel that they somehow have a right upon the developers of such software to provide support or service of some kind. Some are even so deluded that they think threating the developers with promises of not using the software will somehow force the developers into compliance.

The heavy responsibility of the package maintainer

Even though being a ports or package maintainer is voluntary, it carries a heavy responsibility.

Is criticizing tech on political grounds valid?

I have multiple times criticized tech on political grounds, but is that a valid reason for criticism or does that simply constitute ranting?

Will the ranting on this website ever stop?

Admittedly, I do occasional rant on this website - sorry! Feel free to only read the tutorials, avoid my website all together, put it in your ad blockers spam list, or simply block it on your firewall :) No one is forcing you to read any of it if you don't want to.

My choice of operating system

Since my article The flaws of distro hopping and asking other people about their OS of choice I have had a number of people writing to me asking for my specific advice regarding their choice of operating system, both for personal usage and for business usage. Last night I received yet another email from someone in the US who wrote to me about a difficult situation they where facing in the choice…

Understanding Unix filesystem timestamps

The POSIX standard requires that operating systems maintain filesystem metadata that record when each file was last accessed. Let's take a look at what all that means.

Why you should avoid the news media and what to do instead

This is a small introduction to a really great article about how toxic it is to follow the daily news and what to do instead.

Do you feel overwhelmed trying to stay up to date with the latest tech news?

Even though the technology related news media isn't about inhibiting thinking or controlling the masses, like the regular news media, the technology media is mostly using the same tactics by creating sensational and story-formattet junk. You can spot a bad technology media (or any news media) by the low level of investigative journalism and the high level of sensationalism it contains.

"Zero trust" is being hijacked by the big corporate hype machine

The term zero trust is a security model, also known as "perimeterless security" that has been known for a long time and that was e.g. implemented internally at Google in 2009 in a project called BeyondCorp. In recent years, mainly due to the high amount of IT security problems we all are facing, the term gained renewed focus and popularity when cybersecurity researchers at National Institute of…

No, you cannot trust third party code without reading it first

A lot of bad practice has permeated the software development industry, one such practice is to blindly trust code when using third party libraries, frameworks or packages. The reasons why this is taking place is because people want to build stuff quickly in order to save as much money as possible, and they don't want to spend time on security or even performance. But alas, now such companies are…

The flaws of distro hopping and asking other people about their OS of choice

Distro hopping is a term that refers to the activity of computer users constantly installing and trying out different Linux distributions, either on bare metal or in a virtual environment, having a really difficult time deciding what to use. This article is not about simply trying out different options, it's about being stuck because you cannot make up your mind and you just keep trying different…

Don't use Reddit for Linux or BSD related questions

If you're looking for answers related to Linux or BSD (or anything for that matter), Reddit is often not the right place to search for them.

Linux distributions long term support might not be what you think it is

Since I wrote The delusions of Debian, I have received a lot of email. I have therefore decided to do a small follow-up about the true meaning of Long Term Support (LTS).

The delusions of Debian

Debian used to be a very famous Linux distribution in the communications industry and I have been running it in production since about 1998 up until the time when the systemd conflict arose. Since then the priorities of the Debian project changed and Debian was no longer what Debian used to be.

How security is handled by package maintainers

A lot of myth and misunderstanding exist regarding how security is handled by package maintainers on the different Linux distributions and BSD variants. Let's take a look at the subject.

Questions about which operating system is more secure or the fastest make no sense

Reddit, fora, mailing lists, etc. are filled with questions and debates about whether operating system A is more secure than operating system B, or whether operating system A is faster than operating system B. Such questions and debates makes very little sense.

Advice to business owners and managers, don't use the modern way of web development

I have previously written about some of the major problems with so-called modern web development in some of my articles, mainly So-called modern web developers are the culprits and Is the madness ever going to end? and I have addressed the issues to the developers themselves. However, in some cases the business owners and managers are the main driving force behind the bad decisions, so if you're a…

Is the madness ever going to end?

There is something seriously wrong with the IT industry. It's so bad that I haven't managed to find a single industry with the same massive amount of stupidity, with the exception of perhaps the fashion industry.

My 70 year old mother has been using Linux on the desktop for the past 21 years

My mother turned 70, February 2021, and she has been using Linux on the desktop for the past 21 years. My mother-in-law is 65, she has been using Linux on the desktop since 2015.

No, your website is not a web app even if you call it so

As a response to my article, So-called modern web developers are the culprits, someone stated that my advice was outdated because today we make web apps, not websites. I will address that issue in this article.

So-called modern web developers are the culprits

2022 needs to be the year when we seriously begin to get rid of bloatware, hype and trends in web development. It needs to be the year when we focus on performance and on utilizing the technology in harmony with the intend behind it. I am not saying that we should do all web development in assembly or C, but we need to stop the JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, Python with Django and PHP framework…

Using a framework can make you stupid!

During the last couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to work with a web application that required a new user management system. As most people know I am very much against using frameworks - and for good reasons. Let's talk a little about that.

How to write software that will keep working for decades without problems

I think that most people in the software industry have been in the situation of running a legacy system that everyone dreads because it was developed on a platform that was outdated a long time ago. In this article I will address the issue of how you develop software that keeps running without fear of breakage even when you upgrade to the latest version of the platform that the system is running…

There is no such thing as privacy on the Internet

As soon as you step outside your house or apartment, you're located in the "public arena" where there is no privacy. I don't mean juridically speaking, but practically, as everyone can see you. Now, why would you think it is any different with the Internet!?

Use the right tool for the job

I am sure you have heard it many times, "use the right tool for the job", yet at the same time we're often inclined toward a specific operating system or a specific piece of software. And while it's quite normal to have a favorite operating system or a favorite piece of software, it can be very counter productive to only use a single solution for every problem.

Having a solid backup strategy and why you should not rely on fancy tools for backup

Have you ever lost important data? I have. I learned doing backups the hard way after I lost a entire book I had just finished writing!

Using GitHub Copilot will turn you into a bad programmer

It is extremely disappointing to watch people cheer in ignorance at having their FOSS work and time exploited by one of the largest and crookiest companies in the world (GitHub, i.e. Microsoft), but you also need to understand something else, if you're into programming, using GitHub Copilot will eventually turn you into a bad programmer!

How to stay sane in today's world of tech

Is it even possible to stay sane in today's world of tech? Well, both yes and no :)

Stop submitting to social conformity and use your brain instead

Whether we deal with technology, religion, science, or any other subject, nothing has ever been more harmful to the human race, both generally and individually, than people submitting to social conformity rather than use the gift of their intellect!

Are you a TLS master?