geeky

System

I maintain a home network of two machines:

• marvin:
  This is my main desktop, with a few server functions. It runs Ubuntu Linux, which is a great new desktop-oriented system built around Debian GNU/Linux and the GNOME desktop. marvin is connected to the Internet via ADSL and runs the Samba file and print server, the OpenSSH secure shell, and the Dovecot mail server. marvin runs on a Duron 900 with 256M of RAM. marvin was named after Marvin, the paranoid android from the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
• moses:
  This is a Windows 98SE client for a few specific tasks, such as verifying document compatibility and playing Worms Armageddon. It is also my Lady's surfboard and typewriter. moses is a pure client with no data files or printers, and it connects to the Internet via marvin, protected by marvin's firewall. It also runs VNC for remote desktop connections from marvin. moses runs on a sturdy Pentium 2 with a whopping 128M of RAM. Moses was so named because it is such an old system.

I don't carry laptops around. I prefer finding a networked computer somewhere, and connecting to marvin via ssh. My only mobile device is a Nokia 9300 smartphone, which has enough connectivity for my needs. It edits MS Office compatible files and has IRC, SSH, Web and Wap clients, and most importantly, runs Nethack on a 24×80 character terminal. Files travel between the phone and my computers via Bluetooth, since a Linux box isn't exactly Nokia's idea about a "supported PC".

At work I was given an Intel 686 machine with 512M of RAM, and Windows 2000 Pro. I spent my first day at work replacing Windows with a real operating system, currently it runs Ubuntu. The box is called fedja, after Feodor Dostoevsky, because while I was setting it up, i suddenly realized that I had never named anything after him. fedja has exactly the same desktop setup as marvin, and all files and folders on their desktops are synchronized. This way I have the exact same working environment at both home and office.

Screenshots:

Every once in a while, I'm asked to describe my working environment. Here's a screenshot of my clean Monday morning desktop. I'm using the wonderful Clearlooks-gPerfection theme by lokheed. Click on the thumbnail to see the image in its full glory.

Images of actual work situations on a separate page.

Files:

Scripts found floating around the Internet:

• system-info.sh is a nice script for collecting lots of information about your Linux box. You may have to edit this script to match your system before using.
• lookup.sh searches local HTML and HOWTO documentation on a Linux box. stfw.sh lets you search Google right from your shell.

How I like to configure my box:

• sources.list for my current Ubuntu Dapper system.
• my ~/.bashrc with useful aliases, a couple of handy functions and some environment variables that I consider reasonably sane. Don't use it on your box before editing for your own environment!