Linux Explorations...

I have used Linux for many years and this site used to focus solely on Linux issues. After late 2016 the emphasis of the site has shifted as I have moved my focus to other areas, but I have collected some of the better Linux pages that I have created during this time and placed them here. Enjoy!

Contents of this section...

There should eventually be about a dozen pages in this section of the site and for the most part these are written from the point of view of the dedicated Slackware user that I have slowly become. However many are eneric enough to have relevance to other Linux distros and there is also a sprinkling of older material from my Ubuntu days...

• Using Mutt with Gmail This page gives a detailed set of instructions for setting up the Linux email client mutt (together with fetchmail, procmail and msmtp) to receive, sort, read and send email using Gmail as a relay. I have used this technique on my own system for many, many years and it is rock solid.
• Slackware -current reloaded... From time to time I like to wipe my old installation of the development version of Slackware and then reload Slackware -current. In part this is a learning tool for myself and in part it is designed to sweep away the cruft that can accumulate from my extensive experimentation and day to day usage of what is almost a rolling release of Slackware.
• Slackware and Leafnode-2 This page aims to guide users through the installation and initial configuration of the NNTP proxy server Leafnode-2 under Slackware Linux. I confess that with the decline of Usenet I no longer use Leafnode-2 and I have been quite happy simply using the small spool dragged in by slrnpull. But this guide will still work nicely under Slackware at least.
• CD and DVD Writing from the Linux Command Line This page aims to provide a gentle introduction to the world of CD and DVD writing from the command line under Linux. I still use these techniques every day although burning on to physical media is slowly becoming less common as digital transfer via the Internet becomes more the norm.
• Running irssi under the latest release of Ubuntu This relic from my Ubuntu days details how to connect to Freenode under the latest release of Ubuntu using irssi. Details also of making an SSL/SASL connection.
• Using slrn and slrnpull under Ubuntu Linux Yet another relic from my Ubuntu days this guide shows how to install and use the the latest slrn and slrnpull to access Usenet. The instructions are generic enough to also apply to other Linux distros.
• Compiling the git slrn under Windows 10 It is perhaps a little bit crazy but this page demonstrates how to install the MinGW-64 compiler and build the development version of slrn and slrnpull under the 64bit Windows 10.
• Top 10 Tricks and Tips for the svn MPlayer This page gathers together a collection of the 10 best tips and tricks that I have found either useful or fascinating in my long dealings with the svn MPlayer. MPlayer seems to be slowly going to sleep but still serves most of my media needs.
• Encoding Video for the iRiver X20 IUsing FFmpeg to create quite usable and viewable video for an old media player, the iRiverX20. I no longer have this device but I decided to keep this page in place for anybody who still uses one.
• Slackware and "For The God Who Sings" A page where I describe how to download the world's most beautiful radio music broadcast using MPlayer. Do you need some calming and uplifting music? This is the page for you...
• Using qaac under Linux... This is a page that aims to promote and facilitate the use of the great AAC/ALAC commandline encoder qaac under a Linux environment.
• Using fhgaacenc under Linux... How to use fhgaacenc under Linux to produce high quality AAC-LC files as well as HE-AAC and HE-AAC v2 files.
• abcde: Command Line Music CD Ripping for Linux A major subsection to this site is a very large collection of ~/.abcde.conf files for tha amazing command line audio cd ripper abcde. I was a developer of abcde for a year or so I have added a few snippets of information concerning the codecs used and how they came to be incorporated in the great application.

Coming soon this page will be a collection of my most used FFmpeg 'recipes' and a few other projects I have been considering. It should be fun!

And in conclusion ...

I have found immense enjoyment both in looking back over my time with Linux as well as in writing this page and my pleasure will be redoubled if you have profited by any of the material on this page. Importantly I am still having a great and productive time in the world of Linux and I feel as if I have joined a community and am contributing to it. What about you?