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Normally, on a unix-like operating system, the ownership of files and directories is based on the default uid (user-id) and gid (group-id) of the user who created them. The same thing happens when a process is launched: it runs with the effective user-id and group-id of the user who started it, and with the corresponding privileges. This behavior can be modified by using special permissions.

In a previous article we have seen how to parse command line arguments using getopts in the context of bash scripts (you can find the article here). Now we will see how to accomplish the same task, in a more powerful way, when writing a python script.

There are plenty of ways to play audio files with Python. It really depends on your application, but the easiest way, by far, is to use the bindings for VLC to control VLC with Python, and play your files. With VLC, you don't need to worry about codecs and file support. It also doesn't require too many complicated methods, and/or objects. So, for simple audio playback, VLC is best.

When writing scripts that are meant to run for a considerable time, it's very important to increase their robustness by making them able to react to system signals, executing specific actions when some of them are received. We can accomplish this task by using the bash trap builtin.

JSON is the universal format for passing data between programs and/or languages, especially on the web. Python has excellent built-in support for converting data from a Python program into JSON for another program to use.

It's be convenient to be able to retrieve the latest weather forecast right from your terminal without opening up a web browser, wouldn't it? What about scripting it or setting a cron job? Well, you can.

Sling TV is a popular alternative for cord cutters looking to be free of their cable bill while keeping their favorite TV channels. The service doesn't support Linux, though, at all. Furthermore, by default it is available within United States only.

Sometimes we have to install programs from source: maybe they are not available through standard channels, or maybe we want a specific version of a software. GNU stow is a very nice symlinks factory program which helps us a lot by keeping files organized in a very clean and easy to maintain way.

Are file transfers slow on your network? Are you constantly passing data between your computers? Well, maybe jumbo frames are for you. Jumbo frames are larger than standard network packet payloads. Normally the payload size or MTU(Maximum Transfer Unit) is set to 1500 bytes. Jumbo frames can support to 9000 bytes per packet. Jumbo frames decrease the overhead associated with transferring files by limiting the number of packets that your networking equipment needs to process.

Lots of people like graphical utilities for managing their computers, but plenty don't too. If you prefer command line utilities, managing WiFi can be a real pain. Well, it doesn't have to be. wpa_supplicant can be used as a command line utility. You can actually set it up easily with a simple configuration file.

If you're connected to a VPN, you need a killswitch. No, it's not as metal as it sounds. It's just a mechanism that stops your Internet connection when you're disconnected from the VPN. It protects you from inadvertently leaking sensitive information onto the Internet when the VPN connection drops.

World of Warcraft has been around for almost thirteen years, and it's still easily the most popular MMORPG. Unfortunately, after all that time Blizzard never released an official Linux client. It's not all bad, tough. Wine has you covered.

This guide aims to provide a quite complete overview of PDO, guiding the reader step by step from the establishment of a connection to the database, to the choice of the most appropriate fetch mode, showing how to create prepared statements and describing the possible error modes.

When you fist log in to a terminal on a Unix system, Linux included, you are usually greeted by that system's message of the day(MOTD). The message of the day, gives you important information about the system or just messages from the system admin. Of course, if you are are the system admin, it's up to you to set that message. If it's your own system, you can get creative with your message and include any information that you choose.

It's hard not to have heard about Ethereum by now. It's the hottest new cryptocurrency that's still very much so on the rise. Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is still practical to mine, and tons of people are getting in on it. If you've been considering mining Ethereum, this guide will help you get started using open source tools and Ubuntu.

If you ask just about any Linux user, they'll agree that Skype is pretty terrible. There's not a whole lot to like there, especially since the Linux client is just a poorly maintained wrapper for the web app.

Matrix is an up-and-coming chat protocol that provides a real alternative to proprietary solutions like Slack. Unlike Slack, Matrix is free, open source, and completely decentralized. With Matrix, you own your chat.

Most people have terrible passwords, and WiFi is no exception. Your WiFi password is your primary line of defense against unwanted access to your network. That access can result in a whole host of other nasty things because an attacker can monitor the traffic on your network and even gain direct access to your computers.

MAC address whitelisting sounds like a great way to prevent unauthorized access to your wireless network, but it doesn't work. The purpose of this guide is to demonstrate exactly how easy it is to spoof a whitelisted MAC address and gain access to a restricted network.

AMD's Ryzen CPUs were designed to be overclocked. They're excellent at it, and they benefit greatly from it. Most Ryzen CPUs can even overclock a few hundred MHz using a stock cooler. That's impressive no matter how you look at it.