Follow via:
RSS
Email Alert

J.A. Watson

Member blogger

I started working with what we called "analog computers" in aircraft maintenance with the United States Air Force in 1970. After finishing military service and returning to university, I was introduced to microprocessors and machine languag…e programming on Intel 4040 processors. After that I also worked on, operated and programmed Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-8, PDP-11 (/45 and /70) and VAX minicomputers. I was involved with the first wave of Unix-based microcomputers, in the early '80s. I have been working in software development, operation, installation and support since then.

Latest from J.A. Watson

Linux: Hands on with the Fedora 34 Beta

Linux: Hands on with the Fedora 34 Beta

Fedora 34 Beta was released last week. I have installed it on several of my laptops, here are the results and observations so far.

April 1, 2021 by J.A. Watson in Linux

Linux distributions: All the talent and hard work that goes into building a good one

Linux distributions: All the talent and hard work that goes into building a good one

Recent posts to the Linux Mint blog have got me thinking about some of the issues in maintaining a Linux distribution.

March 4, 2021 by J.A. Watson in Linux

Hands-on with KaOS Linux - An Independent KDE Plasma Desktop Distribution

Hands-on with KaOS Linux - An Independent KDE Plasma Desktop Distribution

This independent Linux distribution focuses exclusively on the KDE Plasma desktop and Qt cross-platform development software.

February 24, 2021 by J.A. Watson in Linux

Hands-On with Solus Linux 4.2: Fast to install, and very pleasant to use

Hands-On with Solus Linux 4.2: Fast to install, and very pleasant to use

I haven't looked at the Solus Linux distribution in quite a long time. The recent new release is just the impetus I needed to take another look.

February 16, 2021 by J.A. Watson in Linux

Kali Linux hands-on: Choosing the right version to download

Kali Linux hands-on: Choosing the right version to download

There are a variety of different ways to install Kali Linux, choosing the best one for your situation can make the process much easier. Here is a rundown of the possibilities.

January 26, 2021 by J.A. Watson in Enterprise Software

Linux Mint 20.1: Hands on

Linux Mint 20.1: Hands on

A new release of Linux Mint is out. I have tried all three desktop versions, with both fresh installations and upgrades of existing systems.

January 11, 2021 by J.A. Watson in Enterprise Software

Raspberry Pi 4: Hands-On with the Argon One M.2 case

Raspberry Pi 4: Hands-On with the Argon One M.2 case

This case offers several important features for the Raspberry Pi 4, including excellent active and passive cooling, full-sized HDMI ports, and an M.2 SSD socket.

January 8, 2021 by J.A. Watson in Hardware

Booting my Raspberry Pi 4 from a USB device

Booting my Raspberry Pi 4 from a USB device

USB boot has been possible since the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B (v1.2), but it has only become really worthwhile with the Pi 4. Here is some information, tips, tricks and opinions explaining why and how.

January 4, 2021 by J.A. Watson in Linux

Hands-On: Kali Linux on the Raspberry Pi 4

Hands-On: Kali Linux on the Raspberry Pi 4

The latest Kali Linux images for the Raspberry Pi 4 include both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. I'm going to give them a try.

December 24, 2020 by J.A. Watson in Linux

Hands-On: openSUSE Linux on the Raspberry Pi 4

Hands-On: openSUSE Linux on the Raspberry Pi 4

This time I'm trying both Tumbleweed and LEAP on the Raspberry Pi 4.

December 15, 2020 by J.A. Watson in Linux

View More Articles