Linux for the Layman: the Joy of Computing.

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Enjoy using your computer easily, securely and for less money. You can achieve this goal with free, open-source software (FOSS), like Linux. Anyone can learn to use FOSS and Linux. Feel free to contact me at LinuxForTheLayman@gmail.com. Questions and cons

Mark Richter


    • Mar 9, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 18m AVG DURATION
    • 44 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Linux for the Layman: the Joy of Computing.

    Five basic Linux commands

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2025 28:23


    New: Subscription information included.

    Episode 42: lr function, commands ls and rsync

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2025 58:14


    Episode 41 - Virtual Machines, CLI Functions, tldr

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2024 32:55


    What Virtual Machines are good for (evaluating Linux distros) and which ones to use. An example of how and why to use a Bash function. Overview of manual pages and the tldr command. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 40 - Bash Aliases vs. Functions

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2024 21:09


    What is an alias? How to create them. What is a function? How to create them. Some miscellany along the way... :-) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 39 - Command Line Pipes and other useful info

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2024 20:29


    We will go through a detailed example of how to string commands together on the command line using pipes. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 38 - Shell Variables

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2024 19:46


    This continues from Episode 37 on the terminal shell --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 37 - Linux File System Paths, Mount Points and Links

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2024 27:07


    I also briefly touch on shell variables - more in the next episode coming soon I hope... --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 36 Shells - Command Line and Graphics Desktop

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2024 25:33


    --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 35: Bash "Long" cuts and Windows comments

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2024 21:37


    --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 34: Bash shortcuts

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2024 22:09


    Today I cover the idea of bash shortcuts, including scripts, aliases and functions. I also go over a couple of short answers to listener questiosn and praise for ffmpeg. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-richter0/support

    E[isode 33 - More on shell variables and tab completion

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2023 14:42


    In this episode we cover more on how to ues the tab key for command and variable name completion; we also cover some accounting information. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 32 - Shell Variables - Basics

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2023 20:35


    This episode covers some of the basics about Linux Shell variables. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 31 - Command Line, Windows and Shell Functions continued

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2023 25:34


    Feel free to let me know if you like this, if you have questions, even if you hated it - I'm hre to serve you. LinuxForTheLayman@gmail.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 30 - Bash Shell Functions and why

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2023 17:56


    All mentions of the word "bracket" or "brackets" should be read/heard as "brace" and "braces" - these { } instead of these [ ]. My goof, correction at the end of the episode. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Brief Message of Thanksgiving

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2022 2:27


    I am grateful to all my listeners, contributors, questioners and feedback-senders. More to come soon... --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 29 - More on the Command Line - Options

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2022 20:01


    More information about command line options, and also help/man pages. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 28 - Variety of Subjects

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2022 19:21


    I misspoke in the audio - RAID is Redundant Array of Independent Devices. There, now you can have an extra laugh at me. Invite your friends to have one too, or more than one! :-) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 27: Basic requirements to be a Linux administrator

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2022 14:41


    Skeleton of fundamentals to begin with on your quest to become an administrator - more to come in episodes to follow. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Recovering from Disaster

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2022 13:10


    A tale of woe and triumph. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 25: Containers, Virtual Machines and "bare metal"

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2022 16:21


    I talk about these three constructs, in the opposite order :-), to give you a better understanding of what they are and why you may care. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 24 - bash variables, aliases and functions

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2022 14:30


    I also explain my long gap between episode 23 and now. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 23 - Devices, mount points, and links

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2022 14:58


    In this episode I talk a little about how devices are accessed through file system mount points and also how files can be linked together. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 22 - What are folders, directories, files, and how do we use them

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2021 15:56


    Based on this artivle in the Verge, https://www.theverge.com/22684730/students-file-folder-directory-structure-education-gen-z, I decided to take a side trip and discuss what kinds of storage there are on a computer and how file systems, files and folders/directories (same thing) are set up and how to use them effectively. I welcome comments, questions, any kind of feedback you'd like to provide. Enjoy! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 21 - More special characters, file naming conventions and file organization

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2021 16:46


    We go into a few more bits about shell special characters, then discuss good Linux file naming conventions and a brief sketch of how to organize your files. Feel free to let me know what you like, don't like, want to know - anything. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 20 - Special characters to the shell

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2021 18:08


    Today we'll cover a few more of the characters that the bash shell, your command line interpreter, treats as something other than what they look like - wildcards and more. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    special characters
    Episode 19 - More about the command shell, special characters and a little bit about variables

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2021 21:52


    This is scratching the surface of some of the flexibility of the terminal interface, the command shell (bash) and ways to use it. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 18 - File Permissions and More on the "Dreaded" Command Line Interface

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2021 21:46


    Come with me to understand more about how little there is to dread in the Command Line (or Terminal) Interface to your computer in Linux. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 17 - the "Dreaded" Terminal Interface

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2021 18:32


    This is the first of several episodes where I discuss the terminal interface, or command line interface, and it's command shell, bash. We start simple and move on to progress to some of the more powerful commands. Today, it's just some basics. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 16: File Organization

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2021 19:38


    This is a general discussion of how to organize files on your computer, with specific emphasis on Linux distributions. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Task scheduling with cron and crontab commands

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2021 15:29


    We also cover briefly zeit and at/batch. Command line oriented material. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 14: A few new keyboard and mouse opinions, and more

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2021 13:46


    Tell me what you'd like to hear about in the podcast. This is a service for you - help me out. Gie a listen and see what else you want to hear about. My office is open! :-) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    The command line makes this easy

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2021 15:04


    I'll explain one of the ways in which the command line can do things simply that might otherwise be more complex in a GUI. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    The keyboard and the mouse

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2021 13:49


    I'm an old keyboard hack, so I love the keyboard, possibly more than the mouse. However, there are many good uses for the mouse as well where the keyboard may be inadequate. Tell me what you think... --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 11 - The Keyboard and the Mouse

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2021 18:29


    This is a love story - ways in which the keyboard and the mouse can do for each other (and you) some of the things you may have thought only one or the other can do. Enjoy! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 10 - Graphics User Interface and Terminal (Command-line) Interface

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2021 16:34


    In this episode I discuss what's good about both interfaces and some contrasting features of both. Al though I profess to be far more proficient with the terminal, which is decades older than the GUI, I enjoy using both. Each has their high points. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 9 - An effective way to use Linux apps to replace your old Windows apps

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2021 13:33


    Most Windows apps don't run on Linux. Options after upgrading include using a Windows virtual machine on top of your Linux installation, using the interfface layer known as WINE, or finding native Linux apps to substitute - and how to find them. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 8 - Installing Ubuntu alongside Windows

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2021 12:19


    This episode also gives a brief introduction to hard disk formats and how this affects your installation. We also explore briefly two other options for installing Linux on your Windows machine. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 7: How to convert from Windows 10 to Ubuntu (or any Linux distro)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2021 15:25


    This is the first of two episodes on this subject. In this episode, I'll discuss how to prepare for the conversion and then how to replace Windows with Ubuntu (specifically, though most Linux distro installs are pretty much the same for the whole desktop version). In the next episode, I'll discuss installing alongside Windows and other possibilities. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 6 - What I love about computers

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2020 14:06


    I actually enjoy working and playing on my computer, and you can too. This is alittle about what there is to love about working or playing on your computer. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Linux File System Layout and Terms

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2020 12:10


    In this episode I describe how files are mapped in a Linux file system in a simple, consistent access scheme, with contrast to how Windows is different in a few ways. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 4 - Linux Terminology

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2020 8:23


    In this episode, I go through a short list of terms that are convenient to understand when you want to talk about, or better yet, become familiar with so you can use, a Linux distribution. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    Episode 3 - GUIs, mouse and keyboard

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2020 9:10


    Dispelling the myths about how Linux has no GUI or an unfriendly one. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    What drew me into taking Linux home

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2020 8:56


    I've been asked this question many times - why do you use Linux at home? In this episode I'll talk about what drew me to Linux, and it is all in terms that anyone today, even technophobes, can follow with ease. As always, you can email me with questions or constructive feedback at LinuxForTheLayman@gmail.com. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

    What Linux is and how it can help you.

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2020 21:48


    In this episode, I go through a description of what Linux is, a brief history of Linux, what Linux can do for you and why not to get Linux. I describe operating systems and kernels, distributions and interfaces and three reasons not to use Linux depending on your needs. I give short previews of potential future episodes - how to use the terminal or command line interface and how powerful it is, differences between various graphical user interfaces (GUIs), Linux distros compared to other OSes and each other, and more. Thank you for listening. Please share and feel free to comment on Anchor.fm where this podcast is hosted. I'll add more contact points in the future. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mark-richter0/support

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