Jeber’s

Bruno: Goodbye my dear friend

Fran, one of our outstanding administrators at Scot Finnie’s Newsletter Forums, has composed a fitting tribute to our dear friend Bruno, who passed away this last Saturday.

Sadly, yesterday, February 20, 2010 at about 10:00 AM local Amsterdam time, Bruno slipped away…no more pain, no more sorrow. This is a soulful time for me. I really miss Bruno very much. But am so relieved that he will no longer have any pain to contend with. No one should have to suffer the horrendous pain that accompanies pervasive cancer that they can’t fix …

Fran also links to several other wonderful tributes to this gentleman who managed to present an often contentious topic, the
Linux operating system, with patience and respect not often encountered among OS enthusiasts.

I urge you to read Fran’s post as well as the other comments from his friends and fans.

I, and hundreds of other people, will miss Bruno. We wish his family and friends peace.

Bruno … Remembering a dear friend

The Last Act of Courage…

To Bruno Knaapen: God Speed

The World Is Mourning The Loss Of Bruno Knaapen – Linux Advocate

Bruno Knaapen of Amsterdam

Good-bye dear friend

I just learned today that a dear friend is dying from cancer that has spread to his brain and other organs. It’s not treatable and he is resigned to his fate.

I’ve known this gentleman for 5 years or more. He lives in Europe, I live in California. We have never met.

Yet I know as much about him and what he holds dear in life as I do many of my off-line friends. He is passionate about Linux. When I was ready to give up and confess that I would never understand this foreign operating system, he encouraged me to keep trying, offering invaluable advice and direction that eventually had me up and running and never looking back…until tonight. Now I can’t help but look back and realize how profoundly he affected my enjoyment of computing and taught me about operating systems and, more importantly, how to persevere and stay focused until success was achieved.

I know he has a loving family that means all the world to him. While he is a very private person he was so excited about his daughter’s wedding that he shared pictures of the event with all his on-line friends, pictures from which he was conveniently absent. He is justifiably proud of his family.

He is extremely humble about his knowledge and influence. He is solely responsible for teaching a lot of us that Linux can be enjoyed without the typical animus that often exists between Linux users and those on Windows or a Mac. When writing about Linux, he prohibits the term “newbie” which he perceives as demeaning. His goal is to introduce Linux in a friendly and helpful way to anyone interested. In this he has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

Being non-religious I’m at a loss in offering many of the hollow platitudes folks so often trot out at times like this. I know he will be profoundly missed by his family and friends. I know that we’ll miss his moderate attitude, his patience, his encouragement, his humor, his presence. He will leave a hole in all our lives that no one else can fill. We are saddened because of what the effect of his passing will have on us left behind. Our lives will be poorer for his absence.

I join all who know this wonderful gentleman in wishing him love and peace through his remaining time with us. May his last days be free of pain and filled with joy. May he pass from us fully aware of how significant he has been in our lives. May he know he will not soon be forgotten.

Linux Phrasebook reviewed

One of the greatest strengths of the Linux operating system is the power of the command line. One of the greatest weaknesses of the Linux operating system is that it’s not easy to remember all the commands that can harness that power. Many reference books include a smattering of commands that will accomplish a limited number of tasks. Scott Granneman has compiled a collection of Linux commands that will allow you to do almost anything you need to do from a terminal. To make it even more indispensable, it is small enough to fit into your laptop case or backpack so you can have it available whenever you need it.

The Linux Phrasebook doesn’t include a lot of flashy graphics or irrelevant comments. Each topic is laid out in a way to make it easy to understand and implement a specific command. Granneman gives you a scenario in which a particular action would be applicable, shows you the command as it would be typed into a terminal, and concludes with a brief description of what the results will be. With an average of one command per page, nearly 370 commands are covered in this one book.

A complete contents listing and index make finding the command you need a breeze. Despite the paperback book size of the Linux Phrasebook, each page is easy to read, with margin space for your own notes. The layout is perfect for the purpose of this book.

If you’ve ever needed to quickly find a way to view the status of your network interfaces, list your Samba shares, execute shell commands, or print find results into a file from a terminal, keep a copy of the Linux Phrasebook handy. It will put you in command of your system.

Linux Phrasebook
Author: Scott Granneman
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Sams (June 12, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0672328380
SRP: $14.99 USA / $18.00 CAN / £10.99 Net UK