Os-Hardware on The VikiD Truth

Vagrant

Sun, 21 May 2023 00:39:21 +0400

Vagrant

Here is the truth about Vagrant: it is a script that builds a disposable computer. Point it at VirtualBox (or another provider), write a few lines of Ruby, and every teammate gets the same Linux box with the same packages – recreateable from nothing.

Virtualbox

Sun, 21 May 2023 00:38:02 +0400

Virtualbox

The truth about VirtualBox: it’s the easiest way to have a spare computer you can’t break. Install it, click through a wizard, and you’ve got a whole extra machine in a window – one you can snapshot, wreck and restore in seconds.

Windows

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 05:58:58 +0400

Windows | Windows WSL | Operating Systems

Windows

Here’s the plain truth about Windows for someone who lives in Linux: it’s not the enemy, it’s just a different set of assumptions. Once you know where Windows keeps its equivalents of a shell, a package manager and a config file, you can be productive on it in an afternoon – and that’s often all you need.

What it is, in plain words

Windows is Microsoft’s operating system, built on the NT kernel (the design that started with Windows NT in 1993; every version since XP uses it). In 2026 the current desktop release is Windows 11; Windows 10 reached end of support in October 2025, so unpatched Windows 10 machines are now a real security risk unless enrolled in paid extended updates.

Apple Related Stuff

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 02:06:34 +0400

Here is the truth about Apple computers for a Linux person: under the polished glass, a Mac is a Unix machine – a certified one, in fact. With a package manager, a tiling window manager and a few keyboard tweaks, it can feel surprisingly close to home.

Working with Windows WSL

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 04:39:08 +0400

Working with Windows WSL

Here is the truth about WSL: it isn’t Linux “emulated” on Windows – it’s a real Linux kernel running in a lightweight virtual machine, wired so tightly into Windows that it feels native. Once you know that, its quirks (networking, file speed, memory) all make sense.

Operating Systems

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 04:38:43 +0400

Operating Systems

Virtualization

Here’s the truth behind virtualization: an operating system is just a program that thinks it owns the hardware. Give it something that looks like hardware, and it will happily run – alongside a dozen others on the same machine. That simple trick underpins the cloud, CI pipelines and most server rooms on Earth.

RasberryPi

Sun, 18 Jun 2017 06:20:17 +0400

RasberryPi

Here is the truth about the Raspberry Pi: it’s a real computer that costs about as much as a meal out, small enough to forget in a drawer and open enough to understand all the way down to the pins. That combination is why it changed how people learn computing.

What it is, in plain words

The Raspberry Pi is a family of single-board computers made by Raspberry Pi Ltd (the trading arm of the UK Raspberry Pi Foundation, an education charity). The first model shipped in 2012. A Pi is a whole computer on one board: an ARM processor (Broadcom system-on-chip), RAM, USB, networking, HDMI output, and – the special part – a 40-pin GPIO header that lets software switch real electrical signals on and off.

Data Recovery

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 06:33:38 +0400

Data Recovery

Here is the uncomfortable truth about data recovery: the moment you notice you’ve lost something, every further write to that disk may be destroying it. Stop. Think. Then recover. Most “I undeleted my files” success stories start with that pause.

What it is, in plain words

Data recovery is retrieving information that seems gone – deleted files, a formatted partition, a filesystem the OS won’t mount, a drive that clicks. It works because “delete” usually means “forget the pointer”, not “erase the bytes”. Until those bytes are overwritten, a tool that understands the filesystem (or ignores it and carves raw content) can find them again.

Cool Hardware

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 07:03:09 +0400

Cool Hardware

Here is the truth about cool hardware: the best gadgets are the ones that make you understand computing better, not the ones that merely look clever on a desk. A blinking LED you wired yourself beats a sealed plastic brick you can’t open.

What it is, in plain words

This page is a living shelf of hardware worth knowing if you like to tinker: small computers, microcontrollers, unusual keyboards, radios, and tools that sit at the boundary between software and electrons. It is not a buying guide for the latest phone. It is a list of things that teach.

Operating Systems

Sat, 26 Nov 2016 06:00:04 +0400

Operating Systems

Modern Operating Systems | The Minix Book | Virtualization

Processes
Threads
Interprocess Communication
Scheduling
Memory
Virtual Memory
Paging
Segmentation
File Systems
I/O
Clocks
Deadlocks
Encoding
Compression
Caching
Virtualization
Distributed Systems
Security
Cryptography
Authentication
Attacks
Exploits
Malware

Previews of Build a Computer in Your Head

Thu, 12 May 2016 01:55:15 +0400

Previews of Build a Computer in Your Head

I am writing a new ‘book’ called Build a Computer In Your Head (BCIYH), pronouced as “Bikih”, and I will be posting excerpts/notes regarding the subject here for you to preview and comment upon.

I have been inspired to do this by a few books and projects which you can find at the bottom of this page.