Klaus Knopper is the creator of Knoppix and co-founder of LinuxTag expo. He currently works as a teacher, programmer, and consultant. If you have a configuration problem, or if you just want to learn more about how Linux works, send your questions to: klaus@linux-magazine.com

The Byobu session manager extends the shell, adding a range of useful functions, such as splitting the screen, running programs in the background, or organizing programs in tabs. In particular, administrators who rely on SSH will appreciate Byobu.

Clonezilla makes backing up and restoring your system an easy affair that only involves a few key strokes. A homegrown solution reduces the time and effort to the act of slotting in a CD, on which you previously burned a Perl script.

Wodim works behind the scenes in popular CD/ DVD-burning software, but it’s even more powerful at the command line.

The Kernel Development Process

The Fabric Python library makes it extremely easy to create repeatable scripts of commands over SSH to any number of servers.

At the end of April, Aldebaran Robotics let their 57cm-long humanoid Nao robots loose on a human audience of mostly open source developers. The robots possess 25 degrees of freedom, a child’s gaze, and anthropomorphic interactions.