Productivity

What IT Pros Actually Do On Their Own Machines (vs What They Tell You) There’s the advice IT hands out. The official line. The stuff in the company handbook. Then there’s what actually happens on the machines of the people who wrote that handbook. I’m not here to throw anyone under the bus. But after years in this industry, there are some pretty consistent gaps between what gets preached and what gets practised. And honestly? Closing that gap will make your computing life significantly better. ...

Your OS Has Been Hiding Things From You (Windows & Linux Edition) Windows users think Linux is complicated. Linux users think Windows is a toy. Both are wrong. Both operating systems are packed with powerful features that most people — on either side — have never touched. This isn’t a “which is better” post. That argument is boring. This is about what your machine can actually do, regardless of which camp you’re in. ...

Tools I Use as a Sysadmin Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. I only recommend tools I genuinely use and find valuable in my daily work as a sysadmin. After years of sysadmin and DevOps work, I’ve tested countless tools. Here are the ones that consistently deliver value and save time. 🏠 Home Lab & Infrastructure Dell OptiPlex 7080 Mini - $450 Perfect for homelab virtualization. 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, plenty of USB ports. ...

Sysadmin Myths Busted: What Actually Works in 2026 Forget what you heard in 2015. In this post, we bust the most common sysadmin myths and show you what actually works today. From automation fears to cloud confusion, get the facts and actionable tips for modern IT. Why These Myths Refuse to Die I’ve been doing this job for over a decade now, and I keep running into the same tired advice at conferences, on Reddit, and in the break room. Some of these myths come from a place of fear — nobody wants to be replaced by a script. Others come from vendor marketing that wants you to believe the cloud solves everything if you just spend enough. And some? Pure laziness dressed up as “we’ve always done it this way.” ...

Tech Survival Guide: AI Edition 2026 Look, we’ve all been there. It’s 11 PM, something’s broken, and you’re frantically googling error messages while your AI assistant keeps suggesting solutions that make absolutely no sense. Fun times. But here’s the thing: Most tech problems (and AI conversations) fail for the same reason - garbage in, garbage out. Today, I’m going to show you how to turn both your tech disasters and your AI interactions from “Oh God Why” into “I’m Actually a Genius.” ...