I had the privilege of being one (of many) coauthors on an academic paper for the open access journal Frontiers in Plant Genetics and Genomics. The paper is titled The iPlant Collaborative: Cyberinfrastructure for Plant Biology.
Matthew Helmke (dot) Net Posts
I had the privilege to lead the team that updated The Official Ubuntu Book for this sixth edition. The book continues to serve as a quality introduction for newcomers to Ubuntu, both the software and the community that surrounds it. ISBN-13: 978-0132748506 Link to the Amazon.com page for the book.
It has again been a while since I have reviewed a manga book. This is one of several atypical educational books that use graphic art to help teach difficult concepts or illustrate the action and another wonderful entry in the “Manga Guide to…” series that I have been reviewing. The Manga Guide to Relativity follows the actions of a high school class president who steps in to save the rest of the students at the school who were being threatened by the school headmaster with a punishment for their lack of scholastic success. To save them, the brave student leader agrees…
My Ubuntu Forum Council term expired yesterday, but seeing as it was April Fool’s Day, I didn’t bother posting until today. I have been a part of the Ubuntu Forums since April 2005 and on staff since March 2006. Since December 2006 I have been a member of the Forums Council and for the last year I have been council chairman. I have thoroughly enjoyed serving in all of these roles. I have become increasingly busy with real life responsibilities, and since my term has expired, I have chosen to allow others to take on the privileges and responsibilities of…
I have purchased computers in the past from System76 (and been extremely happy with them) because they offer Ubuntu pre-installed. I’ve heard so many people praise ZaReason that I wanted to check them out. I just bought a (highly customized) Limbo 7110. So far, I am really happy, although I should confess I only received the system a few hours ago. I’m also happy with how easy it is to migrate my entire setup using Linux (well, Debian-based, anyway). For those unfamiliar, here are the basic steps, with the same operating system and version installed on each computer (I have…
I learned from my editor this morning that Ubuntu Unleashed 2011 edition is going to receive a second print run. Yay!
I don’t really enjoy watching myself on film, but you might. I was recently interviewed by informIT and this short video is the result. I talk about Ubuntu, my books, and more. Ubuntu Unleashed 2011 Edition & The Official Ubuntu Book, 5th Edition
I am the sole editor and contributor of new content for the just-released Ubuntu Unleashed 2011 Edition. This book is intended for intermediate to advanced users.
I like to write. I write for a living. However, working with words to craft sentences is not all I do. My job title is “Senior Technical Documentation Specialist.” Documentation includes more than verbal descriptions. Sometimes, I need to create the perfect diagram. My job provides me with a MacBook Pro and software. While I often use Dia for diagramming on Linux, at work I use OmniGraffle Pro. Both are quality programs for creating diagrams quickly and easily with good results. They are both similar to Microsoft’s Visio. I recently had the privilege of reading OmniGraffle 5: Diagramming Essentials by…
Cooking for Geeks is one of the most fun books I have read in a long time. I don’t get lost in the kitchen, but I’m certainly no great chef either. What this book does that is different from typical cookbooks is that instead of presenting a list of recipes, it talks about the science behind combining foods to create tasty dishes. The book starts with an introduction to the kitchen; to tools, equipment, organization, and a way of thinking about them that is clear and easy to understand in the geek mindset. What does that mean? Those of us…