HFS+ (Hierarchical File System Plus), also known as MacOS Plus, is the format used by default on the partition where Apple’s MacOS operating system is installed. It was released as an improvement over the original HFS in 1998 and introduced in macOS from version 8.1 onwards. …

To share disks from my Gentoo Linux server with Mac OS X machines on the home network, the protocol I used during 2012 was the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP). Later on, Apple started recommending SMB. …

IEEE 1394 (FireWire) is a type of connection for various platforms, designed for high-speed serial data input and output. It is commonly used for connecting digital devices such as digital cameras and camcorders. Apple implemented it for connecting hard drives. …

NTP is an Internet protocol for synchronizing computer system clocks by exchanging data packets over networks with variable latency. NTP uses the UDP protocol as its transport layer (port 123). It is designed to withstand the effects of variable latency. In this post I explain how to configure NTP on a GNU/Linux machine (Gentoo distribution) to set and maintain the correct time, while also serving as a time server on your home network. …

The SSH service is the first thing you should configure on a Linux system. With OpenSSH you get a set of tools – including ssh, sshd, scp, etc. – that allow you to enable secure remote shell access to your machine. If you come from the “telnet” era, you should forget about it; its replacement today is SSH. …

The rsync program comes bundled with Mac OSX, but if you need a more recent version with additional features – such as metadata preservation, extended character support, or cross-platform character handling – you’ll need to install one of the latest versions. …