Blog
Guides, tutorials, and write-ups on networking, Linux, and development.
Where to Start with Programming When You Know Nothing
A no-nonsense roadmap for teaching yourself programming and computer science from home: what course to start with, which books to read, how much math you need, and the traps to avoid.
How This Site Works (and Why I Built It)
A behind-the-scenes look at The Default Gateway — what it is, why I built it, and the simple idea at the heart of it: I write notes in Markdown, and they become a website.
IT Career Roadmap — Starting From Zero
A practical certification and career roadmap for anyone starting in IT from scratch — covering the core three CompTIA certs, when to branch into networking, cloud, or security, and what jobs and salaries to expect at each stage.
Why I Repurpose Old ThinkPads for My Homelab
You don't need expensive hardware to build a homelab. Decommissioned enterprise laptops — especially old ThinkPads — are cheap, capable, and surprisingly good at running Linux and self-hosted services.
Self-Hosting Isn't About the Cloud. It's About Learning.
Why I self-host some services but not everything — and why curiosity is a better reason than ideology.
Welcome to The Default Gateway
An introduction to The Default Gateway — what this site is, who writes it, and what you'll find here.