Favorite Primary Linux Distribution of Choice
Ubuntu (45%)
Honorable Mention
Debian (10%)
The Ubuntu phenomenon, even by Linux standards, is truly paradigm-shifting and it doesn’t appear that it will be tanking any time soon. In the 2008 Readers’ Choice Awards, we dubbed the ubiquitous Ubuntu “the big distro that did” for unexpectedly leaving its myriad rivals as mere dots in the rear-view mirror. In the 2009 tally, Ubuntu deserves an “Energizer Bunny Award” for winning the Favorite Primary Linux Distro category, increasing its popularity and becoming untouchable for the time being. Ubuntu and its related Kubuntu and Edubuntu siblings raised their vote tally from 37% in last year’s awards to 45% this year. At whose expense is Ubuntu gaining? Although Mandriva tumbled most dramatically from 14% to 2%, Fedora and Novell/SUSE hemorrhaged more than a few percentage points. Meanwhile, Red Hat, CentOS and Debian ticked up a few points from last year, the latter enough to warrant Honorable Mention with its 10% share of your vote.
Favorite Desktop Environment
GNOME (53%)
Honorable Mention
KDE (30%)
During the past year, GNOME has reached majority rule status, with 53% of you electing it your favorite desktop environment. This trend is despite the breakneck development of KDE 4 during the past year. Although GNOME garnered only a few more votes than it did in 2008, KDE’s vote count slipped as you’ve warmed to Xfce, Fluxbox and Enlightenment. The long and influential coattails of Ubuntu can only make any presidential candidate green with envy.
Favorite Web Browser
Firefox (87%)
Firefox takes first prize as both your Favorite Web Browser for 2009 and the most extreme “category crusher” of this competition. No other application (besides the competitor-less Apache) racked up a higher share of votes (87%) than Firefox, although OpenOffice.org wasn’t far behind. Who can argue, as Firefox keeps getting faster and accumulates more useful extensions? This year’s surprise gainer was the historically underappreciated Opera browser, which ratcheted up from 5% to 8% on the heels of its impressive 9.5 and 9.6 releases. The worthy Konqueror and the browsers based on the Firefox Gecko engine (for example, Flock and Epiphany) were left behind in the catchall “Other” category. How will this category look next year? Look for an inevitable battle royale if Google can deliver a polished Chrome for Linux in time for you to give it a test drive.
Favorite E-Mail Client
Mozilla Thunderbird (38%)
Honorable Mention
Gmail Web Client (31%)
Evolution (11%)
Congratulations to Mozilla Thunderbird for its third consecutive win in the Favorite EMail Client category with 38% of the vote. The “Holy how did that happen, Batman?” award, as well as Honorable Mention, go to the runner up, Gmail, which got 11% more of your votes than last year, while Thunderbird dropped 7%. Meanwhile, other non-Web based clients, Evolution and KMail, are ever more the favorites of fewer. Is the trend toward Web-based clients inexorable, or can the non-Gmails of the world find a formula to stanch the decline?
Favorite Office Program
OpenOffice.org (85%)
No news here, gang. OpenOffice.org, bolstered no doubt by its recent 3.0 release, retains its crown as your Favorite Office Program with the same share of your vote as last year, 85%. The alternatives, AbiWord and KOffice, each similarly continue to be the favorites of merely 3% of you. As with Firefox, there seems to be some sort of correlation between a program’s cross-platform characteristics (should any exist) and its category-crusher status. Honorable Mention for most definitive response in this category goes to “I hate all office programs”.
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 182 June.2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
TURN A WESTERN DIGITAL MYBOOK II INTO A PERSONALIZED, PORTABLE LINUX SERVER
In the past few months, a small community has been budding around the Western Digital MyBook II, a popular paperback-sized external hard drive. It quickly was discovered that the Ethernet-capable version was powered by an embedded Linux system, and a word-of-Web process started to break its security to gain SSH access, install additional services, tune functionality and more. It resembles the phenomenon spawned by the hacking friendly Linksys WRT54G, albeit on a smaller scale.
The Single-Drive Device Lurking
Thrilled by what I was seeing, I started to consider building a small appliance of my own, and Western Digital’s sudden revamping of its product line brought the eBay prices of older models below the $100 mark, which converged nicely with my manager’s request for a daily backup scheme enabling downtimes of less than a day should the worst happen to my laptop. So, off I went, intent on hacking out my own Linux-based NAS. I acquired two units: the smaller, single-drive 500GB model (less than $100 on eBay at the time of this writing) and a larger, RAID-capable, twin-drive model spanning one terabyte ($300 for a used unit).
Given the ever-falling prices of hardware and the expanding product offering, you should be able to purchase these at lower prices or with larger capacities. It also is worth noting that nothing prevents carefully opening up the device’s innards and replacing the enclosed SATA drives with larger-capacity ones. One final bit of shopping advice: the drives addressed in this article are Ethernet-capable World Edition models, all of which have entirely white cases.
THE HARDWARE
Upon first inspection, the device resembles a small book, with a perforated, Morse-code patterned edge that enables venting— if you actually decode the message, you will find a few words and a couple typos in it. The unit is rather silent and generates no more noise than the average hard drive. The front of the device sports two concentric LED rings, circling a single button used to power on and off the device. In addition to showing the on/off state of the device, the LEDs also are used to visualize disk activity as well as to provide a stylish disk capacity gauge.
On the inside are one or two 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA drives and a small board housing an Oxford Semiconductor 0XE800 ARM CPU with an ARM926EJ-S core, a 32MB Hynix RAM chip and the Via Cicada Simpliphy vt6122 Gigabit Ethernet chipset. The device also includes an externally accessible USB port to supplement the RJ-45 Ethernet connector, and it supports AES-128 encryption in-hardware. Despite its limited RAM capacity, Linux’s conservative use of resources puts little bounds on the uses the device reasonably can be put to by your creativity. Do not plan to saturate the Gigabit Ethernet link, however, because the CPU will not carry you much beyond 5MB/sec—a limitation that does not affect singleuser backup or applications involving several users.
The drives are ext-3 formatted in the World Edition series, as NAS access shields the predominant Windows and Macintosh user population from the actual filesystem choice— a detail that is exceedingly convenient, as it allows you to pull drives from the device and mount them in any Linux host for recovery should the support board ever fail.
The built-in Web interface provides easy access
to basic Samba configuration.
FIRST PACKETS
Initially, you need to boot in the “World of Warcraft” partition of your system—the one running one of those proprietary operating systems—and install the Western Digital MioNet Access tools. You will need these only for the initial step—to find out what IP address your as-of-yet uncommunicative device has received from DHCP; you will not need the WD tools afterward. If you have a network sniffer set up, it may be faster for you simply to catch the DHCP assignment as it happens and save the time of registration and download. You also can check your DHCP server tables, if you have access to them, or simply read the data off the mounted Windows share that will be set up once you install the tools. Either way, once you are in possession of the IP address the device is using, you will point a Web browser to it and configure the settings that the Web interface exposes. You will be asked to provide authentication, which will match the credentials you created during the WD setup process, or, if you used a more exotic process, it will use the system defaults (“admin”, with a password of “123456”).
The device’s built-in WD Shared Storage Manager is a very lightweight and useful application, which you will leave enabled, even in this Linux-centric setup, as a convenient way to create users and carry out the most common configuration tasks. I recommend you take the time to configure most settings exposed here as part of your initial customization, as the convenience simply cannot be outdone. At a minimum, you should iterate over the General Setup section and configure your device name and workgroup (these configure Samba), date and time, and review your network settings. As preparation for the next step, you need to create a user (File Sharing→User Management) that you will use to log in at the console, as access via your existing Web administrator account will not be permitted. advantages and offers the total capacity of both drives combined, and data mirroring (RAID 1), which provides the storage capacity of only one of the drives but protects you by creating two fully redundant copies of your data. The default setting (Drive Management→Change Drive Type) is data striping— should you want to change it, this is the time to do it. Once a RAID rebuild is started, all data on the shared, nonsystem part of the drive will be lost. More important, although the drive shares will become writable in a few minutes while the rebuild is still underway, wait until it has completed entirely as you will need to tinker with the device’s firmware upgrade path next (and triggering reboots while the RAID array is rebuilding is a surefire way to tempt fate into bricking your device). Just let it run overnight and come back to it the next morning. You can see whether the rebuild has completed by checking the drive status in the Shared Storage Manager; it will switch back from synchronizing to OK.
VOIDING WARRANTIES
To start unlocking the multifaceted abilities of this wonderful device, you first need to obtain console access. To be clear, this voids the device’s warranty, as Western Digital obviously is not in the business of supporting Linux servers in all their possible configurations and software options, and that kind of flexibility is precisely what we are after. Bear in mind that although these steps were researched and verified conscientiously, the author and Linux Journal accept no liability for rendering your device inoperable as a result of these instructions—proceed at your own risk.
The WD Hacking community was spawned by Martin Hinner’s creation of a backdoor process that uses the drive’s built-in firmware update process to reset the device’s root password, spawn the SSH dæmon and generate the SSH host keys. Just like everyone else, let’s head to Martin’s Web page (see Resources) and follow the instructions found there. In effect, all you have to do is navigate to a URL on your device. The URL includes a GET parameter for the upgrade script to run. The parameter references a script on Martin’s site, but this script, rather than performing an upgrade, generates SSH keys, clears the root password and starts the SSH dæmon.
Once the “upgrade” is initiated, you will not receive feedback on the Web page that it has completed, and you probably should not do anything to your device in this interval, lest you rouse those bricking fairies. Simply wait three minutes, then start attempting to log in via SSH with the user (not administrator and not root) account you created earlier in the Shared Storage Manager. As soon as you see the SSH dæmon respond with a login prompt, you will know the break-in succeeded. If you set up your user account correctly, you will be able to log in. If you are having trouble logging in, take care that your user name is spelled in CAPS (ssh USER@ipaddress), as you will note that the user management Web interface creates all accounts in that fashion. One more troubleshooting tip: the latest firmware revisions actually output a message that the update has failed, although the SSH dæmon has, in fact, been spawned successfully and is ready for your connection. Once successfully logged in to your device, you can escalate your privileges by switching user to root (su -) as the superuser password is now blank. You will need to carry out a few tasks—the first one of which is adding the SSH dæmon to the default startup list to ensure that your newly gained access lasts past your next reboot. Head to /etc/inittab, and add the following after the system startup section:
# Start a few good daemons
::sysinit:/usr/sbin/sshd
After making your changes, make sure they have been written to disk by doing a “sync”, and fix a few details of your user account, such as granting yourself a home directory and possibly a lowercase user name. Do all your /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow housekeeping before rebooting to verify that the SSH dæmon is now spawning by default and that your user accounts are working as intended.
GRAND TOUR
You’re past the most difficult point; now you can proceed to explore the system and tweak it to your heart’s content. Unless you plan to use the MioNet service, some recommend switching its dæmon off, as it is a Java process that weighs on both CPU and RAM. As the MioNet service enables wide-area file sharing, I elected to turn off the service, but to do so cleanly, in case I decided I needed the functionality after all. Edit /etc/init.d/post_network_start.sh, and comment out line 17 of the script:
$SCRIPTS_PATH/crond.sh start
# $SCRIPTS_PATH/mionet.sh start
touch $POST_NETWORK_STARTED_FILE
This stops the dæmon from being spawned automatically at boot, but if you need its services, you can start it up from the Shared Storage Manager interface (General Setup→WD Anywhere Access) as needed, giving you the best of both worlds. The system is built around a 2.6.17.14 kernel, with BusyBox centralizing many of the command-line tools. There are no man pages, but the system is an otherwise reasonable minimal Linux instance, including the majority of the common management levers (ps, top, free, ifconfig, wget and so on) as well as a development toolchain with all the trimmings (gcc 3.4.2, gmake and so on), enabling you to build any software that may be missing. The mounts show a good picture of the device:
# df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
rootfs 2.8G 277M 2.4G 11% /
/dev/root 2.8G 277M 2.4G 11% /
/dev/md3 950M 19M 884M 3% /var
/dev/md4 455G 199M 455G 1% /shares/internal
It also is worth mentioning that on the dual-drive unit, the system partitions are mirrored by default, regardless of the RAID state of the share space:
# cat /proc/mdstat
Personalities : [linear] [raid1]
md1 : active raid1 sdb1[1] sda1[0]
2939776 blocks [2/2] [UU]
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 183 July 2009
The Single-Drive Device LurkingThrilled by what I was seeing, I started to consider building a small appliance of my own, and Western Digital’s sudden revamping of its product line brought the eBay prices of older models below the $100 mark, which converged nicely with my manager’s request for a daily backup scheme enabling downtimes of less than a day should the worst happen to my laptop. So, off I went, intent on hacking out my own Linux-based NAS. I acquired two units: the smaller, single-drive 500GB model (less than $100 on eBay at the time of this writing) and a larger, RAID-capable, twin-drive model spanning one terabyte ($300 for a used unit).
Given the ever-falling prices of hardware and the expanding product offering, you should be able to purchase these at lower prices or with larger capacities. It also is worth noting that nothing prevents carefully opening up the device’s innards and replacing the enclosed SATA drives with larger-capacity ones. One final bit of shopping advice: the drives addressed in this article are Ethernet-capable World Edition models, all of which have entirely white cases.
THE HARDWARE
Upon first inspection, the device resembles a small book, with a perforated, Morse-code patterned edge that enables venting— if you actually decode the message, you will find a few words and a couple typos in it. The unit is rather silent and generates no more noise than the average hard drive. The front of the device sports two concentric LED rings, circling a single button used to power on and off the device. In addition to showing the on/off state of the device, the LEDs also are used to visualize disk activity as well as to provide a stylish disk capacity gauge.
On the inside are one or two 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA drives and a small board housing an Oxford Semiconductor 0XE800 ARM CPU with an ARM926EJ-S core, a 32MB Hynix RAM chip and the Via Cicada Simpliphy vt6122 Gigabit Ethernet chipset. The device also includes an externally accessible USB port to supplement the RJ-45 Ethernet connector, and it supports AES-128 encryption in-hardware. Despite its limited RAM capacity, Linux’s conservative use of resources puts little bounds on the uses the device reasonably can be put to by your creativity. Do not plan to saturate the Gigabit Ethernet link, however, because the CPU will not carry you much beyond 5MB/sec—a limitation that does not affect singleuser backup or applications involving several users.
The drives are ext-3 formatted in the World Edition series, as NAS access shields the predominant Windows and Macintosh user population from the actual filesystem choice— a detail that is exceedingly convenient, as it allows you to pull drives from the device and mount them in any Linux host for recovery should the support board ever fail.
The built-in Web interface provides easy accessto basic Samba configuration.
FIRST PACKETS
Initially, you need to boot in the “World of Warcraft” partition of your system—the one running one of those proprietary operating systems—and install the Western Digital MioNet Access tools. You will need these only for the initial step—to find out what IP address your as-of-yet uncommunicative device has received from DHCP; you will not need the WD tools afterward. If you have a network sniffer set up, it may be faster for you simply to catch the DHCP assignment as it happens and save the time of registration and download. You also can check your DHCP server tables, if you have access to them, or simply read the data off the mounted Windows share that will be set up once you install the tools. Either way, once you are in possession of the IP address the device is using, you will point a Web browser to it and configure the settings that the Web interface exposes. You will be asked to provide authentication, which will match the credentials you created during the WD setup process, or, if you used a more exotic process, it will use the system defaults (“admin”, with a password of “123456”).
The device’s built-in WD Shared Storage Manager is a very lightweight and useful application, which you will leave enabled, even in this Linux-centric setup, as a convenient way to create users and carry out the most common configuration tasks. I recommend you take the time to configure most settings exposed here as part of your initial customization, as the convenience simply cannot be outdone. At a minimum, you should iterate over the General Setup section and configure your device name and workgroup (these configure Samba), date and time, and review your network settings. As preparation for the next step, you need to create a user (File Sharing→User Management) that you will use to log in at the console, as access via your existing Web administrator account will not be permitted. advantages and offers the total capacity of both drives combined, and data mirroring (RAID 1), which provides the storage capacity of only one of the drives but protects you by creating two fully redundant copies of your data. The default setting (Drive Management→Change Drive Type) is data striping— should you want to change it, this is the time to do it. Once a RAID rebuild is started, all data on the shared, nonsystem part of the drive will be lost. More important, although the drive shares will become writable in a few minutes while the rebuild is still underway, wait until it has completed entirely as you will need to tinker with the device’s firmware upgrade path next (and triggering reboots while the RAID array is rebuilding is a surefire way to tempt fate into bricking your device). Just let it run overnight and come back to it the next morning. You can see whether the rebuild has completed by checking the drive status in the Shared Storage Manager; it will switch back from synchronizing to OK.
VOIDING WARRANTIES
To start unlocking the multifaceted abilities of this wonderful device, you first need to obtain console access. To be clear, this voids the device’s warranty, as Western Digital obviously is not in the business of supporting Linux servers in all their possible configurations and software options, and that kind of flexibility is precisely what we are after. Bear in mind that although these steps were researched and verified conscientiously, the author and Linux Journal accept no liability for rendering your device inoperable as a result of these instructions—proceed at your own risk.
The WD Hacking community was spawned by Martin Hinner’s creation of a backdoor process that uses the drive’s built-in firmware update process to reset the device’s root password, spawn the SSH dæmon and generate the SSH host keys. Just like everyone else, let’s head to Martin’s Web page (see Resources) and follow the instructions found there. In effect, all you have to do is navigate to a URL on your device. The URL includes a GET parameter for the upgrade script to run. The parameter references a script on Martin’s site, but this script, rather than performing an upgrade, generates SSH keys, clears the root password and starts the SSH dæmon.
Once the “upgrade” is initiated, you will not receive feedback on the Web page that it has completed, and you probably should not do anything to your device in this interval, lest you rouse those bricking fairies. Simply wait three minutes, then start attempting to log in via SSH with the user (not administrator and not root) account you created earlier in the Shared Storage Manager. As soon as you see the SSH dæmon respond with a login prompt, you will know the break-in succeeded. If you set up your user account correctly, you will be able to log in. If you are having trouble logging in, take care that your user name is spelled in CAPS (ssh USER@ipaddress), as you will note that the user management Web interface creates all accounts in that fashion. One more troubleshooting tip: the latest firmware revisions actually output a message that the update has failed, although the SSH dæmon has, in fact, been spawned successfully and is ready for your connection. Once successfully logged in to your device, you can escalate your privileges by switching user to root (su -) as the superuser password is now blank. You will need to carry out a few tasks—the first one of which is adding the SSH dæmon to the default startup list to ensure that your newly gained access lasts past your next reboot. Head to /etc/inittab, and add the following after the system startup section:
# Start a few good daemons
::sysinit:/usr/sbin/sshd
After making your changes, make sure they have been written to disk by doing a “sync”, and fix a few details of your user account, such as granting yourself a home directory and possibly a lowercase user name. Do all your /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow housekeeping before rebooting to verify that the SSH dæmon is now spawning by default and that your user accounts are working as intended.
GRAND TOUR
You’re past the most difficult point; now you can proceed to explore the system and tweak it to your heart’s content. Unless you plan to use the MioNet service, some recommend switching its dæmon off, as it is a Java process that weighs on both CPU and RAM. As the MioNet service enables wide-area file sharing, I elected to turn off the service, but to do so cleanly, in case I decided I needed the functionality after all. Edit /etc/init.d/post_network_start.sh, and comment out line 17 of the script:
$SCRIPTS_PATH/crond.sh start
# $SCRIPTS_PATH/mionet.sh start
touch $POST_NETWORK_STARTED_FILE
This stops the dæmon from being spawned automatically at boot, but if you need its services, you can start it up from the Shared Storage Manager interface (General Setup→WD Anywhere Access) as needed, giving you the best of both worlds. The system is built around a 2.6.17.14 kernel, with BusyBox centralizing many of the command-line tools. There are no man pages, but the system is an otherwise reasonable minimal Linux instance, including the majority of the common management levers (ps, top, free, ifconfig, wget and so on) as well as a development toolchain with all the trimmings (gcc 3.4.2, gmake and so on), enabling you to build any software that may be missing. The mounts show a good picture of the device:
# df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
rootfs 2.8G 277M 2.4G 11% /
/dev/root 2.8G 277M 2.4G 11% /
/dev/md3 950M 19M 884M 3% /var
/dev/md4 455G 199M 455G 1% /shares/internal
It also is worth mentioning that on the dual-drive unit, the system partitions are mirrored by default, regardless of the RAID state of the share space:
# cat /proc/mdstat
Personalities : [linear] [raid1]
md1 : active raid1 sdb1[1] sda1[0]
2939776 blocks [2/2] [UU]
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 183 July 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
IronPython
IronPython is an implementation of Python that runs on the .NET framework as well as on Mono. The current version of IronPython is compatible with Python 2.5, and an alpha release of a Python 2.6-compatible version also is available. IronPython is written entirely in C#, and the current version is built on top of the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR). IronPython features an interactive console that does full dynamic compilation of Python code to .NET. It provides full access to all .NET libraries while maintaining compatibility with the Python language. There also is a Visual Studio plugin called IronPython Studio that supports the creation of Python-based GUI applications. In addition to IronPython, there are “Iron” versions of Ruby and Scheme (LISP). If you like Python but crave static typing, check out BOO for .NET/Mono. IronPython is licensed under the terms of the “Microsoft Public License”, which was approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) in October 2007. The license allows redistribution of compiled code for either commercial or noncommercial use (similar to a BSD license). For this reason, although it is recognized as a “free” software license by the Free Software Foundation, it is considered incompatible with the GPL. And, if getting too close to Microsoft makes you nervous, be aware that the IronPython Project is hosted on a Microsoft-controlled site: codeplex.com.—MITCH FRAZIER
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 183 July 2009
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 183 July 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Say Goodbye to Reboots with Ksplice
Tired of rebooting for kernel updates?
Good news—now you don’t have to, thanks to Ksplice Uptrack.
Everyone hates rebooting for updates. When system administrators reboot their servers, they have to manage an inconvenient outage window—quite possibly during the middle of the night—and they have to deal with the lost productivity and annoyed users that result from the disruption. Similarly, rebooting your desktop means losing all of your valuable state—your favorite editor with the 35 open files you were working on, your 14 terminals, and, of course, your paused game of Frozen Bubble. But the alternative—not installing updates right away— is even more unpleasant. If your parents were anything like mine, they insisted that you do two things: eat your vegetables and install your software updates. Why? Well, first, vegetables provide your body with much-needed nutrients.
Second, most exploits take advantage of well-known software vulnerabilities—vulnerabilities that do not exist on patched systems. So staying up to date goes a long way in keeping your systems secure and reliable. So is this it? Will we forever be forced to choose between security and availability? Fortunately, the answer is no. Ksplice, a startup company founded by MIT alumni, has developed technology that can install software updates, without requiring a reboot. Using this technology, they are offering Ksplice Uptrack, a service that keeps your Linux systems up to date and secure without any hassle. Additionally, experienced kernel developers also can use the Ksplice tools to create their own rebootless updates.
Getting Started with Ksplice Uptrack
You can start using Ksplice Uptrack without any advance preparation. Follow the directions on the Ksplice Uptrack Web site, which allows you to install the software using your package manager. Once you’ve done this, a K icon appears in your notification area. When you see the K, you know that you have the latest security fixes for your Linux kernel. When new updates are available, a warning sign appears over the K.
When this happens, click on the K to view a list of the available updates. Install the updates by clicking the green Install all updates button. The listed updates will be installed on your running system in seconds, as your applications continue to run without interruption.
Like any good Linux tool, Ksplice Uptrack also can be controlled from the command line, with four simple commands. Each update has an ID associated with it, which you use to name it. You can install or remove individual updates, just like with any package manager. Here are the Ksplice Uptrack Commands:
- uptrack-upgrade: downloads and installs the latest kernel updates available for your system.
- uptrack-install id: installs the update named id.
- uptrack-remove id: removes the update named id.
- uptrack-show id: shows more detail about the update named id.
What about when you actually do reboot? Well, you can boot in to your brand-new kernel that you’ve installed the traditional way, using your package manager. Everything will continue to work nicely, and when Ksplice Uptrack detects new updates for this kernel, it will notify you, just like before.
Alternatively, you can reboot into your old kernel. In this case, Ksplice Uptrack will re apply the rebootless updates early in the boot process. This approach may be more desirable for some system administrators, because it ensures that the machine is in the exact same configuration both before and after the reboot.
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 184 August 2009
Good news—now you don’t have to, thanks to Ksplice Uptrack.
Everyone hates rebooting for updates. When system administrators reboot their servers, they have to manage an inconvenient outage window—quite possibly during the middle of the night—and they have to deal with the lost productivity and annoyed users that result from the disruption. Similarly, rebooting your desktop means losing all of your valuable state—your favorite editor with the 35 open files you were working on, your 14 terminals, and, of course, your paused game of Frozen Bubble. But the alternative—not installing updates right away— is even more unpleasant. If your parents were anything like mine, they insisted that you do two things: eat your vegetables and install your software updates. Why? Well, first, vegetables provide your body with much-needed nutrients.
Second, most exploits take advantage of well-known software vulnerabilities—vulnerabilities that do not exist on patched systems. So staying up to date goes a long way in keeping your systems secure and reliable. So is this it? Will we forever be forced to choose between security and availability? Fortunately, the answer is no. Ksplice, a startup company founded by MIT alumni, has developed technology that can install software updates, without requiring a reboot. Using this technology, they are offering Ksplice Uptrack, a service that keeps your Linux systems up to date and secure without any hassle. Additionally, experienced kernel developers also can use the Ksplice tools to create their own rebootless updates.
Getting Started with Ksplice Uptrack
You can start using Ksplice Uptrack without any advance preparation. Follow the directions on the Ksplice Uptrack Web site, which allows you to install the software using your package manager. Once you’ve done this, a K icon appears in your notification area. When you see the K, you know that you have the latest security fixes for your Linux kernel. When new updates are available, a warning sign appears over the K.
When this happens, click on the K to view a list of the available updates. Install the updates by clicking the green Install all updates button. The listed updates will be installed on your running system in seconds, as your applications continue to run without interruption.
Like any good Linux tool, Ksplice Uptrack also can be controlled from the command line, with four simple commands. Each update has an ID associated with it, which you use to name it. You can install or remove individual updates, just like with any package manager. Here are the Ksplice Uptrack Commands:
- uptrack-upgrade: downloads and installs the latest kernel updates available for your system.
- uptrack-install id: installs the update named id.
- uptrack-remove id: removes the update named id.
- uptrack-show id: shows more detail about the update named id.
What about when you actually do reboot? Well, you can boot in to your brand-new kernel that you’ve installed the traditional way, using your package manager. Everything will continue to work nicely, and when Ksplice Uptrack detects new updates for this kernel, it will notify you, just like before.
Alternatively, you can reboot into your old kernel. In this case, Ksplice Uptrack will re apply the rebootless updates early in the boot process. This approach may be more desirable for some system administrators, because it ensures that the machine is in the exact same configuration both before and after the reboot.
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 184 August 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
KOffice 2.0 - Making Old Concepts Clearer
Another advantage of KOffice 2.0’s interface is that basic concepts often become clearer. This change is especially obvious in KWord. In 1.6.3, the latest officially released version, KWord’s frame tools provided a tree view of document structure rather like the OpenOffice.org Navigator. However, this view was locked in place and too narrow by default even when KWord was maximized. Nor were the arcane icons for different types of objects beside the tree view very helpful to users. As a result, most users I have talked to ignore them. Many confess to hiding the tree view to avoid being intimidated by them.
Now, in KOffice 2.0, the concept of frames has been replaced with the less abstract and better-labeled ones of shapes—no doubt as a result of implementing the new Flake library. As in earlier releases, you still have to select a type then drag with the mouse in the editing window to create it, but now, with the default set of dockers, you are more likely to notice and use the tool.
Moreover, once you have created an object, you easily can use dockers\ like Geometry and Snapping to align and orient a shape or arrange it on a grid. Although the functionality is the same as in earlier releases, ease of use is far higher. Just as important, because Add Shapes lists ties, charts, artistic text and pictures as possible selections, it reinforces the fact that all these possibilities are essentially the same kind of object so far as KOffice is concerned, and all can be manipulated in much the same way in the editing window. In other words, the Add Shapes docker makes clear a unifying concept in a way that separate sub-items in a menu or a collection of unconnected icons could never hope to match.
A second basic concept that becomes clearer in KOffice 2.0 is styles—the formatting equivalent of declaring a variable once and reusing it as needed. Most word processors have the concept of character and paragraph styles, but they vary widely in their emphasis on them. For instance, AbiWord and MS Office tend to make manual formatting more prominent, while OpenOffice.org requires the use of styles if you want to use many advanced features. In the past, KOffice has been closer to AbiWord than OpenOffice.org, including styles, but keeping them in the menus where they can be missed and their features buried several layers below the top menu.
By contrast, KOffice 2.0 edges closer to emphasizing styles. If you select the text tool from KWord’s application pane, you have a Styles docker (not to be confused with the one for backgrounds that uses the same name) that places manual formatting of text and styles only a tab apart. At first, this arrangement might seem to give both approaches to formatting equal weight, but the truth is that styles have been so underemphasized that, just by making them more prominent, the Styles docker increases the chances that users will investigate the time-saving possibilities of working with styles. At the same time, unlike in OpenOffice.org, KOffice 2.0 does not compel users to switch from manual formatting if they choose not to.
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 184 August 2009
Now, in KOffice 2.0, the concept of frames has been replaced with the less abstract and better-labeled ones of shapes—no doubt as a result of implementing the new Flake library. As in earlier releases, you still have to select a type then drag with the mouse in the editing window to create it, but now, with the default set of dockers, you are more likely to notice and use the tool.
Moreover, once you have created an object, you easily can use dockers\ like Geometry and Snapping to align and orient a shape or arrange it on a grid. Although the functionality is the same as in earlier releases, ease of use is far higher. Just as important, because Add Shapes lists ties, charts, artistic text and pictures as possible selections, it reinforces the fact that all these possibilities are essentially the same kind of object so far as KOffice is concerned, and all can be manipulated in much the same way in the editing window. In other words, the Add Shapes docker makes clear a unifying concept in a way that separate sub-items in a menu or a collection of unconnected icons could never hope to match.
A second basic concept that becomes clearer in KOffice 2.0 is styles—the formatting equivalent of declaring a variable once and reusing it as needed. Most word processors have the concept of character and paragraph styles, but they vary widely in their emphasis on them. For instance, AbiWord and MS Office tend to make manual formatting more prominent, while OpenOffice.org requires the use of styles if you want to use many advanced features. In the past, KOffice has been closer to AbiWord than OpenOffice.org, including styles, but keeping them in the menus where they can be missed and their features buried several layers below the top menu.
By contrast, KOffice 2.0 edges closer to emphasizing styles. If you select the text tool from KWord’s application pane, you have a Styles docker (not to be confused with the one for backgrounds that uses the same name) that places manual formatting of text and styles only a tab apart. At first, this arrangement might seem to give both approaches to formatting equal weight, but the truth is that styles have been so underemphasized that, just by making them more prominent, the Styles docker increases the chances that users will investigate the time-saving possibilities of working with styles. At the same time, unlike in OpenOffice.org, KOffice 2.0 does not compel users to switch from manual formatting if they choose not to.
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 184 August 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
KOffice 2.0 - Enhanced Graphical Capacity
Just as the Drawing toolbar added increased graphic capacity to the major OpenOffice.org applications, so dockers give KOffice applications more ability to handle pictures and primitives. Some of this enhanced capacity is new, such as the calligraphy tool that resembles Inkscape’s, or the availability of artistic text—graphical text that can follow angled or curving baselines.
Similarly, the addition of ties or connectors gives KPresenter a large boost by adding the ability to create and manipulate organizational charts. However, a good deal of the acrossthe-board graphical capacity is simply a reordering of existing tools to make them more accessible. For example, from the Add Shapes docker, you can not only select basic shapes, such as ties, chart, artistic text and text frames, but also choose from a miniature clip-art gallery that includes arrows, geometric shapes and callouts.
The vaguely named Styles docker provides a similar capacity for the backgrounds of objects. In a docker that is maybe 2" x .5" high on my laptop screen, the Styles docker gives you a selection of background colors, gradients, patterns and fills, or lets you remove them witha click of a button. These choices can be customized by selecting tools on the application pane, or sometimes, by making selections in other dockers. As a side benefit, by having these graphical tools in most applications, KOffice also increases its common interface. The result is that both the applications in general and their new graphical capabilities in particular are quick to learn.
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 184 August 2009
Similarly, the addition of ties or connectors gives KPresenter a large boost by adding the ability to create and manipulate organizational charts. However, a good deal of the acrossthe-board graphical capacity is simply a reordering of existing tools to make them more accessible. For example, from the Add Shapes docker, you can not only select basic shapes, such as ties, chart, artistic text and text frames, but also choose from a miniature clip-art gallery that includes arrows, geometric shapes and callouts.
The vaguely named Styles docker provides a similar capacity for the backgrounds of objects. In a docker that is maybe 2" x .5" high on my laptop screen, the Styles docker gives you a selection of background colors, gradients, patterns and fills, or lets you remove them witha click of a button. These choices can be customized by selecting tools on the application pane, or sometimes, by making selections in other dockers. As a side benefit, by having these graphical tools in most applications, KOffice also increases its common interface. The result is that both the applications in general and their new graphical capabilities in particular are quick to learn.
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 184 August 2009
KOffice 2.0 Interface
Like the KDE 3.0 series, KOffice 1.6.3 is functional but easy to underestimate, because it looks like a refugee from the late 1990s. By contrast, KOffice 2.0 looks as though it is designed to ensure that nobody ever will dismiss it solely on the basis of appearance.
Ever since Microsoft Office 2007 replaced menus and toolbars with ribbons, rival office suites have been faced with the dilemma of either copying and looking modern or retaining the functionality of traditional program design and looking out of date. OpenOffice.org 3.0 met the challenge with a compromise that kept the traditional structure but increased the number of floating palettes or windows—selections of tools that could be positioned anywhere on the desktop or docked in the toolbar or against one side of the editing window. In version 2.0, KOffice’s developers have opted for a similar solution, calling them dockers and adding controls for turning each one on or off in the Settings menu. Dockers are accompanied by two panes to either side of the editing window. On the left is a pane with icons specific to the application. On the right is the pane containing multiple dockers. Click on an icon in the application pane, and the available dockers on the right change. The application pane, the docker pane or any individual docker can be removed from its position to float freely by dragging its title bar with the mouse. You also can drag dockers into different positions on the right-hand pane.
Alternatively, you can close panes, toolbars or dockers, or change the horizontal space given to the docker pane. Unless you are working with a maximized window on a wide-screen monitor, sooner or later, you probably will want to use these customizations to give yourself room to work.
Possibly too, you might want to reduce the number of dockers, especially when you are first learning KOffice 2.0. Otherwise, the effect is like sitting down in the cockpit of a commercial airliner and trying not to be overwhelmed by the dozens of controls available. The success of this interface varies with the application and your use of it. The layout works best in feature-rich programs, such as Krita and Karbon14, where they increase the accessibility of tools (although at first you might find yourself peering anxiously as you wait for the mouse-over text to tell you what each icon does). In fact, both these graphics programs actually have had a very similar arrangement in earlier releases, which may be where the design originated. But in KSpread, it might seem like worthless clutter, because many of the dockers have to do with graphics or layout, neither of which many spreadsheets need. Similarly, if your word processing never extends beyond a memo, you might find that the default docker pane is overkill. The same is true in KPresenter if you don’t do original diagrams. Still, despite their initially formidable appearance, these panes and dockers do have the advantage of removing many tools from their hiding places in the menu and placing them where users can become curious and investigate them. You may find yourself learning more about KOffice applications than ever before, simply because you can see more of the possibilities.
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 184 August 2009
Ever since Microsoft Office 2007 replaced menus and toolbars with ribbons, rival office suites have been faced with the dilemma of either copying and looking modern or retaining the functionality of traditional program design and looking out of date. OpenOffice.org 3.0 met the challenge with a compromise that kept the traditional structure but increased the number of floating palettes or windows—selections of tools that could be positioned anywhere on the desktop or docked in the toolbar or against one side of the editing window. In version 2.0, KOffice’s developers have opted for a similar solution, calling them dockers and adding controls for turning each one on or off in the Settings menu. Dockers are accompanied by two panes to either side of the editing window. On the left is a pane with icons specific to the application. On the right is the pane containing multiple dockers. Click on an icon in the application pane, and the available dockers on the right change. The application pane, the docker pane or any individual docker can be removed from its position to float freely by dragging its title bar with the mouse. You also can drag dockers into different positions on the right-hand pane.
Alternatively, you can close panes, toolbars or dockers, or change the horizontal space given to the docker pane. Unless you are working with a maximized window on a wide-screen monitor, sooner or later, you probably will want to use these customizations to give yourself room to work.
Possibly too, you might want to reduce the number of dockers, especially when you are first learning KOffice 2.0. Otherwise, the effect is like sitting down in the cockpit of a commercial airliner and trying not to be overwhelmed by the dozens of controls available. The success of this interface varies with the application and your use of it. The layout works best in feature-rich programs, such as Krita and Karbon14, where they increase the accessibility of tools (although at first you might find yourself peering anxiously as you wait for the mouse-over text to tell you what each icon does). In fact, both these graphics programs actually have had a very similar arrangement in earlier releases, which may be where the design originated. But in KSpread, it might seem like worthless clutter, because many of the dockers have to do with graphics or layout, neither of which many spreadsheets need. Similarly, if your word processing never extends beyond a memo, you might find that the default docker pane is overkill. The same is true in KPresenter if you don’t do original diagrams. Still, despite their initially formidable appearance, these panes and dockers do have the advantage of removing many tools from their hiding places in the menu and placing them where users can become curious and investigate them. You may find yourself learning more about KOffice applications than ever before, simply because you can see more of the possibilities.
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 184 August 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
KOffice 2.0
The long-awaited upgrade to KOffice has arrived. It looks good and provides a great base for its future evolution.
More than a year after KDE 4.0 unveiled a radically revised desktop, KOffice 2.0 is preparing to release an equally revised office suite, which should be released before this article is published (KOffice 2.0-RC-1 was released in April 2009). What users will see is not an extensive new feature set, but only a few additions here and there. Instead, just as KDE 4.0 provided the foundation for future developments on the desktop,
KOffice promises to provide a solid basis for future improvements. Reflecting changes in the toolkit and library, the newest version of KOffice delivers a common interface across applications, enhanced graphical capacities and new accessibility to existing tools—all wrapped up in a look and feel proving that eye candy can be as much about usability and functionality as about superficial aesthetics. These changes are especially visible in major applications like KWord, KSpread, KPresenter, and Krita and Karbon14 (the main graphics programs), although they are evident in other KOffice applications as well.
This emphasis means that those who were hoping KOffice 2.0 would finally allow the office suite to match the rival OpenOffice.org feature for feature are going to be disappointed. If the late beta I am working from is a guide, KPresenter still will not have the ability to use sound or video, and KSpread will continue to lack filters and pivot tables. In fact, some features of KOffice 1.6.3, the previous official release, such as comments and expressions (autotext) in KWord or tables in KPresenter, may not find their way into KOffice 2.0 either. When you do find new features, they are apt to be fundamental ones, such as more printing options for KSpread.
However, this focus does not mean KOffice is lacking in scope. By any standard, KOffice 2.0 is an ambitious undertaking. With 11 applications to OpenOffice.org’s six, and a considerably worse ratio of programmers, any release of KOffice is an exercise in logistics second only to a new version of KDE itself—and version 2.0 is more challenging than most releases. The new release not only marks KOffice’s transition to the Qt 4.x toolkit, like most KDE-related software, but also new ports to OS X and Windows. If that were not enough, version 2.0 also marks the first use of two major libraries: Flake, which introduces a new concept of shapes, together with tools to manage them; and Pigment, a color management library. No wonder, then, that the release is happening 16 months after the KDE 4.0 release and has staggered through ten alpha and seven beta releases. But, when KOffice 2.0 finally reaches release, the result promises to be a revamping that will allow the project developers to add smaller enhancements in point releases.
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 184 August 2009
More than a year after KDE 4.0 unveiled a radically revised desktop, KOffice 2.0 is preparing to release an equally revised office suite, which should be released before this article is published (KOffice 2.0-RC-1 was released in April 2009). What users will see is not an extensive new feature set, but only a few additions here and there. Instead, just as KDE 4.0 provided the foundation for future developments on the desktop,
KOffice promises to provide a solid basis for future improvements. Reflecting changes in the toolkit and library, the newest version of KOffice delivers a common interface across applications, enhanced graphical capacities and new accessibility to existing tools—all wrapped up in a look and feel proving that eye candy can be as much about usability and functionality as about superficial aesthetics. These changes are especially visible in major applications like KWord, KSpread, KPresenter, and Krita and Karbon14 (the main graphics programs), although they are evident in other KOffice applications as well.
This emphasis means that those who were hoping KOffice 2.0 would finally allow the office suite to match the rival OpenOffice.org feature for feature are going to be disappointed. If the late beta I am working from is a guide, KPresenter still will not have the ability to use sound or video, and KSpread will continue to lack filters and pivot tables. In fact, some features of KOffice 1.6.3, the previous official release, such as comments and expressions (autotext) in KWord or tables in KPresenter, may not find their way into KOffice 2.0 either. When you do find new features, they are apt to be fundamental ones, such as more printing options for KSpread.
However, this focus does not mean KOffice is lacking in scope. By any standard, KOffice 2.0 is an ambitious undertaking. With 11 applications to OpenOffice.org’s six, and a considerably worse ratio of programmers, any release of KOffice is an exercise in logistics second only to a new version of KDE itself—and version 2.0 is more challenging than most releases. The new release not only marks KOffice’s transition to the Qt 4.x toolkit, like most KDE-related software, but also new ports to OS X and Windows. If that were not enough, version 2.0 also marks the first use of two major libraries: Flake, which introduces a new concept of shapes, together with tools to manage them; and Pigment, a color management library. No wonder, then, that the release is happening 16 months after the KDE 4.0 release and has staggered through ten alpha and seven beta releases. But, when KOffice 2.0 finally reaches release, the result promises to be a revamping that will allow the project developers to add smaller enhancements in point releases.
Source of Information : Linux Journal Issue 184 August 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
AMDPlans DirectX 11 GPUs Soon
ADVANCED Micro Devices plans to deliver its first graphics processor with support for Microsoft's new DirectX 11 graphics API (application programming interface) later this year, the company announced in Junt'. This GPU promises to deliver more-detailed and more-realistic images on systems that support the technology.
AMD says it expects to beat competing graphics chip makers to market with the: feature. "It's the biggest inflection point in graphics in ten years," says Rick Bergman, senior vice president of AMD's products group. The new technology brings three major improvements to DirectX , AMD says. The first concerns a graphics technique called tessellation that lets gamer, designers create 3D models with much higher definition than before. The result is a much more natural look to the graphics. DirectX 11 also brings a new way to program the graphics drip. It's the ability to unlock the massively parallel capabilities of the graphics processor in different ways, ~says Bergman. Combined with Windows 7, it could be used to help programs run faster.
Source of Information : PC World August 2009
AMD says it expects to beat competing graphics chip makers to market with the: feature. "It's the biggest inflection point in graphics in ten years," says Rick Bergman, senior vice president of AMD's products group. The new technology brings three major improvements to DirectX , AMD says. The first concerns a graphics technique called tessellation that lets gamer, designers create 3D models with much higher definition than before. The result is a much more natural look to the graphics. DirectX 11 also brings a new way to program the graphics drip. It's the ability to unlock the massively parallel capabilities of the graphics processor in different ways, ~says Bergman. Combined with Windows 7, it could be used to help programs run faster.
Source of Information : PC World August 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Workspace: Tonido
Cloud computing is all the rage these days. In fact, the idea of having all your applications and data in the cloud gave birth to a whole new type of computing device known as the netbook. In most cases, cloud computing means using third-party webbased applications and services, but why not roll out a little cloud of your own? It might sound like a daunting proposition, but with Tonido you can turn your Ubuntu-based machine into a cloud server in a matter of minutes. Although Tonido can’t replace web-based applications like Google Docs, Flickr, and Blogger, it does provide an excellent platform for deploying a secure and easy-to-use collaboration and sharing peer-to-peer environment.
Running your own server means that you are responsible for maintaining and managing it, but this also gives you a few important advantages. First and foremost, you retain complete control of your data because you don’t have to store it on a third-party server. Any web application requires a decent Internet connection. Not so with your own Tonido server: Even if your Internet link goes down, all Tonido’s applications and data can be accessed through the local network, or even directly on the machine running the server software. Because you can deploy Tonido on a local network, it provides an ideal solution for setting up a collaboration environment without exposing it to the outside world.
Getting Started with Tonido In the Linux world, Tonido is currently available only as a .deb package for Ubuntu-based distributions, so the machine you want to use as a Tonido server must run Ubuntu or any of its derivatives. This also means that you can install the Tonido package easily with the GDebi graphical tool or by executing the sudo dpkg -i TonidoSetup_i686.deb command. Then you can launch Tonido from Applications | Internet. On launch, Tonido presents the default browser and prompts you to create a profile. Creating the profile is as easy as specifying a unique profile name, password, and a few other pieces of information. The profile name is the only thing that is sent to the Tonido service, and it’s done only once.
When you log in to Tonido, you land on the start page, which provides quick access to all Tonido’s modules and features. By default, Tonido accepts only local connections, so if you want to access the server from the Internet, you have to enable the web access feature. To do this, click on the Setup link next to the server’s URL in the Summary pane. This starts the Web Access Setup Wizard, which helps you enable and configure the web access feature. If you haven’t yet configured port forwarding, the wizard can do this for you, provided your router supports the UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) feature. If you plan to use the Tonido server to collaborate and share data with other users, you should populate it with groups and invite users. To do this, switch to the Groups section, click on the Create tab, enter the required information for the new group, and hit the Create Group button. Once the group is created, you may send group invitations. If the user you want to invite is already in your contacts list, just create an invitation with her Tonido ID. Otherwise you can send the invitation by good old email. If you choose the latter approach, the recipient receives an invitation message containing a unique token. The recipient then has to install Tonido on her machine and accept the invitation using the provided token. This creates a secure peer-to-peer connection between two Tonido instances and automatically adds this user to your Tonido contacts.
Tonido Applications
Tonido itself is a platform designed to run web applications, and the current version of the software ships with several handy applications, including Jukebox, Photos, Thots, Webshare, and Workspace. With Jukebox, you can access and manage your music files as well as grant other users access to your music collection. The application lets you create custom playlists, and it sports a few default dynamic playlists that give you quick access to the recently added and most popular tracks. Then you can use the built-in Tag Editor to edit each track’s information. The EXT button allows you to open the current playlist in an external player application. Jukebox doesn’t let you share your music files with other users, but you can create a guest account that allows other users to access your music collection. Each guest account must have one or several playlists assigned to it, and you can use this feature to limit guests to specific parts of your music collection. Instead of the fullblown Jukebox interface, the guest user has access to a mini-jukebox application that provides basic controls. The Settings item in the mini-jukebox also allows the guest to select a mode optimized to the type of Internet connection.
As you might have guessed, the Photos application lets you share and exchange photos with other Tonido users. Sharing is easy. To start, add a directory containing photos to the application. To do this, switch to the Photos application, click on the Manage link in the Shared Folders section to the left, and click on the Add New Share link. Then select the directory you want to share, pick the group you want (or create a new one on the fly), and press OK. This automatically pushes your photos to all users in the selected group, and all photos shared by other users appear in your Photos application. All shared photos are copied and stored on your machine, so you can view them even if the user who shares them is offline. Similar to Flickr and other photo-sharing services, Photos lets you tag, rate, and comment photos, as well as mark them as your favorites. With the commands in the navigation bar to the left, you can view photos by tags, ratings, and users. Also, you can view the most recent photos, as well as photos in a specific group. Courtesy of the Thots application, you can use Tonido to maintain a simple blog. Although Thots won’t replace WordPress or other advanced blogging engines, this no-frills application does have a few nifty uses. It seamlessly integrates with your Twitter account, so you can push blog posts (or thots) on Twitter. With the use of the supplied ClipThots extension for Firefox, you can use your Thot blog as a place for storing and sharing interesting links and text snippets.
The Webshare application, which lets you give users access to specific directories and files on your machine, is designed to take care of all your file sharing needs. Sharing a directory with the world requires just a few simple steps. To select the directory you want to share, use the Add New Share link and specify the share’s name and description. Also, you can specify an optional share’s expiration date, which can come in handy if you want to grant access to a specific directory for a limited period of time. Once the share is configured, you have to add users who will have access to the shared directory. That’s all there is to it. Now you can send the users a direct link to the share (with the Send URL via Email command), and they can access and download files via a browser. Finally, the Workspace application can help you to collaborate with other Tonido users. The application offers pretty much everything you need to manage schedules, tasks, contacts, notes, and files, and it allows you to create as many workspaces as you need, so you can set a separate workspace for each workgroup or project. Creating a workspace is as easy as creating a group.
In fact, Tonido even allows you to turn any existing group into a workspace with a few mouse clicks. The modules of the Workspace application sport some clever features designed to make your work easier and more efficient. The Calendar module, for example, lets you import events from an iCal file, and if you ticked the Enable Public Display checkbox when creating the workspace, the calendar is automatically published on the web. Using the Print button, you can print your calendar as a nicely formatted agenda. The Tasks module lets you specify a due date and priority for each task, as well as assign tasks to users. Using the Filter button, you can quickly view tasks matching certain criteria, such as Priority, Assigned to, Due Date, and so on.
The Notes module offers graphical editing tools, making it easier to create richly formatted notes. The Timeline feature provides a quick overview of all workspace activity so you can stay abreast of what other users do. The Group Chat feature allows you to chat with other users in the workspace, and the Forums section lets you host discussions or maintain a knowledge base.
Final Word
Tonido is not the most advanced server solution out there, but it’s by far the most elegant and user-friendly one. In literally a few minutes, you can turn any Ubuntu-based machine into a server suitable for a wide range of tasks. More importantly, Tonido is not just a server package, but a platform that can be extended by installing additional applications.
Right now this includes just a handful of applications, but as Tonido gains more traction, the list of available modules is likely to grow. Even in its current form and with the default application set, Tonido can prove to be a genuinely useful tool for individual users and workgroups alike.
Source of Information : Linux Pro Magazine August 2009
Running your own server means that you are responsible for maintaining and managing it, but this also gives you a few important advantages. First and foremost, you retain complete control of your data because you don’t have to store it on a third-party server. Any web application requires a decent Internet connection. Not so with your own Tonido server: Even if your Internet link goes down, all Tonido’s applications and data can be accessed through the local network, or even directly on the machine running the server software. Because you can deploy Tonido on a local network, it provides an ideal solution for setting up a collaboration environment without exposing it to the outside world.
Getting Started with Tonido In the Linux world, Tonido is currently available only as a .deb package for Ubuntu-based distributions, so the machine you want to use as a Tonido server must run Ubuntu or any of its derivatives. This also means that you can install the Tonido package easily with the GDebi graphical tool or by executing the sudo dpkg -i TonidoSetup_i686.deb command. Then you can launch Tonido from Applications | Internet. On launch, Tonido presents the default browser and prompts you to create a profile. Creating the profile is as easy as specifying a unique profile name, password, and a few other pieces of information. The profile name is the only thing that is sent to the Tonido service, and it’s done only once.
When you log in to Tonido, you land on the start page, which provides quick access to all Tonido’s modules and features. By default, Tonido accepts only local connections, so if you want to access the server from the Internet, you have to enable the web access feature. To do this, click on the Setup link next to the server’s URL in the Summary pane. This starts the Web Access Setup Wizard, which helps you enable and configure the web access feature. If you haven’t yet configured port forwarding, the wizard can do this for you, provided your router supports the UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) feature. If you plan to use the Tonido server to collaborate and share data with other users, you should populate it with groups and invite users. To do this, switch to the Groups section, click on the Create tab, enter the required information for the new group, and hit the Create Group button. Once the group is created, you may send group invitations. If the user you want to invite is already in your contacts list, just create an invitation with her Tonido ID. Otherwise you can send the invitation by good old email. If you choose the latter approach, the recipient receives an invitation message containing a unique token. The recipient then has to install Tonido on her machine and accept the invitation using the provided token. This creates a secure peer-to-peer connection between two Tonido instances and automatically adds this user to your Tonido contacts.
Tonido Applications
Tonido itself is a platform designed to run web applications, and the current version of the software ships with several handy applications, including Jukebox, Photos, Thots, Webshare, and Workspace. With Jukebox, you can access and manage your music files as well as grant other users access to your music collection. The application lets you create custom playlists, and it sports a few default dynamic playlists that give you quick access to the recently added and most popular tracks. Then you can use the built-in Tag Editor to edit each track’s information. The EXT button allows you to open the current playlist in an external player application. Jukebox doesn’t let you share your music files with other users, but you can create a guest account that allows other users to access your music collection. Each guest account must have one or several playlists assigned to it, and you can use this feature to limit guests to specific parts of your music collection. Instead of the fullblown Jukebox interface, the guest user has access to a mini-jukebox application that provides basic controls. The Settings item in the mini-jukebox also allows the guest to select a mode optimized to the type of Internet connection.
As you might have guessed, the Photos application lets you share and exchange photos with other Tonido users. Sharing is easy. To start, add a directory containing photos to the application. To do this, switch to the Photos application, click on the Manage link in the Shared Folders section to the left, and click on the Add New Share link. Then select the directory you want to share, pick the group you want (or create a new one on the fly), and press OK. This automatically pushes your photos to all users in the selected group, and all photos shared by other users appear in your Photos application. All shared photos are copied and stored on your machine, so you can view them even if the user who shares them is offline. Similar to Flickr and other photo-sharing services, Photos lets you tag, rate, and comment photos, as well as mark them as your favorites. With the commands in the navigation bar to the left, you can view photos by tags, ratings, and users. Also, you can view the most recent photos, as well as photos in a specific group. Courtesy of the Thots application, you can use Tonido to maintain a simple blog. Although Thots won’t replace WordPress or other advanced blogging engines, this no-frills application does have a few nifty uses. It seamlessly integrates with your Twitter account, so you can push blog posts (or thots) on Twitter. With the use of the supplied ClipThots extension for Firefox, you can use your Thot blog as a place for storing and sharing interesting links and text snippets.
The Webshare application, which lets you give users access to specific directories and files on your machine, is designed to take care of all your file sharing needs. Sharing a directory with the world requires just a few simple steps. To select the directory you want to share, use the Add New Share link and specify the share’s name and description. Also, you can specify an optional share’s expiration date, which can come in handy if you want to grant access to a specific directory for a limited period of time. Once the share is configured, you have to add users who will have access to the shared directory. That’s all there is to it. Now you can send the users a direct link to the share (with the Send URL via Email command), and they can access and download files via a browser. Finally, the Workspace application can help you to collaborate with other Tonido users. The application offers pretty much everything you need to manage schedules, tasks, contacts, notes, and files, and it allows you to create as many workspaces as you need, so you can set a separate workspace for each workgroup or project. Creating a workspace is as easy as creating a group.
In fact, Tonido even allows you to turn any existing group into a workspace with a few mouse clicks. The modules of the Workspace application sport some clever features designed to make your work easier and more efficient. The Calendar module, for example, lets you import events from an iCal file, and if you ticked the Enable Public Display checkbox when creating the workspace, the calendar is automatically published on the web. Using the Print button, you can print your calendar as a nicely formatted agenda. The Tasks module lets you specify a due date and priority for each task, as well as assign tasks to users. Using the Filter button, you can quickly view tasks matching certain criteria, such as Priority, Assigned to, Due Date, and so on.
The Notes module offers graphical editing tools, making it easier to create richly formatted notes. The Timeline feature provides a quick overview of all workspace activity so you can stay abreast of what other users do. The Group Chat feature allows you to chat with other users in the workspace, and the Forums section lets you host discussions or maintain a knowledge base.
Final Word
Tonido is not the most advanced server solution out there, but it’s by far the most elegant and user-friendly one. In literally a few minutes, you can turn any Ubuntu-based machine into a server suitable for a wide range of tasks. More importantly, Tonido is not just a server package, but a platform that can be extended by installing additional applications.
Right now this includes just a handful of applications, but as Tonido gains more traction, the list of available modules is likely to grow. Even in its current form and with the default application set, Tonido can prove to be a genuinely useful tool for individual users and workgroups alike.
Source of Information : Linux Pro Magazine August 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Installing distros on USB sticks with Unetbootin
LITTLE BOOTS
Unetbootin lets users set up almost any distribution on a bootable USB
Vampire hunter Van Helsing always has some holy water along for emergencies; Daywalker Blade relies on silver stakes. Experienced Linux users are more likely to resort to Linux on a USB stick to exorcise viruses from infected Windows computers. Thanks to Unetbootin, setting up an electronic emergency tool on a stick does not take much time. The installer lets you install various Linux distributions quickly and securely on an empty USB stick. Then you can use the stick to boot other computers. Unetbootin will roll out live versions as well as installation and netboot variants. If you are not happy with the default selection of distributions supported by Unetbootin, you can feed the tool an ISO file for your favorite distro. Timeconsuming workarounds necessitated by alternative tools such as Pendrivelinux are thus a thing of the past.
To install Unetbootin, copy unetbootin-linux-323 (from the DVD that came with this issue or from the website) to your home directory and make it executable:
$chmod u+x unetbootin-linux-323
The “Installing Unetbootin” box describes the steps for setting up Unetbootin in openSUSE 11.1 and Ubuntu 9.04. These steps should work for other distributions as well.
Preparing the USB Stick
Before you dive into Unetbootin, you might want to prepare your USB stick for installation by deleting the existing data and reformatting the stick. On open SUSE, type su root to become root; on Ubuntu, add sudo to the start of the command line.
To start, type sudo umount /dev/sdb1 to mount the stick, replacing /dev/sdb1 used in this example with the correct mount point. To discover the mount point ID, launch a terminal and type tail -f /var/log/messages shortly before unplugging the stick. The sdb: sdb1 line tells you that your system has assigned a device file of /dev/sdb to the stick, which has a partition called /dev/sdb1.
Now, working as root, type fdisk /dev/sdb to launch the Fdisk partitioning tool; the tool is controlled from the keyboard. Type P to discover how many partitions are on the stick. Then press D and type the partition number to delete the partitions. If the stick only contains one partition, you do not need to specify a number. After deleting the partitions, press N to create a new partition; it needs to be a primary partition (P). To use the first partition, select -1 then press Enter twice to use all the sectors on the stick. Pressing A and -1 enables the partition you created by setting the boot flag; now finish the preparation work by pressing W (for “write”). Fdisk now writes all the changes to the stick; you can cancel at any time before this. The next step is to format the empty – and still unmounted – partition with the ext3 filesystem. To do so, become root and type mkfs.ext3 -b 4096 /dev/sdb1, again replacing sdb with the device file for your USB stick. Linux will now write a fresh filesystem to the stick; this can take a couple of minutes. Linux writes blocks of 4KB (as defined by the –b 4096 option) to speed up the process. If you want to store Windows files on the stick, you need to run the mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdb1 command to create a FAT32 partition. The drawback to this option is that FAT32 does not support files of more than 4GB. After completing the format, unplug the stick, plug it back in to the USB port, and make sure the system mounts it again. In the file manager, you should now see a Lost+Found folder – but nothing else.
Installing Unetbootin
In openSUSE 11.1, make sure you have administrative privileges by typing su root, then type ./unetbootin-linux-323 to launch the file. For the sake of completeness, you might prefer running YaST and installing the p7zip package before you start, although the software will run without this dependency. On Ubuntu 9.04, working with a normal user account, type your administrative password after launching Unetbootin with the ./unetbootin-linux-323 command. Additionally, you can use Synaptic to install the p7zip-full package, which the software requires.
Unetbootin in Action
With the empty, mounted stick prepared, it is now time to launch Unetbootin. In the Distribution pull-down menu select your favorite distribution and the matching version number on the right. The small text box below this tells you something about your choice of distribution. At the bottom, select USB drive as the Type, and select the newly created sdb1 partition from the drop-down menu to the right. If you choose Show all drives, Unetbootin will list other drives – this is useful if you are not sure you have found your USB stick. Pressing OK launches Unetbootin – sink or swim time.
If everything goes as expected, the software will download an ISO from an FTP server, unpack the ISO, copy it to the stick, and generate a matching configuration file for the Syslinux bootloader. Unetbootin then finishes the transaction with a message and presents the buttons Reboot now and Finish. That’s all there is to it. As your final trick, you can check to see whether the image really does boot properly from your stick.
Fast and Manual
Downloading the files can take some time. To speed up the process, pass in the ISO file manually. To do so quickly, download the ISO via BitTorrent and, in the Unetbootin GUI, specify the path to the ISO file as your Image. If you want, you can even specify the kernel and initrd file versions. This makes sense if you use a non-standard kernel with a specific feature or one that works better with your hardware. Often, it is quite useful to add a couple of Options to the boot process to make sure that Linux works with your hardware. Favorite kernel parameters in the case of hardware problems include ide=nodma (for problematic IDE drives) and acpi=off (to avoid trouble with nonfunctional or missing power management).
Conclusions
All told, Unetbootin is not just a convenient piece of software but a pretty mature one, too. However, nothing is perfect. For example, you still might not be able to install certain distributions. As a case in point, in our lab, we had trouble installing the SliTaz operating system, although Puppy Linux, Elive, and a KDE 4 Live version based on openSUSE worked fine. If the automated installation does not work, you can always try downloading the image manually from the web page and following the steps for the manual install.
Source of Information : Linux Pro Magazine August 2009
Unetbootin lets users set up almost any distribution on a bootable USB
Vampire hunter Van Helsing always has some holy water along for emergencies; Daywalker Blade relies on silver stakes. Experienced Linux users are more likely to resort to Linux on a USB stick to exorcise viruses from infected Windows computers. Thanks to Unetbootin, setting up an electronic emergency tool on a stick does not take much time. The installer lets you install various Linux distributions quickly and securely on an empty USB stick. Then you can use the stick to boot other computers. Unetbootin will roll out live versions as well as installation and netboot variants. If you are not happy with the default selection of distributions supported by Unetbootin, you can feed the tool an ISO file for your favorite distro. Timeconsuming workarounds necessitated by alternative tools such as Pendrivelinux are thus a thing of the past.
To install Unetbootin, copy unetbootin-linux-323 (from the DVD that came with this issue or from the website) to your home directory and make it executable:
$chmod u+x unetbootin-linux-323
The “Installing Unetbootin” box describes the steps for setting up Unetbootin in openSUSE 11.1 and Ubuntu 9.04. These steps should work for other distributions as well.
Preparing the USB Stick
Before you dive into Unetbootin, you might want to prepare your USB stick for installation by deleting the existing data and reformatting the stick. On open SUSE, type su root to become root; on Ubuntu, add sudo to the start of the command line.
To start, type sudo umount /dev/sdb1 to mount the stick, replacing /dev/sdb1 used in this example with the correct mount point. To discover the mount point ID, launch a terminal and type tail -f /var/log/messages shortly before unplugging the stick. The sdb: sdb1 line tells you that your system has assigned a device file of /dev/sdb to the stick, which has a partition called /dev/sdb1.
Now, working as root, type fdisk /dev/sdb to launch the Fdisk partitioning tool; the tool is controlled from the keyboard. Type P to discover how many partitions are on the stick. Then press D and type the partition number to delete the partitions. If the stick only contains one partition, you do not need to specify a number. After deleting the partitions, press N to create a new partition; it needs to be a primary partition (P). To use the first partition, select -1 then press Enter twice to use all the sectors on the stick. Pressing A and -1 enables the partition you created by setting the boot flag; now finish the preparation work by pressing W (for “write”). Fdisk now writes all the changes to the stick; you can cancel at any time before this. The next step is to format the empty – and still unmounted – partition with the ext3 filesystem. To do so, become root and type mkfs.ext3 -b 4096 /dev/sdb1, again replacing sdb with the device file for your USB stick. Linux will now write a fresh filesystem to the stick; this can take a couple of minutes. Linux writes blocks of 4KB (as defined by the –b 4096 option) to speed up the process. If you want to store Windows files on the stick, you need to run the mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdb1 command to create a FAT32 partition. The drawback to this option is that FAT32 does not support files of more than 4GB. After completing the format, unplug the stick, plug it back in to the USB port, and make sure the system mounts it again. In the file manager, you should now see a Lost+Found folder – but nothing else.
Installing Unetbootin
In openSUSE 11.1, make sure you have administrative privileges by typing su root, then type ./unetbootin-linux-323 to launch the file. For the sake of completeness, you might prefer running YaST and installing the p7zip package before you start, although the software will run without this dependency. On Ubuntu 9.04, working with a normal user account, type your administrative password after launching Unetbootin with the ./unetbootin-linux-323 command. Additionally, you can use Synaptic to install the p7zip-full package, which the software requires.
Unetbootin in Action
With the empty, mounted stick prepared, it is now time to launch Unetbootin. In the Distribution pull-down menu select your favorite distribution and the matching version number on the right. The small text box below this tells you something about your choice of distribution. At the bottom, select USB drive as the Type, and select the newly created sdb1 partition from the drop-down menu to the right. If you choose Show all drives, Unetbootin will list other drives – this is useful if you are not sure you have found your USB stick. Pressing OK launches Unetbootin – sink or swim time.
If everything goes as expected, the software will download an ISO from an FTP server, unpack the ISO, copy it to the stick, and generate a matching configuration file for the Syslinux bootloader. Unetbootin then finishes the transaction with a message and presents the buttons Reboot now and Finish. That’s all there is to it. As your final trick, you can check to see whether the image really does boot properly from your stick.
Fast and Manual
Downloading the files can take some time. To speed up the process, pass in the ISO file manually. To do so quickly, download the ISO via BitTorrent and, in the Unetbootin GUI, specify the path to the ISO file as your Image. If you want, you can even specify the kernel and initrd file versions. This makes sense if you use a non-standard kernel with a specific feature or one that works better with your hardware. Often, it is quite useful to add a couple of Options to the boot process to make sure that Linux works with your hardware. Favorite kernel parameters in the case of hardware problems include ide=nodma (for problematic IDE drives) and acpi=off (to avoid trouble with nonfunctional or missing power management).
Conclusions
All told, Unetbootin is not just a convenient piece of software but a pretty mature one, too. However, nothing is perfect. For example, you still might not be able to install certain distributions. As a case in point, in our lab, we had trouble installing the SliTaz operating system, although Puppy Linux, Elive, and a KDE 4 Live version based on openSUSE worked fine. If the automated installation does not work, you can always try downloading the image manually from the web page and following the steps for the manual install.
Source of Information : Linux Pro Magazine August 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Jaunty Jackalope’s out! Oh, that’s the latest Ubuntu
Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, has launched the Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop and Server Netbook Remix editions. Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition delivers shorter boot speeds, enhanced suspendand- resume features, and intelligent switching between Wi-Fi and 3G environments. It includes the latest GNOME 2.26 desktop environment with a number of great new features, including Brasero 2.26.0, an all in one CD burning application along with the default disc burning utility in Nautilus. It also comes with improved handling of multiple monitors; X.Org server 1.6; Wacom tablet hotplugging; a new style for notifications and notification preferences; significantly improved boot performance; Linux kernel 2.6.28; and optional ext4 files system support. Meanwhile, Kubuntu 9.04 includes KDE 4.2 with many new features like significant refinements of Plasma and KWin, the KDE workspace, many new and updated Plasma widgets, new and improved desktop effects (enabled by default), the return of the optional ‘Classic Desktop’ motif as an option, etc. The new inclusions in System Settings are tools for managing software and printer configuration; Quassel, a new IRC client; Amarok 2.0.2, KTorrent 3.2, Digikam 0.10.0, etc.
Enhancements in the Server Edition include improved virtualisation with the latest KVM features, clustering support in the Samba file server, and easier mail server set-ups with out-of-the-box Dovecot-Postfix integration. Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix comes with faster boot speeds, and with a built for purpose interface, which means that favourite applications and websites are just a click away. For the first time, users can download the complete Ubuntu Netbook Remix to a USB flash drive directly from Ubuntu.com. Users can then install and run Ubuntu Netbook Remix on a wide range of the most popular netbook machines available in the market today. Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix has been fully tested for use on a range of netbook models, including Acer Aspire One, Asus eee PC 1000 and Dell Mini 9.
Source of Information : Linux For You May 2009
Enhancements in the Server Edition include improved virtualisation with the latest KVM features, clustering support in the Samba file server, and easier mail server set-ups with out-of-the-box Dovecot-Postfix integration. Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix comes with faster boot speeds, and with a built for purpose interface, which means that favourite applications and websites are just a click away. For the first time, users can download the complete Ubuntu Netbook Remix to a USB flash drive directly from Ubuntu.com. Users can then install and run Ubuntu Netbook Remix on a wide range of the most popular netbook machines available in the market today. Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix has been fully tested for use on a range of netbook models, including Acer Aspire One, Asus eee PC 1000 and Dell Mini 9.
Source of Information : Linux For You May 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Clickfree Traveler (16GB) - Credit-Card Hard Drive
The Clickfree backup concept is a sound one: Just plug in the drive and it automatically backs up all your data. Then the drive generates a report, and becomes safe to remove. That simple concept just got smaller with the introduction of the Clickfree Traveler (16GB), a credit-card-size solid-state drive (SSD) that can back up a maximum of 16GB. The Traveler should be part of any business commute kit, especially if you need an easyto-use system to keep your docs safe. The drive measures approximately 2.1 by 3.1 by 0.1 inches (HWD); note that it’s about twice as thick as a credit card. The permanently attached USB ribbon cable slides out of its storage slot easily and connects to a free USB port just as easily. Its autobackup software looks for data files like DOC (Word), XLS (Excel), and MP3 (music) files. You can set it to back up files it doesn’t recognize off the bat, but its built-in list is pretty comprehensive. In testing, the initial backup took me over an hour, but subsequent changes were copied over in seconds. The Traveler gave me a report at the end of each backup session, and then dismounted itself automatically. Though this solution is a little pricey on a dollar-per-GB basis, remember that your data is the most valuable thing on your laptop.—Joel Santo Domingo
Source of Information : PC Magazine July 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Dell wasabi PZ310 - Dell’s Pocket Photo Printer
When Dell gave the Wasabi PZ310 Mobile Printer its distinctive name, it clearly wanted to convey the nonetoo-subtle message that it’s hot. Personally, I wish the folks at Dell had named it the Salsa, which would give me the choice of branding it mild, medium, or hot—in which case I’d call it medium. The PZ310 is the second printer available in the U.S. to use ZINK technology (the first was the Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer). ZINK stands for zero ink, which translates to not needing a separate supply of ink. Instead, the technology embeds clear dye crystals in the photo paper, which also has a clear polymer overcoat to protect the images. A peel-off layer covers a sticky back for pasting your photos wherever. The Wasabi is limited to 2-by-3-inch photos, which is no surprise considering the printer, at 0.9 by 4.8 by 2.9 inches (HWD) and weighing only 8 ounces, can fit into a jacket pocket. In terms of speed and output quality, the Wasabi was a close match with the Polaroid model. Both take about 1 minute per photo. And as with the Polaroid’s photos, some colors on the Wasabi’s were noticeably off— flesh tones, for instance, were too yellow. This printer also works with all PictBridge cameras and some camera phones. Overall, the Wasabi is a fun and relatively cheap way to print and share your photos—or just stick them on your fridge.—M. David Stone
Source of Information : PC Magazine July 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Ubuntu Instant Messaging
“FWIW IM is a GR8 way to communicate, BICBW.” If you can read that, you are one of the many people adept at communicating via instant message. Instant messaging (IMing) works through a little program that runs on your computer, allowing you to chat in real time with another computer user anywhere in the world. Unlike chat rooms, instant messaging happens between two people rather than a large group. For young people, instant messaging has become a common form of communicating. For the business world, instant messaging allows for communication and collaboration.
Users of Ubuntu have the ability to install any number of instant messaging programs on their computer. While many of these can be installed through the Add/Remove tool, a program called Pidgin has been preinstalled on Ubuntu so that users can start IMing their friends right from the start.
Pidgin is actually a multiprotocol instant message client. Common instant message programs like ICQ, MSN, AIM, and others can only communicate with computer users who are running the same program. For instance, someone using ICQ can only IM other ICQ users. Unfortunately, most people use more than one instant messaging program. It is not uncommon for a person to have an ICQ account, an MSN account, an AIM account, and a Yahoo! account. Pidgin, a multiprotocol client, allows users to manage all of their accounts from one client.
Pidgin gets its name from the term pidgin used to describe a mixture of languages that develops from neighboring countries to allow for trade.
Start Pidgin by selecting Applications | Internet | Pidgin. If this is the first time you have opened Pidgin, you will be alerted to the fact that no IM accounts have been configured. Click Add to get started configuring Pidgin.
After clicking Add, you are brought to the Add Accounts screen. The first step in adding an account is selecting the protocol to be used. The Protocol menu allows you to select what IM service you are setting up your account for. For instance, if you are adding an MSN account, select that from the protocol list.
You can add more protocols to Pidgin at any time by going to Accounts | Manage |
Add from within the Pidgin Buddy List window.
After you have selected the protocol, you need to provide your Screen Name, Password, and Local Alias that you use for your instant messaging service. You can also select the Remember Password option if you do not wish to have to supply your password every time you use the protocol. If you have forgotten any of this information, you may have to log in through the client provided by your service to find it. The Add Account window has an Advanced tab that allows you to change the port number for your IM protocol and to change the proxy options. If you are setting this up at home, you probably won’t have to worry about the Advanced tab. If this is something you are installing at work, check with your network administrator to see if these are the right settings.
Once you have added an account to Pidgin, you can log in and start communicating. If you are new to instant messaging, you need to first add some buddies to your list. To add a buddy, you will need his or her screen name. Once you have that, go to Buddies |
Add Buddy. If you look over the Buddies menu, you can see that from here you can also add a group to better organize your buddy lists, show different information about your buddies, sort your buddies, and get information about other users. To send a new message, simply go to Buddies | New Instant Message. You will need to enter the name of the person you wish to IM, and then you can send your message if they are online. Since instant messaging oftentimes takes the place of a phone conversation, emphasis and tone can be communicated as well. When sending a message, you can use the Smile button to bring up various emoticons that can set the tone for your message. Emoticons are extremely popular when sending IMs.
From the Tools menu of the Pidgin Buddy List, you can set your preferences for how Pidgin operates, add plug-ins for Pidgin, set privacy options, and even transfer files to your buddies. So if there are no further questions, TAFN!
Source of Information : McGraw Hill Osborne Media How to Do Everything Ubuntu
Users of Ubuntu have the ability to install any number of instant messaging programs on their computer. While many of these can be installed through the Add/Remove tool, a program called Pidgin has been preinstalled on Ubuntu so that users can start IMing their friends right from the start.
Pidgin is actually a multiprotocol instant message client. Common instant message programs like ICQ, MSN, AIM, and others can only communicate with computer users who are running the same program. For instance, someone using ICQ can only IM other ICQ users. Unfortunately, most people use more than one instant messaging program. It is not uncommon for a person to have an ICQ account, an MSN account, an AIM account, and a Yahoo! account. Pidgin, a multiprotocol client, allows users to manage all of their accounts from one client.
Pidgin gets its name from the term pidgin used to describe a mixture of languages that develops from neighboring countries to allow for trade.
Start Pidgin by selecting Applications | Internet | Pidgin. If this is the first time you have opened Pidgin, you will be alerted to the fact that no IM accounts have been configured. Click Add to get started configuring Pidgin.
After clicking Add, you are brought to the Add Accounts screen. The first step in adding an account is selecting the protocol to be used. The Protocol menu allows you to select what IM service you are setting up your account for. For instance, if you are adding an MSN account, select that from the protocol list.
You can add more protocols to Pidgin at any time by going to Accounts | Manage |
Add from within the Pidgin Buddy List window.
After you have selected the protocol, you need to provide your Screen Name, Password, and Local Alias that you use for your instant messaging service. You can also select the Remember Password option if you do not wish to have to supply your password every time you use the protocol. If you have forgotten any of this information, you may have to log in through the client provided by your service to find it. The Add Account window has an Advanced tab that allows you to change the port number for your IM protocol and to change the proxy options. If you are setting this up at home, you probably won’t have to worry about the Advanced tab. If this is something you are installing at work, check with your network administrator to see if these are the right settings.
Once you have added an account to Pidgin, you can log in and start communicating. If you are new to instant messaging, you need to first add some buddies to your list. To add a buddy, you will need his or her screen name. Once you have that, go to Buddies |
Add Buddy. If you look over the Buddies menu, you can see that from here you can also add a group to better organize your buddy lists, show different information about your buddies, sort your buddies, and get information about other users. To send a new message, simply go to Buddies | New Instant Message. You will need to enter the name of the person you wish to IM, and then you can send your message if they are online. Since instant messaging oftentimes takes the place of a phone conversation, emphasis and tone can be communicated as well. When sending a message, you can use the Smile button to bring up various emoticons that can set the tone for your message. Emoticons are extremely popular when sending IMs.
From the Tools menu of the Pidgin Buddy List, you can set your preferences for how Pidgin operates, add plug-ins for Pidgin, set privacy options, and even transfer files to your buddies. So if there are no further questions, TAFN!
Source of Information : McGraw Hill Osborne Media How to Do Everything Ubuntu
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Installing Antivirus Software
One common misconception about GNU/Linux is that no viruses exist for this operating system. This is simply not true. For quite some time GNU/Linux did not feel the constant pressure of malware attacks that Microsoft Windows did. While researchers did write viruses that could infect the GNU/Linux operating systems, they were for research purposes only. However, viruses have since been released that have the ability to infect computers running a GNU/Linux operating system. More and more, people are beginning to see viruses “in the wild” that can damage these operating systems.
A virus that has been released to the public is said to be “in the wild.” This is how security experts can differentiate between a virus that is for research and one whose intent is to cause harm to a computer system. Purely as a hobby some people collect malware “in the wild” so that they can analyze the code of the malware and help fight against it.
Ubuntu, remember, was built on the philosophy that Ubuntu “Just Works.” For Ubuntu to work properly, antivirus software had to be made available to the users of Ubuntu. Antivirus software works in a number of ways. First of all, this software needs to have the ability to detect malware on a computer system by knowing what to look for. This information is provided by a signatures file that the software will download and install automatically. If these signatures are outdated, then the computer is vulnerable to the latest malware.
Signature files are also called “definition files” by certain antivirus applications.
Since most antivirus software manufacturers charge not only for the application but also for a yearly subscription for the virus definitions file, finding one that fits the Ubuntu software model might seem a bit difficult. Fortunately, quite a few companies have opted not to charge home users for antivirus software and the definitions. From this list, the Ubuntu community chose ClamTk since it falls under the GNU Public License.
Installing ClamTk
Installing ClamTk is very easy. Start by going to the Add/Remove tool. You do remember how to get there, right? From the categories on your left, select System Tools and then scroll down the list until you see Virus Scanner. From here simply select this application and then click Apply Changes as you have done before. Voilà! You have protected your computer against malware.
Updating the Signature File
Now that you have successfully installed the application, you will want to update the signature files. The easiest way to do this is to open the terminal window and type the following:
wget http://db.local.clamav.net/daily.cvd
When you press ENTER, it displays the download process of the virus signature file. Now, you need to move the file to the proper directory by typing
sudo mv daily.cvd /var/lib/clamav
This will put the updated file into the clamav folder so that the application will use the latest signatures. Once you press ENTER, you will be asked for your password. Upon entering this successfully, you will be taken back to the terminal prompt. You can now exit the terminal so you can run a virus scan.
Scanning the Computer
While most antivirus applications that run on Microsoft Windows actively scan the computer for malware, ClamTk does not. Instead, you are required to do a passive scan where you actually tell it to scan the computer for malware. Remember, while some malware can infect a computer running GNU/Linux, few can. The odds of you picking up a virus in the wild are slim, and if you only install software from the repositories, then you have a good chance of never having an infection. However, it is still a good idea to scan your computer from time to time. Once a week is a good schedule for most users, while those who download a large number of files and who open e-mail attachments may want to scan their computer more often. To scan the computer, you need to launch the ClamTk window from the Applications tab. However, if you open this tab, the System Tools category where ClamTk resides may not be listed there. If you find this to be the case, instead of opening the Applications tab, right-click it and select Edit Menus so that it brings up a window. Now select System Tools and then place a check mark next to Virus Scanner. Click Close and open the Applications tab. Select System Tools | Virus Scanner to launch the application.
Now that the application window for ClamTk is open, select File and then Full Home Scan. This will scan your home directory. You can also select to scan individual files if you downloaded something questionable, or individual directories for security reasons.
Source of Information : McGraw Hill Osborne Media How to Do Everything Ubuntu
A virus that has been released to the public is said to be “in the wild.” This is how security experts can differentiate between a virus that is for research and one whose intent is to cause harm to a computer system. Purely as a hobby some people collect malware “in the wild” so that they can analyze the code of the malware and help fight against it.
Ubuntu, remember, was built on the philosophy that Ubuntu “Just Works.” For Ubuntu to work properly, antivirus software had to be made available to the users of Ubuntu. Antivirus software works in a number of ways. First of all, this software needs to have the ability to detect malware on a computer system by knowing what to look for. This information is provided by a signatures file that the software will download and install automatically. If these signatures are outdated, then the computer is vulnerable to the latest malware.
Signature files are also called “definition files” by certain antivirus applications.
Since most antivirus software manufacturers charge not only for the application but also for a yearly subscription for the virus definitions file, finding one that fits the Ubuntu software model might seem a bit difficult. Fortunately, quite a few companies have opted not to charge home users for antivirus software and the definitions. From this list, the Ubuntu community chose ClamTk since it falls under the GNU Public License.
Installing ClamTk
Installing ClamTk is very easy. Start by going to the Add/Remove tool. You do remember how to get there, right? From the categories on your left, select System Tools and then scroll down the list until you see Virus Scanner. From here simply select this application and then click Apply Changes as you have done before. Voilà! You have protected your computer against malware.
Updating the Signature File
Now that you have successfully installed the application, you will want to update the signature files. The easiest way to do this is to open the terminal window and type the following:
wget http://db.local.clamav.net/daily.cvd
When you press ENTER, it displays the download process of the virus signature file. Now, you need to move the file to the proper directory by typing
sudo mv daily.cvd /var/lib/clamav
This will put the updated file into the clamav folder so that the application will use the latest signatures. Once you press ENTER, you will be asked for your password. Upon entering this successfully, you will be taken back to the terminal prompt. You can now exit the terminal so you can run a virus scan.
Scanning the Computer
While most antivirus applications that run on Microsoft Windows actively scan the computer for malware, ClamTk does not. Instead, you are required to do a passive scan where you actually tell it to scan the computer for malware. Remember, while some malware can infect a computer running GNU/Linux, few can. The odds of you picking up a virus in the wild are slim, and if you only install software from the repositories, then you have a good chance of never having an infection. However, it is still a good idea to scan your computer from time to time. Once a week is a good schedule for most users, while those who download a large number of files and who open e-mail attachments may want to scan their computer more often. To scan the computer, you need to launch the ClamTk window from the Applications tab. However, if you open this tab, the System Tools category where ClamTk resides may not be listed there. If you find this to be the case, instead of opening the Applications tab, right-click it and select Edit Menus so that it brings up a window. Now select System Tools and then place a check mark next to Virus Scanner. Click Close and open the Applications tab. Select System Tools | Virus Scanner to launch the application.
Now that the application window for ClamTk is open, select File and then Full Home Scan. This will scan your home directory. You can also select to scan individual files if you downloaded something questionable, or individual directories for security reasons.
Source of Information : McGraw Hill Osborne Media How to Do Everything Ubuntu
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Installing Firestarter
No, we are not installing a copy of Drew Barrymore’s early work. We are installing one of the most essential parts of a sound computer security plan, the firewall. Over the years, the term “firewall” has been misunderstood by some. It is sometimes defined as a tool that restricts access to certain web sites. Although some firewalls contain such content filters, this is not the main purpose of a firewall. A firewall is a tool that restricts access to a computer system or network by controlling access to a computer’s ports, which serve as endpoints to data connections. In Ubuntu, the default installation does not open any ports on the computer. Most computer systems have no need for any ports to be opened, so opening no ports during installation does not hinder the performance of the computer.
If Ubuntu does not open any ports at installation, why do you need a firewall? Good question. Although you have no open ports on your computer from the start, you may decide to open certain ports later for features such as remote access, or to host a web server. In any event, when a port on the computer is opened, you need a firewall. If you decide to keep the installation as is and not to open any ports, a firewall can still provide you with important security information. When running a firewall, you are provided information about other computers that are scanning your computer for open ports. While most of these scans are just random, should you see that a particular computer is continually scanning your computer, you may have a problem that you need to contact your Internet provider about. As you become more comfortable with Ubuntu, you may want to set policies on Firestarter. Policies are the rules that the firewall must abide by and are broken down into inbound and outbound policies. By default, Firestarter adheres to the following policies:
• New inbound connections from the Internet to the firewall or client hosts are blocked.
• The firewall host is freely allowed to establish new connections.
• All client hosts are allowed to establish new connections to the Internet, but not to the firewall host.
• Traffic from the Internet in response to connection requests from the firewall or client hosts is allowed back in through the firewall.
Installing Firestarter is simple. Start by going to the Applications menu, and then go to Add/Remove. When the Add/Remove tool is launched, search for the term “Firestarter” in all available applications. Now go through the normal application installation procedures as you have in the past. Once the software is installed, you will need to go to Applications | Internet | Firestarter to launch the program. Once you do this, you will be asked to provide your password. There’s that security at work!
When you click Forward on the welcome screen, you are brought to the Network Device Setup screen. On this screen, you will see the device that allows you to connect to the Internet. Most people will see Ethernet Device (eth0). If you have something different, that is okay. Ubuntu and Firestarter have worked together to determine the network device your computer uses to connect to the Internet so you would select whatever the Network Device Setup screen provides for you. The next part is important. If you did not give your network device an IP address, check IP Address Is Assigned Via DHCP. If you do not remember if you gave your device an IP address, then check this box. Most people will wind up with this box checked. Now you can click Forward.
If you selected IP Address Is Assigned Via DHCP in the previous screen, leave this screen blank and click Forward. Although you may be sharing an Internet connection at home, the Enable Internet Connection Sharing option has a different meaning. This is for computers that allow other computers to connect through their device. It’s unlikely anyone reading this book will need to select this, but if other computers connect through your computer, then check this box. You’ve reached the final configuration stage. Make sure that the Start Firewall Now box is checked and click Save.
Once you click Save, the Firestarter window opens. You can take some time to look over the different options that the firewall has, but don’t change anything, especially the policies. You could disable your ability to get onto the Internet if you set this improperly. Although policies are beyond the scope of this book, the Ubuntu forums provide plenty of information regarding Firestarter. Again, this is one of the benefits of using Ubuntu-supported software! Now, if you want to see Firestarter actually do something, leave this window open, and then open the Firefox web browser. Surf to a couple of sites, and then go back to Firestarter.
Note that the Received and Sent fields have changed. That is because this firewall will log the amount of data transferred on the network device that is active. This information can be helpful because if you are not on the Internet and you notice a heavy amount of traffic on your network device, someone or something may be transferring data without your knowledge.
Once you have familiarized yourself with Firestarter, notice the blue circle with a black arrowhead in your top toolbar. This is an icon to open the Firestarter window and lets you know that the firewall is active. If you click this icon, the Firestarter window will disappear, but the firewall will still protect your computer. If you close the Firestarter window, you will close the program and risk running without firewall protection.
If Ubuntu does not open any ports at installation, why do you need a firewall? Good question. Although you have no open ports on your computer from the start, you may decide to open certain ports later for features such as remote access, or to host a web server. In any event, when a port on the computer is opened, you need a firewall. If you decide to keep the installation as is and not to open any ports, a firewall can still provide you with important security information. When running a firewall, you are provided information about other computers that are scanning your computer for open ports. While most of these scans are just random, should you see that a particular computer is continually scanning your computer, you may have a problem that you need to contact your Internet provider about. As you become more comfortable with Ubuntu, you may want to set policies on Firestarter. Policies are the rules that the firewall must abide by and are broken down into inbound and outbound policies. By default, Firestarter adheres to the following policies:
• New inbound connections from the Internet to the firewall or client hosts are blocked.
• The firewall host is freely allowed to establish new connections.
• All client hosts are allowed to establish new connections to the Internet, but not to the firewall host.
• Traffic from the Internet in response to connection requests from the firewall or client hosts is allowed back in through the firewall.
Installing Firestarter is simple. Start by going to the Applications menu, and then go to Add/Remove. When the Add/Remove tool is launched, search for the term “Firestarter” in all available applications. Now go through the normal application installation procedures as you have in the past. Once the software is installed, you will need to go to Applications | Internet | Firestarter to launch the program. Once you do this, you will be asked to provide your password. There’s that security at work!
When you click Forward on the welcome screen, you are brought to the Network Device Setup screen. On this screen, you will see the device that allows you to connect to the Internet. Most people will see Ethernet Device (eth0). If you have something different, that is okay. Ubuntu and Firestarter have worked together to determine the network device your computer uses to connect to the Internet so you would select whatever the Network Device Setup screen provides for you. The next part is important. If you did not give your network device an IP address, check IP Address Is Assigned Via DHCP. If you do not remember if you gave your device an IP address, then check this box. Most people will wind up with this box checked. Now you can click Forward.
If you selected IP Address Is Assigned Via DHCP in the previous screen, leave this screen blank and click Forward. Although you may be sharing an Internet connection at home, the Enable Internet Connection Sharing option has a different meaning. This is for computers that allow other computers to connect through their device. It’s unlikely anyone reading this book will need to select this, but if other computers connect through your computer, then check this box. You’ve reached the final configuration stage. Make sure that the Start Firewall Now box is checked and click Save.
Once you click Save, the Firestarter window opens. You can take some time to look over the different options that the firewall has, but don’t change anything, especially the policies. You could disable your ability to get onto the Internet if you set this improperly. Although policies are beyond the scope of this book, the Ubuntu forums provide plenty of information regarding Firestarter. Again, this is one of the benefits of using Ubuntu-supported software! Now, if you want to see Firestarter actually do something, leave this window open, and then open the Firefox web browser. Surf to a couple of sites, and then go back to Firestarter.
Note that the Received and Sent fields have changed. That is because this firewall will log the amount of data transferred on the network device that is active. This information can be helpful because if you are not on the Internet and you notice a heavy amount of traffic on your network device, someone or something may be transferring data without your knowledge.
Once you have familiarized yourself with Firestarter, notice the blue circle with a black arrowhead in your top toolbar. This is an icon to open the Firestarter window and lets you know that the firewall is active. If you click this icon, the Firestarter window will disappear, but the firewall will still protect your computer. If you close the Firestarter window, you will close the program and risk running without firewall protection.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Configuring Konqueror Options
You can change many of the visual attributes of the Konqueror window, including which menu bars and toolbars appear. You can have any of the following bars appear on the Konqueror window: Menubar, Toolbar, Extra Toolbar, Location Toolbar, and Bookmark Toolbar. Select Settings, and then click the bar you want to have appear (or not appear). The bar appears when a check mark is shown next to it.
You can modify a variety of options for Konqueror by choosing Settings -> Configure Konqueror. The Konqueror Settings window appears, offering the following options:
- Behavior (File)—Change file manager behavior.
- Appearance—Change file manager fonts and colors.
- Previews & Meta-Data—An icon in a Konqueror folder can be made to resemble the contents of the file it represents. For example, if the file is a JPEG image, the icon representing the file could be a small version of that image. Using the Previews features, you can limit the size of the file used (1MB is the default) because many massive files could take too long to refresh on the screen. You can also choose to have any thumbnail embedded in a file to be used as the icon or have the size of the icon reflect the shape of the image used.
- File Associations—Describes which programs to launch for each file type.
- Web Behavior—Click the Behavior (Browser) button to open a window to configure the Web browser features of Konqueror. By enabling Form Completion, Konqueror can save form data you type and, at a later time, fill that information into other forms. If your computer has limited resources, you can speed up the page display by clearing the Automatically Load Images check box or by disabling animations.
- Java and JavaScript—Enable or disable Java and JavaScript content contained in Web pages in your Konqueror window.
- AdBlock Filters—Click here to create a list of URLs that are filtered as you browse the Web. Filtering is based on frame and image names. Filtered URLs can be either thrown away or replaced with an image. You can also import and export lists of filters here.
- Fonts—Choose which fonts to use, by default, for various fonts needed on Web pages (standard font, fixed font, serif font, sans serif font, cursive font, and fantasy font). The serif fonts are typically used in body text, while sans serif fonts are often used in headlines. You can also set the Minimum and Medium font sizes.
- Web Shortcuts—Display a list of keyword shortcuts you can use to go to different Internet sites. For example, follow the word “ask” with a search string to search the Ask
Jeeves (www.ask.com) Web site.
- History Sidebar—Modify the behavior of the list of sites you have visited (the history).
By default, the most recent 500 URLs are stored, and after 500 days (KNOPPIX) or 90 days (Fedora), a URL is dropped from the list. There’s also a button to clear your history. (To view your history list in Konqueror, open the left side panel, and then click the tiny scroll icon.)
- Cookies—Choose whether cookies are enabled in Konqueror. By default, you are asked to confirm that it is okay each time a Web site tries to create or modify a cookie. You can
change that to either accept or reject all cookies. You can also set policies for acceptance or rejection of cookies based on host and domain names.
- Cache—Indicate how much space on your hard disk can be used to store the sites you have visited (based on the value in the Disk Cache Size field).
- Proxy—Click Proxy to configure Konqueror to access the Internet through a proxy server (by default, Konqueror tries to connect there directly). You need to enter the address and port number of the computer providing HTTP and/or FTP proxy services. Alternatively, you can have Konqueror try to automatically detect the proxy configuration.
- Stylesheets—Choose whether to use the default stylesheet, a user-defined stylesheet,
or a custom stylesheet. The stylesheet sets the font family, font sizes, and colors that are
applied to Web pages. (This won’t change particular font requests made by the Web page.) If you select a custom stylesheet, click the Customize tab to customize your own fonts and colors.
- Crypto—Display a list of secure certificates that can be accepted by the Konqueror browser. By default, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) versions 2 and 3 certificates are accepted,
as is TLS support (if supported by the server). You can also choose to be notified when you are entering or leaving a secure Web site.
- Browser Identification—Set how Konqueror identifies itself when it accesses a Web
site. By default, Konqueror tells the Web site that it is the Mozilla Web browser. You can select Konqueror to appear as different Web browsers to specific sites. You must sometimes do this when a site denies you access because you do not have a specific type of browser (even though Konqueror may be fully capable of displaying the content).
- Plugins—Display a list of directories that Konqueror will search to find plug-ins. Konqueror can also scan your computer to find plug-ins that are installed for other browsers in other locations.
- Performance—Display configuration settings that can be used to improve Konqueror performance. You can preload an instance after KDE startup or minimize memory usage.
Source of Information : Linux Bible 2008 Edition
You can modify a variety of options for Konqueror by choosing Settings -> Configure Konqueror. The Konqueror Settings window appears, offering the following options:
- Behavior (File)—Change file manager behavior.
- Appearance—Change file manager fonts and colors.
- Previews & Meta-Data—An icon in a Konqueror folder can be made to resemble the contents of the file it represents. For example, if the file is a JPEG image, the icon representing the file could be a small version of that image. Using the Previews features, you can limit the size of the file used (1MB is the default) because many massive files could take too long to refresh on the screen. You can also choose to have any thumbnail embedded in a file to be used as the icon or have the size of the icon reflect the shape of the image used.
- File Associations—Describes which programs to launch for each file type.
- Web Behavior—Click the Behavior (Browser) button to open a window to configure the Web browser features of Konqueror. By enabling Form Completion, Konqueror can save form data you type and, at a later time, fill that information into other forms. If your computer has limited resources, you can speed up the page display by clearing the Automatically Load Images check box or by disabling animations.
- Java and JavaScript—Enable or disable Java and JavaScript content contained in Web pages in your Konqueror window.
- AdBlock Filters—Click here to create a list of URLs that are filtered as you browse the Web. Filtering is based on frame and image names. Filtered URLs can be either thrown away or replaced with an image. You can also import and export lists of filters here.
- Fonts—Choose which fonts to use, by default, for various fonts needed on Web pages (standard font, fixed font, serif font, sans serif font, cursive font, and fantasy font). The serif fonts are typically used in body text, while sans serif fonts are often used in headlines. You can also set the Minimum and Medium font sizes.
- Web Shortcuts—Display a list of keyword shortcuts you can use to go to different Internet sites. For example, follow the word “ask” with a search string to search the Ask
Jeeves (www.ask.com) Web site.
- History Sidebar—Modify the behavior of the list of sites you have visited (the history).
By default, the most recent 500 URLs are stored, and after 500 days (KNOPPIX) or 90 days (Fedora), a URL is dropped from the list. There’s also a button to clear your history. (To view your history list in Konqueror, open the left side panel, and then click the tiny scroll icon.)
- Cookies—Choose whether cookies are enabled in Konqueror. By default, you are asked to confirm that it is okay each time a Web site tries to create or modify a cookie. You can
change that to either accept or reject all cookies. You can also set policies for acceptance or rejection of cookies based on host and domain names.
- Cache—Indicate how much space on your hard disk can be used to store the sites you have visited (based on the value in the Disk Cache Size field).
- Proxy—Click Proxy to configure Konqueror to access the Internet through a proxy server (by default, Konqueror tries to connect there directly). You need to enter the address and port number of the computer providing HTTP and/or FTP proxy services. Alternatively, you can have Konqueror try to automatically detect the proxy configuration.
- Stylesheets—Choose whether to use the default stylesheet, a user-defined stylesheet,
or a custom stylesheet. The stylesheet sets the font family, font sizes, and colors that are
applied to Web pages. (This won’t change particular font requests made by the Web page.) If you select a custom stylesheet, click the Customize tab to customize your own fonts and colors.
- Crypto—Display a list of secure certificates that can be accepted by the Konqueror browser. By default, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) versions 2 and 3 certificates are accepted,
as is TLS support (if supported by the server). You can also choose to be notified when you are entering or leaving a secure Web site.
- Browser Identification—Set how Konqueror identifies itself when it accesses a Web
site. By default, Konqueror tells the Web site that it is the Mozilla Web browser. You can select Konqueror to appear as different Web browsers to specific sites. You must sometimes do this when a site denies you access because you do not have a specific type of browser (even though Konqueror may be fully capable of displaying the content).
- Plugins—Display a list of directories that Konqueror will search to find plug-ins. Konqueror can also scan your computer to find plug-ins that are installed for other browsers in other locations.
- Performance—Display configuration settings that can be used to improve Konqueror performance. You can preload an instance after KDE startup or minimize memory usage.
Source of Information : Linux Bible 2008 Edition
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Linux Other Text Editors
Dozens of text editors are available for use with Linux. Here are a few that might be in your Linux distribution, which you can try out if you find vi to be too taxing.
Nano. A popular, streamlined text editor that is used with many bootable Linuxes and other limited-space Linux environments. For example, nano is often available to edit text files during a Linux install process.
Gedit. The GNOME text editor that runs in the GUI.
Jed. This screen-oriented editor was made for programmers. Using colors, jed can highlight code you create so you can easily read the code and spot syntax errors. Use the Alt key to select menus to manipulate your text.
Joe. The joe editor is similar to many PC text editors. Use control and arrow keys to move around. Press Ctrl+C to exit with no save or Ctrl+X to save and exit.
Kate. A nice-looking editor that comes in the kdebase package. It has lots of bells and whistles, such as highlighting for different types of programming languages and controls for managing word wrap.
Kedit. A GUI-based text editor that comes with the KDE desktop.
Mcedit. With mcedit, function keys help you get around and save, copy, move, and delete text. Like jed and joe, mcedit is screen-oriented.
Nedit. An excellent programmer’s editor. You need to install the optional nedit package to get this editor.
If you use ssh to log in to other Linux computers on your network, you can use any editor to edit files. A GUI-based editor will pop up on your screen. When no GUI is available, you will need a text editor that runs in the shell, such as vi, jed, or joe.
Source of Information : Linux Bible 2008 Edition
Nano. A popular, streamlined text editor that is used with many bootable Linuxes and other limited-space Linux environments. For example, nano is often available to edit text files during a Linux install process.
Gedit. The GNOME text editor that runs in the GUI.
Jed. This screen-oriented editor was made for programmers. Using colors, jed can highlight code you create so you can easily read the code and spot syntax errors. Use the Alt key to select menus to manipulate your text.
Joe. The joe editor is similar to many PC text editors. Use control and arrow keys to move around. Press Ctrl+C to exit with no save or Ctrl+X to save and exit.
Kate. A nice-looking editor that comes in the kdebase package. It has lots of bells and whistles, such as highlighting for different types of programming languages and controls for managing word wrap.
Kedit. A GUI-based text editor that comes with the KDE desktop.
Mcedit. With mcedit, function keys help you get around and save, copy, move, and delete text. Like jed and joe, mcedit is screen-oriented.
Nedit. An excellent programmer’s editor. You need to install the optional nedit package to get this editor.
If you use ssh to log in to other Linux computers on your network, you can use any editor to edit files. A GUI-based editor will pop up on your screen. When no GUI is available, you will need a text editor that runs in the shell, such as vi, jed, or joe.
Source of Information : Linux Bible 2008 Edition
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Linux File Systems Versus Windows-Based File Systems
Although similar in many ways, the Linux file system has some striking differences from file systems used in MS-DOS and Windows operating systems. Here are a few:
In MS-DOS and Windows file systems, drive letters represent different storage devices (for example, A: is a floppy drive and C: is a hard disk). In Linux, all storage devices are fit into the file system hierarchy. So, the fact that all of /usr may be on a separate hard disk or that /mnt/rem1 is a file system from another computer is invisible to the user.
Slashes, rather than backslashes, are used to separate directory names in Linux. So, C:\home\chris in an MS system is /home/chris in a Linux system.
Filenames almost always have suffixes in DOS (such as .txt for text files or .doc for wordprocessing files). Although at times you can use that convention in Linux, three-character suffixes have no required meaning in Linux. They can be useful for identifying a file type. Many Linux applications and desktop environments use file suffixes to determine the contents of a file. In Linux, however, DOS command extensions such as .com, .exe, and .bat don’t necessarily signify an executable (permission flags make Linux files executable).
Every file and directory in a Linux system has permissions and ownership associated with it. Security varies among Microsoft systems. Because DOS and MS Windows began as single-user systems, file ownership was not built into those systems when they were designed. Later releases added features such as file and folder attributes to address this problem.
Source of Information : Linux Bible 2008 Edition
In MS-DOS and Windows file systems, drive letters represent different storage devices (for example, A: is a floppy drive and C: is a hard disk). In Linux, all storage devices are fit into the file system hierarchy. So, the fact that all of /usr may be on a separate hard disk or that /mnt/rem1 is a file system from another computer is invisible to the user.
Slashes, rather than backslashes, are used to separate directory names in Linux. So, C:\home\chris in an MS system is /home/chris in a Linux system.
Filenames almost always have suffixes in DOS (such as .txt for text files or .doc for wordprocessing files). Although at times you can use that convention in Linux, three-character suffixes have no required meaning in Linux. They can be useful for identifying a file type. Many Linux applications and desktop environments use file suffixes to determine the contents of a file. In Linux, however, DOS command extensions such as .com, .exe, and .bat don’t necessarily signify an executable (permission flags make Linux files executable).
Every file and directory in a Linux system has permissions and ownership associated with it. Security varies among Microsoft systems. Because DOS and MS Windows began as single-user systems, file ownership was not built into those systems when they were designed. Later releases added features such as file and folder attributes to address this problem.
Source of Information : Linux Bible 2008 Edition
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