MetaFilter posts tagged with Linux

Chowned

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:22:46 -0800

While many Linux users cite the system's security against malware, the appearance of malware disguised as a screensaver reminded everyone that no system is 100% safe. Ubuntu users were quick to identify the virus, identify the perpetrators, and create a fix, but this isn't the first time this has happened, and will in all likelihood not be the last. The criticism in the community is directed squarely at the user base: "In general the lesson to be learned is if you want a secure system, don't download any software outside the official package sources without at least looking at the source code first."

What... is the Airspeed Velocity of an Avian Carrier?

filthy light thief — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:03:37 -0800

For thousands of years they were the worlds' fastest means of communication. Count Rothschild benefited financially when knew of Napoleon's defeat long before any other persons in England, thanks to a swift personal message. One critical message traveled 20 miles in 20 minutes and this speedy delivery saved 150 British troops from disaster by less than five minutes. But in 1851, German-born Paul Julius Reuter opened an office in the City of London which transmitted stock market quotations between London and Paris via the new Dover-Calais cable, and the days of pigeon post as a means of quick and reliable message transfer passed with the implementation of wire-based communications. Reuter had previously used pigeons to fly stock prices between Aachen and Brussels, a service that operated for a year until a gap in the telegraph link was closed. One of the last large-scale use of carrier pigeons ended in 2002, when India retired its Police Pigeon Service, opting for email and telephone to access remote areas. Contrary to appearances, this was not the end of the pigeon post. Though largely considered a spoof, IP over Avian Carriers was implemented by a group of Linux enthusiasts in Bergen, Norway in 2001, when they transferred a "ping" with help of Vesta Brevdueforening carrier pigeon club and Alan Cox, with a calculated network speed of 0.08bps (previously). When it comes to tough terrain and limited to no wired or wireless access, homing pigeons provide a quick answer to data transfer. Photos taken by a rafting company are transferred via digital media files or 35mm canister attached to a pigeon, allowing photos to be developed or printed and ready more quickly, though data loss or delay due to predatory birds and bad weather are still an issue (via). In South Africa, homing pigeons beat out business ADSL in an unofficial test run, with a timed run contest set up to take place on September 10 (via). More bird-racing fun: On calculating the speed of an unladen swallow, previously, and 4,233 replies on an account request procedure form for What... is the Airspeed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow?

A maemo to Apple and Google

sien — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:43:24 -0800

Nokia has announced the n900 running the maemo Linux based operating system will be released in October. The phone has similar specifications to the iphone, but with a keyboard and considerably higher resolution display (800x480). In addition the OS is an open platform with free GPL development tools. More from The Guardian and CNET.

Why Can't MS Do This?

DU — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:50:40 -0800

An 8 year old critical security bug in the Linux kernel? No problem, we can fix that without even rebooting. You heard me, it is possible to apply a source code patch to a running kernel without reboot.

Of course you realize, this means war!

Chocolate Pickle — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:10:43 -0800

Google Chrome OS: Google says it will release a new operating system, built around its Chrome browser, which will be open source and will initially be targeted at netbooks. Shipment is expected second half of 2010. No response yet from Microsoft. This is the biggest shot across the bow of Microsoft since Navigator and OS/2 and Java. Gates is retired now. I wonder if Ballmer knows how to cope with an existential challenge?

Open Source Religion

homunculus — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:21:09 -0800

Open to Revisions. "Some religious entrepreneurs have adopted an 'open source' model, where rituals and doctrines can be rewritten as easily as computer code."

The LKML Podcast

mkb — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:28:38 -0800

Linux kernel hacker Jon Masters has begun recording a daily podcast summarizing the events of the Linux Kernel Mailing List. This summary fills the gap left by the long-dormant KernelTrap and KernelTraffic newsletters. Indeed, this is only for the most enthusiastic of Linux kernel enthusiasts, although once the next big LKML flamewar comes around, Masters's reading has the potential for much hilarity. (LKML and KernelTrap previously on MeFi)

LiveDosGames

Wolfdog — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:03:49 -0800

LiveDosGames is a free, portable, fast Linux Operating System, which contains old, but legendary Dos games (and fits on a USB stick)

OS Wars: The African Theatre

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 03:14:08 -0800

Microsoft and Linux have been battling for dominance in Africa for some time now. In South Africa, Linux elicited the help of a former Microsoft executive, to which Windows countered with a massive free software giveaway. A more recent front has been in Nigeria, where Mandriva looked set to secure a government contract, until Microsoft allegedly paid $400,000 to have that contract dumped. Microsoft, for its part, has denied the allegations.

free reading, writing and arithmetic resources

nickyskye — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:11:10 -0800

EduChoices offers some good free stuff online: 25 Places to Read Free Books Online l 50 Online Writing Websites for New Writers l Ranking of 20 Universities that Offer Free Courses Online (with links to the free courses), as well as information about university courses etc. l Great Reference Sites Other Than Wikipedia l Free Linux Tutorials for Beginners l Useful Online Calculators For Almost Every Educational and Life Need. The 10 Most Politically Active College and University Campuses of All Time l other useful links.

15 bits of crypto should be enough for anybody

finite — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:01:42 -0800

On May 13, security advisories published by Debian and Ubuntu revealed that, for over a year, their OpenSSL libraries have had a major flaw in their CSPRNG, which is used by key generation functions in many widely-used applications, which caused the "random" numbers produced to be extremely predictable. [lolcat summary] How bad is it? It's pretty bad. Understand that these keys are used not only for encryption, but also for authentication. The keyspace has been reduced to a mere 32,768 possibilities, and you can already download them all, along with tools to use them. Worse still, in the days before the issue became publicly known, there was a noticeable spike in the number of brute-force attacks on SSH servers, indicating that there has already been significant exploitation of this vulnerability. Partial timeline of events: In May 2006, a bug led to a question which led to the fateful patch being applied to md_rand.c (in Debian's "unstable" development branch). In April 2007, Debian 4.0 "etch" and Ubuntu 7.04 were both released, which was the beginning of the inclusion of the buggy version of OpenSSL in officially-released distributions. The bug remained unfixed through the releases of Ubuntu 7.10 and 8.04. On May 7, 2008, the patch to fix the problem was committed to Debian's source repository, and on May 13 the issue was officially disclosed and updated packages were made available to users. (The patch's availability days before public disclosure of the bug appears to be a violation of Debian's policy.) Here are some responses from Debian blogs, and two from an OpenSSL developer.

The future of Ubuntu Art

cowbellemoo — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:47:46 -0800

Ubuntu 8.04's Hardy Heron has recently perched on millions of desktops worldwide, but what does the future look like for the darling of the open source world? Now entering a new 2-year art developent cycle, Ubuntu's continuing quest for "pure, unadulterated, raw, visceral, lustful, shallow, skin deep beauty" has begun again in earnest. Bleeding edge desktop effects [youtube, music] are already creeping into the official distribution and the community is eagerly awaiting the new graphical look, promised as a ground-up re-imagination in the next release, Intrepid Ibex. Watch this space.

A Virtually Virtual Terminal

benzo8 — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:18:32 -0800

cb.vu is a javascript virtual terminal which opens up full window in your browser and lets you fiddle with some UNIX goodness without being connected to a server, or affecting anything in The Real World whatsoever. Try creating, copying and reading files (and, particularly, read the about.txt), or playing one of the games provided. It even has an implementation of vi! It's a loss-leader for the payoff - Colin's Unix Tool Box, not a unique idea by any means, but a useful reference all the same, if you're just taking those first steps towards Linux...

Linux radio show

finite — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:22:43 -0800

LugRadio is a fortnightly British radio show that takes a relaxed, humorous look at Linux and open source.

The end of the bus timetable

MrMerlot — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 05:23:43 -0800

Is this the end of the bus timetable? It can be bloody cold in Helsinki in January. The last thing you want to do is hang around too long for a bus or tram. Soon you won't have to because Helsinki City Transport is currently fitting *its entire fleet* with Linux servers. Not only will each bus or tram become a travelling wireless hotspot, but you will be able to see exactly where in the city your new bus actually is. Meaning that you only step into the bitter cold the minute before it arrives. (its in beta but you can see the effects of the live trial) Moreover, using Near Field Communication embedded in the bus and tram stops that allow you to boot the whole caboodle on your Nokia, without going online or having to imput lots of fiddly Finnish names (try inputting Kalasatama at minus 15). You can then track the upcoming stops on your mobile and see where exactly are your connecting buses are in the city as well. Its almost as if you can route your way around a city using packet switching I think i've seen the future of mass transit. And it doesn't involve a timetable.

Wubi: Ubuntu the easy way

Foci for Analysis — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 08:09:41 -0800

Ubuntu has quickly become the number one Linux distro for the desktop. Not only is it free, but it has also made Linux easier to use than ever. Now, Wubi enables Windows users to install Ubuntu just like any other application, so you no longer have to mess around with partitions, burning CDs, etc. Be advised that Wubi is just an installer, i.e. it still has to download Ubuntu, ca 700 MB in size, from the web. The software is still beta. Interesting info from the Wubi FAQ:

What are the system requirements? 256 MB RAM and an 1 GHz or faster Intel/AMD processor is recommended for optimal performance, though Xubuntu might work on less. As for disk space, the installation requires a minimum of 4GB. This space is mostly used by the virtual hard disk file. Most computers purchased within the last 3 years should be able to run Ubuntu fine, and Xubuntu is suitable for older computers. What platforms are supported? Wubi will run on on all Windows versions from Windows 98 to Windows Vista, more platforms to come soon. 64-bit builds are possible but not yet available. Linux/*nix/*BSD are supported through Lubi (download location and guide), and Mac OSX will eventually be supported through Mubi (developers still needed). How does Wubi work? Wubi adds an entry to the Windows boot menu which allows you to run Linux. Ubuntu is installed within a file in the windows file system (c:\wubi\disks\system.virtual.disk), this file is seen by Linux as a real hard disk. Is this running Ubuntu within a virtual environment or something similar? No. This is a real installation, the only difference is that Ubuntu is installed within a file as opposed to being installed within its own partition. Thus we spare you the trouble to create a free partition for Ubuntu. And we spare you the trouble to have to burn a CD-Rom. What flavor of Ubuntu will I get? Most flavors, including Ubuntu (default, with GNOME), Kubuntu (with KDE), Xubuntu (with XFCE for older computers), Edubuntu (good for schools and younger users) and UbuntuStudio (for multimedia workstations). Contact us if you would like your own flavor to be available for installation via Wubi. How do I run Ubuntu? You have to reboot and choose "Ubuntu". How do I run Windows? You have to reboot and choose "Windows". How do I uninstall it? You uninstall it as any other applications. In windows go to the control panel and select "Add or Remove Programs", then select Wubi and uninstall it. You can also use the uninstaller that you find in C:\wubi\uninstaller.exe.

The software patent cold war is getting less cold

finite — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 05:26:56 -0800

[Patent Lawsuit Filter] On Wednesday Sun Microsystems announced a counter suit against Network Appliance, wherein they will draw on their "defensive portfolio" which is "one of the largest patent arsenals on the internet". They are going to be requesting a permanent injunction to remove all of NetApp's filer products from the marketplace, and also seeking monetary damages (half of which they've pledged to donate to the Software Freedom Law Center and Peer to Patent Project). Last month, NetApp sued Sun for patent infringements in ZFS. Earlier this month in Texas, the first ever patent infringement lawsuit against Linux distributors was filed. The plaintiff in the case against Red Hat and Novell is IP Innovation and Technology Licensing, a company that successfully got some money from Apple with a similar claim earlier this year. They're owned by Acacia Technologies, a company with close ties to Microsoft, which has caused some to suggest that this suit might be more about spreading FUD than about securing licensees for patents. The Sun/NetApp case is less clear-cut. In September, the founder of Network Appliance (Dave Hitz) announced on his blog that they were suing Sun for patent infringement, explaining that "Sun has been using its patent portfolio as a profit center. About 18 months ago, Sun’s lawyers contacted NetApp with a list of patents they say we infringe, and requested that we pay them lots of money." Sun's CEO (Jonathan Schwartz) replied on his blog, thanking NetApp for suing them and saying that "Sun did not approach NetApps about licensing any of Sun's patents and never filed complaints against NetApps or demanded anything." Dave replies that he is stunned by Jonathan's response, in a post titled "Sun Patent Team Demanded $36 Million From NetApp". After this, their blogs went silent on the subject for a few weeks. Then, Jonathan announced the counter suit (the first link in the fpp), and Dave responded with two more blog entries. Groklaw has reason to believe Microsoft is also involved in this case.

Ballmer's Been Busy

FeldBum — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:37:49 -0800

Steve Ballmers's been busy. Whether it's attacking Google and Linux (or being attacked back), berating the moms of 13-year-old girls who hate Vista, or just being called an alcoholic, the perennial Microsoft CEO been everywhere these days.
What happened to the good old days when he just yelled a lot?

The How-To Geek

nthdegx — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 06:09:39 -0800

The How-To Geek provides hints and tips for a variety of operating systems and popular pieces of software. The how-tos cover a pleasing range of head-slapping I-should-have-known-thats to relatively advanced techniques. Follow the latest page to read the site in blog form.

Linux in '08

caddis — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 21:37:37 -0800

Is the next President of the United States running Linux? The Democrats love open source and the Republicans love Microsoft.

Now With Six Six Sixty-four Bit Support

IronLizard — Fri, 25 May 2007 21:28:31 -0800

Linux For the Damned. "We suggest installing over Ubuntu Christian Edition, but the standard Ubuntu will do fine."

Ubuntu Studio Released!

phrontist — Thu, 10 May 2007 22:02:28 -0800

Ubuntu Studio is a Linux distribution focused on creative audiovisual pursuits.

I fought the linux, and the linux won...

metasonix — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 02:05:18 -0800

Is anyone really surprised to hear that our happy little friends at SCO just got a a delisting notice from Nasdaq? If you own SCO stock, this might be a good time to look at a timeshare instead. (winky winky) (via)

To serve man (and woman)...

ZenMasterThis — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:02:39 -0800

Invasion of the TeRKs!

Ship in a Bottle

figment of my conation — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 18:07:26 -0800

Got a few hundred hours to kill? (pdf) A Ship in a Bottle is a type of impossible bottle. No, not this Ship in a Bottle. Have you ever wondered how it gets in there? Or thought about building one yourself? Here's some tips and tricks. If you are not mechanically inclined, how about making a PSP version? Or, heck, just go buy one.