Linux for Keysers | Adventures in Open Source

So, I got to thinking, "What if my laptop were stolen? I don't keep anything 'private' on it, but it would be nice to get it back, if possible..." So, how do you track down a laptop that has been stolen? Lojack provides an option that works even if the system has been reformatted, but it only works with Windows and costs $$$. So, what are the OSS alternatives? There is one called Adeona , but they're having issues getting a service up and running to store your computer's location and other info when stolen. I also doubt that it works if the systems has been reformatted. So then I got to thinking, "What about DDNS?" Dynamic DNS (or DynDNS, or DDNS) tracks your computer's current IP address and updates a service (such as DynDNS.org) every time your IP changes. This is useful if you know your computer has been stolen and you're wondering where it is. It turns out I'm not the first person who's asked this question and configur...

Directory and file-level encryption is a beautiful thing in Ubuntu. No additional applications to install. Or, at least on 9.04 (Jaunty). On 9.10 (Karmic), they removed this useful feature as a default option in the install for some reason. But, not to worry, it can be readded: In Jaunty, just right-click a file or folder in Nautilus and select encrypt. Assuming you've created a GPG encryption key for files and e-mail, it'll allow you to apply that encryption to it. In Karmic, this feature is removed. To re-add it, the open Synaptic Package Manager, find, then install the seahorse-plugin. Reboot. "encrypt" and "sign" will then be options in Nautilus. Launchpad is tracking this as the following bugs: #390744 #393645

If you've added an additional virtual hard drive to an Ubuntu VM, you'll need to do the following to be able to use it effectively for a web server: Partition the drive (MBR) Create a sub-partition (EXT3 or EXT4, depending on need) Modify fstab to be able to mount the drive on boot On the other hand, if you're mounting a network storage location, it's better to use Autofs (or AutoMount, as it's called) because it'll be less drain on your network and improve access times when shared.

Here's instructions on adding LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) + Python + virtual web hosting to an Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop. Just thought I'd post this in case anyone is interested in doing this. Normally, I recommend just installing the Ubuntu Server distro which has the option of configuring most of this for you through the install process. But hey, what fun would that be? :)

For information on setting up a nice, easy to configure firewall in Ubuntu, see this help page . I'm using this for my Ubuntu servers, but I think it would be just as useful for a desktop system.

Cool blog post on ComputerWorld about the advancing of Ubuntu Desktop. Go Tux! Favorite quote from the article: This will put Windows in an interesting spot. Mac already owns the high end, and Linux will end up with the low end. At the same time, more and more of our work will be done with online services, with Google Docs and the like, almost all of which are based on Linux. Historically, being in the middle of a market isn't a comfortable place to be. People who want the best will turn to Macs; people who want a bargain will go to Linux. The usual argument is that everyone already uses Windows and they need their applications. Fair enough. But what happens when you don't need Windows for the programs you use every day?

Ok, I've been using 9.10 for all of 12 hours now. I must say, overall, the experience is improved, which was one of the main goals. Most of my papercuts are gone (yay Bluetooth audio integration!) but I have managed to find a few new ones... Canonical, what the #*$%& were you thinking with your new Software Center!? Removing the ratings was the worst possible route you could take. Oh, and now I no longer need to see exactly *why* an install failed for a particular app? You just stall at 77% and give me no data? What's with that? Oh, and don't get me started on wanting to replace Synaptic. Unless you plan on keeping all the features in, don't bet on me wanting to give it up right away. In fact, if removed, I can almost guarantee it'll become one of my defacto post-install requirements (Add Synaptic back in. Check). Now, to give them the benefit, it does make sense to consolidate these programs, but for me, I always use the Add/Remove Programs app to do th...

I just successfully upgraded my Ubuntu 6.04 LAMP Server to 8.04 using the following instuctions from UbuntuForums : I copied this list to my sources.list: Code: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper main restricted universe multiverse deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-updates main restricted universe multiverse deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security main restricted universe multiverse deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-proposed main restricted universe multiverse deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-backports main restricted universe multiverse Don't ask me why my old locations didn't work, they just didn't. I verified that my current install was completely up to date: Code: sudo aptitude update sudo aptitude upgrade sudo aptitude dist-upgrade Install the server-based update utility (This is the core of update-manager and the release upgrade utility): Code: sudo aptitude install update-manager worked for me (afte...

Found this excellent blog posting to help new users to Ubuntu 9.10 get up and running with full multimedia support including DVD and Windows video formats.

Those Ubuntu guys have thought of everything (should - "they" includes just about every user out there! :) ) To install this handy alarm clock application, go to the terminal and type: sudo apt-get install alarm-clock That's it. Configure it in Applications > Alarm Clock.

First off, NTFS is only recommended if you're copying large (>2GB files to/from Windows machines on a regular basis. Here's how I found to do it (YMMV): 1. Install Gnome Partition Editor (gparted) 2. Install 'ntfsprogs' 3. Open Partition Editor and select your desired drive to format. 4. (Optional) Remove any unnecessary partitions, create a new one. 5. Right click and select the format you'd like to apply. (NTFS should be available) 6. Apply changes. That's it. I got this info from here .

Found this tasty tidbit on the Ubuntu Forums. It lets you add MP3 info to the visible columns of Nautilus. Of course, this might be obsolete with Ubuntu 10.04. We'll see... Here's the deb I used for Ubuntu 9.04.