Comment Zune vista (Score 1) 785
Working as designed to protect you from all those nasty things out on the internet.
Comment Re:Chrome helps debug Safari issues (Score 1) 187
Fabulous, thank-you, I was hoping someone would pipe up with one. I hadn't seen any mention of any Safari debuggers up to this point, this will be very helpful.
Lame Duck Challenge Ends With Free Codeweavers Software For All 433
gzipped_tar writes to tell us that The Codeweavers "Great American Lame Duck Presidential Challenge" has ended in surprise and free software all day Tuesday (October 28, 2008) at the Codeweavers site. A while back Codeweavers gave President Bush a challenge to meet one of several goals before he left office. One of these goals was to lower gas prices in the Twin Cities below $2.79 a gallon, which has since transpired. "How was I to know that President Bush would take my challenge so seriously? And, give the man credit, I didn't think there was *any* way he could pull it off. But engineering a total market meltdown - wow - that was pure genius. I clearly underestimated the man. I'm ashamed that I goaded him into this and take full responsibility for the collapse of any savings you might have. Please accept our free software as my way of apologizing for the global calamity we now find ourselves embroiled in."
Submission + - Linux Networking Cookbook
dinotrac writes: "Somebody special is coming over for dinner. You're not a chef, but you can cook well enough to get by, so you grab your best cookbook and get to work.
That's the idea behind O'Reilly's Linux Networking Cookbook, by Carla Schroder. Carla has gathered a group of networking recipes that a reasonably Linux-savvy reader can use to address network needs like a seasoned sysadmin. If you want to find out how to hook your Linux workstation to a LAN, get another book. If you are reasonably comfortable with Linux, need to set up an LDAP server, configure single sign-on with Samba for a mixed Linux/Windows LAN, set up a VPN, or troubleshoot network problems without some uppity online geek telling you to RTFM, this book may be what you're looking for.
One of the great strengths and weaknesses of Linux is that everything you could possibly need to know is already on your computer in the form of man pages, or out on the internet in newsgroups, forums, or a massive autumn's leaf-pile of how-tos. Finding what you need in a form that you can use is sometimes a bigger problem than the problem you're trying to solve.
The Linux Networking Cookbook improves on that situation in a couple of ways. First is the author herself. Carla is an experienced System Administrator and a good technical writer. She was one of the early Linuxchix, and has spent years mentoring and otherwise helping new and experienced Linux folk through their assorted dilemmas. The result is a friendly and direct, information-packed and ego-free writing style. Unlike the typical how-to that provides a list of steps that have worked for the author, Carla's discussions fill in the blanks and tell you why she takes the steps that she does.
The Cookbook is organized into an introduction followed by 18 chapters that are complete stand-alone solutions to specific problems.
The obligatory introduction is short and is not required by any of the solutions in the book, but it's worth reading. Its' eleven pages read quickly, but contain, among other things, a good explanation of the difference between bandwidth and latency and a decent overview of the whys and whens of linux-based computers as routers versus mid-range and high-end commercial routers.
Each chapter begins with an introduction of the overall topic, Routing with Linux, for example, followed by a series of short recipes organized as problem-solution-discussion. This format is convenient for diving right into work and takes advantage Carla's mentoring talents.
One problem facing any writer of Linux books is the sheer number of Linux distributions, many of which have their own distinct ways of doing things. The Linux Networking Cookbook provides solutions for both Debian and Fedora Linux. It's an excellent choice when you consider that most Linuxes derive from one of those two bases, including all of the *buntus, Knoppix, Mandriva, PCLinuxOS, CentOS, and many more. The recipes employ generic tools, which makes them easier to transport across distributions, even the SuSEs, which are based on neither Debian nor Red Hat.
For example, before obtaining The Cookbook, I needed to create a self-signed SSL certificate for a PostgreSQL server on an Ubuntu server. I'd done it a few times, but not enough to remember, so I went off to the net. The Ubuntu-themed How-To I found relied on a script called apache2-ssl-certificate. An apache script didn't bother me because I could move the pieces when I was done, or just break open the script and make it do what I wanted done. Ubuntu Feisty, however, had managed to leave the script out of the distribution, so I had to go back to the net to find an alternative approach.
Had I used The Cookboock, my task would have been simpler, though not quite as easy as it should be. Inexplicably for a book that includes network security and SSL-based VPNs, there is no entry for SSL Certificate in the index. A browse through the table of contents turns up a couple of recipes for Creating SSL-Keys for a Syslog-ng Server: one for Debian and one for Fedora. Fortunately, the Table of Contents is short and can be browsed completely in seconds, because those recipes are in the Troubleshooting Networks chapter, which is not intuitively obvious. They appear in that chapter because it contains the recipes for network monitoring, which includes installation of Syslog-ng.
The recipe itself is suitably generic, using the CA.sh script, which is part of openssl, and openssl itself to generate keys and certificates. A quick check of my Ubuntu servers, my Fedora VPS server, and my OpenSuSE workstation found CA.sh on all of them.
My OpenSuSE machine did throw one small curve:
CA.sh on my openSUSE box was located in /usr/lib/ssl/misc, as on the other boxes. However, the book tells us that CA.sh, and a moderatley competent Linux user is likely to know that rpm -ql openssl will list all of the files in the openssl package or that rpm-ql openssl | grep CA.sh will spit out the location of the script.
Given the variety of Linux distributions, it is hard to imagine a better approach to take.
The Glossary of Networking Terms in Appendix B deserves special mention. Each term is explained in plain but precise language that goes beyond the cursory definitions so common in glossaries. For example, the explanation for WEP notes that it is very weak protection and urges the reader to use WPA/WPA2 instead.
Sometimes, the extra information can soften a definition's focus, but, overall, the glossary is an outstanding tool for anyone who doesn't spend his or her time knee-deep in subnet definitions, routers, and tcp dumps.
The same is true of the book.
As is usual for O'Reilly, updates, errata, and scripts from the book are available on the web.
"
That's the idea behind O'Reilly's Linux Networking Cookbook, by Carla Schroder. Carla has gathered a group of networking recipes that a reasonably Linux-savvy reader can use to address network needs like a seasoned sysadmin. If you want to find out how to hook your Linux workstation to a LAN, get another book. If you are reasonably comfortable with Linux, need to set up an LDAP server, configure single sign-on with Samba for a mixed Linux/Windows LAN, set up a VPN, or troubleshoot network problems without some uppity online geek telling you to RTFM, this book may be what you're looking for.
One of the great strengths and weaknesses of Linux is that everything you could possibly need to know is already on your computer in the form of man pages, or out on the internet in newsgroups, forums, or a massive autumn's leaf-pile of how-tos. Finding what you need in a form that you can use is sometimes a bigger problem than the problem you're trying to solve.
The Linux Networking Cookbook improves on that situation in a couple of ways. First is the author herself. Carla is an experienced System Administrator and a good technical writer. She was one of the early Linuxchix, and has spent years mentoring and otherwise helping new and experienced Linux folk through their assorted dilemmas. The result is a friendly and direct, information-packed and ego-free writing style. Unlike the typical how-to that provides a list of steps that have worked for the author, Carla's discussions fill in the blanks and tell you why she takes the steps that she does.
The Cookbook is organized into an introduction followed by 18 chapters that are complete stand-alone solutions to specific problems.
The obligatory introduction is short and is not required by any of the solutions in the book, but it's worth reading. Its' eleven pages read quickly, but contain, among other things, a good explanation of the difference between bandwidth and latency and a decent overview of the whys and whens of linux-based computers as routers versus mid-range and high-end commercial routers.
Each chapter begins with an introduction of the overall topic, Routing with Linux, for example, followed by a series of short recipes organized as problem-solution-discussion. This format is convenient for diving right into work and takes advantage Carla's mentoring talents.
One problem facing any writer of Linux books is the sheer number of Linux distributions, many of which have their own distinct ways of doing things. The Linux Networking Cookbook provides solutions for both Debian and Fedora Linux. It's an excellent choice when you consider that most Linuxes derive from one of those two bases, including all of the *buntus, Knoppix, Mandriva, PCLinuxOS, CentOS, and many more. The recipes employ generic tools, which makes them easier to transport across distributions, even the SuSEs, which are based on neither Debian nor Red Hat.
For example, before obtaining The Cookbook, I needed to create a self-signed SSL certificate for a PostgreSQL server on an Ubuntu server. I'd done it a few times, but not enough to remember, so I went off to the net. The Ubuntu-themed How-To I found relied on a script called apache2-ssl-certificate. An apache script didn't bother me because I could move the pieces when I was done, or just break open the script and make it do what I wanted done. Ubuntu Feisty, however, had managed to leave the script out of the distribution, so I had to go back to the net to find an alternative approach.
Had I used The Cookboock, my task would have been simpler, though not quite as easy as it should be. Inexplicably for a book that includes network security and SSL-based VPNs, there is no entry for SSL Certificate in the index. A browse through the table of contents turns up a couple of recipes for Creating SSL-Keys for a Syslog-ng Server: one for Debian and one for Fedora. Fortunately, the Table of Contents is short and can be browsed completely in seconds, because those recipes are in the Troubleshooting Networks chapter, which is not intuitively obvious. They appear in that chapter because it contains the recipes for network monitoring, which includes installation of Syslog-ng.
The recipe itself is suitably generic, using the CA.sh script, which is part of openssl, and openssl itself to generate keys and certificates. A quick check of my Ubuntu servers, my Fedora VPS server, and my OpenSuSE workstation found CA.sh on all of them.
My OpenSuSE machine did throw one small curve:
CA.sh on my openSUSE box was located in
Given the variety of Linux distributions, it is hard to imagine a better approach to take.
The Glossary of Networking Terms in Appendix B deserves special mention. Each term is explained in plain but precise language that goes beyond the cursory definitions so common in glossaries. For example, the explanation for WEP notes that it is very weak protection and urges the reader to use WPA/WPA2 instead.
Sometimes, the extra information can soften a definition's focus, but, overall, the glossary is an outstanding tool for anyone who doesn't spend his or her time knee-deep in subnet definitions, routers, and tcp dumps.
The same is true of the book.
As is usual for O'Reilly, updates, errata, and scripts from the book are available on the web.
"
Submission + - Re : Thoughts On Music - Steve Jobs
luna6 writes: "Steve Jobs recent open letter on embracing DRM free music, if the record companies agreed, is a noble idea. Yet, this article asks the question if Mr. Jobs really embraces the idea of music being able to be played on all hardware, why not allow iTunes to play all music formats?
http://lunapark6.com/?p=2956"
Submission + - Microsoft's Open XML hitting government roadblocks
HexaByte writes: Various states and foreign governments are passing laws about open standards for document formats — and Microsoft's Open XML doesn't cut it.
Story here: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2091329,00.as p?kc=EWINFEMNL020707EOAD
Submission + - DVD jon on Job's "give up DRM if I could"
Whiney Mac Fanboy writes: ""Dvd" Jon Johansen has posted several sceptical blog entries reacting to Steve Job's blog posting about DRM.
One post questions Job's misuse of statistics that attempts to prove consumers aren't tied to iPods through ITMS.
The other question's the DRM-free in a heartbeat claim. There are apparantly, many Indie artists who would love to sell DRM-free music on iTunes, but Apple will not allow them.Many iPod owners have never bought anything from the iTunes Store. Some have bought hundreds of songs. Some have bought thousands. At the 2004 Macworld Expo, Steve revealed that one customer had bought $29,500 worth of music.
"It should not take Apple's iTunes team more than 2-3 days to implement a solution for not wrapping content with FairPlay when the content owner does not mandate DRM. This could be done in a completely transparent way and would not be confusing to the users.
Submission + - DNS Attack only a warning shot?
ancientribe writes: The attack on the Internet infrastructure yesterday may signal a hint of bigger things to come: the distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack on the Domain Name System (DNS) root servers was likely a test-run for a potentially larger and more disruptive attack.
It was the latest in a series of DDOS attacks on DNS servers that began late last year with attacks on EveryDNS and EasyDNS. Experts had predicted it was only a matter of time before botnet operators hit a bigger and higher-profile DNS target, and that's just what happened yesterday, according to this article in Dark Reading.
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=116 685&WT.svl=news1_1
It was the latest in a series of DDOS attacks on DNS servers that began late last year with attacks on EveryDNS and EasyDNS. Experts had predicted it was only a matter of time before botnet operators hit a bigger and higher-profile DNS target, and that's just what happened yesterday, according to this article in Dark Reading.
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=11
Submission + - Apple mocks Vista - Cancel or Allow?
An anonymous reader writes: Apple has posted a new "Get a Mac" ad that hilariously mocks the security features in Windows Vista. I haven't laughed so hard in ages.
Submission + - RIAA misreads Job's letter
Kobyov writes: "Apparently the RIAA has misread Steve Jobs' letter, and are under the crazy impression that he intends to license fairplay. Sure guys, keep dreaming."
Submission + - Forbes favours Apple over Vista on security
antdah writes: Forbes has attacked Microsoft's claims over security in a report favouring Mac OS X by default, at least when it comes to security.
http://www.macworld.co.uk/mac/news/index.cfm?newsi d=17154
Submission + - Glass Walkway over the Grand Canyon
hac writes: "Afraid of heights? In March 2007, you will be able to walk over the rim and into the Grand Canyon, with glass separating you from a 4000 foot fall.
How long until someone sets a record for wireless transmission within the Canyon?""The Skywalk will jut out 70 feet (21 meters) from the canyon rim, allowing tourists to go for a stroll with nothing between their feet and the Colorado River — 4,000 feet (1,220 meters) below — except for four inches (ten centimeters) of glass. "
Submission + - The Zune's final insult
Ed over in Accounting writes: http://macenstein.com/default/archives/524
It seems Microsoft (and more specifically, the Zune division) have teamed up with Artist Direct for a Zune promotion which offers 35 free downloadable MP3 tracks (no registration required). The free tracks include artists such as Weird Al, Tom Waits, Tegan and Sara, The Postmarks, Spoon, Postal Service, Barenaked Ladies and more. What's more, you do not need a Zune to play the tracks, they will work just fine on any MP3 player, especially the iPod.
Why the iPod in particular? Well, it seems that these free MP3's (which are being given away to specifically promote the Zune) are in fact encoded using iTunes 6
Comment Re:Honest Portability Question (Score 1, Insightful) 414
Pretty difficult, seeing as how ResierFS is GPL'd and thus can't be included with any of the BSD kernels.
And why would that be?
I don't see anything in the GPL that would prevent including ReiserFS with a BSD kernel.
And why would that be?
I don't see anything in the GPL that would prevent including ReiserFS with a BSD kernel.
Journal Journal: Wow. First Post? Howsaboutthat?
Isn't this special?
I had this nifty little Slashdot Journal, fans and freaks and all that good stuff, and NEVER EVEN KNEW IT!!
Just what I need.
More pressure to occasionally come up with something not completely brain-dead to say.
Wait a minute! This is Slashdot. Not a requirement.
Now that's a relief.
Thanks for the new toy, guys.
