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  13  <h1>
  14      <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/">Petter Reinholdtsen</a>
  15
  16  </h1>
  17
  18 </div>
  19
  20
  21     <h3>Entries tagged "english".</h3>
  22
  23     <div class="entry">
  24       <div class="title">
  25         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Recipe_to_test_the_Freedombox_project_on_amd64_or_Raspberry_Pi.html">Recipe to test the Freedombox project on amd64 or Raspberry Pi</a>
  26       </div>
  27       <div class="date">
  28         10th September 2013
  29       </div>
  30       <div class="body">
  31         <p>I was introduced to the
  32 <a href="http://www.freedomboxfoundation.org/">Freedombox project</a>
  33 in 2010, when Eben Moglen presented his vision about serving the need
  34 of non-technical people to keep their personal information private and
  35 within the legal protection of their own homes.  The idea is to give
  36 people back the power over their network and machines, and return
  37 Internet back to its intended peer-to-peer architecture.  Instead of
  38 depending on a central service, the Freedombox will give everyone
  39 control over their own basic infrastructure.</p>
  40
  41 <p>I've intended to join the effort since then, but other tasks have
  42 taken priority.  But this summers nasty news about the misuse of trust
  43 and privilege exercised by the "western" intelligence gathering
  44 communities increased my eagerness to contribute to a point where I
  45 actually started working on the project a while back.</p>
  46
  47 <p>The <a href="https://alioth.debian.org/projects/freedombox/">initial
  48 Debian initiative</a> based on the vision from Eben Moglen, is to
  49 create a simple and cheap Debian based appliance that anyone can hook
  50 up in their home and get access to secure and private services and
  51 communication.  The initial deployment platform have been the
  52 <a href="http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/t-dreamplugdetails.aspx">Dreamplug</a>,
  53 which is a piece of hardware I do not own.  So to be able to test what
  54 the current Freedombox setup, I had to come up with a way to install
  55 it on some hardware I do got access to.  I have rewritten the
  56 <a href="https://github.com/NickDaly/freedom-maker">freedom-maker</a>
  57 image build framework to use .deb packages instead of only copying
  58 setup into the boot images, and thanks to this rewrite I am able to
  59 set up any machine supported by Debian Wheezy as a Freedombox, using
  60 the previously mentioned deb (and a few support debs for packages
  61 missing in Debian).</p>
  62
  63 <p>The current Freedombox setup consist of a set of bootstrapping
  64 scripts
  65 (<a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/freedombox-setup">freedombox-setup</a>),
  66 and a administrative web interface
  67 (<a href="https://github.com/NickDaly/Plinth">plinth</a> + exmachina +
  68 withsqlite), as well as a privacy enhancing proxy based on
  69 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/privoxy">privoxy</a>
  70 (freedombox-privoxy).  There is also a web/javascript based XMPP
  71 client (<a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/jwchat">jwchat</a>)
  72 trying (unsuccessfully so far) to talk to the XMPP server
  73 (<a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/ejabberd">ejabberd</a>).  The
  74 web interface is pluggable, and the goal is to use it to enable OpenID
  75 services, mesh network connectivity, use of TOR, etc, etc.  Not much of
  76 this is really working yet, see
  77 <a href="https://github.com/NickDaly/freedombox-todos/blob/master/TODO">the
  78 project TODO</a> for links to GIT repositories.  Most of the code is
  79 on github at the moment.  The HTTP proxy is operational out of the
  80 box, and the admin web interface can be used to add/remove plinth
  81 users.  I've not been able to do anything else with it so far, but
  82 know there are several branches spread around github and other places
  83 with lots of half baked features.</p>
  84
  85 <p>Anyway, if you want to have a look at the current stat, the
  86 following recipes should work to give you a test machine to poke
  87 at.</p>
  88
  89 <p><strong>Debian Wheezy amd64</strong></p>
  90
  91 <ol>
  92
  93 <li>Fetch normal Debian Wheezy installation ISO.</li>
  94 <li>Boot from it, either as CD or USB stick.</li>
  95 <li><p>Press [tab] on the boot prompt and add this as a boot argument
  96 to the Debian installer:<p>
  97 <pre>url=http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/preseed-wheezy.dat</pre></li>
  98
  99 <li>Answer the few language/region/password questions and pick disk to
 100 install on.</li>
 101
 102 <li>When the installation is finished and the machine have rebooted a
 103 few times, your Freedombox is ready for testing.</li>
 104
 105 </ol>
 106
 107 <p><strong>Raspberry Pi Raspbian</strong></p>
 108
 109 <ol>
 110
 111 <li>Fetch a Raspbian SD card image, create SD card.</li>
 112 <li>Boot from SD card, extend file system to fill the card completely.</li>
 113 <li><p>Log in and add this to /etc/sources.list:</p>
 114 <pre>
 115 deb http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox wheezy main
 116 </pre></li>
 117 <li><p>Run this as root:</p>
 118 <pre>
 119 wget -O - http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/BE1A583D.asc | \
 120    apt-key add -
 121 apt-get update
 122 apt-get install freedombox-setup
 123 /usr/lib/freedombox/setup
 124 </pre></li>
 125 <li>Reboot into your freshly created Freedombox.</li>
 126
 127 </ol>
 128
 129 <p>You can test it on other architectures too, but because the
 130 freedombox-privoxy package is binary, it will only work as intended on
 131 the architectures where I have had time to build the binary and put it
 132 in my APT repository.  But do not let this stop you.  It is only a
 133 short "<tt>apt-get source -b freedombox-privoxy</tt>" away. :)</p>
 134
 135 <p>Note that by default Freedombox is a DHCP server on the
 136 192.168.1.0/24 subnet, so if this is your subnet be careful and turn
 137 off the DHCP server by running "<tt>update-rc.d isc-dhcp-server
 138 disable</tt>" as root.</p>
 139
 140 <p>Please let me know if this work for you, or if you have any
 141 problems.  We gather on the IRC channel
 142 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org:6667/%23freedombox">#freedombox</a> on
 143 irc.debian.org and the
 144 <a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/freedombox-discuss">project
 145 mailing list</a>.</p>
 146
 147 <p>Once you get your freedombox operational, you can visit
 148 <tt>http://your-host-name:8001/</tt> to see the state of the plint
 149 welcome screen (dead end - do not be surprised if you are unable to
 150 get past it), and next visit <tt>http://your-host-name:8001/help/</tt>
 151 to look at the rest of plinth.  The default user is 'admin' and the
 152 default password is 'secret'.</p>
 153
 154       </div>
 155       <div class="tags">
 156
 157
 158         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freedombox">freedombox</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
 159
 160
 161       </div>
 162     </div>
 163     <div class="padding"></div>
 164
 165     <div class="entry">
 166       <div class="title">
 167         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Second_beta_release__beta_1__of_Debian_Edu_Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html">Second beta release (beta 1) of Debian Edu/Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy</a>
 168       </div>
 169       <div class="date">
 170         22nd August 2013
 171       </div>
 172       <div class="body">
 173         <p>The second wheezy based beta release of Debian Edu was wrapped up
 174 today, slightly delayed because of some bugs in the initial Windows
 175 integration fixes .  This is the release announcement:</p>
 176
 177 <p><strong>New features for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~b1 released 2013-08-22</strong></p>
 178
 179 <p>These are the release notes for Debian Edu / Skolelinux
 180 7.1+edu0~b1, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".</p>
 181
 182 <p><strong>About Debian Edu and Skolelinux</strong></p>
 183
 184 <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu, also known as
 185 Skolelinux</a>, is a Linux distribution based on Debian providing an
 186 out-of-the box environment of a completely configured school
 187 network. Immediately after installation a school server running all
 188 services needed for a school network is set up just waiting for users
 189 and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable Web-UI. A netbooting
 190 environment is prepared using PXE, so after initial installation of
 191 the main server from CD or USB stick all other machines can be
 192 installed via the network. The provided school server provides LDAP
 193 database and Kerberos authentication service, centralized home
 194 directories, DHCP server, web proxy and many other services. The
 195 desktop contains
 196 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Educational_applications_included_in_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux__the_screenshot_collection____.html">more
 197 than 60 educational software packages</a> and more are available from
 198 the Debian archive, and schools can choose between KDE, Gnome, LXDE
 199 and Xfce desktop environment.</p>
 200
 201 <p>This is the sixth test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically this
 202 is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the Squeeze
 203 release.</p>
 204
 205 <p>ALERT: Alpha based installations should reinstall or downgrade the
 206 versions of gosa and libpam-mklocaluser to the ones used in this beta
 207 release. Both alpha and beta0 based installations should reinstall or
 208 deal with gosa.conf manually; there are two options: (1) Keep
 209 gosa.conf and edit this file as outlined
 210 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu/2013/08/msg00127.html">on
 211 the mailing list</a>. (2) Accept the new version of gosa.conf and
 212 replace both contained admin password placeholders with the password
 213 hashes found in the old one (backup copy!). In both cases every user
 214 need to change their their password to make sure a password is set for
 215 CIFS access to their home directory.</p>
 216
 217 <p><strong>Software updates</strong></p>
 218
 219 <ul>
 220
 221 <li>Added ssh askpass packages to default installation, to ensure ssh
 222     work also without a attached tty.</li>
 223 <li>Add the command-not-found package to the default installation to
 224     make it easier to figure out where to find missing command line
 225     tools. Please note, that the command 'update-command-not-found'
 226     has to be run as root to actually make it useful (internet access
 227     required).</li>
 228
 229 </ul>
 230
 231 <p><strong>Other changes</strong></p>
 232
 233 <ul>
 234
 235 <li>Adjusted the USB stick ISO image build to include every tool
 236 needed for desktop=xfce installations.</li>
 237 <li>Adjust thin-client-server task to work when installing from USB
 238 stick ISO image.</li>
 239 <li>Made new grub artwork (changed png from indexed to RGB format).</li>
 240 <li>Minor cleanup in the CUPS setup.</li>
 241 <li>Make sure that bootstrapping of the Samba domain really happens
 242     during installation of the main server and adjust SID handling to
 243     cope with this.</li>
 244 <li>Make Samba passwords changeable (again) via GOsa².</li>
 245 <li>Fix generation of LM and NT password hashes via GOsa² to avoid
 246     empty password hashes.</li>
 247 <li>Adapted Samba machine domain joining to latest change in the
 248     smbldap-tools Perl package, fixing bugs blocking Windows machines
 249     from joining the Samba domain.</li>
 250
 251 </ul>
 252
 253 <p><strong>Known issues</strong></p>
 254
 255 <ul>
 256
 257 <li>KDE fails to understand the wpad.dat file provided, causing it to
 258     not use the http proxy as it should.</li>
 259 <li>Chromium also fails to use the proxy when using the KDE desktop
 260     (using the KDE configuration).</li>
 261
 262 </ul>
 263
 264 <p><strong>Where to get it</strong></p>
 265
 266 <p>To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use</p>
 267
 268 <ul>
 269
 270 <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-CD.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-CD.iso</a></li>
 271
 272 <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-CD.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-CD.iso</a></li>
 273
 274 <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-CD.iso .</li>
 275
 276 </ul>
 277
 278 <p>The MD5SUM of this image is: 1e357f80b55e703523f2254adde6d78b
 279 <br>The SHA1SUM of this image is: 7157f9be5fd27c7694d713c6ecfed61c3edda3b2</p>
 280
 281 <p>To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use</p>
 282
 283 <ul>
 284
 285 <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-USB.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-USB.iso</a></li>
 286 <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-USB.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-USB.iso</a></li>
 287 <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-USB.iso .</li>
 288
 289 </ul>
 290
 291 <p>The MD5SUM of this image is: 7a8408ead59cf7e3cef25afb6e91590b
 292 <br>The SHA1SUM of this image is: f1817c031f02790d5edb3bfa0dcf8451088ad119</p>
 293
 294
 295 <p><strong>How to report bugs</strong></p>
 296
 297 <p><a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs">http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs</a>
 298
 299       </div>
 300       <div class="tags">
 301
 302
 303         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
 304
 305
 306       </div>
 307     </div>
 308     <div class="padding"></div>
 309
 310     <div class="entry">
 311       <div class="title">
 312         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Intel_180_SSD_disk_with_Lenovo_firmware_can_not_use_Intel_firmware.html">Intel 180 SSD disk with Lenovo firmware can not use Intel firmware</a>
 313       </div>
 314       <div class="date">
 315         18th August 2013
 316       </div>
 317       <div class="body">
 318         <p>Earlier, I reported about
 319 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_fix_a_Thinkpad_X230_with_a_broken_180_GB_SSD_disk.html">my
 320 problems using an Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB disk</a>.  Friday I was
 321 told by IBM that the original disk should be thrown away.  And as
 322 there no longer was a problem if I bricked the firmware, I decided
 323 today to try to install Intel firmware to replace the Lenovo firmware
 324 currently on the disk.</p>
 325
 326 <p>I searched the Intel site for firmware, and found
 327 <a href="https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&ProdId=3472&DwnldID=18363&ProductFamily=Solid-State+Drives+and+Caching&ProductLine=Intel%c2%ae+High+Performance+Solid-State+Drive&ProductProduct=Intel%c2%ae+SSD+520+Series+(180GB%2c+2.5in+SATA+6Gb%2fs%2c+25nm%2c+MLC)&lang=eng">issdfut_2.0.4.iso</a>
 328 (aka Intel SATA Solid-State Drive Firmware Update Tool) which
 329 according to the site should contain the latest firmware for SSD
 330 disks.  I inserted the broken disk in one of my spare laptops and
 331 booted the ISO from a USB stick.  The disk was recognized, but the
 332 program claimed the newest firmware already were installed and refused
 333 to insert any Intel firmware.  So no change, and the disk is still
 334 unable to handle write load. :( I guess the only way to get them
 335 working would be if Lenovo releases new firmware.  No idea how likely
 336 that is.  Anyway, just blogging about this test for completeness.  I
 337 got a working Samsung disk, and see no point in spending more time on
 338 the broken disks.</p>
 339
 340       </div>
 341       <div class="tags">
 342
 343
 344         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
 345
 346
 347       </div>
 348     </div>
 349     <div class="padding"></div>
 350
 351     <div class="entry">
 352       <div class="title">
 353         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/90_percent_done_with_the_Norwegian_draft_translation_of_Free_Culture.html">90 percent done with the Norwegian draft translation of Free Culture</a>
 354       </div>
 355       <div class="date">
 356          2nd August 2013
 357       </div>
 358       <div class="body">
 359         <p>It has been a while since my last update.  Since last summer, I
 360 have worked on a Norwegian
 361 <a href="http://www.docbook.org/">docbook</a> version of the 2004 book
 362 <a href="http://free-culture.cc/">Free Culture</a> by Lawrence Lessig,
 363 to get a Norwegian text explaining the problems with the copyright
 364 law.  Yesterday, I finally broken the 90% mark, when counting the
 365 number of strings to translate.  Due to real life constraints, I have
 366 not had time to work on it since March, but when the summer broke out,
 367 I found time to work on it again.  Still lots of work left, but the
 368 first draft is nearing completion.  I created a graph to show the
 369 progress of the translation:</p>
 370
 371 <p><img width="80%" align="center" src="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig/raw/master/progress.png"></p>
 372
 373 <p>When the first draft is done, the translated text need to be
 374 proof read, and the remaining formatting problems with images and SVG
 375 drawings need to be fixed.  There are probably also some index entries
 376 missing that need to be added.  This can be done by comparing the
 377 index entries listed in the SiSU version of the book, or comparing the
 378 English docbook version with the paper version.  Last, the colophon
 379 page with ISBN numbers etc need to be wrapped up before the release is
 380 done.  I should also figure out how to get correct Norwegian sorting
 381 of the index pages.  All docbook tools I have tried so far (xmlto,
 382 docbook-xsl, dblatex) get the order of symbols and the special
 383 Norwegian letters ÆØÅ wrong.</p>
 384
 385 <p>There is still need for translators and people with docbook
 386 knowledge, to be able to get a good looking book (I still struggle
 387 with dblatex, xmlto and docbook-xsl) as well as to do the draft
 388 translation and proof reading.  And I would like the figures to be
 389 redrawn as SVGs to make it easy to translate them.  Any SVG master
 390 around?  There are also some legal terms that are unfamiliar to me.
 391 If you want to help, please get in touch with me, and check out the
 392 project files currently available from
 393 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig">github</a>.</p>
 394
 395 <p>If you are curious what the translated book currently look like,
 396 the updated
 397 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig/blob/master/archive/freeculture.nb.pdf?raw=true">PDF</a>
 398 and
 399 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig/blob/master/archive/freeculture.nb.epub?raw=true">EPUB</a>
 400 are published on github.  The HTML version is published as well, but
 401 github hand it out with MIME type text/plain, confusing browsers, so I
 402 saw no point in linking to that version.</p>
 403
 404       </div>
 405       <div class="tags">
 406
 407
 408         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture</a>.
 409
 410
 411       </div>
 412     </div>
 413     <div class="padding"></div>
 414
 415     <div class="entry">
 416       <div class="title">
 417         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_beta_release_of_Debian_Edu_Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html">First beta release of Debian Edu/Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy</a>
 418       </div>
 419       <div class="date">
 420         27th July 2013
 421       </div>
 422       <div class="body">
 423         <p>The first wheezy based beta release of Debian Edu was wrapped up
 424 today.  This is the release announcement:</p>
 425
 426 <p><strong>New features for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~b0 released
 427 2013-07-27</strong></p>
 428
 429 <p>These are the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux
 430 7.1+edu0~b0, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".</p>
 431
 432 <p><strong>About Debian Edu and Skolelinux</strong></p>
 433
 434 <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu, also known as
 435 Skolelinux</a>, is a Linux distribution based on Debian providing an
 436 out-of-the box environment of a completely configured school
 437 network. Immediately after installation a school server running all
 438 services needed for a school network is set up just waiting for users
 439 and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable Web-UI. A netbooting
 440 environment is prepared using PXE, so after initial installation of
 441 the main server from CD, DVD or USB stick all other machines can be
 442 installed via the network. The provided school server provides LDAP
 443 database and Kerberos authentication service, centralized home
 444 directories, DHCP server, web proxy and many other services. The
 445 desktop contains
 446 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Educational_applications_included_in_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux__the_screenshot_collection____.html">more
 447 than 60 educational software packages</a> and more are available from
 448 the Debian archive, and schools can choose between KDE, Gnome, LXDE
 449 and Xfce desktop environment.</p>
 450
 451 <p>This is the fifth test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically
 452 this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the
 453 Squeeze release.</p>
 454
 455 <p>ALERT: Alpha based installations should reinstall or downgrade the
 456 versions of gosa and libpam-mklocaluser to the ones used in this beta
 457 release.</p>
 458
 459 <p><strong>Software updates</strong></p>
 460
 461 <ul>
 462
 463 <li>Switched roaming workstation profiles from wicd to network-manager
 464    for network configuration, as wicd didn't work any more.</li>
 465 <li>Changed version numbers of patched gosa and libpam-mklocaluser
 466    packages to make sure our locally patched versions will be replaced
 467    by the official packages when they are released from Debian. Those
 468    installing alpha version need to reinstall or manually downgrade gosa
 469    and libpam-mklocaluser.</li>
 470 <li>Added bluetooth tools to the default desktop (bluedevil, blueman).</li>
 471 <li>Added tools for sharing the desktop on KDE (krdc, krfb).</li>
 472 <li>Added valgrind to the default installation for easier debugging of
 473    crash bugs.</li>
 474
 475 </ul>
 476
 477 <p><strong>Other changes</strong></p>
 478
 479 <ul>
 480
 481 <li>Fixed artwork package to work with gnome, no longer break
 482    desktop=gnome installations.</li>
 483 <li>Adjusted installer to now work when forced to use a proxy with the
 484    netinst CD.</li>
 485 <li>Fixed code detecting and setting/loading hardware specific
 486    setup/firmware to work more robust out of the box.</li>
 487 <li>Adjusted Kerberos setup to detect realm and server settings at
 488    install time instead of dynamically at run time. This avoid a crash
 489    with krb5-auth-dialog on diskless workstations without a DNS name.</li>
 490 <li>Worked around misfeature in network-manager not calling the dhclient
 491    exit hooks, causing automatic proxy configuration and automatic host
 492    name setting at run time to work again.</li>
 493 <li>Fixed feature setting the default Iceweasel start page from URL
 494    fetched from LDAP, to allow schools to set the global default by
 495    updating the dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no LDAP object.</li>
 496 <li>Changed default host name on all networked machines to be unique
 497    (generated from MAC or reverse DNS) after boot.</li>
 498 <li>Adjusted partition sizes to make sure they are big enough.</li>
 499
 500 </ul>
 501
 502 <p><strong>Known issues</strong></p>
 503
 504 <ul>
 505
 506 <li>Grub is missing the new artwork.</li>
 507 <li>KDE fail to understand the wpad.dat file provided, causing it to
 508     not use the http proxy as it should.</li>
 509 <li>Chromium also fail to use the proxy.</li>
 510
 511 </ul>
 512
 513 <p><strong>Where to get it</strong></p>
 514
 515 <p>To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use</p>
 516
 517 <ul>
 518
 519 <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-CD.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-CD.iso</a></li>
 520
 521 <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-CD.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-CD.iso</a></li>
 522
 523 <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-CD.iso .</li>
 524
 525 </ul>
 526
 527 <p>The MD5SUM of this image is: 55d5de9765b6dccd5d9ec33cf1a07109
 528 <br>The SHA1SUM of this image is: 996a1d9517740e4d627d100de2d12b23dd545a3f</p>
 529
 530 <p>To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use</p>
 531
 532 <ul>
 533
 534 <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-USB.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-USB.iso</a></li>
 535 <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-USB.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-USB.iso</a></li>
 536 <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-USB.iso .</li>
 537
 538 </ul>
 539
 540 <p>The MD5SUM of this image is: d8f0818c51a78d357de794066f289f69
 541 <br>The SHA1SUM of this image is: 49185ca354e8d0543240423746924f76a6cee733</p>
 542
 543
 544 <p><strong>How to report bugs</strong></p>
 545
 546 <p><a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs">http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs</a>
 547
 548       </div>
 549       <div class="tags">
 550
 551
 552         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
 553
 554
 555       </div>
 556     </div>
 557     <div class="padding"></div>
 558
 559     <div class="entry">
 560       <div class="title">
 561         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_fix_a_Thinkpad_X230_with_a_broken_180_GB_SSD_disk.html">How to fix a Thinkpad X230 with a broken 180 GB SSD disk</a>
 562       </div>
 563       <div class="date">
 564         17th July 2013
 565       </div>
 566       <div class="body">
 567         <p>Today I switched to
 568 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html">my
 569 new laptop</a>.  I've previously written about the problems I had with
 570 my new Thinkpad X230, which was delivered with an
 571 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Intel_SSD_520_Series_180_GB_with_Lenovo_firmware_still_lock_up_from_sustained_writes.html">180
 572 GB Intel SSD disk with Lenovo firmware</a> that did not handle
 573 sustained writes.  My hardware supplier have been very forthcoming in
 574 trying to find a solution, and after first trying with another
 575 identical 180 GB disks they decided to send me a 256 GB Samsung SSD
 576 disk instead to fix it once and for all.  The Samsung disk survived
 577 the installation of Debian with encrypted disks (filling the disk with
 578 random data during installation killed the first two), and I thus
 579 decided to trust it with my data.  I have installed it as a Debian Edu
 580 Wheezy roaming workstation hooked up with my Debian Edu Squeeze main
 581 server at home using Kerberos and LDAP, and will use it as my work
 582 station from now on.</p>
 583
 584 <p>As this is a solid state disk with no moving parts, I believe the
 585 Debian Wheezy default installation need to be tuned a bit to increase
 586 performance and increase life time of the disk.  The Linux kernel and
 587 user space applications do not yet adjust automatically to such
 588 environment.  To make it easier for my self, I created a draft Debian
 589 package <tt>ssd-setup</tt> to handle this tuning.  The
 590 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=collab-maint/ssd-setup.git">source
 591 for the ssd-setup package</a> is available from collab-maint, and it
 592 is set up to adjust the setup of the machine by just installing the
 593 package.  If there is any non-SSD disk in the machine, the package
 594 will refuse to install, as I did not try to write any logic to sort
 595 file systems in SSD and non-SSD file systems.</p>
 596
 597 <p>I consider the package a draft, as I am a bit unsure how to best
 598 set up Debian Wheezy with an SSD.  It is adjusted to my use case,
 599 where I set up the machine with one large encrypted partition (in
 600 addition to /boot), put LVM on top of this and set up partitions on
 601 top of this again.  See the README file in the package source for the
 602 references I used to pick the settings.  At the moment these
 603 parameters are tuned:</p>
 604
 605 <ul>
 606
 607 <li>Set up cryptsetup to pass TRIM commands to the physical disk
 608     (adding discard to /etc/crypttab)</li>
 609
 610 <li>Set up LVM to pass on TRIM commands to the underlying device (in
 611     this case a cryptsetup partition) by changing issue_discards from
 612     0 to 1 in /etc/lvm/lvm.conf.</li>
 613
 614 <li>Set relatime as a file system option for ext3 and ext4 file
 615     systems.</li>
 616
 617 <li>Tell swap to use TRIM commands by adding 'discard' to
 618     /etc/fstab.</li>
 619
 620 <li>Change I/O scheduler from cfq to deadline using a udev rule.</li>
 621
 622 <li>Run fstrim on every ext3 and ext4 file system every night (from
 623     cron.daily).</li>
 624
 625 <li>Adjust sysctl values vm.swappiness to 1 and vm.vfs_cache_pressure
 626     to 50 to reduce the kernel eagerness to swap out processes.</li>
 627
 628 </ul>
 629
 630 <p>During installation, I cancelled the part where the installer fill
 631 the disk with random data, as this would kill the SSD performance for
 632 little gain.  My goal with the encrypted file system is to ensure
 633 those stealing my laptop end up with a brick and not a working
 634 computer.  I have no hope in keeping the really resourceful people
 635 from getting the data on the disk (see
 636 <a href="http://xkcd.com/538/">XKCD #538</a> for an explanation why).
 637 Thus I concluded that adding the discard option to crypttab is the
 638 right thing to do.</p>
 639
 640 <p>I considered using the noop I/O scheduler, as several recommended
 641 it for SSD, but others recommended deadline and a benchmark I found
 642 indicated that deadline might be better for interactive use.</p>
 643
 644 <p>I also considered using the 'discard' file system option for ext3
 645 and ext4, but read that it would give a performance hit ever time a
 646 file is removed, and thought it best to that that slowdown once a day
 647 instead of during my work.</p>
 648
 649 <p>My package do not set up tmpfs on /var/run, /var/lock and /tmp, as
 650 this is already done by Debian Edu.</p>
 651
 652 <p>I have not yet started on the user space tuning.  I expect
 653 iceweasel need some tuning, and perhaps other applications too, but
 654 have not yet had time to investigate those parts.</p>
 655
 656 <p>The package should work on Ubuntu too, but I have not yet tested it
 657 there.</p>
 658
 659 <p>As for the answer to the question in the title of this blog post,
 660 as far as I know, the only solution I know about is to replace the
 661 disk.  It might be possible to flash it with Intel firmware instead of
 662 the Lenovo firmware.  But I have not tried and did not want to do so
 663 without approval from Lenovo as I wanted to keep the warranty on the
 664 disk until a solution was found and they wanted the broken disks
 665 back.</p>
 666
 667       </div>
 668       <div class="tags">
 669
 670
 671         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
 672
 673
 674       </div>
 675     </div>
 676     <div class="padding"></div>
 677
 678     <div class="entry">
 679       <div class="title">
 680         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Intel_SSD_520_Series_180_GB_with_Lenovo_firmware_still_lock_up_from_sustained_writes.html">Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB with Lenovo firmware still lock up from sustained writes</a>
 681       </div>
 682       <div class="date">
 683         10th July 2013
 684       </div>
 685       <div class="body">
 686         <p>A few days ago, I wrote about
 687 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html">the
 688 problems I experienced with my new X230 and its SSD disk</a>, which
 689 was dying during installation because it is unable to cope with
 690 sustained write.  My supplier is in contact with
 691 <a href="http://www.lenovo.com/">Lenovo</a>, and they wanted to send a
 692 replacement disk to try to fix the problem.  They decided to send an
 693 identical model, so my hopes for a permanent fix was slim.</p>
 694
 695 <p>Anyway, today I got the replacement disk and tried to install
 696 Debian Edu Wheezy with encrypted disk on it.  The new disk have the
 697 same firmware version as the original.  This time my hope raised
 698 slightly as the installation progressed, as the original disk used to
 699 die after 4-7% of the disk was written to, while this time it kept
 700 going past 10%, 20%, 40% and even past 50%.  But around 60%, the disk
 701 died again and I was back on square one.  I still do not have a new
 702 laptop with a disk I can trust.  I can not live with a disk that might
 703 lock up when I download a new
 704 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> ISO or
 705 other large files.  I look forward to hearing from my supplier with
 706 the next proposal from Lenovo.</p>
 707
 708 <p>The original disk is marked Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB,
 709 11S0C38722Z1ZNME35X1TR, ISN: CVCV321407HB180EGN, SA: G57560302, FW:
 710 LF1i, 29MAY2013, PBA: G39779-300, LBA 351,651,888, LI P/N: 0C38722,
 711 Pb-free 2LI, LC P/N: 16-200366, WWN: 55CD2E40002756C4, Model:
 712 SSDSC2BW180A3L 2.5" 6Gb/s SATA SSD 180G 5V 1A, ASM P/N 0C38732, FRU
 713 P/N 45N8295, P0C38732.</p>
 714
 715 <p>The replacement disk is marked Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB,
 716 11S0C38722Z1ZNDE34N0L0, ISN: CVCV315306RK180EGN, SA: G57560-302, FW:
 717 LF1i, 22APR2013, PBA: G39779-300, LBA 351,651,888, LI P/N: 0C38722,
 718 Pb-free 2LI, LC P/N: 16-200366, WWN: 55CD2E40000AB69E, Model:
 719 SSDSC2BW180A3L 2.5" 6Gb/s SATA SSD 180G 5V 1A, ASM P/N 0C38732, FRU
 720 P/N 45N8295, P0C38732.</p>
 721
 722 <p>The only difference is in the first number (serial number?), ISN,
 723 SA, date and WNPP values.  Mentioning all the details here in case
 724 someone is able to use the information to find a way to identify the
 725 failing disk among working ones (if any such working disk actually
 726 exist).</p>
 727
 728       </div>
 729       <div class="tags">
 730
 731
 732         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
 733
 734
 735       </div>
 736     </div>
 737     <div class="padding"></div>
 738
 739     <div class="entry">
 740       <div class="title">
 741         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/July_13th__Debian_Ubuntu_BSP_and_Skolelinux_Debian_Edu_developer_gathering_in_Oslo.html">July 13th: Debian/Ubuntu BSP and Skolelinux/Debian Edu developer gathering in Oslo</a>
 742       </div>
 743       <div class="date">
 744          9th July 2013
 745       </div>
 746       <div class="body">
 747         <p>The upcoming Saturday, 2013-07-13, we are organising a combined
 748 Debian Edu developer gathering and Debian and Ubuntu bug squashing
 749 party in Oslo.  It is organised by <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">the
 750 member assosiation NUUG</a> and
 751 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">the Debian Edu / Skolelinux
 752 project</a> together with <a href="http://bitraf.no/">the hack space
 753 Bitraf</a>.</p>
 754
 755 <p>It starts 10:00 and continue until late evening.  Everyone is
 756 welcome, and there is no fee to participate.  There is on the other
 757 hand limited space, and only room for 30 people.  Please put your name
 758 on <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/BSP/2013/07/13/no/Oslo">the event
 759 wiki page</a> if you plan to join us.</p>
 760
 761       </div>
 762       <div class="tags">
 763
 764
 765         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
 766
 767
 768       </div>
 769     </div>
 770     <div class="padding"></div>
 771
 772     <div class="entry">
 773       <div class="title">
 774         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html">The Thinkpad is dead, long live the Thinkpad X230?</a>
 775       </div>
 776       <div class="date">
 777          5th July 2013
 778       </div>
 779       <div class="body">
 780         <p>Half a year ago, I reported that I had to find a
 781 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Thank_you_Thinkpad_X41__for_your_long_and_trustworthy_service.html">replacement
 782 for my trusty old Thinkpad X41</a>.  Unfortunately I did not have much
 783 time to spend on it, and it took a while to find a model I believe
 784 will do the job, but two days ago the replacement finally arrived.  I
 785 ended up picking a
 786 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/lenovo_thinkpad_x230">Thinkpad X230</a>
 787 with SSD disk (NZDAJMN).  I first test installed Debian Edu Wheezy as
 788 a roaming workstation, and it seemed to work flawlessly.  But my
 789 second installation with encrypted disk was not as successful.  More
 790 on that below.</p>
 791
 792 <p>I had a hard time trying to track down a good laptop, as my most
 793 important requirements (robust and with a good keyboard) are never
 794 listed in the feature list.  But I did get good help from the search
 795 feature at <a href="http://www.prisjakt.no/">Prisjakt</a>, which
 796 allowed me to limit the list of interesting laptops based on my other
 797 requirements.  A bit surprising that SSD disk are not disks according
 798 to that search interface, so I had to drop specifying the number of
 799 disks from my search parameters.  I also asked around among friends to
 800 get their impression on keyboards and robustness.</p>
 801
 802 <p>So the new laptop arrived, and it is quite a lot wider than the
 803 X41.  I am not quite convinced about the keyboard, as it is
 804 significantly wider than my old keyboard, and I have to stretch my
 805 hand a lot more to reach the edges.  But the key response is fairly
 806 good and the individual key shape is fairly easy to handle, so I hope
 807 I will get used to it.  My old X40 was starting to fail, and I really
 808 needed a new laptop now. :)</p>
 809
 810 <p>Turning off the touch pad was simple.  All it took was a quick
 811 visit to the BIOS during boot it disable it.</p>
 812
 813 <p>But there is a fatal problem with the laptop.  The 180 GB SSD disk
 814 lock up during load.  And this happen when installing Debian Wheezy
 815 with encrypted disk, while the disk is being filled with random data.
 816 I also tested to install Ubuntu Raring, and it happen there too if I
 817 reenable the code to fill the disk with random data (it is disabled by
 818 default in Ubuntu).  And the bug with is already known.  It was
 819 reported to Debian as <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/691427">BTS
 820 report #691427 2012-10-25</a> (journal commit I/O error on brand-new
 821 Thinkpad T430s ext4 on lvm on SSD).  It is also reported to the Linux
 822 kernel developers as
 823 <a href="https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=51861">Kernel bugzilla
 824 report #51861 2012-12-20</a> (Intel SSD 520 stops working under load
 825 (SSDSC2BW180A3L in Lenovo ThinkPad T430s)). It is also reported on the
 826 Lenovo forums, both for
 827 <a href="http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T500-and-newer-T-series/T430s-Intel-SSD-520-180GB-issue/m-p/1070549">T430
 828 2012-11-10</a> and for
 829 <a href="http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/x230-SATA-errors-with-180GB-Intel-520-SSD-under-heavy-write-load/m-p/1068147">X230
 830 03-20-2013</a>.  The problem do not only affect installation.  The
 831 reports state that the disk lock up during use if many writes are done
 832 on the disk, so it is much no use to work around the installation
 833 problem and end up with a computer that can lock up at any moment.
 834 There is even a
 835 <a href="https://git.efficios.com/?p=test-ssd.git">small C program
 836 available</a> that will lock up the hard drive after running a few
 837 minutes by writing to a file.</p>
 838
 839 <p>I've contacted my supplier and asked how to handle this, and after
 840 contacting PCHELP Norway (request 01D1FDP) which handle support
 841 requests for Lenovo, his first suggestion was to upgrade the disk
 842 firmware.  Unfortunately there is no newer firmware available from
 843 Lenovo, as my disk already have the most recent one (version LF1i).  I
 844 hope to hear more from him today and hope the problem can be
 845 fixed. :)</p>
 846
 847       </div>
 848       <div class="tags">
 849
 850
 851         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
 852
 853
 854       </div>
 855     </div>
 856     <div class="padding"></div>
 857
 858     <div class="entry">
 859       <div class="title">
 860         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230.html">The Thinkpad is dead, long live the Thinkpad X230</a>
 861       </div>
 862       <div class="date">
 863          4th July 2013
 864       </div>
 865       <div class="body">
 866         <p>Half a year ago, I reported that I had to find a replacement for my
 867 trusty old Thinkpad X41.  Unfortunately I did not have much time to
 868 spend on it, but today the replacement finally arrived.  I ended up
 869 picking a <a href="http://www.linlap.com/lenovo_thinkpad_x230">Thinkpad
 870 X230</a> with SSD disk (NZDAJMN).  I first test installed Debian Edu
 871 Wheezy as a roaming workstation, and it worked flawlessly.  As I write
 872 this, it is installing what I hope will be a more final installation,
 873 with a encrypted hard drive to ensure any dope head stealing it end up
 874 with an expencive door stop.</p>
 875
 876 <p>I had a hard time trying to track down a good laptop, as my most
 877 important requirements (robust and with a good keyboard) are never
 878 listed in the feature list.  But I did get good help from the search
 879 feature at <ahref="http://www.prisjakt.no/">Prisjakt</a>, which
 880 allowed me to limit the list of interesting laptops based on my other
 881 requirements.  A bit surprising that SSD disk are not disks, so I had
 882 to drop number of disks from my search parameters.</p>
 883
 884 <p>I am not quite convinced about the keyboard, as it is significantly
 885 wider than my old keyboard, and I have to stretch my hand a lot more
 886 to reach the edges.  But the key response is fairly good and the
 887 individual key shape is fairly easy to handle, so I hope I will get
 888 used to it.  My old X40 was starting to fail, and I really needed a
 889 new laptop now. :)</p>
 890
 891 <p>I look forward to figuring out how to turn off the touch pad.</p>
 892
 893       </div>
 894       <div class="tags">
 895
 896
 897         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
 898
 899
 900       </div>
 901     </div>
 902     <div class="padding"></div>
 903
 904     <div class="entry">
 905       <div class="title">
 906         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Fourth_alpha_release_of_Debian_Edu_Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html">Fourth alpha release of Debian Edu/Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy</a>
 907       </div>
 908       <div class="date">
 909          3rd July 2013
 910       </div>
 911       <div class="body">
 912         <p>The fourth wheezy based alpha release of Debian Edu was wrapped up
 913 today.  This is the release announcement:</p>
 914
 915 <p><strong>New features for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~alpha3 released
 916 2013-07-03</strong></p>
 917
 918 <p>These are the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux
 919 7.1+edu0~alpha3, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".</p>
 920
 921 <p><strong>About Debian Edu and Skolelinux</strong></p>
 922
 923 <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu, also known as
 924 Skolelinux</a>, is a Linux distribution based on Debian providing an
 925 out-of-the box environment of a completely configured school
 926 network. Immediately after installation a school server running all
 927 services needed for a school network is set up just waiting for users
 928 and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable Web-UI. A netbooting
 929 environment is prepared using PXE, so after initial installation of
 930 the main server from CD, DVD or USB stick all other machines can be
 931 installed via the network. The provided school server provides LDAP
 932 database and Kerberos authentication service, centralized home
 933 directories, DHCP server, web proxy and many other services. The
 934 desktop contains
 935 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Educational_applications_included_in_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux__the_screenshot_collection____.html">more
 936 than 60 educational software packages</a> and more are available from
 937 the Debian archive, and schools can choose between KDE, Gnome, LXDE
 938 and Xfce desktop environment.</p>
 939
 940 <p>This is the fourth test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically
 941 this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the
 942 Squeeze release.</p>
 943
 944 <p><strong>Software updates</strong></p>
 945 <ul>
 946   <li>Dropped ispell dictionaries from our default installation.</li>
 947   <li>Dropped menu-xdg from the KDE desktop option, to drop the Debian
 948     submenu.  It was not included with Gnome, LXDE or Xfce, so this
 949     brings KDE in line with the others.</li>
 950   <li>Dropped xdrawchem, xjig and xsok from our default installation as
 951     they don't have a desktop menu entry and thus won't show up in the
 952     menu now that menu-xdg was removed.</li>
 953   <li>Removed the killer system to kill left behind processes on
 954     multi-user machines, as it was no longer able to understand when a
 955     X display was in use and killed the processes of the active users
 956     too.</li>
 957   <li>Dropped the golearn (from goplay) package as the debtags in wheezy
 958     are too few to make the package useful.</li>
 959 </ul>
 960 <p><strong>Other changes</strong></p>
 961 <ul>
 962   <li>Updated artwork matching http://wiki.debian.org/DebianArt/Themes/Joy
 963   <li>Multi-arch i386/amd64 USB stick ISO available.</li>
 964   <li>Got rid of ispell/wordlist related debconf questions that showed
 965     up for some language options.</li>
 966   <li>Switched to using http.debian.net as APT source by default.</li>
 967   <li>Fixed proxy configuration on Main Server installations.</li>
 968   <li>Changed LTSP setup to ask dpkg to use force-unsafe-io the same way
 969     d-i is doing it.</li>
 970   <li>Made sure root and user passwords were not left behind in the
 971     debconf database after installation on Main Server installations.</li>
 972   <li>Made Roaming Workstation dynamic setup more robust and added draft
 973     script setup-ad-client to hook a Roaming Workstation up to a
 974     Active Directory server instead of a Debian Edu Main Server.</li>
 975   <li>Update system to install needed firmware packages during
 976     installation, to work properly in Wheezy.</li>
 977   <li>Update system to handle hardware quirks (debian-edu-hwsetup).</li>
 978   <li>Corrected PXE installation setup to properly pass selected desktop
 979     and keymap settings to PXE installation clients.</li>
 980   <li>LTSP diskless workstations use sshfs by default, allowing them to
 981     work without adding them to DNS and NIS netgroups for NFS access.</li>
 982 </ul>
 983 <p><strong>Known issues</strong></p>
 984 <ul>
 985   <li>No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv)
 986     available yet (698840).</li>
 987   <li>Artwork not enabled for all desktops.</li>
 988 </ul>
 989 <p><strong>Where to get it</strong></p>
 990
 991 <p>To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use</p>
 992 <ul>
 993   <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-CD.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-CD.iso</a></li>
 994   <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-CD.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-CD.iso</a></li>
 995   <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-CD.iso .</li>
 996 </ul>
 997
 998 <p>The MD5SUM of this image is: 2b161a99d2a848c376d8d04e3854e30c
 999 <br>The SHA1SUM of this image is: 498922e9c508c0a7ee9dbe1dfe5bf830d779c3c8</p>
1000
1001 <p>To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use</p>
1002 <ul>
1003   <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-USB.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-USB.iso</a></li>
1004   <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-USB.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-USB.iso</a></li>
1005   <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-USB.iso .</li>
1006 </ul>
1007
1008 <p>The MD5SUM of this image is: 25e808e403a4c15dbef1d13c37d572ac
1009 <br>The SHA1SUM of this image is: 15ecfc93eb6b4f453b7eb0bc04b6a279262d9721</p>
1010
1011 <p><strong>How to report bugs</strong></p>
1012
1013 <p><a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs">http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs</a></p>
1014
1015       </div>
1016       <div class="tags">
1017
1018
1019         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1020
1021
1022       </div>
1023     </div>
1024     <div class="padding"></div>
1025
1026     <div class="entry">
1027       <div class="title">
1028         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatically_locate_and_install_required_firmware_packages_on_Debian__Isenkram_0_4_.html">Automatically locate and install required firmware packages on Debian (Isenkram 0.4)</a>
1029       </div>
1030       <div class="date">
1031         25th June 2013
1032       </div>
1033       <div class="body">
1034         <p>It annoys me when the computer fail to do automatically what it is
1035 perfectly capable of, and I have to do it manually to get things
1036 working.  One such task is to find out what firmware packages are
1037 needed to get the hardware on my computer working.  Most often this
1038 affect the wifi card, but some times it even affect the RAID
1039 controller or the ethernet card.  Today I pushed version 0.4 of the
1040 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/isenkram">Isenkram package</a>
1041 including a new script isenkram-autoinstall-firmware handling the
1042 process of asking all the loaded kernel modules what firmware files
1043 they want, find debian packages providing these files and install the
1044 debian packages.  Here is a test run on my laptop:</p>
1045
1046 <p><pre>
1047 # isenkram-autoinstall-firmware
1048 info: kernel drivers requested extra firmware: ipw2200-bss.fw ipw2200-ibss.fw ipw2200-sniffer.fw
1049 info: fetching http://http.debian.net/debian/dists/squeeze/Contents-i386.gz
1050 info: locating packages with the requested firmware files
1051 info: Updating APT sources after adding non-free APT source
1052 info: trying to install firmware-ipw2x00
1053 firmware-ipw2x00
1054 firmware-ipw2x00
1055 Preconfiguring packages ...
1056 Selecting previously deselected package firmware-ipw2x00.
1057 (Reading database ... 259727 files and directories currently installed.)
1058 Unpacking firmware-ipw2x00 (from .../firmware-ipw2x00_0.28+squeeze1_all.deb) ...
1059 Setting up firmware-ipw2x00 (0.28+squeeze1) ...
1060 #
1061 </pre></p>
1062
1063 <p>When all the requested firmware is present, a simple message is
1064 printed instead:</p>
1065
1066 <p><pre>
1067 # isenkram-autoinstall-firmware
1068 info: did not find any firmware files requested by loaded kernel modules.  exiting
1069 #
1070 </pre></p>
1071
1072 <p>It could use some polish, but it is already working well and saving
1073 me some time when setting up new machines. :)</p>
1074
1075 <p>So, how does it work?  It look at the set of currently loaded
1076 kernel modules, and look up each one of them using modinfo, to find
1077 the firmware files listed in the module meta-information.  Next, it
1078 download the Contents file from a nearby APT mirror, and search for
1079 the firmware files in this file to locate the package with the
1080 requested firmware file.  If the package is in the non-free section, a
1081 non-free APT source is added and the package is installed using
1082 <tt>apt-get install</tt>.  The end result is a slightly better working
1083 machine.</p>
1084
1085 <p>I hope someone find time to implement a more polished version of
1086 this script as part of the hw-detect debian-installer module, to
1087 finally fix <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/655507">BTS report
1088 #655507</a>.  There really is no need to insert USB sticks with
1089 firmware during a PXE install when the packages already are available
1090 from the nearby Debian mirror.</p>
1091
1092       </div>
1093       <div class="tags">
1094
1095
1096         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
1097
1098
1099       </div>
1100     </div>
1101     <div class="padding"></div>
1102
1103     <div class="entry">
1104       <div class="title">
1105         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_value_of_a_good_distro_wide_test_suite___.html">The value of a good distro wide test suite...</a>
1106       </div>
1107       <div class="date">
1108         22nd June 2013
1109       </div>
1110       <div class="body">
1111         <p>In the <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu /
1112 Skolelinux</a> project, we include a post-installation test suite,
1113 which check that services are running, working, and return the
1114 expected results.  It runs automatically just after the first boot on
1115 test installations (using test ISOs), but not on production
1116 installations (using non-test ISOs).  It test that the LDAP service is
1117 operating, Kerberos is responding, DNS is replying, file systems are
1118 online resizable, etc, etc.  And it check that the PXE service is
1119 configured, which is the topic of this post.</p>
1120
1121 <p>The last week I've fixed the DVD and USB stick ISOs for our Debian
1122 Edu Wheezy release.  These ISOs are supposed to be able to install a
1123 complete system without any Internet connection, but for that to
1124 happen all the needed packages need to be on them.  Thanks to our test
1125 suite, I discovered that we had forgotten to adjust our PXE setup to
1126 cope with the new names and paths used by the netboot d-i packages.
1127 When Internet connectivity was available, the installer fall back to
1128 using wget to fetch d-i boot images, but when offline it require
1129 working packages to get it working.  And the packages changed name
1130 from debian-installer-6.0-netboot-$arch to
1131 debian-installer-7.0-netboot-$arch, we no longer pulled in the
1132 packages during installation.  Without our test suite, I suspect we
1133 would never have discovered this before release.  Now it is fixed
1134 right after we got the ISOs operational.</p>
1135
1136 <p>Another by-product of the test suite is that we can ask system
1137 administrators with problems getting Debian Edu to work, to run the
1138 test suite using <tt>/usr/sbin/debian-edu-test-install</tt> and see if
1139 any errors are detected.  This usually pinpoint the subsystem causing
1140 the problem.</p>
1141
1142 <p>If you want to help us help kids learn how to share and create,
1143 please join us on
1144 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-edu">#debian-edu on
1145 irc.debian.org</a> and the
1146 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu/">debian-edu@</a> mailing
1147 list.</p>
1148
1149       </div>
1150       <div class="tags">
1151
1152
1153         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1154
1155
1156       </div>
1157     </div>
1158     <div class="padding"></div>
1159
1160     <div class="entry">
1161       <div class="title">
1162         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Victor_Ni_u.html">Debian Edu interview: Victor Nițu</a>
1163       </div>
1164       <div class="date">
1165         17th June 2013
1166       </div>
1167       <div class="body">
1168         <p>The <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and
1169 Skolelinux</a> distribution have users and contributors all around the
1170 globe.  And a while back, an enterprising young man showed up on
1171 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-edu">our IRC channel
1172 #debian-edu</a> and started asking questions about how Debian Edu
1173 worked.  We answered as good as we could, and even convinced him to
1174 help us with translations.  And today I managed to get an interview
1175 with him, to learn more about him.</p>
1176
1177 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
1178
1179 <p>I'm a 25 year old free software enthusiast, living in Romania,
1180 which is also my country of origin. Back in 2009, at a New Year's Eve
1181 party, I had a very nice <strike>beer</strike> discussion with a
1182 friend, when we realized we have no organised Debian community in our
1183 country. A few days later, we put together the infrastructure for such
1184 community and even gathered a nice Debian-ish crowd. Since then, I
1185 began my quest as a free software hacker and activist and I am
1186 constantly trying to cover as much ground as possible on that
1187 field.</p>
1188
1189 <p>A few years ago I founded a small web development company, which
1190 provided me the flexible schedule I needed so much for my
1191 activities. For the last 13 months, I have been the Technical Director
1192 of <a href="http://ceata.org/">Fundația Ceata</a>, which is a free
1193 software activist organisation endorsed by the FSF and the FSFE, and
1194 the only one we have in our country.</p>
1195
1196 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu
1197 project?</strong></p>
1198
1199 <p>The idea of participating in the Debian Edu project was a surprise
1200 even to me, since I never used it before I began getting involved in
1201 it. This year I had a great opportunity to deliver a talk on
1202 educational software, and I knew immediately where to look. It was a
1203 love at first sight, since I was previously involved with some of the
1204 technologies the project incorporates, and I rapidly found a lot of
1205 ways to contribute.</p>
1206
1207 <p>My first contributions consisted in translating the installer and
1208 configuration dialogs, then I found some bugs to squash (I still
1209 haven't fixed them yet though), and I even got my eyes on some other
1210 areas where I can prove myself helpful. Since the appetite for free
1211 software in my country is pretty low, I'll be happy to be the first
1212 one around here advocating for the project's adoption in educational
1213 environments, and maybe even get my hands dirty in creating a flavour
1214 for our own needs. I am not used to make very advanced plannings, so
1215 from now on, time will tell what I'll be doing next, but I think I
1216 have a pretty consistent starting point.</p>
1217
1218 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
1219 Edu?</strong></p>
1220
1221 <p>Not a long time ago, I was in the position of configuring and
1222 maintaining a LDAP server on some Debian derivative, and I must say it
1223 took me a while. A long time ago, I was maintaining a bigger
1224 Samba-powered infrastructure, and I must say I spent quite a lot of
1225 time on it. I have similar stories about many of the services included
1226 with Skolelinux, and the main advantage I see about it is the
1227 out-of-the box availability of them, making it quite competitive when
1228 it comes to managing a school's network, for example.</p>
1229
1230 <p>Of course, there is more to say about Skolelinux than the
1231 availability of the software included, its flexibility in various
1232 scenarios is something I can't wait to experiment "into the wild" (I
1233 only played with virtual machines so far). And I am sure there is a
1234 lot more I haven't discovered yet about it, being so new within the
1235 project.</p>
1236
1237 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian
1238 Edu?</strong></p>
1239
1240 <p>As usual, when it comes to Debian Blends, I see as the biggest
1241 disadvantage the lack of a numerous team dedicated to the
1242 project. Every day I see the same names in the changelogs, and I have
1243 a constantly fear of the bus factor in this story.  I'd like to see
1244 Debian Edu advertised more as an entry point into the Debian
1245 ecosystem, especially amongst newcomers and students. IMHO there are a
1246 lot low-hanging fruits in terms of bug squashing, and enough
1247 opportunities to get the feeling of the Debian Project's dynamics. Not
1248 to mention it's a very fun blend to work on!</p>
1249
1250 <p>Derived from the previous statement, is the delay in catching up
1251 with the main Debian release and documentation. This is common though
1252 to all blends and derivatives, but it's an issue we can all work
1253 on.</p>
1254
1255 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
1256
1257 <p>I can hardly imagine myself spending a day without Vim, since my
1258 daily routine covers writing code and hacking configuration files. I
1259 am a fan of the Awesome window manager (but I also like the
1260 Enlightenment project a lot!),
1261 <a href="http://www.claws-mail.org/‎">Claws Mail</a> due to its ease of
1262 use and very configurable behaviour. Recently I fell in love with
1263 <a href="https://launchpad.net/redshift">Redshift</a>, which helps me
1264 get through the night without headaches. Of course, there is much more
1265 stuff in this bag, but I'll need a blog on my own for doing this!</p>
1266
1267 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
1268 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
1269
1270 <p>Well, on this field, I cannot do much more than experiment right
1271 now. So, being far from having a recipe for success, I can only assume
1272 that:</p>
1273
1274 <ul>
1275
1276 <li>schools would like to get rid of proprietary software</li>
1277
1278 <li>students will love the openness of the system, and will want to
1279     experiment with it - maybe we need to harvest the native curiosity
1280     of teenagers more?</li>
1281
1282 <li>there is no "right one" when it comes to strategies, but it would
1283     be useful to have some success stories published somewhere, so
1284     other can get some inspiration from them (I know I'd promote
1285     them!)</li>
1286
1287 <li>more active promotion - talks, conferences, even small school
1288     lectures can do magical things if they encounter at least one
1289     person interested. Who knows who that person might be? ;-)</li>
1290
1291 </ul>
1292
1293 <p>I also see some problems in getting Skolelinux into schools; for
1294 example, in our country we have a great deal of corruption issues, so
1295 it might be hard(er) to fight against proprietary solutions. Also,
1296 people who relied on commercial software for all their lives, would be
1297 very hard to convert against their will.</p>
1298
1299       </div>
1300       <div class="tags">
1301
1302
1303         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
1304
1305
1306       </div>
1307     </div>
1308     <div class="padding"></div>
1309
1310     <div class="entry">
1311       <div class="title">
1312         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Jonathan_Carter.html">Debian Edu interview: Jonathan Carter</a>
1313       </div>
1314       <div class="date">
1315         12th June 2013
1316       </div>
1317       <div class="body">
1318         <p>There is a certain cross-over between the
1319 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux
1320 project</a> and <a href="http://www.edubuntu.org/">the Edubuntu
1321 project</a>, and for example the LTSP packages in Debian are a joint
1322 effort between the projects.  One person with a foot in both camps is
1323 Jonathan Carter, which I am now happy to present to you.</p>
1324
1325 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
1326
1327 <p>I'm a South-African free software geek who lives in Cape Town. My
1328 days vary quite a bit since I'm involved in too many things. As I'm
1329 getting older I'm learning how to focus a bit more :)</p>
1330
1331 <p>I'm also an Edubuntu contributor and I love when there are
1332 opportunities for the Edubuntu and Debian Edu projects to benefit from
1333 each other.</p>
1334
1335 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu
1336 project?</strong></p>
1337
1338 <p>I've been somewhat familiar with the project before, but I think my
1339 first direct exposure to the project was when I met Petter
1340 [Reinholdtsen] and Knut [Yrvin] at the Edubuntu summit in 2005 in
1341 London. They provided great feedback that helped the bootstrapping of
1342 Edubuntu. Back then Edubuntu (and even Ubuntu) was still very new and
1343 it was great getting input from people who have been around longer. I
1344 was also still very excitable and said yes to everything and to this
1345 day I have a big todo list backlog that I'm catching up with. I think
1346 over the years the relationship between Edubuntu and Debian-Edu has
1347 been gradually improving, although I think there's a lot that we could
1348 still improve on in terms of working together on packages. I'm sure
1349 we'll get there one day.</p>
1350
1351 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux / Debian
1352 Edu?</strong></p>
1353
1354 <p>Debian itself already has so many advantages. I could go on about
1355 it for pages, but in essence I love that it's a very honest project
1356 that puts its users first with no hidden agendas and also produces
1357 very high quality work.</p>
1358
1359 <p>I think the advantage of Debian Edu is that it makes many common
1360 set-up tasks simpler so that administrators can get up and running
1361 with a lot less effort and frustration. At the same time I think it
1362 helps to standardise installations in schools so that it's easier for
1363 community members and commercial suppliers to support.</p>
1364
1365 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian
1366 Edu?</strong></p>
1367
1368 <p>I had to re-type this one a few times because I'm trying to
1369 separate "disadvantages" from "areas that need improvement" (which is
1370 what I originally rambled on about)</p>
1371
1372 <p>The biggest disadvantage I can think of is lack of manpower. The
1373 project could do so much more if there were more good contributors. I
1374 think some of the problems are external too. Free software and free
1375 content in education is a no-brainer but it takes some time to catch
1376 on. When you've been working with the same proprietary eco-system for
1377 years and have gotten used to it, it can be hard to adjust to some
1378 concepts in the free software world. It would be nice if there were
1379 more Debian Edu consultants across the world. I'd love to be one
1380 myself but I'm already so over-committed that it's just not possible
1381 currently.</p>
1382
1383 <p>I think the best short-term solution to that large-scale problem is
1384 for schools to be pro-active and share their experiences and grow
1385 their skills in-house. I'm often saddened to see how much money
1386 educational institutions spend on 3rd party solutions that they don't
1387 have access to after the service has ended and they could've gotten so
1388 much more value otherwise by being more self-sustainable and
1389 autonomous.</p>
1390
1391 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
1392
1393 <p>My main laptop dual-boots between Debian and Windows 7. I was
1394 Windows free for years but started dual-booting again last year for
1395 some games which help me focus and relax (Starcraft II in
1396 particular). Gaming support on Linux is improving in leaps and bounds
1397 so I suppose I'll soon be able to regain that disk space :)</p>
1398
1399 <p>Besides that I rely on Icedove, Chromium, Terminator, Byobu, irssi,
1400 git, Tomboy, KVM, VLC and LibreOffice. Recently I've been torn on
1401 which desktop environment I like and I'm taking some refuge in Xfce
1402 while I figure that out. I like tools that keep things simple. I enjoy
1403 Python and shell scripting. I went to an Arduino workshop recently and
1404 it was awesome seeing how easy and simple the IDE software was to get
1405 up and running in Debian compared to the users running Windows and OS
1406 X.</p>
1407
1408 <p>I also use mc which some people frown upon slightly. I got used to
1409 using Norton Commander in the early 90's and it stuck (I think the
1410 people who sneer at it is just jealous that they don't know how to use
1411 it :p)
1412
1413 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
1414 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
1415
1416 <p>I think trying to force it is unproductive. I also think that in
1417 many cases it's appropriate for schools to use non-free systems and I
1418 don't think that there's any particular moral or ethical problem with
1419 that.</p>
1420
1421 <p>I do think though that free software can already solve so so many
1422 problems in educational institutions and it's just a shame not taking
1423 advantage of that.</p>
1424
1425 <p>I also think that some curricula need serious review. For example,
1426 some areas of the world rely heavily on very specific versions of MS
1427 Office, teaching students to parrot menu items instead of learning the
1428 general concepts. I think that's very unproductive because firstly, MS
1429 Office's interface changes drastically every few years and on top of
1430 that it also locks in a generation to a product that might not be the
1431 best solution for them.</p>
1432
1433 <p>To answer your question, I believe that the right strategy is to
1434 educate and inform, giving someone the information they require to
1435 make a decision that would work for them.</p>
1436
1437       </div>
1438       <div class="tags">
1439
1440
1441         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
1442
1443
1444       </div>
1445     </div>
1446     <div class="padding"></div>
1447
1448     <div class="entry">
1449       <div class="title">
1450         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Fixing_the_Linux_black_screen_of_death_on_machines_with_Intel_HD_video.html">Fixing the Linux black screen of death on machines with Intel HD video</a>
1451       </div>
1452       <div class="date">
1453         11th June 2013
1454       </div>
1455       <div class="body">
1456         <p>When installing RedHat, Fedora, Debian and Ubuntu on some machines,
1457 the screen just turn black when Linux boot, either during installation
1458 or on first boot from the hard disk.  I've seen it once in a while the
1459 last few years, but only recently understood the cause.  I've seen it
1460 on HP laptops, and on my latest acquaintance the Packard Bell laptop.
1461 The reason seem to be in the wiring of some laptops.  The system to
1462 control the screen background light is inverted, so when Linux try to
1463 turn the brightness fully on, it end up turning it off instead.  I do
1464 not know which Linux drivers are affected, but this post is about the
1465 i915 driver used by the
1466 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/packard_bell_easynote_lv">Packard Bell
1467 EasyNote LV</a>, Thinkpad X40 and many other laptops.</p>
1468
1469 <p>The problem can be worked around two ways.  Either by adding
1470 i915.invert_brightness=1 as a kernel option, or by adding a file in
1471 /etc/modprobe.d/ to tell modprobe to add the invert_brightness=1
1472 option when it load the i915 kernel module.  On Debian and Ubuntu, it
1473 can be done by running these commands as root:</p>
1474
1475 <pre>
1476 echo options i915 invert_brightness=1 | tee /etc/modprobe.d/i915.conf
1477 update-initramfs -u -k all
1478 </pre>
1479
1480 <p>Since March 2012 there is
1481 <a href="http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=4dca20efb1a9c2efefc28ad2867e5d6c3f5e1955">a
1482 mechanism in the Linux kernel</a> to tell the i915 driver which
1483 hardware have this problem, and get the driver to invert the
1484 brightness setting automatically.  To use it, one need to add a row in
1485 <a href="http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c">the
1486 intel_quirks array</a> in the driver source
1487 <tt>drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c</tt> (look for "<tt>static
1488 struct intel_quirk intel_quirks</tt>"), specifying the PCI device
1489 number (vendor number 8086 is assumed) and subdevice vendor and device
1490 number.</p>
1491
1492 <p>My Packard Bell EasyNote LV got this output from <tt>lspci
1493 -vvnn</tt> for the video card in question:</p>
1494
1495 <p><pre>
1496 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation \
1497     3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller [8086:0156] \
1498     (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
1499  Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:0688]
1500  Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- \
1501     ParErr- Stepping- SE RR- FastB2B- DisINTx+
1502  Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- \
1503     <TAbort- <MAbort->SERR- <PERR- INTx-
1504  Latency: 0
1505  Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 42
1506  Region 0: Memory at c2000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4M]
1507  Region 2: Memory at b0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
1508  Region 4: I/O ports at 4000 [size=64]
1509  Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled]
1510  Capabilities: <access denied>
1511  Kernel driver in use: i915
1512 </pre></p>
1513
1514 <p>The resulting intel_quirks entry would then look like this:</p>
1515
1516 <p><pre>
1517 struct intel_quirk intel_quirks[] = {
1518        ...
1519         /* Packard Bell EasyNote LV11HC needs invert brightness quirk */
1520         { 0x0156, 0x1025, 0x0688, quirk_invert_brightness },
1521        ...
1522 }
1523 </pre></p>
1524
1525 <p>According to the kernel module instructions (as seen using
1526 <tt>modinfo i915</tt>), information about hardware needing the
1527 invert_brightness flag should be sent to the
1528 <a href="http://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/dri-devel">dri-devel
1529 (at) lists.freedesktop.org</a> mailing list to reach the kernel
1530 developers.  But my email about the laptop sent 2013-06-03 have not
1531 yet shown up in
1532 <a href="http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/dri-devel/2013-June/thread.html">the
1533 web archive for the mailing list</a>, so I suspect they do not accept
1534 emails from non-subscribers.  Because of this, I sent my patch also to
1535 the Debian bug tracking system instead as
1536 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/710938">BTS report #710938</a>, to make
1537 sure the patch is not lost.</p>
1538
1539 <p>Unfortunately, it is not enough to fix the kernel to get Laptops
1540 with this problem working properly with Linux.  If you use Gnome, your
1541 worries should be over at this point.  But if you use KDE, there is
1542 something in KDE ignoring the invert_brightness setting and turning on
1543 the screen during login.  I've reported it to Debian as
1544 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/711237">BTS report #711237</a>, and
1545 have no idea yet how to figure out exactly what subsystem is doing
1546 this.  Perhaps you can help?  Perhaps you know what the Gnome
1547 developers did to handle this, and this can give a clue to the KDE
1548 developers?  Or you know where in KDE the screen brightness is changed
1549 during login?  If so, please update the BTS report (or get in touch if
1550 you do not know how to update BTS).</p>
1551
1552 <p>Update 2013-07-19: The correct fix for this machine seem to be
1553 acpi_backlight=vendor, to disable ACPI backlight support completely,
1554 as the ACPI information on the machine is trash and it is better to
1555 leave it to the intel video driver to control the screen
1556 backlight.</p>
1557
1558       </div>
1559       <div class="tags">
1560
1561
1562         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1563
1564
1565       </div>
1566     </div>
1567     <div class="padding"></div>
1568
1569     <div class="entry">
1570       <div class="title">
1571         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Third_alpha_release_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html">Third alpha release of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy</a>
1572       </div>
1573       <div class="date">
1574         10th June 2013
1575       </div>
1576       <div class="body">
1577         <p>The third wheezy based alpha release of Debian Edu was wrapped up
1578 today.  This is the release announcement:</p>
1579
1580 <p><strong>New features for Debian Edu 7.0.0 alpha2 released
1581 2013-06-10</strong></p>
1582
1583 <p>This is the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux 7.0.0 edu
1584 alpha2, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".</p>
1585
1586 <p><strong>About Debian Edu and Skolelinux</strong></p>
1587
1588 <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu, also known as
1589 Skolelinux</a>, is a Linux distribution based on Debian providing an
1590 out-of-the box environment of a completely configured school
1591 network. Immediately after installation a school server running all
1592 services needed for a school network is set up just waiting for users
1593 and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable Web-UI. A netbooting
1594 environment is prepared using PXE, so after initial installation of
1595 the main server from CD, DVD or USB stick all other machines can be
1596 installed via the network. The provided school server provides LDAP
1597 database and Kerberos authentication service, centralized home
1598 directories, DHCP server, web proxy and many other services. The
1599 desktop contains
1600 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Educational_applications_included_in_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux__the_screenshot_collection____.html">more
1601 than 60 educational software packages</a> and more are available from
1602 the Debian archive, and schools can choose between KDE, Gnome, LXDE
1603 and Xfce desktop environment.</p>
1604
1605 <p>This is the third test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically
1606 this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the
1607 Squeeze release.</p>
1608
1609 <p><strong>Software updates</strong></p>
1610
1611 <ul>
1612
1613 <li>Iceweasel was updated from 10 to 17. (DSA 2699-1)
1614 <li>Updated libxv (DSA-2674), libxvmc (DSA-2675), libxfixes (DSA-2676), libxrender (DSA-2677), mesa (DSA-2678), xserver-xorg-video-openchrome (DSA-2679), libxt (DSA-2680), libxcursor (DSA-2681), libxext (DSA-2682), libxi (DSA-2683), libxrandr (DSA-2684), libxp (DSA-2685), libxcb (DSA-2686), libfs (DSA-2687), libxres (DSA-2688), libxtst (DSA-2689), libxxf86dga (DSA-2690), libxinerama (DSA-2691), libxxf86vm (DSA-2692), libx11 (DSA-2693), chromium-browser (DSA-2695), gnutls26 (DSA-2697), wireshark (DSA-2700), krb5 (DSA-2701), telepathy-gabble (DSA-2702) and subversion (DSA-2703).
1615 <li>Switched xrdp on thin client servers to use tightvncserver instead of xvnc4.
1616 <li>Now install software oscilloscope xoscope by default.
1617 <li>Now install music tools gtick, lingot and pianobooster by default.
1618
1619 </ul>
1620
1621 <p><strong>Other changes</strong></p>
1622
1623 <ul>
1624
1625 <li>The subnet-change script is now able to change all files needing a change on the main-server when changing the IP network used.
1626 <li>Updated translation of the installation.
1627 <li>New Romanian translation.
1628 <li>Fix security problem causing root and first user password to no longer show up in /var/cache/debconf/templates.dat.
1629 <li>Fix roaming workstation setup (Closed in libpam-mklocaluser/0.8, libpam-mklocaluser/0.8~deb7u1: #706753: libpam-mklocaluser: Fail to create local user during first login).
1630 <li>Made roaming workstation setup more robust in non-Debian Edu environments.
1631 <li>New script debian-edu-bless to transform a Debian installation to a Debian Edu profile.
1632 <li>Adjust Iceweasel setup to improve performance when $HOME is on NFS.
1633 <li>More testsuite tests.
1634 <li>Make automatic proxy configuration more robust.
1635 <li>Adjust GOsa² GUI configuration.
1636
1637 <li>Update thin client and diskless workstation setup to work with
1638 LTSP in Wheezy.</li>
1639
1640 <li>Diskless workstations now run out of the box -- no need to set
1641 them up with GOsa².</li>
1642
1643 <li>Update IMAP server setup. </li>
1644
1645 <li>Fix login into Skolelinux Backup Tool (Closed in
1646 slbackup-php/0.4.4-1: #700257: slbackup-php: Fails to submit correctly
1647 entered password). </li>
1648
1649 </ul>
1650
1651 <p><strong>Known issues</strong></p>
1652
1653 <ul>
1654
1655 <li>DVD binary and source images are not yet ready.</li>
1656
1657 <li>No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv)
1658 available yet (Open in gosa/2.7.4-4: #698840: gosa-plugin-ldapmanager:
1659 missing import feature).</li>
1660
1661 <li>Missing artwork for the KDE desktop (and probably a few others). </li>
1662
1663 <li>KDE Debian submenu lacks icons (Closed: #502192: menu-xdg: invents
1664 own icon names instead of using existing). This will remain
1665 unfixed.</li>
1666
1667 </ul>
1668
1669 <p><strong>Where to get it</strong></p>
1670
1671 <p>To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use</p>
1672
1673 <ul>
1674
1675 <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.0+edu0~a2-CD.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.0+edu0~a2-CD.iso</a></li>
1676
1677 <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.0+edu0~a2-CD.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.0+edu0~a2-CD.iso</a></li>
1678
1679 <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.0+edu0~a2-CD.iso .</li>
1680
1681 </ul>
1682
1683 <p>The MD5SUM of this image is: 27bbcace407743382f3c42c08dbe8178
1684 <br>The SHA1SUM of this image is: e35f7d7908566cd3075375b3721fa10ee420d419</p>
1685
1686 <p><strong>How to report bugs</strong></p>
1687
1688 <p><a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs">http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs</a>
1689
1690       </div>
1691       <div class="tags">
1692
1693
1694         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1695
1696
1697       </div>
1698     </div>
1699     <div class="padding"></div>
1700
1701     <div class="entry">
1702       <div class="title">
1703         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Is_there_a_PHP_expert_in_the_building___Debian_Edu_need_help_.html">Is there a PHP expert in the building?  Debian Edu need help!</a>
1704       </div>
1705       <div class="date">
1706          5th June 2013
1707       </div>
1708       <div class="body">
1709         <p>Here is a call for help from the Debian Edu / Skolelinux project.
1710 We have two problems blocking the release of the Wheezy version we
1711 hope to get released soon.  The two problems require some with PHP
1712 skills, and we seem to lack anyone with both time and PHP skills in
1713 the project:
1714
1715 <ol>
1716
1717 <li>It is impossible to log into the slbackup web interface
1718   (slbackup-php) using the root user and password.  This is
1719   <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/700257">BTS report #700257</a>.
1720   This used to work, but stopped working some time since Squeeze.
1721   Perhaps some obsolete PHP feature was used?</li>
1722
1723 <li>It is not possible to "mass import" user lists in Gosa, neither
1724   using ldif nor using CSV files.  The feature was disabled after a
1725   major rewrite of Gosa, and need to be ported to the new system.
1726   This is <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/698840">BTS report
1727   #698840</a>.</li>
1728
1729 </ol>
1730
1731 <p>If you can help us, please join us on IRC
1732 (<a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-edu">#debian-edu on
1733 irc.debian.org</a>) and provide patches via the BTS.</p>
1734
1735       </div>
1736       <div class="tags">
1737
1738
1739         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1740
1741
1742       </div>
1743     </div>
1744     <div class="padding"></div>
1745
1746     <div class="entry">
1747       <div class="title">
1748         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__C_dric_Boutillier.html">Debian Edu interview: Cédric Boutillier</a>
1749       </div>
1750       <div class="date">
1751          4th June 2013
1752       </div>
1753       <div class="body">
1754         <p>It has been a while since my last English
1755 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and Skolelinux</a>
1756 interview last November.  But the developers and translators are still
1757 pulling along to get the Wheezy based release out the door, and this
1758 time I managed to get an interview from one of the French translators
1759 in the project, Cédric Boutillier.</p>
1760
1761 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
1762
1763 <p>I am 34 year old. I live near Paris, France. I am an assistant
1764 professor in probability theory. I spend my daytime teaching
1765 mathematics at the university and doing fundamental research in
1766 probability in connexion with combinatorics and statistical physics.</p>
1767
1768 <p>I have been involved in the Debian project for a couple of years
1769 and became Debian Developer a few months ago. I am working on Ruby
1770 packaging, publicity and translation.</p>
1771
1772 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu
1773 project?</strong></p>
1774
1775 <p>I came to the Debian Edu project after a call for translation of
1776 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Manuals">the
1777 Debian Edu manual</a> for the release of Debian Edu Squeeze. Since
1778 then, I have been working on updating the French translation of the
1779 manual.
1780
1781 <p>I had the opportunity to make an installation of Debian Edu in a
1782 virtual machine when I was preparing localised version of some screen
1783 shots for the manual. I was amazed to see it worked out of the box and
1784 how comprehensive the list of software installed by default was.</p>
1785
1786 <p>What amazed me was the complete network infrastructure directly
1787 ready to use, which can and the nice administration interface provided
1788 by <a href="https://oss.gonicus.de/labs/gosa/">GOsa²</a>.  What pleased
1789 me also was the fact that among the software installed by default,
1790 there were many "traditional" educative software to learn languages,
1791 to count, to program... but also software to develop creativity and
1792 artistic skills with music (<a href="http://ardour.org/">Ardour</a>,
1793 <a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/">Audacity</a>) and
1794 movies/animation (I was especially thinking of
1795 <a href="http://linuxstopmotion.sourceforge.net/">Stopmotion</a>).</p>
1796
1797 <p>I am following the development of Debian Edu and am hanging out on
1798 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-edu">#debian-edu</a>.
1799 Unfortunately, I don't much time to get more involved in this
1800 beautiful project.</p>
1801
1802 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux / Debian
1803 Edu?</strong></p>
1804
1805 <p>For me, the main advantages of Skolelinux/Debian Edu are its
1806 community of experts and its precise documentation, as well as the
1807 fact that it provides a solution ready to use.</p>
1808
1809 <p>I would add also the fact that it is based on the rock solid Debian
1810 distribution, which ensures stability and provides a huge collection
1811 of educational free software.</p>
1812
1813 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian
1814 Edu?</strong></p>
1815
1816 <p>Maybe the lack of manpower to do lobbying on the
1817 project. Sometimes, people who need to take decisions concerning IT do
1818 not have all the elements to evaluate properly free software
1819 solutions. The fact that support by a company may be difficult to find
1820 is probably a problem if the school does not have IT personnel.</p>
1821
1822 <p>One can find support from a company by looking at
1823 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Help/ProfessionalHelp">the
1824 wiki dokumentation</a>, where some countries already have a number of
1825 companies providing support for Debian Edu, like Germany or
1826 Norway. This list is easy to find readily from the manual. However,
1827 for other countries, like France, the list is empty. I guess that
1828 consultants proposing support for Debian would be able to provide some
1829 support for Debian Edu as well.</p>
1830
1831 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
1832
1833 <p>I am using the KDE Plasma Desktop. But the pieces of software I use
1834 most runs in a terminal: Mutt and OfflineIMAP for emails, latex for
1835 scientific documents, mpd for music. VIM is my editor of choice.  I am
1836 also using the mathematical software
1837 <a href="http://www.scilab.org/en/scilab/about‎">Scilab</a> and
1838 <a href="http://www.sagemath.org/index.html‎">Sage</a> (built from
1839 source as not completely packaged for Debian, yet).
1840
1841 <p><strong>Do you have any suggestions for teachers interested in
1842 using the free software in Debian to teach mathematics and
1843 statistics?</strong></p>
1844
1845 <p>I do not have any "nice" recommendations for statistics. At our
1846 university, we use both <a href="http://www.r-project.org/‎">R</a> and
1847 Scilab to teach statistics and probabilistic simulations. For
1848 geometry, there are nice programs:</p>
1849
1850 <ul>
1851
1852 <li><a href="http://www.drgeo.eu/">drgeo</a> and
1853 <a href="http://edu.kde.org/applications/all/kig‎">kig</a> to do
1854 constructions in planar geometry
1855
1856 <li><a href="http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/software/download/kali.html">kali</a>
1857 to discover symmetry groups (the so-called wallpapers and frieze
1858 groups), although the interface looks a bit old.</li>
1859
1860 </ul>
1861
1862 <p>I like also
1863 <a href="http://edu.kde.org/applications/all/cantor">cantor</a>, which
1864 provides a uniform interface to SciLab, Sage,
1865 <a href="http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Octave‎">Octave</a>, etc...</p>
1866
1867 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
1868 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
1869
1870 <p>My suggestions would be to</p>
1871
1872 <ul>
1873
1874 <li>advertise the reduction of costs when free software is used.</li>
1875
1876 <li>communicate about the quality of free software projects, using
1877     well known examples like Firefox, ThunderBird and
1878     OpenOffice.org/LibreOffice.</li>
1879
1880 <li>advertise the living and strong community around the project.</li>
1881
1882 <li>show that it is not more difficult to use than any other
1883     system.</li>
1884
1885 </ul>
1886
1887       </div>
1888       <div class="tags">
1889
1890
1891         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
1892
1893
1894       </div>
1895     </div>
1896     <div class="padding"></div>
1897
1898     <div class="entry">
1899       <div class="title">
1900         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Educational_applications_included_in_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux__the_screenshot_collection____.html">Educational applications included in Debian Edu / Skolelinux (the screenshot collection :-)</a>
1901       </div>
1902       <div class="date">
1903          1st June 2013
1904       </div>
1905       <div class="body">
1906         <p>Included in <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu /
1907 Skolelinux</a>, there are quite a lot of educational software.
1908 Created to help teachers teach, and pupils learn.  We have tried to
1909 tag them all using debtags use::learning and role::program, and using
1910 the debtags I was happy to be able to create a collage of the
1911 educational software packages installed by default, sorted by the
1912 debtag field.  Here it is.  Click on a image to learn more about the
1913 program.</p>
1914
1915 <!-- for f in $(debtags tagcat|grep field::|awk '{print $2}'); do   echo; echo "<p><strong>$f</strong></p>"; echo "<p>";   (     for p in $(debtags search --names "use::learning && interface::x11 && role::program && $f"); do img="<img src='http://screenshots.debian.net/thumbnail/$p' alt='$p'>"; if dpkg -s $p > /dev/null 2>&1; then           echo "<a href='http://packages.qa.debian.org/$p'>$img</a>"; fi;     done;   ) | LANG=C sort; echo "</p>"; done -->
1916
1917 <p><strong>field::arts</strong></p>
1918 <p>
1919 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=audacity'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/audacity.png' alt='audacity'></a>
1920 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=childsplay'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/childsplay.png' alt='childsplay'></a>
1921 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=denemo'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/denemo.png' alt='denemo'></a>
1922 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=freebirth'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/freebirth.png' alt='freebirth'></a>
1923 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gcompris'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gcompris.png' alt='gcompris'></a>
1924 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gimp'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gimp.png' alt='gimp'></a>
1925 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=hydrogen'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/hydrogen.png' alt='hydrogen'></a>
1926 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=lilypond'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/lilypond.png' alt='lilypond'></a>
1927 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=lmms'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/lmms.png' alt='lmms'></a>
1928 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=rosegarden'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/rosegarden.png' alt='rosegarden'></a>
1929 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=scribus'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/scribus.png' alt='scribus'></a>
1930 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=solfege'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/solfege.png' alt='solfege'></a>
1931 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=stopmotion'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/stopmotion.png' alt='stopmotion'></a>
1932 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=tuxpaint'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/tuxpaint.png' alt='tuxpaint'></a>
1933 </p>
1934
1935 <p><strong>field::astronomy</strong></p>
1936 <p>
1937 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=celestia-gnome'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/celestia-gnome.png' alt='celestia-gnome'></a>
1938 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gpredict'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gpredict.png' alt='gpredict'></a>
1939 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=kstars'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/kstars.png' alt='kstars'></a>
1940 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=planets'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/planets.png' alt='planets'></a>
1941 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=stellarium'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/stellarium.png' alt='stellarium'></a>
1942 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=xplanet'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/xplanet.png' alt='xplanet'></a>
1943 </p>
1944
1945 <p><strong>field::biology:structural</strong></p>
1946 <p>
1947 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=pymol'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/pymol.png' alt='pymol'></a>
1948 </p>
1949
1950 <p><strong>field::chemistry</strong></p>
1951 <p>
1952 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=atomix'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/atomix.png' alt='atomix'></a>
1953 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=chemtool'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/chemtool.png' alt='chemtool'></a>
1954 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=easychem'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/easychem.png' alt='easychem'></a>
1955 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gchempaint'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gchempaint.png' alt='gchempaint'></a>
1956 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gdis'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gdis.png' alt='gdis'></a>
1957 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=ghemical'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/ghemical.png' alt='ghemical'></a>
1958 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gperiodic'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gperiodic.png' alt='gperiodic'></a>
1959 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=kalzium'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/kalzium.png' alt='kalzium'></a>
1960 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=pymol'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/pymol.png' alt='pymol'></a>
1961 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=viewmol'>[viewmol]</a>
1962 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=xdrawchem'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/xdrawchem.png' alt='xdrawchem'></a>
1963 </p>
1964
1965 <p><strong>field::electronics</strong></p>
1966 <p>
1967 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gcompris'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gcompris.png' alt='gcompris'></a>
1968 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gpsim'>[gpsim]</a>
1969 </p>
1970
1971 <p><strong>field::geography</strong></p>
1972 <p>
1973 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=kgeography'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/kgeography.png' alt='kgeography'></a>
1974 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=marble'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/marble.png' alt='marble'></a>
1975 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=xplanet'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/xplanet.png' alt='xplanet'></a>
1976 </p>
1977
1978 <p><strong>field::linguistics</strong></p>
1979 <p>
1980 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gcompris'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gcompris.png' alt='gcompris'></a>
1981 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=kanagram'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/kanagram.png' alt='kanagram'></a>
1982 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=khangman'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/khangman.png' alt='khangman'></a>
1983 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=klettres'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/klettres.png' alt='klettres'></a>
1984 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=parley'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/parley.png' alt='parley'></a>
1985 </p>
1986
1987 <p><strong>field::mathematics</strong></p>
1988 <p>
1989 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=childsplay'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/childsplay.png' alt='childsplay'></a>
1990 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=drgeo'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/drgeo.png' alt='drgeo'></a>
1991 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gcompris'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gcompris.png' alt='gcompris'></a>
1992 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=geogebra'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/geogebra.png' alt='geogebra'></a>
1993 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=geomview'>[geomview]</a>
1994 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=grace'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/grace.png' alt='grace'></a>
1995 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=graphmonkey'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/graphmonkey.png' alt='graphmonkey'></a>
1996 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=graphthing'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/graphthing.png' alt='graphthing'></a>
1997 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=kalgebra'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/kalgebra.png' alt='kalgebra'></a>
1998 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=kbruch'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/kbruch.png' alt='kbruch'></a>
1999 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=kig'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/kig.png' alt='kig'></a>
2000 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=kmplot'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/kmplot.png' alt='kmplot'></a>
2001 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=mathwar'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/mathwar.png' alt='mathwar'></a>
2002 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=rocs'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/rocs.png' alt='rocs'></a>
2003 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=scratch'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/scratch.png' alt='scratch'></a>
2004 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=tuxmath'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/tuxmath.png' alt='tuxmath'></a>
2005 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=xabacus'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/xabacus.png' alt='xabacus'></a>
2006 </p>
2007
2008 <p><strong>field::physics</strong></p>
2009 <p>
2010 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gcompris'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gcompris.png' alt='gcompris'></a>
2011 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=step'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/step.png' alt='step'></a>
2012 </p>
2013
2014 <p><strong>field::TODO</strong></p>
2015 <p>
2016 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=blinken'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/blinken.png' alt='blinken'></a>
2017 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=cgoban'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/cgoban.png' alt='cgoban'></a>
2018 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=childsplay'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/childsplay.png' alt='childsplay'></a>
2019 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gcompris'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gcompris.png' alt='gcompris'></a>
2020 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gnuchess'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gnuchess.png' alt='gnuchess'></a>
2021 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gnugo'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gnugo.png' alt='gnugo'></a>
2022 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=gtans'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/gtans.png' alt='gtans'></a>
2023 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=ktouch'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/ktouch.png' alt='ktouch'></a>
2024 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=librecad'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/librecad.png' alt='librecad'></a>
2025 <a href='http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&exact=1&suite=all&section=all&keywords=scratch'><img src='http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-06-01-debian-edu-apps/scratch.png' alt='scratch'></a>
2026 </p>
2027
2028 <p>In total, 61 applications.  3 of them lacked screen shots on
2029 <a href="http://screenshot.debian.net">screenshot.debian.net</a>.  If
2030 you know of some packages we should install by default, please let us
2031 know on <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-edu">IRC, #debian-edu
2032 on irc.debian.org</a>, or our
2033 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu/">mailing list
2034 debian-edu@</a>.</p>
2035
2036       </div>
2037       <div class="tags">
2038
2039
2040         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2041
2042
2043       </div>
2044     </div>
2045     <div class="padding"></div>
2046
2047     <div class="entry">
2048       <div class="title">
2049         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_install_Linux_on_a_Packard_Bell_Easynote_LV_preinstalled_with_Windows_8.html">How to install Linux on a Packard Bell Easynote LV preinstalled with Windows 8</a>
2050       </div>
2051       <div class="date">
2052         27th May 2013
2053       </div>
2054       <div class="body">
2055         <p>Two days ago, I asked
2056 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_can_I_install_Linux_on_a_Packard_Bell_Easynote_LV_preinstalled_with_Windows_8_.html">how
2057 I could install Linux on a Packard Bell EasyNote LV computer
2058 preinstalled with Windows 8</a>.  I found a solution, but am horrified
2059 with the obstacles put in the way of Linux users on a laptop with UEFI
2060 and Windows 8.</p>
2061
2062 <p>I never found out if the cause of my problems were the use of UEFI
2063 secure booting or fast boot.  I suspect fast boot was the problem,
2064 causing the firmware to boot directly from HD without considering any
2065 key presses and alternative devices, but do not know UEFI settings
2066 enough to tell.</p>
2067
2068 <p>There is no way to install Linux on the machine in question without
2069 opening the box and disconnecting the hard drive!  This is as far as I
2070 can tell, the only way to get access to the firmware setup menu
2071 without accepting the Windows 8 license agreement.  I am told (and
2072 found description on how to) that it is possible to configure the
2073 firmware setup once booted into Windows 8.  But as I believe the terms
2074 of that agreement are completely unacceptable, accepting the license
2075 was never an alternative.  I do not enter agreements I do not intend
2076 to follow.</p>
2077
2078 <p>I feared I had to return the laptops and ask for a refund, and
2079 waste many hours on this, but luckily there was a way to get it to
2080 work.  But I would not recommend it to anyone planning to run Linux on
2081 it, and I have become sceptical to Windows 8 certified laptops.  Is
2082 this the way Linux will be forced out of the market place, by making
2083 it close to impossible for "normal" users to install Linux without
2084 accepting the Microsoft Windows license terms?  Or at least not
2085 without risking to loose the warranty?</p>
2086
2087 <p>I've updated the
2088 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/packard_bell_easynote_lv">Linux Laptop
2089 wiki page for Packard Bell EasyNote LV</a>, to ensure the next person
2090 do not have to struggle as much as I did to get Linux into the
2091 machine.</p>
2092
2093 <p>Thanks to Bob Rosbag, Florian Weimer, Philipp Kern, Ben Hutching,
2094 Michael Tokarev and others for feedback and ideas.</p>
2095
2096       </div>
2097       <div class="tags">
2098
2099
2100         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2101
2102
2103       </div>
2104     </div>
2105     <div class="padding"></div>
2106
2107     <div class="entry">
2108       <div class="title">
2109         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_can_I_install_Linux_on_a_Packard_Bell_Easynote_LV_preinstalled_with_Windows_8_.html">How can I install Linux on a Packard Bell Easynote LV preinstalled with Windows 8?</a>
2110       </div>
2111       <div class="date">
2112         25th May 2013
2113       </div>
2114       <div class="body">
2115         <p>I've run into quite a problem the last few days.  I bought three
2116 new laptops for my parents and a few others.  I bought Packard Bell
2117 Easynote LV to run Kubuntu on and use as their home computer.  But I
2118 am completely unable to figure out how to install Linux on it.  The
2119 computer is preinstalled with Windows 8, and I suspect it uses UEFI
2120 instead of a BIOS to boot.</p>
2121
2122 <p>The problem is that I am unable to get it to PXE boot, and unable
2123 to get it to boot the Linux installer from my USB stick.  I have yet
2124 to try the DVD install, and still hope it will work.  when I turn on
2125 the computer, there is no information on what buttons to press to get
2126 the normal boot menu.  I expect to get some boot menu to select PXE or
2127 USB stick booting.  When booting, it first ask for the language to
2128 use, then for some regional settings, and finally if I will accept the
2129 Windows 8 terms of use.  As these terms are completely unacceptable to
2130 me, I have no other choice but to turn off the computer and try again
2131 to get it to boot the Linux installer.</p>
2132
2133 <p>I have gathered my findings so far on a Linlap page about the
2134 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/packard_bell_easynote_lv">Packard Bell
2135 EasyNote LV</a> model.  If you have any idea how to get Linux
2136 installed on this machine, please get in touch or update that wiki
2137 page.  If I can't find a way to install Linux, I will have to return
2138 the laptop to the seller and find another machine for my parents.</p>
2139
2140 <p>I wonder, is this the way Linux will be forced out of the market
2141 using UEFI and "secure boot" by making it impossible to install Linux
2142 on new Laptops?</p>
2143
2144       </div>
2145       <div class="tags">
2146
2147
2148         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2149
2150
2151       </div>
2152     </div>
2153     <div class="padding"></div>
2154
2155     <div class="entry">
2156       <div class="title">
2157         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_transform_a_Debian_based_system_to_a_Debian_Edu_installation.html">How to transform a Debian based system to a Debian Edu installation</a>
2158       </div>
2159       <div class="date">
2160         17th May 2013
2161       </div>
2162       <div class="body">
2163         <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> is
2164 an operating system based on Debian intended for use in schools.  It
2165 contain a turn-key solution for the computer network provided to
2166 pupils in the primary schools.  It provide both the central server,
2167 network boot servers and desktop environments with heaps of
2168 educational software.  The project was founded almost 12 years ago,
2169 2001-07-02.  If you want to support the project, which is in need for
2170 cash to fund developer gatherings and other project related activity,
2171 <a href="http://www.linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">please
2172 donate some money</a>.
2173
2174 <p>A topic that come up again and again on the Debian Edu mailing
2175 lists and elsewhere, is the question on how to transform a Debian or
2176 Ubuntu installation into a Debian Edu installation.  It isn't very
2177 hard, and last week I wrote a script to replicate the steps done by
2178 the Debian Edu installer.</p>
2179
2180 <p>The script,
2181 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/branches/wheezy/debian-edu-config/share/debian-edu-config/tools/debian-edu-bless?view=markup">debian-edu-bless<a/>
2182 in the debian-edu-config package, will go through these six steps and
2183 transform an existing Debian Wheezy or Ubuntu (untested) installation
2184 into a Debian Edu Workstation:</p>
2185
2186 <ol>
2187
2188 <li>Add skolelinux related APT sources.</li>
2189 <li>Create /etc/debian-edu/config with the wanted configuration.</li>
2190 <li>Install debian-edu-install to load preseeding values and pull in
2191     our configuration.</li>
2192 <li>Preseed debconf database with profile setup in
2193     /etc/debian-edu/config, and run tasksel to install packages
2194     according to the profile specified in the config above,
2195     overriding some of the Debian automation machinery.</li>
2196 <li>Run debian-edu-cfengine-D installation to configure everything
2197     that could not be done using preseeding.</li>
2198 <li>Ask for a reboot to enable all the configuration changes.</li>
2199
2200 </ol>
2201
2202 <p>There are some steps in the Debian Edu installation that can not be
2203 replicated like this.  Disk partitioning and LVM setup, for example.
2204 So this script just assume there is enough disk space to install all
2205 the needed packages.</p>
2206
2207 <p>The script was created to help a Debian Edu student working on
2208 setting up <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org">Raspberry Pi</a> as a
2209 Debian Edu client, and using it he can take the existing
2210 <a href="http://www.raspbian.org/FrontPage‎">Raspbian</a> installation and
2211 transform it into a fully functioning Debian Edu Workstation (or
2212 Roaming Workstation, or whatever :).</p>
2213
2214 <p>The default setting in the script is to create a KDE Workstation.
2215 If a LXDE based Roaming workstation is wanted instead, modify the
2216 PROFILE and DESKTOP values at the top to look like this instead:</p>
2217
2218 <p><pre>
2219 PROFILE="Roaming-Workstation"
2220 DESKTOP="lxde"
2221 </pre></p>
2222
2223 <p>The script could even become useful to set up Debian Edu servers in
2224 the cloud, by starting with a virtual Debian installation at some
2225 virtual hosting service and setting up all the services on first
2226 boot.</p>
2227
2228       </div>
2229       <div class="tags">
2230
2231
2232         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2233
2234
2235       </div>
2236     </div>
2237     <div class="padding"></div>
2238
2239     <div class="entry">
2240       <div class="title">
2241         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Second_alpha_release_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html">Second alpha release of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy</a>
2242       </div>
2243       <div class="date">
2244         14th May 2013
2245       </div>
2246       <div class="body">
2247         <p>The <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux
2248 project</a> is making great progress and made its second Wheezy based
2249 release today.  This is the release announcement:</p>
2250
2251 <p><strong>New features for Debian Edu 7.0.0 alpha1 released
2252 2013-05-14</strong></p>
2253
2254 <p>This is the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux 7.0.0 edu
2255 alpha1, based on <a href="http://www.debian.org">Debian</a> with
2256 codename "Wheezy".</p>
2257
2258 <p><strong>About Debian Edu and Skolelinux</strong></p>
2259
2260 <p>Debian Edu, also known as Skolelinux, is a Linux distribution based
2261 on Debian providing an out-of-the box environment of a completely
2262 configured school network. Immediatly after installation a school
2263 server running all services needed for a school network is set up just
2264 waiting for users and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable
2265 Web-UI. A netbooting environment is prepared using PXE, so after
2266 initial installation of the main server from CD, DVD or USB stick all
2267 other machines can be installed via the network.</p>
2268
2269 <p>This is the first test release based on Wheezy (which currently is
2270 not released yet). Basically this is an updated and slightly improved
2271 version compared to the Squeeze release.</p>
2272
2273 <p><strong>Software updates</strong></p>
2274 <ul>
2275   <li>Install freemind (0.9.0) by default, and stop installing vym by
2276     default.</li>
2277   <li>Install chromium (26.0.1410.43) by default.</li>
2278   <li>Install goplay (0.5-1.1) to make golearn available by default.</li>
2279   <li>Updated support for Japanese input methods, now based on
2280     ibus-anthy.</li>
2281 </ul>
2282
2283 <p><strong>Other changes</strong></p>
2284 <ul>
2285
2286   <li>Switched default file system from ext3 to ext4 for speed and
2287     reliability improvements.</li>
2288   <li>Got rid of unwanted winbind daemon and PAM setup activated because
2289     of <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/706434">706434</a>.</li>
2290   <li>Extended and improved the testsuite tests to detect more possible
2291     problems.</li>
2292   <li>Corrected proxy handling to not set http_proxy to a bogus
2293     direct:// URL.</li>
2294   <li>Corrected proxy setup for diskless workstations.</li>
2295   <li>Corrected PXE setup to use our updated udebs during installation.</li>
2296   <li>Made installation handling of low entropy level more robust.</li>
2297   <li>Create larger partitions for Roaming workstations and Thin client
2298     servers, to make room for all the software installed.</li>
2299   <li>Fix bug in Roaming workstation PAM setup, making it impossible to
2300     log in (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/706753">706753</a>).</li>
2301 </ul>
2302
2303 <p><strong>Known issues</strong></p>
2304 <ul>
2305
2306   <li>IP resolution for the local hostname give useless IPv6 address
2307     (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/705900">705900</a>).  Only install
2308     libnss-myhostname on roaming workstations until it is fixed.</li>
2309   <li>DVD images are not yet ready.</li>
2310   <li>No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv)
2311     available yet (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/698840">698840</a>).</li>
2312   <li>Missing artwork for the KDE desktop (and probably a few others).</li>
2313   <li>KDE Debian submenu lacks icons.</li>
2314   <li>LXDE menu lacks entry for changing GOsa password
2315     (website). Installing gosa-desktop will be an option.</li>
2316   <li>Backup configuration via web interface is impossible due to
2317     password submission problem
2318     (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/700257">700257</a>).</li>
2319
2320 </ul>
2321
2322 <p><strong>Where to get it</strong></p>
2323
2324 <p>To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use</p>
2325 <ul>
2326
2327   <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso</a></li>
2328   <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso</a></li>
2329   <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso</li>
2330
2331 </ul>
2332
2333 <p>The MD5SUM of this image is: 685ed76c1aa8e44b12d3fde21faf450b</p>
2334
2335 <p>The SHA1SUM of this image is: 6c874de157024da13e115bab29c068080a11ec4c</p>
2336
2337 <p><strong>How to report bugs</strong></p>
2338
2339 <p><a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs">http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs</a></p>
2340
2341       </div>
2342       <div class="tags">
2343
2344
2345         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2346
2347
2348       </div>
2349     </div>
2350     <div class="padding"></div>
2351
2352     <div class="entry">
2353       <div class="title">
2354         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian__the_Linux_distribution_of_choice_for_LEGO_designers_.html">Debian, the Linux distribution of choice for LEGO designers?</a>
2355       </div>
2356       <div class="date">
2357         11th May 2013
2358       </div>
2359       <div class="body">
2360         <P>In January,
2361 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_IRC_channel_for_LEGO_designers_using_Debian.html">I
2362 announced a</a> new <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-lego">IRC
2363 channel #debian-lego</a>, for those of us in the Debian and Linux
2364 community interested in <a href="http://www.lego.com/">LEGO</a>, the
2365 marvellous construction system from Denmark.  We also created
2366 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LegoDesigners">a wiki page</a> to have
2367 a place to take notes and write down our plans and hopes.  And several
2368 people showed up to help.  I was very happy to see the effect of my
2369 call.  Since the small start, we have a debtags tag
2370 <a href="http://debtags.debian.net/search/bytag?wl=hardware::hobby:lego">hardware::hobby:lego</a>
2371 tag for LEGO related packages, and now count 10 packages related to
2372 LEGO and <a href="http://mindstorms.lego.com/">Mindstorms</a>:</p>
2373
2374 <p><table>
2375 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/brickos">brickos</a></td><td>alternative OS for LEGO Mindstorms RCX. Supports development in C/C++</td></tr>
2376 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/leocad">leocad</a></td><td>virtual brick CAD software</td></tr>
2377 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/libnxt">libnxt</a></td><td>utility library for talking to the LEGO Mindstorms NX</td></tr>
2378 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/lnpd">lnpd</a></td><td>daemon for LNP communication with BrickOS</td></tr>
2379 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/nbc">nbc</a></td><td>compiler for LEGO Mindstorms NXT bricks</td></tr>
2380 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/nqc">nqc</a></td><td>Not Quite C compiler for LEGO Mindstorms RCX</td></tr>
2381 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/python-nxt">python-nxt</a></td><td>python driver/interface/wrapper for the Lego Mindstorms NXT robot</td></tr>
2382 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/python-nxt-filer">python-nxt-filer</a></td><td>simple GUI to manage files on a LEGO Mindstorms NXT</td></tr>
2383 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/scratch">scratch</a></td><td>easy to use programming environment for ages 8 and up</td></tr>
2384 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/t2n">t2n</a></td><td>simple command-line tool for Lego NXT</td></tr>
2385 </table></p>
2386
2387 <p>Some of these are available in Wheezy, and all but one are
2388 currently available in Jessie/testing.  leocad is so far only
2389 available in experimental.</p>
2390
2391 <p>If you care about LEGO in Debian, please join us on IRC and help
2392 adding the rest of the great free software tools available on Linux
2393 for LEGO designers.</p>
2394
2395       </div>
2396       <div class="tags">
2397
2398
2399         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot</a>.
2400
2401
2402       </div>
2403     </div>
2404     <div class="padding"></div>
2405
2406     <div class="entry">
2407       <div class="title">
2408         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Wheezy_is_out___and_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_should_soon_follow___newinwheezy.html">Debian Wheezy is out - and Debian Edu / Skolelinux should soon follow! #newinwheezy</a>
2409       </div>
2410       <div class="date">
2411          5th May 2013
2412       </div>
2413       <div class="body">
2414         <p>When I woke up this morning, I was very happy to see that the
2415 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2013/20130504">release announcement
2416 for Debian Wheezy</a> was waiting in my mail box.  This is a great
2417 Debian release, and I expect to move my machines at home over to it fairly
2418 soon.</p>
2419
2420 <p>The new debian release contain heaps of new stuff, and one program
2421 in particular make me very happy to see included.  The
2422 <a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/">Scratch</a> program, made famous by
2423 the <a href="http://www.code.org/">Teach kids code</a> movement, is
2424 included for the first time.  Alongside similar programs like
2425 <a href="http://edu.kde.org/kturtle/">kturtle</a> and
2426 <a href="http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Activities/Turtle_Art">turtleart</a>,
2427 it allow for visual programming where syntax errors can not happen,
2428 and a friendly programming environment for learning to control the
2429 computer.  Scratch will also be included in the next release of Debian
2430 Edu.</a>
2431
2432 <p>And now that Wheezy is wrapped up, we can wrap up the next Debian
2433 Edu/Skolelinux release too.  The
2434 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu/2013/04/msg00132.html">first
2435 alpha release</a> went out last week, and the next should soon
2436 follow.<p>
2437
2438       </div>
2439       <div class="tags">
2440
2441
2442         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2443
2444
2445       </div>
2446     </div>
2447     <div class="padding"></div>
2448
2449     <div class="entry">
2450       <div class="title">
2451         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_alpha_release_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html">First alpha release of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy</a>
2452       </div>
2453       <div class="date">
2454         26th April 2013
2455       </div>
2456       <div class="body">
2457         <p>The Debian Edu / Skolelinux project is still going strong and made
2458 its first Wheezy based release today.  This is the release
2459 announcement:</p>
2460
2461 <p><strong>New features for Debian Edu ~7.0.0 alpha0 released
2462 2013-04-26</strong></p>
2463
2464 <p>This is the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux ~7.0.0
2465 edu alpha0, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".</p>
2466
2467 <p><strong>About Debian Edu and Skolelinux</strong></p>
2468
2469 <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu, also known as
2470 Skolelinux</a>, is a Linux distribution based on Debian providing an
2471 out-of-the box environment of a completely configured school
2472 network. Immediatly after installation a school server running all
2473 services needed for a school network is set up just waiting for users
2474 and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable Web-UI. A netbooting
2475 environment is prepared using PXE, so after initial installation of
2476 the main server from CD, DVD or USB stick all other machines can be
2477 installed via the network.</p>
2478
2479 <p>This is the first test release based on Wheezy (which currently is
2480 not released yet). Basically this is an updated and slightly improved
2481 version compared to the Squeeze release.</p>
2482
2483 <p><strong>Software updates</strong></p>
2484
2485 <ul>
2486 <li>Everything which is new in Debian Wheezy, eg:
2487   <ul>
2488      <li>Linux kernel 3.2.x</li>
2489      <li>Desktop environments KDE "Plasma" 4.8.4, GNOME 3.4, and LXDE 4
2490          (KDE is installed by default; to choose GNOME or LXDE: see
2491          manual.)</li>
2492      <li>Web browser Iceweasel 10 ESR</li>
2493      <li>LibreOffice 3.5.4</li>
2494      <li>LTSP 5.4.2</li>
2495      <li>GOsa 2.7.4</li>
2496      <li>CUPS print system 1.5.3</li>
2497      <li>Educational toolbox GCompris 12.01</li>
2498      <li>Music creator Rosegarden 12.04</li>
2499      <li>Image editor Gimp 2.8.2</li>
2500      <li>Virtual universe Celestia 1.6.1</li>
2501      <li>Virtual stargazer Stellarium 0.11.3</li>
2502      <li>Scratch visual programming environment 1.4.0.6</li>
2503      <li>New version of debian-installer from Debian Wheezy, see
2504          <a href="http://www.debian.org/releases/wheezy/installmanual">installation
2505          manual</a> for more details.</li>
2506      <li>Debian Wheezy includes about 37000 packages available for
2507          installation.</li>
2508      <li>More information about Debian Wheezy 7.0 is provided in the
2509          <a href="http://www.debian.org/releases/wheezy/releasenotes">release notes</a> and the <a href="http://www.debian.org/releases/wheezy/installmanual">installation manual</a>.</li>
2510   </ul></li>
2511 </ul>
2512
2513 <p><strong>Documentation</strong></p>
2514 <ul>
2515 <li>The (<a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Wheezy">English</a>) Debian Edu Wheezy Manual is fully translated to
2516     German, French, Italian and Danish. Partly translated versions exist
2517     for Norwegian Bokmal and Spanish.</li>
2518 </ul>
2519
2520 <p><Strong>LDAP related changes</strong></p>
2521 <ul>
2522 <li>Slight changes to some objects and acls to have more types to
2523     choose from when adding systems in GOsa. Now systems can be of type
2524     server, workstation, printer, terminal or netdevice.</li>
2525 </ul>
2526
2527 <p><strong>Other changes</strong></p>
2528 <ul>
2529 <li>LTSP clients start as diskless workstation / thin client can be
2530     configured via command line argument -- or individually adding an
2531     entry in lts.conf or LDAP.<li>
2532 <li>GOsa gui: Now some options that seemed to be available, but are non
2533     functional, are greyed out (or are not clickable). Some tabs are
2534     completely hidden to the end user, others even to the GOsa admin.</li>
2535 </ul>
2536
2537 <p><strong>Regressions</strong></p>
2538 <ul>
2539 <li>No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv) available
2540     yet.</li>
2541 </ul>
2542
2543 <p><strong>No updated artwork</strong></p>
2544
2545 <ul>
2546 <li>Updated artwork which is visible during installation, in the login
2547     screen and as desktop wallpaper is still missing or the same as we
2548     had for our Squeeze based release.</li>
2549 </ul>
2550
2551 <p><strong>Where to get it</strong></p>
2552
2553 To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use
2554 <ul>
2555 <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/</a></li>
2556 <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/</a></li>
2557 <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/</li>
2558 </ul>
2559
2560 <p>The MD5SUM of this image is: c5e773ddafdaa4f48c409c682f598b6c</p>
2561
2562 <p>The SHA1SUM of this image is: 25934fabb9b7d20235499a0a51f08ce6c54215f2</p>
2563
2564 <p><strong>How to report bugs</strong></p>
2565
2566 <p><a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs">http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs</a></p>
2567
2568       </div>
2569       <div class="tags">
2570
2571
2572         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2573
2574
2575       </div>
2576     </div>
2577     <div class="padding"></div>
2578
2579     <div class="entry">
2580       <div class="title">
2581         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_developer_gathering_in_2013_take_place_in_Trondheim.html">First Debian Edu / Skolelinux developer gathering in 2013 take place in Trondheim</a>
2582       </div>
2583       <div class="date">
2584         16th April 2013
2585       </div>
2586       <div class="body">
2587         <p>This years first <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux /
2588 Debian Edu</a> developer gathering take place the coming weekend in Trondheim.
2589 Details about the gathering can be found
2590 <a href="http://www.friprogramvareiskolen.no/Gathering/2013-04-19-21-Trondheim">on
2591 the FRiSK wiki</a>.  The dates are 19-21th of April 2013, and online
2592 participation for those unable to make it in person is very welcome,
2593 and I plan to participate online myself as I could not leave Oslo this
2594 weekend.</p>
2595
2596 <p>The focus of the gathering is to work on the web pages and project
2597 infrastructure, and to continue the work on the Wheezy based Debian
2598 Edu release.</p>
2599
2600 <p>See you on <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-edu">IRC, #debian-edu on irc.debian.org,</a> then?</p>
2601
2602       </div>
2603       <div class="tags">
2604
2605
2606         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2607
2608
2609       </div>
2610     </div>
2611     <div class="padding"></div>
2612
2613     <div class="entry">
2614       <div class="title">
2615         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Isenkram_0_2_finally_in_the_Debian_archive.html">Isenkram 0.2 finally in the Debian archive</a>
2616       </div>
2617       <div class="date">
2618          3rd April 2013
2619       </div>
2620       <div class="body">
2621         <p>Today the <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/isenkram">Isenkram
2622 package</a> finally made it into the archive, after lingering in NEW
2623 for many months.  I uploaded it to the Debian experimental suite
2624 2013-01-27, and today it was accepted into the archive.</p>
2625
2626 <p>Isenkram is a system for suggesting to users what packages to
2627 install to work with a pluggable hardware device.  The suggestion pop
2628 up when the device is plugged in.  For example if a Lego Mindstorm NXT
2629 is inserted, it will suggest to install the program needed to program
2630 the NXT controller.  Give it a go, and report bugs and suggestions to
2631 BTS. :)</p>
2632
2633       </div>
2634       <div class="tags">
2635
2636
2637         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
2638
2639
2640       </div>
2641     </div>
2642     <div class="padding"></div>
2643
2644     <div class="entry">
2645       <div class="title">
2646         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Change_the_font__save_the_world__and_save_some_money_in_the_process_.html">Change the font, save the world (and save some money in the process)</a>
2647       </div>
2648       <div class="date">
2649         26th March 2013
2650       </div>
2651       <div class="body">
2652         <p>Would you like to help the environment and save money at the same
2653 time, without much sacrifice?  A small step could be to change the
2654 font you use when printing.</p>
2655
2656 <p>Three years ago,
2657 <a href="http://arstechnica.com/business/2010/04/last-year-printer-comparison-website/">Ars
2658 Technica</a> reported how the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
2659 changed their default front from
2660 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arial">Arial</a> to
2661 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Gothic">Century
2662 Gothic</a> to save money.  The Century Gothic font uses 30% less toner
2663 than Arial to print the same text.  In other word, you could cut your
2664 toner costs by 30% (or actually, increase your toner supply life time
2665 by more than 30%), by simply changing the default font used in your
2666 prints.</p>
2667
2668 <p>But it is not quite obvious how much one will save by switching.
2669 The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay said it used $100,000 per year
2670 on ink and toner cartridges, according to
2671 <a href="http://www.twincities.com/ci_14833097">a report from
2672 TwinCities.com</a>, and expected to save between $5,000 and $10,000
2673 per year by asking staff and students to use a different font.  Not
2674 all PDFs and documents are created internally, and those from external
2675 sources will most likely still use a different font.  Also, the
2676 Century Gothic font is slightly wider than Arial, and thus might use
2677 more sheets of paper to print the same text, so the total saving
2678 depend on the documents printed.</p>
2679
2680 <p>But it is definitely something to consider, if you want to reduce
2681 the amount of trash, decrease the amount of toner used in the world,
2682 and save some money in the process.</p>
2683
2684 <p>Update 2013-04-10: If you want to know how much ink/toner could be
2685 saved when switching between fonts, Inkfarm got a
2686 <a href="http://www.inkfarm.com/What-the-Font">service to calculate the
2687 difference between font pairs</a>.  They also
2688 <a href="http://www.inkfarm.com/Recommended-Ink-Saving-Fonts---">recommend
2689 which fonts to use</a> to save ink.  Check it out. :) While updating
2690 this blog post, I also came across a blog post from InkCloners,
2691 <a href="http://inkcloners.com/blog/ink-cartridges/change-fonts-to-save-ink-costs/">listing
2692 the fonts they recommend</a>, with Centory Gothic at the top.</p>
2693
2694       </div>
2695       <div class="tags">
2696
2697
2698         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2699
2700
2701       </div>
2702     </div>
2703     <div class="padding"></div>
2704
2705     <div class="entry">
2706       <div class="title">
2707         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Typesetting_a_short_story_using_docbook_for_PDF__HTML_and_EPUB.html">Typesetting a short story using docbook for PDF, HTML and EPUB</a>
2708       </div>
2709       <div class="date">
2710         24th March 2013
2711       </div>
2712       <div class="body">
2713         <p>A few days ago, during a discussion in
2714 <a href="http://www.efn.no/">EFN</a> about interesting books to read
2715 about copyright and the data retention directive, a suggestion to read
2716 the 1968 short story Kodémus by
2717 <a href="http://web2.gyldendal.no/toraage/">Tore Åge Bringsværd</a>
2718 came up.  The text was only available in old paper books, and thus not
2719 easily available for current and future generations.  Some of the
2720 people participating in the discussion contacted the author, and
2721 reported back 2013-03-19 that the author was OK with releasing the
2722 short story using a <a href="http://www.creativecommons.org/">Creative
2723 Commons</a> license.  The text was quickly scanned and OCR-ed, and we
2724 were ready to start on the editing and typesetting.</p>
2725
2726 <p>As I already had some experience formatting text in my project to
2727 provide a Norwegian version of the Free Culture book by Lawrence
2728 Lessig, I chipped in and set up a
2729 <a href="http://www.docbook.org/">DocBook</a> processing framework to
2730 generate PDF, HTML and EPUB version of the short story.  The tools to
2731 transform DocBook to different formats are already in my Linux
2732 distribution of choice, <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a>, so
2733 all I had to do was to use the
2734 <a href="http://dblatex.sourceforge.net/">dblatex</a>,
2735 <a href="http://docbook.sourceforge.net/release/xsl/current/epub/README">dbtoepub</a>
2736 and <a href="https://fedorahosted.org/xmlto/">xmlto</a> tools to do the
2737 conversion.  After a few days, we decided to replace dblatex with
2738 xsltproc/fop (aka
2739 <a href="http://wiki.docbook.org/DocBookXslStylesheets">docbook-xsl</a>),
2740 to get the copyright information to show up in the PDF and to get a
2741 nicer &lt;variablelist&gt; typesetting, but that is just a minor
2742 technical detail.</p>
2743
2744 <p>There were a few challenges, of course.  We want to typeset the
2745 short story to look like the original, and that require fairly good
2746 control over the layout.  The original short story have three
2747 parts/scenes separated by a single horizontally centred star (*), and
2748 the paragraphs do not contain only flowing text, but dialogs and text
2749 that started on a new line in the middle of the paragraph.</p>
2750
2751 <p>I initially solved the first challenge by using a paragraph with a
2752 single star in it, ie &lt;para&gt;*&lt;/para&gt;, but it made sure a
2753 placeholder indicated where the scene shifted.  This did not look too
2754 good without the centring.  The next approach was to create a new
2755 preprocessor directive &lt;?newscene?&gt;, mapping to "&lt;hr/&gt;"
2756 for HTML and "&lt;fo:block text-align="center"&gt;&lt;fo:leader
2757 leader-pattern="rule" rule-thickness="0.5pt"/&gt;&lt;/fo:block&gt;"
2758 for FO/PDF output (did not try to implement this in dblatex, as we had
2759 switched at this time).  The HTML XSL file looked like this:</p>
2760
2761 <p><blockquote><pre>
2762 &lt;?xml version='1.0'?&gt;
2763 &lt;xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" version='1.0'&gt;
2764   &lt;xsl:template match="processing-instruction('newscene')"&gt;
2765     &lt;hr/&gt;
2766   &lt;/xsl:template&gt;
2767 &lt;/xsl:stylesheet&gt;
2768 </pre></blockquote></p>
2769
2770 <p>And the FO/PDF XSL file looked like this:</p>
2771
2772 <p><blockquote><pre>
2773 &lt;?xml version='1.0'?&gt;
2774 &lt;xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" version='1.0'&gt;
2775   &lt;xsl:template match="processing-instruction('newscene')"&gt;
2776     &lt;fo:block text-align="center"&gt;
2777       &lt;fo:leader leader-pattern="rule" rule-thickness="0.5pt"/&gt;
2778     &lt;/fo:block&gt;
2779   &lt;/xsl:template&gt;
2780 &lt;/xsl:stylesheet&gt;
2781 </pre></blockquote></p>
2782
2783 <p>Finally, I came across the &lt;bridgehead&gt; tag, which seem to be
2784 a good fit for the task at hand, and I replaced &lt;?newscene?&gt;
2785 with &lt;bridgehead&gt;*&lt;/bridgehead&gt;.  It isn't centred, but we
2786 can fix it with some XSL rule if the current visual layout isn't
2787 enough.</p>
2788
2789 <p>I did not find a good DocBook compliant way to solve the
2790 linebreak/paragraph challenge, so I ended up creating a new processor
2791 directive &lt;?linebreak?&gt;, mapping to &lt;br/&gt; in HTML, and
2792 &lt;fo:block/&gt; in FO/PDF.  I suspect there are better ways to do
2793 this, and welcome ideas and patches on github.  The HTML XSL file now
2794 look like this:</p>
2795
2796 <p><blockquote><pre>
2797 &lt;?xml version='1.0'?&gt;
2798 &lt;xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" version='1.0'&gt;
2799   &lt;xsl:template match="processing-instruction('linebreak)"&gt;
2800     &lt;br/&gt;
2801   &lt;/xsl:template&gt;
2802 &lt;/xsl:stylesheet&gt;
2803 </pre></blockquote></p>
2804
2805 <p>And the FO/PDF XSL file looked like this:</p>
2806
2807 <p><blockquote><pre>
2808 &lt;?xml version='1.0'?&gt;
2809 &lt;xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" version='1.0'
2810   xmlns:fo="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Format"&gt;
2811   &lt;xsl:template match="processing-instruction('linebreak)"&gt;
2812     &lt;fo:block/&gt;
2813   &lt;/xsl:template&gt;
2814 &lt;/xsl:stylesheet&gt;
2815 </pre></blockquote></p>
2816
2817 <p>One unsolved challenge is our wish to expose different ISBN numbers
2818 per publication format, while keeping all of them in some conditional
2819 structure in the DocBook source.  No idea how to do this, so we ended
2820 up listing all the ISBN numbers next to their format in the colophon
2821 page.</p>
2822
2823 <p>If you want to check out the finished result, check out the
2824 <a href="https://github.com/sickel/kodemus">source repository at
2825 github</a>
2826 (<a href="https://github.com/EFN/kodemus">future/new/official
2827 repository</a>).  We expect it to be ready and announced in a few
2828 days.</p>
2829
2830       </div>
2831       <div class="tags">
2832
2833
2834         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>.
2835
2836
2837       </div>
2838     </div>
2839     <div class="padding"></div>
2840
2841     <div class="entry">
2842       <div class="title">
2843         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Skolelinux_6_got_a_video_review_from_Pcwizz.html">Skolelinux 6 got a video review from Pcwizz</a>
2844       </div>
2845       <div class="date">
2846         17th March 2013
2847       </div>
2848       <div class="body">
2849         <p>Via
2850 <a href="https://twitter.com/pcwizz/status/313044373262716930">twitter</a>
2851 I just discovered that <a href="http://pcwizz.net/">Pcwizz</a> have
2852 done a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPzTZ61Pcuc">video
2853 review</a> on Youtube of <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux
2854 / Debian Edu</a> version 6.  He installed the standalone profile and
2855 the video show a walk-through of of the menu content, demonstration of
2856 a few programs and his view of our distribution.</p>
2857
2858 <p>There is also some really nice quotes (transcribed by me, might
2859 have heard wrong).  While looking thought the Graphics menu:</p>
2860
2861 <blockquote>
2862 "Basically everything you ever need in a school environment."
2863 </blockquote>
2864
2865 <p>And as a general evaluation of the entire distribution:</p>
2866
2867 <blockquote>
2868 "So, yeah, a bit bloated.  It kept all the Debian stuff in there, just
2869 to keep it nice and GNU.  So, I do not want to go on about it, but
2870 lets give it 7 out of 10.  I am not going to use it.  That is because
2871 I am not deploying a school network.  There may be some mythical
2872 feature to help you deploy Skolelinux on a school network."
2873 </blockquote>
2874
2875 <p>To bad he did not test the server profile, and discovered the PXE
2876 installation option.  It make it possible to install only the main
2877 server from CD, and the rest of the machines via the net, and might be
2878 considered the mythical feature he talk about. :)</p>
2879
2880 <p>While looking through the menus, there is also this funny comment
2881 about the part of the K menu generated from the Debian menu subsystem:
2882
2883 <blockquote>
2884 "[The K menu] have a special Debian section for software that no-one
2885 is going to look at, because it contain lots of junky stuff that you
2886 actually don't need in the education distribution, but have just been
2887 included because it isn't stripped out for some reason."
2888 </blockquote>
2889
2890 <p>I guess it is yet another argument for merging the Debian menu and
2891 Gnome/KDE desktop menu entries into
2892 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/Proposals/DebianMenuUsingDesktopEntries">one
2893 consistent menu system</a> instead of two incomplete and partly
2894 inconsistent menu systems.</p>
2895
2896 <p>The entire video is available below for those accepting iframe
2897 embedding:</p>
2898
2899 <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wPzTZ61Pcuc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
2900
2901       </div>
2902       <div class="tags">
2903
2904
2905         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
2906
2907
2908       </div>
2909     </div>
2910     <div class="padding"></div>
2911
2912     <div class="entry">
2913       <div class="title">
2914         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_Skolelinux___Debian_Edu_Squeeze_update_released.html">First Skolelinux / Debian Edu Squeeze update released</a>
2915       </div>
2916       <div class="date">
2917          8th March 2013
2918       </div>
2919       <div class="body">
2920         <p>Last Sunday, 2013-03-03,, Holger Levsen announced the first update
2921 of <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux / Debian Edu</a>
2922 based on Debian Squeeze.  This is the first update since
2923 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2012/03/msg00001.html">the
2924 initial release 2012-03-11</a>.  This is the
2925 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2013/03/msg00000.html">release
2926 announcement email from Holger</a>:</p>
2927
2928 <blockquote><p>Hi,</p>
2929
2930 <p>it's my pleasure to announce the immediate availability of Debian
2931 Edu 6.0.7+r1 ("Debian Edu Squeeze").</p>
2932
2933 <p>Debian Edu 6.0.7+r1 is an incremental update to Debian Edu
2934 6.0.4+r0, containing all the changes between Debian 6.0.4 and 6.0.7 as
2935 well Debian Edu specific bugfixes and enhancements. See below (in this
2936 mail) for the full list of (edu) changes.  Please see
2937 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2012/20120311">http://www.debian.org/News/2012/20120311</a>
2938 for more information on "Debian Edu Squeeze".</p>
2939
2940 <p>Images are available for download at
2941 <a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/</a></p>
2942
2943 <p>md5sums:
2944 <br>1fe79eb4f0f9ae1c58fc318e26cc1e2e  debian-edu-6.0.7+r1-CD.iso
2945 <br>a6ddd924a8bd9a1b5ca122e8fe1c34ec  debian-edu-6.0.7+r1-DVD.iso
2946 <br>ac6c72cd7925ccec51bfbf58e2a7c69c  debian-edu-6.0.7+r1-source-DVD.iso</p>
2947
2948 <p>sha1sums:
2949 <br>a4b58233b672a99c7df8dc24fb6de3327654a5c3  debian-edu-6.0.7+r1-CD.iso
2950 <br>9b524915e0ff2aa793f13d93123e5bd2bab2dbaa  debian-edu-6.0.7+r1-DVD.iso
2951 <br>43997614893fc5e9e59ad6ce066b05d07fd836fa  debian-edu-6.0.7+r1-source-DVD.iso</p>
2952
2953 <p>These images are suitable for amd64+i386.</p>
2954
2955 <p>Changes for Debian Edu 6.0.7+r1 Codename "Squeeze", released
2956 2013-03-03:</p>
2957
2958 <ul>
2959   <li>sitesummary was updated from 0.1.3 to 0.1.8
2960   <ul>
2961         <li>Make Nagios configuration more robust and efficient</li>
2962         <li>Comply with 3.X kernel</li>
2963   </ul></li>
2964   <li>debian-edu-doc from 1.4~20120310~6.0.4+r0 to 1.4~20130228~6.0.7+r1
2965   <ul>
2966         <li>Minor updates from the wiki</li>
2967         <li>Danish translation now complete</li>
2968   </ul></li>
2969   <li>debian-edu-config from 1.453 to 1.455
2970      <ul>
2971         <li>Fix /etc/hosts for LTSP diskless workstations. Closes: #699880</li>
2972         <li>Make ltsp_local_mount script work for multiple devices.</li>
2973         <li>Correct Kerberos user policy: don't expire password after 2 days.
2974                 Closes: #664596</li>
2975         <li>Handle '#' characters in the root or first users password.
2976                 Closes: #664976</li>
2977         <li>Fixes for gosa-sync:
2978            <ul>
2979                 <li>Don't fail if password contains "</li>
2980                 <li>Don't disclose new password string in syslog</li>
2981            </ul></li>
2982         <li>Fixes for gosa-create:
2983            <ul>
2984                 <li>Invalidate libnss cache before applying changes</li>
2985                 <li>Multiple failures during mass user import into GOsa²</li>
2986                 <li>gosa-netgroups plugin: don't erase entries of attribute type
2987                          "memberNisNetgroup". Closes: #687256</li>
2988                 <li>First user now uses the same Kerberos policy as all other users</li>
2989            </ul></li>
2990         <li>Add Danish web page</li>
2991     </ul>
2992   <li>debian-edu-install from 1.528 to 1.530
2993     <ul>
2994         <li>Improve preseeding support and documentation</li>
2995     </ul></li>
2996 </ul>
2997
2998 <p>End-user documentation in English is available at
2999 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Squeeze/">http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Squeeze/</a>
3000 - translations to French, Italian, Danish and German are available in
3001 the debian-edu-doc package. (Other languages could use your help!)</p>
3002
3003 <p>If you want to contribute to Debian Edu, please join our
3004 mailinglist
3005 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu/">debian-edu@lists.debian.org</a>!
3006 </p></blockquote>
3007
3008 <p>I am very happy to see the fruits of a year of hard work. :)</p>
3009
3010       </div>
3011       <div class="tags">
3012
3013
3014         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
3015
3016
3017       </div>
3018     </div>
3019     <div class="padding"></div>
3020
3021     <div class="entry">
3022       <div class="title">
3023         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Frikanalen___Complete_TV_station_organised_using_the_web.html">Frikanalen - Complete TV station organised using the web</a>
3024       </div>
3025       <div class="date">
3026          3rd March 2013
3027       </div>
3028       <div class="body">
3029         <p>Do you want to set up your own TV station, schedule videos and
3030 broadcast them on the air?  Using free software?  With video on demand
3031 support using
3032 <a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">free and
3033 open standards</a>?  Included a web based video stream as well?  And
3034 administrate it all in your web browser from anywhere in the world?  A
3035 few years now the Norwegian public access TV-channel
3036 <a href="http://www.frikanalen.no/">Frikanalen</a> have been building a
3037 system to do just this.  The source code for the solution is licensed
3038 using the GNU LGPL, and
3039 <a href="http://github.com/Frikanalen">available from github</a>.</p>
3040
3041 <p>The idea is simple.  You upload a video file over the web, and
3042 attach meta information to the file.  You select a time slot in the
3043 program schedule, and when the time come it is played on the air and
3044 in the web stream.  It is also made available in a video on demand
3045 solution for anyone to see it also outside its scheduled time.  All
3046 you need to run a TV station - using your web browser.</p>
3047
3048 <p>There are several parts to this web based solution.  I'll mention
3049 the three most important ones.  The first part is the database of
3050 videos and the schedule.  This is written in Django and include a REST
3051 API.  The current database is SQLite, but the plan is to migrate it to
3052 PostgreSQL.  At the moment this system can be tested on
3053 <a href="http://beta.frikanalen.tv/">beta.frikanalen.tv</a>.  The
3054 second part is the video playout, taking the schedule information from
3055 the database and providing a video stream to broadcast.  This is done
3056 using <a href="http://www.casparcg.com/">CasparCG from SVT</a> and
3057 <a href="http://www.mltframework.org/">Media Lovin' Toolkit</a>.  Video
3058 signal distribution is handled using
3059 <a href="http://www.ob-encoder.com/">Open Broadcast Encoder</a>.  The
3060 third part is the converter, handling the transformation of uploaded
3061 video files to a format useful for broadcasting, streaming and video
3062 on demand.  It is still very much work in progress, so it is not yet
3063 decided what it will end up using.  Note that the source of the latter
3064 two parts are not yet pushed to github.  The lead author want to clean
3065 them up a bit more first.</p>
3066
3067 <p>The development is coordinated on the
3068 <a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/%23frikanalen">#frikanalen IRC
3069 channel</a> (irc.freenode.net), and discussed on
3070 <a href="http://lists.nuug.no/mailman/listinfo/frikanalen">the
3071 frikanalen mailing list</a>. The lead developer is Benjamin Bruheim
3072 (phed on IRC).  Anyone is welcome to participate in the
3073 development.</p>
3074
3075       </div>
3076       <div class="tags">
3077
3078
3079         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/frikanalen">frikanalen</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
3080
3081
3082       </div>
3083     </div>
3084     <div class="padding"></div>
3085
3086     <div class="entry">
3087       <div class="title">
3088         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Dr__Richard_Stallman__founder_of_Free_Software_Foundation__give_a_talk_in_Oslo_March_1st_2013.html">Dr. Richard Stallman, founder of Free Software Foundation, give a talk in Oslo March 1st 2013</a>
3089       </div>
3090       <div class="date">
3091         27th February 2013
3092       </div>
3093       <div class="body">
3094         <p>Dr. <a href="http://www.stallman.org/">Richard Stallman</a>,
3095 founder of <a href="http://www.fsf.org/">Free Software Foundation</a>,
3096 is giving <a href="http://www.nuug.no/aktiviteter/20130301-rms/">a
3097 talk in Oslo March 1st 2013 17:00 to 19:00</a>.  The event is public
3098 and organised by <a href="">Norwegian Unix Users Group (NUUG)</a>
3099 (where I am the chair of the board) and
3100 <a href="http://www.friprog.no/">The Norwegian Open Source Competence
3101 Center</a>.  The title of the talk is «The Free Software Movement and
3102 GNU», with this description:
3103
3104 <p><blockquote>
3105 The Free Software Movement campaigns for computer users' freedom to
3106 cooperate and control their own computing. The Free Software Movement
3107 developed the GNU operating system, typically used together with the
3108 kernel Linux, specifically to make these freedoms possible.
3109 </blockquote></p>
3110
3111 <p>The meeting is open for everyone.  Due to space limitations, the
3112 doors opens for NUUG members at 16:15, and everyone else at 16:45.  I
3113 am really curious how many will show up.  See
3114 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/aktiviteter/20130301-rms/">the event
3115 page</a> for the location details.</p>
3116
3117       </div>
3118       <div class="tags">
3119
3120
3121         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>.
3122
3123
3124       </div>
3125     </div>
3126     <div class="padding"></div>
3127
3128     <div class="entry">
3129       <div class="title">
3130         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Frikart___Free_Garmin_maps_for_European_countries_based_on_OpenStreetmap.html">Frikart - Free Garmin maps for European countries based on OpenStreetmap</a>
3131       </div>
3132       <div class="date">
3133         15th February 2013
3134       </div>
3135       <div class="body">
3136         <p>If you, like me, want an updated a map for your Garmin GPS, there is
3137 now a great source of free maps available from
3138 <a href="http://www.frikart.no/garmin/index.html">Frikart</a>.  To
3139 download a map, just click on the country you are interested in, and
3140 download the map type you want.  There are 8 different maps available,
3141 using different colours and data selection.  Pick one of Roadmap, Topo
3142 Summer, Topo Winter, Roadmap II, Topo Summer II, Topo Winter II,
3143 "Trails - overlay map" and "Cross country - overlay map" (see the web
3144 page for descriptions).</p>
3145
3146 <p>The maps are updated weekly, so if you find something wrong in the
3147 map you can just edit the
3148 <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org/">OpenStreetmap</a> map source
3149 (anyone can contribute) and fetch a fixed map a week later. :)</p>
3150
3151       </div>
3152       <div class="tags">
3153
3154
3155         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/kart">kart</a>.
3156
3157
3158       </div>
3159     </div>
3160     <div class="padding"></div>
3161
3162     <div class="entry">
3163       <div class="title">
3164         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/_Electronic__paper_invoices___using_vCard_in_a_QR_code.html">"Electronic" paper invoices - using vCard in a QR code</a>
3165       </div>
3166       <div class="date">
3167         12th February 2013
3168       </div>
3169       <div class="body">
3170         <p>Here in Norway, electronic invoices are spreading, and the
3171 <a href="http://www.anskaffelser.no/e-handel/faktura">solution promoted
3172 by the Norwegian government</a> require that invoices are sent through
3173 one of the approved facilitators, and it is not possible to send
3174 electronic invoices without an agreement with one of these
3175 facilitators.  This seem like a needless limitation to be able to
3176 transfer invoice information between buyers and sellers.  My preferred
3177 solution would be to just transfer the invoice information directly
3178 between seller and buyer, for example using SMTP, or some HTTP based
3179 protocol like REST or SOAP.  But this might also be overkill, as the
3180 "electronic" information can be transferred using paper invoices too,
3181 using a simple bar code.  My bar code encoding of choice would be QR
3182 codes, as this encoding can be read by any smart phone out there.  The
3183 content of the code could be anything, but I would go with
3184 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VCard">the vCard format</a>, as
3185 it too is supported by a lot of computer equipment these days.</p>
3186
3187 <p>The vCard format support extentions, and the invoice specific
3188 information can be included using such extentions.  For example an
3189 invoice from SLX Debian Labs (picked because we
3190 <a href="http://www.linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">ask
3191 for donations to the Debian Edu project</a> and thus have bank account
3192 information publicly available) for NOK 1000.00 could have these extra
3193 fields:</p>
3194
3195 <p><pre>
3196 X-INVOICE-NUMBER:1
3197 X-INVOICE-AMOUNT:NOK1000.00
3198 X-INVOICE-KID:123412341234
3199 X-INVOICE-MSG:Donation to Debian Edu
3200 X-BANK-ACCOUNT-NUMBER:16040884339
3201 X-BANK-IBAN-NUMBER:NO8516040884339
3202 X-BANK-SWIFT-NUMBER:DNBANOKKXXX
3203 </pre></p>
3204
3205 <p>The X-BANK-ACCOUNT-NUMBER field was proposed in a stackoverflow
3206 answer regarding
3207 <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10045664/storing-bank-account-in-vcard-file">how
3208 to put bank account information into a vCard</a>.  For payments in
3209 Norway, either X-INVOICE-KID (payment ID) or X-INVOICE-MSG could be
3210 used to pass on information to the seller when paying the invoice.</p>
3211
3212 <p>The complete vCard could look like this:</p>
3213
3214 <p><pre>
3215 BEGIN:VCARD
3216 VERSION:2.1
3217 ORG:SLX Debian Labs Foundation
3218 ADR;WORK:;;Gunnar Schjelderups vei 29D;OSLO;;0485;Norway
3219 URL;WORK:http://www.linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/
3220 EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:sdl-styret@rt.nuug.no
3221 REV:20130212T095000Z
3222 X-INVOICE-NUMBER:1
3223 X-INVOICE-AMOUNT:NOK1000.00
3224 X-INVOICE-MSG:Donation to Debian Edu
3225 X-BANK-ACCOUNT-NUMBER:16040884339
3226 X-BANK-IBAN-NUMBER:NO8516040884339
3227 X-BANK-SWIFT-NUMBER:DNBANOKKXXX
3228 END:VCARD
3229 </pre></p>
3230
3231 <p>The resulting QR code created using
3232 <a href="http://fukuchi.org/works/qrencode/">qrencode</a> would look
3233 like this, and should be readable (and thus checkable) by any smart
3234 phone, or for example the <a href="http://zbar.sourceforge.net/">zbar
3235 bar code reader</a> and feed right into the approval and accounting
3236 system.</p>
3237
3238 <p><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-02-12-qr-invoice.png"></p>
3239
3240 <p>The extension fields will most likely not show up in any normal
3241 vCard reader, so those parts would have to go directly into a system
3242 handling invoices.  I am a bit unsure how vCards without name parts
3243 are handled, but a simple test indicate that this work just fine.</p>
3244
3245 <p><strong>Update 2013-02-12 11:30</strong>: Added KID to the proposal
3246 based on feedback from Sturle Sunde.</p>
3247
3248       </div>
3249       <div class="tags">
3250
3251
3252         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
3253
3254
3255       </div>
3256     </div>
3257     <div class="padding"></div>
3258
3259     <div class="entry">
3260       <div class="title">
3261         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Sleep_until_morning___home_automation_for_the_kids.html">Sleep until morning - home automation for the kids</a>
3262       </div>
3263       <div class="date">
3264         10th February 2013
3265       </div>
3266       <div class="body">
3267         <p><img align="left" style="margin-right:25px;" src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-02-10-morning-light.jpeg"></p>
3268
3269 <p>With kids in the house, one challenge is getting them to sleep
3270 during the night and wake up when it is morning.  I mean, when I
3271 believe it is morning, and not two hours earlier.  In our household we
3272 have decided that 07:00 is the turning point, but getting the kids to
3273 sleep until 07:00 is a small challenge every day.  They have adapted
3274 quite well, and rarely wake up at 05:00 any more, but some times wake
3275 up at times like 05:50, 06:15, 06:30 or 06:45, and it is hard to put
3276 the awake one to bed again without disturbing and waking the rest.
3277 And I understand perfectly well that they fail to sleep until 07:00
3278 some times, as there is no way for them to know if it is before or
3279 after the magic moment without coming and asking us parents.</p>
3280
3281 <p>But yesterday I came up with a method to solve this problem.  It
3282 involve home automation.  A few years ago I bought a
3283 <a href="http://www.telldus.se/products/tellstick">Tellstick</a> and RF
3284 switches at the local <a href="http://www.clasohlson.com/">Clas
3285 Ohlson</a> shop, allowing me to control lights and other electrical
3286 gadgets using my Linux server.  When I moved from the old flat to a
3287 small house, I put away all this equipment as most of the lighting in
3288 the house was not using wall sockets and thus not easy to connect to
3289 the gadgets I had.  But recently I bought a
3290 <a href="http://www.telldus.se/products/tellstick_net">Tellstick
3291 Net</a> to be able to read sensor input as well as control power
3292 sockets.  I want to control ovens in the basement to avoid the pipes
3293 to freeze, and monitor the humidity to detect flooding.  The default
3294 setup for Tellstick Net is to be controlled by the vendor web service,
3295 which to me is a security problem, but it is also possible to build
3296 ones own
3297 <a href="http://developer.telldus.com/blog/2012/03/02/help-us-develop-local-access-using-tellstick-net-build-your-own-firmware">firmware
3298 with local access</A> instead of being controlled by a Swedish
3299 company, thanks to the release of the GPL licensed firmware source
3300 code.  I plan to get that running before I let it control anything
3301 important.  But while working on this, one idea to make it easier for
3302 the kids came to me yesterday.  We can set up a night light controlled
3303 by the computer, and turn it automatically on at 07:00.  The kids can
3304 then check the light in the morning to know if they are supposed to
3305 get up or not.  They joined me in setting everything up, and I
3306 repeated the concept several times before bed times to make sure they
3307 remembered to check the light before getting up in the morning.</p>
3308
3309 <p>We tested it this morning, and all the kids stayed in bed until
3310 after 07:00, and every one of them commented on the fact that the
3311 "morning light" was turned on and signalled that the morning had
3312 arrived.  So this look like a success, and I am excited to see how
3313 this develops the next few days. :) I really hope this can allow us
3314 all to sleep a bit longer in the morning.</p>
3315
3316 <p>A nice advantage of this setup is that we can remote control when
3317 to tell the kids to get up.  We do not have to wait until 07:00, and
3318 can also delay it if we want to.</p>
3319
3320       </div>
3321       <div class="tags">
3322
3323
3324         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
3325
3326
3327       </div>
3328     </div>
3329     <div class="padding"></div>
3330
3331     <div class="entry">
3332       <div class="title">
3333         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Bitcoin_GUI_now_available_from_Debian_unstable__and_Ubuntu_raring_.html">Bitcoin GUI now available from Debian/unstable (and Ubuntu/raring)</a>
3334       </div>
3335       <div class="date">
3336          2nd February 2013
3337       </div>
3338       <div class="body">
3339         <p>My
3340 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_backport_bitcoin_qt_version_0_7_2_2_to_Debian_Squeeze.html">last
3341 bitcoin related blog post</a> mentioned that the new
3342 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/bitcoin">bitcoin package</a> for
3343 Debian was waiting in NEW.  It was accepted by the Debian ftp-masters
3344 2013-01-19, and have been available in unstable since then.  It was
3345 automatically copied to Ubuntu, and is available in their Raring
3346 version too.</p>
3347
3348 <p>But there is a strange problem with the build that block this new
3349 version from being available on the i386 and kfreebsd-i386
3350 architectures.  For some strange reason, the autobuilders in Debian
3351 for these architectures fail to run the test suite on these
3352 architectures (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/672524">BTS #672524</a>).
3353 We are so far unable to reproduce it when building it manually, and
3354 no-one have been able to propose a fix.  If you got an idea what is
3355 failing, please let us know via the BTS.</p>
3356
3357 <p>One feature that is annoying me with of the bitcoin client, because
3358 I often run low on disk space, is the fact that the client will exit
3359 if it run short on space (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/696715">BTS
3360 #696715</a>).  So make sure you have enough disk space when you run
3361 it. :)</p>
3362
3363 <p>As usual, if you use bitcoin and want to show your support of my
3364 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
3365 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
3366
3367       </div>
3368       <div class="tags">
3369
3370
3371         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
3372
3373
3374       </div>
3375     </div>
3376     <div class="padding"></div>
3377
3378     <div class="entry">
3379       <div class="title">
3380         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Welcome_to_the_world__Isenkram_.html">Welcome to the world, Isenkram!</a>
3381       </div>
3382       <div class="date">
3383         22nd January 2013
3384       </div>
3385       <div class="body">
3386         <p>Yesterday, I
3387 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_prototype_ready_making_hardware_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">asked
3388 for testers</a> for my prototype for making Debian better at handling
3389 pluggable hardware devices, which I
3390 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">set
3391 out to create</a> earlier this month.  Several valuable testers showed
3392 up, and caused me to really want to to open up the development to more
3393 people.  But before I did this, I want to come up with a sensible name
3394 for this project.  Today I finally decided on a new name, and I have
3395 renamed the project from hw-support-handler to this new name.  In the
3396 process, I moved the source to git and made it available as a
3397 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=collab-maint/isenkram.git">collab-maint</a>
3398 repository in Debian.  The new name?  It is <strong>Isenkram</strong>.
3399 To fetch and build the latest version of the source, use</p>
3400
3401 <pre>
3402 git clone http://anonscm.debian.org/git/collab-maint/isenkram.git
3403 cd isenkram && git-buildpackage -us -uc
3404 </pre>
3405
3406 <p>I have not yet adjusted all files to use the new name yet.  If you
3407 want to hack on the source or improve the package, please go ahead.
3408 But please talk to me first on IRC or via email before you do major
3409 changes, to make sure we do not step on each others toes. :)</p>
3410
3411 <p>If you wonder what 'isenkram' is, it is a Norwegian word for iron
3412 stuff, typically meaning tools, nails, screws, etc.  Typical hardware
3413 stuff, in other words.  I've been told it is the Norwegian variant of
3414 the German word eisenkram, for those that are familiar with that
3415 word.</p>
3416
3417 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-26</strong>: Added -us -us to build
3418 instructions, to avoid confusing people with an error from the signing
3419 process.</p>
3420
3421 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-27</strong>: Switch to HTTP URL for the git
3422 clone argument to avoid the need for authentication.</p>
3423
3424       </div>
3425       <div class="tags">
3426
3427
3428         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
3429
3430
3431       </div>
3432     </div>
3433     <div class="padding"></div>
3434
3435     <div class="entry">
3436       <div class="title">
3437         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_prototype_ready_making_hardware_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">First prototype ready making hardware easier to use in Debian</a>
3438       </div>
3439       <div class="date">
3440         21st January 2013
3441       </div>
3442       <div class="body">
3443         <p>Early this month I set out to try to
3444 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">improve
3445 the Debian support for pluggable hardware devices</a>.  Now my
3446 prototype is working, and it is ready for a larger audience.  To test
3447 it, fetch the
3448 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/">source
3449 from the Debian Edu subversion repository</a>, build and install the
3450 package.  You might have to log out and in again activate the
3451 autostart script.</p>
3452
3453 <p>The design is simple:</p>
3454
3455 <ul>
3456
3457 <li>Add desktop entry in /usr/share/autostart/ causing a program
3458 hw-support-handlerd to start when the user log in.</li>
3459
3460 <li>This program listen for kernel events about new hardware (directly
3461 from the kernel like udev does), not using HAL dbus events as I
3462 initially did.</li>
3463
3464 <li>When new hardware is inserted, look up the hardware modalias in
3465 the APT database, a database
3466 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/modaliases?view=markup">available
3467 via HTTP</a> and a database available as part of the package.</li>
3468
3469 <li>If a package is mapped to the hardware in question, the package
3470 isn't installed yet and this is the first time the hardware was
3471 plugged in, show a desktop notification suggesting to install the
3472 package or packages.</li>
3473
3474 <li>If the user click on the 'install package now' button, ask
3475 aptdaemon via the PackageKit API to install the requrired package.</li>
3476
3477 <li>aptdaemon ask for root password or sudo password, and install the
3478 package while showing progress information in a window.</li>
3479
3480 </ul>
3481
3482 <p>I still need to come up with a better name for the system.  Here
3483 are some screen shots showing the prototype in action.  First the
3484 notification, then the password request, and finally the request to
3485 approve all the dependencies.  Sorry for the Norwegian Bokmål GUI.</p>
3486
3487 <p><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-1-notification.png">
3488 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-2-password.png">
3489 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-3-dependencies.png">
3490 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-4-installing.png">
3491 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-5-installing-details.png" width="70%"></p>
3492
3493 <p>The prototype still need to be improved with longer timeouts, but
3494 is already useful.  The database of hardware to package mappings also
3495 need more work.  It is currently compatible with the Ubuntu way of
3496 storing such information in the package control file, but could be
3497 changed to use other formats instead or in addition to the current
3498 method.  I've dropped the use of discover for this mapping, as the
3499 modalias approach is more flexible and easier to use on Linux as long
3500 as the Linux kernel expose its modalias strings directly.</p>
3501
3502 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-21 16:50</strong>: Due to popular demand,
3503 here is the command required to check out and build the source: Use
3504 '<tt>svn checkout
3505 svn://svn.debian.org/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/; cd
3506 hw-support-handler; debuild</tt>'.  If you lack debuild, install the
3507 devscripts package.</p>
3508
3509 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-23 12:00</strong>: The project is now
3510 renamed to Isenkram and the source moved from the Debian Edu
3511 subversion repository to a Debian collab-maint git repository.  See
3512 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Welcome_to_the_world__Isenkram_.html">build
3513 instructions</a> for details.</p>
3514
3515       </div>
3516       <div class="tags">
3517
3518
3519         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
3520
3521
3522       </div>
3523     </div>
3524     <div class="padding"></div>
3525
3526     <div class="entry">
3527       <div class="title">
3528         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Thank_you_Thinkpad_X41__for_your_long_and_trustworthy_service.html">Thank you Thinkpad X41, for your long and trustworthy service</a>
3529       </div>
3530       <div class="date">
3531         19th January 2013
3532       </div>
3533       <div class="body">
3534         <p>This Christmas my trusty old laptop died.  It died quietly and
3535 suddenly in bed.  With a quiet whimper, it went completely quiet and
3536 black.  The power button was no longer able to turn it on.  It was a
3537 IBM Thinkpad X41, and the best laptop I ever had.  Better than both
3538 Thinkpads X30, X31, X40, X60, X61 and X61S.  Far better than the
3539 Compaq I had before that.  Now I need to find a replacement.  To keep
3540 going during Christmas, I moved the one year old SSD disk to my old
3541 X40 where it fitted (only one I had left that could use it), but it is
3542 not a durable solution.
3543
3544 <p>My laptop needs are fairly modest.  This is my wishlist from when I
3545 got a new one more than 10 years ago.  It still holds true.:)</p>
3546
3547 <ul>
3548
3549 <li>Lightweight (around 1 kg) and small volume (preferably smaller
3550   than A4).</li>
3551 <li>Robust, it will be in my backpack every day.</li>
3552 <li>Three button mouse and a mouse pin instead of touch pad.</li>
3553 <li>Long battery life time.  Preferable a week.</li>
3554 <li>Internal WIFI network card.</li>
3555 <li>Internal Twisted Pair network card.</li>
3556 <li>Some USB slots (2-3 is plenty)</li>
3557 <li>Good keyboard - similar to the Thinkpad.</li>
3558 <li>Video resolution at least 1024x768, with size around 12" (A4 paper
3559 size).</li>
3560 <li>Hardware supported by Debian Stable, ie the default kernel and
3561   X.org packages.</li>
3562 <li>Quiet, preferably fan free (or at least not using the fan most of
3563   the time).
3564
3565 </ul>
3566
3567 <p>You will notice that there are no RAM and CPU requirements in the
3568 list.  The reason is simply that the specifications on laptops the
3569 last 10-15 years have been sufficient for my needs, and I have to look
3570 at other features to choose my laptop.  But are there still made as
3571 robust laptops as my X41?  The Thinkpad X60/X61 proved to be less
3572 robust, and Thinkpads seem to be heading in the wrong direction since
3573 Lenovo took over.  But I've been told that X220 and X1 Carbon might
3574 still be useful.</p>
3575
3576 <p>Perhaps I should rethink my needs, and look for a pad with an
3577 external keyboard?  I'll have to check the
3578 <a href="http://www.linux-laptop.net/">Linux Laptops site</a> for
3579 well-supported laptops, or perhaps just buy one preinstalled from one
3580 of the vendors listed on the <a href="http://linuxpreloaded.com/">Linux
3581 Pre-loaded site</a>.</p>
3582
3583       </div>
3584       <div class="tags">
3585
3586
3587         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
3588
3589
3590       </div>
3591     </div>
3592     <div class="padding"></div>
3593
3594     <div class="entry">
3595       <div class="title">
3596         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_find_a_browser_plugin_supporting_a_given_MIME_type.html">How to find a browser plugin supporting a given MIME type</a>
3597       </div>
3598       <div class="date">
3599         18th January 2013
3600       </div>
3601       <div class="body">
3602         <p>Some times I try to figure out which Iceweasel browser plugin to
3603 install to get support for a given MIME type.  Thanks to
3604 <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MozillaTeam/Plugins">specifications
3605 done by Ubuntu</a> and Mozilla, it is possible to do this in Debian.
3606 Unfortunately, not very many packages provide the needed meta
3607 information, Anyway, here is a small script to look up all browser
3608 plugin packages announcing ther MIME support using this specification:</p>
3609
3610 <pre>
3611 #!/usr/bin/python
3612 import sys
3613 import apt
3614 def pkgs_handling_mimetype(mimetype):
3615     cache = apt.Cache()
3616     cache.open(None)
3617     thepkgs = []
3618     for pkg in cache:
3619         version = pkg.candidate
3620         if version is None:
3621             version = pkg.installed
3622         if version is None:
3623             continue
3624         record = version.record
3625         if not record.has_key('Npp-MimeType'):
3626             continue
3627         mime_types = record['Npp-MimeType'].split(',')
3628         for t in mime_types:
3629             t = t.rstrip().strip()
3630             if t == mimetype:
3631                 thepkgs.append(pkg.name)
3632     return thepkgs
3633 mimetype = "audio/ogg"
3634 if 1 < len(sys.argv):
3635     mimetype = sys.argv[1]
3636 print "Browser plugin packages supporting %s:" % mimetype
3637 for pkg in pkgs_handling_mimetype(mimetype):
3638     print "  %s" %pkg
3639 </pre>
3640
3641 <p>It can be used like this to look up a given MIME type:</p>
3642
3643 <pre>
3644 % ./apt-find-browserplug-for-mimetype
3645 Browser plugin packages supporting audio/ogg:
3646   gecko-mediaplayer
3647 % ./apt-find-browserplug-for-mimetype application/x-shockwave-flash
3648 Browser plugin packages supporting application/x-shockwave-flash:
3649   browser-plugin-gnash
3650 %
3651 </pre>
3652
3653 <p>In Ubuntu this mechanism is combined with support in the browser
3654 itself to query for plugins and propose to install the needed
3655 packages.  It would be great if Debian supported such feature too.  Is
3656 anyone working on adding it?</p>
3657
3658 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-18 14:20</strong>: The Debian BTS
3659 request for icweasel support for this feature is
3660 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/484010">#484010</a> from 2008 (and
3661 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/698426">#698426</a> from today).  Lack
3662 of manpower and wish for a different design is the reason thus feature
3663 is not yet in iceweasel from Debian.</p>
3664
3665       </div>
3666       <div class="tags">
3667
3668
3669         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
3670
3671
3672       </div>
3673     </div>
3674     <div class="padding"></div>
3675
3676     <div class="entry">
3677       <div class="title">
3678         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_is_the_most_supported_MIME_type_in_Debian_.html">What is the most supported MIME type in Debian?</a>
3679       </div>
3680       <div class="date">
3681         16th January 2013
3682       </div>
3683       <div class="body">
3684         <p>The <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/AppStreamDebianProposal">DEP-11
3685 proposal to add AppStream information to the Debian archive</a>, is a
3686 proposal to make it possible for a Desktop application to propose to
3687 the user some package to install to gain support for a given MIME
3688 type, font, library etc. that is currently missing.  With such
3689 mechanism in place, it would be possible for the desktop to
3690 automatically propose and install leocad if some LDraw file is
3691 downloaded by the browser.</p>
3692
3693 <p>To get some idea about the current content of the archive, I decided
3694 to write a simple program to extract all .desktop files from the
3695 Debian archive and look up the claimed MIME support there.  The result
3696 can be found on the
3697 <a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/pub/AppStreamTest">Skolelinux FTP
3698 site</a>.  Using the collected information, it become possible to
3699 answer the question in the title.  Here are the 20 most supported MIME
3700 types in Debian stable (Squeeze), testing (Wheezy) and unstable (Sid).
3701 The complete list is available from the link above.</p>
3702
3703 <p><strong>Debian Stable:</strong></p>
3704
3705 <pre>
3706   count MIME type
3707   ----- -----------------------
3708      32 text/plain
3709      30 audio/mpeg
3710      29 image/png
3711      28 image/jpeg
3712      27 application/ogg
3713      26 audio/x-mp3
3714      25 image/tiff
3715      25 image/gif
3716      22 image/bmp
3717      22 audio/x-wav
3718      20 audio/x-flac
3719      19 audio/x-mpegurl
3720      18 video/x-ms-asf
3721      18 audio/x-musepack
3722      18 audio/x-mpeg
3723      18 application/x-ogg
3724      17 video/mpeg
3725      17 audio/x-scpls
3726      17 audio/ogg
3727      16 video/x-ms-wmv
3728 </pre>
3729
3730 <p><strong>Debian Testing:</strong></p>
3731
3732 <pre>
3733   count MIME type
3734   ----- -----------------------
3735      33 text/plain
3736      32 image/png
3737      32 image/jpeg
3738      29 audio/mpeg
3739      27 image/gif
3740      26 image/tiff
3741      26 application/ogg
3742      25 audio/x-mp3
3743      22 image/bmp
3744      21 audio/x-wav
3745      19 audio/x-mpegurl
3746      19 audio/x-mpeg
3747      18 video/mpeg
3748      18 audio/x-scpls
3749      18 audio/x-flac
3750      18 application/x-ogg
3751      17 video/x-ms-asf
3752      17 text/html
3753      17 audio/x-musepack
3754      16 image/x-xbitmap
3755 </pre>
3756
3757 <p><strong>Debian Unstable:</strong></p>
3758
3759 <pre>
3760   count MIME type
3761   ----- -----------------------
3762      31 text/plain
3763      31 image/png
3764      31 image/jpeg
3765      29 audio/mpeg
3766      28 application/ogg
3767      27 image/gif
3768      26 image/tiff
3769      26 audio/x-mp3
3770      23 audio/x-wav
3771      22 image/bmp
3772      21 audio/x-flac
3773      20 audio/x-mpegurl
3774      19 audio/x-mpeg
3775      18 video/x-ms-asf
3776      18 video/mpeg
3777      18 audio/x-scpls
3778      18 application/x-ogg
3779      17 audio/x-musepack
3780      16 video/x-ms-wmv
3781      16 video/x-msvideo
3782 </pre>
3783
3784 <p>I am told that PackageKit can provide an API to access the kind of
3785 information mentioned in DEP-11.  I have not yet had time to look at
3786 it, but hope the PackageKit people in Debian are on top of these
3787 issues.</p>
3788
3789 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-16 13:35</strong>: Updated numbers after
3790 discovering a typo in my script.</p>
3791
3792       </div>
3793       <div class="tags">
3794
3795
3796         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
3797
3798
3799       </div>
3800     </div>
3801     <div class="padding"></div>
3802
3803     <div class="entry">
3804       <div class="title">
3805         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Using_modalias_info_to_find_packages_handling_my_hardware.html">Using modalias info to find packages handling my hardware</a>
3806       </div>
3807       <div class="date">
3808         15th January 2013
3809       </div>
3810       <div class="body">
3811         <p>Yesterday, I wrote about the
3812 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Modalias_strings___a_practical_way_to_map__stuff__to_hardware.html">modalias
3813 values provided by the Linux kernel</a> following my hope for
3814 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">better
3815 dongle support in Debian</a>.  Using this knowledge, I have tested how
3816 modalias values attached to package names can be used to map packages
3817 to hardware.  This allow the system to look up and suggest relevant
3818 packages when I plug in some new hardware into my machine, and replace
3819 discover and discover-data as the database used to map hardware to
3820 packages.</p>
3821
3822 <p>I create a modaliases file with entries like the following,
3823 containing package name, kernel module name (if relevant, otherwise
3824 the package name) and globs matching the relevant hardware
3825 modalias.</p>
3826
3827 <p><blockquote>
3828 Package: package-name
3829 <br>Modaliases: module(modaliasglob, modaliasglob, modaliasglob)</p>
3830 </blockquote></p>
3831
3832 <p>It is fairly trivial to write code to find the relevant packages
3833 for a given modalias value using this file.</p>
3834
3835 <p>An entry like this would suggest the video and picture application
3836 cheese for many USB web cameras (interface bus class 0E01):</p>
3837
3838 <p><blockquote>
3839 Package: cheese
3840 <br>Modaliases: cheese(usb:v*p*d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip*)</p>
3841 </blockquote></p>
3842
3843 <p>An entry like this would suggest the pcmciautils package when a
3844 CardBus bridge (bus class 0607) PCI device is present:</p>
3845
3846 <p><blockquote>
3847 Package: pcmciautils
3848 <br>Modaliases: pcmciautils(pci:v*d*sv*sd*bc06sc07i*)
3849 </blockquote></p>
3850
3851 <p>An entry like this would suggest the package colorhug-client when
3852 plugging in a ColorHug with USB IDs 04D8:F8DA:</p>
3853
3854 <p><blockquote>
3855 Package: colorhug-client
3856 <br>Modaliases: colorhug-client(usb:v04D8pF8DAd*)</p>
3857 </blockquote></p>
3858
3859 <p>I believe the format is compatible with the format of the Packages
3860 file in the Debian archive.  Ubuntu already uses their Packages file
3861 to store their mappings from packages to hardware.</p>
3862
3863 <p>By adding a XB-Modaliases: header in debian/control, any .deb can
3864 announce the hardware it support in a way my prototype understand.
3865 This allow those publishing packages in an APT source outside the
3866 Debian archive as well as those backporting packages to make sure the
3867 hardware mapping are included in the package meta information.  I've
3868 tested such header in the pymissile package, and its modalias mapping
3869 is working as it should with my prototype.  It even made it to Ubuntu
3870 Raring.</p>
3871
3872 <p>To test if it was possible to look up supported hardware using only
3873 the shell tools available in the Debian installer, I wrote a shell
3874 implementation of the lookup code.  The idea is to create files for
3875 each modalias and let the shell do the matching.  Please check out and
3876 try the
3877 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/hw-support-lookup?view=co">hw-support-lookup</a>
3878 shell script.  It run without any extra dependencies and fetch the
3879 hardware mappings from the Debian archive and the subversion
3880 repository where I currently work on my prototype.</p>
3881
3882 <p>When I use it on a machine with a yubikey inserted, it suggest to
3883 install yubikey-personalization:</p>
3884
3885 <p><blockquote>
3886 % ./hw-support-lookup
3887 <br>yubikey-personalization
3888 <br>%
3889 </blockquote></p>
3890
3891 <p>When I run it on my Thinkpad X40 with a PCMCIA/CardBus slot, it
3892 propose to install the pcmciautils package:</p>
3893
3894 <p><blockquote>
3895 % ./hw-support-lookup
3896 <br>pcmciautils
3897 <br>%
3898 </blockquote></p>
3899
3900 <p>If you know of any hardware-package mapping that should be added to
3901 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/modaliases?view=co">my
3902 database</a>, please tell me about it.</p>
3903
3904 <p>It could be possible to generate several of the mappings between
3905 packages and hardware.  One source would be to look at packages with
3906 kernel modules, ie packages with *.ko files in /lib/modules/, and
3907 extract their modalias information.  Another would be to look at
3908 packages with udev rules, ie packages with files in
3909 /lib/udev/rules.d/, and extract their vendor/model information to
3910 generate a modalias matching rule.  I have not tested any of these to
3911 see if it work.</p>
3912
3913 <p>If you want to help implementing a system to let us propose what
3914 packages to install when new hardware is plugged into a Debian
3915 machine, please send me an email or talk to me on
3916 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-devel">#debian-devel</a>.</p>
3917
3918       </div>
3919       <div class="tags">
3920
3921
3922         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
3923
3924
3925       </div>
3926     </div>
3927     <div class="padding"></div>
3928
3929     <div class="entry">
3930       <div class="title">
3931         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Modalias_strings___a_practical_way_to_map__stuff__to_hardware.html">Modalias strings - a practical way to map "stuff" to hardware</a>
3932       </div>
3933       <div class="date">
3934         14th January 2013
3935       </div>
3936       <div class="body">
3937         <p>While looking into how to look up Debian packages based on hardware
3938 information, to find the packages that support a given piece of
3939 hardware, I refreshed my memory regarding modalias values, and decided
3940 to document the details.  Here are my findings so far, also available
3941 in
3942 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/">the
3943 Debian Edu subversion repository</a>:
3944
3945 <p><strong>Modalias decoded</strong></p>
3946
3947 <p>This document try to explain what the different types of modalias
3948 values stands for.  It is in part based on information from
3949 &lt;URL: <a href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Modalias">https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Modalias</a> &gt;,
3950 &lt;URL: <a href="http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/26132/how-to-assign-usb-driver-to-device">http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/26132/how-to-assign-usb-driver-to-device</a> &gt;,
3951 &lt;URL: <a href="http://code.metager.de/source/history/linux/stable/scripts/mod/file2alias.c">http://code.metager.de/source/history/linux/stable/scripts/mod/file2alias.c</a> &gt; and
3952 &lt;URL: <a href="http://cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewvc/dmidecode/dmidecode.c?root=dmidecode&view=markup">http://cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewvc/dmidecode/dmidecode.c?root=dmidecode&view=markup</a> &gt;.
3953
3954 <p>The modalias entries for a given Linux machine can be found using
3955 this shell script:</p>
3956
3957 <pre>
3958 find /sys -name modalias -print0 | xargs -0 cat | sort -u
3959 </pre>
3960
3961 <p>The supported modalias globs for a given kernel module can be found
3962 using modinfo:</p>
3963
3964 <pre>
3965 % /sbin/modinfo psmouse | grep alias:
3966 alias:          serio:ty05pr*id*ex*
3967 alias:          serio:ty01pr*id*ex*
3968 %
3969 </pre>
3970
3971 <p><strong>PCI subtype</strong></p>
3972
3973 <p>A typical PCI entry can look like this.  This is an Intel Host
3974 Bridge memory controller:</p>
3975
3976 <p><blockquote>
3977 pci:v00008086d00002770sv00001028sd000001ADbc06sc00i00
3978 </blockquote></p>
3979
3980 <p>This represent these values:</p>
3981
3982 <pre>
3983  v   00008086  (vendor)
3984  d   00002770  (device)
3985  sv  00001028  (subvendor)
3986  sd  000001AD  (subdevice)
3987  bc  06        (bus class)
3988  sc  00        (bus subclass)
3989  i   00        (interface)
3990 </pre>
3991
3992 <p>The vendor/device values are the same values outputted from 'lspci
3993 -n' as 8086:2770.  The bus class/subclass is also shown by lspci as
3994 0600.  The 0600 class is a host bridge.  Other useful bus values are
3995 0300 (VGA compatible card) and 0200 (Ethernet controller).</p>
3996
3997 <p>Not sure how to figure out the interface value, nor what it
3998 means.</p>
3999
4000 <p><strong>USB subtype</strong></p>
4001
4002 <p>Some typical USB entries can look like this.  This is an internal
4003 USB hub in a laptop:</p>
4004
4005 <p><blockquote>
4006 usb:v1D6Bp0001d0206dc09dsc00dp00ic09isc00ip00
4007 </blockquote></p>
4008
4009 <p>Here is the values included in this alias:</p>
4010
4011 <pre>
4012  v    1D6B  (device vendor)
4013  p    0001  (device product)
4014  d    0206  (bcddevice)
4015  dc     09  (device class)
4016  dsc    00  (device subclass)
4017  dp     00  (device protocol)
4018  ic     09  (interface class)
4019  isc    00  (interface subclass)
4020  ip     00  (interface protocol)
4021 </pre>
4022
4023 <p>The 0900 device class/subclass means hub.  Some times the relevant
4024 class is in the interface class section.  For a simple USB web camera,
4025 these alias entries show up:</p>
4026
4027 <p><blockquote>
4028 usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic01isc01ip00
4029 <br>usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic01isc02ip00
4030 <br>usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic0Eisc01ip00
4031 <br>usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic0Eisc02ip00
4032 </blockquote></p>
4033
4034 <p>Interface class 0E01 is video control, 0E02 is video streaming (aka
4035 camera), 0101 is audio control device and 0102 is audio streaming (aka
4036 microphone).  Thus this is a camera with microphone included.</p>
4037
4038 <p><strong>ACPI subtype</strong></p>
4039
4040 <p>The ACPI type is used for several non-PCI/USB stuff.  This is an IR
4041 receiver in a Thinkpad X40:</p>
4042
4043 <p><blockquote>
4044 acpi:IBM0071:PNP0511:
4045 </blockquote></p>
4046
4047 <p>The values between the colons are IDs.</p>
4048
4049 <p><strong>DMI subtype</strong></p>
4050
4051 <p>The DMI table contain lots of information about the computer case
4052 and model.  This is an entry for a IBM Thinkpad X40, fetched from
4053 /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/modalias:</p>
4054
4055 <p><blockquote>
4056 dmi:bvnIBM:bvr1UETB6WW(1.66):bd06/15/2005:svnIBM:pn2371H4G:pvrThinkPadX40:rvnIBM:rn2371H4G:rvrNotAvailable:cvnIBM:ct10:cvrNotAvailable:
4057 </blockquote></p>
4058
4059 <p>The values present are</p>
4060
4061 <pre>
4062  bvn  IBM            (BIOS vendor)
4063  bvr  1UETB6WW(1.66) (BIOS version)
4064  bd   06/15/2005     (BIOS date)
4065  svn  IBM            (system vendor)
4066  pn   2371H4G        (product name)
4067  pvr  ThinkPadX40    (product version)
4068  rvn  IBM            (board vendor)
4069  rn   2371H4G        (board name)
4070  rvr  NotAvailable   (board version)
4071  cvn  IBM            (chassis vendor)
4072  ct   10             (chassis type)
4073  cvr  NotAvailable   (chassis version)
4074 </pre>
4075
4076 <p>The chassis type 10 is Notebook.  Other interesting values can be
4077 found in the dmidecode source:</p>
4078
4079 <pre>
4080   3 Desktop
4081   4 Low Profile Desktop
4082   5 Pizza Box
4083   6 Mini Tower
4084   7 Tower
4085   8 Portable
4086   9 Laptop
4087  10 Notebook
4088  11 Hand Held
4089  12 Docking Station
4090  13 All In One
4091  14 Sub Notebook
4092  15 Space-saving
4093  16 Lunch Box
4094  17 Main Server Chassis
4095  18 Expansion Chassis
4096  19 Sub Chassis
4097  20 Bus Expansion Chassis
4098  21 Peripheral Chassis
4099  22 RAID Chassis
4100  23 Rack Mount Chassis
4101  24 Sealed-case PC
4102  25 Multi-system
4103  26 CompactPCI
4104  27 AdvancedTCA
4105  28 Blade
4106  29 Blade Enclosing
4107 </pre>
4108
4109 <p>The chassis type values are not always accurately set in the DMI
4110 table.  For example my home server is a tower, but the DMI modalias
4111 claim it is a desktop.</p>
4112
4113 <p><strong>SerIO subtype</strong></p>
4114
4115 <p>This type is used for PS/2 mouse plugs.  One example is from my
4116 test machine:</p>
4117
4118 <p><blockquote>
4119 serio:ty01pr00id00ex00
4120 </blockquote></p>
4121
4122 <p>The values present are</p>
4123
4124 <pre>
4125   ty  01  (type)
4126   pr  00  (prototype)
4127   id  00  (id)
4128   ex  00  (extra)
4129 </pre>
4130
4131 <p>This type is supported by the psmouse driver.  I am not sure what
4132 the valid values are.</p>
4133
4134 <p><strong>Other subtypes</strong></p>
4135
4136 <p>There are heaps of other modalias subtypes according to
4137 file2alias.c.  There is the rest of the list from that source: amba,
4138 ap, bcma, ccw, css, eisa, hid, i2c, ieee1394, input, ipack, isapnp,
4139 mdio, of, parisc, pcmcia, platform, scsi, sdio, spi, ssb, vio, virtio,
4140 vmbus, x86cpu and zorro.  I did not spend time documenting all of
4141 these, as they do not seem relevant for my intended use with mapping
4142 hardware to packages when new stuff is inserted during run time.</p>
4143
4144 <p><strong>Looking up kernel modules using modalias values</strong></p>
4145
4146 <p>To check which kernel modules provide support for a given modalias,
4147 one can use the following shell script:</p>
4148
4149 <pre>
4150   for id in $(find /sys -name modalias -print0 | xargs -0 cat | sort -u); do \
4151     echo "$id" ; \
4152     /sbin/modprobe --show-depends "$id"|sed 's/^/  /' ; \
4153   done
4154 </pre>
4155
4156 <p>The output can look like this (only the first few entries as the
4157 list is very long on my test machine):</p>
4158
4159 <pre>
4160   acpi:ACPI0003:
4161     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/acpi/ac.ko
4162   acpi:device:
4163   FATAL: Module acpi:device: not found.
4164   acpi:IBM0068:
4165     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/char/nvram.ko
4166     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/leds/led-class.ko
4167     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/net/rfkill/rfkill.ko
4168     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/platform/x86/thinkpad_acpi.ko
4169   acpi:IBM0071:PNP0511:
4170     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/lib/crc-ccitt.ko
4171     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/net/irda/irda.ko
4172     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/net/irda/nsc-ircc.ko
4173   [...]
4174 </pre>
4175
4176 <p>If you want to help implementing a system to let us propose what
4177 packages to install when new hardware is plugged into a Debian
4178 machine, please send me an email or talk to me on
4179 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-devel">#debian-devel</a>.</p>
4180
4181 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-15:</strong> Rewrite "cat $(find ...)" to
4182 "find ... -print0 | xargs -0 cat" to make sure it handle directories
4183 in /sys/ with space in them.</p>
4184
4185       </div>
4186       <div class="tags">
4187
4188
4189         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
4190
4191
4192       </div>
4193     </div>
4194     <div class="padding"></div>
4195
4196     <div class="entry">
4197       <div class="title">
4198         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Moved_the_pymissile_Debian_packaging_to_collab_maint.html">Moved the pymissile Debian packaging to collab-maint</a>
4199       </div>
4200       <div class="date">
4201         10th January 2013
4202       </div>
4203       <div class="body">
4204         <p>As part of my investigation on how to improve the support in Debian
4205 for hardware dongles, I dug up my old Mark and Spencer USB Rocket
4206 Launcher and updated the Debian package
4207 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/pymissile">pymissile</a> to make
4208 sure udev will fix the device permissions when it is plugged in.  I
4209 also added a "Modaliases" header to test it in the Debian archive and
4210 hopefully make the package be proposed by jockey in Ubuntu when a user
4211 plug in his rocket launcher.  In the process I moved the source to a
4212 git repository under collab-maint, to make it easier for any DD to
4213 contribute.  <a href="http://code.google.com/p/pymissile/">Upstream</a>
4214 is not very active, but the software still work for me even after five
4215 years of relative silence.  The new git repository is not listed in
4216 the uploaded package yet, because I want to test the other changes a
4217 bit more before I upload the new version.  If you want to check out
4218 the new version with a .desktop file included, visit the
4219 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=collab-maint/pymissile.git">gitweb
4220 view</a> or use "<tt>git clone
4221 git://anonscm.debian.org/collab-maint/pymissile.git</tt>".</p>
4222
4223       </div>
4224       <div class="tags">
4225
4226
4227         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot</a>.
4228
4229
4230       </div>
4231     </div>
4232     <div class="padding"></div>
4233
4234     <div class="entry">
4235       <div class="title">
4236         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">Lets make hardware dongles easier to use in Debian</a>
4237       </div>
4238       <div class="date">
4239          9th January 2013
4240       </div>
4241       <div class="body">
4242         <p>One thing that annoys me with Debian and Linux distributions in
4243 general, is that there is a great package management system with the
4244 ability to automatically install software packages by downloading them
4245 from the distribution mirrors, but no way to get it to automatically
4246 install the packages I need to use the hardware I plug into my
4247 machine.  Even if the package to use it is easily available from the
4248 Linux distribution.  When I plug in a LEGO Mindstorms NXT, it could
4249 suggest to automatically install the python-nxt, nbc and t2n packages
4250 I need to talk to it.  When I plug in a Yubikey, it could propose the
4251 yubikey-personalization package.  The information required to do this
4252 is available, but no-one have pulled all the pieces together.</p>
4253
4254 <p>Some years ago, I proposed to
4255 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/05/msg01206.html">use
4256 the discover subsystem to implement this</a>.  The idea is fairly
4257 simple:
4258
4259 <ul>
4260
4261 <li>Add a desktop entry in /usr/share/autostart/ pointing to a program
4262   starting when a user log in.</li>
4263
4264 <li>Set this program up to listen for kernel events emitted when new
4265   hardware is inserted into the computer.</li>
4266
4267 <li>When new hardware is inserted, look up the hardware ID in a
4268   database mapping to packages, and take note of any non-installed
4269   packages.</li>
4270
4271 <li>Show a message to the user proposing to install the discovered
4272   package, and make it easy to install it.</li>
4273
4274 </ul>
4275
4276 <p>I am not sure what the best way to implement this is, but my
4277 initial idea was to use dbus events to discover new hardware, the
4278 discover database to find packages and
4279 <a href="http://www.packagekit.org/">PackageKit</a> to install
4280 packages.</p>
4281
4282 <p>Yesterday, I found time to try to implement this idea, and the
4283 draft package is now checked into
4284 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/">the
4285 Debian Edu subversion repository</a>.  In the process, I updated the
4286 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/d/discover-data.html">discover-data</a>
4287 package to map the USB ids of LEGO Mindstorms and Yubikey devices to
4288 the relevant packages in Debian, and uploaded a new version
4289 2.2013.01.09 to unstable.  I also discovered that the current
4290 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/d/discover.html">discover</a>
4291 package in Debian no longer discovered any USB devices, because
4292 /proc/bus/usb/devices is no longer present.  I ported it to use
4293 libusb as a fall back option to get it working.  The fixed package
4294 version 2.1.2-6 is now in experimental (didn't upload it to unstable
4295 because of the freeze).</p>
4296
4297 <p>With this prototype in place, I can insert my Yubikey, and get this
4298 desktop notification to show up (only once, the first time it is
4299 inserted):</p>
4300
4301 <p align="center"><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-09-hw-autoinstall.png"></p>
4302
4303 <p>For this prototype to be really useful, some way to automatically
4304 install the proposed packages by pressing the "Please install
4305 program(s)" button should to be implemented.</p>
4306
4307 <p>If this idea seem useful to you, and you want to help make it
4308 happen, please help me update the discover-data database with mappings
4309 from hardware to Debian packages.  Check if 'discover-pkginstall -l'
4310 list the package you would like to have installed when a given
4311 hardware device is inserted into your computer, and report bugs using
4312 reportbug if it isn't.  Or, if you know of a better way to provide
4313 such mapping, please let me know.</p>
4314
4315 <p>This prototype need more work, and there are several questions that
4316 should be considered before it is ready for production use.  Is dbus
4317 the correct way to detect new hardware?  At the moment I look for HAL
4318 dbus events on the system bus, because that is the events I could see
4319 on my Debian Squeeze KDE desktop.  Are there better events to use?
4320 How should the user be notified?  Is the desktop notification
4321 mechanism the best option, or should the background daemon raise a
4322 popup instead?  How should packages be installed?  When should they
4323 not be installed?</p>
4324
4325 <p>If you want to help getting such feature implemented in Debian,
4326 please send me an email. :)</p>
4327
4328       </div>
4329       <div class="tags">
4330
4331
4332         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
4333
4334
4335       </div>
4336     </div>
4337     <div class="padding"></div>
4338
4339     <div class="entry">
4340       <div class="title">
4341         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_IRC_channel_for_LEGO_designers_using_Debian.html">New IRC channel for LEGO designers using Debian</a>
4342       </div>
4343       <div class="date">
4344          2nd January 2013
4345       </div>
4346       <div class="body">
4347         <p>During Christmas, I have worked a bit on the Debian support for
4348 <a href="http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspx">LEGO Mindstorm
4349 NXT</a>.  My son and I have played a bit with my NXT set, and I
4350 discovered I had to build all the tools myself because none were
4351 already in Debian Squeeze.  If Debian support for LEGO is something
4352 you care about, please join me on the IRC channel
4353 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-lego">#debian-lego</a> (server
4354 irc.debian.org).  There is a lot that could be done to improve the
4355 Debian support for LEGO designers.  For example both CAD software
4356 and Mindstorm compilers are missing. :)</p>
4357
4358 <p>Update 2012-01-03: A
4359 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LegoDesigners">project page</a>
4360 including links to Lego related packages is now available.</p>
4361
4362       </div>
4363       <div class="tags">
4364
4365
4366         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot</a>.
4367
4368
4369       </div>
4370     </div>
4371     <div class="padding"></div>
4372
4373     <div class="entry">
4374       <div class="title">
4375         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_Christmas_present_for_Skolelinux___Debian_Edu.html">A Christmas present for Skolelinux / Debian Edu</a>
4376       </div>
4377       <div class="date">
4378         28th December 2012
4379       </div>
4380       <div class="body">
4381         <p>I was happy to discover a few days ago that the
4382 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux / Debian Edu</a>
4383 project also this year received a Christmas present from Another
4384 Agency in Trondheim.  NOK 1000,- showed up on our donation account
4385 December 24th.  I want to express our thanks for this very welcome
4386 present.  As the Debian Edu / Skolelinux project is very short on
4387 funding these days, and thus lack the money to do regular developer
4388 gatherings, this donation was most welcome.  One developer gathering
4389 cost around NOK 15&nbsp;000,-, so we need quite a lot more to keep the
4390 development pace we want.  Thus, I hope their example this year is
4391 followed by many others. :)</p>
4392
4393 <p>The public list of donors can be found on
4394 <a href="http://www.linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">the
4395 donation page</a> for the project, which also contain instructions if
4396 you want to donate to the project.</p>
4397
4398       </div>
4399       <div class="tags">
4400
4401
4402         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
4403
4404
4405       </div>
4406     </div>
4407     <div class="padding"></div>
4408
4409     <div class="entry">
4410       <div class="title">
4411         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_backport_bitcoin_qt_version_0_7_2_2_to_Debian_Squeeze.html">How to backport bitcoin-qt version 0.7.2-2 to Debian Squeeze</a>
4412       </div>
4413       <div class="date">
4414         25th December 2012
4415       </div>
4416       <div class="body">
4417         <p>Let me start by wishing you all marry Christmas and a happy new
4418 year!  I hope next year will prove to be a good year.</p>
4419
4420 <p><a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">Bitcoin</a>, the digital
4421 decentralised "currency" that allow people to transfer bitcoins
4422 between each other with minimal overhead, is a very interesting
4423 experiment.  And as I wrote a few days ago, the bitcoin situation in
4424 <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a> is about to improve a bit.
4425 The <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/bitcoin">new debian source
4426 package</a> (version 0.7.2-2) was uploaded yesterday, and is waiting
4427 in <a href="http://ftp-master.debian.org/new.html">the NEW queue</A>
4428 for one of the ftpmasters to approve the new bitcoin-qt package
4429 name.</p>
4430
4431 <p>And thanks to the great work of Jonas and the rest of the bitcoin
4432 team in Debian, you can easily test the package in Debian Squeeze
4433 using the following steps to get a set of working packages:</p>
4434
4435 <blockquote><pre>
4436 git clone git://git.debian.org/git/collab-maint/bitcoin
4437 cd bitcoin
4438 DEB_MAINTAINER_MODE=1 DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=noupnp fakeroot debian/rules clean
4439 DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=noupnp git-buildpackage --git-ignore-new
4440 </pre></blockquote>
4441
4442 <p>You might have to install some build dependencies as well.  The
4443 list of commands should give you two packages, bitcoind and
4444 bitcoin-qt, ready for use in a Squeeze environment.  Note that the
4445 client will download the complete set of bitcoin "blocks", which need
4446 around 5.6 GiB of data on my machine at the moment.  Make sure your
4447 ~/.bitcoin/ directory have lots of spare room if you want to download
4448 all the blocks.  The client will warn if the disk is getting full, so
4449 there is not really a problem if you got too little room, but you will
4450 not be able to get all the features out of the client.</p>
4451
4452 <p>As usual, if you use bitcoin and want to show your support of my
4453 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
4454 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
4455
4456       </div>
4457       <div class="tags">
4458
4459
4460         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
4461
4462
4463       </div>
4464     </div>
4465     <div class="padding"></div>
4466
4467     <div class="entry">
4468       <div class="title">
4469         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_word_on_bitcoin_support_in_Debian.html">A word on bitcoin support in Debian</a>
4470       </div>
4471       <div class="date">
4472         21st December 2012
4473       </div>
4474       <div class="body">
4475         <p>It has been a while since I wrote about
4476 <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">bitcoin</a>, the decentralised
4477 peer-to-peer based crypto-currency, and the reason is simply that I
4478 have been busy elsewhere.  But two days ago, I started looking at the
4479 state of <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/bitcoin">bitcoin in
4480 Debian</a> again to try to recover my old bitcoin wallet.  The package
4481 is now maintained by a
4482 <a href="https://alioth.debian.org/projects/pkg-bitcoin/">team of
4483 people</a>, and the grunt work had already been done by this team.  We
4484 owe a huge thank you to all these team members. :)
4485 But I was sad to discover that the bitcoin client is missing in
4486 Wheezy.  It is only available in Sid (and an outdated client from
4487 backports).  The client had several RC bugs registered in BTS blocking
4488 it from entering testing.  To try to help the team and improve the
4489 situation, I spent some time providing patches and triaging the bug
4490 reports.  I also had a look at the bitcoin package available from Matt
4491 Corallo in a
4492 <a href="https://launchpad.net/~bitcoin/+archive/bitcoin">PPA for
4493 Ubuntu</a>, and moved the useful pieces from that version into the
4494 Debian package.</p>
4495
4496 <p>After checking with the main package maintainer Jonas Smedegaard on
4497 IRC, I pushed several patches into the collab-maint git repository to
4498 improve the package.  It now contains fixes for the RC issues (not from
4499 me, but fixed by Scott Howard), build rules for a Qt GUI client
4500 package, konqueror support for the bitcoin: URI and bash completion
4501 setup.  As I work on Debian Squeeze, I also created
4502 <a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-bitcoin-devel/Week-of-Mon-20121217/000041.html">a
4503 patch to backport</a> the latest version.  Jonas is going to look at
4504 it and try to integrate it into the git repository before uploading a
4505 new version to unstable.
4506
4507 <p>I would very much like bitcoin to succeed, to get rid of the
4508 centralized control currently exercised in the monetary system.  I
4509 find it completely unacceptable that the USA government is collecting
4510 transaction data for almost all international money transfers (most are done in USD and transaction logs shipped to the spooks), and
4511 that the major credit card companies can block legal money
4512 transactions to Wikileaks.  But for bitcoin to succeed, more people
4513 need to use bitcoins, and more people need to accept bitcoins when
4514 they sell products and services.  Improving the bitcoin support in
4515 Debian is a small step in the right direction, but not enough.
4516 Unfortunately the user experience when browsing the web and wanting to
4517 pay with bitcoin is still not very good.  The bitcoin: URI is a step
4518 in the right direction, but need to work in most or every browser in
4519 use.  Also the bitcoin-qt client is too heavy to fire up to do a
4520 quick transaction.  I believe there are other clients available, but
4521 have not tested them.</p>
4522
4523 <p>My
4524 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Now_accepting_bitcoins___anonymous_and_distributed_p2p_crypto_money.html">experiment
4525 with bitcoins</a> showed that at least some of my readers use bitcoin.
4526 I received 20.15 BTC so far on the address I provided in my blog two
4527 years ago, as can be
4528 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">seen
4529 on the blockexplorer service</a>.  Thank you everyone for your
4530 donation.  The blockexplorer service demonstrates quite well that
4531 bitcoin is not quite anonymous and untracked. :) I wonder if the
4532 number of users have gone up since then.  If you use bitcoin and want
4533 to show your support of my activity, please send Bitcoin donations to
4534 the same address as last time,
4535 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
4536
4537       </div>
4538       <div class="tags">
4539
4540
4541         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
4542
4543
4544       </div>
4545     </div>
4546     <div class="padding"></div>
4547
4548     <div class="entry">
4549       <div class="title">
4550         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Ledger___double_entry_accounting_using_text_based_storage_format.html">Ledger - double-entry accounting using text based storage format</a>
4551       </div>
4552       <div class="date">
4553         18th December 2012
4554       </div>
4555       <div class="body">
4556         <p>A few days ago I came across
4557 <a href="http://joeyh.name/blog/entry/hledger/">a blog post from Joey
4558 Hess</a> describing <a href="http://ledger-cli.org/">ledger</a> and
4559 hledger, a text based system for double-entry accounting.  I found it
4560 interesting, as I am involved with several organizations where
4561 accounting is an issue, and I have not really become too friendly with
4562 the different web based systems we use.  I find it hard to find what I
4563 look for in the menus and even harder try to get sensible data out of
4564 the systems.  Ledger seem different.  The accounting data is kept in
4565 text files that can be stored in a version control system, and there
4566
4567 are at least <a href="https://github.com/ledger/ledger/wiki/Ports">five
4568 different implementations</a> able to read the format.  An example
4569 entry look like this, and is simple enough that it will be trivial to
4570 generate entries based on CVS files fetched from the bank:</p>
4571
4572 <blockquote><pre>
4573 2004-05-27 Book Store
4574       Expenses:Books                 $20.00
4575       Liabilities:Visa
4576 </pre></blockquote>
4577
4578 <p>The concept seemed interesting enough for me to check it out and
4579 look for others using it.  I found blog posts from
4580 <a href="http://blog.spang.cc/posts/hledger_rocks_my_world/">Christine
4581 Spang</a>,
4582 <a href="http://bugsplat.info/2010-05-23-keeping-finances-with-ledger.html">Pete
4583 Keen</a>,
4584 <a href="http://blog.andrewcantino.com/blog/2010/11/06/command-line-accounting-with-ledger-and-reckon/">Andrew
4585 Cantino</a> and
4586 <a href="http://blog.iphoting.com/blog/2012/11/29/command-line-double-entry-accounting/">Ronald
4587 Ip</a> describing how they use it, as well as a post from
4588 <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!topic/ledger-cli/r0oWjwbQ9Bo">Bradley
4589 M. Kuhn</a> at the Software Freedom Conservancy.  All seemed like good
4590 recommendations fitting my need.</p>
4591
4592 <p>The <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/l/ledger.html">ledger</a>
4593 package is available in Debian Squeeze, while the
4594 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/h/haskell-hledger.html">hledger</a>
4595 package only is available in Debian Sid.  As I use Squeeze, ledger
4596 seemed the best choice to get started.</p>
4597
4598 <p>To get some real data to test on, I wrote a
4599 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/tools/lodo2ledger">web scraper</a> for
4600 <a href="http://www.lodo.no/">LODO</a>, the accounting system used by
4601 the <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">NUUG</a> association, and started to
4602 play with the data set.  I'm not really deeply into accounting, but I
4603 am able to get a simple balance and accounting status for example
4604 using the "<tt>ledger balance</tt>" command.  But I will have to
4605 gather more experience before I know if the ledger way is a good fit
4606 for the organisations I am involved in.</p>
4607
4608       </div>
4609       <div class="tags">
4610
4611
4612         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
4613
4614
4615       </div>
4616     </div>
4617     <div class="padding"></div>
4618
4619     <div class="entry">
4620       <div class="title">
4621         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Scripting_the_Cerebrum_bofhd_user_administration_system_using_XML_RPC.html">Scripting the Cerebrum/bofhd user administration system using XML-RPC</a>
4622       </div>
4623       <div class="date">
4624          6th December 2012
4625       </div>
4626       <div class="body">
4627         <p>Where I work at the <a href="http://www.uio.no/">University of
4628 Oslo</a>, we use the
4629 <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/cerebrum/">Cerebrum user
4630 administration system</a> to maintain users, groups, DNS, DHCP, etc.
4631 I've known since the system was written that the server is providing
4632 an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML-RPC">XML-RPC</a> API, but
4633 I have never spent time to try to figure out how to use it, as we
4634 always use the bofh command line client at work.  Until today.  I want
4635 to script the updating of DNS and DHCP to make it easier to set up
4636 virtual machines.  Here are a few notes on how to use it with
4637 Python.</p>
4638
4639 <p>I started by looking at the source of the Java
4640 <a href="http://cerebrum.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/cerebrum/trunk/cerebrum/clients/jbofh/">bofh
4641 client</a>, to figure out how it connected to the API server.  I also
4642 googled for python examples on how to use XML-RPC, and found
4643 <a href="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/XML-RPC-HOWTO/xmlrpc-howto-python.html">a
4644 simple example in</a> the XML-RPC howto.</p>
4645
4646 <p>This simple example code show how to connect, get the list of
4647 commands (as a JSON dump), and how to get the information about the
4648 user currently logged in:</p>
4649
4650 <blockquote><pre>
4651 #!/usr/bin/env python
4652 import getpass
4653 import xmlrpclib
4654 server_url = 'https://cerebrum-uio.uio.no:8000';
4655 username = getpass.getuser()
4656 password = getpass.getpass()
4657 server = xmlrpclib.Server(server_url);
4658 #print server.get_commands(sessionid)
4659 sessionid = server.login(username, password)
4660 print server.run_command(sessionid, "user_info", username)
4661 result = server.logout(sessionid)
4662 print result
4663 </pre></blockquote>
4664
4665 <p>Armed with this knowledge I can now move forward and script the DNS
4666 and DHCP updates I wanted to do.</p>
4667
4668       </div>
4669       <div class="tags">
4670
4671
4672         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sysadmin">sysadmin</a>.
4673
4674
4675       </div>
4676     </div>
4677     <div class="padding"></div>
4678
4679     <div class="entry">
4680       <div class="title">
4681         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Why_isn_t_the_value_of_copyright_taxed_.html">Why isn't the value of copyright taxed?</a>
4682       </div>
4683       <div class="date">
4684         17th November 2012
4685       </div>
4686       <div class="body">
4687         <p>While working on a
4688 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig">Norwegian
4689 translation of the Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig</a> (76% done),
4690 which cover the problems with todays copyright law and how it stifles
4691 creativity, one idea occurred to me.  The idea is to get the tax
4692 office to help make more works enter the public domain and also help
4693 make it easier to clear rights for using copyrighted works.</p>
4694
4695 <p>I mentioned this idea briefly during Yesterdays
4696 <a href="http://www.farmann.no/2012/11/14/john-perry-barlow-in-oslo-friday-nov-16
4697 -15-30-19-00/">presentation
4698 by John Perry Barlow</a>, and concluded that it was best to put it
4699 in writing for a wider audience.  The idea is not really based on the
4700 argument that copyrighted works are "intellectual property", as the
4701 core requirement is that copyrighted work have value for the copyright
4702 holder and the tax office like to collect their share from any value
4703 controlled by the citizens in a country.  I'm sharing the idea here to
4704 let others consider it and perhaps shoot it down with a fresh set of
4705 arguments.</p>
4706
4707 <p>Most valuables are taxed by the government.  At least here in
4708 Norway, the amount of money you have, the value of our land property,
4709 the value of your house, the value of your car, the value of our
4710 stocks and other valuables are all added together.  If the tax value
4711 of these values exceed your debt, you have to pay the tax office some
4712 taxes for these values.  And copyrighted work have value.  It have
4713 value for the rights holder, who can earn money selling access to the
4714 work.  But it is not included in the tax calculations?  Why not?</p>
4715
4716 <p>If the government want to tax copyrighted works, it would want to
4717 maintain a database of all the copyrighted works and who are the
4718 rights holders for a given works, to be able to associate the works
4719 value to the right citizen or company for tax purposes.  If such
4720 database exist, it will become a lot easier to find out who to talk to
4721 for clearing permissions to use a copyrighted work, which is a very
4722 hard operation with todays copyright law.  To ensure that copyright
4723 holders keep the database up-to-date, it would have to become a
4724 requirement to be able to collect money for granting access to
4725 copyrighted works that the work is listed in the database with the
4726 correct right holder.</p>
4727
4728 <p>If copyright causes copyright holders to have to pay more taxes,
4729 they will have a small incentive to "disown" their copyright, and let
4730 the work enter the public domain. For works with several right holders
4731 one of the right holders could state (and get it registered in the
4732 database) that she do not need to be consulted when clearing rights to
4733 use the work in question and thus will not get any income from that
4734 work.  Stating this would have to be impossible to revert and stop the
4735 tax office from adding the value of that work to the given citizens
4736 tax calculation.  I assume the copyright law would stay the same,
4737 allowing creators to pick a license of their choosing, and also
4738 allowing them to put their work directly in the public domain.  The
4739 existence of such database will make it even easier to clear rights,
4740 and if the right holders listed in the database is taxed, this system
4741 would increase the amount of works that enter the public domain.</p>
4742
4743 <p>The effect would be that the tax office help to make it easier to
4744 get rights to use the works that have not yet entered the public
4745 domain and help to get more work into the public domain and .</p>
4746
4747 <p>Why have such taxing not happened yet?  I am sure the tax office
4748 would like to tax copyrighted work values if they could.</p>
4749
4750       </div>
4751       <div class="tags">
4752
4753
4754         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>.
4755
4756
4757       </div>
4758     </div>
4759     <div class="padding"></div>
4760
4761     <div class="entry">
4762       <div class="title">
4763         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Angela_Fu_.html">Debian Edu interview: Angela Fuß</a>
4764       </div>
4765       <div class="date">
4766         14th November 2012
4767       </div>
4768       <div class="body">
4769         <p>Here is another interview with one of the people in the <a
4770 href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and Skolelinux</a>
4771 community.  I am running short on people willing to be interviewed, so
4772 if you know about someone I should interview, Please send me an email.
4773 After asking for many months, I finally managed to lure another one of
4774 the people behind the German
4775 "<a href="http://wiki.it-zukunft-schule.de/">IT-Zukunft Schule</a>"
4776 project out from maternity leave to conduct an interview.  Give a warm
4777 welcome to Angela Fuß. :)</p>
4778
4779 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
4780
4781 <p>I am a 39-year-old woman living in the very north of Germany near
4782 Denmark. I live in a patchwork family with "my man" Mike Gabriel, my
4783 two daughters, Mikes daughter and Mikes and my rather newborn son.
4784
4785 <p>At the moment - because of our little baby - I am spending most of
4786 the day by being a caring and organising mom for all the kids.
4787 Besides that I am really involved into and occupied with several inner
4788 growth processes: New born souls always bring the whole familiar
4789 system into movement and that needs time and focus ;-).  We are also
4790 in the middle of buying a house and moving to it.</p>
4791
4792 <p>In 2013 I will work again in my job in a German foundation for
4793 nature conservation. I am doing public relation work there.  Besides
4794 that - and that is the connection to Skolelinux / Debian Edu - I am
4795 working in our own school project "IT-Zukunft Schule" in North
4796 Germany. I am responsible for the quality assurance, the customer
4797 relationship management and the communication processes in the
4798 project.</p>
4799
4800 <p>Since 2001 I constantly have been training myself in communication
4801 and leadership. Besides that I am a forester, a landscaping gardener
4802 and a yoga teacher.</p>
4803
4804 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu
4805 project?</strong></p>
4806
4807 <p>I fell in love with Mike ;-).</p>
4808
4809 <p>Very soon after getting to know him I was completely enrolled into
4810 Free Software.  At this time Mike did IT-services for one newly
4811 founded school in Kiel. Other schools in Kiel needed concepts for
4812 their IT environment.  Often when Mike came home from working at the
4813 newly founded school I found myself listening to his complaints about
4814 several points where the communication with the schools head or the
4815 teachers did not work.  So we were clear that he would not work for
4816 one more school if we did not set up a structure for communication
4817 between him, the schools head, the teachers, the students and the
4818 parents.</p>
4819
4820 <p>Together with our friend and hardware supplier Andreas Buchholz we
4821 started to get an overview of free software solutions suitable for
4822 schools. One day before Christmas 2010 Mike and I had a date with Kurt
4823 Gramlich in Gütersloh. As Kurt and I are really interested in building
4824 networks of people and in being in communication we dived into
4825 Skolelinux and brought it to the first grammar schools in Northern
4826 Germany.</p>
4827
4828 <p>For information about our school project you can read
4829 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Mike_Gabriel.html">the
4830 interview with Mike Gabriel</a>.</p>
4831
4832 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux / Debian
4833 Edu?</strong></p>
4834
4835 <p>First I have to say: I cannot answer this question technically. My
4836 answer comes rather from a social point of view.</p>
4837
4838 <p>The biggest advantage of Skolelinux / Debian Edu I see is the large
4839 and strong international community of Debian Developers in the
4840 background which is very alive and connected over mailinglists, blogs
4841 and meetings. My constant feeling for the Debian Community is: If
4842 something does not work they will somehow fix it. All is well
4843 ;-). This is of course a user experience.  What I also get as a big
4844 advantage of Skolelinux / Debian Edu is that everybody who uses it and
4845 works with it can also contribute to it - that includes students,
4846 teachers, parents...</p>
4847
4848 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian
4849 Edu?</strong></p>
4850
4851 <p>I will answer this question relating to the internal structure of
4852 Skolelinux / Debian Edu.</p>
4853
4854 <p>What I see as a major disadvantage is that there is a gap between
4855 the group of developers for Debian Edu and the people who make the
4856 marketing, that means the people that bring Skolelinux to the
4857 schools. There is a lack of communication between these two groups and
4858 I think that does not really work for Skolelinux / Debian Edu.</p>
4859
4860 <p>Further I appreciate that Skolelinux / Debian Edu is known as a
4861 do-ocracy. Nevertheless I keep asking myself if at some points a
4862 democracy or some kind of hierarchical project structure would be good
4863 and helpful.  I am also missing some kind of contact between the
4864 Skolelinux / Debian Edu communities in Europe or on an international
4865 level. I think it would be good if there was more sharing between the
4866 different countries using Skolelinux / Debian Edu.</p>
4867
4868 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
4869
4870 <p>On my laptop I am still using an Ubuntu 10.04 with a Gnome Desktop
4871 on.  As applications I use Openoffice.org, Gedit, Firefox, Pidgin,
4872 LaTeX and GnuCash. For mails I am using Horde. And I am really fond of
4873 my N900 running with Maemo.</p>
4874
4875 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
4876 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
4877
4878 <p>I am really convinced that in our school project "IT-Zukunft
4879 Schule" we have developed (and keep developing) a great way to get
4880 schools to use Free Software. We have written a detailed concept for
4881 that so I cannot explain the whole thing here. But in a nutshell the
4882 strategy has three crucial pillars:</p>
4883
4884 <ul>
4885
4886 <li>We really take time to get what sort of stories, questions and
4887 concerns the schools head and the teachers have about using different
4888 kinds of IT and we take time to enrol them into Free Software.</li>
4889
4890 <li>Our solution for schools is never just technical. In the centre
4891 are always the people who are going to use the software. From the very
4892 beginning of the planning for a school, we tell the schools head that
4893 they are paying us not only for a technical solution for their school,
4894 they also pay us for leading all the communication processes
4895 needed. If they do not want that, we are not working with them because
4896 we cannot give a guarantee for the quality of our work then.</li>
4897
4898 <li>Another focus lies in the training of teachers and students in
4899 co-administrating the IT-System at their school. They start getting in
4900 contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu community and they get the
4901 offer to become more and more independent from us.</li>
4902
4903 </ul>
4904
4905       </div>
4906       <div class="tags">
4907
4908
4909         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
4910
4911
4912       </div>
4913     </div>
4914     <div class="padding"></div>
4915
4916     <div class="entry">
4917       <div class="title">
4918         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_European_Central_Bank__ECB__take_a_look_at_bitcoin.html">The European Central Bank (ECB) take a look at bitcoin</a>
4919       </div>
4920       <div class="date">
4921          4th November 2012
4922       </div>
4923       <div class="body">
4924         <p>Slashdot just ran a story about the European Central Bank (ECB)
4925 <a href="http://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/virtualcurrencyschemes201210en.pdf">releasing
4926 a report (PDF)</a> about virtual currencies and
4927 <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">bitcoin</a>.  It is interesting to
4928 see how a member of the bitcoin community
4929 <a href="http://blog.bitinstant.com/blog/2012/10/30/the-ecb-report-on-bitcoin-and-virtual-currencies.html">receive
4930 the report</a>.  As for the future, I suspect the central banks and
4931 the governments will outlaw bitcoin if it gain any popularity, to avoid
4932 competition.  My thoughts go to the
4933 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wörgl">Wörgl experiment</a> with
4934 negative inflation on cash which was such a success that it was
4935 terminated by the Austrian National Bank in 1933.  A successful
4936 alternative would be a threat to the current money system and gain
4937 powerful forces to work against it.</p>
4938
4939 <p>While checking out the current status of bitcoin, I also discovered
4940 that the community already seem to have
4941 <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/27/3271637/bitcoin-savings-trust-pyramid-scheme-shuts-down">experienced
4942 its first pyramid game / Ponzi scheme</a>.  Not very surprising, given
4943 how members of "small" communities tend to trust each other.  I guess
4944 enterprising crocks will try again and again, as they do anywhere
4945 wealth is available.</p>
4946
4947       </div>
4948       <div class="tags">
4949
4950
4951         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
4952
4953
4954       </div>
4955     </div>
4956     <div class="padding"></div>
4957
4958     <div class="entry">
4959       <div class="title">
4960         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/12_years_of_outages___summarised_by_Stuart_Kendrick.html">12 years of outages - summarised by Stuart Kendrick</a>
4961       </div>
4962       <div class="date">
4963         26th October 2012
4964       </div>
4965       <div class="body">
4966         <p>I work at the <a href="http://www.uio.no/">University of Oslo</a>
4967 looking after the computers, mostly on the unix side, but in general
4968 all over the place.  I am also a member (and currently leader) of
4969 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">the NUUG association</a>, which in turn
4970 make me a member of <a href="http://www.usenix.org/">USENIX</a>.  NUUG
4971 is an member organisation for us in Norway interested in free
4972 software, open standards and unix like operating systems, and USENIX
4973 is a US based member organisation with similar targets.  And thanks to
4974 these memberships, I get all issues of the great USENIX magazine
4975 <a href="https://www.usenix.org/publications/login">;login:</a> in the
4976 mail several times a year.  The magazine is great, and I read most of
4977 it every time.</p>
4978
4979 <p>In the last issue of the USENIX magazine ;login:, there is an
4980 article by <a href="http://www.skendric.com/">Stuart Kendrick</a> from
4981 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center titled
4982 "<a href="https://www.usenix.org/publications/login/october-2012-volume-37-number-5/what-takes-us-down">What
4983 Takes Us Down</a>" (longer version also
4984 <a href="http://www.skendric.com/problem/incident-analysis/2012-06-30/What-Takes-Us-Down.pdf">available
4985 from his own site</a>), where he report what he found when he
4986 processed the outage reports (both planned and unplanned) from the
4987 last twelve years and classified them according to cause, time of day,
4988 etc etc.  The article is a good read to get some empirical data on
4989 what kind of problems affect a data centre, but what really inspired
4990 me was the kind of reporting they had put in place since 2000.<p>
4991
4992 <p>The centre set up a mailing list, and started to send fairly
4993 standardised messages to this list when a outage was planned or when
4994 it already occurred, to announce the plan and get feedback on the
4995 assumtions on scope and user impact.  Here is the two example from the
4996 article: First the unplanned outage:
4997
4998 <blockquote><pre>
4999 Subject:     Exchange 2003 Cluster Issues
5000 Severity:    Critical (Unplanned)
5001 Start:       Monday, May 7, 2012, 11:58
5002 End:         Monday, May 7, 2012, 12:38
5003 Duration:    40 minutes
5004 Scope:       Exchange 2003
5005 Description: The HTTPS service on the Exchange cluster crashed, triggering
5006              a cluster failover.
5007
5008 User Impact: During this period, all Exchange users were unable to
5009              access e-mail. Zimbra users were unaffected.
5010 Technician:  [xxx]
5011 </pre></blockquote>
5012
5013 Next the planned outage:
5014
5015 <blockquote><pre>
5016 Subject:     H Building Switch Upgrades
5017 Severity:    Major (Planned)
5018 Start:       Saturday, June 16, 2012, 06:00
5019 End:         Saturday, June 16, 2012, 16:00
5020 Duration:    10 hours
5021 Scope:       H2 Transport
5022 Description: Currently, Catalyst 4006s provide 10/100 Ethernet to end-
5023              stations. We will replace these with newer Catalyst
5024              4510s.
5025 User Impact: All users on H2 will be isolated from the network during
5026              this work. Afterward, they will have gigabit
5027              connectivity.
5028 Technician:  [xxx]
5029 </pre></blockquote>
5030
5031 <p>He notes in his article that the date formats and other fields have
5032 been a bit too free form to make it easy to automatically process them
5033 into a database for further analysis, and I would have used ISO 8601
5034 dates myself to make it easier to process (in other words I would ask
5035 people to write '2012-06-16 06:00 +0000' instead of the start time
5036 format listed above).  There are also other issues with the format
5037 that could be improved, read the article for the details.</p>
5038
5039 <p>I find the idea of standardising outage messages seem to be such a
5040 good idea that I would like to get it implemented here at the
5041 university too.  We do register
5042 <a href="http://www.uio.no/tjenester/it/aktuelt/planlagte-tjenesteavbrudd/">planned
5043 changes and outages in a calendar</a>, and report the to a mailing
5044 list, but we do not do so in a structured format and there is not a
5045 report to the same location for unplanned outages.  Perhaps something
5046 for other sites to consider too?</p>
5047
5048       </div>
5049       <div class="tags">
5050
5051
5052         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
5053
5054
5055       </div>
5056     </div>
5057     <div class="padding"></div>
5058
5059     <div class="entry">
5060       <div class="title">
5061         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Amazon_steal_books_from_customer_and_throw_out_her_out_without_any_explanation.html">Amazon steal books from customer and throw out her out without any explanation</a>
5062       </div>
5063       <div class="date">
5064         22nd October 2012
5065       </div>
5066       <div class="body">
5067         <p>A blog post from Martin Bekkelund today tell the story of
5068 <a href="http://www.bekkelund.net/2012/10/22/outlawed-by-amazon-drm/">how
5069 Amazon erased the books from a customer's kindle, locked the account
5070 and refuse to tell the customer why</a>.  If a real book store did
5071 this to a customer, it would be called breaking into private property
5072 and theft.  The story has spread around the net today.  A bit more
5073 background information is available in Norwegian from
5074 <a href="http://www.digi.no/904658/hun-ble-kastet-ut-av-amazon">digi.no</a>.
5075 It is no surprise that digital restriction mechanisms (DRM) are used
5076 this way, as it has been warned about such abuse since DRM was
5077 introduced many years back.  And Amazon proved in 2009 that it was
5078 willing to
5079 <a href="http://boingboing.net/2009/07/20/amazons-orwellian-de.html">
5080 break into customers equipment and remove the books</a> people had
5081 bought, when it removed the book 1984 by George Orwell from all the
5082 customers who had bought it.  From the official comments, it even
5083 sounded like
5084 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html">Amazon
5085 would never do that again</a>.  And here we are, three years
5086 later.</p>
5087
5088 <p>And thought this action is
5089 <a href="http://www.itavisen.no/904648/forbrukerraadet-helt-haarreisende">against
5090 Norwegian regulations and law</a>, it is according to the terms of use
5091 as written by Amazon, and it is hard to hold Amazon accountable to
5092 Norwegian laws.  It is just yet another example of unacceptable terms
5093 of use on the web, and how they are used to remove customer
5094 rights.</p>
5095
5096 <p>Luckily for electronic books, there are alternatives without
5097 unacceptable terms.  For example
5098 <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/">Project Gutenberg</a> (about 40,000
5099 books), <a href="http://runeberg.org/">Project Runenberg</a> (1,652
5100 books) and <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/texts">The Internet
5101 Archive</a> (3,641,797 books) have heaps of books without DRM, which
5102 can read by anyone and shared with anyone.</p>
5103
5104 <p>Update 2012-10-23: This story broke in the morning on Monday. In
5105 the evening after the story had spread all across the Internet, Amazon
5106 restored the account of the user, as reported by
5107 <a href="http://www.digi.no/904675/helomvending-fra-amazon">digi.no</a>
5108 and <a href="http://nrk.no/kultur-og-underholdning/1.8368487">NRK</a>.
5109 Apparently public pressure work.  The story from Martin have seen
5110 several twitter messages per minute the last 24 hours, which is quite
5111 a lot, and is still drawing a lot of attention.  But even when the
5112 account is restored, the fundamental problem still exist.  I recommend
5113 reading two opinions from
5114 <a href="http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2012/10/rights-you-have-no-right-to-your-ebooks/index.htm">Simon
5115 Phipps</a> and
5116 <a href="http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2012/10/is-amazon-playing-fair/index.htm">Glen
5117 Moody</a> if you want to learn more about the fundamentals and more
5118 details about the original story.</p>
5119
5120       </div>
5121       <div class="tags">
5122
5123
5124         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>.
5125
5126
5127       </div>
5128     </div>
5129     <div class="padding"></div>
5130
5131     <div class="entry">
5132       <div class="title">
5133         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_fight_for_freedom_and_privacy.html">The fight for freedom and privacy</a>
5134       </div>
5135       <div class="date">
5136         18th October 2012
5137       </div>
5138       <div class="body">
5139         <p>Civil liberties and privacy in the western world are going down the
5140 drain, and it is hard to fight against it.  I try to do my best, but
5141 time is limited.  I hope you do your best too.  A few years ago I came
5142 across a marvellous drawing by
5143 <a href="http://www.claybennett.com/about.html">Clay Bennett</a>
5144 visualising some of what is going on.
5145
5146 <p><a href="http://www.claybennett.com/pages/security_fence.html">
5147 <img src="http://www.claybennett.com/images/archivetoons/security_fence.jpg"></a></p>
5148
5149 <blockquote>
5150 «They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
5151 safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.» - Benjamin Franklin
5152 </blockquote>
5153
5154 <p>Do you feel safe at the airport?  I do not.  Do you feel safe when
5155 you see a surveillance camera?  I do not.  Do you feel safe when you
5156 leave electronic traces of your behaviour and opinions?  I do not.  I
5157 just remember <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon">the
5158 Panopticon</a>, and can not help to think that we are slowly
5159 transforming our society to a huge Panopticon on our own.</p>
5160
5161       </div>
5162       <div class="tags">
5163
5164
5165         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>.
5166
5167
5168       </div>
5169     </div>
5170     <div class="padding"></div>
5171
5172     <div class="entry">
5173       <div class="title">
5174         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/ColonHelp_produser_sue_WordPress_to_silence_critic.html">ColonHelp produser sue WordPress to silence critic</a>
5175       </div>
5176       <div class="date">
5177         12th October 2012
5178       </div>
5179       <div class="body">
5180         <p>Thanks to a blog post by
5181 <a href="http://ramblingfoo.blogspot.no/2012/10/a-shitstorm-is-comming.html">Eddy
5182 Petrișor</a>, I became aware of yet another "alternative medicine"
5183 company using legal intimidation tactics to scare off critics.
5184 According to the originating blog post about the detox "cure"
5185 <a href="http://insulaindoielii.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/colon-help-sues-wordpress/">ColonHelp
5186 and its producers Zenyth Pharmaceuticals actions</a>, the producer
5187 sues Wordpress to get rid of the critical information.  To check if
5188 the story was for real, I contacted Automattic, the company behind
5189 wordpress.com, and they reply was "We can confirm that Zenyth is
5190 seeking a court order against WordPress / Automattic.  However, we
5191 don't believe the Terms of Service have been violated in this
5192 matter".</p>
5193
5194 <p>The story seem to be simply that a blogger checked the scientific
5195 foundation for a popular health product in Rumania, ColonHelp, and
5196 reported that there was no reason at all to believe it improved the
5197 health of its users.  This caused the company behind the product,
5198 Zenyth Pharmaceuticals, to use legal intimidation to try to silence
5199 the critic, instead of presenting its views and scientific foundation
5200 to argue its side.</p>
5201
5202 <p>This is the usual story, and the Zenyth Pharmaceuticals company
5203 deserve everyone to know how it failed to act properly.  Lets hope the
5204 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect">Streisand
5205 effect</a> can make it rethink its strategy.</p>
5206
5207 <p>What is the harm, you might think.  I suggest you take a look at
5208 <a href="http://www.whatstheharm.net/detoxification.html">a list of
5209 victims of detoxification</a>.</p>
5210
5211       </div>
5212       <div class="tags">
5213
5214
5215         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/skepsis">skepsis</a>.
5216
5217
5218       </div>
5219     </div>
5220     <div class="padding"></div>
5221
5222     <div class="entry">
5223       <div class="title">
5224         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Why_is_your_local_library_collecting_the__wrong__computer_books_.html">Why is your local library collecting the "wrong" computer books?</a>
5225       </div>
5226       <div class="date">
5227          3rd October 2012
5228       </div>
5229       <div class="body">
5230         <p>I just read the blog post from Tim Retout
5231 <a href="http://retout.co.uk/blog/2012/10/02/the-library-challenge">about
5232 the computer science book collection available in his local
5233 library</a>, and just wanted to share my comment on his theory about
5234 computer books becoming obsolete so soon.  That is part of the reason
5235 why the selection is so sad in almost any local library (it is in mine
5236 too), but I believe the major contributing factor is that the people
5237 buying books to the library have no way to know a good and future
5238 computer classic from trash.  And they need to know which one will
5239 become a classic in the future, as they would normally buy one of the
5240 recently published books.</p>
5241
5242 <p>During my university years, I worked for a while at the university
5243 library, and even there the person in charge of buying computer
5244 related books (and in fact any natural science related book), did not
5245 know enough about computers to make a good educated guess.  Once, just
5246 before Christmas, they had some leftover money on the book budget and
5247 I was asked if I could pick out a lot of computer books in the
5248 university book store, for the library to buy for their collection.  I
5249 had a great time picking all the books I dreamt of buying and reading,
5250 and the books I knew were classics (like most of the
5251 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Richard_Stevens">Stevens
5252 collection</a>).  I picked several of the generic O'Reilly books (ie
5253 documenting protocols, formats and systems, not specific versions of
5254 products) and stayed away from the 'teach yourself X in N days' class.
5255 I had a great time, and probably picked out more than a hundred books
5256 for the library that evening.</p>
5257
5258 <p>The sad fact is that there is no way a overworked librarian is
5259 going to know that for example
5260 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Practice_of_Programming">The
5261 Practice of Programming</a> is a must-have in any computer library,
5262 and they will most of the time end up picking the wrong books to buy.
5263 Perhaps you can help your local library make better choices by giving
5264 the suggestions for books to get?  I know they would love to hear from
5265 you, even if their budget might block them from getting your favourite
5266 book right away.</p>
5267
5268       </div>
5269       <div class="tags">
5270
5271
5272         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5273
5274
5275       </div>
5276     </div>
5277     <div class="padding"></div>
5278
5279     <div class="entry">
5280       <div class="title">
5281         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Seventy_percent_done_with_Norwegian_docbook_version_of_Free_Culture.html">Seventy percent done with Norwegian docbook version of Free Culture</a>
5282       </div>
5283       <div class="date">
5284         23rd September 2012
5285       </div>
5286       <div class="body">
5287         <p>Since this summer, I have worked in my spare time on a Norwegian <a
5288 href="http://www.docbook.org/">docbook</a> version of the 2004 book <a
5289 href="http://free-culture.cc/">Free Culture</a> by Lawrence Lessig.
5290 The reason is that this book is a great primer on what problems exist
5291 in the current copyright laws, and I want it to be available also for
5292 those that are reluctant do read an English book.
5293
5294 When I started, I
5295 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Dugnad_for___sende_norsk_versjon_av_Free_Culture_til_stortingets_representanter_.html">called
5296 for volunteers</a> to help me, but too few have volunteered so far,
5297 and progress is a bit slow.  Anyway, today I broken the 70 percent
5298 mark for the first rough translation.  At the moment, less than 700
5299 strings (paragraphs, index terms, titles) are left to translate.  With
5300 my current progress of 10-20 strings per day, it will take a while to
5301 complete the translation.  This graph show the updated progress:</p>
5302
5303 <img width="80%" align="center" src="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig/raw/master/progress.png">
5304
5305 <p>Progress have slowed down lately due to family and work
5306 commitments.  If you want to help, please get in touch, and check out
5307 the project files currently available from
5308 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig">github</a>.</p>
5309
5310 <p>If you are curious what the translated book currently look like,
5311 the updated
5312 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig/blob/master/archive/freeculture.nb.pdf?raw=true">PDF</a>
5313 and
5314 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig/blob/master/archive/freeculture.nb.epub?raw=true">EPUB</a>
5315 are published on github.  The HTML version is published as well, but
5316 github hand it out with MIME type text/plain, confusing browsers, so I
5317 saw no point in linking to that version.</p>
5318
5319       </div>
5320       <div class="tags">
5321
5322
5323         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture</a>.
5324
5325
5326       </div>
5327     </div>
5328     <div class="padding"></div>
5329
5330     <div class="entry">
5331       <div class="title">
5332         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Giorgio_Pioda.html">Debian Edu interview: Giorgio Pioda</a>
5333       </div>
5334       <div class="date">
5335         17th September 2012
5336       </div>
5337       <div class="body">
5338         <p>After a long break in my row of interviews with people in the
5339 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and Skolelinux</a>
5340 community, I finally found time to wrap up another.  This time it is
5341 Giorgio Pioda, which showed up on the mailing list at the start of
5342 this year, asking questions and inspiring us to improve the first time
5343 administrators experience with Skolelinux. :) The interview was
5344 conduced in May, but I only found time to publish it now.</p>
5345
5346 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
5347
5348 <p>I have a PhD in chemistry but since several years I work as teacher
5349 in secondary (15-18 year old students) and tertiary (a kind of "light"
5350 university) schools. Five years ago I started to manage a Learning
5351 Management Service server and slowly I got more and more involved with
5352 IT. 3 years ago the graduating schools moved completely to Linux and I
5353 got the head of the IT for this. The experience collected in chemistry
5354 labs computers (for example NMR analysis of protein folding) and in
5355 the IT-courses during university where sufficient to start. Self
5356 training is anyway very important</p>
5357
5358 <p>I live in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland, and the
5359 <a href="http://www.spse.ch/">SPSE school</a> (secondary) is a very
5360 special sport school for young people who try to became sport pro (for
5361 all sports, we have dozens of disciplines represented) and we are
5362 recognised by the Olympic Swiss Organisation.
5363
5364 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux/Debian Edu
5365 project?</strong></p>
5366
5367 <p>Looking for Linux / Primary Domain Controller (PDC) I found it
5368 already several years ago. But since the system was still not
5369 Kerberized and since our schools relies strongly on laptops I didn't
5370 use it. I plan to introduce it in the next future, probably for the
5371 next school year, since the squeeze release solved this security
5372 hole.</p>
5373
5374 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
5375 Edu?</strong></p>
5376
5377 <p>Many. First of all there is a strong and living community that is
5378 very generous for help and hints.  Chat help is crucial, together with
5379 the mailing list.  Second. With Skolelinux you get an already well
5380 engineered platform and you don't have to start to build up your PDC
5381 and your clients from GNU/scratch; I've already done this once and I
5382 can tell it, it is hard. Third, since Skolelinux is a standard
5383 platform, it is way easier to educate other IT people and even if the
5384 head IT is sick another one could pick up the task without too much
5385 hassle.</p>
5386
5387 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux/Debian
5388 Edu?</strong></p>
5389
5390 <p>The only real problem I see is that it is a little too less
5391 flexible at client level. Debian stable is rocky and desirable, but
5392 there are many reasons that force for another choice. For example the
5393 need of new drivers for new PC, or the need for a specific OS for some
5394 devices that have specific software packages for another specific
5395 distribution (I have such a case for whiteboards that have only
5396 Ubuntu packages). Thus, I prepared compatibility packages educlient
5397 and eduroaming, hoping not to use them ;-)</p>
5398
5399 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
5400
5401 <p>I have a Debian Stable PDC at school (Kerberos, NIS, NFS) with
5402 mixed Debian and Ubuntu clients. If you think that this triad
5403 combination is exotic... well I discovered right yesterday that
5404 <a href="http://moo.nac.uci.edu/~hjm/Perceus-Report.html">Perceus</a>
5405 has the same...</p>
5406
5407 <p>For myself I run Debian wheezy/sid, but this combination is good
5408 only I you have enough competence to fix stuff for yourself, if
5409 something breaks.  Daily I use texmacs, gnumeric, a little bit of R
5410 statistics, kmplot, and less frequently OpenOffice.org.</p>
5411
5412 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
5413 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
5414
5415 <P>I think that the only real argument that school managers "hear" is
5416 cost reduction. They don't give too much weight on quality, stability,
5417 just because they are normally not open to change.</p>
5418
5419 <p>Students adapts very quickly to GNU/Linux (and for them being able
5420 to switch between different OS is a plus value); teachers and managers
5421 don't.</p>
5422
5423 <p>We decided to move to Linux because students at our school have own
5424 laptop and we have the responsibility to keep the laptop ready to use;
5425 we were really unsatisfied with Microsoft since every Monday we had 20
5426 machine to fix for viral infections... With Linux this has been
5427 reduced to zero, since people installs almost only from official
5428 repositories. I think that our special needs brought us to Linux.
5429 Those who don't have such needs will hardly move to Linux.</p>
5430
5431       </div>
5432       <div class="tags">
5433
5434
5435         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
5436
5437
5438       </div>
5439     </div>
5440     <div class="padding"></div>
5441
5442     <div class="entry">
5443       <div class="title">
5444         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/IETF_activity_to_standardise_video_codec.html">IETF activity to standardise video codec</a>
5445       </div>
5446       <div class="date">
5447         15th September 2012
5448       </div>
5449       <div class="body">
5450         <p>After the
5451 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/IETF_standardize_its_first_multimedia_codec__Opus.html">Opus
5452 codec made</a> it into <a href="http://www.ietf.org/">IETF</a> as
5453 <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6716">RFC 6716</a>, I had a look
5454 to see if there is any activity in IETF to standardise a video codec
5455 too, and I was happy to discover that there is some activity in this
5456 area.  A non-"working group" mailing list
5457 <a href="https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/video-codec">video-codec</a>
5458 was
5459 <a href="http://ietf.10.n7.nabble.com/New-Non-WG-Mailing-List-video-codec-Video-codec-BoF-discussion-list-td119548.html">created 2012-08-20</a>.  It is intended to discuss the topic and if a
5460 formal working group should be formed.</p>
5461
5462 <p>I look forward to see how this plays out.  There is already
5463 <a href="http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/video-codec/current/msg00003.html">an
5464 email from someone</a> in the MPEG group at ISO asking people to
5465 participate in the ISO group.  Given how ISO failed with OOXML and given
5466 that it so far (as far as I can remember) only have produced
5467 multimedia formats requiring royalty payments, I suspect
5468 joining the ISO group would be a complete waste of time, but I am not
5469 involved in any codec work and my opinion will not matter much.</p>
5470
5471 <p>If one of my readers is involved with codec work, I hope she will
5472 join this work to standardise a royalty free video codec within
5473 IETF.</p>
5474
5475       </div>
5476       <div class="tags">
5477
5478
5479         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/frikanalen">frikanalen</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
5480
5481
5482       </div>
5483     </div>
5484     <div class="padding"></div>
5485
5486     <div class="entry">
5487       <div class="title">
5488         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/IETF_standardize_its_first_multimedia_codec__Opus.html">IETF standardize its first multimedia codec: Opus</a>
5489       </div>
5490       <div class="date">
5491         12th September 2012
5492       </div>
5493       <div class="body">
5494         <p>Yesterday, <a href="http://www.ietf.org/">IETF</a> announced the
5495 publication of of
5496 <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6716">RFC 6716, the Definition
5497 of the Opus Audio Codec</a>, a low latency, variable bandwidth, codec
5498 intended for both VoIP, film and music.  This is the first time, as
5499 far as I know, that IETF have standardized a multimedia codec.  In
5500 <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3533">RFC 3533</a>, IETF
5501 standardized the OGG container format, and it has proven to be a great
5502 royalty free container for audio, video and movies.  I hope IETF will
5503 continue to standardize more royalty free codeces, after ISO and MPEG
5504 have proven incapable of securing everyone equal rights to publish
5505 multimedia content on the Internet.</p>
5506
5507 <p>IETF require two interoperating independent implementations to
5508 ratify a standard, and have so far ensured to only standardize royalty
5509 free specifications.  Both are key factors to allow everyone (rich and
5510 poor), to compete on equal terms on the Internet.</p>
5511
5512 <p>Visit the <a href="http://opus-codec.org/">Opus project page</a> if
5513 you want to learn more about the solution.</p>
5514
5515       </div>
5516       <div class="tags">
5517
5518
5519         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/frikanalen">frikanalen</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
5520
5521
5522       </div>
5523     </div>
5524     <div class="padding"></div>
5525
5526     <div class="entry">
5527       <div class="title">
5528         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Git_repository_for_song_book_for_Computer_Scientists.html">Git repository for song book for Computer Scientists</a>
5529       </div>
5530       <div class="date">
5531          7th September 2012
5532       </div>
5533       <div class="body">
5534         <p>As I
5535 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Song_book_for_Computer_Scientists.html">mentioned
5536 this summer</a>, I have created a Computer Science song book a few
5537 years ago, and today I finally found time to create a public
5538 <a href="https://gitorious.org/pere-cs-songbook/pere-cs-songbook">Gitorious
5539 repository for the project</a>.</p>
5540
5541 <p>If you want to help out, please clone the source and submit patches
5542 to the HTML version.  To generate the PDF and PostScript version,
5543 please use prince XML, or let me know about a useful free software
5544 processor capable of creating a good looking PDF from the HTML.</p>
5545
5546 <p>Want to sing?  You can still find the song book in HTML, PDF and
5547 PostScript formats at
5548 <a href="http://www.hungry.com/~pere/cs-songbook/">Petter's Computer
5549 Science Songbook</a>.</p>
5550
5551       </div>
5552       <div class="tags">
5553
5554
5555         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>.
5556
5557
5558       </div>
5559     </div>
5560     <div class="padding"></div>
5561
5562     <div class="entry">
5563       <div class="title">
5564         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Free_software_forced_Microsoft_to_open_Office__and_don_t_forget_Officeshots_.html">Free software forced Microsoft to open Office (and don't forget Officeshots)</a>
5565       </div>
5566       <div class="date">
5567         23rd August 2012
5568       </div>
5569       <div class="body">
5570         <p>I came across a great comment from Simon Phipps today, about how
5571 <a href="http://www.infoworld.com/d/open-source-software/how-microsoft-was-forced-open-office-200233">Microsoft
5572 have been forced to open Office</a>, and it made me remember and
5573 revisit the great site
5574 <a href="http://www.officeshots.org/">officeshots</a> which allow you
5575 to check out how different programs present the ODF file format.  I
5576 recommend both to those of my readers interested in ODF. :)</p>
5577
5578       </div>
5579       <div class="tags">
5580
5581
5582         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
5583
5584
5585       </div>
5586     </div>
5587     <div class="padding"></div>
5588
5589     <div class="entry">
5590       <div class="title">
5591         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Half_way_there_with_translated_docbook_version_of_Free_Culture.html">Half way there with translated docbook version of Free Culture</a>
5592       </div>
5593       <div class="date">
5594         17th August 2012
5595       </div>
5596       <div class="body">
5597         <p>In my spare time, I currently work on a Norwegian
5598 <a href="http://www.docbook.org/">docbook</a> version of the 2004 book
5599 <a href="http://free-culture.cc/">Free Culture</a> by Lawrence Lessig,
5600 to get a Norwegian text explaining the problems with the copyright law
5601 I can give to my parents and others that are reluctant to read an
5602 English book.  It is a marvellous set of examples on how the ever
5603 expanding copyright regulations hurt culture and society.  When the
5604 translation is done, I hope to find funding to print and ship a copy
5605 to all the members of the Norwegian parliament, before they sit down
5606 to debate the latest revisions to the Norwegian copyright law.  This
5607 summer I
5608 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Dugnad_for___sende_norsk_versjon_av_Free_Culture_til_stortingets_representanter_.html">called
5609 for volunteers</a> to help me, and I have been able to secure the
5610 valuable contribution from at least one other Norwegian.</p>
5611
5612 <p>Two days ago, we finally broke the 50% mark.  Then more than 50% of
5613 the number of strings to translate (normally paragraphs, but also
5614 titles and index entries are also counted).  All parts from the
5615 beginning up to and including chapter four is translated.  So is
5616 chapters six, seven and the conclusion.  I created a graph to show the
5617 progress:</p>
5618
5619 <img width="80%" align="center" src="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig/raw/master/progress.png">
5620
5621 <p>The number of strings to translate increase as I insert the index
5622 entries into the docbook.  They were missing with the docbook version
5623 I initially started with.  There are still quite a few index entries
5624 missing, but everyone starting with A, B, O, Z and Y are done.  I
5625 currently focus on completing the index entries, to get a complete
5626 english version of the docbook source.</p>
5627
5628 <p>There is still need for translators and people with docbook
5629 knowledge, to be able to get a good looking book (I still struggle
5630 with dblatex, xmlto and docbook-xsl) as well as to do the draft
5631 translation and proof reading.  And I would like the figures to be
5632 redrawn as SVGs to make it easy to translate them.  Any SVG master
5633 around?  I am sure there are some legal terms that are unfamiliar to
5634 me.  If you want to help, please get in touch, and check out the
5635 project files currently available from <a
5636 href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig">github</a>.</p>
5637
5638 <p>If you are curious what the translated book currently look like,
5639 the updated
5640 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig/blob/master/archive/freeculture.nb.pdf?raw=true">PDF</a>
5641 and
5642 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig/blob/master/archive/freeculture.nb.epub?raw=true">EPUB</a>
5643 are published on github.  The HTML version is published as well, but
5644 github hand it out with MIME type text/plain, confusing browsers, so I
5645 saw no point in linking to that version.</p>
5646
5647       </div>
5648       <div class="tags">
5649
5650
5651         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture</a>.
5652
5653
5654       </div>
5655     </div>
5656     <div class="padding"></div>
5657
5658     <div class="entry">
5659       <div class="title">
5660         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Notes_on_language_codes_for_Norwegian_docbook_processing___.html">Notes on language codes for Norwegian docbook processing...</a>
5661       </div>
5662       <div class="date">
5663         10th August 2012
5664       </div>
5665       <div class="body">
5666         <p>In <a href="http://www.docbook.org/">docbook</a> one can specify
5667 the language used at the top, and the processing pipeline will use
5668 this information to pick the correct translations for 'chapter', 'see
5669 also', 'index' etc.  And for most languages used with docbook, I guess
5670 this work just fine.  For example a German user can start the document
5671 with &lt;book lang="de"&gt;, and the document will show up with the
5672 correct content with any of the docbook processors.  This is not the
5673 case for the language
5674 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Free_Culture_in_Norwegian___5_chapters_done__74_percent_left_to_do.html">I
5675 am working with at the moment</a>, Norwegian Bokmål.</p>
5676
5677 <p>For a while, I was confused about which language code to use,
5678 because I was unable to find any language code that would work across
5679 all tools.  I am currently testing dblatex, xmlto, docbook-xsl, and
5680 dbtoepub, and they do not handle Norwegian Bokmål the same way.  Some
5681 of them do not handle it at all.</p>
5682
5683 <p>A bit of background information is probably needed to understand
5684 this mess.  Norwegian is not one, but two written variants.  The
5685 variants are Norwegian Nynorsk and Norwegian Bokmål.  There are three
5686 two letter language codes associated with these languages, Norwegian
5687 is 'no', Norwegian Nynorsk is 'nn' and Norwegian Bokmål is 'nb'.
5688 Historically the 'no' language code was used for Norwegian Bokmål, but
5689 many years ago this was found to be å bad idea, and the recommendation
5690 is to use the most specific language code instead, to avoid confusion.
5691 In the transition period it is a good idea to make sure 'no' was an
5692 alias for 'nb'.</p>
5693
5694 <p>Back to docbook processing tools in Debian.  The dblatex tool only
5695 understand 'nn'.  There are translations for 'no', but not 'nb' (BTS
5696 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/684391">#684391</a>), but due to a bug
5697 (BTS <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/682936">#682936</a>) the 'no'
5698 language code is not recognised.  The docbook-xsl tool chain only
5699 recognise 'nn' and 'nb', but not 'no'.  The xmlto tool only recognise
5700 'nn' and 'nb', but not 'no'.  The end result that there is no language
5701 code I can use to get the docbook file working with all of these tools
5702 at the same time. :(</p>
5703
5704 <p>The correct solution is to use &lt;book lang="nb"&gt;, but it will
5705 take time before that will work with all the free software docbook
5706 processors. :(</p>
5707
5708 <p>Oh, the joy of well integrated tools. :/</p>
5709
5710       </div>
5711       <div class="tags">
5712
5713
5714         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture</a>.
5715
5716
5717       </div>
5718     </div>
5719     <div class="padding"></div>
5720
5721     <div class="entry">
5722       <div class="title">
5723         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Best_way_to_create_a_docbook_book_.html">Best way to create a docbook book?</a>
5724       </div>
5725       <div class="date">
5726         31st July 2012
5727       </div>
5728       <div class="body">
5729         <p>I tried to send this text to the
5730 <a href="https://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/docbook-apps/">docbook-apps
5731 mailing list at lists.oasis-open.org</a>, but it only accept messages
5732 from subscribers and rejected my post, and I completely lack the
5733 bandwidth required to subscribe to another mailing list, so instead I
5734 try to post my message here and hope my blog readers can help me
5735 out.</p>
5736
5737 <p>I am quite new to docbook processing, and am climbing a steep
5738 learning curve at the moment.</p>
5739
5740 <p>To give you some background, I am working on a Norwegian
5741 translation of the book Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig, and I use
5742 docbook to handle the process.  The files to build the book are
5743 available from
5744 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig">github</a>.
5745 The book got around 400 pages with parts, images, footnotes, tables,
5746 index entries etc, which has proven to be a challenge for the free
5747 software docbook processors.  My build platform is Debian GNU/Linux
5748 Squeeze.</p>
5749
5750 <p>I want to build PDF, EPUB and HTML version of the book, and have
5751 tried different tool chains to do the conversion from docbook to these
5752 formats.  I am currently focusing on the PDF version, and have a few
5753 problems.</p>
5754
5755 <ul>
5756
5757 <li>Using dblatex, the &lt;part&gt; handling is not the way I want to,
5758    as &lt;/part&gt; do not really end the &lt;part&gt;. (See
5759    <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/683166">BTS report #683166</a>), the
5760    xetex backend (needed to process UTF-8) give incorrect hyphens in
5761    index references spanning several pages (See
5762    <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/682901">BTS report #682901</a>), and
5763    I am unable to get the norwegian template texts (See
5764    <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/682936">BTS report #682936</a>).</li>
5765
5766 <li>Using straight xmlto fail with some latex error (See
5767    <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/683163">BTS report
5768    #683163</a>).</li>
5769
5770 <li>Using xmlto with the fop backend fail to handle images (do not
5771    show up in the PDF), fail to handle a long footnote (overlap
5772    footnote and text body, see
5773    <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/683197">BTS report #683197</a>), and
5774    fail to create a correct index (some lack page ref, and the page
5775    refs listed are not right).</li>
5776
5777 <li>Using xmlto with the dblatex backend behave like dblatex.</li>
5778
5779 <li>Using docbook-xls with xsltproc + fop have the same footnote and
5780    index problems the xmlto + fop processing.</li>
5781
5782 </ul>
5783
5784 <p>So I wonder, what would be the best way to create the PDF version
5785 of this book?  Are some of the bugs found above solved in new or
5786 experimental versions of some docbook tool chain?</p>
5787
5788 <p>What about HTML and EPUB versions?</p>
5789
5790       </div>
5791       <div class="tags">
5792
5793
5794         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture</a>.
5795
5796
5797       </div>
5798     </div>
5799     <div class="padding"></div>
5800
5801     <div class="entry">
5802       <div class="title">
5803         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Free_Culture_in_Norwegian___5_chapters_done__74_percent_left_to_do.html">Free Culture in Norwegian - 5 chapters done, 74 percent left to do</a>
5804       </div>
5805       <div class="date">
5806         21st July 2012
5807       </div>
5808       <div class="body">
5809         <p>I reported earlier that I am working on
5810 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Dugnad_for___sende_norsk_versjon_av_Free_Culture_til_stortingets_representanter_.html">a
5811 norwegian version</a> of the book
5812 <a href="http://free-culture.cc/">Free Culture</a> by Lawrence Lessig.
5813 Progress is good, and yesterday I got a major contribution from Anders
5814 Hagen Jarmund completing chapter six.  The source files as well as a
5815 PDF and EPUB version of this book are available from
5816 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig">github</a>.</p>
5817
5818 <p>I am happy to report that the draft for the first two chapters
5819 (preface, introduction) is complete, and three other chapters are also
5820 completely translated.  This completes 26 percent of the number of
5821 strings (equivalent to paragraphs) in the book, and there is thus 74
5822 percent left to translate.  A graph of the progress is present at the
5823 bottom of the github project page.  There is still room for more
5824 contributors.  Get in touch or send github pull requests with fixes if
5825 you got time and are willing to help make this book make it to
5826 print. :)</p>
5827
5828 <p>The book translation framework could also be a good basis for other
5829 translations, if you want the book to be available in your
5830 language.</p>
5831
5832       </div>
5833       <div class="tags">
5834
5835
5836         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>.
5837
5838
5839       </div>
5840     </div>
5841     <div class="padding"></div>
5842
5843     <div class="entry">
5844       <div class="title">
5845         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Call_for_help_from_docbook_expert_to_tag_Free_Culture_by_Lawrence_Lessig.html">Call for help from docbook expert to tag Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig</a>
5846       </div>
5847       <div class="date">
5848         16th July 2012
5849       </div>
5850       <div class="body">
5851         <p>I am currently working on a
5852 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Dugnad_for___sende_norsk_versjon_av_Free_Culture_til_stortingets_representanter_.html">project
5853 to translate</a> the book
5854 <a href="http://free-culture.cc/">Free Culture</a> by Lawrence Lessig
5855 to Norwegian.  And the source we base our translation on is the
5856 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DocBook">docbook</a> version, to
5857 allow us to use po4a and .po files to handle the translation, and for
5858 this to work well the docbook source document need to be properly
5859 tagged.  The source files of this project is available from
5860 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig">github</a>.</p>
5861
5862 <p>The problem is that the docbook source have flaws, and we have
5863 no-one involved in the project that is a docbook expert.  Is there a
5864 docbook expert somewhere that is interested in helping us create a
5865 well tagged docbook version of the book, and adjust our build process
5866 for the PDF, EPUB and HTML version of the book?  This will provide a
5867 well tagged English version (our source document), and make it a lot
5868 easier for us to create a good Norwegian version.  If you can and want
5869 to help, please get in touch with me or fork the github project and
5870 send pull requests with fixes. :)</p>
5871
5872       </div>
5873       <div class="tags">
5874
5875
5876         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>.
5877
5878
5879       </div>
5880     </div>
5881     <div class="padding"></div>
5882
5883     <div class="entry">
5884       <div class="title">
5885         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__George_Bredberg.html">Debian Edu interview: George Bredberg</a>
5886       </div>
5887       <div class="date">
5888          9th July 2012
5889       </div>
5890       <div class="body">
5891         <p>The <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu /
5892 Skolelinux</a> project have users all over the globe, but until
5893 recently we have not known about any users in Norway's neighbour
5894 country Sweden.  This changed when George Bredberg showed up in March
5895 this year on the mailing list, asking interesting questions about how
5896 to adjust and scale the just released
5897 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2012/20120311.html">Debian Edu
5898 Wheezy</a> setup to his liking.  He granted me an interview, and I am
5899 happy to share his answers with you here.</p>
5900
5901 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
5902
5903 <p>I'm a 44 year old country guy that have been working 12 years at
5904 the same school as 50% IT-manager and 50% Teacher. My educational
5905 background is fil.kand in history and religious beliefs, an exam as a
5906 "folkhighschool" teacher, that is, for teaching grownups.  In
5907 Norwegian I believe it's called "Vuxenupplaring". I also have a master
5908 in "Technology and social change". So I'm not really a tech guy, I
5909 just like to study how humans and technology interact and that is my
5910 perspective when working with IT.</p>
5911
5912 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux/Debian Edu
5913 project?</strong></p>
5914
5915 I have followed the Skolelinux project for quite some time by
5916 now. Earlier I tested out the K12-LTSP project, which we used for some
5917 time, but I really like the idea of having a distribution aimed to be
5918 a complete solution for schools with necessary tools integrated. When
5919 K12-LTSP abandoned that idea some years ago, I started to look more
5920 seriously into Skolelinux instead.
5921
5922 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
5923 Edu?</strong></p>
5924
5925 The big point of Skolelinux to me is that it is a complete
5926 distribution, ready to install. It has LDAP-support, MS Windows
5927 integration tools and so forth already configured, saving an
5928 administrator a lot of time and headache. We were using another Linux
5929 based thin-client system called Thinlinc, that has served us very
5930 well. But that Skolelinux is based on VNC and LTSP, to me, is better
5931 when it comes to the kind of multimedia used in schools. That is
5932 showing videos from Youtube or educational TV. It is also easier to
5933 mix thin clients with workstations, since the user settings will be the
5934 same. In our VNC-based solution you had to "beat around the bush" by
5935 setting up a second, hidden, home-directory for user settings for the
5936 workstations, because they will be different from the ones used on the
5937 thin clients. Skolelinux support for diskless workstations are very
5938 convenient since a school today often need to use a class room
5939 projector showing videos in full screen. That is easily done with a
5940 small integrated media computer running as a diskless workstation. You
5941 have only two installs to update and configure. One for the thin
5942 clients and one for the workstations. Also saving a lot of time.  Our
5943 old system was also based on Redhat and CentOS. They are both very
5944 nice distributions, but they are sometimes painfully slow when it
5945 comes to updating multimedia support and multimedia programs (even
5946 such as Gimp), leaving us with a bit "oldish" applications. Debian is
5947 quicker to update.
5948
5949 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux/Debian
5950 Edu?</strong></p>
5951
5952 <p>Debian is a bit too quick when it comes to updating. As an example
5953 we use old HP terminals as thinclients, and two times already this
5954 year (2012) the updates you get from the repositories has stopped
5955 sound from working with them.  It's a kernel/ALSA issue. So you have
5956 to be more careful properly testing the updates before you run them in
5957 a production environment. This has never happened with CentOS.</p>
5958
5959 <p>I also would like to be able to set my own domain-settings at
5960 install time.  In Skolelinux they are kind of hard coded into the
5961 distribution, when it comes to LDAP and at least samba integration.
5962 That is more a cosmetic/translation issue, and not a real problem.
5963 Running MS Windows applications within the Skolelinux environment needs
5964 to be better supported. That is, running them seamlessly via RDP, and
5965 support for single-sign on.  That will make the transition to free
5966 software easier, because you can keep the applications you really
5967 need.  No support will make it impossible if you work in a school where
5968 some applications can't be open source. As for us we really need to
5969 run Adobe InDesign in our journalist classes.  We run a journalist
5970 education, and is one of the very few non university ones that is ok:d
5971 by Svenska journalistförbundet (Swedish journalist association).  Our
5972 education gives the pupils the right of membership there, once they
5973 are done.  This is important if you want to get a job.</p>
5974
5975 <p>Adobe InDesign is the program most commonly used in newspapers and
5976 magazines.  We used Quark Express before, but they seem to loose there
5977 market to Adobe. The only "equivalent" to InDesign in the opensource
5978 world is Scribus, and its not advanced enough. At least not according
5979 to the teacher. I think it would be possible to use it, because they
5980 are not supposed to learn a program, they are supposed to learn how to
5981 edit and compile a newspaper.  But politically at our school we are not
5982 there yet.  And Scribus lacks a lot of things you find i InDesign.</p>
5983
5984 <p>We used even a windows program for sound editing when it comes to
5985 the radio-journalist part. The year to come we are going to try
5986 Audacity. That software has the same kind of limitations compared to
5987 Adobe Audition, but that teacher is a bit more open minded. We have
5988 tried Ardour also, but that instead is more like a music studio
5989 program, not intended for the kind of editing taking place in a radio
5990 studio. Its way to complex and the GUI is to scattered when you only
5991 want to cut, make pass-overs, add extra channels and normalise.  Those
5992 things you can do in Audacity, but its not as easy as in Audition. You
5993 have to do more things manually with envelopes, and that is a bit old
5994 fashion and timewasting. Its also harder to cut and move sound from
5995 one channel to another, which is a thing that you do frequently
5996 because you often find yourself needing to rearrange parts of the
5997 sound file.</p>
5998
5999 <p>So, I am not sure we will succeed in replacing even Audition, but we
6000 will try.  The problem is the students have certain expectations when
6001 they start an education towards a profession.  So the programs has to
6002 look and feel professional.  Good thing with radio, there are many
6003 programs out there, that radio studios use, so its not as standardised
6004 as Newspaper editing. That means, it does not really matter what
6005 program they learn, because once they start working they still have to
6006 learn the program the studio uses, so instead focus has to be to learn
6007 the editing part without to much focus on a specific software.</p>
6008
6009 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
6010
6011 <p>Myself I'm running Linux Mint, or Ubuntu these days.  I use almost
6012 only open source software, and preferably Linux based. When it comes
6013 to most used applications its OpenOffice, and Firefox (of course ;)
6014 )</p>
6015
6016 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
6017 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
6018
6019 <p>To get schools to use free software there has to be good open
6020 source software that are windows based, to ease the transition. But
6021 it's also very important that the multimedia support is working
6022 flawlessly.  The problems with Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and whatever
6023 will create problems when it comes to both teachers and
6024 students. Economy are also important for schools, so using thin
6025 clients, as long as they have good multimedia support, is a very good
6026 idea. It's also important that the open source software works even for
6027 the administration.  It's hard to convince the teachers to stick with
6028 open source, if the principal has to run Windows.  It also creates a
6029 problem if some classes has to use Windows for there tasks, since that
6030 will create a difference in "status" between classes, so a good
6031 support for running windows applications via the thin client (Linux)
6032 desktop is essential.  At least at our school, where we have mixed
6033 level of educations, from high-school to journalist-school.</p>
6034
6035 <p>Update 2012-07-09 08:30: Paul Wise tipped me on IRC about three
6036 useful sources related to Free Software for radio stations: the LWN
6037 article <a href="https://lwn.net/Articles/481607/">Radio station
6038 management with Airtime</a>,
6039 <a href="http://www.sourcefabric.org/en/airtime/">Airtime</a> which
6040 claim to be a Free open source radio automation software and
6041 <a href="http://www.rivendellaudio.org/">Rivendell</a> which claim to
6042 be complete radio broadcast automation solution.  All of them seem
6043 useful to the aspiring radio producer.</p>
6044
6045       </div>
6046       <div class="tags">
6047
6048
6049         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
6050
6051
6052       </div>
6053     </div>
6054     <div class="padding"></div>
6055
6056     <div class="entry">
6057       <div class="title">
6058         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Why_do_schools_waste_money_on_IT_.html">Why do schools waste money on IT?</a>
6059       </div>
6060       <div class="date">
6061          8th July 2012
6062       </div>
6063       <div class="body">
6064         <p>In the Debian Edu / Skolelinux project, we have realised that one
6065 of the major blockers for the project success is the purchasing skills
6066 in schools and municipalities.  We provide what the happy users of
6067 Debian Edu / Skolelinux say they need and to a lower cost than the
6068 alternatives, and yet so few schools decide to use our solution.  I
6069 was pleased to discover the same observation done by mySociety and Tom
6070 Steinberg in his blog post
6071 "<a href="http://www.mysociety.org/2012/06/19/can-you-recognize-the-million-pound-chair/">Can
6072 you recognize the million pound chair?</a>".  Read it and weep for the
6073 spending of your tax money.</p>
6074
6075 <p>Of course there are other factors involved as well, like our
6076 projects bad marketing skills and the Linux community fragmentation
6077 causing worry with the people on the outside, so we as a project need
6078 to keep working hard to gain users, but it is a up-hill battle when
6079 public decision makers are unable to understand computer system
6080 purchases.</p>
6081
6082       </div>
6083       <div class="tags">
6084
6085
6086         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
6087
6088
6089       </div>
6090     </div>
6091     <div class="padding"></div>
6092
6093     <div class="entry">
6094       <div class="title">
6095         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Free_Timetabling_Software___nice_free_software.html">Free Timetabling Software - nice free software</a>
6096       </div>
6097       <div class="date">
6098          7th July 2012
6099       </div>
6100       <div class="body">
6101         <p>Included in <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu /
6102 Skolelinux</a> is a large collection of end user and school specific
6103 software.  It is one of the packages not installed by default but
6104 provided in the Debian archive for schools to install if they want to,
6105 is a system to automatically plan the school time table using
6106 information about available teachers, classes and rooms, combined with
6107 the list of required courses and how many hours each topic should
6108 receive.  The software is
6109
6110 <a href="http://lalescu.ro/liviu/fet/">named FET</a>, and it provide a
6111 graphical user interface to input the required information, save the
6112 result in a fairly simple XML format, and generate time tables for
6113 both teachers and students.  It is available both for
6114 <a href="http://lalescu.ro/liviu/fet/download.html">Linux, MacOSX and
6115 Windows</a>.</p>
6116
6117 <p>This is <a href="http://lalescu.ro/liviu/fet/features.html">the
6118 feature list</a>, liftet from the project web site:</p>
6119
6120 <p><ul>
6121
6122   <li>FET is free software, licensed under the GNU GPL v2 or later.
6123     You can freely use, copy, modify and redistribute it </li>
6124
6125   <li>Localized to en_US (US English, default), ar (Arabic), ca
6126     (Catalan), da (Danish), de (German), el (Greek), es (Spanish), fa
6127     (Persian), fr (French), gl (Galician), he (Hebrew), hu
6128     (Hungarian), id (Indonesian), it (Italian), lt (Lithuanian), mk
6129     (Macedonian), ms (Malay), nl (Dutch), pl (Polish), pt_BR
6130     (Brazilian Portuguese), ro (Romanian), ru (Russian), si (Sinhala),
6131     sk (Slovak), sr (Serbian), tr (Turkish), uk (Ukrainian), uz
6132     (Uzbek) and vi (Vietnamese) (incompletely for some languages)
6133     </li>
6134
6135   <li>Fully automatic generation algorithm, allowing also
6136     semi-automatic or manual allocation</li>
6137
6138   <li>Platform independent implementation, allowing running on
6139     GNU/Linux, Windows, Mac and any system that Qt supports </li>
6140
6141   <li>Flexible modular XML format for the input file, allowing editing
6142     with an XML editor or by hand (besides FET interface)</li>
6143
6144   <li>Import/export from CSV format</li>
6145
6146   <li>The resulted timetables are exported into HTML, XML and CSV
6147     formats </li>
6148
6149   <li>Flexible students structure, organized into sets: years, groups
6150     and subgroups. FET allows overlapping years and groups and
6151     non-overlapping subgroups. You can even define individual students
6152     (as separate sets)</li>
6153
6154   <li>Each constraint has a weight percentage, from 0.0% to 100.0%
6155     (but some special constraints are allowed to have only 100% weight
6156     percentage)</li>
6157
6158   <li>Limits for the algorithm (all these limits can be increased on
6159     demand, as a custom version, because this would require a bit more
6160     memory):
6161     <ul>
6162       <li>Maximum total number of hours (periods) per day: 60</li>
6163       <li>Maximum number of working days per week: 35</li>
6164       <li>Maximum total number of teachers: 6000</li>
6165       <li>Maximum total number of sets of students: 30000</li>
6166       <li>Maximum total number of subjects: 6000</li>
6167       <li>Virtually unlimited number of activity tags</li>
6168       <li>Maximum number of activities: 30000</li>
6169       <li>Maximum number of rooms: 6000</li>
6170       <li>Maximum number of buildings: 6000</li>
6171       <li>Possibility of adding multiple teachers and
6172           students sets for each activity.  (it is possible
6173           also to have no teachers or no students sets for an
6174           activity)</li>
6175       <li>Virtually unlimited number of time constraints</li>
6176       <li>Virtually unlimited number of space constraints</li>
6177     </ul></li>
6178
6179   <li>A large and flexible palette of time constraints:
6180     <ul>
6181       <li>Break periods</li>
6182       <li>For teacher(s):
6183         <ul>
6184           <li>Not available periods</li>
6185           <li>Max/min days per week</li>
6186           <li>Max gaps per day/week</li>
6187           <li>Max hours daily/continuously</li>
6188           <li>Min hours daily</li>
6189           <li>Max hours daily/continuously with an activity tag</li>
6190
6191           <li>Respect working in an hourly interval a max number of
6192             days per week</li>
6193         </ul></li>
6194       <li>For students (sets):
6195         <ul>
6196           <li>Not available periods</li>
6197           <li>Begins early (specify max allowed beginnings at second hour)</li>
6198           <li>Max gaps per day/week</li>
6199           <li>Max hours daily/continuously</li>
6200           <li>Min hours daily</li>
6201           <li>Max hours daily/continuously with an activity tag</li>
6202
6203           <li>Respect working in an hourly interval a max number of
6204             days per week</li>
6205         </ul></li>
6206       <li>For an activity or a set of activities/subactivities:
6207         <ul>
6208           <li>A single preferred starting time</li>
6209           <li>A set of preferred starting times</li>
6210           <li>A set of preferred time slots</li>
6211           <li>Min/max days between them</li>
6212           <li>End(s) students day</li>
6213           <li>Same starting time/day/hour</li>
6214           <li>Occupy max time slots from selection (a complex and
6215             flexible constraint, useful in many situations)</li>
6216           <li>Consecutive, ordered, grouped (for 2 or 3 (sub)activities)</li>
6217           <li>Not overlapping</li>
6218           <li>Max simultaneous in selected time slots</li>
6219           <li>Min gaps between a set of (sub)activities</li>
6220         </ul></li>
6221     </ul></li>
6222
6223   <li>A large and flexible palette of space constraints:
6224     <ul>
6225       <li>Room not available periods</li>
6226       <li>For teacher(s):
6227         <ul>
6228           <li>Home room(s)</li>
6229           <li>Max building changes per day/week</li>
6230           <li>Min gaps between building changes</li>
6231         </ul>
6232       </li>
6233
6234       <li>For students (sets):
6235         <ul>
6236           <li>Home room(s)</li>
6237           <li>Max building changes per day/week</li>
6238           <li>Min gaps between building changes</li>
6239         </ul>
6240       </li>
6241       <li>Preferred room(s):
6242         <ul>
6243           <li>For a subject</li>
6244           <li>For an activity tag</li>
6245           <li>For a subject and an activity tag</li>
6246           <li>Individually for a (sub)activity</li>
6247         </ul>
6248       </li>
6249
6250       <li>For a set of activities:
6251         <ul>
6252           <li>Occupy a maximum number of different rooms</li>
6253         </ul>
6254       </li>
6255     </ul>
6256   </li>
6257 </ul></p>
6258
6259 <p>I have not used it myself, as I am not involved in time table
6260 planning at a school, but it seem to work fine when I test it.  If you
6261 need to set up your schools time table, and is tired of doing it
6262 manually, check it out.
6263
6264 A quick summary on how to use it can be found in
6265 <a href="http://marvelsoft.co.in/wp/2012/03/generate-timetable-for-state-cbse-icse-igcse-schools-free/">a
6266 blog post from MarvelSoft</a>.  If you find FET useful, please provide
6267 a recipe for the Debian Edu project in the
6268 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu#Howtos">Debian Edu HowTo
6269 section</a>.</p>
6270
6271       </div>
6272       <div class="tags">
6273
6274
6275         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
6276
6277
6278       </div>
6279     </div>
6280     <div class="padding"></div>
6281
6282     <div class="entry">
6283       <div class="title">
6284         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Can_Zimbra_be_told_to_send_autoreplies_to_the_From__address_.html">Can Zimbra be told to send autoreplies to the From: address?</a>
6285       </div>
6286       <div class="date">
6287          3rd July 2012
6288       </div>
6289       <div class="body">
6290         <p>In the NUUG <a href="http://www.fiksgatami.no/">FiksGataMi</a>
6291 project (Norwegian version of
6292 <a href="http://www.fixmystreet.com/">FixMyStreet</a> from
6293 <a href="http://www.mysociety.org/">mySociety</a>), we have discovered
6294 a problem with the municipalities using
6295 <a href="http://www.zimbra.com/">Zimbra</a>.  When FiksGataMi send a
6296 problem report to the government, the email From: address is set to
6297 the address of the person reporting the problem, while envelope sender
6298 is set to the FiksGataMi contact address.  The intention is to make
6299 sure the municipality send any replies to the person reporting the
6300 problem, while any email delivery problems are sent to us in NUUG.
6301 This work well in most cases, but not for Karmøy municipality using
6302 Zimbra.  Karmøy is using the vacation message function in Zimbra to
6303 send an automatic reply to report that the message has been received,
6304 and this message is sent to the envelope sender and not the address in
6305 the From: header.</p>
6306
6307 <p>This causes the automatic message from Karmøy to go to NUUGs
6308 request-tracker instance instead of to the person reporting the
6309 problem.  We can not really change the envelope sender address, as
6310 this would make it impossible for us to discover when there are
6311 problems with the MTAs receiving problem reports.  We have been in
6312 contact with the people at Karmøy municipality, and they are willing
6313 to adjust Zimbra if something can be changed there to get a better
6314 behaviour.</p>
6315
6316 <p>The default behaviour of Zimbra is as far as I can tell according
6317 to the specification in RFC 3834, which recommend that vacation
6318 messages are sent to the envelope sender and not to the From: address.
6319 But I wonder if it is possible to adjust or configure Zimbra to behave
6320 differently.  Anyone know?  Please let us know at
6321 <a href="http://lists.nuug.no/mailman/listinfo/fiksgatami">fiksgatami
6322 (at) nuug.no</a>.</p>
6323
6324       </div>
6325       <div class="tags">
6326
6327
6328         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
6329
6330
6331       </div>
6332     </div>
6333     <div class="padding"></div>
6334
6335     <div class="entry">
6336       <div class="title">
6337         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Jos__Luis_Redrejo_Rodr_guez.html">Debian Edu interview: José Luis Redrejo Rodríguez</a>
6338       </div>
6339       <div class="date">
6340         26th June 2012
6341       </div>
6342       <div class="body">
6343         <p>I've been too busy at home, but finally I found time to wrap up
6344 another interview with the people behind
6345 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and Skolelinux</a>.
6346 This time we get to know José Luis Redrejo Rodríguez, one of our great
6347 helpers from Spain.  His effort was the reason we added support for
6348 several desktop types (KDE, Gnome and most recently LXDE) in Debian
6349 Edu, and have all of these available in the recently published
6350 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2012/20120311.html">Debian Edu
6351 Squeeze</a> version.</p>
6352
6353 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
6354
6355 <p>I'm a father, teacher and engineer who is working for the Education
6356 ministry of the Region of Extremadura (Spain) in the implementation of
6357 ICT in schools</p>
6358
6359 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux/Debian Edu
6360 project?</strong></p>
6361
6362 <p>At 2006, I verified that both, we in Extremadura and Skolelinux
6363 project, had been working in parallel for some years, doing very
6364 similar things, using very similar tools and with similar targets, so
6365 I decided it was time to join forces as much as possible.</p>
6366
6367 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
6368 Edu?</strong></p>
6369
6370 <p>A community of highly skilled experts working together, with a
6371 really open schema of collaboration and work. I really love the
6372 concepts of Do-ocracy and Merit-ocracy and the way these concepts are
6373 been used everyday inside Debian Edu.</p>
6374
6375 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux/Debian
6376 Edu?</strong></p>
6377
6378 <p>Sometimes the differences in the implementations, laws or
6379 economical and technical resources in the different countries don't
6380 allow us to agree in the same solution for all of us, and several
6381 approaches are needed, what is a waste of effort. Also, there is a
6382 lack of more man power to be able to follow the fast evolution of the
6383 technologies in school.</p>
6384
6385 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
6386
6387 <p>Debian, of course, and due to my kind of job I am most of my time
6388 between Iceweasel, <a href="http://www.geany.org/">Geany</a> and
6389 <a href="http://www.ohloh.net/p/gnome-terminator">Terminator</a>.</p>
6390
6391 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
6392 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
6393
6394 <p>I think there is not a single strategy because there are very
6395 different scenarios: schools with mixed proprietary and free
6396 environments, schools using only workstations, other schools using
6397 laptops, netbooks, tablets, interactive white-boards, etc.</p>
6398
6399 <p>Also the range of ages of the students is very broad and you can
6400 not use the same solutions for primary schools and secondary or even
6401 universities. So different strategies are needed.</p>
6402
6403 <p>But, looking at these differences, and looking back to the things
6404 we've done and implemented, and the places were we have spent most of
6405 our forces, I think we should focus as much as possible in free
6406 multi-platform environments, using only standards tools, and moving
6407 more and more to Internet or network solutions that could be deployed
6408 using wireless. I think we'll see more and more personal devices in
6409 the schools, devices the students and teachers will take home with
6410 them, so the solutions must be able to be taken at home and continue
6411 working there.</p>
6412
6413       </div>
6414       <div class="tags">
6415
6416
6417         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
6418
6419
6420       </div>
6421     </div>
6422     <div class="padding"></div>
6423
6424     <div class="entry">
6425       <div class="title">
6426         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Song_book_for_Computer_Scientists.html">Song book for Computer Scientists</a>
6427       </div>
6428       <div class="date">
6429         24th June 2012
6430       </div>
6431       <div class="body">
6432         <p>Many years ago, while studying Computer Science at the
6433 <a href="http://www.uit.no/">University of Tromsø</a>, I started
6434 collecting computer related songs for use at parties.  The original
6435 version was written in LaTeX, but a few years ago I got help from
6436 Håkon W. Lie, one of the inventors of W3C CSS, to convert it to HTML
6437 while keeping the ability to create a nice book in PDF format.  I have
6438 not had time to maintain the book for a while now, and guess I should
6439 put it up on some public version control repository where others can
6440 help me extend and update the book.  If anyone is volunteering to help
6441 me with this, send me an email.  Also let me know if there are songs
6442 missing in my book.</p>
6443
6444 <p>I have not mentioned the book on my blog so far, and it occured to
6445 me today that I really should let all my readers share the joys of
6446 singing out load about programming, computers and computer networks.
6447 Especially now that <a href="http://debconf12.debconf.org/">Debconf
6448 12</a> is about to start (and I am not going).  Want to sing?  Check
6449 out <a href="http://www.hungry.com/~pere/cs-songbook/">Petter's
6450 Computer Science Songbook</a>.
6451
6452       </div>
6453       <div class="tags">
6454
6455
6456         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>.
6457
6458
6459       </div>
6460     </div>
6461     <div class="padding"></div>
6462
6463     <div class="entry">
6464       <div class="title">
6465         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu___some_ideas_for_the_future_versions.html">Debian Edu - some ideas for the future versions</a>
6466       </div>
6467       <div class="date">
6468         11th June 2012
6469       </div>
6470       <div class="body">
6471         <p>During my work on
6472 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2012/20120311.nb.html">Debian Edu
6473 based on Squeeze</a>, I came across some issues that should be
6474 addressed in the Wheezy release.  I finally found time to wrap up my
6475 notes and provide quick summary of what I found, with a bit
6476 explanation.</p>
6477
6478 <p><ul>
6479
6480 <li>We need to rewrite our package installation framework, as tasksel
6481 changed from using tasksel tasks to using meta packages (aka packages
6482 with dependencies like our education-* packages), and our installation
6483 system depend on tasksel tasks in
6484 /usr/share/tasksel/debian-edu-tasks.desc for package
6485 installation.</li>
6486
6487 <li>Enable Kerberos login for more services.  Now with the Kerberos
6488 foundation in place, we should use it to get single sign on with more
6489 services, and avoiding unneeded password / login questions.  We should
6490 at least try to enable it for these services:
6491 <ul>
6492
6493   <li>CUPS for admins to add/configure printers and users when using
6494     quotas.</li>
6495   <li>Nagios for admins checking the system status.</li>
6496   <li>GOsa for admins updating LDAP and users changing their passwords.</li>
6497   <li>LDAP for admins updating LDAP.</li>
6498   <li>Squid for users when exam mode / filtering is active.</li>
6499   <li>ssh for admins and users to save a password prompt.</li>
6500
6501 </ul></li>
6502
6503 <li>When we move GOsa to use Kerberos instead of LDAP bind to
6504 authenticate users, we should try to block or at least limit access to
6505 use LDAP bind for authentication, to ensure Kerberos is used when it
6506 is intended, and nothing fall back to using the less safe LDAP bind</li>
6507
6508 <li>Merge debian-edu-config and debian-edu-install.  The split made
6509 sense when d-e-install did a lot more, but these days it is just an
6510 inconvenience when we update the debconf preseeding values.</li>
6511
6512 <li>Fix partman-auto to allow us to abort the installation before
6513 touching the disk if the disk is too small.  This is
6514 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/653305">BTS report #653305</a> and the
6515 d-i developers are fine with the patch and someone just need to apply
6516 it and upload.  After this is done we need to adjust
6517 debian-edu-install to use this new hook.</li>
6518
6519 <li>Adjust to new LTSP framework (boot time config instead of install
6520 time config).  LTSP changed its design, and our hooks to install
6521 packages and update the configuration is most likely not going to work
6522 in Wheezy.
6523
6524 <li>Consider switching to NBD instead of NFS for LTSP root, to allow
6525 the Kernel to cache files in its normal file cache, possibly speeding
6526 up KDE login on slow networks.</li>
6527
6528 <li>Make it possible to create expired user passwords that need to
6529 change on first login.  This is useful when handing out password on
6530 paper, to make sure only the user know the password.  This require
6531 fixes to the PAM handling of kdm and gdm.</li>
6532
6533 <li>Make GUI for adding new machines automatically from sitesummary.
6534 The current command line script is not very friendly to people most
6535 familiar with GUIs.  This should probably be integrated into GOsa to
6536 have it available where the admin will be looking for it..</li>
6537
6538 <li>We should find way for Nagios to check that the DHCP service
6539 actually is working (as in handling out IP addresses).  None of the
6540 Nagios checks I have found so far have been working for me.</li>
6541
6542 <li>We should switch from libpam-nss-ldapd to sssd for all profiles
6543 using LDAP, and not only on for roaming workstations, to have less
6544 packages to configure and consistent setup across all profiles.</li>
6545
6546 <li>We should configure Kerberos to update LDAP and Samba password
6547 when changing password using the Kerberos protocol.  The hook was
6548 requested in <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/588968">BTS report
6549 #588968</a> and is now available in Wheezy.  We might need to write a
6550 MIT Kerberos plugin in C to get this.</li>
6551
6552 <li>We should clean up the set of applications installed by default.
6553 <ul>
6554
6555 <li>reduce the number of chemistry visualisers</li>
6556 <li>consider dropping xpaint</li>
6557 <li>and probably more?</li>
6558 </ul></li>
6559
6560 <li>Some hardware need external firmware to work properly.  This is
6561 mostly the case for WiFi network cards, but there are some other
6562 examples too.  For popular laptops to work out of the box, such
6563 firmware need to be installed from non-free, and we should provide
6564 some GUI to do this.  Ubuntu already have this implemented, and we
6565 could consider using their packages.  At the moment we have some
6566 command line script to do this (one for the running system, another
6567 for the LTSP chroot).</li>
6568
6569
6570 <li>In Squeeze, we provide KDE, Gnome and LXDE as desktop options.  We
6571 should extend the list to Xfce and Sugar, and preferably find a way to
6572 install several and allow the admin or the user to select which one to
6573 use.</li>
6574
6575 <li>The golearn tool from the goplay package make it easy to check out
6576 interesting educational packages.  We should work on the package
6577 tagging in Debian to ensure it represent all the useful educational
6578 packages, and extend the tool to allow it to use packagekit to install
6579 new applications with a simple mouse click.</li>
6580
6581 <li>The Squeeze version got half a exam solution already in place,
6582 with the introduction of iptable based network blocking, but for it to
6583 be a complete exam solution the Squid proxy need to enable
6584 filtering/blocking as well when the exam mode is enabled.  We should
6585 implement a way to easily enable this for the schools that want it,
6586 instead of the "it is documented" method of today.</li>
6587
6588 <li>A feature used in several schools is the ability for a teacher to
6589 "take over" the desktop of individual or all computers in the room.
6590 There are at least three implementations,
6591 <a href="italc.sourceforge.net/">italc</a>,
6592 <a href="http://www.itais.net/help/en/">controlaula</a> og
6593 <a href="http://www.epoptes.org/">epoptes</a> and we should pick one of
6594 them and make it trivial to set it up in a school.  The challenges is
6595 how to distribute crypto keys and how to group computers in one room
6596 and how to set up which machine/user can control the machines in a
6597 given room.</li>
6598
6599 <li>Tablets and surf boards are getting more and more popular, and we
6600 should look into providing a good solution for integrating these into
6601 the Debian Edu network.  Not quite sure how.  Perhaps we should
6602 provide a installation profile with better touch screen support for
6603 them, or add some sync services to allow them to exchange
6604 configuration and data with the central server.  This should be
6605 investigated.</li>
6606
6607 </ul></p>
6608
6609 <p>I guess we will discover more as we continue to work on the Wheezy
6610 version.</p>
6611
6612       </div>
6613       <div class="tags">
6614
6615
6616         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
6617
6618
6619       </div>
6620     </div>
6621     <div class="padding"></div>
6622
6623     <div class="entry">
6624       <div class="title">
6625         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/TV_with_face_recognition__for_improved_viewer_experience.html">TV with face recognition, for improved viewer experience</a>
6626       </div>
6627       <div class="date">
6628          9th June 2012
6629       </div>
6630       <div class="body">
6631         <p>Slashdot got a story about Intel planning a
6632 <a href="http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/12/06/09/0012247/intel-to-launch-tv-service-with-facial-recognition-by-end-of-the-year">TV
6633 with face recognition</a> to recognise the viewer, and it occurred to
6634 me that it would be more interesting to turn it around, and do face
6635 recognition on the TV image itself.  It could let the viewer know who
6636 is present on the screen, and perhaps look up their credibility,
6637 company affiliation, previous appearances etc for the viewer to better
6638 evaluate what is being said and done.  That would be a feature I would
6639 be willing to pay for.</p>
6640
6641 <p>I would not be willing to pay for a TV that point a camera on my
6642 household, like the big brother feature apparently proposed by Intel.
6643 It is the telescreen idea fetched straight out of the book
6644 <a href="http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100021.txt">1984 by George
6645 Orwell</a>.</p>
6646
6647       </div>
6648       <div class="tags">
6649
6650
6651         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>.
6652
6653
6654       </div>
6655     </div>
6656     <div class="padding"></div>
6657
6658     <div class="entry">
6659       <div class="title">
6660         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Web_service_to_look_up_HP_and_Dell_computer_hardware_support_status.html">Web service to look up HP and Dell computer hardware support status</a>
6661       </div>
6662       <div class="date">
6663          6th June 2012
6664       </div>
6665       <div class="body">
6666         <p>A few days ago
6667 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/SOAP_based_webservice_from_Dell_to_check_server_support_status.html">I
6668 reported how to get</a> the support status out of Dell using an
6669 unofficial and undocumented SOAP API, which I since have found out was
6670 <a href="http://lists.us.dell.com/pipermail/linux-poweredge/2012-February/045959.html">discovered
6671 by Daniel De Marco in february</a>.  Combined with my web scraping
6672 code for HP, Dell and IBM
6673 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Checking_server_hardware_support_status_for_Dell__HP_and_IBM_servers.html">from
6674 2009</a>, I got inspired and wrote
6675 <a href="https://views.scraperwiki.com/run/computer-hardware-support-status/">a
6676 web service</a> based on Scraperwiki to make it easy to look up the
6677 support status and get a machine readable result back.</p>
6678
6679 <p>This is what it look like at the moment when asking for the JSON
6680 output:
6681
6682 <blockquote><pre>
6683 % GET <a href="https://views.scraperwiki.com/run/computer-hardware-support-status/?format=json&vendor=Dell&servicetag=2v1xwn1">https://views.scraperwiki.com/run/computer-hardware-support-status/?format=json&vendor=Dell&servicetag=2v1xwn1</a>
6684 supportstatus({"servicetag": "2v1xwn1", "warrantyend": "2013-11-24", "shipped": "2010-11-24", "scrapestamputc": "2012-06-06T20:26:56.965847", "scrapedurl": "http://143.166.84.118/services/assetservice.asmx?WSDL", "vendor": "Dell", "productid": ""})
6685 %
6686 </pre></blockquote>
6687
6688 <p>It currently support Dell and HP, and I am hoping for help to add
6689 support for other vendors.  The python source is available on
6690 Scraperwiki and I welcome help with adding more features.</p>
6691
6692       </div>
6693       <div class="tags">
6694
6695
6696         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
6697
6698
6699       </div>
6700     </div>
6701     <div class="padding"></div>
6702
6703     <div class="entry">
6704       <div class="title">
6705         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Mike_Gabriel.html">Debian Edu interview: Mike Gabriel</a>
6706       </div>
6707       <div class="date">
6708          2nd June 2012
6709       </div>
6710       <div class="body">
6711         <p>Back in 2010, Mike Gabriel showed up on the
6712 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and Skolelinux</a>
6713 mailing list.  He quickly proved to be a valuable developer, and
6714 thanks to his tireless effort we now have Kerberos integrated into the
6715 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2012/20120311.html">Debian Edu
6716 Squeeze</a> version.</p>
6717
6718 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
6719
6720 <p>My name is Mike Gabriel, I am 38 years old and live near Kiel,
6721 Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. I live together with a wonderful partner
6722 (Angela Fuß) and two own children and two bonus children (contributed
6723 by Angela).</p>
6724
6725 <p>During the day I am part-time employed as a system administrator
6726 and part-time working as an IT consultant. The consultancy work
6727 touches free software topics wherever and whenever possible. During
6728 the nights I am a free software developer. In the gaps I also train in
6729 becoming an osteopath.</p>
6730
6731 <p>Starting in 2010 we (Andreas Buchholz, Angela Fuß, Mike Gabriel)
6732 have set up a free software project in the area of Kiel that aims at
6733 introducing free software into schools. The project's name is
6734 "IT-Zukunft Schule" (IT future for schools). The project links IT
6735 skills with communication skills.</p>
6736
6737 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux/Debian Edu
6738 project?</strong></p>
6739
6740 <p>While preparing our own customised Linux distribution for
6741 "IT-Zukunft Schule" we were repeatedly asked if we really wanted to
6742 reinvent the wheel. What schools really need is already available,
6743 people said.  From this impulse we started evaluating other Linux
6744 distributions that target being used for school networks.</p>
6745
6746 <p>At the end we short-listed two approaches and compared them: a
6747 commercial Linux distribution developed by a company in Bremen,
6748 Germany, and Skolelinux / Debian Edu. Between 12/2010 and 03/2011 we
6749 went to several events and met people being responsible for marketing
6750 and development of either of the distributions. Skolelinux / Debian
6751 Edu was by far much more convincing compared to the other product that
6752 got short-listed beforehand--across the full spectrum. What was most
6753 attractive for me personally: the perspective of collaboration within
6754 the developmental branch of the Debian Edu project itself.</p>
6755
6756 <p>In parallel with this, we talked to many local and not-so-local
6757 people.  People teaching at schools, headmasters, politicians, data
6758 protection experts, other IT professionals.</p>
6759
6760 <p>We came to two conclusions:</p>
6761
6762 <p>First, a technical conclusion: What schools need is available in
6763 bits and pieces here and there, and none of the solutions really fit
6764 by 100%. Any school we have seen has a very individual IT setup
6765 whereas most of each school's requirements could mapped by a standard
6766 IT solution.  The requirement to this IT solution is flexibility and
6767 customisability, so that individual adaptations here and there are
6768 possible.  In terms of re-distributing and rolling out such a
6769 standardised IT system for schools (a system that is still to some
6770 degree customisable) there is still a lot of work to do here
6771 locally. Debian Edu / Skolelinux has been our choice as the starting
6772 point.</p>
6773
6774 <p>Second, a holistic conclusion: What schools need does not exist at
6775 all (or we missed it so far). There are several technical solutions
6776 for handling IT at schools that tend to make a good impression. What
6777 has been missing completely here in Germany, though, is the enrolment
6778 of people into using IT and teaching with IT. "IT-Zukunft Schule"
6779 tries to provide an approach for this.</p>
6780
6781 <p>Only some schools have some sort of a media concept which explains,
6782 defines and gives guidance on how to use IT in class. Most schools in
6783 Northern Germany do not have an IT service provider, the school's IT
6784 equipment is managed by one or (if the school is lucky) two (admin)
6785 teachers, most of the workload these admin teachers get done in there
6786 spare time.</p>
6787
6788 <p>We were surprised that only a very few admin teachers were
6789 networked with colleagues from other schools. Basically, every school
6790 here around has its individual approach of providing IT equipment to
6791 teachers and students and the exchange of ideas has been quasi
6792 non-existent until 2010/2011.</p>
6793
6794 <p>Quite some (non-admin) teachers try to avoid using IT technology in
6795 class as a learning medium completely. Several reasons for this
6796 avoidance do exist.</p>
6797
6798 <p>We discovered that no-one has ever taken a closer look at this
6799 social part of IT management in schools, so far. On our quest journey
6800 for a technical IT solution for schools, we discussed this issue with
6801 several teachers, headmasters, politicians, other IT professionals and
6802 they all confirmed: a holistic approach of considering IT management
6803 at schools, an approach that includes the people in place, will be new
6804 and probably a gain for all.</p>
6805
6806 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
6807 Edu?</strong></p>
6808
6809 <p>There is a list of advantages: international context, openness to
6810 any kind of contributions, do-ocracy policy, the closeness to Debian,
6811 the different installation scenarios possible (from stand-alone
6812 workstation to complex multi-server sites), the transparency within
6813 project communication, honest communication within the group of
6814 developers, etc.</p>
6815
6816 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux/Debian
6817 Edu?</strong></p>
6818
6819 <p>Every coin has two sides:</p>
6820
6821 <p>Technically: <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/311188">BTS issue
6822 #311188</a>, tricky upgradability of a Debian Edu main server, network
6823 client installations on top of a plain vanilla Debian installation
6824 should become possible sometime in the near future, one could think
6825 about splitting the very complex package debian-edu-config into
6826 several portions (to make it easier for new developers to
6827 contribute).</p>
6828
6829 <p>Another issue I see is that we (as Debian Edu developers) should
6830 find out more about the network of people who do the marketing for
6831 Debian Edu / Skolelinux. There is a very active group in Germany
6832 promoting Skolelinux on the bigger Linux Days within Germany. Are
6833 there other groups like that in other countries? How can we bring
6834 these marketing people together (marketing group A with group B and
6835 all of them with the group of Debian Edu developers)? During the last
6836 meeting of the German Skolelinux group, I got the impression of people
6837 there being rather disconnected from the development department of
6838 Debian Edu / Skolelinux.</p>
6839
6840 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
6841
6842 <p>For my daily business, I do not use commercial software at all.</p>
6843
6844 <p>For normal stuff I use Iceweasel/Firefox, Libreoffice.org. For
6845 serious text writing I prefer LaTeX. I use gimp, inkscape, scribus for
6846 more artistic tasks. I run virtual machines in KVM and Virtualbox.</p>
6847
6848 <p>I am one of the upstream developers of X2Go. In 2010 I started the
6849 development of a Python based X2Go Client, called PyHoca-GUI.
6850 PyHoca-GUI has brought forth a Python X2Go Client API that currently
6851 is being integrated in Ubuntu's software center.</p>
6852
6853 <p>For communications I have my own Kolab server running using Horde
6854 as web-based groupware client. For IRC I love to use irssi, for Jabber
6855 I have several clients that I use, mostly pidgin, though. I am also
6856 the Debian maintainer of Coccinella, a Jabber-based interactive
6857 whiteboard.</p>
6858
6859 <p>My favourite terminal emulator is KDE's Yakuake.</p>
6860
6861 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
6862 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
6863
6864 <p>Communicate, communicate, communicate. Enrol people, enrol people,
6865 enrol people.</p>
6866
6867       </div>
6868       <div class="tags">
6869
6870
6871         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
6872
6873
6874       </div>
6875     </div>
6876     <div class="padding"></div>
6877
6878     <div class="entry">
6879       <div class="title">
6880         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/SOAP_based_webservice_from_Dell_to_check_server_support_status.html">SOAP based webservice from Dell to check server support status</a>
6881       </div>
6882       <div class="date">
6883          1st June 2012
6884       </div>
6885       <div class="body">
6886         <p>A few years ago I wrote
6887 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Checking_server_hardware_support_status_for_Dell__HP_and_IBM_servers.html">how
6888 to extract support status</a> for your Dell and HP servers.  Recently
6889 I have learned from colleges here at the
6890 <a href="http://www.uio.no/">University of Oslo</a> that Dell have
6891 made this even easier, by providing a SOAP based web service.  Given
6892 the service tag, one can now query the Dell servers and get machine
6893 readable information about the support status.  This perl code
6894 demonstrate how to do it:</p>
6895
6896 <p><pre>
6897 use strict;
6898 use warnings;
6899 use SOAP::Lite;
6900 use Data::Dumper;
6901 my $GUID = '11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111';
6902 my $App = 'test';
6903 my $servicetag = $ARGV[0] or die "Please supply a servicetag. $!\n";
6904 my ($deal, $latest, @dates);
6905 my $s = SOAP::Lite
6906     -> uri('http://support.dell.com/WebServices/')
6907     -> on_action( sub { join '', @_ } )
6908     -> proxy('http://xserv.dell.com/services/assetservice.asmx')
6909     ;
6910 my $a = $s->GetAssetInformation(
6911     SOAP::Data->name('guid')->value($GUID)->type(''),
6912     SOAP::Data->name('applicationName')->value($App)->type(''),
6913     SOAP::Data->name('serviceTags')->value($servicetag)->type(''),
6914 );
6915 print Dumper($a -> result) ;
6916 </pre></p>
6917
6918 <p>The output can look like this:</p>
6919
6920 <p><pre>
6921 $VAR1 = {
6922           'Asset' => {
6923                      'Entitlements' => {
6924                                        'EntitlementData' => [
6925                                                             {
6926                                                               'EntitlementType' => 'Expired',
6927                                                               'EndDate' => '2009-07-29T00:00:00',
6928                                                               'Provider' => '',
6929                                                               'StartDate' => '2006-07-29T00:00:00',
6930                                                               'DaysLeft' => '0'
6931                                                             },
6932                                                             {
6933                                                               'EntitlementType' => 'Expired',
6934                                                               'EndDate' => '2009-07-29T00:00:00',
6935                                                               'Provider' => '',
6936                                                               'StartDate' => '2006-07-29T00:00:00',
6937                                                               'DaysLeft' => '0'
6938                                                             },
6939                                                             {
6940                                                               'EntitlementType' => 'Expired',
6941                                                               'EndDate' => '2007-07-29T00:00:00',
6942                                                               'Provider' => '',
6943                                                               'StartDate' => '2006-07-29T00:00:00',
6944                                                               'DaysLeft' => '0'
6945                                                             }
6946                                                           ]
6947                                      },
6948                      'AssetHeaderData' => {
6949                                           'SystemModel' => 'GX620',
6950                                           'ServiceTag' => '8DSGD2J',
6951                                           'SystemShipDate' => '2006-07-29T19:00:00-05:00',
6952                                           'Buid' => '2323',
6953                                           'Region' => 'Europe',
6954                                           'SystemID' => 'PLX_GX620',
6955                                           'SystemType' => 'OptiPlex'
6956                                         }
6957                    }
6958         };
6959 </pre></p>
6960
6961 <p>I have not been able to find any documentation from Dell about this
6962 service outside the
6963 <a href="http://xserv.dell.com/services/assetservice.asmx?op=GetAssetInformation">inline
6964 documentation</a>, and according to
6965 <a href="http://iboyd.net/index.php/2012/02/14/updated-dell-warranty-information-script/">one
6966 comment</a> it can have stability issues, but it is a lot better than
6967 scraping HTML pages. :)</p>
6968
6969 <p>Wonder if HP and other server vendors have a similar service.  If
6970 you know of one, drop me an email. :)</p>
6971
6972       </div>
6973       <div class="tags">
6974
6975
6976         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
6977
6978
6979       </div>
6980     </div>
6981     <div class="padding"></div>
6982
6983     <div class="entry">
6984       <div class="title">
6985         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_monitor_calibration_using_ColorHug.html">First monitor calibration using ColorHug</a>
6986       </div>
6987       <div class="date">
6988         31st May 2012
6989       </div>
6990       <div class="body">
6991         <p>A few days ago my color calibration gadget
6992 <a href="http://www.hughski.com/index.html">ColorHug</a> arrived in the
6993 mail, and I've had a few days to test it.  As all my machines are
6994 running Debian Squeeze, where
6995 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/c/colorhug-client.html">the
6996 calibration software</a> is missing (it is present in Wheezy and Sid),
6997 I ran the calibration using the Fedora based live CD.  This worked
6998 just fine.  So far I have only done the quick calibration.  It was
6999 slow enough for me, so I will leave the more extensive calibration for
7000 another day.</p>
7001
7002 <p>After calibration, I get a
7003 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICC_profile">ICC color
7004 profile</a> file that can be passed to programs understanding such
7005 tools.  KDE do not seem to understand it out of the box, so I searched
7006 for command line tools to use to load the color profile into X.
7007 xcalib was the first one I found, and it seem to work fine for single
7008 monitor setups.  But for my video player, a laptop with a flat screen
7009 attached, it was unable to load the color profile for the correct
7010 monitor.  After searching a bit, I
7011 <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1347896">discovered</a>
7012 that the dispwin tool from the argyll package would do what I wanted,
7013 and a simple</p>
7014
7015 <p><pre>
7016 dispwin -d 1 profile.icc
7017 </pre></p>
7018
7019 <p>later I had the color profile loaded for the correct monitor.  The
7020 result was a bit more pink than I expected.  I guess I picked the
7021 wrong monitor type for the "led" monitor I got, but the result is good
7022 enough for now.</p>
7023
7024       </div>
7025       <div class="tags">
7026
7027
7028         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7029
7030
7031       </div>
7032     </div>
7033     <div class="padding"></div>
7034
7035     <div class="entry">
7036       <div class="title">
7037         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Ralf_Gesellensetter.html">Debian Edu interview: Ralf Gesellensetter</a>
7038       </div>
7039       <div class="date">
7040         27th May 2012
7041       </div>
7042       <div class="body">
7043         <p>In 2003, a German teacher showed up on the
7044 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and Skolelinux</a>
7045 mailing list with interesting problems and reports proving he setting
7046 up Linux for a (for us at the time) lot of pupils.  His name was Ralf
7047 Gesellensetter, and he has been an important tester and contributor
7048 since then, helping to make sure the
7049 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2012/20120311.html">Debian Edu
7050 Squeeze</a> release became as good as it is..</p>
7051
7052 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
7053
7054 <p>I am a teacher from Germany, and my subjects are Geography,
7055 Mathematics, and Computer Science ("Informatik"). During the past 12
7056 years (since 2000), I have been working for a comprehensive (and soon,
7057 also inclusive) school leading to all kind of general levels, such as
7058 O- or A-level ("Abitur").  For quite as long, I've been taking care of
7059 our computer network.</p>
7060
7061 <p>Now, in my early 40s, I enjoy the privilege of spending a lot of my
7062 spare time together with my wife, our son (3 years) and our daughter
7063 (4 months).</p>
7064
7065 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux/Debian Edu
7066 project?</strong></p>
7067
7068 <p>We had tried different Linux based school servers, when members of
7069 my local Linux User Group (LUG OWL) detected Skolelinux. I remember
7070 very well, being part of a party celebrating the Linux New Media Award
7071 ("Best Newcomer Distribution", also nominated: Ubuntu) that was given
7072 to Skolelinux at Linux World Exposition in Frankfurt, 2005 (IIRC). Few
7073 months later, I had the chance to join a developer meeting in Ulsrud
7074 (Oslo) and to hand out the award to Knut Yrvin and others.  For more
7075 than 7 years, Skolelinux is part of our schools infrastructure, namely
7076 our main server (tjener), one LTSP (today without thin clients), and
7077 approximately 50 work stations. Most of these have the option to boot a
7078 locally installed Skolelinux image.  As a consequence, I joined quite
7079 a few events dealing with free software or Linux, and met many Debian
7080 (Edu) developers. All of them seemed quite nice and competent to me,
7081 one more reason to stick to Skolelinux.</p>
7082
7083 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
7084 Edu?</strong></p>
7085
7086 <p>Debian driven, you are given all the advantages of a community
7087 project including well maintained updates. Once, you are familiar with
7088 the network layout, you can easily roll out an entire educational
7089 computer infrastructure, from just one installation media. As only
7090 free software (FOSS) is used, that supports even elderly hardware,
7091 up-sizing your IT equipment is only limited by space (i.e. available
7092 labs).  Especially if you run a LTSP thin client server, your
7093 administration costs tend towards zero.</p>
7094
7095 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux/Debian
7096 Edu?</strong></p>
7097
7098 <p>While Debian's stability has loads of advantages for servers, this
7099 might be different in some cases for clients: Schools with unlimited
7100 budget might buy new hardware with components that are not yet
7101 supported by Debian stable, or wish to use more recent versions of
7102 office packages or desktop environments.  These schools have the
7103 option to run Debian testing or other distributions - if they have the
7104 capacity to do so.  Another issue is that Debian release cycles
7105 include a wide range of changes; therefor a high percentage of human
7106 power seems to be absorbed by just keeping the features of Skolelinux
7107 within the new setting of the version to come. During this process,
7108 the cogs of Debian Edu are getting more and more professional,
7109 i.e. harder to understand for novices.</p>
7110
7111 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
7112
7113 <p>LibreOffice, Wikipedia, Openstreetmap, Iceweasel (Mozilla Firefox),
7114 KMail, Gimp, Inkscape - and of course the Linux Kernel (not only on
7115 PC, Laptop, Mobile, but also our SAT receiver)</p>
7116
7117 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
7118 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
7119
7120 <p><ol>
7121
7122 <li>Support computer science as regular subject in schools to make
7123 people really "own" their hardware, to make them understand the
7124 difference between proprietary software products, and free software
7125 developing.</li>
7126
7127 <li>Make budget baskets corresponding: In Germany's public schools
7128 there are more or less fixed budgets for IT equipment (including
7129 licenses), so schools won't benefit from any savings here. This
7130 privilege is left to private schools which have consequently a large
7131 share among German Skolelinux schools.</li>
7132
7133 <li>Get free software in the seminars where would-be teachers are
7134 trained. In many cases, teachers' software customs are respected by
7135 decision makers rather than the expertise of any IT experts.</li>
7136
7137 <li>Don't limit ourself to free software run natively. Everybody uses
7138 free software or free licenses (for instance Wikipedia), and this
7139 general concept should get expanded to free educational content to be
7140 shared world wide (school books e.g.).</li>
7141
7142 <li>Make clear where ever you can that the market share of free (libre)
7143 office suites is much above 20 p.c. today, and that you pupils don't
7144 need to know the "ribbon menu" in order to get employed.</li>
7145
7146 <li>Talk about the difference between freeware and free software.</li>
7147
7148 <li>Spread free software, or even collections of portable free apps
7149 for USB pen drives. Endorse students to get a legal copy of
7150 Libreoffice rather than accepting them to use illegal serials.  And
7151 keep sending documents in ODF formats.</li>
7152
7153 </ol></p>
7154
7155       </div>
7156       <div class="tags">
7157
7158
7159         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
7160
7161
7162       </div>
7163     </div>
7164     <div class="padding"></div>
7165
7166     <div class="entry">
7167       <div class="title">
7168         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_cost_of_ODF_and_OOXML.html">The cost of ODF and OOXML</a>
7169       </div>
7170       <div class="date">
7171         26th May 2012
7172       </div>
7173       <div class="body">
7174         <p>I just come across a blog post from Glyn Moody reporting the
7175 claimed cost from Microsoft on requiring ODF to be used by the UK
7176 government.  I just sent him an email to let him know that his
7177 assumption are most likely wrong.  Sharing it here in case some of my
7178 blog readers have seem the same numbers float around in the UK.</p>
7179
7180 <p><blockquote> <p>Hi.  I just noted your
7181 <a href="http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2012/04/does-microsoft-office-lock-in-cost-the-uk-government-500-million/index.htm">http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2012/04/does-microsoft-office-lock-in-cost-the-uk-government-500-million/index.htm</a>
7182 comment:</p>
7183
7184 <p><blockquote>"They're all in Danish, not unreasonably, but even
7185 with the help of Google Translate I can't find any figures about the
7186 savings of "moving to a flexible two standard" as claimed by the
7187 Microsoft email. But I assume it is backed up somewhere, so let's take
7188 it, and the £500 million figure for the UK, on trust."
7189 </blockquote></p>
7190
7191 <p>I can tell you that the Danish reports are inflated.  I believe it is
7192 the same reports that were used in the Norwegian debate around 2007,
7193 and Gisle Hannemyr (a well known IT commentator in Norway) had a look
7194 at the content.  In short, the reason it is claimed that using ODF
7195 will be so costly, is based on the assumption that this mean every
7196 existing document need to be converted from one of the MS Office
7197 formats to ODF, transferred to the receiver, and converted back from
7198 ODF to one of the MS Office formats, and that the conversion will cost
7199 10 minutes of work time for both the sender and the receiver.  In
7200 reality the sender would have a tool capable of saving to ODF, and the
7201 receiver would have a tool capable of reading it, and the time spent
7202 would at most be a few seconds for saving and loading, not 20 minutes
7203 of wasted effort.</p>
7204
7205 <p>Microsoft claimed all these costs were saved by allowing people to
7206 transfer the original files from MS Office instead of spending 10
7207 minutes converting to ODF. :)</p>
7208
7209 <p>See
7210 <a href="http://hannemyr.com/no/ms12_vl02.php">http://hannemyr.com/no/ms12_vl02.php</a>
7211 and
7212 <a href="http://hannemyr.com/no/ms12.php">http://hannemyr.com/no/ms12.php</a>
7213 for background information.  Norwegian only, sorry. :)</p>
7214 </blockquote></p>
7215
7216       </div>
7217       <div class="tags">
7218
7219
7220         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
7221
7222
7223       </div>
7224     </div>
7225     <div class="padding"></div>
7226
7227     <div class="entry">
7228       <div class="title">
7229         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/ColorHug___USB_and_free_software_based_screen_color_calibration.html">ColorHug - USB and free software based screen color calibration</a>
7230       </div>
7231       <div class="date">
7232         18th May 2012
7233       </div>
7234       <div class="body">
7235         <p>In january, I
7236 <a href="http://blog.cihar.com/archives/2012/01/17/colorhug-has-arrived/">discovered
7237 the ColorHug</a>, a USB dongle from
7238 <a href="http://www.hughski.com/index.html">Hughski</a> to calibrate
7239 the color on a computer screen.  The software required is
7240 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/c/colorhug-client.html">included
7241 in Debian</a>, and I decided back then to preorder from the next
7242 batch.  Yesterday I finally heard back from them, and got the
7243 opportunity to order.  Today I ordered mine, and eagerly await the
7244 delivery.  I hope it arrive next week, as I got a confirmation that it
7245 should go in the mail on monday. :)</p>
7246
7247 <p>If you want to ensure the colors on the screen match the intended
7248 colors, I suggest you check out this cheap tool with free software
7249 drivers. :)</p>
7250
7251       </div>
7252       <div class="tags">
7253
7254
7255         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7256
7257
7258       </div>
7259     </div>
7260     <div class="padding"></div>
7261
7262     <div class="entry">
7263       <div class="title">
7264         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__J_rgen_Leibner.html">Debian Edu interview: Jürgen Leibner</a>
7265       </div>
7266       <div class="date">
7267         13th May 2012
7268       </div>
7269       <div class="body">
7270         <p>It has been a few busy weeks for me, but I am finally back to
7271 publish another interview with the people behind
7272 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and Skolelinux</a>.
7273 This time it is one of our German developers, who have helped out over the
7274 years to make sure both a lot of major but also a lot of the minor
7275 details get right before release.
7276
7277 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
7278
7279 <p>My name is Jürgen Leibner, I'm 49 years old and living in
7280 Bielefeld, a town in northern Germany.  I worked nearly 20 years as
7281 certified engineer in the department for plant design and layout of an
7282 international company for machinery and equipment.  Since 2011 I'm a
7283 certified technical writer (tekom e.V.) and doing technical
7284 documentations for a steam turbine manufacturer.  From April this year
7285 I will manage the department of technical documentation at a
7286 manufacturer of automation and assembly line engineering.</p>
7287
7288 <p>My first contact with linux was around 1993. Since that time I used
7289 it at work and at home repeatedly but not exclusively as I do now at
7290 home since 2006.</p>
7291
7292 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux/Debian Edu
7293 project?</strong></p>
7294
7295 <p>Once a day in the early year of 2001 when I wanted to fetch my
7296 daughter from primary school, there was a teacher sitting in the
7297 middle of 20 old computers trying to boot them and he failed. I helped
7298 him to get them booting. That was seen by the school director and she
7299 asked me if I would like to manage that the school gets all that old
7300 computers in use. I answered: "Yes".</p>
7301
7302 <p>Some weeks later every of the 10 classrooms had one computer
7303 running Windows98. I began to collect old computers and equipment as
7304 gifts and installed the first computer room with a peer-to-peer
7305 network. I did my work at school without being payed in my spare time
7306 and with a lot of fun.  About one year later the school was connected
7307 to Internet and a local area network was installed in the school
7308 building.  That was the time to have a server and I knew it must be a
7309 Linux server to be able to fulfil all the wishes of the teachers and
7310 being able to do this in a transparent and economic way, without extra
7311 costs for things like licence and software.  So I searched for a
7312 school server system running under Linux and I found a couple of
7313 people nearby who founded 'skolelinux.de'. It was the Skolelinux
7314 prerelease 32 I first tried out for being used at the school.  I
7315 managed the IT of that school until the municipal authority took over
7316 the IT management and centralised the services for all schools in
7317 Bielefeld in December of 2006.</p>
7318
7319 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
7320 Edu?</strong></p>
7321
7322 <p>When I'm looking back to the beginning, there were other advantages
7323 for me as today.</p>
7324
7325 <p>In the past there were advantages like:</p>
7326
7327 <p><ul>
7328
7329 <li>I don't need to buy it so it generates no costs to the school as
7330 they had little money to spent for computers and software.</li>
7331
7332 <li>It has a licence which grands all rights to use it without
7333 cost.</li>
7334
7335 <li>It was more able to fit all requirements of a server system for
7336 schools than a Microsoft server system, even if there are only Windows
7337 clients because of it's preconfigured overall concept of being a
7338 infrastructure solution and community for schools, not only a
7339 server</li>
7340
7341 <li>I was able to configure the server to the needs of the
7342 school.</li>
7343
7344 </ul></p>
7345
7346 <p>Today some of the advantages has been lost, changed or new ones
7347 came up in this way:</p>
7348
7349 <p><ul>
7350
7351 <li>Most schools here do have money to buy hardware and software
7352 now.</li>
7353
7354 <li>They are today mostly managed from central IT departments which
7355 have own concepts which often do not fit to Debian Edu concepts
7356 because they are to close to Microsoft ideology.</li>
7357
7358 <li>With the Squeeze version of Debian Edu which now uses GOsa² for
7359 management I feel more able to manage the daily tasks than with the
7360 interfaces used in the past.</li>
7361
7362 <li>It is more modular than in the past and fits even better to the
7363 different needs.</li>
7364
7365 <li>The documentation is usable and gets better every day.</li>
7366
7367 <li>More people than ever before are using Debian Edu all over the
7368 world and so the community, which is an very important part I think,
7369 is sharing knowledge and minds.</li>
7370
7371 <li>Most, maybe all, of the technical requirements for schools are
7372 solved today by Debian Edu. </li>
7373
7374 </ul></p>
7375
7376 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux/Debian
7377 Edu?</strong></p>
7378
7379 <p><ul>
7380
7381 <li>There are too few IT companies able to integrate Debian Edu into
7382 their product portfolio for serving schools with concepts or even
7383 whole municipality areas.</li>
7384
7385 <li>Debian Edu has beside other free and open software projects not
7386 enough lobbyists which promote free and open software to
7387 politicians.</li>
7388
7389 <li>Technically there are no disadvantages I'm aware of.</li>
7390
7391 </ul></p>
7392
7393 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
7394
7395 <p>I use Debian stable on my home server and on my little desktop
7396 computer. On my laptop I use Debian testing/sid. The applications I
7397 use on my laptop and my desktop are Open/Libre-office, Iceweasel,
7398 KMail, DigiKam, Amarok, Dolphin, okular and all the other programs I
7399 need from the KDE environment.  On console I use newsbeuter, mutt,
7400 screen, irssi and all the other famous and useful tools.</p>
7401
7402 <p>My home server provides mail services with exim, dovecot, roundcube
7403 and mutt over ssh on the console, file services with samba, NFS,
7404 rsync, web services with apache, moinmoin-wiki, multimedia services
7405 with gallery2 and mediatomb and database services with MySQL for me
7406 and the whole family.  I probably forgot something.</p>
7407
7408 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
7409 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
7410
7411 <p>I believe, we should provide concepts for IT companies to integrate
7412 Debian Edu into their product portfolio with use cases for different
7413 countries and areas all over the world.</p>
7414
7415       </div>
7416       <div class="tags">
7417
7418
7419         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
7420
7421
7422       </div>
7423     </div>
7424     <div class="padding"></div>
7425
7426     <div class="entry">
7427       <div class="title">
7428         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Cutting_it_short___and_picking_the_right_tool_for_the_job.html">Cutting it short - and picking the right tool for the job</a>
7429       </div>
7430       <div class="date">
7431         30th April 2012
7432       </div>
7433       <div class="body">
7434         <p><!-- IMG_5869.JPG -->
7435 <img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/panasonic-er-1611.jpeg"></p>
7436
7437 <p>I normally cut my hair short, and my tool of choice has been a
7438 common hair/beard cutter, bought in a electrical shop here in Norway.
7439 But the last ones have not really been up to the task.  My last
7440 cutter, some model from Braun, could only cut a few of my hairs at the
7441 time, and cutting my head took forever.  And the one before that did
7442 not work very well either.  We have looked for something better for a
7443 while, but it was not until I ended up visiting a hairdresser that we
7444 discovered that there are indeed better tools available.  But these
7445 are not marketed and sold to "regular consumers".  The hair saloons
7446 can get them through their suppliers, but their suppliers only sell
7447 companies.  The models they sell, are very different from the ones
7448 available from Elkjøp and Lefdal.  The main difference is their
7449 efficiency.  It would cut my hair in 5 minutes, instead of the 30-40
7450 minutes required by my impotent Braun.  The hairdresser I visited had
7451 a Panasonic ER160, which unfortunately is no longer available from the
7452 producer.  But I found it had a successor, the Panasonic ER1611.</p>
7453
7454 <p>The next step was to find somewhere to buy it.  This was not
7455 straight forward.  The list of suppliers I got from the hairdresser
7456 did not want to sell anything to me.  But searching for the model on
7457 the web we found a supplier in Norway willing to sell it to us for
7458 around NOK 4000,-.  This was a bit much.  We kept searching and
7459 finally found a Danish supplier
7460 <a href="http://nicehair.dk/panasonic-er-1611-professionel-hartrimmer.html">selling
7461 it for around NOK 1800,-</a>.  We ordered one, and it arrived a few
7462 days ago.</p>
7463
7464 <p>The instructions said it had to charge for 8 hours when we started
7465 to use it, so we left it charging over night.  Normally it will only
7466 need one hour to charge.  The following evening we successfully tested
7467 it, and I can warmly recommend it to anyone looking for a real hair
7468 cutter.  The ones we have used until now have been hair cutter
7469 toys.</p>
7470
7471       </div>
7472       <div class="tags">
7473
7474
7475         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7476
7477
7478       </div>
7479     </div>
7480     <div class="padding"></div>
7481
7482     <div class="entry">
7483       <div class="title">
7484         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/HTC_One_X___Your_video___What_do_you_mean_.html">HTC One X - Your video?  What do you mean?</a>
7485       </div>
7486       <div class="date">
7487         26th April 2012
7488       </div>
7489       <div class="body">
7490         <p>In <a href="http://www.idg.no/computerworld/article243690.ece">an
7491 article today</a> published by Computerworld Norway, the photographer
7492 <a href="http://www.urke.com/eirik/">Eirik Helland Urke</a> reports
7493 that the video editor application included with
7494 <a href="http://www.htc.com/www/smartphones/htc-one-x/#specs">HTC One
7495 X</a> have some quite surprising terms of use.  The article is mostly
7496 based on the twitter message from mister Urke, stating:
7497
7498 <p><blockquote>
7499 "<a href="http://twitter.com/urke/status/194062269724897280">Drøy
7500 brukeravtale: HTC kan bruke MINE redigerte videoer kommersielt. Selv
7501 kan jeg KUN bruke dem privat.</a>"
7502 </blockquote></p>
7503
7504 <p>I quickly translated it to this English message:</p>
7505
7506 <p><blockquote>
7507 "Arrogant user agreement: HTC can use MY edited videos
7508 commercially.  Although I can ONLY use them privately."
7509 </blockquote></p>
7510
7511 <p>I've been unable to find the text of the license term myself, but
7512 suspect it is a variation of the MPEG-LA terms I
7513 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Terms_of_use_for_video_produced_by_a_Canon_IXUS_130_digital_camera.html">discovered
7514 with my Canon IXUS 130</a>.  The HTC One X specification specifies that
7515 the recording format of the phone is .amr for audio and .mp3 for
7516 video.  AMR is
7517 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Multi-Rate_audio_codec#Licensing_and_patent_issues">Adaptive
7518 Multi-Rate audio codec</a> with patents which according to the
7519 Wikipedia article require an license agreement with
7520 <a href="http://www.voiceage.com/">VoiceAge</a>.  MP4 is
7521 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Patent_licensing">MPEG4 with
7522 H.264</a>, which according to Wikipedia require a licence agreement
7523 with <a href="http://www.mpegla.com/">MPEG-LA</a>.</p>
7524
7525 <p>I know why I prefer
7526 <a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">free and open
7527 standards</a> also for video.</p>
7528
7529       </div>
7530       <div class="tags">
7531
7532
7533         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/digistan">digistan</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
7534
7535
7536       </div>
7537     </div>
7538     <div class="padding"></div>
7539
7540     <div class="entry">
7541       <div class="title">
7542         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/RAND_terms___non_reasonable_and_discriminatory.html">RAND terms - non-reasonable and discriminatory</a>
7543       </div>
7544       <div class="date">
7545         19th April 2012
7546       </div>
7547       <div class="body">
7548         <p>Here in Norway, the
7549 <a href="http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fad.html?id=339"> Ministry of
7550 Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs</a> is behind
7551 a <a href="http://standard.difi.no/forvaltningsstandarder">directory of
7552 standards</a> that are recommended or mandatory for use by the
7553 government.  When the directory was created, the people behind it made
7554 an effort to ensure that everyone would be able to implement the
7555 standards and compete on equal terms to supply software and solutions
7556 to the government.  Free software and non-free software could compete
7557 on the same level.</p>
7558
7559 <p>But recently, some standards with RAND
7560 (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasonable_and_non-discriminatory_licensing">Reasonable
7561 And Non-Discriminatory</a>) terms have made their way into the
7562 directory.  And while this might not sound too bad, the fact is that
7563 standard specifications with RAND terms often block free software from
7564 implementing them.  The reasonable part of RAND mean that the cost per
7565 user/unit is low,and the non-discriminatory part mean that everyone
7566 willing to pay will get a license.  Both sound great in theory.  In
7567 practice, to get such license one need to be able to count users, and
7568 be able to pay a small amount of money per unit or user.  By
7569 definition, users of free software do not need to register their use.
7570 So counting users or units is not possible for free software projects.
7571 And given that people will use the software without handing any money
7572 to the author, it is not really economically possible for a free
7573 software author to pay a small amount of money to license the rights
7574 to implement a standard when the income available is zero.  The result
7575 in these situations is that free software are locked out from
7576 implementing standards with RAND terms.</p>
7577
7578 <p>Because of this, when I see someone claiming the terms of a
7579 standard is reasonable and non-discriminatory, all I can think of is
7580 how this really is non-reasonable and discriminatory.  Because free
7581 software developers are working in a global market, it does not really
7582 help to know that software patents are not supposed to be enforceable
7583 in Norway.  The patent regimes in other countries affect us even here.
7584 I really hope the people behind the standard directory will pay more
7585 attention to these issues in the future.</p>
7586
7587 <p>You can find more on the issues with RAND, FRAND and RAND-Z terms
7588 from Simon Phipps
7589 (<a href="http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2010/11/rand-not-so-reasonable/">RAND:
7590 Not So Reasonable?</a>).</p>
7591
7592 <p>Update 2012-04-21: Just came across a
7593 <a href="http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2012/04/of-microsoft-netscape-patents-and-open-standards/index.htm">blog
7594 post from Glyn Moody</a> over at Computer World UK warning about the
7595 same issue, and urging people to speak out to the UK government.  I
7596 can only urge Norwegian users to do the same for
7597 <a href="http://www.standard.difi.no/hoyring/hoyring-om-nye-anbefalte-it-standarder">the
7598 hearing taking place at the moment</a> (respond before 2012-04-27).
7599 It proposes to require video conferencing standards including
7600 specifications with RAND terms.</p>
7601
7602       </div>
7603       <div class="tags">
7604
7605
7606         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
7607
7608
7609       </div>
7610     </div>
7611     <div class="padding"></div>
7612
7613     <div class="entry">
7614       <div class="title">
7615         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Andreas_Mundt.html">Debian Edu interview: Andreas Mundt</a>
7616       </div>
7617       <div class="date">
7618         15th April 2012
7619       </div>
7620       <div class="body">
7621         <p>Behind <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and
7622 Skolelinux</a> there are a lot of people doing the hard work of
7623 setting together all the pieces.  This time I present to you Andreas
7624 Mundt, who have been part of the technical development team several
7625 years.  He was also a key contributor in getting GOsa and Kerberos set
7626 up in the recently released
7627 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Squeeze">Debian
7628 Edu Squeeze</a> version.</p>
7629
7630 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
7631
7632 <p>My name is Andreas Mundt, I grew up in south Germany.  After
7633 studying Physics I spent several years at university doing research in
7634 Quantum Optics.  After that I worked some years in an optics company.
7635 Finally I decided to turn over a new leaf in my life and started
7636 teaching 10 to 19 years old kids at school.  I teach math, physics,
7637 information technology and science/technology.</p>
7638
7639 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux/Debian Edu
7640 project?</strong></p>
7641
7642 <p>Already before I switched to teaching, I followed the Debian Edu
7643 project because of my interest in education and Debian.  Within the
7644 qualification/training period for the teaching, I started
7645 contributing.</p>
7646
7647 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
7648 Edu?</strong></p>
7649
7650 <p>The advantages of Debian Edu are the well known name, the
7651 out-of-the-box philosophy and of course the great free software of the
7652 Debian Project!</p>
7653
7654 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux/Debian
7655 Edu?</strong></p>
7656
7657 <p>As every coin has two sides, the out-of-the-box philosophy has its
7658 downside, too.  In my opinion, it is hard to modify and tweak the
7659 setup, if you need or want that.  Further more, it is not easily
7660 possible to upgrade the system to a new release.  It takes much too
7661 long after a Debian release to prepare the -Edu release, perhaps
7662 because the number of developers working on the core of the code is
7663 rather small and often busy elsewhere.</p>
7664
7665 <p>The <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianLAN">Debian LAN</a>
7666 project might fill the use case of a more flexible system.</p>
7667
7668 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
7669
7670 <p>I am only using non-free software if I am forced to and run Debian
7671 on all my machines.  For documents I prefer LaTeX and PGF/TikZ, then
7672 mutt and iceweasel for email respectively web browsing.  At school I
7673 have Arduino and Fritzing in use for a micro controller project.</p>
7674
7675 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
7676 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
7677
7678 <p>One of the major problems is the vendor lock-in from top to bottom:
7679 Especially in combination with ignorant government employees and
7680 politicians, this works out great for the "market-leader".  The school
7681 administration here in Baden-Wuerttemberg is occupied by that vendor.
7682 Documents have to be prepared in non-free, proprietary formats.  Even
7683 free browsers do not work for the school administration.  Publishers
7684 of school books provide software only for proprietary platforms.</p>
7685
7686 <p>To change this, political work is very important.  Parts of the
7687 political spectrum have become aware of the problem in the last years.
7688 However it takes quite some time and courageous politicians to 'free'
7689 the system.  There is currently some discussion about "Open Data" and
7690 "Free/Open Standards".  I am not sure if all the involved parties have
7691 a clue about the potential of these ideas, and probably only a
7692 fraction takes them seriously.  However it might slowly make free
7693 software and the philosophy behind it more known and popular.</p>
7694
7695       </div>
7696       <div class="tags">
7697
7698
7699         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
7700
7701
7702       </div>
7703     </div>
7704     <div class="padding"></div>
7705
7706     <div class="entry">
7707       <div class="title">
7708         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Justin_B__Rye.html">Debian Edu interview: Justin B. Rye</a>
7709       </div>
7710       <div class="date">
7711          8th April 2012
7712       </div>
7713       <div class="body">
7714         <p>It take all kind of contributions to create a Linux distribution
7715 like <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a>,
7716 and this time I lend the ear to Justin B. Rye, who is listed as a big
7717 contributor to the
7718 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Squeeze">Debian
7719 Edu Squeeze release manual</a>.
7720
7721 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
7722
7723 <p>I'm a 44-year-old linguistics graduate living in Edinburgh who has
7724 occasionally been employed as a sysadmin.</p>
7725
7726 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux/Debian Edu
7727 project?</strong></p>
7728
7729 <p>I'm neither a developer nor a Skolelinux/Debian Edu user!  The only
7730 reason my name's in the credits for the documentation is that I hang
7731 around on debian-l10n-english waiting for people to mention things
7732 they'd like a native English speaker to proofread...  So I did a sweep
7733 through the wiki for typos and Norglish and inconsistent spellings of
7734 "localisation".</p>
7735
7736 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
7737 Edu?</strong></p>
7738
7739 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux/Debian
7740 Edu?</strong></p>
7741
7742 <p>These questions are too hard for me - I don't use it!  In fact I
7743 had hardly any contact with I.T. until long after I'd got out of the
7744 education system.</p>
7745
7746 <p>I can tell you the advantages of Debian for me though: it soaks up
7747 as much of my free time as I want and no more, and lets me do
7748 everything I want a computer for without ever forcing me to spend
7749 money on the latest hardware.</p>
7750
7751 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
7752
7753 <p>I've been using Debian since Rex; popularity-contest says the
7754 software that I use most is xinit, xterm, and xulrunner (in other
7755 words, I use a distinctly retro sort of desktop).</p>
7756
7757 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
7758 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
7759
7760 <p>Well, I don't know.  I suppose I'd be inclined to try reasoning
7761 with the people who make the decisions, but obviously if that worked
7762 you would hardly need a strategy.</p>
7763
7764       </div>
7765       <div class="tags">
7766
7767
7768         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
7769
7770
7771       </div>
7772     </div>
7773     <div class="padding"></div>
7774
7775     <div class="entry">
7776       <div class="title">
7777         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Why_the_KDE_menu_is_slow_when__usr__is_NFS_mounted___and_a_workaround.html">Why the KDE menu is slow when /usr/ is NFS mounted - and a workaround</a>
7778       </div>
7779       <div class="date">
7780          6th April 2012
7781       </div>
7782       <div class="body">
7783         <p>Recently I have spent time with
7784 <a href="http://www.slxdrift.no/">Skolelinux Drift AS</a> on speeding
7785 up a <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a>
7786 Lenny installation using LTSP diskless workstations, and in the
7787 process I discovered something very surprising.  The reason the KDE
7788 menu was responding slow when using it for the first time, was mostly
7789 due to the way KDE find application icons.  I discovered that showing
7790 the Multimedia menu would cause more than 20 000 IP packages to be
7791 passed between the LTSP client and the NFS server.  Most of these were
7792
7793 NFS LOOKUP calls, resulting in a NFS3ERR_NOENT response.  Because the
7794 ping times between the client and the server were in the range 2-20
7795 ms, the menus would be very slow.  Looking at the strace of kicker in
7796 Lenny (or plasma-desktop i Squeeze - same problem there), I see that
7797 the source of these NFS calls are access(2) system calls for
7798 non-existing files.  KDE can do hundreds of access(2) calls to find
7799 one icon file.  In my example, just finding the mplayer icon required
7800 around 230 access(2) calls.</p>
7801
7802 <p>The KDE code seem to search for icons using a list of icon
7803 directories, and the list of possible directories is large.  In
7804 (almost) each directory, it look for files ending in .png, .svgz, .svg
7805 and .xpm.  The result is a very slow KDE menu when /usr/ is NFS
7806 mounted.  Showing a single sub menu may result in thousands of NFS
7807 requests.  I am not the first one to discover this.  I found a
7808 <a href="https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=211416">KDE bug report
7809 from 2009</a> about this problem, and it is still unsolved.</p>
7810
7811 <p>My solution to speed up the KDE menu was to create a package
7812 kde-icon-cache that upon installation will look at all .desktop files
7813 used to generate the KDE menu, find their icons, search the icon paths
7814 for the file that KDE will end up finding at run time, and copying the
7815 icon file to /var/lib/kde-icon-cache/.  Finally, I add symlinks to
7816 these icon files in one of the first directories where KDE will look
7817 for them.  This cut down the number of file accesses required to find
7818 one icon from several hundred to less than 5, and make the KDE menu
7819 almost instantaneous.  I'm not quite sure where to make the package
7820 publicly available, so for now it is only available on request.</p>
7821
7822 <p>The bug report mention that this do not only affect the KDE menu
7823 and icon handling, but also the login process.  Not quite sure how to
7824 speed up that part without replacing NFS with for example NBD, and
7825 that is not really an option at the moment.</p>
7826
7827 <p>If you got feedback on this issue, please let us know on debian-edu
7828 (at) lists.debian.org.</p>
7829
7830       </div>
7831       <div class="tags">
7832
7833
7834         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7835
7836
7837       </div>
7838     </div>
7839     <div class="padding"></div>
7840
7841     <div class="entry">
7842       <div class="title">
7843         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_in_the_Linux_Weekly_News.html">Debian Edu in the Linux Weekly News</a>
7844       </div>
7845       <div class="date">
7846          5th April 2012
7847       </div>
7848       <div class="body">
7849         <p>About two weeks ago, I was interviewed via email about
7850 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and Skolelinux</a> by
7851 Bruce Byfield in Linux Weekly News.  The result was made public for
7852 non-subscribers today.  I am pleased to see liked our Linux solution
7853 for schools.  Check out his article
7854 <a href="https://lwn.net/Articles/488805/">Debian Edu/Skolelinux: A
7855 distribution for education</a> if you want to learn more.</p>
7856
7857       </div>
7858       <div class="tags">
7859
7860
7861         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7862
7863
7864       </div>
7865     </div>
7866     <div class="padding"></div>
7867
7868     <div class="entry">
7869       <div class="title">
7870         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Wolfgang_Schweer.html">Debian Edu interview: Wolfgang Schweer</a>
7871       </div>
7872       <div class="date">
7873          1st April 2012
7874       </div>
7875       <div class="body">
7876         <p>Germany is a core area for the
7877 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and Skolelinux</a>
7878 user community, and this time I managed to get hold of Wolfgang
7879 Schweer, a valuable contributor to the project from Germany.
7880
7881 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
7882
7883 <p>I've studied Mathematics at the university 'Ruhr-Universität' in
7884 Bochum, Germany. Since 1981 I'm working as a teacher at the school
7885 "<a href="http://www.westfalenkolleg-dortmund.de/">Westfalen-Kolleg
7886 Dortmund</a>", a second chance school.  Here, young adults is given
7887 the opportunity to get further education in order to do the school
7888 examination 'Abitur', which will allow to study at a university. This
7889 second chance is of value for those who want a better job perspective
7890 or failed to get a higher school examination being teens.</p>
7891
7892 <p>Besides teaching I was involved in developing online courses for a
7893 blended learning project called 'abitur-online.nrw' and in some other
7894 information technology related projects. For about ten years I've been
7895 teacher and coordinator for the 'abitur-online' project at my
7896 school. Being now in my early sixties, I've decided to leave school at
7897 the end of April this year.</p>
7898
7899 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux/Debian Edu
7900 project?</strong></p>
7901
7902 <p>The first information about Skolelinux must have come to my
7903 attention years ago and somehow related to LTSP (Linux Terminal Server
7904 Project).  At school, we had set up a network at the beginning of 1997
7905 using Suse Linux on the desktop, replacing a Novell network. Since
7906 2002, we used old machines from the city council of Dortmund as thin
7907 clients (LTSP, later Ubuntu/Lessdisks) cause new hardware was out of
7908 reach. At home I'm using Debian since years and - subscribed to the
7909 Debian news letter - heard from time to time about Skolelinux. About
7910 two years ago I proposed to replace the (somehow undocumented and only
7911 known to me) system at school by a well known Debian based system:
7912 Skolelinux.</p>
7913
7914 <p>Students and teachers appreciated the new system because of a
7915 better look and feel and an enhanced access to local media on thin
7916 clients.  The possibility to alter and/or reset passwords using a GUI
7917 was welcomed, too. Being able to do administrative tasks using a GUI
7918 and to easily set up workstations using PXE was of very high value for
7919 the admin teachers.</p>
7920
7921 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
7922 Edu?</strong></p>
7923
7924 <p>It's open source, easy to set up, stable and flexible due to it's
7925 Debian base. It integrates LTSP out-of-the-box. And it is documented!
7926 So it was a perfect choice.</p>
7927
7928 <p>Being open source, there are no license problems and so it's
7929 possible to point teachers and students to programs like
7930 OpenOffice.org, ViewYourMind (mind mapping) and The Gimp.  It's of
7931 high value to be able to adapt parts of the system to special needs of
7932 a school and to choose where to get support for this.</p>
7933
7934 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux/Debian
7935 Edu?</strong></p>
7936
7937 <p>Nothing yet.</p>
7938
7939 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
7940
7941 <p>At home (Debian Sid with Gnome Desktop): Iceweasel, LibreOffice,
7942 Mutt, Gedit, Document Viewer, Midnight Commander, flpsed (PDF
7943 Annotator).  At school (Skolelinux Lenny): Iceweasel, Gedit,
7944 LibreOffice.</p>
7945
7946 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
7947 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
7948
7949 <p>Some time ago I thought it was enough to tell people about it. But
7950 that doesn't seem to work quite well. Now I concentrate on those more
7951 interested and hope to get multiplicators that way.</p>
7952
7953       </div>
7954       <div class="tags">
7955
7956
7957         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
7958
7959
7960       </div>
7961     </div>
7962     <div class="padding"></div>
7963
7964     <div class="entry">
7965       <div class="title">
7966         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_screencast__Checking_email_with_kmail_using_Kerberos_authentication.html">Debian Edu screencast: Checking email with kmail using Kerberos authentication</a>
7967       </div>
7968       <div class="date">
7969         25th March 2012
7970       </div>
7971       <div class="body">
7972         <!-- Video HTML based on http://www.diveintohtml5.net/video.html -->
7973
7974 <p>The same Debian Edu developer that did the last screen cast I
7975 published, Wolfgang Schweer, has created a new screen cast showing how
7976 to set up Kmail in Debian Edu Squeze to authenticate using Kerberos,
7977 allowing users to check their local email account without providing
7978 any password. The video is embedded here in quarter size,
7979 and also available from <a href="https://vimeo.com/38601767">vimeo</a>
7980 and download as a
7981 <a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux/press/screencasts/2012-03-14-Debian-Edu_Configure_Kmail_for_internal_usage.ogv">Ogg
7982 Theora</a> file.  Check it out below.</p>
7983
7984 <p><video id="kmail-kerberos-movie" width="256" height="184" preload controls>
7985   <source src="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux/press/screencasts/2012-03-14-Debian-Edu_Configure_Kmail_for_internal_usage.ogv" type='video/ogg; codecs="theora, vorbis"' />
7986     <p>Download video as
7987       <a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux/press/screencasts/2012-03-14-Debian-Edu_Configure_Kmail_for_internal_usage.ogv">Ogg</a>.</p>
7988 </video></p>
7989
7990       </div>
7991       <div class="tags">
7992
7993
7994         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7995
7996
7997       </div>
7998     </div>
7999     <div class="padding"></div>
8000
8001     <div class="entry">
8002       <div class="title">
8003         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__John_Ingleby.html">Debian Edu interview: John Ingleby</a>
8004       </div>
8005       <div class="date">
8006         19th March 2012
8007       </div>
8008       <div class="body">
8009         <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a>
8010 users are spread all across the globe.  The second inteview after
8011 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2012/03/msg00001.html">the
8012 Squeeze release</a> was publised is with John Ingleby, a teacher and
8013 long time Linux user in United Kingdom.</p>
8014
8015 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
8016
8017 <p>I teach ICT part time at the Rudolf Steiner School in Kings
8018 Langley, near London, UK. Previously I worked as a technical
8019 author/trainer while my children attended the school, and I also
8020 contributed to the Schoolforge UK community with the aim of
8021 encouraging UK schools to adopt free/open source software. Five or six
8022 years ago we had about 50 schools interested in some way, but we
8023 weren't able to convert many of them into sustainable
8024 installations.</p>
8025
8026 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux/Debian Edu
8027 project?</strong></p>
8028
8029 <p>Skolelinux had two representatives at an early Edubuntu meeting in
8030 London which I attended. However at that time our school network had
8031 just been installed using CentOS, LTSP 4 and GNOME. When LTSP 5 came
8032 along we switched to Edubuntu thin client servers so now we have a
8033 mixed environment which includes Windows PCs and student laptops, as
8034 well as their MacBooks and iPads. However, the proprietary systems
8035 have always been rather problematic, and we never built a GUI for the
8036 LDAP server, so when I discovered Skolelinux is configured for all
8037 these things we decided to try it.</p>
8038
8039 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
8040 Edu?</strong></p>
8041
8042 <p>By far the biggest advantage is the Debian Edu community. Apart
8043 from that I have always believed in the same "sustainable computing"
8044 goals that Skolelinux is built on: installing Linux on computers which
8045 would otherwise be thrown away, to provide a reliable, secure and
8046 low-cost IT environment for schools. From my own experience I know
8047 that a part-time person can teach and manage a network of about 25
8048 Linux computers, but it would take much more of my time if we had
8049 proprietary software everywhere.</p>
8050
8051 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux/Debian
8052 Edu?</strong></p>
8053
8054 <p>As a newcomer I'm just finding out who's who in the community and
8055 how you're organised, and what your procedures are for dealing with
8056 various things such as editing manual pages and so-on. The only
8057 English language mailing list seems to be for developers as well as
8058 users, so my inbox needs heavy pruning each day!</p>
8059
8060 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
8061
8062 <p>Besides the software already mentioned at school we use Samba,
8063 OpenLDAP, CUPS, Nagios and Dansguardian for the network, and on the
8064 desktops we have LibreOffice, Firefox, GIMP and Inkscape. At home I
8065 use Ubuntu and an Android 4 eePad Transformer (but I'm not sure if
8066 that counts...)</p>
8067
8068 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
8069 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
8070
8071 <p>That's a tough question! For very many years UK schools installed
8072 and taught only proprietary software, so that at the highest levels
8073 the notion of "computer" means simply "proprietary office
8074 applications".  However, schools today are experiencing budget
8075 constraints, and many are having to think hard about upgrading Windows
8076 XP.  At the same time, we have students showing teachers how to use
8077 iPads, MacBooks and Android, so the choice of operating system is no
8078 longer quite so automatic. What is more, our government at last
8079 realised that we need people with programming skills, so they're
8080 putting coding back in the curriculum! And it's encouraging that the
8081 first 10,000 Raspberry Pi units sold out in 2 hours.</p>
8082
8083 <p>I don't really know what strategy is going to get UK schools to use
8084 free software, but building an active community of Skolelinux/Debian
8085 Edu users in this country has to be part of it.</p>
8086
8087       </div>
8088       <div class="tags">
8089
8090
8091         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
8092
8093
8094       </div>
8095     </div>
8096     <div class="padding"></div>
8097
8098     <div class="entry">
8099       <div class="title">
8100         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Writing_and_translating_documentation_in_Debian_Edu.html">Writing and translating documentation in Debian Edu</a>
8101       </div>
8102       <div class="date">
8103         16th March 2012
8104       </div>
8105       <div class="body">
8106         <p>Documentation in Debian Edu is provided in several languages, and
8107 it is important to make it both easy to contribute and to keep the
8108 translated versions in sync.  To do this we have come up with what we
8109 believe is a very efficient work flow.</p>
8110
8111 <ol>
8112
8113 <li>The documentation is written in a
8114 <a href="http://moinmo.in">moinmoin wiki</a> (see for example
8115 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Squeeze">the
8116 Squeeze release manual</a>) with support for exporting the content as
8117 docbook XML.</li>
8118
8119 <li>This docbook document is given to po4a to extract a gettext style
8120 .pot file with the content, which in turn is used to create .po files
8121 with the translated text.</li>
8122
8123 <li>The .po files are given to translators, and they can always tell
8124 which part of the original wiki document is new or changed.  They can
8125 use their normal translation tools like lokalize or poedit to write
8126 the translation.  There is even a system in place to handle translated
8127 images.</li>
8128
8129 <li>The translated .po files are combined with the original docbook
8130 XML document using po4a to create a translated docbook document.</li>
8131
8132 <li>The final step is to use all the generated docbook files and
8133 create PDF and HTML version of the original and translated documents.</li>
8134
8135 </ol>
8136
8137 <p>This setup work very well, but have a few issues.  The biggest
8138 issue is that <a href="http://moinmo.in/DocBook">the docbook support
8139 we use in moinmoin</a> is not actively maintained.  The docbook
8140 support is also buggy, and our build system contain workarounds to
8141 make sure the generated docbook is usable despite these bugs.</p>
8142
8143 <p>If you want to have a look at our setup, it is all there in the
8144 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/debian-edu-doc">debian-edu-doc
8145 package</a>.</p>
8146
8147       </div>
8148       <div class="tags">
8149
8150
8151         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8152
8153
8154       </div>
8155     </div>
8156     <div class="padding"></div>
8157
8158     <div class="entry">
8159       <div class="title">
8160         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Skolelinux___Debian_Edu_Squeeze_is_out_.html">Skolelinux / Debian Edu Squeeze is out!</a>
8161       </div>
8162       <div class="date">
8163         11th March 2012
8164       </div>
8165       <div class="body">
8166         <p>This weekend we finally published the first stable release of
8167 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux / Debian Edu</a> based
8168 on Debian/Squeeze.  The full announcement is
8169 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2012/03/msg00001.html">available</a>
8170 from the project announcement list.  Now is a good time to test if it
8171 you have not done so already.</p>
8172
8173 <p>I plan to present the new version at
8174 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/aktiviteter/20120313-skolelinux/">a NUUG
8175 meeting</a> on tuesday.  I look forward to seeing you there if you are
8176 in Oslo, Norway.</p>
8177
8178       </div>
8179       <div class="tags">
8180
8181
8182         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8183
8184
8185       </div>
8186     </div>
8187     <div class="padding"></div>
8188
8189     <div class="entry">
8190       <div class="title">
8191         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Nigel_Barker.html">Debian Edu interview: Nigel Barker</a>
8192       </div>
8193       <div class="date">
8194          9th March 2012
8195       </div>
8196       <div class="body">
8197         <p>Inspired by <a href="http://raphaelhertzog.com/tag/interview/">the
8198 interview series</a> conducted by Raphael, I started a Norwegian
8199 interview series with people involved in the Debian Edu / Skolelinux
8200 community.  This was so popular that I believe it is time to move to a
8201 more international audience.</p>
8202
8203 <p>While <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and
8204 Skolelinux</a> originated in France and Norway, and have most users in
8205 Europe, there are users all around the globe.  One of those far away
8206 from me is Nigel Barker, a long time Debian Edu system administrator
8207 and contributor.  It is thanks to him that Debian Edu is adjusted to
8208 work out of the box in Japan.  I got him to answer a few questions,
8209 and am happy to share the response with you. :)
8210
8211
8212 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
8213
8214 <p>My name is Nigel Barker, and I am British. I am married to Yumiko,
8215 and we have three lovely children, aged 15, 14 and 4(!) I am the IT
8216 Coordinator at Hiroshima International School, Japan. I am also a
8217 teacher, and in fact I spend most of my day teaching Mathematics,
8218 Science, IT, and Chemistry. I was originally a Chemistry teacher, but
8219 I have always had an interest in computers. Another teacher teaches
8220 primary school IT, but apart from that I am the only computer person,
8221 so that means I am the network manager, technician and webmaster,
8222 also, and I help people with their computer problems. I teach python
8223 to beginners in an after-school club. I am way too busy, so I really
8224 appreciate the simplicity of Skolelinux.</p>
8225
8226 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux/Debian Edu
8227 project?</strong></p>
8228
8229 <p>In around 2004 or 5 I discovered the ltsp project, and set up a
8230 server in the IT lab. I wanted some way to connect it to our central
8231 samba server, which I was also quite poor at configuring. I discovered
8232 Edubuntu when it came out, but it didn't really improve my setup. I
8233 did various desperate searches for things like "school Linux server"
8234 and ended up in a document called "Drift" something or other. Reading
8235 there it became clear that Skolelinux was going to solve all my
8236 problems in one go. I was very excited, but apprehensive, because my
8237 previous attempts to install Debian had ended in failure (I used
8238 Mandrake for everything - ltsp, samba, apache, mail, ns...). I
8239 downloaded a beta version, had some problems, so subscribed to the
8240 Debian Edu list for help. I have remained subscribed ever since, and
8241 my school has run a Skolelinux network since Sarge.</p>
8242
8243 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian
8244 Edu?</strong></p>
8245
8246 <p>For me the integrated setup. This is not just the server, or the
8247 workstation, or the ltsp. Its all of them, and its all configured
8248 ready to go. I read somewhere in the early documentation that it is
8249 designed to be setup and managed by the Maths or Science teacher, who
8250 doesn't necessarily know much about computers, in a small Norwegian
8251 school. That describes me perfectly if you replace Norway with
8252 Japan.</p>
8253
8254 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux/Debian
8255 Edu?</strong></p>
8256
8257 <p>The desktop is fairly plain. If you compare it with Edubuntu, who
8258 have fun themes for children, or with distributions such as Mint, who
8259 make the desktop beautiful. They create a good impression on people
8260 who don't need to understand how to use any of it, but who might be
8261 important to the school. School administrators or directors, for
8262 instance, or parents. Even kids. Debian itself usually has ugly
8263 default theme settings. It was my dream a few years back that some
8264 kind of integration would allow Edubuntu to do the desktop stuff and
8265 Debian Edu the servers, but now I realise how impossible that is.  A
8266 second disadvantage is that if something goes wrong, or you need to
8267 customise something, then suddenly the level of expertise required
8268 multiplies. For example, backup wasn't working properly in Lenny. It
8269 took me ages to learn how to set up my own server to do rsync backups.
8270 I am afraid of anything to do with ldap, but perhaps Gosa will
8271 help.</p>
8272
8273 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
8274
8275 <p>Nowadays I only use Debian on my personal computers. I have one for
8276 studio work (I play guitar and write songs), running AV Linux
8277 (customised Debian) a netbook running Squeeze, and a bigger laptop
8278 still running Skolelinux Lenny workstation. I have a Tjener in my
8279 house, that's very useful for the family photos and music.  At school
8280 the students only use Skolelinux. (Some teachers and the office still
8281 have windows). So that means we only use free software all day every
8282 day. Open office, The GIMP, Firefox/Iceweasel, VLC and Audacity are
8283 installed on every computer in school, irrespective of OS.  We also
8284 have Koha on Debian for the library, and Apache, Moodle, b2evolution
8285 and Etomite on Debian for the www. The firewall is Untangle.</p>
8286
8287 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
8288 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
8289
8290 <p>Current trends are in our favour. Open source is big in industry,
8291 and ordinary people have heard of it. The spread of Android and the
8292 popularity of Apple have helped to weaken the impression that you have
8293 to have Microsoft on everything. People complain to me much less about
8294 file formats and Word than they did 5 years ago.  The Edu aspect is
8295 also a selling point. This is all customised for schools. Where is the
8296 Windows-edu, or the Mac-edu?  But of course the main attraction is
8297 budget.The trick is to convince people that the quality is not
8298 compromised when you stop paying and use free software instead. That
8299 is one reason why I say the desktop experience is a weakness. People
8300 are not impressed when their USB drive doesn't work, or their browser
8301 doesn't play flash, for example.</p>
8302
8303       </div>
8304       <div class="tags">
8305
8306
8307         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.
8308
8309
8310       </div>
8311     </div>
8312     <div class="padding"></div>
8313
8314     <div class="entry">
8315       <div class="title">
8316         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_screencast__Mass_creation_of_user_accounts_in_Squeeze.html">Debian Edu screencast: Mass creation of user accounts in Squeeze</a>
8317       </div>
8318       <div class="date">
8319          7th March 2012
8320       </div>
8321       <div class="body">
8322         <!-- Video HTML based on http://www.diveintohtml5.net/video.html -->
8323
8324 <p>One of the Debian Edu developers, Wolfgang Schweer, just created a
8325 screen cast documenting how to create a lot of new users in LDAP on
8326 Debian Edu Squeeze.  The video is embedded here in quarter size, and
8327 also available from <a href="http://vimeo.com/37675399">vimeo</a> and
8328 download as a
8329 <a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux/press/screencasts/2012-02-29-debian_edu_mass_create_user_accounts.ogv">Ogg
8330 Theora</a> file.  Check it out below.</p>
8331
8332 <p><video id="gosa-mass-user-create-movie" width="256" height="184" preload controls>
8333   <source src="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux/press/screencasts/2012-02-29-debian_edu_mass_create_user_accounts.ogv" type='video/ogg; codecs="theora, vorbis"' />
8334     <p>Download video as
8335       <a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux/press/screencasts/2012-02-29-debian_edu_mass_create_user_accounts.ogv">Ogg</a>.</p>
8336 </video></p>
8337
8338       </div>
8339       <div class="tags">
8340
8341
8342         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8343
8344
8345       </div>
8346     </div>
8347     <div class="padding"></div>
8348
8349     <div class="entry">
8350       <div class="title">
8351         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Third_release_candidate_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Squeeze.html">Third release candidate of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Squeeze</a>
8352       </div>
8353       <div class="date">
8354          4th March 2012
8355       </div>
8356       <div class="body">
8357         <p>This weekend we wrapped up and published the third release
8358 candidate for <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu /
8359 Skolelinux</a> based on Squeeze.  The full announcement is
8360 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2012/03/msg00000.html">available</a>
8361 from the project announcement list.  Check it out if you
8362 need a software solution for your school.</p>
8363
8364       </div>
8365       <div class="tags">
8366
8367
8368         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8369
8370
8371       </div>
8372     </div>
8373     <div class="padding"></div>
8374
8375     <div class="entry">
8376       <div class="title">
8377         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Stopmotion_for_making_stop_motion_animations_on_Linux___reloaded.html">Stopmotion for making stop motion animations on Linux - reloaded</a>
8378       </div>
8379       <div class="date">
8380          3rd March 2012
8381       </div>
8382       <div class="body">
8383         <p>Many years ago, the <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux
8384 / Debian Edu project</a> initiated a student project to create a tool
8385 for making stop motion movies.  The proposal came from a teacher
8386 needing such tool on Skolelinux.  The project, called "stopmotion",
8387 was manned by two extraordinary students and won a school award and a
8388 national aware with this great project.  The project was initiated and
8389 mentored by Herman Robak, and manned by the students Bjørn Erik Nilsen
8390 and Fredrik Berg Kjølstad.  They got in touch with people at Aardman
8391 Animation studio and received feedback on how professionals would like
8392 such stopmotion tool to work, and the end result was and is used by
8393 animators around the globe.  But as is usual after studying, both got
8394 jobs and went elsewhere, and did not have time to properly tend to the
8395 project, and it has been lingering for a few years now.  Until last
8396 year...</p>
8397
8398 <p>Last year some of the users got together with Herman, and moved the
8399 project to Sourceforge and in effect restarted the project under a new
8400 name,
8401 <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/linuxstopmotion/">linuxstopmotion</a>.
8402 The name change was done to make it possible to find the project using
8403 Internet search engines (try to search for 'stopmotion' to see what I
8404 mean). I've been following
8405 <a href="https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/linuxstopmotion-community">the
8406 mailing list</a> and the improvement already in place and planned for
8407 the future is encouraging.  If you want to make stop motion movies.
8408 Check it out. :)</p>
8409
8410       </div>
8411       <div class="tags">
8412
8413
8414         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
8415
8416
8417       </div>
8418     </div>
8419     <div class="padding"></div>
8420
8421     <div class="entry">
8422       <div class="title">
8423         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Second_release_candidate_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Squeeze.html">Second release candidate of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Squeeze</a>
8424       </div>
8425       <div class="date">
8426         27th February 2012
8427       </div>
8428       <div class="body">
8429         <p>This weekend we wrapped up and published the second release
8430 candidate for <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu /
8431 Skolelinux</a> based on Squeeze.  The full announcement did for some
8432 reason not make it the project announcement list, but is
8433 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2012/02/msg00015.html">available</a>
8434 from the Debian development announcement list.  Check it out if you
8435 need a software solution for your school.</p>
8436
8437       </div>
8438       <div class="tags">
8439
8440
8441         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8442
8443
8444       </div>
8445     </div>
8446     <div class="padding"></div>
8447
8448     <div class="entry">
8449       <div class="title">
8450         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_release_candidate_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Squeeze.html">First release candidate of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Squeeze</a>
8451       </div>
8452       <div class="date">
8453         19th February 2012
8454       </div>
8455       <div class="body">
8456         <p>One week delayed due to DVD build problems, we managed today to
8457 wrap up and publish the first release candidate for
8458 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> based
8459 on Squeeze.  The full announcement is
8460 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2012/02/msg00001.html">available</a>
8461 on the project announcement list.  Check it out if you need a software
8462 solution for your school.</p>
8463
8464       </div>
8465       <div class="tags">
8466
8467
8468         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8469
8470
8471       </div>
8472     </div>
8473     <div class="padding"></div>
8474
8475     <div class="entry">
8476       <div class="title">
8477         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_figure_out_which_RAID_disk_to_replace_when_it_fail.html">How to figure out which RAID disk to replace when it fail</a>
8478       </div>
8479       <div class="date">
8480         14th February 2012
8481       </div>
8482       <div class="body">
8483         <p>Once in a while my home server have disk problems.  Thanks to Linux
8484 Software RAID, I have not lost data yet (but
8485 <a href="http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.linux.raid/34532">I was
8486 close</a> this summer :).  But once a disk is starting to behave
8487 funny, a practical problem present itself.  How to get from the Linux
8488 device name (like /dev/sdd) to something that can be used to identify
8489 the disk when the computer is turned off?  In my case I have SATA
8490 disks with a unique ID printed on the label.  All I need is a way to
8491 figure out how to query the disk to get the ID out.</p>
8492
8493 <p>After fumbling a bit, I
8494 <a href="http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-getting-scsi-ide-harddisk-information/">found
8495 that hdparm -I</a> will report the disk serial number, which is
8496 printed on the disk label.  The following (almost) one-liner can be
8497 used to look up the ID of all the failed disks:</p>
8498
8499 <blockquote><pre>
8500 for d in $(cat /proc/mdstat |grep '(F)'|tr ' ' "\n"|grep '(F)'|cut -d\[ -f1|sort -u);
8501 do
8502     printf "Failed disk $d: "
8503     hdparm -I /dev/$d |grep 'Serial Num'
8504 done
8505 </blockquote></pre>
8506
8507 <p>Putting it here to make sure I do not have to search for it the
8508 next time, and in case other find it useful.</p>
8509
8510 <p>At the moment I have two failing disk. :(</p>
8511
8512 <blockquote><pre>
8513 Failed disk sdd1:       Serial Number:      WD-WCASJ1860823
8514 Failed disk sdd2:       Serial Number:      WD-WCASJ1860823
8515 Failed disk sde2:       Serial Number:      WD-WCASJ1840589
8516 </blockquote></pre>
8517
8518 <p>The last time I had failing disks, I added the serial number on
8519 labels I printed and stuck on the short sides of each disk, to be able
8520 to figure out which disk to take out of the box without having to
8521 remove each disk to look at the physical vendor label.  The vendor
8522 label is at the top of the disk, which is hidden when the disks are
8523 mounted inside my box.</p>
8524
8525 <p>I really wish the check_linux_raid Nagios plugin for checking Linux
8526 Software RAID in the
8527 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/n/nagios-plugins.html">nagios-plugins-standard</a>
8528 debian package would look up this value automatically, as it would
8529 make the plugin a lot more useful when my disks fail.  At the moment
8530 it only report a failure when there are no more spares left (it really
8531 should warn as soon as a disk is failing), and it do not tell me which
8532 disk(s) is failing when the RAID is running short on disks.</p>
8533
8534       </div>
8535       <div class="tags">
8536
8537
8538         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/raid">raid</a>.
8539
8540
8541       </div>
8542     </div>
8543     <div class="padding"></div>
8544
8545     <div class="entry">
8546       <div class="title">
8547         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatic_proxy_configuration_with_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux.html">Automatic proxy configuration with Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a>
8548       </div>
8549       <div class="date">
8550         13th February 2012
8551       </div>
8552       <div class="body">
8553         <p>New in the Squeeze version of
8554 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> is the
8555 ability for clients to automatically configure their proxy settings
8556 based on their environment.  We want all systems on the client to use
8557 the WPAD based proxy definition fetched from <tt>http://wpad/wpad.dat</tt>, to
8558 allow sites to control the proxy setting from a central place and make
8559 sure clients do not have hard coded proxy settings.  The schools can
8560 change the global proxy setting by editing
8561 <tt>tjener:/etc/debian-edu/www/wpad.dat</tt> and the change propagate
8562 to all Debian Edu clients in the network.</p>
8563
8564 <p>The problem is that some systems do not understand the WPAD system.
8565 In other words, how do one get from a WPAD file like this (this is a
8566 simple one, they can run arbitrary code):</p>
8567
8568 <blockquote><pre>
8569 function FindProxyForURL(url, host)
8570 {
8571    if (!isResolvable(host) ||
8572        isPlainHostName(host) ||
8573        dnsDomainIs(host, ".intern"))
8574       return "DIRECT";
8575    else
8576       return "PROXY webcache:3128; DIRECT";
8577 }
8578 </pre></blockquote>
8579
8580 <p>to a proxy setting in the process environment looking like this:</p>
8581
8582 <blockquote><pre>
8583 http_proxy=http://webcache:3128/
8584 ftp_proxy=http://webcache:3128/
8585 </pre></blockquote>
8586
8587 <p>To do this conversion I developed a perl script that will execute
8588 the javascript fragment in the WPAD file and return the proxy that
8589 would be used for
8590 <tt><a href="http://www.debian.org/">http://www.debian.org/</a></tt>,
8591 and insert this extracted proxy URL in <tt>/etc/environment</tt> and
8592 <tt>/etc/apt/apt.conf</tt>.  The perl script wpad-extract work just
8593 fine in Squeeze, but in Wheezy the library it need to run the
8594 javascript code is <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/631045">no longer
8595 able to build</a> because the C library it depended on is now a C++
8596 library.  I hope someone find a solution to that problem before Wheezy
8597 is frozen.  An alternative would be for us to rewrite wpad-extract to
8598 use some other javascript library currently working in Wheezy, but no
8599 known alternative is known at the moment.</p>
8600
8601 <p>This automatic proxy system allow the roaming workstation (aka
8602 laptop) setup in Debian Edu/Squeeze to use the proxy when the laptop
8603 is connected to the backbone network in a Debian Edu setup, and to
8604 automatically use any proxy present and announced using the WPAD
8605 feature when it is connected to other networks.  And if no proxy is
8606 announced, direct connections will be used instead.</p>
8607
8608 <p>Silently using a proxy announced on the network might be a privacy
8609 or security problem.  But those controlling DHCP and DNS on a network
8610 could just as easily set up a transparent proxy, and force all HTTP
8611 and FTP connections to use a proxy anyway, so I consider that
8612 distinction to be academic.  If you are afraid of using the wrong
8613 proxy, you should avoid connecting to the network in question in the
8614 first place.  In Debian Edu, the proxy setup is updated using dhcp and
8615 ifupdown hooks, to make sure the configuration is updated every time
8616 the network setup changes.</p>
8617
8618 <p>The WPAD system is documented in a
8619 <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-wrec-wpad-01">IETF
8620 draft</a> and a
8621 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Proxy_Autodiscovery_Protocol">Wikipedia
8622 page</a> for those that want to learn more.</p>
8623
8624       </div>
8625       <div class="tags">
8626
8627
8628         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8629
8630
8631       </div>
8632     </div>
8633     <div class="padding"></div>
8634
8635     <div class="entry">
8636       <div class="title">
8637         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Saving_power_with_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_using_shutdown_at_night.html">Saving power with Debian Edu / Skolelinux using shutdown-at-night</a>
8638       </div>
8639       <div class="date">
8640          5th February 2012
8641       </div>
8642       <div class="body">
8643         <p>Since the Lenny version of
8644 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a>, a
8645 feature to save power have been included.  It is as simple as it is
8646 practical: Shut down unused clients at night, and turn them on again
8647 in the morning.  This is done using the
8648 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/s/shutdown-at-night.html">shutdown-at-night</a> Debian package.</p>
8649
8650 <p>To enable this feature on a client, the machine need to be added to
8651 the netgroup shutdown-at-night-hosts.  For Debian Edu, this is done in
8652 LDAP, and once this is in place, the machine in question will check
8653 every hour from 16:00 until 06:00 to see if the machine is unused, and
8654 shut it down if it is.  If the hardware in question is supported by
8655 the
8656 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/n/nvram-wakeup.html">nvram-wakeup</a>
8657 package, the BIOS is told to turn the machine back on around 07:00 +-
8658 10 minutes.  If this isn't working, one can configure wake-on-lan to
8659 try to turn on the client.  The wake-on-lan option is only documented
8660 and not enabled by default in Debian Edu.</p>
8661
8662 <p>It is important to not turn all machines on at once, as this can
8663 blow a fuse if several computers are connected to the same fuse like
8664 the common setup for a classroom.  The nvram-wakeup method only work
8665 for machines with a functioning hardware/BIOS clock.  I've seen old
8666 machines where the BIOS battery were dead and the hardware clock were
8667 starting from 0 (or was it 1990?) every boot.  If you have one of
8668 those, you have to turn on the computer manually.</p>
8669
8670 <p>The shutdown-at-night package is completely self contained, and can
8671 also be used outside the Debian Edu environment.  For those without a
8672 central LDAP server with netgroups, one can instead touch the file
8673 <tt>/etc/shutdown-at-night/shutdown-at-night</tt> to enable it.
8674 Perhaps you too can use it to save some power?</p>
8675
8676       </div>
8677       <div class="tags">
8678
8679
8680         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8681
8682
8683       </div>
8684     </div>
8685     <div class="padding"></div>
8686
8687     <div class="entry">
8688       <div class="title">
8689         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Third_beta_version_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Squeeze.html">Third beta version of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Squeeze</a>
8690       </div>
8691       <div class="date">
8692          4th February 2012
8693       </div>
8694       <div class="body">
8695         <p>I am happy to announce that finally we managed today to wrap up and
8696 publish the third beta version of
8697 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> based
8698 on Squeeze.  If you want to test a LDAP backed Kerberos server with
8699 out of the box PXE configuration for running diskless machines and
8700 installing new machines, check it out.  If you need a software
8701 solution for your school, check it out too.  The full announcement is
8702 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2012/02/msg00000.html">available</a>
8703 on the project announcement list.</p>
8704
8705 <p>I am very happy to report these changes and improvements since
8706 beta2 (there are more, see announcement for full list):</p>
8707
8708 <ul>
8709
8710 <li>It is now possible to change the pre-configured IP subnet from
8711   10.0.0.0/8 to something else by using the subnet-change tool after
8712   the installation.</li>
8713
8714 <li>Too full partitions are now automatically extended on the Main
8715   Server, based on the rules specified in /etc/fsautoresizetab.</li>
8716
8717 <li>The CUPS queues are now automatically flushed every night, and all
8718   disabled queues are restarted every hour.  This should cut down on
8719   the amount of manual administration needed for printers.</li>
8720
8721 <li>The set of initial users have been changed.  Now a personal user
8722   for the local system administrator is created during installation
8723   instead of the previously created localadmin and super-admin users,
8724   and this user is granted administrative privileges using group
8725   membership.  This reduces the number of passwords one need to keep
8726   up to date on the system.</li>
8727
8728 </ul>
8729
8730 <p>The new main server seem to work so well that I am testing it as my
8731 private DNS/LDAP/Kerberos/PXE/LTSP server at home.  I will use it look
8732 for issues we could fix to polish Debian Edu even further before the
8733 final Squeeze release is published.</p>
8734
8735 <p>Next weekend the project organise a
8736 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2012/01/msg00001.html">developer
8737 gathering</a> in Oslo.  We will continue the work on the Squeeze
8738 version, and start initial planning for the Wheezy version.  Perhaps I
8739 will see you there?</p>
8740
8741       </div>
8742       <div class="tags">
8743
8744
8745         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8746
8747
8748       </div>
8749     </div>
8750     <div class="padding"></div>
8751
8752     <div class="entry">
8753       <div class="title">
8754         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Handling_non_free_firmware_in_Debian_Edu_Squeeze.html">Handling non-free firmware in Debian Edu/Squeeze</a>
8755       </div>
8756       <div class="date">
8757         27th January 2012
8758       </div>
8759       <div class="body">
8760         <p>With some computer hardware, one need non-free firmware blobs.
8761 This is the sad fact of todays computers.  In the next version of
8762 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> based
8763 on Squeeze, we provide several scripts and modifications to make
8764 firmware blobs easier to handle.  The common use case I run into is a
8765 laptop with a wireless network card requiring non-free firmware to
8766 work, but there are other use cases as well.</p>
8767
8768 <p>First and foremost, Debian Edu provide ISO images for DVD and CD
8769 with all firmware packages in the Debian sections main and non-free
8770 included, to ensure debian-installer find and can install all of them
8771 during installation.  This take care firmware for network devices used
8772 by the installer when installing from from local media.  But for
8773 example multimedia devices are not activated in the installer and are
8774 not taken care of by this.</p>
8775
8776 <p>For non-network devices, we provide the script
8777 <tt>/usr/share/debian-edu-config/tools/auto-addfirmware</tt> which
8778 search through the <tt>dmesg</tt> output for drivers requesting extra
8779 firmware.  The firmware file name is looked up in the Contents-ARCH.gz
8780 file available in the package repository, and the packages providing
8781 the requested firmware file(s) is installed.  I have proposed to do
8782 something similar in debian-installer (BTS report
8783 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/655507">#655507</a>), to allow PXE
8784 installs of Debian to handle firmware installation better.  Run the
8785 script as root from the command line to fetch and install the needed
8786 firmware packages.</p>
8787
8788 <p>Debian Edu provide PXE installation of Debian out of the box, and
8789 because some machines need firmware to get their network cards
8790 working, the installation initrd some times need extra firmware
8791 included to be able to install at all.  To fill the PXE installation
8792 initrd with extra firmware, the
8793 <tt>/usr/share/debian-edu-config/tools/pxe-addfirmware</tt> script is
8794 provided.  Again, just run it as root on the command line to fill the
8795 PXE initrd with firmware packages.</p>
8796
8797 <p>Last, some LTSP clients might also need firmware to get their
8798 network cards working.  For this,
8799 <tt>/usr/share/debian-edu-config/tools/ltsp-addfirmware</tt> is
8800 provided to update the LTSP initrd with firmware blobs.  It is used
8801 the same way as the other firmware related tools.</p>
8802
8803 <p>At the moment, we do not run any of these during installation.  We
8804 do not know if this is acceptable for the local administrator to use
8805 non-free software, and it is their choice.</p>
8806
8807 <p>We plan to release beta3 this weekend.  You might want to give it a
8808 try.</p>
8809
8810       </div>
8811       <div class="tags">
8812
8813
8814         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8815
8816
8817       </div>
8818     </div>
8819     <div class="padding"></div>
8820
8821     <div class="entry">
8822       <div class="title">
8823         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Setting_up_a_new_school_with_Debian_Edu_Squeeze.html">Setting up a new school with Debian Edu/Squeeze</a>
8824       </div>
8825       <div class="date">
8826         25th January 2012
8827       </div>
8828       <div class="body">
8829         <p>The next version of <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu
8830 / Skolelinux</a> will include a new tool
8831 <tt>sitesummary2ldapdhcp</tt>, which can be used to quickly set up all
8832 the computers in a school without much manual labour.  Here is a short
8833 summary on how to use it to set up a new school.</p>
8834
8835 <p>First, install a combined Main Server and Thin Client Server as the
8836 central server in the network.  Next, PXE boot all the client machines
8837 as thin clients and wait 5 minutes after the last client booted to
8838 allow the clients to report their existence to the central server.  When
8839 this is done, log on to the central server and run
8840 <tt>sitesummary2ldapdhcp -a</tt> in the <tt>konsole</tt> to use the
8841 collected information to generate system objects in LDAP.  The output
8842 will look similar to this:</p>
8843
8844 <p><blockquote><pre>
8845 % sitesummary2ldapdhcp -a
8846 info: Updating machine tjener.intern [10.0.2.2] id ether-00:01:02:03:04:05.
8847 info: Create GOsa machine for auto-mac-00-01-02-03-04-06 [10.0.16.20] id ether-00:01:02:03:04:06.
8848
8849 Enter password if you want to activate these changes, and ^c to abort.
8850
8851 Connecting to LDAP as cn=admin,ou=ldap-access,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
8852 enter password: *******
8853 %
8854 </pre></blockquote></p>
8855
8856 <p>After providing the LDAP administrative password (the same as the
8857 root password set during installation), the LDAP database will be
8858 populated with system objects for each PXE booted machine with
8859 automatically generated names.  The final step to set up the school is
8860 then to log into <a href="https://oss.gonicus.de/labs/gosa/">GOsa</a>,
8861 the web based user, group and system administration system to change
8862 system names, add systems to the correct host groups and finally
8863 enable DHCP and DNS for the systems.  All clients that should be used
8864 as diskless workstations should be added to the workstation-hosts
8865 group.  After this is done, all computers can be booted again via PXE
8866 and get their assigned names and group based configuration
8867 automatically.</p>
8868
8869 <p>We plan to release beta3 with the updated version of this feature
8870 enabled this weekend.  You might want to give it a try.</p>
8871
8872 <p>Update 2012-01-28: When calling sitesummary2ldapdhcp to add new
8873 hosts, one need to add the option -a.  I forgot to mention this in my
8874 original text, and have added it to the text now.</p>
8875
8876       </div>
8877       <div class="tags">
8878
8879
8880         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sitesummary">sitesummary</a>.
8881
8882
8883       </div>
8884     </div>
8885     <div class="padding"></div>
8886
8887     <div class="entry">
8888       <div class="title">
8889         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Changing_the_default_Iceweasel_start_page_in_Debian_Edu_Squeeze.html">Changing the default Iceweasel start page in Debian Edu/Squeeze</a>
8890       </div>
8891       <div class="date">
8892         10th January 2012
8893       </div>
8894       <div class="body">
8895         <p>In the Squeeze version of
8896 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> soon
8897 to be released, users of the system will get their default browser
8898 start page set from LDAP, allowing the system administrator to point
8899 all users to the school web page by updating one setting in LDAP.  In
8900 addition to setting the default start page when a machine boots, users
8901 are shown the same page as a welcome page when they log in for the
8902 first time.</p>
8903
8904 <p>The LDAP object dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no have an attribute
8905 labeledURI with "http://www/ LDAP for Debian Edu/Skolelinux" as the
8906 default content.  By changing this value to another URL, all users get
8907 to see the page behind this new URL.</p>
8908
8909 <p>An easy way to update it is by using the ldapvi tool.  It can be
8910 called as "<tt>ldapvi -ZD '(cn=admin)'</tt>' to update LDAP with the
8911 new setting.</p>
8912
8913 <p>We have written the code to adjust the default start page and show
8914 the welcome page, and I wonder if there is an easier way to do this
8915 from within Iceweasel instead.</p>
8916
8917       </div>
8918       <div class="tags">
8919
8920
8921         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
8922
8923
8924       </div>
8925     </div>
8926     <div class="padding"></div>
8927
8928     <div class="entry">
8929       <div class="title">
8930         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Second_beta_version_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Squeeze.html">Second beta version of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Squeeze</a>
8931       </div>
8932       <div class="date">
8933          7th January 2012
8934       </div>
8935       <div class="body">
8936         <p>I am happy to announce that today we managed to wrap up and publish
8937 the second beta version of
8938 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a>.  If
8939 you want to test a LDAP backed Kerberos server with out of the box PXE
8940 configuration for running diskless machines and installing new
8941 machines, check it out.  If you need a software solution for your
8942 school, check it out too.  The full announcement is
8943 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2012/01/msg00000.html">available</a>
8944 on the project announcement list.</p>
8945
8946       </div>
8947       <div class="tags">
8948
8949
8950         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8951
8952
8953       </div>
8954     </div>
8955     <div class="padding"></div>
8956
8957     <div class="entry">
8958       <div class="title">
8959         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Fixing_an_hanging_debian_installer_for_Debian_Edu.html">Fixing an hanging debian installer for Debian Edu</a>
8960       </div>
8961       <div class="date">
8962          3rd January 2012
8963       </div>
8964       <div class="body">
8965         <p>During christmas, I have been working getting the next version of
8966 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> ready
8967 for release.  The initial problem I looked at was particularly
8968 interesting.</p>
8969
8970 <P>The installer would hang at the end when it was doing it
8971 post-installation configuration, and whatevery I did to try to find
8972 the cause and fix it always worked while I tested it, but never when I
8973 integrated it into the installer and ran the installation from
8974 scratch.  I would try to restart processes, close file descriptors,
8975 remove or create files, and the installer would always unblock and
8976 wrap up its tasks.</p>
8977
8978 <p>Eventually the cause was found.  The kernel was simply running out
8979 of entropy, causing the Kerberos setup to hang waiting for more.
8980 Pressing keys was adding entropy to the kernel, and thus all my tries
8981 to fix the problem worked not because what I was typing to fix it, but
8982 because I was typing.</P>
8983
8984 <p>The fix I implemented was to add a background process looking at
8985 the level of entropy in the kernel (by checking
8986 /proc/sys/kernel/random/entropy_avail), and if it was too small, the
8987 installer will flush the kernel file buffers and do 'find /' to
8988 generate some disk IO.  Disk IO generate entropy in the kernel, and is
8989 one of the few things that can be initated from within the system to
8990 generate entropy.</p>
8991
8992 <p>The fix is in
8993 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Squeeze/Installation">beta1
8994 of the Debian Edu/Squeeze</a> version, and we
8995 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu">welcome more testers and
8996 developers</a>.  We plan to release beta2 this weekend.</p>
8997
8998       </div>
8999       <div class="tags">
9000
9001
9002         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
9003
9004
9005       </div>
9006     </div>
9007     <div class="padding"></div>
9008
9009     <div class="entry">
9010       <div class="title">
9011         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatically_upgrading_server_firmware_on_Dell_PowerEdge.html">Automatically upgrading server firmware on Dell PowerEdge</a>
9012       </div>
9013       <div class="date">
9014         21st November 2011
9015       </div>
9016       <div class="body">
9017         <p>At work we have heaps of servers.  I believe the total count is
9018 around 1000 at the moment.  To be able to get help from the vendors
9019 when something go wrong, we want to keep the firmware on the servers
9020 up to date.  If the firmware isn't the latest and greatest, the
9021 vendors typically refuse to start debugging any problems until the
9022 firmware is upgraded.  So before every reboot, we want to upgrade the
9023 firmware, and we would really like everyone handling servers at the
9024 university to do this themselves when they plan to reboot a machine.
9025 For that to happen we at the unix server admin group need to provide
9026 the tools to do so.</p>
9027
9028 <p>To make firmware upgrading easier, I am working on a script to
9029 fetch and install the latest firmware for the servers we got.  Most of
9030 our hardware are from Dell and HP, so I have focused on these servers
9031 so far.  This blog post is about the Dell part.</P>
9032
9033 <p>On the Dell FTP site I was lucky enough to find
9034 <a href="ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/catalog/Catalog.xml.gz">an XML file</a>
9035 with firmware information for all 11th generation servers, listing
9036 which firmware should be used on a given model and where on the FTP
9037 site I can find it.  Using a simple perl XML parser I can then
9038 download the shell scripts Dell provides to do firmware upgrades from
9039 within Linux and reboot when all the firmware is primed and ready to
9040 be activated on the first reboot.</p>
9041
9042 <p>This is the Dell related fragment of the perl code I am working on.
9043 Are there anyone working on similar tools for firmware upgrading all
9044 servers at a site?  Please get in touch and lets share resources.</p>
9045
9046 <p><pre>
9047 #!/usr/bin/perl
9048 use strict;
9049 use warnings;
9050 use File::Temp qw(tempdir);
9051 BEGIN {
9052     # Install needed RHEL packages if missing
9053     my %rhelmodules = (
9054         'XML::Simple' => 'perl-XML-Simple',
9055         );
9056     for my $module (keys %rhelmodules) {
9057         eval "use $module;";
9058         if ($@) {
9059             my $pkg = $rhelmodules{$module};
9060             system("yum install -y $pkg");
9061             eval "use $module;";
9062         }
9063     }
9064 }
9065 my $errorsto = 'pere@hungry.com';
9066
9067 upgrade_dell();
9068
9069 exit 0;
9070
9071 sub run_firmware_script {
9072     my ($opts, $script) = @_;
9073     unless ($script) {
9074         print STDERR "fail: missing script name\n";
9075         exit 1
9076     }
9077     print STDERR "Running $script\n\n";
9078
9079     if (0 == system("sh $script $opts")) { # FIXME correct exit code handling
9080         print STDERR "success: firmware script ran succcessfully\n";
9081     } else {
9082         print STDERR "fail: firmware script returned error\n";
9083     }
9084 }
9085
9086 sub run_firmware_scripts {
9087     my ($opts, @dirs) = @_;
9088     # Run firmware packages
9089     for my $dir (@dirs) {
9090         print STDERR "info: Running scripts in $dir\n";
9091         opendir(my $dh, $dir) or die "Unable to open directory $dir: $!";
9092         while (my $s = readdir $dh) {
9093             next if $s =~ m/^\.\.?/;
9094             run_firmware_script($opts, "$dir/$s");
9095         }
9096         closedir $dh;
9097     }
9098 }
9099
9100 sub download {
9101     my $url = shift;
9102     print STDERR "info: Downloading $url\n";
9103     system("wget --quiet \"$url\"");
9104 }
9105
9106 sub upgrade_dell {
9107     my @dirs;
9108     my $product = `dmidecode -s system-product-name`;
9109     chomp $product;
9110
9111     if ($product =~ m/PowerEdge/) {
9112
9113         # on RHEL, these pacakges are needed by the firwmare upgrade scripts
9114         system('yum install -y compat-libstdc++-33.i686 libstdc++.i686 libxml2.i686 procmail');
9115
9116         my $tmpdir = tempdir(
9117             CLEANUP => 1
9118             );
9119         chdir($tmpdir);
9120         fetch_dell_fw('catalog/Catalog.xml.gz');
9121         system('gunzip Catalog.xml.gz');
9122         my @paths = fetch_dell_fw_list('Catalog.xml');
9123         # -q is quiet, disabling interactivity and reducing console output
9124         my $fwopts = "-q";
9125         if (@paths) {
9126             for my $url (@paths) {
9127                 fetch_dell_fw($url);
9128             }
9129             run_firmware_scripts($fwopts, $tmpdir);
9130         } else {
9131             print STDERR "error: Unsupported Dell model '$product'.\n";
9132             print STDERR "error: Please report to $errorsto.\n";
9133         }
9134         chdir('/');
9135     } else {
9136         print STDERR "error: Unsupported Dell model '$product'.\n";
9137         print STDERR "error: Please report to $errorsto.\n";
9138     }
9139 }
9140
9141 sub fetch_dell_fw {
9142     my $path = shift;
9143     my $url = "ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/$path";
9144     download($url);
9145 }
9146
9147 # Using ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/catalog/Catalog.xml.gz, figure out which
9148 # firmware packages to download from Dell.  Only work for Linux
9149 # machines and 11th generation Dell servers.
9150 sub fetch_dell_fw_list {
9151     my $filename = shift;
9152
9153     my $product = `dmidecode -s system-product-name`;
9154     chomp $product;
9155     my ($mybrand, $mymodel) = split(/\s+/, $product);
9156
9157     print STDERR "Finding firmware bundles for $mybrand $mymodel\n";
9158
9159     my $xml = XMLin($filename);
9160     my @paths;
9161     for my $bundle (@{$xml->{SoftwareBundle}}) {
9162         my $brand = $bundle->{TargetSystems}->{Brand}->{Display}->{content};
9163         my $model = $bundle->{TargetSystems}->{Brand}->{Model}->{Display}->{content};
9164         my $oscode;
9165         if ("ARRAY" eq ref $bundle->{TargetOSes}->{OperatingSystem}) {
9166             $oscode = $bundle->{TargetOSes}->{OperatingSystem}[0]->{osCode};
9167         } else {
9168             $oscode = $bundle->{TargetOSes}->{OperatingSystem}->{osCode};
9169         }
9170         if ($mybrand eq $brand && $mymodel eq $model && "LIN" eq $oscode)
9171         {
9172             @paths = map { $_->{path} } @{$bundle->{Contents}->{Package}};
9173         }
9174     }
9175     for my $component (@{$xml->{SoftwareComponent}}) {
9176         my $componenttype = $component->{ComponentType}->{value};
9177
9178         # Drop application packages, only firmware and BIOS
9179         next if 'APAC' eq $componenttype;
9180
9181         my $cpath = $component->{path};
9182         for my $path (@paths) {
9183             if ($cpath =~ m%/$path$%) {
9184                 push(@paths, $cpath);
9185             }
9186         }
9187     }
9188     return @paths;
9189 }
9190 </pre>
9191
9192 <p>The code is only tested on RedHat Enterprise Linux, but I suspect
9193 it could work on other platforms with some tweaking.  Anyone know a
9194 index like Catalog.xml is available from HP for HP servers?  At the
9195 moment I maintain a similar list manually and it is quickly getting
9196 outdated.</p>
9197
9198       </div>
9199       <div class="tags">
9200
9201
9202         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
9203
9204
9205       </div>
9206     </div>
9207     <div class="padding"></div>
9208
9209     <div class="entry">
9210       <div class="title">
9211         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Free_e_book_kiosk_for_the_public_libraries_.html">Free e-book kiosk for the public libraries?</a>
9212       </div>
9213       <div class="date">
9214          7th October 2011
9215       </div>
9216       <div class="body">
9217         <p>Here in Norway the public libraries are debating with the
9218 publishing houses how to handle electronic books.  Surprisingly, the
9219 libraries seem to be willing to accept digital restriction mechanisms
9220 (DRM) on books and renting e-books with artificial scarcity from the
9221 publishing houses.  Time limited renting (2-3 years) is one proposed
9222 model, and only allowing X borrowers for each book is another.
9223 Personally I find it amazing that libraries are even considering such
9224 models.</p>
9225
9226 <p>Anyway, while reading <a href="http://boklaben.no/?p=220">part of
9227 this debate</a>, it occurred to me that someone should present a more
9228 sensible approach to the libraries, to allow its borrowers to get used
9229 to a better model.  The idea is simple:</p>
9230
9231 <p>Create a computer system for the libraries, either in the form of a
9232 Live DVD or a installable distribution, that provide a simple kiosk
9233 solution to hand out free e-books.  As a start, the books distributed
9234 by <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/">Project Gutenberg</a> (about
9235 36,000 books), <a href="http://runeberg.org/">Project Runenberg</a>
9236 (1149 books) and <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/texts">The
9237 Internet Archive</a> (3,033,748 books) could be included, but any book
9238 where the copyright has expired or with a free licence could be
9239 distributed.</p>
9240
9241 <p>The computer system would make it easy to:</p>
9242
9243 <ul>
9244
9245 <li>Copy e-books into a USB stick, reading tablets, cell phones and
9246   other relevant equipment.</li>
9247
9248 <li>Show the books for reading on the the screen in the library.</li>
9249
9250 </ul>
9251
9252 <p>In addition to such kiosk solution, there should probably be a web
9253 site as well to allow people easy access to these books without
9254 visiting the library.  The site would be the distribution point for
9255 the kiosk systems, which would connect regularly to fetch any new
9256 books available.</p>
9257
9258 <p>Are there anyone working on a system like this?  I guess it would
9259 fit any library in the world, and not just the Norwegian public
9260 libraries. :)</p>
9261
9262       </div>
9263       <div class="tags">
9264
9265
9266         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>.
9267
9268
9269       </div>
9270     </div>
9271     <div class="padding"></div>
9272
9273     <div class="entry">
9274       <div class="title">
9275         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Ripping_problematic_DVDs_using_dvdbackup_and_genisoimage.html">Ripping problematic DVDs using dvdbackup and genisoimage</a>
9276       </div>
9277       <div class="date">
9278         17th September 2011
9279       </div>
9280       <div class="body">
9281         <p>For convenience, I want to store copies of all my DVDs on my file
9282 server.  It allow me to save shelf space flat while still having my
9283 movie collection easily available.  It also make it possible to let
9284 the kids see their favourite DVDs without wearing the physical copies
9285 down.  I prefer to store the DVDs as ISOs to keep the DVD menu and
9286 subtitle options intact.  It also ensure that the entire film is one
9287 file on the disk.  As this is for personal use, the ripping is
9288 perfectly legal here in Norway.</p>
9289
9290 <p>Normally I rip the DVDs using dd like this:</p>
9291
9292 <blockquote><pre>
9293 #!/bin/sh
9294 # apt-get install lsdvd
9295 title=$(lsdvd 2>/dev/null|awk '/Disc Title: / {print $3}')
9296 dd if=/dev/dvd of=/storage/dvds/$title.iso bs=1M
9297 </pre></blockquote>
9298
9299 <p>But some DVDs give a input/output error when I read it, and I have
9300 been looking for a better alternative.  I have no idea why this I/O
9301 error occur, but suspect my DVD drive, the Linux kernel driver or
9302 something fishy with the DVDs in question.  Or perhaps all three.</p>
9303
9304 <p>Anyway, I believe I found a solution today using dvdbackup and
9305 genisoimage.  This script gave me a working ISO for a problematic
9306 movie by first extracting the DVD file system and then re-packing it
9307 back as an ISO.
9308
9309 <blockquote><pre>
9310 #!/bin/sh
9311 # apt-get install lsdvd dvdbackup genisoimage
9312 set -e
9313 tmpdir=/storage/dvds/
9314 title=$(lsdvd 2>/dev/null|awk '/Disc Title: / {print $3}')
9315 dvdbackup -i /dev/dvd -M -o $tmpdir -n$title
9316 genisoimage -dvd-video -o $tmpdir/$title.iso $tmpdir/$title
9317 rm -rf $tmpdir/$title
9318 </pre></blockquote>
9319
9320 <p>Anyone know of a better way available in Debian/Squeeze?</p>
9321
9322 <p>Update 2011-09-18: I got a tip from Konstantin Khomoutov about the
9323 readom program from the wodim package.  It is specially written to
9324 read optical media, and is called like this: <tt>readom dev=/dev/dvd
9325 f=image.iso</tt>.  It got 6 GB along with the problematic Cars DVD
9326 before it failed, and failed right away with a Timmy Time DVD.</p>
9327
9328 <p>Next, I got a tip from Bastian Blank about
9329 <a href="http://bblank.thinkmo.de/blog/new-software-python-dvdvideo">his
9330 program python-dvdvideo</a>, which seem to be just what I am looking
9331 for.  Tested it with my problematic Timmy Time DVD, and it succeeded
9332 creating a ISO image.  The git source built and installed just fine in
9333 Squeeze, so I guess this will be my tool of choice in the future.</p>
9334
9335       </div>
9336       <div class="tags">
9337
9338
9339         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
9340
9341
9342       </div>
9343     </div>
9344     <div class="padding"></div>
9345
9346     <div class="entry">
9347       <div class="title">
9348         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_is_booting_into_runlevel_1_different_from_single_user_boots_.html">How is booting into runlevel 1 different from single user boots?</a>
9349       </div>
9350       <div class="date">
9351          4th August 2011
9352       </div>
9353       <div class="body">
9354         <p>Wouter Verhelst have some
9355 <a href="http://grep.be/blog/en/retorts/pere_kubuntu_boot">interesting
9356 comments and opinions</a> on my blog post on
9357 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_should_start_from__etc_rcS_d__in_Debian____almost_nothing.html">the
9358 need to clean up /etc/rcS.d/ in Debian</a> and my blog post about
9359 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_is_missing_in_the_Debian_desktop__or_why_my_parents_use_Kubuntu.html">the
9360 default KDE desktop in Debian</a>.  I only have time to address one
9361 small piece of his comment now, and though it best to address the
9362 misunderstanding he bring forward:</p>
9363
9364 <p><blockquote>
9365 Currently, a system admin has four options: [...] boot to a
9366 single-user system (by adding 'single' to the kernel command line;
9367 this runs rcS and rc1 scripts)
9368 </blockquote></p>
9369
9370 <p>This make me believe Wouter believe booting into single user mode
9371 and booting into runlevel 1 is the same.  I am not surprised he
9372 believe this, because it would make sense and is a quite sensible
9373 thing to believe.  But because the boot in Debian is slightly broken,
9374 runlevel 1 do not work properly and it isn't the same as single user
9375 mode.  I'll try to explain what is actually happing, but it is a bit
9376 hard to explain.</p>
9377
9378 <p>Single user mode is defined like this in /etc/inittab:
9379 "<tt>~~:S:wait:/sbin/sulogin</tt>".  This means the only thing that is
9380 executed in single user mode is sulogin.  Single user mode is a boot
9381 state "between" the runlevels, and when booting into single user mode,
9382 only the scripts in /etc/rcS.d/ are executed before the init process
9383 enters the single user state.  When switching to runlevel 1, the state
9384 is in fact not ending in runlevel 1, but it passes through runlevel 1
9385 and end up in the single user mode (see /etc/rc1.d/S03single, which
9386 runs "init -t1 S" to switch to single user mode at the end of runlevel
9387 1.  It is confusing that the 'S' (single user) init mode is not the
9388 mode enabled by /etc/rcS.d/ (which is more like the initial boot
9389 mode).</p>
9390
9391 <p>This summary might make it clearer.  When booting for the first
9392 time into single user mode, the following commands are executed:
9393 "<tt>/etc/init.d/rc S; /sbin/sulogin</tt>".  When booting into
9394 runlevel 1, the following commands are executed: "<tt>/etc/init.d/rc
9395 S; /etc/init.d/rc 1; /sbin/sulogin</tt>".  A problem show up when
9396 trying to continue after visiting single user mode.  Not all services
9397 are started again as they should, causing the machine to end up in an
9398 unpredicatble state.  This is why Debian admins recommend rebooting
9399 after visiting single user mode.</p>
9400
9401 <p>A similar problem with runlevel 1 is caused by the amount of
9402 scripts executed from /etc/rcS.d/.  When switching from say runlevel 2
9403 to runlevel 1, the services started from /etc/rcS.d/ are not properly
9404 stopped when passing through the scripts in /etc/rc1.d/, and not
9405 started again when switching away from runlevel 1 to the runlevels
9406 2-5.  I believe the problem is best fixed by moving all the scripts
9407 out of /etc/rcS.d/ that are not <strong>required</strong> to get a
9408 functioning single user mode during boot.</p>
9409
9410 <p>I have spent several years investigating the Debian boot system,
9411 and discovered this problem a few years ago.  I suspect it originates
9412 from when sysvinit was introduced into Debian, a long time ago.</p>
9413
9414       </div>
9415       <div class="tags">
9416
9417
9418         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
9419
9420
9421       </div>
9422     </div>
9423     <div class="padding"></div>
9424
9425     <div class="entry">
9426       <div class="title">
9427         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_should_start_from__etc_rcS_d__in_Debian____almost_nothing.html">What should start from /etc/rcS.d/ in Debian? - almost nothing</a>
9428       </div>
9429       <div class="date">
9430         30th July 2011
9431       </div>
9432       <div class="body">
9433         <p>In the Debian boot system, several packages include scripts that
9434 are started from /etc/rcS.d/.  In fact, there is a bite more of them
9435 than make sense, and this causes a few problems.  What kind of
9436 problems, you might ask.  There are at least two problems.  The first
9437 is that it is not possible to recover a machine after switching to
9438 runlevel 1.  One need to actually reboot to get the machine back to
9439 the expected state.  The other is that single user boot will sometimes
9440 run into problems because some of the subsystems are activated before
9441 the root login is presented, causing problems when trying to recover a
9442 machine from a problem in that subsystem.  A minor additional point is
9443 that moving more scripts out of rcS.d/ and into the other rc#.d/
9444 directories will increase the amount of scripts that can run in
9445 parallel during boot, and thus decrease the boot time.</p>
9446
9447 <p>So, which scripts should start from rcS.d/.  In short, only the
9448 scripts that _have_ to execute before the root login prompt is
9449 presented during a single user boot should go there.  Everything else
9450 should go into the numeric runlevels.  This means things like
9451 lm-sensors, fuse and x11-common should not run from rcS.d, but from
9452 the numeric runlevels.  Today in Debian, there are around 115 init.d
9453 scripts that are started from rcS.d/, and most of them should be moved
9454 out.  Do your package have one of them?  Please help us make single
9455 user and runlevel 1 better by moving it.</p>
9456
9457 <p>Scripts setting up the screen, keyboard, system partitions
9458 etc. should still be started from rcS.d/, but there is for example no
9459 need to have the network enabled before the single user login prompt
9460 is presented.</p>
9461
9462 <p>As always, things are not so easy to fix as they sound.  To keep
9463 Debian systems working while scripts migrate and during upgrades, the
9464 scripts need to be moved from rcS.d/ to rc2.d/ in reverse dependency
9465 order, ie the scripts that nothing in rcS.d/ depend on can be moved,
9466 and the next ones can only be moved when their dependencies have been
9467 moved first.  This migration must be done sequentially while we ensure
9468 that the package system upgrade packages in the right order to keep
9469 the system state correct.  This will require some coordination when it
9470 comes to network related packages, but most of the packages with
9471 scripts that should migrate do not have anything in rcS.d/ depending
9472 on them.  Some packages have already been updated, like the sudo
9473 package, while others are still left to do.  I wish I had time to work
9474 on this myself, but real live constrains make it unlikely that I will
9475 find time to push this forward.</p>
9476
9477       </div>
9478       <div class="tags">
9479
9480
9481         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
9482
9483
9484       </div>
9485     </div>
9486     <div class="padding"></div>
9487
9488     <div class="entry">
9489       <div class="title">
9490         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_is_missing_in_the_Debian_desktop__or_why_my_parents_use_Kubuntu.html">What is missing in the Debian desktop, or why my parents use Kubuntu</a>
9491       </div>
9492       <div class="date">
9493         29th July 2011
9494       </div>
9495       <div class="body">
9496         <p>While at Debconf11, I have several times during discussions
9497 mentioned the issues I believe should be improved in Debian for its
9498 desktop to be useful for more people.  The use case for this is my
9499 parents, which are currently running Kubuntu which solve the
9500 issues.</p>
9501
9502 <p>I suspect these four missing features are not very hard to
9503 implement.  After all, they are present in Ubuntu, so if we wanted to
9504 do this in Debian we would have a source.</p>
9505
9506 <ol>
9507
9508 <li><strong>Simple GUI based upgrade of packages.</strong> When there
9509 are new packages available for upgrades, a icon in the KDE status bar
9510 indicate this, and clicking on it will activate the simple upgrade
9511 tool to handle it.  I have no problem guiding both of my parents
9512 through the process over the phone.  If a kernel reboot is required,
9513 this too is indicated by the status bars and the upgrade tool.  Last
9514 time I checked, nothing with the same features was working in KDE in
9515 Debian.</li>
9516
9517 <li><strong>Simple handling of missing Firefox browser
9518 plugins.</strong> When the browser encounter a MIME type it do not
9519 currently have a handler for, it will ask the user if the system
9520 should search for a package that would add support for this MIME type,
9521 and if the user say yes, the APT sources will be searched for packages
9522 advertising the MIME type in their control file (visible in the
9523 Packages file in the APT archive).  If one or more packages are found,
9524 it is a simple click of the mouse to add support for the missing mime
9525 type.  If the package require the user to accept some non-free
9526 license, this is explained to the user.  The entire process make it
9527 more clear to the user why something do not work in the browser, and
9528 make the chances higher for the user to blame the web page authors and
9529 not the browser for any missing features.</li>
9530
9531 <li><strong>Simple handling of missing multimedia codec/format
9532 handlers.</strong> When the media players encounter a format or codec
9533 it is not supporting, a dialog pop up asking the user if the system
9534 should search for a package that would add support for it.  This
9535 happen with things like MP3, Windows Media or H.264.  The selection
9536 and installation procedure is very similar to the Firefox browser
9537 plugin handling.  This is as far as I know implemented using a
9538 gstreamer hook.  The end result is that the user easily get access to
9539 the codecs that are present from the APT archives available, while
9540 explaining more on why a given format is unsupported by Ubuntu.</li>
9541
9542 <li><strong>Better browser handling of some MIME types.</strong> When
9543 displaying a text/plain file in my Debian browser, it will propose to
9544 start emacs to show it.  If I remember correctly, when doing the same
9545 in Kunbutu it show the file as a text file in the browser.  At least I
9546 know Opera will show text files within the browser.  I much prefer the
9547 latter behaviour.</li>
9548
9549 </ol>
9550
9551 <p>There are other nice features as well, like the simplified suite
9552 upgrader, but given that I am the one mostly doing the dist-upgrade,
9553 it do not matter much.</p>
9554
9555 <p>I really hope we could get these features in place for the next
9556 Debian release.  It would require the coordinated effort of several
9557 maintainers, but would make the end user experience a lot better.</p>
9558
9559       </div>
9560       <div class="tags">
9561
9562
9563         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
9564
9565
9566       </div>
9567     </div>
9568     <div class="padding"></div>
9569
9570     <div class="entry">
9571       <div class="title">
9572         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Perl_modules_used_by_FixMyStreet_which_are_missing_in_Debian_Squeeze.html">Perl modules used by FixMyStreet which are missing in Debian/Squeeze</a>
9573       </div>
9574       <div class="date">
9575         26th July 2011
9576       </div>
9577       <div class="body">
9578         <p>The Norwegian <a href="http://www.fiksgatami.no/">FiksGataMi</A>
9579 site is build on Debian/Squeeze, and this platform was chosen because
9580 I am most familiar with Debian (being a Debian Developer for around 10
9581 years) because it is the latest stable Debian release which should get
9582 security support for a few years.</p>
9583
9584 <p>The web service is written in Perl, and depend on some perl modules
9585 that are missing in Debian at the moment.  It would be great if these
9586 modules were added to the Debian archive, allowing anyone to set up
9587 their own <a href="http://www.fixmystreet.com">FixMyStreet</a> clone
9588 in their own country using only Debian packages.  The list of modules
9589 missing in Debian/Squeeze isn't very long, and I hope the perl group
9590 will find time to package the 12 modules Catalyst::Plugin::SmartURI,
9591 Catalyst::Plugin::Unicode::Encoding, Catalyst::View::TT, Devel::Hide,
9592 Sort::Key, Statistics::Distributions, Template::Plugin::Comma,
9593 Template::Plugin::DateTime::Format, Term::Size::Any, Term::Size::Perl,
9594 URI::SmartURI and Web::Scraper to make the maintenance of FixMyStreet
9595 easier in the future.</p>
9596
9597 <p>Thanks to the great tools in Debian, getting the missing modules
9598 installed on my server was a simple call to 'cpan2deb Module::Name'
9599 and 'dpkg -i' to install the resulting package.  But this leave me
9600 with the responsibility of tracking security problems, which I really
9601 do not have time for.</p>
9602
9603       </div>
9604       <div class="tags">
9605
9606
9607         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami</a>.
9608
9609
9610       </div>
9611     </div>
9612     <div class="padding"></div>
9613
9614     <div class="entry">
9615       <div class="title">
9616         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Free_Software_vs__proprietary_softare___.html">Free Software vs. proprietary softare...</a>
9617       </div>
9618       <div class="date">
9619         20th June 2011
9620       </div>
9621       <div class="body">
9622         <p>Reading
9623 <a href="http://blog.thingiverse.com/2011/06/20/open-source-vs-closed-source-eulas/">the
9624 thingiverse blog</a>, I came across two highlights of interesting
9625 parts of the
9626 <a href="http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Autodesk_EULA">Autodesk</a>
9627 and
9628 <a href="http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/06/things-you-cant-do-with-the-microsoft-kinect-sdk.html">Microsoft
9629 Kinect</a> End User License Agreements (EULAs), which illustrates
9630 quite well why I stay away from software with EULAs.  Whenever I take
9631 the time to read their content, the terms are simply unacceptable.</p>
9632
9633       </div>
9634       <div class="tags">
9635
9636
9637         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>.
9638
9639
9640       </div>
9641     </div>
9642     <div class="padding"></div>
9643
9644     <div class="entry">
9645       <div class="title">
9646         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Experimental_Open311_API_for_the_mySociety_fixmystreet_system.html">Experimental Open311 API for the mySociety fixmystreet system</a>
9647       </div>
9648       <div class="date">
9649         30th April 2011
9650       </div>
9651       <div class="body">
9652         <p>Today, the first draft implementation of an
9653 <a href="http://www.open311.org/">Open311 API</a> for the Norwegian
9654 service <a href="http://www.fiksgatami.no/">FiksGataMi</a> started to
9655 work.  It is only available on the developer server for now, and I
9656 have not tested it using any existing Open311 client (I lack the
9657 platforms needed to run the clients I have found so far), but it is
9658 able to query the database and extract a list of open and closed
9659 requests within a given category and reported to a given municipality.
9660 I believe that is a good start to create a useful service for those
9661 that want to do data mining on the requests submitted so far.</p>
9662
9663 <p>Where is it?  Visit
9664 <a href="http://fiksgatami-dev.nuug.no/open311.cgi/v2/">http://fiksgatami-dev.nuug.no/open311.cgi/v2/</a>
9665 to have a look.  Please send feedback to the
9666 <a href="http://lists.nuug.no/mailman/listinfo/fiksgatami">fiksgatami
9667 (at) nuug.no</a> mailing list.</p>
9668
9669       </div>
9670       <div class="tags">
9671
9672
9673         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/open311">open311</a>.
9674
9675
9676       </div>
9677     </div>
9678     <div class="padding"></div>
9679
9680     <div class="entry">
9681       <div class="title">
9682         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Initial_notes_on_adding_Open311_server_API_on_FixMyStreet.html">Initial notes on adding Open311 server API on FixMyStreet</a>
9683       </div>
9684       <div class="date">
9685         29th April 2011
9686       </div>
9687       <div class="body">
9688         <p>The last few days I have spent some time trying to add support for
9689 the <a href="http://www.open311.org/">Open311 API</a> in the
9690 <a href="http://www.fiksgatami.no/">Norwegian FixMyStreet service</a>.
9691 Earlier I believed Open311 would be a useful API to use to submit
9692 reports to the municipalities, but when I noticed that the
9693 <a href="http://fixmystreet.org.nz/">New Zealand version</a> of
9694 FixMyStreet had implemented Open311 on the server side, it occurred to
9695 me that this was a nice way to allow the public, press and
9696 municipalities to do data mining directly in the FixMyStreet service.
9697 Thus I went to work implementing the Open311 specification for
9698 FixMyStreet.  The implementation is not yet ready, but I am starting
9699 to get a draft limping along.  In the process, I have discovered a few
9700 issues with the Open311 specification.</p>
9701
9702 <p>One obvious missing feature is the lack of natural language
9703 handling in the specification.  The specification seem to assume all
9704 reports will be written in English, and do not provide a way for the
9705 receiving end to specify which languages are understood there.  To be
9706 able to use the same client and submit to several Open311 receivers,
9707 it would be useful to know which language to use when writing reports.
9708 I believe the specification should be extended to allow the receivers
9709 of problem reports to specify which language they accept, and the
9710 submitter to specify which language the report is written in.
9711 Language of a text can also be automatically guessed using statistical
9712 methods, but for multi-lingual persons like myself, it is useful to
9713 know which language to use when writing a problem report.  I suspect
9714 some lang=nb,nn kind of attribute would solve it.</p>
9715
9716 <p>A key part of the Open311 API is the list of services provided,
9717 which is similar to the categories used by FixMyStreet.  One issue I
9718 run into is the need to specify both name and unique identifier for
9719 each category.  The specification do not state that the identifier
9720 should be numeric, but all example implementations have used numbers
9721 here.  In FixMyStreet, there is no number associated with each
9722 category.  As the specification do not forbid it, I will use the name
9723 as the unique identifier for now and see how open311 clients handle
9724 it.</p>
9725
9726 <p>The report format in open311 and the report format in FixMyStreet
9727 differ in a key part.  FixMyStreet have a title and a description,
9728 while Open311 only have a description and lack the title.  I'm not
9729 quite sure how to best handle this yet.  When asking for a FixMyStreet
9730 report in Open311 format, I just merge title an description into the
9731 open311 description, but this is not going to work if the open311 API
9732 should be used for submitting new reports to FixMyStreet.</p>
9733
9734 <p>The search feature in Open311 is missing a way to ask for problems
9735 near a geographic location.  I believe this is important if one is to
9736 use Open311 as the query language for mobile units.  The specification
9737 should be extended to handle this, probably using some new lat=, lon=
9738 and range= options.</p>
9739
9740 <p>The final challenge I see is that the FixMyStreet code handle
9741 several administrations in one interface, while the Open311 API seem
9742 to assume only one administration.  For FixMyStreet, this mean a
9743 report can be sent to several administrations, and the categories
9744 available depend on the location of the problem.  Not quite sure how
9745 to best handle this.  I've noticed
9746 <a href="http://seeclickfix.com/open311/">SeeClickFix</a> added
9747 latitude and longitude options to the services request, but it do not
9748 solve the problem of what to return when no location is specified.
9749 Will have to investigate this a bit more.</p>
9750
9751 <p>My distaste for web forums have kept me from bringing these issues
9752 up with the open311 developer group.  I really wish they had a email
9753 list available via <a href="http://www.gmane.org/">Gmane</a> to use for
9754 discussions instead of only
9755 <a href="http://lists.open311.org/groups/discuss">a forum<a/>.  Oh,
9756 well.  That will probably resolve itself, one way or another.  I've
9757 also tried visiting the IRC channel #open311 on FreeNode, but no-one
9758 seem to reply to my questions there.  This make me wonder if I just
9759 fail to understand how the open311 community work.  It sure do not
9760 work like the free software project communities I am used to.</p>
9761
9762       </div>
9763       <div class="tags">
9764
9765
9766         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/open311">open311</a>.
9767
9768
9769       </div>
9770     </div>
9771     <div class="padding"></div>
9772
9773     <div class="entry">
9774       <div class="title">
9775         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Gnash_enteres_Google_Summer_of_Code_2011.html">Gnash enteres Google Summer of Code 2011</a>
9776       </div>
9777       <div class="date">
9778          6th April 2011
9779       </div>
9780       <div class="body">
9781         <p><a href="http://www.getgnash.org/">The Gnash project</a> is still
9782 the most promising solution for a Free Software Flash implementation.
9783 A few days ago the project
9784 <a href="http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/gnash-dev/2011-04/msg00011.html">announced</a>
9785 that it will participate in Google Summer of Code.  I hope many
9786 students apply, and that some of them succeed in getting AVM2 support
9787 into Gnash.</p>
9788
9789       </div>
9790       <div class="tags">
9791
9792
9793         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
9794
9795
9796       </div>
9797     </div>
9798     <div class="padding"></div>
9799
9800     <div class="entry">
9801       <div class="title">
9802         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_Norwegian_FixMyStreet_have_kept_me_busy_the_last_few_weeks.html">A Norwegian FixMyStreet have kept me busy the last few weeks</a>
9803       </div>
9804       <div class="date">
9805          3rd April 2011
9806       </div>
9807       <div class="body">
9808         <p>Here is a small update for my English readers.  Most of my blog
9809 posts have been in Norwegian the last few weeks, so here is a short
9810 update in English.</p>
9811
9812 <p>The kids still keep me too busy to get much free software work
9813 done, but I did manage to organise a project to get a Norwegian port
9814 of the British service
9815 <a href="http://www.fixmystreet.com/">FixMyStreet</a> up and running,
9816 and it has been running for a month now.  The entire project has been
9817 organised by me and two others.  Around Christmas we gathered sponsors
9818 to fund the development work.  In January I drafted a contract with
9819 <a href="http://www.mysociety.org/">mySociety</a> on what to develop,
9820 and in February the development took place.  Most of it involved
9821 converting the source to use GPS coordinates instead of British
9822 easting/northing, and the resulting code should be a lot easier to get
9823 running in any country by now.  The Norwegian
9824 <a href="http://www.fiksgatami.no/">FiksGataMi</a> is using
9825 <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org/">OpenStreetmap</a> as the map
9826 source and the source for administrative borders in Norway, and
9827 support for this had to be added/fixed.</p>
9828
9829 <p>The Norwegian version went live March 3th, and we spent the weekend
9830 polishing the system before we announced it March 7th.  The system is
9831 running on a KVM instance of Debian/Squeeze, and has seen almost 3000
9832 problem reports in a few weeks.  Soon we hope to announce the Android
9833 and iPhone versions making it even easier to report problems with the
9834 public infrastructure.</p>
9835
9836 <p>Perhaps something to consider for those of you in countries without
9837 such service?</p>
9838
9839       </div>
9840       <div class="tags">
9841
9842
9843         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/kart">kart</a>.
9844
9845
9846       </div>
9847     </div>
9848     <div class="padding"></div>
9849
9850     <div class="entry">
9851       <div class="title">
9852         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Using_NVD_and_CPE_to_track_CVEs_in_locally_maintained_software.html">Using NVD and CPE to track CVEs in locally maintained software</a>
9853       </div>
9854       <div class="date">
9855         28th January 2011
9856       </div>
9857       <div class="body">
9858         <p>The last few days I have looked at ways to track open security
9859 issues here at my work with the University of Oslo.  My idea is that
9860 it should be possible to use the information about security issues
9861 available on the Internet, and check our locally
9862 maintained/distributed software against this information.  It should
9863 allow us to verify that no known security issues are forgotten.  The
9864 CVE database listing vulnerabilities seem like a great central point,
9865 and by using the package lists from Debian mapped to CVEs provided by
9866 the testing security team, I believed it should be possible to figure
9867 out which security holes were present in our free software
9868 collection.</p>
9869
9870 <p>After reading up on the topic, it became obvious that the first
9871 building block is to be able to name software packages in a unique and
9872 consistent way across data sources.  I considered several ways to do
9873 this, for example coming up with my own naming scheme like using URLs
9874 to project home pages or URLs to the Freshmeat entries, or using some
9875 existing naming scheme.  And it seem like I am not the first one to
9876 come across this problem, as MITRE already proposed and implemented a
9877 solution.  Enter the <a href="http://cpe.mitre.org/index.html">Common
9878 Platform Enumeration</a> dictionary, a vocabulary for referring to
9879 software, hardware and other platform components.  The CPE ids are
9880 mapped to CVEs in the <a href="http://web.nvd.nist.gov/">National
9881 Vulnerability Database</a>, allowing me to look up know security
9882 issues for any CPE name.  With this in place, all I need to do is to
9883 locate the CPE id for the software packages we use at the university.
9884 This is fairly trivial (I google for 'cve cpe $package' and check the
9885 NVD entry if a CVE for the package exist).</p>
9886
9887 <p>To give you an example.  The GNU gzip source package have the CPE
9888 name cpe:/a:gnu:gzip.  If the old version 1.3.3 was the package to
9889 check out, one could look up
9890 <a href="http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/search?cpe=cpe%3A%2Fa%3Agnu%3Agzip:1.3.3">cpe:/a:gnu:gzip:1.3.3
9891 in NVD</a> and get a list of 6 security holes with public CVE entries.
9892 The most recent one is
9893 <a href="http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2010-0001">CVE-2010-0001</a>,
9894 and at the bottom of the NVD page for this vulnerability the complete
9895 list of affected versions is provided.</p>
9896
9897 <p>The NVD database of CVEs is also available as a XML dump, allowing
9898 for offline processing of issues.  Using this dump, I've written a
9899 small script taking a list of CPEs as input and list all CVEs
9900 affecting the packages represented by these CPEs.  One give it CPEs
9901 with version numbers as specified above and get a list of open
9902 security issues out.</p>
9903
9904 <p>Of course for this approach to be useful, the quality of the NVD
9905 information need to be high.  For that to happen, I believe as many as
9906 possible need to use and contribute to the NVD database.  I notice
9907 RHEL is providing
9908 <a href="https://www.redhat.com/security/data/metrics/rhsamapcpe.txt">a
9909 map from CVE to CPE</a>, indicating that they are using the CPE
9910 information.  I'm not aware of Debian and Ubuntu doing the same.</p>
9911
9912 <p>To get an idea about the quality for free software, I spent some
9913 time making it possible to compare the CVE database from Debian with
9914 the CVE database in NVD.  The result look fairly good, but there are
9915 some inconsistencies in NVD (same software package having several
9916 CPEs), and some inaccuracies (NVD not mentioning buggy packages that
9917 Debian believe are affected by a CVE).  Hope to find time to improve
9918 the quality of NVD, but that require being able to get in touch with
9919 someone maintaining it.  So far my three emails with questions and
9920 corrections have not seen any reply, but I hope contact can be
9921 established soon.</p>
9922
9923 <p>An interesting application for CPEs is cross platform package
9924 mapping.  It would be useful to know which packages in for example
9925 RHEL, OpenSuSe and Mandriva are missing from Debian and Ubuntu, and
9926 this would be trivial if all linux distributions provided CPE entries
9927 for their packages.</p>
9928
9929       </div>
9930       <div class="tags">
9931
9932
9933         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
9934
9935
9936       </div>
9937     </div>
9938     <div class="padding"></div>
9939
9940     <div class="entry">
9941       <div class="title">
9942         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Which_module_is_loaded_for_a_given_PCI_and_USB_device_.html">Which module is loaded for a given PCI and USB device?</a>
9943       </div>
9944       <div class="date">
9945         23rd January 2011
9946       </div>
9947       <div class="body">
9948         <p>In the
9949 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/discover-data">discover-data</a>
9950 package in Debian, there is a script to report useful information
9951 about the running hardware for use when people report missing
9952 information.  One part of this script that I find very useful when
9953 debugging hardware problems, is the part mapping loaded kernel module
9954 to the PCI device it claims.  It allow me to quickly see if the kernel
9955 module I expect is driving the hardware I am struggling with.  To see
9956 the output, make sure discover-data is installed and run
9957 <tt>/usr/share/bug/discover-data 3>&1</tt>.  The relevant output on
9958 one of my machines like this:</p>
9959
9960 <pre>
9961 loaded modules:
9962 10de:03eb i2c_nforce2
9963 10de:03f1 ohci_hcd
9964 10de:03f2 ehci_hcd
9965 10de:03f0 snd_hda_intel
9966 10de:03ec pata_amd
9967 10de:03f6 sata_nv
9968 1022:1103 k8temp
9969 109e:036e bttv
9970 109e:0878 snd_bt87x
9971 11ab:4364 sky2
9972 </pre>
9973
9974 <p>The code in question look like this, slightly modified for
9975 readability and to drop the output to file descriptor 3:</p>
9976
9977 <pre>
9978 if [ -d /sys/bus/pci/devices/ ] ; then
9979     echo loaded pci modules:
9980     (
9981         cd /sys/bus/pci/devices/
9982         for address in * ; do
9983             if [ -d "$address/driver/module" ] ; then
9984                 module=`cd $address/driver/module ; pwd -P | xargs basename`
9985                 if grep -q "^$module " /proc/modules ; then
9986                     address=$(echo $address |sed s/0000://)
9987                     id=`lspci -n -s $address | tail -n 1 | awk '{print $3}'`
9988                     echo "$id $module"
9989                 fi
9990             fi
9991         done
9992     )
9993     echo
9994 fi
9995 </pre>
9996
9997 <p>Similar code could be used to extract USB device module
9998 mappings:</p>
9999
10000 <pre>
10001 if [ -d /sys/bus/usb/devices/ ] ; then
10002     echo loaded usb modules:
10003     (
10004         cd /sys/bus/usb/devices/
10005         for address in * ; do
10006             if [ -d "$address/driver/module" ] ; then
10007                 module=`cd $address/driver/module ; pwd -P | xargs basename`
10008                 if grep -q "^$module " /proc/modules ; then
10009                     address=$(echo $address |sed s/0000://)
10010                     id=$(lsusb -s $address | tail -n 1 | awk '{print $6}')
10011                     if [ "$id" ] ; then
10012                         echo "$id $module"
10013                     fi
10014                 fi
10015             fi
10016         done
10017     )
10018     echo
10019 fi
10020 </pre>
10021
10022 <p>This might perhaps be something to include in other tools as
10023 well.</p>
10024
10025       </div>
10026       <div class="tags">
10027
10028
10029         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
10030
10031
10032       </div>
10033     </div>
10034     <div class="padding"></div>
10035
10036     <div class="entry">
10037       <div class="title">
10038         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_video_format_most_supported_in_web_browsers_.html">The video format most supported in web browsers?</a>
10039       </div>
10040       <div class="date">
10041         16th January 2011
10042       </div>
10043       <div class="body">
10044         <p>The video format struggle on the web continues, and the three
10045 contenders seem to be Ogg Theora, H.264 and WebM.  Most video sites
10046 seem to use H.264, while others use Ogg Theora.  Interestingly enough,
10047 the comments I see give me the feeling that a lot of people believe
10048 H.264 is the most supported video format in browsers, but according to
10049 the Wikipedia article on
10050 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5_video">HTML5 video</a>,
10051 this is not true.  Check out the nice table of supprted formats in
10052 different browsers there.  The format supported by most browsers is
10053 Ogg Theora, supported by released versions of Mozilla Firefox, Google
10054 Chrome, Chromium, Opera, Konqueror, Epiphany, Origyn Web Browser and
10055 BOLT browser, while not supported by Internet Explorer nor Safari.
10056 The runner up is WebM supported by released versions of Google Chrome
10057 Chromium Opera and Origyn Web Browser, and test versions of Mozilla
10058 Firefox.  H.264 is supported by released versions of Safari, Origyn
10059 Web Browser and BOLT browser, and the test version of Internet
10060 Explorer.  Those wanting Ogg Theora support in Internet Explorer and
10061 Safari can install plugins to get it.</p>
10062
10063 <p>To me, the simple conclusion from this is that to reach most users
10064 without any extra software installed, one uses Ogg Theora with the
10065 HTML5 video tag.   Of course to reach all those without a browser
10066 handling HTML5, one need fallback mechanisms.  In
10067 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">NUUG</a>, we provide first fallback to a
10068 plugin capable of playing MPEG1 video, and those without such support
10069 we have a second fallback to the Cortado java applet playing Ogg
10070 Theora.  This seem to work quite well, as can be seen in an <a
10071 href="http://www.nuug.no/aktiviteter/20110111-semantic-web/">example
10072 from last week</a>.</p>
10073
10074 <p>The reason Ogg Theora is the most supported format, and H.264 is
10075 the least supported is simple.  Implementing and using H.264
10076 require royalty payment to MPEG-LA, and the terms of use from MPEG-LA
10077 are incompatible with free software licensing.  If you believed H.264
10078 was without royalties and license terms, check out
10079 "<a href="http://webmink.com/essays/h-264/">H.264 – Not The Kind Of
10080 Free That Matters</a>" by Simon Phipps.</p>
10081
10082 <p>A incomplete list of sites providing video in Ogg Theora is
10083 available from
10084 <a href="http://wiki.xiph.org/index.php/List_of_Theora_videos">the
10085 Xiph.org wiki</a>, if you want to have a look.  I'm not aware of a
10086 similar list for WebM nor H.264.</p>
10087
10088 <p>Update 2011-01-16 09:40: A question from Tollef on IRC made me
10089 realise that I failed to make it clear enough this text is about the
10090 &lt;video&gt; tag support in browsers and not the video support
10091 provided by external plugins like the Flash plugins.</p>
10092
10093       </div>
10094       <div class="tags">
10095
10096
10097         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
10098
10099
10100       </div>
10101     </div>
10102     <div class="padding"></div>
10103
10104     <div class="entry">
10105       <div class="title">
10106         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Chrome_plan_to_drop_H_264_support_for_HTML5__lt_video_gt_.html">Chrome plan to drop H.264 support for HTML5 &lt;video&gt;</a>
10107       </div>
10108       <div class="date">
10109         12th January 2011
10110       </div>
10111       <div class="body">
10112         <p>Today I discovered
10113 <a href="http://www.digi.no/860070/google-dropper-h264-stotten-i-chrome">via
10114 digi.no</a> that the Chrome developers, in a surprising announcement,
10115 <a href="http://blog.chromium.org/2011/01/html-video-codec-support-in-chrome.html">yesterday
10116 announced</a> plans to drop H.264 support for HTML5 &lt;video&gt; in
10117 the browser.  The argument used is that H.264 is not a "completely
10118 open" codec technology.  If you believe H.264 was free for everyone
10119 to use, I recommend having a look at the essay
10120 "<a href="http://webmink.com/essays/h-264/">H.264 – Not The Kind Of
10121 Free That Matters</a>".  It is not free of cost for creators of video
10122 tools, nor those of us that want to publish on the Internet, and the
10123 terms provided by MPEG-LA excludes free software projects from
10124 licensing the patents needed for H.264.  Some background information
10125 on the Google announcement is available from
10126 <a href="http://www.osnews.com/story/24243/Google_To_Drop_H264_Support_from_Chrome">OSnews</a>.
10127 A good read. :)</p>
10128
10129 <p>Personally, I believe it is great that Google is taking a stand to
10130 promote equal terms for everyone when it comes to video publishing on
10131 the Internet.  This can only be done by publishing using free and open
10132 standards, which is only possible if the web browsers provide support
10133 for these free and open standards.  At the moment there seem to be two
10134 camps in the web browser world when it come to video support.  Some
10135 browsers support H.264, and others support
10136 <a href="http://www.theora.org/">Ogg Theora</a> and
10137 <a href="http://www.webmproject.org/">WebM</a>
10138 (<a href="http://www.diracvideo.org/">Dirac</a> is not really an option
10139 yet), forcing those of us that want to publish video on the Internet
10140 and which can not accept the terms of use presented by MPEG-LA for
10141 H.264 to not reach all potential viewers.
10142 Wikipedia keep <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5_video">an
10143 updated summary</a> of the current browser support.</p>
10144
10145 <p>Not surprising, several people would prefer Google to keep
10146 promoting H.264, and John Gruber
10147 <a href="http://daringfireball.net/2011/01/simple_questions">presents
10148 the mind set</a> of these people quite well.  His rhetorical questions
10149 provoked a reply from Thom Holwerda with another set of questions
10150 <a href="http://www.osnews.com/story/24245/10_Questions_for_John_Gruber_Regarding_H_264_WebM">presenting
10151 the issues with H.264</a>. Both are worth a read.</p>
10152
10153 <p>Some argue that if Google is dropping H.264 because it isn't free,
10154 they should also drop support for the Adobe Flash plugin.  This
10155 argument was covered by Simon Phipps in
10156 <a href="http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2011/01/google-and-h264---far-from-hypocritical/index.htm">todays
10157 blog post</a>, which I find to put the issue in context.  To me it
10158 make perfect sense to drop native H.264 support for HTML5 in the
10159 browser while still allowing plugins.</p>
10160
10161 <p>I suspect the reason this announcement make so many people protest,
10162 is that all the users and promoters of H.264 suddenly get an uneasy
10163 feeling that they might be backing the wrong horse.  A lot of TV
10164 broadcasters have been moving to H.264 the last few years, and a lot
10165 of money has been invested in hardware based on the belief that they
10166 could use the same video format for both broadcasting and web
10167 publishing.  Suddenly this belief is shaken.</p>
10168
10169 <p>An interesting question is why Google is doing this.  While the
10170 presented argument might be true enough, I believe Google would only
10171 present the argument if the change make sense from a business
10172 perspective.  One reason might be that they are currently negotiating
10173 with MPEG-LA over royalties or usage terms, and giving MPEG-LA the
10174 feeling that dropping H.264 completely from Chroome, Youtube and
10175 Google Video would improve the negotiation position of Google.
10176 Another reason might be that Google want to save money by not having
10177 to pay the video tax to MPEG-LA at all, and thus want to move to a
10178 video format not requiring royalties at all.  A third reason might be
10179 that the Chrome development team simply want to avoid the
10180 Chrome/Chromium split to get more help with the development of Chrome.
10181 I guess time will tell.</p>
10182
10183 <p>Update 2011-01-15: The Google Chrome team provided
10184 <a href="http://blog.chromium.org/2011/01/more-about-chrome-html-video-codec.html">more
10185 background and information on the move</a> it a blog post yesterday.</p>
10186
10187       </div>
10188       <div class="tags">
10189
10190
10191         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
10192
10193
10194       </div>
10195     </div>
10196     <div class="padding"></div>
10197
10198     <div class="entry">
10199       <div class="title">
10200         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_standards_are_Free_and_Open_as_defined_by_Digistan_.html">What standards are Free and Open as defined by Digistan?</a>
10201       </div>
10202       <div class="date">
10203         30th December 2010
10204       </div>
10205       <div class="body">
10206         <p>After trying to
10207 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Is_Ogg_Theora_a_free_and_open_standard_.html">compare
10208 Ogg Theora</a> to
10209 <a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">the Digistan
10210 definition</a> of a free and open standard, I concluded that this need
10211 to be done for more standards and started on a framework for doing
10212 this.  As a start, I want to get the status for all the standards in
10213 the Norwegian reference directory, which include UTF-8, HTML, PDF, ODF,
10214 JPEG, PNG, SVG and others.  But to be able to complete this in a
10215 reasonable time frame, I will need help.</p>
10216
10217 <p>If you want to help out with this work, please visit
10218 <a href="http://wiki.nuug.no/grupper/standard/digistan-analyse">the
10219 wiki pages I have set up for this</a>, and let me know that you want
10220 to help out.  The IRC channel #nuug on irc.freenode.net is a good
10221 place to coordinate this for now, as it is the IRC channel for the
10222 NUUG association where I have created the framework (I am the leader
10223 of the Norwegian Unix User Group).</p>
10224
10225 <p>The framework is still forming, and a lot is left to do.  Do not be
10226 scared by the sketchy form of the current pages. :)</p>
10227
10228       </div>
10229       <div class="tags">
10230
10231
10232         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/digistan">digistan</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
10233
10234
10235       </div>
10236     </div>
10237     <div class="padding"></div>
10238
10239     <div class="entry">
10240       <div class="title">
10241         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_many_definitions_of_a_open_standard.html">The many definitions of a open standard</a>
10242       </div>
10243       <div class="date">
10244         27th December 2010
10245       </div>
10246       <div class="body">
10247         <p>One of the reasons I like the Digistan definition of
10248 "<a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">Free and
10249 Open Standard</a>" is that this is a new term, and thus the meaning of
10250 the term has been decided by Digistan.  The term "Open Standard" has
10251 become so misunderstood that it is no longer very useful when talking
10252 about standards.  One end up discussing which definition is the best
10253 one and with such frame the only one gaining are the proponents of
10254 de-facto standards and proprietary solutions.</p>
10255
10256 <p>But to give us an idea about the diversity of definitions of open
10257 standards, here are a few that I know about.  This list is not
10258 complete, but can be a starting point for those that want to do a
10259 complete survey.  More definitions are available on the
10260 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_standard">wikipedia
10261 page</a>.</p>
10262
10263 <p>First off is my favourite, the definition from the European
10264 Interoperability Framework version 1.0.  Really sad to notice that BSA
10265 and others has succeeded in getting it removed from version 2.0 of the
10266 framework by stacking the committee drafting the new version with
10267 their own people.  Anyway, the definition is still available and it
10268 include the key properties needed to make sure everyone can use a
10269 specification on equal terms.</p>
10270
10271 <blockquote>
10272
10273 <p>The following are the minimal characteristics that a specification
10274 and its attendant documents must have in order to be considered an
10275 open standard:</p>
10276
10277 <ul>
10278
10279 <li>The standard is adopted and will be maintained by a not-for-profit
10280 organisation, and its ongoing development occurs on the basis of an
10281 open decision-making procedure available to all interested parties
10282 (consensus or majority decision etc.).</li>
10283
10284 <li>The standard has been published and the standard specification
10285 document is available either freely or at a nominal charge. It must be
10286 permissible to all to copy, distribute and use it for no fee or at a
10287 nominal fee.</li>
10288
10289 <li>The intellectual property - i.e. patents possibly present - of
10290 (parts of) the standard is made irrevocably available on a royalty-
10291 free basis.</li>
10292
10293 <li>There are no constraints on the re-use of the standard.</li>
10294
10295 </ul>
10296 </blockquote>
10297
10298 <p>Another one originates from my friends over at
10299 <a href="http://www.dkuug.dk/">DKUUG</a>, who coined and gathered
10300 support for <a href="http://www.aaben-standard.dk/">this
10301 definition</a> in 2004.  It even made it into the Danish parlament as
10302 <a href="http://www.ft.dk/dokumenter/tingdok.aspx?/samling/20051/beslutningsforslag/B103/som_fremsat.htm">their
10303 definition of a open standard</a>.  Another from a different part of
10304 the Danish government is available from the wikipedia page.</p>
10305
10306 <blockquote>
10307
10308 <p>En åben standard opfylder følgende krav:</p>
10309
10310 <ol>
10311
10312 <li>Veldokumenteret med den fuldstændige specifikation offentligt
10313 tilgængelig.</li>
10314
10315 <li>Frit implementerbar uden økonomiske, politiske eller juridiske
10316 begrænsninger på implementation og anvendelse.</li>
10317
10318 <li>Standardiseret og vedligeholdt i et åbent forum (en såkaldt
10319 "standardiseringsorganisation") via en åben proces.</li>
10320
10321 </ol>
10322
10323 </blockquote>
10324
10325 <p>Then there is <a href="http://www.fsfe.org/projects/os/def.html">the
10326 definition</a> from Free Software Foundation Europe.</p>
10327
10328 <blockquote>
10329
10330 <p>An Open Standard refers to a format or protocol that is</p>
10331
10332 <ol>
10333
10334 <li>subject to full public assessment and use without constraints in a
10335 manner equally available to all parties;</li>
10336
10337 <li>without any components or extensions that have dependencies on
10338 formats or protocols that do not meet the definition of an Open
10339 Standard themselves;</li>
10340
10341 <li>free from legal or technical clauses that limit its utilisation by
10342 any party or in any business model;</li>
10343
10344 <li>managed and further developed independently of any single vendor
10345 in a process open to the equal participation of competitors and third
10346 parties;</li>
10347
10348 <li>available in multiple complete implementations by competing
10349 vendors, or as a complete implementation equally available to all
10350 parties.</li>
10351
10352 </ol>
10353
10354 </blockquote>
10355
10356 <p>A long time ago, SUN Microsystems, now bought by Oracle, created
10357 its
10358 <a href="http://blogs.sun.com/dennisding/resource/Open%20Standard%20Definition.pdf">Open
10359 Standards Checklist</a> with a fairly detailed description.</p>
10360
10361 <blockquote>
10362 <p>Creation and Management of an Open Standard
10363
10364 <ul>
10365
10366 <li>Its development and management process must be collaborative and
10367   democratic:
10368
10369          <ul>
10370
10371          <li>Participation must be accessible to all those who wish to
10372             participate and can meet fair and reasonable criteria
10373             imposed by the organization under which it is developed
10374             and managed.</li>
10375
10376          <li>The processes must be documented and, through a known
10377             method, can be changed through input from all
10378             participants.</li>
10379
10380          <li>The process must be based on formal and binding commitments for
10381             the disclosure and licensing of intellectual property rights.</li>
10382
10383          <li>Development and management should strive for consensus,
10384             and an appeals process must be clearly outlined.</li>
10385
10386          <li>The standard specification must be open to extensive
10387             public review at least once in its life-cycle, with
10388             comments duly discussed and acted upon, if required.</li>
10389
10390          </ul>
10391
10392 </li>
10393
10394 </ul>
10395
10396 <p>Use and Licensing of an Open Standard</p>
10397 <ul>
10398
10399 <li>The standard must describe an interface, not an implementation,
10400   and the industry must be capable of creating multiple, competing
10401   implementations to the interface described in the standard without
10402   undue or restrictive constraints.  Interfaces include APIs,
10403   protocols, schemas, data formats and their encoding.</li>
10404
10405 <li> The standard must not contain any proprietary "hooks" that create
10406   a technical or economic barriers</li>
10407
10408 <li>Faithful implementations of the standard must
10409   interoperate. Interoperability means the ability of a computer
10410   program to communicate and exchange information with other computer
10411   programs and mutually to use the information which has been
10412   exchanged. This includes the ability to use, convert, or exchange
10413   file formats, protocols, schemas, interface information or
10414   conventions, so as to permit the computer program to work with other
10415   computer programs and users in all the ways in which they are
10416   intended to function.</li>
10417
10418 <li>It must be permissible for anyone to copy, distribute and read the
10419   standard for a nominal fee, or even no fee. If there is a fee, it
10420   must be low enough to not preclude widespread use.</li>
10421
10422 <li>It must be possible for anyone to obtain free (no royalties or
10423   fees; also known as "royalty free"), worldwide, non-exclusive and
10424   perpetual licenses to all essential patent claims to make, use and
10425   sell products based on the standard.  The only exceptions are
10426   terminations per the reciprocity and defensive suspension terms
10427   outlined below. Essential patent claims include pending, unpublished
10428   patents, published patents, and patent applications. The license is
10429   only for the exact scope of the standard in question.
10430
10431       <ul>
10432
10433       <li> May be conditioned only on reciprocal licenses to any of
10434         licensees' patent claims essential to practice that standard
10435         (also known as a reciprocity clause)</li>
10436
10437       <li> May be terminated as to any licensee who sues the licensor
10438         or any other licensee for infringement of patent claims
10439         essential to practice that standard (also known as a
10440         "defensive suspension" clause)</li>
10441
10442       <li> The same licensing terms are available to every potential
10443         licensor</li>
10444
10445       </ul>
10446 </li>
10447
10448 <li>The licensing terms of an open standards must not preclude
10449   implementations of that standard under open source licensing terms
10450   or restricted licensing terms</li>
10451
10452 </ul>
10453
10454 </blockquote>
10455
10456 <p>It is said that one of the nice things about standards is that
10457 there are so many of them.  As you can see, the same holds true for
10458 open standard definitions.  Most of the definitions have a lot in
10459 common, and it is not really controversial what properties a open
10460 standard should have, but the diversity of definitions have made it
10461 possible for those that want to avoid a level marked field and real
10462 competition to downplay the significance of open standards.  I hope we
10463 can turn this tide by focusing on the advantages of Free and Open
10464 Standards.</p>
10465
10466       </div>
10467       <div class="tags">
10468
10469
10470         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/digistan">digistan</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
10471
10472
10473       </div>
10474     </div>
10475     <div class="padding"></div>
10476
10477     <div class="entry">
10478       <div class="title">
10479         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Is_Ogg_Theora_a_free_and_open_standard_.html">Is Ogg Theora a free and open standard?</a>
10480       </div>
10481       <div class="date">
10482         25th December 2010
10483       </div>
10484       <div class="body">
10485         <p><a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">The
10486 Digistan definition</a> of a free and open standard reads like this:</p>
10487
10488 <blockquote>
10489
10490 <p>The Digital Standards Organization defines free and open standard
10491 as follows:</p>
10492
10493 <ol>
10494
10495 <li>A free and open standard is immune to vendor capture at all stages
10496 in its life-cycle. Immunity from vendor capture makes it possible to
10497 freely use, improve upon, trust, and extend a standard over time.</li>
10498
10499 <li>The standard is adopted and will be maintained by a not-for-profit
10500 organisation, and its ongoing development occurs on the basis of an
10501 open decision-making procedure available to all interested
10502 parties.</li>
10503
10504 <li>The standard has been published and the standard specification
10505 document is available freely. It must be permissible to all to copy,
10506 distribute, and use it freely.</li>
10507
10508 <li>The patents possibly present on (parts of) the standard are made
10509 irrevocably available on a royalty-free basis.</li>
10510
10511 <li>There are no constraints on the re-use of the standard.</li>
10512
10513 </ol>
10514
10515 <p>The economic outcome of a free and open standard, which can be
10516 measured, is that it enables perfect competition between suppliers of
10517 products based on the standard.</p>
10518 </blockquote>
10519
10520 <p>For a while now I have tried to figure out of Ogg Theora is a free
10521 and open standard according to this definition.  Here is a short
10522 writeup of what I have been able to gather so far.  I brought up the
10523 topic on the Xiph advocacy mailing list
10524 <a href="http://lists.xiph.org/pipermail/advocacy/2009-July/001632.html">in
10525 July 2009</a>, for those that want to see some background information.
10526 According to Ivo Emanuel Gonçalves and Monty Montgomery on that list
10527 the Ogg Theora specification fulfils the Digistan definition.</p>
10528
10529 <p><strong>Free from vendor capture?</strong></p>
10530
10531 <p>As far as I can see, there is no single vendor that can control the
10532 Ogg Theora specification.  It can be argued that the
10533 <a href="http://www.xiph.org/">Xiph foundation</A> is such vendor, but
10534 given that it is a non-profit foundation with the expressed goal
10535 making free and open protocols and standards available, it is not
10536 obvious that this is a real risk.  One issue with the Xiph
10537 foundation is that its inner working (as in board member list, or who
10538 control the foundation) are not easily available on the web.  I've
10539 been unable to find out who is in the foundation board, and have not
10540 seen any accounting information documenting how money is handled nor
10541 where is is spent in the foundation.  It is thus not obvious for an
10542 external observer who control The Xiph foundation, and for all I know
10543 it is possible for a single vendor to take control over the
10544 specification.  But it seem unlikely.</p>
10545
10546 <p><strong>Maintained by open not-for-profit organisation?</strong></p>
10547
10548 <p>Assuming that the Xiph foundation is the organisation its web pages
10549 claim it to be, this point is fulfilled.  If Xiph foundation is
10550 controlled by a single vendor, it isn't, but I have not found any
10551 documentation indicating this.</p>
10552
10553 <p>According to
10554 <a href="http://media.hiof.no/diverse/fad/rapport_4.pdf">a report</a>
10555 prepared by Audun Vaaler og Børre Ludvigsen for the Norwegian
10556 government, the Xiph foundation is a non-commercial organisation and
10557 the development process is open, transparent and non-Discrimatory.
10558 Until proven otherwise, I believe it make most sense to believe the
10559 report is correct.</p>
10560
10561 <p><strong>Specification freely available?</strong></p>
10562
10563 <p>The specification for the <a href="http://www.xiph.org/ogg/doc/">Ogg
10564 container format</a> and both the
10565 <a href="http://www.xiph.org/vorbis/doc/">Vorbis</a> and
10566 <a href="http://theora.org/doc/">Theora</a> codeces are available on
10567 the web.  This are the terms in the Vorbis and Theora specification:
10568
10569 <blockquote>
10570
10571 Anyone may freely use and distribute the Ogg and [Vorbis/Theora]
10572 specifications, whether in private, public, or corporate
10573 capacity. However, the Xiph.Org Foundation and the Ogg project reserve
10574 the right to set the Ogg [Vorbis/Theora] specification and certify
10575 specification compliance.
10576
10577 </blockquote>
10578
10579 <p>The Ogg container format is specified in IETF
10580 <a href="http://www.xiph.org/ogg/doc/rfc3533.txt">RFC 3533</a>, and
10581 this is the term:<p>
10582
10583 <blockquote>
10584
10585 <p>This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
10586 others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
10587 or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published and
10588 distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind,
10589 provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
10590 included on all such copies and derivative works.  However, this
10591 document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
10592 the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
10593 Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of developing
10594 Internet standards in which case the procedures for copyrights defined
10595 in the Internet Standards process must be followed, or as required to
10596 translate it into languages other than English.</p>
10597
10598 <p>The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
10599 revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.</p>
10600 </blockquote>
10601
10602 <p>All these terms seem to allow unlimited distribution and use, an
10603 this term seem to be fulfilled.  There might be a problem with the
10604 missing permission to distribute modified versions of the text, and
10605 thus reuse it in other specifications.  Not quite sure if that is a
10606 requirement for the Digistan definition.</p>
10607
10608 <p><strong>Royalty-free?</strong></p>
10609
10610 <p>There are no known patent claims requiring royalties for the Ogg
10611 Theora format.
10612 <a href="http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=65782">MPEG-LA</a>
10613 and
10614 <a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/04/30/237238/Steve-Jobs-Hints-At-Theora-Lawsuit">Steve
10615 Jobs</a> in Apple claim to know about some patent claims (submarine
10616 patents) against the Theora format, but no-one else seem to believe
10617 them.  Both Opera Software and the Mozilla Foundation have looked into
10618 this and decided to implement Ogg Theora support in their browsers
10619 without paying any royalties.  For now the claims from MPEG-LA and
10620 Steve Jobs seem more like FUD to scare people to use the H.264 codec
10621 than any real problem with Ogg Theora.</p>
10622
10623 <p><strong>No constraints on re-use?</strong></p>
10624
10625 <p>I am not aware of any constraints on re-use.</p>
10626
10627 <p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
10628
10629 <p>3 of 5 requirements seem obviously fulfilled, and the remaining 2
10630 depend on the governing structure of the Xiph foundation.  Given the
10631 background report used by the Norwegian government, I believe it is
10632 safe to assume the last two requirements are fulfilled too, but it
10633 would be nice if the Xiph foundation web site made it easier to verify
10634 this.</p>
10635
10636 <p>It would be nice to see other analysis of other specifications to
10637 see if they are free and open standards.</p>
10638
10639       </div>
10640       <div class="tags">
10641
10642
10643         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/digistan">digistan</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
10644
10645
10646       </div>
10647     </div>
10648     <div class="padding"></div>
10649
10650     <div class="entry">
10651       <div class="title">
10652         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_reply_from_Edgar_Villanueva_to_Microsoft_in_Peru.html">The reply from Edgar Villanueva to Microsoft in Peru</a>
10653       </div>
10654       <div class="date">
10655         25th December 2010
10656       </div>
10657       <div class="body">
10658         <p>A few days ago
10659 <a href="http://www.idg.no/computerworld/article189879.ece">an
10660 article</a> in the Norwegian Computerworld magazine about how version
10661 2.0 of
10662 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Interoperability_Framework">European
10663 Interoperability Framework</a> has been successfully lobbied by the
10664 proprietary software industry to remove the focus on free software.
10665 Nothing very surprising there, given
10666 <a href="http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/03/29/2115235/Open-Source-Open-Standards-Under-Attack-In-Europe">earlier
10667 reports</a> on how Microsoft and others have stacked the committees in
10668 this work.  But I find this very sad.   The definition of
10669 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/dokumenter/standard-presse-def-200506.txt">an
10670 open standard from version 1</a> was very good, and something I
10671 believe should be used also in the future, alongside
10672 <a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">the
10673 definition from Digistan</A>.  Version 2 have removed the open
10674 standard definition from its content.</p>
10675
10676 <p>Anyway, the news reminded me of the great reply sent by Dr. Edgar
10677 Villanueva, congressman in Peru at the time, to Microsoft as a reply
10678 to Microsofts attack on his proposal regarding the use of free software
10679 in the public sector in Peru.  As the text was not available from a
10680 few of the URLs where it used to be available, I copy it here from
10681 <a href="http://gnuwin.epfl.ch/articles/en/reponseperou/villanueva_to_ms.html">my
10682 source</a> to ensure it is available also in the future.  Some
10683 background information about that story is available in
10684 <a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6099">an article</a> from
10685 Linux Journal in 2002.</p>
10686
10687 <blockquote>
10688 <p>Lima, 8th of April, 2002<br>
10689 To: Señor JUAN ALBERTO GONZÁLEZ<br>
10690 General Manager of Microsoft Perú</p>
10691
10692 <p>Dear Sir:</p>
10693
10694 <p>First of all, I thank you for your letter of March 25, 2002 in which you state the official position of Microsoft relative to Bill Number 1609, Free Software in Public Administration, which is indubitably inspired by the desire for Peru to find a suitable place in the global technological context. In the same spirit, and convinced that we will find the best solutions through an exchange of clear and open ideas, I will take this opportunity to reply to the commentaries included in your letter.</p>
10695
10696 <p>While acknowledging that opinions such as yours constitute a significant contribution, it would have been even more worthwhile for me if, rather than formulating objections of a general nature (which we will analyze in detail later) you had gathered solid arguments for the advantages that proprietary software could bring to the Peruvian State, and to its citizens in general, since this would have allowed a more enlightening exchange in respect of each of our positions.</p>
10697
10698 <p>With the aim of creating an orderly debate, we will assume that what you call "open source software" is what the Bill defines as "free software", since there exists software for which the source code is distributed together with the program, but which does not fall within the definition established by the Bill; and that what you call "commercial software" is what the Bill defines as "proprietary" or "unfree", given that there exists free software which is sold in the market for a price like any other good or service.</p>
10699
10700 <p>It is also necessary to make it clear that the aim of the Bill we are discussing is not directly related to the amount of direct savings that can by made by using free software in state institutions. That is in any case a marginal aggregate value, but in no way is it the chief focus of the Bill. The basic principles which inspire the Bill are linked to the basic guarantees of a state of law, such as:</p>
10701
10702 <p>
10703 <ul>
10704 <li>Free access to public information by the citizen. </li>
10705 <li>Permanence of public data. </li>
10706 <li>Security of the State and citizens.</li>
10707 </ul>
10708 </p>
10709
10710 <p>To guarantee the free access of citizens to public information, it is indispensable that the encoding of data is not tied to a single provider. The use of standard and open formats gives a guarantee of this free access, if necessary through the creation of compatible free software.</p>
10711
10712 <p>To guarantee the permanence of public data, it is necessary that the usability and maintenance of the software does not depend on the goodwill of the suppliers, or on the monopoly conditions imposed by them. For this reason the State needs systems the development of which can be guaranteed due to the availability of the source code.</p>
10713
10714 <p>To guarantee national security or the security of the State, it is indispensable to be able to rely on systems without elements which allow control from a distance or the undesired transmission of information to third parties. Systems with source code freely accessible to the public are required to allow their inspection by the State itself, by the citizens, and by a large number of independent experts throughout the world. Our proposal brings further security, since the knowledge of the source code will eliminate the growing number of programs with *spy code*. </p>
10715
10716 <p>In the same way, our proposal strengthens the security of the citizens, both in their role as legitimate owners of information managed by the state, and in their role as consumers. In this second case, by allowing the growth of a widespread availability of free software not containing *spy code* able to put at risk privacy and individual freedoms.</p>
10717
10718 <p>In this sense, the Bill is limited to establishing the conditions under which the state bodies will obtain software in the future, that is, in a way compatible with these basic principles.</p>
10719
10720
10721 <p>From reading the Bill it will be clear that once passed:<br>
10722 <li>the law does not forbid the production of proprietary software</li>
10723 <li>the law does not forbid the sale of proprietary software</li>
10724 <li>the law does not specify which concrete software to use</li>
10725 <li>the law does not dictate the supplier from whom software will be bought</li>
10726 <li>the law does not limit the terms under which a software product can be licensed.</li>
10727
10728 </p>
10729
10730 <p>What the Bill does express clearly, is that, for software to be acceptable for the state it is not enough that it is technically capable of fulfilling a task, but that further the contractual conditions must satisfy a series of requirements regarding the license, without which the State cannot guarantee the citizen adequate processing of his data, watching over its integrity, confidentiality, and accessibility throughout time, as these are very critical aspects for its normal functioning.</p>
10731
10732 <p>We agree, Mr. Gonzalez, that information and communication technology have a significant impact on the quality of life of the citizens (whether it be positive or negative). We surely also agree that the basic values I have pointed out above are fundamental in a democratic state like Peru. So we are very interested to know of any other way of guaranteeing these principles, other than through the use of free software in the terms defined by the Bill.</p>
10733
10734 <p>As for the observations you have made, we will now go on to analyze them in detail:</p>
10735
10736 <p>Firstly, you point out that: "1. The bill makes it compulsory for all public bodies to use only free software, that is to say open source software, which breaches the principles of equality before the law, that of non-discrimination and the right of free private enterprise, freedom of industry and of contract, protected by the constitution."</p>
10737
10738 <p>This understanding is in error. The Bill in no way affects the rights you list; it limits itself entirely to establishing conditions for the use of software on the part of state institutions, without in any way meddling in private sector transactions. It is a well established principle that the State does not enjoy the wide spectrum of contractual freedom of the private sector, as it is limited in its actions precisely by the requirement for transparency of public acts; and in this sense, the preservation of the greater common interest must prevail when legislating on the matter.</p>
10739
10740 <p>The Bill protects equality under the law, since no natural or legal person is excluded from the right of offering these goods to the State under the conditions defined in the Bill and without more limitations than those established by the Law of State Contracts and Purchasing (T.U.O. by Supreme Decree No. 012-2001-PCM).</p>
10741
10742 <p>The Bill does not introduce any discrimination whatever, since it only establishes *how* the goods have to be provided (which is a state power) and not *who* has to provide them (which would effectively be discriminatory, if restrictions based on national origin, race religion, ideology, sexual preference etc. were imposed). On the contrary, the Bill is decidedly antidiscriminatory. This is so because by defining with no room for doubt the conditions for the provision of software, it prevents state bodies from using software which has a license including discriminatory conditions.</p>
10743
10744 <p>It should be obvious from the preceding two paragraphs that the Bill does not harm free private enterprise, since the latter can always choose under what conditions it will produce software; some of these will be acceptable to the State, and others will not be since they contradict the guarantee of the basic principles listed above. This free initiative is of course compatible with the freedom of industry and freedom of contract (in the limited form in which the State can exercise the latter). Any private subject can produce software under the conditions which the State requires, or can refrain from doing so. Nobody is forced to adopt a model of production, but if they wish to provide software to the State, they must provide the mechanisms which guarantee the basic principles, and which are those described in the Bill.</p>
10745
10746 <p>By way of an example: nothing in the text of the Bill would prevent your company offering the State bodies an office "suite", under the conditions defined in the Bill and setting the price that you consider satisfactory. If you did not, it would not be due to restrictions imposed by the law, but to business decisions relative to the method of commercializing your products, decisions with which the State is not involved.</p>
10747
10748 <p>To continue; you note that:" 2. The bill, by making the use of open source software compulsory, would establish discriminatory and non competitive practices in the contracting and purchasing by public bodies..."</p>
10749
10750 <p>This statement is just a reiteration of the previous one, and so the response can be found above. However, let us concern ourselves for a moment with your comment regarding "non-competitive ... practices."</p>
10751
10752 <p>Of course, in defining any kind of purchase, the buyer sets conditions which relate to the proposed use of the good or service. From the start, this excludes certain manufacturers from the possibility of competing, but does not exclude them "a priori", but rather based on a series of principles determined by the autonomous will of the purchaser, and so the process takes place in conformance with the law. And in the Bill it is established that *no one* is excluded from competing as far as he guarantees the fulfillment of the basic principles.</p>
10753
10754 <p>Furthermore, the Bill *stimulates* competition, since it tends to generate a supply of software with better conditions of usability, and to better existing work, in a model of continuous improvement.</p>
10755
10756 <p>On the other hand, the central aspect of competivity is the chance to provide better choices to the consumer. Now, it is impossible to ignore the fact that marketing does not play a neutral role when the product is offered on the market (since accepting the opposite would lead one to suppose that firms' expenses in marketing lack any sense), and that therefore a significant expense under this heading can influence the decisions of the purchaser. This influence of marketing is in large measure reduced by the bill that we are backing, since the choice within the framework proposed is based on the *technical merits* of the product and not on the effort put into commercialization by the producer; in this sense, competitiveness is increased, since the smallest software producer can compete on equal terms with the most powerful corporations.</p>
10757
10758 <p>It is necessary to stress that there is no position more anti-competitive than that of the big software producers, which frequently abuse their dominant position, since in innumerable cases they propose as a solution to problems raised by users: "update your software to the new version" (at the user's expense, naturally); furthermore, it is common to find arbitrary cessation of technical help for products, which, in the provider's judgment alone, are "old"; and so, to receive any kind of technical assistance, the user finds himself forced to migrate to new versions (with non-trivial costs, especially as changes in hardware platform are often involved). And as the whole infrastructure is based on proprietary data formats, the user stays "trapped" in the need to continue using products from the same supplier, or to make the huge effort to change to another environment (probably also proprietary).</p>
10759
10760 <p>You add: "3. So, by compelling the State to favor a business model based entirely on open source, the bill would only discourage the local and international manufacturing companies, which are the ones which really undertake important expenditures, create a significant number of direct and indirect jobs, as well as contributing to the GNP, as opposed to a model of open source software which tends to have an ever weaker economic impact, since it mainly creates jobs in the service sector."</p>
10761
10762 <p>I do not agree with your statement. Partly because of what you yourself point out in paragraph 6 of your letter, regarding the relative weight of services in the context of software use. This contradiction alone would invalidate your position. The service model, adopted by a large number of companies in the software industry, is much larger in economic terms, and with a tendency to increase, than the licensing of programs.</p>
10763
10764 <p>On the other hand, the private sector of the economy has the widest possible freedom to choose the economic model which best suits its interests, even if this freedom of choice is often obscured subliminally by the disproportionate expenditure on marketing by the producers of proprietary software.</p>
10765
10766 <p>In addition, a reading of your opinion would lead to the conclusion that the State market is crucial and essential for the proprietary software industry, to such a point that the choice made by the State in this bill would completely eliminate the market for these firms. If that is true, we can deduce that the State must be subsidizing the proprietary software industry. In the unlikely event that this were true, the State would have the right to apply the subsidies in the area it considered of greatest social value; it is undeniable, in this improbable hypothesis, that if the State decided to subsidize software, it would have to do so choosing the free over the proprietary, considering its social effect and the rational use of taxpayers money.</p>
10767
10768 <p>In respect of the jobs generated by proprietary software in countries like ours, these mainly concern technical tasks of little aggregate value; at the local level, the technicians who provide support for proprietary software produced by transnational companies do not have the possibility of fixing bugs, not necessarily for lack of technical capability or of talent, but because they do not have access to the source code to fix it. With free software one creates more technically qualified employment and a framework of free competence where success is only tied to the ability to offer good technical support and quality of service, one stimulates the market, and one increases the shared fund of knowledge, opening up alternatives to generate services of greater total value and a higher quality level, to the benefit of all involved: producers, service organizations, and consumers.</p>
10769
10770 <p>It is a common phenomenon in developing countries that local software industries obtain the majority of their takings in the service sector, or in the creation of "ad hoc" software. Therefore, any negative impact that the application of the Bill might have in this sector will be more than compensated by a growth in demand for services (as long as these are carried out to high quality standards). If the transnational software companies decide not to compete under these new rules of the game, it is likely that they will undergo some decrease in takings in terms of payment for licenses; however, considering that these firms continue to allege that much of the software used by the State has been illegally copied, one can see that the impact will not be very serious. Certainly, in any case their fortune will be determined by market laws, changes in which cannot be avoided; many firms traditionally associated with proprietary software have already set out on the road (supported by copious expense) of providing services associated with free software, which shows that the models are not mutually exclusive.</p>
10771
10772 <p>With this bill the State is deciding that it needs to preserve certain fundamental values. And it is deciding this based on its sovereign power, without affecting any of the constitutional guarantees. If these values could be guaranteed without having to choose a particular economic model, the effects of the law would be even more beneficial. In any case, it should be clear that the State does not choose an economic model; if it happens that there only exists one economic model capable of providing software which provides the basic guarantee of these principles, this is because of historical circumstances, not because of an arbitrary choice of a given model.</p>
10773
10774 <p>Your letter continues: "4. The bill imposes the use of open source software without considering the dangers that this can bring from the point of view of security, guarantee, and possible violation of the intellectual property rights of third parties."</p>
10775
10776 <p>Alluding in an abstract way to "the dangers this can bring", without specifically mentioning a single one of these supposed dangers, shows at the least some lack of knowledge of the topic. So, allow me to enlighten you on these points.</p>
10777
10778 <p>On security:</p>
10779
10780 <p>National security has already been mentioned in general terms in the initial discussion of the basic principles of the bill. In more specific terms, relative to the security of the software itself, it is well known that all software (whether proprietary or free) contains errors or "bugs" (in programmers' slang). But it is also well known that the bugs in free software are fewer, and are fixed much more quickly, than in proprietary software. It is not in vain that numerous public bodies responsible for the IT security of state systems in developed countries require the use of free software for the same conditions of security and efficiency.</p>
10781
10782 <p>What is impossible to prove is that proprietary software is more secure than free, without the public and open inspection of the scientific community and users in general. This demonstration is impossible because the model of proprietary software itself prevents this analysis, so that any guarantee of security is based only on promises of good intentions (biased, by any reckoning) made by the producer itself, or its contractors.</p>
10783
10784 <p>It should be remembered that in many cases, the licensing conditions include Non-Disclosure clauses which prevent the user from publicly revealing security flaws found in the licensed proprietary product.</p>
10785
10786 <p>In respect of the guarantee:</p>
10787
10788 <p>As you know perfectly well, or could find out by reading the "End User License Agreement" of the products you license, in the great majority of cases the guarantees are limited to replacement of the storage medium in case of defects, but in no case is compensation given for direct or indirect damages, loss of profits, etc... If as a result of a security bug in one of your products, not fixed in time by yourselves, an attacker managed to compromise crucial State systems, what guarantees, reparations and compensation would your company make in accordance with your licensing conditions? The guarantees of proprietary software, inasmuch as programs are delivered ``AS IS'', that is, in the state in which they are, with no additional responsibility of the provider in respect of function, in no way differ from those normal with free software.</p>
10789
10790 <p>On Intellectual Property:</p>
10791
10792 <p>Questions of intellectual property fall outside the scope of this bill, since they are covered by specific other laws. The model of free software in no way implies ignorance of these laws, and in fact the great majority of free software is covered by copyright. In reality, the inclusion of this question in your observations shows your confusion in respect of the legal framework in which free software is developed. The inclusion of the intellectual property of others in works claimed as one's own is not a practice that has been noted in the free software community; whereas, unfortunately, it has been in the area of proprietary software. As an example, the condemnation by the Commercial Court of Nanterre, France, on 27th September 2001 of Microsoft Corp. to a penalty of 3 million francs in damages and interest, for violation of intellectual property (piracy, to use the unfortunate term that your firm commonly uses in its publicity).</p>
10793
10794 <p>You go on to say that: "The bill uses the concept of open source software incorrectly, since it does not necessarily imply that the software is free or of zero cost, and so arrives at mistaken conclusions regarding State savings, with no cost-benefit analysis to validate its position."</p>
10795
10796 <p>This observation is wrong; in principle, freedom and lack of cost are orthogonal concepts: there is software which is proprietary and charged for (for example, MS Office), software which is proprietary and free of charge (MS Internet Explorer), software which is free and charged for (Red Hat, SuSE etc GNU/Linux distributions), software which is free and not charged for (Apache, Open Office, Mozilla), and even software which can be licensed in a range of combinations (MySQL).</p>
10797
10798 <p>Certainly free software is not necessarily free of charge. And the text of the bill does not state that it has to be so, as you will have noted after reading it. The definitions included in the Bill state clearly *what* should be considered free software, at no point referring to freedom from charges. Although the possibility of savings in payments for proprietary software licenses are mentioned, the foundations of the bill clearly refer to the fundamental guarantees to be preserved and to the stimulus to local technological development. Given that a democratic State must support these principles, it has no other choice than to use software with publicly available source code, and to exchange information only in standard formats.</p>
10799
10800 <p>If the State does not use software with these characteristics, it will be weakening basic republican principles. Luckily, free software also implies lower total costs; however, even given the hypothesis (easily disproved) that it was more expensive than proprietary software, the simple existence of an effective free software tool for a particular IT function would oblige the State to use it; not by command of this Bill, but because of the basic principles we enumerated at the start, and which arise from the very essence of the lawful democratic State.</p>
10801
10802 <p>You continue: "6. It is wrong to think that Open Source Software is free of charge. Research by the Gartner Group (an important investigator of the technological market recognized at world level) has shown that the cost of purchase of software (operating system and applications) is only 8% of the total cost which firms and institutions take on for a rational and truly beneficial use of the technology. The other 92% consists of: installation costs, enabling, support, maintenance, administration, and down-time."</p>
10803
10804 <p>This argument repeats that already given in paragraph 5 and partly contradicts paragraph 3. For the sake of brevity we refer to the comments on those paragraphs. However, allow me to point out that your conclusion is logically false: even if according to Gartner Group the cost of software is on average only 8% of the total cost of use, this does not in any way deny the existence of software which is free of charge, that is, with a licensing cost of zero.</p>
10805
10806 <p>In addition, in this paragraph you correctly point out that the service components and losses due to down-time make up the largest part of the total cost of software use, which, as you will note, contradicts your statement regarding the small value of services suggested in paragraph 3. Now the use of free software contributes significantly to reduce the remaining life-cycle costs. This reduction in the costs of installation, support etc. can be noted in several areas: in the first place, the competitive service model of free software, support and maintenance for which can be freely contracted out to a range of suppliers competing on the grounds of quality and low cost. This is true for installation, enabling, and support, and in large part for maintenance. In the second place, due to the reproductive characteristics of the model, maintenance carried out for an application is easily replicable, without incurring large costs (that is, without paying more than once for the same thing) since modifications, if one wishes, can be incorporated in the common fund of knowledge. Thirdly, the huge costs caused by non-functioning software ("blue screens of death", malicious code such as virus, worms, and trojans, exceptions, general protection faults and other well-known problems) are reduced considerably by using more stable software; and it is well known that one of the most notable virtues of free software is its stability.</p>
10807
10808 <p>You further state that: "7. One of the arguments behind the bill is the supposed freedom from costs of open-source software, compared with the costs of commercial software, without taking into account the fact that there exist types of volume licensing which can be highly advantageous for the State, as has happened in other countries."</p>
10809
10810 <p>I have already pointed out that what is in question is not the cost of the software but the principles of freedom of information, accessibility, and security. These arguments have been covered extensively in the preceding paragraphs to which I would refer you.</p>
10811
10812 <p>On the other hand, there certainly exist types of volume licensing (although unfortunately proprietary software does not satisfy the basic principles). But as you correctly pointed out in the immediately preceding paragraph of your letter, they only manage to reduce the impact of a component which makes up no more than 8% of the total.</p>
10813
10814 <p>You continue: "8. In addition, the alternative adopted by the bill (I) is clearly more expensive, due to the high costs of software migration, and (II) puts at risk compatibility and interoperability of the IT platforms within the State, and between the State and the private sector, given the hundreds of versions of open source software on the market."</p>
10815
10816 <p>Let us analyze your statement in two parts. Your first argument, that migration implies high costs, is in reality an argument in favor of the Bill. Because the more time goes by, the more difficult migration to another technology will become; and at the same time, the security risks associated with proprietary software will continue to increase. In this way, the use of proprietary systems and formats will make the State ever more dependent on specific suppliers. Once a policy of using free software has been established (which certainly, does imply some cost) then on the contrary migration from one system to another becomes very simple, since all data is stored in open formats. On the other hand, migration to an open software context implies no more costs than migration between two different proprietary software contexts, which invalidates your argument completely.</p>
10817
10818 <p>The second argument refers to "problems in interoperability of the IT platforms within the State, and between the State and the private sector" This statement implies a certain lack of knowledge of the way in which free software is built, which does not maximize the dependence of the user on a particular platform, as normally happens in the realm of proprietary software. Even when there are multiple free software distributions, and numerous programs which can be used for the same function, interoperability is guaranteed as much by the use of standard formats, as required by the bill, as by the possibility of creating interoperable software given the availability of the source code.</p>
10819
10820 <p>You then say that: "9. The majority of open source code does not offer adequate levels of service nor the guarantee from recognized manufacturers of high productivity on the part of the users, which has led various public organizations to retract their decision to go with an open source software solution and to use commercial software in its place."</p>
10821
10822 <p>This observation is without foundation. In respect of the guarantee, your argument was rebutted in the response to paragraph 4. In respect of support services, it is possible to use free software without them (just as also happens with proprietary software), but anyone who does need them can obtain support separately, whether from local firms or from international corporations, again just as in the case of proprietary software.</p>
10823
10824 <p>On the other hand, it would contribute greatly to our analysis if you could inform us about free software projects *established* in public bodies which have already been abandoned in favor of proprietary software. We know of a good number of cases where the opposite has taken place, but not know of any where what you describe has taken place.</p>
10825
10826 <p>You continue by observing that: "10. The bill discourages the creativity of the Peruvian software industry, which invoices 40 million US$/year, exports 4 million US$ (10th in ranking among non-traditional exports, more than handicrafts) and is a source of highly qualified employment. With a law that encourages the use of open source, software programmers lose their intellectual property rights and their main source of payment."</p>
10827
10828 <p>It is clear enough that nobody is forced to commercialize their code as free software. The only thing to take into account is that if it is not free software, it cannot be sold to the public sector. This is not in any case the main market for the national software industry. We covered some questions referring to the influence of the Bill on the generation of employment which would be both highly technically qualified and in better conditions for competition above, so it seems unnecessary to insist on this point.</p>
10829
10830 <p>What follows in your statement is incorrect. On the one hand, no author of free software loses his intellectual property rights, unless he expressly wishes to place his work in the public domain. The free software movement has always been very respectful of intellectual property, and has generated widespread public recognition of its authors. Names like those of Richard Stallman, Linus Torvalds, Guido van Rossum, Larry Wall, Miguel de Icaza, Andrew Tridgell, Theo de Raadt, Andrea Arcangeli, Bruce Perens, Darren Reed, Alan Cox, Eric Raymond, and many others, are recognized world-wide for their contributions to the development of software that is used today by millions of people throughout the world. On the other hand, to say that the rewards for authors rights make up the main source of payment of Peruvian programmers is in any case a guess, in particular since there is no proof to this effect, nor a demonstration of how the use of free software by the State would influence these payments.</p>
10831
10832 <p>You go on to say that: "11. Open source software, since it can be distributed without charge, does not allow the generation of income for its developers through exports. In this way, the multiplier effect of the sale of software to other countries is weakened, and so in turn is the growth of the industry, while Government rules ought on the contrary to stimulate local industry."</p>
10833
10834 <p>This statement shows once again complete ignorance of the mechanisms of and market for free software. It tries to claim that the market of sale of non- exclusive rights for use (sale of licenses) is the only possible one for the software industry, when you yourself pointed out several paragraphs above that it is not even the most important one. The incentives that the bill offers for the growth of a supply of better qualified professionals, together with the increase in experience that working on a large scale with free software within the State will bring for Peruvian technicians, will place them in a highly competitive position to offer their services abroad.</p>
10835
10836 <p>You then state that: "12. In the Forum, the use of open source software in education was discussed, without mentioning the complete collapse of this initiative in a country like Mexico, where precisely the State employees who founded the project now state that open source software did not make it possible to offer a learning experience to pupils in the schools, did not take into account the capability at a national level to give adequate support to the platform, and that the software did not and does not allow for the levels of platform integration that now exist in schools."</p>
10837
10838 <p>In fact Mexico has gone into reverse with the Red Escolar (Schools Network) project. This is due precisely to the fact that the driving forces behind the Mexican project used license costs as their main argument, instead of the other reasons specified in our project, which are far more essential. Because of this conceptual mistake, and as a result of the lack of effective support from the SEP (Secretary of State for Public Education), the assumption was made that to implant free software in schools it would be enough to drop their software budget and send them a CD ROM with Gnu/Linux instead. Of course this failed, and it couldn't have been otherwise, just as school laboratories fail when they use proprietary software and have no budget for implementation and maintenance. That's exactly why our bill is not limited to making the use of free software mandatory, but recognizes the need to create a viable migration plan, in which the State undertakes the technical transition in an orderly way in order to then enjoy the advantages of free software.</p>
10839
10840 <p>You end with a rhetorical question: "13. If open source software satisfies all the requirements of State bodies, why do you need a law to adopt it? Shouldn't it be the market which decides freely which products give most benefits or value?"</p>
10841
10842 <p>We agree that in the private sector of the economy, it must be the market that decides which products to use, and no state interference is permissible there. However, in the case of the public sector, the reasoning is not the same: as we have already established, the state archives, handles, and transmits information which does not belong to it, but which is entrusted to it by citizens, who have no alternative under the rule of law. As a counterpart to this legal requirement, the State must take extreme measures to safeguard the integrity, confidentiality, and accessibility of this information. The use of proprietary software raises serious doubts as to whether these requirements can be fulfilled, lacks conclusive evidence in this respect, and so is not suitable for use in the public sector.</p>
10843
10844 <p>The need for a law is based, firstly, on the realization of the fundamental principles listed above in the specific area of software; secondly, on the fact that the State is not an ideal homogeneous entity, but made up of multiple bodies with varying degrees of autonomy in decision making. Given that it is inappropriate to use proprietary software, the fact of establishing these rules in law will prevent the personal discretion of any state employee from putting at risk the information which belongs to citizens. And above all, because it constitutes an up-to-date reaffirmation in relation to the means of management and communication of information used today, it is based on the republican principle of openness to the public.</p>
10845
10846 <p>In conformance with this universally accepted principle, the citizen has the right to know all information held by the State and not covered by well- founded declarations of secrecy based on law. Now, software deals with information and is itself information. Information in a special form, capable of being interpreted by a machine in order to execute actions, but crucial information all the same because the citizen has a legitimate right to know, for example, how his vote is computed or his taxes calculated. And for that he must have free access to the source code and be able to prove to his satisfaction the programs used for electoral computations or calculation of his taxes.</p>
10847
10848 <p>I wish you the greatest respect, and would like to repeat that my office will always be open for you to expound your point of view to whatever level of detail you consider suitable.</p>
10849
10850 <p>Cordially,<br>
10851 DR. EDGAR DAVID VILLANUEVA NUÑEZ<br>
10852 Congressman of the Republic of Perú.</p>
10853 </blockquote>
10854
10855       </div>
10856       <div class="tags">
10857
10858
10859         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/digistan">digistan</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
10860
10861
10862       </div>
10863     </div>
10864     <div class="padding"></div>
10865
10866     <div class="entry">
10867       <div class="title">
10868         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Officeshots_still_going_strong.html">Officeshots still going strong</a>
10869       </div>
10870       <div class="date">
10871         25th December 2010
10872       </div>
10873       <div class="body">
10874         <p>Half a year ago I
10875 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Officeshots_taking_shape.html">wrote
10876 a bit</a> about <a href="http://www.officeshots.org/">OfficeShots</a>,
10877 a web service to allow anyone to test how ODF documents are handled by
10878 the different programs reading and writing the ODF format.</p>
10879
10880 <p>I just had a look at the service, and it seem to be going strong.
10881 Very interesting to see the results reported in the gallery, how
10882 different Office implementations handle different ODF features.  Sad
10883 to see that KOffice was not doing it very well, and happy to see that
10884 LibreOffice has been tested already (but sadly not listed as a option
10885 for OfficeShots users yet).  I am glad to see that the ODF community
10886 got such a great test tool available.</p>
10887
10888       </div>
10889       <div class="tags">
10890
10891
10892         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
10893
10894
10895       </div>
10896     </div>
10897     <div class="padding"></div>
10898
10899     <div class="entry">
10900       <div class="title">
10901         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_test_if_a_laptop_is_working_with_Linux.html">How to test if a laptop is working with Linux</a>
10902       </div>
10903       <div class="date">
10904         22nd December 2010
10905       </div>
10906       <div class="body">
10907         <p>The last few days I have spent at work here at the <a
10908 href="http://www.uio.no/">University of Oslo</a> testing if the new
10909 batch of computers will work with Linux.  Every year for the last few
10910 years the university have organised shared bid of a few thousand
10911 computers, and this year HP won the bid.  Two different desktops and
10912 five different laptops are on the list this year.  We in the UNIX
10913 group want to know which one of these computers work well with RHEL
10914 and Ubuntu, the two Linux distributions we currently handle at the
10915 university.</p>
10916
10917 <p>My test method is simple, and I share it here to get feedback and
10918 perhaps inspire others to test hardware as well.  To test, I PXE
10919 install the OS version of choice, and log in as my normal user and run
10920 a few applications and plug in selected pieces of hardware.  When
10921 something fail, I make a note about this in the test matrix and move
10922 on.  If I have some spare time I try to report the bug to the OS
10923 vendor, but as I only have the machines for a short time, I rarely
10924 have the time to do this for all the problems I find.</p>
10925
10926 <p>Anyway, to get to the point of this post.  Here is the simple tests
10927 I perform on a new model.</p>
10928
10929 <ul>
10930
10931 <li>Is PXE installation working?  I'm testing with RHEL6, Ubuntu Lucid
10932 and Ubuntu Maverik at the moment.  If I feel like it, I also test with
10933 RHEL5 and Debian Edu/Squeeze.</li>
10934
10935 <li>Is X.org working?  If the graphical login screen show up after
10936 installation, X.org is working.</li>
10937
10938 <li>Is hardware accelerated OpenGL working?  Running glxgears (in
10939 package mesa-utils on Ubuntu) and writing down the frames per second
10940 reported by the program.</li>
10941
10942 <li>Is sound working?  With Gnome and KDE, a sound is played when
10943 logging in, and if I can hear this the test is successful.  If there
10944 are several audio exits on the machine, I try them all and check if
10945 the Gnome/KDE audio mixer can control where to send the sound.  I
10946 normally test this by playing
10947 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/aktiviteter/20101012-chef/ ">a HTML5
10948 video</a> in Firefox/Iceweasel.</li>
10949
10950 <li>Is the USB subsystem working?  I test this by plugging in a USB
10951 memory stick and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.</li>
10952
10953 <li>Is the CD/DVD player working?  I test this by inserting any CD/DVD
10954 I have lying around, and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.</li>
10955
10956 <li>Is any built in camera working?  Test using cheese, and see if a
10957 picture from the v4l device show up.</li>
10958
10959 <li>Is bluetooth working?  Use the Gnome/KDE browsing tool to see if
10960 any bluetooth devices are discovered.  In my office, I normally see a
10961 few.</li>
10962
10963 <li>For laptops, is the SD or Compaq Flash reader working.  I have
10964 memory modules lying around, and stick them in and see if Gnome/KDE
10965 notice this.</li>
10966
10967 <li>For laptops, is suspend/hibernate working?  I'm testing if the
10968 special button work, and if the laptop continue to work after
10969 resume.</li>
10970
10971 <li>For laptops, is the extra buttons working, like audio level,
10972 adjusting background light, switching on/off external video output,
10973 switching on/off wifi, bluetooth, etc?  The set of buttons differ from
10974 laptop to laptop, so I just write down which are working and which are
10975 not.</li>
10976
10977 <li>Some laptops have smart card readers, finger print readers,
10978 acceleration sensors etc.  I rarely test these, as I do not know how
10979 to quickly test if they are working or not, so I only document their
10980 existence.</li>
10981
10982 </ul>
10983
10984 <p>By now I suspect you are really curious what the test results are
10985 for the HP machines I am testing.  I'm not done yet, so I will report
10986 the test results later.  For now I can report that HP 8100 Elite work
10987 fine, and hibernation fail with HP EliteBook 8440p on Ubuntu Lucid,
10988 and audio fail on RHEL6.  Ubuntu Maverik worked with 8440p.  As you
10989 can see, I have most machines left to test.  One interesting
10990 observation is that Ubuntu Lucid has almost twice the frame rate than
10991 RHEL6 with glxgears.  No idea why.</p>
10992
10993       </div>
10994       <div class="tags">
10995
10996
10997         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
10998
10999
11000       </div>
11001     </div>
11002     <div class="padding"></div>
11003
11004     <div class="entry">
11005       <div class="title">
11006         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Some_thoughts_on_BitCoins.html">Some thoughts on BitCoins</a>
11007       </div>
11008       <div class="date">
11009         11th December 2010
11010       </div>
11011       <div class="body">
11012         <p>As I continue to explore
11013 <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">BitCoin</a>, I've starting to wonder
11014 what properties the system have, and how it will be affected by laws
11015 and regulations here in Norway.  Here are some random notes.</p>
11016
11017 <p>One interesting thing to note is that since the transactions are
11018 verified using a peer to peer network, all details about a transaction
11019 is known to everyone.  This means that if a BitCoin address has been
11020 published like I did with mine in my initial post about BitCoin, it is
11021 possible for everyone to see how many BitCoins have been transfered to
11022 that address.  There is even a web service to look at the details for
11023 all transactions.  There I can see that my address
11024 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a>
11025 have received 16.06 Bitcoin, the
11026 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/1LfdGnGuWkpSJgbQySxxCWhv8MHqvwst3">1LfdGnGuWkpSJgbQySxxCWhv8MHqvwst3</a>
11027 address of Simon Phipps have received 181.97 BitCoin and the address
11028 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/1MCwBbhNGp5hRm5rC1Aims2YFRe2SXPYKt">1MCwBbhNGp5hRm5rC1Aims2YFRe2SXPYKt</A>
11029 of EFF have received 2447.38 BitCoins so far.  Thank you to each and
11030 every one of you that donated bitcoins to support my activity. The
11031 fact that anyone can see how much money was transfered to a given
11032 address make it more obvious why the BitCoin community recommend to
11033 generate and hand out a new address for each transaction.  I'm told
11034 there is no way to track which addresses belong to a given person or
11035 organisation without the person or organisation revealing it
11036 themselves, as Simon, EFF and I have done.</p>
11037
11038 <p>In Norway, and in most other countries, there are laws and
11039 regulations limiting how much money one can transfer across the border
11040 without declaring it.  There are money laundering, tax and accounting
11041 laws and regulations I would expect to apply to the use of BitCoin.
11042 If the Skolelinux foundation
11043 (<a href="http://linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">SLX
11044 Debian Labs</a>) were to accept donations in BitCoin in addition to
11045 normal bank transfers like EFF is doing, how should this be accounted?
11046 Given that it is impossible to know if money can cross the border or
11047 not, should everything or nothing be declared?  What exchange rate
11048 should be used when calculating taxes?  Would receivers have to pay
11049 income tax if the foundation were to pay Skolelinux contributors in
11050 BitCoin?  I have no idea, but it would be interesting to know.</p>
11051
11052 <p>For a currency to be useful and successful, it must be trusted and
11053 accepted by a lot of users.  It must be possible to get easy access to
11054 the currency (as a wage or using currency exchanges), and it must be
11055 easy to spend it.  At the moment BitCoin seem fairly easy to get
11056 access to, but there are very few places to spend it.  I am not really
11057 a regular user of any of the vendor types currently accepting BitCoin,
11058 so I wonder when my kind of shop would start accepting BitCoins.  I
11059 would like to buy electronics, travels and subway tickets, not herbs
11060 and books. :) The currency is young, and this will improve over time
11061 if it become popular, but I suspect regular banks will start to lobby
11062 to get BitCoin declared illegal if it become popular.  I'm sure they
11063 will claim it is helping fund terrorism and money laundering (which
11064 probably would be true, as is any currency in existence), but I
11065 believe the problems should be solved elsewhere and not by blaming
11066 currencies.</p>
11067
11068 <p>The process of creating new BitCoins is called mining, and it is
11069 CPU intensive process that depend on a bit of luck as well (as one is
11070 competing against all the other miners currently spending CPU cycles
11071 to see which one get the next lump of cash).  The "winner" get 50
11072 BitCoin when this happen.  Yesterday I came across the obvious way to
11073 join forces to increase ones changes of getting at least some coins,
11074 by coordinating the work on mining BitCoins across several machines
11075 and people, and sharing the result if one is lucky and get the 50
11076 BitCoins.  Check out
11077 <a href="http://www.bluishcoder.co.nz/bitcoin-pool/">BitCoin Pool</a>
11078 if this sounds interesting.  I have not had time to try to set up a
11079 machine to participate there yet, but have seen that running on ones
11080 own for a few days have not yield any BitCoins througth mining
11081 yet.</p>
11082
11083 <p>Update 2010-12-15: Found an <a
11084 href="http://inertia.posterous.com/reply-to-the-underground-economist-why-bitcoi">interesting
11085 criticism</a> of bitcoin.  Not quite sure how valid it is, but thought
11086 it was interesting to read.  The arguments presented seem to be
11087 equally valid for gold, which was used as a currency for many years.</p>
11088
11089       </div>
11090       <div class="tags">
11091
11092
11093         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
11094
11095
11096       </div>
11097     </div>
11098     <div class="padding"></div>
11099
11100     <div class="entry">
11101       <div class="title">
11102         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Now_accepting_bitcoins___anonymous_and_distributed_p2p_crypto_money.html">Now accepting bitcoins - anonymous and distributed p2p crypto-money</a>
11103       </div>
11104       <div class="date">
11105         10th December 2010
11106       </div>
11107       <div class="body">
11108         <p>With this weeks lawless
11109 <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/06/wikileaks/index.html">governmental
11110 attacks</a> on Wikileak and
11111 <a href="http://www.salon.com/technology/dan_gillmor/2010/12/06/war_on_speech">free
11112 speech</a>, it has become obvious that PayPal, visa and mastercard can
11113 not be trusted to handle money transactions.
11114 A blog post from
11115 <a href="http://webmink.com/2010/12/06/now-accepting-bitcoin/">Simon
11116 Phipps on bitcoin</a> reminded me about a project that a friend of
11117 mine mentioned earlier.  I decided to follow Simon's example, and get
11118 involved with <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">BitCoin</a>.  I got
11119 some help from my friend to get it all running, and he even handed me
11120 some bitcoins to get started.  I even donated a few bitcoins to Simon
11121 for helping me remember BitCoin.</p>
11122
11123 <p>So, what is bitcoins, you probably wonder?  It is a digital
11124 crypto-currency, decentralised and handled using peer-to-peer
11125 networks.  It allows anonymous transactions and prohibits central
11126 control over the transactions, making it impossible for governments
11127 and companies alike to block donations and other transactions.  The
11128 source is free software, and while the key dependency wxWidgets 2.9
11129 for the graphical user interface is missing in Debian, the command
11130 line client builds just fine.  Hopefully Jonas
11131 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/578157">will get the package into
11132 Debian</a> soon.</p>
11133
11134 <p>Bitcoins can be converted to other currencies, like USD and EUR.
11135 There are <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/trade">companies accepting
11136 bitcoins</a> when selling services and goods, and there are even
11137 currency "stock" markets where the exchange rate is decided.  There
11138 are not many users so far, but the concept seems promising.  If you
11139 want to get started and lack a friend with any bitcoins to spare,
11140 you can even get
11141 <a href="https://freebitcoins.appspot.com/">some for free</a> (0.05
11142 bitcoin at the time of writing).  Use
11143 <a href="http://www.bitcoinwatch.com/">BitcoinWatch</a> to keep an eye
11144 on the current exchange rates.</p>
11145
11146 <p>As an experiment, I have decided to set up bitcoind on one of my
11147 machines.  If you want to support my activity, please send Bitcoin
11148 donations to the address
11149 <b>15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</b>.  Thank you!</p>
11150
11151       </div>
11152       <div class="tags">
11153
11154
11155         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
11156
11157
11158       </div>
11159     </div>
11160     <div class="padding"></div>
11161
11162     <div class="entry">
11163       <div class="title">
11164         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Student_group_continue_the_work_on_my_Reprap_3D_printer.html">Student group continue the work on my Reprap 3D printer</a>
11165       </div>
11166       <div class="date">
11167          9th December 2010
11168       </div>
11169       <div class="body">
11170         <p>A few days ago, I was introduces to some students in the robot
11171 student assosiation <a href="http://www.robotica.no/">Robotica
11172 Osloensis</a> at the University of Oslo where I work, who planned to
11173 get their own 3D printer.  They wanted to learn from me based on my
11174 work in the area.  After having a short lunch meeting with them, I
11175 offered them to borrow my reprap kit, as I never had time to complete
11176 the build and this seem unlike to change any time soon.  I look
11177 forward to see how this goes.  This monday their volunteer driver
11178 picked up my kit and drove it to their lab, and tomorrow I am told the
11179 last exam is over so they can start work on getting the 3D printer
11180 operational.</p>
11181
11182 <p>The robotic group have already build several robots on their own,
11183 and seem capable of getting the reprap operational.  I really look
11184 forward to being able to print all the cool 3D designs published on
11185 <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/">Thingiverse</a>.  I even got
11186 some 3D scans I got made during Dagen@IFI when one of the groups at
11187 the computer science department at the university demonstrated their
11188 very cool 3D scanner.</p>
11189
11190       </div>
11191       <div class="tags">
11192
11193
11194         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/3d-printer">3d-printer</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/reprap">reprap</a>.
11195
11196
11197       </div>
11198     </div>
11199     <div class="padding"></div>
11200
11201     <div class="entry">
11202       <div class="title">
11203         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_development_gathering_and_General_Assembly_for_FRiSK.html">Debian Edu development gathering and General Assembly for FRiSK</a>
11204       </div>
11205       <div class="date">
11206         29th November 2010
11207       </div>
11208       <div class="body">
11209         <p>On friday, the first Debian Edu / Skolelinux
11210 <a href="http://www.friprogramvareiskolen.no/Gathering/2010-12-03-05-Oslo">development
11211 gathering</a> in a long time take place here in Oslo, Norway.  I
11212 really look forward to seeing all the good people working on the
11213 Squeeze release.  The gathering is open for everyone interested in
11214 learning more about Debian Edu / Skolelinux.</p>
11215
11216 <p>On Saturday, the Norwegian member organization taking care of
11217 organizing these development gatherings, Fri Programvare i Skolen,
11218 will hold its
11219 <a href="http://friprogramvareiskolen.no/Genfors/2010">General Assembly
11220 for 2010</a>.  Membership is open for all, and currently there are 388
11221 people registered as members.  Last year 32 members cast their vote in
11222 the memberdb based election system.  I hope more people find time to
11223 vote this year.</p>
11224
11225       </div>
11226       <div class="tags">
11227
11228
11229         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
11230
11231
11232       </div>
11233     </div>
11234     <div class="padding"></div>
11235
11236     <div class="entry">
11237       <div class="title">
11238         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Why_isn_t_Debian_Edu_using_VLC_.html">Why isn't Debian Edu using VLC?</a>
11239       </div>
11240       <div class="date">
11241         27th November 2010
11242       </div>
11243       <div class="body">
11244         <p>In the latest issue of Linux Journal, the readers choices were
11245 presented, and the winner among the multimedia player were VLC.
11246 Personally, I like VLC, and it is my player of choice when I first try
11247 to play a video file or stream.  Only if VLC fail will I drag out
11248 gmplayer to see if it can do better.  The reason is mostly the failure
11249 model and trust.  When VLC fail, it normally pop up a error message
11250 reporting the problem.  When mplayer fail, it normally segfault or
11251 just hangs.  The latter failure mode drain my trust in the program.<p>
11252
11253 <p>But even if VLC is my player of choice, we have choosen to use
11254 mplayer in <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian
11255 Edu/Skolelinux</a>.  The reason is simple.  We need a good browser
11256 plugin to play web videos seamlessly, and the VLC browser plugin is
11257 not very good.  For example, it lack in-line control buttons, so there
11258 is no way for the user to pause the video.  Also, when I
11259 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/BrowserMultimedia">last
11260 tested the browser plugins</a> available in Debian, the VLC plugin
11261 failed on several video pages where mplayer based plugins worked.  If
11262 the browser plugin for VLC was as good as the gecko-mediaplayer
11263 package (which uses mplayer), we would switch.</P>
11264
11265 <p>While VLC is a good player, its user interface is slightly
11266 annoying.  The most annoying feature is its inconsistent use of
11267 keyboard shortcuts.  When the player is in full screen mode, its
11268 shortcuts are different from when it is playing the video in a window.
11269 For example, space only work as pause when in full screen mode.  I
11270 wish it had consisten shortcuts and that space also would work when in
11271 window mode.  Another nice shortcut in gmplayer is [enter] to restart
11272 the current video.  It is very nice when playing short videos from the
11273 web and want to restart it when new people arrive to have a look at
11274 what is going on.</p>
11275
11276       </div>
11277       <div class="tags">
11278
11279
11280         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
11281
11282
11283       </div>
11284     </div>
11285     <div class="padding"></div>
11286
11287     <div class="entry">
11288       <div class="title">
11289         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lenny__Squeeze_upgrades_of_the_Gnome_and_KDE_desktop__now_with_apt_get_autoremove.html">Lenny->Squeeze upgrades of the Gnome and KDE desktop, now with apt-get autoremove</a>
11290       </div>
11291       <div class="date">
11292         22nd November 2010
11293       </div>
11294       <div class="body">
11295         <p>Michael Biebl suggested to me on IRC, that I changed my automated
11296 upgrade testing of the
11297 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">Lenny
11298 Gnome and KDE Desktop</a> to do <tt>apt-get autoremove</tt> when using apt-get.
11299 This seem like a very good idea, so I adjusted by test scripts and
11300 can now present the updated result from today:</p>
11301
11302 <p>This is for Gnome:</p>
11303
11304 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
11305
11306 <blockquote><p>
11307   apache2.2-bin
11308   aptdaemon
11309   baobab
11310   binfmt-support
11311   browser-plugin-gnash
11312   cheese-common
11313   cli-common
11314   cups-pk-helper
11315   dmz-cursor-theme
11316   empathy
11317   empathy-common
11318   freedesktop-sound-theme
11319   freeglut3
11320   gconf-defaults-service
11321   gdm-themes
11322   gedit-plugins
11323   geoclue
11324   geoclue-hostip
11325   geoclue-localnet
11326   geoclue-manual
11327   geoclue-yahoo
11328   gnash
11329   gnash-common
11330   gnome
11331   gnome-backgrounds
11332   gnome-cards-data
11333   gnome-codec-install
11334   gnome-core
11335   gnome-desktop-environment
11336   gnome-disk-utility
11337   gnome-screenshot
11338   gnome-search-tool
11339   gnome-session-canberra
11340   gnome-system-log
11341   gnome-themes-extras
11342   gnome-themes-more
11343   gnome-user-share
11344   gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3
11345   gstreamer0.10-tools
11346   gtk2-engines
11347   gtk2-engines-pixbuf
11348   gtk2-engines-smooth
11349   hamster-applet
11350   libapache2-mod-dnssd
11351   libapr1
11352   libaprutil1
11353   libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3
11354   libaprutil1-ldap
11355   libart2.0-cil
11356   libboost-date-time1.42.0
11357   libboost-python1.42.0
11358   libboost-thread1.42.0
11359   libchamplain-0.4-0
11360   libchamplain-gtk-0.4-0
11361   libcheese-gtk18
11362   libclutter-gtk-0.10-0
11363   libcryptui0
11364   libdiscid0
11365   libelf1
11366   libepc-1.0-2
11367   libepc-common
11368   libepc-ui-1.0-2
11369   libfreerdp-plugins-standard
11370   libfreerdp0
11371   libgconf2.0-cil
11372   libgdata-common
11373   libgdata7
11374   libgdu-gtk0
11375   libgee2
11376   libgeoclue0
11377   libgexiv2-0
11378   libgif4
11379   libglade2.0-cil
11380   libglib2.0-cil
11381   libgmime2.4-cil
11382   libgnome-vfs2.0-cil
11383   libgnome2.24-cil
11384   libgnomepanel2.24-cil
11385   libgpod-common
11386   libgpod4
11387   libgtk2.0-cil
11388   libgtkglext1
11389   libgtksourceview2.0-common
11390   libmono-addins-gui0.2-cil
11391   libmono-addins0.2-cil
11392   libmono-cairo2.0-cil
11393   libmono-corlib2.0-cil
11394   libmono-i18n-west2.0-cil
11395   libmono-posix2.0-cil
11396   libmono-security2.0-cil
11397   libmono-sharpzip2.84-cil
11398   libmono-system2.0-cil
11399   libmtp8
11400   libmusicbrainz3-6
11401   libndesk-dbus-glib1.0-cil
11402   libndesk-dbus1.0-cil
11403   libopal3.6.8
11404   libpolkit-gtk-1-0
11405   libpt2.6.7
11406   libpython2.6
11407   librpm1
11408   librpmio1
11409   libsdl1.2debian
11410   libsrtp0
11411   libssh-4
11412   libtelepathy-farsight0
11413   libtelepathy-glib0
11414   libtidy-0.99-0
11415   media-player-info
11416   mesa-utils
11417   mono-2.0-gac
11418   mono-gac
11419   mono-runtime
11420   nautilus-sendto
11421   nautilus-sendto-empathy
11422   p7zip-full
11423   pkg-config
11424   python-aptdaemon
11425   python-aptdaemon-gtk
11426   python-axiom
11427   python-beautifulsoup
11428   python-bugbuddy
11429   python-clientform
11430   python-coherence
11431   python-configobj
11432   python-crypto
11433   python-cupshelpers
11434   python-elementtree
11435   python-epsilon
11436   python-evolution
11437   python-feedparser
11438   python-gdata
11439   python-gdbm
11440   python-gst0.10
11441   python-gtkglext1
11442   python-gtksourceview2
11443   python-httplib2
11444   python-louie
11445   python-mako
11446   python-markupsafe
11447   python-mechanize
11448   python-nevow
11449   python-notify
11450   python-opengl
11451   python-openssl
11452   python-pam
11453   python-pkg-resources
11454   python-pyasn1
11455   python-pysqlite2
11456   python-rdflib
11457   python-serial
11458   python-tagpy
11459   python-twisted-bin
11460   python-twisted-conch
11461   python-twisted-core
11462   python-twisted-web
11463   python-utidylib
11464   python-webkit
11465   python-xdg
11466   python-zope.interface
11467   remmina
11468   remmina-plugin-data
11469   remmina-plugin-rdp
11470   remmina-plugin-vnc
11471   rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder
11472   rhythmbox-plugins
11473   rpm-common
11474   rpm2cpio
11475   seahorse-plugins
11476   shotwell
11477   software-center
11478   system-config-printer-udev
11479   telepathy-gabble
11480   telepathy-mission-control-5
11481   telepathy-salut
11482   tomboy
11483   totem
11484   totem-coherence
11485   totem-mozilla
11486   totem-plugins
11487   transmission-common
11488   xdg-user-dirs
11489   xdg-user-dirs-gtk
11490   xserver-xephyr
11491 </p></blockquote>
11492
11493 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
11494
11495 <blockquote><p>
11496   cheese
11497   ekiga
11498   eog
11499   epiphany-extensions
11500   evolution-exchange
11501   fast-user-switch-applet
11502   file-roller
11503   gcalctool
11504   gconf-editor
11505   gdm
11506   gedit
11507   gedit-common
11508   gnome-games
11509   gnome-games-data
11510   gnome-nettool
11511   gnome-system-tools
11512   gnome-themes
11513   gnuchess
11514   gucharmap
11515   guile-1.8-libs
11516   libavahi-ui0
11517   libdmx1
11518   libgalago3
11519   libgtk-vnc-1.0-0
11520   libgtksourceview2.0-0
11521   liblircclient0
11522   libsdl1.2debian-alsa
11523   libspeexdsp1
11524   libsvga1
11525   rhythmbox
11526   seahorse
11527   sound-juicer
11528   system-config-printer
11529   totem-common
11530   transmission-gtk
11531   vinagre
11532   vino
11533 </p></blockquote>
11534
11535 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
11536
11537 <blockquote><p>
11538   gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs
11539 </p></blockquote>
11540
11541 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
11542
11543 <blockquote><p>
11544 [nothing]
11545 </p></blockquote>
11546
11547 <p>This is for KDE:</p>
11548
11549 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
11550
11551 <blockquote><p>
11552   ksmserver
11553 </p></blockquote>
11554
11555 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
11556
11557 <blockquote><p>
11558   kwin
11559   network-manager-kde
11560 </p></blockquote>
11561
11562 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
11563
11564 <blockquote><p>
11565   arts
11566   dolphin
11567   freespacenotifier
11568   google-gadgets-gst
11569   google-gadgets-xul
11570   kappfinder
11571   kcalc
11572   kcharselect
11573   kde-core
11574   kde-plasma-desktop
11575   kde-standard
11576   kde-window-manager
11577   kdeartwork
11578   kdeartwork-emoticons
11579   kdeartwork-style
11580   kdeartwork-theme-icon
11581   kdebase
11582   kdebase-apps
11583   kdebase-workspace
11584   kdebase-workspace-bin
11585   kdebase-workspace-data
11586   kdeeject
11587   kdelibs
11588   kdeplasma-addons
11589   kdeutils
11590   kdewallpapers
11591   kdf
11592   kfloppy
11593   kgpg
11594   khelpcenter4
11595   kinfocenter
11596   konq-plugins-l10n
11597   konqueror-nsplugins
11598   kscreensaver
11599   kscreensaver-xsavers
11600   ktimer
11601   kwrite
11602   libgle3
11603   libkde4-ruby1.8
11604   libkonq5
11605   libkonq5-templates
11606   libnetpbm10
11607   libplasma-ruby
11608   libplasma-ruby1.8
11609   libqt4-ruby1.8
11610   marble-data
11611   marble-plugins
11612   netpbm
11613   nuvola-icon-theme
11614   plasma-dataengines-workspace
11615   plasma-desktop
11616   plasma-desktopthemes-artwork
11617   plasma-runners-addons
11618   plasma-scriptengine-googlegadgets
11619   plasma-scriptengine-python
11620   plasma-scriptengine-qedje
11621   plasma-scriptengine-ruby
11622   plasma-scriptengine-webkit
11623   plasma-scriptengines
11624   plasma-wallpapers-addons
11625   plasma-widget-folderview
11626   plasma-widget-networkmanagement
11627   ruby
11628   sweeper
11629   update-notifier-kde
11630   xscreensaver-data-extra
11631   xscreensaver-gl
11632   xscreensaver-gl-extra
11633   xscreensaver-screensaver-bsod
11634 </p></blockquote>
11635
11636 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
11637
11638 <blockquote><p>
11639   ark
11640   google-gadgets-common
11641   google-gadgets-qt
11642   htdig
11643   kate
11644   kdebase-bin
11645   kdebase-data
11646   kdepasswd
11647   kfind
11648   klipper
11649   konq-plugins
11650   konqueror
11651   ksysguard
11652   ksysguardd
11653   libarchive1
11654   libcln6
11655   libeet1
11656   libeina-svn-06
11657   libggadget-1.0-0b
11658   libggadget-qt-1.0-0b
11659   libgps19
11660   libkdecorations4
11661   libkephal4
11662   libkonq4
11663   libkonqsidebarplugin4a
11664   libkscreensaver5
11665   libksgrd4
11666   libksignalplotter4
11667   libkunitconversion4
11668   libkwineffects1a
11669   libmarblewidget4
11670   libntrack-qt4-1
11671   libntrack0
11672   libplasma-geolocation-interface4
11673   libplasmaclock4a
11674   libplasmagenericshell4
11675   libprocesscore4a
11676   libprocessui4a
11677   libqalculate5
11678   libqedje0a
11679   libqtruby4shared2
11680   libqzion0a
11681   libruby1.8
11682   libscim8c2a
11683   libsmokekdecore4-3
11684   libsmokekdeui4-3
11685   libsmokekfile3
11686   libsmokekhtml3
11687   libsmokekio3
11688   libsmokeknewstuff2-3
11689   libsmokeknewstuff3-3
11690   libsmokekparts3
11691   libsmokektexteditor3
11692   libsmokekutils3
11693   libsmokenepomuk3
11694   libsmokephonon3
11695   libsmokeplasma3
11696   libsmokeqtcore4-3
11697   libsmokeqtdbus4-3
11698   libsmokeqtgui4-3
11699   libsmokeqtnetwork4-3
11700   libsmokeqtopengl4-3
11701   libsmokeqtscript4-3
11702   libsmokeqtsql4-3
11703   libsmokeqtsvg4-3
11704   libsmokeqttest4-3
11705   libsmokeqtuitools4-3
11706   libsmokeqtwebkit4-3
11707   libsmokeqtxml4-3
11708   libsmokesolid3
11709   libsmokesoprano3
11710   libtaskmanager4a
11711   libtidy-0.99-0
11712   libweather-ion4a
11713   libxklavier16
11714   libxxf86misc1
11715   okteta
11716   oxygencursors
11717   plasma-dataengines-addons
11718   plasma-scriptengine-superkaramba
11719   plasma-widget-lancelot
11720   plasma-widgets-addons
11721   plasma-widgets-workspace
11722   polkit-kde-1
11723   ruby1.8
11724   systemsettings
11725   update-notifier-common
11726 </p></blockquote>
11727
11728 <p>Running apt-get autoremove made the results using apt-get and
11729 aptitude a bit more similar, but there are still quite a lott of
11730 differences.  I have no idea what packages should be installed after
11731 the upgrade, but hope those that do can have a look.</p>
11732
11733       </div>
11734       <div class="tags">
11735
11736
11737         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
11738
11739
11740       </div>
11741     </div>
11742     <div class="padding"></div>
11743
11744     <div class="entry">
11745       <div class="title">
11746         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Migrating_Xen_virtual_machines_using_LVM_to_KVM_using_disk_images.html">Migrating Xen virtual machines using LVM to KVM using disk images</a>
11747       </div>
11748       <div class="date">
11749         22nd November 2010
11750       </div>
11751       <div class="body">
11752         <p>Most of the computers in use by the
11753 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu/Skolelinux project</a>
11754 are virtual machines.  And they have been Xen machines running on a
11755 fairly old IBM eserver xseries 345 machine, and we wanted to migrate
11756 them to KVM on a newer Dell PowerEdge 2950 host machine.  This was a
11757 bit harder that it could have been, because we set up the Xen virtual
11758 machines to get the virtual partitions from LVM, which as far as I
11759 know is not supported by KVM.  So to migrate, we had to convert
11760 several LVM logical volumes to partitions on a virtual disk file.</p>
11761
11762 <p>I found
11763 <a href="http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com.au/articles/35011-Six-steps-for-migrating-Xen-virtual-machines-to-KVM">a
11764 nice recipe</a> to do this, and wrote the following script to do the
11765 migration.  It uses qemu-img from the qemu package to make the disk
11766 image, parted to partition it, losetup and kpartx to present the disk
11767 image partions as devices, and dd to copy the data.  I NFS mounted the
11768 new servers storage area on the old server to do the migration.</p>
11769
11770 <pre>
11771 #!/bin/sh
11772
11773 # Based on
11774 # http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com.au/articles/35011-Six-steps-for-migrating-Xen-virtual-machines-to-KVM
11775
11776 set -e
11777 set -x
11778
11779 if [ -z "$1" ] ; then
11780     echo "Usage: $0 &lt;hostname&gt;"
11781     exit 1
11782 else
11783     host="$1"
11784 fi
11785
11786 if [ ! -e /dev/vg_data/$host-disk ] ; then
11787     echo "error: unable to find LVM volume for $host"
11788     exit 1
11789 fi
11790
11791 # Partitions need to be a bit bigger than the LVM LVs.  not sure why.
11792 disksize=$( lvs --units m | grep $host-disk | awk '{sum = sum + $4} END { print int(sum * 1.05) }')
11793 swapsize=$( lvs --units m | grep $host-swap | awk '{sum = sum + $4} END { print int(sum * 1.05) }')
11794 totalsize=$(( ( $disksize + $swapsize ) ))
11795
11796 img=$host.img
11797 #dd if=/dev/zero of=$img bs=1M count=$(( $disksize + $swapsize ))
11798 qemu-img create $img ${totalsize}MMaking room on the Debian Edu/Sqeeze DVD
11799
11800 parted $img mklabel msdos
11801 parted $img mkpart primary linux-swap 0 $disksize
11802 parted $img mkpart primary ext2 $disksize $totalsize
11803 parted $img set 1 boot on
11804
11805 modprobe dm-mod
11806 losetup /dev/loop0 $img
11807 kpartx -a /dev/loop0
11808
11809 dd if=/dev/vg_data/$host-disk of=/dev/mapper/loop0p1 bs=1M
11810 fsck.ext3 -f /dev/mapper/loop0p1 || true
11811 mkswap /dev/mapper/loop0p2
11812
11813 kpartx -d /dev/loop0
11814 losetup -d /dev/loop0
11815 </pre>
11816
11817 <p>The script is perhaps so simple that it is not copyrightable, but
11818 if it is, it is licenced using GPL v2 or later at your discretion.</p>
11819
11820 <p>After doing this, I booted a Debian CD in rescue mode in KVM with
11821 the new disk image attached, installed grub-pc and linux-image-686 and
11822 set up grub to boot from the disk image.  After this, the KVM machines
11823 seem to work just fine.</p>
11824
11825       </div>
11826       <div class="tags">
11827
11828
11829         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
11830
11831
11832       </div>
11833     </div>
11834     <div class="padding"></div>
11835
11836     <div class="entry">
11837       <div class="title">
11838         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lenny__Squeeze_upgrades__apt_vs_aptitude_with_the_Gnome_and_KDE_desktop.html">Lenny->Squeeze upgrades, apt vs aptitude with the Gnome and KDE desktop</a>
11839       </div>
11840       <div class="date">
11841         20th November 2010
11842       </div>
11843       <div class="body">
11844         <p>I'm still running upgrade testing of the
11845 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">Lenny
11846 Gnome and KDE Desktop</a>, but have not had time to spend on reporting the
11847 status.  Here is a short update based on a test I ran 20101118.</p>
11848
11849 <p>I still do not know what a correct migration should look like, so I
11850 report any differences between apt and aptitude and hope someone else
11851 can see if anything should be changed.</p>
11852
11853 <p>This is for Gnome:</p>
11854
11855 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
11856
11857 <blockquote><p>
11858   apache2.2-bin aptdaemon at-spi baobab binfmt-support
11859   browser-plugin-gnash cheese-common cli-common cpp-4.3 cups-pk-helper
11860   dmz-cursor-theme empathy empathy-common finger
11861   freedesktop-sound-theme freeglut3 gconf-defaults-service gdm-themes
11862   gedit-plugins geoclue geoclue-hostip geoclue-localnet geoclue-manual
11863   geoclue-yahoo gnash gnash-common gnome gnome-backgrounds
11864   gnome-cards-data gnome-codec-install gnome-core
11865   gnome-desktop-environment gnome-disk-utility gnome-screenshot
11866   gnome-search-tool gnome-session-canberra gnome-spell
11867   gnome-system-log gnome-themes-extras gnome-themes-more
11868   gnome-user-share gs-common gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3
11869   gstreamer0.10-tools gtk2-engines gtk2-engines-pixbuf
11870   gtk2-engines-smooth hal-info hamster-applet libapache2-mod-dnssd
11871   libapr1 libaprutil1 libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3 libaprutil1-ldap
11872   libart2.0-cil libatspi1.0-0 libboost-date-time1.42.0
11873   libboost-python1.42.0 libboost-thread1.42.0 libchamplain-0.4-0
11874   libchamplain-gtk-0.4-0 libcheese-gtk18 libclutter-gtk-0.10-0
11875   libcryptui0 libcupsys2 libdiscid0 libeel2-data libelf1 libepc-1.0-2
11876   libepc-common libepc-ui-1.0-2 libfreerdp-plugins-standard
11877   libfreerdp0 libgail-common libgconf2.0-cil libgdata-common libgdata7
11878   libgdl-1-common libgdu-gtk0 libgee2 libgeoclue0 libgexiv2-0 libgif4
11879   libglade2.0-cil libglib2.0-cil libgmime2.4-cil libgnome-vfs2.0-cil
11880   libgnome2.24-cil libgnomepanel2.24-cil libgnomeprint2.2-data
11881   libgnomeprintui2.2-common libgnomevfs2-bin libgpod-common libgpod4
11882   libgtk2.0-cil libgtkglext1 libgtksourceview-common
11883   libgtksourceview2.0-common libmono-addins-gui0.2-cil
11884   libmono-addins0.2-cil libmono-cairo2.0-cil libmono-corlib2.0-cil
11885   libmono-i18n-west2.0-cil libmono-posix2.0-cil
11886   libmono-security2.0-cil libmono-sharpzip2.84-cil
11887   libmono-system2.0-cil libmtp8 libmusicbrainz3-6
11888   libndesk-dbus-glib1.0-cil libndesk-dbus1.0-cil libopal3.6.8
11889   libpolkit-gtk-1-0 libpt-1.10.10-plugins-alsa
11890   libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l libpt2.6.7 libpython2.6 librpm1 librpmio1
11891   libsdl1.2debian libservlet2.4-java libsrtp0 libssh-4
11892   libtelepathy-farsight0 libtelepathy-glib0 libtidy-0.99-0
11893   libxalan2-java libxerces2-java media-player-info mesa-utils
11894   mono-2.0-gac mono-gac mono-runtime nautilus-sendto
11895   nautilus-sendto-empathy openoffice.org-writer2latex
11896   openssl-blacklist p7zip p7zip-full pkg-config python-4suite-xml
11897   python-aptdaemon python-aptdaemon-gtk python-axiom
11898   python-beautifulsoup python-bugbuddy python-clientform
11899   python-coherence python-configobj python-crypto python-cupshelpers
11900   python-cupsutils python-eggtrayicon python-elementtree
11901   python-epsilon python-evolution python-feedparser python-gdata
11902   python-gdbm python-gst0.10 python-gtkglext1 python-gtkmozembed
11903   python-gtksourceview2 python-httplib2 python-louie python-mako
11904   python-markupsafe python-mechanize python-nevow python-notify
11905   python-opengl python-openssl python-pam python-pkg-resources
11906   python-pyasn1 python-pysqlite2 python-rdflib python-serial
11907   python-tagpy python-twisted-bin python-twisted-conch
11908   python-twisted-core python-twisted-web python-utidylib python-webkit
11909   python-xdg python-zope.interface remmina remmina-plugin-data
11910   remmina-plugin-rdp remmina-plugin-vnc rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder
11911   rhythmbox-plugins rpm-common rpm2cpio seahorse-plugins shotwell
11912   software-center svgalibg1 system-config-printer-udev
11913   telepathy-gabble telepathy-mission-control-5 telepathy-salut tomboy
11914   totem totem-coherence totem-mozilla totem-plugins
11915   transmission-common xdg-user-dirs xdg-user-dirs-gtk xserver-xephyr
11916   zip
11917 </p></blockquote>
11918
11919 Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude
11920
11921 <blockquote><p>
11922   arj bluez-utils cheese dhcdbd djvulibre-desktop ekiga eog
11923   epiphany-extensions epiphany-gecko evolution-exchange
11924   fast-user-switch-applet file-roller gcalctool gconf-editor gdm gedit
11925   gedit-common gnome-app-install gnome-games gnome-games-data
11926   gnome-nettool gnome-system-tools gnome-themes gnome-utils
11927   gnome-vfs-obexftp gnome-volume-manager gnuchess gucharmap
11928   guile-1.8-libs hal libavahi-compat-libdnssd1 libavahi-core5
11929   libavahi-ui0 libbind9-50 libbluetooth2 libcamel1.2-11 libcdio7
11930   libcucul0 libcurl3 libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdmx1 libdvdread3
11931   libedata-cal1.2-6 libedataserver1.2-9 libeel2-2.20 libepc-1.0-1
11932   libepc-ui-1.0-1 libexchange-storage1.2-3 libfaad0 libgadu3
11933   libgalago3 libgd2-noxpm libgda3-3 libgda3-common libggz2 libggzcore9
11934   libggzmod4 libgksu1.2-0 libgksuui1.0-1 libgmyth0 libgnome-desktop-2
11935   libgnome-pilot2 libgnomecups1.0-1 libgnomeprint2.2-0
11936   libgnomeprintui2.2-0 libgpod3 libgraphviz4 libgtk-vnc-1.0-0
11937   libgtkhtml2-0 libgtksourceview1.0-0 libgtksourceview2.0-0
11938   libgucharmap6 libhesiod0 libicu38 libisccc50 libisccfg50 libiw29
11939   libjaxp1.3-java-gcj libkpathsea4 liblircclient0 libltdl3 liblwres50
11940   libmagick++10 libmagick10 libmalaga7 libmozjs1d libmpfr1ldbl libmtp7
11941   libmysqlclient15off libnautilus-burn4 libneon27 libnm-glib0
11942   libnm-util0 libopal-2.2 libosp5 libparted1.8-10 libpisock9
11943   libpisync1 libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler3 libpt-1.10.10 libraw1394-8
11944   libsdl1.2debian-alsa libsensors3 libsexy2 libsmbios2 libsoup2.2-8
11945   libspeexdsp1 libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libsvga1
11946   libswfdec-0.6-90 libtalloc1 libtotem-plparser10 libtrackerclient0
11947   libvoikko1 libxalan2-java-gcj libxerces2-java-gcj libxklavier12
11948   libxtrap6 libxxf86misc1 libzephyr3 mysql-common rhythmbox seahorse
11949   sound-juicer swfdec-gnome system-config-printer totem-common
11950   totem-gstreamer transmission-gtk vinagre vino w3c-dtd-xhtml wodim
11951 </p></blockquote>
11952
11953 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
11954
11955 <blockquote><p>
11956   gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs
11957 </p></blockquote>
11958
11959 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
11960
11961 <blockquote><p>
11962 [nothing]
11963 </p></blockquote>
11964
11965 <p>This is for KDE:</p>
11966
11967 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
11968
11969 <blockquote><p>
11970   autopoint bomber bovo cantor cantor-backend-kalgebra cpp-4.3 dcoprss
11971   edict espeak espeak-data eyesapplet fifteenapplet finger gettext
11972   ghostscript-x git gnome-audio gnugo granatier gs-common
11973   gstreamer0.10-pulseaudio indi kaddressbook-plugins kalgebra
11974   kalzium-data kanjidic kapman kate-plugins kblocks kbreakout kbstate
11975   kde-icons-mono kdeaccessibility kdeaddons-kfile-plugins
11976   kdeadmin-kfile-plugins kdeartwork-misc kdeartwork-theme-window
11977   kdeedu kdeedu-data kdeedu-kvtml-data kdegames kdegames-card-data
11978   kdegames-mahjongg-data kdegraphics-kfile-plugins kdelirc
11979   kdemultimedia-kfile-plugins kdenetwork-kfile-plugins
11980   kdepim-kfile-plugins kdepim-kio-plugins kdessh kdetoys kdewebdev
11981   kdiamond kdnssd kfilereplace kfourinline kgeography-data kigo
11982   killbots kiriki klettres-data kmoon kmrml knewsticker-scripts
11983   kollision kpf krosspython ksirk ksmserver ksquares kstars-data
11984   ksudoku kubrick kweather libasound2-plugins libboost-python1.42.0
11985   libcfitsio3 libconvert-binhex-perl libcrypt-ssleay-perl libdb4.6++
11986   libdjvulibre-text libdotconf1.0 liberror-perl libespeak1
11987   libfinance-quote-perl libgail-common libgsl0ldbl libhtml-parser-perl
11988   libhtml-tableextract-perl libhtml-tagset-perl libhtml-tree-perl
11989   libio-stringy-perl libkdeedu4 libkdegames5 libkiten4 libkpathsea5
11990   libkrossui4 libmailtools-perl libmime-tools-perl
11991   libnews-nntpclient-perl libopenbabel3 libportaudio2 libpulse-browse0
11992   libservlet2.4-java libspeechd2 libtiff-tools libtimedate-perl
11993   libunistring0 liburi-perl libwww-perl libxalan2-java libxerces2-java
11994   lirc luatex marble networkstatus noatun-plugins
11995   openoffice.org-writer2latex palapeli palapeli-data parley
11996   parley-data poster psutils pulseaudio pulseaudio-esound-compat
11997   pulseaudio-module-x11 pulseaudio-utils quanta-data rocs rsync
11998   speech-dispatcher step svgalibg1 texlive-binaries texlive-luatex
11999   ttf-sazanami-gothic
12000 </p></blockquote>
12001
12002 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
12003
12004 <blockquote><p>
12005   amor artsbuilder atlantik atlantikdesigner blinken bluez-utils cvs
12006   dhcdbd djvulibre-desktop imlib-base imlib11 kalzium kanagram kandy
12007   kasteroids katomic kbackgammon kbattleship kblackbox kbounce kbruch
12008   kcron kdat kdemultimedia-kappfinder-data kdeprint kdict kdvi kedit
12009   keduca kenolaba kfax kfaxview kfouleggs kgeography kghostview
12010   kgoldrunner khangman khexedit kiconedit kig kimagemapeditor
12011   kitchensync kiten kjumpingcube klatin klettres klickety klines
12012   klinkstatus kmag kmahjongg kmailcvt kmenuedit kmid kmilo kmines
12013   kmousetool kmouth kmplot knetwalk kodo kolf kommander konquest kooka
12014   kpager kpat kpdf kpercentage kpilot kpoker kpovmodeler krec
12015   kregexpeditor kreversi ksame ksayit kshisen ksig ksim ksirc ksirtet
12016   ksmiletris ksnake ksokoban kspaceduel kstars ksvg ksysv kteatime
12017   ktip ktnef ktouch ktron kttsd ktuberling kturtle ktux kuickshow
12018   kverbos kview kviewshell kvoctrain kwifimanager kwin kwin4 kwordquiz
12019   kworldclock kxsldbg libakode2 libarts1-akode libarts1-audiofile
12020   libarts1-mpeglib libarts1-xine libavahi-compat-libdnssd1
12021   libavahi-core5 libavc1394-0 libbind9-50 libbluetooth2
12022   libboost-python1.34.1 libcucul0 libcurl3 libcvsservice0
12023   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdjvulibre21 libdvdread3 libfaad0 libfreebob0
12024   libgd2-noxpm libgraphviz4 libgsmme1c2a libgtkhtml2-0 libicu38
12025   libiec61883-0 libindex0 libisccc50 libisccfg50 libiw29
12026   libjaxp1.3-java-gcj libk3b3 libkcal2b libkcddb1 libkdeedu3
12027   libkdegames1 libkdepim1a libkgantt0 libkleopatra1 libkmime2
12028   libkpathsea4 libkpimexchange1 libkpimidentities1 libkscan1
12029   libksieve0 libktnef1 liblockdev1 libltdl3 liblwres50 libmagick10
12030   libmimelib1c2a libmodplug0c2 libmozjs1d libmpcdec3 libmpfr1ldbl
12031   libneon27 libnm-util0 libopensync0 libpisock9 libpoppler-glib3
12032   libpoppler-qt2 libpoppler3 libraw1394-8 librss1 libsensors3
12033   libsmbios2 libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libswfdec-0.6-90
12034   libtalloc1 libxalan2-java-gcj libxerces2-java-gcj libxtrap6 lskat
12035   mpeglib network-manager-kde noatun pmount tex-common texlive-base
12036   texlive-common texlive-doc-base texlive-fonts-recommended tidy
12037   ttf-dustin ttf-kochi-gothic ttf-sjfonts
12038 </p></blockquote>
12039
12040 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
12041
12042 <blockquote><p>
12043   dolphin kde-core kde-plasma-desktop kde-standard kde-window-manager
12044   kdeartwork kdebase kdebase-apps kdebase-workspace
12045   kdebase-workspace-bin kdebase-workspace-data kdeutils kscreensaver
12046   kscreensaver-xsavers libgle3 libkonq5 libkonq5-templates libnetpbm10
12047   netpbm plasma-widget-folderview plasma-widget-networkmanagement
12048   xscreensaver-data-extra xscreensaver-gl xscreensaver-gl-extra
12049   xscreensaver-screensaver-bsod
12050 </p></blockquote>
12051
12052 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
12053
12054 <blockquote><p>
12055   kdebase-bin konq-plugins konqueror
12056 </p></blockquote>
12057
12058       </div>
12059       <div class="tags">
12060
12061
12062         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
12063
12064
12065       </div>
12066     </div>
12067     <div class="padding"></div>
12068
12069     <div class="entry">
12070       <div class="title">
12071         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Gnash_buildbot_slave_and_Debian_kfreebsd.html">Gnash buildbot slave and Debian kfreebsd</a>
12072       </div>
12073       <div class="date">
12074         20th November 2010
12075       </div>
12076       <div class="body">
12077         <p>Answering
12078 <a href="http://www.listware.net/201011/gnash-dev/67431-gnash-dev-buildbot-looking-for-slaves.html">the
12079 call from the Gnash project</a> for
12080 <a href="http://www.gnashdev.org:8010">buildbot</a> slaves to test the
12081 current source, I have set up a virtual KVM machine on the Debian
12082 Edu/Skolelinux virtualization host to test the git source on
12083 Debian/Squeeze.  I hope this can help the developers in getting new
12084 releases out more often.</p>
12085
12086 <p>As the developers want less main-stream build platforms tested to,
12087 I have considered setting up a <a
12088 href="http://www.debian.org/ports/kfreebsd-gnu/">Debian/kfreebsd</a>
12089 machine as well.  I have also considered using the kfreebsd
12090 architecture in Debian as a file server in NUUG to get access to the 5
12091 TB zfs volume we currently use to store DV video.  Because of this, I
12092 finally got around to do a test installation of Debian/Squeeze with
12093 kfreebsd.  Installation went fairly smooth, thought I noticed some
12094 visual glitches in the cdebconf dialogs (black cursor left on the
12095 screen at random locations).  Have not gotten very far with the
12096 testing.  Noticed cfdisk did not work, but fdisk did so it was not a
12097 fatal problem.  Have to spend some more time on it to see if it is
12098 useful as a file server for NUUG.  Will try to find time to set up a
12099 gnash buildbot slave on the Debian Edu/Skolelinux this weekend.</p>
12100
12101       </div>
12102       <div class="tags">
12103
12104
12105         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
12106
12107
12108       </div>
12109     </div>
12110     <div class="padding"></div>
12111
12112     <div class="entry">
12113       <div class="title">
12114         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_in_3D.html">Debian in 3D</a>
12115       </div>
12116       <div class="date">
12117          9th November 2010
12118       </div>
12119       <div class="body">
12120         <p><img src="http://thingiverse-production.s3.amazonaws.com/renders/23/e0/c4/f9/2b/debswagtdose_preview_medium.jpg"></p>
12121
12122 <p>3D printing is just great.  I just came across this Debian logo in
12123 3D linked in from
12124 <a href="http://blog.thingiverse.com/2010/11/09/participatory-branding/">the
12125 thingiverse blog</a>.</p>
12126
12127       </div>
12128       <div class="tags">
12129
12130
12131         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/3d-printer">3d-printer</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
12132
12133
12134       </div>
12135     </div>
12136     <div class="padding"></div>
12137
12138     <div class="entry">
12139       <div class="title">
12140         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Making_room_on_the_Debian_Edu_Sqeeze_DVD.html">Making room on the Debian Edu/Sqeeze DVD</a>
12141       </div>
12142       <div class="date">
12143          7th November 2010
12144       </div>
12145       <div class="body">
12146         <p>Prioritising packages for the Debian Edu /
12147 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a> DVD, which is
12148 supposed provide a school with all the services and user applications
12149 needed on the pupils computer network has always been hard.  Even
12150 schools without Internet connections should be able to get Debian Edu
12151 working using this DVD.</p>
12152
12153 <p>The job became a lot harder when apt and aptitude started
12154 installing recommended packages by default.  We want the same set of
12155 packages to be installed when using the DVD and the netinst CD, and
12156 that means all recommended packages need to be on the DVD.  I created
12157 a patch for debian-cd in <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/601203">BTS
12158 report #601203</a> to do this, and since this change was applied to
12159 the Debian Edu DVD build, we have been seriously short on space.</p>
12160
12161 <p>A few days ago we decided to drop blender, wxmaxima and kicad from
12162 the default installation to save space on the DVD, believing that
12163 those needing these applications are few and can get them from the
12164 Debian archive.</p>
12165
12166 <p>Yesterday, I had a look what source packages to see which packages
12167 were using most space.  A few large packages are well know;
12168 openoffice.org, openclipart and fluid-soundfont.  But I also
12169 discovered that lilypond used 106 MiB and fglrx-driver used 53 MiB.
12170 The lilypond package is pulled in as a dependency for rosegarden, and
12171 when looking a bit closer I discovered that 99 MiB of the 106 MiB were
12172 the documentation package, which is recommended by the binary package.
12173 I decided to drop this documentation package from our DVD, as most of
12174 our users will use the GUI front-ends and do not need the lilypond
12175 documentation.  Similarly, I dropped the non-free fglrx-driver package
12176 which might be installed by d-i when its hardware is detected, as the
12177 free X driver should work.</p>
12178
12179 <p>With this change, we finally got space for the LXDE and Gnome
12180 desktop packages as well as the language specific packages making the
12181 DVD more useful again.</p>
12182
12183       </div>
12184       <div class="tags">
12185
12186
12187         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
12188
12189
12190       </div>
12191     </div>
12192     <div class="padding"></div>
12193
12194     <div class="entry">
12195       <div class="title">
12196         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Software_updates_2010_10_24.html">Software updates 2010-10-24</a>
12197       </div>
12198       <div class="date">
12199         24th October 2010
12200       </div>
12201       <div class="body">
12202         <p>Some updates.</p>
12203
12204 <p>My <a href="http://pledgebank.com/gnash-avm2">gnash pledge</a> to
12205 raise money for the project is going well.  The lower limit of 10
12206 signers was reached in 24 hours, and so far 13 people have signed it.
12207 More signers and more funding is most welcome, and I am really curious
12208 how far we can get before the time limit of December 24 is reached.
12209 :)</p>
12210
12211 <p>On the #gnash IRC channel on irc.freenode.net, I was just tipped
12212 about what appear to be a great code coverage tool capable of
12213 generating code coverage stats without any changes to the source code.
12214 It is called
12215 <a href="http://simonkagstrom.github.com/kcov/index.html">kcov</a>,
12216 and can be used using <tt>kcov &lt;directory&gt; &lt;binary&gt;</tt>.
12217 It is missing in Debian, but the git source built just fine in Squeeze
12218 after I installed libelf-dev, libdwarf-dev, pkg-config and
12219 libglib2.0-dev.  Failed to build in Lenny, but suspect that is
12220 solvable.  I hope kcov make it into Debian soon.</p>
12221
12222 <p>Finally found time to wrap up the release notes for <a
12223 href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2010/10/msg00002.html">a
12224 new alpha release of Debian Edu</a>, and just published the second
12225 alpha test release of the Squeeze based Debian Edu /
12226 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a>
12227 release.  Give it a try if you need a complete linux solution for your
12228 school, including central infrastructure server, workstations, thin
12229 client servers and diskless workstations.  A nice touch added
12230 yesterday is RDP support on the thin client servers, for windows
12231 clients to get a Linux desktop on request.</p>
12232
12233       </div>
12234       <div class="tags">
12235
12236
12237         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>.
12238
12239
12240       </div>
12241     </div>
12242     <div class="padding"></div>
12243
12244     <div class="entry">
12245       <div class="title">
12246         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Pledge_for_funding_to_the_Gnash_project_to_get_AVM2_support.html">Pledge for funding to the Gnash project to get AVM2 support</a>
12247       </div>
12248       <div class="date">
12249         19th October 2010
12250       </div>
12251       <div class="body">
12252         <p><a href="http://www.getgnash.org/">The Gnash project</a> is the
12253 most promising solution for a Free Software Flash implementation. It
12254 has done great so far, but there is still far to go, and recently its
12255 funding has dried up.  I believe AVM2 support in Gnash is vital to the
12256 continued progress of the project, as more and more sites show up with
12257 AVM2 flash files.</p>
12258
12259 <p>To try to get funding for developing such support, I have started
12260 <a href="http://www.pledgebank.com/gnash-avm2">a pledge</a> with the
12261 following text:</P>
12262
12263 <p><blockquote>
12264
12265   <p>"I will pay 100$ to the Gnash project to develop AVM2 support but
12266   only if 10 other people will do the same."</p>
12267
12268   <p>- Petter Reinholdtsen, free software developer</p>
12269
12270   <p>Deadline to sign up by: 24th December 2010</p>
12271
12272   <p>The Gnash project need to get support for the new Flash file
12273   format AVM2 to work with a lot of sites using Flash on the
12274   web. Gnash already work with a lot of Flash sites using the old AVM1
12275   format, but more and more sites are using the AVM2 format these
12276   days. The project web page is available from
12277   http://www.getgnash.org/ . Gnash is a free software implementation
12278   of Adobe Flash, allowing those of us that do not accept the terms of
12279   the Adobe Flash license to get access to Flash sites.</p>
12280
12281   <p>The project need funding to get developers to put aside enough
12282   time to develop the AVM2 support, and this pledge is my way to try
12283   to get this to happen.</p>
12284
12285   <p>The project accept donations via the OpenMediaNow foundation,
12286   <a href="http://www.openmedianow.org/?q=node/32">http://www.openmedianow.org/?q=node/32</a> .</p>
12287
12288 </blockquote></p>
12289
12290 <p>I hope you will support this effort too.  I hope more than 10
12291 people will participate to make this happen.  The more money the
12292 project gets, the more features it can develop using these funds.
12293 :)</p>
12294
12295       </div>
12296       <div class="tags">
12297
12298
12299         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
12300
12301
12302       </div>
12303     </div>
12304     <div class="padding"></div>
12305
12306     <div class="entry">
12307       <div class="title">
12308         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_version_of_a_Perl_library_to_control_the_Spykee_robot.html">First version of a Perl library to control the Spykee robot</a>
12309       </div>
12310       <div class="date">
12311          9th October 2010
12312       </div>
12313       <div class="body">
12314         <p>This summer I got the chance to buy cheap Spykee robots, and since
12315 then I have worked on getting Linux software in place to control them.
12316 The firmware for the robot is available from the producer, and using
12317 that source it was trivial to figure out the protocol specification.
12318 I've started on a perl library to control it, and made some demo
12319 programs using this perl library to allow one to control the
12320 robots.</p>
12321
12322 <p>The library is quite functional already, and capable of controlling
12323 the driving, fetching video, uploading MP3s and play them.  There are
12324 a few less important features too.</p>
12325
12326 <p>Since a few weeks ago, I ran out of time to spend on this project,
12327 but I never got around to releasing the current source.  I decided
12328 today that it was time to do something about it, and uploaded the
12329 source to my Debian package store at people.skolelinux.org.</p>
12330
12331 <p>Because it was simpler for me, I made a Debian package and
12332 published the source and deb.  If you got a spykee robot, grab the
12333 source or binary package:</p>
12334
12335 <p><ul>
12336 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian/packages/lenny/libspykee-perl_0.0.20101009-1.tar.gz">libspykee-perl_0.0.20101009-1.tar.gz</a></li>
12337 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian/packages/lenny/libspykee-perl_0.0.20101009-1.dsc">libspykee-perl_0.0.20101009-1.dsc</a></li>
12338 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian/packages/lenny/libspykee-perl_0.0.20101009-1_all.deb">libspykee-perl_0.0.20101009-1_all.deb</a></li>
12339 </ul></p>
12340
12341 <p>If you are interested in helping out with developing this library,
12342 please let me know.</p>
12343
12344       </div>
12345       <div class="tags">
12346
12347
12348         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot</a>.
12349
12350
12351       </div>
12352     </div>
12353     <div class="padding"></div>
12354
12355     <div class="entry">
12356       <div class="title">
12357         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Links_for_2010_10_03.html">Links for 2010-10-03</a>
12358       </div>
12359       <div class="date">
12360          3rd October 2010
12361       </div>
12362       <div class="body">
12363         <p><ul>
12364
12365 <li><a href="http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2010/09/there-is-no-plan-b-why-the-ipv4-to-ipv6-transition-will-be-ugly.ars">There
12366 is no Plan B: why the IPv4-to-IPv6 transition will be ugly</a></li>
12367
12368 <li>Scanner looking under clothes
12369 <a href="http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/10/03/nyheter/utenriks/reise/overvakingskamera/flyplasser/13667192/">has
12370 already been misused at Heathrow</a>.</li>
12371
12372 <li><a href="http://wiki.softwarelivre.org/Landell">Landell
12373 Webcasting</a> - interesting alternative for
12374 <ahref="http://dvswitch.alioth.debian.org/wiki/">DVSwitch</a> with
12375 simple setup.
12376
12377 </ul></p>
12378
12379       </div>
12380       <div class="tags">
12381
12382
12383         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/lenker">lenker</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
12384
12385
12386       </div>
12387     </div>
12388     <div class="padding"></div>
12389
12390     <div class="entry">
12391       <div class="title">
12392         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Terms_of_use_for_video_produced_by_a_Canon_IXUS_130_digital_camera.html">Terms of use for video produced by a Canon IXUS 130 digital camera</a>
12393       </div>
12394       <div class="date">
12395          9th September 2010
12396       </div>
12397       <div class="body">
12398         <p>A few days ago I had the mixed pleasure of bying a new digital
12399 camera, a Canon IXUS 130.  It was instructive and very disturbing to
12400 be able to verify that also this camera producer have the nerve to
12401 specify how I can or can not use the videos produced with the camera.
12402 Even thought I was aware of the issue, the options with new cameras
12403 are limited and I ended up bying the camera anyway.  What is the
12404 problem, you might ask?  It is software patents, MPEG-4, H.264 and the
12405 MPEG-LA that is the problem, and our right to record our experiences
12406 without asking for permissions that is at risk.
12407
12408 <p>On page 27 of the Danish instruction manual, this section is
12409 written:</p>
12410
12411 <blockquote>
12412 <p>This product is licensed under AT&T patents for the MPEG-4 standard
12413 and may be used for encoding MPEG-4 compliant video and/or decoding
12414 MPEG-4 compliant video that was encoded only (1) for a personal and
12415 non-commercial purpose or (2) by a video provider licensed under the
12416 AT&T patents to provide MPEG-4 compliant video.</p>
12417
12418 <p>No license is granted or implied for any other use for MPEG-4
12419 standard.</p>
12420 </blockquote>
12421
12422 <p>In short, the camera producer have chosen to use technology
12423 (MPEG-4/H.264) that is only provided if I used it for personal and
12424 non-commercial purposes, or ask for permission from the organisations
12425 holding the knowledge monopoly (patent) for technology used.</p>
12426
12427 <p>This issue has been brewing for a while, and I recommend you to
12428 read
12429 "<a href="http://www.osnews.com/story/23236/Why_Our_Civilization_s_Video_Art_and_Culture_is_Threatened_by_the_MPEG-LA">Why
12430 Our Civilization's Video Art and Culture is Threatened by the
12431 MPEG-LA</a>" by Eugenia Loli-Queru and
12432 "<a href="http://webmink.com/2010/09/03/h-264-and-foss/">H.264 Is Not
12433 The Sort Of Free That Matters</a>" by Simon Phipps to learn more about
12434 the issue.  The solution is to support the
12435 <a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">free and
12436 open standards</a> for video, like <a href="http://www.theora.org/">Ogg
12437 Theora</a>, and avoid MPEG-4 and H.264 if you can.</p>
12438
12439       </div>
12440       <div class="tags">
12441
12442
12443         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/digistan">digistan</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fildeling">fildeling</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
12444
12445
12446       </div>
12447     </div>
12448     <div class="padding"></div>
12449
12450     <div class="entry">
12451       <div class="title">
12452         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Some_notes_on_Flash_in_Debian_and_Debian_Edu.html">Some notes on Flash in Debian and Debian Edu</a>
12453       </div>
12454       <div class="date">
12455          4th September 2010
12456       </div>
12457       <div class="body">
12458         <p>In the <a href="http://popcon.debian.org/unknown/by_vote">Debian
12459 popularity-contest numbers</a>, the adobe-flashplugin package the
12460 second most popular used package that is missing in Debian.  The sixth
12461 most popular is flashplayer-mozilla.  This is a clear indication that
12462 working flash is important for Debian users.  Around 10 percent of the
12463 users submitting data to popcon.debian.org have this package
12464 installed.</p>
12465
12466 <p>In the report written by Lars Risan in August 2008
12467 («<a href="http://wiki.skolelinux.no/Dokumentasjon/Rapporter?action=AttachFile&do=view&target=Skolelinux_i_bruk_rapport_1.0.pdf">Skolelinux
12468 i bruk – Rapport for Hurum kommune, Universitetet i Agder og
12469 stiftelsen SLX Debian Labs</a>»), one of the most important problems
12470 schools experienced with <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian
12471 Edu/Skolelinux</a> was the lack of working Flash.  A lot of educational
12472 web sites require Flash to work, and lacking working Flash support in
12473 the web browser and the problems with installing it was perceived as a
12474 good reason to stay with Windows.</p>
12475
12476 <p>I once saw a funny and sad comment in a web forum, where Linux was
12477 said to be the retarded cousin that did not really understand
12478 everything you told him but could work fairly well.  This was a
12479 comment regarding the problems Linux have with proprietary formats and
12480 non-standard web pages, and is sad because it exposes a fairly common
12481 understanding of whose fault it is if web pages that only work in for
12482 example Internet Explorer 6 fail to work on Firefox, and funny because
12483 it explain very well how annoying it is for users when Linux
12484 distributions do not work with the documents they receive or the web
12485 pages they want to visit.</p>
12486
12487 <p>This is part of the reason why I believe it is important for Debian
12488 and Debian Edu to have a well working Flash implementation in the
12489 distribution, to get at least popular sites as Youtube and Google
12490 Video to working out of the box.  For Squeeze, Debian have the chance
12491 to include the latest version of Gnash that will make this happen, as
12492 the new release 0.8.8 was published a few weeks ago and is resting in
12493 unstable.  The new version work with more sites that version 0.8.7.
12494 The Gnash maintainers have asked for a freeze exception, but the
12495 release team have not had time to reply to it yet.  I hope they agree
12496 with me that Flash is important for the Debian desktop users, and thus
12497 accept the new package into Squeeze.</p>
12498
12499       </div>
12500       <div class="tags">
12501
12502
12503         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
12504
12505
12506       </div>
12507     </div>
12508     <div class="padding"></div>
12509
12510     <div class="entry">
12511       <div class="title">
12512         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/My_first_perl_GUI_application___controlling_a_Spykee_robot.html">My first perl GUI application - controlling a Spykee robot</a>
12513       </div>
12514       <div class="date">
12515          1st September 2010
12516       </div>
12517       <div class="body">
12518         <p>This evening I made my first Perl GUI application.  The last few
12519 days I have worked on a Perl module for controlling my recently
12520 aquired Spykee robots, and the module is now getting complete enought
12521 that it is possible to use it to control the robot driving at least.
12522 It was now time to figure out how to use it to create some GUI to
12523 allow me to drive the robot around.  I picked PerlQt as I have had
12524 positive experiences with the Qt API before, and spent a few minutes
12525 browsing the web for examples.  Using Qt Designer seemed like a short
12526 cut, so I ended up writing the perl GUI using Qt Designer and
12527 compiling it into a perl program using the puic program from
12528 libqt-perl.  Nothing fancy yet, but it got buttons to connect and
12529 drive around.</p>
12530
12531 <p>The perl module I have written provide a object oriented API for
12532 controlling the robot.  Here is an small example on how to use it:</p>
12533
12534 <p><pre>
12535 use Spykee;
12536 Spykee::discover(sub {$robot{$_[0]} = $_[1]});
12537 my $host = (keys %robot)[0];
12538 my $spykee = Spykee->new();
12539 $spykee->contact($host, "admin", "admin");
12540 $spykee->left();
12541 sleep 2;
12542 $spykee->right();
12543 sleep 2;
12544 $spykee->forward();
12545 sleep 2;
12546 $spykee->back();
12547 sleep 2;
12548 $spykee->stop();
12549 </pre></p>
12550
12551 <p>Thanks to the release of the source of the robot firmware, I could
12552 peek into the implementation at the other end to figure out how to
12553 implement the protocol used by the robot.  I've implemented several of
12554 the commands the robot understand, but is still missing the camera
12555 support to make it possible to control the robot from remote.  First I
12556 want to implement support for uploading new firmware and configuring
12557 the wireless network, to make it possible to bootstrap a Spykee robot
12558 without the producers Windows and MacOSX software (I only have Linux,
12559 so I had to ask a friend to come over to get the robot testing
12560 going. :).</p>
12561
12562 <p>Will release the source to the public soon, but need to figure out
12563 where to make it available first.  I will add a link to
12564 <a href="http://wiki.nuug.no/grupper/robot/">the NUUG wiki</a> for
12565 those that want to check back later to find it.</p>
12566
12567       </div>
12568       <div class="tags">
12569
12570
12571         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot</a>.
12572
12573
12574       </div>
12575     </div>
12576     <div class="padding"></div>
12577
12578     <div class="entry">
12579       <div class="title">
12580         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Broken_hard_link_handling_with_sshfs.html">Broken hard link handling with sshfs</a>
12581       </div>
12582       <div class="date">
12583         30th August 2010
12584       </div>
12585       <div class="body">
12586         <p>Just got an email from Tobias Gruetzmacher as a followup on my
12587 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Broken_umask_handling_with_sshfs.html">previous
12588 post about sshfs</a>.  He reported another problem with sshfs.  It
12589 fail to handle hard links properly.  A simple way to spot this is to
12590 look at the . and .. entries in the directory tree.  These should have
12591 a link count >1, but on sshfs the count is 1.  I just tested to see
12592 what happen when trying to hardlink, and this fail as well:</p>
12593
12594 <pre>
12595 % ln foo bar
12596 ln: creating hard link `bar' => `foo': Function not implemented
12597 %
12598 </pre>
12599
12600 <p>I have not yet found time to implement a test for this in my file
12601 system test code, but believe having working hard links is useful to
12602 avoid surprised unix programs.  Not as useful as working file locking
12603 and symlinks, which are required to get a working desktop, but useful
12604 nevertheless. :)</p>
12605
12606 <p>The latest version of the file system test code is available via
12607 git from
12608 <a href="http://github.com/gebi/fs-test">http://github.com/gebi/fs-test</a></p>
12609
12610       </div>
12611       <div class="tags">
12612
12613
12614         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
12615
12616
12617       </div>
12618     </div>
12619     <div class="padding"></div>
12620
12621     <div class="entry">
12622       <div class="title">
12623         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Broken_umask_handling_with_sshfs.html">Broken umask handling with sshfs</a>
12624       </div>
12625       <div class="date">
12626         26th August 2010
12627       </div>
12628       <div class="body">
12629         <p>My file system sematics program
12630 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Testing_if_a_file_system_can_be_used_for_home_directories___.html">presented
12631 a few days ago</a> is very useful to verify that a file system can
12632 work as a unix home directory,and today I had to extend it a bit.  I'm
12633 looking into alternatives for home directory access here at the
12634 University of Oslo, and one of the options is sshfs.  My friend
12635 Finn-Arne mentioned a while back that they had used sshfs with Debian
12636 Edu, but stopped because of problems.  I asked today what the problems
12637 where, and he mentioned that sshfs failed to handle umask properly.
12638 Trying to detect the problem I wrote this addition to my fs testing
12639 script:</p>
12640
12641 <pre>
12642 mode_t touch_get_mode(const char *name, mode_t mode) {
12643   mode_t retval = 0;
12644   int fd = open(name, O_RDWR|O_CREAT|O_LARGEFILE, mode);
12645   if (-1 != fd) {
12646     unlink(name);
12647     struct stat statbuf;
12648     if (-1 != fstat(fd, &statbuf)) {
12649       retval = statbuf.st_mode & 0x1ff;
12650     }
12651     close(fd);
12652   }
12653   return retval;
12654 }
12655
12656 /* Try to detect problem discovered using sshfs */
12657 int test_umask(void) {
12658   printf("info: testing umask effect on file creation\n");
12659
12660   mode_t orig_umask = umask(000);
12661   mode_t newmode;
12662   if (0666 != (newmode = touch_get_mode("foobar", 0666))) {
12663     printf("  error: Wrong file mode %o when creating using mode 666 and umask 000\n",
12664            newmode);
12665   }
12666   umask(007);
12667   if (0660 != (newmode = touch_get_mode("foobar", 0666))) {
12668     printf("  error: Wrong file mode %o when creating using mode 666 and umask 007\n",
12669            newmode);
12670   }
12671
12672   umask (orig_umask);
12673   return 0;
12674 }
12675
12676 int main(int argc, char **argv) {
12677   [...]
12678   test_umask();
12679   return 0;
12680 }
12681 </pre>
12682
12683 <p>Sure enough.  On NFS to a netapp, I get this result:</p>
12684
12685 <pre>
12686 Testing POSIX/Unix sematics on file system
12687 info: testing symlink creation
12688 info: testing subdirectory creation
12689 info: testing fcntl locking
12690   Read-locking 1 byte from 1073741824
12691   Read-locking 510 byte from 1073741826
12692   Unlocking 1 byte from 1073741824
12693   Write-locking 1 byte from 1073741824
12694   Write-locking 510 byte from 1073741826
12695   Unlocking 2 byte from 1073741824
12696 info: testing umask effect on file creation
12697 </pre>
12698
12699 <p>When mounting the same directory using sshfs, I get this
12700 result:</p>
12701
12702 <pre>
12703 Testing POSIX/Unix sematics on file system
12704 info: testing symlink creation
12705 info: testing subdirectory creation
12706 info: testing fcntl locking
12707   Read-locking 1 byte from 1073741824
12708   Read-locking 510 byte from 1073741826
12709   Unlocking 1 byte from 1073741824
12710   Write-locking 1 byte from 1073741824
12711   Write-locking 510 byte from 1073741826
12712   Unlocking 2 byte from 1073741824
12713 info: testing umask effect on file creation
12714   error: Wrong file mode 644 when creating using mode 666 and umask 000
12715   error: Wrong file mode 640 when creating using mode 666 and umask 007
12716 </pre>
12717
12718 <p>So, I can conclude that sshfs is better than smb to a Netapp or a
12719 Windows server, but not good enough to be used as a home
12720 directory.</p>
12721
12722 <p>Update 2010-08-26: Reported the issue in
12723 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/594498">BTS report #594498</a></p>
12724
12725 <p>Update 2010-08-27: Michael Gebetsroither report that he found the
12726 script so useful that he created a GIT repository and stored it in
12727 <a href="http://github.com/gebi/fs-test">http://github.com/gebi/fs-test</a>.</p>
12728
12729       </div>
12730       <div class="tags">
12731
12732
12733         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
12734
12735
12736       </div>
12737     </div>
12738     <div class="padding"></div>
12739
12740     <div class="entry">
12741       <div class="title">
12742         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Rob_Weir__How_to_Crush_Dissent.html">Rob Weir: How to Crush Dissent</a>
12743       </div>
12744       <div class="date">
12745         15th August 2010
12746       </div>
12747       <div class="body">
12748         <p>I found the notes from Rob Weir on
12749 <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/robweir/antic-atom/~3/VGb23-kta8c/how-to-crush-dissent.html">how
12750 to crush dissent</a> matching my own thoughts on the matter quite
12751 well.  Highly recommended for those wondering which road our society
12752 should go down.  In my view we have been heading the wrong way for a
12753 long time.</p>
12754
12755       </div>
12756       <div class="tags">
12757
12758
12759         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/lenker">lenker</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
12760
12761
12762       </div>
12763     </div>
12764     <div class="padding"></div>
12765
12766     <div class="entry">
12767       <div class="title">
12768         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/No_hardcoded_config_on_Debian_Edu_clients.html">No hardcoded config on Debian Edu clients</a>
12769       </div>
12770       <div class="date">
12771          9th August 2010
12772       </div>
12773       <div class="body">
12774         <p>As reported earlier, the last few days I have looked at how Debian
12775 Edu clients are configured, and tried to get rid of all hardcoded
12776 configuration settings on the clients.  I believe the work to be
12777 mostly done, and the clients seem to work just fine with dynamically
12778 generated configuration.</p>
12779
12780 <p>What is the point, you might ask?  The point is to allow a Debian
12781 Edu desktop to integrate into an existing network infrastructure
12782 without any manual configuration.</p>
12783
12784 <p>This is what happens when installing a Debian Edu client here at
12785 the University of Oslo using PXE.  With the PXE installation, I am
12786 asked for language (Norwegian Bokmål), locality (Norway) and keyboard
12787 layout (no-latin1), Debian Edu profile (Roaming Workstation), if I
12788 accept to reformat the hard drive (yes), if I want to submit info to
12789 popcon.debian.org (no) and root password (secret).  After answering
12790 these questions, the installer goes ahead and does its thing, and
12791 after around 50 minutes it is done.  I press enter to finish the
12792 installation, and the machine reboots into KDE.  When the machine is
12793 ready and kdm asks for login information, I enter my university
12794 username and password, am told by kdm that a local home directory has
12795 been created and that I must log in again, and finally log in with the
12796 same username and password to the KDE 4.4 desktop.  At no point during
12797 this process did it ask for university specific settings, and all the
12798 required configuration was dynamically detected using information
12799 fetched via DHCP and DNS.  The roaming workstation is now ready for
12800 use.</p>
12801
12802 <p>How was this done, you might wonder?  First of all, here is the
12803 list of things that need to be configured on the client to get it
12804 working properly out of the box:</p>
12805
12806 <ul>
12807 <li>IP address/netmask and DNS server.</li>
12808 <li>Web proxy URL.</li>
12809 <li>LDAP server for NSS directory information (user, group, etc).</li>
12810 <li>Kerberos server for PAM password checking.</li>
12811 <li>SMB mount point to access the network home directory. (*)</li>
12812 <li>Central syslog server to send syslog messages to. (*)</li>
12813 <li>Sitesummary collector URL to submit info to central server. (*)</li>
12814 </ul>
12815
12816 <p>(Hm, did I forget anything?  Let me knew if I did.)</p>
12817
12818 <p>The points marked (*) are not required to be able to use the
12819 machine, but needed to provide central storage and allowing system
12820 administrators to track their machines.  Since yesterday, everything
12821 but the sitesummary collector URL is dynamically discovered at boot
12822 and installation time in the svn version of Debian Edu.</p>
12823
12824 <p>The IP and DNS setup is fetched during boot using DHCP as usual.
12825 When a DHCP update arrives, the proxy setup is updated by looking for
12826 http://wpat/wpad.dat and using the content of this WPAD file to
12827 configure the http and ftp proxy in /etc/environment and
12828 /etc/apt/apt.conf.  I decided to update the proxy setup using a DHCP
12829 hook to ensure that the client stops using the Debian Edu proxy when
12830 it is moved outside the Debian Edu network, and instead uses any local
12831 proxy present on the new network when it moves around.</p>
12832
12833 <p>The DNS names of the LDAP, Kerberos and syslog server and related
12834 configuration are generated using DNS information at boot.  First the
12835 installer looks for a host named ldap in the current DNS domain.  If
12836 not found, it looks for _ldap._tcp SRV records in DNS instead.  If an
12837 LDAP server is found, its root DSE entry is requested and the
12838 attributes namingContexts and defaultNamingContext are used to
12839 determine which LDAP base to use for NSS.  If there are several
12840 namingContexts attibutes and the defaultNamingContext is present, that
12841 LDAP subtree is used as the base.  If defaultNamingContext is missing,
12842 the subtrees listed as namingContexts are searched in sequence for any
12843 object with class posixAccount or posixGroup, and the first one with
12844 such an object is used as the LDAP base.  For Kerberos, a similar
12845 search is done by first looking for a host named kerberos, and then
12846 for the _kerberos._tcp SRV record.  I've been unable to find a way to
12847 look up the Kerberos realm, so for this the upper case string of the
12848 current DNS domain is used.</p>
12849
12850 <p>For the syslog server, the hosts syslog and loghost are searched
12851 for, and the _syslog._udp SRV record is consulted if no such host is
12852 found.  This algorithm works for both Debian Edu and the University of
12853 Oslo.  A similar strategy would work for locating the sitesummary
12854 server, but have not been implemented yet.  I decided to fetch and
12855 save these settings during installation, to make sure moving to a
12856 different network does not change the set of users being allowed to
12857 log in nor the passwords required to log in.  Usernames and passwords
12858 will be cached by sssd when the user logs in on the Debian Edu
12859 network, and will not change as the laptop move around.  For a
12860 non-roaming machine, there is no caching, but given that it is
12861 supposed to stay in place it should not matter much.  Perhaps we
12862 should switch those to use sssd too?</p>
12863
12864 <p>The user's SMB mount point for the network home directory is
12865 located when the user logs in for the first time.  The LDAP server is
12866 consulted to look for the user's LDAP object and the sambaHomePath
12867 attribute is used if found.  If it isn't found, the home directory
12868 path fetched from NSS is used instead.  Assuming the path is of the
12869 form /site/server/directory/username, the second part is looked up in
12870 DNS and used to generate a SMB URL of the form
12871 smb://server.domain/username.  This algorithm works for both Debian
12872 edu and the University of Oslo.  Perhaps there are better attributes
12873 to use or a better algorithm that works for more sites, but this will
12874 do for now. :)</p>
12875
12876 <p>This work should make it easier to integrate the Debian Edu clients
12877 into any LDAP/Kerberos infrastructure, and make the current setup even
12878 more flexible than before.  I suspect it will also work for thin
12879 client servers, allowing one to easily set up LTSP and hook it into a
12880 existing network infrastructure, but I have not had time to test this
12881 yet.</p>
12882
12883 <p>If you want to help out with implementing these things for Debian
12884 Edu, please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
12885
12886 <p>Update 2010-08-09: Simon Farnsworth gave me a heads-up on how to
12887 detect Kerberos realm from DNS, by looking for _kerberos TXT entries
12888 before falling back to the upper case DNS domain name.  Will have to
12889 implement it for Debian Edu. :)</p>
12890
12891       </div>
12892       <div class="tags">
12893
12894
12895         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
12896
12897
12898       </div>
12899     </div>
12900     <div class="padding"></div>
12901
12902     <div class="entry">
12903       <div class="title">
12904         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Testing_if_a_file_system_can_be_used_for_home_directories___.html">Testing if a file system can be used for home directories...</a>
12905       </div>
12906       <div class="date">
12907          8th August 2010
12908       </div>
12909       <div class="body">
12910         <p>A few years ago, I was involved in a project planning to use
12911 Windows file servers as home directory servers for Debian
12912 Edu/Skolelinux machines.  This was thought to be no problem, as the
12913 access would be through the SMB network file system protocol, and we
12914 knew other sites used SMB with unix and samba as the file server to
12915 mount home directories without any problems.  But, after months of
12916 struggling, we had to conclude that our goal was impossible.</p>
12917
12918 <p>The reason is simply that while SMB can be used for home
12919 directories when the file server is Samba running on Unix, this only
12920 work because of Samba have some extensions and the fact that the
12921 underlying file system is a unix file system.  When using a Windows
12922 file server, the underlying file system do not have POSIX semantics,
12923 and several programs will fail if the users home directory where they
12924 want to store their configuration lack POSIX semantics.</p>
12925
12926 <p>As part of this work, I wrote a small C program I want to share
12927 with you all, to replicate a few of the problematic applications (like
12928 OpenOffice.org and GCompris) and see if the file system was working as
12929 it should.  If you find yourself in spooky file system land, it might
12930 help you find your way out again.  This is the fs-test.c source:</p>
12931
12932 <pre>
12933 /*
12934  * Some tests to check the file system sematics.  Used to verify that
12935  * CIFS from a windows server do not work properly as a linux home
12936  * directory.
12937  * License: GPL v2 or later
12938  *
12939  * needs libsqlite3-dev and build-essential installed
12940  * compile with: gcc -Wall -lsqlite3 -DTEST_SQLITE fs-test.c -o fs-test
12941 */
12942
12943 #define _FILE_OFFSET_BITS 64
12944 #define _LARGEFILE_SOURCE 1
12945 #define _LARGEFILE64_SOURCE 1
12946
12947 #define _GNU_SOURCE /* for asprintf() */
12948
12949 #include &lt;errno.h>
12950 #include &lt;fcntl.h>
12951 #include &lt;stdio.h>
12952 #include &lt;string.h>
12953 #include &lt;stdlib.h>
12954 #include &lt;sys/file.h>
12955 #include &lt;sys/stat.h>
12956 #include &lt;sys/types.h>
12957 #include &lt;unistd.h>
12958
12959 #ifdef TEST_SQLITE
12960 /*
12961  * Test sqlite open, as done by gcompris require the libsqlite3-dev
12962  * package and linking with -lsqlite3.  A more low level test is
12963  * below.
12964  * See also &lt;URL: http://www.sqlite.org./faq.html#q5 >.
12965  */
12966 #include &lt;sqlite3.h>
12967 #define CREATE_TABLE_USERS                                              \
12968   "CREATE TABLE users (user_id INT UNIQUE, login TEXT, lastname TEXT, firstname TEXT, birthdate TEXT, class_id INT ); "
12969 int test_sqlite_open(void) {
12970   char *zErrMsg;
12971   char *name = "testsqlite.db";
12972   sqlite3 *db=NULL;
12973   unlink(name);
12974   int rc = sqlite3_open(name, &db);
12975   if( rc ){
12976     printf("error: sqlite open of %s failed: %s\n", name, sqlite3_errmsg(db));
12977     sqlite3_close(db);
12978     return -1;
12979   }
12980
12981   /* create tables */
12982   rc = sqlite3_exec(db,CREATE_TABLE_USERS, NULL,  0, &zErrMsg);
12983   if( rc != SQLITE_OK ){
12984     printf("error: sqlite table create failed: %s\n", zErrMsg);
12985     sqlite3_close(db);
12986     return -1;
12987   }
12988   printf("info: sqlite worked\n");
12989   sqlite3_close(db);
12990   return 0;
12991 }
12992 #endif /* TEST_SQLITE */
12993
12994 /*
12995  * Demonstrate locking issue found in gcompris using sqlite3.  This
12996  * work with ext3, but not with cifs server on Windows 2003.  This is
12997  * done in the sqlite3 library.
12998  * See also
12999  * &lt;URL:http://www.cygwin.com/ml/cygwin/2001-08/msg00854.html> and the
13000  * POSIX specification
13001  * &lt;URL:http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/functions/fcntl.html>.
13002  */
13003 int test_gcompris_locking(void) {
13004   struct flock fl;
13005   char *name = "testsqlite.db";
13006   unlink(name);
13007   int fd = open(name, O_RDWR|O_CREAT|O_LARGEFILE, 0644);
13008   printf("info: testing fcntl locking\n");
13009
13010   fl.l_whence = SEEK_SET;
13011   fl.l_pid    = getpid();
13012   printf("  Read-locking 1 byte from 1073741824");
13013   fl.l_start  = 1073741824;
13014   fl.l_len    = 1;
13015   fl.l_type   = F_RDLCK;
13016   if (0 != fcntl(fd, F_SETLK, &fl) ) printf(" - error!\n"); else printf("\n");
13017
13018   printf("  Read-locking 510 byte from 1073741826");
13019   fl.l_start  = 1073741826;
13020   fl.l_len    = 510;
13021   fl.l_type   = F_RDLCK;
13022   if (0 != fcntl(fd, F_SETLK, &fl) ) printf(" - error!\n"); else printf("\n");
13023
13024   printf("  Unlocking 1 byte from 1073741824");
13025   fl.l_start  = 1073741824;
13026   fl.l_len    = 1;
13027   fl.l_type   = F_UNLCK;
13028   if (0 != fcntl(fd, F_SETLK, &fl) ) printf(" - error!\n"); else printf("\n");
13029
13030   printf("  Write-locking 1 byte from 1073741824");
13031   fl.l_start  = 1073741824;
13032   fl.l_len    = 1;
13033   fl.l_type   = F_WRLCK;
13034   if (0 != fcntl(fd, F_SETLK, &fl) ) printf(" - error!\n"); else printf("\n");
13035
13036   printf("  Write-locking 510 byte from 1073741826");
13037   fl.l_start  = 1073741826;
13038   fl.l_len    = 510;
13039   if (0 != fcntl(fd, F_SETLK, &fl) ) printf(" - error!\n"); else printf("\n");
13040
13041   printf("  Unlocking 2 byte from 1073741824");
13042   fl.l_start  = 1073741824;
13043   fl.l_len    = 2;
13044   fl.l_type   = F_UNLCK;
13045   if (0 != fcntl(fd, F_SETLK, &fl) ) printf(" - error!\n"); else printf("\n");
13046
13047   close(fd);
13048   return 0;
13049 }
13050
13051 /*
13052  * Test if permissions of freshly created directories allow entries
13053  * below them.  This was a problem with OpenOffice.org and gcompris.
13054  * Mounting with option 'sync' seem to solve this problem while
13055  * slowing down file operations.
13056  */
13057 int test_subdirectory_creation(void) {
13058 #define LEVELS 5
13059   char *path = strdup("test");
13060   char *dirs[LEVELS];
13061   int level;
13062   printf("info: testing subdirectory creation\n");
13063   for (level = 0; level &lt; LEVELS; level++) {
13064     char *newpath = NULL;
13065     if (-1 == mkdir(path, 0777)) {
13066       printf("  error: Unable to create directory '%s': %s\n",
13067              path, strerror(errno));
13068       break;
13069     }
13070     asprintf(&newpath, "%s/%s", path, "test");
13071     free(path);
13072     path = newpath;
13073   }
13074   return 0;
13075 }
13076
13077 /*
13078  * Test if symlinks can be created.  This was a problem detected with
13079  * KDE.
13080  */
13081 int test_symlinks(void) {
13082   printf("info: testing symlink creation\n");
13083   unlink("symlink");
13084   if (-1 == symlink("file", "symlink"))
13085     printf("  error: Unable to create symlink\n");
13086   return 0;
13087 }
13088
13089 int main(int argc, char **argv) {
13090   printf("Testing POSIX/Unix sematics on file system\n");
13091   test_symlinks();
13092   test_subdirectory_creation();
13093 #ifdef TEST_SQLITE
13094   test_sqlite_open();
13095 #endif /* TEST_SQLITE */
13096   test_gcompris_locking();
13097   return 0;
13098 }
13099 </pre>
13100
13101 <p>When everything is working, it should print something like
13102 this:</p>
13103
13104 <pre>
13105 Testing POSIX/Unix sematics on file system
13106 info: testing symlink creation
13107 info: testing subdirectory creation
13108 info: sqlite worked
13109 info: testing fcntl locking
13110   Read-locking 1 byte from 1073741824
13111   Read-locking 510 byte from 1073741826
13112   Unlocking 1 byte from 1073741824
13113   Write-locking 1 byte from 1073741824
13114   Write-locking 510 byte from 1073741826
13115   Unlocking 2 byte from 1073741824
13116 </pre>
13117
13118 <p>I do not remember the exact details of the problems we saw, but one
13119 of them was with locking, where if I remember correctly, POSIX allow a
13120 read-only lock to be upgraded to a read-write lock without unlocking
13121 the read-only lock (while Windows do not).  Another was a bug in the
13122 CIFS/SMB client implementation in the Linux kernel where directory
13123 meta information would be wrong for a fraction of a second, making
13124 OpenOffice.org fail to create its deep directory tree because it was
13125 not allowed to create files in its freshly created directory.</p>
13126
13127 <p>Anyway, here is a nice tool for your tool box, might you never need
13128 it. :)</p>
13129
13130 <p>Update 2010-08-27: Michael Gebetsroither report that he found the
13131 script so useful that he created a GIT repository and stored it in
13132 <a href="http://github.com/gebi/fs-test">http://github.com/gebi/fs-test</a>.</p>
13133
13134       </div>
13135       <div class="tags">
13136
13137
13138         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
13139
13140
13141       </div>
13142     </div>
13143     <div class="padding"></div>
13144
13145     <div class="entry">
13146       <div class="title">
13147         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Autodetecting_Client_setup_for_roaming_workstations_in_Debian_Edu.html">Autodetecting Client setup for roaming workstations in Debian Edu</a>
13148       </div>
13149       <div class="date">
13150          7th August 2010
13151       </div>
13152       <div class="body">
13153         <p>A few days ago, I
13154 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_roaming_workstation___at_the_university_of_Oslo.html">tried
13155 to install</a> a Roaming workation profile from Debian Edu/Squeeze
13156 while on the university network here at the University of Oslo, and
13157 noticed how much had to change to get it operational using the
13158 university infrastructure.  It was fairly easy, but it occured to me
13159 that Debian Edu would improve a lot if I could get the client to
13160 connect without any changes at all, and thus let the client configure
13161 itself during installation and first boot to use the infrastructure
13162 around it.  Now I am a huge step further along that road.</p>
13163
13164 <p>With our current squeeze-test packages, I can select the roaming
13165 workstation profile and get a working laptop connecting to the
13166 university LDAP server for user and group and our active directory
13167 servers for Kerberos authentication.  All this without any
13168 configuration at all during installation.  My users home directory got
13169 a bookmark in the KDE menu to mount it via SMB, with the correct URL.
13170 In short, openldap and sssd is correctly configured.  In addition to
13171 this, the client look for http://wpad/wpad.dat to configure a web
13172 proxy, and when it fail to find it no proxy settings are stored in
13173 /etc/environment and /etc/apt/apt.conf.  Iceweasel and KDE is
13174 configured to look for the same wpad configuration and also do not use
13175 a proxy when at the university network.  If the machine is moved to a
13176 network with such wpad setup, it would automatically use it when DHCP
13177 gave it a IP address.</p>
13178
13179 <p>The LDAP server is located using DNS, by first looking for the DNS
13180 entry ldap.$domain.  If this do not exist, it look for the
13181 _ldap._tcp.$domain SRV records and use the first one as the LDAP
13182 server.  Next, it connects to the LDAP server and search all
13183 namingContexts entries for posixAccount or posixGroup objects, and
13184 pick the first one as the LDAP base.  For Kerberos, a similar
13185 algorithm is used to locate the LDAP server, and the realm is the
13186 uppercase version of $domain.</p>
13187
13188 <p>So, what is not working, you might ask.  SMB mounting my home
13189 directory do not work.  No idea why, but suspected the incorrect
13190 Kerberos settings in /etc/krb5.conf and /etc/samba/smb.conf might be
13191 the cause.  These are not properly configured during installation, and
13192 had to be hand-edited to get the correct Kerberos realm and server,
13193 but SMB mounting still do not work. :(</p>
13194
13195 <p>With this automatic configuration in place, I expect a Debian Edu
13196 roaming profile installation would be able to automatically detect and
13197 connect to any site using LDAP and Kerberos for NSS directory and PAM
13198 authentication.  It should also work out of the box in a Active
13199 Directory environment providing posixAccount and posixGroup objects
13200 with UID and GID values.</p>
13201
13202 <p>If you want to help out with implementing these things for Debian
13203 Edu, please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
13204
13205       </div>
13206       <div class="tags">
13207
13208
13209         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
13210
13211
13212       </div>
13213     </div>
13214     <div class="padding"></div>
13215
13216     <div class="entry">
13217       <div class="title">
13218         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_roaming_workstation___at_the_university_of_Oslo.html">Debian Edu roaming workstation - at the university of Oslo</a>
13219       </div>
13220       <div class="date">
13221          3rd August 2010
13222       </div>
13223       <div class="body">
13224         <p>The new roaming workstation profile in Debian Edu/Squeeze is fairly
13225 similar to the laptop setup am I working on using Ubuntu for the
13226 University of Oslo, and just for the heck of it, I tested today how
13227 hard it would be to integrate that profile into the university
13228 infrastructure.  In this case, it is the university LDAP server,
13229 Active Directory Kerberos server and SMB mounting from the Netapp file
13230 servers.</p>
13231
13232 <p>I was pleasantly surprised that the only three files needed to be
13233 changed (/etc/sssd/sssd.conf, /etc/ldap.conf and
13234 /etc/mklocaluser.d/20-debian-edu-config) and one file had to be added
13235 (/usr/share/perl5/Debian/Edu_Local.pm), to get the client working.
13236 Most of the changes were to get the client to use the university LDAP
13237 for NSS and Kerberos server for PAM, but one was to change a hard
13238 coded DNS domain name in the mklocaluser hook from .intern to
13239 .uio.no.</p>
13240
13241 <p>This testing was so encouraging, that I went ahead and adjusted the
13242 Debian Edu scripts and setup in subversion to centralise the roaming
13243 workstation setup a bit more and avoid the hardcoded DNS domain name,
13244 so that when I test this tomorrow, I expect to get away with modifying
13245 only /etc/sssd/sssd.conf and /etc/ldap.conf to get it to use the
13246 university servers.</p>
13247
13248 <p>My goal is to get the clients to have no hardcoded settings and
13249 fetch all their initial setup during installation and first boot, to
13250 allow them to be inserted also into environments where the default
13251 setup in Debian Edu has been changed or as with the university, where
13252 the environment is different but provides the protocols Debian Edu
13253 uses.</p>
13254
13255       </div>
13256       <div class="tags">
13257
13258
13259         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
13260
13261
13262       </div>
13263     </div>
13264     <div class="padding"></div>
13265
13266     <div class="entry">
13267       <div class="title">
13268         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Circular_package_dependencies_harms_apt_recovery.html">Circular package dependencies harms apt recovery</a>
13269       </div>
13270       <div class="date">
13271         27th July 2010
13272       </div>
13273       <div class="body">
13274         <p>I discovered this while doing
13275 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatic_upgrade_testing_from_Lenny_to_Squeeze.html">automated
13276 testing of upgrades from Debian Lenny to Squeeze</a>.  A few packages
13277 in Debian still got circular dependencies, and it is often claimed
13278 that apt and aptitude should be able to handle this just fine, but
13279 some times these dependency loops causes apt to fail.</p>
13280
13281 <p>An example is from todays
13282 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing//test-20100727-lenny-squeeze-kde-aptitude.txt">upgrade
13283 of KDE using aptitude</a>.  In it, a bug in kdebase-workspace-data
13284 causes perl-modules to fail to upgrade.  The cause is simple.  If a
13285 package fail to unpack, then only part of packages with the circular
13286 dependency might end up being unpacked when unpacking aborts, and the
13287 ones already unpacked will fail to configure in the recovery phase
13288 because its dependencies are unavailable.</p>
13289
13290 <p>In this log, the problem manifest itself with this error:</p>
13291
13292 <blockquote><pre>
13293 dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of perl-modules:
13294  perl-modules depends on perl (>= 5.10.1-1); however:
13295   Version of perl on system is 5.10.0-19lenny2.
13296 dpkg: error processing perl-modules (--configure):
13297  dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
13298 </pre></blockquote>
13299
13300 <p>The perl/perl-modules circular dependency is already
13301 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/527917">reported as a bug</a>, and will
13302 hopefully be solved as soon as possible, but it is not the only one,
13303 and each one of these loops in the dependency tree can cause similar
13304 failures.  Of course, they only occur when there are bugs in other
13305 packages causing the unpacking to fail, but it is rather nasty when
13306 the failure of one package causes the problem to become worse because
13307 of dependency loops.</p>
13308
13309 <p>Thanks to
13310 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/06/msg00116.html">the
13311 tireless effort by Bill Allombert</a>, the number of circular
13312 dependencies
13313 <a href="http://debian.semistable.com/debgraph.out.html">left in Debian
13314 is dropping</a>, and perhaps it will reach zero one day. :)</p>
13315
13316 <p>Todays testing also exposed a bug in
13317 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/590605">update-notifier</a> and
13318 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/590604">different behaviour</a> between
13319 apt-get and aptitude, the latter possibly caused by some circular
13320 dependency.  Reported both to BTS to try to get someone to look at
13321 it.</p>
13322
13323       </div>
13324       <div class="tags">
13325
13326
13327         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
13328
13329
13330       </div>
13331     </div>
13332     <div class="padding"></div>
13333
13334     <div class="entry">
13335       <div class="title">
13336         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_Debian_Edu_test_release__alpha0__based_on_Squeeze_is_released.html">First Debian Edu test release (alpha0) based on Squeeze is released</a>
13337       </div>
13338       <div class="date">
13339         27th July 2010
13340       </div>
13341       <div class="body">
13342         <p>I just posted this announcement culminating several months of work
13343 with the next Debian Edu release.  Not nearly done, but one major step
13344 completed.</p>
13345
13346 <blockquote>
13347 <p>This is the first test release based on Squeeze. The focus of this
13348 release is to test the user application selection. To have a look,
13349 install the standalone profile and let the developers know if the set
13350 of installed packages i.e. applications should be modified. If some
13351 user application is missing, or if there are some applications that no
13352 longer make sense to be included in Debian Edu, please let us know.
13353 Also, if a useful application is missing the translation for your
13354 language of choice, please let us know too.</p>
13355
13356 <p>In addition, feedback and help to polish the desktop (menus,
13357 artwork, starters, etc.) is appreciated. We would like to ship a nice
13358 and handy KDE4 desktop targeted for schools out of the box.</p>
13359
13360 <p>The other profiles should be installable, but there is a lot more
13361 work left to be done before they are ready, so do not expect to
13362 much.</p>
13363
13364 <p>Changes compared to the lenny based version</p>
13365
13366 <ul>
13367 <li>Everything from Debian Squeeze
13368 <ul>
13369   <li>Desktop environment KDE 4.4 => the new KDE desktop in
13370          combination with some new artwork
13371   <li>Web browser Iceweasel 3.5
13372   <li>OpenOffice.org 3.2
13373   <li>Educational toolbox GCompris 9.3
13374   <li>Music creator Rosegarden 10.04.2
13375   <li>Image editor Gimp 2.6.10
13376   <li>Virtual universe Celestia 1.6.0
13377   <li>Virtual stargazer Stellarium 0.10.4
13378   <li>3D modeler Blender 2.49.2 (new application)
13379   <li>Video editor Kdenlive 0.7.7 (new application)
13380 </ul></li>
13381 <li>Now using Kerberos for password checking (migration not finished).
13382     Enabled for:
13383 <ul>
13384   <li>PAM
13385   <li>LDAP
13386   <li>IMAP
13387   <li>SMTP (sender verification)
13388 </ul>
13389 </li>
13390 <li>New experimental roaming workstation profile for laptops.</li>
13391 <li>Show welcome page to users when they first log in. The URL is
13392     fetched from LDAP.</li>
13393 <li>New LXDE desktop option, in addition to KDE (default) and Gnome.</li>
13394 <li>General cleanup (not finished)</li>
13395 </ul>
13396 <p>The following features are not working as they should</p>
13397
13398 <ul>
13399 <li>No web based administration tool for creating users and groups. The
13400     scripts ldap-createuser-krb and ldap-add-user-to-group can be used
13401     for testing.</li>
13402 <li>DVD installs are missing debian-installer images for the PXE boot,
13403     and do not set up the PXE menu on eth0 because of this. LTSP
13404     clients should still boot from eth1 on thin client servers.</li>
13405 <li>The restructured KDE menu is not implemented.</li>
13406 <li>The LDAP server setup need to be reviewed for security.</li>
13407 <li>The LDAP directory structure need to be reworked.</li>
13408 <li>Different sets of packages are installed when using the DVD and the
13409     netinst CD. More packages are installed using the netinst CD.</li>
13410 <li>The jackd package fail to install. This is believed to be caused by
13411     some ongoing transition, and hopefully should be solved soon. The
13412     jackd1 package can be installed manually for those that need it.</li>
13413 <li>Some packages lack translations. See
13414     http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Status/Squeeze for updated status,
13415     and help out with translations.</li>
13416 </ul>
13417
13418 <p>To download this multiarch netinstall release you can use</p>
13419
13420 <ul>
13421 <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/squeeze-alpha/debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-CD.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/squeeze-alpha/debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-CD.iso</a></li>
13422 <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/squeeze-alpha/debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-CD.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/squeeze-alpha/debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-CD.iso</a></li>
13423 <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/squeeze-alpha/debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-CD.iso</li>
13424 </ul>
13425 <p>To download this multiarch dvd release you can use</p>
13426
13427 <ul>
13428 <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/squeeze-alpha/debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-DVD.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/squeeze-alpha/debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-DVD.iso</a></li>
13429 <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/squeeze-alpha/debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-DVD.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/squeeze-alpha/debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-DVD.iso</a></li>
13430 <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/squeeze-alpha/debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-DVD.iso</li>
13431 </ul>
13432
13433 <p>There is no source DVD available yet. It will be prepared when we
13434 get closer to the final release.</p>
13435
13436 <p>The MD5SUM of these images are</p>
13437
13438 <ul>
13439 <li>3dbf45d59f42a53518b6e3c9ec3b5eb6 debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-CD.iso</li>
13440 <li>22f2cbfce281d1c6e478be452638675d debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-DVD.iso</li>
13441 </ul>
13442
13443 <p>The SHA1SUM of these images are</p>
13444 <ul>
13445 <li>c53d1b69b40cf37cd27aefaf33f6f6a3821bedf0 debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-CD.iso</li>
13446 <li>2ec29d7db676d59d32197b05c277ffe16348376c debian-edu-6.0.0+edua0-DVD.iso</li>
13447 </ul>
13448 <p>How to report bugs:
13449 http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugsInBugzilla</p>
13450
13451 <p>Please direct replies to debian-edu@lists.debian.org</p>
13452 </blockquote>
13453
13454       </div>
13455       <div class="tags">
13456
13457
13458         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
13459
13460
13461       </div>
13462     </div>
13463     <div class="padding"></div>
13464
13465     <div class="entry">
13466       <div class="title">
13467         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/One_step_closer_to_single_signon_in_Debian_Edu.html">One step closer to single signon in Debian Edu</a>
13468       </div>
13469       <div class="date">
13470         25th July 2010
13471       </div>
13472       <div class="body">
13473         <p>The last few months me and the other Debian Edu developers have
13474 been working hard to get the Debian/Squeeze based version of Debian
13475 Edu/Skolelinux into shape.  This future version will use Kerberos for
13476 authentication, and services are slowly migrated to single signon,
13477 getting rid of password questions one at the time.</p>
13478
13479 <p>It will also feature a roaming workstation profile with local home
13480 directory, for laptops that are only some times on the Skolelinux
13481 network, and for this profile a shortcut is created in Gnome and KDE
13482 to gain access to the users home directory on the file server.  This
13483 shortcut uses SMB at the moment, and yesterday I had time to test if
13484 SMB mounting had started working in KDE after we added the cifs-utils
13485 package.  I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked.</p>
13486
13487 <p>Thanks to the recent changes to our samba configuration to get it
13488 to use Kerberos for authentication, there were no question about user
13489 password when mounting the SMB volume.  A simple click on the shortcut
13490 in the KDE menu, and a window with the home directory popped
13491 up. :)</p>
13492
13493 <p>One step closer to a single signon solution out of the box in
13494 Debian Edu.  We already had PAM, LDAP, IMAP and SMTP in place, and now
13495 also Samba.  Next step is Cups and hopefully also NFS.</p>
13496
13497 <p>We had planned a alpha0 release of Debian Edu for today, but thanks
13498 to the autobuilder administrators for some architectures being slow to
13499 sign packages, we are still missing the fixed LTSP package we need for
13500 the release.  It was uploaded three days ago with urgency=high, and if
13501 it had entered testing yesterday we would have been able to test it in
13502 time for a alpha0 release today.  As the binaries for ia64 and powerpc
13503 still not uploaded to the Debian archive, we need to delay the alpha
13504 release another day.</p>
13505
13506 <p>If you want to help out with implementing Kerberos for Debian Edu,
13507 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
13508
13509       </div>
13510       <div class="tags">
13511
13512
13513         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
13514
13515
13516       </div>
13517     </div>
13518     <div class="padding"></div>
13519
13520     <div class="entry">
13521       <div class="title">
13522         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/OpenStreetmap_one_step_closer_to_having_routing_on_its_front_page.html">OpenStreetmap one step closer to having routing on its front page</a>
13523       </div>
13524       <div class="date">
13525         18th July 2010
13526       </div>
13527       <div class="body">
13528         <p>Thanks to
13529 <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Opengeodata/~3/wUTCzDZk3lc/project-of-the-week-which-way-home">todays
13530 opengeodata blog entry</a>, I just discovered that the
13531 OpenStreetmap.org site have gotten
13532 <a href="http://nroets.dev.openstreetmap.org/demo/index.html?layers=B000FTFTT">support
13533 for calculating routes</a>.  The support is still experimental and
13534 only available from the development server, until more experience is
13535 gathered on the user interface and any scalability issues.</p>
13536
13537 <p>Earlier, the routing I knew about using the OpenStreetmap.org data
13538 was provided by <a href="http://maps.cloudmade.com/">Cloudmade</a>,
13539 but having it on the main page is required to make everyone aware of
13540 the issue.  I've had people reject Openstreetmap.org as a viable
13541 alternative for them because the front page lacked routing support,
13542 and I hope their needs will be catered for when routing show up on the
13543 www.openstreetmap.org front page.</p>
13544
13545       </div>
13546       <div class="tags">
13547
13548
13549         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/kart">kart</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
13550
13551
13552       </div>
13553     </div>
13554     <div class="padding"></div>
13555
13556     <div class="entry">
13557       <div class="title">
13558         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_are_they_searching_for___PowerDNS_and_ISC_DHCP_in_LDAP.html">What are they searching for - PowerDNS and ISC DHCP in LDAP</a>
13559       </div>
13560       <div class="date">
13561         17th July 2010
13562       </div>
13563       <div class="body">
13564         <p>This is a
13565 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_for_new__LDAP_schemas_replacing_RFC_2307_.html">followup</a>
13566 on my
13567 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Idea_for_a_change_to_LDAP_schemas_allowing_DNS_and_DHCP_info_to_be_combined_into_one_object.html">previous
13568 work</a> on
13569 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Combining_PowerDNS_and_ISC_DHCP_LDAP_objects.html">merging
13570 all</a> the computer related LDAP objects in Debian Edu.</p>
13571
13572 <p>As a step to try to see if it possible to merge the DNS and DHCP
13573 LDAP objects, I have had a look at how the packages pdns-backend-ldap
13574 and dhcp3-server-ldap in Debian use the LDAP server.  The two
13575 implementations are quite different in how they use LDAP.</p>
13576
13577 To get this information, I started slapd with debugging enabled and
13578 dumped the debug output to a file to get the LDAP searches performed
13579 on a Debian Edu main-server.  Here is a summary.
13580
13581 <p><strong>powerdns</strong></p>
13582
13583 <a href="http://www.linuxnetworks.de/doc/index.php/PowerDNS_LDAP_Backend">Clues
13584 on how to</a> set up PowerDNS to use a LDAP backend is available on
13585 the web.
13586
13587 <p>PowerDNS have two modes of operation using LDAP as its backend.
13588 One "strict" mode where the forward and reverse DNS lookups are done
13589 using the same LDAP objects, and a "tree" mode where the forward and
13590 reverse entries are in two different subtrees in LDAP with a structure
13591 based on the DNS names, as in tjener.intern and
13592 2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa.</p>
13593
13594 <p>In tree mode, the server is set up to use a LDAP subtree as its
13595 base, and uses a "base" scoped search for the DNS name by adding
13596 "dc=tjener,dc=intern," to the base with a filter for
13597 "(associateddomain=tjener.intern)" for the forward entry and
13598 "dc=2,dc=2,dc=0,dc=10,dc=in-addr,dc=arpa," with a filter for
13599 "(associateddomain=2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa)" for the reverse entry.  For
13600 forward entries, it is looking for attributes named dnsttl, arecord,
13601 nsrecord, cnamerecord, soarecord, ptrrecord, hinforecord, mxrecord,
13602 txtrecord, rprecord, afsdbrecord, keyrecord, aaaarecord, locrecord,
13603 srvrecord, naptrrecord, kxrecord, certrecord, dsrecord, sshfprecord,
13604 ipseckeyrecord, rrsigrecord, nsecrecord, dnskeyrecord, dhcidrecord,
13605 spfrecord and modifytimestamp.  For reverse entries it is looking for
13606 the attributes dnsttl, arecord, nsrecord, cnamerecord, soarecord,
13607 ptrrecord, hinforecord, mxrecord, txtrecord, rprecord, aaaarecord,
13608 locrecord, srvrecord, naptrrecord and modifytimestamp.  The equivalent
13609 ldapsearch commands could look like this:</p>
13610
13611 <blockquote><pre>
13612 ldapsearch -h ldap \
13613   -b dc=tjener,dc=intern,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no \
13614   -s base -x '(associateddomain=tjener.intern)' dNSTTL aRecord nSRecord \
13615   cNAMERecord sOARecord pTRRecord hInfoRecord mXRecord tXTRecord \
13616   rPRecord aFSDBRecord KeyRecord aAAARecord lOCRecord sRVRecord \
13617   nAPTRRecord kXRecord certRecord dSRecord sSHFPRecord iPSecKeyRecord \
13618   rRSIGRecord nSECRecord dNSKeyRecord dHCIDRecord sPFRecord modifyTimestamp
13619
13620 ldapsearch -h ldap \
13621   -b dc=2,dc=2,dc=0,dc=10,dc=in-addr,dc=arpa,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no \
13622   -s base -x '(associateddomain=2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa)'
13623   dnsttl, arecord, nsrecord, cnamerecord soarecord ptrrecord \
13624   hinforecord mxrecord txtrecord rprecord aaaarecord locrecord \
13625   srvrecord naptrrecord modifytimestamp
13626 </pre></blockquote>
13627
13628 <p>In Debian Edu/Lenny, the PowerDNS tree mode is used with
13629 ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no as the base, and these are two
13630 example LDAP objects used there.  In addition to these objects, the
13631 parent objects all th way up to ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
13632 also exist.</p>
13633
13634 <blockquote><pre>
13635 dn: dc=tjener,dc=intern,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
13636 objectclass: top
13637 objectclass: dnsdomain
13638 objectclass: domainrelatedobject
13639 dc: tjener
13640 arecord: 10.0.2.2
13641 associateddomain: tjener.intern
13642
13643 dn: dc=2,dc=2,dc=0,dc=10,dc=in-addr,dc=arpa,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
13644 objectclass: top
13645 objectclass: dnsdomain2
13646 objectclass: domainrelatedobject
13647 dc: 2
13648 ptrrecord: tjener.intern
13649 associateddomain: 2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa
13650 </pre></blockquote>
13651
13652 <p>In strict mode, the server behaves differently.  When looking for
13653 forward DNS entries, it is doing a "subtree" scoped search with the
13654 same base as in the tree mode for a object with filter
13655 "(associateddomain=tjener.intern)" and requests the attributes dnsttl,
13656 arecord, nsrecord, cnamerecord, soarecord, ptrrecord, hinforecord,
13657 mxrecord, txtrecord, rprecord, aaaarecord, locrecord, srvrecord,
13658 naptrrecord and modifytimestamp.  For reverse entires it also do a
13659 subtree scoped search but this time the filter is "(arecord=10.0.2.2)"
13660 and the requested attributes are associateddomain, dnsttl and
13661 modifytimestamp.  In short, in strict mode the objects with ptrrecord
13662 go away, and the arecord attribute in the forward object is used
13663 instead.</p>
13664
13665 <p>The forward and reverse searches can be simulated using ldapsearch
13666 like this:</p>
13667
13668 <blockquote><pre>
13669 ldapsearch -h ldap -b ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no -s sub -x \
13670   '(associateddomain=tjener.intern)' dNSTTL aRecord nSRecord \
13671   cNAMERecord sOARecord pTRRecord hInfoRecord mXRecord tXTRecord \
13672   rPRecord aFSDBRecord KeyRecord aAAARecord lOCRecord sRVRecord \
13673   nAPTRRecord kXRecord certRecord dSRecord sSHFPRecord iPSecKeyRecord \
13674   rRSIGRecord nSECRecord dNSKeyRecord dHCIDRecord sPFRecord modifyTimestamp
13675
13676 ldapsearch -h ldap -b ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no -s sub -x \
13677   '(arecord=10.0.2.2)' associateddomain dnsttl modifytimestamp
13678 </pre></blockquote>
13679
13680 <p>In addition to the forward and reverse searches , there is also a
13681 search for SOA records, which behave similar to the forward and
13682 reverse lookups.</p>
13683
13684 <p>A thing to note with the PowerDNS behaviour is that it do not
13685 specify any objectclass names, and instead look for the attributes it
13686 need to generate a DNS reply.  This make it able to work with any
13687 objectclass that provide the needed attributes.</p>
13688
13689 <p>The attributes are normally provided in the cosine (RFC 1274) and
13690 dnsdomain2 schemas.  The latter is used for reverse entries like
13691 ptrrecord and recent DNS additions like aaaarecord and srvrecord.</p>
13692
13693 <p>In Debian Edu, we have created DNS objects using the object classes
13694 dcobject (for dc), dnsdomain or dnsdomain2 (structural, for the DNS
13695 attributes) and domainrelatedobject (for associatedDomain).  The use
13696 of structural object classes make it impossible to combine these
13697 classes with the object classes used by DHCP.</p>
13698
13699 <p>There are other schemas that could be used too, for example the
13700 dnszone structural object class used by Gosa and bind-sdb for the DNS
13701 attributes combined with the domainrelatedobject object class, but in
13702 this case some unused attributes would have to be included as well
13703 (zonename and relativedomainname).</p>
13704
13705 <p>My proposal for Debian Edu would be to switch PowerDNS to strict
13706 mode and not use any of the existing objectclasses (dnsdomain,
13707 dnsdomain2 and dnszone) when one want to combine the DNS information
13708 with DHCP information, and instead create a auxiliary object class
13709 defined something like this (using the attributes defined for
13710 dnsdomain and dnsdomain2 or dnszone):</p>
13711
13712 <blockquote><pre>
13713 objectclass ( some-oid NAME 'dnsDomainAux'
13714     SUP top
13715     AUXILIARY
13716     MAY ( ARecord $ MDRecord $ MXRecord $ NSRecord $ SOARecord $ CNAMERecord $
13717           DNSTTL $ DNSClass $ PTRRecord $ HINFORecord $ MINFORecord $
13718           TXTRecord $ SIGRecord $ KEYRecord $ AAAARecord $ LOCRecord $
13719           NXTRecord $ SRVRecord $ NAPTRRecord $ KXRecord $ CERTRecord $
13720           A6Record $ DNAMERecord
13721     ))
13722 </pre></blockquote>
13723
13724 <p>This will allow any object to become a DNS entry when combined with
13725 the domainrelatedobject object class, and allow any entity to include
13726 all the attributes PowerDNS wants.  I've sent an email to the PowerDNS
13727 developers asking for their view on this schema and if they are
13728 interested in providing such schema with PowerDNS, and I hope my
13729 message will be accepted into their mailing list soon.</p>
13730
13731 <p><strong>ISC dhcp</strong></p>
13732
13733 <p>The DHCP server searches for specific objectclass and requests all
13734 the object attributes, and then uses the attributes it want.  This
13735 make it harder to figure out exactly what attributes are used, but
13736 thanks to the working example in Debian Edu I can at least get an idea
13737 what is needed without having to read the source code.</p>
13738
13739 <p>In the DHCP server configuration, the LDAP base to use and the
13740 search filter to use to locate the correct dhcpServer entity is
13741 stored.  These are the relevant entries from
13742 /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf:</p>
13743
13744 <blockquote><pre>
13745 ldap-base-dn "dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no";
13746 ldap-dhcp-server-cn "dhcp";
13747 </pre></blockquote>
13748
13749 <p>The DHCP server uses this information to nest all the DHCP
13750 configuration it need.  The cn "dhcp" is located using the given LDAP
13751 base and the filter "(&(objectClass=dhcpServer)(cn=dhcp))".  The
13752 search result is this entry:</p>
13753
13754 <blockquote><pre>
13755 dn: cn=dhcp,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
13756 cn: dhcp
13757 objectClass: top
13758 objectClass: dhcpServer
13759 dhcpServiceDN: cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
13760 </pre></blockquote>
13761
13762 <p>The content of the dhcpServiceDN attribute is next used to locate the
13763 subtree with DHCP configuration.  The DHCP configuration subtree base
13764 is located using a base scope search with base "cn=DHCP
13765 Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no" and filter
13766 "(&(objectClass=dhcpService)(|(dhcpPrimaryDN=cn=dhcp,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no)(dhcpSecondaryDN=cn=dhcp,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no)))".
13767 The search result is this entry:</p>
13768
13769 <blockquote><pre>
13770 dn: cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
13771 cn: DHCP Config
13772 objectClass: top
13773 objectClass: dhcpService
13774 objectClass: dhcpOptions
13775 dhcpPrimaryDN: cn=dhcp, dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
13776 dhcpStatements: ddns-update-style none
13777 dhcpStatements: authoritative
13778 dhcpOption: smtp-server code 69 = array of ip-address
13779 dhcpOption: www-server code 72 = array of ip-address
13780 dhcpOption: wpad-url code 252 = text
13781 </pre></blockquote>
13782
13783 <p>Next, the entire subtree is processed, one level at the time.  When
13784 all the DHCP configuration is loaded, it is ready to receive requests.
13785 The subtree in Debian Edu contain objects with object classes
13786 top/dhcpService/dhcpOptions, top/dhcpSharedNetwork/dhcpOptions,
13787 top/dhcpSubnet, top/dhcpGroup and top/dhcpHost.  These provide options
13788 and information about netmasks, dynamic range etc.  Leaving out the
13789 details here because it is not relevant for the focus of my
13790 investigation, which is to see if it is possible to merge dns and dhcp
13791 related computer objects.</p>
13792
13793 <p>When a DHCP request come in, LDAP is searched for the MAC address
13794 of the client (00:00:00:00:00:00 in this example), using a subtree
13795 scoped search with "cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no" as
13796 the base and "(&(objectClass=dhcpHost)(dhcpHWAddress=ethernet
13797 00:00:00:00:00:00))" as the filter.  This is what a host object look
13798 like:</p>
13799
13800 <blockquote><pre>
13801 dn: cn=hostname,cn=group1,cn=THINCLIENTS,cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
13802 cn: hostname
13803 objectClass: top
13804 objectClass: dhcpHost
13805 dhcpHWAddress: ethernet 00:00:00:00:00:00
13806 dhcpStatements: fixed-address hostname
13807 </pre></blockquote>
13808
13809 <p>There is less flexiblity in the way LDAP searches are done here.
13810 The object classes need to have fixed names, and the configuration
13811 need to be stored in a fairly specific LDAP structure.  On the
13812 positive side, the invidiual dhcpHost entires can be anywhere without
13813 the DN pointed to by the dhcpServer entries.  The latter should make
13814 it possible to group all host entries in a subtree next to the
13815 configuration entries, and this subtree can also be shared with the
13816 DNS server if the schema proposed above is combined with the dhcpHost
13817 structural object class.
13818
13819 <p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
13820
13821 <p>The PowerDNS implementation seem to be very flexible when it come
13822 to which LDAP schemas to use.  While its "tree" mode is rigid when it
13823 come to the the LDAP structure, the "strict" mode is very flexible,
13824 allowing DNS objects to be stored anywhere under the base cn specified
13825 in the configuration.</p>
13826
13827 <p>The DHCP implementation on the other hand is very inflexible, both
13828 regarding which LDAP schemas to use and which LDAP structure to use.
13829 I guess one could implement ones own schema, as long as the
13830 objectclasses and attributes have the names used, but this do not
13831 really help when the DHCP subtree need to have a fairly fixed
13832 structure.</p>
13833
13834 <p>Based on the observed behaviour, I suspect a LDAP structure like
13835 this might work for Debian Edu:</p>
13836
13837 <blockquote><pre>
13838 ou=services
13839   cn=machine-info (dhcpService) - dhcpServiceDN points here
13840     cn=dhcp (dhcpServer)
13841     cn=dhcp-internal (dhcpSharedNetwork/dhcpOptions)
13842       cn=10.0.2.0 (dhcpSubnet)
13843         cn=group1 (dhcpGroup/dhcpOptions)
13844     cn=dhcp-thinclients (dhcpSharedNetwork/dhcpOptions)
13845       cn=192.168.0.0 (dhcpSubnet)
13846         cn=group1 (dhcpGroup/dhcpOptions)
13847     ou=machines - PowerDNS base points here
13848       cn=hostname (dhcpHost/domainrelatedobject/dnsDomainAux)
13849 </pre></blockquote>
13850
13851 <P>This is not tested yet.  If the DHCP server require the dhcpHost
13852 entries to be in the dhcpGroup subtrees, the entries can be stored
13853 there instead of a common machines subtree, and the PowerDNS base
13854 would have to be moved one level up to the machine-info subtree.</p>
13855
13856 <p>The combined object under the machines subtree would look something
13857 like this:</p>
13858
13859 <blockquote><pre>
13860 dn: dc=hostname,ou=machines,cn=machine-info,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
13861 dc: hostname
13862 objectClass: top
13863 objectClass: dhcpHost
13864 objectclass: domainrelatedobject
13865 objectclass: dnsDomainAux
13866 associateddomain: hostname.intern
13867 arecord: 10.11.12.13
13868 dhcpHWAddress: ethernet 00:00:00:00:00:00
13869 dhcpStatements: fixed-address hostname.intern
13870 </pre></blockquote>
13871
13872 </p>One could even add the LTSP configuration associated with a given
13873 machine, as long as the required attributes are available in a
13874 auxiliary object class.</p>
13875
13876       </div>
13877       <div class="tags">
13878
13879
13880         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
13881
13882
13883       </div>
13884     </div>
13885     <div class="padding"></div>
13886
13887     <div class="entry">
13888       <div class="title">
13889         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Combining_PowerDNS_and_ISC_DHCP_LDAP_objects.html">Combining PowerDNS and ISC DHCP LDAP objects</a>
13890       </div>
13891       <div class="date">
13892         14th July 2010
13893       </div>
13894       <div class="body">
13895         <p>For a while now, I have wanted to find a way to change the DNS and
13896 DHCP services in Debian Edu to use the same LDAP objects for a given
13897 computer, to avoid the possibility of having a inconsistent state for
13898 a computer in LDAP (as in DHCP but no DNS entry or the other way
13899 around) and make it easier to add computers to LDAP.</p>
13900
13901 <p>I've looked at how powerdns and dhcpd is using LDAP, and using this
13902 information finally found a solution that seem to work.</p>
13903
13904 <p>The old setup required three LDAP objects for a given computer.
13905 One forward DNS entry, one reverse DNS entry and one DHCP entry.  If
13906 we switch powerdns to use its strict LDAP method (ldap-method=strict
13907 in pdns-debian-edu.conf), the forward and reverse DNS entries are
13908 merged into one while making it impossible to transfer the reverse map
13909 to a slave DNS server.</p>
13910
13911 <p>If we also replace the object class used to get the DNS related
13912 attributes to one allowing these attributes to be combined with the
13913 dhcphost object class, we can merge the DNS and DHCP entries into one.
13914 I've written such object class in the dnsdomainaux.schema file (need
13915 proper OIDs, but that is a minor issue), and tested the setup.  It
13916 seem to work.</p>
13917
13918 <p>With this test setup in place, we can get away with one LDAP object
13919 for both DNS and DHCP, and even the LTSP configuration I suggested in
13920 an earlier email.  The combined LDAP object will look something like
13921 this:</p>
13922
13923 <blockquote><pre>
13924   dn: cn=hostname,cn=group1,cn=THINCLIENTS,cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
13925   cn: hostname
13926   objectClass: dhcphost
13927   objectclass: domainrelatedobject
13928   objectclass: dnsdomainaux
13929   associateddomain: hostname.intern
13930   arecord: 10.11.12.13
13931   dhcphwaddress: ethernet 00:00:00:00:00:00
13932   dhcpstatements: fixed-address hostname
13933   ldapconfigsound: Y
13934 </pre></blockquote>
13935
13936 <p>The DNS server uses the associateddomain and arecord entries, while
13937 the DHCP server uses the dhcphwaddress and dhcpstatements entries
13938 before asking DNS to resolve the fixed-adddress.  LTSP will use
13939 dhcphwaddress or associateddomain and the ldapconfig* attributes.</p>
13940
13941 <p>I am not yet sure if I can get the DHCP server to look for its
13942 dhcphost in a different location, to allow us to put the objects
13943 outside the "DHCP Config" subtree, but hope to figure out a way to do
13944 that.  If I can't figure out a way to do that, we can still get rid of
13945 the hosts subtree and move all its content into the DHCP Config tree
13946 (which probably should be renamed to be more related to the new
13947 content.  I suspect cn=dnsdhcp,ou=services or something like that
13948 might be a good place to put it.</p>
13949
13950 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
13951 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
13952
13953       </div>
13954       <div class="tags">
13955
13956
13957         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
13958
13959
13960       </div>
13961     </div>
13962     <div class="padding"></div>
13963
13964     <div class="entry">
13965       <div class="title">
13966         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Idea_for_storing_LTSP_configuration_in_LDAP.html">Idea for storing LTSP configuration in LDAP</a>
13967       </div>
13968       <div class="date">
13969         11th July 2010
13970       </div>
13971       <div class="body">
13972         <p>Vagrant mentioned on IRC today that ltsp_config now support
13973 sourcing files from /usr/share/ltsp/ltsp_config.d/ on the thin
13974 clients, and that this can be used to fetch configuration from LDAP if
13975 Debian Edu choose to store configuration there.</p>
13976
13977 <p>Armed with this information, I got inspired and wrote a test module
13978 to get configuration from LDAP.  The idea is to look up the MAC
13979 address of the client in LDAP, and look for attributes on the form
13980 ltspconfigsetting=value, and use this to export SETTING=value to the
13981 LTSP clients.</p>
13982
13983 <p>The goal is to be able to store the LTSP configuration attributes
13984 in a "computer" LDAP object used by both DNS and DHCP, and thus
13985 allowing us to store all information about a computer in one place.</p>
13986
13987 <p>This is a untested draft implementation, and I welcome feedback on
13988 this approach.  A real LDAP schema for the ltspClientAux objectclass
13989 need to be written.  Comments, suggestions, etc?</p>
13990
13991 <blockquote><pre>
13992 # Store in /opt/ltsp/$arch/usr/share/ltsp/ltsp_config.d/ldap-config
13993 #
13994 # Fetch LTSP client settings from LDAP based on MAC address
13995 #
13996 # Uses ethernet address as stored in the dhcpHost objectclass using
13997 # the dhcpHWAddress attribute or ethernet address stored in the
13998 # ieee802Device objectclass with the macAddress attribute.
13999 #
14000 # This module is written to be schema agnostic, and only depend on the
14001 # existence of attribute names.
14002 #
14003 # The LTSP configuration variables are saved directly using a
14004 # ltspConfig prefix and uppercasing the rest of the attribute name.
14005 # To set the SERVER variable, set the ltspConfigServer attribute.
14006 #
14007 # Some LDAP schema should be created with all the relevant
14008 # configuration settings.  Something like this should work:
14009 #
14010 # objectclass ( 1.1.2.2 NAME 'ltspClientAux'
14011 #     SUP top
14012 #     AUXILIARY
14013 #     MAY ( ltspConfigServer $ ltsConfigSound $ ... )
14014
14015 LDAPSERVER=$(debian-edu-ldapserver)
14016 if [ "$LDAPSERVER" ] ; then
14017     LDAPBASE=$(debian-edu-ldapserver -b)
14018     for MAC in $(LANG=C ifconfig |grep -i hwaddr| awk '{print $5}'|sort -u) ; do
14019         filter="(|(dhcpHWAddress=ethernet $MAC)(macAddress=$MAC))"
14020         ldapsearch -h "$LDAPSERVER" -b "$LDAPBASE" -v -x "$filter" | \
14021             grep '^ltspConfig' | while read attr value ; do
14022             # Remove prefix and convert to upper case
14023             attr=$(echo $attr | sed 's/^ltspConfig//i' | tr a-z A-Z)
14024             # bass value on to clients
14025             eval "$attr=$value; export $attr"
14026         done
14027     done
14028 fi
14029 </pre></blockquote>
14030
14031 <p>I'm not sure this shell construction will work, because I suspect
14032 the while block might end up in a subshell causing the variables set
14033 there to not show up in ltsp-config, but if that is the case I am sure
14034 the code can be restructured to make sure the variables are passed on.
14035 I expect that can be solved with some testing. :)</p>
14036
14037 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
14038 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
14039
14040 <p>Update 2010-07-17: I am aware of another effort to store LTSP
14041 configuration in LDAP that was created around year 2000 by
14042 <a href="http://www.pcxperience.com/thinclient/documentation/ldap.html">PC
14043 Xperience, Inc., 2000</a>.  I found its
14044 <a href="http://people.redhat.com/alikins/ltsp/ldap/">files</a> on a
14045 personal home page over at redhat.com.</p>
14046
14047       </div>
14048       <div class="tags">
14049
14050
14051         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
14052
14053
14054       </div>
14055     </div>
14056     <div class="padding"></div>
14057
14058     <div class="entry">
14059       <div class="title">
14060         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/jXplorer__a_very_nice_LDAP_GUI.html">jXplorer, a very nice LDAP GUI</a>
14061       </div>
14062       <div class="date">
14063          9th July 2010
14064       </div>
14065       <div class="body">
14066         <p>Since
14067 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/LUMA__a_very_nice_LDAP_GUI.html">my
14068 last post</a> about available LDAP tools in Debian, I was told about a
14069 LDAP GUI that is even better than luma.  The java application
14070 <a href="http://jxplorer.org/">jXplorer</a> is claimed to be capable of
14071 moving LDAP objects and subtrees using drag-and-drop, and can
14072 authenticate using Kerberos.  I have only tested the Kerberos
14073 authentication, but do not have a LDAP setup allowing me to rewrite
14074 LDAP with my test user yet.  It is
14075 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/j/jxplorer.html">available in
14076 Debian</a> testing and unstable at the moment.  The only problem I
14077 have with it is how it handle errors.  If something go wrong, its
14078 non-intuitive behaviour require me to go through some query work list
14079 and remove the failing query.  Nothing big, but very annoying.</p>
14080
14081       </div>
14082       <div class="tags">
14083
14084
14085         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
14086
14087
14088       </div>
14089     </div>
14090     <div class="padding"></div>
14091
14092     <div class="entry">
14093       <div class="title">
14094         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lenny__Squeeze_upgrades__apt_vs_aptitude_with_the_Gnome_desktop.html">Lenny->Squeeze upgrades, apt vs aptitude with the Gnome desktop</a>
14095       </div>
14096       <div class="date">
14097          3rd July 2010
14098       </div>
14099       <div class="body">
14100         <p>Here is a short update on my <a
14101 href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">my
14102 Debian Lenny->Squeeze upgrade testing</a>.  Here is a summary of the
14103 difference for Gnome when it is upgraded by apt-get and aptitude.  I'm
14104 not reporting the status for KDE, because the upgrade crashes when
14105 aptitude try because of missing conflicts
14106 (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/584861">#584861</a> and
14107 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/585716">#585716</a>).</p>
14108
14109 <p>At the end of the upgrade test script, dpkg -l is executed to get a
14110 complete list of the installed packages.  Based on this I see these
14111 differences when I did a test run today.  As usual, I do not really
14112 know what the correct set of packages would be, but thought it best to
14113 publish the difference.</p>
14114
14115 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
14116
14117 <blockquote><p>
14118   at-spi cpp-4.3 finger gnome-spell gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs
14119   libatspi1.0-0 libcupsys2 libeel2-data libgail-common libgdl-1-common
14120   libgnomeprint2.2-data libgnomeprintui2.2-common libgnomevfs2-bin
14121   libgtksourceview-common libpt-1.10.10-plugins-alsa
14122   libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l libservlet2.4-java libxalan2-java
14123   libxerces2-java openoffice.org-writer2latex openssl-blacklist p7zip
14124   python-4suite-xml python-eggtrayicon python-gtkhtml2
14125   python-gtkmozembed svgalibg1 xserver-xephyr zip
14126 </p></blockquote>
14127
14128 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
14129
14130 <blockquote><p>
14131   bluez-utils dhcdbd djvulibre-desktop epiphany-gecko
14132   gnome-app-install gnome-mount gnome-vfs-obexftp gnome-volume-manager
14133   libao2 libavahi-compat-libdnssd1 libavahi-core5 libbind9-50
14134   libbluetooth2 libcamel1.2-11 libcdio7 libcucul0 libcurl3
14135   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdvdread3 libedata-cal1.2-6 libedataserver1.2-9
14136   libeel2-2.20 libepc-1.0-1 libepc-ui-1.0-1 libexchange-storage1.2-3
14137   libfaad0 libgd2-noxpm libgda3-3 libgda3-common libggz2 libggzcore9
14138   libggzmod4 libgksu1.2-0 libgksuui1.0-1 libgmyth0 libgnome-desktop-2
14139   libgnome-pilot2 libgnomecups1.0-1 libgnomeprint2.2-0
14140   libgnomeprintui2.2-0 libgpod3 libgraphviz4 libgtkhtml2-0
14141   libgtksourceview1.0-0 libgucharmap6 libhesiod0 libicu38 libisccc50
14142   libisccfg50 libiw29 libkpathsea4 libltdl3 liblwres50 libmagick++10
14143   libmagick10 libmalaga7 libmtp7 libmysqlclient15off libnautilus-burn4
14144   libneon27 libnm-glib0 libnm-util0 libopal-2.2 libosp5
14145   libparted1.8-10 libpisock9 libpisync1 libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler3
14146   libpt-1.10.10 libraw1394-8 libsensors3 libsmbios2 libsoup2.2-8
14147   libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libswfdec-0.6-90 libtalloc1
14148   libtotem-plparser10 libtrackerclient0 libvoikko1 libxalan2-java-gcj
14149   libxerces2-java-gcj libxklavier12 libxtrap6 libxxf86misc1 libzephyr3
14150   mysql-common swfdec-gnome totem-gstreamer wodim
14151 </p></blockquote>
14152
14153 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
14154
14155 <blockquote><p>
14156   gnome gnome-desktop-environment hamster-applet python-gnomeapplet
14157   python-gnomekeyring python-wnck rhythmbox-plugins xorg
14158   xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev
14159   xserver-xorg-input-kbd xserver-xorg-input-mouse
14160   xserver-xorg-input-synaptics xserver-xorg-video-all
14161   xserver-xorg-video-apm xserver-xorg-video-ark xserver-xorg-video-ati
14162   xserver-xorg-video-chips xserver-xorg-video-cirrus
14163   xserver-xorg-video-dummy xserver-xorg-video-fbdev
14164   xserver-xorg-video-glint xserver-xorg-video-i128
14165   xserver-xorg-video-i740 xserver-xorg-video-mach64
14166   xserver-xorg-video-mga xserver-xorg-video-neomagic
14167   xserver-xorg-video-nouveau xserver-xorg-video-nv
14168   xserver-xorg-video-r128 xserver-xorg-video-radeon
14169   xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd xserver-xorg-video-rendition
14170   xserver-xorg-video-s3 xserver-xorg-video-s3virge
14171   xserver-xorg-video-savage xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion
14172   xserver-xorg-video-sis xserver-xorg-video-sisusb
14173   xserver-xorg-video-tdfx xserver-xorg-video-tga
14174   xserver-xorg-video-trident xserver-xorg-video-tseng
14175   xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vmware
14176   xserver-xorg-video-voodoo
14177 </p></blockquote>
14178
14179 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
14180
14181 <blockquote><p>
14182   deskbar-applet xserver-xorg xserver-xorg-core
14183   xserver-xorg-input-wacom xserver-xorg-video-intel
14184   xserver-xorg-video-openchrome
14185 </p></blockquote>
14186
14187 <p>I was told on IRC that the xorg-xserver package was
14188 <a href="http://git.debian.org/?p=pkg-xorg/xserver/xorg-server.git;a=commit;h=9c8080d06c457932d3bfec021c69ac000aa60120">changed
14189 in git</a> today to try to get apt-get to not remove xorg completely.
14190 No idea when it hits Squeeze, but when it does I hope it will reduce
14191 the difference somewhat.
14192
14193       </div>
14194       <div class="tags">
14195
14196
14197         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
14198
14199
14200       </div>
14201     </div>
14202     <div class="padding"></div>
14203
14204     <div class="entry">
14205       <div class="title">
14206         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Caching_password__user_and_group_on_a_roaming_Debian_laptop.html">Caching password, user and group on a roaming Debian laptop</a>
14207       </div>
14208       <div class="date">
14209          1st July 2010
14210       </div>
14211       <div class="body">
14212         <p>For a laptop, centralized user directories and password checking is
14213 a bit troubling.  Laptops are typically used also when not connected
14214 to the network, and it is vital for a user to be able to log in or
14215 unlock the screen saver also when a central server is unavailable.
14216 This is possible by caching passwords and directory information (user
14217 and group attributes) locally, and the packages to do so are available
14218 in Debian.  Here follow two recipes to set this up in Debian/Squeeze.
14219 It is also possible to set up in Debian/Lenny, but require more manual
14220 setup there because pam-auth-update is missing in Lenny.</p>
14221
14222 <h2>LDAP/Kerberos + nscd + libpam-ccreds + libpam-mklocaluser/pam_mkhomedir</h2>
14223
14224 This is the traditional method with a twist.  The password caching is
14225 provided by libpam-ccreds (version 10-4 or later is needed on
14226 Squeeze), and the directory caching is done by nscd.  The directory
14227 lookup and password checking is done using LDAP.  If one want to use
14228 Kerberos for password checking the libpam-ldapd package can be
14229 replaced with libpam-krb5 or libpam-heimdal.  If one is happy having a
14230 local home directory with the path listed in LDAP, one can use the
14231 pam_mkhomedir module from pam-modules to make this happen instead of
14232 using libpam-mklocaluser.  A setup for pam-auth-update to enable
14233 pam_mkhomedir will have to be written until a fix for
14234 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/568577">bug #568577</a> is in the
14235 archive.  Because I believe it is a bad idea to have local home
14236 directories using misleading paths like /site/server/partition/, I
14237 prefer to create a local user with the home directory in /home/.  This
14238 is done using the libpam-mklocaluser package.</p>
14239
14240 <p>These packages need to be installed and configured</p>
14241
14242 <blockquote><pre>
14243 libnss-ldapd libpam-ldapd nscd libpam-ccreds libpam-mklocaluser
14244 </pre></blockquote>
14245
14246 <p>The ldapd packages will ask for LDAP connection information, and
14247 one have to fill in the values that fits ones own site.  Make sure the
14248 PAM part uses encrypted connections, to make sure the password is not
14249 sent in clear text to the LDAP server.  I've been unable to get TLS
14250 certificate checking for a self signed certificate working, which make
14251 LDAP authentication unsafe for Debian Edu (nslcd is not checking if it
14252 is talking to the correct LDAP server), and very much welcome feedback
14253 on how to get this working.</p>
14254
14255 <p>Because nscd do not have a default configuration fit for offline
14256 caching until <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/485282">bug #485282</a>
14257 is fixed, this configuration should be used instead of the one
14258 currently in /etc/nscd.conf.  The changes are in the fields
14259 reload-count and positive-time-to-live, and is based on the
14260 instructions I found in the
14261 <a href="http://www.flyn.org/laptopldap/">LDAP for Mobile Laptops</a>
14262 instructions by Flyn Computing.</p>
14263
14264 <blockquote><pre>
14265         debug-level             0
14266         reload-count            unlimited
14267         paranoia                no
14268
14269         enable-cache            passwd          yes
14270         positive-time-to-live   passwd          2592000
14271         negative-time-to-live   passwd          20
14272         suggested-size          passwd          211
14273         check-files             passwd          yes
14274         persistent              passwd          yes
14275         shared                  passwd          yes
14276         max-db-size             passwd          33554432
14277         auto-propagate          passwd          yes
14278
14279         enable-cache            group           yes
14280         positive-time-to-live   group           2592000
14281         negative-time-to-live   group           20
14282         suggested-size          group           211
14283         check-files             group           yes
14284         persistent              group           yes
14285         shared                  group           yes
14286         max-db-size             group           33554432
14287         auto-propagate          group           yes
14288
14289         enable-cache            hosts           no
14290         positive-time-to-live   hosts           2592000
14291         negative-time-to-live   hosts           20
14292         suggested-size          hosts           211
14293         check-files             hosts           yes
14294         persistent              hosts           yes
14295         shared                  hosts           yes
14296         max-db-size             hosts           33554432
14297
14298         enable-cache            services        yes
14299         positive-time-to-live   services        2592000
14300         negative-time-to-live   services        20
14301         suggested-size          services        211
14302         check-files             services        yes
14303         persistent              services        yes
14304         shared                  services        yes
14305         max-db-size             services        33554432
14306 </pre></blockquote>
14307
14308 <p>While we wait for a mechanism to update /etc/nsswitch.conf
14309 automatically like the one provided in
14310 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/496915">bug #496915</a>, the file
14311 content need to be manually replaced to ensure LDAP is used as the
14312 directory service on the machine.  /etc/nsswitch.conf should normally
14313 look like this:</p>
14314
14315 <blockquote><pre>
14316 passwd:         files ldap
14317 group:          files ldap
14318 shadow:         files ldap
14319 hosts:          files mdns4_minimal [NOTFOUND=return] dns mdns4
14320 networks:       files
14321 protocols:      files
14322 services:       files
14323 ethers:         files
14324 rpc:            files
14325 netgroup:       files ldap
14326 </pre></blockquote>
14327
14328 <p>The important parts are that ldap is listed last for passwd, group,
14329 shadow and netgroup.</p>
14330
14331 <p>With these changes in place, any user in LDAP will be able to log
14332 in locally on the machine using for example kdm, get a local home
14333 directory created and have the password as well as user and group
14334 attributes cached.
14335
14336 <h2>LDAP/Kerberos + nss-updatedb + libpam-ccreds +
14337   libpam-mklocaluser/pam_mkhomedir</h2>
14338
14339 <p>Because nscd have had its share of problems, and seem to have
14340 problems doing proper caching, I've seen suggestions and recipes to
14341 use nss-updatedb to copy parts of the LDAP database locally when the
14342 LDAP database is available.  I have not tested such setup, because I
14343 discovered sssd.</p>
14344
14345 <h2>LDAP/Kerberos + sssd + libpam-mklocaluser</h2>
14346
14347 <p>A more flexible and robust setup than the nscd combination
14348 mentioned earlier that has shown up recently, is the
14349 <a href="https://fedorahosted.org/sssd/">sssd</a> package from Redhat.
14350 It is part of the <a href="http://www.freeipa.org/">FreeIPA</A> project
14351 to provide a Active Directory like directory service for Linux
14352 machines.  The sssd system combines the caching of passwords and user
14353 information into one package, and remove the need for nscd and
14354 libpam-ccreds.  It support LDAP and Kerberos, but not NIS.  Version
14355 1.2 do not support netgroups, but it is said that it will support this
14356 in version 1.5 expected to show up later in 2010.  Because the
14357 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/s/sssd.html">sssd package</a>
14358 was missing in Debian, I ended up co-maintaining it with Werner, and
14359 version 1.2 is now in testing.
14360
14361 <p>These packages need to be installed and configured to get the
14362 roaming setup I want</p>
14363
14364 <blockquote><pre>
14365 libpam-sss libnss-sss libpam-mklocaluser
14366 </pre></blockquote>
14367
14368 The complete setup of sssd is done by editing/creating
14369 <tt>/etc/sssd/sssd.conf</tt>.
14370
14371 <blockquote><pre>
14372 [sssd]
14373 config_file_version = 2
14374 reconnection_retries = 3
14375 sbus_timeout = 30
14376 services = nss, pam
14377 domains = INTERN
14378
14379 [nss]
14380 filter_groups = root
14381 filter_users = root
14382 reconnection_retries = 3
14383
14384 [pam]
14385 reconnection_retries = 3
14386
14387 [domain/INTERN]
14388 enumerate = false
14389 cache_credentials = true
14390
14391 id_provider = ldap
14392 auth_provider = ldap
14393 chpass_provider = ldap
14394
14395 ldap_uri = ldap://ldap
14396 ldap_search_base = dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
14397 ldap_tls_reqcert = never
14398 ldap_tls_cacert = /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
14399 </pre></blockquote>
14400
14401 <p>I got the same problem here with certificate checking.  Had to set
14402 "ldap_tls_reqcert = never" to get it working.</p>
14403
14404 <p>With the libnss-sss package in testing at the moment, the
14405 nsswitch.conf file is update automatically, so there is no need to
14406 modify it manually.</p>
14407
14408 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
14409 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
14410
14411       </div>
14412       <div class="tags">
14413
14414
14415         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
14416
14417
14418       </div>
14419     </div>
14420     <div class="padding"></div>
14421
14422     <div class="entry">
14423       <div class="title">
14424         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/LUMA__a_very_nice_LDAP_GUI.html">LUMA, a very nice LDAP GUI</a>
14425       </div>
14426       <div class="date">
14427         28th June 2010
14428       </div>
14429       <div class="body">
14430         <p>The last few days I have been looking into the status of the LDAP
14431 directory in Debian Edu, and in the process I started to miss a GUI
14432 tool to browse the LDAP tree.  The only one I was able to find in
14433 Debian/Squeeze and Lenny is
14434 <a href="http://luma.sourceforge.net/">LUMA</a>, which has proved to
14435 be a great tool to get a overview of the current LDAP directory
14436 populated by default in Skolelinux.  Thanks to it, I have been able to
14437 find empty and obsolete subtrees, misplaced objects and duplicate
14438 objects.  It will be installed by default in Debian/Squeeze.  If you
14439 are working with LDAP, give it a go. :)</p>
14440
14441 <p>I did notice one problem with it I have not had time to report to
14442 the BTS yet.  There is no .desktop file in the package, so the tool do
14443 not show up in the Gnome and KDE menus, but only deep down in in the
14444 Debian submenu in KDE.  I hope that can be fixed before Squeeze is
14445 released.</p>
14446
14447 <p>I have not yet been able to get it to modify the tree yet.  I would
14448 like to move objects and remove subtrees directly in the GUI, but have
14449 not found a way to do that with LUMA yet.  So in the mean time, I use
14450 <a href="http://www.lichteblau.com/ldapvi/">ldapvi</a> for that.</p>
14451
14452 <p>If you have tips on other GUI tools for LDAP that might be useful
14453 in Debian Edu, please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
14454
14455 <p>Update 2010-06-29: Ross Reedstrom tipped us about the
14456 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/g/gq.html">gq</a> package as a
14457 useful GUI alternative.  It seem like a good tool, but is unmaintained
14458 in Debian and got a RC bug keeping it out of Squeeze.  Unless that
14459 changes, it will not be an option for Debian Edu based on Squeeze.</p>
14460
14461       </div>
14462       <div class="tags">
14463
14464
14465         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
14466
14467
14468       </div>
14469     </div>
14470     <div class="padding"></div>
14471
14472     <div class="entry">
14473       <div class="title">
14474         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Idea_for_a_change_to_LDAP_schemas_allowing_DNS_and_DHCP_info_to_be_combined_into_one_object.html">Idea for a change to LDAP schemas allowing DNS and DHCP info to be combined into one object</a>
14475       </div>
14476       <div class="date">
14477         24th June 2010
14478       </div>
14479       <div class="body">
14480         <p>A while back, I
14481 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_for_new__LDAP_schemas_replacing_RFC_2307_.html">complained
14482 about the fact</a> that it is not possible with the provided schemas
14483 for storing DNS and DHCP information in LDAP to combine the two sets
14484 of information into one LDAP object representing a computer.</p>
14485
14486 <p>In the mean time, I discovered that a simple fix would be to make
14487 the dhcpHost object class auxiliary, to allow it to be combined with
14488 the dNSDomain object class, and thus forming one object for one
14489 computer when storing both DHCP and DNS information in LDAP.</p>
14490
14491 <p>If I understand this correctly, it is not safe to do this change
14492 without also changing the assigned number for the object class, and I
14493 do not know enough about LDAP schema design to do that properly for
14494 Debian Edu.</p>
14495
14496 <p>Anyway, for future reference, this is how I believe we could change
14497 the
14498 <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-dhc-ldap-schema-00">DHCP
14499 schema</a> to solve at least part of the problem with the LDAP schemas
14500 available today from IETF.</p>
14501
14502 <pre>
14503 --- dhcp.schema    (revision 65192)
14504 +++ dhcp.schema    (working copy)
14505 @@ -376,7 +376,7 @@
14506  objectclass ( 2.16.840.1.113719.1.203.6.6
14507         NAME 'dhcpHost'
14508         DESC 'This represents information about a particular client'
14509 -       SUP top
14510 +       SUP top AUXILIARY
14511         MUST cn
14512         MAY  (dhcpLeaseDN $ dhcpHWAddress $ dhcpOptionsDN $ dhcpStatements $ dhcpComments $ dhcpOption)
14513         X-NDS_CONTAINMENT ('dhcpService' 'dhcpSubnet' 'dhcpGroup') )
14514 </pre>
14515
14516 <p>I very much welcome clues on how to do this properly for Debian
14517 Edu/Squeeze.  We provide the DHCP schema in our debian-edu-config
14518 package, and should thus be free to rewrite it as we see fit.</p>
14519
14520 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
14521 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
14522
14523       </div>
14524       <div class="tags">
14525
14526
14527         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
14528
14529
14530       </div>
14531     </div>
14532     <div class="padding"></div>
14533
14534     <div class="entry">
14535       <div class="title">
14536         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Calling_tasksel_like_the_installer__while_still_getting_useful_output.html">Calling tasksel like the installer, while still getting useful output</a>
14537       </div>
14538       <div class="date">
14539         16th June 2010
14540       </div>
14541       <div class="body">
14542         <p>A few times I have had the need to simulate the way tasksel
14543 installs packages during the normal debian-installer run.  Until now,
14544 I have ended up letting tasksel do the work, with the annoying problem
14545 of not getting any feedback at all when something fails (like a
14546 conffile question from dpkg or a download that fails), using code like
14547 this:
14548
14549 <blockquote><pre>
14550 export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
14551 tasksel --new-install
14552 </pre></blockquote>
14553
14554 This would invoke tasksel, let its automatic task selection pick the
14555 tasks to install, and continue to install the requested tasks without
14556 any output what so ever.
14557
14558 Recently I revisited this problem while working on the automatic
14559 package upgrade testing, because tasksel would some times hang without
14560 any useful feedback, and I want to see what is going on when it
14561 happen.  Then it occured to me, I can parse the output from tasksel
14562 when asked to run in test mode, and use that aptitude command line
14563 printed by tasksel then to simulate the tasksel run.  I ended up using
14564 code like this:
14565
14566 <blockquote><pre>
14567 export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
14568 cmd="$(in_target tasksel -t --new-install | sed 's/debconf-apt-progress -- //')"
14569 $cmd
14570 </pre></blockquote>
14571
14572 <p>The content of $cmd is typically something like "<tt>aptitude -q
14573 --without-recommends -o APT::Install-Recommends=no -y install
14574 ~t^desktop$ ~t^gnome-desktop$ ~t^laptop$ ~pstandard ~prequired
14575 ~pimportant</tt>", which will install the gnome desktop task, the
14576 laptop task and all packages with priority standard , required and
14577 important, just like tasksel would have done it during
14578 installation.</p>
14579
14580 <p>A better approach is probably to extend tasksel to be able to
14581 install packages without using debconf-apt-progress, for use cases
14582 like this.</p>
14583
14584       </div>
14585       <div class="tags">
14586
14587
14588         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
14589
14590
14591       </div>
14592     </div>
14593     <div class="padding"></div>
14594
14595     <div class="entry">
14596       <div class="title">
14597         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Officeshots_taking_shape.html">Officeshots taking shape</a>
14598       </div>
14599       <div class="date">
14600         13th June 2010
14601       </div>
14602       <div class="body">
14603         <p>For those of us caring about document exchange and
14604 interoperability, <a href="http://www.officeshots.org/">OfficeShots</a>
14605 is a great service.  It is to ODF documents what
14606 <a href="http://browsershots.org/">BrowserShots</a> is for web
14607 pages.</p>
14608
14609 <p>A while back, I was contacted by Knut Yrvin at the part of Nokia
14610 that used to be Trolltech, who wanted to help the OfficeShots project
14611 and wondered if the University of Oslo where I work would be
14612 interested in supporting the project.  I helped him to navigate his
14613 request to the right people at work, and his request was answered with
14614 a spot in the machine room with power and network connected, and Knut
14615 arranged funding for a machine to fill the spot.  The machine is
14616 administrated by the OfficeShots people, so I do not have daily
14617 contact with its progress, and thus from time to time check back to
14618 see how the project is doing.</p>
14619
14620 <p>Today I had a look, and was happy to see that the Dell box in our
14621 machine room now is the host for several virtual machines running as
14622 OfficeShots factories, and the project is able to render ODF documents
14623 in 17 different document processing implementation on Linux and
14624 Windows.  This is great.</p>
14625
14626       </div>
14627       <div class="tags">
14628
14629
14630         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
14631
14632
14633       </div>
14634     </div>
14635     <div class="padding"></div>
14636
14637     <div class="entry">
14638       <div class="title">
14639         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lenny__Squeeze_upgrades__removals_by_apt_and_aptitude.html">Lenny->Squeeze upgrades, removals by apt and aptitude</a>
14640       </div>
14641       <div class="date">
14642         13th June 2010
14643       </div>
14644       <div class="body">
14645         <p>My
14646 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatic_upgrade_testing_from_Lenny_to_Squeeze.html">testing
14647 of Debian upgrades</a> from Lenny to Squeeze continues, and I've
14648 finally made the upgrade logs available from
14649 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/debian-upgrade-testing/</a>.
14650 I am now testing dist-upgrade of Gnome and KDE in a chroot using both
14651 apt and aptitude, and found their differences interesting.  This time
14652 I will only focus on their removal plans.</p>
14653
14654 <p>After installing a Gnome desktop and the laptop task, apt-get wants
14655 to remove 72 packages when dist-upgrading from Lenny to Squeeze.  The
14656 surprising part is that it want to remove xorg and all
14657 xserver-xorg-video* drivers.  Clearly not a good choice, but I am not
14658 sure why.  When asking aptitude to do the same, it want to remove 129
14659 packages, but most of them are library packages I suspect are no
14660 longer needed.  Both of them want to remove bluetooth packages, which
14661 I do not know.  Perhaps these bluetooth packages are obsolete?</p>
14662
14663 <p>For KDE, apt-get want to remove 82 packages, among them kdebase
14664 which seem like a bad idea and xorg the same way as with Gnome. Asking
14665 aptitude for the same, it wants to remove 192 packages, none which are
14666 too surprising.</p>
14667
14668 <p>I guess the removal of xorg during upgrades should be investigated
14669 and avoided, and perhaps others as well.  Here are the complete list
14670 of planned removals.  The complete logs is available from the URL
14671 above.  Note if you want to repeat these tests, that the upgrade test
14672 for kde+apt-get hung in the tasksel setup because of dpkg asking
14673 conffile questions.  No idea why.  I worked around it by using
14674 '<tt>echo >> /proc/<em>pidofdpkg</em>/fd/0</tt>' to tell dpkg to
14675 continue.</p>
14676
14677 <p><b>apt-get gnome 72</b>
14678 <br>bluez-gnome cupsddk-drivers deskbar-applet gnome
14679   gnome-desktop-environment gnome-network-admin gtkhtml3.14
14680   iceweasel-gnome-support libavcodec51 libdatrie0 libgdl-1-0
14681   libgnomekbd2 libgnomekbdui2 libmetacity0 libslab0 libxcb-xlib0
14682   nautilus-cd-burner python-gnome2-desktop python-gnome2-extras
14683   serpentine swfdec-mozilla update-manager xorg xserver-xorg
14684   xserver-xorg-core xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev
14685   xserver-xorg-input-kbd xserver-xorg-input-mouse
14686   xserver-xorg-input-synaptics xserver-xorg-input-wacom
14687   xserver-xorg-video-all xserver-xorg-video-apm xserver-xorg-video-ark
14688   xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-chips
14689   xserver-xorg-video-cirrus xserver-xorg-video-cyrix
14690   xserver-xorg-video-dummy xserver-xorg-video-fbdev
14691   xserver-xorg-video-glint xserver-xorg-video-i128
14692   xserver-xorg-video-i740 xserver-xorg-video-imstt
14693   xserver-xorg-video-intel xserver-xorg-video-mach64
14694   xserver-xorg-video-mga xserver-xorg-video-neomagic
14695   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-nv
14696   xserver-xorg-video-openchrome xserver-xorg-video-r128
14697   xserver-xorg-video-radeon xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd
14698   xserver-xorg-video-rendition xserver-xorg-video-s3
14699   xserver-xorg-video-s3virge xserver-xorg-video-savage
14700   xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion xserver-xorg-video-sis
14701   xserver-xorg-video-sisusb xserver-xorg-video-tdfx
14702   xserver-xorg-video-tga xserver-xorg-video-trident
14703   xserver-xorg-video-tseng xserver-xorg-video-v4l
14704   xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vga
14705   xserver-xorg-video-vmware xserver-xorg-video-voodoo xulrunner-1.9
14706   xulrunner-1.9-gnome-support</p>
14707
14708 <p><b>aptitude gnome 129</b>
14709
14710 <br>bluez-gnome bluez-utils cpp-4.3 cupsddk-drivers dhcdbd
14711   djvulibre-desktop finger gnome-app-install gnome-mount
14712   gnome-network-admin gnome-spell gnome-vfs-obexftp
14713   gnome-volume-manager gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs gtkhtml3.14 libao2
14714   libavahi-compat-libdnssd1 libavahi-core5 libavcodec51 libbluetooth2
14715   libcamel1.2-11 libcdio7 libcucul0 libcupsys2 libcurl3 libdatrie0
14716   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdvdread3 libedataserver1.2-9 libeel2-2.20
14717   libeel2-data libepc-1.0-1 libepc-ui-1.0-1 libfaad0 libgail-common
14718   libgd2-noxpm libgda3-3 libgda3-common libgdl-1-0 libgdl-1-common
14719   libggz2 libggzcore9 libggzmod4 libgksu1.2-0 libgksuui1.0-1 libgmyth0
14720   libgnomecups1.0-1 libgnomekbd2 libgnomekbdui2 libgnomeprint2.2-0
14721   libgnomeprint2.2-data libgnomeprintui2.2-0 libgnomeprintui2.2-common
14722   libgnomevfs2-bin libgpod3 libgraphviz4 libgtkhtml2-0
14723   libgtksourceview-common libgtksourceview1.0-0 libgucharmap6
14724   libhesiod0 libicu38 libiw29 libkpathsea4 libltdl3 libmagick++10
14725   libmagick10 libmalaga7 libmetacity0 libmtp7 libmysqlclient15off
14726   libnautilus-burn4 libneon27 libnm-glib0 libnm-util0 libopal-2.2
14727   libosp5 libparted1.8-10 libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler3 libpt-1.10.10
14728   libpt-1.10.10-plugins-alsa libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l libraw1394-8
14729   libsensors3 libslab0 libsmbios2 libsoup2.2-8 libssh2-1
14730   libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libswfdec-0.6-90 libtalloc1 libtotem-plparser10
14731   libtrackerclient0 libxalan2-java libxalan2-java-gcj libxcb-xlib0
14732   libxerces2-java libxerces2-java-gcj libxklavier12 libxtrap6
14733   libxxf86misc1 libzephyr3 mysql-common nautilus-cd-burner
14734   openoffice.org-writer2latex openssl-blacklist p7zip
14735   python-4suite-xml python-eggtrayicon python-gnome2-desktop
14736   python-gnome2-extras python-gtkhtml2 python-gtkmozembed
14737   python-numeric python-sexy serpentine svgalibg1 swfdec-gnome
14738   swfdec-mozilla totem-gstreamer update-manager wodim
14739   xserver-xorg-video-cyrix xserver-xorg-video-imstt
14740   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-v4l xserver-xorg-video-vga
14741   zip</p>
14742
14743 <p><b>apt-get kde 82</b>
14744
14745 <br>cupsddk-drivers karm kaudiocreator kcoloredit kcontrol kde kde-core
14746   kdeaddons kdeartwork kdebase kdebase-bin kdebase-bin-kde3
14747   kdebase-kio-plugins kdesktop kdeutils khelpcenter kicker
14748   kicker-applets knewsticker kolourpaint konq-plugins konqueror korn
14749   kpersonalizer kscreensaver ksplash libavcodec51 libdatrie0 libkiten1
14750   libxcb-xlib0 quanta superkaramba texlive-base-bin xorg xserver-xorg
14751   xserver-xorg-core xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev
14752   xserver-xorg-input-kbd xserver-xorg-input-mouse
14753   xserver-xorg-input-synaptics xserver-xorg-input-wacom
14754   xserver-xorg-video-all xserver-xorg-video-apm xserver-xorg-video-ark
14755   xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-chips
14756   xserver-xorg-video-cirrus xserver-xorg-video-cyrix
14757   xserver-xorg-video-dummy xserver-xorg-video-fbdev
14758   xserver-xorg-video-glint xserver-xorg-video-i128
14759   xserver-xorg-video-i740 xserver-xorg-video-imstt
14760   xserver-xorg-video-intel xserver-xorg-video-mach64
14761   xserver-xorg-video-mga xserver-xorg-video-neomagic
14762   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-nv
14763   xserver-xorg-video-openchrome xserver-xorg-video-r128
14764   xserver-xorg-video-radeon xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd
14765   xserver-xorg-video-rendition xserver-xorg-video-s3
14766   xserver-xorg-video-s3virge xserver-xorg-video-savage
14767   xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion xserver-xorg-video-sis
14768   xserver-xorg-video-sisusb xserver-xorg-video-tdfx
14769   xserver-xorg-video-tga xserver-xorg-video-trident
14770   xserver-xorg-video-tseng xserver-xorg-video-v4l
14771   xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vga
14772   xserver-xorg-video-vmware xserver-xorg-video-voodoo xulrunner-1.9</p>
14773
14774 <p><b>aptitude kde 192</b>
14775 <br>bluez-utils cpp-4.3 cupsddk-drivers cvs dcoprss dhcdbd
14776   djvulibre-desktop dosfstools eyesapplet fifteenapplet finger gettext
14777   ghostscript-x imlib-base imlib11 indi kandy karm kasteroids
14778   kaudiocreator kbackgammon kbstate kcoloredit kcontrol kcron kdat
14779   kdeadmin-kfile-plugins kdeartwork-misc kdeartwork-theme-window
14780   kdebase-bin-kde3 kdebase-kio-plugins kdeedu-data
14781   kdegraphics-kfile-plugins kdelirc kdemultimedia-kappfinder-data
14782   kdemultimedia-kfile-plugins kdenetwork-kfile-plugins
14783   kdepim-kfile-plugins kdepim-kio-plugins kdeprint kdesktop kdessh
14784   kdict kdnssd kdvi kedit keduca kenolaba kfax kfaxview kfouleggs
14785   kghostview khelpcenter khexedit kiconedit kitchensync klatin
14786   klickety kmailcvt kmenuedit kmid kmilo kmoon kmrml kodo kolourpaint
14787   kooka korn kpager kpdf kpercentage kpf kpilot kpoker kpovmodeler
14788   krec kregexpeditor ksayit ksim ksirc ksirtet ksmiletris ksmserver
14789   ksnake ksokoban ksplash ksvg ksysv ktip ktnef kuickshow kverbos
14790   kview kviewshell kvoctrain kwifimanager kwin kwin4 kworldclock
14791   kxsldbg libakode2 libao2 libarts1-akode libarts1-audiofile
14792   libarts1-mpeglib libarts1-xine libavahi-compat-libdnssd1
14793   libavahi-core5 libavc1394-0 libavcodec51 libbluetooth2
14794   libboost-python1.34.1 libcucul0 libcurl3 libcvsservice0 libdatrie0
14795   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdjvulibre21 libdvdread3 libfaad0 libfreebob0
14796   libgail-common libgd2-noxpm libgraphviz4 libgsmme1c2a libgtkhtml2-0
14797   libicu38 libiec61883-0 libindex0 libiw29 libk3b3 libkcal2b libkcddb1
14798   libkdeedu3 libkdepim1a libkgantt0 libkiten1 libkleopatra1 libkmime2
14799   libkpathsea4 libkpimexchange1 libkpimidentities1 libkscan1
14800   libksieve0 libktnef1 liblockdev1 libltdl3 libmagick10 libmimelib1c2a
14801   libmozjs1d libmpcdec3 libneon27 libnm-util0 libopensync0 libpisock9
14802   libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler-qt2 libpoppler3 libraw1394-8 libsmbios2
14803   libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libtalloc1 libtiff-tools
14804   libxalan2-java libxalan2-java-gcj libxcb-xlib0 libxerces2-java
14805   libxerces2-java-gcj libxtrap6 mpeglib networkstatus
14806   openoffice.org-writer2latex pmount poster psutils quanta quanta-data
14807   superkaramba svgalibg1 tex-common texlive-base texlive-base-bin
14808   texlive-common texlive-doc-base texlive-fonts-recommended
14809   xserver-xorg-video-cyrix xserver-xorg-video-imstt
14810   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-v4l xserver-xorg-video-vga
14811   xulrunner-1.9</p>
14812
14813
14814       </div>
14815       <div class="tags">
14816
14817
14818         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
14819
14820
14821       </div>
14822     </div>
14823     <div class="padding"></div>
14824
14825     <div class="entry">
14826       <div class="title">
14827         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatic_upgrade_testing_from_Lenny_to_Squeeze.html">Automatic upgrade testing from Lenny to Squeeze</a>
14828       </div>
14829       <div class="date">
14830         11th June 2010
14831       </div>
14832       <div class="body">
14833         <p>The last few days I have done some upgrade testing in Debian, to
14834 see if the upgrade from Lenny to Squeeze will go smoothly.  A few bugs
14835 have been discovered and reported in the process
14836 (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/585410">#585410</a> in nagios3-cgi,
14837 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/584879">#584879</a> already fixed in
14838 enscript and <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/584861">#584861</a> in
14839 kdebase-workspace-data), and to get a more regular testing going on, I
14840 am working on a script to automate the test.</p>
14841
14842 <p>The idea is to create a Lenny chroot and use tasksel to install a
14843 Gnome or KDE desktop installation inside the chroot before upgrading
14844 it.  To ensure no services are started in the chroot, a policy-rc.d
14845 script is inserted.  To make sure tasksel believe it is to install a
14846 desktop on a laptop, the tasksel tests are replaced in the chroot
14847 (only acceptable because this is a throw-away chroot).</p>
14848
14849 <p>A naive upgrade from Lenny to Squeeze using aptitude dist-upgrade
14850 currently always fail because udev refuses to upgrade with the kernel
14851 in Lenny, so to avoid that problem the file /etc/udev/kernel-upgrade
14852 is created.  The bug report
14853 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/566000">#566000</a> make me suspect
14854 this problem do not trigger in a chroot, but I touch the file anyway
14855 to make sure the upgrade go well.  Testing on virtual and real
14856 hardware have failed me because of udev so far, and creating this file
14857 do the trick in such settings anyway.  This is a
14858 <a href="http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/debian-26/failed-dist-upgrade-due-to-udev-config_sysfs_deprecated-nonsense-804130/">known
14859 issue</a> and the current udev behaviour is intended by the udev
14860 maintainer because he lack the resources to rewrite udev to keep
14861 working with old kernels or something like that.  I really wish the
14862 udev upstream would keep udev backwards compatible, to avoid such
14863 upgrade problem, but given that they fail to do so, I guess
14864 documenting the way out of this mess is the best option we got for
14865 Debian Squeeze.</p>
14866
14867 <p>Anyway, back to the task at hand, testing upgrades.  This test
14868 script, which I call <tt>upgrade-test</tt> for now, is doing the
14869 trick:</p>
14870
14871 <blockquote><pre>
14872 #!/bin/sh
14873 set -ex
14874
14875 if [ "$1" ] ; then
14876     desktop=$1
14877 else
14878     desktop=gnome
14879 fi
14880
14881 from=lenny
14882 to=squeeze
14883
14884 exec &lt; /dev/null
14885 unset LANG
14886 mirror=http://ftp.skolelinux.org/debian
14887 tmpdir=chroot-$from-upgrade-$to-$desktop
14888 fuser -mv .
14889 debootstrap $from $tmpdir $mirror
14890 chroot $tmpdir aptitude update
14891 cat > $tmpdir/usr/sbin/policy-rc.d &lt;&lt;EOF
14892 #!/bin/sh
14893 exit 101
14894 EOF
14895 chmod a+rx $tmpdir/usr/sbin/policy-rc.d
14896 exit_cleanup() {
14897     umount $tmpdir/proc
14898 }
14899 mount -t proc proc $tmpdir/proc
14900 # Make sure proc is unmounted also on failure
14901 trap exit_cleanup EXIT INT
14902
14903 chroot $tmpdir aptitude -y install debconf-utils
14904
14905 # Make sure tasksel autoselection trigger.  It need the test scripts
14906 # to return the correct answers.
14907 echo tasksel tasksel/desktop multiselect $desktop | \
14908     chroot $tmpdir debconf-set-selections
14909
14910 # Include the desktop and laptop task
14911 for test in desktop laptop ; do
14912     echo > $tmpdir/usr/lib/tasksel/tests/$test &lt;&lt;EOF
14913 #!/bin/sh
14914 exit 2
14915 EOF
14916     chmod a+rx $tmpdir/usr/lib/tasksel/tests/$test
14917 done
14918
14919 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
14920 DEBIAN_PRIORITY=critical
14921 export DEBIAN_FRONTEND DEBIAN_PRIORITY
14922 chroot $tmpdir tasksel --new-install
14923
14924 echo deb $mirror $to main > $tmpdir/etc/apt/sources.list
14925 chroot $tmpdir aptitude update
14926 touch $tmpdir/etc/udev/kernel-upgrade
14927 chroot $tmpdir aptitude -y dist-upgrade
14928 fuser -mv
14929 </pre></blockquote>
14930
14931 <p>I suspect it would be useful to test upgrades with both apt-get and
14932 with aptitude, but I have not had time to look at how they behave
14933 differently so far.  I hope to get a cron job running to do the test
14934 regularly and post the result on the web.  The Gnome upgrade currently
14935 work, while the KDE upgrade fail because of the bug in
14936 kdebase-workspace-data</p>
14937
14938 <p>I am not quite sure what kind of extract from the huge upgrade logs
14939 (KDE 167 KiB, Gnome 516 KiB) it make sense to include in this blog
14940 post, so I will refrain from trying.  I can report that for Gnome,
14941 aptitude report 760 packages upgraded, 448 newly installed, 129 to
14942 remove and 1 not upgraded and 1024MB need to be downloaded while for
14943 KDE the same numbers are 702 packages upgraded, 507 newly installed,
14944 193 to remove and 0 not upgraded and 1117MB need to be downloaded</p>
14945
14946 <p>I am very happy to notice that the Gnome desktop + laptop upgrade
14947 is able to migrate to dependency based boot sequencing and parallel
14948 booting without a hitch.  Was unsure if there were still bugs with
14949 packages failing to clean up their obsolete init.d script during
14950 upgrades, and no such problem seem to affect the Gnome desktop+laptop
14951 packages.</p>
14952
14953       </div>
14954       <div class="tags">
14955
14956
14957         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
14958
14959
14960       </div>
14961     </div>
14962     <div class="padding"></div>
14963
14964     <div class="entry">
14965       <div class="title">
14966         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Upstart_or_sysvinit___as_init_d_scripts_see_it.html">Upstart or sysvinit - as init.d scripts see it</a>
14967       </div>
14968       <div class="date">
14969          6th June 2010
14970       </div>
14971       <div class="body">
14972         <p>If Debian is to migrate to upstart on Linux, I expect some init.d
14973 scripts to migrate (some of) their operations to upstart job while
14974 keeping the init.d for hurd and kfreebsd.  The packages with such
14975 needs will need a way to get their init.d scripts to behave
14976 differently when used with sysvinit and with upstart.  Because of
14977 this, I had a look at the environment variables set when a init.d
14978 script is running under upstart, and when it is not.</p>
14979
14980 <p>With upstart, I notice these environment variables are set when a
14981 script is started from rcS.d/ (ignoring some irrelevant ones like
14982 COLUMNS):</p>
14983
14984 <blockquote><pre>
14985 DEFAULT_RUNLEVEL=2
14986 previous=N
14987 PREVLEVEL=
14988 RUNLEVEL=
14989 runlevel=S
14990 UPSTART_EVENTS=startup
14991 UPSTART_INSTANCE=
14992 UPSTART_JOB=rc-sysinit
14993 </pre></blockquote>
14994
14995 <p>With sysvinit, these environment variables are set for the same
14996 script.</p>
14997
14998 <blockquote><pre>
14999 INIT_VERSION=sysvinit-2.88
15000 previous=N
15001 PREVLEVEL=N
15002 RUNLEVEL=S
15003 runlevel=S
15004 </pre></blockquote>
15005
15006 <p>The RUNLEVEL and PREVLEVEL environment variables passed on from
15007 sysvinit are not set by upstart.  Not sure if it is intentional or not
15008 to not be compatible with sysvinit in this regard.</p>
15009
15010 <p>For scripts needing to behave differently when upstart is used,
15011 looking for the UPSTART_JOB environment variable seem to be a good
15012 choice.</p>
15013
15014       </div>
15015       <div class="tags">
15016
15017
15018         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
15019
15020
15021       </div>
15022     </div>
15023     <div class="padding"></div>
15024
15025     <div class="entry">
15026       <div class="title">
15027         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_manual_for_standards_wars___.html">A manual for standards wars...</a>
15028       </div>
15029       <div class="date">
15030          6th June 2010
15031       </div>
15032       <div class="body">
15033         <p>Via the
15034 <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/robweir/antic-atom/~3/QzU4RgoAGMg/weekly-links-10.html">blog
15035 of Rob Weir</a> I came across the very interesting essay named
15036 <a href="http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/shapiro/wars.pdf">The Art of
15037 Standards Wars</a> (PDF 25 pages).  I recommend it for everyone
15038 following the standards wars of today.</p>
15039
15040       </div>
15041       <div class="tags">
15042
15043
15044         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
15045
15046
15047       </div>
15048     </div>
15049     <div class="padding"></div>
15050
15051     <div class="entry">
15052       <div class="title">
15053         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Sitesummary_tip__Listing_computer_hardware_models_used_at_site.html">Sitesummary tip: Listing computer hardware models used at site</a>
15054       </div>
15055       <div class="date">
15056          3rd June 2010
15057       </div>
15058       <div class="body">
15059         <p>When using sitesummary at a site to track machines, it is possible
15060 to get a list of the machine types in use thanks to the DMI
15061 information extracted from each machine.  The script to do so is
15062 included in the sitesummary package, and here is example output from
15063 the Skolelinux build servers:</p>
15064
15065 <blockquote><pre>
15066 maintainer:~# /usr/lib/sitesummary/hardware-model-summary
15067   vendor                    count
15068   Dell Computer Corporation     1
15069     PowerEdge 1750              1
15070   IBM                           1
15071     eserver xSeries 345 -[8670M1X]-     1
15072   Intel                         2
15073   [no-dmi-info]                 3
15074 maintainer:~#
15075 </pre></blockquote>
15076
15077 <p>The quality of the report depend on the quality of the DMI tables
15078 provided in each machine.  Here there are Intel machines without model
15079 information listed with Intel as vendor and no model, and virtual Xen
15080 machines listed as [no-dmi-info].  One can add -l as a command line
15081 option to list the individual machines.</p>
15082
15083 <p>A larger list is
15084 <a href="http://narvikskolen.no/sitesummary/">available from the the
15085 city of Narvik</a>, which uses Skolelinux on all their shools and also
15086 provide the basic sitesummary report publicly.  In their report there
15087 are ~1400 machines. I know they use both Ubuntu and Skolelinux on
15088 their machines, and as sitesummary is available in both distributions,
15089 it is trivial to get all of them to report to the same central
15090 collector.</p>
15091
15092       </div>
15093       <div class="tags">
15094
15095
15096         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sitesummary">sitesummary</a>.
15097
15098
15099       </div>
15100     </div>
15101     <div class="padding"></div>
15102
15103     <div class="entry">
15104       <div class="title">
15105         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/KDM_fail_at_boot_with_NVidia_cards___and_no_one_try_to_fix_it_.html">KDM fail at boot with NVidia cards - and no one try to fix it?</a>
15106       </div>
15107       <div class="date">
15108          1st June 2010
15109       </div>
15110       <div class="body">
15111         <p>It is strange to watch how a bug in Debian causing KDM to fail to
15112 start at boot when an NVidia video card is used is handled.  The
15113 problem seem to be that the nvidia X.org driver uses a long time to
15114 initialize, and this duration is longer than kdm is configured to
15115 wait.</p>
15116
15117 <p>I came across two bugs related to this issue,
15118 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/583312">#583312</a> initially filed
15119 against initscripts and passed on to nvidia-glx when it became obvious
15120 that the nvidia drivers were involved, and
15121 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/524751">#524751</a> initially filed against
15122 kdm and passed on to src:nvidia-graphics-drivers for unknown reasons.</p>
15123
15124 <p>To me, it seem that no-one is interested in actually solving the
15125 problem nvidia video card owners experience and make sure the Debian
15126 distribution work out of the box for these users.  The nvidia driver
15127 maintainers expect kdm to be set up to wait longer, while kdm expect
15128 the nvidia driver maintainers to fix the driver to start faster, and
15129 while they wait for each other I guess the users end up switching to a
15130 distribution that work for them.  I have no idea what the solution is,
15131 but I am pretty sure that waiting for each other is not it.</p>
15132
15133 <p>I wonder why we end up handling bugs this way.</p>
15134
15135       </div>
15136       <div class="tags">
15137
15138
15139         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
15140
15141
15142       </div>
15143     </div>
15144     <div class="padding"></div>
15145
15146     <div class="entry">
15147       <div class="title">
15148         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Parallellized_boot_seem_to_hold_up_well_in_Debian_testing.html">Parallellized boot seem to hold up well in Debian/testing</a>
15149       </div>
15150       <div class="date">
15151         27th May 2010
15152       </div>
15153       <div class="body">
15154         <p>A few days ago, parallel booting was enabled in Debian/testing.
15155 The feature seem to hold up pretty well, but three fairly serious
15156 issues are known and should be solved:
15157
15158 <p><ul>
15159
15160 <li>The wicd package seen to
15161 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/508289">break NFS mounting</a> and
15162 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/581586">network setup</a> when
15163 parallel booting is enabled.  No idea why, but the wicd maintainer
15164 seem to be on the case.</li>
15165
15166 <li>The nvidia X driver seem to
15167 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/583312">have a race condition</a>
15168 triggered more easily when parallel booting is in effect.  The
15169 maintainer is on the case.</li>
15170
15171 <li>The sysv-rc package fail to properly enable dependency based boot
15172 sequencing (the shutdown is broken) when old file-rc users
15173 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/575080">try to switch back</a> to
15174 sysv-rc.  One way to solve it would be for file-rc to create
15175 /etc/init.d/.legacy-bootordering, and another is to try to make
15176 sysv-rc more robust.  Will investigate some more and probably upload a
15177 workaround in sysv-rc to help those trying to move from file-rc to
15178 sysv-rc get a working shutdown.</li>
15179
15180 </ul></p>
15181
15182 <p>All in all not many surprising issues, and all of them seem
15183 solvable before Squeeze is released.  In addition to these there are
15184 some packages with bugs in their dependencies and run level settings,
15185 which I expect will be fixed in a reasonable time span.</p>
15186
15187 <p>If you report any problems with dependencies in init.d scripts to
15188 the BTS, please usertag the report to get it to show up at
15189 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?users=initscripts-ng-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the
15190 list of usertagged bugs related to this</a>.</p>
15191
15192 <p>Update: Correct bug number to file-rc issue.</p>
15193
15194       </div>
15195       <div class="tags">
15196
15197
15198         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
15199
15200
15201       </div>
15202     </div>
15203     <div class="padding"></div>
15204
15205     <div class="entry">
15206       <div class="title">
15207         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/More_flexible_firmware_handling_in_debian_installer.html">More flexible firmware handling in debian-installer</a>
15208       </div>
15209       <div class="date">
15210         22nd May 2010
15211       </div>
15212       <div class="body">
15213         <p>After a long break from debian-installer development, I finally
15214 found time today to return to the project.  Having to spend less time
15215 working dependency based boot in debian, as it is almost complete now,
15216 definitely helped freeing some time.</p>
15217
15218 <p>A while back, I ran into a problem while working on Debian Edu.  We
15219 include some firmware packages on the Debian Edu CDs, those needed to
15220 get disk and network controllers working.  Without having these
15221 firmware packages available during installation, it is impossible to
15222 install Debian Edu on the given machine, and because our target group
15223 are non-technical people, asking them to provide firmware packages on
15224 an external medium is a support pain.  Initially, I expected it to be
15225 enough to include the firmware packages on the CD to get
15226 debian-installer to find and use them.  This proved to be wrong.
15227 Next, I hoped it was enough to symlink the relevant firmware packages
15228 to some useful location on the CD (tried /cdrom/ and
15229 /cdrom/firmware/).  This also proved to not work, and at this point I
15230 found time to look at the debian-installer code to figure out what was
15231 going to work.</p>
15232
15233 <p>The firmware loading code is in the hw-detect package, and a closer
15234 look revealed that it would only look for firmware packages outside
15235 the installation media, so the CD was never checked for firmware
15236 packages.  It would only check USB sticks, floppies and other
15237 "external" media devices.  Today I changed it to also look in the
15238 /cdrom/firmware/ directory on the mounted CD or DVD, which should
15239 solve the problem I ran into with Debian edu.  I also changed it to
15240 look in /firmware/, to make sure the installer also find firmware
15241 provided in the initrd when booting the installer via PXE, to allow us
15242 to provide the same feature in the PXE setup included in Debian
15243 Edu.</p>
15244
15245 <p>To make sure firmware deb packages with a license questions are not
15246 activated without asking if the license is accepted, I extended
15247 hw-detect to look for preinst scripts in the firmware packages, and
15248 run these before activating the firmware during installation.  The
15249 license question is asked using debconf in the preinst, so this should
15250 solve the issue for the firmware packages I have looked at so far.</p>
15251
15252 <p>If you want to discuss the details of these features, please
15253 contact us on debian-boot@lists.debian.org.</p>
15254
15255       </div>
15256       <div class="tags">
15257
15258
15259         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
15260
15261
15262       </div>
15263     </div>
15264     <div class="padding"></div>
15265
15266     <div class="entry">
15267       <div class="title">
15268         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Pieces_of_the_roaming_laptop_puzzle_in_Debian.html">Pieces of the roaming laptop puzzle in Debian</a>
15269       </div>
15270       <div class="date">
15271         19th May 2010
15272       </div>
15273       <div class="body">
15274         <p>Today, the last piece of the puzzle for roaming laptops in Debian
15275 Edu finally entered the Debian archive.  Today, the new
15276 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/libp/libpam-mklocaluser.html">libpam-mklocaluser</a>
15277 package was accepted.  Two days ago, two other pieces was accepted
15278 into unstable.  The
15279 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/p/pam-python.html">pam-python</a>
15280 package needed by libpam-mklocaluser, and the
15281 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/s/sssd.html">sssd</a> package
15282 passed NEW on Monday.  In addition, the
15283 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/libp/libpam-ccreds.html">libpam-ccreds</a>
15284 package we need is in experimental (version 10-4) since Saturday, and
15285 hopefully will be moved to unstable soon.</p>
15286
15287 <p>This collection of packages allow for two different setups for
15288 roaming laptops.  The traditional setup would be using libpam-ccreds,
15289 nscd and libpam-mklocaluser with LDAP or Kerberos authentication,
15290 which should work out of the box if the configuration changes proposed
15291 for nscd in <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/485282">BTS report
15292 #485282</a> is implemented.  The alternative setup is to use sssd with
15293 libpam-mklocaluser to connect to LDAP or Kerberos and let sssd take
15294 care of the caching of passwords and group information.</p>
15295
15296 <p>I have so far been unable to get sssd to work with the LDAP server
15297 at the University, but suspect the issue is some SSL/GnuTLS related
15298 problem with the server certificate.  I plan to update the Debian
15299 package to version 1.2, which is scheduled for next week, and hope to
15300 find time to make sure the next release will include both the
15301 Debian/Ubuntu specific patches.  Upstream is friendly and responsive,
15302 and I am sure we will find a good solution.</p>
15303
15304 <p>The idea is to set up the roaming laptops to authenticate using
15305 LDAP or Kerberos and create a local user with home directory in /home/
15306 when a usre in LDAP logs in via KDM or GDM for the first time, and
15307 cache the password for offline checking, as well as caching group
15308 memberhips and other relevant LDAP information.  The
15309 libpam-mklocaluser package was created to make sure the local home
15310 directory is in /home/, instead of /site/server/directory/ which would
15311 be the home directory if pam_mkhomedir was used.  To avoid confusion
15312 with support requests and configuration, we do not want local laptops
15313 to have users in a path that is used for the same users home directory
15314 on the home directory servers.</p>
15315
15316 <p>One annoying problem with gdm is that it do not show the PAM
15317 message passed to the user from libpam-mklocaluser when the local user
15318 is created.  Instead gdm simply reject the login with some generic
15319 message.  The message is shown in kdm, ssh and login, so I guess it is
15320 a bug in gdm.  Have not investigated if there is some other message
15321 type that can be used instead to get gdm to also show the message.</p>
15322
15323 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
15324 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
15325
15326       </div>
15327       <div class="tags">
15328
15329
15330         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
15331
15332
15333       </div>
15334     </div>
15335     <div class="padding"></div>
15336
15337     <div class="entry">
15338       <div class="title">
15339         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Parallellized_boot_is_now_the_default_in_Debian_unstable.html">Parallellized boot is now the default in Debian/unstable</a>
15340       </div>
15341       <div class="date">
15342         14th May 2010
15343       </div>
15344       <div class="body">
15345         <p>Since this evening, parallel booting is the default in
15346 Debian/unstable for machines using dependency based boot sequencing.
15347 Apparently the testing of concurrent booting has been wider than
15348 expected, if I am to believe the
15349 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/05/msg00122.html">input
15350 on debian-devel@</a>, and I concluded a few days ago to move forward
15351 with the feature this weekend, to give us some time to detect any
15352 remaining problems before Squeeze is frozen.  If serious problems are
15353 detected, it is simple to change the default back to sequential boot.
15354 The upload of the new sysvinit package also activate a new upstream
15355 version.</p>
15356
15357 More information about
15358 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot">dependency
15359 based boot sequencing</a> is available from the Debian wiki.  It is
15360 currently possible to disable parallel booting when one run into
15361 problems caused by it, by adding this line to /etc/default/rcS:</p>
15362
15363 <blockquote><pre>
15364 CONCURRENCY=none
15365 </pre></blockquote>
15366
15367 <p>If you report any problems with dependencies in init.d scripts to
15368 the BTS, please usertag the report to get it to show up at
15369 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?users=initscripts-ng-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the
15370 list of usertagged bugs related to this</a>.</p>
15371
15372       </div>
15373       <div class="tags">
15374
15375
15376         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
15377
15378
15379       </div>
15380     </div>
15381     <div class="padding"></div>
15382
15383     <div class="entry">
15384       <div class="title">
15385         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Sitesummary_tip__Listing_MAC_address_of_all_clients.html">Sitesummary tip: Listing MAC address of all clients</a>
15386       </div>
15387       <div class="date">
15388         14th May 2010
15389       </div>
15390       <div class="body">
15391         <p>In the recent Debian Edu versions, the
15392 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/SiteSummary">sitesummary
15393 system</a> is used to keep track of the machines in the school
15394 network.  Each machine will automatically report its status to the
15395 central server after boot and once per night.  The network setup is
15396 also reported, and using this information it is possible to get the
15397 MAC address of all network interfaces in the machines.  This is useful
15398 to update the DHCP configuration.</p>
15399
15400 <p>To give some idea how to use sitesummary, here is a one-liner to
15401 ist all MAC addresses of all machines reporting to sitesummary.  Run
15402 this on the collector host:</p>
15403
15404 <blockquote><pre>
15405 perl -MSiteSummary -e 'for_all_hosts(sub { print join(" ", get_macaddresses(shift)), "\n"; });'
15406 </pre></blockquote>
15407
15408 <p>This will list all MAC addresses assosiated with all machine, one
15409 line per machine and with space between the MAC addresses.</p>
15410
15411 <p>To allow system administrators easier job at adding static DHCP
15412 addresses for hosts, it would be possible to extend this to fetch
15413 machine information from sitesummary and update the DHCP and DNS
15414 tables in LDAP using this information.  Such tool is unfortunately not
15415 written yet.</p>
15416
15417       </div>
15418       <div class="tags">
15419
15420
15421         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sitesummary">sitesummary</a>.
15422
15423
15424       </div>
15425     </div>
15426     <div class="padding"></div>
15427
15428     <div class="entry">
15429       <div class="title">
15430         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/systemd__an_interesting_alternative_to_upstart.html">systemd, an interesting alternative to upstart</a>
15431       </div>
15432       <div class="date">
15433         13th May 2010
15434       </div>
15435       <div class="body">
15436         <p>The last few days a new boot system called
15437 <a href="http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd">systemd</a>
15438 has been
15439 <a href="http://0pointer.de/blog/projects/systemd.html">introduced</a>
15440
15441 to the free software world.  I have not yet had time to play around
15442 with it, but it seem to be a very interesting alternative to
15443 <a href="http://upstart.ubuntu.com/">upstart</a>, and might prove to be
15444 a good alternative for Debian when we are able to switch to an event
15445 based boot system.  Tollef is
15446 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/580814">in the process</a> of getting
15447 systemd into Debian, and I look forward to seeing how well it work.  I
15448 like the fact that systemd handles init.d scripts with dependency
15449 information natively, allowing them to run in parallel where upstart
15450 at the moment do not.</p>
15451
15452 <p>Unfortunately do systemd have the same problem as upstart regarding
15453 platform support.  It only work on recent Linux kernels, and also need
15454 some new kernel features enabled to function properly.  This means
15455 kFreeBSD and Hurd ports of Debian will need a port or a different boot
15456 system.  Not sure how that will be handled if systemd proves to be the
15457 way forward.</p>
15458
15459 <p>In the mean time, based on the
15460 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/05/msg00122.html">input
15461 on debian-devel@</a> regarding parallel booting in Debian, I have
15462 decided to enable full parallel booting as the default in Debian as
15463 soon as possible (probably this weekend or early next week), to see if
15464 there are any remaining serious bugs in the init.d dependencies.  A
15465 new version of the sysvinit package implementing this change is
15466 already in experimental.  If all go well, Squeeze will be released
15467 with parallel booting enabled by default.</p>
15468
15469       </div>
15470       <div class="tags">
15471
15472
15473         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
15474
15475
15476       </div>
15477     </div>
15478     <div class="padding"></div>
15479
15480     <div class="entry">
15481       <div class="title">
15482         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Parallellizing_the_boot_in_Debian_Squeeze___ready_for_wider_testing.html">Parallellizing the boot in Debian Squeeze - ready for wider testing</a>
15483       </div>
15484       <div class="date">
15485          6th May 2010
15486       </div>
15487       <div class="body">
15488         <p>These days, the init.d script dependencies in Squeeze are quite
15489 complete, so complete that it is actually possible to run all the
15490 init.d scripts in parallell based on these dependencies.  If you want
15491 to test your Squeeze system, make sure
15492 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot">dependency
15493 based boot sequencing</a> is enabled, and add this line to
15494 /etc/default/rcS:</p>
15495
15496 <blockquote><pre>
15497 CONCURRENCY=makefile
15498 </pre></blockquote>
15499
15500 <p>That is it.  It will cause sysv-rc to use the startpar tool to run
15501 scripts in parallel using the dependency information stored in
15502 /etc/init.d/.depend.boot, /etc/init.d/.depend.start and
15503 /etc/init.d/.depend.stop to order the scripts.  Startpar is configured
15504 to try to start the kdm and gdm scripts as early as possible, and will
15505 start the facilities required by kdm or gdm as early as possible to
15506 make this happen.</p>
15507
15508 <p>Give it a try, and see if you like the result.  If some services
15509 fail to start properly, it is most likely because they have incomplete
15510 init.d script dependencies in their startup script (or some of their
15511 dependent scripts have incomplete dependencies).  Report bugs and get
15512 the package maintainers to fix it. :)</p>
15513
15514 <p>Running scripts in parallel could be the default in Debian when we
15515 manage to get the init.d script dependencies complete and correct.  I
15516 expect we will get there in Squeeze+1, if we get manage to test and
15517 fix the remaining issues.</p>
15518
15519 <p>If you report any problems with dependencies in init.d scripts to
15520 the BTS, please usertag the report to get it to show up at
15521 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?users=initscripts-ng-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the
15522 list of usertagged bugs related to this</a>.</p>
15523
15524       </div>
15525       <div class="tags">
15526
15527
15528         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
15529
15530
15531       </div>
15532     </div>
15533     <div class="padding"></div>
15534
15535     <div class="entry">
15536       <div class="title">
15537         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Forcing_new_users_to_change_their_password_on_first_login.html">Forcing new users to change their password on first login</a>
15538       </div>
15539       <div class="date">
15540          2nd May 2010
15541       </div>
15542       <div class="body">
15543         <p>One interesting feature in Active Directory, is the ability to
15544 create a new user with an expired password, and thus force the user to
15545 change the password on the first login attempt.</p>
15546
15547 <p>I'm not quite sure how to do that with the LDAP setup in Debian
15548 Edu, but did some initial testing with a local account.  The account
15549 and password aging information is available in /etc/shadow, but
15550 unfortunately, it is not possible to specify an expiration time for
15551 passwords, only a maximum age for passwords.</p>
15552
15553 <p>A freshly created account (using adduser test) will have these
15554 settings in /etc/shadow:</p>
15555
15556 <blockquote><pre>
15557 root@tjener:~# chage -l test
15558 Last password change                                    : May 02, 2010
15559 Password expires                                        : never
15560 Password inactive                                       : never
15561 Account expires                                         : never
15562 Minimum number of days between password change          : 0
15563 Maximum number of days between password change          : 99999
15564 Number of days of warning before password expires       : 7
15565 root@tjener:~#
15566 </pre></blockquote>
15567
15568 <p>The only way I could come up with to create a user with an expired
15569 account, is to change the date of the last password change to the
15570 lowest value possible (January 1th 1970), and the maximum password age
15571 to the difference in days between that date and today.  To make it
15572 simple, I went for 30 years (30 * 365 = 10950) and January 2th (to
15573 avoid testing if 0 is a valid value).</p>
15574
15575 <p>After using these commands to set it up, it seem to work as
15576 intended:</p>
15577
15578 <blockquote><pre>
15579 root@tjener:~# chage -d 1 test; chage -M 10950 test
15580 root@tjener:~# chage -l test
15581 Last password change                                    : Jan 02, 1970
15582 Password expires                                        : never
15583 Password inactive                                       : never
15584 Account expires                                         : never
15585 Minimum number of days between password change          : 0
15586 Maximum number of days between password change          : 10950
15587 Number of days of warning before password expires       : 7
15588 root@tjener:~#
15589 </pre></blockquote>
15590
15591 <p>So far I have tested this with ssh and console, and kdm (in
15592 Squeeze) login, and all ask for a new password before login in the
15593 user (with ssh, I was thrown out and had to log in again).</p>
15594
15595 <p>Perhaps we should set up something similar for Debian Edu, to make
15596 sure only the user itself have the account password?</p>
15597
15598 <p>If you want to comment on or help out with implementing this for
15599 Debian Edu, please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
15600
15601 <p>Update 2010-05-02 17:20: Paul Tötterman tells me on IRC that the
15602 shadow(8) page in Debian/testing now state that setting the date of
15603 last password change to zero (0) will force the password to be changed
15604 on the first login.  This was not mentioned in the manual in Lenny, so
15605 I did not notice this in my initial testing.  I have tested it on
15606 Squeeze, and '<tt>chage -d 0 username</tt>' do work there.  I have not
15607 tested it on Lenny yet.</p>
15608
15609 <p>Update 2010-05-02-19:05: Jim Paris tells me via email that an
15610 equivalent command to expire a password is '<tt>passwd -e
15611 username</tt>', which insert zero into the date of the last password
15612 change.</p>
15613
15614       </div>
15615       <div class="tags">
15616
15617
15618         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
15619
15620
15621       </div>
15622     </div>
15623     <div class="padding"></div>
15624
15625     <div class="entry">
15626       <div class="title">
15627         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Thoughts_on_roaming_laptop_setup_for_Debian_Edu.html">Thoughts on roaming laptop setup for Debian Edu</a>
15628       </div>
15629       <div class="date">
15630         28th April 2010
15631       </div>
15632       <div class="body">
15633         <p>For some years now, I have wondered how we should handle laptops in
15634 Debian Edu.  The Debian Edu infrastructure is mostly designed to
15635 handle stationary computers, and less suited for computers that come
15636 and go.</p>
15637
15638 <p>Now I finally believe I have an sensible idea on how to adjust
15639 Debian Edu for laptops, by introducing a new profile for them, for
15640 example called Roaming Workstations.  Here are my thought on this.
15641 The setup would consist of the following:</p>
15642
15643 <ul>
15644
15645  <li>During installation, the user name of the owner / primary user of
15646    the laptop is requested and a local home directory is set up for
15647    the user, with uid and gid information fetched from the LDAP
15648    server.  This allow the user to work also when offline.  The
15649    central home directory can be available in a subdirectory on
15650    request, for example mounted via CIFS.  It could be mounted
15651    automatically when a user log in while on the Debian Edu network,
15652    and unmounted when the machine is taken away (network down,
15653    hibernate, etc), it can be set up to do automatic mounting on
15654    request (using autofs), or perhaps some GUI button on the desktop
15655    can be used to access it when needed.  Perhaps it is enough to use
15656    the fish protocol in KDE?</li>
15657
15658  <li>Password checking is set up to use LDAP or Kerberos
15659    authentication when the machine is on the Debian Edu network, and
15660    to cache the password for offline checking when the machine unable
15661    to reach the LDAP or Kerberos server.  This can be done using
15662    <a href="http://www.padl.com/OSS/pam_ccreds.html">libpam-ccreds</a>
15663    or the Fedora developed
15664    <a href="https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/SSSD">System
15665    Security Services Daemon</a> packages.</li>
15666
15667  <li>File synchronisation with the central home directory is set up
15668    using a shared directory in both the local and the central home
15669    directory, using unison.</li>
15670
15671  <li>Printing should be set up to print to all printers broadcasting
15672    their existence on the local network, and should then work out of
15673    the box with CUPS.  For sites needing accurate printer quotas, some
15674    system with Kerberos authentication or printing via ssh could be
15675    implemented.</li>
15676
15677  <li>For users that should have local root access to their laptop,
15678    sudo should be used to allow this to the local user.</li>
15679
15680  <li>It would be nice if user and group information from LDAP is
15681    cached on the client, but given that there are entries for the
15682    local user and primary group in /etc/, it should not be needed.</li>
15683
15684 </ul>
15685
15686 <p>I believe all the pieces to implement this are in Debian/testing at
15687 the moment.  If we work quickly, we should be able to get this ready
15688 in time for the Squeeze release to freeze.  Some of the pieces need
15689 tweaking, like libpam-ccreds should get support for pam-auth-update
15690 (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/566718">#566718</a>) and nslcd (or
15691 perhaps debian-edu-config) should get some integration code to stop
15692 its daemon when the LDAP server is unavailable to avoid long timeouts
15693 when disconnected from the net.  If we get Kerberos enabled, we need
15694 to make sure we avoid long timeouts there too.</p>
15695
15696 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
15697 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
15698
15699       </div>
15700       <div class="tags">
15701
15702
15703         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
15704
15705
15706       </div>
15707     </div>
15708     <div class="padding"></div>
15709
15710     <div class="entry">
15711       <div class="title">
15712         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Great_book___Content__Selected_Essays_on_Technology__Creativity__Copyright__and_the_Future_of_the_Future_.html">Great book: "Content: Selected Essays on Technology, Creativity, Copyright, and the Future of the Future"</a>
15713       </div>
15714       <div class="date">
15715         19th April 2010
15716       </div>
15717       <div class="body">
15718         <p>The last few weeks i have had the pleasure of reading a
15719 thought-provoking collection of essays by Cory Doctorow, on topics
15720 touching copyright, virtual worlds, the future of man when the
15721 conscience mind can be duplicated into a computer and many more. The
15722 book titled "Content: Selected Essays on Technology, Creativity,
15723 Copyright, and the Future of the Future" is available with few
15724 restrictions on the web, for example from
15725 <a href="http://craphound.com/content/">his own site</a>. I read the
15726 epub-version from
15727 <a href="http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2883">feedbooks</a> using
15728 <a href="http://www.fbreader.org/">fbreader</a> and my N810. I
15729 strongly recommend this book.</p>
15730
15731       </div>
15732       <div class="tags">
15733
15734
15735         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fildeling">fildeling</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
15736
15737
15738       </div>
15739     </div>
15740     <div class="padding"></div>
15741
15742     <div class="entry">
15743       <div class="title">
15744         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Kerberos_for_Debian_Edu_Squeeze_.html">Kerberos for Debian Edu/Squeeze?</a>
15745       </div>
15746       <div class="date">
15747         14th April 2010
15748       </div>
15749       <div class="body">
15750         <p><a href="http://www.nuug.no/aktiviteter/20100413-kerberos/">Yesterdays
15751 NUUG presentation</a> about Kerberos was inspiring, and reminded me
15752 about the need to start using Kerberos in Skolelinux.  Setting up a
15753 Kerberos server seem to be straight forward, and if we get this in
15754 place a long time before the Squeeze version of Debian freezes, we
15755 have a chance to migrate Skolelinux away from NFSv3 for the home
15756 directories, and over to an architecture where the infrastructure do
15757 not have to trust IP addresses and machines, and instead can trust
15758 users and cryptographic keys instead.</p>
15759
15760 <p>A challenge will be integration and administration.  Is there a
15761 Kerberos implementation for Debian where one can control the
15762 administration access in Kerberos using LDAP groups?  With it, the
15763 school administration will have to maintain access control using flat
15764 files on the main server, which give a huge potential for errors.</p>
15765
15766 <p>A related question I would like to know is how well Kerberos and
15767 pam-ccreds (offline password check) work together.  Anyone know?</p>
15768
15769 <p>Next step will be to use Kerberos for access control in Lwat and
15770 Nagios.  I have no idea how much work that will be to implement.  We
15771 would also need to document how to integrate with Windows AD, as such
15772 shared network will require two Kerberos realms that need to cooperate
15773 to work properly.</p>
15774
15775 <p>I believe a good start would be to start using Kerberos on the
15776 skolelinux.no machines, and this way get ourselves experience with
15777 configuration and integration.  A natural starting point would be
15778 setting up ldap.skolelinux.no as the Kerberos server, and migrate the
15779 rest of the machines from PAM via LDAP to PAM via Kerberos one at the
15780 time.</p>
15781
15782 <p>If you would like to contribute to get this working in Skolelinux,
15783 I recommend you to see the video recording from yesterdays NUUG
15784 presentation, and start using Kerberos at home.  The video show show
15785 up in a few days.</p>
15786
15787       </div>
15788       <div class="tags">
15789
15790
15791         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
15792
15793
15794       </div>
15795     </div>
15796     <div class="padding"></div>
15797
15798     <div class="entry">
15799       <div class="title">
15800         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/After_6_years_of_waiting__the_Xreset_d_feature_is_implemented.html">After 6 years of waiting, the Xreset.d feature is implemented</a>
15801       </div>
15802       <div class="date">
15803          6th March 2010
15804       </div>
15805       <div class="body">
15806         <p>6 years ago, as part of the Debian Edu development I am involved
15807 in, I asked for a hook in the kdm and gdm setup to run scripts as root
15808 when the user log out.  A bug was submitted against the xfree86-common
15809 package in 2004 (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/230422">#230422</a>),
15810 and revisited every time Debian Edu was working on a new release.
15811 Today, this finally paid off.</p>
15812
15813 <p>The framework for this feature was today commited to the git
15814 repositry for the xorg package, and the git repository for xdm has
15815 been updated to use this framework.  Next on my agenda is to make sure
15816 kdm and gdm also add code to use this framework.</p>
15817
15818 <p>In Debian Edu, we want to ability to run commands as root when the
15819 user log out, to get rid of runaway processes and do general cleanup
15820 after a user.  With this framework in place, we finally can do that in
15821 a generic way that work with all display managers using this
15822 framework.  My goal is to get all display managers in Debian use it,
15823 similar to how they use the Xsession.d framework today.<p>
15824
15825       </div>
15826       <div class="tags">
15827
15828
15829         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
15830
15831
15832       </div>
15833     </div>
15834     <div class="padding"></div>
15835
15836     <div class="entry">
15837       <div class="title">
15838         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Lenny_released__work_continues.html">Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Lenny released, work continues</a>
15839       </div>
15840       <div class="date">
15841         11th February 2010
15842       </div>
15843       <div class="body">
15844         <p>On Tuesday, the Debian/Lenny based version of
15845 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a> was finally
15846 shipped.  This was a major leap forward for the project, and I am very
15847 pleased that we finally got the release wrapped up.  Work on the first
15848 point release starts imediately, as we plan to get that one out a
15849 month after the major release, to include all fixes for bugs we found
15850 and fixed too late in the release process to include last Tuesday.</p>
15851
15852 <p>Perhaps it even is time for some partying?</p>
15853
15854 <p>After this first point release, my plan is to focus again on the
15855 next major release, based on Squeeze.  We will try to get as many of
15856 the fixes we need into the official Debian packages before the freeze,
15857 and have just a few weeks or months to make it happen.</p>
15858
15859       </div>
15860       <div class="tags">
15861
15862
15863         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
15864
15865
15866       </div>
15867     </div>
15868     <div class="padding"></div>
15869
15870     <div class="entry">
15871       <div class="title">
15872         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatic_Munin_and_Nagios_configuration.html">Automatic Munin and Nagios configuration</a>
15873       </div>
15874       <div class="date">
15875         27th January 2010
15876       </div>
15877       <div class="body">
15878         <p>One of the new features in the next Debian/Lenny based release of
15879 Debian Edu/Skolelinux, which is scheduled for release in the next few
15880 days, is automatic configuration of the service monitoring system
15881 Nagios.  The previous release had automatic configuration of trend
15882 analysis using Munin, and this Lenny based release take that a step
15883 further.</p>
15884
15885 <p>When installing a Debian Edu Main-server, it is automatically
15886 configured as a Munin and Nagios server.  In addition, it is
15887 configured to be a server for the
15888 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/SiteSummary">SiteSummary
15889 system</a> I have written for use in Debian Edu.  The SiteSummary
15890 system is inspired by a system used by the University of Oslo where I
15891 work.  In short, the system provide a centralised collector of
15892 information about the computers on the network, and a client on each
15893 computer submitting information to this collector.  This allow for
15894 automatic information on which packages are installed on each machine,
15895 which kernel the machines are using, what kind of configuration the
15896 packages got etc.  This also allow us to automatically generate Munin
15897 and Nagios configuration.</p>
15898
15899 <p>All computers reporting to the sitesummary collector with the
15900 munin-node package installed is automatically enabled as a Munin
15901 client and graphs from the statistics collected from that machine show
15902 up automatically on http://www/munin/ on the Main-server.</p>
15903
15904 <p>All non-laptop computers reporting to the sitesummary collector are
15905 automatically monitored for network presence (ping and any network
15906 services detected).  In addition, all computers (also laptops) with
15907 the nagios-nrpe-server package installed and configured the way
15908 sitesummary would configure it, are monitored for full disks, software
15909 raid status, swap free and other checks that need to run locally on
15910 the machine.</p>
15911
15912 <p>The result is that the administrator on a school using Debian Edu
15913 based on Lenny will be able to check the health of his installation
15914 with one look at the Nagios settings, without having to spend any time
15915 keeping the Nagios configuration up-to-date.</p>
15916
15917 <p>The only configuration one need to do to get Nagios up and running
15918 is to set the password used to get access via HTTP.  The system
15919 administrator need to run "<tt>htpasswd /etc/nagios3/htpasswd.users
15920 nagiosadmin</tt>" to create a nagiosadmin user and set a password for
15921 it to be able to log into the Nagios web pages.  After that,
15922 everything is taken care of.</p>
15923
15924       </div>
15925       <div class="tags">
15926
15927
15928         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sitesummary">sitesummary</a>.
15929
15930
15931       </div>
15932     </div>
15933     <div class="padding"></div>
15934
15935     <div class="entry">
15936       <div class="title">
15937         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Relative_popularity_of_document_formats__MS_Office_vs__ODF_.html">Relative popularity of document formats (MS Office vs. ODF)</a>
15938       </div>
15939       <div class="date">
15940         12th August 2009
15941       </div>
15942       <div class="body">
15943         <p>Just for fun, I did a search right now on Google for a few file ODF
15944 and MS Office based formats (not to be mistaken for ISO or ECMA
15945 OOXML), to get an idea of their relative usage.  I searched using
15946 'filetype:odt' and equvalent terms, and got these results:</P>
15947
15948 <table>
15949 <tr><th>Type</th><th>ODF</th><th>MS Office</th></tr>
15950 <tr><td>Tekst</td> <td>odt:282000</td> <td>docx:308000</td></tr>
15951 <tr><td>Presentasjon</td> <td>odp:75600</td> <td>pptx:183000</td></tr>
15952 <tr><td>Regneark</td> <td>ods:26500     </td> <td>xlsx:145000</td></tr>
15953 </table>
15954
15955 <p>Next, I added a 'site:no' limit to get the numbers for Norway, and
15956 got these numbers:</p>
15957
15958 <table>
15959 <tr><th>Type</th><th>ODF</th><th>MS Office</th></tr>
15960 <tr><td>Tekst</td> <td>odt:2480 </td> <td>docx:4460</td></tr>
15961 <tr><td>Presentasjon</td> <td>odp:299   </td> <td>pptx:741</td></tr>
15962 <tr><td>Regneark</td> <td>ods:187       </td> <td>xlsx:372</td></tr>
15963 </table>
15964
15965 <p>I wonder how these numbers change over time.</p>
15966
15967 <p>I am aware of Google returning different results and numbers based
15968 on where the search is done, so I guess these numbers will differ if
15969 they are conduced in another country.  Because of this, I did the same
15970 search from a machine in California, USA, a few minutes after the
15971 search done from a machine here in Norway.</p>
15972
15973
15974 <table>
15975 <tr><th>Type</th><th>ODF</th><th>MS Office</th></tr>
15976 <tr><td>Tekst</td> <td>odt:129000</td> <td>docx:308000</td></tr>
15977 <tr><td>Presentasjon</td> <td>odp:44200</td> <td>pptx:93900</td></tr>
15978 <tr><td>Regneark</td> <td>ods:26500     </td> <td>xlsx:82400</td></tr>
15979 </table>
15980
15981 <p>And with 'site:no':
15982
15983 <table>
15984 <tr><th>Type</th><th>ODF</th><th>MS Office</th></tr>
15985 <tr><td>Tekst</td> <td>odt:2480</td> <td>docx:3410</td></tr>
15986 <tr><td>Presentasjon</td> <td>odp:175</td> <td>pptx:604</td></tr>
15987 <tr><td>Regneark</td> <td>ods:186       </td> <td>xlsx:296</td></tr>
15988 </table>
15989
15990 <p>Interesting difference, not sure what to conclude from these
15991 numbers.</p>
15992
15993       </div>
15994       <div class="tags">
15995
15996
15997         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
15998
15999
16000       </div>
16001     </div>
16002     <div class="padding"></div>
16003
16004     <div class="entry">
16005       <div class="title">
16006         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/ISO_still_hope_to_fix_OOXML.html">ISO still hope to fix OOXML</a>
16007       </div>
16008       <div class="date">
16009          8th August 2009
16010       </div>
16011       <div class="body">
16012         <p>According to <a
16013 href="http://twerner.blogspot.com/2009/08/defects-of-office-open-xml.html">a
16014 blog post from Torsten Werner</a>, the current defect report for ISO
16015 29500 (ISO OOXML) is 809 pages.  His interesting point is that the
16016 defect report is 71 pages more than the full ODF 1.1 specification.
16017 Personally I find it more interesting that ISO still believe ISO OOXML
16018 can be fixed in ISO.  Personally, I believe it is broken beyon repair,
16019 and I completely lack any trust in ISO for being able to get anywhere
16020 close to solving the problems.  I was part of the Norwegian committee
16021 involved in the OOXML fast track process, and was not impressed with
16022 Standard Norway and ISO in how they handled it.</p>
16023
16024 <p>These days I focus on ODF instead, which seem like a specification
16025 with the future ahead of it.  We are working in NUUG to organise a ODF
16026 seminar this autumn.</p>
16027
16028       </div>
16029       <div class="tags">
16030
16031
16032         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
16033
16034
16035       </div>
16036     </div>
16037     <div class="padding"></div>
16038
16039     <div class="entry">
16040       <div class="title">
16041         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_has_switched_to_dependency_based_boot_sequencing.html">Debian has switched to dependency based boot sequencing</a>
16042       </div>
16043       <div class="date">
16044         27th July 2009
16045       </div>
16046       <div class="body">
16047         <p>Since this evening, with the upload of sysvinit version 2.87dsf-2,
16048 and the upload of insserv version 1.12.0-10 yesterday, Debian unstable
16049 have been migrated to using dependency based boot sequencing.  This
16050 conclude work me and others have been doing for the last three days.
16051 It feels great to see this finally part of the default Debian
16052 installation.  Now we just need to weed out the last few problems that
16053 are bound to show up, to get everything ready for Squeeze.</p>
16054
16055 <p>The next step is migrating /sbin/init from sysvinit to upstart, and
16056 fixing the more fundamental problem of handing the event based
16057 non-predictable kernel in the early boot.</p>
16058
16059       </div>
16060       <div class="tags">
16061
16062
16063         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
16064
16065
16066       </div>
16067     </div>
16068     <div class="padding"></div>
16069
16070     <div class="entry">
16071       <div class="title">
16072         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Taking_over_sysvinit_development.html">Taking over sysvinit development</a>
16073       </div>
16074       <div class="date">
16075         22nd July 2009
16076       </div>
16077       <div class="body">
16078         <p>After several years of frustration with the lack of activity from
16079 the existing sysvinit upstream developer, I decided a few weeks ago to
16080 take over the package and become the new upstream.  The number of
16081 patches to track for the Debian package was becoming a burden, and the
16082 lack of synchronization between the distribution made it hard to keep
16083 the package up to date.</p>
16084
16085 <p>On the new sysvinit team is the SuSe maintainer Dr. Werner Fink,
16086 and my Debian co-maintainer Kel Modderman.  About 10 days ago, I made
16087 a new upstream tarball with version number 2.87dsf (for Debian, SuSe
16088 and Fedora), based on the patches currently in use in these
16089 distributions.  We Debian maintainers plan to move to this tarball as
16090 the new upstream as soon as we find time to do the merge.  Since the
16091 new tarball was created, we agreed with Werner at SuSe to make a new
16092 upstream project at <a href="http://savannah.nongnu.org/">Savannah</a>, and continue
16093 development there.  The project is registered and currently waiting
16094 for approval by the Savannah administrators, and as soon as it is
16095 approved, we will import the old versions from svn and continue
16096 working on the future release.</p>
16097
16098 <p>It is a bit ironic that this is done now, when some of the involved
16099 distributions are moving to upstart as a syvinit replacement.</p>
16100
16101       </div>
16102       <div class="tags">
16103
16104
16105         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
16106
16107
16108       </div>
16109     </div>
16110     <div class="padding"></div>
16111
16112     <div class="entry">
16113       <div class="title">
16114         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_boots_quicker_and_quicker.html">Debian boots quicker and quicker</a>
16115       </div>
16116       <div class="date">
16117         24th June 2009
16118       </div>
16119       <div class="body">
16120         <p>I spent Monday and tuesday this week in London with a lot of the
16121 people involved in the boot system on Debian and Ubuntu, to see if we
16122 could find more ways to speed up the boot system.  This was an Ubuntu
16123 funded
16124 <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FoundationsTeam/BootPerformance/DebianUbuntuSprint">developer
16125 gathering</a>. It was quite productive.  We also discussed the future
16126 of boot systems, and ways to handle the increasing number of boot
16127 issues introduced by the Linux kernel becoming more and more
16128 asynchronous and event base.  The Ubuntu approach using udev and
16129 upstart might be a good way forward.  Time will show.</p>
16130
16131 <p>Anyway, there are a few ways at the moment to speed up the boot
16132 process in Debian.  All of these should be applied to get a quick
16133 boot:</p>
16134
16135 <ul>
16136
16137 <li>Use dash as /bin/sh.</li>
16138
16139 <li>Disable the init.d/hwclock*.sh scripts and make sure the hardware
16140    clock is in UTC.</li>
16141
16142 <li>Install and activate the insserv package to enable
16143    <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot">dependency
16144    based boot sequencing</a>, and enable concurrent booting.</li>
16145
16146 </ul>
16147
16148 These points are based on the Google summer of code work done by
16149 <a href="http://initscripts-ng.alioth.debian.org/soc2006-bootsystem/">Carlos
16150 Villegas</a>.
16151
16152 <p>Support for makefile-style concurrency during boot was uploaded to
16153 unstable yesterday.  When we tested it, we were able to cut 6 seconds
16154 from the boot sequence.  It depend on very correct dependency
16155 declaration in all init.d scripts, so I expect us to find edge cases
16156 where the dependences in some scripts are slightly wrong when we start
16157 using this.</p>
16158
16159 <p>On our IRC channel for this effort, #pkg-sysvinit, a new idea was
16160 introduced by Raphael Geissert today, one that could affect the
16161 startup speed as well.  Instead of starting some scripts concurrently
16162 from rcS.d/ and another set of scripts from rc2.d/, it would be
16163 possible to run a of them in the same process.  A quick way to test
16164 this would be to enable insserv and run 'mv /etc/rc2.d/S* /etc/rcS.d/;
16165 insserv'.  Will need to test if that work. :)</p>
16166
16167       </div>
16168       <div class="tags">
16169
16170
16171         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
16172
16173
16174       </div>
16175     </div>
16176     <div class="padding"></div>
16177
16178     <div class="entry">
16179       <div class="title">
16180         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Two_projects_that_have_improved_the_quality_of_free_software_a_lot.html">Two projects that have improved the quality of free software a lot</a>
16181       </div>
16182       <div class="date">
16183          2nd May 2009
16184       </div>
16185       <div class="body">
16186         <p>There are two software projects that have had huge influence on the
16187 quality of free software, and I wanted to mention both in case someone
16188 do not yet know them.</p>
16189
16190 <p>The first one is <a href="http://valgrind.org/">valgrind</a>, a
16191 tool to detect and expose errors in the memory handling of programs.
16192 It is easy to use, all one need to do is to run 'valgrind program',
16193 and it will report any problems on stdout.  It is even better if the
16194 program include debug information.  With debug information, it is able
16195 to report the source file name and line number where the problem
16196 occurs.  It can report things like 'reading past memory block in file
16197 X line N, the memory block was allocated in file Y, line M', and
16198 'using uninitialised value in control logic'.  This tool has made it
16199 trivial to investigate reproducible crash bugs in programs, and have
16200 reduced the number of this kind of bugs in free software a lot.
16201
16202 <p>The second one is
16203 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coverity">Coverity</a> which is
16204 a source code checker.  It is able to process the source of a program
16205 and find problems in the logic without running the program.  It
16206 started out as the Stanford Checker and became well known when it was
16207 used to find bugs in the Linux kernel.  It is now a commercial tool
16208 and the company behind it is running
16209 <a href="http://www.scan.coverity.com/">a community service</a> for the
16210 free software community, where a lot of free software projects get
16211 their source checked for free.  Several thousand defects have been
16212 found and fixed so far.  It can find errors like 'lock L taken in file
16213 X line N is never released if exiting in line M', or 'the code in file
16214 Y lines O to P can never be executed'.  The projects included in the
16215 community service project have managed to get rid of a lot of
16216 reliability problems thanks to Coverity.</p>
16217
16218 <p>I believe tools like this, that are able to automatically find
16219 errors in the source, are vital to improve the quality of software and
16220 make sure we can get rid of the crashing and failing software we are
16221 surrounded by today.</p>
16222
16223       </div>
16224       <div class="tags">
16225
16226
16227         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
16228
16229
16230       </div>
16231     </div>
16232     <div class="padding"></div>
16233
16234     <div class="entry">
16235       <div class="title">
16236         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/No_patch_is_not_better_than_a_useless_patch.html">No patch is not better than a useless patch</a>
16237       </div>
16238       <div class="date">
16239         28th April 2009
16240       </div>
16241       <div class="body">
16242         <p>Julien Blache
16243 <a href="http://blog.technologeek.org/2009/04/12/214">claim that no
16244 patch is better than a useless patch</a>.  I completely disagree, as a
16245 patch allow one to discuss a concrete and proposed solution, and also
16246 prove that the issue at hand is important enough for someone to spent
16247 time on fixing it.  No patch do not provide any of these positive
16248 properties.</p>
16249
16250       </div>
16251       <div class="tags">
16252
16253
16254         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
16255
16256
16257       </div>
16258     </div>
16259     <div class="padding"></div>
16260
16261     <div class="entry">
16262       <div class="title">
16263         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Recording_video_from_cron_using_VLC.html">Recording video from cron using VLC</a>
16264       </div>
16265       <div class="date">
16266          5th April 2009
16267       </div>
16268       <div class="body">
16269         <p>One think I have wanted to figure out for a along time is how to
16270 run vlc from cron to do recording of video streams on the net.  The
16271 task is trivial with mplayer, but I do not really trust the security
16272 of mplayer (it crashes too often on strange input), and thus prefer
16273 vlc.  I finally found a way to do it today.  I spent an hour or so
16274 searching the web for recipes and reading the documentation.  The
16275 hardest part was to get rid of the GUI window, but after finding the
16276 dummy interface, the command line finally presented itself:</p>
16277
16278 <blockquote><pre>URL=http://www.ping.uio.no/video/rms-oslo_2009.ogg
16279 SAVEFILE=rms.ogg
16280 DISPLAY= vlc -q $URL \
16281   --sout="#duplicate{dst=std{access=file,url='$SAVEFILE'},dst=nodisplay}" \
16282   --intf=dummy</pre></blockquote>
16283
16284 <p>The command stream the URL and store it in the SAVEFILE by
16285 duplicating the output stream to "nodisplay" and the file, using the
16286 dummy interface.  The dummy interface and the nodisplay output make
16287 sure no X interface is needed.</p>
16288
16289 <p>The cron job then need to start this job with the appropriate URL
16290 and file name to save, sleep for the duration wanted, and then kill
16291 the vlc process with SIGTERM.  Here is a complete script
16292 <tt>vlc-record</tt> to use from <tt>at</tt> or <tt>cron</tt>:</p>
16293
16294 <blockquote><pre>#!/bin/sh
16295 set -e
16296 URL="$1"
16297 SAVEFILE="$2"
16298 DURATION="$3"
16299 DISPLAY= vlc -q "$URL" \
16300   --sout="#duplicate{dst=std{access=file,url='$SAVEFILE'},dst=nodisplay}" \
16301   --intf=dummy < /dev/null > /dev/null 2>&1 &
16302 pid=$!
16303 sleep $DURATION
16304 kill $pid
16305 wait $pid</pre></blockquote>
16306
16307       </div>
16308       <div class="tags">
16309
16310
16311         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
16312
16313
16314       </div>
16315     </div>
16316     <div class="padding"></div>
16317
16318     <div class="entry">
16319       <div class="title">
16320         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Standardize_on_protocols_and_formats__not_vendors_and_applications.html">Standardize on protocols and formats, not vendors and applications</a>
16321       </div>
16322       <div class="date">
16323         30th March 2009
16324       </div>
16325       <div class="body">
16326         <p>Where I work at the University of Oslo, one decision stand out as a
16327 very good one to form a long lived computer infrastructure.  It is the
16328 simple one, lost by many in todays computer industry: Standardize on
16329 open network protocols and open exchange/storage formats, not applications.
16330 Applications come and go, while protocols and files tend to stay, and
16331 thus one want to make it easy to change application and vendor, while
16332 avoiding conversion costs and locking users to a specific platform or
16333 application.</p>
16334
16335 <p>This approach make it possible to replace the client applications
16336 independently of the server applications.  One can even allow users to
16337 use several different applications as long as they handle the selected
16338 protocol and format.  In the normal case, only one client application
16339 is recommended and users only get help if they choose to use this
16340 application, but those that want to deviate from the easy path are not
16341 blocked from doing so.</p>
16342
16343 <p>It also allow us to replace the server side without forcing the
16344 users to replace their applications, and thus allow us to select the
16345 best server implementation at any moment, when scale and resouce
16346 requirements change.</p>
16347
16348 <p>I strongly recommend standardizing - on open network protocols and
16349 open formats, but I would never recommend standardizing on a single
16350 application that do not use open network protocol or open formats.</p>
16351
16352       </div>
16353       <div class="tags">
16354
16355
16356         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
16357
16358
16359       </div>
16360     </div>
16361     <div class="padding"></div>
16362
16363     <div class="entry">
16364       <div class="title">
16365         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Returning_from_Skolelinux_developer_gathering.html">Returning from Skolelinux developer gathering</a>
16366       </div>
16367       <div class="date">
16368         29th March 2009
16369       </div>
16370       <div class="body">
16371         <p>I'm sitting on the train going home from this weekends Debian
16372 Edu/Skolelinux development gathering.  I got a bit done tuning the
16373 desktop, and looked into the dynamic service location protocol
16374 implementation avahi.  It look like it could be useful for us.  Almost
16375 30 people participated, and I believe it was a great environment to
16376 get to know the Skolelinux system.  Walter Bender, involved in the
16377 development of the Sugar educational platform, presented his stuff and
16378 also helped me improve my OLPC installation.  He also showed me that
16379 his Turtle Art application can be used in standalone mode, and we
16380 agreed that I would help getting it packaged for Debian.  As a
16381 standalone application it would be great for Debian Edu.  We also
16382 tried to get the video conferencing working with two OLPCs, but that
16383 proved to be too hard for us.  The application seem to need more work
16384 before it is ready for me.  I look forward to getting home and relax
16385 now. :)</p>
16386
16387       </div>
16388       <div class="tags">
16389
16390
16391         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
16392
16393
16394       </div>
16395     </div>
16396     <div class="padding"></div>
16397
16398     <div class="entry">
16399       <div class="title">
16400         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_for_new__LDAP_schemas_replacing_RFC_2307_.html">Time for new  LDAP schemas replacing RFC 2307?</a>
16401       </div>
16402       <div class="date">
16403         29th March 2009
16404       </div>
16405       <div class="body">
16406         <p>The state of standardized LDAP schemas on Linux is far from
16407 optimal.  There is RFC 2307 documenting one way to store NIS maps in
16408 LDAP, and a modified version of this normally called RFC 2307bis, with
16409 some modifications to be compatible with Active Directory.  The RFC
16410 specification handle the content of a lot of system databases, but do
16411 not handle DNS zones and DHCP configuration.</p>
16412
16413 <p>In <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu/Skolelinux</a>,
16414 we would like to store information about users, SMB clients/hosts,
16415 filegroups, netgroups (users and hosts), DHCP and DNS configuration,
16416 and LTSP configuration in LDAP.  These objects have a lot in common,
16417 but with the current LDAP schemas it is not possible to have one
16418 object per entity.  For example, one need to have at least three LDAP
16419 objects for a given computer, one with the SMB related stuff, one with
16420 DNS information and another with DHCP information.  The schemas
16421 provided for DNS and DHCP are impossible to combine into one LDAP
16422 object.  In addition, it is impossible to implement quick queries for
16423 netgroup membership, because of the way NIS triples are implemented.
16424 It just do not scale.  I believe it is time for a few RFC
16425 specifications to cleam up this mess.</p>
16426
16427 <p>I would like to have one LDAP object representing each computer in
16428 the network, and this object can then keep the SMB (ie host key), DHCP
16429 (mac address/name) and DNS (name/IP address) settings in one place.
16430 It need to be efficently stored to make sure it scale well.</p>
16431
16432 <p>I would also like to have a quick way to map from a user or
16433 computer and to the net group this user or computer is a member.</p>
16434
16435 <p>Active Directory have done a better job than unix heads like myself
16436 in this regard, and the unix side need to catch up.  Time to start a
16437 new IETF work group?</p>
16438
16439       </div>
16440       <div class="tags">
16441
16442
16443         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
16444
16445
16446       </div>
16447     </div>
16448     <div class="padding"></div>
16449
16450     <div class="entry">
16451       <div class="title">
16452         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Checking_server_hardware_support_status_for_Dell__HP_and_IBM_servers.html">Checking server hardware support status for Dell, HP and IBM servers</a>
16453       </div>
16454       <div class="date">
16455         28th February 2009
16456       </div>
16457       <div class="body">
16458         <p>At work, we have a few hundred Linux servers, and with that amount
16459 of hardware it is important to keep track of when the hardware support
16460 contract expire for each server.  We have a machine (and service)
16461 register, which until recently did not contain much useful besides the
16462 machine room location and contact information for the system owner for
16463 each machine.  To make it easier for us to track support contract
16464 status, I've recently spent time on extending the machine register to
16465 include information about when the support contract expire, and to tag
16466 machines with expired contracts to make it easy to get a list of such
16467 machines.  I extended a perl script already being used to import
16468 information about machines into the register, to also do some screen
16469 scraping off the sites of Dell, HP and IBM (our majority of machines
16470 are from these vendors), and automatically check the support status
16471 for the relevant machines.  This make the support status information
16472 easily available and I hope it will make it easier for the computer
16473 owner to know when to get new hardware or renew the support contract.
16474 The result of this work documented that 27% of the machines in the
16475 registry is without a support contract, and made it very easy to find
16476 them.  27% might seem like a lot, but I see it more as the case of us
16477 using machines a bit longer than the 3 years a normal support contract
16478 last, to have test machines and a platform for less important
16479 services.  After all, the machines without a contract are working fine
16480 at the moment and the lack of contract is only a problem if any of
16481 them break down.  When that happen, we can either fix it using spare
16482 parts from other machines or move the service to another old
16483 machine.</p>
16484
16485 <p>I believe the code for screen scraping the Dell site was originally
16486 written by Trond Hasle Amundsen, and later adjusted by me and Morten
16487 Werner Forsbring.  The HP scraping was written by me after reading a
16488 nice article in ;login: about how to use WWW::Mechanize, and the IBM
16489 scraping was written by me based on the Dell code.  I know the HTML
16490 parsing could be done using nice libraries, but did not want to
16491 introduce more dependencies.  This is the current incarnation:</p>
16492
16493 <pre>
16494 use LWP::Simple;
16495 use POSIX;
16496 use WWW::Mechanize;
16497 use Date::Parse;
16498 [...]
16499 sub get_support_info {
16500     my ($machine, $model, $serial, $productnumber) = @_;
16501     my $str;
16502
16503     if ( $model =~ m/^Dell / ) {
16504         # fetch website from Dell support
16505         my $url = "http://support.euro.dell.com/support/topics/topic.aspx/emea/shared/support/my_systems_info/no/details?c=no&amp;cs=nodhs1&amp;l=no&amp;s=dhs&amp;ServiceTag=$serial";
16506         my $webpage = get($url);
16507         return undef unless ($webpage);
16508
16509         my $daysleft = -1;
16510         my @lines = split(/\n/, $webpage);
16511         foreach my $line (@lines) {
16512             next unless ($line =~ m/Beskrivelse/);
16513             $line =~ s/&lt;[^>]+?>/;/gm;
16514             $line =~ s/^.+?;(Beskrivelse;)/$1/;
16515
16516             my @f = split(/\;/, $line);
16517             @f = @f[13 .. $#f];
16518             my $lastend = "";
16519             while ($f[3] eq "DELL") {
16520                 my ($type, $startstr, $endstr, $days) = @f[0, 5, 7, 10];
16521
16522                 my $start = POSIX::strftime("%Y-%m-%d",
16523                                             localtime(str2time($startstr)));
16524                 my $end = POSIX::strftime("%Y-%m-%d",
16525                                           localtime(str2time($endstr)));
16526                 $str .= "$type $start -> $end ";
16527                 @f = @f[14 .. $#f];
16528                 $lastend = $end if ($end gt $lastend);
16529             }
16530             my $today = POSIX::strftime("%Y-%m-%d", localtime(time));
16531             tag_machine_unsupported($machine)
16532                 if ($lastend lt $today);
16533         }
16534     } elsif ( $model =~ m/^HP / ) {
16535         my $mech = WWW::Mechanize->new();
16536         my $url =
16537             'http://www1.itrc.hp.com/service/ewarranty/warrantyInput.do';
16538         $mech->get($url);
16539         my $fields = {
16540             'BODServiceID' => 'NA',
16541             'RegisteredPurchaseDate' => '',
16542             'country' => 'NO',
16543             'productNumber' => $productnumber,
16544             'serialNumber1' => $serial,
16545         };
16546         $mech->submit_form( form_number => 2,
16547                             fields      => $fields );
16548         # Next step is screen scraping
16549         my $content = $mech->content();
16550
16551         $content =~ s/&lt;[^>]+?>/;/gm;
16552         $content =~ s/\s+/ /gm;
16553         $content =~ s/;\s*;/;;/gm;
16554         $content =~ s/;[\s;]+/;/gm;
16555
16556         my $today = POSIX::strftime("%Y-%m-%d", localtime(time));
16557
16558         while ($content =~ m/;Warranty Type;/) {
16559             my ($type, $status, $startstr, $stopstr) = $content =~
16560                 m/;Warranty Type;([^;]+);.+?;Status;(\w+);Start Date;([^;]+);End Date;([^;]+);/;
16561             $content =~ s/^.+?;Warranty Type;//;
16562             my $start = POSIX::strftime("%Y-%m-%d",
16563                                         localtime(str2time($startstr)));
16564             my $end = POSIX::strftime("%Y-%m-%d",
16565                                       localtime(str2time($stopstr)));
16566
16567             $str .= "$type ($status) $start -> $end ";
16568
16569             tag_machine_unsupported($machine)
16570                 if ($end lt $today);
16571         }
16572     } elsif ( $model =~ m/^IBM / ) {
16573         # This code ignore extended support contracts.
16574         my ($producttype) = $model =~ m/.*-\[(.{4}).+\]-/;
16575         if ($producttype &amp;&amp; $serial) {
16576             my $content =
16577                 get("http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/support/supportsite.wss/warranty?action=warranty&amp;brandind=5000008&amp;Submit=Submit&amp;type=$producttype&amp;serial=$serial");
16578             if ($content) {
16579                 $content =~ s/&lt;[^>]+?>/;/gm;
16580                 $content =~ s/\s+/ /gm;
16581                 $content =~ s/;\s*;/;;/gm;
16582                 $content =~ s/;[\s;]+/;/gm;
16583
16584                 $content =~ s/^.+?;Warranty status;//;
16585                 my ($status, $end) = $content =~ m/;Warranty status;([^;]+)\s*;Expiration date;(\S+) ;/;
16586
16587                 $str .= "($status) -> $end ";
16588
16589                 my $today = POSIX::strftime("%Y-%m-%d", localtime(time));
16590                 tag_machine_unsupported($machine)
16591                     if ($end lt $today);
16592             }
16593         }
16594     }
16595     return $str;
16596 }
16597 </pre>
16598
16599 <p>Here are some examples on how to use the function, using fake
16600 serial numbers.  The information passed in as arguments are fetched
16601 from dmidecode.</p>
16602
16603 <pre>
16604 print get_support_info("hp.host", "HP ProLiant BL460c G1", "1234567890"
16605                        "447707-B21");
16606 print get_support_info("dell.host", "Dell Inc. PowerEdge 2950", "1234567");
16607 print get_support_info("ibm.host", "IBM eserver xSeries 345 -[867061X]-",
16608                        "1234567");
16609 </pre>
16610
16611 <p>I would recommend this approach for tracking support contracts for
16612 everyone with more than a few computers to administer. :)</p>
16613
16614 <p>Update 2009-03-06: The IBM page do not include extended support
16615 contracts, so it is useless in that case.  The original Dell code do
16616 not handle extended support contracts either, but has been updated to
16617 do so.</p>
16618
16619       </div>
16620       <div class="tags">
16621
16622
16623         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
16624
16625
16626       </div>
16627     </div>
16628     <div class="padding"></div>
16629
16630     <div class="entry">
16631       <div class="title">
16632         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Using_bar_codes_at_a_computing_center.html">Using bar codes at a computing center</a>
16633       </div>
16634       <div class="date">
16635         20th February 2009
16636       </div>
16637       <div class="body">
16638         <p>At work with the University of Oslo, we have several hundred computers
16639 in our computing center.  This give us a challenge in tracking the
16640 location and cabling of the computers, when they are added, moved and
16641 removed.  Some times the location register is not updated when a
16642 computer is inserted or moved and we then have to search the room for
16643 the "missing" computer.</p>
16644
16645 <p>In the last issue of Linux Journal, I came across a project
16646 <a href="http://www.libdmtx.org/">libdmtx</a> to write and read bar
16647 code blocks as defined in the
16648 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Matrix">The Data Matrix
16649 Standard</a>.  This is bar codes that can be read with a normal
16650 digital camera, for example that on a cell phone, and several such bar
16651 codes can be read by libdmtx from one picture.  The bar code standard
16652 allow up to 2 KiB to be written in the tag.  There is another project
16653 with <a href="http://www.terryburton.co.uk/barcodewriter/">a bar code
16654 writer written in postscript</a> capable of creating such bar codes,
16655 but this was the first time I found a tool to read these bar
16656 codes.</p>
16657
16658 <p>It occurred to me that this could be used to tag and track the
16659 machines in our computing center.  If both racks and computers are
16660 tagged this way, we can use a picture of the rack and all its
16661 computers to detect the rack location of any computer in that rack.
16662 If we do this regularly for the entire room, we will find all
16663 locations, and can detect movements and removals.</p>
16664
16665 <p>I decided to test if this would work in practice, and picked a
16666 random rack and tagged all the machines with their names.  Next, I
16667 took pictures with my digital camera, and gave the dmtxread program
16668 these JPEG pictures to see how many tags it could read.  This worked
16669 fairly well.  If the pictures was well focused and not taken from the
16670 side, all tags in the image could be read.  Because of limited space
16671 between the racks, I was unable to get a good picture of the entire
16672 rack, but could without problem read all tags from a picture covering
16673 about half the rack.  I had to limit the search time used by dmtxread
16674 to 60000 ms to make sure it terminated in a reasonable time frame.</p>
16675
16676 <p>My conclusion is that this could work, and we should probably look
16677 at adjusting our computer tagging procedures to use bar codes for
16678 easier automatic tracking of computers.</p>
16679
16680       </div>
16681       <div class="tags">
16682
16683
16684         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
16685
16686
16687       </div>
16688     </div>
16689     <div class="padding"></div>
16690
16691     <div class="entry">
16692       <div class="title">
16693         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/When_web_browser_developers_make_a_video_player___.html">When web browser developers make a video player...</a>
16694       </div>
16695       <div class="date">
16696         17th January 2009
16697       </div>
16698       <div class="body">
16699         <p>As part of the work we do in <a href="http://www.nuug.no">NUUG</a>
16700 to publish video recordings of our monthly presentations, we provide a
16701 page with embedded video for easy access to the recording.  Putting a
16702 good set of HTML tags together to get working embedded video in all
16703 browsers and across all operating systems is not easy.  I hope this
16704 will become easier when the &lt;video&gt; tag is implemented in all
16705 browsers, but I am not sure.  We provide the recordings in several
16706 formats, MPEG1, Ogg Theora, H.264 and Quicktime, and want the
16707 browser/media plugin to pick one it support and use it to play the
16708 recording, using whatever embed mechanism the browser understand.
16709 There is at least four different tags to use for this, the new HTML5
16710 &lt;video&gt; tag, the &lt;object&gt; tag, the &lt;embed&gt; tag and
16711 the &lt;applet&gt; tag.  All of these take a lot of options, and
16712 finding the best options is a major challenge.</p>
16713
16714 <p>I just tested the experimental Opera browser available from <a
16715 href="http://labs.opera.com">labs.opera.com</a>, to see how it handled
16716 a &lt;video&gt; tag with a few video sources and no extra attributes.
16717 I was not very impressed.  The browser start by fetching a picture
16718 from the video stream.  Not sure if it is the first frame, but it is
16719 definitely very early in the recording.  So far, so good. Next,
16720 instead of streaming the 76 MiB video file, it start to download all
16721 of it, but do not start to play the video.  This mean I have to wait
16722 for several minutes for the downloading to finish.  When the download
16723 is done, the playing of the video do not start!  Waiting for the
16724 download, but I do not get to see the video?  Some testing later, I
16725 discover that I have to add the controls="true" attribute to be able
16726 to get a play button to pres to start the video.  Adding
16727 autoplay="true" did not help.  I sure hope this is a misfeature of the
16728 test version of Opera, and that future implementations of the
16729 &lt;video&gt; tag will stream recordings by default, or at least start
16730 playing when the download is done.</p>
16731
16732 <p>The test page I used (since changed to add more attributes) is
16733 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/aktiviteter/20090113-foredrag-om-foredrag/">available
16734 from the nuug site</a>.  Will have to test it with the new Firefox
16735 too.</p>
16736
16737 <p>In the test process, I discovered a missing feature.  I was unable
16738 to find a way to get the URL of the playing video out of Opera, so I
16739 am not quite sure it picked the Ogg Theora version of the video.  I
16740 sure hope it was using the announced Ogg Theora support. :)</p>
16741
16742       </div>
16743       <div class="tags">
16744
16745
16746         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
16747
16748
16749       </div>
16750     </div>
16751     <div class="padding"></div>
16752
16753     <div class="entry">
16754       <div class="title">
16755         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Software_video_mixer_on_a_USB_stick.html">Software video mixer on a USB stick</a>
16756       </div>
16757       <div class="date">
16758         28th December 2008
16759       </div>
16760       <div class="body">
16761         <p>The <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">Norwegian Unix User Group</a> is
16762 recording our montly presentation on video, and recently we have
16763 worked on improving the quality of the recordings by mixing the slides
16764 directly with the video stream.  For this, we use the
16765 <a href="http://dvswitch.alioth.debian.org/">dvswitch</a> package from
16766 the Debian video team.  As this require quite one computer per video
16767 source, and NUUG do not have enough laptops available, we need to
16768 borrow laptops.  And to avoid having to install extra software on
16769 these borrwed laptops, I have wrapped up all the programs needed on a
16770 bootable USB stick.  The software required is dvswitch with assosiated
16771 source, sink and mixer applications and
16772 <a href="http://www.kinodv.org/">dvgrab</a>.  To allow this setup to
16773 work without any configuration, I've patched dvswitch to use
16774 <a href="http://www.avahi.org/">avahi</a> to connect the various parts
16775 together.  And to allow us to use laptops without firewire plugs, I
16776 upgraded dvgrab to the one from Debian/unstable to get one that work
16777 with USB sources.  We have not yet tested this setup in a production
16778 setup, but I hope it will work properly, and allow us to set up a
16779 video mixer in a very short time frame.  We will need it for
16780 <a href="http://www.goopen.no/">Go Open 2009</a>.</p>
16781
16782 <p><a href="http://www.nuug.no/pub/video/bin/usbstick-dvswitch.img.gz">The
16783 USB image</a> is for a 1 GB memory stick, but can be used on any
16784 larger stick as well.</p>
16785
16786       </div>
16787       <div class="tags">
16788
16789
16790         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
16791
16792
16793       </div>
16794     </div>
16795     <div class="padding"></div>
16796
16797     <div class="entry">
16798       <div class="title">
16799         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Devcamp_brought_us_closer_to_the_Lenny_based_Debian_Edu_release.html">Devcamp brought us closer to the Lenny based Debian Edu release</a>
16800       </div>
16801       <div class="date">
16802          7th December 2008
16803       </div>
16804       <div class="body">
16805         <p>This weekend we had a small developer gathering for Debian Edu in
16806 Oslo.  Most of Saturday was used for the general assemly for the
16807 member organization, but the rest of the weekend I used to tune the
16808 LTSP installation.  LTSP now work out of the box on the 10-network.
16809 Acer Aspire One proved to be a very nice thin client, with both
16810 screen, mouse and keybard in a small box.  Was working on getting the
16811 diskless workstation setup configured out of the box, but did not
16812 finish it before the weekend was up.</p>
16813
16814 <p>Did not find time to look at the 4 VGA cards in one box we got from
16815 the Brazilian group, so that will have to wait for the next
16816 development gathering.  Would love to have the Debian Edu installer
16817 automatically detect and configure a multiseat setup when it find one
16818 of these cards.</p>
16819
16820       </div>
16821       <div class="tags">
16822
16823
16824         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ltsp">ltsp</a>.
16825
16826
16827       </div>
16828     </div>
16829     <div class="padding"></div>
16830
16831     <div class="entry">
16832       <div class="title">
16833         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_sorry_state_of_multimedia_browser_plugins_in_Debian.html">The sorry state of multimedia browser plugins in Debian</a>
16834       </div>
16835       <div class="date">
16836         25th November 2008
16837       </div>
16838       <div class="body">
16839         <p>Recently I have spent some time evaluating the multimedia browser
16840 plugins available in Debian Lenny, to see which one we should use by
16841 default in Debian Edu.  We need an embedded video playing plugin with
16842 control buttons to pause or stop the video, and capable of streaming
16843 all the multimedia content available on the web.  The test results and
16844 notes are available on
16845 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/BrowserMultimedia">the
16846 Debian wiki</a>.  I was surprised how few of the plugins are able to
16847 fill this need.  My personal video player favorite, VLC, has a really
16848 bad plugin which fail on a lot of the test pages.  A lot of the MIME
16849 types I would expect to work with any free software player (like
16850 video/ogg), just do not work.  And simple formats like the
16851 audio/x-mplegurl format (m3u playlists), just isn't supported by the
16852 totem and vlc plugins.  I hope the situation will improve soon.  No
16853 wonder sites use the proprietary Adobe flash to play video.</p>
16854
16855 <p>For Lenny, we seem to end up with the mplayer plugin.  It seem to
16856 be the only one fitting our needs. :/</p>
16857
16858       </div>
16859       <div class="tags">
16860
16861
16862         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
16863
16864
16865       </div>
16866     </div>
16867     <div class="padding"></div>
16868
16869     <p style="text-align: right;"><a href="english.rss"><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/xml.gif" alt="RSS Feed" width="36" height="14" /></a></p>
16870     <div id="sidebar">
16871
16872
16873
16874 <h2>Archive</h2>
16875 <ul>
16876
16877 <li>2013
16878 <ul>
16879
16880 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/01/">January (11)</a></li>
16881
16882 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/02/">February (9)</a></li>
16883
16884 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/03/">March (9)</a></li>
16885
16886 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/04/">April (6)</a></li>
16887
16888 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/05/">May (9)</a></li>
16889
16890 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/06/">June (10)</a></li>
16891
16892 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/07/">July (7)</a></li>
16893
16894 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/08/">August (3)</a></li>
16895
16896 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/09/">September (2)</a></li>
16897
16898 </ul></li>
16899
16900 <li>2012
16901 <ul>
16902
16903 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/01/">January (7)</a></li>
16904
16905 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/02/">February (10)</a></li>
16906
16907 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/03/">March (17)</a></li>
16908
16909 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/04/">April (12)</a></li>
16910
16911 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/05/">May (12)</a></li>
16912
16913 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/06/">June (20)</a></li>
16914
16915 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/07/">July (17)</a></li>
16916
16917 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/08/">August (6)</a></li>
16918
16919 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/09/">September (9)</a></li>
16920
16921 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/10/">October (17)</a></li>
16922
16923 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/11/">November (10)</a></li>
16924
16925 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/12/">December (7)</a></li>
16926
16927 </ul></li>
16928
16929 <li>2011
16930 <ul>
16931
16932 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/01/">January (16)</a></li>
16933
16934 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/02/">February (6)</a></li>
16935
16936 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/03/">March (6)</a></li>
16937
16938 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/04/">April (7)</a></li>
16939
16940 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/05/">May (3)</a></li>
16941
16942 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/06/">June (2)</a></li>
16943
16944 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/07/">July (7)</a></li>
16945
16946 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/08/">August (6)</a></li>
16947
16948 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/09/">September (4)</a></li>
16949
16950 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/10/">October (2)</a></li>
16951
16952 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/11/">November (3)</a></li>
16953
16954 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/12/">December (1)</a></li>
16955
16956 </ul></li>
16957
16958 <li>2010
16959 <ul>
16960
16961 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/01/">January (2)</a></li>
16962
16963 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/02/">February (1)</a></li>
16964
16965 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/03/">March (3)</a></li>
16966
16967 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/04/">April (3)</a></li>
16968
16969 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/05/">May (9)</a></li>
16970
16971 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/06/">June (14)</a></li>
16972
16973 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/07/">July (12)</a></li>
16974
16975 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/08/">August (13)</a></li>
16976
16977 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/09/">September (7)</a></li>
16978
16979 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/10/">October (9)</a></li>
16980
16981 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/11/">November (13)</a></li>
16982
16983 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/12/">December (12)</a></li>
16984
16985 </ul></li>
16986
16987 <li>2009
16988 <ul>
16989
16990 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/01/">January (8)</a></li>
16991
16992 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/02/">February (8)</a></li>
16993
16994 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/03/">March (12)</a></li>
16995
16996 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/04/">April (10)</a></li>
16997
16998 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/05/">May (9)</a></li>
16999
17000 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/06/">June (3)</a></li>
17001
17002 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/07/">July (4)</a></li>
17003
17004 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/08/">August (3)</a></li>
17005
17006 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/09/">September (1)</a></li>
17007
17008 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/10/">October (2)</a></li>
17009
17010 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/11/">November (3)</a></li>
17011
17012 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/12/">December (3)</a></li>
17013
17014 </ul></li>
17015
17016 <li>2008
17017 <ul>
17018
17019 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2008/11/">November (5)</a></li>
17020
17021 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2008/12/">December (7)</a></li>
17022
17023 </ul></li>
17024
17025 </ul>
17026
17027
17028
17029 <h2>Tags</h2>
17030 <ul>
17031
17032  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/3d-printer">3d-printer (13)</a></li>
17033
17034  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/amiga">amiga (1)</a></li>
17035
17036  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/aros">aros (1)</a></li>
17037
17038  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bankid">bankid (4)</a></li>
17039
17040  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin (7)</a></li>
17041
17042  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem (12)</a></li>
17043
17044  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bsa">bsa (2)</a></li>
17045
17046  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian (85)</a></li>
17047
17048  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu (139)</a></li>
17049
17050  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/digistan">digistan (10)</a></li>
17051
17052  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook (10)</a></li>
17053
17054  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/drivstoffpriser">drivstoffpriser (4)</a></li>
17055
17056  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english (214)</a></li>
17057
17058  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami (21)</a></li>
17059
17060  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fildeling">fildeling (12)</a></li>
17061
17062  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture (12)</a></li>
17063
17064  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freedombox">freedombox (1)</a></li>
17065
17066  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/frikanalen">frikanalen (11)</a></li>
17067
17068  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju (37)</a></li>
17069
17070  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram (7)</a></li>
17071
17072  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/kart">kart (18)</a></li>
17073
17074  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap (8)</a></li>
17075
17076  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/lenker">lenker (6)</a></li>
17077
17078  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ltsp">ltsp (1)</a></li>
17079
17080  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia (25)</a></li>
17081
17082  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/norsk">norsk (235)</a></li>
17083
17084  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug (153)</a></li>
17085
17086  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/offentlig innsyn">offentlig innsyn (8)</a></li>
17087
17088  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/open311">open311 (2)</a></li>
17089
17090  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett (44)</a></li>
17091
17092  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern (66)</a></li>
17093
17094  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/raid">raid (1)</a></li>
17095
17096  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/reprap">reprap (11)</a></li>
17097
17098  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/rfid">rfid (2)</a></li>
17099
17100  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot (7)</a></li>
17101
17102  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/rss">rss (1)</a></li>
17103
17104  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ruter">ruter (4)</a></li>
17105
17106  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/scraperwiki">scraperwiki (2)</a></li>
17107
17108  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet (30)</a></li>
17109
17110  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sitesummary">sitesummary (4)</a></li>
17111
17112  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/skepsis">skepsis (4)</a></li>
17113
17114  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard (43)</a></li>
17115
17116  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/stavekontroll">stavekontroll (3)</a></li>
17117
17118  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/stortinget">stortinget (8)</a></li>
17119
17120  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance (17)</a></li>
17121
17122  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sysadmin">sysadmin (1)</a></li>
17123
17124  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/valg">valg (8)</a></li>
17125
17126  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video (38)</a></li>
17127
17128  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/vitenskap">vitenskap (4)</a></li>
17129
17130  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web (27)</a></li>
17131
17132 </ul>
17133
17134
17135     </div>
17136     <p style="text-align: right">
17137  Created by <a href="http://steve.org.uk/Software/chronicle">Chronicle v4.6</a>
17138 </p>
17139
17140   </body>
17141 </html>