X-Git-Url: http://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/blobdiff_plain/6827c20a65667b2d54f665b5c49539dd75f228c0..47d68fecf3b10472c3afbc2a3341c3ed207bdebe:/blog/index.rss diff --git a/blog/index.rss b/blog/index.rss index 7d0b196b1c..bdf390a54a 100644 --- a/blog/index.rss +++ b/blog/index.rss @@ -6,6 +6,430 @@ http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/ + + First draft Norwegian Bokmål edition of The Debian Administrator's Handbook now public + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_draft_Norwegian_Bokm_l_edition_of_The_Debian_Administrator_s_Handbook_now_public.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_draft_Norwegian_Bokm_l_edition_of_The_Debian_Administrator_s_Handbook_now_public.html + Tue, 30 Aug 2016 10:10:00 +0200 + <p>In April we +<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_a_Norwegian_Bokm_l_edition_of_The_Debian_Administrator_s_Handbook.html">started +to work</a> on a Norwegian Bokmål edition of the "open access" book on +how to set up and administrate a Debian system. Today I am happy to +report that the first draft is now publicly available. You can find +it on <a href="https://debian-handbook.info/get/">get the Debian +Administrator's Handbook page</a> (under Other languages). The first +eight chapters have a first draft translation, and we are working on +proofreading the content. If you want to help out, please start +contributing using +<a href="https://hosted.weblate.org/projects/debian-handbook/">the +hosted weblate project page</a>, and get in touch using +<a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/mailman/listinfo/debian-handbook-translators">the +translators mailing list</a>. Please also check out +<a href="https://debian-handbook.info/contribute/">the instructions for +contributors</a>. A good way to contribute is to proofread the text +and update weblate if you find errors.</p> + +<p>Our goal is still to make the Norwegian book available on paper as well as +electronic form.</p> + + + + + Coz can help you find bottlenecks in multi-threaded software - nice free software + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Coz_can_help_you_find_bottlenecks_in_multi_threaded_software___nice_free_software.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Coz_can_help_you_find_bottlenecks_in_multi_threaded_software___nice_free_software.html + Thu, 11 Aug 2016 12:00:00 +0200 + <p>This summer, I read a great article +"<a href="https://www.usenix.org/publications/login/summer2016/curtsinger">coz: +This Is the Profiler You're Looking For</a>" in USENIX ;login: about +how to profile multi-threaded programs. It presented a system for +profiling software by running experiences in the running program, +testing how run time performance is affected by "speeding up" parts of +the code to various degrees compared to a normal run. It does this by +slowing down parallel threads while the "faster up" code is running +and measure how this affect processing time. The processing time is +measured using probes inserted into the code, either using progress +counters (COZ_PROGRESS) or as latency meters (COZ_BEGIN/COZ_END). It +can also measure unmodified code by measuring complete the program +runtime and running the program several times instead.</p> + +<p>The project and presentation was so inspiring that I would like to +get the system into Debian. I +<a href="https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=830708">created +a WNPP request for it</a> and contacted upstream to try to make the +system ready for Debian by sending patches. The build process need to +be changed a bit to avoid running 'git clone' to get dependencies, and +to include the JavaScript web page used to visualize the collected +profiling information included in the source package. +But I expect that should work out fairly soon.</p> + +<p>The way the system work is fairly simple. To run an coz experiment +on a binary with debug symbols available, start the program like this: + +<p><blockquote><pre> +coz run --- program-to-run +</pre></blockquote></p> + +<p>This will create a text file profile.coz with the instrumentation +information. To show what part of the code affect the performance +most, use a web browser and either point it to +<a href="http://plasma-umass.github.io/coz/">http://plasma-umass.github.io/coz/</a> +or use the copy from git (in the gh-pages branch). Check out this web +site to have a look at several example profiling runs and get an idea what the end result from the profile runs look like. To make the +profiling more useful you include &lt;coz.h&gt; and insert the +COZ_PROGRESS or COZ_BEGIN and COZ_END at appropriate places in the +code, rebuild and run the profiler. This allow coz to do more +targeted experiments.</p> + +<p>A video published by ACM +<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE0V-p1odPg">presenting the +Coz profiler</a> is available from Youtube. There is also a paper +from the 25th Symposium on Operating Systems Principles available +titled +<a href="https://www.usenix.org/conference/atc16/technical-sessions/presentation/curtsinger">Coz: +finding code that counts with causal profiling</a>.</p> + +<p><a href="https://github.com/plasma-umass/coz">The source code</a> +for Coz is available from github. It will only build with clang +because it uses a +<a href="https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=55606">C++ +feature missing in GCC</a>, but I've submitted +<a href="https://github.com/plasma-umass/coz/pull/67">a patch to solve +it</a> and hope it will be included in the upstream source soon.</p> + +<p>Please get in touch if you, like me, would like to see this piece +of software in Debian. I would very much like some help with the +packaging effort, as I lack the in depth knowledge on how to package +C++ libraries.</p> + + + + + Sales number for the Free Culture translation, first half of 2016 + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Sales_number_for_the_Free_Culture_translation__first_half_of_2016.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Sales_number_for_the_Free_Culture_translation__first_half_of_2016.html + Fri, 5 Aug 2016 22:45:00 +0200 + <p>As my regular readers probably remember, the last year I published +a French and Norwegian translation of the classic +<a href="http://www.free-culture.cc/">Free Culture book</a> by the +founder of the Creative Commons movement, Lawrence Lessig. A bit less +known is the fact that due to the way I created the translations, +using docbook and po4a, I also recreated the English original. And +because I already had created a new the PDF edition, I published it +too. The revenue from the books are sent to the Creative Commons +Corporation. In other words, I do not earn any money from this +project, I just earn the warm fuzzy feeling that the text is available +for a wider audience and more people can learn why the Creative +Commons is needed.</p> + +<p>Today, just for fun, I had a look at the sales number over at +Lulu.com, which take care of payment, printing and shipping. Much to +my surprise, the English edition is selling better than both the +French and Norwegian edition, despite the fact that it has been +available in English since it was first published. In total, 24 paper +books was sold for USD $19.99 between 2016-01-01 and 2016-07-31:</p> + +<table border="0"> +<tr><th>Title / language</th><th>Quantity</th></tr> +<tr><td><a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/lawrence-lessig/culture-libre/paperback/product-22645082.html">Culture Libre / French</a></td><td align="right">3</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/lawrence-lessig/fri-kultur/paperback/product-22441576.html">Fri kultur / Norwegian</a></td><td align="right">7</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/lawrence-lessig/free-culture/paperback/product-22440520.html">Free Culture / English</a></td><td align="right">14</td></tr> +</table> + +<p>The books are available both from Lulu.com and from large book +stores like Amazon and Barnes&Noble. Most revenue, around $10 per +book, is sent to the Creative Commons project when the book is sold +directly by Lulu.com. The other channels give less revenue. The +summary from Lulu tell me 10 books was sold via the Amazon channel, 10 +via Ingram (what is this?) and 4 directly by Lulu. And Lulu.com tells +me that the revenue sent so far this year is USD $101.42. No idea +what kind of sales numbers to expect, so I do not know if that is a +good amount of sales for a 10 year old book or not. But it make me +happy that the buyers find the book, and I hope they enjoy reading it +as much as I did.</p> + +<p>The ebook edition is available for free from +<a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig">Github</a>.</p> + +<p>If you would like to translate and publish the book in your native +language, I would be happy to help make it happen. Please get in +touch.</p> + + + + + Vitenskapen tar som vanlig feil igjen - relativt feil + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Vitenskapen_tar_som_vanlig_feil_igjen___relativt_feil.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Vitenskapen_tar_som_vanlig_feil_igjen___relativt_feil.html + Mon, 1 Aug 2016 16:00:00 +0200 + <p>For mange år siden leste jeg en klassisk tekst som gjorde såpass +inntrykk på meg at jeg husker den fortsatt, flere år senere, og bruker +argumentene fra den stadig vekk. Teksten var «The Relativity of +Wrong» som Isaac Asimov publiserte i Skeptical Inquirer i 1989. Den +gir litt perspektiv rundt formidlingen av vitenskapelige resultater. +Jeg har hatt lyst til å kunne dele den også med folk som ikke +behersker engelsk så godt, som barn og noen av mine eldre slektninger, +og har savnet å ha den tilgjengelig på norsk. For to uker siden tok +jeg meg sammen og kontaktet Asbjørn Dyrendal i foreningen Skepsis om +de var interessert i å publisere en norsk utgave på bloggen sin, og da +han var positiv tok jeg kontakt med Skeptical Inquirer og spurte om +det var greit for dem. I løpet av noen dager fikk vi tilbakemelding +fra Barry Karr hos The Skeptical Inquirer som hadde sjekket og fått OK +fra Robyn Asimov som representerte arvingene i Asmiov-familien og gikk +igang med oversettingen.</p> + +<p>Resultatet, <a href="http://www.skepsis.no/?p=1617">«Relativt +feil»</a>, ble publisert på skepsis-bloggen for noen minutter siden. +Jeg anbefaler deg på det varmeste å lese denne teksten og dele den med +dine venner.</p> + +<p>For å håndtere oversettelsen og sikre at original og oversettelse +var i sync brukte vi git, po4a, GNU make og Transifex. Det hele +fungerte utmerket og gjorde det enkelt å dele tekstene og jobbe sammen +om finpuss på formuleringene. Hadde hosted.weblate.org latt meg +opprette nye prosjekter selv i stedet for å måtte kontakte +administratoren der, så hadde jeg brukt weblate i stedet.</p> + + + + + Techno TV broadcasting live across Norway and the Internet (#debconf16, #nuug) on @frikanalen + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Techno_TV_broadcasting_live_across_Norway_and_the_Internet___debconf16___nuug__on__frikanalen.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Techno_TV_broadcasting_live_across_Norway_and_the_Internet___debconf16___nuug__on__frikanalen.html + Mon, 1 Aug 2016 10:30:00 +0200 + <p>Did you know there is a TV channel broadcasting talks from DebConf +16 across an entire country? Or that there is a TV channel +broadcasting talks by or about +<a href="http://beta.frikanalen.no/video/625529/">Linus Torvalds</a>, +<a href="http://beta.frikanalen.no/video/625599/">Tor</a>, +<a href="http://beta.frikanalen.no/video/624019/">OpenID</A>, +<a href="http://beta.frikanalen.no/video/625624/">Common Lisp</a>, +<a href="http://beta.frikanalen.no/video/625446/">Civic Tech</a>, +<a href="http://beta.frikanalen.no/video/625090/">EFF founder John Barlow</a>, +<a href="http://beta.frikanalen.no/video/625432/">how to make 3D +printer electronics</a> and many more fascinating topics? It works +using only free software (all of it +<a href="http://github.com/Frikanalen">available from Github</a>), and +is administrated using a web browser and a web API.</p> + +<p>The TV channel is the Norwegian open channel +<a href="http://www.frikanalen.no/">Frikanalen</a>, and I am involved +via <a href="https://www.nuug.no/">the NUUG member association</a> in +running and developing the software for the channel. The channel is +organised as a member organisation where its members can upload and +broadcast what they want (think of it as Youtube for national +broadcasting television). Individuals can broadcast too. The time +slots are handled on a first come, first serve basis. Because the +channel have almost no viewers and very few active members, we can +experiment with TV technology without too much flack when we make +mistakes. And thanks to the few active members, most of the slots on +the schedule are free. I see this as an opportunity to spread +knowledge about technology and free software, and have a script I run +regularly to fill up all the open slots the next few days with +technology related video. The end result is a channel I like to +describe as Techno TV - filled with interesting talks and +presentations.</p> + +<p>It is available on channel 50 on the Norwegian national digital TV +network (RiksTV). It is also available as a multicast stream on +Uninett. And finally, it is available as +<a href="http://beta.frikanalen.no/">a WebM unicast stream</a> from +Frikanalen and NUUG. Check it out. :)</p> + + + + + Unlocking HTC Desire HD on Linux using unruu and fastboot + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Unlocking_HTC_Desire_HD_on_Linux_using_unruu_and_fastboot.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Unlocking_HTC_Desire_HD_on_Linux_using_unruu_and_fastboot.html + Thu, 7 Jul 2016 11:30:00 +0200 + <p>Yesterday, I tried to unlock a HTC Desire HD phone, and it proved +to be a slight challenge. Here is the recipe if I ever need to do it +again. It all started by me wanting to try the recipe to set up +<a href="https://blog.torproject.org/blog/mission-impossible-hardening-android-security-and-privacy">an +hardened Android installation</a> from the Tor project blog on a +device I had access to. It is a old mobile phone with a broken +microphone The initial idea had been to just +<a href="http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_ace">install +CyanogenMod on it</a>, but did not quite find time to start on it +until a few days ago.</p> + +<p>The unlock process is supposed to be simple: (1) Boot into the boot +loader (press volume down and power at the same time), (2) select +'fastboot' before (3) connecting the device via USB to a Linux +machine, (4) request the device identifier token by running 'fastboot +oem get_identifier_token', (5) request the device unlocking key using +the <a href="http://www.htcdev.com/bootloader/">HTC developer web +site</a> and unlock the phone using the key file emailed to you.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately, this only work fi you have hboot version 2.00.0029 +or newer, and the device I was working on had 2.00.0027. This +apparently can be easily fixed by downloading a Windows program and +running it on your Windows machine, if you accept the terms Microsoft +require you to accept to use Windows - which I do not. So I had to +come up with a different approach. I got a lot of help from AndyCap +on #nuug, and would not have been able to get this working without +him.</p> + +<p>First I needed to extract the hboot firmware from +<a href="http://www.htcdev.com/ruu/PD9810000_Ace_Sense30_S_hboot_2.00.0029.exe">the +windows binary for HTC Desire HD</a> downloaded as 'the RUU' from HTC. +For this there is is <a href="https://github.com/kmdm/unruu/">a github +project named unruu</a> using libunshield. The unshield tool did not +recognise the file format, but unruu worked and extracted rom.zip, +containing the new hboot firmware and a text file describing which +devices it would work for.</p> + +<p>Next, I needed to get the new firmware into the device. For this I +followed some instructions +<a href="http://www.htc1guru.com/2013/09/new-ruu-zips-posted/">available +from HTC1Guru.com</a>, and ran these commands as root on a Linux +machine with Debian testing:</p> + +<p><pre> +adb reboot-bootloader +fastboot oem rebootRUU +fastboot flash zip rom.zip +fastboot flash zip rom.zip +fastboot reboot +</pre></p> + +<p>The flash command apparently need to be done twice to take effect, +as the first is just preparations and the second one do the flashing. +The adb command is just to get to the boot loader menu, so turning the +device on while holding volume down and the power button should work +too.</p> + +<p>With the new hboot version in place I could start following the +instructions on the HTC developer web site. I got the device token +like this:</p> + +<p><pre> +fastboot oem get_identifier_token 2>&1 | sed 's/(bootloader) //' +</pre> + +<p>And once I got the unlock code via email, I could use it like +this:</p> + +<p><pre> +fastboot flash unlocktoken Unlock_code.bin +</pre></p> + +<p>And with that final step in place, the phone was unlocked and I +could start stuffing the software of my own choosing into the device. +So far I only inserted a replacement recovery image to wipe the phone +before I start. We will see what happen next. Perhaps I should +install <a href="https://www.debian.org/">Debian</a> on it. :)</p> + + + + + How to use the Signal app if you only have a land line (ie no mobile phone) + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_use_the_Signal_app_if_you_only_have_a_land_line__ie_no_mobile_phone_.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_use_the_Signal_app_if_you_only_have_a_land_line__ie_no_mobile_phone_.html + Sun, 3 Jul 2016 14:20:00 +0200 + <p>For a while now, I have wanted to test +<a href="https://whispersystems.org/">the Signal app</a>, as it is +said to provide end to end encrypted communication and several of my +friends and family are already using it. As I by choice do not own a +mobile phone, this proved to be harder than expected. And I wanted to +have the source of the client and know that it was the code used on my +machine. But yesterday I managed to get it working. I used the +Github source, compared it to the source in +<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/signal-private-messenger/bikioccmkafdpakkkcpdbppfkghcmihk?hl=en-US">the +Signal Chrome app</a> available from the Chrome web store, applied +patches to use the production Signal servers, started the app and +asked for the hidden "register without a smart phone" form. Here is +the recipe how I did it.</p> + +<p>First, I fetched the Signal desktop source from Github, using + +<pre> +git clone https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-Desktop.git +</pre> + +<p>Next, I patched the source to use the production servers, to be +able to talk to other Signal users:</p> + +<pre> +cat &lt;&lt;EOF | patch -p0 +diff -ur ./js/background.js userdata/Default/Extensions/bikioccmkafdpakkkcpdbppfkghcmihk/0.15.0_0/js/background.js +--- ./js/background.js 2016-06-29 13:43:15.630344628 +0200 ++++ userdata/Default/Extensions/bikioccmkafdpakkkcpdbppfkghcmihk/0.15.0_0/js/background.js 2016-06-29 14:06:29.530300934 +0200 +@@ -47,8 +47,8 @@ + }); + }); + +- var SERVER_URL = 'https://textsecure-service-staging.whispersystems.org'; +- var ATTACHMENT_SERVER_URL = 'https://whispersystems-textsecure-attachments-staging.s3.amazonaws.com'; ++ var SERVER_URL = 'https://textsecure-service-ca.whispersystems.org:4433'; ++ var ATTACHMENT_SERVER_URL = 'https://whispersystems-textsecure-attachments.s3.amazonaws.com'; + var messageReceiver; + window.getSocketStatus = function() { + if (messageReceiver) { +diff -ur ./js/expire.js userdata/Default/Extensions/bikioccmkafdpakkkcpdbppfkghcmihk/0.15.0_0/js/expire.js +--- ./js/expire.js 2016-06-29 13:43:15.630344628 +0200 ++++ userdata/Default/Extensions/bikioccmkafdpakkkcpdbppfkghcmihk/0.15.0_0/js/expire.js2016-06-29 14:06:29.530300934 +0200 +@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ + ;(function() { + 'use strict'; +- var BUILD_EXPIRATION = 0; ++ var BUILD_EXPIRATION = 1474492690000; + + window.extension = window.extension || {}; + +EOF +</pre> + +<p>The first part is changing the servers, and the second is updating +an expiration timestamp. This timestamp need to be updated regularly. +It is set 90 days in the future by the build process (Gruntfile.js). +The value is seconds since 1970 times 1000, as far as I can tell.</p> + +<p>Based on a tip and good help from the #nuug IRC channel, I wrote a +script to launch Signal in Chromium.</p> + +<pre> +#!/bin/sh +cd $(dirname $0) +mkdir -p userdata +exec chromium \ + --proxy-server="socks://localhost:9050" \ + --user-data-dir=`pwd`/userdata --load-and-launch-app=`pwd` +</pre> + +<p> The script start the app and configure Chromium to use the Tor +SOCKS5 proxy to make sure those controlling the Signal servers (today +Amazon and Whisper Systems) as well as those listening on the lines +will have a harder time location my laptop based on the Signal +connections if they use source IP address.</p> + +<p>When the script starts, one need to follow the instructions under +"Standalone Registration" in the CONTRIBUTING.md file in the git +repository. I right clicked on the Signal window to get up the +Chromium debugging tool, visited the 'Console' tab and wrote +'extension.install("standalone")' on the console prompt to get the +registration form. Then I entered by land line phone number and +pressed 'Call'. 5 seconds later the phone rang and a robot voice +repeated the verification code three times. After entering the number +into the verification code field in the form, I could start using +Signal from my laptop. + +<p>As far as I can tell, The Signal app will leak who is talking to +whom and thus who know who to those controlling the central server, +but such leakage is hard to avoid with a centrally controlled server +setup. It is something to keep in mind when using Signal - the +content of your chats are harder to intercept, but the meta data +exposing your contact network is available to people you do not know. +So better than many options, but not great. And sadly the usage is +connected to my land line, thus allowing those controlling the server +to associate it to my home and person. I would prefer it if only +those I knew could tell who I was on Signal. There are options +avoiding such information leakage, but most of my friends are not +using them, so I am stuck with Signal for now.</p> + + + The new "best" multimedia player in Debian? http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_new__best__multimedia_player_in_Debian_.html @@ -191,303 +615,5 @@ want to help the military in USA (and everyone else), use Tor. :)</p> - - Isenkram with PackageKit support - new version 0.23 available in Debian unstable - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Isenkram_with_PackageKit_support___new_version_0_23_available_in_Debian_unstable.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Isenkram_with_PackageKit_support___new_version_0_23_available_in_Debian_unstable.html - Wed, 25 May 2016 10:20:00 +0200 - <p><a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/isenkram">The isenkram -system</a> is a user-focused solution in Debian for handling hardware -related packages. The idea is to have a database of mappings between -hardware and packages, and pop up a dialog suggesting for the user to -install the packages to use a given hardware dongle. Some use cases -are when you insert a Yubikey, it proposes to install the software -needed to control it; when you insert a braille reader list it -proposes to install the packages needed to send text to the reader; -and when you insert a ColorHug screen calibrator it suggests to -install the driver for it. The system work well, and even have a few -command line tools to install firmware packages and packages for the -hardware already in the machine (as opposed to hotpluggable hardware).</p> - -<p>The system was initially written using aptdaemon, because I found -good documentation and example code on how to use it. But aptdaemon -is going away and is generally being replaced by -<a href="http://www.freedesktop.org/software/PackageKit/">PackageKit</a>, -so Isenkram needed a rewrite. And today, thanks to the great patch -from my college Sunil Mohan Adapa in the FreedomBox project, the -rewrite finally took place. I've just uploaded a new version of -Isenkram into Debian Unstable with the patch included, and the default -for the background daemon is now to use PackageKit. To check it out, -install the <tt>isenkram</tt> package and insert some hardware dongle -and see if it is recognised.</p> - -<p>If you want to know what kind of packages isenkram would propose for -the machine it is running on, you can check out the isenkram-lookup -program. This is what it look like on a Thinkpad X230:</p> - -<p><blockquote><pre> -% isenkram-lookup -bluez -cheese -fprintd -fprintd-demo -gkrellm-thinkbat -hdapsd -libpam-fprintd -pidgin-blinklight -thinkfan -tleds -tp-smapi-dkms -tp-smapi-source -tpb -%p -</pre></blockquote></p> - -<p>The hardware mappings come from several places. The preferred way -is for packages to announce their hardware support using -<a href="https://www.freedesktop.org/software/appstream/docs/">the -cross distribution appstream system</a>. -See -<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram/">previous -blog posts about isenkram</a> to learn how to do that.</p> - - - - - Discharge rate estimate in new battery statistics collector for Debian - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Discharge_rate_estimate_in_new_battery_statistics_collector_for_Debian.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Discharge_rate_estimate_in_new_battery_statistics_collector_for_Debian.html - Mon, 23 May 2016 09:35:00 +0200 - <p>Yesterday I updated the -<a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/battery-stats">battery-stats -package in Debian</a> with a few patches sent to me by skilled and -enterprising users. There were some nice user and visible changes. -First of all, both desktop menu entries now work. A design flaw in -one of the script made the history graph fail to show up (its PNG was -dumped in ~/.xsession-errors) if no controlling TTY was available. -The script worked when called from the command line, but not when -called from the desktop menu. I changed this to look for a DISPLAY -variable or a TTY before deciding where to draw the graph, and now the -graph window pop up as expected.</p> - -<p>The next new feature is a discharge rate estimator in one of the -graphs (the one showing the last few hours). New is also the user of -colours showing charging in blue and discharge in red. The percentages -of this graph is relative to last full charge, not battery design -capacity.</p> - -<p align="center"><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2016-05-23-battery-stats-rate.png"/></p> - -<p>The other graph show the entire history of the collected battery -statistics, comparing it to the design capacity of the battery to -visualise how the battery life time get shorter over time. The red -line in this graph is what the previous graph considers 100 percent: - -<p align="center"><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2016-05-23-battery-stats-history.png"/></p> - -<p>In this graph you can see that I only charge the battery to 80 -percent of last full capacity, and how the capacity of the battery is -shrinking. :(</p> - -<p>The last new feature is in the collector, which now will handle -more hardware models. On some hardware, Linux power supply -information is stored in /sys/class/power_supply/ACAD/, while the -collector previously only looked in /sys/class/power_supply/AC/. Now -both are checked to figure if there is power connected to the -machine.</p> - -<p>If you are interested in how your laptop battery is doing, please -check out the -<a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/battery-stats">battery-stats</a> -in Debian unstable, or rebuild it on Jessie to get it working on -Debian stable. :) The upstream source is available from <a -href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/battery-stats">github</a>. -Patches are very welcome.</p> - -<p>As usual, if you use Bitcoin and want to show your support of my -activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address -<b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p> - - - - - French edition of Lawrence Lessigs book Cultura Libre on Amazon and Barnes & Noble - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/French_edition_of_Lawrence_Lessigs_book_Cultura_Libre_on_Amazon_and_Barnes___Noble.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/French_edition_of_Lawrence_Lessigs_book_Cultura_Libre_on_Amazon_and_Barnes___Noble.html - Sat, 21 May 2016 10:50:00 +0200 - <p>A few weeks ago the French paperback edition of Lawrence Lessigs -2004 book Cultura Libre was published. Today I noticed that the book -is now available from book stores. You can now buy it from -<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Libre-French-Lawrence-Lessig/dp/8269018260">Amazon</a> -($19.99), -<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/culture-libre-lawrence-lessig/1123776705">Barnes -& Noble</a> ($?) and as always from -<a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/lawrence-lessig/culture-libre/paperback/product-22645082.html">Lulu.com</a> -($19.99). The revenue is donated to the Creative Commons project. If -you buy from Lulu.com, they currently get $10.59, while if you buy -from one of the book stores most of the revenue go to the book store -and the Creative Commons project get much (not sure how much -less).</p> - -<p>I was a bit surprised to discover that there is a kindle edition -sold by Amazon Digital Services LLC on Amazon. Not quite sure how -that edition was created, but if you want to download a electronic -edition (PDF, EPUB, Mobi) generated from the same files used to create -the paperback edition, they are -<a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/free-culture-lessig">available -from github</a>.</p> - - - - - I want the courts to be involved before the police can hijack a news site DNS domain (#domstolkontroll) - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/I_want_the_courts_to_be_involved_before_the_police_can_hijack_a_news_site_DNS_domain___domstolkontroll_.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/I_want_the_courts_to_be_involved_before_the_police_can_hijack_a_news_site_DNS_domain___domstolkontroll_.html - Thu, 19 May 2016 14:00:00 +0200 - <p>I just donated to the -<a href="http://www.nuug.no/dns-beslag-donasjon.shtml">NUUG defence -"fond"</a> to fund the effort in Norway to get the seizure of the news -site popcorn-time.no tested in court. I hope everyone that agree with -me will do the same.</p> - -<p>Would you be worried if you knew the police in your country could -hijack DNS domains of news sites covering free software system without -talking to a judge first? I am. What if the free software system -combined search engine lookups, bittorrent downloads and video playout -and was called Popcorn Time? Would that affect your view? It still -make me worried.</p> - -<p>In March 2016, the Norwegian police seized (as in forced NORID to -change the IP address pointed to by it to one controlled by the -police) the DNS domain popcorn-time.no, without any supervision from -the courts. I did not know about the web site back then, and assumed -the courts had been involved, and was very surprised when I discovered -that the police had hijacked the DNS domain without asking a judge for -permission first. I was even more surprised when I had a look at -<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://popcorn-time.no">the web -site content on the Internet Archive</A>, and only found news coverage -about Popcorn Time, not any material published without the right -holders permissions.</p> - -<p>The seizure was widely covered in the Norwegian press (see for -example <a href="http://www.hegnar.no/Nyheter/Naeringsliv/2016/03/Popcorn-time.no-beslaglagt-av-OEkokrim">Hegnar Online</a> and -<a href="http://itavisen.no/2016/03/08/okokrim-har-beslaglagt-popcorn-time-no/">ITavisen<a/> -and -<a href="http://www.nrk.no/kultur/okokrim-gar-til-aksjon-mot-popcorn-time-1.12842452">NRK</a>), -at first due to the press release sent out by Økokrim, but then based -on -<a href="http://blogg.torvund.net/2016/03/09/okokrims-beslag-i-domenet-popcorn-time-no/">protests -from the law professor Olav Torvund</a> and -<a href="http://www.klassekampen.no/article/20160311/ARTICLE/160319995">lawyer -Jon Wessel-Aas</a>. It even got some -<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/norwegian-authorities-sued-over-popcorn-time-domain-seizure-160418/">coverage -on TorrentFreak</a>.</p> - -<p>I -<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/NUUG_contests_Norwegian_police_DNS_seizure_of_popcorn_time_no.html"> -wrote about the case a month ago</a>, when the -<a href="http://www.nuug.no/">Norwegian Unix User Group</a> (NUUG), -where I am an active member, decided to ask the courts to test this seizure. -The request was denied, but NUUG and its co-requestor EFN have not -given up, and now they are rallying for support to get the seizure -legally challenged. They accept both bank and Bitcoin transfer for -those that want to support the request.</p> - -<p>If you as me believe news sites about free software should not be -censored, even if the free software have both legal and illegal -applications, and that DNS hijacking should be tested by the courts, I -suggest you <a href="http://www.nuug.no/dns-beslag-donasjon.shtml">show -your support by donating to NUUG</a>.</a> - - - - - Debian now with ZFS on Linux included - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_now_with_ZFS_on_Linux_included.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_now_with_ZFS_on_Linux_included.html - Thu, 12 May 2016 07:30:00 +0200 - <p>Today, after many years of hard work from many people, -<a href="http://zfsonlinux.org/">ZFS for Linux</a> finally entered -Debian. The package status can be seen on -<a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/zfs-linux">the package tracker -for zfs-linux</a>. and -<a href="https://qa.debian.org/developer.php?login=pkg-zfsonlinux-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the -team status page</a>. If you want to help out, please join us. -<a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=pkg-zfsonlinux/zfs.git">The -source code</a> is available via git on Alioth. It would also be -great if you could help out with -<a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/dkms">the dkms package</a>, as -it is an important piece of the puzzle to get ZFS working.</p> - - - - - What is the best multimedia player in Debian? - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_is_the_best_multimedia_player_in_Debian_.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_is_the_best_multimedia_player_in_Debian_.html - Sun, 8 May 2016 09:40:00 +0200 - <p><strong>Where I set out to figure out which multimedia player in -Debian claim support for most file formats.</strong></p> - -<p>A few years ago, I had a look at the media support for Browser -plugins in Debian, to get an idea which plugins to include in Debian -Edu. I created a script to extract the set of supported MIME types -for each plugin, and used this to find out which multimedia browser -plugin supported most file formats / media types. -<a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/BrowserMultimedia">The -result</a> can still be seen on the Debian wiki, even though it have -not been updated for a while. But browser plugins are less relevant -these days, so I thought it was time to look at standalone -players.</p> - -<p>A few days ago I was tired of VLC not being listed as a viable -player when I wanted to play videos from the Norwegian National -Broadcasting Company, and decided to investigate why. The cause is a -<a href="https://bugs.debian.org/822245">missing MIME type in the VLC -desktop file</a>. In the process I wrote a script to compare the set -of MIME types announced in the desktop file and the browser plugin, -only to discover that there is quite a large difference between the -two for VLC. This discovery made me dig up the script I used to -compare browser plugins, and adjust it to compare desktop files -instead, to try to figure out which multimedia player in Debian -support most file formats.</p> - -<p>The result can be seen on the Debian Wiki, as -<a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianMultimedia/PlayerSupport">a -table listing all MIME types supported by one of the packages included -in the table</a>, with the package supporting most MIME types being -listed first in the table.</p> - -</p>The best multimedia player in Debian? It is totem, followed by -parole, kplayer, mpv, vlc, smplayer mplayer-gui gnome-mpv and -kmplayer. Time for the other players to update their announced MIME -support?</p> - - - - - The Pyra - handheld computer with Debian preinstalled - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Pyra___handheld_computer_with_Debian_preinstalled.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Pyra___handheld_computer_with_Debian_preinstalled.html - Wed, 4 May 2016 10:00:00 +0200 - A friend of mine made me aware of -<a href="https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/pages/pyra/">The Pyra</a>, a -handheld computer which will be delivered with Debian preinstalled. I -would love to get one of those for my birthday. :)</p> - -<p>The machine is a complete ARM-based PC with micro HDMI, SATA, USB -plugs and many others connectors, and include a full keyboard and a 5" -LCD touch screen. The 6000mAh battery is claimed to provide a whole -day of battery life time, but I have not seen any independent tests -confirming this. The vendor is still collecting preorders, and the -last I heard last night was that 22 more orders were needed before -production started.</p> - -<p>As far as I know, this is the first handheld preinstalled with -Debian. Please let me know if you know of any others. Is it the -first computer being sold with Debian preinstalled?</p> - - -