X-Git-Url: http://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/blobdiff_plain/82fcb7b32991a75ff95efb8f8486cededce69f37..e62b881fb68b18f94fbf22a7c3eb4fd16aeac50d:/blog/index.html diff --git a/blog/index.html b/blog/index.html index c6f996753f..70ec190e90 100644 --- a/blog/index.html +++ b/blog/index.html @@ -20,126 +20,38 @@
-
Lets make hardware dongles easier to use in Debian
-
9th January 2013
-

One thing that annoys me with Debian and Linux distributions in -general, is that there is a great package management system with the -ability to automatically install software packages by downloading them -from the distribution mirrors, but no way to get it to automatically -install the packages I need to use the hardware I plug into my -machine. Even if the package to use it is easily available from the -Linux distribution. When I plug in a LEGO Mindstorms NXT, it could -suggest to automatically install the python-nxt, nbc and t2n packages -I need to talk to it. When I plug in a Yubikey, it could propose the -yubikey-personalization package. The information required to do this -is available, but no-one have pulled all the pieces together.

- -

Some years ago, I proposed to -use -the discover subsystem to implement this. The idea is fairly -simple: - -

- -

I am not sure what the best way to implement this is, but my -initial idea was to use dbus events to discover new hardware, the -discover database to find packages and -PackageKit to install -packages.

- -

Yesterday, I found time to try to implement this idea, and the -draft package is now checked into -the -Debian Edu subversion repository. In the process, I updated the -discover-data -package to map the USB ids of LEGO Mindstorms and Yubikey devices to -the relevant packages in Debian, and uploaded a new version -2.2013.01.09 to unstable. I also discovered that the current -discover -package in Debian no longer discovered any USB devices, because -/proc/bus/usb/devices is no longer present. I ported it to use -libusb as a fall back option to get it working. The fixed package -version 2.1.2-6 is now in experimental (didn't upload it to unstable -because of the freeze).

- -

With this prototype in place, I can insert my Yubikey, and get this -desktop notification to show up (only once, the first time it is -inserted):

- -

- -

For this prototype to be really useful, some way to automatically -install the proposed packages by pressing the "Please install -program(s)" button should to be implemented.

- -

If this idea seem useful to you, and you want to help make it -happen, please help me update the discover-data database with mappings -from hardware to Debian packages. Check if 'discover-pkginstall -l' -list the package you would like to have installed when a given -hardware device is inserted into your computer, and report bugs using -reportbug if it isn't. Or, if you know of a better way to provide -such mapping, please let me know.

- -

This prototype need more work, and there are several questions that -should be considered before it is ready for production use. Is dbus -the correct way to detect new hardware? At the moment I look for HAL -dbus events on the system bus, because that is the events I could see -on my Debian Squeeze KDE desktop. Are there better events to use? -How should the user be notified? Is the desktop notification -mechanism the best option, or should the background daemon raise a -popup instead? How should packages be installed? When should they -not be installed?

- -

If you want to help getting such feature implemented in Debian, -please send me an email. :)

-
-
- - - Tags: debian, english. - - -
-
-
- -
-
New IRC channel for LEGO designers using Debian
-
2nd January 2013
-

During Christmas, I have worked a bit on the Debian support for -LEGO Mindstorm -NXT. My son and I have played a bit with my NXT set, and I -discovered I had to build all the tools myself because none were -already in Debian Squeeze. If Debian support for LEGO is something -you care about, please join me on the IRC channel -#debian-lego (server -irc.debian.org). There is a lot that could be done to improve the -Debian support for LEGO designers. For example both CAD software -and Mindstorm compilers are missing. :)

- -

Update 2012-01-03: A -project page -including links to Lego related packages is now available.

+
Is there a PHP expert in the building? Debian Edu need help!
+
5th June 2013
+

Here is a call for help from the Debian Edu / Skolelinux project. +We have two problems blocking the release of the Wheezy version we +hope to get released soon. The two problems require some with PHP +skills, and we seem to lack anyone with both time and PHP skills in +the project: + +

    + +
  1. It is impossible to log into the slbackup web interface + (slbackup-php) using the root user and password. This is + BTS report #700257. + This used to work, but stopped working some time since Squeeze. + Perhaps some obsolete PHP feature was used?
    2. + +
  2. It is not possible to "mass import" user lists in Gosa, neither + using ldif nor using CSV files. The feature was disabled after a + major rewrite of Gosa, and need to be ported to the new system. + This is BTS report + #698840.
    3. + +
+ +

If you can help us, please join us on IRC +(#debian-edu on +irc.debian.org) and provide patches via the BTS.

- Tags: debian, english, robot. + Tags: debian edu, english.
@@ -147,104 +59,215 @@ including links to Lego related packages is now available.

-
Lenker for 2013-01-01
-
1st January 2013
-

Her er noen lenker til tekster jeg har satt pris på å lese den -siste måneden.

+
Debian Edu interview: Cédric Boutillier
+
4th June 2013
+

It has been a while since my last English +Debian Edu and Skolelinux +interview last November. But the developers and translators are still +pulling along to get the Wheezy based release out the door, and this +time I managed to get an interview from one of the French translators +in the project, Cédric Boutillier.

+ +

Who are you, and how do you spend your days?

+ +

I am 34 year old. I live near Paris, France. I am an assistant +professor in probability theory. I spend my daytime teaching +mathematics at the university and doing fundamental research in +probability in connexion with combinatorics and statistical physics.

+ +

I have been involved in the Debian project for a couple of years +and became Debian Developer a few months ago. I am working on Ruby +packaging, publicity and translation.

+ +

How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu +project?

+ +

I came to the Debian Edu project after a call for translation of +the +Debian Edu manual for the release of Debian Edu Squeeze. Since +then, I have been working on updating the French translation of the +manual. + +

I had the opportunity to make an installation of Debian Edu in a +virtual machine when I was preparing localised version of some screen +shots for the manual. I was amazed to see it worked out of the box and +how comprehensive the list of software installed by default was.

+ +

What amazed me was the complete network infrastructure directly +ready to use, which can and the nice administration interface provided +by GOsa². What pleased +me also was the fact that among the software installed by default, +there were many "traditional" educative software to learn languages, +to count, to program... but also software to develop creativity and +artistic skills with music (Ardour, +Audacity) and +movies/animation (I was especially thinking of +Stopmotion).

+ +

I am following the development of Debian Edu and am hanging out on +#debian-edu. +Unfortunately, I don't much time to get more involved in this +beautiful project.

+ +

What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux / Debian +Edu?

+ +

For me, the main advantages of Skolelinux/Debian Edu are its +community of experts and its precise documentation, as well as the +fact that it provides a solution ready to use.

+ +

I would add also the fact that it is based on the rock solid Debian +distribution, which ensures stability and provides a huge collection +of educational free software.

+ +

What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian +Edu?

+ +

Maybe the lack of manpower to do lobbying on the +project. Sometimes, people who need to take decisions concerning IT do +not have all the elements to evaluate properly free software +solutions. The fact that support by a company may be difficult to find +is probably a problem if the school does not have IT personnel.

+ +

One can find support from a company by looking at +the +wiki dokumentation, where some countries already have a number of +companies providing support for Debian Edu, like Germany or +Norway. This list is easy to find readily from the manual. However, +for other countries, like France, the list is empty. I guess that +consultants proposing support for Debian would be able to provide some +support for Debian Edu as well.

+ +

Which free software do you use daily?

+ +

I am using the KDE Plasma Desktop. But the pieces of software I use +most runs in a terminal: Mutt and OfflineIMAP for emails, latex for +scientific documents, mpd for music. VIM is my editor of choice. I am +also using the mathematical software +Scilab and +Sage (built from +source as not completely packaged for Debian, yet). + +

Do you have any suggestions for teachers interested in +using the free software in Debian to teach mathematics and +statistics?

+ +

I do not have any "nice" recommendations for statistics. At our +university, we use both R and +Scilab to teach statistics and probabilistic simulations. For +geometry, there are nice programs:

    -
  • 2012-12-07 - Myter og - FUD om fri programvare av min venn Christer Gundersen som - kommenterer noen av de pÃ¥standene som er spredt via Computerworld - Norge de siste mÃ¥nedene.
    • - -
  • BankID er et opplegg der utsteder (dvs. banken eller dens - leverandør) sitter pÃ¥ alt som trengs for Ã¥ bruke BankID, men har - lovet Ã¥ ikke bruke den unntatt pÃ¥ oppdrag fra deg. Det er greit nok - for banktjenester, der banken allerede har full kontroll over - resultatet, men problematisk nÃ¥r det gjelder tilgang til - helseopplysninger og avtaleinngÃ¥else med andre enn banken. Jeg - hÃ¥per protestene brer om seg. +
  • drgeo and +kig to do +constructions in planar geometry - -
  • 2012-12-08 - NTNU - Researcher Warns against Security of Bank ID Password +

    I like also +cantor, which +provides a uniform interface to SciLab, Sage, +Octave, etc...

    + +

    Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to +get schools to use free software?

    -
+

My suggestions would be to

-
  • 2012-12-11 Norske elever er dÃ¥rligst i Europa pÃ¥ algebra +
      -
    • 2012-12-11 - Realfagsdødaren +
    • advertise the reduction of costs when free software is used.
      • -
    • 2012-12-21 - - - Noen mÃ¥ bli skuffet - Politiet i Bergen forteller hvor lavt de - prioriterer hverdagskriminalitet.
      • +
    • communicate about the quality of free software projects, using + well known examples like Firefox, ThunderBird and + OpenOffice.org/LibreOffice.
      • -
    • 2012-05-03 - - Kripos-ansatt dømt for snoking for venn - viser hvor svak - reaksjonen blir nÃ¥r politiet misbruker innsamlet informasjon. En - forvarsel pÃ¥ konsekvensene av nasjonal brev- og besøkskontroll - - ofte kalt Datalagringsdirektivet.
      • +
    • advertise the living and strong community around the project.
      • -
    • 2012-12-14 - Å - smøre en forskjell - om ensomhet og jul.
      • +
    • show that it is not more difficult to use than any other + system.
      • -
    • 2012-12-18 - Én - krise av gangen, takk! +
    +
    • +
    + + + Tags: debian edu, english, intervju. + + +
    +
    +
    + +
    +
    Åpent møte på onsdag om bruken av Microsoft Exchange ved Universitetet i Oslo
    +
    3rd June 2013
    +

    Jeg jobber til daglig ved Universitetet +i Oslo, en institusjon som lenge har vektlagt verdien av åpne +standarder og fri programvare. Men noe har endret seg, og for en +liten stund tilbake annonserte USIT at dagens fungerende e-postsystemet +basert på fri programvare skulle byttes ut med Microsoft Exchange og +at Microsoft Outlook skulle bli den best fungerende men antagelig ikke +eneste støttede e-postklienten. Annonseringen har ført til flere +protester og en +underskriftskampanje, initiert av Diana Santos, der så langt 253 +personer har signert. Prosjektet +NIKE (Ny integrert +kalender/e-post) ble initiert for å se på mulige løsninger med +utgangspunkt i at en kombinert epost/kalenderløsning var påkrevd, og +prosjektet +NIKE-implementasjon +er igang med å rulle ut MS Exchange ved Universitetet i Oslo.

    + +

    For kun kort tid siden ble det annonsert at det blir et åpent møte +med ledelsen hos universitetet i Oslo med disse planene som tema:

    + +

    Tid: Onsdag 2013-06-05 kl. 10:00 +
    Sted: 9. etasje i Lucy Smiths hus (admin-bygget)

    + +

    Det kan være en god plass å stille opp hvis en som meg ikke tror +valget av Microsoft Exchange som sentral epostinfrastruktur er et +heldig valg for Norges ledende forskningsuniversitet, men at en er mer +tjent med å selv +beholde +kontrollen over egen infrastruktur.

    + +

    Saken har ført til endel presseoppslag så langt. Her er de jeg har +fått med meg:

    + -

    Og et godt nytt år til dere alle!

    +
    - Tags: bankid, lenker, norsk, opphavsrett, personvern. + Tags: norsk, standard.
    @@ -252,24 +275,137 @@ siste måneden.

    -
    A Christmas present for Skolelinux / Debian Edu
    -
    28th December 2012
    -

    I was happy to discover a few days ago that the -Skolelinux / Debian Edu -project also this year received a Christmas present from Another -Agency in Trondheim. NOK 1000,- showed up on our donation account -December 24th. I want to express our thanks for this very welcome -present. As the Debian Edu / Skolelinux project is very short on -funding these days, and thus lack the money to do regular developer -gatherings, this donation was most welcome. One developer gathering -cost around NOK 15 000,-, so we need quite a lot more to keep the -development pace we want. Thus, I hope their example this year is -followed by many others. :)

    - -

    The public list of donors can be found on -the -donation page for the project, which also contain instructions if -you want to donate to the project.

    +
    Educational applications included in Debian Edu / Skolelinux (the screenshot collection :-)
    +
    1st June 2013
    +

    Included in Debian Edu / +Skolelinux, there are quite a lot of educational software. +Created to help teachers teach, and pupils learn. We have tried to +tag them all using debtags use::learning and role::program, and using +the debtags I was happy to be able to create a collage of the +educational software packages installed by default, sorted by the +debtag field. Here it is. Click on a image to learn more about the +program.

    + + + +

    field::arts

    +

    +audacity +childsplay +denemo +freebirth +gcompris +gimp +hydrogen +lilypond +lmms +rosegarden +scribus +solfege +stopmotion +tuxpaint +

    + +

    field::astronomy

    +

    +celestia-gnome +gpredict +kstars +planets +stellarium +xplanet +

    + +

    field::biology:structural

    +

    +pymol +

    + +

    field::chemistry

    +

    +atomix +chemtool +easychem +gchempaint +gdis +ghemical +gperiodic +kalzium +pymol +[viewmol] +xdrawchem +

    + +

    field::electronics

    +

    +gcompris +[gpsim] +

    + +

    field::geography

    +

    +kgeography +marble +xplanet +

    + +

    field::linguistics

    +

    +gcompris +kanagram +khangman +klettres +parley +

    + +

    field::mathematics

    +

    +childsplay +drgeo +gcompris +geogebra +[geomview] +grace +graphmonkey +graphthing +kalgebra +kbruch +kig +kmplot +mathwar +rocs +scratch +tuxmath +xabacus +

    + +

    field::physics

    +

    +gcompris +step +

    + +

    field::TODO

    +

    +blinken +cgoban +childsplay +gcompris +gnuchess +gnugo +gtans +ktouch +librecad +scratch +

    + +

    In total, 61 applications. 3 of them lacked screen shots on +screenshot.debian.net. If +you know of some packages we should install by default, please let us +know on IRC, #debian-edu +on irc.debian.org, or our +mailing list +debian-edu@.

    @@ -282,51 +418,53 @@ you want to donate to the project.

    -
    How to backport bitcoin-qt version 0.7.2-2 to Debian Squeeze
    -
    25th December 2012
    -

    Let me start by wishing you all marry Christmas and a happy new -year! I hope next year will prove to be a good year.

    - -

    Bitcoin, the digital -decentralised "currency" that allow people to transfer bitcoins -between each other with minimal overhead, is a very interesting -experiment. And as I wrote a few days ago, the bitcoin situation in -Debian is about to improve a bit. -The new debian source -package (version 0.7.2-2) was uploaded yesterday, and is waiting -in the NEW queue -for one of the ftpmasters to approve the new bitcoin-qt package -name.

    - -

    And thanks to the great work of Jonas and the rest of the bitcoin -team in Debian, you can easily test the package in Debian Squeeze -using the following steps to get a set of working packages:

    - -
    -git clone git://git.debian.org/git/collab-maint/bitcoin
-cd bitcoin
-DEB_MAINTAINER_MODE=1 DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=noupnp fakeroot debian/rules clean
-DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=noupnp git-buildpackage --git-ignore-new
-
    - -

    You might have to install some build dependencies as well. The -list of commands should give you two packages, bitcoind and -bitcoin-qt, ready for use in a Squeeze environment. Note that the -client will download the complete set of bitcoin "blocks", which need -around 5.6 GiB of data on my machine at the moment. Make sure your -~/.bitcoin/ directory have lots of spare room if you want to download -all the blocks. The client will warn if the disk is getting full, so -there is not really a problem if you got too little room, but you will -not be able to get all the features out of the client.

    - -

    As usual, if you use bitcoin and want to show your support of my -activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address -15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b.

    +
    How to install Linux on a Packard Bell Easynote LV preinstalled with Windows 8
    +
    27th May 2013
    +

    Two days ago, I asked +how +I could install Linux on a Packard Bell EasyNote LV computer +preinstalled with Windows 8. I found a solution, but am horrified +with the obstacles put in the way of Linux users on a laptop with UEFI +and Windows 8.

    + +

    I never found out if the cause of my problems were the use of UEFI +secure booting or fast boot. I suspect fast boot was the problem, +causing the firmware to boot directly from HD without considering any +key presses and alternative devices, but do not know UEFI settings +enough to tell.

    + +

    There is no way to install Linux on the machine in question without +opening the box and disconnecting the hard drive! This is as far as I +can tell, the only way to get access to the firmware setup menu +without accepting the Windows 8 license agreement. I am told (and +found description on how to) that it is possible to configure the +firmware setup once booted into Windows 8. But as I believe the terms +of that agreement are completely unacceptable, accepting the license +was never an alternative. I do not enter agreements I do not intend +to follow.

    + +

    I feared I had to return the laptops and ask for a refund, and +waste many hours on this, but luckily there was a way to get it to +work. But I would not recommend it to anyone planning to run Linux on +it, and I have become sceptical to Windows 8 certified laptops. Is +this the way Linux will be forced out of the market place, by making +it close to impossible for "normal" users to install Linux without +accepting the Microsoft Windows license terms? Or at least not +without risking to loose the warranty?

    + +

    I've updated the +Linux Laptop +wiki page for Packard Bell EasyNote LV, to ensure the next person +do not have to struggle as much as I did to get Linux into the +machine.

    + +

    Thanks to Bob Rosbag, Florian Weimer, Philipp Kern, Ben Hutching, +Michael Tokarev and others for feedback and ideas.

    - Tags: bitcoin, debian, english. + Tags: debian, english.
    @@ -334,74 +472,41 @@ activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
    -
    A word on bitcoin support in Debian
    -
    21st December 2012
    -

    It has been a while since I wrote about -bitcoin, the decentralised -peer-to-peer based crypto-currency, and the reason is simply that I -have been busy elsewhere. But two days ago, I started looking at the -state of bitcoin in -Debian again to try to recover my old bitcoin wallet. The package -is now maintained by a -team of -people, and the grunt work had already been done by this team. We -owe a huge thank you to all these team members. :) -But I was sad to discover that the bitcoin client is missing in -Wheezy. It is only available in Sid (and an outdated client from -backports). The client had several RC bugs registered in BTS blocking -it from entering testing. To try to help the team and improve the -situation, I spent some time providing patches and triaging the bug -reports. I also had a look at the bitcoin package available from Matt -Corallo in a -PPA for -Ubuntu, and moved the useful pieces from that version into the -Debian package.

    - -

    After checking with the main package maintainer Jonas Smedegaard on -IRC, I pushed several patches into the collab-maint git repository to -improve the package. It now contains fixes for the RC issues (not from -me, but fixed by Scott Howard), build rules for a Qt GUI client -package, konqueror support for the bitcoin: URI and bash completion -setup. As I work on Debian Squeeze, I also created -a -patch to backport the latest version. Jonas is going to look at -it and try to integrate it into the git repository before uploading a -new version to unstable. - -

    I would very much like bitcoin to succeed, to get rid of the -centralized control currently exercised in the monetary system. I -find it completely unacceptable that the USA government is collecting -transaction data for almost all international money transfers (most are done in USD and transaction logs shipped to the spooks), and -that the major credit card companies can block legal money -transactions to Wikileaks. But for bitcoin to succeed, more people -need to use bitcoins, and more people need to accept bitcoins when -they sell products and services. Improving the bitcoin support in -Debian is a small step in the right direction, but not enough. -Unfortunately the user experience when browsing the web and wanting to -pay with bitcoin is still not very good. The bitcoin: URI is a step -in the right direction, but need to work in most or every browser in -use. Also the bitcoin-qt client is too heavy to fire up to do a -quick transaction. I believe there are other clients available, but -have not tested them.

    - -

    My -experiment -with bitcoins showed that at least some of my readers use bitcoin. -I received 20.15 BTC so far on the address I provided in my blog two -years ago, as can be -seen -on the blockexplorer service. Thank you everyone for your -donation. The blockexplorer service demonstrates quite well that -bitcoin is not quite anonymous and untracked. :) I wonder if the -number of users have gone up since then. If you use bitcoin and want -to show your support of my activity, please send Bitcoin donations to -the same address as last time, -15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b.

    +
    How can I install Linux on a Packard Bell Easynote LV preinstalled with Windows 8?
    +
    25th May 2013
    +

    I've run into quite a problem the last few days. I bought three +new laptops for my parents and a few others. I bought Packard Bell +Easynote LV to run Kubuntu on and use as their home computer. But I +am completely unable to figure out how to install Linux on it. The +computer is preinstalled with Windows 8, and I suspect it uses UEFI +instead of a BIOS to boot.

    + +

    The problem is that I am unable to get it to PXE boot, and unable +to get it to boot the Linux installer from my USB stick. I have yet +to try the DVD install, and still hope it will work. when I turn on +the computer, there is no information on what buttons to press to get +the normal boot menu. I expect to get some boot menu to select PXE or +USB stick booting. When booting, it first ask for the language to +use, then for some regional settings, and finally if I will accept the +Windows 8 terms of use. As these terms are completely unacceptable to +me, I have no other choice but to turn off the computer and try again +to get it to boot the Linux installer.

    + +

    I have gathered my findings so far on a Linlap page about the +Packard Bell +EasyNote LV model. If you have any idea how to get Linux +installed on this machine, please get in touch or update that wiki +page. If I can't find a way to install Linux, I will have to return +the laptop to the seller and find another machine for my parents.

    + +

    I wonder, is this the way Linux will be forced out of the market +using UEFI and "secure boot" by making it impossible to install Linux +on new Laptops?

    - Tags: bitcoin, debian, english. + Tags: debian, english.
    @@ -409,96 +514,127 @@ the same address as last time,
    -
    Piratpartiet på opphavs-retrett?
    -
    19th December 2012
    -

    Jeg ble overrasket over å se at Piratpartiet i -Aftenposten -er referert på følgende:

    - -
    -Når det gjelder retten til opphavsrett for kulturproduktene, mener -Piratpartiet av levetid + 14 år er tilfredsstillende. -
    - -

    Det betyr en vernetid langt ut over det kommersielle livet til de -aller fleste opphavsrettsbeskyttede verker, og er i strid med slik i -hvert fall jeg har tolket punkt 5 i -kjerneprogrammet -til Piratpartiet:

    - -
    -

    5: Åndsverk og patenter: tilbake til start

    - - - - - -
    forslag:14 års opphavsrett og ingen -programvarepatenter
    grunn:Den første loven om opphavsrett spesifiserte 14 -års vernetid. Senere har mediabransjens lobbyister stadig presset -loven mot lengre vern, nå er det 70 år etter forfatters død. Dette -gjør at mange verk glemmes og går tapt, noe som er skadelig for norsk -språk og kultur. Vi til tilbake til start: 14 års -vernetid. Patentloven sier klart at dataprogrammer ikke kan -patenteres. Likevel klarer patentadvokater å lure gjennom -programvarepatenter. Slike patenter gjør dingsene våre dyrere og kan i -enkelte tilfelle stoppe dem helt.
    -
    - -

    Den opprinnelige opphavsretten var på 14 år totalt, ikke 14 år -etter opphavspersonens død. Jeg tenkte først dette kanskje var -feilsitering fra Aftenposten, men jeg finner samme påstand i en bloggpost -fra Geir Aaslid på Piratpartietes offisielle nettsider. Der -skriver han følgende:

    - -
    -Hva vi gjør med opphavsretten er mer komplisert fordi den omfavner så -mange bransjer, med ulike behov. Enhver reform er en forbedring men -det er nærliggende å anta at en opphavsrett på levetid + 14 år er -fullt ut tilfredstillende for musikk, film, litteratur og spill. -
    - -

    Det virker dermed på meg som om Piratpartiet allerede har gjort -retrett fra sin beundringsverdige holdning om at det holdt med 14 års -total vernetid, til sin nye som tar utgangspunkt i levetiden til -opphavspersonen. Jeg håper det baserer seg på en misforståelse hos -piratlederen som blir korrigert tilbake til 14 års total vernetid før -partiet stiller til valg.

    - -

    Hvis du lurer på hvilke problemer lang vernetid bringer med seg, -anbefaler jeg å lese boken Free -Culture av Lawrence Lessig. Jeg og en liten gruppe andre er igang -med å -oversette -boken til bokmål og tar gjerne imot hjelp med oversettelse og -korrekturlesing.

    - -

    Oppdatering 2012-12-20: Oppdaget at -bloggposten -til Geir Aaslid er endret siden i går, og nå inneholder følgende -avsnitt i stedet for det jeg siterte over:

    - -
    -Hva vi gjør med opphavsretten er mer komplisert fordi den omfavner så -mange bransjer, med ulike behov. Enhver reform er en forbedring men -det er nærliggende å anta at en opphavsrett lik levetiden, evt + 14 år -er fullt ut tilfredstillende for mange skapere av musikk, film, -litteratur og spill. Det er for det meste de store forlagene som er -imot enhver reform. -
    - -

    I tillegg har det dukket opp en setning nederst "Dette dokumentet -er et utkast til svar på et angrep på Piratpartiet fra Gramo. Det -endrer seg derfor over tid og den endelige versjonen er det som blir -publisert på Hardware.no", som tyder på at originalformuleringen ikke -var veloverveid og sitatet i Aftenposten kanskje var basert på en -misforståelse.

    +
    Skolelinux-intervju: Nirosan Thiyagalingam
    +
    24th May 2013
    +

    En ting +Skolelinux-prosjektet har +hatt mye glede av er studentprosjekter. F.eks. er +stillbildeanimasjonssystemet +Stopmotion resultat av et studentprosjekt i Skolelinux. De siste +månedene har en ivrig student veiledet av Marius Kotsbak i +FRiSK testet hva en +kan få til med en datamaskin til NOK 400,- (antagelig 1700,- med +skjerm, tastatur og mus) når det brukes i Skolelinux. Jeg spurte han +om et intervju.

    + +

    Hvem er du, og hva driver du med til daglig?

    + +

    Jeg heter Nirosan Thiyagalingam. Jeg er 24 år og studerer +dataingeniør studiet ved Høgskolen i Sør Trøndelag. Interessen for +data har siden ung alder vært tilstede og jeg har i tillegg alltid +vært glad i å lære nye ting. Med teknologi som endres svært hurtig er +det alltid noe nytt å lære. Noe som igjen har gjort det svært +interessant å følge med på utviklingen. Jeg valgte dataingeniør +studiet grunnet ønske om å lære enda mer om programmering og utvikling +av store systemer.

    + +

    Hvordan kom du i kontakt med Skolelinux-prosjektet?

    + +

    Skolelinux prosjektet hørte jeg først om i media. Men det var først +når jeg skulle velge bacheloroppgave at jeg fattet mer interesse for +prosjektet. Et enkelt søk på nettet førte meg til skolelinux sine +hjemmesider. Informasjonen jeg fant der gjorde meg enda nysgjerrig og +jeg valgte derfor en oppgave som gikk ut på å få en +Raspberry PI. Altså en +ultra-billig datamaskin til å kjøre Debian Edu på lik linje med +vanlige datamaskiner. I løpet av prosjektet ble det gjort mye +forskning på nettet. Det var mye jeg måtte forstå rundt hvordan +operativsystemet Linux fungerte før jeg kunne angripe +problemet. Prøvde først å finne ut hvordan man kunne transformere en +vanlig installasjon av Skolelinux til Raspberry PI, men dette var +altfor vanskelig å jeg endte opp med mer spørsmål enn svar. Det ble +videre opprettet kontakt med Skolelinux utviklere på IRC der jeg fikk +diskutert hvilken retning jeg burde gå for å få til en fullverdig +løsning. Det ble bestemt at jeg skulle gå for å først installere +Raspian. Dette er et +operativsystem basert på Debian spesiallaget for Raspberry Pi sin +maskinvare. Nå som Debian var installert på datamaskinen gjenstod det +å installere de nødvendige Skolelinux pakkene for å få til et +fullverdig system. Disse pakkene ble installert manuelt i første +omgang, men ble senere installert automatisk via et script som Petter +Reinholdtsen laget. Dette scriptet er så enkel å bruke at man er i +gang med installasjonen i løpet av bare 5 minutter. Ikke nok med det, +alt skjer helt automatisk. Alt i alt er jeg veldig fornøyd med +resultatet av installasjonsprosessen. Raspberry Pi er en veldig svak +maskin og det merkes godt når man har installert Skolelinux på +den. Video og 3D-rendering fungerer utrolig dårlig, men nettsurfing og +kontorprogrammer fungerer godt. Det kan derfor konkluderes med at +datamaskinen er egnet for enkle oppgaver. + +

    Jeg syns det er viktig påpeke at dette kun er startfasen av en slik +løsning. På markedet finnes det nå maskiner som har bedre hardware enn +Raspberry Pi. Det er store muligheter for at man kan klare å +installere Skolelinux på disse også, og da forsvinner nok mest +sannsynlig ytelsesproblemene med Video og 3D rendering også.

    + +

    Det ble også prøvd med en løsning som gjorde at Raspberry Pi +fungerte som en tynnklient. Denne løsningen hadde langt bedre ytelse +med tanke på hastighet og brukeropplevelse. Men også her var video og +3D rendering dårlig. Det ble brukt en liten Linux distribusjon kalt +BerryTerminal for å få til +dette.

    + +

    Hva er fordelene med Skolelinux slik du ser det?

    + +

    Fordelen med Skolelinux er mange. At det er gratis er en stor +fordel, men at det er så mange som er med på å utvikle det og +vedlikeholde det er en enda større fordel. Allerede før jeg startet +med prosjektet så jeg mange fordeler, og når jeg nærmet meg sluttfasen +så jeg langt flere. At prosjektet skulle inneha en så høy kvalitet +hadde jeg aldri trodd. En vanlig Skolelinux installasjon har de +nødvendige programmene og funksjonen som både små og store skoler i +tillegg til organisasjoner kan klare seg med. At prosjektet tilbyr en +så komplett løsning er en kjempefordel. Installasjonen er knirkefri +og det er svært enkelt å installere og komme i gang.

    + +

    Hva er ulempene med Skolelinux slik du ser det?

    + +

    Ulempene jeg ser med prosjektet er ryddigheten av websidene. Selv +om websidene er enkle og konsise er det allikevel ikke appellerende i +like stor grad som for eksempel +Ubuntu sine sider. Deres side +tilbyr, i tillegg til godt design og presentasjon, en nettbasert +emulator av deres operativsystem. Dette er en stor fordel slik jeg ser +det. Bortsett fra dette ser jeg absolutt ingen ulemper med +Skolelinux-prosjektet.

    + +

    Hvilken fri programvare bruker du til daglig?

    + +

    Til daglig er jeg en flittig bruker av det åpne media +sentersystemet XBMC. Det enorme +samfunnet rundt dette prosjektet har gjort dette til et program som +dekker alles behov. Man kan tilpasse det akkurat slik man vil både med +tanke på utseende og funksjoner ved installere plug-ins eller +scripts.

    + +

    Hvilken strategi tror du er den rette å bruke for å få +skoler til å ta i bruk fri programvare?

    + +

    Strategien som burde brukes sett fra mine øyne er +markedsføring. Jeg er sikker på at om flere skoler fikk et lite innsyn +i hvor bra Skolelinux er så ville de ikke nølt med å gå over fra noe +annet som koster de store summer. At skolelinux til de grader tilbyr +en så komplett løsning bure komme frem. Enten via reklamekampanjer +eller ved å sende ut folk til skoler for så å la skolenettverk +ansvarlige få teste ut hvordan Skolelinux fungerer i praksis. Om det +i tillegg ble utviklet gode websider og en emulator for å la brukere +prøve operativsystemet ville nok dette ha styrket inntrykket +betraktelig.

    - Tags: freeculture, norsk, opphavsrett. + Tags: debian edu, intervju, norsk.
    @@ -506,64 +642,77 @@ misforståelse.

    -
    Ledger - double-entry accounting using text based storage format
    -
    18th December 2012
    -

    A few days ago I came across -a blog post from Joey -Hess describing ledger and -hledger, a text based system for double-entry accounting. I found it -interesting, as I am involved with several organizations where -accounting is an issue, and I have not really become too friendly with -the different web based systems we use. I find it hard to find what I -look for in the menus and even harder try to get sensible data out of -the systems. Ledger seem different. The accounting data is kept in -text files that can be stored in a version control system, and there - -are at least five -different implementations able to read the format. An example -entry look like this, and is simple enough that it will be trivial to -generate entries based on CVS files fetched from the bank:

    - -
    -2004-05-27 Book Store
-      Expenses:Books                 $20.00
-      Liabilities:Visa
-
    - -

    The concept seemed interesting enough for me to check it out and -look for others using it. I found blog posts from -Christine -Spang, -Pete -Keen, -Andrew -Cantino and -Ronald -Ip describing how they use it, as well as a post from -Bradley -M. Kuhn at the Software Freedom Conservancy. All seemed like good -recommendations fitting my need.

    - -

    The ledger -package is available in Debian Squeeze, while the -hledger -package only is available in Debian Sid. As I use Squeeze, ledger -seemed the best choice to get started.

    - -

    To get some real data to test on, I wrote a -web scraper for -LODO, the accounting system used by -the NUUG association, and started to -play with the data set. I'm not really deeply into accounting, but I -am able to get a simple balance and accounting status for example -using the "ledger balance" command. But I will have to -gather more experience before I know if the ledger way is a good fit -for the organisations I am involved in.

    +
    How to transform a Debian based system to a Debian Edu installation
    +
    17th May 2013
    +

    Debian Edu / Skolelinux is +an operating system based on Debian intended for use in schools. It +contain a turn-key solution for the computer network provided to +pupils in the primary schools. It provide both the central server, +network boot servers and desktop environments with heaps of +educational software. The project was founded almost 12 years ago, +2001-07-02. If you want to support the project, which is in need for +cash to fund developer gatherings and other project related activity, +please +donate some money. + +

    A topic that come up again and again on the Debian Edu mailing +lists and elsewhere, is the question on how to transform a Debian or +Ubuntu installation into a Debian Edu installation. It isn't very +hard, and last week I wrote a script to replicate the steps done by +the Debian Edu installer.

    + +

    The script, +debian-edu-bless +in the debian-edu-config package, will go through these six steps and +transform an existing Debian Wheezy or Ubuntu (untested) installation +into a Debian Edu Workstation:

    + +
      + +
    1. Add skolelinux related APT sources.
      2. +
    2. Create /etc/debian-edu/config with the wanted configuration.
      3. +
    3. Install debian-edu-install to load preseeding values and pull in + our configuration.
      4. +
    4. Preseed debconf database with profile setup in + /etc/debian-edu/config, and run tasksel to install packages + according to the profile specified in the config above, + overriding some of the Debian automation machinery.
      5. +
    5. Run debian-edu-cfengine-D installation to configure everything + that could not be done using preseeding.
      6. +
    6. Ask for a reboot to enable all the configuration changes.
      7. + +
    + +

    There are some steps in the Debian Edu installation that can not be +replicated like this. Disk partitioning and LVM setup, for example. +So this script just assume there is enough disk space to install all +the needed packages.

    + +

    The script was created to help a Debian Edu student working on +setting up Raspberry Pi as a +Debian Edu client, and using it he can take the existing +Raspbian installation and +transform it into a fully functioning Debian Edu Workstation (or +Roaming Workstation, or whatever :).

    + +

    The default setting in the script is to create a KDE Workstation. +If a LXDE based Roaming workstation is wanted instead, modify the +PROFILE and DESKTOP values at the top to look like this instead:

    + +

    +PROFILE="Roaming-Workstation"
+DESKTOP="lxde"
+

    + +

    The script could even become useful to set up Debian Edu servers in +the cloud, by starting with a virtual Debian installation at some +virtual hosting service and setting up all the services on first +boot.

    - Tags: debian edu, english, nuug. + Tags: debian, debian edu, english.
    @@ -571,38 +720,106 @@ for the organisations I am involved in.

    -
    61 kommuner lenker nå til FiksGataMi fra sine nettsider
    -
    11th December 2012
    -

    For noen dager siden omfavnet nok en kommune NUUGs -FiksGataMi. Med 61 kommuner -som lenker til FiksGataMi fra sine hjemmesider er «markedsandelen» 14% -(av 429 kommuner). Siden -siste -oppdatering i november har kommunene Re og Vågsøy kommet til og -slår følge med kommunene Askim, Askøy, Audnedal, Aure, Balestrand, -Bærum, Eide, Farsund, Flekkefjord, Folldal, Gran, Grue, Hadsel, -Halden, Halsa, Hamar, Hobøl, Holtålen, Hægebostad, Høyanger, -Kongsberg, Kristiansund, Kvinesdal, Kviteseid, Levanger, Lindesnes, -Luster, Lyngdal, Løten, Mandal, Marnardal, Moss, Namsos, Nissedal, -Nordreisa, Randaberg, Rindal, Sel, Sirdal, Skiptvet, Sortland, -Spydeberg, Stange, Stjørdal, Stord, Søgne, Sør-Odal, Tolga, Trysil, -Tynset, Tysvær, Ullensvang Herad, Utsira, Vennesla, Verdal, Vågan, -Vågå, Våler og Åseral. Oppdatert liste er tilgjengelig fra -NUUGs -wiki. Kartet er dog ikke oppdatert med de siste kommunene.

    - -

    Kanskje du bør høre med din kommune om de vil bli mer aktive -brukere av FiksGataMi? Se -en -tidligere bloggpost med tips om hvordan det kan gjøres.

    - -

    I snitt rapporteres det nå via FiksGataMi ca. 60 meldinger fra -innbyggerne i uka om feil på offentlig infrastruktur.

    +
    Second alpha release of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy
    +
    14th May 2013
    +

    The Debian Edu / Skolelinux +project is making great progress and made its second Wheezy based +release today. This is the release announcement:

    + +

    New features for Debian Edu 7.0.0 alpha1 released +2013-05-14

    + +

    This is the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux 7.0.0 edu +alpha1, based on Debian with +codename "Wheezy".

    + +

    About Debian Edu and Skolelinux

    + +

    Debian Edu, also known as Skolelinux, is a Linux distribution based +on Debian providing an out-of-the box environment of a completely +configured school network. Immediatly after installation a school +server running all services needed for a school network is set up just +waiting for users and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable +Web-UI. A netbooting environment is prepared using PXE, so after +initial installation of the main server from CD, DVD or USB stick all +other machines can be installed via the network.

    + +

    This is the first test release based on Wheezy (which currently is +not released yet). Basically this is an updated and slightly improved +version compared to the Squeeze release.

    + +

    Software updates

    +
      +
    • Install freemind (0.9.0) by default, and stop installing vym by + default.
      • +
    • Install chromium (26.0.1410.43) by default.
      • +
    • Install goplay (0.5-1.1) to make golearn available by default.
      • +
    • Updated support for Japanese input methods, now based on + ibus-anthy.
      • +
    + +

    Other changes

    +
      + +
    • Switched default file system from ext3 to ext4 for speed and + reliability improvements.
      • +
    • Got rid of unwanted winbind daemon and PAM setup activated because + of 706434.
      • +
    • Extended and improved the testsuite tests to detect more possible + problems.
      • +
    • Corrected proxy handling to not set http_proxy to a bogus + direct:// URL.
      • +
    • Corrected proxy setup for diskless workstations.
      • +
    • Corrected PXE setup to use our updated udebs during installation.
      • +
    • Made installation handling of low entropy level more robust.
      • +
    • Create larger partitions for Roaming workstations and Thin client + servers, to make room for all the software installed.
      • +
    • Fix bug in Roaming workstation PAM setup, making it impossible to + log in (706753).
      • +
    + +

    Known issues

    +
      + +
    • IP resolution for the local hostname give useless IPv6 address + (705900). Only install + libnss-myhostname on roaming workstations until it is fixed.
      • +
    • DVD images are not yet ready.
      • +
    • No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv) + available yet (698840).
      • +
    • Missing artwork for the KDE desktop (and probably a few others).
      • +
    • KDE Debian submenu lacks icons.
      • +
    • LXDE menu lacks entry for changing GOsa password + (website). Installing gosa-desktop will be an option.
      • +
    • Backup configuration via web interface is impossible due to + password submission problem + (700257).
      • + +
    + +

    Where to get it

    + +

    To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use

    + + +

    The MD5SUM of this image is: 685ed76c1aa8e44b12d3fde21faf450b

    + +

    The SHA1SUM of this image is: 6c874de157024da13e115bab29c068080a11ec4c

    + +

    How to report bugs

    + +

    http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs

    - Tags: fiksgatami, norsk. + Tags: debian edu, english.
    @@ -610,53 +827,47 @@ innbyggerne i uka om feil på offentlig infrastruktur.

    -
    Scripting the Cerebrum/bofhd user administration system using XML-RPC
    -
    6th December 2012
    -

    Where I work at the University of -Oslo, we use the -Cerebrum user -administration system to maintain users, groups, DNS, DHCP, etc. -I've known since the system was written that the server is providing -an XML-RPC API, but -I have never spent time to try to figure out how to use it, as we -always use the bofh command line client at work. Until today. I want -to script the updating of DNS and DHCP to make it easier to set up -virtual machines. Here are a few notes on how to use it with -Python.

    - -

    I started by looking at the source of the Java -bofh -client, to figure out how it connected to the API server. I also -googled for python examples on how to use XML-RPC, and found -a -simple example in the XML-RPC howto.

    - -

    This simple example code show how to connect, get the list of -commands (as a JSON dump), and how to get the information about the -user currently logged in:

    - -
    -#!/usr/bin/env python
-import getpass
-import xmlrpclib
-server_url = 'https://cerebrum-uio.uio.no:8000';
-username = getpass.getuser()
-password = getpass.getpass()
-server = xmlrpclib.Server(server_url);
-#print server.get_commands(sessionid)
-sessionid = server.login(username, password)
-print server.run_command(sessionid, "user_info", username)
-result = server.logout(sessionid)
-print result
-
    - -

    Armed with this knowledge I can now move forward and script the DNS -and DHCP updates I wanted to do.

    +
    Debian, the Linux distribution of choice for LEGO designers?
    +
    11th May 2013
    +

    In January, +I +announced a new IRC +channel #debian-lego, for those of us in the Debian and Linux +community interested in LEGO, the +marvellous construction system from Denmark. We also created +a wiki page to have +a place to take notes and write down our plans and hopes. And several +people showed up to help. I was very happy to see the effect of my +call. Since the small start, we have a debtags tag +hardware::hobby:lego +tag for LEGO related packages, and now count 10 packages related to +LEGO and Mindstorms:

    + +

    + + + + + + + + + + +
    brickosalternative OS for LEGO Mindstorms RCX. Supports development in C/C++
    leocadvirtual brick CAD software
    libnxtutility library for talking to the LEGO Mindstorms NX
    lnpddaemon for LNP communication with BrickOS
    nbccompiler for LEGO Mindstorms NXT bricks
    nqcNot Quite C compiler for LEGO Mindstorms RCX
    python-nxtpython driver/interface/wrapper for the Lego Mindstorms NXT robot
    python-nxt-filersimple GUI to manage files on a LEGO Mindstorms NXT
    scratcheasy to use programming environment for ages 8 and up
    t2nsimple command-line tool for Lego NXT

    + +

    Some of these are available in Wheezy, and all but one are +currently available in Jessie/testing. leocad is so far only +available in experimental.

    + +

    If you care about LEGO in Debian, please join us on IRC and help +adding the rest of the great free software tools available on Linux +for LEGO designers.

    - Tags: english, sysadmin. + Tags: debian, english, robot.
    @@ -674,7 +885,17 @@ and DHCP updates I wanted to do.

  • 2013
    • @@ -818,35 +1039,37 @@ and DHCP updates I wanted to do.

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    • @@ -856,17 +1079,17 @@ and DHCP updates I wanted to do.

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    • @@ -874,7 +1097,7 @@ and DHCP updates I wanted to do.

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    • @@ -882,25 +1105,25 @@ and DHCP updates I wanted to do.

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    • @@ -911,7 +1134,7 @@ and DHCP updates I wanted to do.

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