X-Git-Url: http://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/blobdiff_plain/9a6490a47918c1aef51495eabe8ff0defa6ebf2b..ee4e17a9dfc65ff97021d6319e0e8da129c2ff08:/blog/index.html diff --git a/blog/index.html b/blog/index.html index c01e53645e..1cf155ebb5 100644 --- a/blog/index.html +++ b/blog/index.html @@ -19,6 +19,443 @@ +
+
Good causes: Debian Outreach Program for Women, EFF documenting the spying and Open access in Norway
+
15th October 2013
+

The last few days I came across a few good causes that should get +wider attention. I recommend signing and donating to each one of +these. :)

+ +

Via Debian +Project News for 2013-10-14 I came across the Outreach Program for +Women program which is a Google Summer of Code like initiative to get +more women involved in free software. One debian sponsor has offered +to match any donation done to Debian +earmarked for this initiative. I donated a few minutes ago, and +hope you will to. :)

+ +

And the Electronic Frontier Foundation just announced plans to +create video +documentaries about the excessive spying on every Internet user that +take place these days, and their need to fund the work. I've already +donated. Are you next?

+ +

For my Norwegian audience, the organisation Studentenes og +Akademikernes Internasjonale Hjelpefond is collecting signatures for a +statement under the heading +Bloggers United for Open +Access for those of us asking for more focus on open access in the +Norwegian government. So far 499 signatures. I hope you will sign it +too.

+
+
+ + + Tags: debian, english, opphavsrett, surveillance. + + +
+
+
+ +
+
Oslo community mesh network - with NUUG and Hackeriet at Hausmania
+
11th October 2013
+

Wireless mesh networks are self organising and self healing +networks that can be used to connect computers across small and large +areas, depending on the radio technology used. Normal wifi equipment +can be used to create home made radio networks, and there are several +successful examples like +Freifunk and +Athens Wireless Metropolitan Network +(see +wikipedia +for a large list) around the globe. To give you an idea how it +work, check out the nice overview of the Kiel Freifunk community which +can be seen from their +dynamically +updated node graph and map, where one can see how the mesh nodes +automatically handle routing and recover from nodes disappearing. +There is also a small community mesh network group in Oslo, Norway, +and that is the main topic of this blog post.

+ +

I've wanted to check out mesh networks for a while now, and hoped +to do it as part of my involvement with the NUUG member organisation community, and +my recent involvement in +the Freedombox project +finally lead me to give mesh networks some priority, as I suspect a +Freedombox should use mesh networks to connect neighbours and family +when possible, given that most communication between people are +between those nearby (as shown for example by research on Facebook +communication patterns). It also allow people to communicate without +any central hub to tap into for those that want to listen in on the +private communication of citizens, which have become more and more +important over the years.

+ +

So far I have only been able to find one group of people in Oslo +working on community mesh networks, over at the hack space +Hackeriet at Husmania. They seem to +have started with some Freifunk based effort using OLSR, called +the Oslo +Freifunk project, but that effort is now dead and the people +behind it have moved on to a batman-adv based system called +meshfx. Unfortunately the wiki +site for the Oslo Freifunk project is no longer possible to update to +reflect this fact, so the old project page can't be updated to point to +the new project. A while back, the people at Hackeriet invited people +from the Freifunk community to Oslo to talk about mesh networks. I +came across this video where Hans Jørgen Lysglimt interview the +speakers about this talk (from +youtube):

+ +

+ +

I mentioned OLSR and batman-adv, which are mesh routing protocols. +There are heaps of different protocols, and I am still struggling to +figure out which one would be "best" for some definitions of best, but +given that the community mesh group in Oslo is so small, I believe it +is best to hook up with the existing one instead of trying to create a +completely different setup, and thus I have decided to focus on +batman-adv for now. It sure help me to know that the very cool +Serval project in Australia +is using batman-adv as their meshing technology when it create a self +organizing and self healing telephony system for disaster areas and +less industrialized communities. Check out this cool video presenting +that project (from +youtube):

+ +

+ +

According to the wikipedia page on +Wireless +mesh network there are around 70 competing schemes for routing +packets across mesh networks, and OLSR, B.A.T.M.A.N. and +B.A.T.M.A.N. advanced are protocols used by several free software +based community mesh networks.

+ +

The batman-adv protocol is a bit special, as it provide layer 2 +(as in ethernet ) routing, allowing ipv4 and ipv6 to work on the same +network. One way to think about it is that it provide a mesh based +vlan you can bridge to or handle like any other vlan connected to your +computer. The required drivers are already in the Linux kernel at +least since Debian Wheezy, and it is fairly easy to set up. A +good +introduction is available from the Open Mesh project. These are +the key settings needed to join the Oslo meshfx network:

+ +

+ + + + + +
SettingValue
Protocol / kernel modulebatman-adv
ESSIDmeshfx@hackeriet
Channel / Frequency11 / 2462
Cell ID02:BA:00:00:00:01

+ +

The reason for setting ad-hoc wifi Cell ID is to work around bugs +in firmware used in wifi card and wifi drivers. (See a nice post from +VillageTelco about +"Information +about cell-id splitting, stuck beacons, and failed IBSS merges! +for details.) When these settings are activated and you have some +other mesh node nearby, your computer will be connected to the mesh +network and can communicate with any mesh node that is connected to +any of the nodes in your network of nodes. :)

+ +

My initial plan was to reuse my old Linksys WRT54GL as a mesh node, +but that seem to be very hard, as I have not been able to locate a +firmware supporting batman-adv. If anyone know how to use that old +wifi access point with batman-adv these days, please let me know.

+ +

If you find this project interesting and want to join, please join +us on IRC, either channel +#oslohackerspace +or #nuug on +irc.freenode.net.

+ +

While investigating mesh networks in Oslo, I came across an old +research paper from the university of Stavanger and Telenor Research +and Innovation called +The +reliability of wireless backhaul mesh networks and elsewhere +learned that Telenor have been experimenting with mesh networks at +Grünerløkka in Oslo. So mesh networks are also interesting for +commercial companies, even though Telenor discovered that it was hard +to figure out a good business plan for mesh networking and as far as I +know have closed down the experiment. Perhaps Telenor or others would +be interested in a cooperation?

+ +

Update 2013-10-12: I was just +told +by the Serval project developers that they no longer use +batman-adv (but are compatible with it), but their own crypto based +mesh system.

+
+
+ + + Tags: english, freedombox, nuug. + + +
+
+
+ +
+
Skolelinux / Debian Edu 7.1 install and overview video from Marcelo Salvador
+
8th October 2013
+

The other day I was pleased and surprised to discover that Marcelo +Salvador had published a +video on +Youtube showing how to install the standalone Debian Edu / +Skolelinux profile. This is the profile intended for use at home or +on laptops that should not be integrated into the provided network +services (no central home directory, no Kerberos / LDAP directory etc, +in other word a single user machine). The result is 11 minutes long, +and show some user applications (seem to be rather randomly picked). +Missed a few of my favorites like celestia, planets and chromium +showing the Zygote Body 3D model +of the human body, but I guess he did not know about those or find +other programs more interesting. :) And the video do not show the +advantages I believe is one of the most valuable featuers in Debian +Edu, its central school server making it possible to run hundreds of +computers without hard drives by installing one central +LTSP server.

+ +

Anyway, check out the video, embedded below and linked to above:

+ + + +

Are there other nice videos demonstrating Skolelinux? Please let +me know. :)

+
+
+ + + Tags: debian edu, english, video. + + +
+
+
+ +
+
Finally, Debian Edu Wheezy is released today!
+
29th September 2013
+

A few hours ago, the announcement for the first stable release of +Debian Edu Wheezy went out from the Debian publicity team. The +complete announcement text can be found at +the Debian News +section, translated to several languages. Please check it out.

+ +

There is one minor known problem that we will fix very soon. One +can not install a amd64 Thin Client Server using PXE, as the /var/ +partition is too small. A workaround is to extend the partition (use +lvresize + resize2fs in tty 2 while installing).

+
+
+ + + Tags: debian edu, english. + + +
+
+
+ +
+
Videos about the Freedombox project - for inspiration and learning
+
27th September 2013
+

The Freedombox +project have been going on for a while, and have presented the +vision, ideas and solution several places. Here is a little +collection of videos of talks and presentation of the project.

+ + + +

A larger list is available from +the +Freedombox Wiki.

+ +

On other news, I am happy to report that Freedombox based on Debian +Jessie is coming along quite well, and soon both Owncloud and using +Tor should be available for testers of the Freedombox solution. :) In +a few weeks I hope everything needed to test it is included in Debian. +The withsqlite package is already in Debian, and the plinth package is +pending in NEW. The third and vital part of that puzzle is the +metapackage/setup framework, which is still pending an upload. Join +us on IRC +(#freedombox on irc.debian.org) and +the +mailing list if you want to help make this vision come true.

+
+
+ + + Tags: debian, english, freedombox, sikkerhet, surveillance, web. + + +
+
+
+ +
+
Third and probably last beta release of Debian Edu Wheezy
+
16th September 2013
+

The third wheezy based beta release of Debian Edu was wrapped up +today. This is the release announcement from Holger Levsen:

+ +
+

Hi,

+ +

it is my pleasure to announce the third beta release (beta 2 for +short) of Debian Edu / +Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy!

+ +

Please test these images extensivly, if no new problems are found +we plan to do this final Debian Edu Wheezy release this coming +weekend. We are not aware of any major problems or blockers in beta2, +if you find something, please notify us immediately!

+ +

(More about the remaining steps for the Edu Wheezy release in +another mail to the edu list tonight or tomorrow...)

+ +

Noteworthy changes and software updates for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~b2 +compared to beta1:

+ +
    + +
  • The KDE proxy setup has been adjusted to use the provided wpad.dat. This +also gets Chromium to use this proxy.
  • +
  • Install kdepim-groupware with KDE desktops to make sure korganizer +understand ical/dav sources.
  • +
  • Increased default maximum size of /var/spool/squid and /skole/backup on the +main server.
  • +
  • A source DVD image containing all source packages is now available as well.
  • +
  • Updates for chromium (29.0.1547.57-1~deb7u1), imagemagick +(6.7.7.10-5+deb7u2), php5 (5.4.4-14+deb7u4), libmodplug +(0.8.8.4-3+deb7u1+git20130828), tiff (4.0.2-6+deb7u2), linux-image +(3.2.0-4-486_3.2.46-1+deb7u1).
  • + +
+ +

Where to get it:

+ +

To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use

+ + + +

The SHA1SUM of this image is: 3a1c89f4666df80eebcd46c5bf5fedb866f9472f

+ +

To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use +

+ +

The SHA1SUM of this image is: 702d1718548f401c74bfa6df9f032cc3ee16597e

+ +

The Source DVD image has the filename +debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b2-source-DVD.iso and the SHA1SUM +089eed8b3f962db47aae1f6a9685e9bb2fa30ca5 and is available the same way +as the other isos.

+ +

How to report bugs

+ +

For information how to report bugs please see +
http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs

+ + +

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. Immediately 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 or USB stick all other +machines can be installed via the network. The provided school server +provides LDAP database and Kerberos authentication service, +centralized home directories, DHCP server, web proxy and many other +services. The desktop contains more than 60 educational software +packages and more are available from the Debian archive, and schools +can choose between KDE, Gnome, LXDE and Xfce desktop environment.

+ +

This is the seventh test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically +this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the +Squeeze release.

+ +

Notes for upgrades from Alpha Prereleases

+ +

Alpha based installations should reinstall or downgrade the +versions of gosa and libpam-mklocaluser to the ones used in this beta +release. Both alpha and beta0 based installations should reinstall or +deal with gosa.conf manually; there are two options: (1) Keep +gosa.conf and edit this file as outlined on the mailing list. (2) +Accept the new version of gosa.conf and replace both contained admin +password placeholders with the password hashes found in the old one +(backup copy!). In both cases all users need to change their password +to make sure a password is set for CIFS access to their home +directory.

+ + +

cheers, +
Holger

+
+
+
+ + + Tags: debian edu, english. + + +
+
+
+
Recipe to test the Freedombox project on amd64 or Raspberry Pi
10th September 2013
@@ -45,8 +482,8 @@ up in their home and get access to secure and private services and communication. The initial deployment platform have been the Dreamplug, which is a piece of hardware I do not own. So to be able to test what -the current Freedombox setup, I had to come up with a way to install -it on some hardware I do got access to. I have rewritten the +the current Freedombox setup look like, I had to come up with a way to install +it on some hardware I do have access to. I have rewritten the freedom-maker image build framework to use .deb packages instead of only copying setup into the boot images, and thanks to this rewrite I am able to @@ -76,7 +513,7 @@ users. I've not been able to do anything else with it so far, but know there are several branches spread around github and other places with lots of half baked features.

-

Anyway, if you want to have a look at the current stat, the +

Anyway, if you want to have a look at the current state, the following recipes should work to give you a test machine to poke at.

@@ -88,7 +525,7 @@ at.

  • Boot from it, either as CD or USB stick.
  • Press [tab] on the boot prompt and add this as a boot argument to the Debian installer:

    -

    url=http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/preseed-wheezy.dat
  • +
    url=http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/preseed-wheezy.dat
  • Answer the few language/region/password questions and pick disk to install on.
  • @@ -106,7 +543,7 @@ few times, your Freedombox is ready for testing.
  • Boot from SD card, extend file system to fill the card completely.
  • Log in and add this to /etc/sources.list:

    -deb http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox wheezy main
    +deb http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox wheezy main
     
  • Run this as root:

    @@ -131,7 +568,7 @@ short "apt-get source -b freedombox-privoxy" away. :)

    off the DHCP server by running "update-rc.d isc-dhcp-server disable" as root.

    -

    Please let me know if this work for you, or if you have any +

    Please let me know if this works for you, or if you have any problems. We gather on the IRC channel #freedombox on irc.debian.org and the @@ -613,477 +1050,6 @@ the broken disks.

  • -
    -
    90 percent done with the Norwegian draft translation of Free Culture
    -
    2nd August 2013
    -

    It has been a while since my last update. Since last summer, I -have worked on a Norwegian -docbook version of the 2004 book -Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig, -to get a Norwegian text explaining the problems with the copyright -law. Yesterday, I finally broken the 90% mark, when counting the -number of strings to translate. Due to real life constraints, I have -not had time to work on it since March, but when the summer broke out, -I found time to work on it again. Still lots of work left, but the -first draft is nearing completion. I created a graph to show the -progress of the translation:

    - -

    - -

    When the first draft is done, the translated text need to be -proof read, and the remaining formatting problems with images and SVG -drawings need to be fixed. There are probably also some index entries -missing that need to be added. This can be done by comparing the -index entries listed in the SiSU version of the book, or comparing the -English docbook version with the paper version. Last, the colophon -page with ISBN numbers etc need to be wrapped up before the release is -done. I should also figure out how to get correct Norwegian sorting -of the index pages. All docbook tools I have tried so far (xmlto, -docbook-xsl, dblatex) get the order of symbols and the special -Norwegian letters ÆØÅ wrong.

    - -

    There is still need for translators and people with docbook -knowledge, to be able to get a good looking book (I still struggle -with dblatex, xmlto and docbook-xsl) as well as to do the draft -translation and proof reading. And I would like the figures to be -redrawn as SVGs to make it easy to translate them. Any SVG master -around? There are also some legal terms that are unfamiliar to me. -If you want to help, please get in touch with me, and check out the -project files currently available from -github.

    - -

    If you are curious what the translated book currently look like, -the updated -PDF -and -EPUB -are published on github. The HTML version is published as well, but -github hand it out with MIME type text/plain, confusing browsers, so I -saw no point in linking to that version.

    -
    -
    - - - Tags: docbook, english, freeculture. - - -
    -
    -
    - -
    -
    First beta release of Debian Edu/Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy
    -
    27th July 2013
    -

    The first wheezy based beta release of Debian Edu was wrapped up -today. This is the release announcement:

    - -

    New features for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~b0 released -2013-07-27

    - -

    These are the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux -7.1+edu0~b0, 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. Immediately 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. The provided school server provides LDAP -database and Kerberos authentication service, centralized home -directories, DHCP server, web proxy and many other services. The -desktop contains -more -than 60 educational software packages and more are available from -the Debian archive, and schools can choose between KDE, Gnome, LXDE -and Xfce desktop environment.

    - -

    This is the fifth test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically -this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the -Squeeze release.

    - -

    ALERT: Alpha based installations should reinstall or downgrade the -versions of gosa and libpam-mklocaluser to the ones used in this beta -release.

    - -

    Software updates

    - - - -

    Other changes

    - - - -

    Known issues

    - - - -

    Where to get it

    - -

    To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use

    - - - -

    The MD5SUM of this image is: 55d5de9765b6dccd5d9ec33cf1a07109 -
    The SHA1SUM of this image is: 996a1d9517740e4d627d100de2d12b23dd545a3f

    - -

    To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use

    - - - -

    The MD5SUM of this image is: d8f0818c51a78d357de794066f289f69 -
    The SHA1SUM of this image is: 49185ca354e8d0543240423746924f76a6cee733

    - - -

    How to report bugs

    - -

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

    -
    - - - Tags: debian edu, english. - - -
    -
    -
    - -
    -
    How to fix a Thinkpad X230 with a broken 180 GB SSD disk
    -
    17th July 2013
    -

    Today I switched to -my -new laptop. I've previously written about the problems I had with -my new Thinkpad X230, which was delivered with an -180 -GB Intel SSD disk with Lenovo firmware that did not handle -sustained writes. My hardware supplier have been very forthcoming in -trying to find a solution, and after first trying with another -identical 180 GB disks they decided to send me a 256 GB Samsung SSD -disk instead to fix it once and for all. The Samsung disk survived -the installation of Debian with encrypted disks (filling the disk with -random data during installation killed the first two), and I thus -decided to trust it with my data. I have installed it as a Debian Edu -Wheezy roaming workstation hooked up with my Debian Edu Squeeze main -server at home using Kerberos and LDAP, and will use it as my work -station from now on.

    - -

    As this is a solid state disk with no moving parts, I believe the -Debian Wheezy default installation need to be tuned a bit to increase -performance and increase life time of the disk. The Linux kernel and -user space applications do not yet adjust automatically to such -environment. To make it easier for my self, I created a draft Debian -package ssd-setup to handle this tuning. The -source -for the ssd-setup package is available from collab-maint, and it -is set up to adjust the setup of the machine by just installing the -package. If there is any non-SSD disk in the machine, the package -will refuse to install, as I did not try to write any logic to sort -file systems in SSD and non-SSD file systems.

    - -

    I consider the package a draft, as I am a bit unsure how to best -set up Debian Wheezy with an SSD. It is adjusted to my use case, -where I set up the machine with one large encrypted partition (in -addition to /boot), put LVM on top of this and set up partitions on -top of this again. See the README file in the package source for the -references I used to pick the settings. At the moment these -parameters are tuned:

    - - - -

    During installation, I cancelled the part where the installer fill -the disk with random data, as this would kill the SSD performance for -little gain. My goal with the encrypted file system is to ensure -those stealing my laptop end up with a brick and not a working -computer. I have no hope in keeping the really resourceful people -from getting the data on the disk (see -XKCD #538 for an explanation why). -Thus I concluded that adding the discard option to crypttab is the -right thing to do.

    - -

    I considered using the noop I/O scheduler, as several recommended -it for SSD, but others recommended deadline and a benchmark I found -indicated that deadline might be better for interactive use.

    - -

    I also considered using the 'discard' file system option for ext3 -and ext4, but read that it would give a performance hit ever time a -file is removed, and thought it best to that that slowdown once a day -instead of during my work.

    - -

    My package do not set up tmpfs on /var/run, /var/lock and /tmp, as -this is already done by Debian Edu.

    - -

    I have not yet started on the user space tuning. I expect -iceweasel need some tuning, and perhaps other applications too, but -have not yet had time to investigate those parts.

    - -

    The package should work on Ubuntu too, but I have not yet tested it -there.

    - -

    As for the answer to the question in the title of this blog post, -as far as I know, the only solution I know about is to replace the -disk. It might be possible to flash it with Intel firmware instead of -the Lenovo firmware. But I have not tried and did not want to do so -without approval from Lenovo as I wanted to keep the warranty on the -disk until a solution was found and they wanted the broken disks -back.

    -
    -
    - - - Tags: debian, english. - - -
    -
    -
    - -
    -
    Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB with Lenovo firmware still lock up from sustained writes
    -
    10th July 2013
    -

    A few days ago, I wrote about -the -problems I experienced with my new X230 and its SSD disk, which -was dying during installation because it is unable to cope with -sustained write. My supplier is in contact with -Lenovo, and they wanted to send a -replacement disk to try to fix the problem. They decided to send an -identical model, so my hopes for a permanent fix was slim.

    - -

    Anyway, today I got the replacement disk and tried to install -Debian Edu Wheezy with encrypted disk on it. The new disk have the -same firmware version as the original. This time my hope raised -slightly as the installation progressed, as the original disk used to -die after 4-7% of the disk was written to, while this time it kept -going past 10%, 20%, 40% and even past 50%. But around 60%, the disk -died again and I was back on square one. I still do not have a new -laptop with a disk I can trust. I can not live with a disk that might -lock up when I download a new -Debian Edu / Skolelinux ISO or -other large files. I look forward to hearing from my supplier with -the next proposal from Lenovo.

    - -

    The original disk is marked Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB, -11S0C38722Z1ZNME35X1TR, ISN: CVCV321407HB180EGN, SA: G57560302, FW: -LF1i, 29MAY2013, PBA: G39779-300, LBA 351,651,888, LI P/N: 0C38722, -Pb-free 2LI, LC P/N: 16-200366, WWN: 55CD2E40002756C4, Model: -SSDSC2BW180A3L 2.5" 6Gb/s SATA SSD 180G 5V 1A, ASM P/N 0C38732, FRU -P/N 45N8295, P0C38732.

    - -

    The replacement disk is marked Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB, -11S0C38722Z1ZNDE34N0L0, ISN: CVCV315306RK180EGN, SA: G57560-302, FW: -LF1i, 22APR2013, PBA: G39779-300, LBA 351,651,888, LI P/N: 0C38722, -Pb-free 2LI, LC P/N: 16-200366, WWN: 55CD2E40000AB69E, Model: -SSDSC2BW180A3L 2.5" 6Gb/s SATA SSD 180G 5V 1A, ASM P/N 0C38732, FRU -P/N 45N8295, P0C38732.

    - -

    The only difference is in the first number (serial number?), ISN, -SA, date and WNPP values. Mentioning all the details here in case -someone is able to use the information to find a way to identify the -failing disk among working ones (if any such working disk actually -exist).

    -
    -
    - - - Tags: debian, english. - - -
    -
    -
    - -
    -
    July 13th: Debian/Ubuntu BSP and Skolelinux/Debian Edu developer gathering in Oslo
    -
    9th July 2013
    -

    The upcoming Saturday, 2013-07-13, we are organising a combined -Debian Edu developer gathering and Debian and Ubuntu bug squashing -party in Oslo. It is organised by the -member assosiation NUUG and -the Debian Edu / Skolelinux -project together with the hack space -Bitraf.

    - -

    It starts 10:00 and continue until late evening. Everyone is -welcome, and there is no fee to participate. There is on the other -hand limited space, and only room for 30 people. Please put your name -on the event -wiki page if you plan to join us.

    -
    -
    - - - Tags: debian, debian edu, english, nuug. - - -
    -
    -
    - -
    -
    The Thinkpad is dead, long live the Thinkpad X230?
    -
    5th July 2013
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    Half a year ago, I reported that I had to find a -replacement -for my trusty old Thinkpad X41. Unfortunately I did not have much -time to spend on it, and it took a while to find a model I believe -will do the job, but two days ago the replacement finally arrived. I -ended up picking a -Thinkpad X230 -with SSD disk (NZDAJMN). I first test installed Debian Edu Wheezy as -a roaming workstation, and it seemed to work flawlessly. But my -second installation with encrypted disk was not as successful. More -on that below.

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    I had a hard time trying to track down a good laptop, as my most -important requirements (robust and with a good keyboard) are never -listed in the feature list. But I did get good help from the search -feature at Prisjakt, which -allowed me to limit the list of interesting laptops based on my other -requirements. A bit surprising that SSD disk are not disks according -to that search interface, so I had to drop specifying the number of -disks from my search parameters. I also asked around among friends to -get their impression on keyboards and robustness.

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    So the new laptop arrived, and it is quite a lot wider than the -X41. I am not quite convinced about the keyboard, as it is -significantly wider than my old keyboard, and I have to stretch my -hand a lot more to reach the edges. But the key response is fairly -good and the individual key shape is fairly easy to handle, so I hope -I will get used to it. My old X40 was starting to fail, and I really -needed a new laptop now. :)

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    Turning off the touch pad was simple. All it took was a quick -visit to the BIOS during boot it disable it.

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    But there is a fatal problem with the laptop. The 180 GB SSD disk -lock up during load. And this happen when installing Debian Wheezy -with encrypted disk, while the disk is being filled with random data. -I also tested to install Ubuntu Raring, and it happen there too if I -reenable the code to fill the disk with random data (it is disabled by -default in Ubuntu). And the bug with is already known. It was -reported to Debian as BTS -report #691427 2012-10-25 (journal commit I/O error on brand-new -Thinkpad T430s ext4 on lvm on SSD). It is also reported to the Linux -kernel developers as -Kernel bugzilla -report #51861 2012-12-20 (Intel SSD 520 stops working under load -(SSDSC2BW180A3L in Lenovo ThinkPad T430s)). It is also reported on the -Lenovo forums, both for -T430 -2012-11-10 and for -X230 -03-20-2013. The problem do not only affect installation. The -reports state that the disk lock up during use if many writes are done -on the disk, so it is much no use to work around the installation -problem and end up with a computer that can lock up at any moment. -There is even a -small C program -available that will lock up the hard drive after running a few -minutes by writing to a file.

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    I've contacted my supplier and asked how to handle this, and after -contacting PCHELP Norway (request 01D1FDP) which handle support -requests for Lenovo, his first suggestion was to upgrade the disk -firmware. Unfortunately there is no newer firmware available from -Lenovo, as my disk already have the most recent one (version LF1i). I -hope to hear more from him today and hope the problem can be -fixed. :)

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    - - - Tags: debian, english. - - -
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