X-Git-Url: http://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/blobdiff_plain/e63b6218a1ff9971a9c5e674ea336cb1de0cbd57..1f159d8c8620e22e9a182facd8041fdfab082a22:/blog/index.html?ds=inline diff --git a/blog/index.html b/blog/index.html index 0fe9383434..0a0e425aab 100644 --- a/blog/index.html +++ b/blog/index.html @@ -20,47 +20,138 @@
-
Økt overvåkning applauderes igjen av Arbeiderpartiet, Høyre og Fremskrittspartiet
-
4th February 2013
-

Jeg ser med gru at Arbeiderpartiet, Høyre og Fremskrittspartiet -applauderer -tollvesenets forslag om å øke overvåkningen i Norge nok et hakk. -Det er ikke så rart, da de som uttaler seg jo også har støttet -innføringen av datalagringsdirektivet eller i hvert fall ikke veldig -aktivt har motarbeidet det. Innføringen av datalagringsdirektivet er -en lovendring som innebærer brev og besøkskontroll for hele -befolkningen.

- -

Datalagringsdirektivet -har vært oppe til votering i stortinget tre ganger så langt. Det ble -vedtatt første gang 2011-04-04 -og -andre -gang 2011-04-11 (lovendringer voteres to ganger), og forslag om å -stoppe loven ble -nedstemt -2012-12-06 (se også -oversikt fra Holder De -Ord).

- -

Jan Bøhler i Arbeiderpartiet stemte for å innføre -datalagringsdirektivet i lovverket i første votering, var ikke -tilstede i andre votering og støttet loven i tredje votering. André -Oktay Dahl i Høyre var ikke til stede i første og andre votering men -støttet loven i tredje votering. Ulf Leirstein i Fremskrittspartiet -stemte mot loven i første votering men var ikke til stede i andre og -tredje votering.

- -

Hvis du lurer på hva som er problemet med datalagringsdirektivet, -anbefaler jeg å lese artiklene -fra Jon Wessel-Aas om temaet, samt informasjon fra foreningen -Digitalt -Personvern.

+
Second beta release (beta 1) of Debian Edu/Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy
+
22nd August 2013
+

The second wheezy based beta release of Debian Edu was wrapped up +today, slightly delayed because of some bugs in the initial Windows +integration fixes . This is the release announcement:

+ +

New features for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~b1 released 2013-08-22

+ +

These are the release notes for Debian Edu / Skolelinux +7.1+edu0~b1, 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 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 sixth 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. 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 every user +need to change their their password to make sure a password is set for +CIFS access to their home directory.

+ +

Software updates

+ +
    + +
  • Added ssh askpass packages to default installation, to ensure ssh + work also without a attached tty.
    • +
  • Add the command-not-found package to the default installation to + make it easier to figure out where to find missing command line + tools. Please note, that the command 'update-command-not-found' + has to be run as root to actually make it useful (internet access + required).
    • + +
+ +

Other changes

+ +
    + +
  • Adjusted the USB stick ISO image build to include every tool +needed for desktop=xfce installations.
    • +
  • Adjust thin-client-server task to work when installing from USB +stick ISO image.
    • +
  • Made new grub artwork (changed png from indexed to RGB format).
    • +
  • Minor cleanup in the CUPS setup.
    • +
  • Make sure that bootstrapping of the Samba domain really happens + during installation of the main server and adjust SID handling to + cope with this.
    • +
  • Make Samba passwords changeable (again) via GOsa².
    • +
  • Fix generation of LM and NT password hashes via GOsa² to avoid + empty password hashes.
    • +
  • Adapted Samba machine domain joining to latest change in the + smbldap-tools Perl package, fixing bugs blocking Windows machines + from joining the Samba domain.
    • + +
+ +

Known issues

+ +
    + +
  • KDE fails to understand the wpad.dat file provided, causing it to + not use the http proxy as it should.
    • +
  • Chromium also fails to use the proxy when using the KDE desktop + (using the KDE configuration).
    • + +
+ +

Where to get it

+ +

To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use

+ + + +

The MD5SUM of this image is: 1e357f80b55e703523f2254adde6d78b +
The SHA1SUM of this image is: 7157f9be5fd27c7694d713c6ecfed61c3edda3b2

+ +

To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use

+ + + +

The MD5SUM of this image is: 7a8408ead59cf7e3cef25afb6e91590b +
The SHA1SUM of this image is: f1817c031f02790d5edb3bfa0dcf8451088ad119

+ + +

How to report bugs

+ +

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

- Tags: norsk, personvern, surveillance. + Tags: debian edu, english.
@@ -68,40 +159,34 @@ Personvern.

-
Bitcoin GUI now available from Debian/unstable (and Ubuntu/raring)
-
2nd February 2013
-

My -last -bitcoin related blog post mentioned that the new -bitcoin package for -Debian was waiting in NEW. It was accepted by the Debian ftp-masters -2013-01-19, and have been available in unstable since then. It was -automatically copied to Ubuntu, and is available in their Raring -version too.

- -

But there is a strange problem with the build that block this new -version from being available on the i386 and kfreebsd-i386 -architectures. For some strange reason, the autobuilders in Debian -for these architectures fail to run the test suite on these -architectures (BTS #672524). -We are so far unable to reproduce it when building it manually, and -no-one have been able to propose a fix. If you got an idea what is -failing, please let us know via the BTS.

- -

One feature that is annoying me with of the bitcoin client, because -I often run low on disk space, is the fact that the client will exit -if it run short on space (BTS -#696715). So make sure you have enough disk space when you run -it. :)

- -

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

+
Intel 180 SSD disk with Lenovo firmware can not use Intel firmware
+
18th August 2013
+

Earlier, I reported about +my +problems using an Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB disk. Friday I was +told by IBM that the original disk should be thrown away. And as +there no longer was a problem if I bricked the firmware, I decided +today to try to install Intel firmware to replace the Lenovo firmware +currently on the disk.

+ +

I searched the Intel site for firmware, and found +issdfut_2.0.4.iso +(aka Intel SATA Solid-State Drive Firmware Update Tool) which +according to the site should contain the latest firmware for SSD +disks. I inserted the broken disk in one of my spare laptops and +booted the ISO from a USB stick. The disk was recognized, but the +program claimed the newest firmware already were installed and refused +to insert any Intel firmware. So no change, and the disk is still +unable to handle write load. :( I guess the only way to get them +working would be if Lenovo releases new firmware. No idea how likely +that is. Anyway, just blogging about this test for completeness. I +got a working Samsung disk, and see no point in spending more time on +the broken disks.

- Tags: bitcoin, debian, english. + Tags: debian, english.
@@ -109,50 +194,57 @@ activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
-
Welcome to the world, Isenkram!
-
22nd January 2013
-

Yesterday, I -asked -for testers for my prototype for making Debian better at handling -pluggable hardware devices, which I -set -out to create earlier this month. Several valuable testers showed -up, and caused me to really want to to open up the development to more -people. But before I did this, I want to come up with a sensible name -for this project. Today I finally decided on a new name, and I have -renamed the project from hw-support-handler to this new name. In the -process, I moved the source to git and made it available as a -collab-maint -repository in Debian. The new name? It is Isenkram. -To fetch and build the latest version of the source, use

- -
-git clone http://anonscm.debian.org/git/collab-maint/isenkram.git
-cd isenkram && git-buildpackage -us -uc
-
- -

I have not yet adjusted all files to use the new name yet. If you -want to hack on the source or improve the package, please go ahead. -But please talk to me first on IRC or via email before you do major -changes, to make sure we do not step on each others toes. :)

- -

If you wonder what 'isenkram' is, it is a Norwegian word for iron -stuff, typically meaning tools, nails, screws, etc. Typical hardware -stuff, in other words. I've been told it is the Norwegian variant of -the German word eisenkram, for those that are familiar with that -word.

- -

Update 2013-01-26: Added -us -us to build -instructions, to avoid confusing people with an error from the signing -process.

- -

Update 2013-01-27: Switch to HTTP URL for the git -clone argument to avoid the need for authentication.

+
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: debian, english, isenkram. + Tags: docbook, english, freeculture.
@@ -160,84 +252,137 @@ clone argument to avoid the need for authentication.

-
First prototype ready making hardware easier to use in Debian
-
21st January 2013
-

Early this month I set out to try to -improve -the Debian support for pluggable hardware devices. Now my -prototype is working, and it is ready for a larger audience. To test -it, fetch the -source -from the Debian Edu subversion repository, build and install the -package. You might have to log out and in again activate the -autostart script.

- -

The design is simple:

+
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

    -
  • Add desktop entry in /usr/share/autostart/ causing a program -hw-support-handlerd to start when the user log in.
    • +
  • Switched roaming workstation profiles from wicd to network-manager + for network configuration, as wicd didn't work any more.
    • +
  • Changed version numbers of patched gosa and libpam-mklocaluser + packages to make sure our locally patched versions will be replaced + by the official packages when they are released from Debian. Those + installing alpha version need to reinstall or manually downgrade gosa + and libpam-mklocaluser.
    • +
  • Added bluetooth tools to the default desktop (bluedevil, blueman).
    • +
  • Added tools for sharing the desktop on KDE (krdc, krfb).
    • +
  • Added valgrind to the default installation for easier debugging of + crash bugs.
    • + +
+ +

Other changes

+ +
    -
  • This program listen for kernel events about new hardware (directly -from the kernel like udev does), not using HAL dbus events as I -initially did.
    • +
  • Fixed artwork package to work with gnome, no longer break + desktop=gnome installations.
    • +
  • Adjusted installer to now work when forced to use a proxy with the + netinst CD.
    • +
  • Fixed code detecting and setting/loading hardware specific + setup/firmware to work more robust out of the box.
    • +
  • Adjusted Kerberos setup to detect realm and server settings at + install time instead of dynamically at run time. This avoid a crash + with krb5-auth-dialog on diskless workstations without a DNS name.
    • +
  • Worked around misfeature in network-manager not calling the dhclient + exit hooks, causing automatic proxy configuration and automatic host + name setting at run time to work again.
    • +
  • Fixed feature setting the default Iceweasel start page from URL + fetched from LDAP, to allow schools to set the global default by + updating the dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no LDAP object.
    • +
  • Changed default host name on all networked machines to be unique + (generated from MAC or reverse DNS) after boot.
    • +
  • Adjusted partition sizes to make sure they are big enough.
    • -
  • When new hardware is inserted, look up the hardware modalias in -the APT database, a database -available -via HTTP and a database available as part of the package.
    • +
-
  • If a package is mapped to the hardware in question, the package -isn't installed yet and this is the first time the hardware was -plugged in, show a desktop notification suggesting to install the -package or packages.
    • +

    Known issues

    -
  • If the user click on the 'install package now' button, ask -aptdaemon via the PackageKit API to install the requrired package.
    • +
      -
    • aptdaemon ask for root password or sudo password, and install the -package while showing progress information in a window.
      • +
    • Grub is missing the new artwork.
      • +
    • KDE fail to understand the wpad.dat file provided, causing it to + not use the http proxy as it should.
      • +
    • Chromium also fail to use the proxy.
    -

    I still need to come up with a better name for the system. Here -are some screen shots showing the prototype in action. First the -notification, then the password request, and finally the request to -approve all the dependencies. Sorry for the Norwegian Bokmål GUI.

    - -

    -
    -
    -
    -

    - -

    The prototype still need to be improved with longer timeouts, but -is already useful. The database of hardware to package mappings also -need more work. It is currently compatible with the Ubuntu way of -storing such information in the package control file, but could be -changed to use other formats instead or in addition to the current -method. I've dropped the use of discover for this mapping, as the -modalias approach is more flexible and easier to use on Linux as long -as the Linux kernel expose its modalias strings directly.

    - -

    Update 2013-01-21 16:50: Due to popular demand, -here is the command required to check out and build the source: Use -'svn checkout -svn://svn.debian.org/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/; cd -hw-support-handler; debuild'. If you lack debuild, install the -devscripts package.

    - -

    Update 2013-01-23 12:00: The project is now -renamed to Isenkram and the source moved from the Debian Edu -subversion repository to a Debian collab-maint git repository. See -build -instructions for details.

    +

    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, english, isenkram. + Tags: debian edu, english.
    @@ -245,56 +390,107 @@ instructions for details.

    -
    Thank you Thinkpad X41, for your long and trustworthy service
    -
    19th January 2013
    -

    This Christmas my trusty old laptop died. It died quietly and -suddenly in bed. With a quiet whimper, it went completely quiet and -black. The power button was no longer able to turn it on. It was a -IBM Thinkpad X41, and the best laptop I ever had. Better than both -Thinkpads X30, X31, X40, X60, X61 and X61S. Far better than the -Compaq I had before that. Now I need to find a replacement. To keep -going during Christmas, I moved the one year old SSD disk to my old -X40 where it fitted (only one I had left that could use it), but it is -not a durable solution. - -

    My laptop needs are fairly modest. This is my wishlist from when I -got a new one more than 10 years ago. It still holds true.:)

    +
    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:

      -
    • Lightweight (around 1 kg) and small volume (preferably smaller - than A4).
      • -
    • Robust, it will be in my backpack every day.
      • -
    • Three button mouse and a mouse pin instead of touch pad.
      • -
    • Long battery life time. Preferable a week.
      • -
    • Internal WIFI network card.
      • -
    • Internal Twisted Pair network card.
      • -
    • Some USB slots (2-3 is plenty)
      • -
    • Good keyboard - similar to the Thinkpad.
      • -
    • Video resolution at least 1024x768, with size around 12" (A4 paper -size).
      • -
    • Hardware supported by Debian Stable, ie the default kernel and - X.org packages.
      • -
    • Quiet, preferably fan free (or at least not using the fan most of - the time). +
    • Set up cryptsetup to pass TRIM commands to the physical disk + (adding discard to /etc/crypttab)
      • + +
    • Set up LVM to pass on TRIM commands to the underlying device (in + this case a cryptsetup partition) by changing issue_discards from + 0 to 1 in /etc/lvm/lvm.conf.
      • + +
    • Set relatime as a file system option for ext3 and ext4 file + systems.
      • + +
    • Tell swap to use TRIM commands by adding 'discard' to + /etc/fstab.
      • + +
    • Change I/O scheduler from cfq to deadline using a udev rule.
      • + +
    • Run fstrim on every ext3 and ext4 file system every night (from + cron.daily).
      • + +
    • Adjust sysctl values vm.swappiness to 1 and vm.vfs_cache_pressure + to 50 to reduce the kernel eagerness to swap out processes.
    -

    You will notice that there are no RAM and CPU requirements in the -list. The reason is simply that the specifications on laptops the -last 10-15 years have been sufficient for my needs, and I have to look -at other features to choose my laptop. But are there still made as -robust laptops as my X41? The Thinkpad X60/X61 proved to be less -robust, and Thinkpads seem to be heading in the wrong direction since -Lenovo took over. But I've been told that X220 and X1 Carbon might -still be useful.

    - -

    Perhaps I should rethink my needs, and look for a pad with an -external keyboard? I'll have to check the -Linux Laptops site for -well-supported laptops, or perhaps just buy one preinstalled from one -of the vendors listed on the Linux -Pre-loaded site.

    +

    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.

    @@ -307,70 +503,49 @@ Pre-loaded site.

    -
    How to find a browser plugin supporting a given MIME type
    -
    18th January 2013
    -

    Some times I try to figure out which Iceweasel browser plugin to -install to get support for a given MIME type. Thanks to -specifications -done by Ubuntu and Mozilla, it is possible to do this in Debian. -Unfortunately, not very many packages provide the needed meta -information, Anyway, here is a small script to look up all browser -plugin packages announcing ther MIME support using this specification:

    - -
    -#!/usr/bin/python
-import sys
-import apt
-def pkgs_handling_mimetype(mimetype):
-    cache = apt.Cache()
-    cache.open(None)
-    thepkgs = []
-    for pkg in cache:
-        version = pkg.candidate
-        if version is None:
-            version = pkg.installed
-        if version is None:
-            continue
-        record = version.record
-        if not record.has_key('Npp-MimeType'):
-            continue
-        mime_types = record['Npp-MimeType'].split(',')
-        for t in mime_types:
-            t = t.rstrip().strip()
-            if t == mimetype:
-                thepkgs.append(pkg.name)
-    return thepkgs
-mimetype = "audio/ogg"
-if 1 < len(sys.argv):
-    mimetype = sys.argv[1]
-print "Browser plugin packages supporting %s:" % mimetype
-for pkg in pkgs_handling_mimetype(mimetype):
-    print "  %s" %pkg
-
    - -

    It can be used like this to look up a given MIME type:

    - -
    -% ./apt-find-browserplug-for-mimetype 
-Browser plugin packages supporting audio/ogg:
-  gecko-mediaplayer
-% ./apt-find-browserplug-for-mimetype application/x-shockwave-flash
-Browser plugin packages supporting application/x-shockwave-flash:
-  browser-plugin-gnash
-%
-
    - -

    In Ubuntu this mechanism is combined with support in the browser -itself to query for plugins and propose to install the needed -packages. It would be great if Debian supported such feature too. Is -anyone working on adding it?

    - -

    Update 2013-01-18 14:20: The Debian BTS -request for icweasel support for this feature is -#484010 from 2008 (and -#698426 from today). Lack -of manpower and wish for a different design is the reason thus feature -is not yet in iceweasel from Debian.

    +
    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).

    @@ -383,120 +558,26 @@ is not yet in iceweasel from Debian.

    -
    What is the most supported MIME type in Debian?
    -
    16th January 2013
    -

    The DEP-11 -proposal to add AppStream information to the Debian archive, is a -proposal to make it possible for a Desktop application to propose to -the user some package to install to gain support for a given MIME -type, font, library etc. that is currently missing. With such -mechanism in place, it would be possible for the desktop to -automatically propose and install leocad if some LDraw file is -downloaded by the browser.

    - -

    To get some idea about the current content of the archive, I decided -to write a simple program to extract all .desktop files from the -Debian archive and look up the claimed MIME support there. The result -can be found on the -Skolelinux FTP -site. Using the collected information, it become possible to -answer the question in the title. Here are the 20 most supported MIME -types in Debian stable (Squeeze), testing (Wheezy) and unstable (Sid). -The complete list is available from the link above.

    - -

    Debian Stable:

    - -
    -  count MIME type
-  ----- -----------------------
-     32 text/plain
-     30 audio/mpeg
-     29 image/png
-     28 image/jpeg
-     27 application/ogg
-     26 audio/x-mp3
-     25 image/tiff
-     25 image/gif
-     22 image/bmp
-     22 audio/x-wav
-     20 audio/x-flac
-     19 audio/x-mpegurl
-     18 video/x-ms-asf
-     18 audio/x-musepack
-     18 audio/x-mpeg
-     18 application/x-ogg
-     17 video/mpeg
-     17 audio/x-scpls
-     17 audio/ogg
-     16 video/x-ms-wmv
-
    - -

    Debian Testing:

    - -
    -  count MIME type
-  ----- -----------------------
-     33 text/plain
-     32 image/png
-     32 image/jpeg
-     29 audio/mpeg
-     27 image/gif
-     26 image/tiff
-     26 application/ogg
-     25 audio/x-mp3
-     22 image/bmp
-     21 audio/x-wav
-     19 audio/x-mpegurl
-     19 audio/x-mpeg
-     18 video/mpeg
-     18 audio/x-scpls
-     18 audio/x-flac
-     18 application/x-ogg
-     17 video/x-ms-asf
-     17 text/html
-     17 audio/x-musepack
-     16 image/x-xbitmap
-
    - -

    Debian Unstable:

    - -
    -  count MIME type
-  ----- -----------------------
-     31 text/plain
-     31 image/png
-     31 image/jpeg
-     29 audio/mpeg
-     28 application/ogg
-     27 image/gif
-     26 image/tiff
-     26 audio/x-mp3
-     23 audio/x-wav
-     22 image/bmp
-     21 audio/x-flac
-     20 audio/x-mpegurl
-     19 audio/x-mpeg
-     18 video/x-ms-asf
-     18 video/mpeg
-     18 audio/x-scpls
-     18 application/x-ogg
-     17 audio/x-musepack
-     16 video/x-ms-wmv
-     16 video/x-msvideo
-
    - -

    I am told that PackageKit can provide an API to access the kind of -information mentioned in DEP-11. I have not yet had time to look at -it, but hope the PackageKit people in Debian are on top of these -issues.

    - -

    Update 2013-01-16 13:35: Updated numbers after -discovering a typo in my script.

    +
    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, english. + Tags: debian, debian edu, english, nuug.
    @@ -504,119 +585,79 @@ discovering a typo in my script.

    -
    Using modalias info to find packages handling my hardware
    -
    15th January 2013
    -

    Yesterday, I wrote about the -modalias -values provided by the Linux kernel following my hope for -better -dongle support in Debian. Using this knowledge, I have tested how -modalias values attached to package names can be used to map packages -to hardware. This allow the system to look up and suggest relevant -packages when I plug in some new hardware into my machine, and replace -discover and discover-data as the database used to map hardware to -packages.

    - -

    I create a modaliases file with entries like the following, -containing package name, kernel module name (if relevant, otherwise -the package name) and globs matching the relevant hardware -modalias.

    - -

    -Package: package-name -
    Modaliases: module(modaliasglob, modaliasglob, modaliasglob)

    -

    - -

    It is fairly trivial to write code to find the relevant packages -for a given modalias value using this file.

    - -

    An entry like this would suggest the video and picture application -cheese for many USB web cameras (interface bus class 0E01):

    - -

    -Package: cheese -
    Modaliases: cheese(usb:v*p*d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip*)

    -

    - -

    An entry like this would suggest the pcmciautils package when a -CardBus bridge (bus class 0607) PCI device is present:

    - -

    -Package: pcmciautils -
    Modaliases: pcmciautils(pci:v*d*sv*sd*bc06sc07i*) -

    - -

    An entry like this would suggest the package colorhug-client when -plugging in a ColorHug with USB IDs 04D8:F8DA:

    - -

    -Package: colorhug-client -
    Modaliases: colorhug-client(usb:v04D8pF8DAd*)

    -

    - -

    I believe the format is compatible with the format of the Packages -file in the Debian archive. Ubuntu already uses their Packages file -to store their mappings from packages to hardware.

    - -

    By adding a XB-Modaliases: header in debian/control, any .deb can -announce the hardware it support in a way my prototype understand. -This allow those publishing packages in an APT source outside the -Debian archive as well as those backporting packages to make sure the -hardware mapping are included in the package meta information. I've -tested such header in the pymissile package, and its modalias mapping -is working as it should with my prototype. It even made it to Ubuntu -Raring.

    - -

    To test if it was possible to look up supported hardware using only -the shell tools available in the Debian installer, I wrote a shell -implementation of the lookup code. The idea is to create files for -each modalias and let the shell do the matching. Please check out and -try the -hw-support-lookup -shell script. It run without any extra dependencies and fetch the -hardware mappings from the Debian archive and the subversion -repository where I currently work on my prototype.

    - -

    When I use it on a machine with a yubikey inserted, it suggest to -install yubikey-personalization:

    - -

    -% ./hw-support-lookup -
    yubikey-personalization -
    % -

    - -

    When I run it on my Thinkpad X40 with a PCMCIA/CardBus slot, it -propose to install the pcmciautils package:

    - -

    -% ./hw-support-lookup -
    pcmciautils -
    % -

    - -

    If you know of any hardware-package mapping that should be added to -my -database, please tell me about it.

    - -

    It could be possible to generate several of the mappings between -packages and hardware. One source would be to look at packages with -kernel modules, ie packages with *.ko files in /lib/modules/, and -extract their modalias information. Another would be to look at -packages with udev rules, ie packages with files in -/lib/udev/rules.d/, and extract their vendor/model information to -generate a modalias matching rule. I have not tested any of these to -see if it work.

    - -

    If you want to help implementing a system to let us propose what -packages to install when new hardware is plugged into a Debian -machine, please send me an email or talk to me on -#debian-devel.

    +
    The Thinkpad is dead, long live the Thinkpad X230?
    +
    5th July 2013
    +

    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.

    + +

    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.

    + +

    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. :)

    + +

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

    + +

    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.

    + +

    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. :)

    - Tags: debian, english, isenkram. + Tags: debian, english.
    @@ -624,260 +665,39 @@ machine, please send me an email or talk to me on
    -
    Modalias strings - a practical way to map "stuff" to hardware
    -
    14th January 2013
    -

    While looking into how to look up Debian packages based on hardware -information, to find the packages that support a given piece of -hardware, I refreshed my memory regarding modalias values, and decided -to document the details. Here are my findings so far, also available -in -the -Debian Edu subversion repository: - -

    Modalias decoded

    - -

    This document try to explain what the different types of modalias -values stands for. It is in part based on information from -<URL: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Modalias >, -<URL: http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/26132/how-to-assign-usb-driver-to-device >, -<URL: http://code.metager.de/source/history/linux/stable/scripts/mod/file2alias.c > and -<URL: http://cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewvc/dmidecode/dmidecode.c?root=dmidecode&view=markup >. - -

    The modalias entries for a given Linux machine can be found using -this shell script:

    - -
    -find /sys -name modalias -print0 | xargs -0 cat | sort -u
-
    - -

    The supported modalias globs for a given kernel module can be found -using modinfo:

    - -
    -% /sbin/modinfo psmouse | grep alias:
-alias:          serio:ty05pr*id*ex*
-alias:          serio:ty01pr*id*ex*
-%
-
    - -

    PCI subtype

    - -

    A typical PCI entry can look like this. This is an Intel Host -Bridge memory controller:

    - -

    -pci:v00008086d00002770sv00001028sd000001ADbc06sc00i00 -

    - -

    This represent these values:

    - -
    - v   00008086  (vendor)
- d   00002770  (device)
- sv  00001028  (subvendor)
- sd  000001AD  (subdevice)
- bc  06        (bus class)
- sc  00        (bus subclass)
- i   00        (interface)
-
    - -

    The vendor/device values are the same values outputted from 'lspci --n' as 8086:2770. The bus class/subclass is also shown by lspci as -0600. The 0600 class is a host bridge. Other useful bus values are -0300 (VGA compatible card) and 0200 (Ethernet controller).

    - -

    Not sure how to figure out the interface value, nor what it -means.

    - -

    USB subtype

    - -

    Some typical USB entries can look like this. This is an internal -USB hub in a laptop:

    - -

    -usb:v1D6Bp0001d0206dc09dsc00dp00ic09isc00ip00 -

    - -

    Here is the values included in this alias:

    - -
    - v    1D6B  (device vendor)
- p    0001  (device product)
- d    0206  (bcddevice)
- dc     09  (device class)
- dsc    00  (device subclass)
- dp     00  (device protocol)
- ic     09  (interface class)
- isc    00  (interface subclass)
- ip     00  (interface protocol)
-
    - -

    The 0900 device class/subclass means hub. Some times the relevant -class is in the interface class section. For a simple USB web camera, -these alias entries show up:

    - -

    -usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic01isc01ip00 -
    usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic01isc02ip00 -
    usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic0Eisc01ip00 -
    usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic0Eisc02ip00 -

    - -

    Interface class 0E01 is video control, 0E02 is video streaming (aka -camera), 0101 is audio control device and 0102 is audio streaming (aka -microphone). Thus this is a camera with microphone included.

    - -

    ACPI subtype

    - -

    The ACPI type is used for several non-PCI/USB stuff. This is an IR -receiver in a Thinkpad X40:

    - -

    -acpi:IBM0071:PNP0511: -

    - -

    The values between the colons are IDs.

    - -

    DMI subtype

    - -

    The DMI table contain lots of information about the computer case -and model. This is an entry for a IBM Thinkpad X40, fetched from -/sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/modalias:

    - -

    -dmi:bvnIBM:bvr1UETB6WW(1.66):bd06/15/2005:svnIBM:pn2371H4G:pvrThinkPadX40:rvnIBM:rn2371H4G:rvrNotAvailable:cvnIBM:ct10:cvrNotAvailable: -

    - -

    The values present are

    - -
    - bvn  IBM            (BIOS vendor)
- bvr  1UETB6WW(1.66) (BIOS version)
- bd   06/15/2005     (BIOS date)
- svn  IBM            (system vendor)
- pn   2371H4G        (product name)
- pvr  ThinkPadX40    (product version)
- rvn  IBM            (board vendor)
- rn   2371H4G        (board name)
- rvr  NotAvailable   (board version)
- cvn  IBM            (chassis vendor)
- ct   10             (chassis type)
- cvr  NotAvailable   (chassis version)
-
    - -

    The chassis type 10 is Notebook. Other interesting values can be -found in the dmidecode source:

    - -
    -  3 Desktop
-  4 Low Profile Desktop
-  5 Pizza Box
-  6 Mini Tower
-  7 Tower
-  8 Portable
-  9 Laptop
- 10 Notebook
- 11 Hand Held
- 12 Docking Station
- 13 All In One
- 14 Sub Notebook
- 15 Space-saving
- 16 Lunch Box
- 17 Main Server Chassis
- 18 Expansion Chassis
- 19 Sub Chassis
- 20 Bus Expansion Chassis
- 21 Peripheral Chassis
- 22 RAID Chassis
- 23 Rack Mount Chassis
- 24 Sealed-case PC
- 25 Multi-system
- 26 CompactPCI
- 27 AdvancedTCA
- 28 Blade
- 29 Blade Enclosing
-
    - -

    The chassis type values are not always accurately set in the DMI -table. For example my home server is a tower, but the DMI modalias -claim it is a desktop.

    - -

    SerIO subtype

    - -

    This type is used for PS/2 mouse plugs. One example is from my -test machine:

    - -

    -serio:ty01pr00id00ex00 -

    - -

    The values present are

    - -
    -  ty  01  (type)
-  pr  00  (prototype)
-  id  00  (id)
-  ex  00  (extra)
-
    - -

    This type is supported by the psmouse driver. I am not sure what -the valid values are.

    - -

    Other subtypes

    - -

    There are heaps of other modalias subtypes according to -file2alias.c. There is the rest of the list from that source: amba, -ap, bcma, ccw, css, eisa, hid, i2c, ieee1394, input, ipack, isapnp, -mdio, of, parisc, pcmcia, platform, scsi, sdio, spi, ssb, vio, virtio, -vmbus, x86cpu and zorro. I did not spend time documenting all of -these, as they do not seem relevant for my intended use with mapping -hardware to packages when new stuff is inserted during run time.

    - -

    Looking up kernel modules using modalias values

    - -

    To check which kernel modules provide support for a given modalias, -one can use the following shell script:

    - -
    -  for id in $(find /sys -name modalias -print0 | xargs -0 cat | sort -u); do \
-    echo "$id" ; \
-    /sbin/modprobe --show-depends "$id"|sed 's/^/  /' ; \
-  done
-
    - -

    The output can look like this (only the first few entries as the -list is very long on my test machine):

    - -
    -  acpi:ACPI0003:
-    insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/acpi/ac.ko 
-  acpi:device:
-  FATAL: Module acpi:device: not found.
-  acpi:IBM0068:
-    insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/char/nvram.ko 
-    insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/leds/led-class.ko 
-    insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/net/rfkill/rfkill.ko 
-    insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/platform/x86/thinkpad_acpi.ko 
-  acpi:IBM0071:PNP0511:
-    insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/lib/crc-ccitt.ko 
-    insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/net/irda/irda.ko 
-    insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/net/irda/nsc-ircc.ko 
-  [...]
-
    - -

    If you want to help implementing a system to let us propose what -packages to install when new hardware is plugged into a Debian -machine, please send me an email or talk to me on -#debian-devel.

    - -

    Update 2013-01-15: Rewrite "cat $(find ...)" to -"find ... -print0 | xargs -0 cat" to make sure it handle directories -in /sys/ with space in them.

    +
    The Thinkpad is dead, long live the Thinkpad X230
    +
    4th July 2013
    +

    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, but today 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 worked flawlessly. As I write +this, it is installing what I hope will be a more final installation, +with a encrypted hard drive to ensure any dope head stealing it end up +with an expencive door stop.

    + +

    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, so I had +to drop number of disks from my search parameters.

    + +

    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. :)

    + +

    I look forward to figuring out how to turn off the touch pad.

    - Tags: debian, english, isenkram. + Tags: debian, english.
    @@ -885,31 +705,115 @@ in /sys/ with space in them.

    -
    Moved the pymissile Debian packaging to collab-maint
    -
    10th January 2013
    -

    As part of my investigation on how to improve the support in Debian -for hardware dongles, I dug up my old Mark and Spencer USB Rocket -Launcher and updated the Debian package -pymissile to make -sure udev will fix the device permissions when it is plugged in. I -also added a "Modaliases" header to test it in the Debian archive and -hopefully make the package be proposed by jockey in Ubuntu when a user -plug in his rocket launcher. In the process I moved the source to a -git repository under collab-maint, to make it easier for any DD to -contribute. Upstream -is not very active, but the software still work for me even after five -years of relative silence. The new git repository is not listed in -the uploaded package yet, because I want to test the other changes a -bit more before I upload the new version. If you want to check out -the new version with a .desktop file included, visit the -gitweb -view or use "git clone -git://anonscm.debian.org/collab-maint/pymissile.git".

    +
    Fourth alpha release of Debian Edu/Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy
    +
    3rd July 2013
    +

    The fourth wheezy based alpha release of Debian Edu was wrapped up +today. This is the release announcement:

    + +

    New features for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~alpha3 released +2013-07-03

    + +

    These are the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux +7.1+edu0~alpha3, 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 fourth test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically +this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the +Squeeze release.

    + +

    Software updates

    +
      +
    • Dropped ispell dictionaries from our default installation.
      • +
    • Dropped menu-xdg from the KDE desktop option, to drop the Debian + submenu. It was not included with Gnome, LXDE or Xfce, so this + brings KDE in line with the others.
      • +
    • Dropped xdrawchem, xjig and xsok from our default installation as + they don't have a desktop menu entry and thus won't show up in the + menu now that menu-xdg was removed.
      • +
    • Removed the killer system to kill left behind processes on + multi-user machines, as it was no longer able to understand when a + X display was in use and killed the processes of the active users + too.
      • +
    • Dropped the golearn (from goplay) package as the debtags in wheezy + are too few to make the package useful.
      • +
    +

    Other changes

    +
      +
    • Updated artwork matching http://wiki.debian.org/DebianArt/Themes/Joy +
    • Multi-arch i386/amd64 USB stick ISO available.
      • +
    • Got rid of ispell/wordlist related debconf questions that showed + up for some language options.
      • +
    • Switched to using http.debian.net as APT source by default.
      • +
    • Fixed proxy configuration on Main Server installations.
      • +
    • Changed LTSP setup to ask dpkg to use force-unsafe-io the same way + d-i is doing it.
      • +
    • Made sure root and user passwords were not left behind in the + debconf database after installation on Main Server installations.
      • +
    • Made Roaming Workstation dynamic setup more robust and added draft + script setup-ad-client to hook a Roaming Workstation up to a + Active Directory server instead of a Debian Edu Main Server.
      • +
    • Update system to install needed firmware packages during + installation, to work properly in Wheezy.
      • +
    • Update system to handle hardware quirks (debian-edu-hwsetup).
      • +
    • Corrected PXE installation setup to properly pass selected desktop + and keymap settings to PXE installation clients.
      • +
    • LTSP diskless workstations use sshfs by default, allowing them to + work without adding them to DNS and NIS netgroups for NFS access.
      • +
    +

    Known issues

    +
      +
    • No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv) + available yet (698840).
      • +
    • Artwork not enabled for all desktops.
      • +
    +

    Where to get it

    + +

    To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use

    + + +

    The MD5SUM of this image is: 2b161a99d2a848c376d8d04e3854e30c +
    The SHA1SUM of this image is: 498922e9c508c0a7ee9dbe1dfe5bf830d779c3c8

    + +

    To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use

    + + +

    The MD5SUM of this image is: 25e808e403a4c15dbef1d13c37d572ac +
    The SHA1SUM of this image is: 15ecfc93eb6b4f453b7eb0bc04b6a279262d9721

    + +

    How to report bugs

    + +

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

    - Tags: debian, english, robot. + Tags: debian edu, english.
    @@ -929,7 +833,19 @@ git://anonscm.debian.org/collab-maint/pymissile.git".

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