X-Git-Url: http://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/blobdiff_plain/ed5802d0bfb705e6c621ddccda0a53c725aa83a2..cd840bdd3f0b86f080883f757a7d2dd020e62277:/blog/index.html diff --git a/blog/index.html b/blog/index.html index fb8eeae066..1a7368d446 100644 --- a/blog/index.html +++ b/blog/index.html @@ -20,111 +20,97 @@
-
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:

+
Hvordan bør RFC 822-formattert epost lagres i en NOARK5-database?
+
7th March 2014
+

For noen uker siden ble NXCs fri programvarelisenserte +NOARK5-løsning +presentert hos +NUUG (video +på youtube +foreløbig), og det fikk meg til å titte litt mer på NOARK5, +standarden for arkivhåndtering i det offentlige Norge. Jeg lurer på +om denne kjernen kan være nyttig i et par av mine prosjekter, og for ett +av dem er det mest aktuelt å lagre epost. Jeg klarte ikke finne noen +anbefaling om hvordan RFC 822-formattert epost (aka Internett-epost) +burde lagres i NOARK5, selv om jeg vet at noen arkiver tar +PDF-utskrift av eposten med sitt epostprogram og så arkiverer PDF-en +(eller enda værre, tar papirutskrift og lagrer bildet av eposten som +PDF i arkivet).

+ +

Det er ikke så mange formater som er akseptert av riksarkivet til +langtidsoppbevaring av offentlige arkiver, og PDF og XML er de mest +aktuelle i så måte. Det slo meg at det måtte da finnes en eller annen +egnet XML-representasjon og at det kanskje var enighet om hvilken som +burde brukes, så jeg tok mot til meg og spurte +SAMDOK, en gruppe tilknyttet +arkivverket som ser ut til å jobbe med NOARK-samhandling, om de hadde +noen anbefalinger: + +

+

Hei.

+ +

Usikker på om dette er riktig forum å ta opp mitt spørsmål, men jeg +lurer på om det er definert en anbefaling om hvordan RFC +822-formatterte epost (aka vanlig Internet-epost) bør lages håndteres +i NOARK5, slik at en bevarer all informasjon i eposten +(f.eks. Received-linjer). Finnes det en anbefalt XML-mapping ala den +som beskrives på +<URL: https://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=32074 >? Mitt +mål er at det skal være mulig å lagre eposten i en NOARK5-kjerne og +kunne få ut en identisk formattert kopi av opprinnelig epost ved +behov.

+

+ +

Postmottaker hos SAMDOK mente spørsmålet heller burde stilles +direkte til riksarkivet, og jeg fikk i dag svar derfra formulert av +seniorrådgiver Geir Ivar Tungesvik:

+ +

+

Riksarkivet har ingen anbefalinger når det gjelder konvertering fra +e-post til XML. Det står arkivskaper fritt å eventuelt definere/bruke +eget format. Inklusive da - som det spørres om - et format der det er +mulig å re-etablere e-post format ut fra XML-en. XML (e-post) +dokumenter må være referert i arkivstrukturen, og det må vedlegges et +gyldig XML skjema (.xsd) for XML-filene. Arkivskaper står altså fritt +til å gjøre hva de vil, bare det dokumenteres og det kan dannes et +utrekk ved avlevering til depot.

+ +

De obligatoriske kravene i Noark 5 standarden må altså oppfylles - +etter dialog med Riksarkivet i forbindelse med godkjenning. For +offentlige arkiv er det særlig viktig med filene loependeJournal.xml +og offentligJournal.xml. Private arkiv som vil forholde seg til Noark +5 standarden er selvsagt frie til å bruke det som er relevant for dem +av obligatoriske krav.

+

+ +

Det ser dermed ut for meg som om det er et lite behov for å +standardisere XML-lagring av RFC-822-formatterte meldinger. Noen som +vet om god spesifikasjon i så måte? I tillegg til den omtalt over, +har jeg kommet over flere aktuelle beskrivelser (søk på "rfc 822 +xml", så finner du aktuelle alternativer).

    -
  • Set up cryptsetup to pass TRIM commands to the physical disk - (adding discard to /etc/crypttab)
    • +
  • XML MIME Transformation +protocol (XMTP) fra OpenHealth, sist oppdatert 2001.
    • -
  • 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.
    • +
  • An +XML format for mail and other messages utkast fra IETF datert +2001.
    • -
  • 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.
    • +
  • xMail: +E-mail as XML en artikkel fra 2003 som beskriver python-modulen +rfc822 som gir ut XML-representasjon av en RFC 822-formattert epost.
-

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 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.

+

Finnes det andre og bedre spesifikasjoner for slik lagring? Send +meg en epost hvis du har innspill.

- Tags: debian, english. + Tags: norsk, offentlig innsyn.
@@ -132,54 +118,110 @@ until a solution was found and they wanted the broken disks back.

-
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).

+
Lenker for 2014-02-28
+
28th February 2014
+

Her er noen lenker til tekster jeg har satt pris på å lese de siste +månedene. Det er mye om varsleren Edward Snowden, som burde få all +hjelp, støtte og beskyttelse Norge kan stille opp med for å ha satt +totalitær overvåkning på sakskartet, men også endel annet +tankevekkende og interessant.

+ +
- Tags: debian, english. + Tags: lenker, norsk, personvern.
@@ -187,26 +229,37 @@ exist).

-
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.

+
New home and release 1.0 for netgroup and innetgr (aka ng-utils)
+
22nd February 2014
+

Many years ago, I wrote a GPL licensed version of the netgroup and +innetgr tools, because I needed them in +Skolelinux. I called the project +ng-utils, and it has served me well. I placed the project under the +Hungry Programmer umbrella, and it was maintained in our CVS +repository. But many years ago, the CVS repository was dropped (lost, +not migrated to new hardware, not sure), and the project have lacked a +proper home since then.

+ +

Last summer, I had a look at the package and made a new release +fixing a irritating crash bug, but was unable to store the changes in +a proper source control system. I applied for a project on +Alioth, but did not have time +to follow up on it. Until today. :)

+ +

After many hours of cleaning and migration, the ng-utils project +now have a new home, and a git repository with the highlight of the +history of the project. I published all release tarballs and imported +them into the git repository. As the project is really stable and not +expected to gain new features any time soon, I decided to make a new +release and call it 1.0. Visit the new project home on +https://alioth.debian.org/projects/ng-utils/ +if you want to check it out. The new version is also uploaded into +Debian Unstable.

- Tags: debian, debian edu, english, nuug. + Tags: debian, english.
@@ -214,79 +267,113 @@ wiki page if you plan to join us.

-
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. :)

+
Testing sysvinit from experimental in Debian Hurd
+
3rd February 2014
+

A few days ago I decided to try to help the Hurd people to get +their changes into sysvinit, to allow them to use the normal sysvinit +boot system instead of their old one. This follow up on the +great +Google Summer of Code work done last summer by Justus Winter to +get Debian on Hurd working more like Debian on Linux. To get started, +I downloaded a prebuilt hard disk image from +http://ftp.debian-ports.org/debian-cd/hurd-i386/current/debian-hurd.img.tar.gz, +and started it using virt-manager.

+ +

The first think I had to do after logging in (root without any +password) was to get the network operational. I followed +the +instructions on the Debian GNU/Hurd ports page and ran these +commands as root to get the machine to accept a IP address from the +kvm internal DHCP server:

+ +

+settrans -fgap /dev/netdde /hurd/netdde
+kill $(ps -ef|awk '/[p]finet/ { print $2}')
+kill $(ps -ef|awk '/[d]evnode/ { print $2}')
+dhclient /dev/eth0
+

+ +

After this, the machine had internet connectivity, and I could +upgrade it and install the sysvinit packages from experimental and +enable it as the default boot system in Hurd.

+ +

But before I did that, I set a password on the root user, as ssh is +running on the machine it for ssh login to work a password need to be +set. Also, note that a bug somewhere in openssh on Hurd block +compression from working. Remember to turn that off on the client +side.

+ +

Run these commands as root to upgrade and test the new sysvinit +stuff:

+ +

+cat > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/experimental.list <<EOF
+deb http://http.debian.net/debian/ experimental main
+EOF
+apt-get update
+apt-get dist-upgrade
+apt-get install -t experimental initscripts sysv-rc sysvinit \
+    sysvinit-core sysvinit-utils
+update-alternatives --config runsystem
+

+ +

To reboot after switching boot system, you have to use +reboot-hurd instead of just reboot, as there is not +yet a sysvinit process able to receive the signals from the normal +'reboot' command. After switching to sysvinit as the boot system, +upgrading every package and rebooting, the network come up with DHCP +after boot as it should, and the settrans/pkill hack mentioned at the +start is no longer needed. But for some strange reason, there are no +longer any login prompt in the virtual console, so I logged in using +ssh instead. + +

Note that there are some race conditions in Hurd making the boot +fail some times. No idea what the cause is, but hope the Hurd porters +figure it out. At least Justus said on IRC (#debian-hurd on +irc.debian.org) that they are aware of the problem. A way to reduce +the impact is to upgrade to the Hurd packages built by Justus by +adding this repository to the machine:

+ +

+cat > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hurd-ci.list <<EOF
+deb http://darnassus.sceen.net/~teythoon/hurd-ci/ sid main
+EOF
+

+ +

At the moment the prebuilt virtual machine get some packages from +http://ftp.debian-ports.org/debian, because some of the packages in +unstable do not yet include the required patches that are lingering in +BTS. This is the completely list of "unofficial" packages installed:

+ +

+# aptitude search '?narrow(?version(CURRENT),?origin(Debian Ports))'
+i   emacs                   - GNU Emacs editor (metapackage)
+i   gdb                     - GNU Debugger
+i   hurd-recommended        - Miscellaneous translators
+i   isc-dhcp-client         - ISC DHCP client
+i   isc-dhcp-common         - common files used by all the isc-dhcp* packages
+i   libc-bin                - Embedded GNU C Library: Binaries
+i   libc-dev-bin            - Embedded GNU C Library: Development binaries
+i   libc0.3                 - Embedded GNU C Library: Shared libraries
+i A libc0.3-dbg             - Embedded GNU C Library: detached debugging symbols
+i   libc0.3-dev             - Embedded GNU C Library: Development Libraries and Hea
+i   multiarch-support       - Transitional package to ensure multiarch compatibilit
+i A x11-common              - X Window System (X.Org) infrastructure
+i   xorg                    - X.Org X Window System
+i A xserver-xorg            - X.Org X server
+i A xserver-xorg-input-all  - X.Org X server -- input driver metapackage
+#
+

+ +

All in all, testing hurd has been an interesting experience. :) +X.org did not work out of the box and I never took the time to follow +the porters instructions to fix it. This time I was interested in the +command line stuff.

- Tags: debian, english. + Tags: bootsystem, debian, english.
@@ -294,39 +381,90 @@ fixed. :)

-
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.

+
A fist full of non-anonymous Bitcoins
+
29th January 2014
+

Bitcoin is a incredible use of peer to peer communication and +encryption, allowing direct and immediate money transfer without any +central control. It is sometimes claimed to be ideal for illegal +activity, which I believe is quite a long way from the truth. At least +I would not conduct illegal money transfers using a system where the +details of every transaction are kept forever. This point is +investigated in +USENIX ;login: +from December 2013, in the article +"A +Fistful of Bitcoins - Characterizing Payments Among Men with No +Names" by Sarah Meiklejohn, Marjori Pomarole,Grant Jordan, Kirill +Levchenko, Damon McCoy, Geoffrey M. Voelker, and Stefan Savage. They +analyse the transaction log in the Bitcoin system, using it to find +addresses belong to individuals and organisations and follow the flow +of money from both Bitcoin theft and trades on Silk Road to where the +money end up. This is how they wrap up their article:

+ +

+

"To demonstrate the usefulness of this type of analysis, we turned +our attention to criminal activity. In the Bitcoin economy, criminal +activity can appear in a number of forms, such as dealing drugs on +Silk Road or simply stealing someone else’s bitcoins. We followed the +flow of bitcoins out of Silk Road (in particular, from one notorious +address) and from a number of highly publicized thefts to see whether +we could track the bitcoins to known services. Although some of the +thieves attempted to use sophisticated mixing techniques (or possibly +mix services) to obscure the flow of bitcoins, for the most part +tracking the bitcoins was quite straightforward, and we ultimately saw +large quantities of bitcoins flow to a variety of exchanges directly +from the point of theft (or the withdrawal from Silk Road).

+ +

As acknowledged above, following stolen bitcoins to the point at +which they are deposited into an exchange does not in itself identify +the thief; however, it does enable further de-anonymization in the +case in which certain agencies can determine (through, for example, +subpoena power) the real-world owner of the account into which the +stolen bitcoins were deposited. Because such exchanges seem to serve +as chokepoints into and out of the Bitcoin economy (i.e., there are +few alternative ways to cash out), we conclude that using Bitcoin for +money laundering or other illicit purposes does not (at least at +present) seem to be particularly attractive."

+

+ +

These researches are not the first to analyse the Bitcoin +transaction log. The 2011 paper +"An Analysis of Anonymity in +the Bitcoin System" by Fergal Reid and Martin Harrigan is +summarized like this:

+ +

+"Anonymity in Bitcoin, a peer-to-peer electronic currency system, is a +complicated issue. Within the system, users are identified by +public-keys only. An attacker wishing to de-anonymize its users will +attempt to construct the one-to-many mapping between users and +public-keys and associate information external to the system with the +users. Bitcoin tries to prevent this attack by storing the mapping of +a user to his or her public-keys on that user's node only and by +allowing each user to generate as many public-keys as required. In +this chapter we consider the topological structure of two networks +derived from Bitcoin's public transaction history. We show that the +two networks have a non-trivial topological structure, provide +complementary views of the Bitcoin system and have implications for +anonymity. We combine these structures with external information and +techniques such as context discovery and flow analysis to investigate +an alleged theft of Bitcoins, which, at the time of the theft, had a +market value of approximately half a million U.S. dollars." +

+ +

I hope these references can help kill the urban myth that Bitcoin +is anonymous. It isn't really a good fit for illegal activites. Use +cash if you need to stay anonymous, at least until regular DNA +sampling of notes and coins become the norm. :)

+ +

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

- Tags: debian, english. + Tags: bitcoin, english, personvern, sikkerhet.
@@ -334,115 +472,54 @@ new laptop now. :)

-
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

+
New chrpath release 0.16
+
14th January 2014
+

Coverity is a nice tool to +find problems in C, C++ and Java code using static source code +analysis. It can detect a lot of different problems, and is very +useful to find memory and locking bugs in the error handling part of +the source. The company behind it provide +check of free software projects as +a community service, and many hundred free software projects are +already checked. A few days ago I decided to have a closer look at +the Coverity system, and discovered that the +gnash and +ipmitool +projects I am involved with was already registered. But these are +fairly big, and I would also like to have a small and easy project to +check, and decided to request +checking of the chrpath project. It was +added to the checker and discovered seven potential defects. Six of +these were real, mostly resource "leak" when the program detected an +error. Nothing serious, as the resources would be released a fraction +of a second later when the program exited because of the error, but it +is nice to do it right in case the source of the program some time in +the future end up in a library. Having fixed all defects and added +a +mailing list for the chrpath developers, I decided it was time to +publish a new release. These are the release notes:

+ +

New in 0.16 released 2014-01-14:

-

To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use

-

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

+
  • Fixed all minor bugs discovered by Coverity.
    • +
  • Updated config.sub and config.guess from the GNU project.
    • +
  • Mention new project mailing list in the documentation.
    • -

    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

    +

    You can +download the +new version 0.16 from alioth. Please let us know via the Alioth +project if something is wrong with the new release. The test suite +did not discover any old errors, so if you find a new one, please also +include a test suite check.

    - Tags: debian edu, english. + Tags: chrpath, debian, english.
    @@ -450,70 +527,216 @@ Squeeze release.

    -
    Automatically locate and install required firmware packages on Debian (Isenkram 0.4)
    -
    25th June 2013
    -

    It annoys me when the computer fail to do automatically what it is -perfectly capable of, and I have to do it manually to get things -working. One such task is to find out what firmware packages are -needed to get the hardware on my computer working. Most often this -affect the wifi card, but some times it even affect the RAID -controller or the ethernet card. Today I pushed version 0.4 of the -Isenkram package -including a new script isenkram-autoinstall-firmware handling the -process of asking all the loaded kernel modules what firmware files -they want, find debian packages providing these files and install the -debian packages. Here is a test run on my laptop:

    - -

    -# isenkram-autoinstall-firmware 
-info: kernel drivers requested extra firmware: ipw2200-bss.fw ipw2200-ibss.fw ipw2200-sniffer.fw
-info: fetching http://http.debian.net/debian/dists/squeeze/Contents-i386.gz
-info: locating packages with the requested firmware files
-info: Updating APT sources after adding non-free APT source
-info: trying to install firmware-ipw2x00
-firmware-ipw2x00
-firmware-ipw2x00
-Preconfiguring packages ...
-Selecting previously deselected package firmware-ipw2x00.
-(Reading database ... 259727 files and directories currently installed.)
-Unpacking firmware-ipw2x00 (from .../firmware-ipw2x00_0.28+squeeze1_all.deb) ...
-Setting up firmware-ipw2x00 (0.28+squeeze1) ...
-# 
-

    - -

    When all the requested firmware is present, a simple message is -printed instead:

    - -

    -# isenkram-autoinstall-firmware 
-info: did not find any firmware files requested by loaded kernel modules.  exiting
-# 
-

    - -

    It could use some polish, but it is already working well and saving -me some time when setting up new machines. :)

    - -

    So, how does it work? It look at the set of currently loaded -kernel modules, and look up each one of them using modinfo, to find -the firmware files listed in the module meta-information. Next, it -download the Contents file from a nearby APT mirror, and search for -the firmware files in this file to locate the package with the -requested firmware file. If the package is in the non-free section, a -non-free APT source is added and the package is installed using -apt-get install. The end result is a slightly better working -machine.

    - -

    I hope someone find time to implement a more polished version of -this script as part of the hw-detect debian-installer module, to -finally fix BTS report -#655507. There really is no need to insert USB sticks with -firmware during a PXE install when the packages already are available -from the nearby Debian mirror.

    +
    Debian Edu interview: Dominik George
    +
    25th December 2013
    +

    The Debian Edu / Skolelinux +project consist of both newcomers and old timers, and this time I +was able to get an interview with a newcomer in the project who showed +up on the IRC channel a few weeks ago to let us know about his +successful installation of Debian Edu Wheezy in his School. Say hello +to Dominik +George.

    + + + +

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

    + +

    I am a 23 year-old student from Germany who has spent half of his +life with open source. In "real life", I am, as already mentioned, a +student in the fields of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, +Information Technologies and Anglistics. Due to my (only partially +voluntary) huge engagement in the open source world, these things are +a bit vacant right now however.

    + +

    I also have been working as a project teacher at a Gymasnium +(public school) for various years now. I took up that work some time +around 2005 when still attending that school myself and have continued +it until today. I also had been running the (kind of very advanced) +network of that school together with a team of very interested and +talented students in the age of 11 to 15 years, who took the chance to +learn a lot about open source and networking before I left the school +to help building another school's informational education concept from +scratch.

    + +

    That said, one might see me as a kind of "glue" between school kids +and the elderly of teachers as well as between the open source +ecosystem and the (even more complex) educational ecosystem.

    + +

    When I am not busy with open source or education, I like Geocaching +and cycling.

    + +

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

    + +

    I think that happened some time around 2009 when I first attended +FrOSCon and visited the project +booth. I think I wasn't too interested back then because I used to +have an attitude of disliking software that does too much stuff on its +own. Maybe I was too inexperienced to realise the upsides of an +"out-of-the-box" solution ;).

    + +

    The first time I actively talked to Skolelinux people was at +OpenRheinRuhr 2011 when the +BiscuIT project, a home-grewn software used by my school for various +really cool things from timetables and class contact lists to lunch +ordering, student ID card printing and project elections first got to +a stage where it could have been published. I asked the Skolelinux +guys running the booth if the project were interested in it and gave a +small demonstration, but there wasn't any real feedback and the guys +seemed rather uninterested.

    + +

    After I left the school where I developed the software, it got +mostly lost, but I am now reimplementing it for my new school. I have +reusability and compatibility in mind, and I hop there will be a new +basis for contributing it to the Skolelinux project ;)!

    + +

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

    + +

    The most important advantage seems to be that it "just +works". After overcoming some minor (but still very annoying) glitches +in the installer, I got a fully functional, working school network, +without the month-long hassle I experienced when setting all that up +from scratch in earlier years. And above that, it rocked - I didn't +have any real hardware at hand, because the school was just founded +and has no money whatsoever, so I installed a combined server (main +server, terminal services and workstation) in a VM on my personal +notebook, bridging the LTSP network interface to the ethernet port, +and then PXE-booted the Windows notebooks that were lying around from +it. I could use 8 clients without any performance issues, by using a +tiny little VM on a tiny little notebook. I think that's enough to say +that it rocks!

    + +

    Secondly, there are marketing reasons. Life's bad, and so no +politician will ever permit a setup described as "Debian, an universal +operating system, with some really cool educational tools" while they +will be jsut fine with "Skolelinux, a single-purpose solution for your +school network", even if both turn out to be the very same thing (yes, +this is unfair towards the Skolelinux project, and must not be taken +too seriously - you get the idea, anyway).

    + +

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

    + +

    I have not been involved with Skolelinux long enough to really +answer this question in a fair way. Thus, please allow me to put it in +other words: "What do you expect from Skolelinux to keep liking it?" I +can list a few points about that:

    + +
      + +
    • always strive to get all things integrated into Debian upstream +
    • be open to discussion about changes and the like, even with newcomers +
    • be helpful at being helpful ;) + +
    + +

    I'm really sorry I cannot say much more about that :(!

    + +

    Which free software do you use daily?

    + +

    First of all, all software I use is free and open. I have abandoned +all non-free software (except for firmware on my darned phone) this +year.

    + +

    I run Debian GNU/Linux on all PC systems I use. On that, I mostly +run text tools. I use +mksh as shell, +jupp as very advanced +text editor (I even got the developer to help me write a script/macro +based full-featured student management software with the two), +mcabber for XMPP and +irssi for IRC. For that overly +coloured world called the WWW, I use +Iceweasel +(Firefox). Oh, and mutt for +e-mail.

    + +

    However, while I am personally aware of the fact that text tools +are more efficient and powerful than anything else, I also use (or at +least operate) some tools that are suitable to bring open source to +kids. One of these things is Jappix, +which I already introduced to some kids even before they got aware of +Facebook, making them see for themselves that they do not need +Facebook now ;).

    + +

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

    + +

    Well, that's a two-sided thing. One side is what I believe, and one +side is what I have experienced.

    + +

    I believe that the right strategy is showing them the benefits. But +that won't work out as long as the acceptance of free alternatives +grows globally. What I mean is that if all the kids are almost forced +to use Windows, Facebook, Skype, you name it at home, they will not +see why they would want to use alternatives at school. I have seen +students take seat in front of a fully-functional, modern Debian +desktop that could do anything their Windows at home could do, and +they jsut refused to use it because "Linux sucks". It is something +that makes the council of our city spend around 600000 € to buy +software - not including hardware, mind you - for operating school +networks, and for installing a system that, as has been proved, does +not work. For those of you readers who are good at maths, have you +already found out how many lives could have been saved with that money +if we had instead used it to bring education to parts of the world +that need it? I have, and found it to be nothing less dramatic than +plain criminal.

    + +

    That said, the only feasible way appears to be the bottom up +method. We have to bring free software to kids and parents. I have +founded an association named +Teckids here in Germany that does +just that. We organise several events for kids and adolescents in the +area of free and open source software, for example the +FrogLabs, which share staff with +Teckids and are the youth programme of +the Free and Open Source Software +Conference (FrOSCon). We do a lot more than most other conferences +- this year, we first offered the FrogLabs as a holiday camp for kids +aged 10 to 16. It was a huge success, with approx. 30 kids taking part +and learning with and about free software through a whole weekend. All +of us had a lot of fun, and the results were really exciting.

    + +

    Apart from that, we are preparing a campaign that is supposed to bring +the message of free alternatives to stuff kids use every day to them and +their parents, e.g. the use of Jabber / Jappix instead of Facebook and +Skype. To make that possible, we are planning to get together a team of +clever kids who understand very well what their peers need and can bring +it across to them. So we will have a peer-driven network of adolescents +who teach each other and collect feedback from the community of minors. +We then take that feedback and our own experience to work closely with +open source projects, such as Skolelinux or Jappix, at improving their +software in a way that makes it more and more attractive for the target +group. At least I hope that we will have good cooperation with +Skolelinux in the future ;)!

    + +

    So in conclusion, what I believe is that, if it weren't for the world +being so bad, it should be very clear to the political decision makers +that the only way to go nowadays is free software for various reasons, +but I have learnt that the only way that seems to work is bottom up.

    + +
    - Tags: debian, english, isenkram. + Tags: debian edu, english, intervju.
    @@ -521,50 +744,44 @@ from the nearby Debian mirror.

    -
    The value of a good distro wide test suite...
    -
    22nd June 2013
    -

    In the Debian Edu / -Skolelinux project, we include a post-installation test suite, -which check that services are running, working, and return the -expected results. It runs automatically just after the first boot on -test installations (using test ISOs), but not on production -installations (using non-test ISOs). It test that the LDAP service is -operating, Kerberos is responding, DNS is replying, file systems are -online resizable, etc, etc. And it check that the PXE service is -configured, which is the topic of this post.

    - -

    The last week I've fixed the DVD and USB stick ISOs for our Debian -Edu Wheezy release. These ISOs are supposed to be able to install a -complete system without any Internet connection, but for that to -happen all the needed packages need to be on them. Thanks to our test -suite, I discovered that we had forgotten to adjust our PXE setup to -cope with the new names and paths used by the netboot d-i packages. -When Internet connectivity was available, the installer fall back to -using wget to fetch d-i boot images, but when offline it require -working packages to get it working. And ad the packages changed name -from debian-installer-6.0-netboot-$arch to -debian-installer-7.0-netboot-$arch, we no longer pulled in the -packages during installation. Without our test suite, I suspect we -would never have discovered this before release. Now it is fixed -right after we got the ISOs operational.

    - -

    Another by-product of the test suite is that we can ask system -administrators with problems getting Debian Edu to work, to run the -test suite using /usr/sbin/debian-edu-test-install and see if -any errors are detected. This usually pinpoint the subsystem causing -the problem.

    - -

    If you want to help us help kids learn how to share and create, -please join us on -#debian-edu on -irc.debian.org and the -debian-edu@ mailing -list.

    +
    Dugnadsnett for alle stiller på Oslo Maker Faire i januar 2014
    +
    10th December 2013
    +

    Helga 18. og 19. januar 2014 arrangeres +Oslo Maker +Faire, og Dugnadsnett for +alle har fått plass! Planen er å ha et bord med en plakat der vi +forteller om hva Dugnadsnett for alle er for noe, og et lite verksted +der vi hjelper folk som er interessert i å få opp sin egen mesh-node. +Jeg gleder meg til å se hvordan prosjektet blir mottatt der.

    + +

    Målet med dugnadsnett for alle i Oslo er å få på plass et datanett +for kommunikasjon ved hjelp av radio-repeaterstasjoner (kalt +mesh-noder) som gjør at en kan direkte kommunisere med slekt, venner +og bekjente i Oslo via andre som deltar i dugnadsnettet, samt gjøre +det mulig komme ut på internett via dugnadsnettet. Første delmål er å +kunne sende SMS-meldinger vha. IP-telefoni løsningen +Serval project mellom +deltagerne i Dugnadsnett for alle i Oslo. Formålet er å ta tilbake +kontrollen over egen nett-infrastruktur og gjøre det dyrere å bedrive +massiv innsamling av informasjon om borgernes bruk av datanett.

    + +

    Høres dette interessant ut? Bli med på prosjektet, fortell oss +hvor du kunne tenke deg å sette opp en radio-repeater (slik at folk i +nærheten kan finne hverandre ved hjelp av +kartet over planlagte og +eksisterende radio-repeatere), bli med på epostlisten +dugnadsnett +(at) nuug.no og stikk innom +IRC-kanalen +#dugnadsnett.no. Så langt er det planlagt over 40 +radio-repeatere, med VPN-forbindelser via Internet for å la de delene +av nettet som ikke når hverandre via radio kunne snakke med hverandre +likevel.

    - Tags: debian edu, english. + Tags: mesh network, norsk, nuug.
    @@ -572,138 +789,124 @@ list.

    -
    Debian Edu interview: Victor Nițu
    -
    17th June 2013
    -

    The Debian Edu and -Skolelinux distribution have users and contributors all around the -globe. And a while back, an enterprising young man showed up on -our IRC channel -#debian-edu and started asking questions about how Debian Edu -worked. We answered as good as we could, and even convinced him to -help us with translations. And today I managed to get an interview -with him, to learn more about him.

    +
    Debian Edu interview: Klaus Knopper
    +
    6th December 2013
    +

    It has been a while since I managed to publish the last interview, +but the Debian Edu / +Skolelinux community is still going strong, and yesterday we even +had a new school administrator show up on +#debian-edu to share +his success story with installing Debian Edu at their school. This +time I have been able to get some helpful comments from the creator of +Knoppix, Klaus Knopper, who was involved in a Skolelinux project in +Germany a few years ago.

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

    -

    I'm a 25 year old free software enthusiast, living in Romania, -which is also my country of origin. Back in 2009, at a New Year's Eve -party, I had a very nice beer discussion with a -friend, when we realized we have no organised Debian community in our -country. A few days later, we put together the infrastructure for such -community and even gathered a nice Debian-ish crowd. Since then, I -began my quest as a free software hacker and activist and I am -constantly trying to cover as much ground as possible on that -field.

    - -

    A few years ago I founded a small web development company, which -provided me the flexible schedule I needed so much for my -activities. For the last 13 months, I have been the Technical Director -of Fundația Ceata, which is a free -software activist organisation endorsed by the FSF and the FSFE, and -the only one we have in our country.

    +

    I am Klaus Knopper. I have a master degree in electrical +engineering, and is currently professor in information management at +the university of applied sciences Kaiserslautern / Germany and +freelance Open Source software developer and consultant.

    + +

    All of this is pretty much of the work I spend my days with. Apart +from teaching, I'm also conducting some more or less experimental +projects like the Knoppix GNU/Linux live +system (Debian-based like Skolelinux), +ADRIANE +(a blind-friendly talking desktop system) and +LINBO +(Linux-based network boot console, a fast remote install and repair +system supporting various operating systems).

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

    -

    The idea of participating in the Debian Edu project was a surprise -even to me, since I never used it before I began getting involved in -it. This year I had a great opportunity to deliver a talk on -educational software, and I knew immediately where to look. It was a -love at first sight, since I was previously involved with some of the -technologies the project incorporates, and I rapidly found a lot of -ways to contribute.

    - -

    My first contributions consisted in translating the installer and -configuration dialogs, then I found some bugs to squash (I still -haven't fixed them yet though), and I even got my eyes on some other -areas where I can prove myself helpful. Since the appetite for free -software in my country is pretty low, I'll be happy to be the first -one around here advocating for the project's adoption in educational -environments, and maybe even get my hands dirty in creating a flavour -for our own needs. I am not used to make very advanced plannings, so -from now on, time will tell what I'll be doing next, but I think I -have a pretty consistent starting point.

    - -

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

    The credit for this have to go to Kurt Gramlich, who is the German +coordinator for Skolelinux. We were looking for an all-in-one open +source community-supported distribution for schools, and Kurt +introduced us to Skolelinux for this purpose.

    + +

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

    -

    Not a long time ago, I was in the position of configuring and -maintaining a LDAP server on some Debian derivative, and I must say it -took me a while. A long time ago, I was maintaining a bigger -Samba-powered infrastructure, and I must say I spent quite a lot of -time on it. I have similar stories about many of the services included -with Skolelinux, and the main advantage I see about it is the -out-of-the box availability of them, making it quite competitive when -it comes to managing a school's network, for example.

    - -

    Of course, there is more to say about Skolelinux than the -availability of the software included, its flexibility in various -scenarios is something I can't wait to experiment "into the wild" (I -only played with virtual machines so far). And I am sure there is a -lot more I haven't discovered yet about it, being so new within the -project.

    +
      +
    • Quick installation,
      • +
    • works (almost) out of the box,
      • +
    • contains many useful software packages for teaching and learning,
      • +
    • is a purely community-based distro and not controlled by a + single company,
      • +
    • has a large number of supporters and teachers who share their + experience and problem solutions.
      • +

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

    -

    As usual, when it comes to Debian Blends, I see as the biggest -disadvantage the lack of a numerous team dedicated to the -project. Every day I see the same names in the changelogs, and I have -a constantly fear of the bus factor in this story. I'd like to see -Debian Edu advertised more as an entry point into the Debian -ecosystem, especially amongst newcomers and students. IMHO there are a -lot low-hanging fruits in terms of bug squashing, and enough -opportunities to get the feeling of the Debian Project's dynamics. Not -to mention it's a very fun blend to work on!

    - -

    Derived from the previous statement, is the delay in catching up -with the main Debian release and documentation. This is common though -to all blends and derivatives, but it's an issue we can all work -on.

    +
      +
    • Skolelinux is - as we had to learn - not easily upgradable to + the next version. Opposed to its genuine Debian base, upgrading to + a new version means a full new installation from scratch to get it + working again reliably. + +
    • Skolelinux is based on Debian/stable, and therefore always a + little outdated in terms of program versions compared to Edubuntu or + similar educational Linux distros, which rather use Debian/testing + as their base. + +
    • Skolelinux has some very self-opinionated and stubborn default + configuration which in my opinion adds unnecessary complexity and is + not always suitable for a schools needs, the preset network + configuration is actually a core definition feature of Skolelinux + and not easy to change, so schools sometimes have to change their + network configuration to make it "Skolelinux-compatible". + +
    • Some proposed extensions, which were made available as + contribution, like secure examination mode and lecture material + distribution and collection, were not accepted into the mainline + Skolelinux development and are now not easy to maintain in the + future because of Skolelinux somewhat undeterministic update + schemes.
      • + +
    • Skolelinux has only a very tiny number of base developers + compared to Debian.
      • + +
    + +

    For these reasons and experience from our project, I would now +rather consider using plain Debian for schools next time, until +Skolelinux is more closely integrated into Debian and becomes +upgradeable without reinstallation.

    Which free software do you use daily?

    -

    I can hardly imagine myself spending a day without Vim, since my -daily routine covers writing code and hacking configuration files. I -am a fan of the Awesome window manager (but I also like the -Enlightenment project a lot!), -Claws Mail due to its ease of -use and very configurable behaviour. Recently I fell in love with -Redshift, which helps me -get through the night without headaches. Of course, there is much more -stuff in this bag, but I'll need a blog on my own for doing this!

    +

    GNU/Linux with LXDE desktop, bash for interactive dialog and +programming, texlive for documentation and correspondence, +occasionally LibreOffice for document format conversion. Various +programming languages for teaching.

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

    -

    Well, on this field, I cannot do much more than experiment right -now. So, being far from having a recipe for success, I can only assume -that:

    +

    Strong arguments are

      -
    • schools would like to get rid of proprietary software
      • +
    • Knowledge is free, and so should be methods and tools for + teaching and learning.
      • -
    • students will love the openness of the system, and will want to - experiment with it - maybe we need to harvest the native curiosity - of teenagers more?
      • +
    • Students can learn with and use the same software at school, at + home, and at their working place without running into license or + conversion problems.
      • -
    • there is no "right one" when it comes to strategies, but it would - be useful to have some success stories published somewhere, so - other can get some inspiration from them (I know I'd promote - them!)
      • +
    • Closed source or proprietary software hides knowledge rather + than exposing it, and proprietary software vendors try to bind + customers to certain products. But teachers need to teach + science, not products.
      • -
    • more active promotion - talks, conferences, even small school - lectures can do magical things if they encounter at least one - person interested. Who knows who that person might be? ;-)
      • +
    • If you have everything you for daily work as open source, what + would you need proprietary software for?
    - -

    I also see some problems in getting Skolelinux into schools; for -example, in our country we have a great deal of corruption issues, so -it might be hard(er) to fight against proprietary solutions. Also, -people who relied on commercial software for all their lives, would be -very hard to convert against their will.

    @@ -716,131 +919,33 @@ very hard to convert against their will.

    -
    Debian Edu interview: Jonathan Carter
    -
    12th June 2013
    -

    There is a certain cross-over between the -Debian Edu / Skolelinux -project and the Edubuntu -project, and for example the LTSP packages in Debian are a joint -effort between the projects. One person with a foot in both camps is -Jonathan Carter, which I am now happy to present to you.

    - -

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

    - -

    I'm a South-African free software geek who lives in Cape Town. My -days vary quite a bit since I'm involved in too many things. As I'm -getting older I'm learning how to focus a bit more :)

    - -

    I'm also an Edubuntu contributor and I love when there are -opportunities for the Edubuntu and Debian Edu projects to benefit from -each other.

    - -

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

    - -

    I've been somewhat familiar with the project before, but I think my -first direct exposure to the project was when I met Petter -[Reinholdtsen] and Knut [Yrvin] at the Edubuntu summit in 2005 in -London. They provided great feedback that helped the bootstrapping of -Edubuntu. Back then Edubuntu (and even Ubuntu) was still very new and -it was great getting input from people who have been around longer. I -was also still very excitable and said yes to everything and to this -day I have a big todo list backlog that I'm catching up with. I think -over the years the relationship between Edubuntu and Debian-Edu has -been gradually improving, although I think there's a lot that we could -still improve on in terms of working together on packages. I'm sure -we'll get there one day.

    - -

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

    - -

    Debian itself already has so many advantages. I could go on about -it for pages, but in essence I love that it's a very honest project -that puts its users first with no hidden agendas and also produces -very high quality work.

    - -

    I think the advantage of Debian Edu is that it makes many common -set-up tasks simpler so that administrators can get up and running -with a lot less effort and frustration. At the same time I think it -helps to standardise installations in schools so that it's easier for -community members and commercial suppliers to support.

    - -

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

    - -

    I had to re-type this one a few times because I'm trying to -separate "disadvantages" from "areas that need improvement" (which is -what I originally rambled on about)

    - -

    The biggest disadvantage I can think of is lack of manpower. The -project could do so much more if there were more good contributors. I -think some of the problems are external too. Free software and free -content in education is a no-brainer but it takes some time to catch -on. When you've been working with the same proprietary eco-system for -years and have gotten used to it, it can be hard to adjust to some -concepts in the free software world. It would be nice if there were -more Debian Edu consultants across the world. I'd love to be one -myself but I'm already so over-committed that it's just not possible -currently.

    - -

    I think the best short-term solution to that large-scale problem is -for schools to be pro-active and share their experiences and grow -their skills in-house. I'm often saddened to see how much money -educational institutions spend on 3rd party solutions that they don't -have access to after the service has ended and they could've gotten so -much more value otherwise by being more self-sustainable and -autonomous.

    - -

    Which free software do you use daily?

    - -

    My main laptop dual-boots between Debian and Windows 7. I was -Windows free for years but started dual-booting again last year for -some games which help me focus and relax (Starcraft II in -particular). Gaming support on Linux is improving in leaps and bounds -so I suppose I'll soon be able to regain that disk space :)

    - -

    Besides that I rely on Icedove, Chromium, Terminator, Byobu, irssi, -git, Tomboy, KVM, VLC and LibreOffice. Recently I've been torn on -which desktop environment I like and I'm taking some refuge in Xfce -while I figure that out. I like tools that keep things simple. I enjoy -Python and shell scripting. I went to an Arduino workshop recently and -it was awesome seeing how easy and simple the IDE software was to get -up and running in Debian compared to the users running Windows and OS -X.

    - -

    I also use mc which some people frown upon slightly. I got used to -using Norton Commander in the early 90's and it stuck (I think the -people who sneer at it is just jealous that they don't know how to use -it :p) - -

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

    - -

    I think trying to force it is unproductive. I also think that in -many cases it's appropriate for schools to use non-free systems and I -don't think that there's any particular moral or ethical problem with -that.

    - -

    I do think though that free software can already solve so so many -problems in educational institutions and it's just a shame not taking -advantage of that.

    - -

    I also think that some curricula need serious review. For example, -some areas of the world rely heavily on very specific versions of MS -Office, teaching students to parrot menu items instead of learning the -general concepts. I think that's very unproductive because firstly, MS -Office's interface changes drastically every few years and on top of -that it also locks in a generation to a product that might not be the -best solution for them.

    - -

    To answer your question, I believe that the right strategy is to -educate and inform, giving someone the information they require to -make a decision that would work for them.

    +
    Dugnadsnett for alle, a wireless community network in Oslo, take shape
    +
    30th November 2013
    +

    If you want the ability to electronically communicate directly with +your neighbors and friends using a network controlled by your peers in +stead of centrally controlled by a few corporations, or would like to +experiment with interesting network technology, the +Dugnasnett for alle i Oslo +might be project for you. 39 mesh nodes are currently being planned, +in the freshly started initiative from NUUG and Hackeriet to create a +wireless community network. The work is inspired by +Freifunk, +Athens Wireless Metropolitan +Network, Roofnet +and other successful mesh networks around the globe. Two days ago we +held a workshop to try to get people started on setting up their own +mesh node, and there we decided to create a new mailing list +dugnadsnett +(at) nuug.no and IRC channel +#dugnadsnett.no to +coordinate the work. See also the NUUG blog post +announcing +the mailing list and IRC channel.

    - Tags: debian edu, english, intervju. + Tags: english, mesh network, nuug.
    @@ -855,6 +960,17 @@ make a decision that would work for them.

    Archive