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  13  <h1>
  14      <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/">Petter Reinholdtsen</a>
  15
  16  </h1>
  17
  18 </div>
  19
  20
  21     <h3>Entries tagged "debian".</h3>
  22
  23     <div class="entry">
  24       <div class="title">
  25         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Coz_profiler_for_multi_threaded_software_is_now_in_Debian.html">Coz profiler for multi-threaded software is now in Debian</a>
  26       </div>
  27       <div class="date">
  28         13th November 2016
  29       </div>
  30       <div class="body">
  31         <p><a href="http://coz-profiler.org/">The Coz profiler</a>, a nice
  32 profiler able to run benchmarking experiments on the instrumented
  33 multi-threaded program, finally
  34 <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/coz-profiler">made it into
  35 Debian unstable yesterday</A>.  Lluís Vilanova and I have spent many
  36 months since
  37 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Coz_can_help_you_find_bottlenecks_in_multi_threaded_software___nice_free_software.html">I
  38 blogged about the coz tool</a> in August working with upstream to make
  39 it suitable for Debian.  There are still issues with clang
  40 compatibility, inline assembly only working x86 and minimized
  41 JavaScript libraries.</p>
  42
  43 <p>To test it, install 'coz-profiler' using apt and run it like this:</p>
  44
  45 <p><blockquote>
  46 <tt>coz run --- /path/to/binary-with-debug-info</tt>
  47 </blockquote></p>
  48
  49 <p>This will produce a profile.coz file in the current working
  50 directory with the profiling information.  This is then given to a
  51 JavaScript application provided in the package and available from
  52 <a href="http://plasma-umass.github.io/coz/">a project web page</a>.
  53 To start the local copy, invoke it in a browser like this:</p>
  54
  55 <p><blockquote>
  56 <tt>sensible-browser /usr/share/coz-profiler/viewer/index.htm</tt>
  57 </blockquote></p>
  58
  59 <p>See the project home page and the
  60 <a href="https://www.usenix.org/publications/login/summer2016/curtsinger">USENIX
  61 ;login: article on Coz</a> for more information on how it is
  62 working.</p>
  63
  64       </div>
  65       <div class="tags">
  66
  67
  68         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
  69
  70
  71       </div>
  72     </div>
  73     <div class="padding"></div>
  74
  75     <div class="entry">
  76       <div class="title">
  77         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/My_own_self_balancing_Lego_Segway.html">My own self balancing Lego Segway</a>
  78       </div>
  79       <div class="date">
  80          4th November 2016
  81       </div>
  82       <div class="body">
  83         <p>A while back I received a Gyro sensor for the NXT
  84 <a href="mindstorms.lego.com">Mindstorms</a> controller as a birthday
  85 present.  It had been on my wishlist for a while, because I wanted to
  86 build a Segway like balancing lego robot.  I had already built
  87 <a href="http://www.nxtprograms.com/NXT2/segway/">a simple balancing
  88 robot</a> with the kids, using the light/color sensor included in the
  89 NXT kit as the balance sensor, but it was not working very well.  It
  90 could balance for a while, but was very sensitive to the light
  91 condition in the room and the reflective properties of the surface and
  92 would fall over after a short while.  I wanted something more robust,
  93 and had
  94 <a href="https://www.hitechnic.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=NGY1044">the
  95 gyro sensor from HiTechnic</a> I believed would solve it on my
  96 wishlist for some years before it suddenly showed up as a gift from my
  97 loved ones. :)</p>
  98
  99 <p>Unfortunately I have not had time to sit down and play with it
 100 since then.  But that changed some days ago, when I was searching for
 101 lego segway information and came across a recipe from HiTechnic for
 102 building
 103 <a href="http://www.hitechnic.com/blog/gyro-sensor/htway/">the
 104 HTWay</a>, a segway like balancing robot.  Build instructions and
 105 <a href="https://www.hitechnic.com/upload/786-HTWayC.nxc">source
 106 code</a> was included, so it was just a question of putting it all
 107 together.  And thanks to the great work of many Debian developers, the
 108 compiler needed to build the source for the NXT is already included in
 109 Debian, so I was read to go in less than an hour.  The resulting robot
 110 do not look very impressive in its simplicity:</p>
 111
 112 <p align="center"><img width="70%" src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2016-11-04-lego-htway-robot.jpeg"></p>
 113
 114 <p>Because I lack the infrared sensor used to control the robot in the
 115 design from HiTechnic, I had to comment out the last task
 116 (taskControl).  I simply placed /* and */ around it get the program
 117 working without that sensor present.  Now it balances just fine until
 118 the battery status run low:</p>
 119
 120 <p align="center"><video width="70%" controls="true">
 121    <source src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2016-11-04-lego-htway-balancing.ogv" type="video/ogg">
 122 </video></p>
 123
 124 <p>Now we would like to teach it how to follow a line and take remote
 125 control instructions using the included Bluetooth receiver in the NXT.</p>
 126
 127 <p>If you, like me, love LEGO and want to make sure we find the tools
 128 they need to work with LEGO in Debian and all our derivative
 129 distributions like Ubuntu, check out
 130 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LegoDesigners">the LEGO designers
 131 project page</a> and join the Debian LEGO team.  Personally I own a
 132 RCX and NXT controller (no EV3), and would like to make sure the
 133 Debian tools needed to program the systems I own work as they
 134 should.</p>
 135
 136       </div>
 137       <div class="tags">
 138
 139
 140         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot</a>.
 141
 142
 143       </div>
 144     </div>
 145     <div class="padding"></div>
 146
 147     <div class="entry">
 148       <div class="title">
 149         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Experience_and_updated_recipe_for_using_the_Signal_app_without_a_mobile_phone.html">Experience and updated recipe for using the Signal app without a mobile phone</a>
 150       </div>
 151       <div class="date">
 152         10th October 2016
 153       </div>
 154       <div class="body">
 155         <p>In July
 156 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_use_the_Signal_app_if_you_only_have_a_land_line__ie_no_mobile_phone_.html">I
 157 wrote how to get the Signal Chrome/Chromium app working</a> without
 158 the ability to receive SMS messages (aka without a cell phone).  It is
 159 time to share some experiences and provide an updated setup.</p>
 160
 161 <p>The Signal app have worked fine for several months now, and I use
 162 it regularly to chat with my loved ones.  I had a major snag at the
 163 end of my summer vacation, when the the app completely forgot my
 164 setup, identity and keys.  The reason behind this major mess was
 165 running out of disk space.  To avoid that ever happening again I have
 166 started storing everything in <tt>userdata/</tt> in git, to be able to
 167 roll back to an earlier version if the files are wiped by mistake.  I
 168 had to use it once after introducing the git backup.  When rolling
 169 back to an earlier version, one need to use the 'reset session' option
 170 in Signal to get going, and notify the people you talk with about the
 171 problem.  I assume there is some sequence number tracking in the
 172 protocol to detect rollback attacks.  The git repository is rather big
 173 (674 MiB so far), but I have not tried to figure out if some of the
 174 content can be added to a .gitignore file due to lack of spare
 175 time.</p>
 176
 177 <p>I've also hit the 90 days timeout blocking, and noticed that this
 178 make it impossible to send messages using Signal.  I could still
 179 receive them, but had to patch the code with a new timestamp to send.
 180 I believe the timeout is added by the developers to force people to
 181 upgrade to the latest version of the app, even when there is no
 182 protocol changes, to reduce the version skew among the user base and
 183 thus try to keep the number of support requests down.</p>
 184
 185 <p>Since my original recipe, the Signal source code changed slightly,
 186 making the old patch fail to apply cleanly.  Below is an updated
 187 patch, including the shell wrapper I use to start Signal.  The
 188 original version required a new user to locate the JavaScript console
 189 and call a function from there.  I got help from a friend with more
 190 JavaScript knowledge than me to modify the code to provide a GUI
 191 button instead.  This mean that to get started you just need to run
 192 the wrapper and click the 'Register without mobile phone' to get going
 193 now.  I've also modified the timeout code to always set it to 90 days
 194 in the future, to avoid having to patch the code regularly.</p>
 195
 196 <p>So, the updated recipe for Debian Jessie:</p>
 197
 198 <ol>
 199
 200 <li>First, install required packages to get the source code and the
 201 browser you need.  Signal only work with Chrome/Chromium, as far as I
 202 know, so you need to install it.
 203
 204 <pre>
 205 apt install git tor chromium
 206 git clone https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-Desktop.git
 207 </pre></li>
 208
 209 <li>Modify the source code using command listed in the the patch
 210 block below.</li>
 211
 212 <li>Start Signal using the run-signal-app wrapper (for example using
 213 <tt>`pwd`/run-signal-app</tt>).
 214
 215 <li>Click on the 'Register without mobile phone', will in a phone
 216 number you can receive calls to the next minute, receive the
 217 verification code and enter it into the form field and press
 218 'Register'.  Note, the phone number you use will be user Signal
 219 username, ie the way others can find you on Signal.</li>
 220
 221 <li>You can now use Signal to contact others.  Note, new contacts do
 222 not show up in the contact list until you restart Signal, and there is
 223 no way to assign names to Contacts.  There is also no way to create or
 224 update chat groups.  I suspect this is because the web app do not have
 225 a associated contact database.</li>
 226
 227 </ol>
 228
 229 <p>I am still a bit uneasy about using Signal, because of the way its
 230 main author moxie0 reject federation and accept dependencies to major
 231 corporations like Google (part of the code is fetched from Google) and
 232 Amazon (the central coordination point is owned by Amazon).  See for
 233 example
 234 <a href="https://github.com/LibreSignal/LibreSignal/issues/37">the
 235 LibreSignal issue tracker</a> for a thread documenting the authors
 236 view on these issues.  But the network effect is strong in this case,
 237 and several of the people I want to communicate with already use
 238 Signal.  Perhaps we can all move to <a href="https://ring.cx/">Ring</a>
 239 once it <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/830265">work on my
 240 laptop</a>?  It already work on Windows and Android, and is included
 241 in <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/ring">Debian</a> and
 242 <a href="https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ring">Ubuntu</a>, but not
 243 working on Debian Stable.</p>
 244
 245 <p>Anyway, this is the patch I apply to the Signal code to get it
 246 working.  It switch to the production servers, disable to timeout,
 247 make registration easier and add the shell wrapper:</p>
 248
 249 <pre>
 250 cd Signal-Desktop; cat &lt;&lt;EOF | patch -p1
 251 diff --git a/js/background.js b/js/background.js
 252 index 24b4c1d..579345f 100644
 253 --- a/js/background.js
 254 +++ b/js/background.js
 255 @@ -33,9 +33,9 @@
 256          });
 257      });
 258
 259 -    var SERVER_URL = 'https://textsecure-service-staging.whispersystems.org';
 260 +    var SERVER_URL = 'https://textsecure-service-ca.whispersystems.org';
 261      var SERVER_PORTS = [80, 4433, 8443];
 262 -    var ATTACHMENT_SERVER_URL = 'https://whispersystems-textsecure-attachments-staging.s3.amazonaws.com';
 263 +    var ATTACHMENT_SERVER_URL = 'https://whispersystems-textsecure-attachments.s3.amazonaws.com';
 264      var messageReceiver;
 265      window.getSocketStatus = function() {
 266          if (messageReceiver) {
 267 diff --git a/js/expire.js b/js/expire.js
 268 index 639aeae..beb91c3 100644
 269 --- a/js/expire.js
 270 +++ b/js/expire.js
 271 @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 272  ;(function() {
 273      'use strict';
 274 -    var BUILD_EXPIRATION = 0;
 275 +    var BUILD_EXPIRATION = Date.now() + (90 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
 276
 277      window.extension = window.extension || {};
 278
 279 diff --git a/js/views/install_view.js b/js/views/install_view.js
 280 index 7816f4f..1d6233b 100644
 281 --- a/js/views/install_view.js
 282 +++ b/js/views/install_view.js
 283 @@ -38,7 +38,8 @@
 284              return {
 285                  'click .step1': this.selectStep.bind(this, 1),
 286                  'click .step2': this.selectStep.bind(this, 2),
 287 -                'click .step3': this.selectStep.bind(this, 3)
 288 +                'click .step3': this.selectStep.bind(this, 3),
 289 +                'click .callreg': function() { extension.install('standalone') },
 290              };
 291          },
 292          clearQR: function() {
 293 diff --git a/options.html b/options.html
 294 index dc0f28e..8d709f6 100644
 295 --- a/options.html
 296 +++ b/options.html
 297 @@ -14,7 +14,10 @@
 298          &lt;div class='nav'>
 299            &lt;h1>{{ installWelcome }}&lt;/h1>
 300            &lt;p>{{ installTagline }}&lt;/p>
 301 -          &lt;div> &lt;a class='button step2'>{{ installGetStartedButton }}&lt;/a> &lt;/div>
 302 +          &lt;div> &lt;a class='button step2'>{{ installGetStartedButton }}&lt;/a>
 303 +           &lt;br> &lt;a class="button callreg">Register without mobile phone&lt;/a>
 304 +
 305 +         &lt;/div>
 306            &lt;span class='dot step1 selected'>&lt;/span>
 307            &lt;span class='dot step2'>&lt;/span>
 308            &lt;span class='dot step3'>&lt;/span>
 309 --- /dev/null   2016-10-07 09:55:13.730181472 +0200
 310 +++ b/run-signal-app   2016-10-10 08:54:09.434172391 +0200
 311 @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
 312 +#!/bin/sh
 313 +set -e
 314 +cd $(dirname $0)
 315 +mkdir -p userdata
 316 +userdata="`pwd`/userdata"
 317 +if [ -d "$userdata" ] && [ ! -d "$userdata/.git" ] ; then
 318 +    (cd $userdata && git init)
 319 +fi
 320 +(cd $userdata && git add . && git commit -m "Current status." || true)
 321 +exec chromium \
 322 +  --proxy-server="socks://localhost:9050" \
 323 +  --user-data-dir=$userdata --load-and-launch-app=`pwd`
 324 EOF
 325 chmod a+rx run-signal-app
 326 </pre>
 327
 328 <p>As usual, if you use Bitcoin and want to show your support of my
 329 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
 330 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
 331
 332       </div>
 333       <div class="tags">
 334
 335
 336         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>.
 337
 338
 339       </div>
 340     </div>
 341     <div class="padding"></div>
 342
 343     <div class="entry">
 344       <div class="title">
 345         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Isenkram__Appstream_and_udev_make_life_as_a_LEGO_builder_easier.html">Isenkram, Appstream and udev make life as a LEGO builder easier</a>
 346       </div>
 347       <div class="date">
 348          7th October 2016
 349       </div>
 350       <div class="body">
 351         <p><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/isenkram">The Isenkram
 352 system</a> provide a practical and easy way to figure out which
 353 packages support the hardware in a given machine.  The command line
 354 tool <tt>isenkram-lookup</tt> and the tasksel options provide a
 355 convenient way to list and install packages relevant for the current
 356 hardware during system installation, both user space packages and
 357 firmware packages. The GUI background daemon on the other hand provide
 358 a pop-up proposing to install packages when a new dongle is inserted
 359 while using the computer.  For example, if you plug in a smart card
 360 reader, the system will ask if you want to install <tt>pcscd</tt> if
 361 that package isn't already installed, and if you plug in a USB video
 362 camera the system will ask if you want to install <tt>cheese</tt> if
 363 cheese is currently missing.  This already work just fine.</p>
 364
 365 <p>But Isenkram depend on a database mapping from hardware IDs to
 366 package names.  When I started no such database existed in Debian, so
 367 I made my own data set and included it with the isenkram package and
 368 made isenkram fetch the latest version of this database from git using
 369 http.  This way the isenkram users would get updated package proposals
 370 as soon as I learned more about hardware related packages.</p>
 371
 372 <p>The hardware is identified using modalias strings.  The modalias
 373 design is from the Linux kernel where most hardware descriptors are
 374 made available as a strings that can be matched using filename style
 375 globbing.  It handle USB, PCI, DMI and a lot of other hardware related
 376 identifiers.</p>
 377
 378 <p>The downside to the Isenkram specific database is that there is no
 379 information about relevant distribution / Debian version, making
 380 isenkram propose obsolete packages too.  But along came AppStream, a
 381 cross distribution mechanism to store and collect metadata about
 382 software packages.  When I heard about the proposal, I contacted the
 383 people involved and suggested to add a hardware matching rule using
 384 modalias strings in the specification, to be able to use AppStream for
 385 mapping hardware to packages.  This idea was accepted and AppStream is
 386 now a great way for a package to announce the hardware it support in a
 387 distribution neutral way.  I wrote
 388 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Using_appstream_with_isenkram_to_install_hardware_related_packages_in_Debian.html">a
 389 recipe on how to add such meta-information</a> in a blog post last
 390 December.  If you have a hardware related package in Debian, please
 391 announce the relevant hardware IDs using AppStream.</p>
 392
 393 <p>In Debian, almost all packages that can talk to a LEGO Mindestorms
 394 RCX or NXT unit, announce this support using AppStream.  The effect is
 395 that when you insert such LEGO robot controller into your Debian
 396 machine, Isenkram will propose to install the packages needed to get
 397 it working.  The intention is that this should allow the local user to
 398 start programming his robot controller right away without having to
 399 guess what packages to use or which permissions to fix.</p>
 400
 401 <p>But when I sat down with my son the other day to program our NXT
 402 unit using his Debian Stretch computer, I discovered something
 403 annoying.  The local console user (ie my son) did not get access to
 404 the USB device for programming the unit.  This used to work, but no
 405 longer in Jessie and Stretch.  After some investigation and asking
 406 around on #debian-devel, I discovered that this was because udev had
 407 changed the mechanism used to grant access to local devices.  The
 408 ConsoleKit mechanism from <tt>/lib/udev/rules.d/70-udev-acl.rules</tt>
 409 no longer applied, because LDAP users no longer was added to the
 410 plugdev group during login.  Michael Biebl told me that this method
 411 was obsolete and the new method used ACLs instead.  This was good
 412 news, as the plugdev mechanism is a mess when using a remote user
 413 directory like LDAP.  Using ACLs would make sure a user lost device
 414 access when she logged out, even if the user left behind a background
 415 process which would retain the plugdev membership with the ConsoleKit
 416 setup.  Armed with this knowledge I moved on to fix the access problem
 417 for the LEGO Mindstorms related packages.</p>
 418
 419 <p>The new system uses a udev tag, 'uaccess'.  It can either be
 420 applied directly for a device, or is applied in
 421 /lib/udev/rules.d/70-uaccess.rules for classes of devices.  As the
 422 LEGO Mindstorms udev rules did not have a class, I decided to add the
 423 tag directly in the udev rules files included in the packages.  Here
 424 is one example.  For the nqc C compiler for the RCX, the
 425 <tt>/lib/udev/rules.d/60-nqc.rules</tt> file now look like this:
 426
 427 <p><pre>
 428 SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ACTION=="add", ATTR{idVendor}=="0694", ATTR{idProduct}=="0001", \
 429     SYMLINK+="rcx-%k", TAG+="uaccess"
 430 </pre></p>
 431
 432 <p>The key part is the 'TAG+="uaccess"' at the end.  I suspect all
 433 packages using plugdev in their /lib/udev/rules.d/ files should be
 434 changed to use this tag (either directly or indirectly via
 435 <tt>70-uaccess.rules</tt>).  Perhaps a lintian check should be created
 436 to detect this?</p>
 437
 438 <p>I've been unable to find good documentation on the uaccess feature.
 439 It is unclear to me if the uaccess tag is an internal implementation
 440 detail like the udev-acl tag used by
 441 <tt>/lib/udev/rules.d/70-udev-acl.rules</tt>.  If it is, I guess the
 442 indirect method is the preferred way.  Michael
 443 <a href="https://github.com/systemd/systemd/issues/4288">asked for more
 444 documentation from the systemd project</a> and I hope it will make
 445 this clearer.  For now I use the generic classes when they exist and
 446 is already handled by <tt>70-uaccess.rules</tt>, and add the tag
 447 directly if no such class exist.</p>
 448
 449 <p>To learn more about the isenkram system, please check out
 450 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram/">my
 451 blog posts tagged isenkram</a>.</p>
 452
 453 <p>To help out making life for LEGO constructors in Debian easier,
 454 please join us on our IRC channel
 455 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-lego">#debian-lego</a> and join
 456 the <a href="https://alioth.debian.org/projects/debian-lego/">Debian
 457 LEGO team</a> in the Alioth project we created yesterday.  A mailing
 458 list is not yet created, but we are working on it. :)</p>
 459
 460 <p>As usual, if you use Bitcoin and want to show your support of my
 461 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
 462 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
 463
 464       </div>
 465       <div class="tags">
 466
 467
 468         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
 469
 470
 471       </div>
 472     </div>
 473     <div class="padding"></div>
 474
 475     <div class="entry">
 476       <div class="title">
 477         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_draft_Norwegian_Bokm_l_edition_of_The_Debian_Administrator_s_Handbook_now_public.html">First draft Norwegian Bokmål edition of The Debian Administrator's Handbook now public</a>
 478       </div>
 479       <div class="date">
 480         30th August 2016
 481       </div>
 482       <div class="body">
 483         <p>In April we
 484 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_a_Norwegian_Bokm_l_edition_of_The_Debian_Administrator_s_Handbook.html">started
 485 to work</a> on a Norwegian Bokmål edition of the "open access" book on
 486 how to set up and administrate a Debian system.  Today I am happy to
 487 report that the first draft is now publicly available.  You can find
 488 it on <a href="https://debian-handbook.info/get/">get the Debian
 489 Administrator's Handbook page</a> (under Other languages).  The first
 490 eight chapters have a first draft translation, and we are working on
 491 proofreading the content.  If you want to help out, please start
 492 contributing using
 493 <a href="https://hosted.weblate.org/projects/debian-handbook/">the
 494 hosted weblate project page</a>, and get in touch using
 495 <a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/mailman/listinfo/debian-handbook-translators">the
 496 translators mailing list</a>.  Please also check out
 497 <a href="https://debian-handbook.info/contribute/">the instructions for
 498 contributors</a>.  A good way to contribute is to proofread the text
 499 and update weblate if you find errors.</p>
 500
 501 <p>Our goal is still to make the Norwegian book available on paper as well as
 502 electronic form.</p>
 503
 504       </div>
 505       <div class="tags">
 506
 507
 508         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
 509
 510
 511       </div>
 512     </div>
 513     <div class="padding"></div>
 514
 515     <div class="entry">
 516       <div class="title">
 517         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Coz_can_help_you_find_bottlenecks_in_multi_threaded_software___nice_free_software.html">Coz can help you find bottlenecks in multi-threaded software - nice free software</a>
 518       </div>
 519       <div class="date">
 520         11th August 2016
 521       </div>
 522       <div class="body">
 523         <p>This summer, I read a great article
 524 "<a href="https://www.usenix.org/publications/login/summer2016/curtsinger">coz:
 525 This Is the Profiler You're Looking For</a>" in USENIX ;login: about
 526 how to profile multi-threaded programs.  It presented a system for
 527 profiling software by running experiences in the running program,
 528 testing how run time performance is affected by "speeding up" parts of
 529 the code to various degrees compared to a normal run.  It does this by
 530 slowing down parallel threads while the "faster up" code is running
 531 and measure how this affect processing time.  The processing time is
 532 measured using probes inserted into the code, either using progress
 533 counters (COZ_PROGRESS) or as latency meters (COZ_BEGIN/COZ_END).  It
 534 can also measure unmodified code by measuring complete the program
 535 runtime and running the program several times instead.</p>
 536
 537 <p>The project and presentation was so inspiring that I would like to
 538 get the system into Debian.  I
 539 <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=830708">created
 540 a WNPP request for it</a> and contacted upstream to try to make the
 541 system ready for Debian by sending patches.  The build process need to
 542 be changed a bit to avoid running 'git clone' to get dependencies, and
 543 to include the JavaScript web page used to visualize the collected
 544 profiling information included in the source package.
 545 But I expect that should work out fairly soon.</p>
 546
 547 <p>The way the system work is fairly simple.  To run an coz experiment
 548 on a binary with debug symbols available, start the program like this:
 549
 550 <p><blockquote><pre>
 551 coz run --- program-to-run
 552 </pre></blockquote></p>
 553
 554 <p>This will create a text file profile.coz with the instrumentation
 555 information.  To show what part of the code affect the performance
 556 most, use a web browser and either point it to
 557 <a href="http://plasma-umass.github.io/coz/">http://plasma-umass.github.io/coz/</a>
 558 or use the copy from git (in the gh-pages branch).  Check out this web
 559 site to have a look at several example profiling runs and get an idea what the end result from the profile runs look like.  To make the
 560 profiling more useful you include &lt;coz.h&gt; and insert the
 561 COZ_PROGRESS or COZ_BEGIN and COZ_END at appropriate places in the
 562 code, rebuild and run the profiler.  This allow coz to do more
 563 targeted experiments.</p>
 564
 565 <p>A video published by ACM
 566 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE0V-p1odPg">presenting the
 567 Coz profiler</a> is available from Youtube.  There is also a paper
 568 from the 25th Symposium on Operating Systems Principles available
 569 titled
 570 <a href="https://www.usenix.org/conference/atc16/technical-sessions/presentation/curtsinger">Coz:
 571 finding code that counts with causal profiling</a>.</p>
 572
 573 <p><a href="https://github.com/plasma-umass/coz">The source code</a>
 574 for Coz is available from github.  It will only build with clang
 575 because it uses a
 576 <a href="https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=55606">C++
 577 feature missing in GCC</a>, but I've submitted
 578 <a href="https://github.com/plasma-umass/coz/pull/67">a patch to solve
 579 it</a> and hope it will be included in the upstream source soon.</p>
 580
 581 <p>Please get in touch if you, like me, would like to see this piece
 582 of software in Debian.  I would very much like some help with the
 583 packaging effort, as I lack the in depth knowledge on how to package
 584 C++ libraries.</p>
 585
 586       </div>
 587       <div class="tags">
 588
 589
 590         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nice free software">nice free software</a>.
 591
 592
 593       </div>
 594     </div>
 595     <div class="padding"></div>
 596
 597     <div class="entry">
 598       <div class="title">
 599         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Unlocking_HTC_Desire_HD_on_Linux_using_unruu_and_fastboot.html">Unlocking HTC Desire HD on Linux using unruu and fastboot</a>
 600       </div>
 601       <div class="date">
 602          7th July 2016
 603       </div>
 604       <div class="body">
 605         <p>Yesterday, I tried to unlock a HTC Desire HD phone, and it proved
 606 to be a slight challenge.  Here is the recipe if I ever need to do it
 607 again.  It all started by me wanting to try the recipe to set up
 608 <a href="https://blog.torproject.org/blog/mission-impossible-hardening-android-security-and-privacy">an
 609 hardened Android installation</a> from the Tor project blog on a
 610 device I had access to.  It is a old mobile phone with a broken
 611 microphone The initial idea had been to just
 612 <a href="http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_ace">install
 613 CyanogenMod on it</a>, but did not quite find time to start on it
 614 until a few days ago.</p>
 615
 616 <p>The unlock process is supposed to be simple: (1) Boot into the boot
 617 loader (press volume down and power at the same time), (2) select
 618 'fastboot' before (3) connecting the device via USB to a Linux
 619 machine, (4) request the device identifier token by running 'fastboot
 620 oem get_identifier_token', (5) request the device unlocking key using
 621 the <a href="http://www.htcdev.com/bootloader/">HTC developer web
 622 site</a> and unlock the phone using the key file emailed to you.</p>
 623
 624 <p>Unfortunately, this only work fi you have hboot version 2.00.0029
 625 or newer, and the device I was working on had 2.00.0027.  This
 626 apparently can be easily fixed by downloading a Windows program and
 627 running it on your Windows machine, if you accept the terms Microsoft
 628 require you to accept to use Windows - which I do not.  So I had to
 629 come up with a different approach.  I got a lot of help from AndyCap
 630 on #nuug, and would not have been able to get this working without
 631 him.</p>
 632
 633 <p>First I needed to extract the hboot firmware from
 634 <a href="http://www.htcdev.com/ruu/PD9810000_Ace_Sense30_S_hboot_2.00.0029.exe">the
 635 windows binary for HTC Desire HD</a> downloaded as 'the RUU' from HTC.
 636 For this there is is <a href="https://github.com/kmdm/unruu/">a github
 637 project named unruu</a> using libunshield.  The unshield tool did not
 638 recognise the file format, but unruu worked and extracted rom.zip,
 639 containing the new hboot firmware and a text file describing which
 640 devices it would work for.</p>
 641
 642 <p>Next, I needed to get the new firmware into the device.  For this I
 643 followed some instructions
 644 <a href="http://www.htc1guru.com/2013/09/new-ruu-zips-posted/">available
 645 from HTC1Guru.com</a>, and ran these commands as root on a Linux
 646 machine with Debian testing:</p>
 647
 648 <p><pre>
 649 adb reboot-bootloader
 650 fastboot oem rebootRUU
 651 fastboot flash zip rom.zip
 652 fastboot flash zip rom.zip
 653 fastboot reboot
 654 </pre></p>
 655
 656 <p>The flash command apparently need to be done twice to take effect,
 657 as the first is just preparations and the second one do the flashing.
 658 The adb command is just to get to the boot loader menu, so turning the
 659 device on while holding volume down and the power button should work
 660 too.</p>
 661
 662 <p>With the new hboot version in place I could start following the
 663 instructions on the HTC developer web site.  I got the device token
 664 like this:</p>
 665
 666 <p><pre>
 667 fastboot oem get_identifier_token 2>&1 | sed 's/(bootloader) //'
 668 </pre>
 669
 670 <p>And once I got the unlock code via email, I could use it like
 671 this:</p>
 672
 673 <p><pre>
 674 fastboot flash unlocktoken Unlock_code.bin
 675 </pre></p>
 676
 677 <p>And with that final step in place, the phone was unlocked and I
 678 could start stuffing the software of my own choosing into the device.
 679 So far I only inserted a replacement recovery image to wipe the phone
 680 before I start.  We will see what happen next.  Perhaps I should
 681 install <a href="https://www.debian.org/">Debian</a> on it. :)</p>
 682
 683       </div>
 684       <div class="tags">
 685
 686
 687         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
 688
 689
 690       </div>
 691     </div>
 692     <div class="padding"></div>
 693
 694     <div class="entry">
 695       <div class="title">
 696         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_use_the_Signal_app_if_you_only_have_a_land_line__ie_no_mobile_phone_.html">How to use the Signal app if you only have a land line (ie no mobile phone)</a>
 697       </div>
 698       <div class="date">
 699          3rd July 2016
 700       </div>
 701       <div class="body">
 702         <p>For a while now, I have wanted to test
 703 <a href="https://whispersystems.org/">the Signal app</a>, as it is
 704 said to provide end to end encrypted communication and several of my
 705 friends and family are already using it.  As I by choice do not own a
 706 mobile phone, this proved to be harder than expected.  And I wanted to
 707 have the source of the client and know that it was the code used on my
 708 machine.  But yesterday I managed to get it working.  I used the
 709 Github source, compared it to the source in
 710 <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/signal-private-messenger/bikioccmkafdpakkkcpdbppfkghcmihk?hl=en-US">the
 711 Signal Chrome app</a> available from the Chrome web store, applied
 712 patches to use the production Signal servers, started the app and
 713 asked for the hidden "register without a smart phone" form.  Here is
 714 the recipe how I did it.</p>
 715
 716 <p>First, I fetched the Signal desktop source from Github, using
 717
 718 <pre>
 719 git clone https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-Desktop.git
 720 </pre>
 721
 722 <p>Next, I patched the source to use the production servers, to be
 723 able to talk to other Signal users:</p>
 724
 725 <pre>
 726 cat &lt;&lt;EOF | patch -p0
 727 diff -ur ./js/background.js userdata/Default/Extensions/bikioccmkafdpakkkcpdbppfkghcmihk/0.15.0_0/js/background.js
 728 --- ./js/background.js  2016-06-29 13:43:15.630344628 +0200
 729 +++ userdata/Default/Extensions/bikioccmkafdpakkkcpdbppfkghcmihk/0.15.0_0/js/background.js    2016-06-29 14:06:29.530300934 +0200
 730 @@ -47,8 +47,8 @@
 731          });
 732      });
 733
 734 -    var SERVER_URL = 'https://textsecure-service-staging.whispersystems.org';
 735 -    var ATTACHMENT_SERVER_URL = 'https://whispersystems-textsecure-attachments-staging.s3.amazonaws.com';
 736 +    var SERVER_URL = 'https://textsecure-service-ca.whispersystems.org:4433';
 737 +    var ATTACHMENT_SERVER_URL = 'https://whispersystems-textsecure-attachments.s3.amazonaws.com';
 738      var messageReceiver;
 739      window.getSocketStatus = function() {
 740          if (messageReceiver) {
 741 diff -ur ./js/expire.js userdata/Default/Extensions/bikioccmkafdpakkkcpdbppfkghcmihk/0.15.0_0/js/expire.js
 742 --- ./js/expire.js      2016-06-29 13:43:15.630344628 +0200
 743 +++ userdata/Default/Extensions/bikioccmkafdpakkkcpdbppfkghcmihk/0.15.0_0/js/expire.js2016-06-29 14:06:29.530300934 +0200
 744 @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 745  ;(function() {
 746      'use strict';
 747 -    var BUILD_EXPIRATION = 0;
 748 +    var BUILD_EXPIRATION = 1474492690000;
 749
 750      window.extension = window.extension || {};
 751
 752 EOF
 753 </pre>
 754
 755 <p>The first part is changing the servers, and the second is updating
 756 an expiration timestamp.  This timestamp need to be updated regularly.
 757 It is set 90 days in the future by the build process (Gruntfile.js).
 758 The value is seconds since 1970 times 1000, as far as I can tell.</p>
 759
 760 <p>Based on a tip and good help from the #nuug IRC channel, I wrote a
 761 script to launch Signal in Chromium.</p>
 762
 763 <pre>
 764 #!/bin/sh
 765 cd $(dirname $0)
 766 mkdir -p userdata
 767 exec chromium \
 768   --proxy-server="socks://localhost:9050" \
 769   --user-data-dir=`pwd`/userdata --load-and-launch-app=`pwd`
 770 </pre>
 771
 772 <p> The script start the app and configure Chromium to use the Tor
 773 SOCKS5 proxy to make sure those controlling the Signal servers (today
 774 Amazon and Whisper Systems) as well as those listening on the lines
 775 will have a harder time location my laptop based on the Signal
 776 connections if they use source IP address.</p>
 777
 778 <p>When the script starts, one need to follow the instructions under
 779 "Standalone Registration" in the CONTRIBUTING.md file in the git
 780 repository.  I right clicked on the Signal window to get up the
 781 Chromium debugging tool, visited the 'Console' tab and wrote
 782 'extension.install("standalone")' on the console prompt to get the
 783 registration form.  Then I entered by land line phone number and
 784 pressed 'Call'.  5 seconds later the phone rang and a robot voice
 785 repeated the verification code three times.  After entering the number
 786 into the verification code field in the form, I could start using
 787 Signal from my laptop.
 788
 789 <p>As far as I can tell, The Signal app will leak who is talking to
 790 whom and thus who know who to those controlling the central server,
 791 but such leakage is hard to avoid with a centrally controlled server
 792 setup.  It is something to keep in mind when using Signal - the
 793 content of your chats are harder to intercept, but the meta data
 794 exposing your contact network is available to people you do not know.
 795 So better than many options, but not great.  And sadly the usage is
 796 connected to my land line, thus allowing those controlling the server
 797 to associate it to my home and person.  I would prefer it if only
 798 those I knew could tell who I was on Signal.  There are options
 799 avoiding such information leakage, but most of my friends are not
 800 using them, so I am stuck with Signal for now.</p>
 801
 802       </div>
 803       <div class="tags">
 804
 805
 806         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>.
 807
 808
 809       </div>
 810     </div>
 811     <div class="padding"></div>
 812
 813     <div class="entry">
 814       <div class="title">
 815         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_new__best__multimedia_player_in_Debian_.html">The new "best" multimedia player in Debian?</a>
 816       </div>
 817       <div class="date">
 818          6th June 2016
 819       </div>
 820       <div class="body">
 821         <p>When I set out a few weeks ago to figure out
 822 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_is_the_best_multimedia_player_in_Debian_.html">which
 823 multimedia player in Debian claimed to support most file formats /
 824 MIME types</a>, I was a bit surprised how varied the sets of MIME types
 825 the various players claimed support for.  The range was from 55 to 130
 826 MIME types.  I suspect most media formats are supported by all
 827 players, but this is not really reflected in the MimeTypes values in
 828 their desktop files.  There are probably also some bogus MIME types
 829 listed, but it is hard to identify which one this is.</p>
 830
 831 <p>Anyway, in the mean time I got in touch with upstream for some of
 832 the players suggesting to add more MIME types to their desktop files,
 833 and decided to spend some time myself improving the situation for my
 834 favorite media player VLC.  The fixes for VLC entered Debian unstable
 835 yesterday. The complete list of MIME types can be seen on the
 836 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianMultimedia/PlayerSupport">Multimedia
 837 player MIME type support status</a> Debian wiki page.</p>
 838
 839 <p>The new "best" multimedia player in Debian?  It is VLC, followed by
 840 totem, parole, kplayer, gnome-mpv, mpv, smplayer, mplayer-gui and
 841 kmplayer.  I am sure some of the other players desktop files support
 842 several of the formats currently listed as working only with vlc,
 843 toten and parole.</p>
 844
 845 <p>A sad observation is that only 14 MIME types are listed as
 846 supported by all the tested multimedia players in Debian in their
 847 desktop files: audio/mpeg, audio/vnd.rn-realaudio, audio/x-mpegurl,
 848 audio/x-ms-wma, audio/x-scpls, audio/x-wav, video/mp4, video/mpeg,
 849 video/quicktime, video/vnd.rn-realvideo, video/x-matroska,
 850 video/x-ms-asf, video/x-ms-wmv and video/x-msvideo.  Personally I find
 851 it sad that video/ogg and video/webm is not supported by all the media
 852 players in Debian.  As far as I can tell, all of them can handle both
 853 formats.</p>
 854
 855       </div>
 856       <div class="tags">
 857
 858
 859         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
 860
 861
 862       </div>
 863     </div>
 864     <div class="padding"></div>
 865
 866     <div class="entry">
 867       <div class="title">
 868         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_program_should_be_able_to_open_its_own_files_on_Linux.html">A program should be able to open its own files on Linux</a>
 869       </div>
 870       <div class="date">
 871          5th June 2016
 872       </div>
 873       <div class="body">
 874         <p>Many years ago, when koffice was fresh and with few users, I
 875 decided to test its presentation tool when making the slides for a
 876 talk I was giving for NUUG on Japhar, a free Java virtual machine.  I
 877 wrote the first draft of the slides, saved the result and went to bed
 878 the day before I would give the talk.  The next day I took a plane to
 879 the location where the meeting should take place, and on the plane I
 880 started up koffice again to polish the talk a bit, only to discover
 881 that kpresenter refused to load its own data file.  I cursed a bit and
 882 started making the slides again from memory, to have something to
 883 present when I arrived.  I tested that the saved files could be
 884 loaded, and the day seemed to be rescued.  I continued to polish the
 885 slides until I suddenly discovered that the saved file could no longer
 886 be loaded into kpresenter.  In the end I had to rewrite the slides
 887 three times, condensing the content until the talk became shorter and
 888 shorter.  After the talk I was able to pinpoint the problem &ndash;
 889 kpresenter wrote inline images in a way itself could not understand.
 890 Eventually that bug was fixed and kpresenter ended up being a great
 891 program to make slides.  The point I'm trying to make is that we
 892 expect a program to be able to load its own data files, and it is
 893 embarrassing to its developers if it can't.</p>
 894
 895 <p>Did you ever experience a program failing to load its own data
 896 files from the desktop file browser?  It is not a uncommon problem.  A
 897 while back I discovered that the screencast recorder
 898 gtk-recordmydesktop would save an Ogg Theora video file the KDE file
 899 browser would refuse to open.  No video player claimed to understand
 900 such file.  I tracked down the cause being <tt>file --mime-type</tt>
 901 returning the application/ogg MIME type, which no video player I had
 902 installed listed as a MIME type they would understand.  I asked for
 903 <a href="http://bugs.gw.com/view.php?id=382">file to change its
 904 behavour</a> and use the MIME type video/ogg instead.  I also asked
 905 several video players to add video/ogg to their desktop files, to give
 906 the file browser an idea what to do about Ogg Theora files.  After a
 907 while, the desktop file browsers in Debian started to handle the
 908 output from gtk-recordmydesktop properly.</p>
 909
 910 <p>But history repeats itself.  A few days ago I tested the music
 911 system Rosegarden again, and I discovered that the KDE and xfce file
 912 browsers did not know what to do with the Rosegarden project files
 913 (*.rg).  I've reported <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/825993">the
 914 rosegarden problem to BTS</a> and a fix is commited to git and will be
 915 included in the next upload.  To increase the chance of me remembering
 916 how to fix the problem next time some program fail to load its files
 917 from the file browser, here are some notes on how to fix it.</p>
 918
 919 <p>The file browsers in Debian in general operates on MIME types.
 920 There are two sources for the MIME type of a given file.  The output from
 921 <tt>file --mime-type</tt> mentioned above, and the content of the
 922 shared MIME type registry (under /usr/share/mime/).  The file MIME
 923 type is mapped to programs supporting the MIME type, and this
 924 information is collected from
 925 <a href="https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/desktop-entry-spec/">the
 926 desktop files</a> available in /usr/share/applications/.  If there is
 927 one desktop file claiming support for the MIME type of the file, it is
 928 activated when asking to open a given file.  If there are more, one
 929 can normally select which one to use by right-clicking on the file and
 930 selecting the wanted one using 'Open with' or similar.  In general
 931 this work well.  But it depend on each program picking a good MIME
 932 type (preferably
 933 <a href="http://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml">a
 934 MIME type registered with IANA</a>), file and/or the shared MIME
 935 registry recognizing the file and the desktop file to list the MIME
 936 type in its list of supported MIME types.</p>
 937
 938 <p>The <tt>/usr/share/mime/packages/rosegarden.xml</tt> entry for
 939 <a href="http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/shared-mime-info-spec">the
 940 Shared MIME database</a> look like this:</p>
 941
 942 <p><blockquote><pre>
 943 &lt;?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?&gt;
 944 &lt;mime-info xmlns="http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/shared-mime-info"&gt;
 945   &lt;mime-type type="audio/x-rosegarden"&gt;
 946     &lt;sub-class-of type="application/x-gzip"/&gt;
 947     &lt;comment&gt;Rosegarden project file&lt;/comment&gt;
 948     &lt;glob pattern="*.rg"/&gt;
 949   &lt;/mime-type&gt;
 950 &lt;/mime-info&gt;
 951 </pre></blockquote></p>
 952
 953 <p>This states that audio/x-rosegarden is a kind of application/x-gzip
 954 (it is a gzipped XML file).  Note, it is much better to use an
 955 official MIME type registered with IANA than it is to make up ones own
 956 unofficial ones like the x-rosegarden type used by rosegarden.</p>
 957
 958 <p>The desktop file of the rosegarden program failed to list
 959 audio/x-rosegarden in its list of supported MIME types, causing the
 960 file browsers to have no idea what to do with *.rg files:</p>
 961
 962 <p><blockquote><pre>
 963 % grep Mime /usr/share/applications/rosegarden.desktop
 964 MimeType=audio/x-rosegarden-composition;audio/x-rosegarden-device;audio/x-rosegarden-project;audio/x-rosegarden-template;audio/midi;
 965 X-KDE-NativeMimeType=audio/x-rosegarden-composition
 966 %
 967 </pre></blockquote></p>
 968
 969 <p>The fix was to add "audio/x-rosegarden;" at the end of the
 970 MimeType= line.</p>
 971
 972 <p>If you run into a file which fail to open the correct program when
 973 selected from the file browser, please check out the output from
 974 <tt>file --mime-type</tt> for the file, ensure the file ending and
 975 MIME type is registered somewhere under /usr/share/mime/ and check
 976 that some desktop file under /usr/share/applications/ is claiming
 977 support for this MIME type.  If not, please report a bug to have it
 978 fixed. :)</p>
 979
 980       </div>
 981       <div class="tags">
 982
 983
 984         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
 985
 986
 987       </div>
 988     </div>
 989     <div class="padding"></div>
 990
 991     <div class="entry">
 992       <div class="title">
 993         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Isenkram_with_PackageKit_support___new_version_0_23_available_in_Debian_unstable.html">Isenkram with PackageKit support - new version 0.23 available in Debian unstable</a>
 994       </div>
 995       <div class="date">
 996         25th May 2016
 997       </div>
 998       <div class="body">
 999         <p><a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/isenkram">The isenkram
1000 system</a> is a user-focused solution in Debian for handling hardware
1001 related packages.  The idea is to have a database of mappings between
1002 hardware and packages, and pop up a dialog suggesting for the user to
1003 install the packages to use a given hardware dongle.  Some use cases
1004 are when you insert a Yubikey, it proposes to install the software
1005 needed to control it; when you insert a braille reader list it
1006 proposes to install the packages needed to send text to the reader;
1007 and when you insert a ColorHug screen calibrator it suggests to
1008 install the driver for it.  The system work well, and even have a few
1009 command line tools to install firmware packages and packages for the
1010 hardware already in the machine (as opposed to hotpluggable hardware).</p>
1011
1012 <p>The system was initially written using aptdaemon, because I found
1013 good documentation and example code on how to use it.  But aptdaemon
1014 is going away and is generally being replaced by
1015 <a href="http://www.freedesktop.org/software/PackageKit/">PackageKit</a>,
1016 so Isenkram needed a rewrite.  And today, thanks to the great patch
1017 from my college Sunil Mohan Adapa in the FreedomBox project, the
1018 rewrite finally took place.  I've just uploaded a new version of
1019 Isenkram into Debian Unstable with the patch included, and the default
1020 for the background daemon is now to use PackageKit.  To check it out,
1021 install the <tt>isenkram</tt> package and insert some hardware dongle
1022 and see if it is recognised.</p>
1023
1024 <p>If you want to know what kind of packages isenkram would propose for
1025 the machine it is running on, you can check out the isenkram-lookup
1026 program.  This is what it look like on a Thinkpad X230:</p>
1027
1028 <p><blockquote><pre>
1029 % isenkram-lookup
1030 bluez
1031 cheese
1032 fprintd
1033 fprintd-demo
1034 gkrellm-thinkbat
1035 hdapsd
1036 libpam-fprintd
1037 pidgin-blinklight
1038 thinkfan
1039 tleds
1040 tp-smapi-dkms
1041 tp-smapi-source
1042 tpb
1043 %p
1044 </pre></blockquote></p>
1045
1046 <p>The hardware mappings come from several places.  The preferred way
1047 is for packages to announce their hardware support using
1048 <a href="https://www.freedesktop.org/software/appstream/docs/">the
1049 cross distribution appstream system</a>.
1050 See
1051 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram/">previous
1052 blog posts about isenkram</a> to learn how to do that.</p>
1053
1054       </div>
1055       <div class="tags">
1056
1057
1058         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
1059
1060
1061       </div>
1062     </div>
1063     <div class="padding"></div>
1064
1065     <div class="entry">
1066       <div class="title">
1067         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Discharge_rate_estimate_in_new_battery_statistics_collector_for_Debian.html">Discharge rate estimate in new battery statistics collector for Debian</a>
1068       </div>
1069       <div class="date">
1070         23rd May 2016
1071       </div>
1072       <div class="body">
1073         <p>Yesterday I updated the
1074 <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/battery-stats">battery-stats
1075 package in Debian</a> with a few patches sent to me by skilled and
1076 enterprising users.  There were some nice user and visible changes.
1077 First of all, both desktop menu entries now work.  A design flaw in
1078 one of the script made the history graph fail to show up (its PNG was
1079 dumped in ~/.xsession-errors) if no controlling TTY was available.
1080 The script worked when called from the command line, but not when
1081 called from the desktop menu.  I changed this to look for a DISPLAY
1082 variable or a TTY before deciding where to draw the graph, and now the
1083 graph window pop up as expected.</p>
1084
1085 <p>The next new feature is a discharge rate estimator in one of the
1086 graphs (the one showing the last few hours).  New is also the user of
1087 colours showing charging in blue and discharge in red.  The percentages
1088 of this graph is relative to last full charge, not battery design
1089 capacity.</p>
1090
1091 <p align="center"><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2016-05-23-battery-stats-rate.png"/></p>
1092
1093 <p>The other graph show the entire history of the collected battery
1094 statistics, comparing it to the design capacity of the battery to
1095 visualise how the battery life time get shorter over time.  The red
1096 line in this graph is what the previous graph considers 100 percent:
1097
1098 <p align="center"><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2016-05-23-battery-stats-history.png"/></p>
1099
1100 <p>In this graph you can see that I only charge the battery to 80
1101 percent of last full capacity, and how the capacity of the battery is
1102 shrinking. :(</p>
1103
1104 <p>The last new feature is in the collector, which now will handle
1105 more hardware models.  On some hardware, Linux power supply
1106 information is stored in /sys/class/power_supply/ACAD/, while the
1107 collector previously only looked in /sys/class/power_supply/AC/.  Now
1108 both are checked to figure if there is power connected to the
1109 machine.</p>
1110
1111 <p>If you are interested in how your laptop battery is doing, please
1112 check out the
1113 <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/battery-stats">battery-stats</a>
1114 in Debian unstable, or rebuild it on Jessie to get it working on
1115 Debian stable. :) The upstream source is available from <a
1116 href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/battery-stats">github</a>.
1117 Patches are very welcome.</p>
1118
1119 <p>As usual, if you use Bitcoin and want to show your support of my
1120 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
1121 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
1122
1123       </div>
1124       <div class="tags">
1125
1126
1127         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1128
1129
1130       </div>
1131     </div>
1132     <div class="padding"></div>
1133
1134     <div class="entry">
1135       <div class="title">
1136         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_now_with_ZFS_on_Linux_included.html">Debian now with ZFS on Linux included</a>
1137       </div>
1138       <div class="date">
1139         12th May 2016
1140       </div>
1141       <div class="body">
1142         <p>Today, after many years of hard work from many people,
1143 <a href="http://zfsonlinux.org/">ZFS for Linux</a> finally entered
1144 Debian.  The package status can be seen on
1145 <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/zfs-linux">the package tracker
1146 for zfs-linux</a>.  and
1147 <a href="https://qa.debian.org/developer.php?login=pkg-zfsonlinux-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the
1148 team status page</a>. If you want to help out, please join us.
1149 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=pkg-zfsonlinux/zfs.git">The
1150 source code</a> is available via git on Alioth.  It would also be
1151 great if you could help out with
1152 <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/dkms">the dkms package</a>, as
1153 it is an important piece of the puzzle to get ZFS working.</p>
1154
1155       </div>
1156       <div class="tags">
1157
1158
1159         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1160
1161
1162       </div>
1163     </div>
1164     <div class="padding"></div>
1165
1166     <div class="entry">
1167       <div class="title">
1168         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_is_the_best_multimedia_player_in_Debian_.html">What is the best multimedia player in Debian?</a>
1169       </div>
1170       <div class="date">
1171          8th May 2016
1172       </div>
1173       <div class="body">
1174         <p><strong>Where I set out to figure out which multimedia player in
1175 Debian claim support for most file formats.</strong></p>
1176
1177 <p>A few years ago, I had a look at the media support for Browser
1178 plugins in Debian, to get an idea which plugins to include in Debian
1179 Edu.  I created a script to extract the set of supported MIME types
1180 for each plugin, and used this to find out which multimedia browser
1181 plugin supported most file formats / media types.
1182 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/BrowserMultimedia">The
1183 result</a> can still be seen on the Debian wiki, even though it have
1184 not been updated for a while.  But browser plugins are less relevant
1185 these days, so I thought it was time to look at standalone
1186 players.</p>
1187
1188 <p>A few days ago I was tired of VLC not being listed as a viable
1189 player when I wanted to play videos from the Norwegian National
1190 Broadcasting Company, and decided to investigate why.  The cause is a
1191 <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/822245">missing MIME type in the VLC
1192 desktop file</a>.  In the process I wrote a script to compare the set
1193 of MIME types announced in the desktop file and the browser plugin,
1194 only to discover that there is quite a large difference between the
1195 two for VLC.  This discovery made me dig up the script I used to
1196 compare browser plugins, and adjust it to compare desktop files
1197 instead, to try to figure out which multimedia player in Debian
1198 support most file formats.</p>
1199
1200 <p>The result can be seen on the Debian Wiki, as
1201 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianMultimedia/PlayerSupport">a
1202 table listing all MIME types supported by one of the packages included
1203 in the table</a>, with the package supporting most MIME types being
1204 listed first in the table.</p>
1205
1206 </p>The best multimedia player in Debian?  It is totem, followed by
1207 parole, kplayer, mpv, vlc, smplayer mplayer-gui gnome-mpv and
1208 kmplayer.  Time for the other players to update their announced MIME
1209 support?</p>
1210
1211       </div>
1212       <div class="tags">
1213
1214
1215         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>.
1216
1217
1218       </div>
1219     </div>
1220     <div class="padding"></div>
1221
1222     <div class="entry">
1223       <div class="title">
1224         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Pyra___handheld_computer_with_Debian_preinstalled.html">The Pyra - handheld computer with Debian preinstalled</a>
1225       </div>
1226       <div class="date">
1227          4th May 2016
1228       </div>
1229       <div class="body">
1230         A friend of mine made me aware of
1231 <a href="https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/pages/pyra/">The Pyra</a>, a
1232 handheld computer which will be delivered with Debian preinstalled.  I
1233 would love to get one of those for my birthday. :)</p>
1234
1235 <p>The machine is a complete ARM-based PC with micro HDMI, SATA, USB
1236 plugs and many others connectors, and include a full keyboard and a 5"
1237 LCD touch screen.  The 6000mAh battery is claimed to provide a whole
1238 day of battery life time, but I have not seen any independent tests
1239 confirming this.  The vendor is still collecting preorders, and the
1240 last I heard last night was that 22 more orders were needed before
1241 production started.</p>
1242
1243 <p>As far as I know, this is the first handheld preinstalled with
1244 Debian.  Please let me know if you know of any others.  Is it the
1245 first computer being sold with Debian preinstalled?</p>
1246
1247       </div>
1248       <div class="tags">
1249
1250
1251         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1252
1253
1254       </div>
1255     </div>
1256     <div class="padding"></div>
1257
1258     <div class="entry">
1259       <div class="title">
1260         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_a_Norwegian_Bokm_l_edition_of_The_Debian_Administrator_s_Handbook.html">Lets make a Norwegian Bokmål edition of The Debian Administrator's Handbook</a>
1261       </div>
1262       <div class="date">
1263         10th April 2016
1264       </div>
1265       <div class="body">
1266         <p>During this weekends
1267 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/news/Oslo__Takk_for_feilfiksingsfesten.shtml">bug
1268 squashing party and developer gathering</a>, we decided to do our part
1269 to make sure there are good books about Debian available in Norwegian
1270 Bokmål, and got in touch with the people behind the
1271 <a href="http://debian-handbook.info/">Debian Administrator's Handbook
1272 project</a> to get started.  If you want to help out, please start
1273 contributing using
1274 <a href="https://hosted.weblate.org/projects/debian-handbook/">the
1275 hosted weblate project page</a>, and get in touch using
1276 <a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/mailman/listinfo/debian-handbook-translators">the
1277 translators mailing list</a>.  Please also check out
1278 <a href="https://debian-handbook.info/contribute/">the instructions for
1279 contributors</a>.</p>
1280
1281 <p>The book is already available on paper in English, French and
1282 Japanese, and our goal is to get it available on paper in Norwegian
1283 Bokmål too.  In addition to the paper edition, there are also EPUB and
1284 Mobi versions available.  And there are incomplete translations
1285 available for many more languages.</p>
1286
1287       </div>
1288       <div class="tags">
1289
1290
1291         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1292
1293
1294       </div>
1295     </div>
1296     <div class="padding"></div>
1297
1298     <div class="entry">
1299       <div class="title">
1300         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/One_in_two_hundred_Debian_users_using_ZFS_on_Linux_.html">One in two hundred Debian users using ZFS on Linux?</a>
1301       </div>
1302       <div class="date">
1303          7th April 2016
1304       </div>
1305       <div class="body">
1306         <p>Just for fun I had a look at the popcon number of ZFS related
1307 packages in Debian, and was quite surprised with what I found.  I use
1308 ZFS myself at home, but did not really expect many others to do so.
1309 But I might be wrong.</p>
1310
1311 <p>According to
1312 <a href="https://qa.debian.org/popcon.php?package=spl-linux">the popcon
1313 results for spl-linux</a>, there are 1019 Debian installations, or
1314 0.53% of the population, with the package installed.  As far as I know
1315 the only use of the spl-linux package is as a support library for ZFS
1316 on Linux, so I use it here as proxy for measuring the number of ZFS
1317 installation on Linux in Debian.  In the kFreeBSD variant of Debian
1318 the ZFS feature is already available, and there
1319 <a href="https://qa.debian.org/popcon.php?package=zfsutils">the popcon
1320 results for zfsutils</a> show 1625 Debian installations or 0.84% of
1321 the population.  So I guess I am not alone in using ZFS on Debian.</p>
1322
1323 <p>But even though the Debian project leader Lucas Nussbaum
1324 <a href="https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2015/04/msg00006.html">announced
1325 in April 2015</a> that the legal obstacles blocking ZFS on Debian were
1326 cleared, the package is still not in Debian.  The package is again in
1327 the NEW queue.  Several uploads have been rejected so far because the
1328 debian/copyright file was incomplete or wrong, but there is no reason
1329 to give up.  The current status can be seen on
1330 <a href="https://qa.debian.org/developer.php?login=pkg-zfsonlinux-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the
1331 team status page</a>, and
1332 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=pkg-zfsonlinux/zfs.git">the
1333 source code</a> is available on Alioth.</p>
1334
1335 <p>As I want ZFS to be included in next version of Debian to make sure
1336 my home server can function in the future using only official Debian
1337 packages, and the current blocker is to get the debian/copyright file
1338 accepted by the FTP masters in Debian, I decided a while back to try
1339 to help out the team.  This was the background for my blog post about
1340 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Creating__updating_and_checking_debian_copyright_semi_automatically.html">creating,
1341 updating and checking debian/copyright semi-automatically</a>, and I
1342 used the techniques I explored there to try to find any errors in the
1343 copyright file.  It is not very easy to check every one of the around
1344 2000 files in the source package, but I hope we this time got it
1345 right.  If you want to help out, check out the git source and try to
1346 find missing entries in the debian/copyright file.</p>
1347
1348       </div>
1349       <div class="tags">
1350
1351
1352         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1353
1354
1355       </div>
1356     </div>
1357     <div class="padding"></div>
1358
1359     <div class="entry">
1360       <div class="title">
1361         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Full_battery_stats_collector_is_now_available_in_Debian.html">Full battery stats collector is now available in Debian</a>
1362       </div>
1363       <div class="date">
1364         23rd March 2016
1365       </div>
1366       <div class="body">
1367         <p>Since this morning, the battery-stats package in Debian include an
1368 extended collector that will collect the complete battery history for
1369 later processing and graphing.  The original collector store the
1370 battery level as percentage of last full level, while the new
1371 collector also record battery vendor, model, serial number, design
1372 full level, last full level and current battery level.  This make it
1373 possible to predict the lifetime of the battery as well as visualise
1374 the energy flow when the battery is charging or discharging.</p>
1375
1376 <p>The new tools are available in <tt>/usr/share/battery-stats/</tt>
1377 in the version 0.5.1 package in unstable.  Get the new battery level graph
1378 and lifetime prediction by running:
1379
1380 <p><pre>
1381 /usr/share/battery-stats/battery-stats-graph /var/log/battery-stats.csv
1382 </pre></p>
1383
1384 <p>Or select the 'Battery Level Graph' from your application menu.</p>
1385
1386 <p>The flow in/out of the battery can be seen by running (no menu
1387 entry yet):</p>
1388
1389 <p><pre>
1390 /usr/share/battery-stats/battery-stats-graph-flow
1391 </pre></p>
1392
1393 <p>I'm not quite happy with the way the data is visualised, at least
1394 when there are few data points.  The graphs look a bit better with a
1395 few years of data.</p>
1396
1397 <p>A while back one important feature I use in the battery stats
1398 collector broke in Debian.  The scripts in
1399 <tt>/usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/</tt> were no longer executed.  I
1400 suspect it happened when Jessie started using systemd, but I do not
1401 know.  The issue is reported as
1402 <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/818649">bug #818649</a> against
1403 pm-utils.  I managed to work around it by adding an udev rule to call
1404 the collector script every time the power connector is connected and
1405 disconnected.  With this fix in place it was finally time to make a
1406 new release of the package, and get it into Debian.</p>
1407
1408 <p>If you are interested in how your laptop battery is doing, please
1409 check out the
1410 <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/battery-stats">battery-stats</a>
1411 in Debian unstable, or rebuild it on Jessie to get it working on
1412 Debian stable. :) The upstream source is available from
1413 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/battery-stats">github</a>.
1414 As always, patches are very welcome.</p>
1415
1416       </div>
1417       <div class="tags">
1418
1419
1420         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1421
1422
1423       </div>
1424     </div>
1425     <div class="padding"></div>
1426
1427     <div class="entry">
1428       <div class="title">
1429         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Making_battery_measurements_a_little_easier_in_Debian.html">Making battery measurements a little easier in Debian</a>
1430       </div>
1431       <div class="date">
1432         15th March 2016
1433       </div>
1434       <div class="body">
1435         <p>Back in September, I blogged about
1436 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_life_and_death_of_a_laptop_battery.html">the
1437 system I wrote to collect statistics about my laptop battery</a>, and
1438 how it showed the decay and death of this battery (now replaced).  I
1439 created a simple deb package to handle the collection and graphing,
1440 but did not want to upload it to Debian as there were already
1441 <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/battery-stats">a battery-stats
1442 package in Debian</a> that should do the same thing, and I did not see
1443 a point of uploading a competing package when battery-stats could be
1444 fixed instead.  I reported a few bugs about its non-function, and
1445 hoped someone would step in and fix it.  But no-one did.</p>
1446
1447 <p>I got tired of waiting a few days ago, and took matters in my own
1448 hands.  The end result is that I am now the new upstream developer of
1449 battery stats (<a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/battery-stats">available from github</a>) and part of the team maintaining
1450 battery-stats in Debian, and the package in Debian unstable is finally
1451 able to collect battery status using the <tt>/sys/class/power_supply/</tt>
1452 information provided by the Linux kernel.  If you install the
1453 battery-stats package from unstable now, you will be able to get a
1454 graph of the current battery fill level, to get some idea about the
1455 status of the battery.  The source package build and work just fine in
1456 Debian testing and stable (and probably oldstable too, but I have not
1457 tested).  The default graph you get for that system look like this:</p>
1458
1459 <p align="center"><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2016-03-15-battery-stats-graph-example.png" width="70%" align="center"></p>
1460
1461 <p>My plans for the future is to merge my old scripts into the
1462 battery-stats package, as my old scripts collected a lot more details
1463 about the battery.  The scripts are merged into the upstream
1464 battery-stats git repository already, but I am not convinced they work
1465 yet, as I changed a lot of paths along the way.  Will have to test a
1466 bit more before I make a new release.</p>
1467
1468 <p>I will also consider changing the file format slightly, as I
1469 suspect the way I combine several values into one field might make it
1470 impossible to know the type of the value when using it for processing
1471 and graphing.</p>
1472
1473 <p>If you would like I would like to keep an close eye on your laptop
1474 battery, check out the battery-stats package in
1475 <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/battery-stats">Debian</a> and
1476 on
1477 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/battery-stats">github</a>.
1478 I would love some help to improve the system further.</p>
1479
1480       </div>
1481       <div class="tags">
1482
1483
1484         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1485
1486
1487       </div>
1488     </div>
1489     <div class="padding"></div>
1490
1491     <div class="entry">
1492       <div class="title">
1493         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Creating__updating_and_checking_debian_copyright_semi_automatically.html">Creating, updating and checking debian/copyright semi-automatically</a>
1494       </div>
1495       <div class="date">
1496         19th February 2016
1497       </div>
1498       <div class="body">
1499         <p>Making packages for Debian requires quite a lot of attention to
1500 details.  And one of the details is the content of the
1501 debian/copyright file, which should list all relevant licenses used by
1502 the code in the package in question, preferably in
1503 <a href="https://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/copyright-format/1.0/">machine
1504 readable DEP5 format</a>.</p>
1505
1506 <p>For large packages with lots of contributors it is hard to write
1507 and update this file manually, and if you get some detail wrong, the
1508 package is normally rejected by the ftpmasters.  So getting it right
1509 the first time around get the package into Debian faster, and save
1510 both you and the ftpmasters some work..  Today, while trying to figure
1511 out what was wrong with
1512 <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=686447">the
1513 zfsonlinux copyright file</a>, I decided to spend some time on
1514 figuring out the options for doing this job automatically, or at least
1515 semi-automatically.</p>
1516
1517 <p>Lucikly, there are at least two tools available for generating the
1518 file based on the code in the source package,
1519 <tt><a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/debmake">debmake</a></tt>
1520 and <tt><a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/cme">cme</a></tt>.  I'm
1521 not sure which one of them came first, but both seem to be able to
1522 create a sensible draft file.  As far as I can tell, none of them can
1523 be trusted to get the result just right, so the content need to be
1524 polished a bit before the file is OK to upload.  I found the debmake
1525 option in
1526 <a href="http://goofying-with-debian.blogspot.com/2014/07/debmake-checking-source-against-dep-5.html">a
1527 blog posts from 2014</a>.
1528
1529 <p>To generate using debmake, use the -cc option:
1530
1531 <p><pre>
1532 debmake -cc > debian/copyright
1533 </pre></p>
1534
1535 <p>Note there are some problems with python and non-ASCII names, so
1536 this might not be the best option.</p>
1537
1538 <p>The cme option is based on a config parsing library, and I found
1539 this approach in
1540 <a href="https://ddumont.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/improving-creation-of-debian-copyright-file/">a
1541 blog post from 2015</a>.  To generate using cme, use the 'update
1542 dpkg-copyright' option:
1543
1544 <p><pre>
1545 cme update dpkg-copyright
1546 </pre></p>
1547
1548 <p>This will create or update debian/copyright.  The cme tool seem to
1549 handle UTF-8 names better than debmake.</p>
1550
1551 <p>When the copyright file is created, I would also like some help to
1552 check if the file is correct.  For this I found two good options,
1553 <tt>debmake -k</tt> and <tt>license-reconcile</tt>.  The former seem
1554 to focus on license types and file matching, and is able to detect
1555 ineffective blocks in the copyright file.  The latter reports missing
1556 copyright holders and years, but was confused by inconsistent license
1557 names (like CDDL vs. CDDL-1.0).  I suspect it is good to use both and
1558 fix all issues reported by them before uploading.  But I do not know
1559 if the tools and the ftpmasters agree on what is important to fix in a
1560 copyright file, so the package might still be rejected.</p>
1561
1562 <p>The devscripts tool <tt>licensecheck</tt> deserve mentioning.  It
1563 will read through the source and try to find all copyright statements.
1564 It is not comparing the result to the content of debian/copyright, but
1565 can be useful when verifying the content of the copyright file.</p>
1566
1567 <p>Are you aware of better tools in Debian to create and update
1568 debian/copyright file.  Please let me know, or blog about it on
1569 planet.debian.org.</p>
1570
1571 <p>As usual, if you use Bitcoin and want to show your support of my
1572 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
1573 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
1574
1575 <p><strong>Update 2016-02-20</strong>: I got a tip from Mike Gabriel
1576 on how to use licensecheck and cdbs to create a draft copyright file
1577
1578 <p><pre>
1579 licensecheck --copyright -r `find * -type f` | \
1580   /usr/lib/cdbs/licensecheck2dep5 > debian/copyright.auto
1581 </pre></p>
1582
1583 <p>He mentioned that he normally check the generated file into the
1584 version control system to make it easier to discover license and
1585 copyright changes in the upstream source.  I will try to do the same
1586 with my packages in the future.</p>
1587
1588 <p><strong>Update 2016-02-21</strong>: The cme author recommended
1589 against using -quiet for new users, so I removed it from the proposed
1590 command line.</p>
1591
1592       </div>
1593       <div class="tags">
1594
1595
1596         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1597
1598
1599       </div>
1600     </div>
1601     <div class="padding"></div>
1602
1603     <div class="entry">
1604       <div class="title">
1605         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Using_appstream_in_Debian_to_locate_packages_with_firmware_and_mime_type_support.html">Using appstream in Debian to locate packages with firmware and mime type support</a>
1606       </div>
1607       <div class="date">
1608          4th February 2016
1609       </div>
1610       <div class="body">
1611         <p>The <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DEP-11">appstream system</a>
1612 is taking shape in Debian, and one provided feature is a very
1613 convenient way to tell you which package to install to make a given
1614 firmware file available when the kernel is looking for it.  This can
1615 be done using apt-file too, but that is for someone else to blog
1616 about. :)</p>
1617
1618 <p>Here is a small recipe to find the package with a given firmware
1619 file, in this example I am looking for ctfw-3.2.3.0.bin, randomly
1620 picked from the set of firmware announced using appstream in Debian
1621 unstable.  In general you would be looking for the firmware requested
1622 by the kernel during kernel module loading.  To find the package
1623 providing the example file, do like this:</p>
1624
1625 <blockquote><pre>
1626 % apt install appstream
1627 [...]
1628 % apt update
1629 [...]
1630 % appstreamcli what-provides firmware:runtime ctfw-3.2.3.0.bin | \
1631   awk '/Package:/ {print $2}'
1632 firmware-qlogic
1633 %
1634 </pre></blockquote>
1635
1636 <p>See <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/AppStream/Guidelines">the
1637 appstream wiki</a> page to learn how to embed the package metadata in
1638 a way appstream can use.</p>
1639
1640 <p>This same approach can be used to find any package supporting a
1641 given MIME type.  This is very useful when you get a file you do not
1642 know how to handle.  First find the mime type using <tt>file
1643 --mime-type</tt>, and next look up the package providing support for
1644 it.  Lets say you got an SVG file.  Its MIME type is image/svg+xml,
1645 and you can find all packages handling this type like this:</p>
1646
1647 <blockquote><pre>
1648 % apt install appstream
1649 [...]
1650 % apt update
1651 [...]
1652 % appstreamcli what-provides mimetype image/svg+xml | \
1653   awk '/Package:/ {print $2}'
1654 bkchem
1655 phototonic
1656 inkscape
1657 shutter
1658 tetzle
1659 geeqie
1660 xia
1661 pinta
1662 gthumb
1663 karbon
1664 comix
1665 mirage
1666 viewnior
1667 postr
1668 ristretto
1669 kolourpaint4
1670 eog
1671 eom
1672 gimagereader
1673 midori
1674 %
1675 </pre></blockquote>
1676
1677 <p>I believe the MIME types are fetched from the desktop file for
1678 packages providing appstream metadata.</p>
1679
1680       </div>
1681       <div class="tags">
1682
1683
1684         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
1685
1686
1687       </div>
1688     </div>
1689     <div class="padding"></div>
1690
1691     <div class="entry">
1692       <div class="title">
1693         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Creepy__visualise_geotagged_social_media_information___nice_free_software.html">Creepy, visualise geotagged social media information - nice free software</a>
1694       </div>
1695       <div class="date">
1696         24th January 2016
1697       </div>
1698       <div class="body">
1699         <p>Most people seem not to realise that every time they walk around
1700 with the computerised radio beacon known as a mobile phone their
1701 position is tracked by the phone company and often stored for a long
1702 time (like every time a SMS is received or sent).  And if their
1703 computerised radio beacon is capable of running programs (often called
1704 mobile apps) downloaded from the Internet, these programs are often
1705 also capable of tracking their location (if the app requested access
1706 during installation).  And when these programs send out information to
1707 central collection points, the location is often included, unless
1708 extra care is taken to not send the location.  The provided
1709 information is used by several entities, for good and bad (what is
1710 good and bad, depend on your point of view).  What is certain, is that
1711 the private sphere and the right to free movement is challenged and
1712 perhaps even eradicated for those announcing their location this way,
1713 when they share their whereabouts with private and public
1714 entities.</p>
1715
1716 <p align="center"><img width="70%" src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2016-01-24-nice-creepy-desktop-window.png"></p>
1717
1718 <p>The phone company logs provide a register of locations to check out
1719 when one want to figure out what the tracked person was doing.  It is
1720 unavailable for most of us, but provided to selected government
1721 officials, company staff, those illegally buying information from
1722 unfaithful servants and crackers stealing the information.  But the
1723 public information can be collected and analysed, and a free software
1724 tool to do so is called
1725 <a href="http://www.geocreepy.com/">Creepy or Cree.py</a>.  I
1726 discovered it when I read
1727 <a href="http://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/Slik-kan-du-bli-overvaket-pa-Twitter-og-Instagram-uten-a-ane-det-7787884.html">an
1728 article about Creepy</a> in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten i
1729 November 2014, and decided to check if it was available in Debian.
1730 The python program was in Debian, but
1731 <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/creepy">the version in
1732 Debian</a> was completely broken and practically unmaintained.  I
1733 uploaded a new version which did not work quite right, but did not
1734 have time to fix it then.  This Christmas I decided to finally try to
1735 get Creepy operational in Debian.  Now a fixed version is available in
1736 Debian unstable and testing, and almost all Debian specific patches
1737 are now included
1738 <a href="https://github.com/jkakavas/creepy">upstream</a>.</p>
1739
1740 <p>The Creepy program visualises geolocation information fetched from
1741 Twitter, Instagram, Flickr and Google+, and allow one to get a
1742 complete picture of every social media message posted recently in a
1743 given area, or track the movement of a given individual across all
1744 these services.  Earlier it was possible to use the search API of at
1745 least some of these services without identifying oneself, but these
1746 days it is impossible.  This mean that to use Creepy, you need to
1747 configure it to log in as yourself on these services, and provide
1748 information to them about your search interests.  This should be taken
1749 into account when using Creepy, as it will also share information
1750 about yourself with the services.</p>
1751
1752 <p>The picture above show the twitter messages sent from (or at least
1753 geotagged with a position from) the city centre of Oslo, the capital
1754 of Norway.  One useful way to use Creepy is to first look at
1755 information tagged with an area of interest, and next look at all the
1756 information provided by one or more individuals who was in the area.
1757 I tested it by checking out which celebrity provide their location in
1758 twitter messages by checkout out who sent twitter messages near a
1759 Norwegian TV station, and next could track their position over time,
1760 making it possible to locate their home and work place, among other
1761 things.  A similar technique have been
1762 <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/maxseddon/does-this-soldiers-instagram-account-prove-russia-is-covertl">used
1763 to locate Russian soldiers in Ukraine</a>, and it is both a powerful
1764 tool to discover lying governments, and a useful tool to help people
1765 understand the value of the private information they provide to the
1766 public.</p>
1767
1768 <p>The package is not trivial to backport to Debian Stable/Jessie, as
1769 it depend on several python modules currently missing in Jessie (at
1770 least python-instagram, python-flickrapi and
1771 python-requests-toolbelt).</p>
1772
1773 <p>(I have uploaded
1774 <a href="https://screenshots.debian.net/package/creepy">the image to
1775 screenshots.debian.net</a> and licensed it under the same terms as the
1776 Creepy program in Debian.)</p>
1777
1778       </div>
1779       <div class="tags">
1780
1781
1782         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nice free software">nice free software</a>.
1783
1784
1785       </div>
1786     </div>
1787     <div class="padding"></div>
1788
1789     <div class="entry">
1790       <div class="title">
1791         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Always_download_Debian_packages_using_Tor___the_simple_recipe.html">Always download Debian packages using Tor - the simple recipe</a>
1792       </div>
1793       <div class="date">
1794         15th January 2016
1795       </div>
1796       <div class="body">
1797         <p>During his DebConf15 keynote, Jacob Appelbaum
1798 <a href="https://summit.debconf.org/debconf15/meeting/331/what-is-to-be-done/">observed
1799 that those listening on the Internet lines would have good reason to
1800 believe a computer have a given security hole</a> if it download a
1801 security fix from a Debian mirror.  This is a good reason to always
1802 use encrypted connections to the Debian mirror, to make sure those
1803 listening do not know which IP address to attack.  In August, Richard
1804 Hartmann observed that encryption was not enough, when it was possible
1805 to interfere download size to security patches or the fact that
1806 download took place shortly after a security fix was released, and
1807 <a href="http://richardhartmann.de/blog/posts/2015/08/24-Tor-enabled_Debian_mirror/">proposed
1808 to always use Tor to download packages from the Debian mirror</a>.  He
1809 was not the first to propose this, as the
1810 <tt><a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/apt-transport-tor">apt-transport-tor</a></tt>
1811 package by Tim Retout already existed to make it easy to convince apt
1812 to use <a href="https://www.torproject.org/">Tor</a>, but I was not
1813 aware of that package when I read the blog post from Richard.</p>
1814
1815 <p>Richard discussed the idea with Peter Palfrader, one of the Debian
1816 sysadmins, and he set up a Tor hidden service on one of the central
1817 Debian mirrors using the address vwakviie2ienjx6t.onion, thus making
1818 it possible to download packages directly between two tor nodes,
1819 making sure the network traffic always were encrypted.</p>
1820
1821 <p>Here is a short recipe for enabling this on your machine, by
1822 installing <tt>apt-transport-tor</tt> and replacing http and https
1823 urls with tor+http and tor+https, and using the hidden service instead
1824 of the official Debian mirror site.  I recommend installing
1825 <tt>etckeeper</tt> before you start to have a history of the changes
1826 done in /etc/.</p>
1827
1828 <blockquote><pre>
1829 apt install apt-transport-tor
1830 sed -i 's% http://ftp.debian.org/% tor+http://vwakviie2ienjx6t.onion/%' /etc/apt/sources.list
1831 sed -i 's% http% tor+http%' /etc/apt/sources.list
1832 </pre></blockquote>
1833
1834 <p>If you have more sources listed in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/, run
1835 the sed commands for these too.  The sed command is assuming your are
1836 using the ftp.debian.org Debian mirror.  Adjust the command (or just
1837 edit the file manually) to match your mirror.</p>
1838
1839 <p>This work in Debian Jessie and later.  Note that tools like
1840 <tt>apt-file</tt> only recently started using the apt transport
1841 system, and do not work with these tor+http URLs.  For
1842 <tt>apt-file</tt> you need the version currently in experimental,
1843 which need a recent apt version currently only in unstable.  So if you
1844 need a working <tt>apt-file</tt>, this is not for you.</p>
1845
1846 <p>Another advantage from this change is that your machine will start
1847 using Tor regularly and at fairly random intervals (every time you
1848 update the package lists or upgrade or install a new package), thus
1849 masking other Tor traffic done from the same machine.  Using Tor will
1850 become normal for the machine in question.</p>
1851
1852 <p>On <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/FreedomBox">Freedombox</a>, APT
1853 is set up by default to use <tt>apt-transport-tor</tt> when Tor is
1854 enabled.  It would be great if it was the default on any Debian
1855 system.</p>
1856
1857       </div>
1858       <div class="tags">
1859
1860
1861         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
1862
1863
1864       </div>
1865     </div>
1866     <div class="padding"></div>
1867
1868     <div class="entry">
1869       <div class="title">
1870         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/OpenALPR__find_car_license_plates_in_video_streams___nice_free_software.html">OpenALPR, find car license plates in video streams - nice free software</a>
1871       </div>
1872       <div class="date">
1873         23rd December 2015
1874       </div>
1875       <div class="body">
1876         <p>When I was a kid, we used to collect "car numbers", as we used to
1877 call the car license plate numbers in those days.  I would write the
1878 numbers down in my little book and compare notes with the other kids
1879 to see how many region codes we had seen and if we had seen some
1880 exotic or special region codes and numbers.  It was a fun game to pass
1881 time, as we kids have plenty of it.</p>
1882
1883 <p>A few days I came across
1884 <a href="https://github.com/openalpr/openalpr">the OpenALPR
1885 project</a>, a free software project to automatically discover and
1886 report license plates in images and video streams, and provide the
1887 "car numbers" in a machine readable format.  I've been looking for
1888 such system for a while now, because I believe it is a bad idea that the
1889 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_number_plate_recognition">automatic
1890 number plate recognition</a> tool only is available in the hands of
1891 the powerful, and want it to be available also for the powerless to
1892 even the score when it comes to surveillance and sousveillance.  I
1893 discovered the developer
1894 <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/747509">wanted to get the tool into
1895 Debian</a>, and as I too wanted it to be in Debian, I volunteered to
1896 help him get it into shape to get the package uploaded into the Debian
1897 archive.</p>
1898
1899 <p>Today we finally managed to get the package into shape and uploaded
1900 it into Debian, where it currently
1901 <a href="https://ftp-master.debian.org//new/openalpr_2.2.1-1.html">waits
1902 in the NEW queue</a> for review by the Debian ftpmasters.</p>
1903
1904 <p>I guess you are wondering why on earth such tool would be useful
1905 for the common folks, ie those not running a large government
1906 surveillance system?  Well, I plan to put it in a computer on my bike
1907 and in my car, tracking the cars nearby and allowing me to be notified
1908 when number plates on my watch list are discovered.  Another use case
1909 was suggested by a friend of mine, who wanted to set it up at his home
1910 to open the car port automatically when it discovered the plate on his
1911 car.  When I mentioned it perhaps was a bit foolhardy to allow anyone
1912 capable of placing his license plate number of a piece of cardboard to
1913 open his car port, men replied that it was always unlocked anyway.  I
1914 guess for such use case it make sense.  I am sure there are other use
1915 cases too, for those with imagination and a vision.</p>
1916
1917 <p>If you want to build your own version of the Debian package, check
1918 out the upstream git source and symlink ./distros/debian to ./debian/
1919 before running "debuild" to build the source.  Or wait a bit until the
1920 package show up in unstable.</p>
1921
1922       </div>
1923       <div class="tags">
1924
1925
1926         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nice free software">nice free software</a>.
1927
1928
1929       </div>
1930     </div>
1931     <div class="padding"></div>
1932
1933     <div class="entry">
1934       <div class="title">
1935         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Using_appstream_with_isenkram_to_install_hardware_related_packages_in_Debian.html">Using appstream with isenkram to install hardware related packages in Debian</a>
1936       </div>
1937       <div class="date">
1938         20th December 2015
1939       </div>
1940       <div class="body">
1941         <p>Around three years ago, I created
1942 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/isenkram">the isenkram
1943 system</a> to get a more practical solution in Debian for handing
1944 hardware related packages.  A GUI system in the isenkram package will
1945 present a pop-up dialog when some hardware dongle supported by
1946 relevant packages in Debian is inserted into the machine.  The same
1947 lookup mechanism to detect packages is available as command line
1948 tools in the isenkram-cli package.  In addition to mapping hardware,
1949 it will also map kernel firmware files to packages and make it easy to
1950 install needed firmware packages automatically.  The key for this
1951 system to work is a good way to map hardware to packages, in other
1952 words, allow packages to announce what hardware they will work
1953 with.</p>
1954
1955 <p>I started by providing data files in the isenkram source, and
1956 adding code to download the latest version of these data files at run
1957 time, to ensure every user had the most up to date mapping available.
1958 I also added support for storing the mapping in the Packages file in
1959 the apt repositories, but did not push this approach because while I
1960 was trying to figure out how to best store hardware/package mappings,
1961 <a href="http://www.freedesktop.org/software/appstream/docs/">the
1962 appstream system</a> was announced.  I got in touch and suggested to
1963 add the hardware mapping into that data set to be able to use
1964 appstream as a data source, and this was accepted at least for the
1965 Debian version of appstream.</p>
1966
1967 <p>A few days ago using appstream in Debian for this became possible,
1968 and today I uploaded a new version 0.20 of isenkram adding support for
1969 appstream as a data source for mapping hardware to packages.  The only
1970 package so far using appstream to announce its hardware support is my
1971 pymissile package.  I got help from Matthias Klumpp with figuring out
1972 how do add the required
1973 <a href="https://appstream.debian.org/html/sid/main/metainfo/pymissile.html">metadata
1974 in pymissile</a>.  I added a file debian/pymissile.metainfo.xml with
1975 this content:</p>
1976
1977 <blockquote><pre>
1978 &lt;?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?&gt;
1979 &lt;component&gt;
1980   &lt;id&gt;pymissile&lt;/id&gt;
1981   &lt;metadata_license&gt;MIT&lt;/metadata_license&gt;
1982   &lt;name&gt;pymissile&lt;/name&gt;
1983   &lt;summary&gt;Control original Striker USB Missile Launcher&lt;/summary&gt;
1984   &lt;description&gt;
1985     &lt;p&gt;
1986       Pymissile provides a curses interface to control an original
1987       Marks and Spencer / Striker USB Missile Launcher, as well as a
1988       motion control script to allow a webcamera to control the
1989       launcher.
1990     &lt;/p&gt;
1991   &lt;/description&gt;
1992   &lt;provides&gt;
1993     &lt;modalias&gt;usb:v1130p0202d*&lt;/modalias&gt;
1994   &lt;/provides&gt;
1995 &lt;/component&gt;
1996 </pre></blockquote>
1997
1998 <p>The key for isenkram is the component/provides/modalias value,
1999 which is a glob style match rule for hardware specific strings
2000 (modalias strings) provided by the Linux kernel.  In this case, it
2001 will map to all USB devices with vendor code 1130 and product code
2002 0202.</p>
2003
2004 <p>Note, it is important that the license of all the metadata files
2005 are compatible to have permissions to aggregate them into archive wide
2006 appstream files.  Matthias suggested to use MIT or BSD licenses for
2007 these files.  A challenge is figuring out a good id for the data, as
2008 it is supposed to be globally unique and shared across distributions
2009 (in other words, best to coordinate with upstream what to use).  But
2010 it can be changed later or, so we went with the package name as
2011 upstream for this project is dormant.</p>
2012
2013 <p>To get the metadata file installed in the correct location for the
2014 mirror update scripts to pick it up and include its content the
2015 appstream data source, the file must be installed in the binary
2016 package under /usr/share/appdata/.  I did this by adding the following
2017 line to debian/pymissile.install:</p>
2018
2019 <blockquote><pre>
2020 debian/pymissile.metainfo.xml usr/share/appdata
2021 </pre></blockquote>
2022
2023 <p>With that in place, the command line tool isenkram-lookup will list
2024 all packages useful on the current computer automatically, and the GUI
2025 pop-up handler will propose to install the package not already
2026 installed if a hardware dongle is inserted into the machine in
2027 question.</p>
2028
2029 <p>Details of the modalias field in appstream is available from the
2030 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DEP-11">DEP-11</a> proposal.</p>
2031
2032 <p>To locate the modalias values of all hardware present in a machine,
2033 try running this command on the command line:</p>
2034
2035 <blockquote><pre>
2036 cat $(find /sys/devices/|grep modalias)
2037 </pre></blockquote>
2038
2039 <p>To learn more about the isenkram system, please check out
2040 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram/">my
2041 blog posts tagged isenkram</a>.</p>
2042
2043       </div>
2044       <div class="tags">
2045
2046
2047         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
2048
2049
2050       </div>
2051     </div>
2052     <div class="padding"></div>
2053
2054     <div class="entry">
2055       <div class="title">
2056         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_GNU_General_Public_License_is_not_magic_pixie_dust.html">The GNU General Public License is not magic pixie dust</a>
2057       </div>
2058       <div class="date">
2059         30th November 2015
2060       </div>
2061       <div class="body">
2062         <p>A blog post from my fellow Debian developer Paul Wise titled
2063 "<a href="http://bonedaddy.net/pabs3/log/2015/11/27/sfc-supporter/">The
2064 GPL is not magic pixie dust</a>" explain the importance of making sure
2065 the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html">GPL</a> is enforced.
2066 I quote the blog post from Paul in full here with his permission:<p>
2067
2068 <blockquote>
2069
2070 <p><a href="https://sfconservancy.org/supporter/"><img src="https://sfconservancy.org/img/supporter-badge.png" width="194" height="90" alt="Become a Software Freedom Conservancy Supporter!" align="right" border="0" /></a></p>
2071
2072 <blockquote>
2073 The GPL is not magic pixie dust. It does not work by itself.<br/>
2074
2075 The first step is to choose a
2076 <a href="https://copyleft.org/">copyleft</a> license for your
2077 code.<br/>
2078
2079 The next step is, when someone fails to follow that copyleft license,
2080 <b>it must be enforced</b><br/>
2081
2082 and its a simple fact of our modern society that such type of
2083 work<br/>
2084
2085 is incredibly expensive to do and incredibly difficult to do.
2086 </blockquote>
2087
2088 <p><small>-- <a href="http://ebb.org/bkuhn/">Bradley Kuhn</a>, in
2089 <a href="http://faif.us/" title="Free as in Freedom">FaiF</a>
2090 <a href="http://faif.us/cast/2015/nov/24/0x57/">episode
2091 0x57</a></small></p>
2092
2093 <p>As the Debian Website
2094 <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/794116">used</a>
2095 <a href="https://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/webwml/webwml/english/intro/free.wml?r1=1.24&amp;r2=1.25">to</a>
2096 imply, public domain and permissively licensed software can lead to
2097 the production of more proprietary software as people discover useful
2098 software, extend it and or incorporate it into their hardware or
2099 software products.  Copyleft licenses such as the GNU GPL were created
2100 to close off this avenue to the production of proprietary software but
2101 such licenses are not enough.  With the ongoing adoption of Free
2102 Software by individuals and groups, inevitably the community's
2103 expectations of license compliance are violated, usually out of
2104 ignorance of the way Free Software works, but not always.  As Karen
2105 and Bradley explained in <a href="http://faif.us/" title="Free as in
2106 Freedom">FaiF</a>
2107 <a href="http://faif.us/cast/2015/nov/24/0x57/">episode 0x57</a>,
2108 copyleft is nothing if no-one is willing and able to stand up in court
2109 to protect it.  The reality of today's world is that legal
2110 representation is expensive, difficult and time consuming.  With
2111 <a href="http://gpl-violations.org/">gpl-violations.org</a> in hiatus
2112 <a href="http://gpl-violations.org/news/20151027-homepage-recovers/">until</a>
2113 some time in 2016, the <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/">Software
2114 Freedom Conservancy</a> (a tax-exempt charity) is the major defender
2115 of the Linux project, Debian and other groups against GPL violations.
2116 In March the SFC supported a
2117 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/news/2015/mar/05/vmware-lawsuit/">lawsuit
2118 by Christoph Hellwig</a> against VMware for refusing to
2119 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/linux-compliance/vmware-lawsuit-faq.html">comply
2120 with the GPL</a> in relation to their use of parts of the Linux
2121 kernel.  Since then two of their sponsors pulled corporate funding and
2122 conferences
2123 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2015/nov/24/faif-carols-fundraiser/">blocked
2124 or cancelled their talks</a>.  As a result they have decided to rely
2125 less on corporate funding and more on the broad community of
2126 individuals who support Free Software and copyleft.  So the SFC has
2127 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/news/2015/nov/23/2015fundraiser/">launched</a>
2128 a <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/supporter/">campaign</a> to create
2129 a community of folks who stand up for copyleft and the GPL by
2130 supporting their work on promoting and supporting copyleft and Free
2131 Software.</p>
2132
2133 <p>If you support Free Software,
2134 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2015/nov/26/like-what-I-do/">like</a>
2135 what the SFC do, agree with their
2136 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/linux-compliance/principles.html">compliance
2137 principles</a>, are happy about their
2138 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/supporter/">successes</a> in 2015,
2139 work on a project that is an SFC
2140 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/members/current/">member</a> and or
2141 just want to stand up for copyleft, please join
2142 <a href="https://identi.ca/cwebber/image/JQGPA4qbTyyp3-MY8QpvuA">Christopher
2143 Allan Webber</a>,
2144 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2015/nov/24/faif-carols-fundraiser/">Carol
2145 Smith</a>,
2146 <a href="http://www.jonobacon.org/2015/11/25/supporting-software-freedom-conservancy/">Jono
2147 Bacon</a>, myself and
2148 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/sponsors/#supporters">others</a> in
2149 becoming a
2150 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/supporter/">supporter</a>.  For the
2151 next week your donation will be
2152 <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/news/2015/nov/27/black-friday/">matched</a>
2153 by an anonymous donor.  Please also consider asking your employer to
2154 match your donation or become a sponsor of SFC.  Don't forget to
2155 spread the word about your support for SFC via email, your blog and or
2156 social media accounts.</p>
2157
2158 </blockquote>
2159
2160 <p>I agree with Paul on this topic and just signed up as a Supporter
2161 of Software Freedom Conservancy myself.  Perhaps you should be a
2162 supporter too?</p>
2163
2164       </div>
2165       <div class="tags">
2166
2167
2168         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>.
2169
2170
2171       </div>
2172     </div>
2173     <div class="padding"></div>
2174
2175     <div class="entry">
2176       <div class="title">
2177         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/PGP_key_transition_statement_for_key_EE4E02F9.html">PGP key transition statement for key EE4E02F9</a>
2178       </div>
2179       <div class="date">
2180         17th November 2015
2181       </div>
2182       <div class="body">
2183         <p>I've needed a new OpenPGP key for a while, but have not had time to
2184 set it up properly.  I wanted to generate it offline and have it
2185 available on <a href="http://shop.kernelconcepts.de/#openpgp">a OpenPGP
2186 smart card</a> for daily use, and learning how to do it and finding
2187 time to sit down with an offline machine almost took forever.  But
2188 finally I've been able to complete the process, and have now moved
2189 from my old GPG key to a new GPG key.  See
2190 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2015-11-17-new-gpg-key-transition.txt">the
2191 full transition statement, signed with both my old and new key</a> for
2192 the details.  This is my new key:</p>
2193
2194 <pre>
2195 pub   3936R/<a href="http://pgp.cs.uu.nl/stats/111D6B29EE4E02F9.html">111D6B29EE4E02F9</a> 2015-11-03 [expires: 2019-11-14]
2196       Key fingerprint = 3AC7 B2E3 ACA5 DF87 78F1  D827 111D 6B29 EE4E 02F9
2197 uid                  Petter Reinholdtsen &lt;pere@hungry.com&gt;
2198 uid                  Petter Reinholdtsen &lt;pere@debian.org&gt;
2199 sub   4096R/87BAFB0E 2015-11-03 [expires: 2019-11-02]
2200 sub   4096R/F91E6DE9 2015-11-03 [expires: 2019-11-02]
2201 sub   4096R/A0439BAB 2015-11-03 [expires: 2019-11-02]
2202 </pre>
2203
2204 <p>The key can be downloaded from the OpenPGP key servers, signed by
2205 my old key.</p>
2206
2207 <p>If you signed my old key
2208 (<a href="http://pgp.cs.uu.nl/stats/DB4CCC4B2A30D729.html">DB4CCC4B2A30D729</a>),
2209 I'd very much appreciate a signature on my new key, details and
2210 instructions in the transition statement. I m happy to reciprocate if
2211 you have a similarly signed transition statement to present.</p>
2212
2213       </div>
2214       <div class="tags">
2215
2216
2217         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
2218
2219
2220       </div>
2221     </div>
2222     <div class="padding"></div>
2223
2224     <div class="entry">
2225       <div class="title">
2226         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_life_and_death_of_a_laptop_battery.html">The life and death of a laptop battery</a>
2227       </div>
2228       <div class="date">
2229         24th September 2015
2230       </div>
2231       <div class="body">
2232         <p>When I get a new laptop, the battery life time at the start is OK.
2233 But this do not last.  The last few laptops gave me a feeling that
2234 within a year, the life time is just a fraction of what it used to be,
2235 and it slowly become painful to use the laptop without power connected
2236 all the time.  Because of this, when I got a new Thinkpad X230 laptop
2237 about two years ago, I decided to monitor its battery state to have
2238 more hard facts when the battery started to fail.</p>
2239
2240 <img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2015-09-24-laptop-battery-graph.png"/>
2241
2242 <p>First I tried to find a sensible Debian package to record the
2243 battery status, assuming that this must be a problem already handled
2244 by someone else.  I found
2245 <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/battery-stats">battery-stats</a>,
2246 which collects statistics from the battery, but it was completely
2247 broken.  I sent a few suggestions to the maintainer, but decided to
2248 write my own collector as a shell script while I waited for feedback
2249 from him.  Via
2250 <a href="http://www.ifweassume.com/2013/08/the-de-evolution-of-my-laptop-battery.html">a
2251 blog post about the battery development on a MacBook Air</a> I also
2252 discovered
2253 <a href="https://github.com/jradavenport/batlog.git">batlog</a>, not
2254 available in Debian.</p>
2255
2256 <p>I started my collector 2013-07-15, and it has been collecting
2257 battery stats ever since. Now my
2258 /var/log/hjemmenett-battery-status.log file contain around 115,000
2259 measurements, from the time the battery was working great until now,
2260 when it is unable to charge above 7% of original capacity.  My
2261 collector shell script is quite simple and look like this:</p>
2262
2263 <pre>
2264 #!/bin/sh
2265 # Inspired by
2266 # http://www.ifweassume.com/2013/08/the-de-evolution-of-my-laptop-battery.html
2267 # See also
2268 # http://blog.sleeplessbeastie.eu/2013/01/02/debian-how-to-monitor-battery-capacity/
2269 logfile=/var/log/hjemmenett-battery-status.log
2270
2271 files="manufacturer model_name technology serial_number \
2272     energy_full energy_full_design energy_now cycle_count status"
2273
2274 if [ ! -e "$logfile" ] ; then
2275     (
2276         printf "timestamp,"
2277         for f in $files; do
2278             printf "%s," $f
2279         done
2280         echo
2281     ) > "$logfile"
2282 fi
2283
2284 log_battery() {
2285     # Print complete message in one echo call, to avoid race condition
2286     # when several log processes run in parallel.
2287     msg=$(printf "%s," $(date +%s); \
2288         for f in $files; do \
2289             printf "%s," $(cat $f); \
2290         done)
2291     echo "$msg"
2292 }
2293
2294 cd /sys/class/power_supply
2295
2296 for bat in BAT*; do
2297     (cd $bat && log_battery >> "$logfile")
2298 done
2299 </pre>
2300
2301 <p>The script is called when the power management system detect a
2302 change in the power status (power plug in or out), and when going into
2303 and out of hibernation and suspend.  In addition, it collect a value
2304 every 10 minutes.  This make it possible for me know when the battery
2305 is discharging, charging and how the maximum charge change over time.
2306 The code for the Debian package
2307 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/battery-status">is now
2308 available on github</a>.</p>
2309
2310 <p>The collected log file look like this:</p>
2311
2312 <pre>
2313 timestamp,manufacturer,model_name,technology,serial_number,energy_full,energy_full_design,energy_now,cycle_count,status,
2314 1376591133,LGC,45N1025,Li-ion,974,62800000,62160000,39050000,0,Discharging,
2315 [...]
2316 1443090528,LGC,45N1025,Li-ion,974,4900000,62160000,4900000,0,Full,
2317 1443090601,LGC,45N1025,Li-ion,974,4900000,62160000,4900000,0,Full,
2318 </pre>
2319
2320 <p>I wrote a small script to create a graph of the charge development
2321 over time.  This graph depicted above show the slow death of my laptop
2322 battery.</p>
2323
2324 <p>But why is this happening?  Why are my laptop batteries always
2325 dying in a year or two, while the batteries of space probes and
2326 satellites keep working year after year.  If we are to believe
2327 <a href="http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries">Battery
2328 University</a>, the cause is me charging the battery whenever I have a
2329 chance, and the fix is to not charge the Lithium-ion batteries to 100%
2330 all the time, but to stay below 90% of full charge most of the time.
2331 I've been told that the Tesla electric cars
2332 <a href="http://my.teslamotors.com/de_CH/forum/forums/battery-charge-limit">limit
2333 the charge of their batteries to 80%</a>, with the option to charge to
2334 100% when preparing for a longer trip (not that I would want a car
2335 like Tesla where rights to privacy is abandoned, but that is another
2336 story), which I guess is the option we should have for laptops on
2337 Linux too.</p>
2338
2339 <p>Is there a good and generic way with Linux to tell the battery to
2340 stop charging at 80%, unless requested to charge to 100% once in
2341 preparation for a longer trip?  I found
2342 <a href="http://askubuntu.com/questions/34452/how-can-i-limit-battery-charging-to-80-capacity">one
2343 recipe on askubuntu for Ubuntu to limit charging on Thinkpad to
2344 80%</a>, but could not get it to work (kernel module refused to
2345 load).</p>
2346
2347 <p>I wonder why the battery capacity was reported to be more than 100%
2348 at the start.  I also wonder why the "full capacity" increases some
2349 times, and if it is possible to repeat the process to get the battery
2350 back to design capacity.  And I wonder if the discharge and charge
2351 speed change over time, or if this stay the same.  I did not yet try
2352 to write a tool to calculate the derivative values of the battery
2353 level, but suspect some interesting insights might be learned from
2354 those.</p>
2355
2356 <p>Update 2015-09-24: I got a tip to install the packages
2357 acpi-call-dkms and tlp (unfortunately missing in Debian stable)
2358 packages instead of the tp-smapi-dkms package I had tried to use
2359 initially, and use 'tlp setcharge 40 80' to change when charging start
2360 and stop.  I've done so now, but expect my existing battery is toast
2361 and need to be replaced.  The proposal is unfortunately Thinkpad
2362 specific.</p>
2363
2364       </div>
2365       <div class="tags">
2366
2367
2368         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2369
2370
2371       </div>
2372     </div>
2373     <div class="padding"></div>
2374
2375     <div class="entry">
2376       <div class="title">
2377         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_laptop___some_more_clues_and_ideas_based_on_feedback.html">New laptop - some more clues and ideas based on feedback</a>
2378       </div>
2379       <div class="date">
2380          5th July 2015
2381       </div>
2382       <div class="body">
2383         <p>Several people contacted me after my previous blog post about my
2384 need for a new laptop, and provided very useful feedback.  I wish to
2385 thank every one of these.  Several pointed me to the possibility of
2386 fixing my X230, and I am already in the process of getting Lenovo to
2387 do so thanks to the on site, next day support contract covering the
2388 machine.  But the battery is almost useless (I expect to replace it
2389 with a non-official battery) and I do not expect the machine to live
2390 for many more years, so it is time to plan its replacement.  If I did
2391 not have a support contract, it was suggested to find replacement parts
2392 using <a href="http://www.francecrans.com/">FrancEcrans</a>, but it
2393 might present a language barrier as I do not understand French.</p>
2394
2395 <p>One tip I got was to use the
2396 <a href="https://skinflint.co.uk/?cat=nb">Skinflint</a> web service to
2397 compare laptop models.  It seem to have more models available than
2398 prisjakt.no.  Another tip I got from someone I know have similar
2399 keyboard preferences was that the HP EliteBook 840 keyboard is not
2400 very good, and this matches my experience with earlier EliteBook
2401 keyboards I tested.  Because of this, I will not consider it any further.
2402
2403 <p>When I wrote my blog post, I was not aware of Thinkpad X250, the
2404 newest Thinkpad X model.  The keyboard reintroduces mouse buttons
2405 (which is missing from the X240), and is working fairly well with
2406 Debian Sid/Unstable according to
2407 <a href="http://www.corsac.net/X250/">Corsac.net</a>.  The reports I
2408 got on the keyboard quality are not consistent.  Some say the keyboard
2409 is good, others say it is ok, while others say it is not very good.
2410 Those with experience from X41 and and X60 agree that the X250
2411 keyboard is not as good as those trusty old laptops, and suggest I
2412 keep and fix my X230 instead of upgrading, or get a used X230 to
2413 replace it.  I'm also told that the X250 lack leds for caps lock, disk
2414 activity and battery status, which is very convenient on my X230.  I'm
2415 also told that the CPU fan is running very often, making it a bit
2416 noisy.  In any case, the X250 do not work out of the box with Debian
2417 Stable/Jessie, one of my requirements.</p>
2418
2419 <p>I have also gotten a few vendor proposals, one was
2420 <a href="http://pro-star.com">Pro-Star</a>, another was
2421 <a href="http://shop.gluglug.org.uk/product/libreboot-x200/">Libreboot</a>.
2422 The latter look very attractive to me.</p>
2423
2424 <p>Again, thank you all for the very useful feedback.  It help a lot
2425 as I keep looking for a replacement.</p>
2426
2427 <p>Update 2015-07-06: I was recommended to check out the
2428 <a href="">lapstore.de</a> web shop for used laptops.  They got several
2429 different
2430 <a href="http://www.lapstore.de/f.php/shop/lapstore/f/411/lang/x/kw/Lenovo_ThinkPad_X_Serie/">old
2431 thinkpad X models</a>, and provide one year warranty.</p>
2432
2433       </div>
2434       <div class="tags">
2435
2436
2437         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2438
2439
2440       </div>
2441     </div>
2442     <div class="padding"></div>
2443
2444     <div class="entry">
2445       <div class="title">
2446         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_to_find_a_new_laptop__as_the_old_one_is_broken_after_only_two_years.html">Time to find a new laptop, as the old one is broken after only two years</a>
2447       </div>
2448       <div class="date">
2449          3rd July 2015
2450       </div>
2451       <div class="body">
2452         <p>My primary work horse laptop is failing, and will need a
2453 replacement soon.  The left 5 cm of the screen on my Thinkpad X230
2454 started flickering yesterday, and I suspect the cause is a broken
2455 cable, as changing the angle of the screen some times get rid of the
2456 flickering.</p>
2457
2458 <p>My requirements have not really changed since I bought it, and is
2459 still as
2460 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Thank_you_Thinkpad_X41__for_your_long_and_trustworthy_service.html">I
2461 described them in 2013</a>.  The last time I bought a laptop, I had
2462 good help from
2463 <a href="http://www.prisjakt.no/category.php?k=353">prisjakt.no</a>
2464 where I could select at least a few of the requirements (mouse pin,
2465 wifi, weight) and go through the rest manually.  Three button mouse
2466 and a good keyboard is not available as an option, and all the three
2467 laptop models proposed today (Thinkpad X240, HP EliteBook 820 G1 and
2468 G2) lack three mouse buttons).  It is also unclear to me how good the
2469 keyboard on the HP EliteBooks are.  I hope Lenovo have not messed up
2470 the keyboard, even if the quality and robustness in the X series have
2471 deteriorated since X41.</p>
2472
2473 <p>I wonder how I can find a sensible laptop when none of the options
2474 seem sensible to me?  Are there better services around to search the
2475 set of available laptops for features?  Please send me an email if you
2476 have suggestions.</p>
2477
2478 <p>Update 2015-07-23: I got a suggestion to check out the FSF
2479 <a href="http://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/endorsement/respects-your-freedom">list
2480 of endorsed hardware</a>, which is useful background information.</p>
2481
2482       </div>
2483       <div class="tags">
2484
2485
2486         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2487
2488
2489       </div>
2490     </div>
2491     <div class="padding"></div>
2492
2493     <div class="entry">
2494       <div class="title">
2495         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_stay_with_sysvinit_in_Debian_Jessie.html">How to stay with sysvinit in Debian Jessie</a>
2496       </div>
2497       <div class="date">
2498         22nd November 2014
2499       </div>
2500       <div class="body">
2501         <p>By now, it is well known that Debian Jessie will not be using
2502 sysvinit as its boot system by default.  But how can one keep using
2503 sysvinit in Jessie?  It is fairly easy, and here are a few recipes,
2504 courtesy of
2505 <a href="http://www.vitavonni.de/blog/201410/2014102101-avoiding-systemd.html">Erich
2506 Schubert</a> and
2507 <a href="http://smcv.pseudorandom.co.uk/2014/still_universal/">Simon
2508 McVittie</a>.
2509
2510 <p>If you already are using Wheezy and want to upgrade to Jessie and
2511 keep sysvinit as your boot system, create a file
2512 <tt>/etc/apt/preferences.d/use-sysvinit</tt> with this content before
2513 you upgrade:</p>
2514
2515 <p><blockquote><pre>
2516 Package: systemd-sysv
2517 Pin: release o=Debian
2518 Pin-Priority: -1
2519 </pre></blockquote><p>
2520
2521 <p>This file content will tell apt and aptitude to not consider
2522 installing systemd-sysv as part of any installation and upgrade
2523 solution when resolving dependencies, and thus tell it to avoid
2524 systemd as a default boot system.  The end result should be that the
2525 upgraded system keep using sysvinit.</p>
2526
2527 <p>If you are installing Jessie for the first time, there is no way to
2528 get sysvinit installed by default (debootstrap used by
2529 debian-installer have no option for this), but one can tell the
2530 installer to switch to sysvinit before the first boot.  Either by
2531 using a kernel argument to the installer, or by adding a line to the
2532 preseed file used.  First, the kernel command line argument:
2533
2534 <p><blockquote><pre>
2535 preseed/late_command="in-target apt-get install --purge -y sysvinit-core"
2536 </pre></blockquote><p>
2537
2538 <p>Next, the line to use in a preseed file:</p>
2539
2540 <p><blockquote><pre>
2541 d-i preseed/late_command string in-target apt-get install -y sysvinit-core
2542 </pre></blockquote><p>
2543
2544 <p>One can of course also do this after the first boot by installing
2545 the sysvinit-core package.</p>
2546
2547 <p>I recommend only using sysvinit if you really need it, as the
2548 sysvinit boot sequence in Debian have several hardware specific bugs
2549 on Linux caused by the fact that it is unpredictable when hardware
2550 devices show up during boot.  But on the other hand, the new default
2551 boot system still have a few rough edges I hope will be fixed before
2552 Jessie is released.</p>
2553
2554 <p>Update 2014-11-26: Inspired by
2555 <ahref="https://www.mirbsd.org/permalinks/wlog-10-tg_e20141125-tg.htm#e20141125-tg_wlog-10-tg">a
2556 blog post by Torsten Glaser</a>, added --purge to the preseed
2557 line.</p>
2558
2559       </div>
2560       <div class="tags">
2561
2562
2563         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2564
2565
2566       </div>
2567     </div>
2568     <div class="padding"></div>
2569
2570     <div class="entry">
2571       <div class="title">
2572         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_Debian_package_for_SMTP_via_Tor__aka_SMTorP__using_exim4.html">A Debian package for SMTP via Tor (aka SMTorP) using exim4</a>
2573       </div>
2574       <div class="date">
2575         10th November 2014
2576       </div>
2577       <div class="body">
2578         <p>The right to communicate with your friends and family in private,
2579 without anyone snooping, is a right every citicen have in a liberal
2580 democracy.  But this right is under serious attack these days.</p>
2581
2582 <p>A while back it occurred to me that one way to make the dragnet
2583 surveillance conducted by NSA, GCHQ, FRA and others (and confirmed by
2584 the whisleblower Snowden) more expensive for Internet email,
2585 is to deliver all email using SMTP via Tor.  Such SMTP option would be
2586 a nice addition to the FreedomBox project if we could send email
2587 between FreedomBox machines without leaking metadata about the emails
2588 to the people peeking on the wire.  I
2589 <a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/freedombox-discuss/2014-October/006493.html">proposed
2590 this on the FreedomBox project mailing list in October</a> and got a
2591 lot of useful feedback and suggestions.  It also became obvious to me
2592 that this was not a novel idea, as the same idea was tested and
2593 documented by Johannes Berg as early as 2006, and both
2594 <a href="https://github.com/pagekite/Mailpile/wiki/SMTorP">the
2595 Mailpile</a> and <a href="http://dee.su/cables">the Cables</a> systems
2596 propose a similar method / protocol to pass emails between users.</p>
2597
2598 <p>To implement such system one need to set up a Tor hidden service
2599 providing the SMTP protocol on port 25, and use email addresses
2600 looking like username@hidden-service-name.onion.  With such addresses
2601 the connections to port 25 on hidden-service-name.onion using Tor will
2602 go to the correct SMTP server.  To do this, one need to configure the
2603 Tor daemon to provide the hidden service and the mail server to accept
2604 emails for this .onion domain.  To learn more about Exim configuration
2605 in Debian and test the design provided by Johannes Berg in his FAQ, I
2606 set out yesterday to create a Debian package for making it trivial to
2607 set up such SMTP over Tor service based on Debian.  Getting it to work
2608 were fairly easy, and
2609 <a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/exim4-smtorp">the
2610 source code for the Debian package</a> is available from github.  I
2611 plan to move it into Debian if further testing prove this to be a
2612 useful approach.</p>
2613
2614 <p>If you want to test this, set up a blank Debian machine without any
2615 mail system installed (or run <tt>apt-get purge exim4-config</tt> to
2616 get rid of exim4).  Install tor, clone the git repository mentioned
2617 above, build the deb and install it on the machine.  Next, run
2618 <tt>/usr/lib/exim4-smtorp/setup-exim-hidden-service</tt> and follow
2619 the instructions to get the service up and running.  Restart tor and
2620 exim when it is done, and test mail delivery using swaks like
2621 this:</p>
2622
2623 <p><blockquote><pre>
2624 torsocks swaks --server dutlqrrmjhtfa3vp.onion \
2625   --to fbx@dutlqrrmjhtfa3vp.onion
2626 </pre></blockquote></p>
2627
2628 <p>This will test the SMTP delivery using tor.  Replace the email
2629 address with your own address to test your server. :)</p>
2630
2631 <p>The setup procedure is still to complex, and I hope it can be made
2632 easier and more automatic.  Especially the tor setup need more work.
2633 Also, the package include a tor-smtp tool written in C, but its task
2634 should probably be rewritten in some script language to make the deb
2635 architecture independent.  It would probably also make the code easier
2636 to review.  The tor-smtp tool currently need to listen on a socket for
2637 exim to talk to it and is started using xinetd.  It would be better if
2638 no daemon and no socket is needed.  I suspect it is possible to get
2639 exim to run a command line tool for delivery instead of talking to a
2640 socket, and hope to figure out how in a future version of this
2641 system.</p>
2642
2643 <p>Until I wipe my test machine, I can be reached using the
2644 <tt>fbx@dutlqrrmjhtfa3vp.onion</tt> mail address, deliverable over
2645 SMTorP. :)</p>
2646
2647       </div>
2648       <div class="tags">
2649
2650
2651         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freedombox">freedombox</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>.
2652
2653
2654       </div>
2655     </div>
2656     <div class="padding"></div>
2657
2658     <div class="entry">
2659       <div class="title">
2660         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/listadmin__the_quick_way_to_moderate_mailman_lists___nice_free_software.html">listadmin, the quick way to moderate mailman lists - nice free software</a>
2661       </div>
2662       <div class="date">
2663         22nd October 2014
2664       </div>
2665       <div class="body">
2666         <p>If you ever had to moderate a mailman list, like the ones on
2667 alioth.debian.org, you know the web interface is fairly slow to
2668 operate.  First you visit one web page, enter the moderation password
2669 and get a new page shown with a list of all the messages to moderate
2670 and various options for each email address.  This take a while for
2671 every list you moderate, and you need to do it regularly to do a good
2672 job as a list moderator.  But there is a quick alternative,
2673 <a href="http://heim.ifi.uio.no/kjetilho/hacks/#listadmin">the
2674 listadmin program</a>.  It allow you to check lists for new messages
2675 to moderate in a fraction of a second.  Here is a test run on two
2676 lists I recently took over:</p>
2677
2678 <p><blockquote><pre>
2679 % time listadmin xiph
2680 fetching data for pkg-xiph-commits@lists.alioth.debian.org ... nothing in queue
2681 fetching data for pkg-xiph-maint@lists.alioth.debian.org ... nothing in queue
2682
2683 real    0m1.709s
2684 user    0m0.232s
2685 sys     0m0.012s
2686 %
2687 </pre></blockquote></p>
2688
2689 <p>In 1.7 seconds I had checked two mailing lists and confirmed that
2690 there are no message in the moderation queue.  Every morning I
2691 currently moderate 68 mailman lists, and it normally take around two
2692 minutes.  When I took over the two pkg-xiph lists above a few days
2693 ago, there were 400 emails waiting in the moderator queue.  It took me
2694 less than 15 minutes to process them all using the listadmin
2695 program.</p>
2696
2697 <p>If you install
2698 <a href="https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/listadmin">the listadmin
2699 package</a> from Debian and create a file <tt>~/.listadmin.ini</tt>
2700 with content like this, the moderation task is a breeze:</p>
2701
2702 <p><blockquote><pre>
2703 username username@example.org
2704 spamlevel 23
2705 default discard
2706 discard_if_reason "Posting restricted to members only. Remove us from your mail list."
2707
2708 password secret
2709 adminurl https://{domain}/mailman/admindb/{list}
2710 mailman-list@lists.example.com
2711
2712 password hidden
2713 other-list@otherserver.example.org
2714 </pre></blockquote></p>
2715
2716 <p>There are other options to set as well.  Check the manual page to
2717 learn the details.</p>
2718
2719 <p>If you are forced to moderate lists on a mailman installation where
2720 the SSL certificate is self signed or not properly signed by a
2721 generally accepted signing authority, you can set a environment
2722 variable when calling listadmin to disable SSL verification:</p>
2723
2724 <p><blockquote><pre>
2725 PERL_LWP_SSL_VERIFY_HOSTNAME=0 listadmin
2726 </pre></blockquote></p>
2727
2728 <p>If you want to moderate a subset of the lists you take care of, you
2729 can provide an argument to the listadmin script like I do in the
2730 initial screen dump (the xiph argument).  Using an argument, only
2731 lists matching the argument string will be processed.  This make it
2732 quick to accept messages if you notice the moderation request in your
2733 email.</p>
2734
2735 <p>Without the listadmin program, I would never be the moderator of 68
2736 mailing lists, as I simply do not have time to spend on that if the
2737 process was any slower. The listadmin program have saved me hours of
2738 time I could spend elsewhere over the years.  It truly is nice free
2739 software.</p>
2740
2741 <p>As usual, if you use Bitcoin and want to show your support of my
2742 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
2743 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
2744
2745 <p>Update 2014-10-27: Added missing 'username' statement in
2746 configuration example.  Also, I've been told that the
2747 PERL_LWP_SSL_VERIFY_HOSTNAME=0 setting do not work for everyone.  Not
2748 sure why.</p>
2749
2750       </div>
2751       <div class="tags">
2752
2753
2754         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nice free software">nice free software</a>.
2755
2756
2757       </div>
2758     </div>
2759     <div class="padding"></div>
2760
2761     <div class="entry">
2762       <div class="title">
2763         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Jessie__PXE_and_automatic_firmware_installation.html">Debian Jessie, PXE and automatic firmware installation</a>
2764       </div>
2765       <div class="date">
2766         17th October 2014
2767       </div>
2768       <div class="body">
2769         <p>When PXE installing laptops with Debian, I often run into the
2770 problem that the WiFi card require some firmware to work properly.
2771 And it has been a pain to fix this using preseeding in Debian.
2772 Normally something more is needed.  But thanks to
2773 <a href="https://packages.qa.debian.org/i/isenkram.html">my isenkram
2774 package</a> and its recent tasksel extension, it has now become easy
2775 to do this using simple preseeding.</p>
2776
2777 <p>The isenkram-cli package provide tasksel tasks which will install
2778 firmware for the hardware found in the machine (actually, requested by
2779 the kernel modules for the hardware).  (It can also install user space
2780 programs supporting the hardware detected, but that is not the focus
2781 of this story.)</p>
2782
2783 <p>To get this working in the default installation, two preeseding
2784 values are needed.  First, the isenkram-cli package must be installed
2785 into the target chroot (aka the hard drive) before tasksel is executed
2786 in the pkgsel step of the debian-installer system.  This is done by
2787 preseeding the base-installer/includes debconf value to include the
2788 isenkram-cli package.  The package name is next passed to debootstrap
2789 for installation.  With the isenkram-cli package in place, tasksel
2790 will automatically use the isenkram tasks to detect hardware specific
2791 packages for the machine being installed and install them, because
2792 isenkram-cli contain tasksel tasks.</p>
2793
2794 <p>Second, one need to enable the non-free APT repository, because
2795 most firmware unfortunately is non-free.  This is done by preseeding
2796 the apt-mirror-setup step.  This is unfortunate, but for a lot of
2797 hardware it is the only option in Debian.</p>
2798
2799 <p>The end result is two lines needed in your preseeding file to get
2800 firmware installed automatically by the installer:</p>
2801
2802 <p><blockquote><pre>
2803 base-installer base-installer/includes string isenkram-cli
2804 apt-mirror-setup apt-setup/non-free boolean true
2805 </pre></blockquote></p>
2806
2807 <p>The current version of isenkram-cli in testing/jessie will install
2808 both firmware and user space packages when using this method.  It also
2809 do not work well, so use version 0.15 or later.  Installing both
2810 firmware and user space packages might give you a bit more than you
2811 want, so I decided to split the tasksel task in two, one for firmware
2812 and one for user space programs.  The firmware task is enabled by
2813 default, while the one for user space programs is not.  This split is
2814 implemented in the package currently in unstable.</p>
2815
2816 <p>If you decide to give this a go, please let me know (via email) how
2817 this recipe work for you. :)</p>
2818
2819 <p>So, I bet you are wondering, how can this work.  First and
2820 foremost, it work because tasksel is modular, and driven by whatever
2821 files it find in /usr/lib/tasksel/ and /usr/share/tasksel/.  So the
2822 isenkram-cli package place two files for tasksel to find.  First there
2823 is the task description file (/usr/share/tasksel/descs/isenkram.desc):</p>
2824
2825 <p><blockquote><pre>
2826 Task: isenkram-packages
2827 Section: hardware
2828 Description: Hardware specific packages (autodetected by isenkram)
2829  Based on the detected hardware various hardware specific packages are
2830  proposed.
2831 Test-new-install: show show
2832 Relevance: 8
2833 Packages: for-current-hardware
2834
2835 Task: isenkram-firmware
2836 Section: hardware
2837 Description: Hardware specific firmware packages (autodetected by isenkram)
2838  Based on the detected hardware various hardware specific firmware
2839  packages are proposed.
2840 Test-new-install: mark show
2841 Relevance: 8
2842 Packages: for-current-hardware-firmware
2843 </pre></blockquote></p>
2844
2845 <p>The key parts are Test-new-install which indicate how the task
2846 should be handled and the Packages line referencing to a script in
2847 /usr/lib/tasksel/packages/.  The scripts use other scripts to get a
2848 list of packages to install.  The for-current-hardware-firmware script
2849 look like this to list relevant firmware for the machine:
2850
2851 <p><blockquote><pre>
2852 #!/bin/sh
2853 #
2854 PATH=/usr/sbin:$PATH
2855 export PATH
2856 isenkram-autoinstall-firmware -l
2857 </pre></blockquote></p>
2858
2859 <p>With those two pieces in place, the firmware is installed by
2860 tasksel during the normal d-i run. :)</p>
2861
2862 <p>If you want to test what tasksel will install when isenkram-cli is
2863 installed, run <tt>DEBIAN_PRIORITY=critical tasksel --test
2864 --new-install</tt> to get the list of packages that tasksel would
2865 install.</p>
2866
2867 <p><a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/">Debian Edu</a> will be
2868 pilots in testing this feature, as isenkram is used there now to
2869 install firmware, replacing the earlier scripts.</p>
2870
2871       </div>
2872       <div class="tags">
2873
2874
2875         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sysadmin">sysadmin</a>.
2876
2877
2878       </div>
2879     </div>
2880     <div class="padding"></div>
2881
2882     <div class="entry">
2883       <div class="title">
2884         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Ubuntu_used_to_show_the_bread_prizes_at_ICA_Storo.html">Ubuntu used to show the bread prizes at ICA Storo</a>
2885       </div>
2886       <div class="date">
2887          4th October 2014
2888       </div>
2889       <div class="body">
2890         <p>Today I came across an unexpected Ubuntu boot screen.  Above the
2891 bread shelf on the ICA shop at Storo in Oslo, the grub menu of Ubuntu
2892 with Linux kernel 3.2.0-23 (ie probably version 12.04 LTS) was stuck
2893 on a screen normally showing the bread types and prizes:</p>
2894
2895 <p align="center"><img width="70%" src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2014-10-04-ubuntu-ica-storo-crop.jpeg"></p>
2896
2897 <p>If it had booted as it was supposed to, I would never had known
2898 about this hidden Linux installation.  It is interesting what
2899 <a href="http://revealingerrors.com/">errors can reveal</a>.</p>
2900
2901       </div>
2902       <div class="tags">
2903
2904
2905         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
2906
2907
2908       </div>
2909     </div>
2910     <div class="padding"></div>
2911
2912     <div class="entry">
2913       <div class="title">
2914         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_lsdvd_release_version_0_17_is_ready.html">New lsdvd release version 0.17 is ready</a>
2915       </div>
2916       <div class="date">
2917          4th October 2014
2918       </div>
2919       <div class="body">
2920         <p>The <a href="https://sourceforge.net/p/lsdvd/">lsdvd project</a>
2921 got a new set of developers a few weeks ago, after the original
2922 developer decided to step down and pass the project to fresh blood.
2923 This project is now maintained by Petter Reinholdtsen and Steve
2924 Dibb.</p>
2925
2926 <p>I just wrapped up
2927 <a href="https://sourceforge.net/p/lsdvd/mailman/message/32896061/">a
2928 new lsdvd release</a>, available in git or from
2929 <a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/lsdvd/files/lsdvd/">the
2930 download page</a>.  This is the changelog dated 2014-10-03 for version
2931 0.17.</p>
2932
2933 <ul>
2934
2935  <li>Ignore 'phantom' audio, subtitle tracks</li>
2936  <li>Check for garbage in the program chains, which indicate that a track is
2937    non-existant, to work around additional copy protection</li>
2938  <li>Fix displaying content type for audio tracks, subtitles</li>
2939  <li>Fix pallete display of first entry</li>
2940  <li>Fix include orders</li>
2941  <li>Ignore read errors in titles that would not be displayed anyway</li>
2942  <li>Fix the chapter count</li>
2943  <li>Make sure the array size and the array limit used when initialising
2944    the palette size is the same.</li>
2945  <li>Fix array printing.</li>
2946  <li>Correct subsecond calculations.</li>
2947  <li>Add sector information to the output format.</li>
2948  <li>Clean up code to be closer to ANSI C and compile without warnings
2949    with more GCC compiler warnings.</li>
2950
2951 </ul>
2952
2953 <p>This change bring together patches for lsdvd in use in various
2954 Linux and Unix distributions, as well as patches submitted to the
2955 project the last nine years.  Please check it out. :)</p>
2956
2957       </div>
2958       <div class="tags">
2959
2960
2961         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/lsdvd">lsdvd</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>.
2962
2963
2964       </div>
2965     </div>
2966     <div class="padding"></div>
2967
2968     <div class="entry">
2969       <div class="title">
2970         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_test_Debian_Edu_Jessie_despite_some_fatal_problems_with_the_installer.html">How to test Debian Edu Jessie despite some fatal problems with the installer</a>
2971       </div>
2972       <div class="date">
2973         26th September 2014
2974       </div>
2975       <div class="body">
2976         <p>The <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux
2977 project</a> provide a Linux solution for schools, including a
2978 powerful desktop with education software, a central server providing
2979 web pages, user database, user home directories, central login and PXE
2980 boot of both  clients without disk and the installation to install Debian
2981 Edu on machines with disk (and a few other services perhaps to small
2982 to mention here).  We in the Debian Edu team are currently working on
2983 the Jessie based version, trying to get everything in shape before the
2984 freeze, to avoid having to maintain our own package repository in the
2985 future.  The
2986 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Status/Jessie">current
2987 status</a> can be seen on the Debian wiki, and there is still heaps of
2988 work left.  Some fatal problems block testing, breaking the installer,
2989 but it is possible to work around these to get anyway.  Here is a
2990 recipe on how to get the installation limping along.</p>
2991
2992 <p>First, download the test ISO via
2993 <a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.no/cd-edu-testing-nolocal-netinst/debian-edu-amd64-i386-NETINST-1.iso">ftp</a>,
2994 <a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.no/cd-edu-testing-nolocal-netinst/debian-edu-amd64-i386-NETINST-1.iso">http</a>
2995 or rsync (use
2996 ftp.skolelinux.org::cd-edu-testing-nolocal-netinst/debian-edu-amd64-i386-NETINST-1.iso).
2997 The ISO build was broken on Tuesday, so we do not get a new ISO every
2998 12 hours or so, but thankfully the ISO we already got we are able to
2999 install with some tweaking.</p>
3000
3001 <p>When you get to the Debian Edu profile question, go to tty2
3002 (use Alt-Ctrl-F2), run</p>
3003
3004 <p><blockquote><pre>
3005 nano /usr/bin/edu-eatmydata-install
3006 </pre></blockquote></p>
3007
3008 <p>and add 'exit 0' as the second line, disabling the eatmydata
3009 optimization.  Return to the installation, select the profile you want
3010 and continue.  Without this change, exim4-config will fail to install
3011 due to a known bug in eatmydata.</p>
3012
3013 <p>When you get the grub question at the end, answer /dev/sda (or if
3014 this do not work, figure out what your correct value would be.  All my
3015 test machines need /dev/sda, so I have no advice if it do not fit
3016 your need.</p>
3017
3018 <p>If you installed a profile including a graphical desktop, log in as
3019 root after the initial boot from hard drive, and install the
3020 education-desktop-XXX metapackage.  XXX can be kde, gnome, lxde, xfce
3021 or mate.  If you want several desktop options, install more than one
3022 metapackage.  Once this is done, reboot and you should have a working
3023 graphical login screen.  This workaround should no longer be needed
3024 once the education-tasks package version 1.801 enter testing in two
3025 days.</p>
3026
3027 <p>I believe the ISO build will start working on two days when the new
3028 tasksel package enter testing and Steve McIntyre get a chance to
3029 update the debian-cd git repository.  The eatmydata, grub and desktop
3030 issues are already fixed in unstable and testing, and should show up
3031 on the ISO as soon as the ISO build start working again.  Well the
3032 eatmydata optimization is really just disabled.  The proper fix
3033 require an upload by the eatmydata maintainer applying the patch
3034 provided in bug <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/702711">#702711</a>.
3035 The rest have proper fixes in unstable.</p>
3036
3037 <p>I hope this get you going with the installation testing, as we are
3038 quickly running out of time trying to get our Jessie based
3039 installation ready before the distribution freeze in a month.</p>
3040
3041       </div>
3042       <div class="tags">
3043
3044
3045         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
3046
3047
3048       </div>
3049     </div>
3050     <div class="padding"></div>
3051
3052     <div class="entry">
3053       <div class="title">
3054         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Suddenly_I_am_the_new_upstream_of_the_lsdvd_command_line_tool.html">Suddenly I am the new upstream of the lsdvd command line tool</a>
3055       </div>
3056       <div class="date">
3057         25th September 2014
3058       </div>
3059       <div class="body">
3060         <p>I use the <a href="https://sourceforge.net/p/lsdvd/">lsdvd tool</a>
3061 to handle my fairly large DVD collection.  It is a nice command line
3062 tool to get details about a DVD, like title, tracks, track length,
3063 etc, in XML, Perl or human readable format.  But lsdvd have not seen
3064 any new development since 2006 and had a few irritating bugs affecting
3065 its use with some DVDs.  Upstream seemed to be dead, and in January I
3066 sent a small probe asking for a version control repository for the
3067 project, without any reply.  But I use it regularly and would like to
3068 get <a href="https://packages.qa.debian.org/lsdvd">an updated version
3069 into Debian</a>.  So two weeks ago I tried harder to get in touch with
3070 the project admin, and after getting a reply from him explaining that
3071 he was no longer interested in the project, I asked if I could take
3072 over.  And yesterday, I became project admin.</p>
3073
3074 <p>I've been in touch with a Gentoo developer and the Debian
3075 maintainer interested in joining forces to maintain the upstream
3076 project, and I hope we can get a new release out fairly quickly,
3077 collecting the patches spread around on the internet into on place.
3078 I've added the relevant Debian patches to the freshly created git
3079 repository, and expect the Gentoo patches to make it too.  If you got
3080 a DVD collection and care about command line tools, check out
3081 <a href="https://sourceforge.net/p/lsdvd/git/ci/master/tree/">the git source</a> and join
3082 <a href="https://sourceforge.net/p/lsdvd/mailman/">the project mailing
3083 list</a>. :)</p>
3084
3085       </div>
3086       <div class="tags">
3087
3088
3089         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/lsdvd">lsdvd</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>.
3090
3091
3092       </div>
3093     </div>
3094     <div class="padding"></div>
3095
3096     <div class="entry">
3097       <div class="title">
3098         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Speeding_up_the_Debian_installer_using_eatmydata_and_dpkg_divert.html">Speeding up the Debian installer using eatmydata and dpkg-divert</a>
3099       </div>
3100       <div class="date">
3101         16th September 2014
3102       </div>
3103       <div class="body">
3104         <p>The <a href="https://www.debian.org/">Debian</a> installer could be
3105 a lot quicker.  When we install more than 2000 packages in
3106 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux / Debian Edu</a> using
3107 tasksel in the installer, unpacking the binary packages take forever.
3108 A part of the slow I/O issue was discussed in
3109 <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/613428">bug #613428</a> about too
3110 much file system sync-ing done by dpkg, which is the package
3111 responsible for unpacking the binary packages.  Other parts (like code
3112 executed by postinst scripts) might also sync to disk during
3113 installation.  All this sync-ing to disk do not really make sense to
3114 me.  If the machine crash half-way through, I start over, I do not try
3115 to salvage the half installed system.  So the failure sync-ing is
3116 supposed to protect against, hardware or system crash, is not really
3117 relevant while the installer is running.</p>
3118
3119 <p>A few days ago, I thought of a way to get rid of all the file
3120 system sync()-ing in a fairly non-intrusive way, without the need to
3121 change the code in several packages.  The idea is not new, but I have
3122 not heard anyone propose the approach using dpkg-divert before.  It
3123 depend on the small and clever package
3124 <a href="https://packages.qa.debian.org/eatmydata">eatmydata</a>, which
3125 uses LD_PRELOAD to replace the system functions for syncing data to
3126 disk with functions doing nothing, thus allowing programs to live
3127 dangerous while speeding up disk I/O significantly.  Instead of
3128 modifying the implementation of dpkg, apt and tasksel (which are the
3129 packages responsible for selecting, fetching and installing packages),
3130 it occurred to me that we could just divert the programs away, replace
3131 them with a simple shell wrapper calling
3132 "eatmydata&nbsp;$program&nbsp;$@", to get the same effect.
3133 Two days ago I decided to test the idea, and wrapped up a simple
3134 implementation for the Debian Edu udeb.</p>
3135
3136 <p>The effect was stunning.  In my first test it reduced the running
3137 time of the pkgsel step (installing tasks) from 64 to less than 44
3138 minutes (20 minutes shaved off the installation) on an old Dell
3139 Latitude D505 machine.  I am not quite sure what the optimised time
3140 would have been, as I messed up the testing a bit, causing the debconf
3141 priority to get low enough for two questions to pop up during
3142 installation.  As soon as I saw the questions I moved the installation
3143 along, but do not know how long the question were holding up the
3144 installation.  I did some more measurements using Debian Edu Jessie,
3145 and got these results.  The time measured is the time stamp in
3146 /var/log/syslog between the "pkgsel: starting tasksel" and the
3147 "pkgsel: finishing up" lines, if you want to do the same measurement
3148 yourself.  In Debian Edu, the tasksel dialog do not show up, and the
3149 timing thus do not depend on how quickly the user handle the tasksel
3150 dialog.</p>
3151
3152 <p><table>
3153
3154 <tr>
3155 <th>Machine/setup</th>
3156 <th>Original tasksel</th>
3157 <th>Optimised tasksel</th>
3158 <th>Reduction</th>
3159 </tr>
3160
3161 <tr>
3162 <td>Latitude D505 Main+LTSP LXDE</td>
3163 <td>64 min (07:46-08:50)</td>
3164 <td><44 min (11:27-12:11)</td>
3165 <td>>20 min 18%</td>
3166 </tr>
3167
3168 <tr>
3169 <td>Latitude D505 Roaming LXDE</td>
3170 <td>57 min (08:48-09:45)</td>
3171 <td>34 min (07:43-08:17)</td>
3172 <td>23 min 40%</td>
3173 </tr>
3174
3175 <tr>
3176 <td>Latitude D505 Minimal</td>
3177 <td>22 min (10:37-10:59)</td>
3178 <td>11 min (11:16-11:27)</td>
3179 <td>11 min 50%</td>
3180 </tr>
3181
3182 <tr>
3183 <td>Thinkpad X200 Minimal</td>
3184 <td>6 min (08:19-08:25)</td>
3185 <td>4 min (08:04-08:08)</td>
3186 <td>2 min 33%</td>
3187 </tr>
3188
3189 <tr>
3190 <td>Thinkpad X200 Roaming KDE</td>
3191 <td>19 min (09:21-09:40)</td>
3192 <td>15 min (10:25-10:40)</td>
3193 <td>4 min 21%</td>
3194 </tr>
3195
3196 </table></p>
3197
3198 <p>The test is done using a netinst ISO on a USB stick, so some of the
3199 time is spent downloading packages.  The connection to the Internet
3200 was 100Mbit/s during testing, so downloading should not be a
3201 significant factor in the measurement.  Download typically took a few
3202 seconds to a few minutes, depending on the amount of packages being
3203 installed.</p>
3204
3205 <p>The speedup is implemented by using two hooks in
3206 <a href="https://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/">Debian
3207 Installer</a>, the pre-pkgsel.d hook to set up the diverts, and the
3208 finish-install.d hook to remove the divert at the end of the
3209 installation.  I picked the pre-pkgsel.d hook instead of the
3210 post-base-installer.d hook because I test using an ISO without the
3211 eatmydata package included, and the post-base-installer.d hook in
3212 Debian Edu can only operate on packages included in the ISO.  The
3213 negative effect of this is that I am unable to activate this
3214 optimization for the kernel installation step in d-i.  If the code is
3215 moved to the post-base-installer.d hook, the speedup would be larger
3216 for the entire installation.</p>
3217
3218 <p>I've implemented this in the
3219 <a href="https://packages.qa.debian.org/debian-edu-install">debian-edu-install</a>
3220 git repository, and plan to provide the optimization as part of the
3221 Debian Edu installation.  If you want to test this yourself, you can
3222 create two files in the installer (or in an udeb).  One shell script
3223 need do go into /usr/lib/pre-pkgsel.d/, with content like this:</p>
3224
3225 <p><blockquote><pre>
3226 #!/bin/sh
3227 set -e
3228 . /usr/share/debconf/confmodule
3229 info() {
3230     logger -t my-pkgsel "info: $*"
3231 }
3232 error() {
3233     logger -t my-pkgsel "error: $*"
3234 }
3235 override_install() {
3236     apt-install eatmydata || true
3237     if [ -x /target/usr/bin/eatmydata ] ; then
3238         for bin in dpkg apt-get aptitude tasksel ; do
3239             file=/usr/bin/$bin
3240             # Test that the file exist and have not been diverted already.
3241             if [ -f /target$file ] ; then
3242                 info "diverting $file using eatmydata"
3243                 printf "#!/bin/sh\neatmydata $bin.distrib \"\$@\"\n" \
3244                     > /target$file.edu
3245                 chmod 755 /target$file.edu
3246                 in-target dpkg-divert --package debian-edu-config \
3247                     --rename --quiet --add $file
3248                 ln -sf ./$bin.edu /target$file
3249             else
3250                 error "unable to divert $file, as it is missing."
3251             fi
3252         done
3253     else
3254         error "unable to find /usr/bin/eatmydata after installing the eatmydata pacage"
3255     fi
3256 }
3257
3258 override_install
3259 </pre></blockquote></p>
3260
3261 <p>To clean up, another shell script should go into
3262 /usr/lib/finish-install.d/ with code like this:
3263
3264 <p><blockquote><pre>
3265 #! /bin/sh -e
3266 . /usr/share/debconf/confmodule
3267 error() {
3268     logger -t my-finish-install "error: $@"
3269 }
3270 remove_install_override() {
3271     for bin in dpkg apt-get aptitude tasksel ; do
3272         file=/usr/bin/$bin
3273         if [ -x /target$file.edu ] ; then
3274             rm /target$file
3275             in-target dpkg-divert --package debian-edu-config \
3276                 --rename --quiet --remove $file
3277             rm /target$file.edu
3278         else
3279             error "Missing divert for $file."
3280         fi
3281     done
3282     sync # Flush file buffers before continuing
3283 }
3284
3285 remove_install_override
3286 </pre></blockquote></p>
3287
3288 <p>In Debian Edu, I placed both code fragments in a separate script
3289 edu-eatmydata-install and call it from the pre-pkgsel.d and
3290 finish-install.d scripts.</p>
3291
3292 <p>By now you might ask if this change should get into the normal
3293 Debian installer too?  I suspect it should, but am not sure the
3294 current debian-installer coordinators find it useful enough.  It also
3295 depend on the side effects of the change.  I'm not aware of any, but I
3296 guess we will see if the change is safe after some more testing.
3297 Perhaps there is some package in Debian depending on sync() and
3298 fsync() having effect?  Perhaps it should go into its own udeb, to
3299 allow those of us wanting to enable it to do so without affecting
3300 everyone.</p>
3301
3302 <p>Update 2014-09-24: Since a few days ago, enabling this optimization
3303 will break installation of all programs using gnutls because of
3304 <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/702711">bug #702711</a>.  An updated
3305 eatmydata package in Debian will solve it.</p>
3306
3307 <p>Update 2014-10-17: The bug mentioned above is fixed in testing and
3308 the optimization work again.  And I have discovered that the
3309 dpkg-divert trick is not really needed and implemented a slightly
3310 simpler approach as part of the debian-edu-install package.  See
3311 tools/edu-eatmydata-install in the source package.</p>
3312
3313 <p>Update 2014-11-11: Unfortunately, a new
3314 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/765738">bug #765738</a> in eatmydata only
3315 triggering on i386 made it into testing, and broke this installation
3316 optimization again.  If <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/768893">unblock
3317 request 768893</a> is accepted, it should be working again.</p>
3318
3319       </div>
3320       <div class="tags">
3321
3322
3323         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
3324
3325
3326       </div>
3327     </div>
3328     <div class="padding"></div>
3329
3330     <div class="entry">
3331       <div class="title">
3332         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Good_bye_subkeys_pgp_net__welcome_pool_sks_keyservers_net.html">Good bye subkeys.pgp.net, welcome pool.sks-keyservers.net</a>
3333       </div>
3334       <div class="date">
3335         10th September 2014
3336       </div>
3337       <div class="body">
3338         <p>Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a talk with the
3339 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">Norwegian Unix User Group</a> about
3340 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/aktiviteter/20140909-sks-keyservers/">the
3341 OpenPGP keyserver pool sks-keyservers.net</a>, and was very happy to
3342 learn that there is a large set of publicly available key servers to
3343 use when looking for peoples public key.  So far I have used
3344 subkeys.pgp.net, and some times wwwkeys.nl.pgp.net when the former
3345 were misbehaving, but those days are ended.  The servers I have used
3346 up until yesterday have been slow and some times unavailable.  I hope
3347 those problems are gone now.</p>
3348
3349 <p>Behind the round robin DNS entry of the
3350 <a href="https://sks-keyservers.net/">sks-keyservers.net</a> service
3351 there is a pool of more than 100 keyservers which are checked every
3352 day to ensure they are well connected and up to date.  It must be
3353 better than what I have used so far. :)</p>
3354
3355 <p>Yesterdays speaker told me that the service is the default
3356 keyserver provided by the default configuration in GnuPG, but this do
3357 not seem to be used in Debian.  Perhaps it should?</p>
3358
3359 <p>Anyway, I've updated my ~/.gnupg/options file to now include this
3360 line:</p>
3361
3362 <p><blockquote><pre>
3363 keyserver pool.sks-keyservers.net
3364 </pre></blockquote></p>
3365
3366 <p>With GnuPG version 2 one can also locate the keyserver using SRV
3367 entries in DNS.  Just for fun, I did just that at work, so now every
3368 user of GnuPG at the University of Oslo should find a OpenGPG
3369 keyserver automatically should their need it:</p>
3370
3371 <p><blockquote><pre>
3372 % host -t srv _pgpkey-http._tcp.uio.no
3373 _pgpkey-http._tcp.uio.no has SRV record 0 100 11371 pool.sks-keyservers.net.
3374 %
3375 </pre></blockquote></p>
3376
3377 <p>Now if only
3378 <a href="http://ietfreport.isoc.org/idref/draft-shaw-openpgp-hkp/">the
3379 HKP lookup protocol</a> supported finding signature paths, I would be
3380 very happy.  It can look up a given key or search for a user ID, but I
3381 normally do not want that, but to find a trust path from my key to
3382 another key.  Given a user ID or key ID, I would like to find (and
3383 download) the keys representing a signature path from my key to the
3384 key in question, to be able to get a trust path between the two keys.
3385 This is as far as I can tell not possible today.  Perhaps something
3386 for a future version of the protocol?</p>
3387
3388       </div>
3389       <div class="tags">
3390
3391
3392         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
3393
3394
3395       </div>
3396     </div>
3397     <div class="padding"></div>
3398
3399     <div class="entry">
3400       <div class="title">
3401         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/From_English_wiki_to_translated_PDF_and_epub_via_Docbook.html">From English wiki to translated PDF and epub via Docbook</a>
3402       </div>
3403       <div class="date">
3404         17th June 2014
3405       </div>
3406       <div class="body">
3407         <p>The <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux
3408 project</a> provide an instruction manual for teachers, system
3409 administrators and other users that contain useful tips for setting up
3410 and maintaining a Debian Edu installation.  This text is about how the
3411 text processing of this manual is handled in the project.</p>
3412
3413 <p>One goal of the project is to provide information in the native
3414 language of its users, and for this we need to handle translations.
3415 But we also want to make sure each language contain the same
3416 information, so for this we need a good way to keep the translations
3417 in sync.  And we want it to be easy for our users to improve the
3418 documentation, avoiding the need to learn special formats or tools to
3419 contribute, and the obvious way to do this is to make it possible to
3420 edit the documentation using a web browser.  We also want it to be
3421 easy for translators to keep the translation up to date, and give them
3422 help in figuring out what need to be translated. Here is the list of
3423 tools and the process we have found trying to reach all these
3424 goals.</p>
3425
3426 <p>We maintain the authoritative source of our manual in the
3427 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Wheezy/">Debian
3428 wiki</a>, as several wiki pages written in English.  It consist of one
3429 front page with references to the different chapters, several pages
3430 for each chapter, and finally one "collection page" gluing all the
3431 chapters together into one large web page (aka
3432 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Wheezy/AllInOne">the
3433 AllInOne page</a>).  The AllInOne page is the one used for further
3434 processing and translations.  Thanks to the fact that the
3435 <a href="http://moinmo.in/">MoinMoin</a> installation on
3436 wiki.debian.org support exporting pages in
3437 <a href="http://www.docbook.org/">the Docbook format</a>, we can fetch
3438 the list of pages to export using the raw version of the AllInOne
3439 page, loop over each of them to generate a Docbook XML version of the
3440 manual.  This process also download images and transform image
3441 references to use the locally downloaded images.  The generated
3442 Docbook XML files are slightly broken, so some post-processing is done
3443 using the <tt>documentation/scripts/get_manual</tt> program, and the
3444 result is a nice Docbook XML file (debian-edu-wheezy-manual.xml) and
3445 a handfull of images.  The XML file can now be used to generate PDF, HTML
3446 and epub versions of the English manual.  This is the basic step of
3447 our process, making PDF (using dblatex), HTML (using xsltproc) and
3448 epub (using dbtoepub) version from Docbook XML, and the resulting files
3449 are placed in the debian-edu-doc-en binary package.</p>
3450
3451 <p>But English documentation is not enough for us.  We want translated
3452 documentation too, and we want to make it easy for translators to
3453 track the English original.  For this we use the
3454 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/p/poxml.html">poxml</a> package,
3455 which allow us to transform the English Docbook XML file into a
3456 translation file (a .pot file), usable with the normal gettext based
3457 translation tools used by those translating free software.  The pot
3458 file is used to create and maintain translation files (several .po
3459 files), which the translations update with the native language
3460 translations of all titles, paragraphs and blocks of text in the
3461 original.  The next step is combining the original English Docbook XML
3462 and the translation file (say debian-edu-wheezy-manual.nb.po), to
3463 create a translated Docbook XML file (in this case
3464 debian-edu-wheezy-manual.nb.xml).  This translated (or partly
3465 translated, if the translation is not complete) Docbook XML file can
3466 then be used like the original to create a PDF, HTML and epub version
3467 of the documentation.</p>
3468
3469 <p>The translators use different tools to edit the .po files.  We
3470 recommend using
3471 <a href="http://www.kde.org/applications/development/lokalize/">lokalize</a>,
3472 while some use emacs and vi, others can use web based editors like
3473 <a href="http://pootle.translatehouse.org/">Poodle</a> or
3474 <a href="https://www.transifex.com/">Transifex</a>.  All we care about
3475 is where the .po file end up, in our git repository.  Updated
3476 translations can either be committed directly to git, or submitted as
3477 <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/src:debian-edu-doc">bug reports
3478 against the debian-edu-doc package</a>.</p>
3479
3480 <p>One challenge is images, which both might need to be translated (if
3481 they show translated user applications), and are needed in different
3482 formats when creating PDF and HTML versions (epub is a HTML version in
3483 this regard).  For this we transform the original PNG images to the
3484 needed density and format during build, and have a way to provide
3485 translated images by storing translated versions in
3486 images/$LANGUAGECODE/.  I am a bit unsure about the details here.  The
3487 package maintainers know more.</p>
3488
3489 <p>If you wonder what the result look like, we provide
3490 <a href="http://maintainer.skolelinux.org/debian-edu-doc/">the content
3491 of the documentation packages on the web</a>.  See for example the
3492 <a href="http://maintainer.skolelinux.org/debian-edu-doc/it/debian-edu-wheezy-manual.pdf">Italian
3493 PDF version</a> or the
3494 <a href="http://maintainer.skolelinux.org/debian-edu-doc/de/debian-edu-wheezy-manual.html">German
3495 HTML version</a>.  We do not yet build the epub version by default,
3496 but perhaps it will be done in the future.</p>
3497
3498 <p>To learn more, check out
3499 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/d/debian-edu-doc.html">the
3500 debian-edu-doc package</a>,
3501 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Wheezy/">the
3502 manual on the wiki</a> and
3503 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Wheezy/Translations">the
3504 translation instructions</a> in the manual.</p>
3505
3506       </div>
3507       <div class="tags">
3508
3509
3510         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
3511
3512
3513       </div>
3514     </div>
3515     <div class="padding"></div>
3516
3517     <div class="entry">
3518       <div class="title">
3519         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Install_hardware_dependent_packages_using_tasksel__Isenkram_0_7_.html">Install hardware dependent packages using tasksel (Isenkram 0.7)</a>
3520       </div>
3521       <div class="date">
3522         23rd April 2014
3523       </div>
3524       <div class="body">
3525         <p>It would be nice if it was easier in Debian to get all the hardware
3526 related packages relevant for the computer installed automatically.
3527 So I implemented one, using
3528 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/isenkram">my Isenkram
3529 package</a>.  To use it, install the tasksel and isenkram packages and
3530 run tasksel as user root.  You should be presented with a new option,
3531 "Hardware specific packages (autodetected by isenkram)".  When you
3532 select it, tasksel will install the packages isenkram claim is fit for
3533 the current hardware, hot pluggable or not.<p>
3534
3535 <p>The implementation is in two files, one is the tasksel menu entry
3536 description, and the other is the script used to extract the list of
3537 packages to install.  The first part is in
3538 <tt>/usr/share/tasksel/descs/isenkram.desc</tt> and look like
3539 this:</p>
3540
3541 <p><blockquote><pre>
3542 Task: isenkram
3543 Section: hardware
3544 Description: Hardware specific packages (autodetected by isenkram)
3545  Based on the detected hardware various hardware specific packages are
3546  proposed.
3547 Test-new-install: mark show
3548 Relevance: 8
3549 Packages: for-current-hardware
3550 </pre></blockquote></p>
3551
3552 <p>The second part is in
3553 <tt>/usr/lib/tasksel/packages/for-current-hardware</tt> and look like
3554 this:</p>
3555
3556 <p><blockquote><pre>
3557 #!/bin/sh
3558 #
3559 (
3560     isenkram-lookup
3561     isenkram-autoinstall-firmware -l
3562 ) | sort -u
3563 </pre></blockquote></p>
3564
3565 <p>All in all, a very short and simple implementation making it
3566 trivial to install the hardware dependent package we all may want to
3567 have installed on our machines.  I've not been able to find a way to
3568 get tasksel to tell you exactly which packages it plan to install
3569 before doing the installation.  So if you are curious or careful,
3570 check the output from the isenkram-* command line tools first.</p>
3571
3572 <p>The information about which packages are handling which hardware is
3573 fetched either from the isenkram package itself in
3574 /usr/share/isenkram/, from git.debian.org or from the APT package
3575 database (using the Modaliases header).  The APT package database
3576 parsing have caused a nasty resource leak in the isenkram daemon (bugs
3577 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/719837">#719837</a> and
3578 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/730704">#730704</a>).  The cause is in
3579 the python-apt code (bug
3580 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/745487">#745487</a>), but using a
3581 workaround I was able to get rid of the file descriptor leak and
3582 reduce the memory leak from ~30 MiB per hardware detection down to
3583 around 2 MiB per hardware detection.  It should make the desktop
3584 daemon a lot more useful.  The fix is in version 0.7 uploaded to
3585 unstable today.</p>
3586
3587 <p>I believe the current way of mapping hardware to packages in
3588 Isenkram is is a good draft, but in the future I expect isenkram to
3589 use the AppStream data source for this.  A proposal for getting proper
3590 AppStream support into Debian is floating around as
3591 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DEP-11">DEP-11</a>, and
3592 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/SummerOfCode2014/Projects#SummerOfCode2014.2FProjects.2FAppStreamDEP11Implementation.AppStream.2FDEP-11_for_the_Debian_Archive">GSoC
3593 project</a> will take place this summer to improve the situation.  I
3594 look forward to seeing the result, and welcome patches for isenkram to
3595 start using the information when it is ready.</p>
3596
3597 <p>If you want your package to map to some specific hardware, either
3598 add a "Xb-Modaliases" header to your control file like I did in
3599 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/pymissile">the pymissile
3600 package</a> or submit a bug report with the details to the isenkram
3601 package.  See also
3602 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram/">all my
3603 blog posts tagged isenkram</a> for details on the notation.  I expect
3604 the information will be migrated to AppStream eventually, but for the
3605 moment I got no better place to store it.</p>
3606
3607       </div>
3608       <div class="tags">
3609
3610
3611         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
3612
3613
3614       </div>
3615     </div>
3616     <div class="padding"></div>
3617
3618     <div class="entry">
3619       <div class="title">
3620         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/FreedomBox_milestone___all_packages_now_in_Debian_Sid.html">FreedomBox milestone - all packages now in Debian Sid</a>
3621       </div>
3622       <div class="date">
3623         15th April 2014
3624       </div>
3625       <div class="body">
3626         <p>The <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/FreedomBox">Freedombox
3627 project</a> is working on providing the software and hardware to make
3628 it easy for non-technical people to host their data and communication
3629 at home, and being able to communicate with their friends and family
3630 encrypted and away from prying eyes.  It is still going strong, and
3631 today a major mile stone was reached.</p>
3632
3633 <p>Today, the last of the packages currently used by the project to
3634 created the system images were accepted into Debian Unstable.  It was
3635 the freedombox-setup package, which is used to configure the images
3636 during build and on the first boot.  Now all one need to get going is
3637 the build code from the freedom-maker git repository and packages from
3638 Debian.  And once the freedombox-setup package enter testing, we can
3639 build everything directly from Debian. :)</p>
3640
3641 <p>Some key packages used by Freedombox are
3642 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/freedombox-setup">freedombox-setup</a>,
3643 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/plinth">plinth</a>,
3644 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/pagekite">pagekite</a>,
3645 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/tor">tor</a>,
3646 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/privoxy">privoxy</a>,
3647 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/owncloud">owncloud</a> and
3648 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/dnsmasq">dnsmasq</a>.  There
3649 are plans to integrate more packages into the setup.  User
3650 documentation is maintained on the Debian wiki.  Please
3651 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/FreedomBox/Manual/Jessie">check out
3652 the manual</a> and help us improve it.</p>
3653
3654 <p>To test for yourself and create boot images with the FreedomBox
3655 setup, run this on a Debian machine using a user with sudo rights to
3656 become root:</p>
3657
3658 <p><pre>
3659 sudo apt-get install git vmdebootstrap mercurial python-docutils \
3660   mktorrent extlinux virtualbox qemu-user-static binfmt-support \
3661   u-boot-tools
3662 git clone http://anonscm.debian.org/git/freedombox/freedom-maker.git \
3663   freedom-maker
3664 make -C freedom-maker dreamplug-image raspberry-image virtualbox-image
3665 </pre></p>
3666
3667 <p>Root access is needed to run debootstrap and mount loopback
3668 devices.  See the README in the freedom-maker git repo for more
3669 details on the build.  If you do not want all three images, trim the
3670 make line.  Note that the virtualbox-image target is not really
3671 virtualbox specific.  It create a x86 image usable in kvm, qemu,
3672 vmware and any other x86 virtual machine environment.  You might need
3673 the version of vmdebootstrap in Jessie to get the build working, as it
3674 include fixes for a race condition with kpartx.</p>
3675
3676 <p>If you instead want to install using a Debian CD and the preseed
3677 method, boot a Debian Wheezy ISO and use this boot argument to load
3678 the preseed values:</p>
3679
3680 <p><pre>
3681 url=<a href="http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/preseed-jessie.dat">http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/preseed-jessie.dat</a>
3682 </pre></p>
3683
3684 <p>I have not tested it myself the last few weeks, so I do not know if
3685 it still work.</p>
3686
3687 <p>If you wonder how to help, one task you could look at is using
3688 systemd as the boot system.  It will become the default for Linux in
3689 Jessie, so we need to make sure it is usable on the Freedombox.  I did
3690 a simple test a few weeks ago, and noticed dnsmasq failed to start
3691 during boot when using systemd.  I suspect there are other problems
3692 too. :) To detect problems, there is a test suite included, which can
3693 be run from the plinth web interface.</p>
3694
3695 <p>Give it a go and let us know how it goes on the mailing list, and help
3696 us get the new release published. :) Please join us on
3697 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org:6667/%23freedombox">IRC (#freedombox on
3698 irc.debian.org)</a> and
3699 <a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/mailman/listinfo/freedombox-discuss">the
3700 mailing list</a> if you want to help make this vision come true.</p>
3701
3702       </div>
3703       <div class="tags">
3704
3705
3706         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freedombox">freedombox</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
3707
3708
3709       </div>
3710     </div>
3711     <div class="padding"></div>
3712
3713     <div class="entry">
3714       <div class="title">
3715         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/S3QL__a_locally_mounted_cloud_file_system___nice_free_software.html">S3QL, a locally mounted cloud file system - nice free software</a>
3716       </div>
3717       <div class="date">
3718          9th April 2014
3719       </div>
3720       <div class="body">
3721         <p>For a while now, I have been looking for a sensible offsite backup
3722 solution for use at home.  My requirements are simple, it must be
3723 cheap and locally encrypted (in other words, I keep the encryption
3724 keys, the storage provider do not have access to my private files).
3725 One idea me and my friends had many years ago, before the cloud
3726 storage providers showed up, was to use Google mail as storage,
3727 writing a Linux block device storing blocks as emails in the mail
3728 service provided by Google, and thus get heaps of free space.  On top
3729 of this one can add encryption, RAID and volume management to have
3730 lots of (fairly slow, I admit that) cheap and encrypted storage.  But
3731 I never found time to implement such system.  But the last few weeks I
3732 have looked at a system called
3733 <a href="https://bitbucket.org/nikratio/s3ql/">S3QL</a>, a locally
3734 mounted network backed file system with the features I need.</p>
3735
3736 <p>S3QL is a fuse file system with a local cache and cloud storage,
3737 handling several different storage providers, any with Amazon S3,
3738 Google Drive or OpenStack API.  There are heaps of such storage
3739 providers.  S3QL can also use a local directory as storage, which
3740 combined with sshfs allow for file storage on any ssh server.  S3QL
3741 include support for encryption, compression, de-duplication, snapshots
3742 and immutable file systems, allowing me to mount the remote storage as
3743 a local mount point, look at and use the files as if they were local,
3744 while the content is stored in the cloud as well.  This allow me to
3745 have a backup that should survive fire.  The file system can not be
3746 shared between several machines at the same time, as only one can
3747 mount it at the time, but any machine with the encryption key and
3748 access to the storage service can mount it if it is unmounted.</p>
3749
3750 <p>It is simple to use.  I'm using it on Debian Wheezy, where the
3751 package is included already.  So to get started, run <tt>apt-get
3752 install s3ql</tt>.  Next, pick a storage provider.  I ended up picking
3753 Greenqloud, after reading their nice recipe on
3754 <a href="https://greenqloud.zendesk.com/entries/44611757-How-To-Use-S3QL-to-mount-a-StorageQloud-bucket-on-Debian-Wheezy">how
3755 to use S3QL with their Amazon S3 service</a>, because I trust the laws
3756 in Iceland more than those in USA when it come to keeping my personal
3757 data safe and private, and thus would rather spend money on a company
3758 in Iceland.  Another nice recipe is available from the article
3759 <a href="http://www.admin-magazine.com/HPC/Articles/HPC-Cloud-Storage">S3QL
3760 Filesystem for HPC Storage</a> by Jeff Layton in the HPC section of
3761 Admin magazine.  When the provider is picked, figure out how to get
3762 the API key needed to connect to the storage API.  With Greencloud,
3763 the key did not show up until I had added payment details to my
3764 account.</p>
3765
3766 <p>Armed with the API access details, it is time to create the file
3767 system.  First, create a new bucket in the cloud.  This bucket is the
3768 file system storage area.  I picked a bucket name reflecting the
3769 machine that was going to store data there, but any name will do.
3770 I'll refer to it as <tt>bucket-name</tt> below.  In addition, one need
3771 the API login and password, and a locally created password.  Store it
3772 all in ~root/.s3ql/authinfo2 like this:
3773
3774 <p><blockquote><pre>
3775 [s3c]
3776 storage-url: s3c://s.greenqloud.com:443/bucket-name
3777 backend-login: API-login
3778 backend-password: API-password
3779 fs-passphrase: local-password
3780 </pre></blockquote></p>
3781
3782 <p>I create my local passphrase using <tt>pwget 50</tt> or similar,
3783 but any sensible way to create a fairly random password should do it.
3784 Armed with these details, it is now time to run mkfs, entering the API
3785 details and password to create it:</p>
3786
3787 <p><blockquote><pre>
3788 # mkdir -m 700 /var/lib/s3ql-cache
3789 # mkfs.s3ql --cachedir /var/lib/s3ql-cache --authfile /root/.s3ql/authinfo2 \
3790   --ssl s3c://s.greenqloud.com:443/bucket-name
3791 Enter backend login:
3792 Enter backend password:
3793 Before using S3QL, make sure to read the user's guide, especially
3794 the 'Important Rules to Avoid Loosing Data' section.
3795 Enter encryption password:
3796 Confirm encryption password:
3797 Generating random encryption key...
3798 Creating metadata tables...
3799 Dumping metadata...
3800 ..objects..
3801 ..blocks..
3802 ..inodes..
3803 ..inode_blocks..
3804 ..symlink_targets..
3805 ..names..
3806 ..contents..
3807 ..ext_attributes..
3808 Compressing and uploading metadata...
3809 Wrote 0.00 MB of compressed metadata.
3810 # </pre></blockquote></p>
3811
3812 <p>The next step is mounting the file system to make the storage available.
3813
3814 <p><blockquote><pre>
3815 # mount.s3ql --cachedir /var/lib/s3ql-cache --authfile /root/.s3ql/authinfo2 \
3816   --ssl --allow-root s3c://s.greenqloud.com:443/bucket-name /s3ql
3817 Using 4 upload threads.
3818 Downloading and decompressing metadata...
3819 Reading metadata...
3820 ..objects..
3821 ..blocks..
3822 ..inodes..
3823 ..inode_blocks..
3824 ..symlink_targets..
3825 ..names..
3826 ..contents..
3827 ..ext_attributes..
3828 Mounting filesystem...
3829 # df -h /s3ql
3830 Filesystem                              Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
3831 s3c://s.greenqloud.com:443/bucket-name  1.0T     0  1.0T   0% /s3ql
3832 #
3833 </pre></blockquote></p>
3834
3835 <p>The file system is now ready for use.  I use rsync to store my
3836 backups in it, and as the metadata used by rsync is downloaded at
3837 mount time, no network traffic (and storage cost) is triggered by
3838 running rsync.  To unmount, one should not use the normal umount
3839 command, as this will not flush the cache to the cloud storage, but
3840 instead running the umount.s3ql command like this:
3841
3842 <p><blockquote><pre>
3843 # umount.s3ql /s3ql
3844 #
3845 </pre></blockquote></p>
3846
3847 <p>There is a fsck command available to check the file system and
3848 correct any problems detected.  This can be used if the local server
3849 crashes while the file system is mounted, to reset the "already
3850 mounted" flag.  This is what it look like when processing a working
3851 file system:</p>
3852
3853 <p><blockquote><pre>
3854 # fsck.s3ql --force --ssl s3c://s.greenqloud.com:443/bucket-name
3855 Using cached metadata.
3856 File system seems clean, checking anyway.
3857 Checking DB integrity...
3858 Creating temporary extra indices...
3859 Checking lost+found...
3860 Checking cached objects...
3861 Checking names (refcounts)...
3862 Checking contents (names)...
3863 Checking contents (inodes)...
3864 Checking contents (parent inodes)...
3865 Checking objects (reference counts)...
3866 Checking objects (backend)...
3867 ..processed 5000 objects so far..
3868 ..processed 10000 objects so far..
3869 ..processed 15000 objects so far..
3870 Checking objects (sizes)...
3871 Checking blocks (referenced objects)...
3872 Checking blocks (refcounts)...
3873 Checking inode-block mapping (blocks)...
3874 Checking inode-block mapping (inodes)...
3875 Checking inodes (refcounts)...
3876 Checking inodes (sizes)...
3877 Checking extended attributes (names)...
3878 Checking extended attributes (inodes)...
3879 Checking symlinks (inodes)...
3880 Checking directory reachability...
3881 Checking unix conventions...
3882 Checking referential integrity...
3883 Dropping temporary indices...
3884 Backing up old metadata...
3885 Dumping metadata...
3886 ..objects..
3887 ..blocks..
3888 ..inodes..
3889 ..inode_blocks..
3890 ..symlink_targets..
3891 ..names..
3892 ..contents..
3893 ..ext_attributes..
3894 Compressing and uploading metadata...
3895 Wrote 0.89 MB of compressed metadata.
3896 #
3897 </pre></blockquote></p>
3898
3899 <p>Thanks to the cache, working on files that fit in the cache is very
3900 quick, about the same speed as local file access.  Uploading large
3901 amount of data is to me limited by the bandwidth out of and into my
3902 house.  Uploading 685 MiB with a 100 MiB cache gave me 305 kiB/s,
3903 which is very close to my upload speed, and downloading the same
3904 Debian installation ISO gave me 610 kiB/s, close to my download speed.
3905 Both were measured using <tt>dd</tt>.  So for me, the bottleneck is my
3906 network, not the file system code.  I do not know what a good cache
3907 size would be, but suspect that the cache should e larger than your
3908 working set.</p>
3909
3910 <p>I mentioned that only one machine can mount the file system at the
3911 time.  If another machine try, it is told that the file system is
3912 busy:</p>
3913
3914 <p><blockquote><pre>
3915 # mount.s3ql --cachedir /var/lib/s3ql-cache --authfile /root/.s3ql/authinfo2 \
3916   --ssl --allow-root s3c://s.greenqloud.com:443/bucket-name /s3ql
3917 Using 8 upload threads.
3918 Backend reports that fs is still mounted elsewhere, aborting.
3919 #
3920 </pre></blockquote></p>
3921
3922 <p>The file content is uploaded when the cache is full, while the
3923 metadata is uploaded once every 24 hour by default.  To ensure the
3924 file system content is flushed to the cloud, one can either umount the
3925 file system, or ask S3QL to flush the cache and metadata using
3926 s3qlctrl:
3927
3928 <p><blockquote><pre>
3929 # s3qlctrl upload-meta /s3ql
3930 # s3qlctrl flushcache /s3ql
3931 #
3932 </pre></blockquote></p>
3933
3934 <p>If you are curious about how much space your data uses in the
3935 cloud, and how much compression and deduplication cut down on the
3936 storage usage, you can use s3qlstat on the mounted file system to get
3937 a report:</p>
3938
3939 <p><blockquote><pre>
3940 # s3qlstat /s3ql
3941 Directory entries:    9141
3942 Inodes:               9143
3943 Data blocks:          8851
3944 Total data size:      22049.38 MB
3945 After de-duplication: 21955.46 MB (99.57% of total)
3946 After compression:    21877.28 MB (99.22% of total, 99.64% of de-duplicated)
3947 Database size:        2.39 MB (uncompressed)
3948 (some values do not take into account not-yet-uploaded dirty blocks in cache)
3949 #
3950 </pre></blockquote></p>
3951
3952 <p>I mentioned earlier that there are several possible suppliers of
3953 storage.  I did not try to locate them all, but am aware of at least
3954 <a href="https://www.greenqloud.com/">Greenqloud</a>,
3955 <a href="http://drive.google.com/">Google Drive</a>,
3956 <a href="http://aws.amazon.com/s3/">Amazon S3 web serivces</a>,
3957 <a href="http://www.rackspace.com/">Rackspace</a> and
3958 <a href="http://crowncloud.net/">Crowncloud</A>.  The latter even
3959 accept payment in Bitcoin.  Pick one that suit your need.  Some of
3960 them provide several GiB of free storage, but the prize models are
3961 quite different and you will have to figure out what suits you
3962 best.</p>
3963
3964 <p>While researching this blog post, I had a look at research papers
3965 and posters discussing the S3QL file system.  There are several, which
3966 told me that the file system is getting a critical check by the
3967 science community and increased my confidence in using it.  One nice
3968 poster is titled
3969 "<a href="http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/adtsc/publications/science_highlights_2013/docs/pg68_69.pdf">An
3970 Innovative Parallel Cloud Storage System using OpenStack’s SwiftObject
3971 Store and Transformative Parallel I/O Approach</a>" by Hsing-Bung
3972 Chen, Benjamin McClelland, David Sherrill, Alfred Torrez, Parks Fields
3973 and Pamela Smith.  Please  have a look.</p>
3974
3975 <p>Given my problems with different file systems earlier, I decided to
3976 check out the mounted S3QL file system to see if it would be usable as
3977 a home directory (in other word, that it provided POSIX semantics when
3978 it come to locking and umask handling etc).  Running
3979 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Testing_if_a_file_system_can_be_used_for_home_directories___.html">my
3980 test code to check file system semantics</a>, I was happy to discover that
3981 no error was found.  So the file system can be used for home
3982 directories, if one chooses to do so.</p>
3983
3984 <p>If you do not want a locally file system, and want something that
3985 work without the Linux fuse file system, I would like to mention the
3986 <a href="http://www.tarsnap.com/">Tarsnap service</a>, which also
3987 provide locally encrypted backup using a command line client.  It have
3988 a nicer access control system, where one can split out read and write
3989 access, allowing some systems to write to the backup and others to
3990 only read from it.</p>
3991
3992 <p>As usual, if you use Bitcoin and want to show your support of my
3993 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
3994 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
3995
3996       </div>
3997       <div class="tags">
3998
3999
4000         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nice free software">nice free software</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
4001
4002
4003       </div>
4004     </div>
4005     <div class="padding"></div>
4006
4007     <div class="entry">
4008       <div class="title">
4009         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Freedombox_on_Dreamplug__Raspberry_Pi_and_virtual_x86_machine.html">Freedombox on Dreamplug, Raspberry Pi and virtual x86 machine</a>
4010       </div>
4011       <div class="date">
4012         14th March 2014
4013       </div>
4014       <div class="body">
4015         <p>The <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/FreedomBox">Freedombox
4016 project</a> is working on providing the software and hardware for
4017 making it easy for non-technical people to host their data and
4018 communication at home, and being able to communicate with their
4019 friends and family encrypted and away from prying eyes.  It has been
4020 going on for a while, and is slowly progressing towards a new test
4021 release (0.2).</p>
4022
4023 <p>And what day could be better than the Pi day to announce that the
4024 new version will provide "hard drive" / SD card / USB stick images for
4025 Dreamplug, Raspberry Pi and VirtualBox (or any other virtualization
4026 system), and can also be installed using a Debian installer preseed
4027 file.  The Debian based Freedombox is now based on Debian Jessie,
4028 where most of the needed packages used are already present.  Only one,
4029 the freedombox-setup package, is missing.  To try to build your own
4030 boot image to test the current status, fetch the freedom-maker scripts
4031 and build using
4032 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/vmdebootstrap">vmdebootstrap</a>
4033 with a user with sudo access to become root:
4034
4035 <pre>
4036 git clone http://anonscm.debian.org/git/freedombox/freedom-maker.git \
4037   freedom-maker
4038 sudo apt-get install git vmdebootstrap mercurial python-docutils \
4039   mktorrent extlinux virtualbox qemu-user-static binfmt-support \
4040   u-boot-tools
4041 make -C freedom-maker dreamplug-image raspberry-image virtualbox-image
4042 </pre>
4043
4044 <p>Root access is needed to run debootstrap and mount loopback
4045 devices.  See the README for more details on the build. If you do not
4046 want all three images, trim the make line.  But note that thanks to <a
4047 href="https://bugs.debian.org/741407">a race condition in
4048 vmdebootstrap</a>, the build might fail without the patch to the
4049 kpartx call.</p>
4050
4051 <p>If you instead want to install using a Debian CD and the preseed
4052 method, boot a Debian Wheezy ISO and use this boot argument to load
4053 the preseed values:</p>
4054
4055 <pre>
4056 url=<a href="http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/preseed-jessie.dat">http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/preseed-jessie.dat</a>
4057 </pre>
4058
4059 <p>But note that due to <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/740673">a
4060 recently introduced bug in apt in Jessie</a>, the installer will
4061 currently hang while setting up APT sources.  Killing the
4062 '<tt>apt-cdrom ident</tt>' process when it hang a few times during the
4063 installation will get the installation going.  This affect all
4064 installations in Jessie, and I expect it will be fixed soon.</p>
4065
4066 <p>Give it a go and let us know how it goes on the mailing list, and help
4067 us get the new release published. :) Please join us on
4068 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org:6667/%23freedombox">IRC (#freedombox on
4069 irc.debian.org)</a> and
4070 <a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/mailman/listinfo/freedombox-discuss">the
4071 mailing list</a> if you want to help make this vision come true.</p>
4072
4073       </div>
4074       <div class="tags">
4075
4076
4077         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freedombox">freedombox</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
4078
4079
4080       </div>
4081     </div>
4082     <div class="padding"></div>
4083
4084     <div class="entry">
4085       <div class="title">
4086         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_home_and_release_1_0_for_netgroup_and_innetgr__aka_ng_utils_.html">New home and release 1.0 for netgroup and innetgr (aka ng-utils)</a>
4087       </div>
4088       <div class="date">
4089         22nd February 2014
4090       </div>
4091       <div class="body">
4092         <p>Many years ago, I wrote a GPL licensed version of the netgroup and
4093 innetgr tools, because I needed them in
4094 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a>.  I called the project
4095 ng-utils, and it has served me well.  I placed the project under the
4096 <a href="http://www.hungry.com/">Hungry Programmer</a> umbrella, and it was maintained in our CVS
4097 repository.  But many years ago, the CVS repository was dropped (lost,
4098 not migrated to new hardware, not sure), and the project have lacked a
4099 proper home since then.</p>
4100
4101 <p>Last summer, I had a look at the package and made a new release
4102 fixing a irritating crash bug, but was unable to store the changes in
4103 a proper source control system.  I applied for a project on
4104 <a href="https://alioth.debian.org/">Alioth</a>, but did not have time
4105 to follow up on it.  Until today. :)</p>
4106
4107 <p>After many hours of cleaning and migration, the ng-utils project
4108 now have a new home, and a git repository with the highlight of the
4109 history of the project.  I published all release tarballs and imported
4110 them into the git repository.  As the project is really stable and not
4111 expected to gain new features any time soon, I decided to make a new
4112 release and call it 1.0.  Visit the new project home on
4113 <a href="https://alioth.debian.org/projects/ng-utils/">https://alioth.debian.org/projects/ng-utils/</a>
4114 if you want to check it out.  The new version is also uploaded into
4115 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/n/ng-utils.html">Debian Unstable</a>.</p>
4116
4117       </div>
4118       <div class="tags">
4119
4120
4121         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
4122
4123
4124       </div>
4125     </div>
4126     <div class="padding"></div>
4127
4128     <div class="entry">
4129       <div class="title">
4130         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Testing_sysvinit_from_experimental_in_Debian_Hurd.html">Testing sysvinit from experimental in Debian Hurd</a>
4131       </div>
4132       <div class="date">
4133          3rd February 2014
4134       </div>
4135       <div class="body">
4136         <p>A few days ago I decided to try to help the Hurd people to get
4137 their changes into sysvinit, to allow them to use the normal sysvinit
4138 boot system instead of their old one.  This follow up on the
4139 <a href="https://teythoon.cryptobitch.de//categories/gsoc.html">great
4140 Google Summer of Code work</a> done last summer by Justus Winter to
4141 get Debian on Hurd working more like Debian on Linux.  To get started,
4142 I downloaded a prebuilt hard disk image from
4143 <a href="http://ftp.debian-ports.org/debian-cd/hurd-i386/current/debian-hurd.img.tar.gz">http://ftp.debian-ports.org/debian-cd/hurd-i386/current/debian-hurd.img.tar.gz</a>,
4144 and started it using virt-manager.</p>
4145
4146 <p>The first think I had to do after logging in (root without any
4147 password) was to get the network operational.  I followed
4148 <a href="https://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/hurd-install">the
4149 instructions on the Debian GNU/Hurd ports page</a> and ran these
4150 commands as root to get the machine to accept a IP address from the
4151 kvm internal DHCP server:</p>
4152
4153 <p><blockquote><pre>
4154 settrans -fgap /dev/netdde /hurd/netdde
4155 kill $(ps -ef|awk '/[p]finet/ { print $2}')
4156 kill $(ps -ef|awk '/[d]evnode/ { print $2}')
4157 dhclient /dev/eth0
4158 </pre></blockquote></p>
4159
4160 <p>After this, the machine had internet connectivity, and I could
4161 upgrade it and install the sysvinit packages from experimental and
4162 enable it as the default boot system in Hurd.</p>
4163
4164 <p>But before I did that, I set a password on the root user, as ssh is
4165 running on the machine it for ssh login to work a password need to be
4166 set.  Also, note that a bug somewhere in openssh on Hurd block
4167 compression from working.  Remember to turn that off on the client
4168 side.</p>
4169
4170 <p>Run these commands as root to upgrade and test the new sysvinit
4171 stuff:</p>
4172
4173 <p><blockquote><pre>
4174 cat > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/experimental.list &lt;&lt;EOF
4175 deb http://http.debian.net/debian/ experimental main
4176 EOF
4177 apt-get update
4178 apt-get dist-upgrade
4179 apt-get install -t experimental initscripts sysv-rc sysvinit \
4180     sysvinit-core sysvinit-utils
4181 update-alternatives --config runsystem
4182 </pre></blockquote></p>
4183
4184 <p>To reboot after switching boot system, you have to use
4185 <tt>reboot-hurd</tt> instead of just <tt>reboot</tt>, as there is not
4186 yet a sysvinit process able to receive the signals from the normal
4187 'reboot' command.  After switching to sysvinit as the boot system,
4188 upgrading every package and rebooting, the network come up with DHCP
4189 after boot as it should, and the settrans/pkill hack mentioned at the
4190 start is no longer needed.  But for some strange reason, there are no
4191 longer any login prompt in the virtual console, so I logged in using
4192 ssh instead.
4193
4194 <p>Note that there are some race conditions in Hurd making the boot
4195 fail some times.  No idea what the cause is, but hope the Hurd porters
4196 figure it out.  At least Justus said on IRC (#debian-hurd on
4197 irc.debian.org) that they are aware of the problem.  A way to reduce
4198 the impact is to upgrade to the Hurd packages built by Justus by
4199 adding this repository to the machine:</p>
4200
4201 <p><blockquote><pre>
4202 cat > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hurd-ci.list &lt;&lt;EOF
4203 deb http://darnassus.sceen.net/~teythoon/hurd-ci/ sid main
4204 EOF
4205 </pre></blockquote></p>
4206
4207 <p>At the moment the prebuilt virtual machine get some packages from
4208 http://ftp.debian-ports.org/debian, because some of the packages in
4209 unstable do not yet include the required patches that are lingering in
4210 BTS.  This is the completely list of "unofficial" packages installed:</p>
4211
4212 <p><blockquote><pre>
4213 # aptitude search '?narrow(?version(CURRENT),?origin(Debian Ports))'
4214 i   emacs                   - GNU Emacs editor (metapackage)
4215 i   gdb                     - GNU Debugger
4216 i   hurd-recommended        - Miscellaneous translators
4217 i   isc-dhcp-client         - ISC DHCP client
4218 i   isc-dhcp-common         - common files used by all the isc-dhcp* packages
4219 i   libc-bin                - Embedded GNU C Library: Binaries
4220 i   libc-dev-bin            - Embedded GNU C Library: Development binaries
4221 i   libc0.3                 - Embedded GNU C Library: Shared libraries
4222 i A libc0.3-dbg             - Embedded GNU C Library: detached debugging symbols
4223 i   libc0.3-dev             - Embedded GNU C Library: Development Libraries and Hea
4224 i   multiarch-support       - Transitional package to ensure multiarch compatibilit
4225 i A x11-common              - X Window System (X.Org) infrastructure
4226 i   xorg                    - X.Org X Window System
4227 i A xserver-xorg            - X.Org X server
4228 i A xserver-xorg-input-all  - X.Org X server -- input driver metapackage
4229 #
4230 </pre></blockquote></p>
4231
4232 <p>All in all, testing hurd has been an interesting experience. :)
4233 X.org did not work out of the box and I never took the time to follow
4234 the porters instructions to fix it.  This time I was interested in the
4235 command line stuff.<p>
4236
4237       </div>
4238       <div class="tags">
4239
4240
4241         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
4242
4243
4244       </div>
4245     </div>
4246     <div class="padding"></div>
4247
4248     <div class="entry">
4249       <div class="title">
4250         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_chrpath_release_0_16.html">New chrpath release 0.16</a>
4251       </div>
4252       <div class="date">
4253         14th January 2014
4254       </div>
4255       <div class="body">
4256         <p><a href="http://www.coverity.com/">Coverity</a> is a nice tool to
4257 find problems in C, C++ and Java code using static source code
4258 analysis.  It can detect a lot of different problems, and is very
4259 useful to find memory and locking bugs in the error handling part of
4260 the source.  The company behind it provide
4261 <a href="https://scan.coverity.com/">check of free software projects as
4262 a community service</a>, and many hundred free software projects are
4263 already checked.  A few days ago I decided to have a closer look at
4264 the Coverity system, and discovered that the
4265 <a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/">gnash</a> and
4266 <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/ipmitool/">ipmitool</a>
4267 projects I am involved with was already registered.  But these are
4268 fairly big, and I would also like to have a small and easy project to
4269 check, and decided to <a href="http://scan.coverity.com/projects/1179">request
4270 checking of the chrpath project</a>.  It was
4271 added to the checker and discovered seven potential defects.  Six of
4272 these were real, mostly resource "leak" when the program detected an
4273 error.  Nothing serious, as the resources would be released a fraction
4274 of a second later when the program exited because of the error, but it
4275 is nice to do it right in case the source of the program some time in
4276 the future end up in a library.  Having fixed all defects and added
4277 <a href="https://lists.alioth.debian.org/mailman/listinfo/chrpath-devel">a
4278 mailing list for the chrpath developers</a>, I decided it was time to
4279 publish a new release.  These are the release notes:</p>
4280
4281 <p>New in 0.16 released 2014-01-14:</p>
4282
4283 <ul>
4284
4285   <li>Fixed all minor bugs discovered by Coverity.</li>
4286   <li>Updated config.sub and config.guess from the GNU project.</li>
4287   <li>Mention new project mailing list in the documentation.</li>
4288
4289 </ul>
4290
4291 <p>You can
4292 <a href="https://alioth.debian.org/frs/?group_id=31052">download the
4293 new version 0.16 from alioth</a>.  Please let us know via the Alioth
4294 project if something is wrong with the new release.  The test suite
4295 did not discover any old errors, so if you find a new one, please also
4296 include a test suite check.</p>
4297
4298       </div>
4299       <div class="tags">
4300
4301
4302         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/chrpath">chrpath</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
4303
4304
4305       </div>
4306     </div>
4307     <div class="padding"></div>
4308
4309     <div class="entry">
4310       <div class="title">
4311         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_chrpath_release_0_15.html">New chrpath release 0.15</a>
4312       </div>
4313       <div class="date">
4314         24th November 2013
4315       </div>
4316       <div class="body">
4317         <p>After many years break from the package and a vain hope that
4318 development would be continued by someone else, I finally pulled my
4319 acts together this morning and wrapped up a new release of chrpath,
4320 the command line tool to modify the rpath and runpath of already
4321 compiled ELF programs.  The update was triggered by the persistence of
4322 Isha Vishnoi at IBM, which needed a new config.guess file to get
4323 support for the ppc64le architecture (powerpc 64-bit Little Endian) he
4324 is working on.  I checked the
4325 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/chrpath">Debian</a>,
4326 <a href="https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/chrpath">Ubuntu</a> and
4327 <a href="https://admin.fedoraproject.org/pkgdb/acls/name/chrpath">Fedora</a>
4328 packages for interesting patches (failed to find the source from
4329 OpenSUSE and Mandriva packages), and found quite a few nice fixes.
4330 These are the release notes:</p>
4331
4332 <p>New in 0.15 released 2013-11-24:</p>
4333
4334 <ul>
4335
4336   <li>Updated config.sub and config.guess from the GNU project to work
4337    with newer architectures.  Thanks to isha vishnoi for the heads
4338    up.</li>
4339
4340   <li>Updated README with current URLs.</li>
4341
4342   <li>Added byteswap fix found in Ubuntu, credited Jeremy Kerr and
4343    Matthias Klose.</li>
4344
4345   <li>Added missing help for -k|--keepgoing option, using patch by
4346    Petr Machata found in Fedora.</li>
4347
4348   <li>Rewrite removal of RPATH/RUNPATH to make sure the entry in
4349    .dynamic is a NULL terminated string.  Based on patch found in
4350    Fedora credited Axel Thimm and Christian Krause.</li>
4351
4352 </ul>
4353
4354 <p>You can
4355 <a href="https://alioth.debian.org/frs/?group_id=31052">download the
4356 new version 0.15 from alioth</a>.  Please let us know via the Alioth
4357 project if something is wrong with the new release.  The test suite
4358 did not discover any old errors, so if you find a new one, please also
4359 include a testsuite check.</p>
4360
4361       </div>
4362       <div class="tags">
4363
4364
4365         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/chrpath">chrpath</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
4366
4367
4368       </div>
4369     </div>
4370     <div class="padding"></div>
4371
4372     <div class="entry">
4373       <div class="title">
4374         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_init_d_boot_script_example_for_rsyslog.html">Debian init.d boot script example for rsyslog</a>
4375       </div>
4376       <div class="date">
4377          2nd November 2013
4378       </div>
4379       <div class="body">
4380         <p>If one of the points of switching to a new init system in Debian is
4381 <a href="http://thomas.goirand.fr/blog/?p=147">to get rid of huge
4382 init.d scripts</a>, I doubt we need to switch away from sysvinit and
4383 init.d scripts at all.  Here is an example init.d script, ie a rewrite
4384 of /etc/init.d/rsyslog:</p>
4385
4386 <p><pre>
4387 #!/lib/init/init-d-script
4388 ### BEGIN INIT INFO
4389 # Provides:          rsyslog
4390 # Required-Start:    $remote_fs $time
4391 # Required-Stop:     umountnfs $time
4392 # X-Stop-After:      sendsigs
4393 # Default-Start:     2 3 4 5
4394 # Default-Stop:      0 1 6
4395 # Short-Description: enhanced syslogd
4396 # Description:       Rsyslog is an enhanced multi-threaded syslogd.
4397 #                    It is quite compatible to stock sysklogd and can be
4398 #                    used as a drop-in replacement.
4399 ### END INIT INFO
4400 DESC="enhanced syslogd"
4401 DAEMON=/usr/sbin/rsyslogd
4402 </pre></p>
4403
4404 <p>Pretty minimalistic to me... For the record, the original sysv-rc
4405 script was 137 lines, and the above is just 15 lines, most of it meta
4406 info/comments.</p>
4407
4408 <p>How to do this, you ask?  Well, one create a new script
4409 /lib/init/init-d-script looking something like this:
4410
4411 <p><pre>
4412 #!/bin/sh
4413
4414 # Define LSB log_* functions.
4415 # Depend on lsb-base (>= 3.2-14) to ensure that this file is present
4416 # and status_of_proc is working.
4417 . /lib/lsb/init-functions
4418
4419 #
4420 # Function that starts the daemon/service
4421
4422 #
4423 do_start()
4424 {
4425         # Return
4426         #   0 if daemon has been started
4427         #   1 if daemon was already running
4428         #   2 if daemon could not be started
4429         start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE --exec $DAEMON --test > /dev/null \
4430                 || return 1
4431         start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE --exec $DAEMON -- \
4432                 $DAEMON_ARGS \
4433                 || return 2
4434         # Add code here, if necessary, that waits for the process to be ready
4435         # to handle requests from services started subsequently which depend
4436         # on this one.  As a last resort, sleep for some time.
4437 }
4438
4439 #
4440 # Function that stops the daemon/service
4441 #
4442 do_stop()
4443 {
4444         # Return
4445         #   0 if daemon has been stopped
4446         #   1 if daemon was already stopped
4447         #   2 if daemon could not be stopped
4448         #   other if a failure occurred
4449         start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --retry=TERM/30/KILL/5 --pidfile $PIDFILE --name $NAME
4450         RETVAL="$?"
4451         [ "$RETVAL" = 2 ] && return 2
4452         # Wait for children to finish too if this is a daemon that forks
4453         # and if the daemon is only ever run from this initscript.
4454         # If the above conditions are not satisfied then add some other code
4455         # that waits for the process to drop all resources that could be
4456         # needed by services started subsequently.  A last resort is to
4457         # sleep for some time.
4458         start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --oknodo --retry=0/30/KILL/5 --exec $DAEMON
4459         [ "$?" = 2 ] && return 2
4460         # Many daemons don't delete their pidfiles when they exit.
4461         rm -f $PIDFILE
4462         return "$RETVAL"
4463 }
4464
4465 #
4466 # Function that sends a SIGHUP to the daemon/service
4467 #
4468 do_reload() {
4469         #
4470         # If the daemon can reload its configuration without
4471         # restarting (for example, when it is sent a SIGHUP),
4472         # then implement that here.
4473         #
4474         start-stop-daemon --stop --signal 1 --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE --name $NAME
4475         return 0
4476 }
4477
4478 SCRIPTNAME=$1
4479 scriptbasename="$(basename $1)"
4480 echo "SN: $scriptbasename"
4481 if [ "$scriptbasename" != "init-d-library" ] ; then
4482     script="$1"
4483     shift
4484     . $script
4485 else
4486     exit 0
4487 fi
4488
4489 NAME=$(basename $DAEMON)
4490 PIDFILE=/var/run/$NAME.pid
4491
4492 # Exit if the package is not installed
4493 #[ -x "$DAEMON" ] || exit 0
4494
4495 # Read configuration variable file if it is present
4496 [ -r /etc/default/$NAME ] && . /etc/default/$NAME
4497
4498 # Load the VERBOSE setting and other rcS variables
4499 . /lib/init/vars.sh
4500
4501 case "$1" in
4502   start)
4503         [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && log_daemon_msg "Starting $DESC" "$NAME"
4504         do_start
4505         case "$?" in
4506                 0|1) [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && log_end_msg 0 ;;
4507                 2) [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && log_end_msg 1 ;;
4508         esac
4509         ;;
4510   stop)
4511         [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && log_daemon_msg "Stopping $DESC" "$NAME"
4512         do_stop
4513         case "$?" in
4514                 0|1) [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && log_end_msg 0 ;;
4515                 2) [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && log_end_msg 1 ;;
4516         esac
4517         ;;
4518   status)
4519         status_of_proc "$DAEMON" "$NAME" && exit 0 || exit $?
4520         ;;
4521   #reload|force-reload)
4522         #
4523         # If do_reload() is not implemented then leave this commented out
4524         # and leave 'force-reload' as an alias for 'restart'.
4525         #
4526         #log_daemon_msg "Reloading $DESC" "$NAME"
4527         #do_reload
4528         #log_end_msg $?
4529         #;;
4530   restart|force-reload)
4531         #
4532         # If the "reload" option is implemented then remove the
4533         # 'force-reload' alias
4534         #
4535         log_daemon_msg "Restarting $DESC" "$NAME"
4536         do_stop
4537         case "$?" in
4538           0|1)
4539                 do_start
4540                 case "$?" in
4541                         0) log_end_msg 0 ;;
4542                         1) log_end_msg 1 ;; # Old process is still running
4543                         *) log_end_msg 1 ;; # Failed to start
4544                 esac
4545                 ;;
4546           *)
4547                 # Failed to stop
4548                 log_end_msg 1
4549                 ;;
4550         esac
4551         ;;
4552   *)
4553         echo "Usage: $SCRIPTNAME {start|stop|status|restart|force-reload}" >&2
4554         exit 3
4555         ;;
4556 esac
4557
4558 :
4559 </pre></p>
4560
4561 <p>It is based on /etc/init.d/skeleton, and could be improved quite a
4562 lot.  I did not really polish the approach, so it might not always
4563 work out of the box, but you get the idea.  I did not try very hard to
4564 optimize it nor make it more robust either.</p>
4565
4566 <p>A better argument for switching init system in Debian than reducing
4567 the size of init scripts (which is a good thing to do anyway), is to
4568 get boot system that is able to handle the kernel events sensibly and
4569 robustly, and do not depend on the boot to run sequentially.  The boot
4570 and the kernel have not behaved sequentially in years.</p>
4571
4572       </div>
4573       <div class="tags">
4574
4575
4576         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
4577
4578
4579       </div>
4580     </div>
4581     <div class="padding"></div>
4582
4583     <div class="entry">
4584       <div class="title">
4585         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Browser_plugin_for_SPICE__spice_xpi__uploaded_to_Debian.html">Browser plugin for SPICE (spice-xpi) uploaded to Debian</a>
4586       </div>
4587       <div class="date">
4588          1st November 2013
4589       </div>
4590       <div class="body">
4591         <p><a href="http://www.spice-space.org/">The SPICE protocol</a> for
4592 remote display access is the preferred solution with oVirt and RedHat
4593 Enterprise Virtualization, and I was sad to discover the other day
4594 that the browser plugin needed to use these systems seamlessly was
4595 missing in Debian.  The <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/668284">request
4596 for a package</a> was from 2012-04-10 with no progress since
4597 2013-04-01, so I decided to wrap up a package based on the great work
4598 from Cajus Pollmeier and put it in a collab-maint maintained git
4599 repository to get a package I could use.  I would very much like
4600 others to help me maintain the package (or just take over, I do not
4601 mind), but as no-one had volunteered so far, I just uploaded it to
4602 NEW.  I hope it will be available in Debian in a few days.</p>
4603
4604 <p>The source is now available from
4605 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=collab-maint/spice-xpi.git;a=summary">http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=collab-maint/spice-xpi.git;a=summary</a>.</p>
4606
4607       </div>
4608       <div class="tags">
4609
4610
4611         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
4612
4613
4614       </div>
4615     </div>
4616     <div class="padding"></div>
4617
4618     <div class="entry">
4619       <div class="title">
4620         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Teaching_vmdebootstrap_to_create_Raspberry_Pi_SD_card_images.html">Teaching vmdebootstrap to create Raspberry Pi SD card images</a>
4621       </div>
4622       <div class="date">
4623         27th October 2013
4624       </div>
4625       <div class="body">
4626         <p>The
4627 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/v/vmdebootstrap.html">vmdebootstrap</a>
4628 program is a a very nice system to create virtual machine images.  It
4629 create a image file, add a partition table, mount it and run
4630 debootstrap in the mounted directory to create a Debian system on a
4631 stick.  Yesterday, I decided to try to teach it how to make images for
4632 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/RaspberryPi">Raspberry Pi</a>, as part
4633 of a plan to simplify the build system for
4634 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/FreedomBox">the FreedomBox
4635 project</a>.  The FreedomBox project already uses vmdebootstrap for
4636 the virtualbox images, but its current build system made multistrap
4637 based system for Dreamplug images, and it is lacking support for
4638 Raspberry Pi.</p>
4639
4640 <p>Armed with the knowledge on how to build "foreign" (aka non-native
4641 architecture) chroots for Raspberry Pi, I dived into the vmdebootstrap
4642 code and adjusted it to be able to build armel images on my amd64
4643 Debian laptop.  I ended up giving vmdebootstrap five new options,
4644 allowing me to replicate the image creation process I use to make
4645 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_Raspberry_Pi_based_batman_adv_Mesh_network_node.html">Debian
4646 Jessie based mesh node images for the Raspberry Pi</a>.  First, the
4647 <tt>--foreign /path/to/binfm_handler</tt> option tell vmdebootstrap to
4648 call debootstrap with --foreign and to copy the handler into the
4649 generated chroot before running the second stage.  This allow
4650 vmdebootstrap to create armel images on an amd64 host.  Next I added
4651 two new options <tt>--bootsize size</tt> and <tt>--boottype
4652 fstype</tt> to teach it to create a separate /boot/ partition with the
4653 given file system type, allowing me to create an image with a vfat
4654 partition for the /boot/ stuff.  I also added a <tt>--variant
4655 variant</tt> option to allow me to create smaller images without the
4656 Debian base system packages installed.  Finally, I added an option
4657 <tt>--no-extlinux</tt> to tell vmdebootstrap to not install extlinux
4658 as a boot loader.  It is not needed on the Raspberry Pi and probably
4659 most other non-x86 architectures.  The changes were accepted by the
4660 upstream author of vmdebootstrap yesterday and today, and is now
4661 available from
4662 <a href="http://git.liw.fi/cgi-bin/cgit/cgit.cgi/vmdebootstrap/">the
4663 upstream project page</a>.</p>
4664
4665 <p>To use it to build a Raspberry Pi image using Debian Jessie, first
4666 create a small script (the customize script) to add the non-free
4667 binary blob needed to boot the Raspberry Pi and the APT source
4668 list:</p>
4669
4670 <p><pre>
4671 #!/bin/sh
4672 set -e # Exit on first error
4673 rootdir="$1"
4674 cd "$rootdir"
4675 cat &lt;&lt;EOF > etc/apt/sources.list
4676 deb http://http.debian.net/debian/ jessie main contrib non-free
4677 EOF
4678 # Install non-free binary blob needed to boot Raspberry Pi.  This
4679 # install a kernel somewhere too.
4680 wget https://raw.github.com/Hexxeh/rpi-update/master/rpi-update \
4681     -O $rootdir/usr/bin/rpi-update
4682 chmod a+x $rootdir/usr/bin/rpi-update
4683 mkdir -p $rootdir/lib/modules
4684 touch $rootdir/boot/start.elf
4685 chroot $rootdir rpi-update
4686 </pre></p>
4687
4688 <p>Next, fetch the latest vmdebootstrap script and call it like this
4689 to build the image:</p>
4690
4691 <pre>
4692 sudo ./vmdebootstrap \
4693     --variant minbase \
4694     --arch armel \
4695     --distribution jessie \
4696     --mirror http://http.debian.net/debian \
4697     --image test.img \
4698     --size 600M \
4699     --bootsize 64M \
4700     --boottype vfat \
4701     --log-level debug \
4702     --verbose \
4703     --no-kernel \
4704     --no-extlinux \
4705     --root-password raspberry \
4706     --hostname raspberrypi \
4707     --foreign /usr/bin/qemu-arm-static \
4708     --customize `pwd`/customize \
4709     --package netbase \
4710     --package git-core \
4711     --package binutils \
4712     --package ca-certificates \
4713     --package wget \
4714     --package kmod
4715 </pre></p>
4716
4717 <p>The list of packages being installed are the ones needed by
4718 rpi-update to make the image bootable on the Raspberry Pi, with the
4719 exception of netbase, which is needed by debootstrap to find
4720 /etc/hosts with the minbase variant.  I really wish there was a way to
4721 set up an Raspberry Pi using only packages in the Debian archive, but
4722 that is not possible as far as I know, because it boots from the GPU
4723 using a non-free binary blob.</p>
4724
4725 <p>The build host need debootstrap, kpartx and qemu-user-static and
4726 probably a few others installed.  I have not checked the complete
4727 build dependency list.</p>
4728
4729 <p>The resulting image will not use the hardware floating point unit
4730 on the Raspberry PI, because the armel architecture in Debian is not
4731 optimized for that use.  So the images created will be a bit slower
4732 than <a href="http://www.raspbian.org/">Raspbian</a> based images.</p>
4733
4734       </div>
4735       <div class="tags">
4736
4737
4738         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freedombox">freedombox</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/mesh network">mesh network</a>.
4739
4740
4741       </div>
4742     </div>
4743     <div class="padding"></div>
4744
4745     <div class="entry">
4746       <div class="title">
4747         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Good_causes__Debian_Outreach_Program_for_Women__EFF_documenting_the_spying_and_Open_access_in_Norway.html">Good causes: Debian Outreach Program for Women, EFF documenting the spying and Open access in Norway</a>
4748       </div>
4749       <div class="date">
4750         15th October 2013
4751       </div>
4752       <div class="body">
4753         <p>The last few days I came across a few good causes that should get
4754 wider attention.  I recommend signing and donating to each one of
4755 these. :)</p>
4756
4757 <p>Via <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/weekly/2013/18/">Debian
4758 Project News for 2013-10-14</a> I came across the Outreach Program for
4759 Women program which is a Google Summer of Code like initiative to get
4760 more women involved in free software.  One debian sponsor has offered
4761 to match <a href="http://debian.ch/opw2013">any donation done to Debian
4762 earmarked</a> for this initiative.  I donated a few minutes ago, and
4763 hope you will to. :)</p>
4764
4765 <p>And the Electronic Frontier Foundation just announced plans to
4766 create <a href="https://supporters.eff.org/donate/nsa-videos">video
4767 documentaries about the excessive spying</a> on every Internet user that
4768 take place these days, and their need to fund the work.  I've already
4769 donated.  Are you next?</p>
4770
4771 <p>For my Norwegian audience, the organisation Studentenes og
4772 Akademikernes Internasjonale Hjelpefond is collecting signatures for a
4773 statement under the heading
4774 <a href="http://saih.no/Bloggers_United/">Bloggers United for Open
4775 Access</a> for those of us asking for more focus on open access in the
4776 Norwegian government.  So far 499 signatures.  I hope you will sign it
4777 too.</p>
4778
4779       </div>
4780       <div class="tags">
4781
4782
4783         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>.
4784
4785
4786       </div>
4787     </div>
4788     <div class="padding"></div>
4789
4790     <div class="entry">
4791       <div class="title">
4792         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Videos_about_the_Freedombox_project___for_inspiration_and_learning.html">Videos about the Freedombox project - for inspiration and learning</a>
4793       </div>
4794       <div class="date">
4795         27th September 2013
4796       </div>
4797       <div class="body">
4798         <p>The <a href="http://www.freedomboxfoundation.org/">Freedombox
4799 project</a> have been going on for a while, and have presented the
4800 vision, ideas and solution several places.  Here is a little
4801 collection of videos of talks and presentation of the project.</p>
4802
4803 <ul>
4804
4805 <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukvUz5taxvA">FreedomBox -
4806 2,5 minute marketing film</a> (Youtube)</li>
4807
4808 <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzW25QTVWsE">Eben Moglen
4809 discusses the Freedombox on CBS news 2011</a> (Youtube)</li>
4810
4811 <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae8SZbxfE0g">Eben Moglen -
4812 Freedom in the Cloud - Software Freedom, Privacy and and Security for
4813 Web 2.0 and Cloud computing at ISOC-NY Public Meeting 2010</a>
4814 (Youtube)</li>
4815
4816 <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNaIji_3xBE">Fosdem 2011
4817 Keynote by Eben Moglen presenting the Freedombox</a> (Youtube)</li>
4818
4819 <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bDDUyJSQ9s">Presentation of
4820 the Freedombox by James Vasile at Elevate in Gratz 2011</a> (Youtube)</li>
4821
4822 <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQTmnk27g9s"> Freedombox -
4823 Discovery, Identity, and Trust by Nick Daly at Freedombox Hackfest New
4824 York City in 2012</a> (Youtube)</li>
4825
4826 <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkbSB4Ba7Ck">Introduction
4827 to the Freedombox at Freedombox Hackfest New York City in 2012</a>
4828 (Youtube)</li>
4829
4830 <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-P2Jaeg0aQ">Freedom, Out
4831 of the Box! by Bdale Garbee at linux.conf.au Ballarat, 2012</a> (Youtube) </li>
4832
4833 <li><a href="https://archive.fosdem.org/2013/schedule/event/freedombox/">Freedombox
4834 1.0 by Eben Moglen and Bdale Garbee at Fosdem 2013</a> (FOSDEM) </li>
4835
4836 <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1LpYX2zVYg">What is the
4837 FreedomBox today by Bdale Garbee at Debconf13 in Vaumarcus
4838 2013</a> (Youtube)</li>
4839
4840 </ul>
4841
4842 <p>A larger list is available from
4843 <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/FreedomBox/TalksAndPresentations">the
4844 Freedombox Wiki</a>.</p>
4845
4846 <p>On other news, I am happy to report that Freedombox based on Debian
4847 Jessie is coming along quite well, and soon both Owncloud and using
4848 Tor should be available for testers of the Freedombox solution. :) In
4849 a few weeks I hope everything needed to test it is included in Debian.
4850 The withsqlite package is already in Debian, and the plinth package is
4851 pending in NEW.  The third and vital part of that puzzle is the
4852 metapackage/setup framework, which is still pending an upload.  Join
4853 us on <a href="irc://irc.debian.org:6667/%23freedombox">IRC
4854 (#freedombox on irc.debian.org)</a> and
4855 <a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/mailman/listinfo/freedombox-discuss">the
4856 mailing list</a> if you want to help make this vision come true.</p>
4857
4858       </div>
4859       <div class="tags">
4860
4861
4862         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freedombox">freedombox</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
4863
4864
4865       </div>
4866     </div>
4867     <div class="padding"></div>
4868
4869     <div class="entry">
4870       <div class="title">
4871         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Recipe_to_test_the_Freedombox_project_on_amd64_or_Raspberry_Pi.html">Recipe to test the Freedombox project on amd64 or Raspberry Pi</a>
4872       </div>
4873       <div class="date">
4874         10th September 2013
4875       </div>
4876       <div class="body">
4877         <p>I was introduced to the
4878 <a href="http://www.freedomboxfoundation.org/">Freedombox project</a>
4879 in 2010, when Eben Moglen presented his vision about serving the need
4880 of non-technical people to keep their personal information private and
4881 within the legal protection of their own homes.  The idea is to give
4882 people back the power over their network and machines, and return
4883 Internet back to its intended peer-to-peer architecture.  Instead of
4884 depending on a central service, the Freedombox will give everyone
4885 control over their own basic infrastructure.</p>
4886
4887 <p>I've intended to join the effort since then, but other tasks have
4888 taken priority.  But this summers nasty news about the misuse of trust
4889 and privilege exercised by the "western" intelligence gathering
4890 communities increased my eagerness to contribute to a point where I
4891 actually started working on the project a while back.</p>
4892
4893 <p>The <a href="https://alioth.debian.org/projects/freedombox/">initial
4894 Debian initiative</a> based on the vision from Eben Moglen, is to
4895 create a simple and cheap Debian based appliance that anyone can hook
4896 up in their home and get access to secure and private services and
4897 communication.  The initial deployment platform have been the
4898 <a href="http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/t-dreamplugdetails.aspx">Dreamplug</a>,
4899 which is a piece of hardware I do not own.  So to be able to test what
4900 the current Freedombox setup look like, I had to come up with a way to install
4901 it on some hardware I do have access to.  I have rewritten the
4902 <a href="https://github.com/NickDaly/freedom-maker">freedom-maker</a>
4903 image build framework to use .deb packages instead of only copying
4904 setup into the boot images, and thanks to this rewrite I am able to
4905 set up any machine supported by Debian Wheezy as a Freedombox, using
4906 the previously mentioned deb (and a few support debs for packages
4907 missing in Debian).</p>
4908
4909 <p>The current Freedombox setup consist of a set of bootstrapping
4910 scripts
4911 (<a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/freedombox-setup">freedombox-setup</a>),
4912 and a administrative web interface
4913 (<a href="https://github.com/NickDaly/Plinth">plinth</a> + exmachina +
4914 withsqlite), as well as a privacy enhancing proxy based on
4915 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/privoxy">privoxy</a>
4916 (freedombox-privoxy).  There is also a web/javascript based XMPP
4917 client (<a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/jwchat">jwchat</a>)
4918 trying (unsuccessfully so far) to talk to the XMPP server
4919 (<a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/ejabberd">ejabberd</a>).  The
4920 web interface is pluggable, and the goal is to use it to enable OpenID
4921 services, mesh network connectivity, use of TOR, etc, etc.  Not much of
4922 this is really working yet, see
4923 <a href="https://github.com/NickDaly/freedombox-todos/blob/master/TODO">the
4924 project TODO</a> for links to GIT repositories.  Most of the code is
4925 on github at the moment.  The HTTP proxy is operational out of the
4926 box, and the admin web interface can be used to add/remove plinth
4927 users.  I've not been able to do anything else with it so far, but
4928 know there are several branches spread around github and other places
4929 with lots of half baked features.</p>
4930
4931 <p>Anyway, if you want to have a look at the current state, the
4932 following recipes should work to give you a test machine to poke
4933 at.</p>
4934
4935 <p><strong>Debian Wheezy amd64</strong></p>
4936
4937 <ol>
4938
4939 <li>Fetch normal Debian Wheezy installation ISO.</li>
4940 <li>Boot from it, either as CD or USB stick.</li>
4941 <li><p>Press [tab] on the boot prompt and add this as a boot argument
4942 to the Debian installer:<p>
4943 <pre>url=<a href="http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/preseed-wheezy.dat">http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/preseed-wheezy.dat</a></pre></li>
4944
4945 <li>Answer the few language/region/password questions and pick disk to
4946 install on.</li>
4947
4948 <li>When the installation is finished and the machine have rebooted a
4949 few times, your Freedombox is ready for testing.</li>
4950
4951 </ol>
4952
4953 <p><strong>Raspberry Pi Raspbian</strong></p>
4954
4955 <ol>
4956
4957 <li>Fetch a Raspbian SD card image, create SD card.</li>
4958 <li>Boot from SD card, extend file system to fill the card completely.</li>
4959 <li><p>Log in and add this to /etc/sources.list:</p>
4960 <pre>
4961 deb <a href="http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/">http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox</a> wheezy main
4962 </pre></li>
4963 <li><p>Run this as root:</p>
4964 <pre>
4965 wget -O - http://www.reinholdtsen.name/freedombox/BE1A583D.asc | \
4966    apt-key add -
4967 apt-get update
4968 apt-get install freedombox-setup
4969 /usr/lib/freedombox/setup
4970 </pre></li>
4971 <li>Reboot into your freshly created Freedombox.</li>
4972
4973 </ol>
4974
4975 <p>You can test it on other architectures too, but because the
4976 freedombox-privoxy package is binary, it will only work as intended on
4977 the architectures where I have had time to build the binary and put it
4978 in my APT repository.  But do not let this stop you.  It is only a
4979 short "<tt>apt-get source -b freedombox-privoxy</tt>" away. :)</p>
4980
4981 <p>Note that by default Freedombox is a DHCP server on the
4982 192.168.1.0/24 subnet, so if this is your subnet be careful and turn
4983 off the DHCP server by running "<tt>update-rc.d isc-dhcp-server
4984 disable</tt>" as root.</p>
4985
4986 <p>Please let me know if this works for you, or if you have any
4987 problems.  We gather on the IRC channel
4988 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org:6667/%23freedombox">#freedombox</a> on
4989 irc.debian.org and the
4990 <a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/freedombox-discuss">project
4991 mailing list</a>.</p>
4992
4993 <p>Once you get your freedombox operational, you can visit
4994 <tt>http://your-host-name:8001/</tt> to see the state of the plint
4995 welcome screen (dead end - do not be surprised if you are unable to
4996 get past it), and next visit <tt>http://your-host-name:8001/help/</tt>
4997 to look at the rest of plinth.  The default user is 'admin' and the
4998 default password is 'secret'.</p>
4999
5000       </div>
5001       <div class="tags">
5002
5003
5004         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freedombox">freedombox</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
5005
5006
5007       </div>
5008     </div>
5009     <div class="padding"></div>
5010
5011     <div class="entry">
5012       <div class="title">
5013         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Intel_180_SSD_disk_with_Lenovo_firmware_can_not_use_Intel_firmware.html">Intel 180 SSD disk with Lenovo firmware can not use Intel firmware</a>
5014       </div>
5015       <div class="date">
5016         18th August 2013
5017       </div>
5018       <div class="body">
5019         <p>Earlier, I reported about
5020 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_fix_a_Thinkpad_X230_with_a_broken_180_GB_SSD_disk.html">my
5021 problems using an Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB disk</a>.  Friday I was
5022 told by IBM that the original disk should be thrown away.  And as
5023 there no longer was a problem if I bricked the firmware, I decided
5024 today to try to install Intel firmware to replace the Lenovo firmware
5025 currently on the disk.</p>
5026
5027 <p>I searched the Intel site for firmware, and found
5028 <a href="https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&ProdId=3472&DwnldID=18363&ProductFamily=Solid-State+Drives+and+Caching&ProductLine=Intel%c2%ae+High+Performance+Solid-State+Drive&ProductProduct=Intel%c2%ae+SSD+520+Series+(180GB%2c+2.5in+SATA+6Gb%2fs%2c+25nm%2c+MLC)&lang=eng">issdfut_2.0.4.iso</a>
5029 (aka Intel SATA Solid-State Drive Firmware Update Tool) which
5030 according to the site should contain the latest firmware for SSD
5031 disks.  I inserted the broken disk in one of my spare laptops and
5032 booted the ISO from a USB stick.  The disk was recognized, but the
5033 program claimed the newest firmware already were installed and refused
5034 to insert any Intel firmware.  So no change, and the disk is still
5035 unable to handle write load. :( I guess the only way to get them
5036 working would be if Lenovo releases new firmware.  No idea how likely
5037 that is.  Anyway, just blogging about this test for completeness.  I
5038 got a working Samsung disk, and see no point in spending more time on
5039 the broken disks.</p>
5040
5041       </div>
5042       <div class="tags">
5043
5044
5045         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5046
5047
5048       </div>
5049     </div>
5050     <div class="padding"></div>
5051
5052     <div class="entry">
5053       <div class="title">
5054         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_fix_a_Thinkpad_X230_with_a_broken_180_GB_SSD_disk.html">How to fix a Thinkpad X230 with a broken 180 GB SSD disk</a>
5055       </div>
5056       <div class="date">
5057         17th July 2013
5058       </div>
5059       <div class="body">
5060         <p>Today I switched to
5061 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html">my
5062 new laptop</a>.  I've previously written about the problems I had with
5063 my new Thinkpad X230, which was delivered with an
5064 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Intel_SSD_520_Series_180_GB_with_Lenovo_firmware_still_lock_up_from_sustained_writes.html">180
5065 GB Intel SSD disk with Lenovo firmware</a> that did not handle
5066 sustained writes.  My hardware supplier have been very forthcoming in
5067 trying to find a solution, and after first trying with another
5068 identical 180 GB disks they decided to send me a 256 GB Samsung SSD
5069 disk instead to fix it once and for all.  The Samsung disk survived
5070 the installation of Debian with encrypted disks (filling the disk with
5071 random data during installation killed the first two), and I thus
5072 decided to trust it with my data.  I have installed it as a Debian Edu
5073 Wheezy roaming workstation hooked up with my Debian Edu Squeeze main
5074 server at home using Kerberos and LDAP, and will use it as my work
5075 station from now on.</p>
5076
5077 <p>As this is a solid state disk with no moving parts, I believe the
5078 Debian Wheezy default installation need to be tuned a bit to increase
5079 performance and increase life time of the disk.  The Linux kernel and
5080 user space applications do not yet adjust automatically to such
5081 environment.  To make it easier for my self, I created a draft Debian
5082 package <tt>ssd-setup</tt> to handle this tuning.  The
5083 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=collab-maint/ssd-setup.git">source
5084 for the ssd-setup package</a> is available from collab-maint, and it
5085 is set up to adjust the setup of the machine by just installing the
5086 package.  If there is any non-SSD disk in the machine, the package
5087 will refuse to install, as I did not try to write any logic to sort
5088 file systems in SSD and non-SSD file systems.</p>
5089
5090 <p>I consider the package a draft, as I am a bit unsure how to best
5091 set up Debian Wheezy with an SSD.  It is adjusted to my use case,
5092 where I set up the machine with one large encrypted partition (in
5093 addition to /boot), put LVM on top of this and set up partitions on
5094 top of this again.  See the README file in the package source for the
5095 references I used to pick the settings.  At the moment these
5096 parameters are tuned:</p>
5097
5098 <ul>
5099
5100 <li>Set up cryptsetup to pass TRIM commands to the physical disk
5101     (adding discard to /etc/crypttab)</li>
5102
5103 <li>Set up LVM to pass on TRIM commands to the underlying device (in
5104     this case a cryptsetup partition) by changing issue_discards from
5105     0 to 1 in /etc/lvm/lvm.conf.</li>
5106
5107 <li>Set relatime as a file system option for ext3 and ext4 file
5108     systems.</li>
5109
5110 <li>Tell swap to use TRIM commands by adding 'discard' to
5111     /etc/fstab.</li>
5112
5113 <li>Change I/O scheduler from cfq to deadline using a udev rule.</li>
5114
5115 <li>Run fstrim on every ext3 and ext4 file system every night (from
5116     cron.daily).</li>
5117
5118 <li>Adjust sysctl values vm.swappiness to 1 and vm.vfs_cache_pressure
5119     to 50 to reduce the kernel eagerness to swap out processes.</li>
5120
5121 </ul>
5122
5123 <p>During installation, I cancelled the part where the installer fill
5124 the disk with random data, as this would kill the SSD performance for
5125 little gain.  My goal with the encrypted file system is to ensure
5126 those stealing my laptop end up with a brick and not a working
5127 computer.  I have no hope in keeping the really resourceful people
5128 from getting the data on the disk (see
5129 <a href="http://xkcd.com/538/">XKCD #538</a> for an explanation why).
5130 Thus I concluded that adding the discard option to crypttab is the
5131 right thing to do.</p>
5132
5133 <p>I considered using the noop I/O scheduler, as several recommended
5134 it for SSD, but others recommended deadline and a benchmark I found
5135 indicated that deadline might be better for interactive use.</p>
5136
5137 <p>I also considered using the 'discard' file system option for ext3
5138 and ext4, but read that it would give a performance hit ever time a
5139 file is removed, and thought it best to that that slowdown once a day
5140 instead of during my work.</p>
5141
5142 <p>My package do not set up tmpfs on /var/run, /var/lock and /tmp, as
5143 this is already done by Debian Edu.</p>
5144
5145 <p>I have not yet started on the user space tuning.  I expect
5146 iceweasel need some tuning, and perhaps other applications too, but
5147 have not yet had time to investigate those parts.</p>
5148
5149 <p>The package should work on Ubuntu too, but I have not yet tested it
5150 there.</p>
5151
5152 <p>As for the answer to the question in the title of this blog post,
5153 as far as I know, the only solution I know about is to replace the
5154 disk.  It might be possible to flash it with Intel firmware instead of
5155 the Lenovo firmware.  But I have not tried and did not want to do so
5156 without approval from Lenovo as I wanted to keep the warranty on the
5157 disk until a solution was found and they wanted the broken disks
5158 back.</p>
5159
5160       </div>
5161       <div class="tags">
5162
5163
5164         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5165
5166
5167       </div>
5168     </div>
5169     <div class="padding"></div>
5170
5171     <div class="entry">
5172       <div class="title">
5173         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Intel_SSD_520_Series_180_GB_with_Lenovo_firmware_still_lock_up_from_sustained_writes.html">Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB with Lenovo firmware still lock up from sustained writes</a>
5174       </div>
5175       <div class="date">
5176         10th July 2013
5177       </div>
5178       <div class="body">
5179         <p>A few days ago, I wrote about
5180 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html">the
5181 problems I experienced with my new X230 and its SSD disk</a>, which
5182 was dying during installation because it is unable to cope with
5183 sustained write.  My supplier is in contact with
5184 <a href="http://www.lenovo.com/">Lenovo</a>, and they wanted to send a
5185 replacement disk to try to fix the problem.  They decided to send an
5186 identical model, so my hopes for a permanent fix was slim.</p>
5187
5188 <p>Anyway, today I got the replacement disk and tried to install
5189 Debian Edu Wheezy with encrypted disk on it.  The new disk have the
5190 same firmware version as the original.  This time my hope raised
5191 slightly as the installation progressed, as the original disk used to
5192 die after 4-7% of the disk was written to, while this time it kept
5193 going past 10%, 20%, 40% and even past 50%.  But around 60%, the disk
5194 died again and I was back on square one.  I still do not have a new
5195 laptop with a disk I can trust.  I can not live with a disk that might
5196 lock up when I download a new
5197 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> ISO or
5198 other large files.  I look forward to hearing from my supplier with
5199 the next proposal from Lenovo.</p>
5200
5201 <p>The original disk is marked Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB,
5202 11S0C38722Z1ZNME35X1TR, ISN: CVCV321407HB180EGN, SA: G57560302, FW:
5203 LF1i, 29MAY2013, PBA: G39779-300, LBA 351,651,888, LI P/N: 0C38722,
5204 Pb-free 2LI, LC P/N: 16-200366, WWN: 55CD2E40002756C4, Model:
5205 SSDSC2BW180A3L 2.5" 6Gb/s SATA SSD 180G 5V 1A, ASM P/N 0C38732, FRU
5206 P/N 45N8295, P0C38732.</p>
5207
5208 <p>The replacement disk is marked Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB,
5209 11S0C38722Z1ZNDE34N0L0, ISN: CVCV315306RK180EGN, SA: G57560-302, FW:
5210 LF1i, 22APR2013, PBA: G39779-300, LBA 351,651,888, LI P/N: 0C38722,
5211 Pb-free 2LI, LC P/N: 16-200366, WWN: 55CD2E40000AB69E, Model:
5212 SSDSC2BW180A3L 2.5" 6Gb/s SATA SSD 180G 5V 1A, ASM P/N 0C38732, FRU
5213 P/N 45N8295, P0C38732.</p>
5214
5215 <p>The only difference is in the first number (serial number?), ISN,
5216 SA, date and WNPP values.  Mentioning all the details here in case
5217 someone is able to use the information to find a way to identify the
5218 failing disk among working ones (if any such working disk actually
5219 exist).</p>
5220
5221       </div>
5222       <div class="tags">
5223
5224
5225         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5226
5227
5228       </div>
5229     </div>
5230     <div class="padding"></div>
5231
5232     <div class="entry">
5233       <div class="title">
5234         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/July_13th__Debian_Ubuntu_BSP_and_Skolelinux_Debian_Edu_developer_gathering_in_Oslo.html">July 13th: Debian/Ubuntu BSP and Skolelinux/Debian Edu developer gathering in Oslo</a>
5235       </div>
5236       <div class="date">
5237          9th July 2013
5238       </div>
5239       <div class="body">
5240         <p>The upcoming Saturday, 2013-07-13, we are organising a combined
5241 Debian Edu developer gathering and Debian and Ubuntu bug squashing
5242 party in Oslo.  It is organised by <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">the
5243 member assosiation NUUG</a> and
5244 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">the Debian Edu / Skolelinux
5245 project</a> together with <a href="http://bitraf.no/">the hack space
5246 Bitraf</a>.</p>
5247
5248 <p>It starts 10:00 and continue until late evening.  Everyone is
5249 welcome, and there is no fee to participate.  There is on the other
5250 hand limited space, and only room for 30 people.  Please put your name
5251 on <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/BSP/2013/07/13/no/Oslo">the event
5252 wiki page</a> if you plan to join us.</p>
5253
5254       </div>
5255       <div class="tags">
5256
5257
5258         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
5259
5260
5261       </div>
5262     </div>
5263     <div class="padding"></div>
5264
5265     <div class="entry">
5266       <div class="title">
5267         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html">The Thinkpad is dead, long live the Thinkpad X230?</a>
5268       </div>
5269       <div class="date">
5270          5th July 2013
5271       </div>
5272       <div class="body">
5273         <p>Half a year ago, I reported that I had to find a
5274 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Thank_you_Thinkpad_X41__for_your_long_and_trustworthy_service.html">replacement
5275 for my trusty old Thinkpad X41</a>.  Unfortunately I did not have much
5276 time to spend on it, and it took a while to find a model I believe
5277 will do the job, but two days ago the replacement finally arrived.  I
5278 ended up picking a
5279 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/lenovo_thinkpad_x230">Thinkpad X230</a>
5280 with SSD disk (NZDAJMN).  I first test installed Debian Edu Wheezy as
5281 a roaming workstation, and it seemed to work flawlessly.  But my
5282 second installation with encrypted disk was not as successful.  More
5283 on that below.</p>
5284
5285 <p>I had a hard time trying to track down a good laptop, as my most
5286 important requirements (robust and with a good keyboard) are never
5287 listed in the feature list.  But I did get good help from the search
5288 feature at <a href="http://www.prisjakt.no/">Prisjakt</a>, which
5289 allowed me to limit the list of interesting laptops based on my other
5290 requirements.  A bit surprising that SSD disk are not disks according
5291 to that search interface, so I had to drop specifying the number of
5292 disks from my search parameters.  I also asked around among friends to
5293 get their impression on keyboards and robustness.</p>
5294
5295 <p>So the new laptop arrived, and it is quite a lot wider than the
5296 X41.  I am not quite convinced about the keyboard, as it is
5297 significantly wider than my old keyboard, and I have to stretch my
5298 hand a lot more to reach the edges.  But the key response is fairly
5299 good and the individual key shape is fairly easy to handle, so I hope
5300 I will get used to it.  My old X40 was starting to fail, and I really
5301 needed a new laptop now. :)</p>
5302
5303 <p>Turning off the touch pad was simple.  All it took was a quick
5304 visit to the BIOS during boot it disable it.</p>
5305
5306 <p>But there is a fatal problem with the laptop.  The 180 GB SSD disk
5307 lock up during load.  And this happen when installing Debian Wheezy
5308 with encrypted disk, while the disk is being filled with random data.
5309 I also tested to install Ubuntu Raring, and it happen there too if I
5310 reenable the code to fill the disk with random data (it is disabled by
5311 default in Ubuntu).  And the bug with is already known.  It was
5312 reported to Debian as <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/691427">BTS
5313 report #691427 2012-10-25</a> (journal commit I/O error on brand-new
5314 Thinkpad T430s ext4 on lvm on SSD).  It is also reported to the Linux
5315 kernel developers as
5316 <a href="https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=51861">Kernel bugzilla
5317 report #51861 2012-12-20</a> (Intel SSD 520 stops working under load
5318 (SSDSC2BW180A3L in Lenovo ThinkPad T430s)). It is also reported on the
5319 Lenovo forums, both for
5320 <a href="http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T500-and-newer-T-series/T430s-Intel-SSD-520-180GB-issue/m-p/1070549">T430
5321 2012-11-10</a> and for
5322 <a href="http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/x230-SATA-errors-with-180GB-Intel-520-SSD-under-heavy-write-load/m-p/1068147">X230
5323 03-20-2013</a>.  The problem do not only affect installation.  The
5324 reports state that the disk lock up during use if many writes are done
5325 on the disk, so it is much no use to work around the installation
5326 problem and end up with a computer that can lock up at any moment.
5327 There is even a
5328 <a href="https://git.efficios.com/?p=test-ssd.git">small C program
5329 available</a> that will lock up the hard drive after running a few
5330 minutes by writing to a file.</p>
5331
5332 <p>I've contacted my supplier and asked how to handle this, and after
5333 contacting PCHELP Norway (request 01D1FDP) which handle support
5334 requests for Lenovo, his first suggestion was to upgrade the disk
5335 firmware.  Unfortunately there is no newer firmware available from
5336 Lenovo, as my disk already have the most recent one (version LF1i).  I
5337 hope to hear more from him today and hope the problem can be
5338 fixed. :)</p>
5339
5340       </div>
5341       <div class="tags">
5342
5343
5344         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5345
5346
5347       </div>
5348     </div>
5349     <div class="padding"></div>
5350
5351     <div class="entry">
5352       <div class="title">
5353         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230.html">The Thinkpad is dead, long live the Thinkpad X230</a>
5354       </div>
5355       <div class="date">
5356          4th July 2013
5357       </div>
5358       <div class="body">
5359         <p>Half a year ago, I reported that I had to find a replacement for my
5360 trusty old Thinkpad X41.  Unfortunately I did not have much time to
5361 spend on it, but today the replacement finally arrived.  I ended up
5362 picking a <a href="http://www.linlap.com/lenovo_thinkpad_x230">Thinkpad
5363 X230</a> with SSD disk (NZDAJMN).  I first test installed Debian Edu
5364 Wheezy as a roaming workstation, and it worked flawlessly.  As I write
5365 this, it is installing what I hope will be a more final installation,
5366 with a encrypted hard drive to ensure any dope head stealing it end up
5367 with an expencive door stop.</p>
5368
5369 <p>I had a hard time trying to track down a good laptop, as my most
5370 important requirements (robust and with a good keyboard) are never
5371 listed in the feature list.  But I did get good help from the search
5372 feature at <ahref="http://www.prisjakt.no/">Prisjakt</a>, which
5373 allowed me to limit the list of interesting laptops based on my other
5374 requirements.  A bit surprising that SSD disk are not disks, so I had
5375 to drop number of disks from my search parameters.</p>
5376
5377 <p>I am not quite convinced about the keyboard, as it is significantly
5378 wider than my old keyboard, and I have to stretch my hand a lot more
5379 to reach the edges.  But the key response is fairly good and the
5380 individual key shape is fairly easy to handle, so I hope I will get
5381 used to it.  My old X40 was starting to fail, and I really needed a
5382 new laptop now. :)</p>
5383
5384 <p>I look forward to figuring out how to turn off the touch pad.</p>
5385
5386       </div>
5387       <div class="tags">
5388
5389
5390         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5391
5392
5393       </div>
5394     </div>
5395     <div class="padding"></div>
5396
5397     <div class="entry">
5398       <div class="title">
5399         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatically_locate_and_install_required_firmware_packages_on_Debian__Isenkram_0_4_.html">Automatically locate and install required firmware packages on Debian (Isenkram 0.4)</a>
5400       </div>
5401       <div class="date">
5402         25th June 2013
5403       </div>
5404       <div class="body">
5405         <p>It annoys me when the computer fail to do automatically what it is
5406 perfectly capable of, and I have to do it manually to get things
5407 working.  One such task is to find out what firmware packages are
5408 needed to get the hardware on my computer working.  Most often this
5409 affect the wifi card, but some times it even affect the RAID
5410 controller or the ethernet card.  Today I pushed version 0.4 of the
5411 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/isenkram">Isenkram package</a>
5412 including a new script isenkram-autoinstall-firmware handling the
5413 process of asking all the loaded kernel modules what firmware files
5414 they want, find debian packages providing these files and install the
5415 debian packages.  Here is a test run on my laptop:</p>
5416
5417 <p><pre>
5418 # isenkram-autoinstall-firmware
5419 info: kernel drivers requested extra firmware: ipw2200-bss.fw ipw2200-ibss.fw ipw2200-sniffer.fw
5420 info: fetching http://http.debian.net/debian/dists/squeeze/Contents-i386.gz
5421 info: locating packages with the requested firmware files
5422 info: Updating APT sources after adding non-free APT source
5423 info: trying to install firmware-ipw2x00
5424 firmware-ipw2x00
5425 firmware-ipw2x00
5426 Preconfiguring packages ...
5427 Selecting previously deselected package firmware-ipw2x00.
5428 (Reading database ... 259727 files and directories currently installed.)
5429 Unpacking firmware-ipw2x00 (from .../firmware-ipw2x00_0.28+squeeze1_all.deb) ...
5430 Setting up firmware-ipw2x00 (0.28+squeeze1) ...
5431 #
5432 </pre></p>
5433
5434 <p>When all the requested firmware is present, a simple message is
5435 printed instead:</p>
5436
5437 <p><pre>
5438 # isenkram-autoinstall-firmware
5439 info: did not find any firmware files requested by loaded kernel modules.  exiting
5440 #
5441 </pre></p>
5442
5443 <p>It could use some polish, but it is already working well and saving
5444 me some time when setting up new machines. :)</p>
5445
5446 <p>So, how does it work?  It look at the set of currently loaded
5447 kernel modules, and look up each one of them using modinfo, to find
5448 the firmware files listed in the module meta-information.  Next, it
5449 download the Contents file from a nearby APT mirror, and search for
5450 the firmware files in this file to locate the package with the
5451 requested firmware file.  If the package is in the non-free section, a
5452 non-free APT source is added and the package is installed using
5453 <tt>apt-get install</tt>.  The end result is a slightly better working
5454 machine.</p>
5455
5456 <p>I hope someone find time to implement a more polished version of
5457 this script as part of the hw-detect debian-installer module, to
5458 finally fix <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/655507">BTS report
5459 #655507</a>.  There really is no need to insert USB sticks with
5460 firmware during a PXE install when the packages already are available
5461 from the nearby Debian mirror.</p>
5462
5463       </div>
5464       <div class="tags">
5465
5466
5467         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
5468
5469
5470       </div>
5471     </div>
5472     <div class="padding"></div>
5473
5474     <div class="entry">
5475       <div class="title">
5476         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Fixing_the_Linux_black_screen_of_death_on_machines_with_Intel_HD_video.html">Fixing the Linux black screen of death on machines with Intel HD video</a>
5477       </div>
5478       <div class="date">
5479         11th June 2013
5480       </div>
5481       <div class="body">
5482         <p>When installing RedHat, Fedora, Debian and Ubuntu on some machines,
5483 the screen just turn black when Linux boot, either during installation
5484 or on first boot from the hard disk.  I've seen it once in a while the
5485 last few years, but only recently understood the cause.  I've seen it
5486 on HP laptops, and on my latest acquaintance the Packard Bell laptop.
5487 The reason seem to be in the wiring of some laptops.  The system to
5488 control the screen background light is inverted, so when Linux try to
5489 turn the brightness fully on, it end up turning it off instead.  I do
5490 not know which Linux drivers are affected, but this post is about the
5491 i915 driver used by the
5492 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/packard_bell_easynote_lv">Packard Bell
5493 EasyNote LV</a>, Thinkpad X40 and many other laptops.</p>
5494
5495 <p>The problem can be worked around two ways.  Either by adding
5496 i915.invert_brightness=1 as a kernel option, or by adding a file in
5497 /etc/modprobe.d/ to tell modprobe to add the invert_brightness=1
5498 option when it load the i915 kernel module.  On Debian and Ubuntu, it
5499 can be done by running these commands as root:</p>
5500
5501 <pre>
5502 echo options i915 invert_brightness=1 | tee /etc/modprobe.d/i915.conf
5503 update-initramfs -u -k all
5504 </pre>
5505
5506 <p>Since March 2012 there is
5507 <a href="http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=4dca20efb1a9c2efefc28ad2867e5d6c3f5e1955">a
5508 mechanism in the Linux kernel</a> to tell the i915 driver which
5509 hardware have this problem, and get the driver to invert the
5510 brightness setting automatically.  To use it, one need to add a row in
5511 <a href="http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c">the
5512 intel_quirks array</a> in the driver source
5513 <tt>drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c</tt> (look for "<tt>static
5514 struct intel_quirk intel_quirks</tt>"), specifying the PCI device
5515 number (vendor number 8086 is assumed) and subdevice vendor and device
5516 number.</p>
5517
5518 <p>My Packard Bell EasyNote LV got this output from <tt>lspci
5519 -vvnn</tt> for the video card in question:</p>
5520
5521 <p><pre>
5522 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation \
5523     3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller [8086:0156] \
5524     (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
5525  Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:0688]
5526  Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- \
5527     ParErr- Stepping- SE RR- FastB2B- DisINTx+
5528  Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- \
5529     <TAbort- <MAbort->SERR- <PERR- INTx-
5530  Latency: 0
5531  Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 42
5532  Region 0: Memory at c2000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4M]
5533  Region 2: Memory at b0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
5534  Region 4: I/O ports at 4000 [size=64]
5535  Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled]
5536  Capabilities: <access denied>
5537  Kernel driver in use: i915
5538 </pre></p>
5539
5540 <p>The resulting intel_quirks entry would then look like this:</p>
5541
5542 <p><pre>
5543 struct intel_quirk intel_quirks[] = {
5544        ...
5545         /* Packard Bell EasyNote LV11HC needs invert brightness quirk */
5546         { 0x0156, 0x1025, 0x0688, quirk_invert_brightness },
5547        ...
5548 }
5549 </pre></p>
5550
5551 <p>According to the kernel module instructions (as seen using
5552 <tt>modinfo i915</tt>), information about hardware needing the
5553 invert_brightness flag should be sent to the
5554 <a href="http://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/dri-devel">dri-devel
5555 (at) lists.freedesktop.org</a> mailing list to reach the kernel
5556 developers.  But my email about the laptop sent 2013-06-03 have not
5557 yet shown up in
5558 <a href="http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/dri-devel/2013-June/thread.html">the
5559 web archive for the mailing list</a>, so I suspect they do not accept
5560 emails from non-subscribers.  Because of this, I sent my patch also to
5561 the Debian bug tracking system instead as
5562 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/710938">BTS report #710938</a>, to make
5563 sure the patch is not lost.</p>
5564
5565 <p>Unfortunately, it is not enough to fix the kernel to get Laptops
5566 with this problem working properly with Linux.  If you use Gnome, your
5567 worries should be over at this point.  But if you use KDE, there is
5568 something in KDE ignoring the invert_brightness setting and turning on
5569 the screen during login.  I've reported it to Debian as
5570 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/711237">BTS report #711237</a>, and
5571 have no idea yet how to figure out exactly what subsystem is doing
5572 this.  Perhaps you can help?  Perhaps you know what the Gnome
5573 developers did to handle this, and this can give a clue to the KDE
5574 developers?  Or you know where in KDE the screen brightness is changed
5575 during login?  If so, please update the BTS report (or get in touch if
5576 you do not know how to update BTS).</p>
5577
5578 <p>Update 2013-07-19: The correct fix for this machine seem to be
5579 acpi_backlight=vendor, to disable ACPI backlight support completely,
5580 as the ACPI information on the machine is trash and it is better to
5581 leave it to the intel video driver to control the screen
5582 backlight.</p>
5583
5584       </div>
5585       <div class="tags">
5586
5587
5588         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5589
5590
5591       </div>
5592     </div>
5593     <div class="padding"></div>
5594
5595     <div class="entry">
5596       <div class="title">
5597         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_install_Linux_on_a_Packard_Bell_Easynote_LV_preinstalled_with_Windows_8.html">How to install Linux on a Packard Bell Easynote LV preinstalled with Windows 8</a>
5598       </div>
5599       <div class="date">
5600         27th May 2013
5601       </div>
5602       <div class="body">
5603         <p>Two days ago, I asked
5604 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_can_I_install_Linux_on_a_Packard_Bell_Easynote_LV_preinstalled_with_Windows_8_.html">how
5605 I could install Linux on a Packard Bell EasyNote LV computer
5606 preinstalled with Windows 8</a>.  I found a solution, but am horrified
5607 with the obstacles put in the way of Linux users on a laptop with UEFI
5608 and Windows 8.</p>
5609
5610 <p>I never found out if the cause of my problems were the use of UEFI
5611 secure booting or fast boot.  I suspect fast boot was the problem,
5612 causing the firmware to boot directly from HD without considering any
5613 key presses and alternative devices, but do not know UEFI settings
5614 enough to tell.</p>
5615
5616 <p>There is no way to install Linux on the machine in question without
5617 opening the box and disconnecting the hard drive!  This is as far as I
5618 can tell, the only way to get access to the firmware setup menu
5619 without accepting the Windows 8 license agreement.  I am told (and
5620 found description on how to) that it is possible to configure the
5621 firmware setup once booted into Windows 8.  But as I believe the terms
5622 of that agreement are completely unacceptable, accepting the license
5623 was never an alternative.  I do not enter agreements I do not intend
5624 to follow.</p>
5625
5626 <p>I feared I had to return the laptops and ask for a refund, and
5627 waste many hours on this, but luckily there was a way to get it to
5628 work.  But I would not recommend it to anyone planning to run Linux on
5629 it, and I have become sceptical to Windows 8 certified laptops.  Is
5630 this the way Linux will be forced out of the market place, by making
5631 it close to impossible for "normal" users to install Linux without
5632 accepting the Microsoft Windows license terms?  Or at least not
5633 without risking to loose the warranty?</p>
5634
5635 <p>I've updated the
5636 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/packard_bell_easynote_lv">Linux Laptop
5637 wiki page for Packard Bell EasyNote LV</a>, to ensure the next person
5638 do not have to struggle as much as I did to get Linux into the
5639 machine.</p>
5640
5641 <p>Thanks to Bob Rosbag, Florian Weimer, Philipp Kern, Ben Hutching,
5642 Michael Tokarev and others for feedback and ideas.</p>
5643
5644       </div>
5645       <div class="tags">
5646
5647
5648         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5649
5650
5651       </div>
5652     </div>
5653     <div class="padding"></div>
5654
5655     <div class="entry">
5656       <div class="title">
5657         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_can_I_install_Linux_on_a_Packard_Bell_Easynote_LV_preinstalled_with_Windows_8_.html">How can I install Linux on a Packard Bell Easynote LV preinstalled with Windows 8?</a>
5658       </div>
5659       <div class="date">
5660         25th May 2013
5661       </div>
5662       <div class="body">
5663         <p>I've run into quite a problem the last few days.  I bought three
5664 new laptops for my parents and a few others.  I bought Packard Bell
5665 Easynote LV to run Kubuntu on and use as their home computer.  But I
5666 am completely unable to figure out how to install Linux on it.  The
5667 computer is preinstalled with Windows 8, and I suspect it uses UEFI
5668 instead of a BIOS to boot.</p>
5669
5670 <p>The problem is that I am unable to get it to PXE boot, and unable
5671 to get it to boot the Linux installer from my USB stick.  I have yet
5672 to try the DVD install, and still hope it will work.  when I turn on
5673 the computer, there is no information on what buttons to press to get
5674 the normal boot menu.  I expect to get some boot menu to select PXE or
5675 USB stick booting.  When booting, it first ask for the language to
5676 use, then for some regional settings, and finally if I will accept the
5677 Windows 8 terms of use.  As these terms are completely unacceptable to
5678 me, I have no other choice but to turn off the computer and try again
5679 to get it to boot the Linux installer.</p>
5680
5681 <p>I have gathered my findings so far on a Linlap page about the
5682 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/packard_bell_easynote_lv">Packard Bell
5683 EasyNote LV</a> model.  If you have any idea how to get Linux
5684 installed on this machine, please get in touch or update that wiki
5685 page.  If I can't find a way to install Linux, I will have to return
5686 the laptop to the seller and find another machine for my parents.</p>
5687
5688 <p>I wonder, is this the way Linux will be forced out of the market
5689 using UEFI and "secure boot" by making it impossible to install Linux
5690 on new Laptops?</p>
5691
5692       </div>
5693       <div class="tags">
5694
5695
5696         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5697
5698
5699       </div>
5700     </div>
5701     <div class="padding"></div>
5702
5703     <div class="entry">
5704       <div class="title">
5705         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_transform_a_Debian_based_system_to_a_Debian_Edu_installation.html">How to transform a Debian based system to a Debian Edu installation</a>
5706       </div>
5707       <div class="date">
5708         17th May 2013
5709       </div>
5710       <div class="body">
5711         <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> is
5712 an operating system based on Debian intended for use in schools.  It
5713 contain a turn-key solution for the computer network provided to
5714 pupils in the primary schools.  It provide both the central server,
5715 network boot servers and desktop environments with heaps of
5716 educational software.  The project was founded almost 12 years ago,
5717 2001-07-02.  If you want to support the project, which is in need for
5718 cash to fund developer gatherings and other project related activity,
5719 <a href="http://www.linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">please
5720 donate some money</a>.
5721
5722 <p>A topic that come up again and again on the Debian Edu mailing
5723 lists and elsewhere, is the question on how to transform a Debian or
5724 Ubuntu installation into a Debian Edu installation.  It isn't very
5725 hard, and last week I wrote a script to replicate the steps done by
5726 the Debian Edu installer.</p>
5727
5728 <p>The script,
5729 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/branches/wheezy/debian-edu-config/share/debian-edu-config/tools/debian-edu-bless?view=markup">debian-edu-bless<a/>
5730 in the debian-edu-config package, will go through these six steps and
5731 transform an existing Debian Wheezy or Ubuntu (untested) installation
5732 into a Debian Edu Workstation:</p>
5733
5734 <ol>
5735
5736 <li>Add skolelinux related APT sources.</li>
5737 <li>Create /etc/debian-edu/config with the wanted configuration.</li>
5738 <li>Install debian-edu-install to load preseeding values and pull in
5739     our configuration.</li>
5740 <li>Preseed debconf database with profile setup in
5741     /etc/debian-edu/config, and run tasksel to install packages
5742     according to the profile specified in the config above,
5743     overriding some of the Debian automation machinery.</li>
5744 <li>Run debian-edu-cfengine-D installation to configure everything
5745     that could not be done using preseeding.</li>
5746 <li>Ask for a reboot to enable all the configuration changes.</li>
5747
5748 </ol>
5749
5750 <p>There are some steps in the Debian Edu installation that can not be
5751 replicated like this.  Disk partitioning and LVM setup, for example.
5752 So this script just assume there is enough disk space to install all
5753 the needed packages.</p>
5754
5755 <p>The script was created to help a Debian Edu student working on
5756 setting up <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org">Raspberry Pi</a> as a
5757 Debian Edu client, and using it he can take the existing
5758 <a href="http://www.raspbian.org/FrontPage‎">Raspbian</a> installation and
5759 transform it into a fully functioning Debian Edu Workstation (or
5760 Roaming Workstation, or whatever :).</p>
5761
5762 <p>The default setting in the script is to create a KDE Workstation.
5763 If a LXDE based Roaming workstation is wanted instead, modify the
5764 PROFILE and DESKTOP values at the top to look like this instead:</p>
5765
5766 <p><pre>
5767 PROFILE="Roaming-Workstation"
5768 DESKTOP="lxde"
5769 </pre></p>
5770
5771 <p>The script could even become useful to set up Debian Edu servers in
5772 the cloud, by starting with a virtual Debian installation at some
5773 virtual hosting service and setting up all the services on first
5774 boot.</p>
5775
5776       </div>
5777       <div class="tags">
5778
5779
5780         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5781
5782
5783       </div>
5784     </div>
5785     <div class="padding"></div>
5786
5787     <div class="entry">
5788       <div class="title">
5789         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian__the_Linux_distribution_of_choice_for_LEGO_designers_.html">Debian, the Linux distribution of choice for LEGO designers?</a>
5790       </div>
5791       <div class="date">
5792         11th May 2013
5793       </div>
5794       <div class="body">
5795         <P>In January,
5796 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_IRC_channel_for_LEGO_designers_using_Debian.html">I
5797 announced a</a> new <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-lego">IRC
5798 channel #debian-lego</a>, for those of us in the Debian and Linux
5799 community interested in <a href="http://www.lego.com/">LEGO</a>, the
5800 marvellous construction system from Denmark.  We also created
5801 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LegoDesigners">a wiki page</a> to have
5802 a place to take notes and write down our plans and hopes.  And several
5803 people showed up to help.  I was very happy to see the effect of my
5804 call.  Since the small start, we have a debtags tag
5805 <a href="http://debtags.debian.net/search/bytag?wl=hardware::hobby:lego">hardware::hobby:lego</a>
5806 tag for LEGO related packages, and now count 10 packages related to
5807 LEGO and <a href="http://mindstorms.lego.com/">Mindstorms</a>:</p>
5808
5809 <p><table>
5810 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/brickos">brickos</a></td><td>alternative OS for LEGO Mindstorms RCX. Supports development in C/C++</td></tr>
5811 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/leocad">leocad</a></td><td>virtual brick CAD software</td></tr>
5812 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/libnxt">libnxt</a></td><td>utility library for talking to the LEGO Mindstorms NX</td></tr>
5813 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/lnpd">lnpd</a></td><td>daemon for LNP communication with BrickOS</td></tr>
5814 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/nbc">nbc</a></td><td>compiler for LEGO Mindstorms NXT bricks</td></tr>
5815 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/nqc">nqc</a></td><td>Not Quite C compiler for LEGO Mindstorms RCX</td></tr>
5816 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/python-nxt">python-nxt</a></td><td>python driver/interface/wrapper for the Lego Mindstorms NXT robot</td></tr>
5817 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/python-nxt-filer">python-nxt-filer</a></td><td>simple GUI to manage files on a LEGO Mindstorms NXT</td></tr>
5818 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/scratch">scratch</a></td><td>easy to use programming environment for ages 8 and up</td></tr>
5819 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/t2n">t2n</a></td><td>simple command-line tool for Lego NXT</td></tr>
5820 </table></p>
5821
5822 <p>Some of these are available in Wheezy, and all but one are
5823 currently available in Jessie/testing.  leocad is so far only
5824 available in experimental.</p>
5825
5826 <p>If you care about LEGO in Debian, please join us on IRC and help
5827 adding the rest of the great free software tools available on Linux
5828 for LEGO designers.</p>
5829
5830       </div>
5831       <div class="tags">
5832
5833
5834         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot</a>.
5835
5836
5837       </div>
5838     </div>
5839     <div class="padding"></div>
5840
5841     <div class="entry">
5842       <div class="title">
5843         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Wheezy_is_out___and_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_should_soon_follow___newinwheezy.html">Debian Wheezy is out - and Debian Edu / Skolelinux should soon follow! #newinwheezy</a>
5844       </div>
5845       <div class="date">
5846          5th May 2013
5847       </div>
5848       <div class="body">
5849         <p>When I woke up this morning, I was very happy to see that the
5850 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2013/20130504">release announcement
5851 for Debian Wheezy</a> was waiting in my mail box.  This is a great
5852 Debian release, and I expect to move my machines at home over to it fairly
5853 soon.</p>
5854
5855 <p>The new debian release contain heaps of new stuff, and one program
5856 in particular make me very happy to see included.  The
5857 <a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/">Scratch</a> program, made famous by
5858 the <a href="http://www.code.org/">Teach kids code</a> movement, is
5859 included for the first time.  Alongside similar programs like
5860 <a href="http://edu.kde.org/kturtle/">kturtle</a> and
5861 <a href="http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Activities/Turtle_Art">turtleart</a>,
5862 it allow for visual programming where syntax errors can not happen,
5863 and a friendly programming environment for learning to control the
5864 computer.  Scratch will also be included in the next release of Debian
5865 Edu.</a>
5866
5867 <p>And now that Wheezy is wrapped up, we can wrap up the next Debian
5868 Edu/Skolelinux release too.  The
5869 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu/2013/04/msg00132.html">first
5870 alpha release</a> went out last week, and the next should soon
5871 follow.<p>
5872
5873       </div>
5874       <div class="tags">
5875
5876
5877         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5878
5879
5880       </div>
5881     </div>
5882     <div class="padding"></div>
5883
5884     <div class="entry">
5885       <div class="title">
5886         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Isenkram_0_2_finally_in_the_Debian_archive.html">Isenkram 0.2 finally in the Debian archive</a>
5887       </div>
5888       <div class="date">
5889          3rd April 2013
5890       </div>
5891       <div class="body">
5892         <p>Today the <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/isenkram">Isenkram
5893 package</a> finally made it into the archive, after lingering in NEW
5894 for many months.  I uploaded it to the Debian experimental suite
5895 2013-01-27, and today it was accepted into the archive.</p>
5896
5897 <p>Isenkram is a system for suggesting to users what packages to
5898 install to work with a pluggable hardware device.  The suggestion pop
5899 up when the device is plugged in.  For example if a Lego Mindstorm NXT
5900 is inserted, it will suggest to install the program needed to program
5901 the NXT controller.  Give it a go, and report bugs and suggestions to
5902 BTS. :)</p>
5903
5904       </div>
5905       <div class="tags">
5906
5907
5908         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
5909
5910
5911       </div>
5912     </div>
5913     <div class="padding"></div>
5914
5915     <div class="entry">
5916       <div class="title">
5917         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Bitcoin_GUI_now_available_from_Debian_unstable__and_Ubuntu_raring_.html">Bitcoin GUI now available from Debian/unstable (and Ubuntu/raring)</a>
5918       </div>
5919       <div class="date">
5920          2nd February 2013
5921       </div>
5922       <div class="body">
5923         <p>My
5924 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_backport_bitcoin_qt_version_0_7_2_2_to_Debian_Squeeze.html">last
5925 bitcoin related blog post</a> mentioned that the new
5926 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/bitcoin">bitcoin package</a> for
5927 Debian was waiting in NEW.  It was accepted by the Debian ftp-masters
5928 2013-01-19, and have been available in unstable since then.  It was
5929 automatically copied to Ubuntu, and is available in their Raring
5930 version too.</p>
5931
5932 <p>But there is a strange problem with the build that block this new
5933 version from being available on the i386 and kfreebsd-i386
5934 architectures.  For some strange reason, the autobuilders in Debian
5935 for these architectures fail to run the test suite on these
5936 architectures (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/672524">BTS #672524</a>).
5937 We are so far unable to reproduce it when building it manually, and
5938 no-one have been able to propose a fix.  If you got an idea what is
5939 failing, please let us know via the BTS.</p>
5940
5941 <p>One feature that is annoying me with of the bitcoin client, because
5942 I often run low on disk space, is the fact that the client will exit
5943 if it run short on space (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/696715">BTS
5944 #696715</a>).  So make sure you have enough disk space when you run
5945 it. :)</p>
5946
5947 <p>As usual, if you use bitcoin and want to show your support of my
5948 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
5949 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
5950
5951       </div>
5952       <div class="tags">
5953
5954
5955         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
5956
5957
5958       </div>
5959     </div>
5960     <div class="padding"></div>
5961
5962     <div class="entry">
5963       <div class="title">
5964         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Welcome_to_the_world__Isenkram_.html">Welcome to the world, Isenkram!</a>
5965       </div>
5966       <div class="date">
5967         22nd January 2013
5968       </div>
5969       <div class="body">
5970         <p>Yesterday, I
5971 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_prototype_ready_making_hardware_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">asked
5972 for testers</a> for my prototype for making Debian better at handling
5973 pluggable hardware devices, which I
5974 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">set
5975 out to create</a> earlier this month.  Several valuable testers showed
5976 up, and caused me to really want to to open up the development to more
5977 people.  But before I did this, I want to come up with a sensible name
5978 for this project.  Today I finally decided on a new name, and I have
5979 renamed the project from hw-support-handler to this new name.  In the
5980 process, I moved the source to git and made it available as a
5981 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=collab-maint/isenkram.git">collab-maint</a>
5982 repository in Debian.  The new name?  It is <strong>Isenkram</strong>.
5983 To fetch and build the latest version of the source, use</p>
5984
5985 <pre>
5986 git clone http://anonscm.debian.org/git/collab-maint/isenkram.git
5987 cd isenkram && git-buildpackage -us -uc
5988 </pre>
5989
5990 <p>I have not yet adjusted all files to use the new name yet.  If you
5991 want to hack on the source or improve the package, please go ahead.
5992 But please talk to me first on IRC or via email before you do major
5993 changes, to make sure we do not step on each others toes. :)</p>
5994
5995 <p>If you wonder what 'isenkram' is, it is a Norwegian word for iron
5996 stuff, typically meaning tools, nails, screws, etc.  Typical hardware
5997 stuff, in other words.  I've been told it is the Norwegian variant of
5998 the German word eisenkram, for those that are familiar with that
5999 word.</p>
6000
6001 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-26</strong>: Added -us -us to build
6002 instructions, to avoid confusing people with an error from the signing
6003 process.</p>
6004
6005 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-27</strong>: Switch to HTTP URL for the git
6006 clone argument to avoid the need for authentication.</p>
6007
6008       </div>
6009       <div class="tags">
6010
6011
6012         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
6013
6014
6015       </div>
6016     </div>
6017     <div class="padding"></div>
6018
6019     <div class="entry">
6020       <div class="title">
6021         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_prototype_ready_making_hardware_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">First prototype ready making hardware easier to use in Debian</a>
6022       </div>
6023       <div class="date">
6024         21st January 2013
6025       </div>
6026       <div class="body">
6027         <p>Early this month I set out to try to
6028 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">improve
6029 the Debian support for pluggable hardware devices</a>.  Now my
6030 prototype is working, and it is ready for a larger audience.  To test
6031 it, fetch the
6032 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/">source
6033 from the Debian Edu subversion repository</a>, build and install the
6034 package.  You might have to log out and in again activate the
6035 autostart script.</p>
6036
6037 <p>The design is simple:</p>
6038
6039 <ul>
6040
6041 <li>Add desktop entry in /usr/share/autostart/ causing a program
6042 hw-support-handlerd to start when the user log in.</li>
6043
6044 <li>This program listen for kernel events about new hardware (directly
6045 from the kernel like udev does), not using HAL dbus events as I
6046 initially did.</li>
6047
6048 <li>When new hardware is inserted, look up the hardware modalias in
6049 the APT database, a database
6050 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/modaliases?view=markup">available
6051 via HTTP</a> and a database available as part of the package.</li>
6052
6053 <li>If a package is mapped to the hardware in question, the package
6054 isn't installed yet and this is the first time the hardware was
6055 plugged in, show a desktop notification suggesting to install the
6056 package or packages.</li>
6057
6058 <li>If the user click on the 'install package now' button, ask
6059 aptdaemon via the PackageKit API to install the requrired package.</li>
6060
6061 <li>aptdaemon ask for root password or sudo password, and install the
6062 package while showing progress information in a window.</li>
6063
6064 </ul>
6065
6066 <p>I still need to come up with a better name for the system.  Here
6067 are some screen shots showing the prototype in action.  First the
6068 notification, then the password request, and finally the request to
6069 approve all the dependencies.  Sorry for the Norwegian Bokmål GUI.</p>
6070
6071 <p><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-1-notification.png">
6072 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-2-password.png">
6073 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-3-dependencies.png">
6074 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-4-installing.png">
6075 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-5-installing-details.png" width="70%"></p>
6076
6077 <p>The prototype still need to be improved with longer timeouts, but
6078 is already useful.  The database of hardware to package mappings also
6079 need more work.  It is currently compatible with the Ubuntu way of
6080 storing such information in the package control file, but could be
6081 changed to use other formats instead or in addition to the current
6082 method.  I've dropped the use of discover for this mapping, as the
6083 modalias approach is more flexible and easier to use on Linux as long
6084 as the Linux kernel expose its modalias strings directly.</p>
6085
6086 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-21 16:50</strong>: Due to popular demand,
6087 here is the command required to check out and build the source: Use
6088 '<tt>svn checkout
6089 svn://svn.debian.org/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/; cd
6090 hw-support-handler; debuild</tt>'.  If you lack debuild, install the
6091 devscripts package.</p>
6092
6093 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-23 12:00</strong>: The project is now
6094 renamed to Isenkram and the source moved from the Debian Edu
6095 subversion repository to a Debian collab-maint git repository.  See
6096 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Welcome_to_the_world__Isenkram_.html">build
6097 instructions</a> for details.</p>
6098
6099       </div>
6100       <div class="tags">
6101
6102
6103         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
6104
6105
6106       </div>
6107     </div>
6108     <div class="padding"></div>
6109
6110     <div class="entry">
6111       <div class="title">
6112         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Thank_you_Thinkpad_X41__for_your_long_and_trustworthy_service.html">Thank you Thinkpad X41, for your long and trustworthy service</a>
6113       </div>
6114       <div class="date">
6115         19th January 2013
6116       </div>
6117       <div class="body">
6118         <p>This Christmas my trusty old laptop died.  It died quietly and
6119 suddenly in bed.  With a quiet whimper, it went completely quiet and
6120 black.  The power button was no longer able to turn it on.  It was a
6121 IBM Thinkpad X41, and the best laptop I ever had.  Better than both
6122 Thinkpads X30, X31, X40, X60, X61 and X61S.  Far better than the
6123 Compaq I had before that.  Now I need to find a replacement.  To keep
6124 going during Christmas, I moved the one year old SSD disk to my old
6125 X40 where it fitted (only one I had left that could use it), but it is
6126 not a durable solution.
6127
6128 <p>My laptop needs are fairly modest.  This is my wishlist from when I
6129 got a new one more than 10 years ago.  It still holds true.:)</p>
6130
6131 <ul>
6132
6133 <li>Lightweight (around 1 kg) and small volume (preferably smaller
6134   than A4).</li>
6135 <li>Robust, it will be in my backpack every day.</li>
6136 <li>Three button mouse and a mouse pin instead of touch pad.</li>
6137 <li>Long battery life time.  Preferable a week.</li>
6138 <li>Internal WIFI network card.</li>
6139 <li>Internal Twisted Pair network card.</li>
6140 <li>Some USB slots (2-3 is plenty)</li>
6141 <li>Good keyboard - similar to the Thinkpad.</li>
6142 <li>Video resolution at least 1024x768, with size around 12" (A4 paper
6143 size).</li>
6144 <li>Hardware supported by Debian Stable, ie the default kernel and
6145   X.org packages.</li>
6146 <li>Quiet, preferably fan free (or at least not using the fan most of
6147   the time).
6148
6149 </ul>
6150
6151 <p>You will notice that there are no RAM and CPU requirements in the
6152 list.  The reason is simply that the specifications on laptops the
6153 last 10-15 years have been sufficient for my needs, and I have to look
6154 at other features to choose my laptop.  But are there still made as
6155 robust laptops as my X41?  The Thinkpad X60/X61 proved to be less
6156 robust, and Thinkpads seem to be heading in the wrong direction since
6157 Lenovo took over.  But I've been told that X220 and X1 Carbon might
6158 still be useful.</p>
6159
6160 <p>Perhaps I should rethink my needs, and look for a pad with an
6161 external keyboard?  I'll have to check the
6162 <a href="http://www.linux-laptop.net/">Linux Laptops site</a> for
6163 well-supported laptops, or perhaps just buy one preinstalled from one
6164 of the vendors listed on the <a href="http://linuxpreloaded.com/">Linux
6165 Pre-loaded site</a>.</p>
6166
6167       </div>
6168       <div class="tags">
6169
6170
6171         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
6172
6173
6174       </div>
6175     </div>
6176     <div class="padding"></div>
6177
6178     <div class="entry">
6179       <div class="title">
6180         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_find_a_browser_plugin_supporting_a_given_MIME_type.html">How to find a browser plugin supporting a given MIME type</a>
6181       </div>
6182       <div class="date">
6183         18th January 2013
6184       </div>
6185       <div class="body">
6186         <p>Some times I try to figure out which Iceweasel browser plugin to
6187 install to get support for a given MIME type.  Thanks to
6188 <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MozillaTeam/Plugins">specifications
6189 done by Ubuntu</a> and Mozilla, it is possible to do this in Debian.
6190 Unfortunately, not very many packages provide the needed meta
6191 information, Anyway, here is a small script to look up all browser
6192 plugin packages announcing ther MIME support using this specification:</p>
6193
6194 <pre>
6195 #!/usr/bin/python
6196 import sys
6197 import apt
6198 def pkgs_handling_mimetype(mimetype):
6199     cache = apt.Cache()
6200     cache.open(None)
6201     thepkgs = []
6202     for pkg in cache:
6203         version = pkg.candidate
6204         if version is None:
6205             version = pkg.installed
6206         if version is None:
6207             continue
6208         record = version.record
6209         if not record.has_key('Npp-MimeType'):
6210             continue
6211         mime_types = record['Npp-MimeType'].split(',')
6212         for t in mime_types:
6213             t = t.rstrip().strip()
6214             if t == mimetype:
6215                 thepkgs.append(pkg.name)
6216     return thepkgs
6217 mimetype = "audio/ogg"
6218 if 1 < len(sys.argv):
6219     mimetype = sys.argv[1]
6220 print "Browser plugin packages supporting %s:" % mimetype
6221 for pkg in pkgs_handling_mimetype(mimetype):
6222     print "  %s" %pkg
6223 </pre>
6224
6225 <p>It can be used like this to look up a given MIME type:</p>
6226
6227 <pre>
6228 % ./apt-find-browserplug-for-mimetype
6229 Browser plugin packages supporting audio/ogg:
6230   gecko-mediaplayer
6231 % ./apt-find-browserplug-for-mimetype application/x-shockwave-flash
6232 Browser plugin packages supporting application/x-shockwave-flash:
6233   browser-plugin-gnash
6234 %
6235 </pre>
6236
6237 <p>In Ubuntu this mechanism is combined with support in the browser
6238 itself to query for plugins and propose to install the needed
6239 packages.  It would be great if Debian supported such feature too.  Is
6240 anyone working on adding it?</p>
6241
6242 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-18 14:20</strong>: The Debian BTS
6243 request for icweasel support for this feature is
6244 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/484010">#484010</a> from 2008 (and
6245 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/698426">#698426</a> from today).  Lack
6246 of manpower and wish for a different design is the reason thus feature
6247 is not yet in iceweasel from Debian.</p>
6248
6249       </div>
6250       <div class="tags">
6251
6252
6253         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
6254
6255
6256       </div>
6257     </div>
6258     <div class="padding"></div>
6259
6260     <div class="entry">
6261       <div class="title">
6262         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_is_the_most_supported_MIME_type_in_Debian_.html">What is the most supported MIME type in Debian?</a>
6263       </div>
6264       <div class="date">
6265         16th January 2013
6266       </div>
6267       <div class="body">
6268         <p>The <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/AppStreamDebianProposal">DEP-11
6269 proposal to add AppStream information to the Debian archive</a>, is a
6270 proposal to make it possible for a Desktop application to propose to
6271 the user some package to install to gain support for a given MIME
6272 type, font, library etc. that is currently missing.  With such
6273 mechanism in place, it would be possible for the desktop to
6274 automatically propose and install leocad if some LDraw file is
6275 downloaded by the browser.</p>
6276
6277 <p>To get some idea about the current content of the archive, I decided
6278 to write a simple program to extract all .desktop files from the
6279 Debian archive and look up the claimed MIME support there.  The result
6280 can be found on the
6281 <a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/pub/AppStreamTest">Skolelinux FTP
6282 site</a>.  Using the collected information, it become possible to
6283 answer the question in the title.  Here are the 20 most supported MIME
6284 types in Debian stable (Squeeze), testing (Wheezy) and unstable (Sid).
6285 The complete list is available from the link above.</p>
6286
6287 <p><strong>Debian Stable:</strong></p>
6288
6289 <pre>
6290   count MIME type
6291   ----- -----------------------
6292      32 text/plain
6293      30 audio/mpeg
6294      29 image/png
6295      28 image/jpeg
6296      27 application/ogg
6297      26 audio/x-mp3
6298      25 image/tiff
6299      25 image/gif
6300      22 image/bmp
6301      22 audio/x-wav
6302      20 audio/x-flac
6303      19 audio/x-mpegurl
6304      18 video/x-ms-asf
6305      18 audio/x-musepack
6306      18 audio/x-mpeg
6307      18 application/x-ogg
6308      17 video/mpeg
6309      17 audio/x-scpls
6310      17 audio/ogg
6311      16 video/x-ms-wmv
6312 </pre>
6313
6314 <p><strong>Debian Testing:</strong></p>
6315
6316 <pre>
6317   count MIME type
6318   ----- -----------------------
6319      33 text/plain
6320      32 image/png
6321      32 image/jpeg
6322      29 audio/mpeg
6323      27 image/gif
6324      26 image/tiff
6325      26 application/ogg
6326      25 audio/x-mp3
6327      22 image/bmp
6328      21 audio/x-wav
6329      19 audio/x-mpegurl
6330      19 audio/x-mpeg
6331      18 video/mpeg
6332      18 audio/x-scpls
6333      18 audio/x-flac
6334      18 application/x-ogg
6335      17 video/x-ms-asf
6336      17 text/html
6337      17 audio/x-musepack
6338      16 image/x-xbitmap
6339 </pre>
6340
6341 <p><strong>Debian Unstable:</strong></p>
6342
6343 <pre>
6344   count MIME type
6345   ----- -----------------------
6346      31 text/plain
6347      31 image/png
6348      31 image/jpeg
6349      29 audio/mpeg
6350      28 application/ogg
6351      27 image/gif
6352      26 image/tiff
6353      26 audio/x-mp3
6354      23 audio/x-wav
6355      22 image/bmp
6356      21 audio/x-flac
6357      20 audio/x-mpegurl
6358      19 audio/x-mpeg
6359      18 video/x-ms-asf
6360      18 video/mpeg
6361      18 audio/x-scpls
6362      18 application/x-ogg
6363      17 audio/x-musepack
6364      16 video/x-ms-wmv
6365      16 video/x-msvideo
6366 </pre>
6367
6368 <p>I am told that PackageKit can provide an API to access the kind of
6369 information mentioned in DEP-11.  I have not yet had time to look at
6370 it, but hope the PackageKit people in Debian are on top of these
6371 issues.</p>
6372
6373 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-16 13:35</strong>: Updated numbers after
6374 discovering a typo in my script.</p>
6375
6376       </div>
6377       <div class="tags">
6378
6379
6380         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
6381
6382
6383       </div>
6384     </div>
6385     <div class="padding"></div>
6386
6387     <div class="entry">
6388       <div class="title">
6389         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Using_modalias_info_to_find_packages_handling_my_hardware.html">Using modalias info to find packages handling my hardware</a>
6390       </div>
6391       <div class="date">
6392         15th January 2013
6393       </div>
6394       <div class="body">
6395         <p>Yesterday, I wrote about the
6396 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Modalias_strings___a_practical_way_to_map__stuff__to_hardware.html">modalias
6397 values provided by the Linux kernel</a> following my hope for
6398 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">better
6399 dongle support in Debian</a>.  Using this knowledge, I have tested how
6400 modalias values attached to package names can be used to map packages
6401 to hardware.  This allow the system to look up and suggest relevant
6402 packages when I plug in some new hardware into my machine, and replace
6403 discover and discover-data as the database used to map hardware to
6404 packages.</p>
6405
6406 <p>I create a modaliases file with entries like the following,
6407 containing package name, kernel module name (if relevant, otherwise
6408 the package name) and globs matching the relevant hardware
6409 modalias.</p>
6410
6411 <p><blockquote>
6412 Package: package-name
6413 <br>Modaliases: module(modaliasglob, modaliasglob, modaliasglob)</p>
6414 </blockquote></p>
6415
6416 <p>It is fairly trivial to write code to find the relevant packages
6417 for a given modalias value using this file.</p>
6418
6419 <p>An entry like this would suggest the video and picture application
6420 cheese for many USB web cameras (interface bus class 0E01):</p>
6421
6422 <p><blockquote>
6423 Package: cheese
6424 <br>Modaliases: cheese(usb:v*p*d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip*)</p>
6425 </blockquote></p>
6426
6427 <p>An entry like this would suggest the pcmciautils package when a
6428 CardBus bridge (bus class 0607) PCI device is present:</p>
6429
6430 <p><blockquote>
6431 Package: pcmciautils
6432 <br>Modaliases: pcmciautils(pci:v*d*sv*sd*bc06sc07i*)
6433 </blockquote></p>
6434
6435 <p>An entry like this would suggest the package colorhug-client when
6436 plugging in a ColorHug with USB IDs 04D8:F8DA:</p>
6437
6438 <p><blockquote>
6439 Package: colorhug-client
6440 <br>Modaliases: colorhug-client(usb:v04D8pF8DAd*)</p>
6441 </blockquote></p>
6442
6443 <p>I believe the format is compatible with the format of the Packages
6444 file in the Debian archive.  Ubuntu already uses their Packages file
6445 to store their mappings from packages to hardware.</p>
6446
6447 <p>By adding a XB-Modaliases: header in debian/control, any .deb can
6448 announce the hardware it support in a way my prototype understand.
6449 This allow those publishing packages in an APT source outside the
6450 Debian archive as well as those backporting packages to make sure the
6451 hardware mapping are included in the package meta information.  I've
6452 tested such header in the pymissile package, and its modalias mapping
6453 is working as it should with my prototype.  It even made it to Ubuntu
6454 Raring.</p>
6455
6456 <p>To test if it was possible to look up supported hardware using only
6457 the shell tools available in the Debian installer, I wrote a shell
6458 implementation of the lookup code.  The idea is to create files for
6459 each modalias and let the shell do the matching.  Please check out and
6460 try the
6461 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/hw-support-lookup?view=co">hw-support-lookup</a>
6462 shell script.  It run without any extra dependencies and fetch the
6463 hardware mappings from the Debian archive and the subversion
6464 repository where I currently work on my prototype.</p>
6465
6466 <p>When I use it on a machine with a yubikey inserted, it suggest to
6467 install yubikey-personalization:</p>
6468
6469 <p><blockquote>
6470 % ./hw-support-lookup
6471 <br>yubikey-personalization
6472 <br>%
6473 </blockquote></p>
6474
6475 <p>When I run it on my Thinkpad X40 with a PCMCIA/CardBus slot, it
6476 propose to install the pcmciautils package:</p>
6477
6478 <p><blockquote>
6479 % ./hw-support-lookup
6480 <br>pcmciautils
6481 <br>%
6482 </blockquote></p>
6483
6484 <p>If you know of any hardware-package mapping that should be added to
6485 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/modaliases?view=co">my
6486 database</a>, please tell me about it.</p>
6487
6488 <p>It could be possible to generate several of the mappings between
6489 packages and hardware.  One source would be to look at packages with
6490 kernel modules, ie packages with *.ko files in /lib/modules/, and
6491 extract their modalias information.  Another would be to look at
6492 packages with udev rules, ie packages with files in
6493 /lib/udev/rules.d/, and extract their vendor/model information to
6494 generate a modalias matching rule.  I have not tested any of these to
6495 see if it work.</p>
6496
6497 <p>If you want to help implementing a system to let us propose what
6498 packages to install when new hardware is plugged into a Debian
6499 machine, please send me an email or talk to me on
6500 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-devel">#debian-devel</a>.</p>
6501
6502       </div>
6503       <div class="tags">
6504
6505
6506         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
6507
6508
6509       </div>
6510     </div>
6511     <div class="padding"></div>
6512
6513     <div class="entry">
6514       <div class="title">
6515         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Modalias_strings___a_practical_way_to_map__stuff__to_hardware.html">Modalias strings - a practical way to map "stuff" to hardware</a>
6516       </div>
6517       <div class="date">
6518         14th January 2013
6519       </div>
6520       <div class="body">
6521         <p>While looking into how to look up Debian packages based on hardware
6522 information, to find the packages that support a given piece of
6523 hardware, I refreshed my memory regarding modalias values, and decided
6524 to document the details.  Here are my findings so far, also available
6525 in
6526 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/">the
6527 Debian Edu subversion repository</a>:
6528
6529 <p><strong>Modalias decoded</strong></p>
6530
6531 <p>This document try to explain what the different types of modalias
6532 values stands for.  It is in part based on information from
6533 &lt;URL: <a href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Modalias">https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Modalias</a> &gt;,
6534 &lt;URL: <a href="http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/26132/how-to-assign-usb-driver-to-device">http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/26132/how-to-assign-usb-driver-to-device</a> &gt;,
6535 &lt;URL: <a href="http://code.metager.de/source/history/linux/stable/scripts/mod/file2alias.c">http://code.metager.de/source/history/linux/stable/scripts/mod/file2alias.c</a> &gt; and
6536 &lt;URL: <a href="http://cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewvc/dmidecode/dmidecode.c?root=dmidecode&view=markup">http://cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewvc/dmidecode/dmidecode.c?root=dmidecode&view=markup</a> &gt;.
6537
6538 <p>The modalias entries for a given Linux machine can be found using
6539 this shell script:</p>
6540
6541 <pre>
6542 find /sys -name modalias -print0 | xargs -0 cat | sort -u
6543 </pre>
6544
6545 <p>The supported modalias globs for a given kernel module can be found
6546 using modinfo:</p>
6547
6548 <pre>
6549 % /sbin/modinfo psmouse | grep alias:
6550 alias:          serio:ty05pr*id*ex*
6551 alias:          serio:ty01pr*id*ex*
6552 %
6553 </pre>
6554
6555 <p><strong>PCI subtype</strong></p>
6556
6557 <p>A typical PCI entry can look like this.  This is an Intel Host
6558 Bridge memory controller:</p>
6559
6560 <p><blockquote>
6561 pci:v00008086d00002770sv00001028sd000001ADbc06sc00i00
6562 </blockquote></p>
6563
6564 <p>This represent these values:</p>
6565
6566 <pre>
6567  v   00008086  (vendor)
6568  d   00002770  (device)
6569  sv  00001028  (subvendor)
6570  sd  000001AD  (subdevice)
6571  bc  06        (bus class)
6572  sc  00        (bus subclass)
6573  i   00        (interface)
6574 </pre>
6575
6576 <p>The vendor/device values are the same values outputted from 'lspci
6577 -n' as 8086:2770.  The bus class/subclass is also shown by lspci as
6578 0600.  The 0600 class is a host bridge.  Other useful bus values are
6579 0300 (VGA compatible card) and 0200 (Ethernet controller).</p>
6580
6581 <p>Not sure how to figure out the interface value, nor what it
6582 means.</p>
6583
6584 <p><strong>USB subtype</strong></p>
6585
6586 <p>Some typical USB entries can look like this.  This is an internal
6587 USB hub in a laptop:</p>
6588
6589 <p><blockquote>
6590 usb:v1D6Bp0001d0206dc09dsc00dp00ic09isc00ip00
6591 </blockquote></p>
6592
6593 <p>Here is the values included in this alias:</p>
6594
6595 <pre>
6596  v    1D6B  (device vendor)
6597  p    0001  (device product)
6598  d    0206  (bcddevice)
6599  dc     09  (device class)
6600  dsc    00  (device subclass)
6601  dp     00  (device protocol)
6602  ic     09  (interface class)
6603  isc    00  (interface subclass)
6604  ip     00  (interface protocol)
6605 </pre>
6606
6607 <p>The 0900 device class/subclass means hub.  Some times the relevant
6608 class is in the interface class section.  For a simple USB web camera,
6609 these alias entries show up:</p>
6610
6611 <p><blockquote>
6612 usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic01isc01ip00
6613 <br>usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic01isc02ip00
6614 <br>usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic0Eisc01ip00
6615 <br>usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic0Eisc02ip00
6616 </blockquote></p>
6617
6618 <p>Interface class 0E01 is video control, 0E02 is video streaming (aka
6619 camera), 0101 is audio control device and 0102 is audio streaming (aka
6620 microphone).  Thus this is a camera with microphone included.</p>
6621
6622 <p><strong>ACPI subtype</strong></p>
6623
6624 <p>The ACPI type is used for several non-PCI/USB stuff.  This is an IR
6625 receiver in a Thinkpad X40:</p>
6626
6627 <p><blockquote>
6628 acpi:IBM0071:PNP0511:
6629 </blockquote></p>
6630
6631 <p>The values between the colons are IDs.</p>
6632
6633 <p><strong>DMI subtype</strong></p>
6634
6635 <p>The DMI table contain lots of information about the computer case
6636 and model.  This is an entry for a IBM Thinkpad X40, fetched from
6637 /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/modalias:</p>
6638
6639 <p><blockquote>
6640 dmi:bvnIBM:bvr1UETB6WW(1.66):bd06/15/2005:svnIBM:pn2371H4G:pvrThinkPadX40:rvnIBM:rn2371H4G:rvrNotAvailable:cvnIBM:ct10:cvrNotAvailable:
6641 </blockquote></p>
6642
6643 <p>The values present are</p>
6644
6645 <pre>
6646  bvn  IBM            (BIOS vendor)
6647  bvr  1UETB6WW(1.66) (BIOS version)
6648  bd   06/15/2005     (BIOS date)
6649  svn  IBM            (system vendor)
6650  pn   2371H4G        (product name)
6651  pvr  ThinkPadX40    (product version)
6652  rvn  IBM            (board vendor)
6653  rn   2371H4G        (board name)
6654  rvr  NotAvailable   (board version)
6655  cvn  IBM            (chassis vendor)
6656  ct   10             (chassis type)
6657  cvr  NotAvailable   (chassis version)
6658 </pre>
6659
6660 <p>The chassis type 10 is Notebook.  Other interesting values can be
6661 found in the dmidecode source:</p>
6662
6663 <pre>
6664   3 Desktop
6665   4 Low Profile Desktop
6666   5 Pizza Box
6667   6 Mini Tower
6668   7 Tower
6669   8 Portable
6670   9 Laptop
6671  10 Notebook
6672  11 Hand Held
6673  12 Docking Station
6674  13 All In One
6675  14 Sub Notebook
6676  15 Space-saving
6677  16 Lunch Box
6678  17 Main Server Chassis
6679  18 Expansion Chassis
6680  19 Sub Chassis
6681  20 Bus Expansion Chassis
6682  21 Peripheral Chassis
6683  22 RAID Chassis
6684  23 Rack Mount Chassis
6685  24 Sealed-case PC
6686  25 Multi-system
6687  26 CompactPCI
6688  27 AdvancedTCA
6689  28 Blade
6690  29 Blade Enclosing
6691 </pre>
6692
6693 <p>The chassis type values are not always accurately set in the DMI
6694 table.  For example my home server is a tower, but the DMI modalias
6695 claim it is a desktop.</p>
6696
6697 <p><strong>SerIO subtype</strong></p>
6698
6699 <p>This type is used for PS/2 mouse plugs.  One example is from my
6700 test machine:</p>
6701
6702 <p><blockquote>
6703 serio:ty01pr00id00ex00
6704 </blockquote></p>
6705
6706 <p>The values present are</p>
6707
6708 <pre>
6709   ty  01  (type)
6710   pr  00  (prototype)
6711   id  00  (id)
6712   ex  00  (extra)
6713 </pre>
6714
6715 <p>This type is supported by the psmouse driver.  I am not sure what
6716 the valid values are.</p>
6717
6718 <p><strong>Other subtypes</strong></p>
6719
6720 <p>There are heaps of other modalias subtypes according to
6721 file2alias.c.  There is the rest of the list from that source: amba,
6722 ap, bcma, ccw, css, eisa, hid, i2c, ieee1394, input, ipack, isapnp,
6723 mdio, of, parisc, pcmcia, platform, scsi, sdio, spi, ssb, vio, virtio,
6724 vmbus, x86cpu and zorro.  I did not spend time documenting all of
6725 these, as they do not seem relevant for my intended use with mapping
6726 hardware to packages when new stuff is inserted during run time.</p>
6727
6728 <p><strong>Looking up kernel modules using modalias values</strong></p>
6729
6730 <p>To check which kernel modules provide support for a given modalias,
6731 one can use the following shell script:</p>
6732
6733 <pre>
6734   for id in $(find /sys -name modalias -print0 | xargs -0 cat | sort -u); do \
6735     echo "$id" ; \
6736     /sbin/modprobe --show-depends "$id"|sed 's/^/  /' ; \
6737   done
6738 </pre>
6739
6740 <p>The output can look like this (only the first few entries as the
6741 list is very long on my test machine):</p>
6742
6743 <pre>
6744   acpi:ACPI0003:
6745     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/acpi/ac.ko
6746   acpi:device:
6747   FATAL: Module acpi:device: not found.
6748   acpi:IBM0068:
6749     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/char/nvram.ko
6750     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/leds/led-class.ko
6751     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/net/rfkill/rfkill.ko
6752     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/platform/x86/thinkpad_acpi.ko
6753   acpi:IBM0071:PNP0511:
6754     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/lib/crc-ccitt.ko
6755     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/net/irda/irda.ko
6756     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/net/irda/nsc-ircc.ko
6757   [...]
6758 </pre>
6759
6760 <p>If you want to help implementing a system to let us propose what
6761 packages to install when new hardware is plugged into a Debian
6762 machine, please send me an email or talk to me on
6763 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-devel">#debian-devel</a>.</p>
6764
6765 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-15:</strong> Rewrite "cat $(find ...)" to
6766 "find ... -print0 | xargs -0 cat" to make sure it handle directories
6767 in /sys/ with space in them.</p>
6768
6769       </div>
6770       <div class="tags">
6771
6772
6773         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
6774
6775
6776       </div>
6777     </div>
6778     <div class="padding"></div>
6779
6780     <div class="entry">
6781       <div class="title">
6782         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Moved_the_pymissile_Debian_packaging_to_collab_maint.html">Moved the pymissile Debian packaging to collab-maint</a>
6783       </div>
6784       <div class="date">
6785         10th January 2013
6786       </div>
6787       <div class="body">
6788         <p>As part of my investigation on how to improve the support in Debian
6789 for hardware dongles, I dug up my old Mark and Spencer USB Rocket
6790 Launcher and updated the Debian package
6791 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/pymissile">pymissile</a> to make
6792 sure udev will fix the device permissions when it is plugged in.  I
6793 also added a "Modaliases" header to test it in the Debian archive and
6794 hopefully make the package be proposed by jockey in Ubuntu when a user
6795 plug in his rocket launcher.  In the process I moved the source to a
6796 git repository under collab-maint, to make it easier for any DD to
6797 contribute.  <a href="http://code.google.com/p/pymissile/">Upstream</a>
6798 is not very active, but the software still work for me even after five
6799 years of relative silence.  The new git repository is not listed in
6800 the uploaded package yet, because I want to test the other changes a
6801 bit more before I upload the new version.  If you want to check out
6802 the new version with a .desktop file included, visit the
6803 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=collab-maint/pymissile.git">gitweb
6804 view</a> or use "<tt>git clone
6805 git://anonscm.debian.org/collab-maint/pymissile.git</tt>".</p>
6806
6807       </div>
6808       <div class="tags">
6809
6810
6811         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot</a>.
6812
6813
6814       </div>
6815     </div>
6816     <div class="padding"></div>
6817
6818     <div class="entry">
6819       <div class="title">
6820         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">Lets make hardware dongles easier to use in Debian</a>
6821       </div>
6822       <div class="date">
6823          9th January 2013
6824       </div>
6825       <div class="body">
6826         <p>One thing that annoys me with Debian and Linux distributions in
6827 general, is that there is a great package management system with the
6828 ability to automatically install software packages by downloading them
6829 from the distribution mirrors, but no way to get it to automatically
6830 install the packages I need to use the hardware I plug into my
6831 machine.  Even if the package to use it is easily available from the
6832 Linux distribution.  When I plug in a LEGO Mindstorms NXT, it could
6833 suggest to automatically install the python-nxt, nbc and t2n packages
6834 I need to talk to it.  When I plug in a Yubikey, it could propose the
6835 yubikey-personalization package.  The information required to do this
6836 is available, but no-one have pulled all the pieces together.</p>
6837
6838 <p>Some years ago, I proposed to
6839 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/05/msg01206.html">use
6840 the discover subsystem to implement this</a>.  The idea is fairly
6841 simple:
6842
6843 <ul>
6844
6845 <li>Add a desktop entry in /usr/share/autostart/ pointing to a program
6846   starting when a user log in.</li>
6847
6848 <li>Set this program up to listen for kernel events emitted when new
6849   hardware is inserted into the computer.</li>
6850
6851 <li>When new hardware is inserted, look up the hardware ID in a
6852   database mapping to packages, and take note of any non-installed
6853   packages.</li>
6854
6855 <li>Show a message to the user proposing to install the discovered
6856   package, and make it easy to install it.</li>
6857
6858 </ul>
6859
6860 <p>I am not sure what the best way to implement this is, but my
6861 initial idea was to use dbus events to discover new hardware, the
6862 discover database to find packages and
6863 <a href="http://www.packagekit.org/">PackageKit</a> to install
6864 packages.</p>
6865
6866 <p>Yesterday, I found time to try to implement this idea, and the
6867 draft package is now checked into
6868 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/">the
6869 Debian Edu subversion repository</a>.  In the process, I updated the
6870 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/d/discover-data.html">discover-data</a>
6871 package to map the USB ids of LEGO Mindstorms and Yubikey devices to
6872 the relevant packages in Debian, and uploaded a new version
6873 2.2013.01.09 to unstable.  I also discovered that the current
6874 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/d/discover.html">discover</a>
6875 package in Debian no longer discovered any USB devices, because
6876 /proc/bus/usb/devices is no longer present.  I ported it to use
6877 libusb as a fall back option to get it working.  The fixed package
6878 version 2.1.2-6 is now in experimental (didn't upload it to unstable
6879 because of the freeze).</p>
6880
6881 <p>With this prototype in place, I can insert my Yubikey, and get this
6882 desktop notification to show up (only once, the first time it is
6883 inserted):</p>
6884
6885 <p align="center"><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-09-hw-autoinstall.png"></p>
6886
6887 <p>For this prototype to be really useful, some way to automatically
6888 install the proposed packages by pressing the "Please install
6889 program(s)" button should to be implemented.</p>
6890
6891 <p>If this idea seem useful to you, and you want to help make it
6892 happen, please help me update the discover-data database with mappings
6893 from hardware to Debian packages.  Check if 'discover-pkginstall -l'
6894 list the package you would like to have installed when a given
6895 hardware device is inserted into your computer, and report bugs using
6896 reportbug if it isn't.  Or, if you know of a better way to provide
6897 such mapping, please let me know.</p>
6898
6899 <p>This prototype need more work, and there are several questions that
6900 should be considered before it is ready for production use.  Is dbus
6901 the correct way to detect new hardware?  At the moment I look for HAL
6902 dbus events on the system bus, because that is the events I could see
6903 on my Debian Squeeze KDE desktop.  Are there better events to use?
6904 How should the user be notified?  Is the desktop notification
6905 mechanism the best option, or should the background daemon raise a
6906 popup instead?  How should packages be installed?  When should they
6907 not be installed?</p>
6908
6909 <p>If you want to help getting such feature implemented in Debian,
6910 please send me an email. :)</p>
6911
6912       </div>
6913       <div class="tags">
6914
6915
6916         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram</a>.
6917
6918
6919       </div>
6920     </div>
6921     <div class="padding"></div>
6922
6923     <div class="entry">
6924       <div class="title">
6925         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_IRC_channel_for_LEGO_designers_using_Debian.html">New IRC channel for LEGO designers using Debian</a>
6926       </div>
6927       <div class="date">
6928          2nd January 2013
6929       </div>
6930       <div class="body">
6931         <p>During Christmas, I have worked a bit on the Debian support for
6932 <a href="http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspx">LEGO Mindstorm
6933 NXT</a>.  My son and I have played a bit with my NXT set, and I
6934 discovered I had to build all the tools myself because none were
6935 already in Debian Squeeze.  If Debian support for LEGO is something
6936 you care about, please join me on the IRC channel
6937 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-lego">#debian-lego</a> (server
6938 irc.debian.org).  There is a lot that could be done to improve the
6939 Debian support for LEGO designers.  For example both CAD software
6940 and Mindstorm compilers are missing. :)</p>
6941
6942 <p>Update 2012-01-03: A
6943 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LegoDesigners">project page</a>
6944 including links to Lego related packages is now available.</p>
6945
6946       </div>
6947       <div class="tags">
6948
6949
6950         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot</a>.
6951
6952
6953       </div>
6954     </div>
6955     <div class="padding"></div>
6956
6957     <div class="entry">
6958       <div class="title">
6959         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_backport_bitcoin_qt_version_0_7_2_2_to_Debian_Squeeze.html">How to backport bitcoin-qt version 0.7.2-2 to Debian Squeeze</a>
6960       </div>
6961       <div class="date">
6962         25th December 2012
6963       </div>
6964       <div class="body">
6965         <p>Let me start by wishing you all marry Christmas and a happy new
6966 year!  I hope next year will prove to be a good year.</p>
6967
6968 <p><a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">Bitcoin</a>, the digital
6969 decentralised "currency" that allow people to transfer bitcoins
6970 between each other with minimal overhead, is a very interesting
6971 experiment.  And as I wrote a few days ago, the bitcoin situation in
6972 <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a> is about to improve a bit.
6973 The <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/bitcoin">new debian source
6974 package</a> (version 0.7.2-2) was uploaded yesterday, and is waiting
6975 in <a href="http://ftp-master.debian.org/new.html">the NEW queue</A>
6976 for one of the ftpmasters to approve the new bitcoin-qt package
6977 name.</p>
6978
6979 <p>And thanks to the great work of Jonas and the rest of the bitcoin
6980 team in Debian, you can easily test the package in Debian Squeeze
6981 using the following steps to get a set of working packages:</p>
6982
6983 <blockquote><pre>
6984 git clone git://git.debian.org/git/collab-maint/bitcoin
6985 cd bitcoin
6986 DEB_MAINTAINER_MODE=1 DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=noupnp fakeroot debian/rules clean
6987 DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=noupnp git-buildpackage --git-ignore-new
6988 </pre></blockquote>
6989
6990 <p>You might have to install some build dependencies as well.  The
6991 list of commands should give you two packages, bitcoind and
6992 bitcoin-qt, ready for use in a Squeeze environment.  Note that the
6993 client will download the complete set of bitcoin "blocks", which need
6994 around 5.6 GiB of data on my machine at the moment.  Make sure your
6995 ~/.bitcoin/ directory have lots of spare room if you want to download
6996 all the blocks.  The client will warn if the disk is getting full, so
6997 there is not really a problem if you got too little room, but you will
6998 not be able to get all the features out of the client.</p>
6999
7000 <p>As usual, if you use bitcoin and want to show your support of my
7001 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
7002 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
7003
7004       </div>
7005       <div class="tags">
7006
7007
7008         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7009
7010
7011       </div>
7012     </div>
7013     <div class="padding"></div>
7014
7015     <div class="entry">
7016       <div class="title">
7017         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_word_on_bitcoin_support_in_Debian.html">A word on bitcoin support in Debian</a>
7018       </div>
7019       <div class="date">
7020         21st December 2012
7021       </div>
7022       <div class="body">
7023         <p>It has been a while since I wrote about
7024 <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">bitcoin</a>, the decentralised
7025 peer-to-peer based crypto-currency, and the reason is simply that I
7026 have been busy elsewhere.  But two days ago, I started looking at the
7027 state of <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/bitcoin">bitcoin in
7028 Debian</a> again to try to recover my old bitcoin wallet.  The package
7029 is now maintained by a
7030 <a href="https://alioth.debian.org/projects/pkg-bitcoin/">team of
7031 people</a>, and the grunt work had already been done by this team.  We
7032 owe a huge thank you to all these team members. :)
7033 But I was sad to discover that the bitcoin client is missing in
7034 Wheezy.  It is only available in Sid (and an outdated client from
7035 backports).  The client had several RC bugs registered in BTS blocking
7036 it from entering testing.  To try to help the team and improve the
7037 situation, I spent some time providing patches and triaging the bug
7038 reports.  I also had a look at the bitcoin package available from Matt
7039 Corallo in a
7040 <a href="https://launchpad.net/~bitcoin/+archive/bitcoin">PPA for
7041 Ubuntu</a>, and moved the useful pieces from that version into the
7042 Debian package.</p>
7043
7044 <p>After checking with the main package maintainer Jonas Smedegaard on
7045 IRC, I pushed several patches into the collab-maint git repository to
7046 improve the package.  It now contains fixes for the RC issues (not from
7047 me, but fixed by Scott Howard), build rules for a Qt GUI client
7048 package, konqueror support for the bitcoin: URI and bash completion
7049 setup.  As I work on Debian Squeeze, I also created
7050 <a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-bitcoin-devel/Week-of-Mon-20121217/000041.html">a
7051 patch to backport</a> the latest version.  Jonas is going to look at
7052 it and try to integrate it into the git repository before uploading a
7053 new version to unstable.
7054
7055 <p>I would very much like bitcoin to succeed, to get rid of the
7056 centralized control currently exercised in the monetary system.  I
7057 find it completely unacceptable that the USA government is collecting
7058 transaction data for almost all international money transfers (most are done in USD and transaction logs shipped to the spooks), and
7059 that the major credit card companies can block legal money
7060 transactions to Wikileaks.  But for bitcoin to succeed, more people
7061 need to use bitcoins, and more people need to accept bitcoins when
7062 they sell products and services.  Improving the bitcoin support in
7063 Debian is a small step in the right direction, but not enough.
7064 Unfortunately the user experience when browsing the web and wanting to
7065 pay with bitcoin is still not very good.  The bitcoin: URI is a step
7066 in the right direction, but need to work in most or every browser in
7067 use.  Also the bitcoin-qt client is too heavy to fire up to do a
7068 quick transaction.  I believe there are other clients available, but
7069 have not tested them.</p>
7070
7071 <p>My
7072 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Now_accepting_bitcoins___anonymous_and_distributed_p2p_crypto_money.html">experiment
7073 with bitcoins</a> showed that at least some of my readers use bitcoin.
7074 I received 20.15 BTC so far on the address I provided in my blog two
7075 years ago, as can be
7076 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">seen
7077 on the blockexplorer service</a>.  Thank you everyone for your
7078 donation.  The blockexplorer service demonstrates quite well that
7079 bitcoin is not quite anonymous and untracked. :) I wonder if the
7080 number of users have gone up since then.  If you use bitcoin and want
7081 to show your support of my activity, please send Bitcoin donations to
7082 the same address as last time,
7083 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
7084
7085       </div>
7086       <div class="tags">
7087
7088
7089         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7090
7091
7092       </div>
7093     </div>
7094     <div class="padding"></div>
7095
7096     <div class="entry">
7097       <div class="title">
7098         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Git_repository_for_song_book_for_Computer_Scientists.html">Git repository for song book for Computer Scientists</a>
7099       </div>
7100       <div class="date">
7101          7th September 2012
7102       </div>
7103       <div class="body">
7104         <p>As I
7105 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Song_book_for_Computer_Scientists.html">mentioned
7106 this summer</a>, I have created a Computer Science song book a few
7107 years ago, and today I finally found time to create a public
7108 <a href="https://gitorious.org/pere-cs-songbook/pere-cs-songbook">Gitorious
7109 repository for the project</a>.</p>
7110
7111 <p>If you want to help out, please clone the source and submit patches
7112 to the HTML version.  To generate the PDF and PostScript version,
7113 please use prince XML, or let me know about a useful free software
7114 processor capable of creating a good looking PDF from the HTML.</p>
7115
7116 <p>Want to sing?  You can still find the song book in HTML, PDF and
7117 PostScript formats at
7118 <a href="http://www.hungry.com/~pere/cs-songbook/">Petter's Computer
7119 Science Songbook</a>.</p>
7120
7121       </div>
7122       <div class="tags">
7123
7124
7125         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>.
7126
7127
7128       </div>
7129     </div>
7130     <div class="padding"></div>
7131
7132     <div class="entry">
7133       <div class="title">
7134         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Gratulerer_med_19__rsdagen__Debian_.html">Gratulerer med 19-årsdagen, Debian!</a>
7135       </div>
7136       <div class="date">
7137         16th August 2012
7138       </div>
7139       <div class="body">
7140         <p>I dag fyller
7141 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2012/20120813">Debian-prosjektet 19
7142 år</a>.  Jeg har fulgt det de siste 12 årene, og er veldig glad for å kunne
7143 si gratulerer med dagen, Debian!</p>
7144
7145       </div>
7146       <div class="tags">
7147
7148
7149         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/norsk">norsk</a>.
7150
7151
7152       </div>
7153     </div>
7154     <div class="padding"></div>
7155
7156     <div class="entry">
7157       <div class="title">
7158         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Song_book_for_Computer_Scientists.html">Song book for Computer Scientists</a>
7159       </div>
7160       <div class="date">
7161         24th June 2012
7162       </div>
7163       <div class="body">
7164         <p>Many years ago, while studying Computer Science at the
7165 <a href="http://www.uit.no/">University of Tromsø</a>, I started
7166 collecting computer related songs for use at parties.  The original
7167 version was written in LaTeX, but a few years ago I got help from
7168 Håkon W. Lie, one of the inventors of W3C CSS, to convert it to HTML
7169 while keeping the ability to create a nice book in PDF format.  I have
7170 not had time to maintain the book for a while now, and guess I should
7171 put it up on some public version control repository where others can
7172 help me extend and update the book.  If anyone is volunteering to help
7173 me with this, send me an email.  Also let me know if there are songs
7174 missing in my book.</p>
7175
7176 <p>I have not mentioned the book on my blog so far, and it occured to
7177 me today that I really should let all my readers share the joys of
7178 singing out load about programming, computers and computer networks.
7179 Especially now that <a href="http://debconf12.debconf.org/">Debconf
7180 12</a> is about to start (and I am not going).  Want to sing?  Check
7181 out <a href="http://www.hungry.com/~pere/cs-songbook/">Petter's
7182 Computer Science Songbook</a>.
7183
7184       </div>
7185       <div class="tags">
7186
7187
7188         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>.
7189
7190
7191       </div>
7192     </div>
7193     <div class="padding"></div>
7194
7195     <div class="entry">
7196       <div class="title">
7197         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatically_upgrading_server_firmware_on_Dell_PowerEdge.html">Automatically upgrading server firmware on Dell PowerEdge</a>
7198       </div>
7199       <div class="date">
7200         21st November 2011
7201       </div>
7202       <div class="body">
7203         <p>At work we have heaps of servers.  I believe the total count is
7204 around 1000 at the moment.  To be able to get help from the vendors
7205 when something go wrong, we want to keep the firmware on the servers
7206 up to date.  If the firmware isn't the latest and greatest, the
7207 vendors typically refuse to start debugging any problems until the
7208 firmware is upgraded.  So before every reboot, we want to upgrade the
7209 firmware, and we would really like everyone handling servers at the
7210 university to do this themselves when they plan to reboot a machine.
7211 For that to happen we at the unix server admin group need to provide
7212 the tools to do so.</p>
7213
7214 <p>To make firmware upgrading easier, I am working on a script to
7215 fetch and install the latest firmware for the servers we got.  Most of
7216 our hardware are from Dell and HP, so I have focused on these servers
7217 so far.  This blog post is about the Dell part.</P>
7218
7219 <p>On the Dell FTP site I was lucky enough to find
7220 <a href="ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/catalog/Catalog.xml.gz">an XML file</a>
7221 with firmware information for all 11th generation servers, listing
7222 which firmware should be used on a given model and where on the FTP
7223 site I can find it.  Using a simple perl XML parser I can then
7224 download the shell scripts Dell provides to do firmware upgrades from
7225 within Linux and reboot when all the firmware is primed and ready to
7226 be activated on the first reboot.</p>
7227
7228 <p>This is the Dell related fragment of the perl code I am working on.
7229 Are there anyone working on similar tools for firmware upgrading all
7230 servers at a site?  Please get in touch and lets share resources.</p>
7231
7232 <p><pre>
7233 #!/usr/bin/perl
7234 use strict;
7235 use warnings;
7236 use File::Temp qw(tempdir);
7237 BEGIN {
7238     # Install needed RHEL packages if missing
7239     my %rhelmodules = (
7240         'XML::Simple' => 'perl-XML-Simple',
7241         );
7242     for my $module (keys %rhelmodules) {
7243         eval "use $module;";
7244         if ($@) {
7245             my $pkg = $rhelmodules{$module};
7246             system("yum install -y $pkg");
7247             eval "use $module;";
7248         }
7249     }
7250 }
7251 my $errorsto = 'pere@hungry.com';
7252
7253 upgrade_dell();
7254
7255 exit 0;
7256
7257 sub run_firmware_script {
7258     my ($opts, $script) = @_;
7259     unless ($script) {
7260         print STDERR "fail: missing script name\n";
7261         exit 1
7262     }
7263     print STDERR "Running $script\n\n";
7264
7265     if (0 == system("sh $script $opts")) { # FIXME correct exit code handling
7266         print STDERR "success: firmware script ran succcessfully\n";
7267     } else {
7268         print STDERR "fail: firmware script returned error\n";
7269     }
7270 }
7271
7272 sub run_firmware_scripts {
7273     my ($opts, @dirs) = @_;
7274     # Run firmware packages
7275     for my $dir (@dirs) {
7276         print STDERR "info: Running scripts in $dir\n";
7277         opendir(my $dh, $dir) or die "Unable to open directory $dir: $!";
7278         while (my $s = readdir $dh) {
7279             next if $s =~ m/^\.\.?/;
7280             run_firmware_script($opts, "$dir/$s");
7281         }
7282         closedir $dh;
7283     }
7284 }
7285
7286 sub download {
7287     my $url = shift;
7288     print STDERR "info: Downloading $url\n";
7289     system("wget --quiet \"$url\"");
7290 }
7291
7292 sub upgrade_dell {
7293     my @dirs;
7294     my $product = `dmidecode -s system-product-name`;
7295     chomp $product;
7296
7297     if ($product =~ m/PowerEdge/) {
7298
7299         # on RHEL, these pacakges are needed by the firwmare upgrade scripts
7300         system('yum install -y compat-libstdc++-33.i686 libstdc++.i686 libxml2.i686 procmail');
7301
7302         my $tmpdir = tempdir(
7303             CLEANUP => 1
7304             );
7305         chdir($tmpdir);
7306         fetch_dell_fw('catalog/Catalog.xml.gz');
7307         system('gunzip Catalog.xml.gz');
7308         my @paths = fetch_dell_fw_list('Catalog.xml');
7309         # -q is quiet, disabling interactivity and reducing console output
7310         my $fwopts = "-q";
7311         if (@paths) {
7312             for my $url (@paths) {
7313                 fetch_dell_fw($url);
7314             }
7315             run_firmware_scripts($fwopts, $tmpdir);
7316         } else {
7317             print STDERR "error: Unsupported Dell model '$product'.\n";
7318             print STDERR "error: Please report to $errorsto.\n";
7319         }
7320         chdir('/');
7321     } else {
7322         print STDERR "error: Unsupported Dell model '$product'.\n";
7323         print STDERR "error: Please report to $errorsto.\n";
7324     }
7325 }
7326
7327 sub fetch_dell_fw {
7328     my $path = shift;
7329     my $url = "ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/$path";
7330     download($url);
7331 }
7332
7333 # Using ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/catalog/Catalog.xml.gz, figure out which
7334 # firmware packages to download from Dell.  Only work for Linux
7335 # machines and 11th generation Dell servers.
7336 sub fetch_dell_fw_list {
7337     my $filename = shift;
7338
7339     my $product = `dmidecode -s system-product-name`;
7340     chomp $product;
7341     my ($mybrand, $mymodel) = split(/\s+/, $product);
7342
7343     print STDERR "Finding firmware bundles for $mybrand $mymodel\n";
7344
7345     my $xml = XMLin($filename);
7346     my @paths;
7347     for my $bundle (@{$xml->{SoftwareBundle}}) {
7348         my $brand = $bundle->{TargetSystems}->{Brand}->{Display}->{content};
7349         my $model = $bundle->{TargetSystems}->{Brand}->{Model}->{Display}->{content};
7350         my $oscode;
7351         if ("ARRAY" eq ref $bundle->{TargetOSes}->{OperatingSystem}) {
7352             $oscode = $bundle->{TargetOSes}->{OperatingSystem}[0]->{osCode};
7353         } else {
7354             $oscode = $bundle->{TargetOSes}->{OperatingSystem}->{osCode};
7355         }
7356         if ($mybrand eq $brand && $mymodel eq $model && "LIN" eq $oscode)
7357         {
7358             @paths = map { $_->{path} } @{$bundle->{Contents}->{Package}};
7359         }
7360     }
7361     for my $component (@{$xml->{SoftwareComponent}}) {
7362         my $componenttype = $component->{ComponentType}->{value};
7363
7364         # Drop application packages, only firmware and BIOS
7365         next if 'APAC' eq $componenttype;
7366
7367         my $cpath = $component->{path};
7368         for my $path (@paths) {
7369             if ($cpath =~ m%/$path$%) {
7370                 push(@paths, $cpath);
7371             }
7372         }
7373     }
7374     return @paths;
7375 }
7376 </pre>
7377
7378 <p>The code is only tested on RedHat Enterprise Linux, but I suspect
7379 it could work on other platforms with some tweaking.  Anyone know a
7380 index like Catalog.xml is available from HP for HP servers?  At the
7381 moment I maintain a similar list manually and it is quickly getting
7382 outdated.</p>
7383
7384       </div>
7385       <div class="tags">
7386
7387
7388         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7389
7390
7391       </div>
7392     </div>
7393     <div class="padding"></div>
7394
7395     <div class="entry">
7396       <div class="title">
7397         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_is_booting_into_runlevel_1_different_from_single_user_boots_.html">How is booting into runlevel 1 different from single user boots?</a>
7398       </div>
7399       <div class="date">
7400          4th August 2011
7401       </div>
7402       <div class="body">
7403         <p>Wouter Verhelst have some
7404 <a href="http://grep.be/blog/en/retorts/pere_kubuntu_boot">interesting
7405 comments and opinions</a> on my blog post on
7406 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_should_start_from__etc_rcS_d__in_Debian____almost_nothing.html">the
7407 need to clean up /etc/rcS.d/ in Debian</a> and my blog post about
7408 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_is_missing_in_the_Debian_desktop__or_why_my_parents_use_Kubuntu.html">the
7409 default KDE desktop in Debian</a>.  I only have time to address one
7410 small piece of his comment now, and though it best to address the
7411 misunderstanding he bring forward:</p>
7412
7413 <p><blockquote>
7414 Currently, a system admin has four options: [...] boot to a
7415 single-user system (by adding 'single' to the kernel command line;
7416 this runs rcS and rc1 scripts)
7417 </blockquote></p>
7418
7419 <p>This make me believe Wouter believe booting into single user mode
7420 and booting into runlevel 1 is the same.  I am not surprised he
7421 believe this, because it would make sense and is a quite sensible
7422 thing to believe.  But because the boot in Debian is slightly broken,
7423 runlevel 1 do not work properly and it isn't the same as single user
7424 mode.  I'll try to explain what is actually happing, but it is a bit
7425 hard to explain.</p>
7426
7427 <p>Single user mode is defined like this in /etc/inittab:
7428 "<tt>~~:S:wait:/sbin/sulogin</tt>".  This means the only thing that is
7429 executed in single user mode is sulogin.  Single user mode is a boot
7430 state "between" the runlevels, and when booting into single user mode,
7431 only the scripts in /etc/rcS.d/ are executed before the init process
7432 enters the single user state.  When switching to runlevel 1, the state
7433 is in fact not ending in runlevel 1, but it passes through runlevel 1
7434 and end up in the single user mode (see /etc/rc1.d/S03single, which
7435 runs "init -t1 S" to switch to single user mode at the end of runlevel
7436 1.  It is confusing that the 'S' (single user) init mode is not the
7437 mode enabled by /etc/rcS.d/ (which is more like the initial boot
7438 mode).</p>
7439
7440 <p>This summary might make it clearer.  When booting for the first
7441 time into single user mode, the following commands are executed:
7442 "<tt>/etc/init.d/rc S; /sbin/sulogin</tt>".  When booting into
7443 runlevel 1, the following commands are executed: "<tt>/etc/init.d/rc
7444 S; /etc/init.d/rc 1; /sbin/sulogin</tt>".  A problem show up when
7445 trying to continue after visiting single user mode.  Not all services
7446 are started again as they should, causing the machine to end up in an
7447 unpredicatble state.  This is why Debian admins recommend rebooting
7448 after visiting single user mode.</p>
7449
7450 <p>A similar problem with runlevel 1 is caused by the amount of
7451 scripts executed from /etc/rcS.d/.  When switching from say runlevel 2
7452 to runlevel 1, the services started from /etc/rcS.d/ are not properly
7453 stopped when passing through the scripts in /etc/rc1.d/, and not
7454 started again when switching away from runlevel 1 to the runlevels
7455 2-5.  I believe the problem is best fixed by moving all the scripts
7456 out of /etc/rcS.d/ that are not <strong>required</strong> to get a
7457 functioning single user mode during boot.</p>
7458
7459 <p>I have spent several years investigating the Debian boot system,
7460 and discovered this problem a few years ago.  I suspect it originates
7461 from when sysvinit was introduced into Debian, a long time ago.</p>
7462
7463       </div>
7464       <div class="tags">
7465
7466
7467         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7468
7469
7470       </div>
7471     </div>
7472     <div class="padding"></div>
7473
7474     <div class="entry">
7475       <div class="title">
7476         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_should_start_from__etc_rcS_d__in_Debian____almost_nothing.html">What should start from /etc/rcS.d/ in Debian? - almost nothing</a>
7477       </div>
7478       <div class="date">
7479         30th July 2011
7480       </div>
7481       <div class="body">
7482         <p>In the Debian boot system, several packages include scripts that
7483 are started from /etc/rcS.d/.  In fact, there is a bite more of them
7484 than make sense, and this causes a few problems.  What kind of
7485 problems, you might ask.  There are at least two problems.  The first
7486 is that it is not possible to recover a machine after switching to
7487 runlevel 1.  One need to actually reboot to get the machine back to
7488 the expected state.  The other is that single user boot will sometimes
7489 run into problems because some of the subsystems are activated before
7490 the root login is presented, causing problems when trying to recover a
7491 machine from a problem in that subsystem.  A minor additional point is
7492 that moving more scripts out of rcS.d/ and into the other rc#.d/
7493 directories will increase the amount of scripts that can run in
7494 parallel during boot, and thus decrease the boot time.</p>
7495
7496 <p>So, which scripts should start from rcS.d/.  In short, only the
7497 scripts that _have_ to execute before the root login prompt is
7498 presented during a single user boot should go there.  Everything else
7499 should go into the numeric runlevels.  This means things like
7500 lm-sensors, fuse and x11-common should not run from rcS.d, but from
7501 the numeric runlevels.  Today in Debian, there are around 115 init.d
7502 scripts that are started from rcS.d/, and most of them should be moved
7503 out.  Do your package have one of them?  Please help us make single
7504 user and runlevel 1 better by moving it.</p>
7505
7506 <p>Scripts setting up the screen, keyboard, system partitions
7507 etc. should still be started from rcS.d/, but there is for example no
7508 need to have the network enabled before the single user login prompt
7509 is presented.</p>
7510
7511 <p>As always, things are not so easy to fix as they sound.  To keep
7512 Debian systems working while scripts migrate and during upgrades, the
7513 scripts need to be moved from rcS.d/ to rc2.d/ in reverse dependency
7514 order, ie the scripts that nothing in rcS.d/ depend on can be moved,
7515 and the next ones can only be moved when their dependencies have been
7516 moved first.  This migration must be done sequentially while we ensure
7517 that the package system upgrade packages in the right order to keep
7518 the system state correct.  This will require some coordination when it
7519 comes to network related packages, but most of the packages with
7520 scripts that should migrate do not have anything in rcS.d/ depending
7521 on them.  Some packages have already been updated, like the sudo
7522 package, while others are still left to do.  I wish I had time to work
7523 on this myself, but real live constrains make it unlikely that I will
7524 find time to push this forward.</p>
7525
7526       </div>
7527       <div class="tags">
7528
7529
7530         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7531
7532
7533       </div>
7534     </div>
7535     <div class="padding"></div>
7536
7537     <div class="entry">
7538       <div class="title">
7539         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_is_missing_in_the_Debian_desktop__or_why_my_parents_use_Kubuntu.html">What is missing in the Debian desktop, or why my parents use Kubuntu</a>
7540       </div>
7541       <div class="date">
7542         29th July 2011
7543       </div>
7544       <div class="body">
7545         <p>While at Debconf11, I have several times during discussions
7546 mentioned the issues I believe should be improved in Debian for its
7547 desktop to be useful for more people.  The use case for this is my
7548 parents, which are currently running Kubuntu which solve the
7549 issues.</p>
7550
7551 <p>I suspect these four missing features are not very hard to
7552 implement.  After all, they are present in Ubuntu, so if we wanted to
7553 do this in Debian we would have a source.</p>
7554
7555 <ol>
7556
7557 <li><strong>Simple GUI based upgrade of packages.</strong> When there
7558 are new packages available for upgrades, a icon in the KDE status bar
7559 indicate this, and clicking on it will activate the simple upgrade
7560 tool to handle it.  I have no problem guiding both of my parents
7561 through the process over the phone.  If a kernel reboot is required,
7562 this too is indicated by the status bars and the upgrade tool.  Last
7563 time I checked, nothing with the same features was working in KDE in
7564 Debian.</li>
7565
7566 <li><strong>Simple handling of missing Firefox browser
7567 plugins.</strong> When the browser encounter a MIME type it do not
7568 currently have a handler for, it will ask the user if the system
7569 should search for a package that would add support for this MIME type,
7570 and if the user say yes, the APT sources will be searched for packages
7571 advertising the MIME type in their control file (visible in the
7572 Packages file in the APT archive).  If one or more packages are found,
7573 it is a simple click of the mouse to add support for the missing mime
7574 type.  If the package require the user to accept some non-free
7575 license, this is explained to the user.  The entire process make it
7576 more clear to the user why something do not work in the browser, and
7577 make the chances higher for the user to blame the web page authors and
7578 not the browser for any missing features.</li>
7579
7580 <li><strong>Simple handling of missing multimedia codec/format
7581 handlers.</strong> When the media players encounter a format or codec
7582 it is not supporting, a dialog pop up asking the user if the system
7583 should search for a package that would add support for it.  This
7584 happen with things like MP3, Windows Media or H.264.  The selection
7585 and installation procedure is very similar to the Firefox browser
7586 plugin handling.  This is as far as I know implemented using a
7587 gstreamer hook.  The end result is that the user easily get access to
7588 the codecs that are present from the APT archives available, while
7589 explaining more on why a given format is unsupported by Ubuntu.</li>
7590
7591 <li><strong>Better browser handling of some MIME types.</strong> When
7592 displaying a text/plain file in my Debian browser, it will propose to
7593 start emacs to show it.  If I remember correctly, when doing the same
7594 in Kunbutu it show the file as a text file in the browser.  At least I
7595 know Opera will show text files within the browser.  I much prefer the
7596 latter behaviour.</li>
7597
7598 </ol>
7599
7600 <p>There are other nice features as well, like the simplified suite
7601 upgrader, but given that I am the one mostly doing the dist-upgrade,
7602 it do not matter much.</p>
7603
7604 <p>I really hope we could get these features in place for the next
7605 Debian release.  It would require the coordinated effort of several
7606 maintainers, but would make the end user experience a lot better.</p>
7607
7608       </div>
7609       <div class="tags">
7610
7611
7612         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/h264">h264</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
7613
7614
7615       </div>
7616     </div>
7617     <div class="padding"></div>
7618
7619     <div class="entry">
7620       <div class="title">
7621         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Perl_modules_used_by_FixMyStreet_which_are_missing_in_Debian_Squeeze.html">Perl modules used by FixMyStreet which are missing in Debian/Squeeze</a>
7622       </div>
7623       <div class="date">
7624         26th July 2011
7625       </div>
7626       <div class="body">
7627         <p>The Norwegian <a href="http://www.fiksgatami.no/">FiksGataMi</A>
7628 site is build on Debian/Squeeze, and this platform was chosen because
7629 I am most familiar with Debian (being a Debian Developer for around 10
7630 years) because it is the latest stable Debian release which should get
7631 security support for a few years.</p>
7632
7633 <p>The web service is written in Perl, and depend on some perl modules
7634 that are missing in Debian at the moment.  It would be great if these
7635 modules were added to the Debian archive, allowing anyone to set up
7636 their own <a href="http://www.fixmystreet.com">FixMyStreet</a> clone
7637 in their own country using only Debian packages.  The list of modules
7638 missing in Debian/Squeeze isn't very long, and I hope the perl group
7639 will find time to package the 12 modules Catalyst::Plugin::SmartURI,
7640 Catalyst::Plugin::Unicode::Encoding, Catalyst::View::TT, Devel::Hide,
7641 Sort::Key, Statistics::Distributions, Template::Plugin::Comma,
7642 Template::Plugin::DateTime::Format, Term::Size::Any, Term::Size::Perl,
7643 URI::SmartURI and Web::Scraper to make the maintenance of FixMyStreet
7644 easier in the future.</p>
7645
7646 <p>Thanks to the great tools in Debian, getting the missing modules
7647 installed on my server was a simple call to 'cpan2deb Module::Name'
7648 and 'dpkg -i' to install the resulting package.  But this leave me
7649 with the responsibility of tracking security problems, which I really
7650 do not have time for.</p>
7651
7652       </div>
7653       <div class="tags">
7654
7655
7656         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami</a>.
7657
7658
7659       </div>
7660     </div>
7661     <div class="padding"></div>
7662
7663     <div class="entry">
7664       <div class="title">
7665         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_Norwegian_FixMyStreet_have_kept_me_busy_the_last_few_weeks.html">A Norwegian FixMyStreet have kept me busy the last few weeks</a>
7666       </div>
7667       <div class="date">
7668          3rd April 2011
7669       </div>
7670       <div class="body">
7671         <p>Here is a small update for my English readers.  Most of my blog
7672 posts have been in Norwegian the last few weeks, so here is a short
7673 update in English.</p>
7674
7675 <p>The kids still keep me too busy to get much free software work
7676 done, but I did manage to organise a project to get a Norwegian port
7677 of the British service
7678 <a href="http://www.fixmystreet.com/">FixMyStreet</a> up and running,
7679 and it has been running for a month now.  The entire project has been
7680 organised by me and two others.  Around Christmas we gathered sponsors
7681 to fund the development work.  In January I drafted a contract with
7682 <a href="http://www.mysociety.org/">mySociety</a> on what to develop,
7683 and in February the development took place.  Most of it involved
7684 converting the source to use GPS coordinates instead of British
7685 easting/northing, and the resulting code should be a lot easier to get
7686 running in any country by now.  The Norwegian
7687 <a href="http://www.fiksgatami.no/">FiksGataMi</a> is using
7688 <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org/">OpenStreetmap</a> as the map
7689 source and the source for administrative borders in Norway, and
7690 support for this had to be added/fixed.</p>
7691
7692 <p>The Norwegian version went live March 3th, and we spent the weekend
7693 polishing the system before we announced it March 7th.  The system is
7694 running on a KVM instance of Debian/Squeeze, and has seen almost 3000
7695 problem reports in a few weeks.  Soon we hope to announce the Android
7696 and iPhone versions making it even easier to report problems with the
7697 public infrastructure.</p>
7698
7699 <p>Perhaps something to consider for those of you in countries without
7700 such service?</p>
7701
7702       </div>
7703       <div class="tags">
7704
7705
7706         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/kart">kart</a>.
7707
7708
7709       </div>
7710     </div>
7711     <div class="padding"></div>
7712
7713     <div class="entry">
7714       <div class="title">
7715         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Using_NVD_and_CPE_to_track_CVEs_in_locally_maintained_software.html">Using NVD and CPE to track CVEs in locally maintained software</a>
7716       </div>
7717       <div class="date">
7718         28th January 2011
7719       </div>
7720       <div class="body">
7721         <p>The last few days I have looked at ways to track open security
7722 issues here at my work with the University of Oslo.  My idea is that
7723 it should be possible to use the information about security issues
7724 available on the Internet, and check our locally
7725 maintained/distributed software against this information.  It should
7726 allow us to verify that no known security issues are forgotten.  The
7727 CVE database listing vulnerabilities seem like a great central point,
7728 and by using the package lists from Debian mapped to CVEs provided by
7729 the testing security team, I believed it should be possible to figure
7730 out which security holes were present in our free software
7731 collection.</p>
7732
7733 <p>After reading up on the topic, it became obvious that the first
7734 building block is to be able to name software packages in a unique and
7735 consistent way across data sources.  I considered several ways to do
7736 this, for example coming up with my own naming scheme like using URLs
7737 to project home pages or URLs to the Freshmeat entries, or using some
7738 existing naming scheme.  And it seem like I am not the first one to
7739 come across this problem, as MITRE already proposed and implemented a
7740 solution.  Enter the <a href="http://cpe.mitre.org/index.html">Common
7741 Platform Enumeration</a> dictionary, a vocabulary for referring to
7742 software, hardware and other platform components.  The CPE ids are
7743 mapped to CVEs in the <a href="http://web.nvd.nist.gov/">National
7744 Vulnerability Database</a>, allowing me to look up know security
7745 issues for any CPE name.  With this in place, all I need to do is to
7746 locate the CPE id for the software packages we use at the university.
7747 This is fairly trivial (I google for 'cve cpe $package' and check the
7748 NVD entry if a CVE for the package exist).</p>
7749
7750 <p>To give you an example.  The GNU gzip source package have the CPE
7751 name cpe:/a:gnu:gzip.  If the old version 1.3.3 was the package to
7752 check out, one could look up
7753 <a href="http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/search?cpe=cpe%3A%2Fa%3Agnu%3Agzip:1.3.3">cpe:/a:gnu:gzip:1.3.3
7754 in NVD</a> and get a list of 6 security holes with public CVE entries.
7755 The most recent one is
7756 <a href="http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2010-0001">CVE-2010-0001</a>,
7757 and at the bottom of the NVD page for this vulnerability the complete
7758 list of affected versions is provided.</p>
7759
7760 <p>The NVD database of CVEs is also available as a XML dump, allowing
7761 for offline processing of issues.  Using this dump, I've written a
7762 small script taking a list of CPEs as input and list all CVEs
7763 affecting the packages represented by these CPEs.  One give it CPEs
7764 with version numbers as specified above and get a list of open
7765 security issues out.</p>
7766
7767 <p>Of course for this approach to be useful, the quality of the NVD
7768 information need to be high.  For that to happen, I believe as many as
7769 possible need to use and contribute to the NVD database.  I notice
7770 RHEL is providing
7771 <a href="https://www.redhat.com/security/data/metrics/rhsamapcpe.txt">a
7772 map from CVE to CPE</a>, indicating that they are using the CPE
7773 information.  I'm not aware of Debian and Ubuntu doing the same.</p>
7774
7775 <p>To get an idea about the quality for free software, I spent some
7776 time making it possible to compare the CVE database from Debian with
7777 the CVE database in NVD.  The result look fairly good, but there are
7778 some inconsistencies in NVD (same software package having several
7779 CPEs), and some inaccuracies (NVD not mentioning buggy packages that
7780 Debian believe are affected by a CVE).  Hope to find time to improve
7781 the quality of NVD, but that require being able to get in touch with
7782 someone maintaining it.  So far my three emails with questions and
7783 corrections have not seen any reply, but I hope contact can be
7784 established soon.</p>
7785
7786 <p>An interesting application for CPEs is cross platform package
7787 mapping.  It would be useful to know which packages in for example
7788 RHEL, OpenSuSe and Mandriva are missing from Debian and Ubuntu, and
7789 this would be trivial if all linux distributions provided CPE entries
7790 for their packages.</p>
7791
7792       </div>
7793       <div class="tags">
7794
7795
7796         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
7797
7798
7799       </div>
7800     </div>
7801     <div class="padding"></div>
7802
7803     <div class="entry">
7804       <div class="title">
7805         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Which_module_is_loaded_for_a_given_PCI_and_USB_device_.html">Which module is loaded for a given PCI and USB device?</a>
7806       </div>
7807       <div class="date">
7808         23rd January 2011
7809       </div>
7810       <div class="body">
7811         <p>In the
7812 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/discover-data">discover-data</a>
7813 package in Debian, there is a script to report useful information
7814 about the running hardware for use when people report missing
7815 information.  One part of this script that I find very useful when
7816 debugging hardware problems, is the part mapping loaded kernel module
7817 to the PCI device it claims.  It allow me to quickly see if the kernel
7818 module I expect is driving the hardware I am struggling with.  To see
7819 the output, make sure discover-data is installed and run
7820 <tt>/usr/share/bug/discover-data 3>&1</tt>.  The relevant output on
7821 one of my machines like this:</p>
7822
7823 <pre>
7824 loaded modules:
7825 10de:03eb i2c_nforce2
7826 10de:03f1 ohci_hcd
7827 10de:03f2 ehci_hcd
7828 10de:03f0 snd_hda_intel
7829 10de:03ec pata_amd
7830 10de:03f6 sata_nv
7831 1022:1103 k8temp
7832 109e:036e bttv
7833 109e:0878 snd_bt87x
7834 11ab:4364 sky2
7835 </pre>
7836
7837 <p>The code in question look like this, slightly modified for
7838 readability and to drop the output to file descriptor 3:</p>
7839
7840 <pre>
7841 if [ -d /sys/bus/pci/devices/ ] ; then
7842     echo loaded pci modules:
7843     (
7844         cd /sys/bus/pci/devices/
7845         for address in * ; do
7846             if [ -d "$address/driver/module" ] ; then
7847                 module=`cd $address/driver/module ; pwd -P | xargs basename`
7848                 if grep -q "^$module " /proc/modules ; then
7849                     address=$(echo $address |sed s/0000://)
7850                     id=`lspci -n -s $address | tail -n 1 | awk '{print $3}'`
7851                     echo "$id $module"
7852                 fi
7853             fi
7854         done
7855     )
7856     echo
7857 fi
7858 </pre>
7859
7860 <p>Similar code could be used to extract USB device module
7861 mappings:</p>
7862
7863 <pre>
7864 if [ -d /sys/bus/usb/devices/ ] ; then
7865     echo loaded usb modules:
7866     (
7867         cd /sys/bus/usb/devices/
7868         for address in * ; do
7869             if [ -d "$address/driver/module" ] ; then
7870                 module=`cd $address/driver/module ; pwd -P | xargs basename`
7871                 if grep -q "^$module " /proc/modules ; then
7872                     address=$(echo $address |sed s/0000://)
7873                     id=$(lsusb -s $address | tail -n 1 | awk '{print $6}')
7874                     if [ "$id" ] ; then
7875                         echo "$id $module"
7876                     fi
7877                 fi
7878             fi
7879         done
7880     )
7881     echo
7882 fi
7883 </pre>
7884
7885 <p>This might perhaps be something to include in other tools as
7886 well.</p>
7887
7888       </div>
7889       <div class="tags">
7890
7891
7892         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7893
7894
7895       </div>
7896     </div>
7897     <div class="padding"></div>
7898
7899     <div class="entry">
7900       <div class="title">
7901         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_test_if_a_laptop_is_working_with_Linux.html">How to test if a laptop is working with Linux</a>
7902       </div>
7903       <div class="date">
7904         22nd December 2010
7905       </div>
7906       <div class="body">
7907         <p>The last few days I have spent at work here at the <a
7908 href="http://www.uio.no/">University of Oslo</a> testing if the new
7909 batch of computers will work with Linux.  Every year for the last few
7910 years the university have organised shared bid of a few thousand
7911 computers, and this year HP won the bid.  Two different desktops and
7912 five different laptops are on the list this year.  We in the UNIX
7913 group want to know which one of these computers work well with RHEL
7914 and Ubuntu, the two Linux distributions we currently handle at the
7915 university.</p>
7916
7917 <p>My test method is simple, and I share it here to get feedback and
7918 perhaps inspire others to test hardware as well.  To test, I PXE
7919 install the OS version of choice, and log in as my normal user and run
7920 a few applications and plug in selected pieces of hardware.  When
7921 something fail, I make a note about this in the test matrix and move
7922 on.  If I have some spare time I try to report the bug to the OS
7923 vendor, but as I only have the machines for a short time, I rarely
7924 have the time to do this for all the problems I find.</p>
7925
7926 <p>Anyway, to get to the point of this post.  Here is the simple tests
7927 I perform on a new model.</p>
7928
7929 <ul>
7930
7931 <li>Is PXE installation working?  I'm testing with RHEL6, Ubuntu Lucid
7932 and Ubuntu Maverik at the moment.  If I feel like it, I also test with
7933 RHEL5 and Debian Edu/Squeeze.</li>
7934
7935 <li>Is X.org working?  If the graphical login screen show up after
7936 installation, X.org is working.</li>
7937
7938 <li>Is hardware accelerated OpenGL working?  Running glxgears (in
7939 package mesa-utils on Ubuntu) and writing down the frames per second
7940 reported by the program.</li>
7941
7942 <li>Is sound working?  With Gnome and KDE, a sound is played when
7943 logging in, and if I can hear this the test is successful.  If there
7944 are several audio exits on the machine, I try them all and check if
7945 the Gnome/KDE audio mixer can control where to send the sound.  I
7946 normally test this by playing
7947 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/aktiviteter/20101012-chef/ ">a HTML5
7948 video</a> in Firefox/Iceweasel.</li>
7949
7950 <li>Is the USB subsystem working?  I test this by plugging in a USB
7951 memory stick and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.</li>
7952
7953 <li>Is the CD/DVD player working?  I test this by inserting any CD/DVD
7954 I have lying around, and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.</li>
7955
7956 <li>Is any built in camera working?  Test using cheese, and see if a
7957 picture from the v4l device show up.</li>
7958
7959 <li>Is bluetooth working?  Use the Gnome/KDE browsing tool to see if
7960 any bluetooth devices are discovered.  In my office, I normally see a
7961 few.</li>
7962
7963 <li>For laptops, is the SD or Compaq Flash reader working.  I have
7964 memory modules lying around, and stick them in and see if Gnome/KDE
7965 notice this.</li>
7966
7967 <li>For laptops, is suspend/hibernate working?  I'm testing if the
7968 special button work, and if the laptop continue to work after
7969 resume.</li>
7970
7971 <li>For laptops, is the extra buttons working, like audio level,
7972 adjusting background light, switching on/off external video output,
7973 switching on/off wifi, bluetooth, etc?  The set of buttons differ from
7974 laptop to laptop, so I just write down which are working and which are
7975 not.</li>
7976
7977 <li>Some laptops have smart card readers, finger print readers,
7978 acceleration sensors etc.  I rarely test these, as I do not know how
7979 to quickly test if they are working or not, so I only document their
7980 existence.</li>
7981
7982 </ul>
7983
7984 <p>By now I suspect you are really curious what the test results are
7985 for the HP machines I am testing.  I'm not done yet, so I will report
7986 the test results later.  For now I can report that HP 8100 Elite work
7987 fine, and hibernation fail with HP EliteBook 8440p on Ubuntu Lucid,
7988 and audio fail on RHEL6.  Ubuntu Maverik worked with 8440p.  As you
7989 can see, I have most machines left to test.  One interesting
7990 observation is that Ubuntu Lucid has almost twice the frame rate than
7991 RHEL6 with glxgears.  No idea why.</p>
7992
7993       </div>
7994       <div class="tags">
7995
7996
7997         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
7998
7999
8000       </div>
8001     </div>
8002     <div class="padding"></div>
8003
8004     <div class="entry">
8005       <div class="title">
8006         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Some_thoughts_on_BitCoins.html">Some thoughts on BitCoins</a>
8007       </div>
8008       <div class="date">
8009         11th December 2010
8010       </div>
8011       <div class="body">
8012         <p>As I continue to explore
8013 <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">BitCoin</a>, I've starting to wonder
8014 what properties the system have, and how it will be affected by laws
8015 and regulations here in Norway.  Here are some random notes.</p>
8016
8017 <p>One interesting thing to note is that since the transactions are
8018 verified using a peer to peer network, all details about a transaction
8019 is known to everyone.  This means that if a BitCoin address has been
8020 published like I did with mine in my initial post about BitCoin, it is
8021 possible for everyone to see how many BitCoins have been transfered to
8022 that address.  There is even a web service to look at the details for
8023 all transactions.  There I can see that my address
8024 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a>
8025 have received 16.06 Bitcoin, the
8026 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/1LfdGnGuWkpSJgbQySxxCWhv8MHqvwst3">1LfdGnGuWkpSJgbQySxxCWhv8MHqvwst3</a>
8027 address of Simon Phipps have received 181.97 BitCoin and the address
8028 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/1MCwBbhNGp5hRm5rC1Aims2YFRe2SXPYKt">1MCwBbhNGp5hRm5rC1Aims2YFRe2SXPYKt</A>
8029 of EFF have received 2447.38 BitCoins so far.  Thank you to each and
8030 every one of you that donated bitcoins to support my activity. The
8031 fact that anyone can see how much money was transfered to a given
8032 address make it more obvious why the BitCoin community recommend to
8033 generate and hand out a new address for each transaction.  I'm told
8034 there is no way to track which addresses belong to a given person or
8035 organisation without the person or organisation revealing it
8036 themselves, as Simon, EFF and I have done.</p>
8037
8038 <p>In Norway, and in most other countries, there are laws and
8039 regulations limiting how much money one can transfer across the border
8040 without declaring it.  There are money laundering, tax and accounting
8041 laws and regulations I would expect to apply to the use of BitCoin.
8042 If the Skolelinux foundation
8043 (<a href="http://linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">SLX
8044 Debian Labs</a>) were to accept donations in BitCoin in addition to
8045 normal bank transfers like EFF is doing, how should this be accounted?
8046 Given that it is impossible to know if money can cross the border or
8047 not, should everything or nothing be declared?  What exchange rate
8048 should be used when calculating taxes?  Would receivers have to pay
8049 income tax if the foundation were to pay Skolelinux contributors in
8050 BitCoin?  I have no idea, but it would be interesting to know.</p>
8051
8052 <p>For a currency to be useful and successful, it must be trusted and
8053 accepted by a lot of users.  It must be possible to get easy access to
8054 the currency (as a wage or using currency exchanges), and it must be
8055 easy to spend it.  At the moment BitCoin seem fairly easy to get
8056 access to, but there are very few places to spend it.  I am not really
8057 a regular user of any of the vendor types currently accepting BitCoin,
8058 so I wonder when my kind of shop would start accepting BitCoins.  I
8059 would like to buy electronics, travels and subway tickets, not herbs
8060 and books. :) The currency is young, and this will improve over time
8061 if it become popular, but I suspect regular banks will start to lobby
8062 to get BitCoin declared illegal if it become popular.  I'm sure they
8063 will claim it is helping fund terrorism and money laundering (which
8064 probably would be true, as is any currency in existence), but I
8065 believe the problems should be solved elsewhere and not by blaming
8066 currencies.</p>
8067
8068 <p>The process of creating new BitCoins is called mining, and it is
8069 CPU intensive process that depend on a bit of luck as well (as one is
8070 competing against all the other miners currently spending CPU cycles
8071 to see which one get the next lump of cash).  The "winner" get 50
8072 BitCoin when this happen.  Yesterday I came across the obvious way to
8073 join forces to increase ones changes of getting at least some coins,
8074 by coordinating the work on mining BitCoins across several machines
8075 and people, and sharing the result if one is lucky and get the 50
8076 BitCoins.  Check out
8077 <a href="http://www.bluishcoder.co.nz/bitcoin-pool/">BitCoin Pool</a>
8078 if this sounds interesting.  I have not had time to try to set up a
8079 machine to participate there yet, but have seen that running on ones
8080 own for a few days have not yield any BitCoins througth mining
8081 yet.</p>
8082
8083 <p>Update 2010-12-15: Found an <a
8084 href="http://inertia.posterous.com/reply-to-the-underground-economist-why-bitcoi">interesting
8085 criticism</a> of bitcoin.  Not quite sure how valid it is, but thought
8086 it was interesting to read.  The arguments presented seem to be
8087 equally valid for gold, which was used as a currency for many years.</p>
8088
8089       </div>
8090       <div class="tags">
8091
8092
8093         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
8094
8095
8096       </div>
8097     </div>
8098     <div class="padding"></div>
8099
8100     <div class="entry">
8101       <div class="title">
8102         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Now_accepting_bitcoins___anonymous_and_distributed_p2p_crypto_money.html">Now accepting bitcoins - anonymous and distributed p2p crypto-money</a>
8103       </div>
8104       <div class="date">
8105         10th December 2010
8106       </div>
8107       <div class="body">
8108         <p>With this weeks lawless
8109 <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/06/wikileaks/index.html">governmental
8110 attacks</a> on Wikileak and
8111 <a href="http://www.salon.com/technology/dan_gillmor/2010/12/06/war_on_speech">free
8112 speech</a>, it has become obvious that PayPal, visa and mastercard can
8113 not be trusted to handle money transactions.
8114 A blog post from
8115 <a href="http://webmink.com/2010/12/06/now-accepting-bitcoin/">Simon
8116 Phipps on bitcoin</a> reminded me about a project that a friend of
8117 mine mentioned earlier.  I decided to follow Simon's example, and get
8118 involved with <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">BitCoin</a>.  I got
8119 some help from my friend to get it all running, and he even handed me
8120 some bitcoins to get started.  I even donated a few bitcoins to Simon
8121 for helping me remember BitCoin.</p>
8122
8123 <p>So, what is bitcoins, you probably wonder?  It is a digital
8124 crypto-currency, decentralised and handled using peer-to-peer
8125 networks.  It allows anonymous transactions and prohibits central
8126 control over the transactions, making it impossible for governments
8127 and companies alike to block donations and other transactions.  The
8128 source is free software, and while the key dependency wxWidgets 2.9
8129 for the graphical user interface is missing in Debian, the command
8130 line client builds just fine.  Hopefully Jonas
8131 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/578157">will get the package into
8132 Debian</a> soon.</p>
8133
8134 <p>Bitcoins can be converted to other currencies, like USD and EUR.
8135 There are <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/trade">companies accepting
8136 bitcoins</a> when selling services and goods, and there are even
8137 currency "stock" markets where the exchange rate is decided.  There
8138 are not many users so far, but the concept seems promising.  If you
8139 want to get started and lack a friend with any bitcoins to spare,
8140 you can even get
8141 <a href="https://freebitcoins.appspot.com/">some for free</a> (0.05
8142 bitcoin at the time of writing).  Use
8143 <a href="http://www.bitcoinwatch.com/">BitcoinWatch</a> to keep an eye
8144 on the current exchange rates.</p>
8145
8146 <p>As an experiment, I have decided to set up bitcoind on one of my
8147 machines.  If you want to support my activity, please send Bitcoin
8148 donations to the address
8149 <b>15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</b>.  Thank you!</p>
8150
8151       </div>
8152       <div class="tags">
8153
8154
8155         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
8156
8157
8158       </div>
8159     </div>
8160     <div class="padding"></div>
8161
8162     <div class="entry">
8163       <div class="title">
8164         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Why_isn_t_Debian_Edu_using_VLC_.html">Why isn't Debian Edu using VLC?</a>
8165       </div>
8166       <div class="date">
8167         27th November 2010
8168       </div>
8169       <div class="body">
8170         <p>In the latest issue of Linux Journal, the readers choices were
8171 presented, and the winner among the multimedia player were VLC.
8172 Personally, I like VLC, and it is my player of choice when I first try
8173 to play a video file or stream.  Only if VLC fail will I drag out
8174 gmplayer to see if it can do better.  The reason is mostly the failure
8175 model and trust.  When VLC fail, it normally pop up a error message
8176 reporting the problem.  When mplayer fail, it normally segfault or
8177 just hangs.  The latter failure mode drain my trust in the program.<p>
8178
8179 <p>But even if VLC is my player of choice, we have choosen to use
8180 mplayer in <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian
8181 Edu/Skolelinux</a>.  The reason is simple.  We need a good browser
8182 plugin to play web videos seamlessly, and the VLC browser plugin is
8183 not very good.  For example, it lack in-line control buttons, so there
8184 is no way for the user to pause the video.  Also, when I
8185 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/BrowserMultimedia">last
8186 tested the browser plugins</a> available in Debian, the VLC plugin
8187 failed on several video pages where mplayer based plugins worked.  If
8188 the browser plugin for VLC was as good as the gecko-mediaplayer
8189 package (which uses mplayer), we would switch.</P>
8190
8191 <p>While VLC is a good player, its user interface is slightly
8192 annoying.  The most annoying feature is its inconsistent use of
8193 keyboard shortcuts.  When the player is in full screen mode, its
8194 shortcuts are different from when it is playing the video in a window.
8195 For example, space only work as pause when in full screen mode.  I
8196 wish it had consisten shortcuts and that space also would work when in
8197 window mode.  Another nice shortcut in gmplayer is [enter] to restart
8198 the current video.  It is very nice when playing short videos from the
8199 web and want to restart it when new people arrive to have a look at
8200 what is going on.</p>
8201
8202       </div>
8203       <div class="tags">
8204
8205
8206         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
8207
8208
8209       </div>
8210     </div>
8211     <div class="padding"></div>
8212
8213     <div class="entry">
8214       <div class="title">
8215         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lenny__Squeeze_upgrades_of_the_Gnome_and_KDE_desktop__now_with_apt_get_autoremove.html">Lenny->Squeeze upgrades of the Gnome and KDE desktop, now with apt-get autoremove</a>
8216       </div>
8217       <div class="date">
8218         22nd November 2010
8219       </div>
8220       <div class="body">
8221         <p>Michael Biebl suggested to me on IRC, that I changed my automated
8222 upgrade testing of the
8223 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">Lenny
8224 Gnome and KDE Desktop</a> to do <tt>apt-get autoremove</tt> when using apt-get.
8225 This seem like a very good idea, so I adjusted by test scripts and
8226 can now present the updated result from today:</p>
8227
8228 <p>This is for Gnome:</p>
8229
8230 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
8231
8232 <blockquote><p>
8233   apache2.2-bin
8234   aptdaemon
8235   baobab
8236   binfmt-support
8237   browser-plugin-gnash
8238   cheese-common
8239   cli-common
8240   cups-pk-helper
8241   dmz-cursor-theme
8242   empathy
8243   empathy-common
8244   freedesktop-sound-theme
8245   freeglut3
8246   gconf-defaults-service
8247   gdm-themes
8248   gedit-plugins
8249   geoclue
8250   geoclue-hostip
8251   geoclue-localnet
8252   geoclue-manual
8253   geoclue-yahoo
8254   gnash
8255   gnash-common
8256   gnome
8257   gnome-backgrounds
8258   gnome-cards-data
8259   gnome-codec-install
8260   gnome-core
8261   gnome-desktop-environment
8262   gnome-disk-utility
8263   gnome-screenshot
8264   gnome-search-tool
8265   gnome-session-canberra
8266   gnome-system-log
8267   gnome-themes-extras
8268   gnome-themes-more
8269   gnome-user-share
8270   gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3
8271   gstreamer0.10-tools
8272   gtk2-engines
8273   gtk2-engines-pixbuf
8274   gtk2-engines-smooth
8275   hamster-applet
8276   libapache2-mod-dnssd
8277   libapr1
8278   libaprutil1
8279   libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3
8280   libaprutil1-ldap
8281   libart2.0-cil
8282   libboost-date-time1.42.0
8283   libboost-python1.42.0
8284   libboost-thread1.42.0
8285   libchamplain-0.4-0
8286   libchamplain-gtk-0.4-0
8287   libcheese-gtk18
8288   libclutter-gtk-0.10-0
8289   libcryptui0
8290   libdiscid0
8291   libelf1
8292   libepc-1.0-2
8293   libepc-common
8294   libepc-ui-1.0-2
8295   libfreerdp-plugins-standard
8296   libfreerdp0
8297   libgconf2.0-cil
8298   libgdata-common
8299   libgdata7
8300   libgdu-gtk0
8301   libgee2
8302   libgeoclue0
8303   libgexiv2-0
8304   libgif4
8305   libglade2.0-cil
8306   libglib2.0-cil
8307   libgmime2.4-cil
8308   libgnome-vfs2.0-cil
8309   libgnome2.24-cil
8310   libgnomepanel2.24-cil
8311   libgpod-common
8312   libgpod4
8313   libgtk2.0-cil
8314   libgtkglext1
8315   libgtksourceview2.0-common
8316   libmono-addins-gui0.2-cil
8317   libmono-addins0.2-cil
8318   libmono-cairo2.0-cil
8319   libmono-corlib2.0-cil
8320   libmono-i18n-west2.0-cil
8321   libmono-posix2.0-cil
8322   libmono-security2.0-cil
8323   libmono-sharpzip2.84-cil
8324   libmono-system2.0-cil
8325   libmtp8
8326   libmusicbrainz3-6
8327   libndesk-dbus-glib1.0-cil
8328   libndesk-dbus1.0-cil
8329   libopal3.6.8
8330   libpolkit-gtk-1-0
8331   libpt2.6.7
8332   libpython2.6
8333   librpm1
8334   librpmio1
8335   libsdl1.2debian
8336   libsrtp0
8337   libssh-4
8338   libtelepathy-farsight0
8339   libtelepathy-glib0
8340   libtidy-0.99-0
8341   media-player-info
8342   mesa-utils
8343   mono-2.0-gac
8344   mono-gac
8345   mono-runtime
8346   nautilus-sendto
8347   nautilus-sendto-empathy
8348   p7zip-full
8349   pkg-config
8350   python-aptdaemon
8351   python-aptdaemon-gtk
8352   python-axiom
8353   python-beautifulsoup
8354   python-bugbuddy
8355   python-clientform
8356   python-coherence
8357   python-configobj
8358   python-crypto
8359   python-cupshelpers
8360   python-elementtree
8361   python-epsilon
8362   python-evolution
8363   python-feedparser
8364   python-gdata
8365   python-gdbm
8366   python-gst0.10
8367   python-gtkglext1
8368   python-gtksourceview2
8369   python-httplib2
8370   python-louie
8371   python-mako
8372   python-markupsafe
8373   python-mechanize
8374   python-nevow
8375   python-notify
8376   python-opengl
8377   python-openssl
8378   python-pam
8379   python-pkg-resources
8380   python-pyasn1
8381   python-pysqlite2
8382   python-rdflib
8383   python-serial
8384   python-tagpy
8385   python-twisted-bin
8386   python-twisted-conch
8387   python-twisted-core
8388   python-twisted-web
8389   python-utidylib
8390   python-webkit
8391   python-xdg
8392   python-zope.interface
8393   remmina
8394   remmina-plugin-data
8395   remmina-plugin-rdp
8396   remmina-plugin-vnc
8397   rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder
8398   rhythmbox-plugins
8399   rpm-common
8400   rpm2cpio
8401   seahorse-plugins
8402   shotwell
8403   software-center
8404   system-config-printer-udev
8405   telepathy-gabble
8406   telepathy-mission-control-5
8407   telepathy-salut
8408   tomboy
8409   totem
8410   totem-coherence
8411   totem-mozilla
8412   totem-plugins
8413   transmission-common
8414   xdg-user-dirs
8415   xdg-user-dirs-gtk
8416   xserver-xephyr
8417 </p></blockquote>
8418
8419 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
8420
8421 <blockquote><p>
8422   cheese
8423   ekiga
8424   eog
8425   epiphany-extensions
8426   evolution-exchange
8427   fast-user-switch-applet
8428   file-roller
8429   gcalctool
8430   gconf-editor
8431   gdm
8432   gedit
8433   gedit-common
8434   gnome-games
8435   gnome-games-data
8436   gnome-nettool
8437   gnome-system-tools
8438   gnome-themes
8439   gnuchess
8440   gucharmap
8441   guile-1.8-libs
8442   libavahi-ui0
8443   libdmx1
8444   libgalago3
8445   libgtk-vnc-1.0-0
8446   libgtksourceview2.0-0
8447   liblircclient0
8448   libsdl1.2debian-alsa
8449   libspeexdsp1
8450   libsvga1
8451   rhythmbox
8452   seahorse
8453   sound-juicer
8454   system-config-printer
8455   totem-common
8456   transmission-gtk
8457   vinagre
8458   vino
8459 </p></blockquote>
8460
8461 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
8462
8463 <blockquote><p>
8464   gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs
8465 </p></blockquote>
8466
8467 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
8468
8469 <blockquote><p>
8470 [nothing]
8471 </p></blockquote>
8472
8473 <p>This is for KDE:</p>
8474
8475 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
8476
8477 <blockquote><p>
8478   ksmserver
8479 </p></blockquote>
8480
8481 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
8482
8483 <blockquote><p>
8484   kwin
8485   network-manager-kde
8486 </p></blockquote>
8487
8488 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
8489
8490 <blockquote><p>
8491   arts
8492   dolphin
8493   freespacenotifier
8494   google-gadgets-gst
8495   google-gadgets-xul
8496   kappfinder
8497   kcalc
8498   kcharselect
8499   kde-core
8500   kde-plasma-desktop
8501   kde-standard
8502   kde-window-manager
8503   kdeartwork
8504   kdeartwork-emoticons
8505   kdeartwork-style
8506   kdeartwork-theme-icon
8507   kdebase
8508   kdebase-apps
8509   kdebase-workspace
8510   kdebase-workspace-bin
8511   kdebase-workspace-data
8512   kdeeject
8513   kdelibs
8514   kdeplasma-addons
8515   kdeutils
8516   kdewallpapers
8517   kdf
8518   kfloppy
8519   kgpg
8520   khelpcenter4
8521   kinfocenter
8522   konq-plugins-l10n
8523   konqueror-nsplugins
8524   kscreensaver
8525   kscreensaver-xsavers
8526   ktimer
8527   kwrite
8528   libgle3
8529   libkde4-ruby1.8
8530   libkonq5
8531   libkonq5-templates
8532   libnetpbm10
8533   libplasma-ruby
8534   libplasma-ruby1.8
8535   libqt4-ruby1.8
8536   marble-data
8537   marble-plugins
8538   netpbm
8539   nuvola-icon-theme
8540   plasma-dataengines-workspace
8541   plasma-desktop
8542   plasma-desktopthemes-artwork
8543   plasma-runners-addons
8544   plasma-scriptengine-googlegadgets
8545   plasma-scriptengine-python
8546   plasma-scriptengine-qedje
8547   plasma-scriptengine-ruby
8548   plasma-scriptengine-webkit
8549   plasma-scriptengines
8550   plasma-wallpapers-addons
8551   plasma-widget-folderview
8552   plasma-widget-networkmanagement
8553   ruby
8554   sweeper
8555   update-notifier-kde
8556   xscreensaver-data-extra
8557   xscreensaver-gl
8558   xscreensaver-gl-extra
8559   xscreensaver-screensaver-bsod
8560 </p></blockquote>
8561
8562 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
8563
8564 <blockquote><p>
8565   ark
8566   google-gadgets-common
8567   google-gadgets-qt
8568   htdig
8569   kate
8570   kdebase-bin
8571   kdebase-data
8572   kdepasswd
8573   kfind
8574   klipper
8575   konq-plugins
8576   konqueror
8577   ksysguard
8578   ksysguardd
8579   libarchive1
8580   libcln6
8581   libeet1
8582   libeina-svn-06
8583   libggadget-1.0-0b
8584   libggadget-qt-1.0-0b
8585   libgps19
8586   libkdecorations4
8587   libkephal4
8588   libkonq4
8589   libkonqsidebarplugin4a
8590   libkscreensaver5
8591   libksgrd4
8592   libksignalplotter4
8593   libkunitconversion4
8594   libkwineffects1a
8595   libmarblewidget4
8596   libntrack-qt4-1
8597   libntrack0
8598   libplasma-geolocation-interface4
8599   libplasmaclock4a
8600   libplasmagenericshell4
8601   libprocesscore4a
8602   libprocessui4a
8603   libqalculate5
8604   libqedje0a
8605   libqtruby4shared2
8606   libqzion0a
8607   libruby1.8
8608   libscim8c2a
8609   libsmokekdecore4-3
8610   libsmokekdeui4-3
8611   libsmokekfile3
8612   libsmokekhtml3
8613   libsmokekio3
8614   libsmokeknewstuff2-3
8615   libsmokeknewstuff3-3
8616   libsmokekparts3
8617   libsmokektexteditor3
8618   libsmokekutils3
8619   libsmokenepomuk3
8620   libsmokephonon3
8621   libsmokeplasma3
8622   libsmokeqtcore4-3
8623   libsmokeqtdbus4-3
8624   libsmokeqtgui4-3
8625   libsmokeqtnetwork4-3
8626   libsmokeqtopengl4-3
8627   libsmokeqtscript4-3
8628   libsmokeqtsql4-3
8629   libsmokeqtsvg4-3
8630   libsmokeqttest4-3
8631   libsmokeqtuitools4-3
8632   libsmokeqtwebkit4-3
8633   libsmokeqtxml4-3
8634   libsmokesolid3
8635   libsmokesoprano3
8636   libtaskmanager4a
8637   libtidy-0.99-0
8638   libweather-ion4a
8639   libxklavier16
8640   libxxf86misc1
8641   okteta
8642   oxygencursors
8643   plasma-dataengines-addons
8644   plasma-scriptengine-superkaramba
8645   plasma-widget-lancelot
8646   plasma-widgets-addons
8647   plasma-widgets-workspace
8648   polkit-kde-1
8649   ruby1.8
8650   systemsettings
8651   update-notifier-common
8652 </p></blockquote>
8653
8654 <p>Running apt-get autoremove made the results using apt-get and
8655 aptitude a bit more similar, but there are still quite a lott of
8656 differences.  I have no idea what packages should be installed after
8657 the upgrade, but hope those that do can have a look.</p>
8658
8659       </div>
8660       <div class="tags">
8661
8662
8663         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8664
8665
8666       </div>
8667     </div>
8668     <div class="padding"></div>
8669
8670     <div class="entry">
8671       <div class="title">
8672         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Migrating_Xen_virtual_machines_using_LVM_to_KVM_using_disk_images.html">Migrating Xen virtual machines using LVM to KVM using disk images</a>
8673       </div>
8674       <div class="date">
8675         22nd November 2010
8676       </div>
8677       <div class="body">
8678         <p>Most of the computers in use by the
8679 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu/Skolelinux project</a>
8680 are virtual machines.  And they have been Xen machines running on a
8681 fairly old IBM eserver xseries 345 machine, and we wanted to migrate
8682 them to KVM on a newer Dell PowerEdge 2950 host machine.  This was a
8683 bit harder that it could have been, because we set up the Xen virtual
8684 machines to get the virtual partitions from LVM, which as far as I
8685 know is not supported by KVM.  So to migrate, we had to convert
8686 several LVM logical volumes to partitions on a virtual disk file.</p>
8687
8688 <p>I found
8689 <a href="http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com.au/articles/35011-Six-steps-for-migrating-Xen-virtual-machines-to-KVM">a
8690 nice recipe</a> to do this, and wrote the following script to do the
8691 migration.  It uses qemu-img from the qemu package to make the disk
8692 image, parted to partition it, losetup and kpartx to present the disk
8693 image partions as devices, and dd to copy the data.  I NFS mounted the
8694 new servers storage area on the old server to do the migration.</p>
8695
8696 <pre>
8697 #!/bin/sh
8698
8699 # Based on
8700 # http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com.au/articles/35011-Six-steps-for-migrating-Xen-virtual-machines-to-KVM
8701
8702 set -e
8703 set -x
8704
8705 if [ -z "$1" ] ; then
8706     echo "Usage: $0 &lt;hostname&gt;"
8707     exit 1
8708 else
8709     host="$1"
8710 fi
8711
8712 if [ ! -e /dev/vg_data/$host-disk ] ; then
8713     echo "error: unable to find LVM volume for $host"
8714     exit 1
8715 fi
8716
8717 # Partitions need to be a bit bigger than the LVM LVs.  not sure why.
8718 disksize=$( lvs --units m | grep $host-disk | awk '{sum = sum + $4} END { print int(sum * 1.05) }')
8719 swapsize=$( lvs --units m | grep $host-swap | awk '{sum = sum + $4} END { print int(sum * 1.05) }')
8720 totalsize=$(( ( $disksize + $swapsize ) ))
8721
8722 img=$host.img
8723 #dd if=/dev/zero of=$img bs=1M count=$(( $disksize + $swapsize ))
8724 qemu-img create $img ${totalsize}MMaking room on the Debian Edu/Sqeeze DVD
8725
8726 parted $img mklabel msdos
8727 parted $img mkpart primary linux-swap 0 $disksize
8728 parted $img mkpart primary ext2 $disksize $totalsize
8729 parted $img set 1 boot on
8730
8731 modprobe dm-mod
8732 losetup /dev/loop0 $img
8733 kpartx -a /dev/loop0
8734
8735 dd if=/dev/vg_data/$host-disk of=/dev/mapper/loop0p1 bs=1M
8736 fsck.ext3 -f /dev/mapper/loop0p1 || true
8737 mkswap /dev/mapper/loop0p2
8738
8739 kpartx -d /dev/loop0
8740 losetup -d /dev/loop0
8741 </pre>
8742
8743 <p>The script is perhaps so simple that it is not copyrightable, but
8744 if it is, it is licenced using GPL v2 or later at your discretion.</p>
8745
8746 <p>After doing this, I booted a Debian CD in rescue mode in KVM with
8747 the new disk image attached, installed grub-pc and linux-image-686 and
8748 set up grub to boot from the disk image.  After this, the KVM machines
8749 seem to work just fine.</p>
8750
8751       </div>
8752       <div class="tags">
8753
8754
8755         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8756
8757
8758       </div>
8759     </div>
8760     <div class="padding"></div>
8761
8762     <div class="entry">
8763       <div class="title">
8764         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lenny__Squeeze_upgrades__apt_vs_aptitude_with_the_Gnome_and_KDE_desktop.html">Lenny->Squeeze upgrades, apt vs aptitude with the Gnome and KDE desktop</a>
8765       </div>
8766       <div class="date">
8767         20th November 2010
8768       </div>
8769       <div class="body">
8770         <p>I'm still running upgrade testing of the
8771 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">Lenny
8772 Gnome and KDE Desktop</a>, but have not had time to spend on reporting the
8773 status.  Here is a short update based on a test I ran 20101118.</p>
8774
8775 <p>I still do not know what a correct migration should look like, so I
8776 report any differences between apt and aptitude and hope someone else
8777 can see if anything should be changed.</p>
8778
8779 <p>This is for Gnome:</p>
8780
8781 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
8782
8783 <blockquote><p>
8784   apache2.2-bin aptdaemon at-spi baobab binfmt-support
8785   browser-plugin-gnash cheese-common cli-common cpp-4.3 cups-pk-helper
8786   dmz-cursor-theme empathy empathy-common finger
8787   freedesktop-sound-theme freeglut3 gconf-defaults-service gdm-themes
8788   gedit-plugins geoclue geoclue-hostip geoclue-localnet geoclue-manual
8789   geoclue-yahoo gnash gnash-common gnome gnome-backgrounds
8790   gnome-cards-data gnome-codec-install gnome-core
8791   gnome-desktop-environment gnome-disk-utility gnome-screenshot
8792   gnome-search-tool gnome-session-canberra gnome-spell
8793   gnome-system-log gnome-themes-extras gnome-themes-more
8794   gnome-user-share gs-common gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3
8795   gstreamer0.10-tools gtk2-engines gtk2-engines-pixbuf
8796   gtk2-engines-smooth hal-info hamster-applet libapache2-mod-dnssd
8797   libapr1 libaprutil1 libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3 libaprutil1-ldap
8798   libart2.0-cil libatspi1.0-0 libboost-date-time1.42.0
8799   libboost-python1.42.0 libboost-thread1.42.0 libchamplain-0.4-0
8800   libchamplain-gtk-0.4-0 libcheese-gtk18 libclutter-gtk-0.10-0
8801   libcryptui0 libcupsys2 libdiscid0 libeel2-data libelf1 libepc-1.0-2
8802   libepc-common libepc-ui-1.0-2 libfreerdp-plugins-standard
8803   libfreerdp0 libgail-common libgconf2.0-cil libgdata-common libgdata7
8804   libgdl-1-common libgdu-gtk0 libgee2 libgeoclue0 libgexiv2-0 libgif4
8805   libglade2.0-cil libglib2.0-cil libgmime2.4-cil libgnome-vfs2.0-cil
8806   libgnome2.24-cil libgnomepanel2.24-cil libgnomeprint2.2-data
8807   libgnomeprintui2.2-common libgnomevfs2-bin libgpod-common libgpod4
8808   libgtk2.0-cil libgtkglext1 libgtksourceview-common
8809   libgtksourceview2.0-common libmono-addins-gui0.2-cil
8810   libmono-addins0.2-cil libmono-cairo2.0-cil libmono-corlib2.0-cil
8811   libmono-i18n-west2.0-cil libmono-posix2.0-cil
8812   libmono-security2.0-cil libmono-sharpzip2.84-cil
8813   libmono-system2.0-cil libmtp8 libmusicbrainz3-6
8814   libndesk-dbus-glib1.0-cil libndesk-dbus1.0-cil libopal3.6.8
8815   libpolkit-gtk-1-0 libpt-1.10.10-plugins-alsa
8816   libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l libpt2.6.7 libpython2.6 librpm1 librpmio1
8817   libsdl1.2debian libservlet2.4-java libsrtp0 libssh-4
8818   libtelepathy-farsight0 libtelepathy-glib0 libtidy-0.99-0
8819   libxalan2-java libxerces2-java media-player-info mesa-utils
8820   mono-2.0-gac mono-gac mono-runtime nautilus-sendto
8821   nautilus-sendto-empathy openoffice.org-writer2latex
8822   openssl-blacklist p7zip p7zip-full pkg-config python-4suite-xml
8823   python-aptdaemon python-aptdaemon-gtk python-axiom
8824   python-beautifulsoup python-bugbuddy python-clientform
8825   python-coherence python-configobj python-crypto python-cupshelpers
8826   python-cupsutils python-eggtrayicon python-elementtree
8827   python-epsilon python-evolution python-feedparser python-gdata
8828   python-gdbm python-gst0.10 python-gtkglext1 python-gtkmozembed
8829   python-gtksourceview2 python-httplib2 python-louie python-mako
8830   python-markupsafe python-mechanize python-nevow python-notify
8831   python-opengl python-openssl python-pam python-pkg-resources
8832   python-pyasn1 python-pysqlite2 python-rdflib python-serial
8833   python-tagpy python-twisted-bin python-twisted-conch
8834   python-twisted-core python-twisted-web python-utidylib python-webkit
8835   python-xdg python-zope.interface remmina remmina-plugin-data
8836   remmina-plugin-rdp remmina-plugin-vnc rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder
8837   rhythmbox-plugins rpm-common rpm2cpio seahorse-plugins shotwell
8838   software-center svgalibg1 system-config-printer-udev
8839   telepathy-gabble telepathy-mission-control-5 telepathy-salut tomboy
8840   totem totem-coherence totem-mozilla totem-plugins
8841   transmission-common xdg-user-dirs xdg-user-dirs-gtk xserver-xephyr
8842   zip
8843 </p></blockquote>
8844
8845 Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude
8846
8847 <blockquote><p>
8848   arj bluez-utils cheese dhcdbd djvulibre-desktop ekiga eog
8849   epiphany-extensions epiphany-gecko evolution-exchange
8850   fast-user-switch-applet file-roller gcalctool gconf-editor gdm gedit
8851   gedit-common gnome-app-install gnome-games gnome-games-data
8852   gnome-nettool gnome-system-tools gnome-themes gnome-utils
8853   gnome-vfs-obexftp gnome-volume-manager gnuchess gucharmap
8854   guile-1.8-libs hal libavahi-compat-libdnssd1 libavahi-core5
8855   libavahi-ui0 libbind9-50 libbluetooth2 libcamel1.2-11 libcdio7
8856   libcucul0 libcurl3 libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdmx1 libdvdread3
8857   libedata-cal1.2-6 libedataserver1.2-9 libeel2-2.20 libepc-1.0-1
8858   libepc-ui-1.0-1 libexchange-storage1.2-3 libfaad0 libgadu3
8859   libgalago3 libgd2-noxpm libgda3-3 libgda3-common libggz2 libggzcore9
8860   libggzmod4 libgksu1.2-0 libgksuui1.0-1 libgmyth0 libgnome-desktop-2
8861   libgnome-pilot2 libgnomecups1.0-1 libgnomeprint2.2-0
8862   libgnomeprintui2.2-0 libgpod3 libgraphviz4 libgtk-vnc-1.0-0
8863   libgtkhtml2-0 libgtksourceview1.0-0 libgtksourceview2.0-0
8864   libgucharmap6 libhesiod0 libicu38 libisccc50 libisccfg50 libiw29
8865   libjaxp1.3-java-gcj libkpathsea4 liblircclient0 libltdl3 liblwres50
8866   libmagick++10 libmagick10 libmalaga7 libmozjs1d libmpfr1ldbl libmtp7
8867   libmysqlclient15off libnautilus-burn4 libneon27 libnm-glib0
8868   libnm-util0 libopal-2.2 libosp5 libparted1.8-10 libpisock9
8869   libpisync1 libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler3 libpt-1.10.10 libraw1394-8
8870   libsdl1.2debian-alsa libsensors3 libsexy2 libsmbios2 libsoup2.2-8
8871   libspeexdsp1 libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libsvga1
8872   libswfdec-0.6-90 libtalloc1 libtotem-plparser10 libtrackerclient0
8873   libvoikko1 libxalan2-java-gcj libxerces2-java-gcj libxklavier12
8874   libxtrap6 libxxf86misc1 libzephyr3 mysql-common rhythmbox seahorse
8875   sound-juicer swfdec-gnome system-config-printer totem-common
8876   totem-gstreamer transmission-gtk vinagre vino w3c-dtd-xhtml wodim
8877 </p></blockquote>
8878
8879 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
8880
8881 <blockquote><p>
8882   gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs
8883 </p></blockquote>
8884
8885 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
8886
8887 <blockquote><p>
8888 [nothing]
8889 </p></blockquote>
8890
8891 <p>This is for KDE:</p>
8892
8893 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
8894
8895 <blockquote><p>
8896   autopoint bomber bovo cantor cantor-backend-kalgebra cpp-4.3 dcoprss
8897   edict espeak espeak-data eyesapplet fifteenapplet finger gettext
8898   ghostscript-x git gnome-audio gnugo granatier gs-common
8899   gstreamer0.10-pulseaudio indi kaddressbook-plugins kalgebra
8900   kalzium-data kanjidic kapman kate-plugins kblocks kbreakout kbstate
8901   kde-icons-mono kdeaccessibility kdeaddons-kfile-plugins
8902   kdeadmin-kfile-plugins kdeartwork-misc kdeartwork-theme-window
8903   kdeedu kdeedu-data kdeedu-kvtml-data kdegames kdegames-card-data
8904   kdegames-mahjongg-data kdegraphics-kfile-plugins kdelirc
8905   kdemultimedia-kfile-plugins kdenetwork-kfile-plugins
8906   kdepim-kfile-plugins kdepim-kio-plugins kdessh kdetoys kdewebdev
8907   kdiamond kdnssd kfilereplace kfourinline kgeography-data kigo
8908   killbots kiriki klettres-data kmoon kmrml knewsticker-scripts
8909   kollision kpf krosspython ksirk ksmserver ksquares kstars-data
8910   ksudoku kubrick kweather libasound2-plugins libboost-python1.42.0
8911   libcfitsio3 libconvert-binhex-perl libcrypt-ssleay-perl libdb4.6++
8912   libdjvulibre-text libdotconf1.0 liberror-perl libespeak1
8913   libfinance-quote-perl libgail-common libgsl0ldbl libhtml-parser-perl
8914   libhtml-tableextract-perl libhtml-tagset-perl libhtml-tree-perl
8915   libio-stringy-perl libkdeedu4 libkdegames5 libkiten4 libkpathsea5
8916   libkrossui4 libmailtools-perl libmime-tools-perl
8917   libnews-nntpclient-perl libopenbabel3 libportaudio2 libpulse-browse0
8918   libservlet2.4-java libspeechd2 libtiff-tools libtimedate-perl
8919   libunistring0 liburi-perl libwww-perl libxalan2-java libxerces2-java
8920   lirc luatex marble networkstatus noatun-plugins
8921   openoffice.org-writer2latex palapeli palapeli-data parley
8922   parley-data poster psutils pulseaudio pulseaudio-esound-compat
8923   pulseaudio-module-x11 pulseaudio-utils quanta-data rocs rsync
8924   speech-dispatcher step svgalibg1 texlive-binaries texlive-luatex
8925   ttf-sazanami-gothic
8926 </p></blockquote>
8927
8928 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
8929
8930 <blockquote><p>
8931   amor artsbuilder atlantik atlantikdesigner blinken bluez-utils cvs
8932   dhcdbd djvulibre-desktop imlib-base imlib11 kalzium kanagram kandy
8933   kasteroids katomic kbackgammon kbattleship kblackbox kbounce kbruch
8934   kcron kdat kdemultimedia-kappfinder-data kdeprint kdict kdvi kedit
8935   keduca kenolaba kfax kfaxview kfouleggs kgeography kghostview
8936   kgoldrunner khangman khexedit kiconedit kig kimagemapeditor
8937   kitchensync kiten kjumpingcube klatin klettres klickety klines
8938   klinkstatus kmag kmahjongg kmailcvt kmenuedit kmid kmilo kmines
8939   kmousetool kmouth kmplot knetwalk kodo kolf kommander konquest kooka
8940   kpager kpat kpdf kpercentage kpilot kpoker kpovmodeler krec
8941   kregexpeditor kreversi ksame ksayit kshisen ksig ksim ksirc ksirtet
8942   ksmiletris ksnake ksokoban kspaceduel kstars ksvg ksysv kteatime
8943   ktip ktnef ktouch ktron kttsd ktuberling kturtle ktux kuickshow
8944   kverbos kview kviewshell kvoctrain kwifimanager kwin kwin4 kwordquiz
8945   kworldclock kxsldbg libakode2 libarts1-akode libarts1-audiofile
8946   libarts1-mpeglib libarts1-xine libavahi-compat-libdnssd1
8947   libavahi-core5 libavc1394-0 libbind9-50 libbluetooth2
8948   libboost-python1.34.1 libcucul0 libcurl3 libcvsservice0
8949   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdjvulibre21 libdvdread3 libfaad0 libfreebob0
8950   libgd2-noxpm libgraphviz4 libgsmme1c2a libgtkhtml2-0 libicu38
8951   libiec61883-0 libindex0 libisccc50 libisccfg50 libiw29
8952   libjaxp1.3-java-gcj libk3b3 libkcal2b libkcddb1 libkdeedu3
8953   libkdegames1 libkdepim1a libkgantt0 libkleopatra1 libkmime2
8954   libkpathsea4 libkpimexchange1 libkpimidentities1 libkscan1
8955   libksieve0 libktnef1 liblockdev1 libltdl3 liblwres50 libmagick10
8956   libmimelib1c2a libmodplug0c2 libmozjs1d libmpcdec3 libmpfr1ldbl
8957   libneon27 libnm-util0 libopensync0 libpisock9 libpoppler-glib3
8958   libpoppler-qt2 libpoppler3 libraw1394-8 librss1 libsensors3
8959   libsmbios2 libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libswfdec-0.6-90
8960   libtalloc1 libxalan2-java-gcj libxerces2-java-gcj libxtrap6 lskat
8961   mpeglib network-manager-kde noatun pmount tex-common texlive-base
8962   texlive-common texlive-doc-base texlive-fonts-recommended tidy
8963   ttf-dustin ttf-kochi-gothic ttf-sjfonts
8964 </p></blockquote>
8965
8966 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
8967
8968 <blockquote><p>
8969   dolphin kde-core kde-plasma-desktop kde-standard kde-window-manager
8970   kdeartwork kdebase kdebase-apps kdebase-workspace
8971   kdebase-workspace-bin kdebase-workspace-data kdeutils kscreensaver
8972   kscreensaver-xsavers libgle3 libkonq5 libkonq5-templates libnetpbm10
8973   netpbm plasma-widget-folderview plasma-widget-networkmanagement
8974   xscreensaver-data-extra xscreensaver-gl xscreensaver-gl-extra
8975   xscreensaver-screensaver-bsod
8976 </p></blockquote>
8977
8978 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
8979
8980 <blockquote><p>
8981   kdebase-bin konq-plugins konqueror
8982 </p></blockquote>
8983
8984       </div>
8985       <div class="tags">
8986
8987
8988         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
8989
8990
8991       </div>
8992     </div>
8993     <div class="padding"></div>
8994
8995     <div class="entry">
8996       <div class="title">
8997         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Gnash_buildbot_slave_and_Debian_kfreebsd.html">Gnash buildbot slave and Debian kfreebsd</a>
8998       </div>
8999       <div class="date">
9000         20th November 2010
9001       </div>
9002       <div class="body">
9003         <p>Answering
9004 <a href="http://www.listware.net/201011/gnash-dev/67431-gnash-dev-buildbot-looking-for-slaves.html">the
9005 call from the Gnash project</a> for
9006 <a href="http://www.gnashdev.org:8010">buildbot</a> slaves to test the
9007 current source, I have set up a virtual KVM machine on the Debian
9008 Edu/Skolelinux virtualization host to test the git source on
9009 Debian/Squeeze.  I hope this can help the developers in getting new
9010 releases out more often.</p>
9011
9012 <p>As the developers want less main-stream build platforms tested to,
9013 I have considered setting up a <a
9014 href="http://www.debian.org/ports/kfreebsd-gnu/">Debian/kfreebsd</a>
9015 machine as well.  I have also considered using the kfreebsd
9016 architecture in Debian as a file server in NUUG to get access to the 5
9017 TB zfs volume we currently use to store DV video.  Because of this, I
9018 finally got around to do a test installation of Debian/Squeeze with
9019 kfreebsd.  Installation went fairly smooth, thought I noticed some
9020 visual glitches in the cdebconf dialogs (black cursor left on the
9021 screen at random locations).  Have not gotten very far with the
9022 testing.  Noticed cfdisk did not work, but fdisk did so it was not a
9023 fatal problem.  Have to spend some more time on it to see if it is
9024 useful as a file server for NUUG.  Will try to find time to set up a
9025 gnash buildbot slave on the Debian Edu/Skolelinux this weekend.</p>
9026
9027       </div>
9028       <div class="tags">
9029
9030
9031         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
9032
9033
9034       </div>
9035     </div>
9036     <div class="padding"></div>
9037
9038     <div class="entry">
9039       <div class="title">
9040         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_in_3D.html">Debian in 3D</a>
9041       </div>
9042       <div class="date">
9043          9th November 2010
9044       </div>
9045       <div class="body">
9046         <p><img src="http://thingiverse-production.s3.amazonaws.com/renders/23/e0/c4/f9/2b/debswagtdose_preview_medium.jpg"></p>
9047
9048 <p>3D printing is just great.  I just came across this Debian logo in
9049 3D linked in from
9050 <a href="http://blog.thingiverse.com/2010/11/09/participatory-branding/">the
9051 thingiverse blog</a>.</p>
9052
9053       </div>
9054       <div class="tags">
9055
9056
9057         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/3d-printer">3d-printer</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
9058
9059
9060       </div>
9061     </div>
9062     <div class="padding"></div>
9063
9064     <div class="entry">
9065       <div class="title">
9066         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Software_updates_2010_10_24.html">Software updates 2010-10-24</a>
9067       </div>
9068       <div class="date">
9069         24th October 2010
9070       </div>
9071       <div class="body">
9072         <p>Some updates.</p>
9073
9074 <p>My <a href="http://pledgebank.com/gnash-avm2">gnash pledge</a> to
9075 raise money for the project is going well.  The lower limit of 10
9076 signers was reached in 24 hours, and so far 13 people have signed it.
9077 More signers and more funding is most welcome, and I am really curious
9078 how far we can get before the time limit of December 24 is reached.
9079 :)</p>
9080
9081 <p>On the #gnash IRC channel on irc.freenode.net, I was just tipped
9082 about what appear to be a great code coverage tool capable of
9083 generating code coverage stats without any changes to the source code.
9084 It is called
9085 <a href="http://simonkagstrom.github.com/kcov/index.html">kcov</a>,
9086 and can be used using <tt>kcov &lt;directory&gt; &lt;binary&gt;</tt>.
9087 It is missing in Debian, but the git source built just fine in Squeeze
9088 after I installed libelf-dev, libdwarf-dev, pkg-config and
9089 libglib2.0-dev.  Failed to build in Lenny, but suspect that is
9090 solvable.  I hope kcov make it into Debian soon.</p>
9091
9092 <p>Finally found time to wrap up the release notes for <a
9093 href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2010/10/msg00002.html">a
9094 new alpha release of Debian Edu</a>, and just published the second
9095 alpha test release of the Squeeze based Debian Edu /
9096 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a>
9097 release.  Give it a try if you need a complete linux solution for your
9098 school, including central infrastructure server, workstations, thin
9099 client servers and diskless workstations.  A nice touch added
9100 yesterday is RDP support on the thin client servers, for windows
9101 clients to get a Linux desktop on request.</p>
9102
9103       </div>
9104       <div class="tags">
9105
9106
9107         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>.
9108
9109
9110       </div>
9111     </div>
9112     <div class="padding"></div>
9113
9114     <div class="entry">
9115       <div class="title">
9116         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Some_notes_on_Flash_in_Debian_and_Debian_Edu.html">Some notes on Flash in Debian and Debian Edu</a>
9117       </div>
9118       <div class="date">
9119          4th September 2010
9120       </div>
9121       <div class="body">
9122         <p>In the <a href="http://popcon.debian.org/unknown/by_vote">Debian
9123 popularity-contest numbers</a>, the adobe-flashplugin package the
9124 second most popular used package that is missing in Debian.  The sixth
9125 most popular is flashplayer-mozilla.  This is a clear indication that
9126 working flash is important for Debian users.  Around 10 percent of the
9127 users submitting data to popcon.debian.org have this package
9128 installed.</p>
9129
9130 <p>In the report written by Lars Risan in August 2008
9131 («<a href="http://wiki.skolelinux.no/Dokumentasjon/Rapporter?action=AttachFile&do=view&target=Skolelinux_i_bruk_rapport_1.0.pdf">Skolelinux
9132 i bruk – Rapport for Hurum kommune, Universitetet i Agder og
9133 stiftelsen SLX Debian Labs</a>»), one of the most important problems
9134 schools experienced with <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian
9135 Edu/Skolelinux</a> was the lack of working Flash.  A lot of educational
9136 web sites require Flash to work, and lacking working Flash support in
9137 the web browser and the problems with installing it was perceived as a
9138 good reason to stay with Windows.</p>
9139
9140 <p>I once saw a funny and sad comment in a web forum, where Linux was
9141 said to be the retarded cousin that did not really understand
9142 everything you told him but could work fairly well.  This was a
9143 comment regarding the problems Linux have with proprietary formats and
9144 non-standard web pages, and is sad because it exposes a fairly common
9145 understanding of whose fault it is if web pages that only work in for
9146 example Internet Explorer 6 fail to work on Firefox, and funny because
9147 it explain very well how annoying it is for users when Linux
9148 distributions do not work with the documents they receive or the web
9149 pages they want to visit.</p>
9150
9151 <p>This is part of the reason why I believe it is important for Debian
9152 and Debian Edu to have a well working Flash implementation in the
9153 distribution, to get at least popular sites as Youtube and Google
9154 Video to working out of the box.  For Squeeze, Debian have the chance
9155 to include the latest version of Gnash that will make this happen, as
9156 the new release 0.8.8 was published a few weeks ago and is resting in
9157 unstable.  The new version work with more sites that version 0.8.7.
9158 The Gnash maintainers have asked for a freeze exception, but the
9159 release team have not had time to reply to it yet.  I hope they agree
9160 with me that Flash is important for the Debian desktop users, and thus
9161 accept the new package into Squeeze.</p>
9162
9163       </div>
9164       <div class="tags">
9165
9166
9167         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
9168
9169
9170       </div>
9171     </div>
9172     <div class="padding"></div>
9173
9174     <div class="entry">
9175       <div class="title">
9176         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Circular_package_dependencies_harms_apt_recovery.html">Circular package dependencies harms apt recovery</a>
9177       </div>
9178       <div class="date">
9179         27th July 2010
9180       </div>
9181       <div class="body">
9182         <p>I discovered this while doing
9183 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatic_upgrade_testing_from_Lenny_to_Squeeze.html">automated
9184 testing of upgrades from Debian Lenny to Squeeze</a>.  A few packages
9185 in Debian still got circular dependencies, and it is often claimed
9186 that apt and aptitude should be able to handle this just fine, but
9187 some times these dependency loops causes apt to fail.</p>
9188
9189 <p>An example is from todays
9190 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing//test-20100727-lenny-squeeze-kde-aptitude.txt">upgrade
9191 of KDE using aptitude</a>.  In it, a bug in kdebase-workspace-data
9192 causes perl-modules to fail to upgrade.  The cause is simple.  If a
9193 package fail to unpack, then only part of packages with the circular
9194 dependency might end up being unpacked when unpacking aborts, and the
9195 ones already unpacked will fail to configure in the recovery phase
9196 because its dependencies are unavailable.</p>
9197
9198 <p>In this log, the problem manifest itself with this error:</p>
9199
9200 <blockquote><pre>
9201 dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of perl-modules:
9202  perl-modules depends on perl (>= 5.10.1-1); however:
9203   Version of perl on system is 5.10.0-19lenny2.
9204 dpkg: error processing perl-modules (--configure):
9205  dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
9206 </pre></blockquote>
9207
9208 <p>The perl/perl-modules circular dependency is already
9209 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/527917">reported as a bug</a>, and will
9210 hopefully be solved as soon as possible, but it is not the only one,
9211 and each one of these loops in the dependency tree can cause similar
9212 failures.  Of course, they only occur when there are bugs in other
9213 packages causing the unpacking to fail, but it is rather nasty when
9214 the failure of one package causes the problem to become worse because
9215 of dependency loops.</p>
9216
9217 <p>Thanks to
9218 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/06/msg00116.html">the
9219 tireless effort by Bill Allombert</a>, the number of circular
9220 dependencies
9221 <a href="http://debian.semistable.com/debgraph.out.html">left in Debian
9222 is dropping</a>, and perhaps it will reach zero one day. :)</p>
9223
9224 <p>Todays testing also exposed a bug in
9225 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/590605">update-notifier</a> and
9226 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/590604">different behaviour</a> between
9227 apt-get and aptitude, the latter possibly caused by some circular
9228 dependency.  Reported both to BTS to try to get someone to look at
9229 it.</p>
9230
9231       </div>
9232       <div class="tags">
9233
9234
9235         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
9236
9237
9238       </div>
9239     </div>
9240     <div class="padding"></div>
9241
9242     <div class="entry">
9243       <div class="title">
9244         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_are_they_searching_for___PowerDNS_and_ISC_DHCP_in_LDAP.html">What are they searching for - PowerDNS and ISC DHCP in LDAP</a>
9245       </div>
9246       <div class="date">
9247         17th July 2010
9248       </div>
9249       <div class="body">
9250         <p>This is a
9251 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_for_new__LDAP_schemas_replacing_RFC_2307_.html">followup</a>
9252 on my
9253 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Idea_for_a_change_to_LDAP_schemas_allowing_DNS_and_DHCP_info_to_be_combined_into_one_object.html">previous
9254 work</a> on
9255 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Combining_PowerDNS_and_ISC_DHCP_LDAP_objects.html">merging
9256 all</a> the computer related LDAP objects in Debian Edu.</p>
9257
9258 <p>As a step to try to see if it possible to merge the DNS and DHCP
9259 LDAP objects, I have had a look at how the packages pdns-backend-ldap
9260 and dhcp3-server-ldap in Debian use the LDAP server.  The two
9261 implementations are quite different in how they use LDAP.</p>
9262
9263 To get this information, I started slapd with debugging enabled and
9264 dumped the debug output to a file to get the LDAP searches performed
9265 on a Debian Edu main-server.  Here is a summary.
9266
9267 <p><strong>powerdns</strong></p>
9268
9269 <a href="http://www.linuxnetworks.de/doc/index.php/PowerDNS_LDAP_Backend">Clues
9270 on how to</a> set up PowerDNS to use a LDAP backend is available on
9271 the web.
9272
9273 <p>PowerDNS have two modes of operation using LDAP as its backend.
9274 One "strict" mode where the forward and reverse DNS lookups are done
9275 using the same LDAP objects, and a "tree" mode where the forward and
9276 reverse entries are in two different subtrees in LDAP with a structure
9277 based on the DNS names, as in tjener.intern and
9278 2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa.</p>
9279
9280 <p>In tree mode, the server is set up to use a LDAP subtree as its
9281 base, and uses a "base" scoped search for the DNS name by adding
9282 "dc=tjener,dc=intern," to the base with a filter for
9283 "(associateddomain=tjener.intern)" for the forward entry and
9284 "dc=2,dc=2,dc=0,dc=10,dc=in-addr,dc=arpa," with a filter for
9285 "(associateddomain=2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa)" for the reverse entry.  For
9286 forward entries, it is looking for attributes named dnsttl, arecord,
9287 nsrecord, cnamerecord, soarecord, ptrrecord, hinforecord, mxrecord,
9288 txtrecord, rprecord, afsdbrecord, keyrecord, aaaarecord, locrecord,
9289 srvrecord, naptrrecord, kxrecord, certrecord, dsrecord, sshfprecord,
9290 ipseckeyrecord, rrsigrecord, nsecrecord, dnskeyrecord, dhcidrecord,
9291 spfrecord and modifytimestamp.  For reverse entries it is looking for
9292 the attributes dnsttl, arecord, nsrecord, cnamerecord, soarecord,
9293 ptrrecord, hinforecord, mxrecord, txtrecord, rprecord, aaaarecord,
9294 locrecord, srvrecord, naptrrecord and modifytimestamp.  The equivalent
9295 ldapsearch commands could look like this:</p>
9296
9297 <blockquote><pre>
9298 ldapsearch -h ldap \
9299   -b dc=tjener,dc=intern,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no \
9300   -s base -x '(associateddomain=tjener.intern)' dNSTTL aRecord nSRecord \
9301   cNAMERecord sOARecord pTRRecord hInfoRecord mXRecord tXTRecord \
9302   rPRecord aFSDBRecord KeyRecord aAAARecord lOCRecord sRVRecord \
9303   nAPTRRecord kXRecord certRecord dSRecord sSHFPRecord iPSecKeyRecord \
9304   rRSIGRecord nSECRecord dNSKeyRecord dHCIDRecord sPFRecord modifyTimestamp
9305
9306 ldapsearch -h ldap \
9307   -b dc=2,dc=2,dc=0,dc=10,dc=in-addr,dc=arpa,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no \
9308   -s base -x '(associateddomain=2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa)'
9309   dnsttl, arecord, nsrecord, cnamerecord soarecord ptrrecord \
9310   hinforecord mxrecord txtrecord rprecord aaaarecord locrecord \
9311   srvrecord naptrrecord modifytimestamp
9312 </pre></blockquote>
9313
9314 <p>In Debian Edu/Lenny, the PowerDNS tree mode is used with
9315 ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no as the base, and these are two
9316 example LDAP objects used there.  In addition to these objects, the
9317 parent objects all th way up to ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
9318 also exist.</p>
9319
9320 <blockquote><pre>
9321 dn: dc=tjener,dc=intern,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
9322 objectclass: top
9323 objectclass: dnsdomain
9324 objectclass: domainrelatedobject
9325 dc: tjener
9326 arecord: 10.0.2.2
9327 associateddomain: tjener.intern
9328
9329 dn: dc=2,dc=2,dc=0,dc=10,dc=in-addr,dc=arpa,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
9330 objectclass: top
9331 objectclass: dnsdomain2
9332 objectclass: domainrelatedobject
9333 dc: 2
9334 ptrrecord: tjener.intern
9335 associateddomain: 2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa
9336 </pre></blockquote>
9337
9338 <p>In strict mode, the server behaves differently.  When looking for
9339 forward DNS entries, it is doing a "subtree" scoped search with the
9340 same base as in the tree mode for a object with filter
9341 "(associateddomain=tjener.intern)" and requests the attributes dnsttl,
9342 arecord, nsrecord, cnamerecord, soarecord, ptrrecord, hinforecord,
9343 mxrecord, txtrecord, rprecord, aaaarecord, locrecord, srvrecord,
9344 naptrrecord and modifytimestamp.  For reverse entires it also do a
9345 subtree scoped search but this time the filter is "(arecord=10.0.2.2)"
9346 and the requested attributes are associateddomain, dnsttl and
9347 modifytimestamp.  In short, in strict mode the objects with ptrrecord
9348 go away, and the arecord attribute in the forward object is used
9349 instead.</p>
9350
9351 <p>The forward and reverse searches can be simulated using ldapsearch
9352 like this:</p>
9353
9354 <blockquote><pre>
9355 ldapsearch -h ldap -b ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no -s sub -x \
9356   '(associateddomain=tjener.intern)' dNSTTL aRecord nSRecord \
9357   cNAMERecord sOARecord pTRRecord hInfoRecord mXRecord tXTRecord \
9358   rPRecord aFSDBRecord KeyRecord aAAARecord lOCRecord sRVRecord \
9359   nAPTRRecord kXRecord certRecord dSRecord sSHFPRecord iPSecKeyRecord \
9360   rRSIGRecord nSECRecord dNSKeyRecord dHCIDRecord sPFRecord modifyTimestamp
9361
9362 ldapsearch -h ldap -b ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no -s sub -x \
9363   '(arecord=10.0.2.2)' associateddomain dnsttl modifytimestamp
9364 </pre></blockquote>
9365
9366 <p>In addition to the forward and reverse searches , there is also a
9367 search for SOA records, which behave similar to the forward and
9368 reverse lookups.</p>
9369
9370 <p>A thing to note with the PowerDNS behaviour is that it do not
9371 specify any objectclass names, and instead look for the attributes it
9372 need to generate a DNS reply.  This make it able to work with any
9373 objectclass that provide the needed attributes.</p>
9374
9375 <p>The attributes are normally provided in the cosine (RFC 1274) and
9376 dnsdomain2 schemas.  The latter is used for reverse entries like
9377 ptrrecord and recent DNS additions like aaaarecord and srvrecord.</p>
9378
9379 <p>In Debian Edu, we have created DNS objects using the object classes
9380 dcobject (for dc), dnsdomain or dnsdomain2 (structural, for the DNS
9381 attributes) and domainrelatedobject (for associatedDomain).  The use
9382 of structural object classes make it impossible to combine these
9383 classes with the object classes used by DHCP.</p>
9384
9385 <p>There are other schemas that could be used too, for example the
9386 dnszone structural object class used by Gosa and bind-sdb for the DNS
9387 attributes combined with the domainrelatedobject object class, but in
9388 this case some unused attributes would have to be included as well
9389 (zonename and relativedomainname).</p>
9390
9391 <p>My proposal for Debian Edu would be to switch PowerDNS to strict
9392 mode and not use any of the existing objectclasses (dnsdomain,
9393 dnsdomain2 and dnszone) when one want to combine the DNS information
9394 with DHCP information, and instead create a auxiliary object class
9395 defined something like this (using the attributes defined for
9396 dnsdomain and dnsdomain2 or dnszone):</p>
9397
9398 <blockquote><pre>
9399 objectclass ( some-oid NAME 'dnsDomainAux'
9400     SUP top
9401     AUXILIARY
9402     MAY ( ARecord $ MDRecord $ MXRecord $ NSRecord $ SOARecord $ CNAMERecord $
9403           DNSTTL $ DNSClass $ PTRRecord $ HINFORecord $ MINFORecord $
9404           TXTRecord $ SIGRecord $ KEYRecord $ AAAARecord $ LOCRecord $
9405           NXTRecord $ SRVRecord $ NAPTRRecord $ KXRecord $ CERTRecord $
9406           A6Record $ DNAMERecord
9407     ))
9408 </pre></blockquote>
9409
9410 <p>This will allow any object to become a DNS entry when combined with
9411 the domainrelatedobject object class, and allow any entity to include
9412 all the attributes PowerDNS wants.  I've sent an email to the PowerDNS
9413 developers asking for their view on this schema and if they are
9414 interested in providing such schema with PowerDNS, and I hope my
9415 message will be accepted into their mailing list soon.</p>
9416
9417 <p><strong>ISC dhcp</strong></p>
9418
9419 <p>The DHCP server searches for specific objectclass and requests all
9420 the object attributes, and then uses the attributes it want.  This
9421 make it harder to figure out exactly what attributes are used, but
9422 thanks to the working example in Debian Edu I can at least get an idea
9423 what is needed without having to read the source code.</p>
9424
9425 <p>In the DHCP server configuration, the LDAP base to use and the
9426 search filter to use to locate the correct dhcpServer entity is
9427 stored.  These are the relevant entries from
9428 /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf:</p>
9429
9430 <blockquote><pre>
9431 ldap-base-dn "dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no";
9432 ldap-dhcp-server-cn "dhcp";
9433 </pre></blockquote>
9434
9435 <p>The DHCP server uses this information to nest all the DHCP
9436 configuration it need.  The cn "dhcp" is located using the given LDAP
9437 base and the filter "(&(objectClass=dhcpServer)(cn=dhcp))".  The
9438 search result is this entry:</p>
9439
9440 <blockquote><pre>
9441 dn: cn=dhcp,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
9442 cn: dhcp
9443 objectClass: top
9444 objectClass: dhcpServer
9445 dhcpServiceDN: cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
9446 </pre></blockquote>
9447
9448 <p>The content of the dhcpServiceDN attribute is next used to locate the
9449 subtree with DHCP configuration.  The DHCP configuration subtree base
9450 is located using a base scope search with base "cn=DHCP
9451 Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no" and filter
9452 "(&(objectClass=dhcpService)(|(dhcpPrimaryDN=cn=dhcp,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no)(dhcpSecondaryDN=cn=dhcp,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no)))".
9453 The search result is this entry:</p>
9454
9455 <blockquote><pre>
9456 dn: cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
9457 cn: DHCP Config
9458 objectClass: top
9459 objectClass: dhcpService
9460 objectClass: dhcpOptions
9461 dhcpPrimaryDN: cn=dhcp, dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
9462 dhcpStatements: ddns-update-style none
9463 dhcpStatements: authoritative
9464 dhcpOption: smtp-server code 69 = array of ip-address
9465 dhcpOption: www-server code 72 = array of ip-address
9466 dhcpOption: wpad-url code 252 = text
9467 </pre></blockquote>
9468
9469 <p>Next, the entire subtree is processed, one level at the time.  When
9470 all the DHCP configuration is loaded, it is ready to receive requests.
9471 The subtree in Debian Edu contain objects with object classes
9472 top/dhcpService/dhcpOptions, top/dhcpSharedNetwork/dhcpOptions,
9473 top/dhcpSubnet, top/dhcpGroup and top/dhcpHost.  These provide options
9474 and information about netmasks, dynamic range etc.  Leaving out the
9475 details here because it is not relevant for the focus of my
9476 investigation, which is to see if it is possible to merge dns and dhcp
9477 related computer objects.</p>
9478
9479 <p>When a DHCP request come in, LDAP is searched for the MAC address
9480 of the client (00:00:00:00:00:00 in this example), using a subtree
9481 scoped search with "cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no" as
9482 the base and "(&(objectClass=dhcpHost)(dhcpHWAddress=ethernet
9483 00:00:00:00:00:00))" as the filter.  This is what a host object look
9484 like:</p>
9485
9486 <blockquote><pre>
9487 dn: cn=hostname,cn=group1,cn=THINCLIENTS,cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
9488 cn: hostname
9489 objectClass: top
9490 objectClass: dhcpHost
9491 dhcpHWAddress: ethernet 00:00:00:00:00:00
9492 dhcpStatements: fixed-address hostname
9493 </pre></blockquote>
9494
9495 <p>There is less flexiblity in the way LDAP searches are done here.
9496 The object classes need to have fixed names, and the configuration
9497 need to be stored in a fairly specific LDAP structure.  On the
9498 positive side, the invidiual dhcpHost entires can be anywhere without
9499 the DN pointed to by the dhcpServer entries.  The latter should make
9500 it possible to group all host entries in a subtree next to the
9501 configuration entries, and this subtree can also be shared with the
9502 DNS server if the schema proposed above is combined with the dhcpHost
9503 structural object class.
9504
9505 <p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
9506
9507 <p>The PowerDNS implementation seem to be very flexible when it come
9508 to which LDAP schemas to use.  While its "tree" mode is rigid when it
9509 come to the the LDAP structure, the "strict" mode is very flexible,
9510 allowing DNS objects to be stored anywhere under the base cn specified
9511 in the configuration.</p>
9512
9513 <p>The DHCP implementation on the other hand is very inflexible, both
9514 regarding which LDAP schemas to use and which LDAP structure to use.
9515 I guess one could implement ones own schema, as long as the
9516 objectclasses and attributes have the names used, but this do not
9517 really help when the DHCP subtree need to have a fairly fixed
9518 structure.</p>
9519
9520 <p>Based on the observed behaviour, I suspect a LDAP structure like
9521 this might work for Debian Edu:</p>
9522
9523 <blockquote><pre>
9524 ou=services
9525   cn=machine-info (dhcpService) - dhcpServiceDN points here
9526     cn=dhcp (dhcpServer)
9527     cn=dhcp-internal (dhcpSharedNetwork/dhcpOptions)
9528       cn=10.0.2.0 (dhcpSubnet)
9529         cn=group1 (dhcpGroup/dhcpOptions)
9530     cn=dhcp-thinclients (dhcpSharedNetwork/dhcpOptions)
9531       cn=192.168.0.0 (dhcpSubnet)
9532         cn=group1 (dhcpGroup/dhcpOptions)
9533     ou=machines - PowerDNS base points here
9534       cn=hostname (dhcpHost/domainrelatedobject/dnsDomainAux)
9535 </pre></blockquote>
9536
9537 <P>This is not tested yet.  If the DHCP server require the dhcpHost
9538 entries to be in the dhcpGroup subtrees, the entries can be stored
9539 there instead of a common machines subtree, and the PowerDNS base
9540 would have to be moved one level up to the machine-info subtree.</p>
9541
9542 <p>The combined object under the machines subtree would look something
9543 like this:</p>
9544
9545 <blockquote><pre>
9546 dn: dc=hostname,ou=machines,cn=machine-info,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
9547 dc: hostname
9548 objectClass: top
9549 objectClass: dhcpHost
9550 objectclass: domainrelatedobject
9551 objectclass: dnsDomainAux
9552 associateddomain: hostname.intern
9553 arecord: 10.11.12.13
9554 dhcpHWAddress: ethernet 00:00:00:00:00:00
9555 dhcpStatements: fixed-address hostname.intern
9556 </pre></blockquote>
9557
9558 </p>One could even add the LTSP configuration associated with a given
9559 machine, as long as the required attributes are available in a
9560 auxiliary object class.</p>
9561
9562       </div>
9563       <div class="tags">
9564
9565
9566         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
9567
9568
9569       </div>
9570     </div>
9571     <div class="padding"></div>
9572
9573     <div class="entry">
9574       <div class="title">
9575         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Combining_PowerDNS_and_ISC_DHCP_LDAP_objects.html">Combining PowerDNS and ISC DHCP LDAP objects</a>
9576       </div>
9577       <div class="date">
9578         14th July 2010
9579       </div>
9580       <div class="body">
9581         <p>For a while now, I have wanted to find a way to change the DNS and
9582 DHCP services in Debian Edu to use the same LDAP objects for a given
9583 computer, to avoid the possibility of having a inconsistent state for
9584 a computer in LDAP (as in DHCP but no DNS entry or the other way
9585 around) and make it easier to add computers to LDAP.</p>
9586
9587 <p>I've looked at how powerdns and dhcpd is using LDAP, and using this
9588 information finally found a solution that seem to work.</p>
9589
9590 <p>The old setup required three LDAP objects for a given computer.
9591 One forward DNS entry, one reverse DNS entry and one DHCP entry.  If
9592 we switch powerdns to use its strict LDAP method (ldap-method=strict
9593 in pdns-debian-edu.conf), the forward and reverse DNS entries are
9594 merged into one while making it impossible to transfer the reverse map
9595 to a slave DNS server.</p>
9596
9597 <p>If we also replace the object class used to get the DNS related
9598 attributes to one allowing these attributes to be combined with the
9599 dhcphost object class, we can merge the DNS and DHCP entries into one.
9600 I've written such object class in the dnsdomainaux.schema file (need
9601 proper OIDs, but that is a minor issue), and tested the setup.  It
9602 seem to work.</p>
9603
9604 <p>With this test setup in place, we can get away with one LDAP object
9605 for both DNS and DHCP, and even the LTSP configuration I suggested in
9606 an earlier email.  The combined LDAP object will look something like
9607 this:</p>
9608
9609 <blockquote><pre>
9610   dn: cn=hostname,cn=group1,cn=THINCLIENTS,cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
9611   cn: hostname
9612   objectClass: dhcphost
9613   objectclass: domainrelatedobject
9614   objectclass: dnsdomainaux
9615   associateddomain: hostname.intern
9616   arecord: 10.11.12.13
9617   dhcphwaddress: ethernet 00:00:00:00:00:00
9618   dhcpstatements: fixed-address hostname
9619   ldapconfigsound: Y
9620 </pre></blockquote>
9621
9622 <p>The DNS server uses the associateddomain and arecord entries, while
9623 the DHCP server uses the dhcphwaddress and dhcpstatements entries
9624 before asking DNS to resolve the fixed-adddress.  LTSP will use
9625 dhcphwaddress or associateddomain and the ldapconfig* attributes.</p>
9626
9627 <p>I am not yet sure if I can get the DHCP server to look for its
9628 dhcphost in a different location, to allow us to put the objects
9629 outside the "DHCP Config" subtree, but hope to figure out a way to do
9630 that.  If I can't figure out a way to do that, we can still get rid of
9631 the hosts subtree and move all its content into the DHCP Config tree
9632 (which probably should be renamed to be more related to the new
9633 content.  I suspect cn=dnsdhcp,ou=services or something like that
9634 might be a good place to put it.</p>
9635
9636 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
9637 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
9638
9639       </div>
9640       <div class="tags">
9641
9642
9643         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
9644
9645
9646       </div>
9647     </div>
9648     <div class="padding"></div>
9649
9650     <div class="entry">
9651       <div class="title">
9652         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Idea_for_storing_LTSP_configuration_in_LDAP.html">Idea for storing LTSP configuration in LDAP</a>
9653       </div>
9654       <div class="date">
9655         11th July 2010
9656       </div>
9657       <div class="body">
9658         <p>Vagrant mentioned on IRC today that ltsp_config now support
9659 sourcing files from /usr/share/ltsp/ltsp_config.d/ on the thin
9660 clients, and that this can be used to fetch configuration from LDAP if
9661 Debian Edu choose to store configuration there.</p>
9662
9663 <p>Armed with this information, I got inspired and wrote a test module
9664 to get configuration from LDAP.  The idea is to look up the MAC
9665 address of the client in LDAP, and look for attributes on the form
9666 ltspconfigsetting=value, and use this to export SETTING=value to the
9667 LTSP clients.</p>
9668
9669 <p>The goal is to be able to store the LTSP configuration attributes
9670 in a "computer" LDAP object used by both DNS and DHCP, and thus
9671 allowing us to store all information about a computer in one place.</p>
9672
9673 <p>This is a untested draft implementation, and I welcome feedback on
9674 this approach.  A real LDAP schema for the ltspClientAux objectclass
9675 need to be written.  Comments, suggestions, etc?</p>
9676
9677 <blockquote><pre>
9678 # Store in /opt/ltsp/$arch/usr/share/ltsp/ltsp_config.d/ldap-config
9679 #
9680 # Fetch LTSP client settings from LDAP based on MAC address
9681 #
9682 # Uses ethernet address as stored in the dhcpHost objectclass using
9683 # the dhcpHWAddress attribute or ethernet address stored in the
9684 # ieee802Device objectclass with the macAddress attribute.
9685 #
9686 # This module is written to be schema agnostic, and only depend on the
9687 # existence of attribute names.
9688 #
9689 # The LTSP configuration variables are saved directly using a
9690 # ltspConfig prefix and uppercasing the rest of the attribute name.
9691 # To set the SERVER variable, set the ltspConfigServer attribute.
9692 #
9693 # Some LDAP schema should be created with all the relevant
9694 # configuration settings.  Something like this should work:
9695 #
9696 # objectclass ( 1.1.2.2 NAME 'ltspClientAux'
9697 #     SUP top
9698 #     AUXILIARY
9699 #     MAY ( ltspConfigServer $ ltsConfigSound $ ... )
9700
9701 LDAPSERVER=$(debian-edu-ldapserver)
9702 if [ "$LDAPSERVER" ] ; then
9703     LDAPBASE=$(debian-edu-ldapserver -b)
9704     for MAC in $(LANG=C ifconfig |grep -i hwaddr| awk '{print $5}'|sort -u) ; do
9705         filter="(|(dhcpHWAddress=ethernet $MAC)(macAddress=$MAC))"
9706         ldapsearch -h "$LDAPSERVER" -b "$LDAPBASE" -v -x "$filter" | \
9707             grep '^ltspConfig' | while read attr value ; do
9708             # Remove prefix and convert to upper case
9709             attr=$(echo $attr | sed 's/^ltspConfig//i' | tr a-z A-Z)
9710             # bass value on to clients
9711             eval "$attr=$value; export $attr"
9712         done
9713     done
9714 fi
9715 </pre></blockquote>
9716
9717 <p>I'm not sure this shell construction will work, because I suspect
9718 the while block might end up in a subshell causing the variables set
9719 there to not show up in ltsp-config, but if that is the case I am sure
9720 the code can be restructured to make sure the variables are passed on.
9721 I expect that can be solved with some testing. :)</p>
9722
9723 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
9724 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
9725
9726 <p>Update 2010-07-17: I am aware of another effort to store LTSP
9727 configuration in LDAP that was created around year 2000 by
9728 <a href="http://www.pcxperience.com/thinclient/documentation/ldap.html">PC
9729 Xperience, Inc., 2000</a>.  I found its
9730 <a href="http://people.redhat.com/alikins/ltsp/ldap/">files</a> on a
9731 personal home page over at redhat.com.</p>
9732
9733       </div>
9734       <div class="tags">
9735
9736
9737         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
9738
9739
9740       </div>
9741     </div>
9742     <div class="padding"></div>
9743
9744     <div class="entry">
9745       <div class="title">
9746         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/jXplorer__a_very_nice_LDAP_GUI.html">jXplorer, a very nice LDAP GUI</a>
9747       </div>
9748       <div class="date">
9749          9th July 2010
9750       </div>
9751       <div class="body">
9752         <p>Since
9753 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/LUMA__a_very_nice_LDAP_GUI.html">my
9754 last post</a> about available LDAP tools in Debian, I was told about a
9755 LDAP GUI that is even better than luma.  The java application
9756 <a href="http://jxplorer.org/">jXplorer</a> is claimed to be capable of
9757 moving LDAP objects and subtrees using drag-and-drop, and can
9758 authenticate using Kerberos.  I have only tested the Kerberos
9759 authentication, but do not have a LDAP setup allowing me to rewrite
9760 LDAP with my test user yet.  It is
9761 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/j/jxplorer.html">available in
9762 Debian</a> testing and unstable at the moment.  The only problem I
9763 have with it is how it handle errors.  If something go wrong, its
9764 non-intuitive behaviour require me to go through some query work list
9765 and remove the failing query.  Nothing big, but very annoying.</p>
9766
9767       </div>
9768       <div class="tags">
9769
9770
9771         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
9772
9773
9774       </div>
9775     </div>
9776     <div class="padding"></div>
9777
9778     <div class="entry">
9779       <div class="title">
9780         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lenny__Squeeze_upgrades__apt_vs_aptitude_with_the_Gnome_desktop.html">Lenny->Squeeze upgrades, apt vs aptitude with the Gnome desktop</a>
9781       </div>
9782       <div class="date">
9783          3rd July 2010
9784       </div>
9785       <div class="body">
9786         <p>Here is a short update on my <a
9787 href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">my
9788 Debian Lenny->Squeeze upgrade testing</a>.  Here is a summary of the
9789 difference for Gnome when it is upgraded by apt-get and aptitude.  I'm
9790 not reporting the status for KDE, because the upgrade crashes when
9791 aptitude try because of missing conflicts
9792 (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/584861">#584861</a> and
9793 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/585716">#585716</a>).</p>
9794
9795 <p>At the end of the upgrade test script, dpkg -l is executed to get a
9796 complete list of the installed packages.  Based on this I see these
9797 differences when I did a test run today.  As usual, I do not really
9798 know what the correct set of packages would be, but thought it best to
9799 publish the difference.</p>
9800
9801 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
9802
9803 <blockquote><p>
9804   at-spi cpp-4.3 finger gnome-spell gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs
9805   libatspi1.0-0 libcupsys2 libeel2-data libgail-common libgdl-1-common
9806   libgnomeprint2.2-data libgnomeprintui2.2-common libgnomevfs2-bin
9807   libgtksourceview-common libpt-1.10.10-plugins-alsa
9808   libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l libservlet2.4-java libxalan2-java
9809   libxerces2-java openoffice.org-writer2latex openssl-blacklist p7zip
9810   python-4suite-xml python-eggtrayicon python-gtkhtml2
9811   python-gtkmozembed svgalibg1 xserver-xephyr zip
9812 </p></blockquote>
9813
9814 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
9815
9816 <blockquote><p>
9817   bluez-utils dhcdbd djvulibre-desktop epiphany-gecko
9818   gnome-app-install gnome-mount gnome-vfs-obexftp gnome-volume-manager
9819   libao2 libavahi-compat-libdnssd1 libavahi-core5 libbind9-50
9820   libbluetooth2 libcamel1.2-11 libcdio7 libcucul0 libcurl3
9821   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdvdread3 libedata-cal1.2-6 libedataserver1.2-9
9822   libeel2-2.20 libepc-1.0-1 libepc-ui-1.0-1 libexchange-storage1.2-3
9823   libfaad0 libgd2-noxpm libgda3-3 libgda3-common libggz2 libggzcore9
9824   libggzmod4 libgksu1.2-0 libgksuui1.0-1 libgmyth0 libgnome-desktop-2
9825   libgnome-pilot2 libgnomecups1.0-1 libgnomeprint2.2-0
9826   libgnomeprintui2.2-0 libgpod3 libgraphviz4 libgtkhtml2-0
9827   libgtksourceview1.0-0 libgucharmap6 libhesiod0 libicu38 libisccc50
9828   libisccfg50 libiw29 libkpathsea4 libltdl3 liblwres50 libmagick++10
9829   libmagick10 libmalaga7 libmtp7 libmysqlclient15off libnautilus-burn4
9830   libneon27 libnm-glib0 libnm-util0 libopal-2.2 libosp5
9831   libparted1.8-10 libpisock9 libpisync1 libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler3
9832   libpt-1.10.10 libraw1394-8 libsensors3 libsmbios2 libsoup2.2-8
9833   libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libswfdec-0.6-90 libtalloc1
9834   libtotem-plparser10 libtrackerclient0 libvoikko1 libxalan2-java-gcj
9835   libxerces2-java-gcj libxklavier12 libxtrap6 libxxf86misc1 libzephyr3
9836   mysql-common swfdec-gnome totem-gstreamer wodim
9837 </p></blockquote>
9838
9839 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
9840
9841 <blockquote><p>
9842   gnome gnome-desktop-environment hamster-applet python-gnomeapplet
9843   python-gnomekeyring python-wnck rhythmbox-plugins xorg
9844   xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev
9845   xserver-xorg-input-kbd xserver-xorg-input-mouse
9846   xserver-xorg-input-synaptics xserver-xorg-video-all
9847   xserver-xorg-video-apm xserver-xorg-video-ark xserver-xorg-video-ati
9848   xserver-xorg-video-chips xserver-xorg-video-cirrus
9849   xserver-xorg-video-dummy xserver-xorg-video-fbdev
9850   xserver-xorg-video-glint xserver-xorg-video-i128
9851   xserver-xorg-video-i740 xserver-xorg-video-mach64
9852   xserver-xorg-video-mga xserver-xorg-video-neomagic
9853   xserver-xorg-video-nouveau xserver-xorg-video-nv
9854   xserver-xorg-video-r128 xserver-xorg-video-radeon
9855   xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd xserver-xorg-video-rendition
9856   xserver-xorg-video-s3 xserver-xorg-video-s3virge
9857   xserver-xorg-video-savage xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion
9858   xserver-xorg-video-sis xserver-xorg-video-sisusb
9859   xserver-xorg-video-tdfx xserver-xorg-video-tga
9860   xserver-xorg-video-trident xserver-xorg-video-tseng
9861   xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vmware
9862   xserver-xorg-video-voodoo
9863 </p></blockquote>
9864
9865 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
9866
9867 <blockquote><p>
9868   deskbar-applet xserver-xorg xserver-xorg-core
9869   xserver-xorg-input-wacom xserver-xorg-video-intel
9870   xserver-xorg-video-openchrome
9871 </p></blockquote>
9872
9873 <p>I was told on IRC that the xorg-xserver package was
9874 <a href="http://git.debian.org/?p=pkg-xorg/xserver/xorg-server.git;a=commit;h=9c8080d06c457932d3bfec021c69ac000aa60120">changed
9875 in git</a> today to try to get apt-get to not remove xorg completely.
9876 No idea when it hits Squeeze, but when it does I hope it will reduce
9877 the difference somewhat.
9878
9879       </div>
9880       <div class="tags">
9881
9882
9883         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
9884
9885
9886       </div>
9887     </div>
9888     <div class="padding"></div>
9889
9890     <div class="entry">
9891       <div class="title">
9892         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/LUMA__a_very_nice_LDAP_GUI.html">LUMA, a very nice LDAP GUI</a>
9893       </div>
9894       <div class="date">
9895         28th June 2010
9896       </div>
9897       <div class="body">
9898         <p>The last few days I have been looking into the status of the LDAP
9899 directory in Debian Edu, and in the process I started to miss a GUI
9900 tool to browse the LDAP tree.  The only one I was able to find in
9901 Debian/Squeeze and Lenny is
9902 <a href="http://luma.sourceforge.net/">LUMA</a>, which has proved to
9903 be a great tool to get a overview of the current LDAP directory
9904 populated by default in Skolelinux.  Thanks to it, I have been able to
9905 find empty and obsolete subtrees, misplaced objects and duplicate
9906 objects.  It will be installed by default in Debian/Squeeze.  If you
9907 are working with LDAP, give it a go. :)</p>
9908
9909 <p>I did notice one problem with it I have not had time to report to
9910 the BTS yet.  There is no .desktop file in the package, so the tool do
9911 not show up in the Gnome and KDE menus, but only deep down in in the
9912 Debian submenu in KDE.  I hope that can be fixed before Squeeze is
9913 released.</p>
9914
9915 <p>I have not yet been able to get it to modify the tree yet.  I would
9916 like to move objects and remove subtrees directly in the GUI, but have
9917 not found a way to do that with LUMA yet.  So in the mean time, I use
9918 <a href="http://www.lichteblau.com/ldapvi/">ldapvi</a> for that.</p>
9919
9920 <p>If you have tips on other GUI tools for LDAP that might be useful
9921 in Debian Edu, please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
9922
9923 <p>Update 2010-06-29: Ross Reedstrom tipped us about the
9924 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/g/gq.html">gq</a> package as a
9925 useful GUI alternative.  It seem like a good tool, but is unmaintained
9926 in Debian and got a RC bug keeping it out of Squeeze.  Unless that
9927 changes, it will not be an option for Debian Edu based on Squeeze.</p>
9928
9929       </div>
9930       <div class="tags">
9931
9932
9933         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
9934
9935
9936       </div>
9937     </div>
9938     <div class="padding"></div>
9939
9940     <div class="entry">
9941       <div class="title">
9942         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Idea_for_a_change_to_LDAP_schemas_allowing_DNS_and_DHCP_info_to_be_combined_into_one_object.html">Idea for a change to LDAP schemas allowing DNS and DHCP info to be combined into one object</a>
9943       </div>
9944       <div class="date">
9945         24th June 2010
9946       </div>
9947       <div class="body">
9948         <p>A while back, I
9949 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_for_new__LDAP_schemas_replacing_RFC_2307_.html">complained
9950 about the fact</a> that it is not possible with the provided schemas
9951 for storing DNS and DHCP information in LDAP to combine the two sets
9952 of information into one LDAP object representing a computer.</p>
9953
9954 <p>In the mean time, I discovered that a simple fix would be to make
9955 the dhcpHost object class auxiliary, to allow it to be combined with
9956 the dNSDomain object class, and thus forming one object for one
9957 computer when storing both DHCP and DNS information in LDAP.</p>
9958
9959 <p>If I understand this correctly, it is not safe to do this change
9960 without also changing the assigned number for the object class, and I
9961 do not know enough about LDAP schema design to do that properly for
9962 Debian Edu.</p>
9963
9964 <p>Anyway, for future reference, this is how I believe we could change
9965 the
9966 <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-dhc-ldap-schema-00">DHCP
9967 schema</a> to solve at least part of the problem with the LDAP schemas
9968 available today from IETF.</p>
9969
9970 <pre>
9971 --- dhcp.schema    (revision 65192)
9972 +++ dhcp.schema    (working copy)
9973 @@ -376,7 +376,7 @@
9974  objectclass ( 2.16.840.1.113719.1.203.6.6
9975         NAME 'dhcpHost'
9976         DESC 'This represents information about a particular client'
9977 -       SUP top
9978 +       SUP top AUXILIARY
9979         MUST cn
9980         MAY  (dhcpLeaseDN $ dhcpHWAddress $ dhcpOptionsDN $ dhcpStatements $ dhcpComments $ dhcpOption)
9981         X-NDS_CONTAINMENT ('dhcpService' 'dhcpSubnet' 'dhcpGroup') )
9982 </pre>
9983
9984 <p>I very much welcome clues on how to do this properly for Debian
9985 Edu/Squeeze.  We provide the DHCP schema in our debian-edu-config
9986 package, and should thus be free to rewrite it as we see fit.</p>
9987
9988 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
9989 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
9990
9991       </div>
9992       <div class="tags">
9993
9994
9995         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
9996
9997
9998       </div>
9999     </div>
10000     <div class="padding"></div>
10001
10002     <div class="entry">
10003       <div class="title">
10004         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Calling_tasksel_like_the_installer__while_still_getting_useful_output.html">Calling tasksel like the installer, while still getting useful output</a>
10005       </div>
10006       <div class="date">
10007         16th June 2010
10008       </div>
10009       <div class="body">
10010         <p>A few times I have had the need to simulate the way tasksel
10011 installs packages during the normal debian-installer run.  Until now,
10012 I have ended up letting tasksel do the work, with the annoying problem
10013 of not getting any feedback at all when something fails (like a
10014 conffile question from dpkg or a download that fails), using code like
10015 this:
10016
10017 <blockquote><pre>
10018 export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
10019 tasksel --new-install
10020 </pre></blockquote>
10021
10022 This would invoke tasksel, let its automatic task selection pick the
10023 tasks to install, and continue to install the requested tasks without
10024 any output what so ever.
10025
10026 Recently I revisited this problem while working on the automatic
10027 package upgrade testing, because tasksel would some times hang without
10028 any useful feedback, and I want to see what is going on when it
10029 happen.  Then it occured to me, I can parse the output from tasksel
10030 when asked to run in test mode, and use that aptitude command line
10031 printed by tasksel then to simulate the tasksel run.  I ended up using
10032 code like this:
10033
10034 <blockquote><pre>
10035 export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
10036 cmd="$(in_target tasksel -t --new-install | sed 's/debconf-apt-progress -- //')"
10037 $cmd
10038 </pre></blockquote>
10039
10040 <p>The content of $cmd is typically something like "<tt>aptitude -q
10041 --without-recommends -o APT::Install-Recommends=no -y install
10042 ~t^desktop$ ~t^gnome-desktop$ ~t^laptop$ ~pstandard ~prequired
10043 ~pimportant</tt>", which will install the gnome desktop task, the
10044 laptop task and all packages with priority standard , required and
10045 important, just like tasksel would have done it during
10046 installation.</p>
10047
10048 <p>A better approach is probably to extend tasksel to be able to
10049 install packages without using debconf-apt-progress, for use cases
10050 like this.</p>
10051
10052       </div>
10053       <div class="tags">
10054
10055
10056         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
10057
10058
10059       </div>
10060     </div>
10061     <div class="padding"></div>
10062
10063     <div class="entry">
10064       <div class="title">
10065         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lenny__Squeeze_upgrades__removals_by_apt_and_aptitude.html">Lenny->Squeeze upgrades, removals by apt and aptitude</a>
10066       </div>
10067       <div class="date">
10068         13th June 2010
10069       </div>
10070       <div class="body">
10071         <p>My
10072 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatic_upgrade_testing_from_Lenny_to_Squeeze.html">testing
10073 of Debian upgrades</a> from Lenny to Squeeze continues, and I've
10074 finally made the upgrade logs available from
10075 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/debian-upgrade-testing/</a>.
10076 I am now testing dist-upgrade of Gnome and KDE in a chroot using both
10077 apt and aptitude, and found their differences interesting.  This time
10078 I will only focus on their removal plans.</p>
10079
10080 <p>After installing a Gnome desktop and the laptop task, apt-get wants
10081 to remove 72 packages when dist-upgrading from Lenny to Squeeze.  The
10082 surprising part is that it want to remove xorg and all
10083 xserver-xorg-video* drivers.  Clearly not a good choice, but I am not
10084 sure why.  When asking aptitude to do the same, it want to remove 129
10085 packages, but most of them are library packages I suspect are no
10086 longer needed.  Both of them want to remove bluetooth packages, which
10087 I do not know.  Perhaps these bluetooth packages are obsolete?</p>
10088
10089 <p>For KDE, apt-get want to remove 82 packages, among them kdebase
10090 which seem like a bad idea and xorg the same way as with Gnome. Asking
10091 aptitude for the same, it wants to remove 192 packages, none which are
10092 too surprising.</p>
10093
10094 <p>I guess the removal of xorg during upgrades should be investigated
10095 and avoided, and perhaps others as well.  Here are the complete list
10096 of planned removals.  The complete logs is available from the URL
10097 above.  Note if you want to repeat these tests, that the upgrade test
10098 for kde+apt-get hung in the tasksel setup because of dpkg asking
10099 conffile questions.  No idea why.  I worked around it by using
10100 '<tt>echo >> /proc/<em>pidofdpkg</em>/fd/0</tt>' to tell dpkg to
10101 continue.</p>
10102
10103 <p><b>apt-get gnome 72</b>
10104 <br>bluez-gnome cupsddk-drivers deskbar-applet gnome
10105   gnome-desktop-environment gnome-network-admin gtkhtml3.14
10106   iceweasel-gnome-support libavcodec51 libdatrie0 libgdl-1-0
10107   libgnomekbd2 libgnomekbdui2 libmetacity0 libslab0 libxcb-xlib0
10108   nautilus-cd-burner python-gnome2-desktop python-gnome2-extras
10109   serpentine swfdec-mozilla update-manager xorg xserver-xorg
10110   xserver-xorg-core xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev
10111   xserver-xorg-input-kbd xserver-xorg-input-mouse
10112   xserver-xorg-input-synaptics xserver-xorg-input-wacom
10113   xserver-xorg-video-all xserver-xorg-video-apm xserver-xorg-video-ark
10114   xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-chips
10115   xserver-xorg-video-cirrus xserver-xorg-video-cyrix
10116   xserver-xorg-video-dummy xserver-xorg-video-fbdev
10117   xserver-xorg-video-glint xserver-xorg-video-i128
10118   xserver-xorg-video-i740 xserver-xorg-video-imstt
10119   xserver-xorg-video-intel xserver-xorg-video-mach64
10120   xserver-xorg-video-mga xserver-xorg-video-neomagic
10121   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-nv
10122   xserver-xorg-video-openchrome xserver-xorg-video-r128
10123   xserver-xorg-video-radeon xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd
10124   xserver-xorg-video-rendition xserver-xorg-video-s3
10125   xserver-xorg-video-s3virge xserver-xorg-video-savage
10126   xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion xserver-xorg-video-sis
10127   xserver-xorg-video-sisusb xserver-xorg-video-tdfx
10128   xserver-xorg-video-tga xserver-xorg-video-trident
10129   xserver-xorg-video-tseng xserver-xorg-video-v4l
10130   xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vga
10131   xserver-xorg-video-vmware xserver-xorg-video-voodoo xulrunner-1.9
10132   xulrunner-1.9-gnome-support</p>
10133
10134 <p><b>aptitude gnome 129</b>
10135
10136 <br>bluez-gnome bluez-utils cpp-4.3 cupsddk-drivers dhcdbd
10137   djvulibre-desktop finger gnome-app-install gnome-mount
10138   gnome-network-admin gnome-spell gnome-vfs-obexftp
10139   gnome-volume-manager gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs gtkhtml3.14 libao2
10140   libavahi-compat-libdnssd1 libavahi-core5 libavcodec51 libbluetooth2
10141   libcamel1.2-11 libcdio7 libcucul0 libcupsys2 libcurl3 libdatrie0
10142   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdvdread3 libedataserver1.2-9 libeel2-2.20
10143   libeel2-data libepc-1.0-1 libepc-ui-1.0-1 libfaad0 libgail-common
10144   libgd2-noxpm libgda3-3 libgda3-common libgdl-1-0 libgdl-1-common
10145   libggz2 libggzcore9 libggzmod4 libgksu1.2-0 libgksuui1.0-1 libgmyth0
10146   libgnomecups1.0-1 libgnomekbd2 libgnomekbdui2 libgnomeprint2.2-0
10147   libgnomeprint2.2-data libgnomeprintui2.2-0 libgnomeprintui2.2-common
10148   libgnomevfs2-bin libgpod3 libgraphviz4 libgtkhtml2-0
10149   libgtksourceview-common libgtksourceview1.0-0 libgucharmap6
10150   libhesiod0 libicu38 libiw29 libkpathsea4 libltdl3 libmagick++10
10151   libmagick10 libmalaga7 libmetacity0 libmtp7 libmysqlclient15off
10152   libnautilus-burn4 libneon27 libnm-glib0 libnm-util0 libopal-2.2
10153   libosp5 libparted1.8-10 libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler3 libpt-1.10.10
10154   libpt-1.10.10-plugins-alsa libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l libraw1394-8
10155   libsensors3 libslab0 libsmbios2 libsoup2.2-8 libssh2-1
10156   libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libswfdec-0.6-90 libtalloc1 libtotem-plparser10
10157   libtrackerclient0 libxalan2-java libxalan2-java-gcj libxcb-xlib0
10158   libxerces2-java libxerces2-java-gcj libxklavier12 libxtrap6
10159   libxxf86misc1 libzephyr3 mysql-common nautilus-cd-burner
10160   openoffice.org-writer2latex openssl-blacklist p7zip
10161   python-4suite-xml python-eggtrayicon python-gnome2-desktop
10162   python-gnome2-extras python-gtkhtml2 python-gtkmozembed
10163   python-numeric python-sexy serpentine svgalibg1 swfdec-gnome
10164   swfdec-mozilla totem-gstreamer update-manager wodim
10165   xserver-xorg-video-cyrix xserver-xorg-video-imstt
10166   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-v4l xserver-xorg-video-vga
10167   zip</p>
10168
10169 <p><b>apt-get kde 82</b>
10170
10171 <br>cupsddk-drivers karm kaudiocreator kcoloredit kcontrol kde kde-core
10172   kdeaddons kdeartwork kdebase kdebase-bin kdebase-bin-kde3
10173   kdebase-kio-plugins kdesktop kdeutils khelpcenter kicker
10174   kicker-applets knewsticker kolourpaint konq-plugins konqueror korn
10175   kpersonalizer kscreensaver ksplash libavcodec51 libdatrie0 libkiten1
10176   libxcb-xlib0 quanta superkaramba texlive-base-bin xorg xserver-xorg
10177   xserver-xorg-core xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev
10178   xserver-xorg-input-kbd xserver-xorg-input-mouse
10179   xserver-xorg-input-synaptics xserver-xorg-input-wacom
10180   xserver-xorg-video-all xserver-xorg-video-apm xserver-xorg-video-ark
10181   xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-chips
10182   xserver-xorg-video-cirrus xserver-xorg-video-cyrix
10183   xserver-xorg-video-dummy xserver-xorg-video-fbdev
10184   xserver-xorg-video-glint xserver-xorg-video-i128
10185   xserver-xorg-video-i740 xserver-xorg-video-imstt
10186   xserver-xorg-video-intel xserver-xorg-video-mach64
10187   xserver-xorg-video-mga xserver-xorg-video-neomagic
10188   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-nv
10189   xserver-xorg-video-openchrome xserver-xorg-video-r128
10190   xserver-xorg-video-radeon xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd
10191   xserver-xorg-video-rendition xserver-xorg-video-s3
10192   xserver-xorg-video-s3virge xserver-xorg-video-savage
10193   xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion xserver-xorg-video-sis
10194   xserver-xorg-video-sisusb xserver-xorg-video-tdfx
10195   xserver-xorg-video-tga xserver-xorg-video-trident
10196   xserver-xorg-video-tseng xserver-xorg-video-v4l
10197   xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vga
10198   xserver-xorg-video-vmware xserver-xorg-video-voodoo xulrunner-1.9</p>
10199
10200 <p><b>aptitude kde 192</b>
10201 <br>bluez-utils cpp-4.3 cupsddk-drivers cvs dcoprss dhcdbd
10202   djvulibre-desktop dosfstools eyesapplet fifteenapplet finger gettext
10203   ghostscript-x imlib-base imlib11 indi kandy karm kasteroids
10204   kaudiocreator kbackgammon kbstate kcoloredit kcontrol kcron kdat
10205   kdeadmin-kfile-plugins kdeartwork-misc kdeartwork-theme-window
10206   kdebase-bin-kde3 kdebase-kio-plugins kdeedu-data
10207   kdegraphics-kfile-plugins kdelirc kdemultimedia-kappfinder-data
10208   kdemultimedia-kfile-plugins kdenetwork-kfile-plugins
10209   kdepim-kfile-plugins kdepim-kio-plugins kdeprint kdesktop kdessh
10210   kdict kdnssd kdvi kedit keduca kenolaba kfax kfaxview kfouleggs
10211   kghostview khelpcenter khexedit kiconedit kitchensync klatin
10212   klickety kmailcvt kmenuedit kmid kmilo kmoon kmrml kodo kolourpaint
10213   kooka korn kpager kpdf kpercentage kpf kpilot kpoker kpovmodeler
10214   krec kregexpeditor ksayit ksim ksirc ksirtet ksmiletris ksmserver
10215   ksnake ksokoban ksplash ksvg ksysv ktip ktnef kuickshow kverbos
10216   kview kviewshell kvoctrain kwifimanager kwin kwin4 kworldclock
10217   kxsldbg libakode2 libao2 libarts1-akode libarts1-audiofile
10218   libarts1-mpeglib libarts1-xine libavahi-compat-libdnssd1
10219   libavahi-core5 libavc1394-0 libavcodec51 libbluetooth2
10220   libboost-python1.34.1 libcucul0 libcurl3 libcvsservice0 libdatrie0
10221   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdjvulibre21 libdvdread3 libfaad0 libfreebob0
10222   libgail-common libgd2-noxpm libgraphviz4 libgsmme1c2a libgtkhtml2-0
10223   libicu38 libiec61883-0 libindex0 libiw29 libk3b3 libkcal2b libkcddb1
10224   libkdeedu3 libkdepim1a libkgantt0 libkiten1 libkleopatra1 libkmime2
10225   libkpathsea4 libkpimexchange1 libkpimidentities1 libkscan1
10226   libksieve0 libktnef1 liblockdev1 libltdl3 libmagick10 libmimelib1c2a
10227   libmozjs1d libmpcdec3 libneon27 libnm-util0 libopensync0 libpisock9
10228   libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler-qt2 libpoppler3 libraw1394-8 libsmbios2
10229   libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libtalloc1 libtiff-tools
10230   libxalan2-java libxalan2-java-gcj libxcb-xlib0 libxerces2-java
10231   libxerces2-java-gcj libxtrap6 mpeglib networkstatus
10232   openoffice.org-writer2latex pmount poster psutils quanta quanta-data
10233   superkaramba svgalibg1 tex-common texlive-base texlive-base-bin
10234   texlive-common texlive-doc-base texlive-fonts-recommended
10235   xserver-xorg-video-cyrix xserver-xorg-video-imstt
10236   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-v4l xserver-xorg-video-vga
10237   xulrunner-1.9</p>
10238
10239
10240       </div>
10241       <div class="tags">
10242
10243
10244         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
10245
10246
10247       </div>
10248     </div>
10249     <div class="padding"></div>
10250
10251     <div class="entry">
10252       <div class="title">
10253         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatic_upgrade_testing_from_Lenny_to_Squeeze.html">Automatic upgrade testing from Lenny to Squeeze</a>
10254       </div>
10255       <div class="date">
10256         11th June 2010
10257       </div>
10258       <div class="body">
10259         <p>The last few days I have done some upgrade testing in Debian, to
10260 see if the upgrade from Lenny to Squeeze will go smoothly.  A few bugs
10261 have been discovered and reported in the process
10262 (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/585410">#585410</a> in nagios3-cgi,
10263 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/584879">#584879</a> already fixed in
10264 enscript and <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/584861">#584861</a> in
10265 kdebase-workspace-data), and to get a more regular testing going on, I
10266 am working on a script to automate the test.</p>
10267
10268 <p>The idea is to create a Lenny chroot and use tasksel to install a
10269 Gnome or KDE desktop installation inside the chroot before upgrading
10270 it.  To ensure no services are started in the chroot, a policy-rc.d
10271 script is inserted.  To make sure tasksel believe it is to install a
10272 desktop on a laptop, the tasksel tests are replaced in the chroot
10273 (only acceptable because this is a throw-away chroot).</p>
10274
10275 <p>A naive upgrade from Lenny to Squeeze using aptitude dist-upgrade
10276 currently always fail because udev refuses to upgrade with the kernel
10277 in Lenny, so to avoid that problem the file /etc/udev/kernel-upgrade
10278 is created.  The bug report
10279 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/566000">#566000</a> make me suspect
10280 this problem do not trigger in a chroot, but I touch the file anyway
10281 to make sure the upgrade go well.  Testing on virtual and real
10282 hardware have failed me because of udev so far, and creating this file
10283 do the trick in such settings anyway.  This is a
10284 <a href="http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/debian-26/failed-dist-upgrade-due-to-udev-config_sysfs_deprecated-nonsense-804130/">known
10285 issue</a> and the current udev behaviour is intended by the udev
10286 maintainer because he lack the resources to rewrite udev to keep
10287 working with old kernels or something like that.  I really wish the
10288 udev upstream would keep udev backwards compatible, to avoid such
10289 upgrade problem, but given that they fail to do so, I guess
10290 documenting the way out of this mess is the best option we got for
10291 Debian Squeeze.</p>
10292
10293 <p>Anyway, back to the task at hand, testing upgrades.  This test
10294 script, which I call <tt>upgrade-test</tt> for now, is doing the
10295 trick:</p>
10296
10297 <blockquote><pre>
10298 #!/bin/sh
10299 set -ex
10300
10301 if [ "$1" ] ; then
10302     desktop=$1
10303 else
10304     desktop=gnome
10305 fi
10306
10307 from=lenny
10308 to=squeeze
10309
10310 exec &lt; /dev/null
10311 unset LANG
10312 mirror=http://ftp.skolelinux.org/debian
10313 tmpdir=chroot-$from-upgrade-$to-$desktop
10314 fuser -mv .
10315 debootstrap $from $tmpdir $mirror
10316 chroot $tmpdir aptitude update
10317 cat > $tmpdir/usr/sbin/policy-rc.d &lt;&lt;EOF
10318 #!/bin/sh
10319 exit 101
10320 EOF
10321 chmod a+rx $tmpdir/usr/sbin/policy-rc.d
10322 exit_cleanup() {
10323     umount $tmpdir/proc
10324 }
10325 mount -t proc proc $tmpdir/proc
10326 # Make sure proc is unmounted also on failure
10327 trap exit_cleanup EXIT INT
10328
10329 chroot $tmpdir aptitude -y install debconf-utils
10330
10331 # Make sure tasksel autoselection trigger.  It need the test scripts
10332 # to return the correct answers.
10333 echo tasksel tasksel/desktop multiselect $desktop | \
10334     chroot $tmpdir debconf-set-selections
10335
10336 # Include the desktop and laptop task
10337 for test in desktop laptop ; do
10338     echo > $tmpdir/usr/lib/tasksel/tests/$test &lt;&lt;EOF
10339 #!/bin/sh
10340 exit 2
10341 EOF
10342     chmod a+rx $tmpdir/usr/lib/tasksel/tests/$test
10343 done
10344
10345 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
10346 DEBIAN_PRIORITY=critical
10347 export DEBIAN_FRONTEND DEBIAN_PRIORITY
10348 chroot $tmpdir tasksel --new-install
10349
10350 echo deb $mirror $to main > $tmpdir/etc/apt/sources.list
10351 chroot $tmpdir aptitude update
10352 touch $tmpdir/etc/udev/kernel-upgrade
10353 chroot $tmpdir aptitude -y dist-upgrade
10354 fuser -mv
10355 </pre></blockquote>
10356
10357 <p>I suspect it would be useful to test upgrades with both apt-get and
10358 with aptitude, but I have not had time to look at how they behave
10359 differently so far.  I hope to get a cron job running to do the test
10360 regularly and post the result on the web.  The Gnome upgrade currently
10361 work, while the KDE upgrade fail because of the bug in
10362 kdebase-workspace-data</p>
10363
10364 <p>I am not quite sure what kind of extract from the huge upgrade logs
10365 (KDE 167 KiB, Gnome 516 KiB) it make sense to include in this blog
10366 post, so I will refrain from trying.  I can report that for Gnome,
10367 aptitude report 760 packages upgraded, 448 newly installed, 129 to
10368 remove and 1 not upgraded and 1024MB need to be downloaded while for
10369 KDE the same numbers are 702 packages upgraded, 507 newly installed,
10370 193 to remove and 0 not upgraded and 1117MB need to be downloaded</p>
10371
10372 <p>I am very happy to notice that the Gnome desktop + laptop upgrade
10373 is able to migrate to dependency based boot sequencing and parallel
10374 booting without a hitch.  Was unsure if there were still bugs with
10375 packages failing to clean up their obsolete init.d script during
10376 upgrades, and no such problem seem to affect the Gnome desktop+laptop
10377 packages.</p>
10378
10379       </div>
10380       <div class="tags">
10381
10382
10383         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
10384
10385
10386       </div>
10387     </div>
10388     <div class="padding"></div>
10389
10390     <div class="entry">
10391       <div class="title">
10392         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Upstart_or_sysvinit___as_init_d_scripts_see_it.html">Upstart or sysvinit - as init.d scripts see it</a>
10393       </div>
10394       <div class="date">
10395          6th June 2010
10396       </div>
10397       <div class="body">
10398         <p>If Debian is to migrate to upstart on Linux, I expect some init.d
10399 scripts to migrate (some of) their operations to upstart job while
10400 keeping the init.d for hurd and kfreebsd.  The packages with such
10401 needs will need a way to get their init.d scripts to behave
10402 differently when used with sysvinit and with upstart.  Because of
10403 this, I had a look at the environment variables set when a init.d
10404 script is running under upstart, and when it is not.</p>
10405
10406 <p>With upstart, I notice these environment variables are set when a
10407 script is started from rcS.d/ (ignoring some irrelevant ones like
10408 COLUMNS):</p>
10409
10410 <blockquote><pre>
10411 DEFAULT_RUNLEVEL=2
10412 previous=N
10413 PREVLEVEL=
10414 RUNLEVEL=
10415 runlevel=S
10416 UPSTART_EVENTS=startup
10417 UPSTART_INSTANCE=
10418 UPSTART_JOB=rc-sysinit
10419 </pre></blockquote>
10420
10421 <p>With sysvinit, these environment variables are set for the same
10422 script.</p>
10423
10424 <blockquote><pre>
10425 INIT_VERSION=sysvinit-2.88
10426 previous=N
10427 PREVLEVEL=N
10428 RUNLEVEL=S
10429 runlevel=S
10430 </pre></blockquote>
10431
10432 <p>The RUNLEVEL and PREVLEVEL environment variables passed on from
10433 sysvinit are not set by upstart.  Not sure if it is intentional or not
10434 to not be compatible with sysvinit in this regard.</p>
10435
10436 <p>For scripts needing to behave differently when upstart is used,
10437 looking for the UPSTART_JOB environment variable seem to be a good
10438 choice.</p>
10439
10440       </div>
10441       <div class="tags">
10442
10443
10444         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
10445
10446
10447       </div>
10448     </div>
10449     <div class="padding"></div>
10450
10451     <div class="entry">
10452       <div class="title">
10453         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_manual_for_standards_wars___.html">A manual for standards wars...</a>
10454       </div>
10455       <div class="date">
10456          6th June 2010
10457       </div>
10458       <div class="body">
10459         <p>Via the
10460 <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/robweir/antic-atom/~3/QzU4RgoAGMg/weekly-links-10.html">blog
10461 of Rob Weir</a> I came across the very interesting essay named
10462 <a href="http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/shapiro/wars.pdf">The Art of
10463 Standards Wars</a> (PDF 25 pages).  I recommend it for everyone
10464 following the standards wars of today.</p>
10465
10466       </div>
10467       <div class="tags">
10468
10469
10470         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
10471
10472
10473       </div>
10474     </div>
10475     <div class="padding"></div>
10476
10477     <div class="entry">
10478       <div class="title">
10479         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Sitesummary_tip__Listing_computer_hardware_models_used_at_site.html">Sitesummary tip: Listing computer hardware models used at site</a>
10480       </div>
10481       <div class="date">
10482          3rd June 2010
10483       </div>
10484       <div class="body">
10485         <p>When using sitesummary at a site to track machines, it is possible
10486 to get a list of the machine types in use thanks to the DMI
10487 information extracted from each machine.  The script to do so is
10488 included in the sitesummary package, and here is example output from
10489 the Skolelinux build servers:</p>
10490
10491 <blockquote><pre>
10492 maintainer:~# /usr/lib/sitesummary/hardware-model-summary
10493   vendor                    count
10494   Dell Computer Corporation     1
10495     PowerEdge 1750              1
10496   IBM                           1
10497     eserver xSeries 345 -[8670M1X]-     1
10498   Intel                         2
10499   [no-dmi-info]                 3
10500 maintainer:~#
10501 </pre></blockquote>
10502
10503 <p>The quality of the report depend on the quality of the DMI tables
10504 provided in each machine.  Here there are Intel machines without model
10505 information listed with Intel as vendor and no model, and virtual Xen
10506 machines listed as [no-dmi-info].  One can add -l as a command line
10507 option to list the individual machines.</p>
10508
10509 <p>A larger list is
10510 <a href="http://narvikskolen.no/sitesummary/">available from the the
10511 city of Narvik</a>, which uses Skolelinux on all their shools and also
10512 provide the basic sitesummary report publicly.  In their report there
10513 are ~1400 machines. I know they use both Ubuntu and Skolelinux on
10514 their machines, and as sitesummary is available in both distributions,
10515 it is trivial to get all of them to report to the same central
10516 collector.</p>
10517
10518       </div>
10519       <div class="tags">
10520
10521
10522         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sitesummary">sitesummary</a>.
10523
10524
10525       </div>
10526     </div>
10527     <div class="padding"></div>
10528
10529     <div class="entry">
10530       <div class="title">
10531         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/KDM_fail_at_boot_with_NVidia_cards___and_no_one_try_to_fix_it_.html">KDM fail at boot with NVidia cards - and no one try to fix it?</a>
10532       </div>
10533       <div class="date">
10534          1st June 2010
10535       </div>
10536       <div class="body">
10537         <p>It is strange to watch how a bug in Debian causing KDM to fail to
10538 start at boot when an NVidia video card is used is handled.  The
10539 problem seem to be that the nvidia X.org driver uses a long time to
10540 initialize, and this duration is longer than kdm is configured to
10541 wait.</p>
10542
10543 <p>I came across two bugs related to this issue,
10544 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/583312">#583312</a> initially filed
10545 against initscripts and passed on to nvidia-glx when it became obvious
10546 that the nvidia drivers were involved, and
10547 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/524751">#524751</a> initially filed against
10548 kdm and passed on to src:nvidia-graphics-drivers for unknown reasons.</p>
10549
10550 <p>To me, it seem that no-one is interested in actually solving the
10551 problem nvidia video card owners experience and make sure the Debian
10552 distribution work out of the box for these users.  The nvidia driver
10553 maintainers expect kdm to be set up to wait longer, while kdm expect
10554 the nvidia driver maintainers to fix the driver to start faster, and
10555 while they wait for each other I guess the users end up switching to a
10556 distribution that work for them.  I have no idea what the solution is,
10557 but I am pretty sure that waiting for each other is not it.</p>
10558
10559 <p>I wonder why we end up handling bugs this way.</p>
10560
10561       </div>
10562       <div class="tags">
10563
10564
10565         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
10566
10567
10568       </div>
10569     </div>
10570     <div class="padding"></div>
10571
10572     <div class="entry">
10573       <div class="title">
10574         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Parallellized_boot_seem_to_hold_up_well_in_Debian_testing.html">Parallellized boot seem to hold up well in Debian/testing</a>
10575       </div>
10576       <div class="date">
10577         27th May 2010
10578       </div>
10579       <div class="body">
10580         <p>A few days ago, parallel booting was enabled in Debian/testing.
10581 The feature seem to hold up pretty well, but three fairly serious
10582 issues are known and should be solved:
10583
10584 <p><ul>
10585
10586 <li>The wicd package seen to
10587 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/508289">break NFS mounting</a> and
10588 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/581586">network setup</a> when
10589 parallel booting is enabled.  No idea why, but the wicd maintainer
10590 seem to be on the case.</li>
10591
10592 <li>The nvidia X driver seem to
10593 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/583312">have a race condition</a>
10594 triggered more easily when parallel booting is in effect.  The
10595 maintainer is on the case.</li>
10596
10597 <li>The sysv-rc package fail to properly enable dependency based boot
10598 sequencing (the shutdown is broken) when old file-rc users
10599 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/575080">try to switch back</a> to
10600 sysv-rc.  One way to solve it would be for file-rc to create
10601 /etc/init.d/.legacy-bootordering, and another is to try to make
10602 sysv-rc more robust.  Will investigate some more and probably upload a
10603 workaround in sysv-rc to help those trying to move from file-rc to
10604 sysv-rc get a working shutdown.</li>
10605
10606 </ul></p>
10607
10608 <p>All in all not many surprising issues, and all of them seem
10609 solvable before Squeeze is released.  In addition to these there are
10610 some packages with bugs in their dependencies and run level settings,
10611 which I expect will be fixed in a reasonable time span.</p>
10612
10613 <p>If you report any problems with dependencies in init.d scripts to
10614 the BTS, please usertag the report to get it to show up at
10615 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?users=initscripts-ng-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the
10616 list of usertagged bugs related to this</a>.</p>
10617
10618 <p>Update: Correct bug number to file-rc issue.</p>
10619
10620       </div>
10621       <div class="tags">
10622
10623
10624         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
10625
10626
10627       </div>
10628     </div>
10629     <div class="padding"></div>
10630
10631     <div class="entry">
10632       <div class="title">
10633         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/More_flexible_firmware_handling_in_debian_installer.html">More flexible firmware handling in debian-installer</a>
10634       </div>
10635       <div class="date">
10636         22nd May 2010
10637       </div>
10638       <div class="body">
10639         <p>After a long break from debian-installer development, I finally
10640 found time today to return to the project.  Having to spend less time
10641 working dependency based boot in debian, as it is almost complete now,
10642 definitely helped freeing some time.</p>
10643
10644 <p>A while back, I ran into a problem while working on Debian Edu.  We
10645 include some firmware packages on the Debian Edu CDs, those needed to
10646 get disk and network controllers working.  Without having these
10647 firmware packages available during installation, it is impossible to
10648 install Debian Edu on the given machine, and because our target group
10649 are non-technical people, asking them to provide firmware packages on
10650 an external medium is a support pain.  Initially, I expected it to be
10651 enough to include the firmware packages on the CD to get
10652 debian-installer to find and use them.  This proved to be wrong.
10653 Next, I hoped it was enough to symlink the relevant firmware packages
10654 to some useful location on the CD (tried /cdrom/ and
10655 /cdrom/firmware/).  This also proved to not work, and at this point I
10656 found time to look at the debian-installer code to figure out what was
10657 going to work.</p>
10658
10659 <p>The firmware loading code is in the hw-detect package, and a closer
10660 look revealed that it would only look for firmware packages outside
10661 the installation media, so the CD was never checked for firmware
10662 packages.  It would only check USB sticks, floppies and other
10663 "external" media devices.  Today I changed it to also look in the
10664 /cdrom/firmware/ directory on the mounted CD or DVD, which should
10665 solve the problem I ran into with Debian edu.  I also changed it to
10666 look in /firmware/, to make sure the installer also find firmware
10667 provided in the initrd when booting the installer via PXE, to allow us
10668 to provide the same feature in the PXE setup included in Debian
10669 Edu.</p>
10670
10671 <p>To make sure firmware deb packages with a license questions are not
10672 activated without asking if the license is accepted, I extended
10673 hw-detect to look for preinst scripts in the firmware packages, and
10674 run these before activating the firmware during installation.  The
10675 license question is asked using debconf in the preinst, so this should
10676 solve the issue for the firmware packages I have looked at so far.</p>
10677
10678 <p>If you want to discuss the details of these features, please
10679 contact us on debian-boot@lists.debian.org.</p>
10680
10681       </div>
10682       <div class="tags">
10683
10684
10685         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
10686
10687
10688       </div>
10689     </div>
10690     <div class="padding"></div>
10691
10692     <div class="entry">
10693       <div class="title">
10694         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Parallellized_boot_is_now_the_default_in_Debian_unstable.html">Parallellized boot is now the default in Debian/unstable</a>
10695       </div>
10696       <div class="date">
10697         14th May 2010
10698       </div>
10699       <div class="body">
10700         <p>Since this evening, parallel booting is the default in
10701 Debian/unstable for machines using dependency based boot sequencing.
10702 Apparently the testing of concurrent booting has been wider than
10703 expected, if I am to believe the
10704 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/05/msg00122.html">input
10705 on debian-devel@</a>, and I concluded a few days ago to move forward
10706 with the feature this weekend, to give us some time to detect any
10707 remaining problems before Squeeze is frozen.  If serious problems are
10708 detected, it is simple to change the default back to sequential boot.
10709 The upload of the new sysvinit package also activate a new upstream
10710 version.</p>
10711
10712 More information about
10713 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot">dependency
10714 based boot sequencing</a> is available from the Debian wiki.  It is
10715 currently possible to disable parallel booting when one run into
10716 problems caused by it, by adding this line to /etc/default/rcS:</p>
10717
10718 <blockquote><pre>
10719 CONCURRENCY=none
10720 </pre></blockquote>
10721
10722 <p>If you report any problems with dependencies in init.d scripts to
10723 the BTS, please usertag the report to get it to show up at
10724 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?users=initscripts-ng-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the
10725 list of usertagged bugs related to this</a>.</p>
10726
10727       </div>
10728       <div class="tags">
10729
10730
10731         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
10732
10733
10734       </div>
10735     </div>
10736     <div class="padding"></div>
10737
10738     <div class="entry">
10739       <div class="title">
10740         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Sitesummary_tip__Listing_MAC_address_of_all_clients.html">Sitesummary tip: Listing MAC address of all clients</a>
10741       </div>
10742       <div class="date">
10743         14th May 2010
10744       </div>
10745       <div class="body">
10746         <p>In the recent Debian Edu versions, the
10747 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/SiteSummary">sitesummary
10748 system</a> is used to keep track of the machines in the school
10749 network.  Each machine will automatically report its status to the
10750 central server after boot and once per night.  The network setup is
10751 also reported, and using this information it is possible to get the
10752 MAC address of all network interfaces in the machines.  This is useful
10753 to update the DHCP configuration.</p>
10754
10755 <p>To give some idea how to use sitesummary, here is a one-liner to
10756 ist all MAC addresses of all machines reporting to sitesummary.  Run
10757 this on the collector host:</p>
10758
10759 <blockquote><pre>
10760 perl -MSiteSummary -e 'for_all_hosts(sub { print join(" ", get_macaddresses(shift)), "\n"; });'
10761 </pre></blockquote>
10762
10763 <p>This will list all MAC addresses assosiated with all machine, one
10764 line per machine and with space between the MAC addresses.</p>
10765
10766 <p>To allow system administrators easier job at adding static DHCP
10767 addresses for hosts, it would be possible to extend this to fetch
10768 machine information from sitesummary and update the DHCP and DNS
10769 tables in LDAP using this information.  Such tool is unfortunately not
10770 written yet.</p>
10771
10772       </div>
10773       <div class="tags">
10774
10775
10776         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sitesummary">sitesummary</a>.
10777
10778
10779       </div>
10780     </div>
10781     <div class="padding"></div>
10782
10783     <div class="entry">
10784       <div class="title">
10785         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/systemd__an_interesting_alternative_to_upstart.html">systemd, an interesting alternative to upstart</a>
10786       </div>
10787       <div class="date">
10788         13th May 2010
10789       </div>
10790       <div class="body">
10791         <p>The last few days a new boot system called
10792 <a href="http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd">systemd</a>
10793 has been
10794 <a href="http://0pointer.de/blog/projects/systemd.html">introduced</a>
10795
10796 to the free software world.  I have not yet had time to play around
10797 with it, but it seem to be a very interesting alternative to
10798 <a href="http://upstart.ubuntu.com/">upstart</a>, and might prove to be
10799 a good alternative for Debian when we are able to switch to an event
10800 based boot system.  Tollef is
10801 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/580814">in the process</a> of getting
10802 systemd into Debian, and I look forward to seeing how well it work.  I
10803 like the fact that systemd handles init.d scripts with dependency
10804 information natively, allowing them to run in parallel where upstart
10805 at the moment do not.</p>
10806
10807 <p>Unfortunately do systemd have the same problem as upstart regarding
10808 platform support.  It only work on recent Linux kernels, and also need
10809 some new kernel features enabled to function properly.  This means
10810 kFreeBSD and Hurd ports of Debian will need a port or a different boot
10811 system.  Not sure how that will be handled if systemd proves to be the
10812 way forward.</p>
10813
10814 <p>In the mean time, based on the
10815 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/05/msg00122.html">input
10816 on debian-devel@</a> regarding parallel booting in Debian, I have
10817 decided to enable full parallel booting as the default in Debian as
10818 soon as possible (probably this weekend or early next week), to see if
10819 there are any remaining serious bugs in the init.d dependencies.  A
10820 new version of the sysvinit package implementing this change is
10821 already in experimental.  If all go well, Squeeze will be released
10822 with parallel booting enabled by default.</p>
10823
10824       </div>
10825       <div class="tags">
10826
10827
10828         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
10829
10830
10831       </div>
10832     </div>
10833     <div class="padding"></div>
10834
10835     <div class="entry">
10836       <div class="title">
10837         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Parallellizing_the_boot_in_Debian_Squeeze___ready_for_wider_testing.html">Parallellizing the boot in Debian Squeeze - ready for wider testing</a>
10838       </div>
10839       <div class="date">
10840          6th May 2010
10841       </div>
10842       <div class="body">
10843         <p>These days, the init.d script dependencies in Squeeze are quite
10844 complete, so complete that it is actually possible to run all the
10845 init.d scripts in parallell based on these dependencies.  If you want
10846 to test your Squeeze system, make sure
10847 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot">dependency
10848 based boot sequencing</a> is enabled, and add this line to
10849 /etc/default/rcS:</p>
10850
10851 <blockquote><pre>
10852 CONCURRENCY=makefile
10853 </pre></blockquote>
10854
10855 <p>That is it.  It will cause sysv-rc to use the startpar tool to run
10856 scripts in parallel using the dependency information stored in
10857 /etc/init.d/.depend.boot, /etc/init.d/.depend.start and
10858 /etc/init.d/.depend.stop to order the scripts.  Startpar is configured
10859 to try to start the kdm and gdm scripts as early as possible, and will
10860 start the facilities required by kdm or gdm as early as possible to
10861 make this happen.</p>
10862
10863 <p>Give it a try, and see if you like the result.  If some services
10864 fail to start properly, it is most likely because they have incomplete
10865 init.d script dependencies in their startup script (or some of their
10866 dependent scripts have incomplete dependencies).  Report bugs and get
10867 the package maintainers to fix it. :)</p>
10868
10869 <p>Running scripts in parallel could be the default in Debian when we
10870 manage to get the init.d script dependencies complete and correct.  I
10871 expect we will get there in Squeeze+1, if we get manage to test and
10872 fix the remaining issues.</p>
10873
10874 <p>If you report any problems with dependencies in init.d scripts to
10875 the BTS, please usertag the report to get it to show up at
10876 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?users=initscripts-ng-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the
10877 list of usertagged bugs related to this</a>.</p>
10878
10879       </div>
10880       <div class="tags">
10881
10882
10883         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
10884
10885
10886       </div>
10887     </div>
10888     <div class="padding"></div>
10889
10890     <div class="entry">
10891       <div class="title">
10892         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_has_switched_to_dependency_based_boot_sequencing.html">Debian has switched to dependency based boot sequencing</a>
10893       </div>
10894       <div class="date">
10895         27th July 2009
10896       </div>
10897       <div class="body">
10898         <p>Since this evening, with the upload of sysvinit version 2.87dsf-2,
10899 and the upload of insserv version 1.12.0-10 yesterday, Debian unstable
10900 have been migrated to using dependency based boot sequencing.  This
10901 conclude work me and others have been doing for the last three days.
10902 It feels great to see this finally part of the default Debian
10903 installation.  Now we just need to weed out the last few problems that
10904 are bound to show up, to get everything ready for Squeeze.</p>
10905
10906 <p>The next step is migrating /sbin/init from sysvinit to upstart, and
10907 fixing the more fundamental problem of handing the event based
10908 non-predictable kernel in the early boot.</p>
10909
10910       </div>
10911       <div class="tags">
10912
10913
10914         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
10915
10916
10917       </div>
10918     </div>
10919     <div class="padding"></div>
10920
10921     <div class="entry">
10922       <div class="title">
10923         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Taking_over_sysvinit_development.html">Taking over sysvinit development</a>
10924       </div>
10925       <div class="date">
10926         22nd July 2009
10927       </div>
10928       <div class="body">
10929         <p>After several years of frustration with the lack of activity from
10930 the existing sysvinit upstream developer, I decided a few weeks ago to
10931 take over the package and become the new upstream.  The number of
10932 patches to track for the Debian package was becoming a burden, and the
10933 lack of synchronization between the distribution made it hard to keep
10934 the package up to date.</p>
10935
10936 <p>On the new sysvinit team is the SuSe maintainer Dr. Werner Fink,
10937 and my Debian co-maintainer Kel Modderman.  About 10 days ago, I made
10938 a new upstream tarball with version number 2.87dsf (for Debian, SuSe
10939 and Fedora), based on the patches currently in use in these
10940 distributions.  We Debian maintainers plan to move to this tarball as
10941 the new upstream as soon as we find time to do the merge.  Since the
10942 new tarball was created, we agreed with Werner at SuSe to make a new
10943 upstream project at <a href="http://savannah.nongnu.org/">Savannah</a>, and continue
10944 development there.  The project is registered and currently waiting
10945 for approval by the Savannah administrators, and as soon as it is
10946 approved, we will import the old versions from svn and continue
10947 working on the future release.</p>
10948
10949 <p>It is a bit ironic that this is done now, when some of the involved
10950 distributions are moving to upstart as a syvinit replacement.</p>
10951
10952       </div>
10953       <div class="tags">
10954
10955
10956         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
10957
10958
10959       </div>
10960     </div>
10961     <div class="padding"></div>
10962
10963     <div class="entry">
10964       <div class="title">
10965         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_boots_quicker_and_quicker.html">Debian boots quicker and quicker</a>
10966       </div>
10967       <div class="date">
10968         24th June 2009
10969       </div>
10970       <div class="body">
10971         <p>I spent Monday and tuesday this week in London with a lot of the
10972 people involved in the boot system on Debian and Ubuntu, to see if we
10973 could find more ways to speed up the boot system.  This was an Ubuntu
10974 funded
10975 <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FoundationsTeam/BootPerformance/DebianUbuntuSprint">developer
10976 gathering</a>. It was quite productive.  We also discussed the future
10977 of boot systems, and ways to handle the increasing number of boot
10978 issues introduced by the Linux kernel becoming more and more
10979 asynchronous and event base.  The Ubuntu approach using udev and
10980 upstart might be a good way forward.  Time will show.</p>
10981
10982 <p>Anyway, there are a few ways at the moment to speed up the boot
10983 process in Debian.  All of these should be applied to get a quick
10984 boot:</p>
10985
10986 <ul>
10987
10988 <li>Use dash as /bin/sh.</li>
10989
10990 <li>Disable the init.d/hwclock*.sh scripts and make sure the hardware
10991    clock is in UTC.</li>
10992
10993 <li>Install and activate the insserv package to enable
10994    <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot">dependency
10995    based boot sequencing</a>, and enable concurrent booting.</li>
10996
10997 </ul>
10998
10999 These points are based on the Google summer of code work done by
11000 <a href="http://initscripts-ng.alioth.debian.org/soc2006-bootsystem/">Carlos
11001 Villegas</a>.
11002
11003 <p>Support for makefile-style concurrency during boot was uploaded to
11004 unstable yesterday.  When we tested it, we were able to cut 6 seconds
11005 from the boot sequence.  It depend on very correct dependency
11006 declaration in all init.d scripts, so I expect us to find edge cases
11007 where the dependences in some scripts are slightly wrong when we start
11008 using this.</p>
11009
11010 <p>On our IRC channel for this effort, #pkg-sysvinit, a new idea was
11011 introduced by Raphael Geissert today, one that could affect the
11012 startup speed as well.  Instead of starting some scripts concurrently
11013 from rcS.d/ and another set of scripts from rc2.d/, it would be
11014 possible to run a of them in the same process.  A quick way to test
11015 this would be to enable insserv and run 'mv /etc/rc2.d/S* /etc/rcS.d/;
11016 insserv'.  Will need to test if that work. :)</p>
11017
11018       </div>
11019       <div class="tags">
11020
11021
11022         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
11023
11024
11025       </div>
11026     </div>
11027     <div class="padding"></div>
11028
11029     <div class="entry">
11030       <div class="title">
11031         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/BSAs_p_stander_om_piratkopiering_m_ter_motstand.html">BSAs påstander om piratkopiering møter motstand</a>
11032       </div>
11033       <div class="date">
11034         17th May 2009
11035       </div>
11036       <div class="body">
11037         <p>Hvert år de siste årene har BSA, lobbyfronten til de store
11038 programvareselskapene som Microsoft og Apple, publisert en rapport der
11039 de gjetter på hvor mye piratkopiering påfører i tapte inntekter i
11040 ulike land rundt om i verden.  Resultatene er tendensiøse.  For noen
11041 dager siden kom
11042 <a href="http://global.bsa.org/globalpiracy2008/studies/globalpiracy2008.pdf">siste
11043 rapport</a>, og det er flere kritiske kommentarer publisert de siste
11044 dagene.  Et spesielt interessant kommentar fra Sverige,
11045 <a href="http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.229795/bsa-hoftade-sverigesiffror">BSA
11046 höftade Sverigesiffror</a>, oppsummeres slik:</p>
11047
11048 <blockquote>
11049 I sin senaste rapport slår BSA fast att 25 procent av all mjukvara i
11050 Sverige är piratkopierad. Det utan att ha pratat med ett enda svenskt
11051 företag. "Man bör nog kanske inte se de här siffrorna som helt
11052 exakta", säger BSAs Sverigechef John Hugosson.
11053 </blockquote>
11054
11055 <p>Mon tro om de er like metodiske når de gjetter på andelen piratkopiering i Norge?  To andre kommentarer er <a
11056 href="http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/comment/2242134/bsa-piracy-figures-shot-reality">BSA
11057 piracy figures need a shot of reality</a> og <a
11058 href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3958/125/">Does The WIPO
11059 Copyright Treaty Work?</a></p>
11060
11061 <p>Fant lenkene via <a
11062 href="http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/17/1632242">oppslag
11063 på Slashdot</a>.</p>
11064
11065       </div>
11066       <div class="tags">
11067
11068
11069         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bsa">bsa</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fildeling">fildeling</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/norsk">norsk</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern</a>.
11070
11071
11072       </div>
11073     </div>
11074     <div class="padding"></div>
11075
11076     <div class="entry">
11077       <div class="title">
11078         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/IDG_mener_linux_i_servermarkedet_vil_vokse_med_21__i_2009.html">IDG mener linux i servermarkedet vil vokse med 21% i 2009</a>
11079       </div>
11080       <div class="date">
11081          7th May 2009
11082       </div>
11083       <div class="body">
11084         <p>Kom over
11085 <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10216873-16.html">interessante
11086 tall</a> fra IDG om utviklingen av linuxservermarkedet.  Fikk meg til
11087 å tenke på antall tjenermaskiner ved Universitetet i Oslo der jeg
11088 jobber til daglig.  En rask opptelling forteller meg at vi har 490
11089 (61%) fysiske unix-tjener (mest linux men også noen solaris) og 196
11090 (25%) windowstjenere, samt 112 (14%) virtuelle unix-tjenere.  Med den
11091 bakgrunnskunnskapen kan jeg godt tro at IDG er inne på noe.</p>
11092
11093       </div>
11094       <div class="tags">
11095
11096
11097         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/norsk">norsk</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
11098
11099
11100       </div>
11101     </div>
11102     <div class="padding"></div>
11103
11104     <div class="entry">
11105       <div class="title">
11106         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Kryptert_harddisk___naturligvis.html">Kryptert harddisk - naturligvis</a>
11107       </div>
11108       <div class="date">
11109          2nd May 2009
11110       </div>
11111       <div class="body">
11112         <p><a href="http://www.dagensit.no/trender/article1658676.ece">Dagens
11113 IT melder</a> at Intel hevder at det er dyrt å miste en datamaskin,
11114 når en tar tap av arbeidstid, fortrolige dokumenter,
11115 personopplysninger og alt annet det innebærer.  Det er ingen tvil om
11116 at det er en kostbar affære å miste sin datamaskin, og det er årsaken
11117 til at jeg har kryptert harddisken på både kontormaskinen og min
11118 bærbare.  Begge inneholder personopplysninger jeg ikke ønsker skal
11119 komme på avveie, den første informasjon relatert til jobben min ved
11120 Universitetet i Oslo, og den andre relatert til blant annet
11121 foreningsarbeide.  Kryptering av diskene gjør at det er lite
11122 sannsynlig at dophoder som kan finne på å rappe maskinene får noe ut
11123 av dem.  Maskinene låses automatisk etter noen minutter uten bruk,
11124 og en reboot vil gjøre at de ber om passord før de vil starte opp.
11125 Jeg bruker Debian på begge maskinene, og installasjonssystemet der
11126 gjør det trivielt å sette opp krypterte disker.  Jeg har LVM på toppen
11127 av krypterte partisjoner, slik at alt av datapartisjoner er kryptert.
11128 Jeg anbefaler alle å kryptere diskene på sine bærbare.  Kostnaden når
11129 det er gjort slik jeg gjør det er minimale, og gevinstene er
11130 betydelige.  En bør dog passe på passordet.  Hvis det går tapt, må
11131 maskinen reinstalleres og alt er tapt.</p>
11132
11133 <p>Krypteringen vil ikke stoppe kompetente angripere som f.eks. kjøler
11134 ned minnebrikkene før maskinen rebootes med programvare for å hente ut
11135 krypteringsnøklene.  Kostnaden med å forsvare seg mot slike angripere
11136 er for min del høyere enn gevinsten.  Jeg tror oddsene for at
11137 f.eks. etteretningsorganisasjoner har glede av å titte på mine
11138 maskiner er minimale, og ulempene jeg ville oppnå ved å forsøke å
11139 gjøre det vanskeligere for angripere med kompetanse og ressurser er
11140 betydelige.</p>
11141
11142       </div>
11143       <div class="tags">
11144
11145
11146         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/norsk">norsk</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet</a>.
11147
11148
11149       </div>
11150     </div>
11151     <div class="padding"></div>
11152
11153     <div class="entry">
11154       <div class="title">
11155         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Two_projects_that_have_improved_the_quality_of_free_software_a_lot.html">Two projects that have improved the quality of free software a lot</a>
11156       </div>
11157       <div class="date">
11158          2nd May 2009
11159       </div>
11160       <div class="body">
11161         <p>There are two software projects that have had huge influence on the
11162 quality of free software, and I wanted to mention both in case someone
11163 do not yet know them.</p>
11164
11165 <p>The first one is <a href="http://valgrind.org/">valgrind</a>, a
11166 tool to detect and expose errors in the memory handling of programs.
11167 It is easy to use, all one need to do is to run 'valgrind program',
11168 and it will report any problems on stdout.  It is even better if the
11169 program include debug information.  With debug information, it is able
11170 to report the source file name and line number where the problem
11171 occurs.  It can report things like 'reading past memory block in file
11172 X line N, the memory block was allocated in file Y, line M', and
11173 'using uninitialised value in control logic'.  This tool has made it
11174 trivial to investigate reproducible crash bugs in programs, and have
11175 reduced the number of this kind of bugs in free software a lot.
11176
11177 <p>The second one is
11178 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coverity">Coverity</a> which is
11179 a source code checker.  It is able to process the source of a program
11180 and find problems in the logic without running the program.  It
11181 started out as the Stanford Checker and became well known when it was
11182 used to find bugs in the Linux kernel.  It is now a commercial tool
11183 and the company behind it is running
11184 <a href="http://www.scan.coverity.com/">a community service</a> for the
11185 free software community, where a lot of free software projects get
11186 their source checked for free.  Several thousand defects have been
11187 found and fixed so far.  It can find errors like 'lock L taken in file
11188 X line N is never released if exiting in line M', or 'the code in file
11189 Y lines O to P can never be executed'.  The projects included in the
11190 community service project have managed to get rid of a lot of
11191 reliability problems thanks to Coverity.</p>
11192
11193 <p>I believe tools like this, that are able to automatically find
11194 errors in the source, are vital to improve the quality of software and
11195 make sure we can get rid of the crashing and failing software we are
11196 surrounded by today.</p>
11197
11198       </div>
11199       <div class="tags">
11200
11201
11202         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>.
11203
11204
11205       </div>
11206     </div>
11207     <div class="padding"></div>
11208
11209     <div class="entry">
11210       <div class="title">
11211         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/No_patch_is_not_better_than_a_useless_patch.html">No patch is not better than a useless patch</a>
11212       </div>
11213       <div class="date">
11214         28th April 2009
11215       </div>
11216       <div class="body">
11217         <p>Julien Blache
11218 <a href="http://blog.technologeek.org/2009/04/12/214">claim that no
11219 patch is better than a useless patch</a>.  I completely disagree, as a
11220 patch allow one to discuss a concrete and proposed solution, and also
11221 prove that the issue at hand is important enough for someone to spent
11222 time on fixing it.  No patch do not provide any of these positive
11223 properties.</p>
11224
11225       </div>
11226       <div class="tags">
11227
11228
11229         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
11230
11231
11232       </div>
11233     </div>
11234     <div class="padding"></div>
11235
11236     <div class="entry">
11237       <div class="title">
11238         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Standardize_on_protocols_and_formats__not_vendors_and_applications.html">Standardize on protocols and formats, not vendors and applications</a>
11239       </div>
11240       <div class="date">
11241         30th March 2009
11242       </div>
11243       <div class="body">
11244         <p>Where I work at the University of Oslo, one decision stand out as a
11245 very good one to form a long lived computer infrastructure.  It is the
11246 simple one, lost by many in todays computer industry: Standardize on
11247 open network protocols and open exchange/storage formats, not applications.
11248 Applications come and go, while protocols and files tend to stay, and
11249 thus one want to make it easy to change application and vendor, while
11250 avoiding conversion costs and locking users to a specific platform or
11251 application.</p>
11252
11253 <p>This approach make it possible to replace the client applications
11254 independently of the server applications.  One can even allow users to
11255 use several different applications as long as they handle the selected
11256 protocol and format.  In the normal case, only one client application
11257 is recommended and users only get help if they choose to use this
11258 application, but those that want to deviate from the easy path are not
11259 blocked from doing so.</p>
11260
11261 <p>It also allow us to replace the server side without forcing the
11262 users to replace their applications, and thus allow us to select the
11263 best server implementation at any moment, when scale and resouce
11264 requirements change.</p>
11265
11266 <p>I strongly recommend standardizing - on open network protocols and
11267 open formats, but I would never recommend standardizing on a single
11268 application that do not use open network protocol or open formats.</p>
11269
11270       </div>
11271       <div class="tags">
11272
11273
11274         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard</a>.
11275
11276
11277       </div>
11278     </div>
11279     <div class="padding"></div>
11280
11281     <div class="entry">
11282       <div class="title">
11283         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Returning_from_Skolelinux_developer_gathering.html">Returning from Skolelinux developer gathering</a>
11284       </div>
11285       <div class="date">
11286         29th March 2009
11287       </div>
11288       <div class="body">
11289         <p>I'm sitting on the train going home from this weekends Debian
11290 Edu/Skolelinux development gathering.  I got a bit done tuning the
11291 desktop, and looked into the dynamic service location protocol
11292 implementation avahi.  It look like it could be useful for us.  Almost
11293 30 people participated, and I believe it was a great environment to
11294 get to know the Skolelinux system.  Walter Bender, involved in the
11295 development of the Sugar educational platform, presented his stuff and
11296 also helped me improve my OLPC installation.  He also showed me that
11297 his Turtle Art application can be used in standalone mode, and we
11298 agreed that I would help getting it packaged for Debian.  As a
11299 standalone application it would be great for Debian Edu.  We also
11300 tried to get the video conferencing working with two OLPCs, but that
11301 proved to be too hard for us.  The application seem to need more work
11302 before it is ready for me.  I look forward to getting home and relax
11303 now. :)</p>
11304
11305       </div>
11306       <div class="tags">
11307
11308
11309         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
11310
11311
11312       </div>
11313     </div>
11314     <div class="padding"></div>
11315
11316     <div class="entry">
11317       <div class="title">
11318         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_for_new__LDAP_schemas_replacing_RFC_2307_.html">Time for new  LDAP schemas replacing RFC 2307?</a>
11319       </div>
11320       <div class="date">
11321         29th March 2009
11322       </div>
11323       <div class="body">
11324         <p>The state of standardized LDAP schemas on Linux is far from
11325 optimal.  There is RFC 2307 documenting one way to store NIS maps in
11326 LDAP, and a modified version of this normally called RFC 2307bis, with
11327 some modifications to be compatible with Active Directory.  The RFC
11328 specification handle the content of a lot of system databases, but do
11329 not handle DNS zones and DHCP configuration.</p>
11330
11331 <p>In <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu/Skolelinux</a>,
11332 we would like to store information about users, SMB clients/hosts,
11333 filegroups, netgroups (users and hosts), DHCP and DNS configuration,
11334 and LTSP configuration in LDAP.  These objects have a lot in common,
11335 but with the current LDAP schemas it is not possible to have one
11336 object per entity.  For example, one need to have at least three LDAP
11337 objects for a given computer, one with the SMB related stuff, one with
11338 DNS information and another with DHCP information.  The schemas
11339 provided for DNS and DHCP are impossible to combine into one LDAP
11340 object.  In addition, it is impossible to implement quick queries for
11341 netgroup membership, because of the way NIS triples are implemented.
11342 It just do not scale.  I believe it is time for a few RFC
11343 specifications to cleam up this mess.</p>
11344
11345 <p>I would like to have one LDAP object representing each computer in
11346 the network, and this object can then keep the SMB (ie host key), DHCP
11347 (mac address/name) and DNS (name/IP address) settings in one place.
11348 It need to be efficently stored to make sure it scale well.</p>
11349
11350 <p>I would also like to have a quick way to map from a user or
11351 computer and to the net group this user or computer is a member.</p>
11352
11353 <p>Active Directory have done a better job than unix heads like myself
11354 in this regard, and the unix side need to catch up.  Time to start a
11355 new IETF work group?</p>
11356
11357       </div>
11358       <div class="tags">
11359
11360
11361         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.
11362
11363
11364       </div>
11365     </div>
11366     <div class="padding"></div>
11367
11368     <div class="entry">
11369       <div class="title">
11370         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Endelig_er_Debian_Lenny_gitt_ut.html">Endelig er Debian Lenny gitt ut</a>
11371       </div>
11372       <div class="date">
11373         15th February 2009
11374       </div>
11375       <div class="body">
11376         <p>Endelig er <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a>
11377 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2009/20090214">Lenny</a> gitt ut.
11378 Et langt steg videre for Debian-prosjektet, og en rekke nye
11379 programpakker blir nå tilgjengelig for de av oss som bruker den
11380 stabile utgaven av Debian.  Neste steg er nå å få
11381 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a> /
11382 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/">Debian Edu</a> ferdig
11383 oppdatert for den nye utgaven, slik at en oppdatert versjon kan
11384 slippes løs på skolene.  Takk til alle debian-utviklerne som har
11385 gjort dette mulig.  Endelig er f.eks. fungerende avhengighetsstyrt
11386 bootsekvens tilgjengelig i stabil utgave, vha pakken
11387 <tt>insserv</tt>.</p>
11388
11389       </div>
11390       <div class="tags">
11391
11392
11393         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/norsk">norsk</a>.
11394
11395
11396       </div>
11397     </div>
11398     <div class="padding"></div>
11399
11400     <div class="entry">
11401       <div class="title">
11402         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Devcamp_brought_us_closer_to_the_Lenny_based_Debian_Edu_release.html">Devcamp brought us closer to the Lenny based Debian Edu release</a>
11403       </div>
11404       <div class="date">
11405          7th December 2008
11406       </div>
11407       <div class="body">
11408         <p>This weekend we had a small developer gathering for Debian Edu in
11409 Oslo.  Most of Saturday was used for the general assemly for the
11410 member organization, but the rest of the weekend I used to tune the
11411 LTSP installation.  LTSP now work out of the box on the 10-network.
11412 Acer Aspire One proved to be a very nice thin client, with both
11413 screen, mouse and keybard in a small box.  Was working on getting the
11414 diskless workstation setup configured out of the box, but did not
11415 finish it before the weekend was up.</p>
11416
11417 <p>Did not find time to look at the 4 VGA cards in one box we got from
11418 the Brazilian group, so that will have to wait for the next
11419 development gathering.  Would love to have the Debian Edu installer
11420 automatically detect and configure a multiseat setup when it find one
11421 of these cards.</p>
11422
11423       </div>
11424       <div class="tags">
11425
11426
11427         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ltsp">ltsp</a>.
11428
11429
11430       </div>
11431     </div>
11432     <div class="padding"></div>
11433
11434     <div class="entry">
11435       <div class="title">
11436         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_sorry_state_of_multimedia_browser_plugins_in_Debian.html">The sorry state of multimedia browser plugins in Debian</a>
11437       </div>
11438       <div class="date">
11439         25th November 2008
11440       </div>
11441       <div class="body">
11442         <p>Recently I have spent some time evaluating the multimedia browser
11443 plugins available in Debian Lenny, to see which one we should use by
11444 default in Debian Edu.  We need an embedded video playing plugin with
11445 control buttons to pause or stop the video, and capable of streaming
11446 all the multimedia content available on the web.  The test results and
11447 notes are available on
11448 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/BrowserMultimedia">the
11449 Debian wiki</a>.  I was surprised how few of the plugins are able to
11450 fill this need.  My personal video player favorite, VLC, has a really
11451 bad plugin which fail on a lot of the test pages.  A lot of the MIME
11452 types I would expect to work with any free software player (like
11453 video/ogg), just do not work.  And simple formats like the
11454 audio/x-mplegurl format (m3u playlists), just isn't supported by the
11455 totem and vlc plugins.  I hope the situation will improve soon.  No
11456 wonder sites use the proprietary Adobe flash to play video.</p>
11457
11458 <p>For Lenny, we seem to end up with the mplayer plugin.  It seem to
11459 be the only one fitting our needs. :/</p>
11460
11461       </div>
11462       <div class="tags">
11463
11464
11465         Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
11466
11467
11468       </div>
11469     </div>
11470     <div class="padding"></div>
11471
11472     <p style="text-align: right;"><a href="debian.rss"><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/xml.gif" alt="RSS Feed" width="36" height="14" /></a></p>
11473     <div id="sidebar">
11474
11475
11476
11477 <h2>Archive</h2>
11478 <ul>
11479
11480 <li>2016
11481 <ul>
11482
11483 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2016/01/">January (3)</a></li>
11484
11485 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2016/02/">February (2)</a></li>
11486
11487 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2016/03/">March (3)</a></li>
11488
11489 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2016/04/">April (8)</a></li>
11490
11491 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2016/05/">May (8)</a></li>
11492
11493 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2016/06/">June (2)</a></li>
11494
11495 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2016/07/">July (2)</a></li>
11496
11497 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2016/08/">August (5)</a></li>
11498
11499 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2016/09/">September (2)</a></li>
11500
11501 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2016/10/">October (3)</a></li>
11502
11503 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2016/11/">November (4)</a></li>
11504
11505 </ul></li>
11506
11507 <li>2015
11508 <ul>
11509
11510 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/01/">January (7)</a></li>
11511
11512 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/02/">February (6)</a></li>
11513
11514 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/03/">March (1)</a></li>
11515
11516 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/04/">April (4)</a></li>
11517
11518 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/05/">May (3)</a></li>
11519
11520 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/06/">June (4)</a></li>
11521
11522 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/07/">July (6)</a></li>
11523
11524 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/08/">August (2)</a></li>
11525
11526 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/09/">September (2)</a></li>
11527
11528 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/10/">October (9)</a></li>
11529
11530 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/11/">November (6)</a></li>
11531
11532 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2015/12/">December (3)</a></li>
11533
11534 </ul></li>
11535
11536 <li>2014
11537 <ul>
11538
11539 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/01/">January (2)</a></li>
11540
11541 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/02/">February (3)</a></li>
11542
11543 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/03/">March (8)</a></li>
11544
11545 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/04/">April (7)</a></li>
11546
11547 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/05/">May (1)</a></li>
11548
11549 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/06/">June (2)</a></li>
11550
11551 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/07/">July (2)</a></li>
11552
11553 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/08/">August (2)</a></li>
11554
11555 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/09/">September (5)</a></li>
11556
11557 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/10/">October (6)</a></li>
11558
11559 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/11/">November (3)</a></li>
11560
11561 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/12/">December (5)</a></li>
11562
11563 </ul></li>
11564
11565 <li>2013
11566 <ul>
11567
11568 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/01/">January (11)</a></li>
11569
11570 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/02/">February (9)</a></li>
11571
11572 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/03/">March (9)</a></li>
11573
11574 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/04/">April (6)</a></li>
11575
11576 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/05/">May (9)</a></li>
11577
11578 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/06/">June (10)</a></li>
11579
11580 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/07/">July (7)</a></li>
11581
11582 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/08/">August (3)</a></li>
11583
11584 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/09/">September (5)</a></li>
11585
11586 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/10/">October (7)</a></li>
11587
11588 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/11/">November (9)</a></li>
11589
11590 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/12/">December (3)</a></li>
11591
11592 </ul></li>
11593
11594 <li>2012
11595 <ul>
11596
11597 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/01/">January (7)</a></li>
11598
11599 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/02/">February (10)</a></li>
11600
11601 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/03/">March (17)</a></li>
11602
11603 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/04/">April (12)</a></li>
11604
11605 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/05/">May (12)</a></li>
11606
11607 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/06/">June (20)</a></li>
11608
11609 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/07/">July (17)</a></li>
11610
11611 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/08/">August (6)</a></li>
11612
11613 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/09/">September (9)</a></li>
11614
11615 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/10/">October (17)</a></li>
11616
11617 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/11/">November (10)</a></li>
11618
11619 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/12/">December (7)</a></li>
11620
11621 </ul></li>
11622
11623 <li>2011
11624 <ul>
11625
11626 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/01/">January (16)</a></li>
11627
11628 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/02/">February (6)</a></li>
11629
11630 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/03/">March (6)</a></li>
11631
11632 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/04/">April (7)</a></li>
11633
11634 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/05/">May (3)</a></li>
11635
11636 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/06/">June (2)</a></li>
11637
11638 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/07/">July (7)</a></li>
11639
11640 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/08/">August (6)</a></li>
11641
11642 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/09/">September (4)</a></li>
11643
11644 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/10/">October (2)</a></li>
11645
11646 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/11/">November (3)</a></li>
11647
11648 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/12/">December (1)</a></li>
11649
11650 </ul></li>
11651
11652 <li>2010
11653 <ul>
11654
11655 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/01/">January (2)</a></li>
11656
11657 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/02/">February (1)</a></li>
11658
11659 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/03/">March (3)</a></li>
11660
11661 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/04/">April (3)</a></li>
11662
11663 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/05/">May (9)</a></li>
11664
11665 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/06/">June (14)</a></li>
11666
11667 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/07/">July (12)</a></li>
11668
11669 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/08/">August (13)</a></li>
11670
11671 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/09/">September (7)</a></li>
11672
11673 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/10/">October (9)</a></li>
11674
11675 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/11/">November (13)</a></li>
11676
11677 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/12/">December (12)</a></li>
11678
11679 </ul></li>
11680
11681 <li>2009
11682 <ul>
11683
11684 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/01/">January (8)</a></li>
11685
11686 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/02/">February (8)</a></li>
11687
11688 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/03/">March (12)</a></li>
11689
11690 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/04/">April (10)</a></li>
11691
11692 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/05/">May (9)</a></li>
11693
11694 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/06/">June (3)</a></li>
11695
11696 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/07/">July (4)</a></li>
11697
11698 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/08/">August (3)</a></li>
11699
11700 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/09/">September (1)</a></li>
11701
11702 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/10/">October (2)</a></li>
11703
11704 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/11/">November (3)</a></li>
11705
11706 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/12/">December (3)</a></li>
11707
11708 </ul></li>
11709
11710 <li>2008
11711 <ul>
11712
11713 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2008/11/">November (5)</a></li>
11714
11715 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2008/12/">December (7)</a></li>
11716
11717 </ul></li>
11718
11719 </ul>
11720
11721
11722
11723 <h2>Tags</h2>
11724 <ul>
11725
11726  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/3d-printer">3d-printer (13)</a></li>
11727
11728  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/amiga">amiga (1)</a></li>
11729
11730  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/aros">aros (1)</a></li>
11731
11732  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bankid">bankid (4)</a></li>
11733
11734  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin (9)</a></li>
11735
11736  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem (16)</a></li>
11737
11738  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bsa">bsa (2)</a></li>
11739
11740  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/chrpath">chrpath (2)</a></li>
11741
11742  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian (139)</a></li>
11743
11744  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu (157)</a></li>
11745
11746  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/digistan">digistan (10)</a></li>
11747
11748  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/dld">dld (16)</a></li>
11749
11750  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook (23)</a></li>
11751
11752  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/drivstoffpriser">drivstoffpriser (4)</a></li>
11753
11754  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english (332)</a></li>
11755
11756  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami (23)</a></li>
11757
11758  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fildeling">fildeling (12)</a></li>
11759
11760  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture (28)</a></li>
11761
11762  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freedombox">freedombox (9)</a></li>
11763
11764  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/frikanalen">frikanalen (18)</a></li>
11765
11766  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/h264">h264 (20)</a></li>
11767
11768  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju (42)</a></li>
11769
11770  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram (13)</a></li>
11771
11772  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/kart">kart (19)</a></li>
11773
11774  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap (9)</a></li>
11775
11776  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/lenker">lenker (8)</a></li>
11777
11778  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/lsdvd">lsdvd (2)</a></li>
11779
11780  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ltsp">ltsp (1)</a></li>
11781
11782  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/mesh network">mesh network (8)</a></li>
11783
11784  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia (39)</a></li>
11785
11786  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nice free software">nice free software (8)</a></li>
11787
11788  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/norsk">norsk (280)</a></li>
11789
11790  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug (182)</a></li>
11791
11792  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/offentlig innsyn">offentlig innsyn (26)</a></li>
11793
11794  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/open311">open311 (2)</a></li>
11795
11796  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett (61)</a></li>
11797
11798  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern (95)</a></li>
11799
11800  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/raid">raid (1)</a></li>
11801
11802  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/reactos">reactos (1)</a></li>
11803
11804  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/reprap">reprap (11)</a></li>
11805
11806  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/rfid">rfid (3)</a></li>
11807
11808  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot (10)</a></li>
11809
11810  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/rss">rss (1)</a></li>
11811
11812  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ruter">ruter (4)</a></li>
11813
11814  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/scraperwiki">scraperwiki (2)</a></li>
11815
11816  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet (52)</a></li>
11817
11818  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sitesummary">sitesummary (4)</a></li>
11819
11820  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/skepsis">skepsis (5)</a></li>
11821
11822  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard (49)</a></li>
11823
11824  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/stavekontroll">stavekontroll (4)</a></li>
11825
11826  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/stortinget">stortinget (10)</a></li>
11827
11828  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance (43)</a></li>
11829
11830  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sysadmin">sysadmin (2)</a></li>
11831
11832  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/usenix">usenix (2)</a></li>
11833
11834  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/valg">valg (8)</a></li>
11835
11836  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video (59)</a></li>
11837
11838  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/vitenskap">vitenskap (4)</a></li>
11839
11840  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web (38)</a></li>
11841
11842 </ul>
11843
11844
11845     </div>
11846     <p style="text-align: right">
11847  Created by <a href="http://steve.org.uk/Software/chronicle">Chronicle v4.6</a>
11848 </p>
11849
11850   </body>
11851 </html>