blog/archive/2013/01/01.rss

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   4                 <title>Petter Reinholdtsen - Entries from January 2013</title>
   5                 <description>Entries from January 2013</description>
   6                 <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/</link>
   7
   8
   9         <item>
  10                 <title>Lets make hardware dongles easier to use in Debian</title>
  11                 <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html</link>
  12                 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html</guid>
  13                 <pubDate>Wed, 9 Jan 2013 15:40:00 +0100</pubDate>
  14                 <description>&lt;p&gt;One thing that annoys me with Debian and Linux distributions in
  15 general, is that there is a great package management system with the
  16 ability to automatically install software packages by downloading them
  17 from the distribution mirrors, but no way to get it to automatically
  18 install the packages I need to use the hardware I plug into my
  19 machine.  Even if the package to use it is easily available from the
  20 Linux distribution.  When I plug in a LEGO Mindstorms NXT, it could
  21 suggest to automatically install the python-nxt, nbc and t2n packages
  22 I need to talk to it.  When I plug in a Yubikey, it could propose the
  23 yubikey-personalization package.  The information required to do this
  24 is available, but no-one have pulled all the pieces together.&lt;/p&gt;
  25
  26 &lt;p&gt;Some years ago, I proposed to
  27 &lt;a href=&quot;http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/05/msg01206.html&quot;&gt;use
  28 the discover subsystem to implement this&lt;/a&gt;.  The idea is fairly
  29 simple:
  30
  31 &lt;ul&gt;
  32
  33 &lt;li&gt;Add a desktop entry in /usr/share/autostart/ pointing to a program
  34   starting when a user log in.&lt;/li&gt;
  35
  36 &lt;li&gt;Set this program up to listen for kernel events emitted when new
  37   hardware is inserted into the computer.&lt;/li&gt;
  38
  39 &lt;li&gt;When new hardware is inserted, look up the hardware ID in a
  40   database mapping to packages, and take note of any non-installed
  41   packages.&lt;/li&gt;
  42
  43 &lt;li&gt;Show a message to the user proposing to install the discovered
  44   package, and make it easy to install it.&lt;/li&gt;
  45
  46 &lt;/ul&gt;
  47
  48 &lt;p&gt;I am not sure what the best way to implement this is, but my
  49 initial idea was to use dbus events to discover new hardware, the
  50 discover database to find packages and
  51 &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.packagekit.org/&quot;&gt;PackageKit&lt;/a&gt; to install
  52 packages.&lt;/p&gt;
  53
  54 &lt;p&gt;Yesterday, I found time to try to implement this idea, and the
  55 draft package is now checked into
  56 &lt;a href=&quot;http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/&quot;&gt;the
  57 Debian Edu subversion repository&lt;/a&gt;.  In the process, I updated the
  58 &lt;a href=&quot;http://packages.qa.debian.org/d/discover-data.html&quot;&gt;discover-data&lt;/a&gt;
  59 package to map the USB ids of LEGO Mindstorms and Yubikey devices to
  60 the relevant packages in Debian, and uploaded a new version
  61 2.2013.01.09 to unstable.  I also discovered that the current
  62 &lt;a href=&quot;http://packages.qa.debian.org/d/discover.html&quot;&gt;discover&lt;/a&gt;
  63 package in Debian no longer discovered any USB devices, because
  64 /proc/bus/usb/devices is no longer present.  I ported it to use
  65 libusb as a fall back option to get it working.  The fixed package
  66 version 2.1.2-6 is now in experimental (didn&#39;t upload it to unstable
  67 because of the freeze).&lt;/p&gt;
  68
  69 &lt;p&gt;With this prototype in place, I can insert my Yubikey, and get this
  70 desktop notification to show up (only once, the first time it is
  71 inserted):&lt;/p&gt;
  72
  73 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-09-hw-autoinstall.png&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  74
  75 &lt;p&gt;For this prototype to be really useful, some way to automatically
  76 install the proposed packages by pressing the &quot;Please install
  77 program(s)&quot; button should to be implemented.&lt;/p&gt;
  78
  79 &lt;p&gt;If this idea seem useful to you, and you want to help make it
  80 happen, please help me update the discover-data database with mappings
  81 from hardware to Debian packages.  Check if &#39;discover-pkginstall -l&#39;
  82 list the package you would like to have installed when a given
  83 hardware device is inserted into your computer, and report bugs using
  84 reportbug if it isn&#39;t.  Or, if you know of a better way to provide
  85 such mapping, please let me know.&lt;/p&gt;
  86
  87 &lt;p&gt;This prototype need more work, and there are several questions that
  88 should be considered before it is ready for production use.  Is dbus
  89 the correct way to detect new hardware?  At the moment I look for HAL
  90 dbus events on the system bus, because that is the events I could see
  91 on my Debian Squeeze KDE desktop.  Are there better events to use?
  92 How should the user be notified?  Is the desktop notification
  93 mechanism the best option, or should the background daemon raise a
  94 popup instead?  How should packages be installed?  When should they
  95 not be installed?&lt;/p&gt;
  96
  97 &lt;p&gt;If you want to help getting such feature implemented in Debian,
  98 please send me an email. :)&lt;/p&gt;
  99 </description>
 100         </item>
 101
 102         <item>
 103                 <title>New IRC channel for LEGO designers using Debian</title>
 104                 <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_IRC_channel_for_LEGO_designers_using_Debian.html</link>
 105                 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_IRC_channel_for_LEGO_designers_using_Debian.html</guid>
 106                 <pubDate>Wed, 2 Jan 2013 15:40:00 +0100</pubDate>
 107                 <description>&lt;p&gt;During Christmas, I have worked a bit on the Debian support for
 108 &lt;a href=&quot;http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspx&quot;&gt;LEGO Mindstorm
 109 NXT&lt;/a&gt;.  My son and I have played a bit with my NXT set, and I
 110 discovered I had to build all the tools myself because none were
 111 already in Debian Squeeze.  If Debian support for LEGO is something
 112 you care about, please join me on the IRC channel
 113 &lt;a href=&quot;irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-lego&quot;&gt;#debian-lego&lt;/a&gt; (server
 114 irc.debian.org).  There is a lot that could be done to improve the
 115 Debian support for LEGO designers.  For example both CAD software
 116 and Mindstorm compilers are missing. :)&lt;/p&gt;
 117
 118 &lt;p&gt;Update 2012-01-03: A
 119 &lt;a href=&quot;http://wiki.debian.org/LegoDesigners&quot;&gt;project page&lt;/a&gt;
 120 including links to Lego related packages is now available.&lt;/p&gt;
 121 </description>
 122         </item>
 123
 124         <item>
 125                 <title>Lenker for 2013-01-01</title>
 126                 <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lenker_for_2013_01_01.html</link>
 127                 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lenker_for_2013_01_01.html</guid>
 128                 <pubDate>Tue, 1 Jan 2013 09:20:00 +0100</pubDate>
 129                 <description>&lt;p&gt;Her er noen lenker til tekster jeg har satt pris på å lese den
 130 siste måneden.&lt;/p&gt;
 131
 132 &lt;ul&gt;
 133
 134 &lt;li&gt;2012-12-07
 135   &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.idg.no/computerworld/article262047.ece&quot;&gt;Myter og
 136   FUD om fri programvare&lt;/a&gt; av min venn Christer Gundersen som
 137   kommenterer noen av de påstandene som er spredt via Computerworld
 138   Norge de siste månedene.&lt;/li&gt;
 139
 140 &lt;li&gt;BankID er et opplegg der utsteder (dvs. banken eller dens
 141   leverandør) sitter på alt som trengs for å bruke BankID, men har
 142   lovet å ikke bruke den unntatt på oppdrag fra deg.  Det er greit nok
 143   for banktjenester, der banken allerede har full kontroll over
 144   resultatet, men problematisk når det gjelder tilgang til
 145   helseopplysninger og avtaleinngåelse med andre enn banken.  Jeg
 146   håper protestene brer om seg.
 147
 148   &lt;ul&gt;
 149
 150   &lt;li&gt;2012-12-11 &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/debatt/BankID-blottlegger-helseopplysninger-7067148.html&quot;&gt;BankID
 151     blottlegger helseopplysninger&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
 152
 153   &lt;li&gt;2012-12-07 &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.9695027&quot;&gt;-
 154     Helseopplysningene ikke sikre med Bank-ID&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
 155
 156   &lt;li&gt;2012-12-07
 157     &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.bankid.no/Presse-og-nyheter/Nyhetsarkiv/2012/Papeker-alvorlige-men-kjente-utfordringer/&quot;&gt;Påpeker
 158     alvorlige, men kjente utfordringer&lt;/a&gt; er den offisielle
 159     holdningen til de som lager BankID.&lt;/li&gt;
 160
 161   &lt;li&gt;2012-12-08
 162     &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tnp.no/norway/panorama/3419-ntnu-researcher-warns-against-security-of-bank-id-password&quot;&gt;NTNU
 163       Researcher Warns against Security of Bank ID Password&lt;/a&gt;
 164
 165   &lt;/ul&gt;
 166
 167 &lt;li&gt;2012-12-11 &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/Norske-elever-er-darligst-i-Europa-pa-algebra-7066752.html&quot;&gt;Norske elever er dårligst i Europa på algebra&lt;/a&gt;
 168
 169 &lt;li&gt;2012-12-11
 170   &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/debatt/Realfagsdodaren-7067173.html&quot;&gt;Realfagsdødaren&lt;/a&gt;
 171
 172 &lt;li&gt;2012-12-21
 173   &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.bt.no/nyheter/innenriks/112/--Forventningene-er-for-hoye-2816450.html&quot;&gt;-
 174   Noen må bli skuffet&lt;/a&gt; - Politiet i Bergen forteller hvor lavt de
 175   prioriterer hverdagskriminalitet.&lt;/li&gt;
 176
 177 &lt;li&gt;2012-05-03
 178   &lt;a href=&quot;http://e24.no/jobb/kripos-ansatt-doemt-for-snoking-for-venn/20208585&quot;&gt;
 179   Kripos-ansatt dømt for snoking for venn&lt;/A&gt; - viser hvor svak
 180   reaksjonen blir når politiet misbruker innsamlet informasjon.  En
 181   forvarsel på konsekvensene av nasjonal brev- og besøkskontroll -
 182   ofte kalt Datalagringsdirektivet.&lt;/li&gt;
 183
 184 &lt;li&gt;2012-12-14
 185   &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dagbladet.no/2012/12/14/kultur/debatt/kronikk/jul/ensomhet/24838541/&quot;&gt;Å
 186   smøre en forskjell&lt;/a&gt; - om ensomhet og jul.&lt;/li&gt;
 187
 188 &lt;li&gt;2012-12-18
 189   &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kronikker/n-krise-av-gangen_-takk-7072452.html&quot;&gt;Én
 190   krise av gangen, takk!&lt;/a&gt;
 191
 192
 193 &lt;li&gt;2012-12-17
 194   &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/NAV-Et-mangehodet-monster--7072165.html&quot;&gt;NAV:
 195   Et mangehodet monster&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
 196
 197 &lt;li&gt;2011-01-12
 198   &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dagbladet.no/2011/01/12/kultur/debatt/kronikk/personvern/15027203/&quot;&gt;Pasienter
 199   uten vern&lt;/a&gt; - forteller litt om hvordan Norsk Pasientregister og
 200   andre helseregister raderer bort pasienters privatsfære.&lt;/li&gt;
 201
 202
 203 &lt;li&gt;2012-12-19
 204   &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/debatt/Hvorfor-er-barnefamilier-fattige-7073951.html&quot;&gt;Hvorfor
 205   er barnefamilier fattige?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
 206
 207 &lt;li&gt;2012-12-25
 208   &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/spaltister/Den-skjulte-minoriteten--konservative-kristne-i-Norge-7075518.html&quot;&gt;Den
 209   skjulte minoriteten – konservative kristne i Norge&lt;/a&gt; - kronikk av
 210   Bjørn Stærk fra aftenposten&lt;/li&gt;
 211
 212 &lt;li&gt;2009-05-04
 213   &lt;a href=&quot;http://deltemeninger.no/-/bulletin/show/303429_folkebiblioteket-2-0?ref=checkpoint&quot;&gt;Folkebiblioteket
 214   2.0&lt;/a&gt; - Min venn Sturle om opphavsrett og Internett, i debatt med
 215   Olav Torvund.&lt;/li&gt;
 216
 217 &lt;/ul&gt;
 218
 219 &lt;p&gt;Og et godt nytt år til dere alle!&lt;/p&gt;
 220 </description>
 221         </item>
 222
 223         </channel>
 224 </rss>