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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/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>
  26       </div>
  27       <div class="date">
  28         11th June 2013
  29       </div>
  30       <div class="body">
  31         <p>When installing RedHat, Fedora, Debian and Ubuntu on some machines,
  32 the screen just turn black when Linux boot, either during installation
  33 or on first boot from the hard disk.  I've seen it once in a while the
  34 last few years, but only recently understood the cause.  I've seen it
  35 on HP laptops, and on my latest acquaintance the Packard Bell laptop.
  36 The reason seem to be in the wiring of some laptops.  The system to
  37 control the screen background light is inverted, so when Linux try to
  38 turn the brightness fully on, it end up turning it off instead.  I do
  39 not know which Linux drivers are affected, but this post is about the
  40 i915 driver used by the
  41 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/packard_bell_easynote_lv">Packard Bell
  42 EasyNote LV</a>, Thinkpad X40 and many other laptops.</p>
  43
  44 <p>The problem can be worked around two ways.  Either by adding
  45 i915.invert_brightness=1 as a kernel option, or by adding a file in
  46 /etc/modprobe.d/ to tell modprobe to add the invert_brightness=1
  47 option when it load the i915 kernel module.  On Debian and Ubuntu, it
  48 can be done by running these commands as root:</p>
  49
  50 <pre>
  51 echo options i915 invert_brightness=1 | tee /etc/modprobe.d/i915.conf
  52 update-initramfs -u -k all
  53 </pre>
  54
  55 <p>Since March 2012 there is
  56 <a href="http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=4dca20efb1a9c2efefc28ad2867e5d6c3f5e1955">a
  57 mechanism in the Linux kernel</a> to tell the i915 driver which
  58 hardware have this problem, and get the driver to invert the
  59 brightness setting automatically.  To use it, one need to add a row in
  60 <a href="http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c">the
  61 intel_quirks array</a> in the driver source
  62 <tt>drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c</tt> (look for "<tt>static
  63 struct intel_quirk intel_quirks</tt>"), specifying the PCI device
  64 number (vendor number 8086 is assumed) and subdevice vendor and device
  65 number.</p>
  66
  67 <p>My Packard Bell EasyNote LV got this output from <tt>lspci
  68 -vvnn</tt> for the video card in question:</p>
  69
  70 <p><pre>
  71 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation \
  72     3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller [8086:0156] \
  73     (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
  74  Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:0688]
  75  Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- \
  76     ParErr- Stepping- SE RR- FastB2B- DisINTx+
  77  Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- \
  78     <TAbort- <MAbort->SERR- <PERR- INTx-
  79  Latency: 0
  80  Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 42
  81  Region 0: Memory at c2000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4M]
  82  Region 2: Memory at b0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
  83  Region 4: I/O ports at 4000 [size=64]
  84  Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled]
  85  Capabilities: <access denied>
  86  Kernel driver in use: i915
  87 </pre></p>
  88
  89 <p>The resulting intel_quirks entry would then look like this:</p>
  90
  91 <p><pre>
  92 struct intel_quirk intel_quirks[] = {
  93        ...
  94         /* Packard Bell EasyNote LV11HC needs invert brightness quirk */
  95         { 0x0156, 0x1025, 0x0688, quirk_invert_brightness },
  96        ...
  97 }
  98 </pre></p>
  99
 100 <p>According to the kernel module instructions (as seen using
 101 <tt>modinfo i915</tt>), information about hardware needing the
 102 invert_brightness flag should be sent to the
 103 <a href="http://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/dri-devel">dri-devel
 104 (at) lists.freedesktop.org</a> mailing list to reach the kernel
 105 developers.  But my email about the laptop sent 2013-06-03 have not
 106 yet shown up in
 107 <a href="http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/dri-devel/2013-June/thread.html">the
 108 web archive for the mailing list</a>, so I suspect they do not accept
 109 emails from non-subscribers.  Because of this, I sent my patch also to
 110 the Debian bug tracking system instead as
 111 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/710938">BTS report #710938</a>, to make
 112 sure the patch is not lost.</p>
 113
 114 <p>Unfortunately, it is not enough to fix the kernel to get Laptops
 115 with this problem working properly with Linux.  If you use Gnome, your
 116 worries should be over at this point.  But if you use KDE, there is
 117 something in KDE ignoring the invert_brightness setting and turning on
 118 the screen during login.  I've reported it to Debian as
 119 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/711237">BTS report #711237</a>, and
 120 have no idea yet how to figure out exactly what subsystem is doing
 121 this.  Perhaps you can help?  Perhaps you know what the Gnome
 122 developers did to handle this, and this can give a clue to the KDE
 123 developers?  Or you know where in KDE the screen brightness is changed
 124 during login?  If so, please update the BTS report (or get in touch if
 125 you do not know how to update BTS).</p>
 126
 127       </div>
 128       <div class="tags">
 129
 130
 131         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>.
 132
 133
 134       </div>
 135     </div>
 136     <div class="padding"></div>
 137
 138     <div class="entry">
 139       <div class="title">
 140         <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>
 141       </div>
 142       <div class="date">
 143         27th May 2013
 144       </div>
 145       <div class="body">
 146         <p>Two days ago, I asked
 147 <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
 148 I could install Linux on a Packard Bell EasyNote LV computer
 149 preinstalled with Windows 8</a>.  I found a solution, but am horrified
 150 with the obstacles put in the way of Linux users on a laptop with UEFI
 151 and Windows 8.</p>
 152
 153 <p>I never found out if the cause of my problems were the use of UEFI
 154 secure booting or fast boot.  I suspect fast boot was the problem,
 155 causing the firmware to boot directly from HD without considering any
 156 key presses and alternative devices, but do not know UEFI settings
 157 enough to tell.</p>
 158
 159 <p>There is no way to install Linux on the machine in question without
 160 opening the box and disconnecting the hard drive!  This is as far as I
 161 can tell, the only way to get access to the firmware setup menu
 162 without accepting the Windows 8 license agreement.  I am told (and
 163 found description on how to) that it is possible to configure the
 164 firmware setup once booted into Windows 8.  But as I believe the terms
 165 of that agreement are completely unacceptable, accepting the license
 166 was never an alternative.  I do not enter agreements I do not intend
 167 to follow.</p>
 168
 169 <p>I feared I had to return the laptops and ask for a refund, and
 170 waste many hours on this, but luckily there was a way to get it to
 171 work.  But I would not recommend it to anyone planning to run Linux on
 172 it, and I have become sceptical to Windows 8 certified laptops.  Is
 173 this the way Linux will be forced out of the market place, by making
 174 it close to impossible for "normal" users to install Linux without
 175 accepting the Microsoft Windows license terms?  Or at least not
 176 without risking to loose the warranty?</p>
 177
 178 <p>I've updated the
 179 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/packard_bell_easynote_lv">Linux Laptop
 180 wiki page for Packard Bell EasyNote LV</a>, to ensure the next person
 181 do not have to struggle as much as I did to get Linux into the
 182 machine.</p>
 183
 184 <p>Thanks to Bob Rosbag, Florian Weimer, Philipp Kern, Ben Hutching,
 185 Michael Tokarev and others for feedback and ideas.</p>
 186
 187       </div>
 188       <div class="tags">
 189
 190
 191         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>.
 192
 193
 194       </div>
 195     </div>
 196     <div class="padding"></div>
 197
 198     <div class="entry">
 199       <div class="title">
 200         <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>
 201       </div>
 202       <div class="date">
 203         25th May 2013
 204       </div>
 205       <div class="body">
 206         <p>I've run into quite a problem the last few days.  I bought three
 207 new laptops for my parents and a few others.  I bought Packard Bell
 208 Easynote LV to run Kubuntu on and use as their home computer.  But I
 209 am completely unable to figure out how to install Linux on it.  The
 210 computer is preinstalled with Windows 8, and I suspect it uses UEFI
 211 instead of a BIOS to boot.</p>
 212
 213 <p>The problem is that I am unable to get it to PXE boot, and unable
 214 to get it to boot the Linux installer from my USB stick.  I have yet
 215 to try the DVD install, and still hope it will work.  when I turn on
 216 the computer, there is no information on what buttons to press to get
 217 the normal boot menu.  I expect to get some boot menu to select PXE or
 218 USB stick booting.  When booting, it first ask for the language to
 219 use, then for some regional settings, and finally if I will accept the
 220 Windows 8 terms of use.  As these terms are completely unacceptable to
 221 me, I have no other choice but to turn off the computer and try again
 222 to get it to boot the Linux installer.</p>
 223
 224 <p>I have gathered my findings so far on a Linlap page about the
 225 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/packard_bell_easynote_lv">Packard Bell
 226 EasyNote LV</a> model.  If you have any idea how to get Linux
 227 installed on this machine, please get in touch or update that wiki
 228 page.  If I can't find a way to install Linux, I will have to return
 229 the laptop to the seller and find another machine for my parents.</p>
 230
 231 <p>I wonder, is this the way Linux will be forced out of the market
 232 using UEFI and "secure boot" by making it impossible to install Linux
 233 on new Laptops?</p>
 234
 235       </div>
 236       <div class="tags">
 237
 238
 239         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>.
 240
 241
 242       </div>
 243     </div>
 244     <div class="padding"></div>
 245
 246     <div class="entry">
 247       <div class="title">
 248         <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>
 249       </div>
 250       <div class="date">
 251         17th May 2013
 252       </div>
 253       <div class="body">
 254         <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> is
 255 an operating system based on Debian intended for use in schools.  It
 256 contain a turn-key solution for the computer network provided to
 257 pupils in the primary schools.  It provide both the central server,
 258 network boot servers and desktop environments with heaps of
 259 educational software.  The project was founded almost 12 years ago,
 260 2001-07-02.  If you want to support the project, which is in need for
 261 cash to fund developer gatherings and other project related activity,
 262 <a href="http://www.linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">please
 263 donate some money</a>.
 264
 265 <p>A topic that come up again and again on the Debian Edu mailing
 266 lists and elsewhere, is the question on how to transform a Debian or
 267 Ubuntu installation into a Debian Edu installation.  It isn't very
 268 hard, and last week I wrote a script to replicate the steps done by
 269 the Debian Edu installer.</p>
 270
 271 <p>The script,
 272 <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/>
 273 in the debian-edu-config package, will go through these six steps and
 274 transform an existing Debian Wheezy or Ubuntu (untested) installation
 275 into a Debian Edu Workstation:</p>
 276
 277 <ol>
 278
 279 <li>Add skolelinux related APT sources.</li>
 280 <li>Create /etc/debian-edu/config with the wanted configuration.</li>
 281 <li>Install debian-edu-install to load preseeding values and pull in
 282     our configuration.</li>
 283 <li>Preseed debconf database with profile setup in
 284     /etc/debian-edu/config, and run tasksel to install packages
 285     according to the profile specified in the config above,
 286     overriding some of the Debian automation machinery.</li>
 287 <li>Run debian-edu-cfengine-D installation to configure everything
 288     that could not be done using preseeding.</li>
 289 <li>Ask for a reboot to enable all the configuration changes.</li>
 290
 291 </ol>
 292
 293 <p>There are some steps in the Debian Edu installation that can not be
 294 replicated like this.  Disk partitioning and LVM setup, for example.
 295 So this script just assume there is enough disk space to install all
 296 the needed packages.</p>
 297
 298 <p>The script was created to help a Debian Edu student working on
 299 setting up <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org">Raspberry Pi</a> as a
 300 Debian Edu client, and using it he can take the existing
 301 <a href="http://www.raspbian.org/FrontPage‎">Raspbian</a> installation and
 302 transform it into a fully functioning Debian Edu Workstation (or
 303 Roaming Workstation, or whatever :).</p>
 304
 305 <p>The default setting in the script is to create a KDE Workstation.
 306 If a LXDE based Roaming workstation is wanted instead, modify the
 307 PROFILE and DESKTOP values at the top to look like this instead:</p>
 308
 309 <p><pre>
 310 PROFILE="Roaming-Workstation"
 311 DESKTOP="lxde"
 312 </pre></p>
 313
 314 <p>The script could even become useful to set up Debian Edu servers in
 315 the cloud, by starting with a virtual Debian installation at some
 316 virtual hosting service and setting up all the services on first
 317 boot.</p>
 318
 319       </div>
 320       <div class="tags">
 321
 322
 323         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>.
 324
 325
 326       </div>
 327     </div>
 328     <div class="padding"></div>
 329
 330     <div class="entry">
 331       <div class="title">
 332         <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>
 333       </div>
 334       <div class="date">
 335         11th May 2013
 336       </div>
 337       <div class="body">
 338         <P>In January,
 339 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_IRC_channel_for_LEGO_designers_using_Debian.html">I
 340 announced a</a> new <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-lego">IRC
 341 channel #debian-lego</a>, for those of us in the Debian and Linux
 342 community interested in <a href="http://www.lego.com/">LEGO</a>, the
 343 marvellous construction system from Denmark.  We also created
 344 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LegoDesigners">a wiki page</a> to have
 345 a place to take notes and write down our plans and hopes.  And several
 346 people showed up to help.  I was very happy to see the effect of my
 347 call.  Since the small start, we have a debtags tag
 348 <a href="http://debtags.debian.net/search/bytag?wl=hardware::hobby:lego">hardware::hobby:lego</a>
 349 tag for LEGO related packages, and now count 10 packages related to
 350 LEGO and <a href="http://mindstorms.lego.com/">Mindstorms</a>:</p>
 351
 352 <p><table>
 353 <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>
 354 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/leocad">leocad</a></td><td>virtual brick CAD software</td></tr>
 355 <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>
 356 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/lnpd">lnpd</a></td><td>daemon for LNP communication with BrickOS</td></tr>
 357 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/nbc">nbc</a></td><td>compiler for LEGO Mindstorms NXT bricks</td></tr>
 358 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/nqc">nqc</a></td><td>Not Quite C compiler for LEGO Mindstorms RCX</td></tr>
 359 <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>
 360 <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>
 361 <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>
 362 <tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/t2n">t2n</a></td><td>simple command-line tool for Lego NXT</td></tr>
 363 </table></p>
 364
 365 <p>Some of these are available in Wheezy, and all but one are
 366 currently available in Jessie/testing.  leocad is so far only
 367 available in experimental.</p>
 368
 369 <p>If you care about LEGO in Debian, please join us on IRC and help
 370 adding the rest of the great free software tools available on Linux
 371 for LEGO designers.</p>
 372
 373       </div>
 374       <div class="tags">
 375
 376
 377         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>.
 378
 379
 380       </div>
 381     </div>
 382     <div class="padding"></div>
 383
 384     <div class="entry">
 385       <div class="title">
 386         <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>
 387       </div>
 388       <div class="date">
 389          5th May 2013
 390       </div>
 391       <div class="body">
 392         <p>When I woke up this morning, I was very happy to see that the
 393 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2013/20130504">release announcement
 394 for Debian Wheezy</a> was waiting in my mail box.  This is a great
 395 Debian release, and I expect to move my machines at home over to it fairly
 396 soon.</p>
 397
 398 <p>The new debian release contain heaps of new stuff, and one program
 399 in particular make me very happy to see included.  The
 400 <a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/">Scratch</a> program, made famous by
 401 the <a href="http://www.code.org/">Teach kids code</a> movement, is
 402 included for the first time.  Alongside similar programs like
 403 <a href="http://edu.kde.org/kturtle/">kturtle</a> and
 404 <a href="http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Activities/Turtle_Art">turtleart</a>,
 405 it allow for visual programming where syntax errors can not happen,
 406 and a friendly programming environment for learning to control the
 407 computer.  Scratch will also be included in the next release of Debian
 408 Edu.</a>
 409
 410 <p>And now that Wheezy is wrapped up, we can wrap up the next Debian
 411 Edu/Skolelinux release too.  The
 412 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu/2013/04/msg00132.html">first
 413 alpha release</a> went out last week, and the next should soon
 414 follow.<p>
 415
 416       </div>
 417       <div class="tags">
 418
 419
 420         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>.
 421
 422
 423       </div>
 424     </div>
 425     <div class="padding"></div>
 426
 427     <div class="entry">
 428       <div class="title">
 429         <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>
 430       </div>
 431       <div class="date">
 432          3rd April 2013
 433       </div>
 434       <div class="body">
 435         <p>Today the <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/isenkram">Isenkram
 436 package</a> finally made it into the archive, after lingering in NEW
 437 for many months.  I uploaded it to the Debian experimental suite
 438 2013-01-27, and today it was accepted into the archive.</p>
 439
 440 <p>Isenkram is a system for suggesting to users what packages to
 441 install to work with a pluggable hardware device.  The suggestion pop
 442 up when the device is plugged in.  For example if a Lego Mindstorm NXT
 443 is inserted, it will suggest to install the program needed to program
 444 the NXT controller.  Give it a go, and report bugs and suggestions to
 445 BTS. :)</p>
 446
 447       </div>
 448       <div class="tags">
 449
 450
 451         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>.
 452
 453
 454       </div>
 455     </div>
 456     <div class="padding"></div>
 457
 458     <div class="entry">
 459       <div class="title">
 460         <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>
 461       </div>
 462       <div class="date">
 463          2nd February 2013
 464       </div>
 465       <div class="body">
 466         <p>My
 467 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_backport_bitcoin_qt_version_0_7_2_2_to_Debian_Squeeze.html">last
 468 bitcoin related blog post</a> mentioned that the new
 469 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/bitcoin">bitcoin package</a> for
 470 Debian was waiting in NEW.  It was accepted by the Debian ftp-masters
 471 2013-01-19, and have been available in unstable since then.  It was
 472 automatically copied to Ubuntu, and is available in their Raring
 473 version too.</p>
 474
 475 <p>But there is a strange problem with the build that block this new
 476 version from being available on the i386 and kfreebsd-i386
 477 architectures.  For some strange reason, the autobuilders in Debian
 478 for these architectures fail to run the test suite on these
 479 architectures (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/672524">BTS #672524</a>).
 480 We are so far unable to reproduce it when building it manually, and
 481 no-one have been able to propose a fix.  If you got an idea what is
 482 failing, please let us know via the BTS.</p>
 483
 484 <p>One feature that is annoying me with of the bitcoin client, because
 485 I often run low on disk space, is the fact that the client will exit
 486 if it run short on space (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/696715">BTS
 487 #696715</a>).  So make sure you have enough disk space when you run
 488 it. :)</p>
 489
 490 <p>As usual, if you use bitcoin and want to show your support of my
 491 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
 492 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
 493
 494       </div>
 495       <div class="tags">
 496
 497
 498         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>.
 499
 500
 501       </div>
 502     </div>
 503     <div class="padding"></div>
 504
 505     <div class="entry">
 506       <div class="title">
 507         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Welcome_to_the_world__Isenkram_.html">Welcome to the world, Isenkram!</a>
 508       </div>
 509       <div class="date">
 510         22nd January 2013
 511       </div>
 512       <div class="body">
 513         <p>Yesterday, I
 514 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_prototype_ready_making_hardware_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">asked
 515 for testers</a> for my prototype for making Debian better at handling
 516 pluggable hardware devices, which I
 517 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">set
 518 out to create</a> earlier this month.  Several valuable testers showed
 519 up, and caused me to really want to to open up the development to more
 520 people.  But before I did this, I want to come up with a sensible name
 521 for this project.  Today I finally decided on a new name, and I have
 522 renamed the project from hw-support-handler to this new name.  In the
 523 process, I moved the source to git and made it available as a
 524 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=collab-maint/isenkram.git">collab-maint</a>
 525 repository in Debian.  The new name?  It is <strong>Isenkram</strong>.
 526 To fetch and build the latest version of the source, use</p>
 527
 528 <pre>
 529 git clone http://anonscm.debian.org/git/collab-maint/isenkram.git
 530 cd isenkram && git-buildpackage -us -uc
 531 </pre>
 532
 533 <p>I have not yet adjusted all files to use the new name yet.  If you
 534 want to hack on the source or improve the package, please go ahead.
 535 But please talk to me first on IRC or via email before you do major
 536 changes, to make sure we do not step on each others toes. :)</p>
 537
 538 <p>If you wonder what 'isenkram' is, it is a Norwegian word for iron
 539 stuff, typically meaning tools, nails, screws, etc.  Typical hardware
 540 stuff, in other words.  I've been told it is the Norwegian variant of
 541 the German word eisenkram, for those that are familiar with that
 542 word.</p>
 543
 544 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-26</strong>: Added -us -us to build
 545 instructions, to avoid confusing people with an error from the signing
 546 process.</p>
 547
 548 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-27</strong>: Switch to HTTP URL for the git
 549 clone argument to avoid the need for authentication.</p>
 550
 551       </div>
 552       <div class="tags">
 553
 554
 555         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>.
 556
 557
 558       </div>
 559     </div>
 560     <div class="padding"></div>
 561
 562     <div class="entry">
 563       <div class="title">
 564         <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>
 565       </div>
 566       <div class="date">
 567         21st January 2013
 568       </div>
 569       <div class="body">
 570         <p>Early this month I set out to try to
 571 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">improve
 572 the Debian support for pluggable hardware devices</a>.  Now my
 573 prototype is working, and it is ready for a larger audience.  To test
 574 it, fetch the
 575 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/">source
 576 from the Debian Edu subversion repository</a>, build and install the
 577 package.  You might have to log out and in again activate the
 578 autostart script.</p>
 579
 580 <p>The design is simple:</p>
 581
 582 <ul>
 583
 584 <li>Add desktop entry in /usr/share/autostart/ causing a program
 585 hw-support-handlerd to start when the user log in.</li>
 586
 587 <li>This program listen for kernel events about new hardware (directly
 588 from the kernel like udev does), not using HAL dbus events as I
 589 initially did.</li>
 590
 591 <li>When new hardware is inserted, look up the hardware modalias in
 592 the APT database, a database
 593 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/modaliases?view=markup">available
 594 via HTTP</a> and a database available as part of the package.</li>
 595
 596 <li>If a package is mapped to the hardware in question, the package
 597 isn't installed yet and this is the first time the hardware was
 598 plugged in, show a desktop notification suggesting to install the
 599 package or packages.</li>
 600
 601 <li>If the user click on the 'install package now' button, ask
 602 aptdaemon via the PackageKit API to install the requrired package.</li>
 603
 604 <li>aptdaemon ask for root password or sudo password, and install the
 605 package while showing progress information in a window.</li>
 606
 607 </ul>
 608
 609 <p>I still need to come up with a better name for the system.  Here
 610 are some screen shots showing the prototype in action.  First the
 611 notification, then the password request, and finally the request to
 612 approve all the dependencies.  Sorry for the Norwegian Bokmål GUI.</p>
 613
 614 <p><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-1-notification.png">
 615 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-2-password.png">
 616 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-3-dependencies.png">
 617 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-4-installing.png">
 618 <br><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-21-hw-support-5-installing-details.png" width="70%"></p>
 619
 620 <p>The prototype still need to be improved with longer timeouts, but
 621 is already useful.  The database of hardware to package mappings also
 622 need more work.  It is currently compatible with the Ubuntu way of
 623 storing such information in the package control file, but could be
 624 changed to use other formats instead or in addition to the current
 625 method.  I've dropped the use of discover for this mapping, as the
 626 modalias approach is more flexible and easier to use on Linux as long
 627 as the Linux kernel expose its modalias strings directly.</p>
 628
 629 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-21 16:50</strong>: Due to popular demand,
 630 here is the command required to check out and build the source: Use
 631 '<tt>svn checkout
 632 svn://svn.debian.org/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/; cd
 633 hw-support-handler; debuild</tt>'.  If you lack debuild, install the
 634 devscripts package.</p>
 635
 636 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-23 12:00</strong>: The project is now
 637 renamed to Isenkram and the source moved from the Debian Edu
 638 subversion repository to a Debian collab-maint git repository.  See
 639 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Welcome_to_the_world__Isenkram_.html">build
 640 instructions</a> for details.</p>
 641
 642       </div>
 643       <div class="tags">
 644
 645
 646         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>.
 647
 648
 649       </div>
 650     </div>
 651     <div class="padding"></div>
 652
 653     <div class="entry">
 654       <div class="title">
 655         <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>
 656       </div>
 657       <div class="date">
 658         19th January 2013
 659       </div>
 660       <div class="body">
 661         <p>This Christmas my trusty old laptop died.  It died quietly and
 662 suddenly in bed.  With a quiet whimper, it went completely quiet and
 663 black.  The power button was no longer able to turn it on.  It was a
 664 IBM Thinkpad X41, and the best laptop I ever had.  Better than both
 665 Thinkpads X30, X31, X40, X60, X61 and X61S.  Far better than the
 666 Compaq I had before that.  Now I need to find a replacement.  To keep
 667 going during Christmas, I moved the one year old SSD disk to my old
 668 X40 where it fitted (only one I had left that could use it), but it is
 669 not a durable solution.
 670
 671 <p>My laptop needs are fairly modest.  This is my wishlist from when I
 672 got a new one more than 10 years ago.  It still holds true.:)</p>
 673
 674 <ul>
 675
 676 <li>Lightweight (around 1 kg) and small volume (preferably smaller
 677   than A4).</li>
 678 <li>Robust, it will be in my backpack every day.</li>
 679 <li>Three button mouse and a mouse pin instead of touch pad.</li>
 680 <li>Long battery life time.  Preferable a week.</li>
 681 <li>Internal WIFI network card.</li>
 682 <li>Internal Twisted Pair network card.</li>
 683 <li>Some USB slots (2-3 is plenty)</li>
 684 <li>Good keyboard - similar to the Thinkpad.</li>
 685 <li>Video resolution at least 1024x768, with size around 12" (A4 paper
 686 size).</li>
 687 <li>Hardware supported by Debian Stable, ie the default kernel and
 688   X.org packages.</li>
 689 <li>Quiet, preferably fan free (or at least not using the fan most of
 690   the time).
 691
 692 </ul>
 693
 694 <p>You will notice that there are no RAM and CPU requirements in the
 695 list.  The reason is simply that the specifications on laptops the
 696 last 10-15 years have been sufficient for my needs, and I have to look
 697 at other features to choose my laptop.  But are there still made as
 698 robust laptops as my X41?  The Thinkpad X60/X61 proved to be less
 699 robust, and Thinkpads seem to be heading in the wrong direction since
 700 Lenovo took over.  But I've been told that X220 and X1 Carbon might
 701 still be useful.</p>
 702
 703 <p>Perhaps I should rethink my needs, and look for a pad with an
 704 external keyboard?  I'll have to check the
 705 <a href="http://www.linux-laptop.net/">Linux Laptops site</a> for
 706 well-supported laptops, or perhaps just buy one preinstalled from one
 707 of the vendors listed on the <a href="http://linuxpreloaded.com/">Linux
 708 Pre-loaded site</a>.</p>
 709
 710       </div>
 711       <div class="tags">
 712
 713
 714         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>.
 715
 716
 717       </div>
 718     </div>
 719     <div class="padding"></div>
 720
 721     <div class="entry">
 722       <div class="title">
 723         <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>
 724       </div>
 725       <div class="date">
 726         18th January 2013
 727       </div>
 728       <div class="body">
 729         <p>Some times I try to figure out which Iceweasel browser plugin to
 730 install to get support for a given MIME type.  Thanks to
 731 <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MozillaTeam/Plugins">specifications
 732 done by Ubuntu</a> and Mozilla, it is possible to do this in Debian.
 733 Unfortunately, not very many packages provide the needed meta
 734 information, Anyway, here is a small script to look up all browser
 735 plugin packages announcing ther MIME support using this specification:</p>
 736
 737 <pre>
 738 #!/usr/bin/python
 739 import sys
 740 import apt
 741 def pkgs_handling_mimetype(mimetype):
 742     cache = apt.Cache()
 743     cache.open(None)
 744     thepkgs = []
 745     for pkg in cache:
 746         version = pkg.candidate
 747         if version is None:
 748             version = pkg.installed
 749         if version is None:
 750             continue
 751         record = version.record
 752         if not record.has_key('Npp-MimeType'):
 753             continue
 754         mime_types = record['Npp-MimeType'].split(',')
 755         for t in mime_types:
 756             t = t.rstrip().strip()
 757             if t == mimetype:
 758                 thepkgs.append(pkg.name)
 759     return thepkgs
 760 mimetype = "audio/ogg"
 761 if 1 < len(sys.argv):
 762     mimetype = sys.argv[1]
 763 print "Browser plugin packages supporting %s:" % mimetype
 764 for pkg in pkgs_handling_mimetype(mimetype):
 765     print "  %s" %pkg
 766 </pre>
 767
 768 <p>It can be used like this to look up a given MIME type:</p>
 769
 770 <pre>
 771 % ./apt-find-browserplug-for-mimetype
 772 Browser plugin packages supporting audio/ogg:
 773   gecko-mediaplayer
 774 % ./apt-find-browserplug-for-mimetype application/x-shockwave-flash
 775 Browser plugin packages supporting application/x-shockwave-flash:
 776   browser-plugin-gnash
 777 %
 778 </pre>
 779
 780 <p>In Ubuntu this mechanism is combined with support in the browser
 781 itself to query for plugins and propose to install the needed
 782 packages.  It would be great if Debian supported such feature too.  Is
 783 anyone working on adding it?</p>
 784
 785 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-18 14:20</strong>: The Debian BTS
 786 request for icweasel support for this feature is
 787 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/484010">#484010</a> from 2008 (and
 788 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/698426">#698426</a> from today).  Lack
 789 of manpower and wish for a different design is the reason thus feature
 790 is not yet in iceweasel from Debian.</p>
 791
 792       </div>
 793       <div class="tags">
 794
 795
 796         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>.
 797
 798
 799       </div>
 800     </div>
 801     <div class="padding"></div>
 802
 803     <div class="entry">
 804       <div class="title">
 805         <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>
 806       </div>
 807       <div class="date">
 808         16th January 2013
 809       </div>
 810       <div class="body">
 811         <p>The <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/AppStreamDebianProposal">DEP-11
 812 proposal to add AppStream information to the Debian archive</a>, is a
 813 proposal to make it possible for a Desktop application to propose to
 814 the user some package to install to gain support for a given MIME
 815 type, font, library etc. that is currently missing.  With such
 816 mechanism in place, it would be possible for the desktop to
 817 automatically propose and install leocad if some LDraw file is
 818 downloaded by the browser.</p>
 819
 820 <p>To get some idea about the current content of the archive, I decided
 821 to write a simple program to extract all .desktop files from the
 822 Debian archive and look up the claimed MIME support there.  The result
 823 can be found on the
 824 <a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/pub/AppStreamTest">Skolelinux FTP
 825 site</a>.  Using the collected information, it become possible to
 826 answer the question in the title.  Here are the 20 most supported MIME
 827 types in Debian stable (Squeeze), testing (Wheezy) and unstable (Sid).
 828 The complete list is available from the link above.</p>
 829
 830 <p><strong>Debian Stable:</strong></p>
 831
 832 <pre>
 833   count MIME type
 834   ----- -----------------------
 835      32 text/plain
 836      30 audio/mpeg
 837      29 image/png
 838      28 image/jpeg
 839      27 application/ogg
 840      26 audio/x-mp3
 841      25 image/tiff
 842      25 image/gif
 843      22 image/bmp
 844      22 audio/x-wav
 845      20 audio/x-flac
 846      19 audio/x-mpegurl
 847      18 video/x-ms-asf
 848      18 audio/x-musepack
 849      18 audio/x-mpeg
 850      18 application/x-ogg
 851      17 video/mpeg
 852      17 audio/x-scpls
 853      17 audio/ogg
 854      16 video/x-ms-wmv
 855 </pre>
 856
 857 <p><strong>Debian Testing:</strong></p>
 858
 859 <pre>
 860   count MIME type
 861   ----- -----------------------
 862      33 text/plain
 863      32 image/png
 864      32 image/jpeg
 865      29 audio/mpeg
 866      27 image/gif
 867      26 image/tiff
 868      26 application/ogg
 869      25 audio/x-mp3
 870      22 image/bmp
 871      21 audio/x-wav
 872      19 audio/x-mpegurl
 873      19 audio/x-mpeg
 874      18 video/mpeg
 875      18 audio/x-scpls
 876      18 audio/x-flac
 877      18 application/x-ogg
 878      17 video/x-ms-asf
 879      17 text/html
 880      17 audio/x-musepack
 881      16 image/x-xbitmap
 882 </pre>
 883
 884 <p><strong>Debian Unstable:</strong></p>
 885
 886 <pre>
 887   count MIME type
 888   ----- -----------------------
 889      31 text/plain
 890      31 image/png
 891      31 image/jpeg
 892      29 audio/mpeg
 893      28 application/ogg
 894      27 image/gif
 895      26 image/tiff
 896      26 audio/x-mp3
 897      23 audio/x-wav
 898      22 image/bmp
 899      21 audio/x-flac
 900      20 audio/x-mpegurl
 901      19 audio/x-mpeg
 902      18 video/x-ms-asf
 903      18 video/mpeg
 904      18 audio/x-scpls
 905      18 application/x-ogg
 906      17 audio/x-musepack
 907      16 video/x-ms-wmv
 908      16 video/x-msvideo
 909 </pre>
 910
 911 <p>I am told that PackageKit can provide an API to access the kind of
 912 information mentioned in DEP-11.  I have not yet had time to look at
 913 it, but hope the PackageKit people in Debian are on top of these
 914 issues.</p>
 915
 916 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-16 13:35</strong>: Updated numbers after
 917 discovering a typo in my script.</p>
 918
 919       </div>
 920       <div class="tags">
 921
 922
 923         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>.
 924
 925
 926       </div>
 927     </div>
 928     <div class="padding"></div>
 929
 930     <div class="entry">
 931       <div class="title">
 932         <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>
 933       </div>
 934       <div class="date">
 935         15th January 2013
 936       </div>
 937       <div class="body">
 938         <p>Yesterday, I wrote about the
 939 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Modalias_strings___a_practical_way_to_map__stuff__to_hardware.html">modalias
 940 values provided by the Linux kernel</a> following my hope for
 941 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Lets_make_hardware_dongles_easier_to_use_in_Debian.html">better
 942 dongle support in Debian</a>.  Using this knowledge, I have tested how
 943 modalias values attached to package names can be used to map packages
 944 to hardware.  This allow the system to look up and suggest relevant
 945 packages when I plug in some new hardware into my machine, and replace
 946 discover and discover-data as the database used to map hardware to
 947 packages.</p>
 948
 949 <p>I create a modaliases file with entries like the following,
 950 containing package name, kernel module name (if relevant, otherwise
 951 the package name) and globs matching the relevant hardware
 952 modalias.</p>
 953
 954 <p><blockquote>
 955 Package: package-name
 956 <br>Modaliases: module(modaliasglob, modaliasglob, modaliasglob)</p>
 957 </blockquote></p>
 958
 959 <p>It is fairly trivial to write code to find the relevant packages
 960 for a given modalias value using this file.</p>
 961
 962 <p>An entry like this would suggest the video and picture application
 963 cheese for many USB web cameras (interface bus class 0E01):</p>
 964
 965 <p><blockquote>
 966 Package: cheese
 967 <br>Modaliases: cheese(usb:v*p*d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip*)</p>
 968 </blockquote></p>
 969
 970 <p>An entry like this would suggest the pcmciautils package when a
 971 CardBus bridge (bus class 0607) PCI device is present:</p>
 972
 973 <p><blockquote>
 974 Package: pcmciautils
 975 <br>Modaliases: pcmciautils(pci:v*d*sv*sd*bc06sc07i*)
 976 </blockquote></p>
 977
 978 <p>An entry like this would suggest the package colorhug-client when
 979 plugging in a ColorHug with USB IDs 04D8:F8DA:</p>
 980
 981 <p><blockquote>
 982 Package: colorhug-client
 983 <br>Modaliases: colorhug-client(usb:v04D8pF8DAd*)</p>
 984 </blockquote></p>
 985
 986 <p>I believe the format is compatible with the format of the Packages
 987 file in the Debian archive.  Ubuntu already uses their Packages file
 988 to store their mappings from packages to hardware.</p>
 989
 990 <p>By adding a XB-Modaliases: header in debian/control, any .deb can
 991 announce the hardware it support in a way my prototype understand.
 992 This allow those publishing packages in an APT source outside the
 993 Debian archive as well as those backporting packages to make sure the
 994 hardware mapping are included in the package meta information.  I've
 995 tested such header in the pymissile package, and its modalias mapping
 996 is working as it should with my prototype.  It even made it to Ubuntu
 997 Raring.</p>
 998
 999 <p>To test if it was possible to look up supported hardware using only
1000 the shell tools available in the Debian installer, I wrote a shell
1001 implementation of the lookup code.  The idea is to create files for
1002 each modalias and let the shell do the matching.  Please check out and
1003 try the
1004 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/hw-support-lookup?view=co">hw-support-lookup</a>
1005 shell script.  It run without any extra dependencies and fetch the
1006 hardware mappings from the Debian archive and the subversion
1007 repository where I currently work on my prototype.</p>
1008
1009 <p>When I use it on a machine with a yubikey inserted, it suggest to
1010 install yubikey-personalization:</p>
1011
1012 <p><blockquote>
1013 % ./hw-support-lookup
1014 <br>yubikey-personalization
1015 <br>%
1016 </blockquote></p>
1017
1018 <p>When I run it on my Thinkpad X40 with a PCMCIA/CardBus slot, it
1019 propose to install the pcmciautils package:</p>
1020
1021 <p><blockquote>
1022 % ./hw-support-lookup
1023 <br>pcmciautils
1024 <br>%
1025 </blockquote></p>
1026
1027 <p>If you know of any hardware-package mapping that should be added to
1028 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/modaliases?view=co">my
1029 database</a>, please tell me about it.</p>
1030
1031 <p>It could be possible to generate several of the mappings between
1032 packages and hardware.  One source would be to look at packages with
1033 kernel modules, ie packages with *.ko files in /lib/modules/, and
1034 extract their modalias information.  Another would be to look at
1035 packages with udev rules, ie packages with files in
1036 /lib/udev/rules.d/, and extract their vendor/model information to
1037 generate a modalias matching rule.  I have not tested any of these to
1038 see if it work.</p>
1039
1040 <p>If you want to help implementing a system to let us propose what
1041 packages to install when new hardware is plugged into a Debian
1042 machine, please send me an email or talk to me on
1043 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-devel">#debian-devel</a>.</p>
1044
1045       </div>
1046       <div class="tags">
1047
1048
1049         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>.
1050
1051
1052       </div>
1053     </div>
1054     <div class="padding"></div>
1055
1056     <div class="entry">
1057       <div class="title">
1058         <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>
1059       </div>
1060       <div class="date">
1061         14th January 2013
1062       </div>
1063       <div class="body">
1064         <p>While looking into how to look up Debian packages based on hardware
1065 information, to find the packages that support a given piece of
1066 hardware, I refreshed my memory regarding modalias values, and decided
1067 to document the details.  Here are my findings so far, also available
1068 in
1069 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/">the
1070 Debian Edu subversion repository</a>:
1071
1072 <p><strong>Modalias decoded</strong></p>
1073
1074 <p>This document try to explain what the different types of modalias
1075 values stands for.  It is in part based on information from
1076 &lt;URL: <a href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Modalias">https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Modalias</a> &gt;,
1077 &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;,
1078 &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
1079 &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;.
1080
1081 <p>The modalias entries for a given Linux machine can be found using
1082 this shell script:</p>
1083
1084 <pre>
1085 find /sys -name modalias -print0 | xargs -0 cat | sort -u
1086 </pre>
1087
1088 <p>The supported modalias globs for a given kernel module can be found
1089 using modinfo:</p>
1090
1091 <pre>
1092 % /sbin/modinfo psmouse | grep alias:
1093 alias:          serio:ty05pr*id*ex*
1094 alias:          serio:ty01pr*id*ex*
1095 %
1096 </pre>
1097
1098 <p><strong>PCI subtype</strong></p>
1099
1100 <p>A typical PCI entry can look like this.  This is an Intel Host
1101 Bridge memory controller:</p>
1102
1103 <p><blockquote>
1104 pci:v00008086d00002770sv00001028sd000001ADbc06sc00i00
1105 </blockquote></p>
1106
1107 <p>This represent these values:</p>
1108
1109 <pre>
1110  v   00008086  (vendor)
1111  d   00002770  (device)
1112  sv  00001028  (subvendor)
1113  sd  000001AD  (subdevice)
1114  bc  06        (bus class)
1115  sc  00        (bus subclass)
1116  i   00        (interface)
1117 </pre>
1118
1119 <p>The vendor/device values are the same values outputted from 'lspci
1120 -n' as 8086:2770.  The bus class/subclass is also shown by lspci as
1121 0600.  The 0600 class is a host bridge.  Other useful bus values are
1122 0300 (VGA compatible card) and 0200 (Ethernet controller).</p>
1123
1124 <p>Not sure how to figure out the interface value, nor what it
1125 means.</p>
1126
1127 <p><strong>USB subtype</strong></p>
1128
1129 <p>Some typical USB entries can look like this.  This is an internal
1130 USB hub in a laptop:</p>
1131
1132 <p><blockquote>
1133 usb:v1D6Bp0001d0206dc09dsc00dp00ic09isc00ip00
1134 </blockquote></p>
1135
1136 <p>Here is the values included in this alias:</p>
1137
1138 <pre>
1139  v    1D6B  (device vendor)
1140  p    0001  (device product)
1141  d    0206  (bcddevice)
1142  dc     09  (device class)
1143  dsc    00  (device subclass)
1144  dp     00  (device protocol)
1145  ic     09  (interface class)
1146  isc    00  (interface subclass)
1147  ip     00  (interface protocol)
1148 </pre>
1149
1150 <p>The 0900 device class/subclass means hub.  Some times the relevant
1151 class is in the interface class section.  For a simple USB web camera,
1152 these alias entries show up:</p>
1153
1154 <p><blockquote>
1155 usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic01isc01ip00
1156 <br>usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic01isc02ip00
1157 <br>usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic0Eisc01ip00
1158 <br>usb:v0AC8p3420d5000dcEFdsc02dp01ic0Eisc02ip00
1159 </blockquote></p>
1160
1161 <p>Interface class 0E01 is video control, 0E02 is video streaming (aka
1162 camera), 0101 is audio control device and 0102 is audio streaming (aka
1163 microphone).  Thus this is a camera with microphone included.</p>
1164
1165 <p><strong>ACPI subtype</strong></p>
1166
1167 <p>The ACPI type is used for several non-PCI/USB stuff.  This is an IR
1168 receiver in a Thinkpad X40:</p>
1169
1170 <p><blockquote>
1171 acpi:IBM0071:PNP0511:
1172 </blockquote></p>
1173
1174 <p>The values between the colons are IDs.</p>
1175
1176 <p><strong>DMI subtype</strong></p>
1177
1178 <p>The DMI table contain lots of information about the computer case
1179 and model.  This is an entry for a IBM Thinkpad X40, fetched from
1180 /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/modalias:</p>
1181
1182 <p><blockquote>
1183 dmi:bvnIBM:bvr1UETB6WW(1.66):bd06/15/2005:svnIBM:pn2371H4G:pvrThinkPadX40:rvnIBM:rn2371H4G:rvrNotAvailable:cvnIBM:ct10:cvrNotAvailable:
1184 </blockquote></p>
1185
1186 <p>The values present are</p>
1187
1188 <pre>
1189  bvn  IBM            (BIOS vendor)
1190  bvr  1UETB6WW(1.66) (BIOS version)
1191  bd   06/15/2005     (BIOS date)
1192  svn  IBM            (system vendor)
1193  pn   2371H4G        (product name)
1194  pvr  ThinkPadX40    (product version)
1195  rvn  IBM            (board vendor)
1196  rn   2371H4G        (board name)
1197  rvr  NotAvailable   (board version)
1198  cvn  IBM            (chassis vendor)
1199  ct   10             (chassis type)
1200  cvr  NotAvailable   (chassis version)
1201 </pre>
1202
1203 <p>The chassis type 10 is Notebook.  Other interesting values can be
1204 found in the dmidecode source:</p>
1205
1206 <pre>
1207   3 Desktop
1208   4 Low Profile Desktop
1209   5 Pizza Box
1210   6 Mini Tower
1211   7 Tower
1212   8 Portable
1213   9 Laptop
1214  10 Notebook
1215  11 Hand Held
1216  12 Docking Station
1217  13 All In One
1218  14 Sub Notebook
1219  15 Space-saving
1220  16 Lunch Box
1221  17 Main Server Chassis
1222  18 Expansion Chassis
1223  19 Sub Chassis
1224  20 Bus Expansion Chassis
1225  21 Peripheral Chassis
1226  22 RAID Chassis
1227  23 Rack Mount Chassis
1228  24 Sealed-case PC
1229  25 Multi-system
1230  26 CompactPCI
1231  27 AdvancedTCA
1232  28 Blade
1233  29 Blade Enclosing
1234 </pre>
1235
1236 <p>The chassis type values are not always accurately set in the DMI
1237 table.  For example my home server is a tower, but the DMI modalias
1238 claim it is a desktop.</p>
1239
1240 <p><strong>SerIO subtype</strong></p>
1241
1242 <p>This type is used for PS/2 mouse plugs.  One example is from my
1243 test machine:</p>
1244
1245 <p><blockquote>
1246 serio:ty01pr00id00ex00
1247 </blockquote></p>
1248
1249 <p>The values present are</p>
1250
1251 <pre>
1252   ty  01  (type)
1253   pr  00  (prototype)
1254   id  00  (id)
1255   ex  00  (extra)
1256 </pre>
1257
1258 <p>This type is supported by the psmouse driver.  I am not sure what
1259 the valid values are.</p>
1260
1261 <p><strong>Other subtypes</strong></p>
1262
1263 <p>There are heaps of other modalias subtypes according to
1264 file2alias.c.  There is the rest of the list from that source: amba,
1265 ap, bcma, ccw, css, eisa, hid, i2c, ieee1394, input, ipack, isapnp,
1266 mdio, of, parisc, pcmcia, platform, scsi, sdio, spi, ssb, vio, virtio,
1267 vmbus, x86cpu and zorro.  I did not spend time documenting all of
1268 these, as they do not seem relevant for my intended use with mapping
1269 hardware to packages when new stuff is inserted during run time.</p>
1270
1271 <p><strong>Looking up kernel modules using modalias values</strong></p>
1272
1273 <p>To check which kernel modules provide support for a given modalias,
1274 one can use the following shell script:</p>
1275
1276 <pre>
1277   for id in $(find /sys -name modalias -print0 | xargs -0 cat | sort -u); do \
1278     echo "$id" ; \
1279     /sbin/modprobe --show-depends "$id"|sed 's/^/  /' ; \
1280   done
1281 </pre>
1282
1283 <p>The output can look like this (only the first few entries as the
1284 list is very long on my test machine):</p>
1285
1286 <pre>
1287   acpi:ACPI0003:
1288     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/acpi/ac.ko
1289   acpi:device:
1290   FATAL: Module acpi:device: not found.
1291   acpi:IBM0068:
1292     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/char/nvram.ko
1293     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/leds/led-class.ko
1294     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/net/rfkill/rfkill.ko
1295     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/platform/x86/thinkpad_acpi.ko
1296   acpi:IBM0071:PNP0511:
1297     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/lib/crc-ccitt.ko
1298     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/net/irda/irda.ko
1299     insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-5-686/kernel/drivers/net/irda/nsc-ircc.ko
1300   [...]
1301 </pre>
1302
1303 <p>If you want to help implementing a system to let us propose what
1304 packages to install when new hardware is plugged into a Debian
1305 machine, please send me an email or talk to me on
1306 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-devel">#debian-devel</a>.</p>
1307
1308 <p><strong>Update 2013-01-15:</strong> Rewrite "cat $(find ...)" to
1309 "find ... -print0 | xargs -0 cat" to make sure it handle directories
1310 in /sys/ with space in them.</p>
1311
1312       </div>
1313       <div class="tags">
1314
1315
1316         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>.
1317
1318
1319       </div>
1320     </div>
1321     <div class="padding"></div>
1322
1323     <div class="entry">
1324       <div class="title">
1325         <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>
1326       </div>
1327       <div class="date">
1328         10th January 2013
1329       </div>
1330       <div class="body">
1331         <p>As part of my investigation on how to improve the support in Debian
1332 for hardware dongles, I dug up my old Mark and Spencer USB Rocket
1333 Launcher and updated the Debian package
1334 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/pymissile">pymissile</a> to make
1335 sure udev will fix the device permissions when it is plugged in.  I
1336 also added a "Modaliases" header to test it in the Debian archive and
1337 hopefully make the package be proposed by jockey in Ubuntu when a user
1338 plug in his rocket launcher.  In the process I moved the source to a
1339 git repository under collab-maint, to make it easier for any DD to
1340 contribute.  <a href="http://code.google.com/p/pymissile/">Upstream</a>
1341 is not very active, but the software still work for me even after five
1342 years of relative silence.  The new git repository is not listed in
1343 the uploaded package yet, because I want to test the other changes a
1344 bit more before I upload the new version.  If you want to check out
1345 the new version with a .desktop file included, visit the
1346 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=collab-maint/pymissile.git">gitweb
1347 view</a> or use "<tt>git clone
1348 git://anonscm.debian.org/collab-maint/pymissile.git</tt>".</p>
1349
1350       </div>
1351       <div class="tags">
1352
1353
1354         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>.
1355
1356
1357       </div>
1358     </div>
1359     <div class="padding"></div>
1360
1361     <div class="entry">
1362       <div class="title">
1363         <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>
1364       </div>
1365       <div class="date">
1366          9th January 2013
1367       </div>
1368       <div class="body">
1369         <p>One thing that annoys me with Debian and Linux distributions in
1370 general, is that there is a great package management system with the
1371 ability to automatically install software packages by downloading them
1372 from the distribution mirrors, but no way to get it to automatically
1373 install the packages I need to use the hardware I plug into my
1374 machine.  Even if the package to use it is easily available from the
1375 Linux distribution.  When I plug in a LEGO Mindstorms NXT, it could
1376 suggest to automatically install the python-nxt, nbc and t2n packages
1377 I need to talk to it.  When I plug in a Yubikey, it could propose the
1378 yubikey-personalization package.  The information required to do this
1379 is available, but no-one have pulled all the pieces together.</p>
1380
1381 <p>Some years ago, I proposed to
1382 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/05/msg01206.html">use
1383 the discover subsystem to implement this</a>.  The idea is fairly
1384 simple:
1385
1386 <ul>
1387
1388 <li>Add a desktop entry in /usr/share/autostart/ pointing to a program
1389   starting when a user log in.</li>
1390
1391 <li>Set this program up to listen for kernel events emitted when new
1392   hardware is inserted into the computer.</li>
1393
1394 <li>When new hardware is inserted, look up the hardware ID in a
1395   database mapping to packages, and take note of any non-installed
1396   packages.</li>
1397
1398 <li>Show a message to the user proposing to install the discovered
1399   package, and make it easy to install it.</li>
1400
1401 </ul>
1402
1403 <p>I am not sure what the best way to implement this is, but my
1404 initial idea was to use dbus events to discover new hardware, the
1405 discover database to find packages and
1406 <a href="http://www.packagekit.org/">PackageKit</a> to install
1407 packages.</p>
1408
1409 <p>Yesterday, I found time to try to implement this idea, and the
1410 draft package is now checked into
1411 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/trunk/src/hw-support-handler/">the
1412 Debian Edu subversion repository</a>.  In the process, I updated the
1413 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/d/discover-data.html">discover-data</a>
1414 package to map the USB ids of LEGO Mindstorms and Yubikey devices to
1415 the relevant packages in Debian, and uploaded a new version
1416 2.2013.01.09 to unstable.  I also discovered that the current
1417 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/d/discover.html">discover</a>
1418 package in Debian no longer discovered any USB devices, because
1419 /proc/bus/usb/devices is no longer present.  I ported it to use
1420 libusb as a fall back option to get it working.  The fixed package
1421 version 2.1.2-6 is now in experimental (didn't upload it to unstable
1422 because of the freeze).</p>
1423
1424 <p>With this prototype in place, I can insert my Yubikey, and get this
1425 desktop notification to show up (only once, the first time it is
1426 inserted):</p>
1427
1428 <p align="center"><img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-01-09-hw-autoinstall.png"></p>
1429
1430 <p>For this prototype to be really useful, some way to automatically
1431 install the proposed packages by pressing the "Please install
1432 program(s)" button should to be implemented.</p>
1433
1434 <p>If this idea seem useful to you, and you want to help make it
1435 happen, please help me update the discover-data database with mappings
1436 from hardware to Debian packages.  Check if 'discover-pkginstall -l'
1437 list the package you would like to have installed when a given
1438 hardware device is inserted into your computer, and report bugs using
1439 reportbug if it isn't.  Or, if you know of a better way to provide
1440 such mapping, please let me know.</p>
1441
1442 <p>This prototype need more work, and there are several questions that
1443 should be considered before it is ready for production use.  Is dbus
1444 the correct way to detect new hardware?  At the moment I look for HAL
1445 dbus events on the system bus, because that is the events I could see
1446 on my Debian Squeeze KDE desktop.  Are there better events to use?
1447 How should the user be notified?  Is the desktop notification
1448 mechanism the best option, or should the background daemon raise a
1449 popup instead?  How should packages be installed?  When should they
1450 not be installed?</p>
1451
1452 <p>If you want to help getting such feature implemented in Debian,
1453 please send me an email. :)</p>
1454
1455       </div>
1456       <div class="tags">
1457
1458
1459         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>.
1460
1461
1462       </div>
1463     </div>
1464     <div class="padding"></div>
1465
1466     <div class="entry">
1467       <div class="title">
1468         <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>
1469       </div>
1470       <div class="date">
1471          2nd January 2013
1472       </div>
1473       <div class="body">
1474         <p>During Christmas, I have worked a bit on the Debian support for
1475 <a href="http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspx">LEGO Mindstorm
1476 NXT</a>.  My son and I have played a bit with my NXT set, and I
1477 discovered I had to build all the tools myself because none were
1478 already in Debian Squeeze.  If Debian support for LEGO is something
1479 you care about, please join me on the IRC channel
1480 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-lego">#debian-lego</a> (server
1481 irc.debian.org).  There is a lot that could be done to improve the
1482 Debian support for LEGO designers.  For example both CAD software
1483 and Mindstorm compilers are missing. :)</p>
1484
1485 <p>Update 2012-01-03: A
1486 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LegoDesigners">project page</a>
1487 including links to Lego related packages is now available.</p>
1488
1489       </div>
1490       <div class="tags">
1491
1492
1493         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>.
1494
1495
1496       </div>
1497     </div>
1498     <div class="padding"></div>
1499
1500     <div class="entry">
1501       <div class="title">
1502         <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>
1503       </div>
1504       <div class="date">
1505         25th December 2012
1506       </div>
1507       <div class="body">
1508         <p>Let me start by wishing you all marry Christmas and a happy new
1509 year!  I hope next year will prove to be a good year.</p>
1510
1511 <p><a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">Bitcoin</a>, the digital
1512 decentralised "currency" that allow people to transfer bitcoins
1513 between each other with minimal overhead, is a very interesting
1514 experiment.  And as I wrote a few days ago, the bitcoin situation in
1515 <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a> is about to improve a bit.
1516 The <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/bitcoin">new debian source
1517 package</a> (version 0.7.2-2) was uploaded yesterday, and is waiting
1518 in <a href="http://ftp-master.debian.org/new.html">the NEW queue</A>
1519 for one of the ftpmasters to approve the new bitcoin-qt package
1520 name.</p>
1521
1522 <p>And thanks to the great work of Jonas and the rest of the bitcoin
1523 team in Debian, you can easily test the package in Debian Squeeze
1524 using the following steps to get a set of working packages:</p>
1525
1526 <blockquote><pre>
1527 git clone git://git.debian.org/git/collab-maint/bitcoin
1528 cd bitcoin
1529 DEB_MAINTAINER_MODE=1 DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=noupnp fakeroot debian/rules clean
1530 DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=noupnp git-buildpackage --git-ignore-new
1531 </pre></blockquote>
1532
1533 <p>You might have to install some build dependencies as well.  The
1534 list of commands should give you two packages, bitcoind and
1535 bitcoin-qt, ready for use in a Squeeze environment.  Note that the
1536 client will download the complete set of bitcoin "blocks", which need
1537 around 5.6 GiB of data on my machine at the moment.  Make sure your
1538 ~/.bitcoin/ directory have lots of spare room if you want to download
1539 all the blocks.  The client will warn if the disk is getting full, so
1540 there is not really a problem if you got too little room, but you will
1541 not be able to get all the features out of the client.</p>
1542
1543 <p>As usual, if you use bitcoin and want to show your support of my
1544 activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address
1545 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
1546
1547       </div>
1548       <div class="tags">
1549
1550
1551         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>.
1552
1553
1554       </div>
1555     </div>
1556     <div class="padding"></div>
1557
1558     <div class="entry">
1559       <div class="title">
1560         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_word_on_bitcoin_support_in_Debian.html">A word on bitcoin support in Debian</a>
1561       </div>
1562       <div class="date">
1563         21st December 2012
1564       </div>
1565       <div class="body">
1566         <p>It has been a while since I wrote about
1567 <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">bitcoin</a>, the decentralised
1568 peer-to-peer based crypto-currency, and the reason is simply that I
1569 have been busy elsewhere.  But two days ago, I started looking at the
1570 state of <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/bitcoin">bitcoin in
1571 Debian</a> again to try to recover my old bitcoin wallet.  The package
1572 is now maintained by a
1573 <a href="https://alioth.debian.org/projects/pkg-bitcoin/">team of
1574 people</a>, and the grunt work had already been done by this team.  We
1575 owe a huge thank you to all these team members. :)
1576 But I was sad to discover that the bitcoin client is missing in
1577 Wheezy.  It is only available in Sid (and an outdated client from
1578 backports).  The client had several RC bugs registered in BTS blocking
1579 it from entering testing.  To try to help the team and improve the
1580 situation, I spent some time providing patches and triaging the bug
1581 reports.  I also had a look at the bitcoin package available from Matt
1582 Corallo in a
1583 <a href="https://launchpad.net/~bitcoin/+archive/bitcoin">PPA for
1584 Ubuntu</a>, and moved the useful pieces from that version into the
1585 Debian package.</p>
1586
1587 <p>After checking with the main package maintainer Jonas Smedegaard on
1588 IRC, I pushed several patches into the collab-maint git repository to
1589 improve the package.  It now contains fixes for the RC issues (not from
1590 me, but fixed by Scott Howard), build rules for a Qt GUI client
1591 package, konqueror support for the bitcoin: URI and bash completion
1592 setup.  As I work on Debian Squeeze, I also created
1593 <a href="http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-bitcoin-devel/Week-of-Mon-20121217/000041.html">a
1594 patch to backport</a> the latest version.  Jonas is going to look at
1595 it and try to integrate it into the git repository before uploading a
1596 new version to unstable.
1597
1598 <p>I would very much like bitcoin to succeed, to get rid of the
1599 centralized control currently exercised in the monetary system.  I
1600 find it completely unacceptable that the USA government is collecting
1601 transaction data for almost all international money transfers (most are done in USD and transaction logs shipped to the spooks), and
1602 that the major credit card companies can block legal money
1603 transactions to Wikileaks.  But for bitcoin to succeed, more people
1604 need to use bitcoins, and more people need to accept bitcoins when
1605 they sell products and services.  Improving the bitcoin support in
1606 Debian is a small step in the right direction, but not enough.
1607 Unfortunately the user experience when browsing the web and wanting to
1608 pay with bitcoin is still not very good.  The bitcoin: URI is a step
1609 in the right direction, but need to work in most or every browser in
1610 use.  Also the bitcoin-qt client is too heavy to fire up to do a
1611 quick transaction.  I believe there are other clients available, but
1612 have not tested them.</p>
1613
1614 <p>My
1615 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Now_accepting_bitcoins___anonymous_and_distributed_p2p_crypto_money.html">experiment
1616 with bitcoins</a> showed that at least some of my readers use bitcoin.
1617 I received 20.15 BTC so far on the address I provided in my blog two
1618 years ago, as can be
1619 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">seen
1620 on the blockexplorer service</a>.  Thank you everyone for your
1621 donation.  The blockexplorer service demonstrates quite well that
1622 bitcoin is not quite anonymous and untracked. :) I wonder if the
1623 number of users have gone up since then.  If you use bitcoin and want
1624 to show your support of my activity, please send Bitcoin donations to
1625 the same address as last time,
1626 <b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p>
1627
1628       </div>
1629       <div class="tags">
1630
1631
1632         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>.
1633
1634
1635       </div>
1636     </div>
1637     <div class="padding"></div>
1638
1639     <div class="entry">
1640       <div class="title">
1641         <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>
1642       </div>
1643       <div class="date">
1644          7th September 2012
1645       </div>
1646       <div class="body">
1647         <p>As I
1648 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Song_book_for_Computer_Scientists.html">mentioned
1649 this summer</a>, I have created a Computer Science song book a few
1650 years ago, and today I finally found time to create a public
1651 <a href="https://gitorious.org/pere-cs-songbook/pere-cs-songbook">Gitorious
1652 repository for the project</a>.</p>
1653
1654 <p>If you want to help out, please clone the source and submit patches
1655 to the HTML version.  To generate the PDF and PostScript version,
1656 please use prince XML, or let me know about a useful free software
1657 processor capable of creating a good looking PDF from the HTML.</p>
1658
1659 <p>Want to sing?  You can still find the song book in HTML, PDF and
1660 PostScript formats at
1661 <a href="http://www.hungry.com/~pere/cs-songbook/">Petter's Computer
1662 Science Songbook</a>.</p>
1663
1664       </div>
1665       <div class="tags">
1666
1667
1668         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>.
1669
1670
1671       </div>
1672     </div>
1673     <div class="padding"></div>
1674
1675     <div class="entry">
1676       <div class="title">
1677         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Gratulerer_med_19__rsdagen__Debian_.html">Gratulerer med 19-årsdagen, Debian!</a>
1678       </div>
1679       <div class="date">
1680         16th August 2012
1681       </div>
1682       <div class="body">
1683         <p>I dag fyller
1684 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2012/20120813">Debian-prosjektet 19
1685 år</a>.  Jeg har fulgt det de siste 12 årene, og er veldig glad for å kunne
1686 si gratulerer med dagen, Debian!</p>
1687
1688       </div>
1689       <div class="tags">
1690
1691
1692         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>.
1693
1694
1695       </div>
1696     </div>
1697     <div class="padding"></div>
1698
1699     <div class="entry">
1700       <div class="title">
1701         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Song_book_for_Computer_Scientists.html">Song book for Computer Scientists</a>
1702       </div>
1703       <div class="date">
1704         24th June 2012
1705       </div>
1706       <div class="body">
1707         <p>Many years ago, while studying Computer Science at the
1708 <a href="http://www.uit.no/">University of Tromsø</a>, I started
1709 collecting computer related songs for use at parties.  The original
1710 version was written in LaTeX, but a few years ago I got help from
1711 Håkon W. Lie, one of the inventors of W3C CSS, to convert it to HTML
1712 while keeping the ability to create a nice book in PDF format.  I have
1713 not had time to maintain the book for a while now, and guess I should
1714 put it up on some public version control repository where others can
1715 help me extend and update the book.  If anyone is volunteering to help
1716 me with this, send me an email.  Also let me know if there are songs
1717 missing in my book.</p>
1718
1719 <p>I have not mentioned the book on my blog so far, and it occured to
1720 me today that I really should let all my readers share the joys of
1721 singing out load about programming, computers and computer networks.
1722 Especially now that <a href="http://debconf12.debconf.org/">Debconf
1723 12</a> is about to start (and I am not going).  Want to sing?  Check
1724 out <a href="http://www.hungry.com/~pere/cs-songbook/">Petter's
1725 Computer Science Songbook</a>.
1726
1727       </div>
1728       <div class="tags">
1729
1730
1731         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>.
1732
1733
1734       </div>
1735     </div>
1736     <div class="padding"></div>
1737
1738     <div class="entry">
1739       <div class="title">
1740         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatically_upgrading_server_firmware_on_Dell_PowerEdge.html">Automatically upgrading server firmware on Dell PowerEdge</a>
1741       </div>
1742       <div class="date">
1743         21st November 2011
1744       </div>
1745       <div class="body">
1746         <p>At work we have heaps of servers.  I believe the total count is
1747 around 1000 at the moment.  To be able to get help from the vendors
1748 when something go wrong, we want to keep the firmware on the servers
1749 up to date.  If the firmware isn't the latest and greatest, the
1750 vendors typically refuse to start debugging any problems until the
1751 firmware is upgraded.  So before every reboot, we want to upgrade the
1752 firmware, and we would really like everyone handling servers at the
1753 university to do this themselves when they plan to reboot a machine.
1754 For that to happen we at the unix server admin group need to provide
1755 the tools to do so.</p>
1756
1757 <p>To make firmware upgrading easier, I am working on a script to
1758 fetch and install the latest firmware for the servers we got.  Most of
1759 our hardware are from Dell and HP, so I have focused on these servers
1760 so far.  This blog post is about the Dell part.</P>
1761
1762 <p>On the Dell FTP site I was lucky enough to find
1763 <a href="ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/catalog/Catalog.xml.gz">an XML file</a>
1764 with firmware information for all 11th generation servers, listing
1765 which firmware should be used on a given model and where on the FTP
1766 site I can find it.  Using a simple perl XML parser I can then
1767 download the shell scripts Dell provides to do firmware upgrades from
1768 within Linux and reboot when all the firmware is primed and ready to
1769 be activated on the first reboot.</p>
1770
1771 <p>This is the Dell related fragment of the perl code I am working on.
1772 Are there anyone working on similar tools for firmware upgrading all
1773 servers at a site?  Please get in touch and lets share resources.</p>
1774
1775 <p><pre>
1776 #!/usr/bin/perl
1777 use strict;
1778 use warnings;
1779 use File::Temp qw(tempdir);
1780 BEGIN {
1781     # Install needed RHEL packages if missing
1782     my %rhelmodules = (
1783         'XML::Simple' => 'perl-XML-Simple',
1784         );
1785     for my $module (keys %rhelmodules) {
1786         eval "use $module;";
1787         if ($@) {
1788             my $pkg = $rhelmodules{$module};
1789             system("yum install -y $pkg");
1790             eval "use $module;";
1791         }
1792     }
1793 }
1794 my $errorsto = 'pere@hungry.com';
1795
1796 upgrade_dell();
1797
1798 exit 0;
1799
1800 sub run_firmware_script {
1801     my ($opts, $script) = @_;
1802     unless ($script) {
1803         print STDERR "fail: missing script name\n";
1804         exit 1
1805     }
1806     print STDERR "Running $script\n\n";
1807
1808     if (0 == system("sh $script $opts")) { # FIXME correct exit code handling
1809         print STDERR "success: firmware script ran succcessfully\n";
1810     } else {
1811         print STDERR "fail: firmware script returned error\n";
1812     }
1813 }
1814
1815 sub run_firmware_scripts {
1816     my ($opts, @dirs) = @_;
1817     # Run firmware packages
1818     for my $dir (@dirs) {
1819         print STDERR "info: Running scripts in $dir\n";
1820         opendir(my $dh, $dir) or die "Unable to open directory $dir: $!";
1821         while (my $s = readdir $dh) {
1822             next if $s =~ m/^\.\.?/;
1823             run_firmware_script($opts, "$dir/$s");
1824         }
1825         closedir $dh;
1826     }
1827 }
1828
1829 sub download {
1830     my $url = shift;
1831     print STDERR "info: Downloading $url\n";
1832     system("wget --quiet \"$url\"");
1833 }
1834
1835 sub upgrade_dell {
1836     my @dirs;
1837     my $product = `dmidecode -s system-product-name`;
1838     chomp $product;
1839
1840     if ($product =~ m/PowerEdge/) {
1841
1842         # on RHEL, these pacakges are needed by the firwmare upgrade scripts
1843         system('yum install -y compat-libstdc++-33.i686 libstdc++.i686 libxml2.i686 procmail');
1844
1845         my $tmpdir = tempdir(
1846             CLEANUP => 1
1847             );
1848         chdir($tmpdir);
1849         fetch_dell_fw('catalog/Catalog.xml.gz');
1850         system('gunzip Catalog.xml.gz');
1851         my @paths = fetch_dell_fw_list('Catalog.xml');
1852         # -q is quiet, disabling interactivity and reducing console output
1853         my $fwopts = "-q";
1854         if (@paths) {
1855             for my $url (@paths) {
1856                 fetch_dell_fw($url);
1857             }
1858             run_firmware_scripts($fwopts, $tmpdir);
1859         } else {
1860             print STDERR "error: Unsupported Dell model '$product'.\n";
1861             print STDERR "error: Please report to $errorsto.\n";
1862         }
1863         chdir('/');
1864     } else {
1865         print STDERR "error: Unsupported Dell model '$product'.\n";
1866         print STDERR "error: Please report to $errorsto.\n";
1867     }
1868 }
1869
1870 sub fetch_dell_fw {
1871     my $path = shift;
1872     my $url = "ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/$path";
1873     download($url);
1874 }
1875
1876 # Using ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/catalog/Catalog.xml.gz, figure out which
1877 # firmware packages to download from Dell.  Only work for Linux
1878 # machines and 11th generation Dell servers.
1879 sub fetch_dell_fw_list {
1880     my $filename = shift;
1881
1882     my $product = `dmidecode -s system-product-name`;
1883     chomp $product;
1884     my ($mybrand, $mymodel) = split(/\s+/, $product);
1885
1886     print STDERR "Finding firmware bundles for $mybrand $mymodel\n";
1887
1888     my $xml = XMLin($filename);
1889     my @paths;
1890     for my $bundle (@{$xml->{SoftwareBundle}}) {
1891         my $brand = $bundle->{TargetSystems}->{Brand}->{Display}->{content};
1892         my $model = $bundle->{TargetSystems}->{Brand}->{Model}->{Display}->{content};
1893         my $oscode;
1894         if ("ARRAY" eq ref $bundle->{TargetOSes}->{OperatingSystem}) {
1895             $oscode = $bundle->{TargetOSes}->{OperatingSystem}[0]->{osCode};
1896         } else {
1897             $oscode = $bundle->{TargetOSes}->{OperatingSystem}->{osCode};
1898         }
1899         if ($mybrand eq $brand && $mymodel eq $model && "LIN" eq $oscode)
1900         {
1901             @paths = map { $_->{path} } @{$bundle->{Contents}->{Package}};
1902         }
1903     }
1904     for my $component (@{$xml->{SoftwareComponent}}) {
1905         my $componenttype = $component->{ComponentType}->{value};
1906
1907         # Drop application packages, only firmware and BIOS
1908         next if 'APAC' eq $componenttype;
1909
1910         my $cpath = $component->{path};
1911         for my $path (@paths) {
1912             if ($cpath =~ m%/$path$%) {
1913                 push(@paths, $cpath);
1914             }
1915         }
1916     }
1917     return @paths;
1918 }
1919 </pre>
1920
1921 <p>The code is only tested on RedHat Enterprise Linux, but I suspect
1922 it could work on other platforms with some tweaking.  Anyone know a
1923 index like Catalog.xml is available from HP for HP servers?  At the
1924 moment I maintain a similar list manually and it is quickly getting
1925 outdated.</p>
1926
1927       </div>
1928       <div class="tags">
1929
1930
1931         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>.
1932
1933
1934       </div>
1935     </div>
1936     <div class="padding"></div>
1937
1938     <div class="entry">
1939       <div class="title">
1940         <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>
1941       </div>
1942       <div class="date">
1943          4th August 2011
1944       </div>
1945       <div class="body">
1946         <p>Wouter Verhelst have some
1947 <a href="http://grep.be/blog/en/retorts/pere_kubuntu_boot">interesting
1948 comments and opinions</a> on my blog post on
1949 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_should_start_from__etc_rcS_d__in_Debian____almost_nothing.html">the
1950 need to clean up /etc/rcS.d/ in Debian</a> and my blog post about
1951 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_is_missing_in_the_Debian_desktop__or_why_my_parents_use_Kubuntu.html">the
1952 default KDE desktop in Debian</a>.  I only have time to address one
1953 small piece of his comment now, and though it best to address the
1954 misunderstanding he bring forward:</p>
1955
1956 <p><blockquote>
1957 Currently, a system admin has four options: [...] boot to a
1958 single-user system (by adding 'single' to the kernel command line;
1959 this runs rcS and rc1 scripts)
1960 </blockquote></p>
1961
1962 <p>This make me believe Wouter believe booting into single user mode
1963 and booting into runlevel 1 is the same.  I am not surprised he
1964 believe this, because it would make sense and is a quite sensible
1965 thing to believe.  But because the boot in Debian is slightly broken,
1966 runlevel 1 do not work properly and it isn't the same as single user
1967 mode.  I'll try to explain what is actually happing, but it is a bit
1968 hard to explain.</p>
1969
1970 <p>Single user mode is defined like this in /etc/inittab:
1971 "<tt>~~:S:wait:/sbin/sulogin</tt>".  This means the only thing that is
1972 executed in single user mode is sulogin.  Single user mode is a boot
1973 state "between" the runlevels, and when booting into single user mode,
1974 only the scripts in /etc/rcS.d/ are executed before the init process
1975 enters the single user state.  When switching to runlevel 1, the state
1976 is in fact not ending in runlevel 1, but it passes through runlevel 1
1977 and end up in the single user mode (see /etc/rc1.d/S03single, which
1978 runs "init -t1 S" to switch to single user mode at the end of runlevel
1979 1.  It is confusing that the 'S' (single user) init mode is not the
1980 mode enabled by /etc/rcS.d/ (which is more like the initial boot
1981 mode).</p>
1982
1983 <p>This summary might make it clearer.  When booting for the first
1984 time into single user mode, the following commands are executed:
1985 "<tt>/etc/init.d/rc S; /sbin/sulogin</tt>".  When booting into
1986 runlevel 1, the following commands are executed: "<tt>/etc/init.d/rc
1987 S; /etc/init.d/rc 1; /sbin/sulogin</tt>".  A problem show up when
1988 trying to continue after visiting single user mode.  Not all services
1989 are started again as they should, causing the machine to end up in an
1990 unpredicatble state.  This is why Debian admins recommend rebooting
1991 after visiting single user mode.</p>
1992
1993 <p>A similar problem with runlevel 1 is caused by the amount of
1994 scripts executed from /etc/rcS.d/.  When switching from say runlevel 2
1995 to runlevel 1, the services started from /etc/rcS.d/ are not properly
1996 stopped when passing through the scripts in /etc/rc1.d/, and not
1997 started again when switching away from runlevel 1 to the runlevels
1998 2-5.  I believe the problem is best fixed by moving all the scripts
1999 out of /etc/rcS.d/ that are not <strong>required</strong> to get a
2000 functioning single user mode during boot.</p>
2001
2002 <p>I have spent several years investigating the Debian boot system,
2003 and discovered this problem a few years ago.  I suspect it originates
2004 from when sysvinit was introduced into Debian, a long time ago.</p>
2005
2006       </div>
2007       <div class="tags">
2008
2009
2010         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>.
2011
2012
2013       </div>
2014     </div>
2015     <div class="padding"></div>
2016
2017     <div class="entry">
2018       <div class="title">
2019         <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>
2020       </div>
2021       <div class="date">
2022         30th July 2011
2023       </div>
2024       <div class="body">
2025         <p>In the Debian boot system, several packages include scripts that
2026 are started from /etc/rcS.d/.  In fact, there is a bite more of them
2027 than make sense, and this causes a few problems.  What kind of
2028 problems, you might ask.  There are at least two problems.  The first
2029 is that it is not possible to recover a machine after switching to
2030 runlevel 1.  One need to actually reboot to get the machine back to
2031 the expected state.  The other is that single user boot will sometimes
2032 run into problems because some of the subsystems are activated before
2033 the root login is presented, causing problems when trying to recover a
2034 machine from a problem in that subsystem.  A minor additional point is
2035 that moving more scripts out of rcS.d/ and into the other rc#.d/
2036 directories will increase the amount of scripts that can run in
2037 parallel during boot, and thus decrease the boot time.</p>
2038
2039 <p>So, which scripts should start from rcS.d/.  In short, only the
2040 scripts that _have_ to execute before the root login prompt is
2041 presented during a single user boot should go there.  Everything else
2042 should go into the numeric runlevels.  This means things like
2043 lm-sensors, fuse and x11-common should not run from rcS.d, but from
2044 the numeric runlevels.  Today in Debian, there are around 115 init.d
2045 scripts that are started from rcS.d/, and most of them should be moved
2046 out.  Do your package have one of them?  Please help us make single
2047 user and runlevel 1 better by moving it.</p>
2048
2049 <p>Scripts setting up the screen, keyboard, system partitions
2050 etc. should still be started from rcS.d/, but there is for example no
2051 need to have the network enabled before the single user login prompt
2052 is presented.</p>
2053
2054 <p>As always, things are not so easy to fix as they sound.  To keep
2055 Debian systems working while scripts migrate and during upgrades, the
2056 scripts need to be moved from rcS.d/ to rc2.d/ in reverse dependency
2057 order, ie the scripts that nothing in rcS.d/ depend on can be moved,
2058 and the next ones can only be moved when their dependencies have been
2059 moved first.  This migration must be done sequentially while we ensure
2060 that the package system upgrade packages in the right order to keep
2061 the system state correct.  This will require some coordination when it
2062 comes to network related packages, but most of the packages with
2063 scripts that should migrate do not have anything in rcS.d/ depending
2064 on them.  Some packages have already been updated, like the sudo
2065 package, while others are still left to do.  I wish I had time to work
2066 on this myself, but real live constrains make it unlikely that I will
2067 find time to push this forward.</p>
2068
2069       </div>
2070       <div class="tags">
2071
2072
2073         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>.
2074
2075
2076       </div>
2077     </div>
2078     <div class="padding"></div>
2079
2080     <div class="entry">
2081       <div class="title">
2082         <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>
2083       </div>
2084       <div class="date">
2085         29th July 2011
2086       </div>
2087       <div class="body">
2088         <p>While at Debconf11, I have several times during discussions
2089 mentioned the issues I believe should be improved in Debian for its
2090 desktop to be useful for more people.  The use case for this is my
2091 parents, which are currently running Kubuntu which solve the
2092 issues.</p>
2093
2094 <p>I suspect these four missing features are not very hard to
2095 implement.  After all, they are present in Ubuntu, so if we wanted to
2096 do this in Debian we would have a source.</p>
2097
2098 <ol>
2099
2100 <li><strong>Simple GUI based upgrade of packages.</strong> When there
2101 are new packages available for upgrades, a icon in the KDE status bar
2102 indicate this, and clicking on it will activate the simple upgrade
2103 tool to handle it.  I have no problem guiding both of my parents
2104 through the process over the phone.  If a kernel reboot is required,
2105 this too is indicated by the status bars and the upgrade tool.  Last
2106 time I checked, nothing with the same features was working in KDE in
2107 Debian.</li>
2108
2109 <li><strong>Simple handling of missing Firefox browser
2110 plugins.</strong> When the browser encounter a MIME type it do not
2111 currently have a handler for, it will ask the user if the system
2112 should search for a package that would add support for this MIME type,
2113 and if the user say yes, the APT sources will be searched for packages
2114 advertising the MIME type in their control file (visible in the
2115 Packages file in the APT archive).  If one or more packages are found,
2116 it is a simple click of the mouse to add support for the missing mime
2117 type.  If the package require the user to accept some non-free
2118 license, this is explained to the user.  The entire process make it
2119 more clear to the user why something do not work in the browser, and
2120 make the chances higher for the user to blame the web page authors and
2121 not the browser for any missing features.</li>
2122
2123 <li><strong>Simple handling of missing multimedia codec/format
2124 handlers.</strong> When the media players encounter a format or codec
2125 it is not supporting, a dialog pop up asking the user if the system
2126 should search for a package that would add support for it.  This
2127 happen with things like MP3, Windows Media or H.264.  The selection
2128 and installation procedure is very similar to the Firefox browser
2129 plugin handling.  This is as far as I know implemented using a
2130 gstreamer hook.  The end result is that the user easily get access to
2131 the codecs that are present from the APT archives available, while
2132 explaining more on why a given format is unsupported by Ubuntu.</li>
2133
2134 <li><strong>Better browser handling of some MIME types.</strong> When
2135 displaying a text/plain file in my Debian browser, it will propose to
2136 start emacs to show it.  If I remember correctly, when doing the same
2137 in Kunbutu it show the file as a text file in the browser.  At least I
2138 know Opera will show text files within the browser.  I much prefer the
2139 latter behaviour.</li>
2140
2141 </ol>
2142
2143 <p>There are other nice features as well, like the simplified suite
2144 upgrader, but given that I am the one mostly doing the dist-upgrade,
2145 it do not matter much.</p>
2146
2147 <p>I really hope we could get these features in place for the next
2148 Debian release.  It would require the coordinated effort of several
2149 maintainers, but would make the end user experience a lot better.</p>
2150
2151       </div>
2152       <div class="tags">
2153
2154
2155         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>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web</a>.
2156
2157
2158       </div>
2159     </div>
2160     <div class="padding"></div>
2161
2162     <div class="entry">
2163       <div class="title">
2164         <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>
2165       </div>
2166       <div class="date">
2167         26th July 2011
2168       </div>
2169       <div class="body">
2170         <p>The Norwegian <a href="http://www.fiksgatami.no/">FiksGataMi</A>
2171 site is build on Debian/Squeeze, and this platform was chosen because
2172 I am most familiar with Debian (being a Debian Developer for around 10
2173 years) because it is the latest stable Debian release which should get
2174 security support for a few years.</p>
2175
2176 <p>The web service is written in Perl, and depend on some perl modules
2177 that are missing in Debian at the moment.  It would be great if these
2178 modules were added to the Debian archive, allowing anyone to set up
2179 their own <a href="http://www.fixmystreet.com">FixMyStreet</a> clone
2180 in their own country using only Debian packages.  The list of modules
2181 missing in Debian/Squeeze isn't very long, and I hope the perl group
2182 will find time to package the 12 modules Catalyst::Plugin::SmartURI,
2183 Catalyst::Plugin::Unicode::Encoding, Catalyst::View::TT, Devel::Hide,
2184 Sort::Key, Statistics::Distributions, Template::Plugin::Comma,
2185 Template::Plugin::DateTime::Format, Term::Size::Any, Term::Size::Perl,
2186 URI::SmartURI and Web::Scraper to make the maintenance of FixMyStreet
2187 easier in the future.</p>
2188
2189 <p>Thanks to the great tools in Debian, getting the missing modules
2190 installed on my server was a simple call to 'cpan2deb Module::Name'
2191 and 'dpkg -i' to install the resulting package.  But this leave me
2192 with the responsibility of tracking security problems, which I really
2193 do not have time for.</p>
2194
2195       </div>
2196       <div class="tags">
2197
2198
2199         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>.
2200
2201
2202       </div>
2203     </div>
2204     <div class="padding"></div>
2205
2206     <div class="entry">
2207       <div class="title">
2208         <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>
2209       </div>
2210       <div class="date">
2211          3rd April 2011
2212       </div>
2213       <div class="body">
2214         <p>Here is a small update for my English readers.  Most of my blog
2215 posts have been in Norwegian the last few weeks, so here is a short
2216 update in English.</p>
2217
2218 <p>The kids still keep me too busy to get much free software work
2219 done, but I did manage to organise a project to get a Norwegian port
2220 of the British service
2221 <a href="http://www.fixmystreet.com/">FixMyStreet</a> up and running,
2222 and it has been running for a month now.  The entire project has been
2223 organised by me and two others.  Around Christmas we gathered sponsors
2224 to fund the development work.  In January I drafted a contract with
2225 <a href="http://www.mysociety.org/">mySociety</a> on what to develop,
2226 and in February the development took place.  Most of it involved
2227 converting the source to use GPS coordinates instead of British
2228 easting/northing, and the resulting code should be a lot easier to get
2229 running in any country by now.  The Norwegian
2230 <a href="http://www.fiksgatami.no/">FiksGataMi</a> is using
2231 <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org/">OpenStreetmap</a> as the map
2232 source and the source for administrative borders in Norway, and
2233 support for this had to be added/fixed.</p>
2234
2235 <p>The Norwegian version went live March 3th, and we spent the weekend
2236 polishing the system before we announced it March 7th.  The system is
2237 running on a KVM instance of Debian/Squeeze, and has seen almost 3000
2238 problem reports in a few weeks.  Soon we hope to announce the Android
2239 and iPhone versions making it even easier to report problems with the
2240 public infrastructure.</p>
2241
2242 <p>Perhaps something to consider for those of you in countries without
2243 such service?</p>
2244
2245       </div>
2246       <div class="tags">
2247
2248
2249         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>.
2250
2251
2252       </div>
2253     </div>
2254     <div class="padding"></div>
2255
2256     <div class="entry">
2257       <div class="title">
2258         <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>
2259       </div>
2260       <div class="date">
2261         28th January 2011
2262       </div>
2263       <div class="body">
2264         <p>The last few days I have looked at ways to track open security
2265 issues here at my work with the University of Oslo.  My idea is that
2266 it should be possible to use the information about security issues
2267 available on the Internet, and check our locally
2268 maintained/distributed software against this information.  It should
2269 allow us to verify that no known security issues are forgotten.  The
2270 CVE database listing vulnerabilities seem like a great central point,
2271 and by using the package lists from Debian mapped to CVEs provided by
2272 the testing security team, I believed it should be possible to figure
2273 out which security holes were present in our free software
2274 collection.</p>
2275
2276 <p>After reading up on the topic, it became obvious that the first
2277 building block is to be able to name software packages in a unique and
2278 consistent way across data sources.  I considered several ways to do
2279 this, for example coming up with my own naming scheme like using URLs
2280 to project home pages or URLs to the Freshmeat entries, or using some
2281 existing naming scheme.  And it seem like I am not the first one to
2282 come across this problem, as MITRE already proposed and implemented a
2283 solution.  Enter the <a href="http://cpe.mitre.org/index.html">Common
2284 Platform Enumeration</a> dictionary, a vocabulary for referring to
2285 software, hardware and other platform components.  The CPE ids are
2286 mapped to CVEs in the <a href="http://web.nvd.nist.gov/">National
2287 Vulnerability Database</a>, allowing me to look up know security
2288 issues for any CPE name.  With this in place, all I need to do is to
2289 locate the CPE id for the software packages we use at the university.
2290 This is fairly trivial (I google for 'cve cpe $package' and check the
2291 NVD entry if a CVE for the package exist).</p>
2292
2293 <p>To give you an example.  The GNU gzip source package have the CPE
2294 name cpe:/a:gnu:gzip.  If the old version 1.3.3 was the package to
2295 check out, one could look up
2296 <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
2297 in NVD</a> and get a list of 6 security holes with public CVE entries.
2298 The most recent one is
2299 <a href="http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2010-0001">CVE-2010-0001</a>,
2300 and at the bottom of the NVD page for this vulnerability the complete
2301 list of affected versions is provided.</p>
2302
2303 <p>The NVD database of CVEs is also available as a XML dump, allowing
2304 for offline processing of issues.  Using this dump, I've written a
2305 small script taking a list of CPEs as input and list all CVEs
2306 affecting the packages represented by these CPEs.  One give it CPEs
2307 with version numbers as specified above and get a list of open
2308 security issues out.</p>
2309
2310 <p>Of course for this approach to be useful, the quality of the NVD
2311 information need to be high.  For that to happen, I believe as many as
2312 possible need to use and contribute to the NVD database.  I notice
2313 RHEL is providing
2314 <a href="https://www.redhat.com/security/data/metrics/rhsamapcpe.txt">a
2315 map from CVE to CPE</a>, indicating that they are using the CPE
2316 information.  I'm not aware of Debian and Ubuntu doing the same.</p>
2317
2318 <p>To get an idea about the quality for free software, I spent some
2319 time making it possible to compare the CVE database from Debian with
2320 the CVE database in NVD.  The result look fairly good, but there are
2321 some inconsistencies in NVD (same software package having several
2322 CPEs), and some inaccuracies (NVD not mentioning buggy packages that
2323 Debian believe are affected by a CVE).  Hope to find time to improve
2324 the quality of NVD, but that require being able to get in touch with
2325 someone maintaining it.  So far my three emails with questions and
2326 corrections have not seen any reply, but I hope contact can be
2327 established soon.</p>
2328
2329 <p>An interesting application for CPEs is cross platform package
2330 mapping.  It would be useful to know which packages in for example
2331 RHEL, OpenSuSe and Mandriva are missing from Debian and Ubuntu, and
2332 this would be trivial if all linux distributions provided CPE entries
2333 for their packages.</p>
2334
2335       </div>
2336       <div class="tags">
2337
2338
2339         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>.
2340
2341
2342       </div>
2343     </div>
2344     <div class="padding"></div>
2345
2346     <div class="entry">
2347       <div class="title">
2348         <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>
2349       </div>
2350       <div class="date">
2351         23rd January 2011
2352       </div>
2353       <div class="body">
2354         <p>In the
2355 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/discover-data">discover-data</a>
2356 package in Debian, there is a script to report useful information
2357 about the running hardware for use when people report missing
2358 information.  One part of this script that I find very useful when
2359 debugging hardware problems, is the part mapping loaded kernel module
2360 to the PCI device it claims.  It allow me to quickly see if the kernel
2361 module I expect is driving the hardware I am struggling with.  To see
2362 the output, make sure discover-data is installed and run
2363 <tt>/usr/share/bug/discover-data 3>&1</tt>.  The relevant output on
2364 one of my machines like this:</p>
2365
2366 <pre>
2367 loaded modules:
2368 10de:03eb i2c_nforce2
2369 10de:03f1 ohci_hcd
2370 10de:03f2 ehci_hcd
2371 10de:03f0 snd_hda_intel
2372 10de:03ec pata_amd
2373 10de:03f6 sata_nv
2374 1022:1103 k8temp
2375 109e:036e bttv
2376 109e:0878 snd_bt87x
2377 11ab:4364 sky2
2378 </pre>
2379
2380 <p>The code in question look like this, slightly modified for
2381 readability and to drop the output to file descriptor 3:</p>
2382
2383 <pre>
2384 if [ -d /sys/bus/pci/devices/ ] ; then
2385     echo loaded pci modules:
2386     (
2387         cd /sys/bus/pci/devices/
2388         for address in * ; do
2389             if [ -d "$address/driver/module" ] ; then
2390                 module=`cd $address/driver/module ; pwd -P | xargs basename`
2391                 if grep -q "^$module " /proc/modules ; then
2392                     address=$(echo $address |sed s/0000://)
2393                     id=`lspci -n -s $address | tail -n 1 | awk '{print $3}'`
2394                     echo "$id $module"
2395                 fi
2396             fi
2397         done
2398     )
2399     echo
2400 fi
2401 </pre>
2402
2403 <p>Similar code could be used to extract USB device module
2404 mappings:</p>
2405
2406 <pre>
2407 if [ -d /sys/bus/usb/devices/ ] ; then
2408     echo loaded usb modules:
2409     (
2410         cd /sys/bus/usb/devices/
2411         for address in * ; do
2412             if [ -d "$address/driver/module" ] ; then
2413                 module=`cd $address/driver/module ; pwd -P | xargs basename`
2414                 if grep -q "^$module " /proc/modules ; then
2415                     address=$(echo $address |sed s/0000://)
2416                     id=$(lsusb -s $address | tail -n 1 | awk '{print $6}')
2417                     if [ "$id" ] ; then
2418                         echo "$id $module"
2419                     fi
2420                 fi
2421             fi
2422         done
2423     )
2424     echo
2425 fi
2426 </pre>
2427
2428 <p>This might perhaps be something to include in other tools as
2429 well.</p>
2430
2431       </div>
2432       <div class="tags">
2433
2434
2435         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>.
2436
2437
2438       </div>
2439     </div>
2440     <div class="padding"></div>
2441
2442     <div class="entry">
2443       <div class="title">
2444         <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>
2445       </div>
2446       <div class="date">
2447         22nd December 2010
2448       </div>
2449       <div class="body">
2450         <p>The last few days I have spent at work here at the <a
2451 href="http://www.uio.no/">University of Oslo</a> testing if the new
2452 batch of computers will work with Linux.  Every year for the last few
2453 years the university have organised shared bid of a few thousand
2454 computers, and this year HP won the bid.  Two different desktops and
2455 five different laptops are on the list this year.  We in the UNIX
2456 group want to know which one of these computers work well with RHEL
2457 and Ubuntu, the two Linux distributions we currently handle at the
2458 university.</p>
2459
2460 <p>My test method is simple, and I share it here to get feedback and
2461 perhaps inspire others to test hardware as well.  To test, I PXE
2462 install the OS version of choice, and log in as my normal user and run
2463 a few applications and plug in selected pieces of hardware.  When
2464 something fail, I make a note about this in the test matrix and move
2465 on.  If I have some spare time I try to report the bug to the OS
2466 vendor, but as I only have the machines for a short time, I rarely
2467 have the time to do this for all the problems I find.</p>
2468
2469 <p>Anyway, to get to the point of this post.  Here is the simple tests
2470 I perform on a new model.</p>
2471
2472 <ul>
2473
2474 <li>Is PXE installation working?  I'm testing with RHEL6, Ubuntu Lucid
2475 and Ubuntu Maverik at the moment.  If I feel like it, I also test with
2476 RHEL5 and Debian Edu/Squeeze.</li>
2477
2478 <li>Is X.org working?  If the graphical login screen show up after
2479 installation, X.org is working.</li>
2480
2481 <li>Is hardware accelerated OpenGL working?  Running glxgears (in
2482 package mesa-utils on Ubuntu) and writing down the frames per second
2483 reported by the program.</li>
2484
2485 <li>Is sound working?  With Gnome and KDE, a sound is played when
2486 logging in, and if I can hear this the test is successful.  If there
2487 are several audio exits on the machine, I try them all and check if
2488 the Gnome/KDE audio mixer can control where to send the sound.  I
2489 normally test this by playing
2490 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/aktiviteter/20101012-chef/ ">a HTML5
2491 video</a> in Firefox/Iceweasel.</li>
2492
2493 <li>Is the USB subsystem working?  I test this by plugging in a USB
2494 memory stick and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.</li>
2495
2496 <li>Is the CD/DVD player working?  I test this by inserting any CD/DVD
2497 I have lying around, and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.</li>
2498
2499 <li>Is any built in camera working?  Test using cheese, and see if a
2500 picture from the v4l device show up.</li>
2501
2502 <li>Is bluetooth working?  Use the Gnome/KDE browsing tool to see if
2503 any bluetooth devices are discovered.  In my office, I normally see a
2504 few.</li>
2505
2506 <li>For laptops, is the SD or Compaq Flash reader working.  I have
2507 memory modules lying around, and stick them in and see if Gnome/KDE
2508 notice this.</li>
2509
2510 <li>For laptops, is suspend/hibernate working?  I'm testing if the
2511 special button work, and if the laptop continue to work after
2512 resume.</li>
2513
2514 <li>For laptops, is the extra buttons working, like audio level,
2515 adjusting background light, switching on/off external video output,
2516 switching on/off wifi, bluetooth, etc?  The set of buttons differ from
2517 laptop to laptop, so I just write down which are working and which are
2518 not.</li>
2519
2520 <li>Some laptops have smart card readers, finger print readers,
2521 acceleration sensors etc.  I rarely test these, as I do not know how
2522 to quickly test if they are working or not, so I only document their
2523 existence.</li>
2524
2525 </ul>
2526
2527 <p>By now I suspect you are really curious what the test results are
2528 for the HP machines I am testing.  I'm not done yet, so I will report
2529 the test results later.  For now I can report that HP 8100 Elite work
2530 fine, and hibernation fail with HP EliteBook 8440p on Ubuntu Lucid,
2531 and audio fail on RHEL6.  Ubuntu Maverik worked with 8440p.  As you
2532 can see, I have most machines left to test.  One interesting
2533 observation is that Ubuntu Lucid has almost twice the frame rate than
2534 RHEL6 with glxgears.  No idea why.</p>
2535
2536       </div>
2537       <div class="tags">
2538
2539
2540         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>.
2541
2542
2543       </div>
2544     </div>
2545     <div class="padding"></div>
2546
2547     <div class="entry">
2548       <div class="title">
2549         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Some_thoughts_on_BitCoins.html">Some thoughts on BitCoins</a>
2550       </div>
2551       <div class="date">
2552         11th December 2010
2553       </div>
2554       <div class="body">
2555         <p>As I continue to explore
2556 <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">BitCoin</a>, I've starting to wonder
2557 what properties the system have, and how it will be affected by laws
2558 and regulations here in Norway.  Here are some random notes.</p>
2559
2560 <p>One interesting thing to note is that since the transactions are
2561 verified using a peer to peer network, all details about a transaction
2562 is known to everyone.  This means that if a BitCoin address has been
2563 published like I did with mine in my initial post about BitCoin, it is
2564 possible for everyone to see how many BitCoins have been transfered to
2565 that address.  There is even a web service to look at the details for
2566 all transactions.  There I can see that my address
2567 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a>
2568 have received 16.06 Bitcoin, the
2569 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/1LfdGnGuWkpSJgbQySxxCWhv8MHqvwst3">1LfdGnGuWkpSJgbQySxxCWhv8MHqvwst3</a>
2570 address of Simon Phipps have received 181.97 BitCoin and the address
2571 <a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/1MCwBbhNGp5hRm5rC1Aims2YFRe2SXPYKt">1MCwBbhNGp5hRm5rC1Aims2YFRe2SXPYKt</A>
2572 of EFF have received 2447.38 BitCoins so far.  Thank you to each and
2573 every one of you that donated bitcoins to support my activity. The
2574 fact that anyone can see how much money was transfered to a given
2575 address make it more obvious why the BitCoin community recommend to
2576 generate and hand out a new address for each transaction.  I'm told
2577 there is no way to track which addresses belong to a given person or
2578 organisation without the person or organisation revealing it
2579 themselves, as Simon, EFF and I have done.</p>
2580
2581 <p>In Norway, and in most other countries, there are laws and
2582 regulations limiting how much money one can transfer across the border
2583 without declaring it.  There are money laundering, tax and accounting
2584 laws and regulations I would expect to apply to the use of BitCoin.
2585 If the Skolelinux foundation
2586 (<a href="http://linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">SLX
2587 Debian Labs</a>) were to accept donations in BitCoin in addition to
2588 normal bank transfers like EFF is doing, how should this be accounted?
2589 Given that it is impossible to know if money can cross the border or
2590 not, should everything or nothing be declared?  What exchange rate
2591 should be used when calculating taxes?  Would receivers have to pay
2592 income tax if the foundation were to pay Skolelinux contributors in
2593 BitCoin?  I have no idea, but it would be interesting to know.</p>
2594
2595 <p>For a currency to be useful and successful, it must be trusted and
2596 accepted by a lot of users.  It must be possible to get easy access to
2597 the currency (as a wage or using currency exchanges), and it must be
2598 easy to spend it.  At the moment BitCoin seem fairly easy to get
2599 access to, but there are very few places to spend it.  I am not really
2600 a regular user of any of the vendor types currently accepting BitCoin,
2601 so I wonder when my kind of shop would start accepting BitCoins.  I
2602 would like to buy electronics, travels and subway tickets, not herbs
2603 and books. :) The currency is young, and this will improve over time
2604 if it become popular, but I suspect regular banks will start to lobby
2605 to get BitCoin declared illegal if it become popular.  I'm sure they
2606 will claim it is helping fund terrorism and money laundering (which
2607 probably would be true, as is any currency in existence), but I
2608 believe the problems should be solved elsewhere and not by blaming
2609 currencies.</p>
2610
2611 <p>The process of creating new BitCoins is called mining, and it is
2612 CPU intensive process that depend on a bit of luck as well (as one is
2613 competing against all the other miners currently spending CPU cycles
2614 to see which one get the next lump of cash).  The "winner" get 50
2615 BitCoin when this happen.  Yesterday I came across the obvious way to
2616 join forces to increase ones changes of getting at least some coins,
2617 by coordinating the work on mining BitCoins across several machines
2618 and people, and sharing the result if one is lucky and get the 50
2619 BitCoins.  Check out
2620 <a href="http://www.bluishcoder.co.nz/bitcoin-pool/">BitCoin Pool</a>
2621 if this sounds interesting.  I have not had time to try to set up a
2622 machine to participate there yet, but have seen that running on ones
2623 own for a few days have not yield any BitCoins througth mining
2624 yet.</p>
2625
2626 <p>Update 2010-12-15: Found an <a
2627 href="http://inertia.posterous.com/reply-to-the-underground-economist-why-bitcoi">interesting
2628 criticism</a> of bitcoin.  Not quite sure how valid it is, but thought
2629 it was interesting to read.  The arguments presented seem to be
2630 equally valid for gold, which was used as a currency for many years.</p>
2631
2632       </div>
2633       <div class="tags">
2634
2635
2636         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>.
2637
2638
2639       </div>
2640     </div>
2641     <div class="padding"></div>
2642
2643     <div class="entry">
2644       <div class="title">
2645         <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>
2646       </div>
2647       <div class="date">
2648         10th December 2010
2649       </div>
2650       <div class="body">
2651         <p>With this weeks lawless
2652 <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/06/wikileaks/index.html">governmental
2653 attacks</a> on Wikileak and
2654 <a href="http://www.salon.com/technology/dan_gillmor/2010/12/06/war_on_speech">free
2655 speech</a>, it has become obvious that PayPal, visa and mastercard can
2656 not be trusted to handle money transactions.
2657 A blog post from
2658 <a href="http://webmink.com/2010/12/06/now-accepting-bitcoin/">Simon
2659 Phipps on bitcoin</a> reminded me about a project that a friend of
2660 mine mentioned earlier.  I decided to follow Simon's example, and get
2661 involved with <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">BitCoin</a>.  I got
2662 some help from my friend to get it all running, and he even handed me
2663 some bitcoins to get started.  I even donated a few bitcoins to Simon
2664 for helping me remember BitCoin.</p>
2665
2666 <p>So, what is bitcoins, you probably wonder?  It is a digital
2667 crypto-currency, decentralised and handled using peer-to-peer
2668 networks.  It allows anonymous transactions and prohibits central
2669 control over the transactions, making it impossible for governments
2670 and companies alike to block donations and other transactions.  The
2671 source is free software, and while the key dependency wxWidgets 2.9
2672 for the graphical user interface is missing in Debian, the command
2673 line client builds just fine.  Hopefully Jonas
2674 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/578157">will get the package into
2675 Debian</a> soon.</p>
2676
2677 <p>Bitcoins can be converted to other currencies, like USD and EUR.
2678 There are <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/trade">companies accepting
2679 bitcoins</a> when selling services and goods, and there are even
2680 currency "stock" markets where the exchange rate is decided.  There
2681 are not many users so far, but the concept seems promising.  If you
2682 want to get started and lack a friend with any bitcoins to spare,
2683 you can even get
2684 <a href="https://freebitcoins.appspot.com/">some for free</a> (0.05
2685 bitcoin at the time of writing).  Use
2686 <a href="http://www.bitcoinwatch.com/">BitcoinWatch</a> to keep an eye
2687 on the current exchange rates.</p>
2688
2689 <p>As an experiment, I have decided to set up bitcoind on one of my
2690 machines.  If you want to support my activity, please send Bitcoin
2691 donations to the address
2692 <b>15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</b>.  Thank you!</p>
2693
2694       </div>
2695       <div class="tags">
2696
2697
2698         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>.
2699
2700
2701       </div>
2702     </div>
2703     <div class="padding"></div>
2704
2705     <div class="entry">
2706       <div class="title">
2707         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Why_isn_t_Debian_Edu_using_VLC_.html">Why isn't Debian Edu using VLC?</a>
2708       </div>
2709       <div class="date">
2710         27th November 2010
2711       </div>
2712       <div class="body">
2713         <p>In the latest issue of Linux Journal, the readers choices were
2714 presented, and the winner among the multimedia player were VLC.
2715 Personally, I like VLC, and it is my player of choice when I first try
2716 to play a video file or stream.  Only if VLC fail will I drag out
2717 gmplayer to see if it can do better.  The reason is mostly the failure
2718 model and trust.  When VLC fail, it normally pop up a error message
2719 reporting the problem.  When mplayer fail, it normally segfault or
2720 just hangs.  The latter failure mode drain my trust in the program.<p>
2721
2722 <p>But even if VLC is my player of choice, we have choosen to use
2723 mplayer in <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian
2724 Edu/Skolelinux</a>.  The reason is simple.  We need a good browser
2725 plugin to play web videos seamlessly, and the VLC browser plugin is
2726 not very good.  For example, it lack in-line control buttons, so there
2727 is no way for the user to pause the video.  Also, when I
2728 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/BrowserMultimedia">last
2729 tested the browser plugins</a> available in Debian, the VLC plugin
2730 failed on several video pages where mplayer based plugins worked.  If
2731 the browser plugin for VLC was as good as the gecko-mediaplayer
2732 package (which uses mplayer), we would switch.</P>
2733
2734 <p>While VLC is a good player, its user interface is slightly
2735 annoying.  The most annoying feature is its inconsistent use of
2736 keyboard shortcuts.  When the player is in full screen mode, its
2737 shortcuts are different from when it is playing the video in a window.
2738 For example, space only work as pause when in full screen mode.  I
2739 wish it had consisten shortcuts and that space also would work when in
2740 window mode.  Another nice shortcut in gmplayer is [enter] to restart
2741 the current video.  It is very nice when playing short videos from the
2742 web and want to restart it when new people arrive to have a look at
2743 what is going on.</p>
2744
2745       </div>
2746       <div class="tags">
2747
2748
2749         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>.
2750
2751
2752       </div>
2753     </div>
2754     <div class="padding"></div>
2755
2756     <div class="entry">
2757       <div class="title">
2758         <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>
2759       </div>
2760       <div class="date">
2761         22nd November 2010
2762       </div>
2763       <div class="body">
2764         <p>Michael Biebl suggested to me on IRC, that I changed my automated
2765 upgrade testing of the
2766 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">Lenny
2767 Gnome and KDE Desktop</a> to do <tt>apt-get autoremove</tt> when using apt-get.
2768 This seem like a very good idea, so I adjusted by test scripts and
2769 can now present the updated result from today:</p>
2770
2771 <p>This is for Gnome:</p>
2772
2773 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
2774
2775 <blockquote><p>
2776   apache2.2-bin
2777   aptdaemon
2778   baobab
2779   binfmt-support
2780   browser-plugin-gnash
2781   cheese-common
2782   cli-common
2783   cups-pk-helper
2784   dmz-cursor-theme
2785   empathy
2786   empathy-common
2787   freedesktop-sound-theme
2788   freeglut3
2789   gconf-defaults-service
2790   gdm-themes
2791   gedit-plugins
2792   geoclue
2793   geoclue-hostip
2794   geoclue-localnet
2795   geoclue-manual
2796   geoclue-yahoo
2797   gnash
2798   gnash-common
2799   gnome
2800   gnome-backgrounds
2801   gnome-cards-data
2802   gnome-codec-install
2803   gnome-core
2804   gnome-desktop-environment
2805   gnome-disk-utility
2806   gnome-screenshot
2807   gnome-search-tool
2808   gnome-session-canberra
2809   gnome-system-log
2810   gnome-themes-extras
2811   gnome-themes-more
2812   gnome-user-share
2813   gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3
2814   gstreamer0.10-tools
2815   gtk2-engines
2816   gtk2-engines-pixbuf
2817   gtk2-engines-smooth
2818   hamster-applet
2819   libapache2-mod-dnssd
2820   libapr1
2821   libaprutil1
2822   libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3
2823   libaprutil1-ldap
2824   libart2.0-cil
2825   libboost-date-time1.42.0
2826   libboost-python1.42.0
2827   libboost-thread1.42.0
2828   libchamplain-0.4-0
2829   libchamplain-gtk-0.4-0
2830   libcheese-gtk18
2831   libclutter-gtk-0.10-0
2832   libcryptui0
2833   libdiscid0
2834   libelf1
2835   libepc-1.0-2
2836   libepc-common
2837   libepc-ui-1.0-2
2838   libfreerdp-plugins-standard
2839   libfreerdp0
2840   libgconf2.0-cil
2841   libgdata-common
2842   libgdata7
2843   libgdu-gtk0
2844   libgee2
2845   libgeoclue0
2846   libgexiv2-0
2847   libgif4
2848   libglade2.0-cil
2849   libglib2.0-cil
2850   libgmime2.4-cil
2851   libgnome-vfs2.0-cil
2852   libgnome2.24-cil
2853   libgnomepanel2.24-cil
2854   libgpod-common
2855   libgpod4
2856   libgtk2.0-cil
2857   libgtkglext1
2858   libgtksourceview2.0-common
2859   libmono-addins-gui0.2-cil
2860   libmono-addins0.2-cil
2861   libmono-cairo2.0-cil
2862   libmono-corlib2.0-cil
2863   libmono-i18n-west2.0-cil
2864   libmono-posix2.0-cil
2865   libmono-security2.0-cil
2866   libmono-sharpzip2.84-cil
2867   libmono-system2.0-cil
2868   libmtp8
2869   libmusicbrainz3-6
2870   libndesk-dbus-glib1.0-cil
2871   libndesk-dbus1.0-cil
2872   libopal3.6.8
2873   libpolkit-gtk-1-0
2874   libpt2.6.7
2875   libpython2.6
2876   librpm1
2877   librpmio1
2878   libsdl1.2debian
2879   libsrtp0
2880   libssh-4
2881   libtelepathy-farsight0
2882   libtelepathy-glib0
2883   libtidy-0.99-0
2884   media-player-info
2885   mesa-utils
2886   mono-2.0-gac
2887   mono-gac
2888   mono-runtime
2889   nautilus-sendto
2890   nautilus-sendto-empathy
2891   p7zip-full
2892   pkg-config
2893   python-aptdaemon
2894   python-aptdaemon-gtk
2895   python-axiom
2896   python-beautifulsoup
2897   python-bugbuddy
2898   python-clientform
2899   python-coherence
2900   python-configobj
2901   python-crypto
2902   python-cupshelpers
2903   python-elementtree
2904   python-epsilon
2905   python-evolution
2906   python-feedparser
2907   python-gdata
2908   python-gdbm
2909   python-gst0.10
2910   python-gtkglext1
2911   python-gtksourceview2
2912   python-httplib2
2913   python-louie
2914   python-mako
2915   python-markupsafe
2916   python-mechanize
2917   python-nevow
2918   python-notify
2919   python-opengl
2920   python-openssl
2921   python-pam
2922   python-pkg-resources
2923   python-pyasn1
2924   python-pysqlite2
2925   python-rdflib
2926   python-serial
2927   python-tagpy
2928   python-twisted-bin
2929   python-twisted-conch
2930   python-twisted-core
2931   python-twisted-web
2932   python-utidylib
2933   python-webkit
2934   python-xdg
2935   python-zope.interface
2936   remmina
2937   remmina-plugin-data
2938   remmina-plugin-rdp
2939   remmina-plugin-vnc
2940   rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder
2941   rhythmbox-plugins
2942   rpm-common
2943   rpm2cpio
2944   seahorse-plugins
2945   shotwell
2946   software-center
2947   system-config-printer-udev
2948   telepathy-gabble
2949   telepathy-mission-control-5
2950   telepathy-salut
2951   tomboy
2952   totem
2953   totem-coherence
2954   totem-mozilla
2955   totem-plugins
2956   transmission-common
2957   xdg-user-dirs
2958   xdg-user-dirs-gtk
2959   xserver-xephyr
2960 </p></blockquote>
2961
2962 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
2963
2964 <blockquote><p>
2965   cheese
2966   ekiga
2967   eog
2968   epiphany-extensions
2969   evolution-exchange
2970   fast-user-switch-applet
2971   file-roller
2972   gcalctool
2973   gconf-editor
2974   gdm
2975   gedit
2976   gedit-common
2977   gnome-games
2978   gnome-games-data
2979   gnome-nettool
2980   gnome-system-tools
2981   gnome-themes
2982   gnuchess
2983   gucharmap
2984   guile-1.8-libs
2985   libavahi-ui0
2986   libdmx1
2987   libgalago3
2988   libgtk-vnc-1.0-0
2989   libgtksourceview2.0-0
2990   liblircclient0
2991   libsdl1.2debian-alsa
2992   libspeexdsp1
2993   libsvga1
2994   rhythmbox
2995   seahorse
2996   sound-juicer
2997   system-config-printer
2998   totem-common
2999   transmission-gtk
3000   vinagre
3001   vino
3002 </p></blockquote>
3003
3004 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
3005
3006 <blockquote><p>
3007   gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs
3008 </p></blockquote>
3009
3010 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
3011
3012 <blockquote><p>
3013 [nothing]
3014 </p></blockquote>
3015
3016 <p>This is for KDE:</p>
3017
3018 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
3019
3020 <blockquote><p>
3021   ksmserver
3022 </p></blockquote>
3023
3024 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
3025
3026 <blockquote><p>
3027   kwin
3028   network-manager-kde
3029 </p></blockquote>
3030
3031 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
3032
3033 <blockquote><p>
3034   arts
3035   dolphin
3036   freespacenotifier
3037   google-gadgets-gst
3038   google-gadgets-xul
3039   kappfinder
3040   kcalc
3041   kcharselect
3042   kde-core
3043   kde-plasma-desktop
3044   kde-standard
3045   kde-window-manager
3046   kdeartwork
3047   kdeartwork-emoticons
3048   kdeartwork-style
3049   kdeartwork-theme-icon
3050   kdebase
3051   kdebase-apps
3052   kdebase-workspace
3053   kdebase-workspace-bin
3054   kdebase-workspace-data
3055   kdeeject
3056   kdelibs
3057   kdeplasma-addons
3058   kdeutils
3059   kdewallpapers
3060   kdf
3061   kfloppy
3062   kgpg
3063   khelpcenter4
3064   kinfocenter
3065   konq-plugins-l10n
3066   konqueror-nsplugins
3067   kscreensaver
3068   kscreensaver-xsavers
3069   ktimer
3070   kwrite
3071   libgle3
3072   libkde4-ruby1.8
3073   libkonq5
3074   libkonq5-templates
3075   libnetpbm10
3076   libplasma-ruby
3077   libplasma-ruby1.8
3078   libqt4-ruby1.8
3079   marble-data
3080   marble-plugins
3081   netpbm
3082   nuvola-icon-theme
3083   plasma-dataengines-workspace
3084   plasma-desktop
3085   plasma-desktopthemes-artwork
3086   plasma-runners-addons
3087   plasma-scriptengine-googlegadgets
3088   plasma-scriptengine-python
3089   plasma-scriptengine-qedje
3090   plasma-scriptengine-ruby
3091   plasma-scriptengine-webkit
3092   plasma-scriptengines
3093   plasma-wallpapers-addons
3094   plasma-widget-folderview
3095   plasma-widget-networkmanagement
3096   ruby
3097   sweeper
3098   update-notifier-kde
3099   xscreensaver-data-extra
3100   xscreensaver-gl
3101   xscreensaver-gl-extra
3102   xscreensaver-screensaver-bsod
3103 </p></blockquote>
3104
3105 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
3106
3107 <blockquote><p>
3108   ark
3109   google-gadgets-common
3110   google-gadgets-qt
3111   htdig
3112   kate
3113   kdebase-bin
3114   kdebase-data
3115   kdepasswd
3116   kfind
3117   klipper
3118   konq-plugins
3119   konqueror
3120   ksysguard
3121   ksysguardd
3122   libarchive1
3123   libcln6
3124   libeet1
3125   libeina-svn-06
3126   libggadget-1.0-0b
3127   libggadget-qt-1.0-0b
3128   libgps19
3129   libkdecorations4
3130   libkephal4
3131   libkonq4
3132   libkonqsidebarplugin4a
3133   libkscreensaver5
3134   libksgrd4
3135   libksignalplotter4
3136   libkunitconversion4
3137   libkwineffects1a
3138   libmarblewidget4
3139   libntrack-qt4-1
3140   libntrack0
3141   libplasma-geolocation-interface4
3142   libplasmaclock4a
3143   libplasmagenericshell4
3144   libprocesscore4a
3145   libprocessui4a
3146   libqalculate5
3147   libqedje0a
3148   libqtruby4shared2
3149   libqzion0a
3150   libruby1.8
3151   libscim8c2a
3152   libsmokekdecore4-3
3153   libsmokekdeui4-3
3154   libsmokekfile3
3155   libsmokekhtml3
3156   libsmokekio3
3157   libsmokeknewstuff2-3
3158   libsmokeknewstuff3-3
3159   libsmokekparts3
3160   libsmokektexteditor3
3161   libsmokekutils3
3162   libsmokenepomuk3
3163   libsmokephonon3
3164   libsmokeplasma3
3165   libsmokeqtcore4-3
3166   libsmokeqtdbus4-3
3167   libsmokeqtgui4-3
3168   libsmokeqtnetwork4-3
3169   libsmokeqtopengl4-3
3170   libsmokeqtscript4-3
3171   libsmokeqtsql4-3
3172   libsmokeqtsvg4-3
3173   libsmokeqttest4-3
3174   libsmokeqtuitools4-3
3175   libsmokeqtwebkit4-3
3176   libsmokeqtxml4-3
3177   libsmokesolid3
3178   libsmokesoprano3
3179   libtaskmanager4a
3180   libtidy-0.99-0
3181   libweather-ion4a
3182   libxklavier16
3183   libxxf86misc1
3184   okteta
3185   oxygencursors
3186   plasma-dataengines-addons
3187   plasma-scriptengine-superkaramba
3188   plasma-widget-lancelot
3189   plasma-widgets-addons
3190   plasma-widgets-workspace
3191   polkit-kde-1
3192   ruby1.8
3193   systemsettings
3194   update-notifier-common
3195 </p></blockquote>
3196
3197 <p>Running apt-get autoremove made the results using apt-get and
3198 aptitude a bit more similar, but there are still quite a lott of
3199 differences.  I have no idea what packages should be installed after
3200 the upgrade, but hope those that do can have a look.</p>
3201
3202       </div>
3203       <div class="tags">
3204
3205
3206         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>.
3207
3208
3209       </div>
3210     </div>
3211     <div class="padding"></div>
3212
3213     <div class="entry">
3214       <div class="title">
3215         <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>
3216       </div>
3217       <div class="date">
3218         22nd November 2010
3219       </div>
3220       <div class="body">
3221         <p>Most of the computers in use by the
3222 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu/Skolelinux project</a>
3223 are virtual machines.  And they have been Xen machines running on a
3224 fairly old IBM eserver xseries 345 machine, and we wanted to migrate
3225 them to KVM on a newer Dell PowerEdge 2950 host machine.  This was a
3226 bit harder that it could have been, because we set up the Xen virtual
3227 machines to get the virtual partitions from LVM, which as far as I
3228 know is not supported by KVM.  So to migrate, we had to convert
3229 several LVM logical volumes to partitions on a virtual disk file.</p>
3230
3231 <p>I found
3232 <a href="http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com.au/articles/35011-Six-steps-for-migrating-Xen-virtual-machines-to-KVM">a
3233 nice recipe</a> to do this, and wrote the following script to do the
3234 migration.  It uses qemu-img from the qemu package to make the disk
3235 image, parted to partition it, losetup and kpartx to present the disk
3236 image partions as devices, and dd to copy the data.  I NFS mounted the
3237 new servers storage area on the old server to do the migration.</p>
3238
3239 <pre>
3240 #!/bin/sh
3241
3242 # Based on
3243 # http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com.au/articles/35011-Six-steps-for-migrating-Xen-virtual-machines-to-KVM
3244
3245 set -e
3246 set -x
3247
3248 if [ -z "$1" ] ; then
3249     echo "Usage: $0 &lt;hostname&gt;"
3250     exit 1
3251 else
3252     host="$1"
3253 fi
3254
3255 if [ ! -e /dev/vg_data/$host-disk ] ; then
3256     echo "error: unable to find LVM volume for $host"
3257     exit 1
3258 fi
3259
3260 # Partitions need to be a bit bigger than the LVM LVs.  not sure why.
3261 disksize=$( lvs --units m | grep $host-disk | awk '{sum = sum + $4} END { print int(sum * 1.05) }')
3262 swapsize=$( lvs --units m | grep $host-swap | awk '{sum = sum + $4} END { print int(sum * 1.05) }')
3263 totalsize=$(( ( $disksize + $swapsize ) ))
3264
3265 img=$host.img
3266 #dd if=/dev/zero of=$img bs=1M count=$(( $disksize + $swapsize ))
3267 qemu-img create $img ${totalsize}MMaking room on the Debian Edu/Sqeeze DVD
3268
3269 parted $img mklabel msdos
3270 parted $img mkpart primary linux-swap 0 $disksize
3271 parted $img mkpart primary ext2 $disksize $totalsize
3272 parted $img set 1 boot on
3273
3274 modprobe dm-mod
3275 losetup /dev/loop0 $img
3276 kpartx -a /dev/loop0
3277
3278 dd if=/dev/vg_data/$host-disk of=/dev/mapper/loop0p1 bs=1M
3279 fsck.ext3 -f /dev/mapper/loop0p1 || true
3280 mkswap /dev/mapper/loop0p2
3281
3282 kpartx -d /dev/loop0
3283 losetup -d /dev/loop0
3284 </pre>
3285
3286 <p>The script is perhaps so simple that it is not copyrightable, but
3287 if it is, it is licenced using GPL v2 or later at your discretion.</p>
3288
3289 <p>After doing this, I booted a Debian CD in rescue mode in KVM with
3290 the new disk image attached, installed grub-pc and linux-image-686 and
3291 set up grub to boot from the disk image.  After this, the KVM machines
3292 seem to work just fine.</p>
3293
3294       </div>
3295       <div class="tags">
3296
3297
3298         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>.
3299
3300
3301       </div>
3302     </div>
3303     <div class="padding"></div>
3304
3305     <div class="entry">
3306       <div class="title">
3307         <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>
3308       </div>
3309       <div class="date">
3310         20th November 2010
3311       </div>
3312       <div class="body">
3313         <p>I'm still running upgrade testing of the
3314 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">Lenny
3315 Gnome and KDE Desktop</a>, but have not had time to spend on reporting the
3316 status.  Here is a short update based on a test I ran 20101118.</p>
3317
3318 <p>I still do not know what a correct migration should look like, so I
3319 report any differences between apt and aptitude and hope someone else
3320 can see if anything should be changed.</p>
3321
3322 <p>This is for Gnome:</p>
3323
3324 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
3325
3326 <blockquote><p>
3327   apache2.2-bin aptdaemon at-spi baobab binfmt-support
3328   browser-plugin-gnash cheese-common cli-common cpp-4.3 cups-pk-helper
3329   dmz-cursor-theme empathy empathy-common finger
3330   freedesktop-sound-theme freeglut3 gconf-defaults-service gdm-themes
3331   gedit-plugins geoclue geoclue-hostip geoclue-localnet geoclue-manual
3332   geoclue-yahoo gnash gnash-common gnome gnome-backgrounds
3333   gnome-cards-data gnome-codec-install gnome-core
3334   gnome-desktop-environment gnome-disk-utility gnome-screenshot
3335   gnome-search-tool gnome-session-canberra gnome-spell
3336   gnome-system-log gnome-themes-extras gnome-themes-more
3337   gnome-user-share gs-common gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3
3338   gstreamer0.10-tools gtk2-engines gtk2-engines-pixbuf
3339   gtk2-engines-smooth hal-info hamster-applet libapache2-mod-dnssd
3340   libapr1 libaprutil1 libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3 libaprutil1-ldap
3341   libart2.0-cil libatspi1.0-0 libboost-date-time1.42.0
3342   libboost-python1.42.0 libboost-thread1.42.0 libchamplain-0.4-0
3343   libchamplain-gtk-0.4-0 libcheese-gtk18 libclutter-gtk-0.10-0
3344   libcryptui0 libcupsys2 libdiscid0 libeel2-data libelf1 libepc-1.0-2
3345   libepc-common libepc-ui-1.0-2 libfreerdp-plugins-standard
3346   libfreerdp0 libgail-common libgconf2.0-cil libgdata-common libgdata7
3347   libgdl-1-common libgdu-gtk0 libgee2 libgeoclue0 libgexiv2-0 libgif4
3348   libglade2.0-cil libglib2.0-cil libgmime2.4-cil libgnome-vfs2.0-cil
3349   libgnome2.24-cil libgnomepanel2.24-cil libgnomeprint2.2-data
3350   libgnomeprintui2.2-common libgnomevfs2-bin libgpod-common libgpod4
3351   libgtk2.0-cil libgtkglext1 libgtksourceview-common
3352   libgtksourceview2.0-common libmono-addins-gui0.2-cil
3353   libmono-addins0.2-cil libmono-cairo2.0-cil libmono-corlib2.0-cil
3354   libmono-i18n-west2.0-cil libmono-posix2.0-cil
3355   libmono-security2.0-cil libmono-sharpzip2.84-cil
3356   libmono-system2.0-cil libmtp8 libmusicbrainz3-6
3357   libndesk-dbus-glib1.0-cil libndesk-dbus1.0-cil libopal3.6.8
3358   libpolkit-gtk-1-0 libpt-1.10.10-plugins-alsa
3359   libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l libpt2.6.7 libpython2.6 librpm1 librpmio1
3360   libsdl1.2debian libservlet2.4-java libsrtp0 libssh-4
3361   libtelepathy-farsight0 libtelepathy-glib0 libtidy-0.99-0
3362   libxalan2-java libxerces2-java media-player-info mesa-utils
3363   mono-2.0-gac mono-gac mono-runtime nautilus-sendto
3364   nautilus-sendto-empathy openoffice.org-writer2latex
3365   openssl-blacklist p7zip p7zip-full pkg-config python-4suite-xml
3366   python-aptdaemon python-aptdaemon-gtk python-axiom
3367   python-beautifulsoup python-bugbuddy python-clientform
3368   python-coherence python-configobj python-crypto python-cupshelpers
3369   python-cupsutils python-eggtrayicon python-elementtree
3370   python-epsilon python-evolution python-feedparser python-gdata
3371   python-gdbm python-gst0.10 python-gtkglext1 python-gtkmozembed
3372   python-gtksourceview2 python-httplib2 python-louie python-mako
3373   python-markupsafe python-mechanize python-nevow python-notify
3374   python-opengl python-openssl python-pam python-pkg-resources
3375   python-pyasn1 python-pysqlite2 python-rdflib python-serial
3376   python-tagpy python-twisted-bin python-twisted-conch
3377   python-twisted-core python-twisted-web python-utidylib python-webkit
3378   python-xdg python-zope.interface remmina remmina-plugin-data
3379   remmina-plugin-rdp remmina-plugin-vnc rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder
3380   rhythmbox-plugins rpm-common rpm2cpio seahorse-plugins shotwell
3381   software-center svgalibg1 system-config-printer-udev
3382   telepathy-gabble telepathy-mission-control-5 telepathy-salut tomboy
3383   totem totem-coherence totem-mozilla totem-plugins
3384   transmission-common xdg-user-dirs xdg-user-dirs-gtk xserver-xephyr
3385   zip
3386 </p></blockquote>
3387
3388 Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude
3389
3390 <blockquote><p>
3391   arj bluez-utils cheese dhcdbd djvulibre-desktop ekiga eog
3392   epiphany-extensions epiphany-gecko evolution-exchange
3393   fast-user-switch-applet file-roller gcalctool gconf-editor gdm gedit
3394   gedit-common gnome-app-install gnome-games gnome-games-data
3395   gnome-nettool gnome-system-tools gnome-themes gnome-utils
3396   gnome-vfs-obexftp gnome-volume-manager gnuchess gucharmap
3397   guile-1.8-libs hal libavahi-compat-libdnssd1 libavahi-core5
3398   libavahi-ui0 libbind9-50 libbluetooth2 libcamel1.2-11 libcdio7
3399   libcucul0 libcurl3 libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdmx1 libdvdread3
3400   libedata-cal1.2-6 libedataserver1.2-9 libeel2-2.20 libepc-1.0-1
3401   libepc-ui-1.0-1 libexchange-storage1.2-3 libfaad0 libgadu3
3402   libgalago3 libgd2-noxpm libgda3-3 libgda3-common libggz2 libggzcore9
3403   libggzmod4 libgksu1.2-0 libgksuui1.0-1 libgmyth0 libgnome-desktop-2
3404   libgnome-pilot2 libgnomecups1.0-1 libgnomeprint2.2-0
3405   libgnomeprintui2.2-0 libgpod3 libgraphviz4 libgtk-vnc-1.0-0
3406   libgtkhtml2-0 libgtksourceview1.0-0 libgtksourceview2.0-0
3407   libgucharmap6 libhesiod0 libicu38 libisccc50 libisccfg50 libiw29
3408   libjaxp1.3-java-gcj libkpathsea4 liblircclient0 libltdl3 liblwres50
3409   libmagick++10 libmagick10 libmalaga7 libmozjs1d libmpfr1ldbl libmtp7
3410   libmysqlclient15off libnautilus-burn4 libneon27 libnm-glib0
3411   libnm-util0 libopal-2.2 libosp5 libparted1.8-10 libpisock9
3412   libpisync1 libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler3 libpt-1.10.10 libraw1394-8
3413   libsdl1.2debian-alsa libsensors3 libsexy2 libsmbios2 libsoup2.2-8
3414   libspeexdsp1 libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libsvga1
3415   libswfdec-0.6-90 libtalloc1 libtotem-plparser10 libtrackerclient0
3416   libvoikko1 libxalan2-java-gcj libxerces2-java-gcj libxklavier12
3417   libxtrap6 libxxf86misc1 libzephyr3 mysql-common rhythmbox seahorse
3418   sound-juicer swfdec-gnome system-config-printer totem-common
3419   totem-gstreamer transmission-gtk vinagre vino w3c-dtd-xhtml wodim
3420 </p></blockquote>
3421
3422 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
3423
3424 <blockquote><p>
3425   gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs
3426 </p></blockquote>
3427
3428 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
3429
3430 <blockquote><p>
3431 [nothing]
3432 </p></blockquote>
3433
3434 <p>This is for KDE:</p>
3435
3436 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
3437
3438 <blockquote><p>
3439   autopoint bomber bovo cantor cantor-backend-kalgebra cpp-4.3 dcoprss
3440   edict espeak espeak-data eyesapplet fifteenapplet finger gettext
3441   ghostscript-x git gnome-audio gnugo granatier gs-common
3442   gstreamer0.10-pulseaudio indi kaddressbook-plugins kalgebra
3443   kalzium-data kanjidic kapman kate-plugins kblocks kbreakout kbstate
3444   kde-icons-mono kdeaccessibility kdeaddons-kfile-plugins
3445   kdeadmin-kfile-plugins kdeartwork-misc kdeartwork-theme-window
3446   kdeedu kdeedu-data kdeedu-kvtml-data kdegames kdegames-card-data
3447   kdegames-mahjongg-data kdegraphics-kfile-plugins kdelirc
3448   kdemultimedia-kfile-plugins kdenetwork-kfile-plugins
3449   kdepim-kfile-plugins kdepim-kio-plugins kdessh kdetoys kdewebdev
3450   kdiamond kdnssd kfilereplace kfourinline kgeography-data kigo
3451   killbots kiriki klettres-data kmoon kmrml knewsticker-scripts
3452   kollision kpf krosspython ksirk ksmserver ksquares kstars-data
3453   ksudoku kubrick kweather libasound2-plugins libboost-python1.42.0
3454   libcfitsio3 libconvert-binhex-perl libcrypt-ssleay-perl libdb4.6++
3455   libdjvulibre-text libdotconf1.0 liberror-perl libespeak1
3456   libfinance-quote-perl libgail-common libgsl0ldbl libhtml-parser-perl
3457   libhtml-tableextract-perl libhtml-tagset-perl libhtml-tree-perl
3458   libio-stringy-perl libkdeedu4 libkdegames5 libkiten4 libkpathsea5
3459   libkrossui4 libmailtools-perl libmime-tools-perl
3460   libnews-nntpclient-perl libopenbabel3 libportaudio2 libpulse-browse0
3461   libservlet2.4-java libspeechd2 libtiff-tools libtimedate-perl
3462   libunistring0 liburi-perl libwww-perl libxalan2-java libxerces2-java
3463   lirc luatex marble networkstatus noatun-plugins
3464   openoffice.org-writer2latex palapeli palapeli-data parley
3465   parley-data poster psutils pulseaudio pulseaudio-esound-compat
3466   pulseaudio-module-x11 pulseaudio-utils quanta-data rocs rsync
3467   speech-dispatcher step svgalibg1 texlive-binaries texlive-luatex
3468   ttf-sazanami-gothic
3469 </p></blockquote>
3470
3471 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
3472
3473 <blockquote><p>
3474   amor artsbuilder atlantik atlantikdesigner blinken bluez-utils cvs
3475   dhcdbd djvulibre-desktop imlib-base imlib11 kalzium kanagram kandy
3476   kasteroids katomic kbackgammon kbattleship kblackbox kbounce kbruch
3477   kcron kdat kdemultimedia-kappfinder-data kdeprint kdict kdvi kedit
3478   keduca kenolaba kfax kfaxview kfouleggs kgeography kghostview
3479   kgoldrunner khangman khexedit kiconedit kig kimagemapeditor
3480   kitchensync kiten kjumpingcube klatin klettres klickety klines
3481   klinkstatus kmag kmahjongg kmailcvt kmenuedit kmid kmilo kmines
3482   kmousetool kmouth kmplot knetwalk kodo kolf kommander konquest kooka
3483   kpager kpat kpdf kpercentage kpilot kpoker kpovmodeler krec
3484   kregexpeditor kreversi ksame ksayit kshisen ksig ksim ksirc ksirtet
3485   ksmiletris ksnake ksokoban kspaceduel kstars ksvg ksysv kteatime
3486   ktip ktnef ktouch ktron kttsd ktuberling kturtle ktux kuickshow
3487   kverbos kview kviewshell kvoctrain kwifimanager kwin kwin4 kwordquiz
3488   kworldclock kxsldbg libakode2 libarts1-akode libarts1-audiofile
3489   libarts1-mpeglib libarts1-xine libavahi-compat-libdnssd1
3490   libavahi-core5 libavc1394-0 libbind9-50 libbluetooth2
3491   libboost-python1.34.1 libcucul0 libcurl3 libcvsservice0
3492   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdjvulibre21 libdvdread3 libfaad0 libfreebob0
3493   libgd2-noxpm libgraphviz4 libgsmme1c2a libgtkhtml2-0 libicu38
3494   libiec61883-0 libindex0 libisccc50 libisccfg50 libiw29
3495   libjaxp1.3-java-gcj libk3b3 libkcal2b libkcddb1 libkdeedu3
3496   libkdegames1 libkdepim1a libkgantt0 libkleopatra1 libkmime2
3497   libkpathsea4 libkpimexchange1 libkpimidentities1 libkscan1
3498   libksieve0 libktnef1 liblockdev1 libltdl3 liblwres50 libmagick10
3499   libmimelib1c2a libmodplug0c2 libmozjs1d libmpcdec3 libmpfr1ldbl
3500   libneon27 libnm-util0 libopensync0 libpisock9 libpoppler-glib3
3501   libpoppler-qt2 libpoppler3 libraw1394-8 librss1 libsensors3
3502   libsmbios2 libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libswfdec-0.6-90
3503   libtalloc1 libxalan2-java-gcj libxerces2-java-gcj libxtrap6 lskat
3504   mpeglib network-manager-kde noatun pmount tex-common texlive-base
3505   texlive-common texlive-doc-base texlive-fonts-recommended tidy
3506   ttf-dustin ttf-kochi-gothic ttf-sjfonts
3507 </p></blockquote>
3508
3509 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
3510
3511 <blockquote><p>
3512   dolphin kde-core kde-plasma-desktop kde-standard kde-window-manager
3513   kdeartwork kdebase kdebase-apps kdebase-workspace
3514   kdebase-workspace-bin kdebase-workspace-data kdeutils kscreensaver
3515   kscreensaver-xsavers libgle3 libkonq5 libkonq5-templates libnetpbm10
3516   netpbm plasma-widget-folderview plasma-widget-networkmanagement
3517   xscreensaver-data-extra xscreensaver-gl xscreensaver-gl-extra
3518   xscreensaver-screensaver-bsod
3519 </p></blockquote>
3520
3521 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
3522
3523 <blockquote><p>
3524   kdebase-bin konq-plugins konqueror
3525 </p></blockquote>
3526
3527       </div>
3528       <div class="tags">
3529
3530
3531         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>.
3532
3533
3534       </div>
3535     </div>
3536     <div class="padding"></div>
3537
3538     <div class="entry">
3539       <div class="title">
3540         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Gnash_buildbot_slave_and_Debian_kfreebsd.html">Gnash buildbot slave and Debian kfreebsd</a>
3541       </div>
3542       <div class="date">
3543         20th November 2010
3544       </div>
3545       <div class="body">
3546         <p>Answering
3547 <a href="http://www.listware.net/201011/gnash-dev/67431-gnash-dev-buildbot-looking-for-slaves.html">the
3548 call from the Gnash project</a> for
3549 <a href="http://www.gnashdev.org:8010">buildbot</a> slaves to test the
3550 current source, I have set up a virtual KVM machine on the Debian
3551 Edu/Skolelinux virtualization host to test the git source on
3552 Debian/Squeeze.  I hope this can help the developers in getting new
3553 releases out more often.</p>
3554
3555 <p>As the developers want less main-stream build platforms tested to,
3556 I have considered setting up a <a
3557 href="http://www.debian.org/ports/kfreebsd-gnu/">Debian/kfreebsd</a>
3558 machine as well.  I have also considered using the kfreebsd
3559 architecture in Debian as a file server in NUUG to get access to the 5
3560 TB zfs volume we currently use to store DV video.  Because of this, I
3561 finally got around to do a test installation of Debian/Squeeze with
3562 kfreebsd.  Installation went fairly smooth, thought I noticed some
3563 visual glitches in the cdebconf dialogs (black cursor left on the
3564 screen at random locations).  Have not gotten very far with the
3565 testing.  Noticed cfdisk did not work, but fdisk did so it was not a
3566 fatal problem.  Have to spend some more time on it to see if it is
3567 useful as a file server for NUUG.  Will try to find time to set up a
3568 gnash buildbot slave on the Debian Edu/Skolelinux this weekend.</p>
3569
3570       </div>
3571       <div class="tags">
3572
3573
3574         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>.
3575
3576
3577       </div>
3578     </div>
3579     <div class="padding"></div>
3580
3581     <div class="entry">
3582       <div class="title">
3583         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_in_3D.html">Debian in 3D</a>
3584       </div>
3585       <div class="date">
3586          9th November 2010
3587       </div>
3588       <div class="body">
3589         <p><img src="http://thingiverse-production.s3.amazonaws.com/renders/23/e0/c4/f9/2b/debswagtdose_preview_medium.jpg"></p>
3590
3591 <p>3D printing is just great.  I just came across this Debian logo in
3592 3D linked in from
3593 <a href="http://blog.thingiverse.com/2010/11/09/participatory-branding/">the
3594 thingiverse blog</a>.</p>
3595
3596       </div>
3597       <div class="tags">
3598
3599
3600         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>.
3601
3602
3603       </div>
3604     </div>
3605     <div class="padding"></div>
3606
3607     <div class="entry">
3608       <div class="title">
3609         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Software_updates_2010_10_24.html">Software updates 2010-10-24</a>
3610       </div>
3611       <div class="date">
3612         24th October 2010
3613       </div>
3614       <div class="body">
3615         <p>Some updates.</p>
3616
3617 <p>My <a href="http://pledgebank.com/gnash-avm2">gnash pledge</a> to
3618 raise money for the project is going well.  The lower limit of 10
3619 signers was reached in 24 hours, and so far 13 people have signed it.
3620 More signers and more funding is most welcome, and I am really curious
3621 how far we can get before the time limit of December 24 is reached.
3622 :)</p>
3623
3624 <p>On the #gnash IRC channel on irc.freenode.net, I was just tipped
3625 about what appear to be a great code coverage tool capable of
3626 generating code coverage stats without any changes to the source code.
3627 It is called
3628 <a href="http://simonkagstrom.github.com/kcov/index.html">kcov</a>,
3629 and can be used using <tt>kcov &lt;directory&gt; &lt;binary&gt;</tt>.
3630 It is missing in Debian, but the git source built just fine in Squeeze
3631 after I installed libelf-dev, libdwarf-dev, pkg-config and
3632 libglib2.0-dev.  Failed to build in Lenny, but suspect that is
3633 solvable.  I hope kcov make it into Debian soon.</p>
3634
3635 <p>Finally found time to wrap up the release notes for <a
3636 href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu-announce/2010/10/msg00002.html">a
3637 new alpha release of Debian Edu</a>, and just published the second
3638 alpha test release of the Squeeze based Debian Edu /
3639 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a>
3640 release.  Give it a try if you need a complete linux solution for your
3641 school, including central infrastructure server, workstations, thin
3642 client servers and diskless workstations.  A nice touch added
3643 yesterday is RDP support on the thin client servers, for windows
3644 clients to get a Linux desktop on request.</p>
3645
3646       </div>
3647       <div class="tags">
3648
3649
3650         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>.
3651
3652
3653       </div>
3654     </div>
3655     <div class="padding"></div>
3656
3657     <div class="entry">
3658       <div class="title">
3659         <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>
3660       </div>
3661       <div class="date">
3662          4th September 2010
3663       </div>
3664       <div class="body">
3665         <p>In the <a href="http://popcon.debian.org/unknown/by_vote">Debian
3666 popularity-contest numbers</a>, the adobe-flashplugin package the
3667 second most popular used package that is missing in Debian.  The sixth
3668 most popular is flashplayer-mozilla.  This is a clear indication that
3669 working flash is important for Debian users.  Around 10 percent of the
3670 users submitting data to popcon.debian.org have this package
3671 installed.</p>
3672
3673 <p>In the report written by Lars Risan in August 2008
3674 («<a href="http://wiki.skolelinux.no/Dokumentasjon/Rapporter?action=AttachFile&do=view&target=Skolelinux_i_bruk_rapport_1.0.pdf">Skolelinux
3675 i bruk – Rapport for Hurum kommune, Universitetet i Agder og
3676 stiftelsen SLX Debian Labs</a>»), one of the most important problems
3677 schools experienced with <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian
3678 Edu/Skolelinux</a> was the lack of working Flash.  A lot of educational
3679 web sites require Flash to work, and lacking working Flash support in
3680 the web browser and the problems with installing it was perceived as a
3681 good reason to stay with Windows.</p>
3682
3683 <p>I once saw a funny and sad comment in a web forum, where Linux was
3684 said to be the retarded cousin that did not really understand
3685 everything you told him but could work fairly well.  This was a
3686 comment regarding the problems Linux have with proprietary formats and
3687 non-standard web pages, and is sad because it exposes a fairly common
3688 understanding of whose fault it is if web pages that only work in for
3689 example Internet Explorer 6 fail to work on Firefox, and funny because
3690 it explain very well how annoying it is for users when Linux
3691 distributions do not work with the documents they receive or the web
3692 pages they want to visit.</p>
3693
3694 <p>This is part of the reason why I believe it is important for Debian
3695 and Debian Edu to have a well working Flash implementation in the
3696 distribution, to get at least popular sites as Youtube and Google
3697 Video to working out of the box.  For Squeeze, Debian have the chance
3698 to include the latest version of Gnash that will make this happen, as
3699 the new release 0.8.8 was published a few weeks ago and is resting in
3700 unstable.  The new version work with more sites that version 0.8.7.
3701 The Gnash maintainers have asked for a freeze exception, but the
3702 release team have not had time to reply to it yet.  I hope they agree
3703 with me that Flash is important for the Debian desktop users, and thus
3704 accept the new package into Squeeze.</p>
3705
3706       </div>
3707       <div class="tags">
3708
3709
3710         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>.
3711
3712
3713       </div>
3714     </div>
3715     <div class="padding"></div>
3716
3717     <div class="entry">
3718       <div class="title">
3719         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Circular_package_dependencies_harms_apt_recovery.html">Circular package dependencies harms apt recovery</a>
3720       </div>
3721       <div class="date">
3722         27th July 2010
3723       </div>
3724       <div class="body">
3725         <p>I discovered this while doing
3726 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatic_upgrade_testing_from_Lenny_to_Squeeze.html">automated
3727 testing of upgrades from Debian Lenny to Squeeze</a>.  A few packages
3728 in Debian still got circular dependencies, and it is often claimed
3729 that apt and aptitude should be able to handle this just fine, but
3730 some times these dependency loops causes apt to fail.</p>
3731
3732 <p>An example is from todays
3733 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing//test-20100727-lenny-squeeze-kde-aptitude.txt">upgrade
3734 of KDE using aptitude</a>.  In it, a bug in kdebase-workspace-data
3735 causes perl-modules to fail to upgrade.  The cause is simple.  If a
3736 package fail to unpack, then only part of packages with the circular
3737 dependency might end up being unpacked when unpacking aborts, and the
3738 ones already unpacked will fail to configure in the recovery phase
3739 because its dependencies are unavailable.</p>
3740
3741 <p>In this log, the problem manifest itself with this error:</p>
3742
3743 <blockquote><pre>
3744 dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of perl-modules:
3745  perl-modules depends on perl (>= 5.10.1-1); however:
3746   Version of perl on system is 5.10.0-19lenny2.
3747 dpkg: error processing perl-modules (--configure):
3748  dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
3749 </pre></blockquote>
3750
3751 <p>The perl/perl-modules circular dependency is already
3752 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/527917">reported as a bug</a>, and will
3753 hopefully be solved as soon as possible, but it is not the only one,
3754 and each one of these loops in the dependency tree can cause similar
3755 failures.  Of course, they only occur when there are bugs in other
3756 packages causing the unpacking to fail, but it is rather nasty when
3757 the failure of one package causes the problem to become worse because
3758 of dependency loops.</p>
3759
3760 <p>Thanks to
3761 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/06/msg00116.html">the
3762 tireless effort by Bill Allombert</a>, the number of circular
3763 dependencies
3764 <a href="http://debian.semistable.com/debgraph.out.html">left in Debian
3765 is dropping</a>, and perhaps it will reach zero one day. :)</p>
3766
3767 <p>Todays testing also exposed a bug in
3768 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/590605">update-notifier</a> and
3769 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/590604">different behaviour</a> between
3770 apt-get and aptitude, the latter possibly caused by some circular
3771 dependency.  Reported both to BTS to try to get someone to look at
3772 it.</p>
3773
3774       </div>
3775       <div class="tags">
3776
3777
3778         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>.
3779
3780
3781       </div>
3782     </div>
3783     <div class="padding"></div>
3784
3785     <div class="entry">
3786       <div class="title">
3787         <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>
3788       </div>
3789       <div class="date">
3790         17th July 2010
3791       </div>
3792       <div class="body">
3793         <p>This is a
3794 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_for_new__LDAP_schemas_replacing_RFC_2307_.html">followup</a>
3795 on my
3796 <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
3797 work</a> on
3798 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Combining_PowerDNS_and_ISC_DHCP_LDAP_objects.html">merging
3799 all</a> the computer related LDAP objects in Debian Edu.</p>
3800
3801 <p>As a step to try to see if it possible to merge the DNS and DHCP
3802 LDAP objects, I have had a look at how the packages pdns-backend-ldap
3803 and dhcp3-server-ldap in Debian use the LDAP server.  The two
3804 implementations are quite different in how they use LDAP.</p>
3805
3806 To get this information, I started slapd with debugging enabled and
3807 dumped the debug output to a file to get the LDAP searches performed
3808 on a Debian Edu main-server.  Here is a summary.
3809
3810 <p><strong>powerdns</strong></p>
3811
3812 <a href="http://www.linuxnetworks.de/doc/index.php/PowerDNS_LDAP_Backend">Clues
3813 on how to</a> set up PowerDNS to use a LDAP backend is available on
3814 the web.
3815
3816 <p>PowerDNS have two modes of operation using LDAP as its backend.
3817 One "strict" mode where the forward and reverse DNS lookups are done
3818 using the same LDAP objects, and a "tree" mode where the forward and
3819 reverse entries are in two different subtrees in LDAP with a structure
3820 based on the DNS names, as in tjener.intern and
3821 2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa.</p>
3822
3823 <p>In tree mode, the server is set up to use a LDAP subtree as its
3824 base, and uses a "base" scoped search for the DNS name by adding
3825 "dc=tjener,dc=intern," to the base with a filter for
3826 "(associateddomain=tjener.intern)" for the forward entry and
3827 "dc=2,dc=2,dc=0,dc=10,dc=in-addr,dc=arpa," with a filter for
3828 "(associateddomain=2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa)" for the reverse entry.  For
3829 forward entries, it is looking for attributes named dnsttl, arecord,
3830 nsrecord, cnamerecord, soarecord, ptrrecord, hinforecord, mxrecord,
3831 txtrecord, rprecord, afsdbrecord, keyrecord, aaaarecord, locrecord,
3832 srvrecord, naptrrecord, kxrecord, certrecord, dsrecord, sshfprecord,
3833 ipseckeyrecord, rrsigrecord, nsecrecord, dnskeyrecord, dhcidrecord,
3834 spfrecord and modifytimestamp.  For reverse entries it is looking for
3835 the attributes dnsttl, arecord, nsrecord, cnamerecord, soarecord,
3836 ptrrecord, hinforecord, mxrecord, txtrecord, rprecord, aaaarecord,
3837 locrecord, srvrecord, naptrrecord and modifytimestamp.  The equivalent
3838 ldapsearch commands could look like this:</p>
3839
3840 <blockquote><pre>
3841 ldapsearch -h ldap \
3842   -b dc=tjener,dc=intern,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no \
3843   -s base -x '(associateddomain=tjener.intern)' dNSTTL aRecord nSRecord \
3844   cNAMERecord sOARecord pTRRecord hInfoRecord mXRecord tXTRecord \
3845   rPRecord aFSDBRecord KeyRecord aAAARecord lOCRecord sRVRecord \
3846   nAPTRRecord kXRecord certRecord dSRecord sSHFPRecord iPSecKeyRecord \
3847   rRSIGRecord nSECRecord dNSKeyRecord dHCIDRecord sPFRecord modifyTimestamp
3848
3849 ldapsearch -h ldap \
3850   -b dc=2,dc=2,dc=0,dc=10,dc=in-addr,dc=arpa,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no \
3851   -s base -x '(associateddomain=2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa)'
3852   dnsttl, arecord, nsrecord, cnamerecord soarecord ptrrecord \
3853   hinforecord mxrecord txtrecord rprecord aaaarecord locrecord \
3854   srvrecord naptrrecord modifytimestamp
3855 </pre></blockquote>
3856
3857 <p>In Debian Edu/Lenny, the PowerDNS tree mode is used with
3858 ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no as the base, and these are two
3859 example LDAP objects used there.  In addition to these objects, the
3860 parent objects all th way up to ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
3861 also exist.</p>
3862
3863 <blockquote><pre>
3864 dn: dc=tjener,dc=intern,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
3865 objectclass: top
3866 objectclass: dnsdomain
3867 objectclass: domainrelatedobject
3868 dc: tjener
3869 arecord: 10.0.2.2
3870 associateddomain: tjener.intern
3871
3872 dn: dc=2,dc=2,dc=0,dc=10,dc=in-addr,dc=arpa,ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
3873 objectclass: top
3874 objectclass: dnsdomain2
3875 objectclass: domainrelatedobject
3876 dc: 2
3877 ptrrecord: tjener.intern
3878 associateddomain: 2.2.0.10.in-addr.arpa
3879 </pre></blockquote>
3880
3881 <p>In strict mode, the server behaves differently.  When looking for
3882 forward DNS entries, it is doing a "subtree" scoped search with the
3883 same base as in the tree mode for a object with filter
3884 "(associateddomain=tjener.intern)" and requests the attributes dnsttl,
3885 arecord, nsrecord, cnamerecord, soarecord, ptrrecord, hinforecord,
3886 mxrecord, txtrecord, rprecord, aaaarecord, locrecord, srvrecord,
3887 naptrrecord and modifytimestamp.  For reverse entires it also do a
3888 subtree scoped search but this time the filter is "(arecord=10.0.2.2)"
3889 and the requested attributes are associateddomain, dnsttl and
3890 modifytimestamp.  In short, in strict mode the objects with ptrrecord
3891 go away, and the arecord attribute in the forward object is used
3892 instead.</p>
3893
3894 <p>The forward and reverse searches can be simulated using ldapsearch
3895 like this:</p>
3896
3897 <blockquote><pre>
3898 ldapsearch -h ldap -b ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no -s sub -x \
3899   '(associateddomain=tjener.intern)' dNSTTL aRecord nSRecord \
3900   cNAMERecord sOARecord pTRRecord hInfoRecord mXRecord tXTRecord \
3901   rPRecord aFSDBRecord KeyRecord aAAARecord lOCRecord sRVRecord \
3902   nAPTRRecord kXRecord certRecord dSRecord sSHFPRecord iPSecKeyRecord \
3903   rRSIGRecord nSECRecord dNSKeyRecord dHCIDRecord sPFRecord modifyTimestamp
3904
3905 ldapsearch -h ldap -b ou=hosts,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no -s sub -x \
3906   '(arecord=10.0.2.2)' associateddomain dnsttl modifytimestamp
3907 </pre></blockquote>
3908
3909 <p>In addition to the forward and reverse searches , there is also a
3910 search for SOA records, which behave similar to the forward and
3911 reverse lookups.</p>
3912
3913 <p>A thing to note with the PowerDNS behaviour is that it do not
3914 specify any objectclass names, and instead look for the attributes it
3915 need to generate a DNS reply.  This make it able to work with any
3916 objectclass that provide the needed attributes.</p>
3917
3918 <p>The attributes are normally provided in the cosine (RFC 1274) and
3919 dnsdomain2 schemas.  The latter is used for reverse entries like
3920 ptrrecord and recent DNS additions like aaaarecord and srvrecord.</p>
3921
3922 <p>In Debian Edu, we have created DNS objects using the object classes
3923 dcobject (for dc), dnsdomain or dnsdomain2 (structural, for the DNS
3924 attributes) and domainrelatedobject (for associatedDomain).  The use
3925 of structural object classes make it impossible to combine these
3926 classes with the object classes used by DHCP.</p>
3927
3928 <p>There are other schemas that could be used too, for example the
3929 dnszone structural object class used by Gosa and bind-sdb for the DNS
3930 attributes combined with the domainrelatedobject object class, but in
3931 this case some unused attributes would have to be included as well
3932 (zonename and relativedomainname).</p>
3933
3934 <p>My proposal for Debian Edu would be to switch PowerDNS to strict
3935 mode and not use any of the existing objectclasses (dnsdomain,
3936 dnsdomain2 and dnszone) when one want to combine the DNS information
3937 with DHCP information, and instead create a auxiliary object class
3938 defined something like this (using the attributes defined for
3939 dnsdomain and dnsdomain2 or dnszone):</p>
3940
3941 <blockquote><pre>
3942 objectclass ( some-oid NAME 'dnsDomainAux'
3943     SUP top
3944     AUXILIARY
3945     MAY ( ARecord $ MDRecord $ MXRecord $ NSRecord $ SOARecord $ CNAMERecord $
3946           DNSTTL $ DNSClass $ PTRRecord $ HINFORecord $ MINFORecord $
3947           TXTRecord $ SIGRecord $ KEYRecord $ AAAARecord $ LOCRecord $
3948           NXTRecord $ SRVRecord $ NAPTRRecord $ KXRecord $ CERTRecord $
3949           A6Record $ DNAMERecord
3950     ))
3951 </pre></blockquote>
3952
3953 <p>This will allow any object to become a DNS entry when combined with
3954 the domainrelatedobject object class, and allow any entity to include
3955 all the attributes PowerDNS wants.  I've sent an email to the PowerDNS
3956 developers asking for their view on this schema and if they are
3957 interested in providing such schema with PowerDNS, and I hope my
3958 message will be accepted into their mailing list soon.</p>
3959
3960 <p><strong>ISC dhcp</strong></p>
3961
3962 <p>The DHCP server searches for specific objectclass and requests all
3963 the object attributes, and then uses the attributes it want.  This
3964 make it harder to figure out exactly what attributes are used, but
3965 thanks to the working example in Debian Edu I can at least get an idea
3966 what is needed without having to read the source code.</p>
3967
3968 <p>In the DHCP server configuration, the LDAP base to use and the
3969 search filter to use to locate the correct dhcpServer entity is
3970 stored.  These are the relevant entries from
3971 /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf:</p>
3972
3973 <blockquote><pre>
3974 ldap-base-dn "dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no";
3975 ldap-dhcp-server-cn "dhcp";
3976 </pre></blockquote>
3977
3978 <p>The DHCP server uses this information to nest all the DHCP
3979 configuration it need.  The cn "dhcp" is located using the given LDAP
3980 base and the filter "(&(objectClass=dhcpServer)(cn=dhcp))".  The
3981 search result is this entry:</p>
3982
3983 <blockquote><pre>
3984 dn: cn=dhcp,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
3985 cn: dhcp
3986 objectClass: top
3987 objectClass: dhcpServer
3988 dhcpServiceDN: cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
3989 </pre></blockquote>
3990
3991 <p>The content of the dhcpServiceDN attribute is next used to locate the
3992 subtree with DHCP configuration.  The DHCP configuration subtree base
3993 is located using a base scope search with base "cn=DHCP
3994 Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no" and filter
3995 "(&(objectClass=dhcpService)(|(dhcpPrimaryDN=cn=dhcp,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no)(dhcpSecondaryDN=cn=dhcp,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no)))".
3996 The search result is this entry:</p>
3997
3998 <blockquote><pre>
3999 dn: cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
4000 cn: DHCP Config
4001 objectClass: top
4002 objectClass: dhcpService
4003 objectClass: dhcpOptions
4004 dhcpPrimaryDN: cn=dhcp, dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
4005 dhcpStatements: ddns-update-style none
4006 dhcpStatements: authoritative
4007 dhcpOption: smtp-server code 69 = array of ip-address
4008 dhcpOption: www-server code 72 = array of ip-address
4009 dhcpOption: wpad-url code 252 = text
4010 </pre></blockquote>
4011
4012 <p>Next, the entire subtree is processed, one level at the time.  When
4013 all the DHCP configuration is loaded, it is ready to receive requests.
4014 The subtree in Debian Edu contain objects with object classes
4015 top/dhcpService/dhcpOptions, top/dhcpSharedNetwork/dhcpOptions,
4016 top/dhcpSubnet, top/dhcpGroup and top/dhcpHost.  These provide options
4017 and information about netmasks, dynamic range etc.  Leaving out the
4018 details here because it is not relevant for the focus of my
4019 investigation, which is to see if it is possible to merge dns and dhcp
4020 related computer objects.</p>
4021
4022 <p>When a DHCP request come in, LDAP is searched for the MAC address
4023 of the client (00:00:00:00:00:00 in this example), using a subtree
4024 scoped search with "cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no" as
4025 the base and "(&(objectClass=dhcpHost)(dhcpHWAddress=ethernet
4026 00:00:00:00:00:00))" as the filter.  This is what a host object look
4027 like:</p>
4028
4029 <blockquote><pre>
4030 dn: cn=hostname,cn=group1,cn=THINCLIENTS,cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
4031 cn: hostname
4032 objectClass: top
4033 objectClass: dhcpHost
4034 dhcpHWAddress: ethernet 00:00:00:00:00:00
4035 dhcpStatements: fixed-address hostname
4036 </pre></blockquote>
4037
4038 <p>There is less flexiblity in the way LDAP searches are done here.
4039 The object classes need to have fixed names, and the configuration
4040 need to be stored in a fairly specific LDAP structure.  On the
4041 positive side, the invidiual dhcpHost entires can be anywhere without
4042 the DN pointed to by the dhcpServer entries.  The latter should make
4043 it possible to group all host entries in a subtree next to the
4044 configuration entries, and this subtree can also be shared with the
4045 DNS server if the schema proposed above is combined with the dhcpHost
4046 structural object class.
4047
4048 <p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
4049
4050 <p>The PowerDNS implementation seem to be very flexible when it come
4051 to which LDAP schemas to use.  While its "tree" mode is rigid when it
4052 come to the the LDAP structure, the "strict" mode is very flexible,
4053 allowing DNS objects to be stored anywhere under the base cn specified
4054 in the configuration.</p>
4055
4056 <p>The DHCP implementation on the other hand is very inflexible, both
4057 regarding which LDAP schemas to use and which LDAP structure to use.
4058 I guess one could implement ones own schema, as long as the
4059 objectclasses and attributes have the names used, but this do not
4060 really help when the DHCP subtree need to have a fairly fixed
4061 structure.</p>
4062
4063 <p>Based on the observed behaviour, I suspect a LDAP structure like
4064 this might work for Debian Edu:</p>
4065
4066 <blockquote><pre>
4067 ou=services
4068   cn=machine-info (dhcpService) - dhcpServiceDN points here
4069     cn=dhcp (dhcpServer)
4070     cn=dhcp-internal (dhcpSharedNetwork/dhcpOptions)
4071       cn=10.0.2.0 (dhcpSubnet)
4072         cn=group1 (dhcpGroup/dhcpOptions)
4073     cn=dhcp-thinclients (dhcpSharedNetwork/dhcpOptions)
4074       cn=192.168.0.0 (dhcpSubnet)
4075         cn=group1 (dhcpGroup/dhcpOptions)
4076     ou=machines - PowerDNS base points here
4077       cn=hostname (dhcpHost/domainrelatedobject/dnsDomainAux)
4078 </pre></blockquote>
4079
4080 <P>This is not tested yet.  If the DHCP server require the dhcpHost
4081 entries to be in the dhcpGroup subtrees, the entries can be stored
4082 there instead of a common machines subtree, and the PowerDNS base
4083 would have to be moved one level up to the machine-info subtree.</p>
4084
4085 <p>The combined object under the machines subtree would look something
4086 like this:</p>
4087
4088 <blockquote><pre>
4089 dn: dc=hostname,ou=machines,cn=machine-info,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
4090 dc: hostname
4091 objectClass: top
4092 objectClass: dhcpHost
4093 objectclass: domainrelatedobject
4094 objectclass: dnsDomainAux
4095 associateddomain: hostname.intern
4096 arecord: 10.11.12.13
4097 dhcpHWAddress: ethernet 00:00:00:00:00:00
4098 dhcpStatements: fixed-address hostname.intern
4099 </pre></blockquote>
4100
4101 </p>One could even add the LTSP configuration associated with a given
4102 machine, as long as the required attributes are available in a
4103 auxiliary object class.</p>
4104
4105       </div>
4106       <div class="tags">
4107
4108
4109         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>.
4110
4111
4112       </div>
4113     </div>
4114     <div class="padding"></div>
4115
4116     <div class="entry">
4117       <div class="title">
4118         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Combining_PowerDNS_and_ISC_DHCP_LDAP_objects.html">Combining PowerDNS and ISC DHCP LDAP objects</a>
4119       </div>
4120       <div class="date">
4121         14th July 2010
4122       </div>
4123       <div class="body">
4124         <p>For a while now, I have wanted to find a way to change the DNS and
4125 DHCP services in Debian Edu to use the same LDAP objects for a given
4126 computer, to avoid the possibility of having a inconsistent state for
4127 a computer in LDAP (as in DHCP but no DNS entry or the other way
4128 around) and make it easier to add computers to LDAP.</p>
4129
4130 <p>I've looked at how powerdns and dhcpd is using LDAP, and using this
4131 information finally found a solution that seem to work.</p>
4132
4133 <p>The old setup required three LDAP objects for a given computer.
4134 One forward DNS entry, one reverse DNS entry and one DHCP entry.  If
4135 we switch powerdns to use its strict LDAP method (ldap-method=strict
4136 in pdns-debian-edu.conf), the forward and reverse DNS entries are
4137 merged into one while making it impossible to transfer the reverse map
4138 to a slave DNS server.</p>
4139
4140 <p>If we also replace the object class used to get the DNS related
4141 attributes to one allowing these attributes to be combined with the
4142 dhcphost object class, we can merge the DNS and DHCP entries into one.
4143 I've written such object class in the dnsdomainaux.schema file (need
4144 proper OIDs, but that is a minor issue), and tested the setup.  It
4145 seem to work.</p>
4146
4147 <p>With this test setup in place, we can get away with one LDAP object
4148 for both DNS and DHCP, and even the LTSP configuration I suggested in
4149 an earlier email.  The combined LDAP object will look something like
4150 this:</p>
4151
4152 <blockquote><pre>
4153   dn: cn=hostname,cn=group1,cn=THINCLIENTS,cn=DHCP Config,dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no
4154   cn: hostname
4155   objectClass: dhcphost
4156   objectclass: domainrelatedobject
4157   objectclass: dnsdomainaux
4158   associateddomain: hostname.intern
4159   arecord: 10.11.12.13
4160   dhcphwaddress: ethernet 00:00:00:00:00:00
4161   dhcpstatements: fixed-address hostname
4162   ldapconfigsound: Y
4163 </pre></blockquote>
4164
4165 <p>The DNS server uses the associateddomain and arecord entries, while
4166 the DHCP server uses the dhcphwaddress and dhcpstatements entries
4167 before asking DNS to resolve the fixed-adddress.  LTSP will use
4168 dhcphwaddress or associateddomain and the ldapconfig* attributes.</p>
4169
4170 <p>I am not yet sure if I can get the DHCP server to look for its
4171 dhcphost in a different location, to allow us to put the objects
4172 outside the "DHCP Config" subtree, but hope to figure out a way to do
4173 that.  If I can't figure out a way to do that, we can still get rid of
4174 the hosts subtree and move all its content into the DHCP Config tree
4175 (which probably should be renamed to be more related to the new
4176 content.  I suspect cn=dnsdhcp,ou=services or something like that
4177 might be a good place to put it.</p>
4178
4179 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
4180 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
4181
4182       </div>
4183       <div class="tags">
4184
4185
4186         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>.
4187
4188
4189       </div>
4190     </div>
4191     <div class="padding"></div>
4192
4193     <div class="entry">
4194       <div class="title">
4195         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Idea_for_storing_LTSP_configuration_in_LDAP.html">Idea for storing LTSP configuration in LDAP</a>
4196       </div>
4197       <div class="date">
4198         11th July 2010
4199       </div>
4200       <div class="body">
4201         <p>Vagrant mentioned on IRC today that ltsp_config now support
4202 sourcing files from /usr/share/ltsp/ltsp_config.d/ on the thin
4203 clients, and that this can be used to fetch configuration from LDAP if
4204 Debian Edu choose to store configuration there.</p>
4205
4206 <p>Armed with this information, I got inspired and wrote a test module
4207 to get configuration from LDAP.  The idea is to look up the MAC
4208 address of the client in LDAP, and look for attributes on the form
4209 ltspconfigsetting=value, and use this to export SETTING=value to the
4210 LTSP clients.</p>
4211
4212 <p>The goal is to be able to store the LTSP configuration attributes
4213 in a "computer" LDAP object used by both DNS and DHCP, and thus
4214 allowing us to store all information about a computer in one place.</p>
4215
4216 <p>This is a untested draft implementation, and I welcome feedback on
4217 this approach.  A real LDAP schema for the ltspClientAux objectclass
4218 need to be written.  Comments, suggestions, etc?</p>
4219
4220 <blockquote><pre>
4221 # Store in /opt/ltsp/$arch/usr/share/ltsp/ltsp_config.d/ldap-config
4222 #
4223 # Fetch LTSP client settings from LDAP based on MAC address
4224 #
4225 # Uses ethernet address as stored in the dhcpHost objectclass using
4226 # the dhcpHWAddress attribute or ethernet address stored in the
4227 # ieee802Device objectclass with the macAddress attribute.
4228 #
4229 # This module is written to be schema agnostic, and only depend on the
4230 # existence of attribute names.
4231 #
4232 # The LTSP configuration variables are saved directly using a
4233 # ltspConfig prefix and uppercasing the rest of the attribute name.
4234 # To set the SERVER variable, set the ltspConfigServer attribute.
4235 #
4236 # Some LDAP schema should be created with all the relevant
4237 # configuration settings.  Something like this should work:
4238 #
4239 # objectclass ( 1.1.2.2 NAME 'ltspClientAux'
4240 #     SUP top
4241 #     AUXILIARY
4242 #     MAY ( ltspConfigServer $ ltsConfigSound $ ... )
4243
4244 LDAPSERVER=$(debian-edu-ldapserver)
4245 if [ "$LDAPSERVER" ] ; then
4246     LDAPBASE=$(debian-edu-ldapserver -b)
4247     for MAC in $(LANG=C ifconfig |grep -i hwaddr| awk '{print $5}'|sort -u) ; do
4248         filter="(|(dhcpHWAddress=ethernet $MAC)(macAddress=$MAC))"
4249         ldapsearch -h "$LDAPSERVER" -b "$LDAPBASE" -v -x "$filter" | \
4250             grep '^ltspConfig' | while read attr value ; do
4251             # Remove prefix and convert to upper case
4252             attr=$(echo $attr | sed 's/^ltspConfig//i' | tr a-z A-Z)
4253             # bass value on to clients
4254             eval "$attr=$value; export $attr"
4255         done
4256     done
4257 fi
4258 </pre></blockquote>
4259
4260 <p>I'm not sure this shell construction will work, because I suspect
4261 the while block might end up in a subshell causing the variables set
4262 there to not show up in ltsp-config, but if that is the case I am sure
4263 the code can be restructured to make sure the variables are passed on.
4264 I expect that can be solved with some testing. :)</p>
4265
4266 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
4267 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
4268
4269 <p>Update 2010-07-17: I am aware of another effort to store LTSP
4270 configuration in LDAP that was created around year 2000 by
4271 <a href="http://www.pcxperience.com/thinclient/documentation/ldap.html">PC
4272 Xperience, Inc., 2000</a>.  I found its
4273 <a href="http://people.redhat.com/alikins/ltsp/ldap/">files</a> on a
4274 personal home page over at redhat.com.</p>
4275
4276       </div>
4277       <div class="tags">
4278
4279
4280         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>.
4281
4282
4283       </div>
4284     </div>
4285     <div class="padding"></div>
4286
4287     <div class="entry">
4288       <div class="title">
4289         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/jXplorer__a_very_nice_LDAP_GUI.html">jXplorer, a very nice LDAP GUI</a>
4290       </div>
4291       <div class="date">
4292          9th July 2010
4293       </div>
4294       <div class="body">
4295         <p>Since
4296 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/LUMA__a_very_nice_LDAP_GUI.html">my
4297 last post</a> about available LDAP tools in Debian, I was told about a
4298 LDAP GUI that is even better than luma.  The java application
4299 <a href="http://jxplorer.org/">jXplorer</a> is claimed to be capable of
4300 moving LDAP objects and subtrees using drag-and-drop, and can
4301 authenticate using Kerberos.  I have only tested the Kerberos
4302 authentication, but do not have a LDAP setup allowing me to rewrite
4303 LDAP with my test user yet.  It is
4304 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/j/jxplorer.html">available in
4305 Debian</a> testing and unstable at the moment.  The only problem I
4306 have with it is how it handle errors.  If something go wrong, its
4307 non-intuitive behaviour require me to go through some query work list
4308 and remove the failing query.  Nothing big, but very annoying.</p>
4309
4310       </div>
4311       <div class="tags">
4312
4313
4314         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>.
4315
4316
4317       </div>
4318     </div>
4319     <div class="padding"></div>
4320
4321     <div class="entry">
4322       <div class="title">
4323         <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>
4324       </div>
4325       <div class="date">
4326          3rd July 2010
4327       </div>
4328       <div class="body">
4329         <p>Here is a short update on my <a
4330 href="http://people.skolelinux.org/~pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">my
4331 Debian Lenny->Squeeze upgrade testing</a>.  Here is a summary of the
4332 difference for Gnome when it is upgraded by apt-get and aptitude.  I'm
4333 not reporting the status for KDE, because the upgrade crashes when
4334 aptitude try because of missing conflicts
4335 (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/584861">#584861</a> and
4336 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/585716">#585716</a>).</p>
4337
4338 <p>At the end of the upgrade test script, dpkg -l is executed to get a
4339 complete list of the installed packages.  Based on this I see these
4340 differences when I did a test run today.  As usual, I do not really
4341 know what the correct set of packages would be, but thought it best to
4342 publish the difference.</p>
4343
4344 <p>Installed using apt-get, missing with aptitude</p>
4345
4346 <blockquote><p>
4347   at-spi cpp-4.3 finger gnome-spell gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs
4348   libatspi1.0-0 libcupsys2 libeel2-data libgail-common libgdl-1-common
4349   libgnomeprint2.2-data libgnomeprintui2.2-common libgnomevfs2-bin
4350   libgtksourceview-common libpt-1.10.10-plugins-alsa
4351   libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l libservlet2.4-java libxalan2-java
4352   libxerces2-java openoffice.org-writer2latex openssl-blacklist p7zip
4353   python-4suite-xml python-eggtrayicon python-gtkhtml2
4354   python-gtkmozembed svgalibg1 xserver-xephyr zip
4355 </p></blockquote>
4356
4357 <p>Installed using apt-get, removed with aptitude</p>
4358
4359 <blockquote><p>
4360   bluez-utils dhcdbd djvulibre-desktop epiphany-gecko
4361   gnome-app-install gnome-mount gnome-vfs-obexftp gnome-volume-manager
4362   libao2 libavahi-compat-libdnssd1 libavahi-core5 libbind9-50
4363   libbluetooth2 libcamel1.2-11 libcdio7 libcucul0 libcurl3
4364   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdvdread3 libedata-cal1.2-6 libedataserver1.2-9
4365   libeel2-2.20 libepc-1.0-1 libepc-ui-1.0-1 libexchange-storage1.2-3
4366   libfaad0 libgd2-noxpm libgda3-3 libgda3-common libggz2 libggzcore9
4367   libggzmod4 libgksu1.2-0 libgksuui1.0-1 libgmyth0 libgnome-desktop-2
4368   libgnome-pilot2 libgnomecups1.0-1 libgnomeprint2.2-0
4369   libgnomeprintui2.2-0 libgpod3 libgraphviz4 libgtkhtml2-0
4370   libgtksourceview1.0-0 libgucharmap6 libhesiod0 libicu38 libisccc50
4371   libisccfg50 libiw29 libkpathsea4 libltdl3 liblwres50 libmagick++10
4372   libmagick10 libmalaga7 libmtp7 libmysqlclient15off libnautilus-burn4
4373   libneon27 libnm-glib0 libnm-util0 libopal-2.2 libosp5
4374   libparted1.8-10 libpisock9 libpisync1 libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler3
4375   libpt-1.10.10 libraw1394-8 libsensors3 libsmbios2 libsoup2.2-8
4376   libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libswfdec-0.6-90 libtalloc1
4377   libtotem-plparser10 libtrackerclient0 libvoikko1 libxalan2-java-gcj
4378   libxerces2-java-gcj libxklavier12 libxtrap6 libxxf86misc1 libzephyr3
4379   mysql-common swfdec-gnome totem-gstreamer wodim
4380 </p></blockquote>
4381
4382 <p>Installed using aptitude, missing with apt-get</p>
4383
4384 <blockquote><p>
4385   gnome gnome-desktop-environment hamster-applet python-gnomeapplet
4386   python-gnomekeyring python-wnck rhythmbox-plugins xorg
4387   xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev
4388   xserver-xorg-input-kbd xserver-xorg-input-mouse
4389   xserver-xorg-input-synaptics xserver-xorg-video-all
4390   xserver-xorg-video-apm xserver-xorg-video-ark xserver-xorg-video-ati
4391   xserver-xorg-video-chips xserver-xorg-video-cirrus
4392   xserver-xorg-video-dummy xserver-xorg-video-fbdev
4393   xserver-xorg-video-glint xserver-xorg-video-i128
4394   xserver-xorg-video-i740 xserver-xorg-video-mach64
4395   xserver-xorg-video-mga xserver-xorg-video-neomagic
4396   xserver-xorg-video-nouveau xserver-xorg-video-nv
4397   xserver-xorg-video-r128 xserver-xorg-video-radeon
4398   xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd xserver-xorg-video-rendition
4399   xserver-xorg-video-s3 xserver-xorg-video-s3virge
4400   xserver-xorg-video-savage xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion
4401   xserver-xorg-video-sis xserver-xorg-video-sisusb
4402   xserver-xorg-video-tdfx xserver-xorg-video-tga
4403   xserver-xorg-video-trident xserver-xorg-video-tseng
4404   xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vmware
4405   xserver-xorg-video-voodoo
4406 </p></blockquote>
4407
4408 <p>Installed using aptitude, removed with apt-get</p>
4409
4410 <blockquote><p>
4411   deskbar-applet xserver-xorg xserver-xorg-core
4412   xserver-xorg-input-wacom xserver-xorg-video-intel
4413   xserver-xorg-video-openchrome
4414 </p></blockquote>
4415
4416 <p>I was told on IRC that the xorg-xserver package was
4417 <a href="http://git.debian.org/?p=pkg-xorg/xserver/xorg-server.git;a=commit;h=9c8080d06c457932d3bfec021c69ac000aa60120">changed
4418 in git</a> today to try to get apt-get to not remove xorg completely.
4419 No idea when it hits Squeeze, but when it does I hope it will reduce
4420 the difference somewhat.
4421
4422       </div>
4423       <div class="tags">
4424
4425
4426         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>.
4427
4428
4429       </div>
4430     </div>
4431     <div class="padding"></div>
4432
4433     <div class="entry">
4434       <div class="title">
4435         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/LUMA__a_very_nice_LDAP_GUI.html">LUMA, a very nice LDAP GUI</a>
4436       </div>
4437       <div class="date">
4438         28th June 2010
4439       </div>
4440       <div class="body">
4441         <p>The last few days I have been looking into the status of the LDAP
4442 directory in Debian Edu, and in the process I started to miss a GUI
4443 tool to browse the LDAP tree.  The only one I was able to find in
4444 Debian/Squeeze and Lenny is
4445 <a href="http://luma.sourceforge.net/">LUMA</a>, which has proved to
4446 be a great tool to get a overview of the current LDAP directory
4447 populated by default in Skolelinux.  Thanks to it, I have been able to
4448 find empty and obsolete subtrees, misplaced objects and duplicate
4449 objects.  It will be installed by default in Debian/Squeeze.  If you
4450 are working with LDAP, give it a go. :)</p>
4451
4452 <p>I did notice one problem with it I have not had time to report to
4453 the BTS yet.  There is no .desktop file in the package, so the tool do
4454 not show up in the Gnome and KDE menus, but only deep down in in the
4455 Debian submenu in KDE.  I hope that can be fixed before Squeeze is
4456 released.</p>
4457
4458 <p>I have not yet been able to get it to modify the tree yet.  I would
4459 like to move objects and remove subtrees directly in the GUI, but have
4460 not found a way to do that with LUMA yet.  So in the mean time, I use
4461 <a href="http://www.lichteblau.com/ldapvi/">ldapvi</a> for that.</p>
4462
4463 <p>If you have tips on other GUI tools for LDAP that might be useful
4464 in Debian Edu, please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
4465
4466 <p>Update 2010-06-29: Ross Reedstrom tipped us about the
4467 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/g/gq.html">gq</a> package as a
4468 useful GUI alternative.  It seem like a good tool, but is unmaintained
4469 in Debian and got a RC bug keeping it out of Squeeze.  Unless that
4470 changes, it will not be an option for Debian Edu based on Squeeze.</p>
4471
4472       </div>
4473       <div class="tags">
4474
4475
4476         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>.
4477
4478
4479       </div>
4480     </div>
4481     <div class="padding"></div>
4482
4483     <div class="entry">
4484       <div class="title">
4485         <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>
4486       </div>
4487       <div class="date">
4488         24th June 2010
4489       </div>
4490       <div class="body">
4491         <p>A while back, I
4492 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_for_new__LDAP_schemas_replacing_RFC_2307_.html">complained
4493 about the fact</a> that it is not possible with the provided schemas
4494 for storing DNS and DHCP information in LDAP to combine the two sets
4495 of information into one LDAP object representing a computer.</p>
4496
4497 <p>In the mean time, I discovered that a simple fix would be to make
4498 the dhcpHost object class auxiliary, to allow it to be combined with
4499 the dNSDomain object class, and thus forming one object for one
4500 computer when storing both DHCP and DNS information in LDAP.</p>
4501
4502 <p>If I understand this correctly, it is not safe to do this change
4503 without also changing the assigned number for the object class, and I
4504 do not know enough about LDAP schema design to do that properly for
4505 Debian Edu.</p>
4506
4507 <p>Anyway, for future reference, this is how I believe we could change
4508 the
4509 <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-dhc-ldap-schema-00">DHCP
4510 schema</a> to solve at least part of the problem with the LDAP schemas
4511 available today from IETF.</p>
4512
4513 <pre>
4514 --- dhcp.schema    (revision 65192)
4515 +++ dhcp.schema    (working copy)
4516 @@ -376,7 +376,7 @@
4517  objectclass ( 2.16.840.1.113719.1.203.6.6
4518         NAME 'dhcpHost'
4519         DESC 'This represents information about a particular client'
4520 -       SUP top
4521 +       SUP top AUXILIARY
4522         MUST cn
4523         MAY  (dhcpLeaseDN $ dhcpHWAddress $ dhcpOptionsDN $ dhcpStatements $ dhcpComments $ dhcpOption)
4524         X-NDS_CONTAINMENT ('dhcpService' 'dhcpSubnet' 'dhcpGroup') )
4525 </pre>
4526
4527 <p>I very much welcome clues on how to do this properly for Debian
4528 Edu/Squeeze.  We provide the DHCP schema in our debian-edu-config
4529 package, and should thus be free to rewrite it as we see fit.</p>
4530
4531 <p>If you want to help out with implementing this for Debian Edu,
4532 please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
4533
4534       </div>
4535       <div class="tags">
4536
4537
4538         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>.
4539
4540
4541       </div>
4542     </div>
4543     <div class="padding"></div>
4544
4545     <div class="entry">
4546       <div class="title">
4547         <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>
4548       </div>
4549       <div class="date">
4550         16th June 2010
4551       </div>
4552       <div class="body">
4553         <p>A few times I have had the need to simulate the way tasksel
4554 installs packages during the normal debian-installer run.  Until now,
4555 I have ended up letting tasksel do the work, with the annoying problem
4556 of not getting any feedback at all when something fails (like a
4557 conffile question from dpkg or a download that fails), using code like
4558 this:
4559
4560 <blockquote><pre>
4561 export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
4562 tasksel --new-install
4563 </pre></blockquote>
4564
4565 This would invoke tasksel, let its automatic task selection pick the
4566 tasks to install, and continue to install the requested tasks without
4567 any output what so ever.
4568
4569 Recently I revisited this problem while working on the automatic
4570 package upgrade testing, because tasksel would some times hang without
4571 any useful feedback, and I want to see what is going on when it
4572 happen.  Then it occured to me, I can parse the output from tasksel
4573 when asked to run in test mode, and use that aptitude command line
4574 printed by tasksel then to simulate the tasksel run.  I ended up using
4575 code like this:
4576
4577 <blockquote><pre>
4578 export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
4579 cmd="$(in_target tasksel -t --new-install | sed 's/debconf-apt-progress -- //')"
4580 $cmd
4581 </pre></blockquote>
4582
4583 <p>The content of $cmd is typically something like "<tt>aptitude -q
4584 --without-recommends -o APT::Install-Recommends=no -y install
4585 ~t^desktop$ ~t^gnome-desktop$ ~t^laptop$ ~pstandard ~prequired
4586 ~pimportant</tt>", which will install the gnome desktop task, the
4587 laptop task and all packages with priority standard , required and
4588 important, just like tasksel would have done it during
4589 installation.</p>
4590
4591 <p>A better approach is probably to extend tasksel to be able to
4592 install packages without using debconf-apt-progress, for use cases
4593 like this.</p>
4594
4595       </div>
4596       <div class="tags">
4597
4598
4599         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>.
4600
4601
4602       </div>
4603     </div>
4604     <div class="padding"></div>
4605
4606     <div class="entry">
4607       <div class="title">
4608         <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>
4609       </div>
4610       <div class="date">
4611         13th June 2010
4612       </div>
4613       <div class="body">
4614         <p>My
4615 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatic_upgrade_testing_from_Lenny_to_Squeeze.html">testing
4616 of Debian upgrades</a> from Lenny to Squeeze continues, and I've
4617 finally made the upgrade logs available from
4618 <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/debian-upgrade-testing/">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/debian-upgrade-testing/</a>.
4619 I am now testing dist-upgrade of Gnome and KDE in a chroot using both
4620 apt and aptitude, and found their differences interesting.  This time
4621 I will only focus on their removal plans.</p>
4622
4623 <p>After installing a Gnome desktop and the laptop task, apt-get wants
4624 to remove 72 packages when dist-upgrading from Lenny to Squeeze.  The
4625 surprising part is that it want to remove xorg and all
4626 xserver-xorg-video* drivers.  Clearly not a good choice, but I am not
4627 sure why.  When asking aptitude to do the same, it want to remove 129
4628 packages, but most of them are library packages I suspect are no
4629 longer needed.  Both of them want to remove bluetooth packages, which
4630 I do not know.  Perhaps these bluetooth packages are obsolete?</p>
4631
4632 <p>For KDE, apt-get want to remove 82 packages, among them kdebase
4633 which seem like a bad idea and xorg the same way as with Gnome. Asking
4634 aptitude for the same, it wants to remove 192 packages, none which are
4635 too surprising.</p>
4636
4637 <p>I guess the removal of xorg during upgrades should be investigated
4638 and avoided, and perhaps others as well.  Here are the complete list
4639 of planned removals.  The complete logs is available from the URL
4640 above.  Note if you want to repeat these tests, that the upgrade test
4641 for kde+apt-get hung in the tasksel setup because of dpkg asking
4642 conffile questions.  No idea why.  I worked around it by using
4643 '<tt>echo >> /proc/<em>pidofdpkg</em>/fd/0</tt>' to tell dpkg to
4644 continue.</p>
4645
4646 <p><b>apt-get gnome 72</b>
4647 <br>bluez-gnome cupsddk-drivers deskbar-applet gnome
4648   gnome-desktop-environment gnome-network-admin gtkhtml3.14
4649   iceweasel-gnome-support libavcodec51 libdatrie0 libgdl-1-0
4650   libgnomekbd2 libgnomekbdui2 libmetacity0 libslab0 libxcb-xlib0
4651   nautilus-cd-burner python-gnome2-desktop python-gnome2-extras
4652   serpentine swfdec-mozilla update-manager xorg xserver-xorg
4653   xserver-xorg-core xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev
4654   xserver-xorg-input-kbd xserver-xorg-input-mouse
4655   xserver-xorg-input-synaptics xserver-xorg-input-wacom
4656   xserver-xorg-video-all xserver-xorg-video-apm xserver-xorg-video-ark
4657   xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-chips
4658   xserver-xorg-video-cirrus xserver-xorg-video-cyrix
4659   xserver-xorg-video-dummy xserver-xorg-video-fbdev
4660   xserver-xorg-video-glint xserver-xorg-video-i128
4661   xserver-xorg-video-i740 xserver-xorg-video-imstt
4662   xserver-xorg-video-intel xserver-xorg-video-mach64
4663   xserver-xorg-video-mga xserver-xorg-video-neomagic
4664   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-nv
4665   xserver-xorg-video-openchrome xserver-xorg-video-r128
4666   xserver-xorg-video-radeon xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd
4667   xserver-xorg-video-rendition xserver-xorg-video-s3
4668   xserver-xorg-video-s3virge xserver-xorg-video-savage
4669   xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion xserver-xorg-video-sis
4670   xserver-xorg-video-sisusb xserver-xorg-video-tdfx
4671   xserver-xorg-video-tga xserver-xorg-video-trident
4672   xserver-xorg-video-tseng xserver-xorg-video-v4l
4673   xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vga
4674   xserver-xorg-video-vmware xserver-xorg-video-voodoo xulrunner-1.9
4675   xulrunner-1.9-gnome-support</p>
4676
4677 <p><b>aptitude gnome 129</b>
4678
4679 <br>bluez-gnome bluez-utils cpp-4.3 cupsddk-drivers dhcdbd
4680   djvulibre-desktop finger gnome-app-install gnome-mount
4681   gnome-network-admin gnome-spell gnome-vfs-obexftp
4682   gnome-volume-manager gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs gtkhtml3.14 libao2
4683   libavahi-compat-libdnssd1 libavahi-core5 libavcodec51 libbluetooth2
4684   libcamel1.2-11 libcdio7 libcucul0 libcupsys2 libcurl3 libdatrie0
4685   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdvdread3 libedataserver1.2-9 libeel2-2.20
4686   libeel2-data libepc-1.0-1 libepc-ui-1.0-1 libfaad0 libgail-common
4687   libgd2-noxpm libgda3-3 libgda3-common libgdl-1-0 libgdl-1-common
4688   libggz2 libggzcore9 libggzmod4 libgksu1.2-0 libgksuui1.0-1 libgmyth0
4689   libgnomecups1.0-1 libgnomekbd2 libgnomekbdui2 libgnomeprint2.2-0
4690   libgnomeprint2.2-data libgnomeprintui2.2-0 libgnomeprintui2.2-common
4691   libgnomevfs2-bin libgpod3 libgraphviz4 libgtkhtml2-0
4692   libgtksourceview-common libgtksourceview1.0-0 libgucharmap6
4693   libhesiod0 libicu38 libiw29 libkpathsea4 libltdl3 libmagick++10
4694   libmagick10 libmalaga7 libmetacity0 libmtp7 libmysqlclient15off
4695   libnautilus-burn4 libneon27 libnm-glib0 libnm-util0 libopal-2.2
4696   libosp5 libparted1.8-10 libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler3 libpt-1.10.10
4697   libpt-1.10.10-plugins-alsa libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l libraw1394-8
4698   libsensors3 libslab0 libsmbios2 libsoup2.2-8 libssh2-1
4699   libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libswfdec-0.6-90 libtalloc1 libtotem-plparser10
4700   libtrackerclient0 libxalan2-java libxalan2-java-gcj libxcb-xlib0
4701   libxerces2-java libxerces2-java-gcj libxklavier12 libxtrap6
4702   libxxf86misc1 libzephyr3 mysql-common nautilus-cd-burner
4703   openoffice.org-writer2latex openssl-blacklist p7zip
4704   python-4suite-xml python-eggtrayicon python-gnome2-desktop
4705   python-gnome2-extras python-gtkhtml2 python-gtkmozembed
4706   python-numeric python-sexy serpentine svgalibg1 swfdec-gnome
4707   swfdec-mozilla totem-gstreamer update-manager wodim
4708   xserver-xorg-video-cyrix xserver-xorg-video-imstt
4709   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-v4l xserver-xorg-video-vga
4710   zip</p>
4711
4712 <p><b>apt-get kde 82</b>
4713
4714 <br>cupsddk-drivers karm kaudiocreator kcoloredit kcontrol kde kde-core
4715   kdeaddons kdeartwork kdebase kdebase-bin kdebase-bin-kde3
4716   kdebase-kio-plugins kdesktop kdeutils khelpcenter kicker
4717   kicker-applets knewsticker kolourpaint konq-plugins konqueror korn
4718   kpersonalizer kscreensaver ksplash libavcodec51 libdatrie0 libkiten1
4719   libxcb-xlib0 quanta superkaramba texlive-base-bin xorg xserver-xorg
4720   xserver-xorg-core xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev
4721   xserver-xorg-input-kbd xserver-xorg-input-mouse
4722   xserver-xorg-input-synaptics xserver-xorg-input-wacom
4723   xserver-xorg-video-all xserver-xorg-video-apm xserver-xorg-video-ark
4724   xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-chips
4725   xserver-xorg-video-cirrus xserver-xorg-video-cyrix
4726   xserver-xorg-video-dummy xserver-xorg-video-fbdev
4727   xserver-xorg-video-glint xserver-xorg-video-i128
4728   xserver-xorg-video-i740 xserver-xorg-video-imstt
4729   xserver-xorg-video-intel xserver-xorg-video-mach64
4730   xserver-xorg-video-mga xserver-xorg-video-neomagic
4731   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-nv
4732   xserver-xorg-video-openchrome xserver-xorg-video-r128
4733   xserver-xorg-video-radeon xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd
4734   xserver-xorg-video-rendition xserver-xorg-video-s3
4735   xserver-xorg-video-s3virge xserver-xorg-video-savage
4736   xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion xserver-xorg-video-sis
4737   xserver-xorg-video-sisusb xserver-xorg-video-tdfx
4738   xserver-xorg-video-tga xserver-xorg-video-trident
4739   xserver-xorg-video-tseng xserver-xorg-video-v4l
4740   xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vga
4741   xserver-xorg-video-vmware xserver-xorg-video-voodoo xulrunner-1.9</p>
4742
4743 <p><b>aptitude kde 192</b>
4744 <br>bluez-utils cpp-4.3 cupsddk-drivers cvs dcoprss dhcdbd
4745   djvulibre-desktop dosfstools eyesapplet fifteenapplet finger gettext
4746   ghostscript-x imlib-base imlib11 indi kandy karm kasteroids
4747   kaudiocreator kbackgammon kbstate kcoloredit kcontrol kcron kdat
4748   kdeadmin-kfile-plugins kdeartwork-misc kdeartwork-theme-window
4749   kdebase-bin-kde3 kdebase-kio-plugins kdeedu-data
4750   kdegraphics-kfile-plugins kdelirc kdemultimedia-kappfinder-data
4751   kdemultimedia-kfile-plugins kdenetwork-kfile-plugins
4752   kdepim-kfile-plugins kdepim-kio-plugins kdeprint kdesktop kdessh
4753   kdict kdnssd kdvi kedit keduca kenolaba kfax kfaxview kfouleggs
4754   kghostview khelpcenter khexedit kiconedit kitchensync klatin
4755   klickety kmailcvt kmenuedit kmid kmilo kmoon kmrml kodo kolourpaint
4756   kooka korn kpager kpdf kpercentage kpf kpilot kpoker kpovmodeler
4757   krec kregexpeditor ksayit ksim ksirc ksirtet ksmiletris ksmserver
4758   ksnake ksokoban ksplash ksvg ksysv ktip ktnef kuickshow kverbos
4759   kview kviewshell kvoctrain kwifimanager kwin kwin4 kworldclock
4760   kxsldbg libakode2 libao2 libarts1-akode libarts1-audiofile
4761   libarts1-mpeglib libarts1-xine libavahi-compat-libdnssd1
4762   libavahi-core5 libavc1394-0 libavcodec51 libbluetooth2
4763   libboost-python1.34.1 libcucul0 libcurl3 libcvsservice0 libdatrie0
4764   libdirectfb-1.0-0 libdjvulibre21 libdvdread3 libfaad0 libfreebob0
4765   libgail-common libgd2-noxpm libgraphviz4 libgsmme1c2a libgtkhtml2-0
4766   libicu38 libiec61883-0 libindex0 libiw29 libk3b3 libkcal2b libkcddb1
4767   libkdeedu3 libkdepim1a libkgantt0 libkiten1 libkleopatra1 libkmime2
4768   libkpathsea4 libkpimexchange1 libkpimidentities1 libkscan1
4769   libksieve0 libktnef1 liblockdev1 libltdl3 libmagick10 libmimelib1c2a
4770   libmozjs1d libmpcdec3 libneon27 libnm-util0 libopensync0 libpisock9
4771   libpoppler-glib3 libpoppler-qt2 libpoppler3 libraw1394-8 libsmbios2
4772   libssh2-1 libsuitesparse-3.1.0 libtalloc1 libtiff-tools
4773   libxalan2-java libxalan2-java-gcj libxcb-xlib0 libxerces2-java
4774   libxerces2-java-gcj libxtrap6 mpeglib networkstatus
4775   openoffice.org-writer2latex pmount poster psutils quanta quanta-data
4776   superkaramba svgalibg1 tex-common texlive-base texlive-base-bin
4777   texlive-common texlive-doc-base texlive-fonts-recommended
4778   xserver-xorg-video-cyrix xserver-xorg-video-imstt
4779   xserver-xorg-video-nsc xserver-xorg-video-v4l xserver-xorg-video-vga
4780   xulrunner-1.9</p>
4781
4782
4783       </div>
4784       <div class="tags">
4785
4786
4787         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>.
4788
4789
4790       </div>
4791     </div>
4792     <div class="padding"></div>
4793
4794     <div class="entry">
4795       <div class="title">
4796         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatic_upgrade_testing_from_Lenny_to_Squeeze.html">Automatic upgrade testing from Lenny to Squeeze</a>
4797       </div>
4798       <div class="date">
4799         11th June 2010
4800       </div>
4801       <div class="body">
4802         <p>The last few days I have done some upgrade testing in Debian, to
4803 see if the upgrade from Lenny to Squeeze will go smoothly.  A few bugs
4804 have been discovered and reported in the process
4805 (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/585410">#585410</a> in nagios3-cgi,
4806 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/584879">#584879</a> already fixed in
4807 enscript and <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/584861">#584861</a> in
4808 kdebase-workspace-data), and to get a more regular testing going on, I
4809 am working on a script to automate the test.</p>
4810
4811 <p>The idea is to create a Lenny chroot and use tasksel to install a
4812 Gnome or KDE desktop installation inside the chroot before upgrading
4813 it.  To ensure no services are started in the chroot, a policy-rc.d
4814 script is inserted.  To make sure tasksel believe it is to install a
4815 desktop on a laptop, the tasksel tests are replaced in the chroot
4816 (only acceptable because this is a throw-away chroot).</p>
4817
4818 <p>A naive upgrade from Lenny to Squeeze using aptitude dist-upgrade
4819 currently always fail because udev refuses to upgrade with the kernel
4820 in Lenny, so to avoid that problem the file /etc/udev/kernel-upgrade
4821 is created.  The bug report
4822 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/566000">#566000</a> make me suspect
4823 this problem do not trigger in a chroot, but I touch the file anyway
4824 to make sure the upgrade go well.  Testing on virtual and real
4825 hardware have failed me because of udev so far, and creating this file
4826 do the trick in such settings anyway.  This is a
4827 <a href="http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/debian-26/failed-dist-upgrade-due-to-udev-config_sysfs_deprecated-nonsense-804130/">known
4828 issue</a> and the current udev behaviour is intended by the udev
4829 maintainer because he lack the resources to rewrite udev to keep
4830 working with old kernels or something like that.  I really wish the
4831 udev upstream would keep udev backwards compatible, to avoid such
4832 upgrade problem, but given that they fail to do so, I guess
4833 documenting the way out of this mess is the best option we got for
4834 Debian Squeeze.</p>
4835
4836 <p>Anyway, back to the task at hand, testing upgrades.  This test
4837 script, which I call <tt>upgrade-test</tt> for now, is doing the
4838 trick:</p>
4839
4840 <blockquote><pre>
4841 #!/bin/sh
4842 set -ex
4843
4844 if [ "$1" ] ; then
4845     desktop=$1
4846 else
4847     desktop=gnome
4848 fi
4849
4850 from=lenny
4851 to=squeeze
4852
4853 exec &lt; /dev/null
4854 unset LANG
4855 mirror=http://ftp.skolelinux.org/debian
4856 tmpdir=chroot-$from-upgrade-$to-$desktop
4857 fuser -mv .
4858 debootstrap $from $tmpdir $mirror
4859 chroot $tmpdir aptitude update
4860 cat > $tmpdir/usr/sbin/policy-rc.d &lt;&lt;EOF
4861 #!/bin/sh
4862 exit 101
4863 EOF
4864 chmod a+rx $tmpdir/usr/sbin/policy-rc.d
4865 exit_cleanup() {
4866     umount $tmpdir/proc
4867 }
4868 mount -t proc proc $tmpdir/proc
4869 # Make sure proc is unmounted also on failure
4870 trap exit_cleanup EXIT INT
4871
4872 chroot $tmpdir aptitude -y install debconf-utils
4873
4874 # Make sure tasksel autoselection trigger.  It need the test scripts
4875 # to return the correct answers.
4876 echo tasksel tasksel/desktop multiselect $desktop | \
4877     chroot $tmpdir debconf-set-selections
4878
4879 # Include the desktop and laptop task
4880 for test in desktop laptop ; do
4881     echo > $tmpdir/usr/lib/tasksel/tests/$test &lt;&lt;EOF
4882 #!/bin/sh
4883 exit 2
4884 EOF
4885     chmod a+rx $tmpdir/usr/lib/tasksel/tests/$test
4886 done
4887
4888 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
4889 DEBIAN_PRIORITY=critical
4890 export DEBIAN_FRONTEND DEBIAN_PRIORITY
4891 chroot $tmpdir tasksel --new-install
4892
4893 echo deb $mirror $to main > $tmpdir/etc/apt/sources.list
4894 chroot $tmpdir aptitude update
4895 touch $tmpdir/etc/udev/kernel-upgrade
4896 chroot $tmpdir aptitude -y dist-upgrade
4897 fuser -mv
4898 </pre></blockquote>
4899
4900 <p>I suspect it would be useful to test upgrades with both apt-get and
4901 with aptitude, but I have not had time to look at how they behave
4902 differently so far.  I hope to get a cron job running to do the test
4903 regularly and post the result on the web.  The Gnome upgrade currently
4904 work, while the KDE upgrade fail because of the bug in
4905 kdebase-workspace-data</p>
4906
4907 <p>I am not quite sure what kind of extract from the huge upgrade logs
4908 (KDE 167 KiB, Gnome 516 KiB) it make sense to include in this blog
4909 post, so I will refrain from trying.  I can report that for Gnome,
4910 aptitude report 760 packages upgraded, 448 newly installed, 129 to
4911 remove and 1 not upgraded and 1024MB need to be downloaded while for
4912 KDE the same numbers are 702 packages upgraded, 507 newly installed,
4913 193 to remove and 0 not upgraded and 1117MB need to be downloaded</p>
4914
4915 <p>I am very happy to notice that the Gnome desktop + laptop upgrade
4916 is able to migrate to dependency based boot sequencing and parallel
4917 booting without a hitch.  Was unsure if there were still bugs with
4918 packages failing to clean up their obsolete init.d script during
4919 upgrades, and no such problem seem to affect the Gnome desktop+laptop
4920 packages.</p>
4921
4922       </div>
4923       <div class="tags">
4924
4925
4926         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>.
4927
4928
4929       </div>
4930     </div>
4931     <div class="padding"></div>
4932
4933     <div class="entry">
4934       <div class="title">
4935         <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>
4936       </div>
4937       <div class="date">
4938          6th June 2010
4939       </div>
4940       <div class="body">
4941         <p>If Debian is to migrate to upstart on Linux, I expect some init.d
4942 scripts to migrate (some of) their operations to upstart job while
4943 keeping the init.d for hurd and kfreebsd.  The packages with such
4944 needs will need a way to get their init.d scripts to behave
4945 differently when used with sysvinit and with upstart.  Because of
4946 this, I had a look at the environment variables set when a init.d
4947 script is running under upstart, and when it is not.</p>
4948
4949 <p>With upstart, I notice these environment variables are set when a
4950 script is started from rcS.d/ (ignoring some irrelevant ones like
4951 COLUMNS):</p>
4952
4953 <blockquote><pre>
4954 DEFAULT_RUNLEVEL=2
4955 previous=N
4956 PREVLEVEL=
4957 RUNLEVEL=
4958 runlevel=S
4959 UPSTART_EVENTS=startup
4960 UPSTART_INSTANCE=
4961 UPSTART_JOB=rc-sysinit
4962 </pre></blockquote>
4963
4964 <p>With sysvinit, these environment variables are set for the same
4965 script.</p>
4966
4967 <blockquote><pre>
4968 INIT_VERSION=sysvinit-2.88
4969 previous=N
4970 PREVLEVEL=N
4971 RUNLEVEL=S
4972 runlevel=S
4973 </pre></blockquote>
4974
4975 <p>The RUNLEVEL and PREVLEVEL environment variables passed on from
4976 sysvinit are not set by upstart.  Not sure if it is intentional or not
4977 to not be compatible with sysvinit in this regard.</p>
4978
4979 <p>For scripts needing to behave differently when upstart is used,
4980 looking for the UPSTART_JOB environment variable seem to be a good
4981 choice.</p>
4982
4983       </div>
4984       <div class="tags">
4985
4986
4987         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>.
4988
4989
4990       </div>
4991     </div>
4992     <div class="padding"></div>
4993
4994     <div class="entry">
4995       <div class="title">
4996         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/A_manual_for_standards_wars___.html">A manual for standards wars...</a>
4997       </div>
4998       <div class="date">
4999          6th June 2010
5000       </div>
5001       <div class="body">
5002         <p>Via the
5003 <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/robweir/antic-atom/~3/QzU4RgoAGMg/weekly-links-10.html">blog
5004 of Rob Weir</a> I came across the very interesting essay named
5005 <a href="http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/shapiro/wars.pdf">The Art of
5006 Standards Wars</a> (PDF 25 pages).  I recommend it for everyone
5007 following the standards wars of today.</p>
5008
5009       </div>
5010       <div class="tags">
5011
5012
5013         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>.
5014
5015
5016       </div>
5017     </div>
5018     <div class="padding"></div>
5019
5020     <div class="entry">
5021       <div class="title">
5022         <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>
5023       </div>
5024       <div class="date">
5025          3rd June 2010
5026       </div>
5027       <div class="body">
5028         <p>When using sitesummary at a site to track machines, it is possible
5029 to get a list of the machine types in use thanks to the DMI
5030 information extracted from each machine.  The script to do so is
5031 included in the sitesummary package, and here is example output from
5032 the Skolelinux build servers:</p>
5033
5034 <blockquote><pre>
5035 maintainer:~# /usr/lib/sitesummary/hardware-model-summary
5036   vendor                    count
5037   Dell Computer Corporation     1
5038     PowerEdge 1750              1
5039   IBM                           1
5040     eserver xSeries 345 -[8670M1X]-     1
5041   Intel                         2
5042   [no-dmi-info]                 3
5043 maintainer:~#
5044 </pre></blockquote>
5045
5046 <p>The quality of the report depend on the quality of the DMI tables
5047 provided in each machine.  Here there are Intel machines without model
5048 information listed with Intel as vendor and no model, and virtual Xen
5049 machines listed as [no-dmi-info].  One can add -l as a command line
5050 option to list the individual machines.</p>
5051
5052 <p>A larger list is
5053 <a href="http://narvikskolen.no/sitesummary/">available from the the
5054 city of Narvik</a>, which uses Skolelinux on all their shools and also
5055 provide the basic sitesummary report publicly.  In their report there
5056 are ~1400 machines. I know they use both Ubuntu and Skolelinux on
5057 their machines, and as sitesummary is available in both distributions,
5058 it is trivial to get all of them to report to the same central
5059 collector.</p>
5060
5061       </div>
5062       <div class="tags">
5063
5064
5065         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>.
5066
5067
5068       </div>
5069     </div>
5070     <div class="padding"></div>
5071
5072     <div class="entry">
5073       <div class="title">
5074         <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>
5075       </div>
5076       <div class="date">
5077          1st June 2010
5078       </div>
5079       <div class="body">
5080         <p>It is strange to watch how a bug in Debian causing KDM to fail to
5081 start at boot when an NVidia video card is used is handled.  The
5082 problem seem to be that the nvidia X.org driver uses a long time to
5083 initialize, and this duration is longer than kdm is configured to
5084 wait.</p>
5085
5086 <p>I came across two bugs related to this issue,
5087 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/583312">#583312</a> initially filed
5088 against initscripts and passed on to nvidia-glx when it became obvious
5089 that the nvidia drivers were involved, and
5090 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/524751">#524751</a> initially filed against
5091 kdm and passed on to src:nvidia-graphics-drivers for unknown reasons.</p>
5092
5093 <p>To me, it seem that no-one is interested in actually solving the
5094 problem nvidia video card owners experience and make sure the Debian
5095 distribution work out of the box for these users.  The nvidia driver
5096 maintainers expect kdm to be set up to wait longer, while kdm expect
5097 the nvidia driver maintainers to fix the driver to start faster, and
5098 while they wait for each other I guess the users end up switching to a
5099 distribution that work for them.  I have no idea what the solution is,
5100 but I am pretty sure that waiting for each other is not it.</p>
5101
5102 <p>I wonder why we end up handling bugs this way.</p>
5103
5104       </div>
5105       <div class="tags">
5106
5107
5108         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>.
5109
5110
5111       </div>
5112     </div>
5113     <div class="padding"></div>
5114
5115     <div class="entry">
5116       <div class="title">
5117         <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>
5118       </div>
5119       <div class="date">
5120         27th May 2010
5121       </div>
5122       <div class="body">
5123         <p>A few days ago, parallel booting was enabled in Debian/testing.
5124 The feature seem to hold up pretty well, but three fairly serious
5125 issues are known and should be solved:
5126
5127 <p><ul>
5128
5129 <li>The wicd package seen to
5130 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/508289">break NFS mounting</a> and
5131 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/581586">network setup</a> when
5132 parallel booting is enabled.  No idea why, but the wicd maintainer
5133 seem to be on the case.</li>
5134
5135 <li>The nvidia X driver seem to
5136 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/583312">have a race condition</a>
5137 triggered more easily when parallel booting is in effect.  The
5138 maintainer is on the case.</li>
5139
5140 <li>The sysv-rc package fail to properly enable dependency based boot
5141 sequencing (the shutdown is broken) when old file-rc users
5142 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/575080">try to switch back</a> to
5143 sysv-rc.  One way to solve it would be for file-rc to create
5144 /etc/init.d/.legacy-bootordering, and another is to try to make
5145 sysv-rc more robust.  Will investigate some more and probably upload a
5146 workaround in sysv-rc to help those trying to move from file-rc to
5147 sysv-rc get a working shutdown.</li>
5148
5149 </ul></p>
5150
5151 <p>All in all not many surprising issues, and all of them seem
5152 solvable before Squeeze is released.  In addition to these there are
5153 some packages with bugs in their dependencies and run level settings,
5154 which I expect will be fixed in a reasonable time span.</p>
5155
5156 <p>If you report any problems with dependencies in init.d scripts to
5157 the BTS, please usertag the report to get it to show up at
5158 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?users=initscripts-ng-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the
5159 list of usertagged bugs related to this</a>.</p>
5160
5161 <p>Update: Correct bug number to file-rc issue.</p>
5162
5163       </div>
5164       <div class="tags">
5165
5166
5167         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>.
5168
5169
5170       </div>
5171     </div>
5172     <div class="padding"></div>
5173
5174     <div class="entry">
5175       <div class="title">
5176         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/More_flexible_firmware_handling_in_debian_installer.html">More flexible firmware handling in debian-installer</a>
5177       </div>
5178       <div class="date">
5179         22nd May 2010
5180       </div>
5181       <div class="body">
5182         <p>After a long break from debian-installer development, I finally
5183 found time today to return to the project.  Having to spend less time
5184 working dependency based boot in debian, as it is almost complete now,
5185 definitely helped freeing some time.</p>
5186
5187 <p>A while back, I ran into a problem while working on Debian Edu.  We
5188 include some firmware packages on the Debian Edu CDs, those needed to
5189 get disk and network controllers working.  Without having these
5190 firmware packages available during installation, it is impossible to
5191 install Debian Edu on the given machine, and because our target group
5192 are non-technical people, asking them to provide firmware packages on
5193 an external medium is a support pain.  Initially, I expected it to be
5194 enough to include the firmware packages on the CD to get
5195 debian-installer to find and use them.  This proved to be wrong.
5196 Next, I hoped it was enough to symlink the relevant firmware packages
5197 to some useful location on the CD (tried /cdrom/ and
5198 /cdrom/firmware/).  This also proved to not work, and at this point I
5199 found time to look at the debian-installer code to figure out what was
5200 going to work.</p>
5201
5202 <p>The firmware loading code is in the hw-detect package, and a closer
5203 look revealed that it would only look for firmware packages outside
5204 the installation media, so the CD was never checked for firmware
5205 packages.  It would only check USB sticks, floppies and other
5206 "external" media devices.  Today I changed it to also look in the
5207 /cdrom/firmware/ directory on the mounted CD or DVD, which should
5208 solve the problem I ran into with Debian edu.  I also changed it to
5209 look in /firmware/, to make sure the installer also find firmware
5210 provided in the initrd when booting the installer via PXE, to allow us
5211 to provide the same feature in the PXE setup included in Debian
5212 Edu.</p>
5213
5214 <p>To make sure firmware deb packages with a license questions are not
5215 activated without asking if the license is accepted, I extended
5216 hw-detect to look for preinst scripts in the firmware packages, and
5217 run these before activating the firmware during installation.  The
5218 license question is asked using debconf in the preinst, so this should
5219 solve the issue for the firmware packages I have looked at so far.</p>
5220
5221 <p>If you want to discuss the details of these features, please
5222 contact us on debian-boot@lists.debian.org.</p>
5223
5224       </div>
5225       <div class="tags">
5226
5227
5228         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>.
5229
5230
5231       </div>
5232     </div>
5233     <div class="padding"></div>
5234
5235     <div class="entry">
5236       <div class="title">
5237         <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>
5238       </div>
5239       <div class="date">
5240         14th May 2010
5241       </div>
5242       <div class="body">
5243         <p>Since this evening, parallel booting is the default in
5244 Debian/unstable for machines using dependency based boot sequencing.
5245 Apparently the testing of concurrent booting has been wider than
5246 expected, if I am to believe the
5247 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/05/msg00122.html">input
5248 on debian-devel@</a>, and I concluded a few days ago to move forward
5249 with the feature this weekend, to give us some time to detect any
5250 remaining problems before Squeeze is frozen.  If serious problems are
5251 detected, it is simple to change the default back to sequential boot.
5252 The upload of the new sysvinit package also activate a new upstream
5253 version.</p>
5254
5255 More information about
5256 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot">dependency
5257 based boot sequencing</a> is available from the Debian wiki.  It is
5258 currently possible to disable parallel booting when one run into
5259 problems caused by it, by adding this line to /etc/default/rcS:</p>
5260
5261 <blockquote><pre>
5262 CONCURRENCY=none
5263 </pre></blockquote>
5264
5265 <p>If you report any problems with dependencies in init.d scripts to
5266 the BTS, please usertag the report to get it to show up at
5267 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?users=initscripts-ng-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the
5268 list of usertagged bugs related to this</a>.</p>
5269
5270       </div>
5271       <div class="tags">
5272
5273
5274         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>.
5275
5276
5277       </div>
5278     </div>
5279     <div class="padding"></div>
5280
5281     <div class="entry">
5282       <div class="title">
5283         <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>
5284       </div>
5285       <div class="date">
5286         14th May 2010
5287       </div>
5288       <div class="body">
5289         <p>In the recent Debian Edu versions, the
5290 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/SiteSummary">sitesummary
5291 system</a> is used to keep track of the machines in the school
5292 network.  Each machine will automatically report its status to the
5293 central server after boot and once per night.  The network setup is
5294 also reported, and using this information it is possible to get the
5295 MAC address of all network interfaces in the machines.  This is useful
5296 to update the DHCP configuration.</p>
5297
5298 <p>To give some idea how to use sitesummary, here is a one-liner to
5299 ist all MAC addresses of all machines reporting to sitesummary.  Run
5300 this on the collector host:</p>
5301
5302 <blockquote><pre>
5303 perl -MSiteSummary -e 'for_all_hosts(sub { print join(" ", get_macaddresses(shift)), "\n"; });'
5304 </pre></blockquote>
5305
5306 <p>This will list all MAC addresses assosiated with all machine, one
5307 line per machine and with space between the MAC addresses.</p>
5308
5309 <p>To allow system administrators easier job at adding static DHCP
5310 addresses for hosts, it would be possible to extend this to fetch
5311 machine information from sitesummary and update the DHCP and DNS
5312 tables in LDAP using this information.  Such tool is unfortunately not
5313 written yet.</p>
5314
5315       </div>
5316       <div class="tags">
5317
5318
5319         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>.
5320
5321
5322       </div>
5323     </div>
5324     <div class="padding"></div>
5325
5326     <div class="entry">
5327       <div class="title">
5328         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/systemd__an_interesting_alternative_to_upstart.html">systemd, an interesting alternative to upstart</a>
5329       </div>
5330       <div class="date">
5331         13th May 2010
5332       </div>
5333       <div class="body">
5334         <p>The last few days a new boot system called
5335 <a href="http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd">systemd</a>
5336 has been
5337 <a href="http://0pointer.de/blog/projects/systemd.html">introduced</a>
5338
5339 to the free software world.  I have not yet had time to play around
5340 with it, but it seem to be a very interesting alternative to
5341 <a href="http://upstart.ubuntu.com/">upstart</a>, and might prove to be
5342 a good alternative for Debian when we are able to switch to an event
5343 based boot system.  Tollef is
5344 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/580814">in the process</a> of getting
5345 systemd into Debian, and I look forward to seeing how well it work.  I
5346 like the fact that systemd handles init.d scripts with dependency
5347 information natively, allowing them to run in parallel where upstart
5348 at the moment do not.</p>
5349
5350 <p>Unfortunately do systemd have the same problem as upstart regarding
5351 platform support.  It only work on recent Linux kernels, and also need
5352 some new kernel features enabled to function properly.  This means
5353 kFreeBSD and Hurd ports of Debian will need a port or a different boot
5354 system.  Not sure how that will be handled if systemd proves to be the
5355 way forward.</p>
5356
5357 <p>In the mean time, based on the
5358 <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2010/05/msg00122.html">input
5359 on debian-devel@</a> regarding parallel booting in Debian, I have
5360 decided to enable full parallel booting as the default in Debian as
5361 soon as possible (probably this weekend or early next week), to see if
5362 there are any remaining serious bugs in the init.d dependencies.  A
5363 new version of the sysvinit package implementing this change is
5364 already in experimental.  If all go well, Squeeze will be released
5365 with parallel booting enabled by default.</p>
5366
5367       </div>
5368       <div class="tags">
5369
5370
5371         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>.
5372
5373
5374       </div>
5375     </div>
5376     <div class="padding"></div>
5377
5378     <div class="entry">
5379       <div class="title">
5380         <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>
5381       </div>
5382       <div class="date">
5383          6th May 2010
5384       </div>
5385       <div class="body">
5386         <p>These days, the init.d script dependencies in Squeeze are quite
5387 complete, so complete that it is actually possible to run all the
5388 init.d scripts in parallell based on these dependencies.  If you want
5389 to test your Squeeze system, make sure
5390 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot">dependency
5391 based boot sequencing</a> is enabled, and add this line to
5392 /etc/default/rcS:</p>
5393
5394 <blockquote><pre>
5395 CONCURRENCY=makefile
5396 </pre></blockquote>
5397
5398 <p>That is it.  It will cause sysv-rc to use the startpar tool to run
5399 scripts in parallel using the dependency information stored in
5400 /etc/init.d/.depend.boot, /etc/init.d/.depend.start and
5401 /etc/init.d/.depend.stop to order the scripts.  Startpar is configured
5402 to try to start the kdm and gdm scripts as early as possible, and will
5403 start the facilities required by kdm or gdm as early as possible to
5404 make this happen.</p>
5405
5406 <p>Give it a try, and see if you like the result.  If some services
5407 fail to start properly, it is most likely because they have incomplete
5408 init.d script dependencies in their startup script (or some of their
5409 dependent scripts have incomplete dependencies).  Report bugs and get
5410 the package maintainers to fix it. :)</p>
5411
5412 <p>Running scripts in parallel could be the default in Debian when we
5413 manage to get the init.d script dependencies complete and correct.  I
5414 expect we will get there in Squeeze+1, if we get manage to test and
5415 fix the remaining issues.</p>
5416
5417 <p>If you report any problems with dependencies in init.d scripts to
5418 the BTS, please usertag the report to get it to show up at
5419 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?users=initscripts-ng-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org">the
5420 list of usertagged bugs related to this</a>.</p>
5421
5422       </div>
5423       <div class="tags">
5424
5425
5426         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>.
5427
5428
5429       </div>
5430     </div>
5431     <div class="padding"></div>
5432
5433     <div class="entry">
5434       <div class="title">
5435         <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>
5436       </div>
5437       <div class="date">
5438         27th July 2009
5439       </div>
5440       <div class="body">
5441         <p>Since this evening, with the upload of sysvinit version 2.87dsf-2,
5442 and the upload of insserv version 1.12.0-10 yesterday, Debian unstable
5443 have been migrated to using dependency based boot sequencing.  This
5444 conclude work me and others have been doing for the last three days.
5445 It feels great to see this finally part of the default Debian
5446 installation.  Now we just need to weed out the last few problems that
5447 are bound to show up, to get everything ready for Squeeze.</p>
5448
5449 <p>The next step is migrating /sbin/init from sysvinit to upstart, and
5450 fixing the more fundamental problem of handing the event based
5451 non-predictable kernel in the early boot.</p>
5452
5453       </div>
5454       <div class="tags">
5455
5456
5457         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>.
5458
5459
5460       </div>
5461     </div>
5462     <div class="padding"></div>
5463
5464     <div class="entry">
5465       <div class="title">
5466         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Taking_over_sysvinit_development.html">Taking over sysvinit development</a>
5467       </div>
5468       <div class="date">
5469         22nd July 2009
5470       </div>
5471       <div class="body">
5472         <p>After several years of frustration with the lack of activity from
5473 the existing sysvinit upstream developer, I decided a few weeks ago to
5474 take over the package and become the new upstream.  The number of
5475 patches to track for the Debian package was becoming a burden, and the
5476 lack of synchronization between the distribution made it hard to keep
5477 the package up to date.</p>
5478
5479 <p>On the new sysvinit team is the SuSe maintainer Dr. Werner Fink,
5480 and my Debian co-maintainer Kel Modderman.  About 10 days ago, I made
5481 a new upstream tarball with version number 2.87dsf (for Debian, SuSe
5482 and Fedora), based on the patches currently in use in these
5483 distributions.  We Debian maintainers plan to move to this tarball as
5484 the new upstream as soon as we find time to do the merge.  Since the
5485 new tarball was created, we agreed with Werner at SuSe to make a new
5486 upstream project at <a href="http://savannah.nongnu.org/">Savannah</a>, and continue
5487 development there.  The project is registered and currently waiting
5488 for approval by the Savannah administrators, and as soon as it is
5489 approved, we will import the old versions from svn and continue
5490 working on the future release.</p>
5491
5492 <p>It is a bit ironic that this is done now, when some of the involved
5493 distributions are moving to upstart as a syvinit replacement.</p>
5494
5495       </div>
5496       <div class="tags">
5497
5498
5499         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>.
5500
5501
5502       </div>
5503     </div>
5504     <div class="padding"></div>
5505
5506     <div class="entry">
5507       <div class="title">
5508         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_boots_quicker_and_quicker.html">Debian boots quicker and quicker</a>
5509       </div>
5510       <div class="date">
5511         24th June 2009
5512       </div>
5513       <div class="body">
5514         <p>I spent Monday and tuesday this week in London with a lot of the
5515 people involved in the boot system on Debian and Ubuntu, to see if we
5516 could find more ways to speed up the boot system.  This was an Ubuntu
5517 funded
5518 <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FoundationsTeam/BootPerformance/DebianUbuntuSprint">developer
5519 gathering</a>. It was quite productive.  We also discussed the future
5520 of boot systems, and ways to handle the increasing number of boot
5521 issues introduced by the Linux kernel becoming more and more
5522 asynchronous and event base.  The Ubuntu approach using udev and
5523 upstart might be a good way forward.  Time will show.</p>
5524
5525 <p>Anyway, there are a few ways at the moment to speed up the boot
5526 process in Debian.  All of these should be applied to get a quick
5527 boot:</p>
5528
5529 <ul>
5530
5531 <li>Use dash as /bin/sh.</li>
5532
5533 <li>Disable the init.d/hwclock*.sh scripts and make sure the hardware
5534    clock is in UTC.</li>
5535
5536 <li>Install and activate the insserv package to enable
5537    <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot">dependency
5538    based boot sequencing</a>, and enable concurrent booting.</li>
5539
5540 </ul>
5541
5542 These points are based on the Google summer of code work done by
5543 <a href="http://initscripts-ng.alioth.debian.org/soc2006-bootsystem/">Carlos
5544 Villegas</a>.
5545
5546 <p>Support for makefile-style concurrency during boot was uploaded to
5547 unstable yesterday.  When we tested it, we were able to cut 6 seconds
5548 from the boot sequence.  It depend on very correct dependency
5549 declaration in all init.d scripts, so I expect us to find edge cases
5550 where the dependences in some scripts are slightly wrong when we start
5551 using this.</p>
5552
5553 <p>On our IRC channel for this effort, #pkg-sysvinit, a new idea was
5554 introduced by Raphael Geissert today, one that could affect the
5555 startup speed as well.  Instead of starting some scripts concurrently
5556 from rcS.d/ and another set of scripts from rc2.d/, it would be
5557 possible to run a of them in the same process.  A quick way to test
5558 this would be to enable insserv and run 'mv /etc/rc2.d/S* /etc/rcS.d/;
5559 insserv'.  Will need to test if that work. :)</p>
5560
5561       </div>
5562       <div class="tags">
5563
5564
5565         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>.
5566
5567
5568       </div>
5569     </div>
5570     <div class="padding"></div>
5571
5572     <div class="entry">
5573       <div class="title">
5574         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/BSAs_p_stander_om_piratkopiering_m_ter_motstand.html">BSAs påstander om piratkopiering møter motstand</a>
5575       </div>
5576       <div class="date">
5577         17th May 2009
5578       </div>
5579       <div class="body">
5580         <p>Hvert år de siste årene har BSA, lobbyfronten til de store
5581 programvareselskapene som Microsoft og Apple, publisert en rapport der
5582 de gjetter på hvor mye piratkopiering påfører i tapte inntekter i
5583 ulike land rundt om i verden.  Resultatene er tendensiøse.  For noen
5584 dager siden kom
5585 <a href="http://global.bsa.org/globalpiracy2008/studies/globalpiracy2008.pdf">siste
5586 rapport</a>, og det er flere kritiske kommentarer publisert de siste
5587 dagene.  Et spesielt interessant kommentar fra Sverige,
5588 <a href="http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.229795/bsa-hoftade-sverigesiffror">BSA
5589 höftade Sverigesiffror</a>, oppsummeres slik:</p>
5590
5591 <blockquote>
5592 I sin senaste rapport slår BSA fast att 25 procent av all mjukvara i
5593 Sverige är piratkopierad. Det utan att ha pratat med ett enda svenskt
5594 företag. "Man bör nog kanske inte se de här siffrorna som helt
5595 exakta", säger BSAs Sverigechef John Hugosson.
5596 </blockquote>
5597
5598 <p>Mon tro om de er like metodiske når de gjetter på andelen piratkopiering i Norge?  To andre kommentarer er <a
5599 href="http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/comment/2242134/bsa-piracy-figures-shot-reality">BSA
5600 piracy figures need a shot of reality</a> og <a
5601 href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3958/125/">Does The WIPO
5602 Copyright Treaty Work?</a></p>
5603
5604 <p>Fant lenkene via <a
5605 href="http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/17/1632242">oppslag
5606 på Slashdot</a>.</p>
5607
5608       </div>
5609       <div class="tags">
5610
5611
5612         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>.
5613
5614
5615       </div>
5616     </div>
5617     <div class="padding"></div>
5618
5619     <div class="entry">
5620       <div class="title">
5621         <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>
5622       </div>
5623       <div class="date">
5624          7th May 2009
5625       </div>
5626       <div class="body">
5627         <p>Kom over
5628 <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10216873-16.html">interessante
5629 tall</a> fra IDG om utviklingen av linuxservermarkedet.  Fikk meg til
5630 å tenke på antall tjenermaskiner ved Universitetet i Oslo der jeg
5631 jobber til daglig.  En rask opptelling forteller meg at vi har 490
5632 (61%) fysiske unix-tjener (mest linux men også noen solaris) og 196
5633 (25%) windowstjenere, samt 112 (14%) virtuelle unix-tjenere.  Med den
5634 bakgrunnskunnskapen kan jeg godt tro at IDG er inne på noe.</p>
5635
5636       </div>
5637       <div class="tags">
5638
5639
5640         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>.
5641
5642
5643       </div>
5644     </div>
5645     <div class="padding"></div>
5646
5647     <div class="entry">
5648       <div class="title">
5649         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Kryptert_harddisk___naturligvis.html">Kryptert harddisk - naturligvis</a>
5650       </div>
5651       <div class="date">
5652          2nd May 2009
5653       </div>
5654       <div class="body">
5655         <p><a href="http://www.dagensit.no/trender/article1658676.ece">Dagens
5656 IT melder</a> at Intel hevder at det er dyrt å miste en datamaskin,
5657 når en tar tap av arbeidstid, fortrolige dokumenter,
5658 personopplysninger og alt annet det innebærer.  Det er ingen tvil om
5659 at det er en kostbar affære å miste sin datamaskin, og det er årsaken
5660 til at jeg har kryptert harddisken på både kontormaskinen og min
5661 bærbare.  Begge inneholder personopplysninger jeg ikke ønsker skal
5662 komme på avveie, den første informasjon relatert til jobben min ved
5663 Universitetet i Oslo, og den andre relatert til blant annet
5664 foreningsarbeide.  Kryptering av diskene gjør at det er lite
5665 sannsynlig at dophoder som kan finne på å rappe maskinene får noe ut
5666 av dem.  Maskinene låses automatisk etter noen minutter uten bruk,
5667 og en reboot vil gjøre at de ber om passord før de vil starte opp.
5668 Jeg bruker Debian på begge maskinene, og installasjonssystemet der
5669 gjør det trivielt å sette opp krypterte disker.  Jeg har LVM på toppen
5670 av krypterte partisjoner, slik at alt av datapartisjoner er kryptert.
5671 Jeg anbefaler alle å kryptere diskene på sine bærbare.  Kostnaden når
5672 det er gjort slik jeg gjør det er minimale, og gevinstene er
5673 betydelige.  En bør dog passe på passordet.  Hvis det går tapt, må
5674 maskinen reinstalleres og alt er tapt.</p>
5675
5676 <p>Krypteringen vil ikke stoppe kompetente angripere som f.eks. kjøler
5677 ned minnebrikkene før maskinen rebootes med programvare for å hente ut
5678 krypteringsnøklene.  Kostnaden med å forsvare seg mot slike angripere
5679 er for min del høyere enn gevinsten.  Jeg tror oddsene for at
5680 f.eks. etteretningsorganisasjoner har glede av å titte på mine
5681 maskiner er minimale, og ulempene jeg ville oppnå ved å forsøke å
5682 gjøre det vanskeligere for angripere med kompetanse og ressurser er
5683 betydelige.</p>
5684
5685       </div>
5686       <div class="tags">
5687
5688
5689         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>.
5690
5691
5692       </div>
5693     </div>
5694     <div class="padding"></div>
5695
5696     <div class="entry">
5697       <div class="title">
5698         <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>
5699       </div>
5700       <div class="date">
5701          2nd May 2009
5702       </div>
5703       <div class="body">
5704         <p>There are two software projects that have had huge influence on the
5705 quality of free software, and I wanted to mention both in case someone
5706 do not yet know them.</p>
5707
5708 <p>The first one is <a href="http://valgrind.org/">valgrind</a>, a
5709 tool to detect and expose errors in the memory handling of programs.
5710 It is easy to use, all one need to do is to run 'valgrind program',
5711 and it will report any problems on stdout.  It is even better if the
5712 program include debug information.  With debug information, it is able
5713 to report the source file name and line number where the problem
5714 occurs.  It can report things like 'reading past memory block in file
5715 X line N, the memory block was allocated in file Y, line M', and
5716 'using uninitialised value in control logic'.  This tool has made it
5717 trivial to investigate reproducible crash bugs in programs, and have
5718 reduced the number of this kind of bugs in free software a lot.
5719
5720 <p>The second one is
5721 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coverity">Coverity</a> which is
5722 a source code checker.  It is able to process the source of a program
5723 and find problems in the logic without running the program.  It
5724 started out as the Stanford Checker and became well known when it was
5725 used to find bugs in the Linux kernel.  It is now a commercial tool
5726 and the company behind it is running
5727 <a href="http://www.scan.coverity.com/">a community service</a> for the
5728 free software community, where a lot of free software projects get
5729 their source checked for free.  Several thousand defects have been
5730 found and fixed so far.  It can find errors like 'lock L taken in file
5731 X line N is never released if exiting in line M', or 'the code in file
5732 Y lines O to P can never be executed'.  The projects included in the
5733 community service project have managed to get rid of a lot of
5734 reliability problems thanks to Coverity.</p>
5735
5736 <p>I believe tools like this, that are able to automatically find
5737 errors in the source, are vital to improve the quality of software and
5738 make sure we can get rid of the crashing and failing software we are
5739 surrounded by today.</p>
5740
5741       </div>
5742       <div class="tags">
5743
5744
5745         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>.
5746
5747
5748       </div>
5749     </div>
5750     <div class="padding"></div>
5751
5752     <div class="entry">
5753       <div class="title">
5754         <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>
5755       </div>
5756       <div class="date">
5757         28th April 2009
5758       </div>
5759       <div class="body">
5760         <p>Julien Blache
5761 <a href="http://blog.technologeek.org/2009/04/12/214">claim that no
5762 patch is better than a useless patch</a>.  I completely disagree, as a
5763 patch allow one to discuss a concrete and proposed solution, and also
5764 prove that the issue at hand is important enough for someone to spent
5765 time on fixing it.  No patch do not provide any of these positive
5766 properties.</p>
5767
5768       </div>
5769       <div class="tags">
5770
5771
5772         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>.
5773
5774
5775       </div>
5776     </div>
5777     <div class="padding"></div>
5778
5779     <div class="entry">
5780       <div class="title">
5781         <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>
5782       </div>
5783       <div class="date">
5784         30th March 2009
5785       </div>
5786       <div class="body">
5787         <p>Where I work at the University of Oslo, one decision stand out as a
5788 very good one to form a long lived computer infrastructure.  It is the
5789 simple one, lost by many in todays computer industry: Standardize on
5790 open network protocols and open exchange/storage formats, not applications.
5791 Applications come and go, while protocols and files tend to stay, and
5792 thus one want to make it easy to change application and vendor, while
5793 avoiding conversion costs and locking users to a specific platform or
5794 application.</p>
5795
5796 <p>This approach make it possible to replace the client applications
5797 independently of the server applications.  One can even allow users to
5798 use several different applications as long as they handle the selected
5799 protocol and format.  In the normal case, only one client application
5800 is recommended and users only get help if they choose to use this
5801 application, but those that want to deviate from the easy path are not
5802 blocked from doing so.</p>
5803
5804 <p>It also allow us to replace the server side without forcing the
5805 users to replace their applications, and thus allow us to select the
5806 best server implementation at any moment, when scale and resouce
5807 requirements change.</p>
5808
5809 <p>I strongly recommend standardizing - on open network protocols and
5810 open formats, but I would never recommend standardizing on a single
5811 application that do not use open network protocol or open formats.</p>
5812
5813       </div>
5814       <div class="tags">
5815
5816
5817         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>.
5818
5819
5820       </div>
5821     </div>
5822     <div class="padding"></div>
5823
5824     <div class="entry">
5825       <div class="title">
5826         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Returning_from_Skolelinux_developer_gathering.html">Returning from Skolelinux developer gathering</a>
5827       </div>
5828       <div class="date">
5829         29th March 2009
5830       </div>
5831       <div class="body">
5832         <p>I'm sitting on the train going home from this weekends Debian
5833 Edu/Skolelinux development gathering.  I got a bit done tuning the
5834 desktop, and looked into the dynamic service location protocol
5835 implementation avahi.  It look like it could be useful for us.  Almost
5836 30 people participated, and I believe it was a great environment to
5837 get to know the Skolelinux system.  Walter Bender, involved in the
5838 development of the Sugar educational platform, presented his stuff and
5839 also helped me improve my OLPC installation.  He also showed me that
5840 his Turtle Art application can be used in standalone mode, and we
5841 agreed that I would help getting it packaged for Debian.  As a
5842 standalone application it would be great for Debian Edu.  We also
5843 tried to get the video conferencing working with two OLPCs, but that
5844 proved to be too hard for us.  The application seem to need more work
5845 before it is ready for me.  I look forward to getting home and relax
5846 now. :)</p>
5847
5848       </div>
5849       <div class="tags">
5850
5851
5852         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>.
5853
5854
5855       </div>
5856     </div>
5857     <div class="padding"></div>
5858
5859     <div class="entry">
5860       <div class="title">
5861         <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>
5862       </div>
5863       <div class="date">
5864         29th March 2009
5865       </div>
5866       <div class="body">
5867         <p>The state of standardized LDAP schemas on Linux is far from
5868 optimal.  There is RFC 2307 documenting one way to store NIS maps in
5869 LDAP, and a modified version of this normally called RFC 2307bis, with
5870 some modifications to be compatible with Active Directory.  The RFC
5871 specification handle the content of a lot of system databases, but do
5872 not handle DNS zones and DHCP configuration.</p>
5873
5874 <p>In <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu/Skolelinux</a>,
5875 we would like to store information about users, SMB clients/hosts,
5876 filegroups, netgroups (users and hosts), DHCP and DNS configuration,
5877 and LTSP configuration in LDAP.  These objects have a lot in common,
5878 but with the current LDAP schemas it is not possible to have one
5879 object per entity.  For example, one need to have at least three LDAP
5880 objects for a given computer, one with the SMB related stuff, one with
5881 DNS information and another with DHCP information.  The schemas
5882 provided for DNS and DHCP are impossible to combine into one LDAP
5883 object.  In addition, it is impossible to implement quick queries for
5884 netgroup membership, because of the way NIS triples are implemented.
5885 It just do not scale.  I believe it is time for a few RFC
5886 specifications to cleam up this mess.</p>
5887
5888 <p>I would like to have one LDAP object representing each computer in
5889 the network, and this object can then keep the SMB (ie host key), DHCP
5890 (mac address/name) and DNS (name/IP address) settings in one place.
5891 It need to be efficently stored to make sure it scale well.</p>
5892
5893 <p>I would also like to have a quick way to map from a user or
5894 computer and to the net group this user or computer is a member.</p>
5895
5896 <p>Active Directory have done a better job than unix heads like myself
5897 in this regard, and the unix side need to catch up.  Time to start a
5898 new IETF work group?</p>
5899
5900       </div>
5901       <div class="tags">
5902
5903
5904         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>.
5905
5906
5907       </div>
5908     </div>
5909     <div class="padding"></div>
5910
5911     <div class="entry">
5912       <div class="title">
5913         <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Endelig_er_Debian_Lenny_gitt_ut.html">Endelig er Debian Lenny gitt ut</a>
5914       </div>
5915       <div class="date">
5916         15th February 2009
5917       </div>
5918       <div class="body">
5919         <p>Endelig er <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a>
5920 <a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2009/20090214">Lenny</a> gitt ut.
5921 Et langt steg videre for Debian-prosjektet, og en rekke nye
5922 programpakker blir nå tilgjengelig for de av oss som bruker den
5923 stabile utgaven av Debian.  Neste steg er nå å få
5924 <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a> /
5925 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/">Debian Edu</a> ferdig
5926 oppdatert for den nye utgaven, slik at en oppdatert versjon kan
5927 slippes løs på skolene.  Takk til alle debian-utviklerne som har
5928 gjort dette mulig.  Endelig er f.eks. fungerende avhengighetsstyrt
5929 bootsekvens tilgjengelig i stabil utgave, vha pakken
5930 <tt>insserv</tt>.</p>
5931
5932       </div>
5933       <div class="tags">
5934
5935
5936         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>.
5937
5938
5939       </div>
5940     </div>
5941     <div class="padding"></div>
5942
5943     <div class="entry">
5944       <div class="title">
5945         <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>
5946       </div>
5947       <div class="date">
5948          7th December 2008
5949       </div>
5950       <div class="body">
5951         <p>This weekend we had a small developer gathering for Debian Edu in
5952 Oslo.  Most of Saturday was used for the general assemly for the
5953 member organization, but the rest of the weekend I used to tune the
5954 LTSP installation.  LTSP now work out of the box on the 10-network.
5955 Acer Aspire One proved to be a very nice thin client, with both
5956 screen, mouse and keybard in a small box.  Was working on getting the
5957 diskless workstation setup configured out of the box, but did not
5958 finish it before the weekend was up.</p>
5959
5960 <p>Did not find time to look at the 4 VGA cards in one box we got from
5961 the Brazilian group, so that will have to wait for the next
5962 development gathering.  Would love to have the Debian Edu installer
5963 automatically detect and configure a multiseat setup when it find one
5964 of these cards.</p>
5965
5966       </div>
5967       <div class="tags">
5968
5969
5970         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>.
5971
5972
5973       </div>
5974     </div>
5975     <div class="padding"></div>
5976
5977     <div class="entry">
5978       <div class="title">
5979         <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>
5980       </div>
5981       <div class="date">
5982         25th November 2008
5983       </div>
5984       <div class="body">
5985         <p>Recently I have spent some time evaluating the multimedia browser
5986 plugins available in Debian Lenny, to see which one we should use by
5987 default in Debian Edu.  We need an embedded video playing plugin with
5988 control buttons to pause or stop the video, and capable of streaming
5989 all the multimedia content available on the web.  The test results and
5990 notes are available on
5991 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/BrowserMultimedia">the
5992 Debian wiki</a>.  I was surprised how few of the plugins are able to
5993 fill this need.  My personal video player favorite, VLC, has a really
5994 bad plugin which fail on a lot of the test pages.  A lot of the MIME
5995 types I would expect to work with any free software player (like
5996 video/ogg), just do not work.  And simple formats like the
5997 audio/x-mplegurl format (m3u playlists), just isn't supported by the
5998 totem and vlc plugins.  I hope the situation will improve soon.  No
5999 wonder sites use the proprietary Adobe flash to play video.</p>
6000
6001 <p>For Lenny, we seem to end up with the mplayer plugin.  It seem to
6002 be the only one fitting our needs. :/</p>
6003
6004       </div>
6005       <div class="tags">
6006
6007
6008         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>.
6009
6010
6011       </div>
6012     </div>
6013     <div class="padding"></div>
6014
6015     <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>
6016     <div id="sidebar">
6017
6018
6019
6020 <h2>Archive</h2>
6021 <ul>
6022
6023 <li>2013
6024 <ul>
6025
6026 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/01/">January (11)</a></li>
6027
6028 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/02/">February (9)</a></li>
6029
6030 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/03/">March (9)</a></li>
6031
6032 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/04/">April (6)</a></li>
6033
6034 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/05/">May (9)</a></li>
6035
6036 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/06/">June (7)</a></li>
6037
6038 </ul></li>
6039
6040 <li>2012
6041 <ul>
6042
6043 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/01/">January (7)</a></li>
6044
6045 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/02/">February (10)</a></li>
6046
6047 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/03/">March (17)</a></li>
6048
6049 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/04/">April (12)</a></li>
6050
6051 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/05/">May (12)</a></li>
6052
6053 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/06/">June (20)</a></li>
6054
6055 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/07/">July (17)</a></li>
6056
6057 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/08/">August (6)</a></li>
6058
6059 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/09/">September (9)</a></li>
6060
6061 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/10/">October (17)</a></li>
6062
6063 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/11/">November (10)</a></li>
6064
6065 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/12/">December (7)</a></li>
6066
6067 </ul></li>
6068
6069 <li>2011
6070 <ul>
6071
6072 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/01/">January (16)</a></li>
6073
6074 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/02/">February (6)</a></li>
6075
6076 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/03/">March (6)</a></li>
6077
6078 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/04/">April (7)</a></li>
6079
6080 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/05/">May (3)</a></li>
6081
6082 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/06/">June (2)</a></li>
6083
6084 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/07/">July (7)</a></li>
6085
6086 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/08/">August (6)</a></li>
6087
6088 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/09/">September (4)</a></li>
6089
6090 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/10/">October (2)</a></li>
6091
6092 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/11/">November (3)</a></li>
6093
6094 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/12/">December (1)</a></li>
6095
6096 </ul></li>
6097
6098 <li>2010
6099 <ul>
6100
6101 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/01/">January (2)</a></li>
6102
6103 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/02/">February (1)</a></li>
6104
6105 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/03/">March (3)</a></li>
6106
6107 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/04/">April (3)</a></li>
6108
6109 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/05/">May (9)</a></li>
6110
6111 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/06/">June (14)</a></li>
6112
6113 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/07/">July (12)</a></li>
6114
6115 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/08/">August (13)</a></li>
6116
6117 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/09/">September (7)</a></li>
6118
6119 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/10/">October (9)</a></li>
6120
6121 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/11/">November (13)</a></li>
6122
6123 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/12/">December (12)</a></li>
6124
6125 </ul></li>
6126
6127 <li>2009
6128 <ul>
6129
6130 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/01/">January (8)</a></li>
6131
6132 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/02/">February (8)</a></li>
6133
6134 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/03/">March (12)</a></li>
6135
6136 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/04/">April (10)</a></li>
6137
6138 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/05/">May (9)</a></li>
6139
6140 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/06/">June (3)</a></li>
6141
6142 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/07/">July (4)</a></li>
6143
6144 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/08/">August (3)</a></li>
6145
6146 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/09/">September (1)</a></li>
6147
6148 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/10/">October (2)</a></li>
6149
6150 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/11/">November (3)</a></li>
6151
6152 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/12/">December (3)</a></li>
6153
6154 </ul></li>
6155
6156 <li>2008
6157 <ul>
6158
6159 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2008/11/">November (5)</a></li>
6160
6161 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2008/12/">December (7)</a></li>
6162
6163 </ul></li>
6164
6165 </ul>
6166
6167
6168
6169 <h2>Tags</h2>
6170 <ul>
6171
6172  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/3d-printer">3d-printer (13)</a></li>
6173
6174  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/amiga">amiga (1)</a></li>
6175
6176  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/aros">aros (1)</a></li>
6177
6178  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bankid">bankid (4)</a></li>
6179
6180  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin (7)</a></li>
6181
6182  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem (12)</a></li>
6183
6184  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bsa">bsa (2)</a></li>
6185
6186  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian (77)</a></li>
6187
6188  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu (133)</a></li>
6189
6190  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/digistan">digistan (10)</a></li>
6191
6192  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook (9)</a></li>
6193
6194  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/drivstoffpriser">drivstoffpriser (4)</a></li>
6195
6196  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english (200)</a></li>
6197
6198  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami (21)</a></li>
6199
6200  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fildeling">fildeling (12)</a></li>
6201
6202  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture (11)</a></li>
6203
6204  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/frikanalen">frikanalen (11)</a></li>
6205
6206  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju (36)</a></li>
6207
6208  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram (6)</a></li>
6209
6210  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/kart">kart (18)</a></li>
6211
6212  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap (8)</a></li>
6213
6214  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/lenker">lenker (6)</a></li>
6215
6216  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ltsp">ltsp (1)</a></li>
6217
6218  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia (25)</a></li>
6219
6220  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/norsk">norsk (234)</a></li>
6221
6222  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug (152)</a></li>
6223
6224  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/offentlig innsyn">offentlig innsyn (8)</a></li>
6225
6226  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/open311">open311 (2)</a></li>
6227
6228  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett (44)</a></li>
6229
6230  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern (65)</a></li>
6231
6232  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/raid">raid (1)</a></li>
6233
6234  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/reprap">reprap (11)</a></li>
6235
6236  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/rfid">rfid (2)</a></li>
6237
6238  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot (7)</a></li>
6239
6240  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/rss">rss (1)</a></li>
6241
6242  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ruter">ruter (4)</a></li>
6243
6244  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/scraperwiki">scraperwiki (2)</a></li>
6245
6246  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet (29)</a></li>
6247
6248  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sitesummary">sitesummary (4)</a></li>
6249
6250  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/skepsis">skepsis (4)</a></li>
6251
6252  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard (43)</a></li>
6253
6254  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/stavekontroll">stavekontroll (3)</a></li>
6255
6256  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/stortinget">stortinget (7)</a></li>
6257
6258  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance (15)</a></li>
6259
6260  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sysadmin">sysadmin (1)</a></li>
6261
6262  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/valg">valg (7)</a></li>
6263
6264  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video (38)</a></li>
6265
6266  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/vitenskap">vitenskap (4)</a></li>
6267
6268  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web (26)</a></li>
6269
6270 </ul>
6271
6272
6273     </div>
6274     <p style="text-align: right">
6275  Created by <a href="http://steve.org.uk/Software/chronicle">Chronicle v4.6</a>
6276 </p>
6277
6278   </body>
6279 </html>