Writing hybrid .iso images (howto)

I'm writing this short blog entry on how to write hybrid .iso images because I have found very little useful information on the net myself. There is no technical info here, just simple, easy to follow steps because in fact it is a very straightforward logical thing to do.


Background
After some time trying GNU/linux live cds, I had almost mastered the art of burning iso images to cds (and dvds). Some time before the debian live project was started I began to become familiar with the .img images to copy to usb pendrives. Well, sometimes I used .iso and sometimes .img. Depending on the target: cd or usb.


The present

And then some day a new technology appeared: Hybrid images. The word hybrid is self-explanatory enough. They can be burnt to any device. There is no need to choose between iso or img anymore. Just download hybrid isos and that's it. Burning isos to cds is a straightforward usual thing. You can use wodim at the command line or alternatively use your preferred GUI program to burn isos: K3b, brasero, gnomebaker, xcdroast or whatever. At the command line simply type:


 ~$ wodim -v speed=0 dev=/dev/hdc  debian-live-60alpha2-i386-gnome-desktop.iso



And when it comes to copying them to a usb pendrive? Here is where I found myself at a loss. I googled for information but I couldn't find the answer. But nevermind, it's as easy as a horse to ride. Just treat the hybrid iso as a normal img file. I always use dd. Follow these steps.


1. Open a terminal.
2. cd to where the iso image is located. For instance:
  ~$ cd downloads
3. Type: dd if="input file" of="output file" For instance:
  ~$  dd if=debian-live-60alpha2-i386-kde-desktop.iso of=/dev/sda1
It's easy to do!!!

The future

Well, I hope this helps. I was in doubt whether this information could be useful or not. Perhaps it is so evident that noone has any question regarding the subject. But just in case ... here it is.


The future will bring new technologies and hopefully we'll be there to try them out, to give our opinion on them and if possible to suggest ideas and improvements, that's what we are up to!!!

The command line thing

I have been a regular linux user for five years now and the more I learn the more I feel that I have a whole new universe to learn ahead, which is cool and it's one of the reasons why I'm so hooked on Debian GNU/Linux. I'm going to tell you what I've learnt this week in short although I think I should write another entry so that it can be easily indexed by spiders in case anyone is googling for that specific info. But before that let me tell you that I have reached a huge conclusion:

It's that command line programs make our lives better and our tasks easier!!! Sure. I used to be a bit scared of the terminal thing but I'm more and more hooked on it. I use it so much that now I couldn't live without. The best use is to write and execute shell scripts. I'm just a beginner but with a little help of google I can say that I'm beginning to know my way into that fine art. (Simple but powerful scripts, it's all that matters).

This week I have used two CLI programs. Wodim (I had used cdrecord long ago) to write (hybrid) .iso images to cds and scrot to take screenshots. The amazing thing is that once I get used to these programs I prefer them to their GUI counterparts. For instance, now I use wget to download from the internet rather than d4x.

My backup script (improved)

Some months ago I published "Backup with rsync" one of my shell scripts because I had tried several backup utilities but none suited my needs. But as so many things in life you  never finish a script. You keep on thinking about different ways to improve it. So it grows bigger and (hopefully) better. I have changed the location of the backup, instead of using a usb pendrive I bought a toshiba usb hard drive (1Tb) and added two useful features. One is the date and time in the log file and the other is that the script now sends me an e-mail with the log file.
I started working with mutt including the log file as an attachment but I think that this way it is even easier. Nevertheless I think I'll continue working with the script. I might use it to make remote backups.



Feel free to use it or adapt it to your liking and also to let me know if it useful for you. Here it is:


#! /bin/bash

#This is a very simple backup script using rsync. It copies files to a (local) usb hard drive       asuming that it is already mounted. If not, I recommend using pmount.
# The ampersand sign is used to redirect standard error to a logfile.
# I use it with anacron. (15 minutes after startup)
# I have added date and time as useful information.
# I have also added a line to send me a daily report to my e-mail address.


MAD=myemail@address.com #MAD short for Mail ADdress
rsync -rlptoDvh  --delete /home/chals/*. /media/USB-HDD/backups &> asb.log
echo $(date) >> asb.log
mail -s "Automatically Sent Backup report" $MAD < /asb.log

Lou Gramm

I do not remember ever mentioning in this blog that one of my all-time favourite singers is Lou Gramm. He is possibly best know for his work with Foreigner (And a little bit among followers with Shadow King). I am a huge Foreigner fan but what always led me on was Lou's voice. I have all his records both with bands and solo.

His latest project is the Lou Gramm Band. They have published an excellent Christian rock album. I have bought it today at amazon. I have also bought Foreigner's album  with Kelly Hansen, a great singer.

I must confess that I like all Foreigner singers. I loved the "Unusual heat" album with Johnny Edwards and I also love "Can't slow down" with Kelly Hansen. Lot of talent and savoir faire.

Weather vane

This is my latest project: It's a weather vane. It's not (made to be) functional. It's just a decoration, made out of pure hobby.  I designed and made it last August. I put it in place today. I'm uploading several pictures for you to see the whole process. I hope you like it. I really love it.

And yet another nephew!!!

My nephew Ibai was born today. I'm really happy and excited about it. I can't wait to meet him.

Favourite chicks

There are 5 chicks altogether but my nephew chose his favourite two and named them: Blackandwhite and Whiteandblack

Blackandwhite

Whiteandblack