Yesterday I didn't remember when I had exactly started using Debian. Tried hard but couldn't recall. I know for sure that the first version I installed was 3.0 Woody and shortly after Sarge 3.1 appeared. So today I have checked the history of Debian releases and it turns out that Woody appeared in 2002 and Sarge in 2005. This makes sense. As I told you yesterday I started learning linux in 2004 and became a full time user in 2005. So I moved from Woody to Sarge straight away.
The first linux version I ever tried and installed was S.u.S.E 9.2 professional. oh! It brings back so many memories ...
07 December 2010
06 December 2010
Five years using GNU/Linux
Yes!!!
As I have told my friends a million times I began fiddling with linux in 2004. A year or so after buying 'Odd' I fell in love with it but it did not become my only true blue love until late 2005. I don't exactly remember when. Anyway it is now five years of giving and taking. That's what love is all about, ain't that so?
What I do not quite recall is when my beloved Debian came into sight. Too bad I don't remember one of the best moments of my life. But I think it didn't take long after discovering that rpm was not my thing.
What may the future bring? I do not know for sure. I think there will be a move to something new, something like GNU/Hurd. Debian GNU/Hurd for us diehard debian users.
Well I would like to explain this a bit further but by now I'm starving to death. I gotta have dinner ;-)
As I have told my friends a million times I began fiddling with linux in 2004. A year or so after buying 'Odd' I fell in love with it but it did not become my only true blue love until late 2005. I don't exactly remember when. Anyway it is now five years of giving and taking. That's what love is all about, ain't that so?
What I do not quite recall is when my beloved Debian came into sight. Too bad I don't remember one of the best moments of my life. But I think it didn't take long after discovering that rpm was not my thing.
What may the future bring? I do not know for sure. I think there will be a move to something new, something like GNU/Hurd. Debian GNU/Hurd for us diehard debian users.
Well I would like to explain this a bit further but by now I'm starving to death. I gotta have dinner ;-)
05 December 2010
Freenas
 |
| freenas webgui on my eeepc |
Freenas is an awesome piece of software. I have tried it in my network for some time and I love it.
Anyway I need to know it better to write more in depth.
04 December 2010
Shutdown computer as a regular user (howto)
I sometimes need to shutdown one of my desktop machines after a long download. I was looking for a way to do it unattendedly. I found this curious method
In short:
1. Add these alias to .bashrc
alias halt="sudo /sbin/halt"
alias reboot="sudo /sbin/reboot"
2. Edit visudo
username ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /sbin/halt, /sbin/reboot
(I actually had to edit it like this in my Lenny ALL=NOPASSWD: ALL)
3. Now I just need to make sure the download finishes to power off. I use something similar to this:
wget download ; shutdown -h now
Instead of that, if I were sure about the time of the download I could use the command like this:
shutdown -h + 45 (To delay it for 45 minutes) or shutdown -h 15:30 (To delay it until half past three pm)
That's it.
In short:
1. Add these alias to .bashrc
alias halt="sudo /sbin/halt"
alias reboot="sudo /sbin/reboot"
2. Edit visudo
username ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /sbin/halt, /sbin/reboot
(I actually had to edit it like this in my Lenny ALL=NOPASSWD: ALL)
3. Now I just need to make sure the download finishes to power off. I use something similar to this:
wget download ; shutdown -h now
Instead of that, if I were sure about the time of the download I could use the command like this:
shutdown -h + 45 (To delay it for 45 minutes) or shutdown -h 15:30 (To delay it until half past three pm)
That's it.
03 December 2010
Let's automatize it!!!
I have devised a way to automatize the synchronization of files over ftp using lftp. I found the inspiration on linux.com as I told you in my previous post. I have written a here document like this:
#! /bin/bash
#script to automatize synchronization using lftp
lftp <<EOF
open -u user,password -p [port] [server]
mirror -c -e /remote_directory /local_directory
&&
open -u user,password -p [port] [server]
mirror -c -e -R /local_directory /remote_directory
exit
EOF
Now you know the drill:
I gave it execute permission: chmod +x
Then I put it in my $PATH (/usr/local/bin is a nice place to visit ;))
I added it to my crontab (or anacrontab if you prefer)
That's it!!! Now my directories synchronize automatically everyday. Maybe there is an ever better way to do it but that's the way I devised it and it works!!!
UPDATE: As usual there seems to be a better way to achieve this. I have found it here You can use 'at' with lftp:
lftp at 00:00 ... & (Thus the process runs in the background at 12)
#! /bin/bash
#script to automatize synchronization using lftp
lftp <<EOF
open -u user,password -p [port] [server]
mirror -c -e /remote_directory /local_directory
&&
open -u user,password -p [port] [server]
mirror -c -e -R /local_directory /remote_directory
exit
EOF
Now you know the drill:
I gave it execute permission: chmod +x
Then I put it in my $PATH (/usr/local/bin is a nice place to visit ;))
I added it to my crontab (or anacrontab if you prefer)
That's it!!! Now my directories synchronize automatically everyday. Maybe there is an ever better way to do it but that's the way I devised it and it works!!!
UPDATE: As usual there seems to be a better way to achieve this. I have found it here You can use 'at' with lftp:
lftp at 00:00 ... & (Thus the process runs in the background at 12)
27 November 2010
FTP synchronization
I have found a very nice way of synchronizing local and remote directories over ftp using lftp and following this easy-to-understand article at linux.com
The procedure is quite simple. To download from the server you need to create a file named download.x and write (with your data):
open -u user,password -p [port] [server]
mirror -c -e /remote_directory /local_directory
exit
To upload files to the server you need to create another file named upload.x and write (with your data):
open -u user,password -p [port] [server]
mirror -c -e -R /local_directory /remote_directory
exit
To download files simply type 'lftp -f download.x' at the command line.
To upload files simply type 'lftp -f upload.x' at the command line.
That's it. Of course you can automatize these actions with cron or anacron.
The procedure is quite simple. To download from the server you need to create a file named download.x and write (with your data):
open -u user,password -p [port] [server]
mirror -c -e /remote_directory /local_directory
exit
To upload files to the server you need to create another file named upload.x and write (with your data):
open -u user,password -p [port] [server]
mirror -c -e -R /local_directory /remote_directory
exit
To download files simply type 'lftp -f download.x' at the command line.
To upload files simply type 'lftp -f upload.x' at the command line.
That's it. Of course you can automatize these actions with cron or anacron.
01 November 2010
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!!!
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!!!
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