Showing headlines posted by Tuxchick2

Calc and other spreadsheets have few advantages over a word processor when you are just making a list. In fact, unless you have a spreadsheet template set up so that cells have word wrap and hyphenation, you might be better off using a word processor if all you have is half a dozen items on the list. However, as the number of list items creeps up into the hundreds and beyond into the lower fringes of database territory, the different ways that you can manipulate lists in spreadsheets starts to give them a distinct advantages.

I know that some Microsoft fanboys are probably hitting the Send button on their flames as they read the title, but you can't ignore the truth. Linux and BSD are vastly superior to Windows in every way. Don't believe me? Read on, my friend. Read on and realize the folly of your MS ways

IAXed you first

First let's look at something that's a little easier: using IAX trunks. IAX is a more NAT-friendly protocol because it only needs a single port. If you set up IAX trunks between servers, then your SIP traffic will waltz happily through your IAX trunk to your SIP endpoints

Here is another reader comment that I think is superior to the story:

"it is pretty deep PR for Red Hat, too: Oracle is not only using their base system, instead of developing their own, they're calling it 'Unbreakable Linux.' Oracle is calling RHEL unbreakable; they aren't developing it themselves (when they have the people that could do that!); man, that is pretty deep PR for Red Hat, even if the business perspective isn't rosy. They didn't pick Ubuntu; they didn't pick SuSE: they picked Red Hat."

DNS is fundamental to network operations, but rather surprisingly, given the usual free/open source software community's habit of having multiple versions of everything, it has evolved into a DNS server monoculture dominated by ISC BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain). All other issues aside, such as security and performance, monoculture is not healthy. There's a whole world outside of BIND; a pleasant world full of DNS servers that are simple to configure, and reliable and secure to use.

Sometimes the comments are better than the story:

"[Announcer] Today's guest is Sam Higgins, who insisted that security in regards to Firefox is "a concern but it needs to have a proper cost benefit analysis done and is dependant on the organization's protection strategy..."

[Chip] Mr. Higgins has had a pacemaker installed in his chest. It has been designed to run based on whether Internet Explorer keeps from being hacked..."

There's always something new and progressive in the free and open source software universe. Here's a roundup of some recent worthy happenings in the fun worlds of iptables and VoIP: getting SIP through iptables NAT firewalls, adding new modules to iptables with Patch-O-Matic, monitoring iptables in real-time, and a look at the excellent AstLinux, "the professional's PBX".

You've seen the TV commercials: young white man stuck in a dead-end, low-paying job wakes up one morning, decides to sign up for classes at Foo Tech, and is transformed into a skilled computer technician working in his dream job. Apparently degrees from Foo Tech translate into good salaries and co-workers and customers who are pleasant, and do not drive you insane. Riiight. But stereotypes and hype aside, how does a person become an ace computing deity? Do you need college, certifications, apprenticeships at the feet of wizened gurus? Why would a person even want to consider a tech career? Aren't all the good jobs being outsourced? Isn't the tech industry full of unwashed grumpy guys who hate everything?

Late last month Linux-Online launched the English edition of Linux XP Desktop. The screenshots look pretty and amazingly similar to Windows XP. As a commercial distro for non-techie desktop users, does it do enough to challenge the likes of Linspire and Xandros?

This review is unintentionally funny- a long litany of flaws, yet it ends on a positive note.--TC2

Web developers never visit their own sites or surf the Web at all. If they did, we would not have so many pure suck Web sites. Readability, navigability, and persistent searchable archives are apparently Crimes Against L33t Web Development. Why do site owners spend zillions of dollars for poo?

Some people inspired by Theo de Raadt have been complaining about our choice of the 88W8388 Marvell wireless chip, claiming that there were other courses of action OLPC could have/should have somehow followed.

Today we dive into writing custom udev rules. Why would you want to acquire this strange knowledge? Because, believe it or not, computers are not yet perfect, so sometimes we must fix them. USB scanners are notorious examples of needing human intervention to be usable by non-root users. Managing device permissions is something you're bound to bump into sooner or later – the traditional Unix method of user and group permissions no longer works on udev-managed devices. USB devices are moving targets that take on different names if you don't nail them down. If you want to give them friendly, memorable names, you'll need to know how to configure udev.

From the Dept. of Big Duh:
But the kicker was he began to realize that Microsoft, whose senior VP of corporate development and strategy had promised that Microsoft would in some way guarantee the SCO investment, started showing signs it might not do that after all:

"Mr. Emerson and I discussed a variety of investment structures wherein Microsoft would 'backstop,' or guarantee in some way, BayStar's investment.... Microsoft assured me that it would in some way guarantee BayStar's investment in SCO."

[What's that saying about no honor among thieves....Tuxchick]

The long-term solution is a better-quality Internet, with fatter backbone pipes and real QoS (quality of service.) We should see considerable improvement as IPv6 is implemented, because it offers genuine QoS, more efficient routing, and less reliance on NAT (network address translation). QoS in IPv4 is pretty much a joke; many routers don't support it, and even where it is supported, there are several competing, incompatible implementations. If your friendly neighborhood service provider offers real IPv6 service, hop aboard and start getting familiar with it.

In the olden days Linux administrators had a static /dev directory. It was inflexible and obese, containing 99% irrelevant entries, and we liked it that way. We didn't mind hassling with makedev and struggling with major and minor numbers to enter the devices we actually wanted, or manually deleting the 1,000 useless /dev entries, because Real System Administrators love doing things the hard way. It makes us feel close to our hardware. The best part of the job is spending years acquiring and hoarding arcane bits of knowledge, which are then passed on to eager, fresh-faced noobs with the magical incantation, "RTFM, luser."

IPv6 Essentials, 2nd edition is a well-written, clear, up-to-date guide to understanding IPv6 in-depth. The book explains how it all works to a very practical depth, so that the reader will be well-prepared to begin implementation.

According to Theo de Raadt, Intel is claiming all sorts of Open Source creds even as it withholds specs and drivers on its wireless devices:

"Intel is being an Open Source fraud."

When most people think about the Mozilla Firefox browser, they think of it as being open source and free. The truth is, while Mozilla Firefox is open source, it is not entirely free, and it may not even be legally compatible with Debian GNU/Linux, one of the most popular community Linux distribution bases.

Here is a perfect example of licensing follies, and perhaps unintended consquences- Firefox cannot be modified and distributed without approval from Mozilla. But it can be modified and distributed without approval if you name it something else. -TC

Today we're going to learn all about how to understand IPv6 addressing by breaking it down into nice understandable chunks, and we'll cover some shortcuts for writing IPv6 addresses. You'll be able to look at an IPv6 address and understand exactly what it does.

In our previous installments we got our little Soekris board up and running, installed Pyramid Linux, and built a nice stout iptables firewall. Today we'll build a wireless access point, so that you can have both wired and wireless clients on your LAN. Some security-conscious admins prefer using a standalone WAP, rather than combining it with a firewall/gateway. It's simpler to build a dedicated WAP, so that's what we'll do today. You are welcome to put it together however you like