Info
2006-12-30 keyb
This snippet allows for quick switching of keyboard layouts in x, with no additional components for input methods etc. I thought that I had posted this on here a while ago, but it appears not.
Section "InputDevice" Identifier "Generic Keyboard" Driver "kbd" Option "CoreKeyboard" Option "XkbRules" "xorg" Option "XkbModel" "pc105" Option "XkbLayout" "gb,ru" Option "XkbOptions" "grp:shifts_toggle,grp_led:scroll" EndSection
2006-12-29 remote access
Mr T pities those who lock boxes up with the reset button out of reach. KVM over IP is ok, if one can still control the power. If one does not have the power, one will only have limited remote control.
"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future."
processes
I've started work on a side project so that others might read the contents of /proc into an in-memory data structure in C for processing. The program isn't over complex, but it does give some abstraction for those who wish to cycle the processes for any number of given reasons. The code is on the qmail page as that's where I dump things of this nature at the moment.
2006-12-28 what was cool this year
Cool things that happened this year are included below. Somethings you may think are not so cool, you may wish to change or contribute to this but I am writing this, not you, so write your own list and be king of it.
perl
Perl came into my life some time during 2005, it's got brilliant linguistics and I took to it straight away. I started with a reasonable project, following a piece of work that someone else wrote that did a similar task but reached a different goal. Much of the work was the similar but for different systems, so the odd rework here and there. This sent me on a curious journey to discover the ins and outs of the language. Larry Wall should become a Knight of the British Empire for his work.
ubuntu
Mark Shuttleworth has put sums of money into marketing an interesting linux distribution based on the .deb package format. The package format is not new, some changes were made to apt to improve it's system of downloading and matching dependencies. The biggest change was to get a debian-based distribution to work off a CD and include installer. This goes beyond what people normally expect from a CD installation, since most people are used to doing some decorating whilst the system installs, having a live CD that works in the background is a reasonably new concept.
opensource java
We're almost there ...
youtube
It's great watching people make fools of themselves. This and other social networking sites show just how easily personal details can be tracked on the internet.
2006-12-20 nearly smoked this server
I woke up to the smell of something burning yesterday. What could that magic smell be? Unfortunately the smell was coming from this server, it the CPU fan had stopped rotating. The area around the server was a little warm, to say the least. I'm surprised that after a 30 min cool down it started up just fine. It's puzzling what could have stopped the fan as it's rotating just fine now. It uses a Zalman heatsink/fan, so I guess it must be cooling reasonably well to not release the magic smoke without the fan. The magic smoke, for those unaware is what all chips use to operate. When the magic smoke is released, chips stop working. You might have noticed the effects of releasing magic smoke yourself, nothing works once you let it out.
2006-12-16 exploit for sale?
Amusing, someone is offering to sell a zero-day exploit for vista.
There was a good article posted on slashdot about good unix habits. This is well worth a read if one does not wish to read man pages. A seasoned admin may just glaze over this.
2006-12-14 the trouble with isps...
There is nothing worse than having computer problems when the issue is remote. having to trust computer systems to someone else can be quite taxing once the confidence is lost.
Today there were problems that took most of the day to solve... None caused by our systems but by the provider. 12 hours of downtime and them some.
2006-12-12 busy...
Had like a gazillion things to do today. Got to the data center.. had to write a boot CD as the openbsd book floppy (1.44) does not have the appropriate SCSI drivers for the hardware... Maplin came to the rescue, which is just a few meters from the DC. Then had to coordinate some changes with the ISP that looks after a router that sits between some routers we handle, which makes the whole operation a bit of an effort.
Something that made my day a little harder than normal was that the same ISP changed the combination locks on our cabs, didn't bother to notify us etc... This was extremely helpful... The biometrics on their cage was also malfunctioning... Total nightmare, then after the rush hour to London, and back, I find that one of the mail servers on the network has been hit, one of the accounts was creating backwash spam, some spammer discovered this and the box was being abused... This is most annoying and there is little anyone can do to prevent such attacks without creating *very* custom scripts to notice this type of activity.
2006-12-09 so ... i got bored
Here is a page that is a work in progress... literally as it's still running. dns proxy lists open DNS proxies for anyone to use.
2006-12-02 why so concise?
What are the characteristics of good information?
- accurate
for information to be of any use to one, the information cannot contains flaws or inaccuracies, otherwise it looses reliability - useful and relevant
information that fits the criteria explained herein lacks relevance if it drifts from the subject - easy to understood and read
if information cannot be accessed easily, or requires translation then it is no longer useful for the audience - up to date
information for current affairs that contains details that are no longer current is no longer fit for the purpose - concise
information should not contain un-required details - reliable (quality)
information should only contain accurate details - timely
information must not be an unreasonably long time in transit - secure
confidential information should not be left in the open - consistent
information should be a consistent standard