Jeffrey Stone

VirtualBox on Ubuntu 8.04

jeff — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:55:45 +0000

If you have not checked out VirtualBox you need to. This app is awesome. Its is basically a free version of VmWare. I am currently using it to run WinXP as a Virtual Machine on my Ubuntu laptop. If you need a solution for a Virtual Machine I suggest checking it out.

If you are running Ubuntu (especially if you are running 8.04), save yourself some headache, and download the deb file straight from Sun. There is something up with the version in the apt-get repositories and lots of chatter in the Ubuntu forum about just getting it directly from VirtualBox. Besure to add yourself to the virtualbox group after install or you will need to sudo the app.

But it works like a champ. There is also a version for Windows for all of you still running Windows a your primary desktop. That way you can try out some versions of Linux without having to configure a dual boot setup or pay for VmWare.

virtualbox_1.6.4-33808_Ubuntu_hardy_i386.deb

Ubuntu 8.04 on a Dell D600 - Video

jeff — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:59:58 +0000

Ok, by default Ubuntu supports the Radeon 9000 out of the box. But this is 2D support only. If you just want a basic laptop, that should be fine. But I have heard from some people that they want the the super cool video in Ubuntu 8.04 on the Dell D600 and getting it is a pain. I actually found it to be relatively easy. Everything you need is already there. You just need to update your xorg.conf file with the right information.

First off, there is a couple of things to consider. If you are following this for the D600, you should be good as far as hardware compatibility. However the AIGLX wont work with the following chipsets: HD 4xxxx or RV770 based cards. The second thing to consider is if you have already installed the fglrx driver, you will need to remove it. To do that run:

$ sudo apt-get remove ---purge xorg-driver-fglrx

Before you make any changes you should create a backup of your current configuration file.

$ sudo cp -p /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.old

To save you from having to type out the changes to the xorg.conf file, I have posted mine so you can download it.

My xorg.conf

Fell free to download it and use it. After updating your configuration file you will want reload your desktop manager. After that, feel free to check out Compiz for desktop effects that rival Microsoft’s Areo.

iSeries Access for Linux

jeff — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:51:07 +0000

At work I administer for an iSeries midrange mainframe. Basically I use a 5250 Emulator to interface with the iSeries. IBM has released a version of iSeries Access for Linux, but stay away. For fedora users, you may find it hard to get the dependencies you need to make it work as some of the packages have been removed as of Fedora 4 (I believe). Using it isn’t much better. I found it bulky and cumbersome. But no worries, I did find a great alternative.

TN5250 is an free 5250 emulator, and it is lightweight and easy to use. Better still, you will most likely find it via yum or apt-get.

So skip IBM iSeries Access and go with TN5250. You will be glad you did.

Cisco VPN for Linux

jeff — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:50:10 +0000

Using the Cisco VPN Client and trying to get it installed on your Linux box? I suggest looking at VPNC.

This small app rocks!

Its super easy to install, and in fact, Fedora and Ubuntu have it in their repositories making it even easier. Just use your favorite package manager to install it.

No need to get a login to Cisco’s website and download the Cisco VPN Client. VPNC works just fine.

Ubuntu 8.04 on a Dell D600

jeff — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:42:50 +0000

Ok, so I have moved recently grabbed a copy of Ubuntu 8.04 and installed it on my Dell D600, getting rid of the last Windows install I owned.It was pretty easy. If you haven’t tried Ubuntu I suggest you do. I was a Slackware man up until Ubuntu jumped on the scene, and I have to admit, they are making the Linux desktop really easy to migrate to.The install process is fairly straight forward and only takes about 30 mins or less to complete. The default install comes with things like OpenOffice and Firefox. Everything a basic Pc/Laptop needs.The biggest question I had was my Broadcom Wireless card in the D600. I just enabled the Broadcom B43 Wireless Driver via System > Administration > Hardware Drivers and viola. I was able to see the wireless networks around my house.

There is a bug however, that causes the card to connect to access points at 1 MB/s.To fix just run the following:

jeff@ubuntu $ sudo iwconfig wlan0 54M

Other than that, everything else was installed by default and is working out of the box.If you are new to Ubuntu visit Ubuntuguide.org for info on adding your favorite programs and those cannot live with things like video and audio codecs.

Open Source Helpdesk Software

jeff — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:45:34 +0000

In my current job, I had decided I needed some software to keep up with the day to day happenings of the IT Department. So I started looking at Helpdesk software. Off the shelf was good but I didn’t really find something that worked the way I wanted it to, and those that did were expensive. Why the company I work for will pay somewhere north of $1 million to have 5 day conference at the Broadmoor in Colorado for 600-700 of our employees complete with complimentary spa sessions and golf outings, but I can’t get money to buy IT equipment to improve our ability to do business, I will never know. But thats a topic for another time.Bottom line, there was nothing I wanted to use out there. So what does any one who enjoys coding do? I started building one. I took code from various other projects, copied, pasted, hacked, and my frankencode actually turned out half way decent. So I started thinking maybe I should turn this into an Open Source Project, perhaps find some like minded individuals and turn this into a awesome project. Well, after tinkering with the code in an effort to make it presentable, I started to realize how bad it really was. So as of last night, I threw it all out.The time required to clean it up would be more than the time to start over. So, I have rebuilt the database, and have started recoding the application one function at a time, from the ground up. This should yield code that follows more of a consistent format and the end product will be easier to maintain.Anyway, as soon as I have it stable in the new format, I plan on releasing it here. It will have a helpdesk module, as well has a project management module, asset tracking and so forth. Along with ldap support, with the ability to customize it to fit your small business or enterprise. The current rewrite is in PHP with a MySQL dayabase on the back end.I hope to have more in the coming days.

Hacking, 1990s Style

jeff — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 04:47:19 +0000

Yes, a story was recently published on digg that highlighted a current site deploying 1990 level security to protect their site.Federal Suppliers Guide, in a effort to solicit business happen to bring their site under scrutiny by someone with an eye for detail. What they found was Federal Suppliers Guide is using a simple javascript to “secure” their precious data. A script that that is so efficient, it contained the user name and password right in the source code. Amazingly when Federal Suppliers Guide found out someone had gained access to their site using the login credentials left in plain sight, they accused the person of “hacking their site”. In fact, under the microscope of hundreds of programmers, it became obvious the javascript was simply not needed. None of the pages “behind” the script were secured. Therefore, Google must have hacked their site as well.For a peak at what they were trying to protect, all you need to do is search Google for site:federalsuppliers.com federalsuppliers.com.This amazing story of Darwinian stupidity continues to gain attention via digg, and it is only a matter of time before Federal Suppliers Guide’s clients GSA find out about the level of security they provide and will most certainly pull their business.For the original story, be sure to visit http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/So-You-Hacked-Our-Site!.aspxAnd for blast to the past, visit Federal Suppliers Guide, click on agents in the menu bar and then view the source code. Even though Federal Suppliers Guide has removed the guide since they seem to be clueless on how to secure the site, you can still reminisce about how websites used javascript to secure their websites in 1990.Enjoy!

Welcome.

jeff — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 17:22:14 +0000

Welcome to the all new jeffreystone.net.I have been busy with several projects as of late and haven’t had much free time. I hope to devote a little more time to this site and sharing my thoughts as well as some knowledge. I cannot guarantee there will be anything for you here, but feel free to stop by and see. You never know, you might just learn something.