"Never buy low serial numbers." Easy advice to give, but hard to follow. Witness the modern-day genius of pre-marketing: every time a neat new hi-tech gadget gets announced, a virtual army of unsuspecting consumers turns out to pay for the privilege of becoming beta-testers. Egging them on are "reviewers" (possibly hired shills), who write glowing reviews of the as-yet unmanufactured product in question. Occasionally, we are treated to videos of consumers camping out overnight in front of an electronics store for the privilege of being first in line to purchase a shiny new experimental gizmo that the manufacturer needs to get rid of before a greatly-improved version 2.0 is launched a few months later... http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20111205#feature
I could haven't have written it any better than Robert Storey, as above.
i found an old .iso in my archives. wondering why i had it in the first place, i started exploring it... i am most impressed by WattOS R4. i couldn't believe how fast it boots, how efficient it's footprint is, and still functional. i have it installed now and think i am going to keep it.
i am using wattos4 as a browser appliance - extremely nimble and fast. who would have believed it from an ubuntu base! so, i plonked for it's latest iteration WattOS R6, and found it to be slightly worse than wattosr4.
i have reviewed antix before, but i can't recollect. i will have a look and update this post here.
evilwm
labels:
wm
my wm journey moves on... from various bloatwares to fluxbox to ratpoison to spectrwm to dwm... now to evilwm :-)
i hope to keep this post updated, and accumulate my evilwm experience.
i did a memory profile on some window managers on my radar, and found evilwm to be using the least memory of them. that made me look at it in more detail, and i find i like it better than dwm that i'm currently using.
evilwm install in debian
[code]# apt-get update && apt-get install evilwm[/code]
edit .xinitrc (.xsession if you use any dm). change current wm with evilwm.
[code]exec evilwm -term gmrun -nosoliddrag[/code]
keyboard meta is ctrl-alt
my most used are
1-8 - change virtual desktop
left - prev virtual desktop
right - next virtual desktop
f - (un)fix window
x - maximise current window (toggle)
= - maximise current window vertically (toggle)
HJKL - shift window
hjkl - move window
yubn - move window to screen corner
alt+tab - cycle through windows (don't use meta key)
to maximise window horizontally: use = and x alternatively and repeat to toggle.
to move windows between virtual desktops: fix window, change desktop, unfix window.
manual says "To make evilwm exit, you have to kill the process". i completely agree - providing spurious buttons is bloat - not the job of a wm. and why would you want to exit x? to shutdown?
just shutdown
if i do have to quit evilwm
as i have mapped gmrun to evilwm default term, i bring up a command-line with
or you could map the commands to a keyboard shortcut of your choice. if that is how you like it, use
as this is an extremely efficient wm, for any additional functionality you can use other extremely efficient apps to add features you may need.
gmrun - command-line application launcher
xbindkeys - custom keyboard shortcuts
ref links:
http://www.6809.org.uk/evilwm/ChangeLog-1.1
wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/evilwm
gentoo-wiki.info/evilwm
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=15077
i hope to keep this post updated, and accumulate my evilwm experience.
i did a memory profile on some window managers on my radar, and found evilwm to be using the least memory of them. that made me look at it in more detail, and i find i like it better than dwm that i'm currently using.
evilwm install in debian
[code]# apt-get update && apt-get install evilwm[/code]
edit .xinitrc (.xsession if you use any dm). change current wm with evilwm.
[code]exec evilwm -term gmrun -nosoliddrag[/code]
keyboard meta is ctrl-alt
my most used are
1-8 - change virtual desktop
left - prev virtual desktop
right - next virtual desktop
f - (un)fix window
x - maximise current window (toggle)
= - maximise current window vertically (toggle)
HJKL - shift window
hjkl - move window
yubn - move window to screen corner
alt+tab - cycle through windows (don't use meta key)
to maximise window horizontally: use = and x alternatively and repeat to toggle.
to move windows between virtual desktops: fix window, change desktop, unfix window.
manual says "To make evilwm exit, you have to kill the process". i completely agree - providing spurious buttons is bloat - not the job of a wm. and why would you want to exit x? to shutdown?
just shutdown
$ sudo haltif i do have to quit evilwm
$ killall -9 evilwmas i have mapped gmrun to evilwm default term, i bring up a command-line with
ctrl-alt-enter and enter the above commands.or you could map the commands to a keyboard shortcut of your choice. if that is how you like it, use
xbindkeys.as this is an extremely efficient wm, for any additional functionality you can use other extremely efficient apps to add features you may need.
gmrun - command-line application launcher
xbindkeys - custom keyboard shortcuts
ref links:
http://www.6809.org.uk/evilwm/ChangeLog-1.1
wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/evilwm
gentoo-wiki.info/evilwm
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=15077
downsizing android
labels:
blade,
capacity,
custom.rom,
cyanogenmod,
tpt
i have been on a continuous quest to reduce resource requirements. i think this is affecting my personal life too - simplifying my own demands is making me live happier :) but, back to the topic on hand - android!
rom downgrade (Android 2.3.5)
labels:
blade,
capacity,
custom.rom,
cyanogenmod,
google
have you ever downgraded? was it too painful to switch from more to less?
i believe, less is more! more than what you really need or actually consume is inefficient & wasteful. i keep learning from experience... bloatware (in any way, shape, or form in life) cripples us!!
i believe, less is more! more than what you really need or actually consume is inefficient & wasteful. i keep learning from experience... bloatware (in any way, shape, or form in life) cripples us!!
android app cache
i do quite a bit of fiddling around inside the internals of android. i have noticed that occassionally rebooting helps to stabilise the system. although i could never work out the need, as android is essentially linux. but sensing what google wants to do it, i suspect it might be heading the microsoft windows way.. becoming bloatware (it probably already is)!
the next step is to clean out the cache. though you could do so by manually clearing the filesystems, i find it simpler (and safer perhaps) to do so from the recovery. i used clockworkmod. there are two caches - the dalvik cache and the system cache. both can be wiped from recovery. you might reclaim some diskspace too. android will create the required caches from scratch, on the next reboot. this boot will take a rather long time - be warned! watching the phone doesn't help. find something else to do and come back in good time. patience is of essence here.. :-)
there are some other ways to hack out some more space in /data, which is where all user apps are installed.
we can move some app caches to sdcard. this might make those apps slower, if your sdcard is not that fast. for some apps with huge caches, we might be more concerned about reclaiming disk space and sacrificing some speed. note that caches might not necessarily be a bad thing.
let's identifying the apps with the biggest caches. do this after you have been using the phone regularly for a few days without any reboots/cleanup, for best results.
if the above command didn't work for you, enable superuser mode and try again.
the next step is to move some of these caches to the sdcard. we need to decide on some rules to identify the best candidates. i have focussed on the biggest caches where this process actually makes a noticable difference. for me the two apps are market and browser. you need to consider the security implications, as chmod permissions don't work on sdcard fat filesystems, i.e. your sdcard content is world readable.
now move each of them to sdcard, like so
note that the app should not be running, not even in the background. go to settings -> applications -> manage applications and verify whether they are running. force close them if necessary. it might be far simpler to boot into recovery and do everything there!
the next step is to clean out the cache. though you could do so by manually clearing the filesystems, i find it simpler (and safer perhaps) to do so from the recovery. i used clockworkmod. there are two caches - the dalvik cache and the system cache. both can be wiped from recovery. you might reclaim some diskspace too. android will create the required caches from scratch, on the next reboot. this boot will take a rather long time - be warned! watching the phone doesn't help. find something else to do and come back in good time. patience is of essence here.. :-)
there are some other ways to hack out some more space in /data, which is where all user apps are installed.
we can move some app caches to sdcard. this might make those apps slower, if your sdcard is not that fast. for some apps with huge caches, we might be more concerned about reclaiming disk space and sacrificing some speed. note that caches might not necessarily be a bad thing.
let's identifying the apps with the biggest caches. do this after you have been using the phone regularly for a few days without any reboots/cleanup, for best results.
$ du -s /data/data/*/cache | sort -nif the above command didn't work for you, enable superuser mode and try again.
$ suthe next step is to move some of these caches to the sdcard. we need to decide on some rules to identify the best candidates. i have focussed on the biggest caches where this process actually makes a noticable difference. for me the two apps are market and browser. you need to consider the security implications, as chmod permissions don't work on sdcard fat filesystems, i.e. your sdcard content is world readable.
now move each of them to sdcard, like so
$ mkdir -p /sdcard/cache/browser
$ cd /data/data/com.android.browser
$ rm -r cache
$ ln -s /sdcard/cache/browser cache
note that the app should not be running, not even in the background. go to settings -> applications -> manage applications and verify whether they are running. force close them if necessary. it might be far simpler to boot into recovery and do everything there!
mbr in linux
fdisk /mbrever used the above in dos? but this doesn't work in linux. there are times when i have a need for this. i usually install bootloaders on specific partitions than on the mbr.
dd can be used for such requirements. the following will wipe your mbr clean
# dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/xxx bs=446 count=1where xxx is your disk.
how/where do i use this? i have been playing with many different os for a long time. every os wants to install their own bootloader into the mbr. but, we can't really have that, can we? not if we want them to exist simultaneously on the same disk.
i always install the bootloader on the same partition as the os, and wipe the mbr clean. then use fdisk to make a partition active and reboot to load that os. an os could do whatever with its bootloader and not bother me. this method can also be used to play with multiple bootloaders, each on a separate partition. i arrived at this method, after much grief from trashed bootloaders.
caution: just in case, make a backup of your mbr, before you wipe it.
# dd if=/dev/xxx of=xxx-mbr.raw bs=446 count=1and restore it, like so
# dd if=xxx-mbr.raw of=/dev/xxxopera 12 issues
just installed opera 12, and rolled it back right away. this is not a stable version.
issues: toolbars (specifically main-menu), multimedia (flash videos), indic fonts (malayalam?)
opera 12.00 starts up with a useless empty bar on top with just one button, wasting screen estate. see image below.
don't bother trawling through the opera forums, as opera developers seem to be windows kiddies. after eating some more of my leftover hair, i find a workaround. go to
this is not ideal, as now every tab has an unnecessary " x" at the end. but is better than an empty line of wasted screen estate.
the next issue is flash. i just can't play any videos. instead i see an empty static black box, where the video is supposed to be. no buttons, no clicks, ...nothing. like this
opera 12 has "Experimental hardware acceleration WebGL support" which need to be activated by enabling two settings in opera:config, ie set them to 1 (autodetect), or 2 (on). they are initially set to 0 (disabled).
opera:config#UserPrefs|EnableHardwareAcceleration and opera:config#UserPrefs|EnableWebGL
i play with different combinations of these settings wondering if these were the cause of my youtube problems. but every permutation i try gives me the same static black box in youtube.
back to opera forums "Opera for *nix - Linux/FreeBSD", and the first sticky is this post: Flash problems on Linux?
it seems a bit dated for 14/12/2009, but as opera lists this at the top, i expect this to be current. so i trawl through this, and do what it asks:
at this point, i give up on that post and go back to troubleshooting on my own.
http://youtube.com/html5 tells me this:
What does my browser support?
Video tag [y], h.264[!], WebM [!]
Note the answer to the above question, when a few lines above it says that Opera 10.6+ supports WebM. What does [!] mean?
opera:plugins lists all plug-ins and their status.
then i wonder, if youtube has any other issues. so i uninstall opera 12.00, reinstall opera 11.64, and try youtube. voila... it works! so it has to be opera 12 and not anything else on my system!
update: for now, i have installed opera 12.00 & 11.64 side-by-side on the same system. i don't seem to have the above issues on 11.64. so i guess, i'll continue using 11.64 for now.
i'm still sticking with opera, as i find it to be lean, small & fast, when all the others are going bloatware. i only use iceweasel (firefox, for the uninitiated ;-) when opera doesn't suffice. for eg, when i need to work with indic fonts, which opera won't render properly.
issues: toolbars (specifically main-menu), multimedia (flash videos), indic fonts (malayalam?)
opera 12.00 starts up with a useless empty bar on top with just one button, wasting screen estate. see image below.
don't bother trawling through the opera forums, as opera developers seem to be windows kiddies. after eating some more of my leftover hair, i find a workaround. go to
Opera -> Settings -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Tabs -> Additional Tab Options -> Show close button on each tab (enable)this is not ideal, as now every tab has an unnecessary " x" at the end. but is better than an empty line of wasted screen estate.
the next issue is flash. i just can't play any videos. instead i see an empty static black box, where the video is supposed to be. no buttons, no clicks, ...nothing. like this
opera 12 has "Experimental hardware acceleration WebGL support" which need to be activated by enabling two settings in opera:config, ie set them to 1 (autodetect), or 2 (on). they are initially set to 0 (disabled).
opera:config#UserPrefs|EnableHardwareAcceleration and opera:config#UserPrefs|EnableWebGL
i play with different combinations of these settings wondering if these were the cause of my youtube problems. but every permutation i try gives me the same static black box in youtube.
back to opera forums "Opera for *nix - Linux/FreeBSD", and the first sticky is this post: Flash problems on Linux?
it seems a bit dated for 14/12/2009, but as opera lists this at the top, i expect this to be current. so i trawl through this, and do what it asks:
$ find / -name 'libflashplayer.so' 2> /dev/null
/usr/lib/flashplugin-nonfree/libflashplayer.so
$ ldd /usr/lib/flashplugin-nonfree/libflashplayer.so
linux-vdso.so.1 => (0x00007fff560a7000)
libX11.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libX11.so.6 (0x00007fda2350f000)
libXext.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXext.so.6 (0x00007fda232fc000)
libXt.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXt.so.6 (0x00007fda23094000)
libfreetype.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libfreetype.so.6 (0x00007fda22df5000)
libfontconfig.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libfontconfig.so.1 (0x00007fda22bbe000)
libpthread.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpthread.so.0 (0x00007fda229a1000)
librt.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/librt.so.1 (0x00007fda22799000)
libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0 (0x00007fda22158000)
libgdk-x11-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgdk-x11-2.0.so.0 (0x00007fda21ea3000)
libatk-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libatk-1.0.so.0 (0x00007fda21c80000)
libpangoft2-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpangoft2-1.0.so.0 (0x00007fda21a55000)
libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0 (0x00007fda21834000)
libpangocairo-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpangocairo-1.0.so.0 (0x00007fda21627000)
libcairo.so.2 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcairo.so.2 (0x00007fda2132c000)
libpango-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpango-1.0.so.0 (0x00007fda210de000)
libgobject-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgobject-2.0.so.0 (0x00007fda20e8e000)
libgmodule-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgmodule-2.0.so.0 (0x00007fda20c8a000)
libglib-2.0.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libglib-2.0.so.0 (0x00007fda20992000)
libssl3.so => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libssl3.so (0x00007fda20751000)
libsmime3.so => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libsmime3.so (0x00007fda20524000)
libnss3.so => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libnss3.so (0x00007fda201e7000)
libnssutil3.so => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libnssutil3.so (0x00007fda1ffc1000)
libplds4.so => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libplds4.so (0x00007fda1fdbd000)
libplc4.so => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libplc4.so (0x00007fda1fbb7000)
libnspr4.so => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libnspr4.so (0x00007fda1f978000)
libdl.so.2 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdl.so.2 (0x00007fda1f774000)
libm.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6 (0x00007fda1f4f1000)
libc.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 (0x00007fda1f16a000)
/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00007fda24d48000)
libxcb.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libxcb.so.1 (0x00007fda1ef4a000)
libSM.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libSM.so.6 (0x00007fda1ed42000)
libICE.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libICE.so.6 (0x00007fda1eb27000)
libz.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libz.so.1 (0x00007fda1e910000)
libexpat.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libexpat.so.1 (0x00007fda1e6e5000)
libXcomposite.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXcomposite.so.1 (0x00007fda1e4e3000)
libXdamage.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXdamage.so.1 (0x00007fda1e2e1000)
libXfixes.so.3 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXfixes.so.3 (0x00007fda1e0da000)
libgio-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgio-2.0.so.0 (0x00007fda1dd88000)
libgthread-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgthread-2.0.so.0 (0x00007fda1db86000)
libXrender.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXrender.so.1 (0x00007fda1d97c000)
libXinerama.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXinerama.so.1 (0x00007fda1d77a000)
libXi.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXi.so.6 (0x00007fda1d56a000)
libXrandr.so.2 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXrandr.so.2 (0x00007fda1d362000)
libXcursor.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXcursor.so.1 (0x00007fda1d158000)
libpng12.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpng12.so.0 (0x00007fda1cf30000)
libpixman-1.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpixman-1.so.0 (0x00007fda1cca9000)
libxcb-shm.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libxcb-shm.so.0 (0x00007fda1caa5000)
libxcb-render.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libxcb-render.so.0 (0x00007fda1c89b000)
libffi.so.5 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libffi.so.5 (0x00007fda1c68d000)
libpcre.so.3 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpcre.so.3 (0x00007fda1c450000)
libXau.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXau.so.6 (0x00007fda1c24c000)
libXdmcp.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXdmcp.so.6 (0x00007fda1c047000)
libuuid.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libuuid.so.1 (0x00007fda1be42000)
libselinux.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libselinux.so.1 (0x00007fda1bc21000)
libresolv.so.2 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libresolv.so.2 (0x00007fda1ba0b000)
at this point, i give up on that post and go back to troubleshooting on my own.
What does my browser support?
Video tag [y], h.264[!], WebM [!]
Note the answer to the above question, when a few lines above it says that Opera 10.6+ supports WebM. What does [!] mean?
then i wonder, if youtube has any other issues. so i uninstall opera 12.00, reinstall opera 11.64, and try youtube. voila... it works! so it has to be opera 12 and not anything else on my system!
update: for now, i have installed opera 12.00 & 11.64 side-by-side on the same system. i don't seem to have the above issues on 11.64. so i guess, i'll continue using 11.64 for now.
i'm still sticking with opera, as i find it to be lean, small & fast, when all the others are going bloatware. i only use iceweasel (firefox, for the uninitiated ;-) when opera doesn't suffice. for eg, when i need to work with indic fonts, which opera won't render properly.
reclaiming android foss
labels:
android,
capacity,
utilisation
i am gradually removing google apps, as they continue to bloat.
if you are looking to buy a new phone, i will only recommend those phones which have a sizable open-source developer community behind it. if you don't want to end up with a paperweight, do not buy any phones, which can't be openly hacked!
if you are looking to buy a new phone, i will only recommend those phones which have a sizable open-source developer community behind it. if you don't want to end up with a paperweight, do not buy any phones, which can't be openly hacked!
android roadmap?
i'm not sure which way google are going, but they seem to want to turn the android into a desktop os, rather than a handheld os. google are doing to android, what microsoft did to windows.. make it bloatware & proprietary locking everyone out, till people give up and move to alternatives.
leaner code is cleaner code is more efficient code
labels:
philosophy
leaner code is cleaner code is more efficient code. a program with 100 lines of code is better than a program with 10,000 lines of code. less prone to bugs and (un)intentional security holes, easier to decode/maintain, cheaper to run... etc.
of course, comments are not code and documentation is to be encouraged. but documentation should be maintained separate from code; not maintained within the code. any documentation change should not result in code change requests.
i'm gradually migrating to the console, which is where it all started! :-) i strongly prefer working from the console, mainly because console apps are leaner and not dependant on unnecessary services like mouse or window manager. i fire up x, only only when i need to use gui apps. i work on the console within tmux (previously screen), which allows me to keep my environment when i transfer between console and x.
i am on a constant quest for more efficient apps. soon as i find one, i change over. efficiency means smaller code, focussed approach. for example, i changed over from screen to tmux a while back, and from ratpoison to dwm more recently.
of course, comments are not code and documentation is to be encouraged. but documentation should be maintained separate from code; not maintained within the code. any documentation change should not result in code change requests.
i'm gradually migrating to the console, which is where it all started! :-) i strongly prefer working from the console, mainly because console apps are leaner and not dependant on unnecessary services like mouse or window manager. i fire up x, only only when i need to use gui apps. i work on the console within tmux (previously screen), which allows me to keep my environment when i transfer between console and x.
i am on a constant quest for more efficient apps. soon as i find one, i change over. efficiency means smaller code, focussed approach. for example, i changed over from screen to tmux a while back, and from ratpoison to dwm more recently.
openbsd 5.1
labels:
bsd
i had to have a go.. and i just did :) i've been reading & hearing much about bsd lately. looking at the various bsd flavours floating about, i narrowed down my focus to two -
i was pleasantly surprised to find that
i had a quick look at freebsd, to whet my curiosity for its popularity. install cd is 502m, more than twice the size of openbsd's install cd. diskspace required for minimal install is 1.1g, about 2.5x openbsd full install. i guess the popularity results from it being a free-for-all accepting closed-source binaries from anywhere.
my brief notes from openbsd install follows:
* read openbsd faq
i mean really read it, and keep it open during install.
* download
i had no idea, how many times i would need to do the install to end up with a stable system. so i chose to download the full-cd for an off-the-network install. otherwise, there are much smaller downloads for alternative install-media, like netinstalls.
* boot from install-cd
: boot prompt, hit enter
*
logged at
* (i)nstall to create new openbsd system with new partitions
(u)pgrade only for upgrading from just the previous version, ie 5.0 only.
for older versions, you need to do each intermediate version upgrade. in that case, a full install might be more appropriate.
* install prompts:
at any install prompt,
* network interfaces
openbsd creates new interfaces for each different network driver like
* dhcp yes. ipv6 no. sshd no. ntpd no.
* x yes. xdm no. com0 no.
* new user yes.
this user will be a member of
i found that this user cannot
* timezone europe/london
* disks (e)dit mbr. (w)hole disk will remove existing partitions.
i prefer one swap and one root partition, as i don't know how much space i (don't) need. later, i can always resize these partitions for optimum use. add multiple swap partitions on separate disks for optimum performance.
virtio is not understood.
* location cd
* filesets all, except comp51.set
-comp51* [enter]
* et voila!
first boot:
* login root and read
* swap
i noticed that my system was not using the intended swap disk. there was no swap.
* packages
these commands simply execute silently & promptly. i didn't get any info and/or confirmation prompts. i wish there was some way to customise the pkg defaults, presumably using conf files or env variables.
* login as normal user
freebsd & openbsd - based on popularity. i chose openbsd, for it's emphasis on clean code and security.i was pleasantly surprised to find that
openbsd used only 455m diskspace for a full & complete installation, including x and a few default window managers. i chose not to install the compilers. and the whole install took only minutes! i'm going to spend more time with openbsd and really look at migrating over.debian would use about that same space for a minimal base install. and that was after i really hack a minimal base install. much more space is then required for installing x/dependencies for a functional system. after cutting and pruning down my system, i'd still end up with 1g plus, after a lot of work. my brief flirtation with arch required about 700m plus for the just the base install. and about 2g for a functional system. though i really like the arch philosophy, i reluctantly returned back to debian, my on-off long-term relationship since the potato days.i had a quick look at freebsd, to whet my curiosity for its popularity. install cd is 502m, more than twice the size of openbsd's install cd. diskspace required for minimal install is 1.1g, about 2.5x openbsd full install. i guess the popularity results from it being a free-for-all accepting closed-source binaries from anywhere.
my brief notes from openbsd install follows:
* read openbsd faq
i mean really read it, and keep it open during install.
* download
install51.iso for offline standalone installi had no idea, how many times i would need to do the install to end up with a stable system. so i chose to download the full-cd for an off-the-network install. otherwise, there are much smaller downloads for alternative install-media, like netinstalls.
* boot from install-cd
: boot prompt, hit enter
*
dmesg shows white text on blue backgroundlogged at
/var/run/dmesg.boot* (i)nstall to create new openbsd system with new partitions
(u)pgrade only for upgrading from just the previous version, ie 5.0 only.
for older versions, you need to do each intermediate version upgrade. in that case, a full install might be more appropriate.
* install prompts:
at any install prompt,
! creates a shell. exit the shell, to return back to the same install prompt.^c to quit installation.* network interfaces
openbsd creates new interfaces for each different network driver like
fxp0 xl0, rather than generic device names like eth0 eth1 in linux. i can see the pros & cons to both. personally, i would ln -s eth0 to whatever netdev in openbsd, to ensure my scripts don't break. i'm still very new to openbsd. i'm pretty sure that there might be better options and i need to discover those.virtio is not understood. so don't use it, if you are installing on a virtual machine.* dhcp yes. ipv6 no. sshd no. ntpd no.
* x yes. xdm no. com0 no.
* new user yes.
this user will be a member of
wheel group, and can su.i found that this user cannot
sudo, by default.* timezone europe/london
* disks (e)dit mbr. (w)hole disk will remove existing partitions.
i prefer one swap and one root partition, as i don't know how much space i (don't) need. later, i can always resize these partitions for optimum use. add multiple swap partitions on separate disks for optimum performance.
virtio is not understood.
* location cd
http for netinstall* filesets all, except comp51.set
-comp51* [enter]
* et voila!
first boot:
* login root and read
mail. read afterboot.* swap
i noticed that my system was not using the intended swap disk. there was no swap.
fdisk & disklabel to identify swap partition. populate /etc/fstab with duid. reboot to test.* packages
pkg_info listed nothingpkg_add firefoxpkg_delete firefoxpkg_info lists a lot of junk nowthese commands simply execute silently & promptly. i didn't get any info and/or confirmation prompts. i wish there was some way to customise the pkg defaults, presumably using conf files or env variables.
* login as normal user
startxmy toolkit
labels:
console,
emdebian,
philosophy
i am on a constant quest for more efficient apps. soon as i find one, i change over. efficiency means smaller code, focussed approach. leaner code is cleaner code is more efficient code.
root passwd reset
edit your (grub/syslinux/lilo?) boot command line and append
remount root partition in read/write mode
change password with the command
... init=/bin/shremount root partition in read/write mode
# mount -o remount,rw /change password with the command
# passwd
binary to decimal tip
labels:
math
how to convert binary to decimal in your mind very easily
You only need to remember 2 things:
(1) the first 8 numbers:
000 0
001 1
010 2
011 3
100 4
101 5
110 6
111 7
(2) shifting to left by one digit multiplies the number by 2 (10b):
1010 = 101 x 10 = 5 x 2 = 10
10100 = 101 x 100 = 5 x 4 = 20
101000 = 101 x 1000 = 5 x 8 = 40
When you see something like 101011, you can process it this way:
101011 = 101000 + 11 = 5 * 8 + 3 = 43
1110101 = 7 * 16 + 5 = 117
and so on.
It is easier than it looks at first glance :)
source: vik korneev at http://catonmat.net/blog/low-level-bit-hacks-you-absolutely-must-know/
You only need to remember 2 things:
(1) the first 8 numbers:
000 0
001 1
010 2
011 3
100 4
101 5
110 6
111 7
(2) shifting to left by one digit multiplies the number by 2 (10b):
1010 = 101 x 10 = 5 x 2 = 10
10100 = 101 x 100 = 5 x 4 = 20
101000 = 101 x 1000 = 5 x 8 = 40
When you see something like 101011, you can process it this way:
101011 = 101000 + 11 = 5 * 8 + 3 = 43
1110101 = 7 * 16 + 5 = 117
and so on.
It is easier than it looks at first glance :)
source: vik korneev at http://catonmat.net/blog/low-level-bit-hacks-you-absolutely-must-know/
mtrr cleanup
having just done an
the above doesn't seem to add up right. note that i have 4gb of memory on this machine.
i found many recommendations to
now this look much better! i'm keeping this kernel bootoption. have a go yourself, and post your (before/after) results below.
update: i should use mtrr_spare_reg_nr=0, as the first reg is 00.
upgrade, i went through the logs and found some mtrr #fail issues.$ dmesg | grep -i mtrr [ 0.000000] MTRR default type: uncachable [ 0.000000] MTRR fixed ranges enabled: [ 0.000000] MTRR variable ranges enabled: [ 5.811624] mtrr: type mismatch for d0000000,10000000 old: write-back new: write-combining [ 5.811628] [drm] MTRR allocation failed. Graphics performance may suffer. $ cat /proc/mtrr reg00: base=0x0c0000000 ( 3072MB), size= 1024MB, count=1: uncachable reg01: base=0x000000000 ( 0MB), size= 4096MB, count=1: write-back reg02: base=0x100000000 ( 4096MB), size= 1024MB, count=1: write-back reg03: base=0x0bf700000 ( 3063MB), size= 1MB, count=1: uncachable reg04: base=0x0bf800000 ( 3064MB), size= 8MB, count=1: uncachable
the above doesn't seem to add up right. note that i have 4gb of memory on this machine.
debian testing 3.2.0-2-amd64 #1 SMP Fri Jun 1 17:49:08 UTC 2012 x86_64 GNU/Linux
i found many recommendations to
enable_mtrr_cleanup, including this: http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-857061-start-0-postdays-0-postorder-asc-highlight-.html. so i added the kernel bootoptionsenable_mtrr_cleanup mtrr_spare_reg_nr=1to the
grub commandline, and here is the result.$ dmesg | grep -i mtrr [ 0.000000] MTRR default type: uncachable [ 0.000000] MTRR fixed ranges enabled: [ 0.000000] MTRR variable ranges enabled: [ 0.000000] original variable MTRRs [ 0.000000] Found optimal setting for mtrr clean up [ 0.000000] New variable MTRRs $ cat /proc/mtrr reg00: base=0x000000000 ( 0MB), size= 2048MB, count=1: write-back reg01: base=0x080000000 ( 2048MB), size= 1024MB, count=1: write-back reg02: base=0x0bf700000 ( 3063MB), size= 1MB, count=1: uncachable reg03: base=0x0bf800000 ( 3064MB), size= 8MB, count=1: uncachable reg04: base=0x100000000 ( 4096MB), size= 1024MB, count=1: write-back reg05: base=0x0d0000000 ( 3328MB), size= 256MB, count=1: write-combining
now this look much better! i'm keeping this kernel bootoption. have a go yourself, and post your (before/after) results below.
update: i should use mtrr_spare_reg_nr=0, as the first reg is 00.
linux ip
labels:
net
the linux world might be moving towards the
working with ipv6 is easy. use the -6 option.
ip commands can be shortened to their initial characters, if you feel lazy :)
ip command suite of iproute2, leaving behind some familiar unix tools, thereby potentially deprecating ifconfig, route, arp, netstat, etc. i list the traditional commands and their equivalent ip commands, for reference.$ ifconfig -a
$ ip addr
$ ip link
# ifconfig eth0 {up/down}
# ip link set eth0 {up/down}
# ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.2 netmask 255.255.255.0
# ip addr add 192.168.1.2/24 dev eth0
# ip addr show dev eth0
# ip addr add 192.168.1.2/24 dev eth0
# ip addr add 192.168.2.3/24 dev eth0
# ip addr del 192.168.2.3/24 dev eth0
# ifconfig eth0:1 192.168.2.3/24
# ip addr add 192.168.2.3/24 dev eth0 label eth0:1
$ route
$ netstat -rn
$ ip route
# ip route add 192.168.10.0/24 via 192.168.1.1
# ip route del 192.168.10.0/24 via 192.168.1.1
$ arp
$ ip neigh
# ifconfig -arp eth0
# ip link set dev eth0 arp off
working with ipv6 is easy. use the -6 option.
ip commands can be shortened to their initial characters, if you feel lazy :)
$ ip a
$ ip r
netcat tar backup
debian
i now use
at {destination}:
at {source}:
copy files from {some-server} to your machine:
and the other direction:
image a disk across the network from {box1} to {box2}:
at {box2}:
at {box1}:
restore this image in {box2} to {box3}:
at {box3}:
at {box2}:
compressed backup
at {box1}:
at {box2}:
references:
http://nc110.sourceforge.net/
http://sans.org/security-resources/sec560/netcat_cheat_sheet_v1.pdf
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/netcat
http://saurorja.org/2012/04/06/network-file-transfer-using-netcat/
http://compsoc.dur.ac.uk/~djw/tarpipe.html
netcat-openbsd is leaner, cleaner & more efficient than debian netcat-traditional. if you get a choice, prefer the openbsd version.i now use
busybox wherever i can, including nc and tar. small, simple, clean, standard, available the same everywhere.$ busybox nc Usage: nc [-iN] [-wN] [-l] [-p PORT] [-f FILE|IPADDR PORT] [-e PROG] Open a pipe to IP:PORT or FILE -e PROG Run PROG after connect -l Listen mode, for inbound connects (use -l twice with -e for persistent server) -p PORT Local port -w SEC Timeout for connect -i SEC Delay interval for lines sent -f FILE Use file (ala /dev/ttyS0) instead of network
$ busybox tar
Usage: tar -[cxtZzJjahmvO] [-f TARFILE] [-C DIR] [FILE]...
Create, extract, or list files from a tar file
Operation:
c Create
x Extract
t List
f Name of TARFILE ('-' for stdin/out)
C Change to DIR before operation
v Verbose
Z (De)compress using compress
z (De)compress using gzip
J (De)compress using xz
j (De)compress using bzip2
a (De)compress using lzma
O Extract to stdout
h Follow symlinks
m Don't restore mtimeat {destination}:
$ nc -l -p {port} | tar xpv[z|j]f -at {source}:
$ tar cpv[z|j]f - {directory} | nc {destination host/ip} {port}[z|j] compression: use over slower networks. ignore for faster networks and/or slower computers.tar streams much faster copying than scp 'ping-pong', especially when you have lots of files.copy files from {some-server} to your machine:
$ ssh {some-server} ‘cd /some/dir && tar cz dir’ | tar xzand the other direction:
$ tar cz dir | ssh {some-server} `cd /some/dir && tar xz`image a disk across the network from {box1} to {box2}:
at {box2}:
$ nc -l {port} [-vv] | dd of={disk.img} bs=1Mat {box1}:
$ dd if=/dev/sda bs=1M | nc {box2 host/ip} {port} [-vv] -q 10[-vv] use at the box1 (and/or box2, if fast enough)restore this image in {box2} to {box3}:
at {box3}:
$ nc -l {port} [-vv] | dd of=/dev/sda bs=1Mat {box2}:
$ dd if={disk.img} bs=1M | nc {box1 host/ip} {port} [-vv]compressed backup
at {box1}:
$ tar cpvJf - {directory} | nc {box2 host/ip} {port}at {box2}:
$ nc -l -p {port} | dd of={directory}.tar.xz bs=1kreferences:
http://nc110.sourceforge.net/
http://sans.org/security-resources/sec560/netcat_cheat_sheet_v1.pdf
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/netcat
http://saurorja.org/2012/04/06/network-file-transfer-using-netcat/
http://compsoc.dur.ac.uk/~djw/tarpipe.html
skype
http://wiki.debian.org/skype
skype's debian apt repository seems to have gone kaput! .deb intall packages give errors, due to missing dependencies. also noticed that the 64bit .deb wanted many 32bit dependencies. skype need to get their act together. losing confidence... only reason to use this is my friends using this. chicken-and-egg? you bet!
and the shambles started after microsoft took over skype. i can remember a time when skype client was lean clean & efficient. now it is humungous bloatware spyware crapware..
skype's debian apt repository seems to have gone kaput! .deb intall packages give errors, due to missing dependencies. also noticed that the 64bit .deb wanted many 32bit dependencies. skype need to get their act together. losing confidence... only reason to use this is my friends using this. chicken-and-egg? you bet!
and the shambles started after microsoft took over skype. i can remember a time when skype client was lean clean & efficient. now it is humungous bloatware spyware crapware..
printing how-to
# apt-get install cups
# apt-get install cups-client
# apt-get install cups-pdf
check available ghostscript drivers
$ gs -h
http://localhost:631/
http://localhost:631/help/
http://cups.org/documentation.php/doc-other/cups-help.html
https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/en/OpenPrinting/Database/CUPSDocumentation
http://wiki.debian.org/SystemPrinting
# apt-get install cups-client
# apt-get install cups-pdf
check available ghostscript drivers
$ gs -h
http://localhost:631/
http://localhost:631/help/
http://cups.org/documentation.php/doc-other/cups-help.html
https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/en/OpenPrinting/Database/CUPSDocumentation
http://wiki.debian.org/SystemPrinting
adb reference
adb - Android Debug Bridge
# adb {start|kill}-server
$ adb [dis]connect {host}:{port}
$ adb devices
$ adb reboot [recovery|bootloader]
$ adb shell mount -a
$ adb remount
$ adb shell ls -lhSr /system/app/
$ adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.android.browser/.BrowserActivity
$ adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.android.settings/.Settings
$ adb logcat
$ adb get-state
$ adb status-window
$ adb shell dumpsys activity
adb on 64bit
labels:
adb
there are two ways you can get
(1) install 32bit libraries
this is messy, especially if you don't use many other 32bit apps, which you shouldn't.
(2) use adb 64bit version
download the single file from somewhere, like ftp://alionet-repository.no-ip.info/Linux/GeeksPhone/One/adb_64/adb
or, compile it yourself, which means a lot of garbage on my system, when i don't do any (android) development on my primary system.
i prefer (2) over (1).
now, we can have some
adb to run on 64bit systems.(1) install 32bit libraries
# apt-get install ia32-libthis is messy, especially if you don't use many other 32bit apps, which you shouldn't.
(2) use adb 64bit version
download the single file from somewhere, like ftp://alionet-repository.no-ip.info/Linux/GeeksPhone/One/adb_64/adb
or, compile it yourself, which means a lot of garbage on my system, when i don't do any (android) development on my primary system.
i prefer (2) over (1).
now, we can have some
adb fun:# adb start-server
$ adb devices
$ ...
# adb kill-server
usb tethering
connect your phone via usb to your computer. your phone gets charged via your computer, while your computer gets the internet via your phone. win-win synergy!
