eRacks Systems Tech Blog
Open Source Experts Since 1999
The Quest for a good Ubuntu netbook
We’ve had a long and arduous search for a usable resolution (at least 1366×768) portable netbook, that will run Ubuntu smoothly, and we’re pleased to report our findings! The MSI U230-040US netbook fulfills all our requirements without so much as a hiccup.
Most netbooks have a 1024 x 600 pixel display. This fails miserably with some applications that are designed for higher resolution, like Eclipse, for example. Working with Eclipse can be annoying enough, but in a lower resolution display, important fields in certain windows are unusable and almost completely hidden.
Portability is important and this system weighs in at 3.3 pounds. It’s got a good solid feel to it, and the display bends back to an angle of about 135 degrees. The keys are next to each other, not spaced out like the Sony Vaio. The netbook’s measurements are 11.71″(L) x 7.49″(D) x 0.55~1.22″(H).
This system passed all our tests and is available, as a complete dual boot system from eRacks, called the eRacks/CUMULUS. We’ve got Ubuntu and Windows 7 on this one.
The built-in Webcam is 1.3MP and works with Cheese Webcam Booth, both photo and video. There is a 4-in-1 Card Reader (XD/SD/MMC/MS), and three USB2.0 connections. Bluetooth is working without any special configurations.
I’ve set the processor for 800MHz at OnDemand. The other settings are Conservative, Performance, and Powersave with a higher 1.6GHz is available.
All-in-all this system gets top marks for usability and portability.
britta October 5th, 2010
Posted In: Laptop cookbooks, New products, ubuntu
Open Source Software: A Student’s Dream Come True
If you’re a student like I am, you know how important it is to save money. Some students are too busy with their studies to work at all, and those who can are usually only able to do so part-time. And, like books and tuition, software is a significant source of financial burden to the average student. While it’s true that student licensed versions of software are significantly discounted, popular titles such as Microsoft Office will still cost you somewhere in the ballpark of $130. And of course, that’s only if you don’t intend to use the software for anything other than your academic or personal endeavours. If you utilize the same applications on the job, you’ll find that you’re no longer eligible for student licenses, and suddenly you’ll discover that $130 magically turns into $300.
Fortunately, the current digital climate is rife with free software alternatives, which have the potential to save students (or parents!) hundreds of dollars.
The Operating System
Let’s start with the most fundamental bundle of software, the operating system (hereby abbreviated as OS.) The OS is what sits between the hardware and the user’s applications. Some examples are Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.
For many students, purchasing an OS will be a non-issue, as most computers come with one pre-installed. For those in this category, most of the software mentioned below will run on both Windows and Mac. That being said, there are also a significant number of people who need to include an OS in their financial plans. Perhaps you purchased your computer used and without software. Or, maybe the OS on your machine is old and needs to be upgraded. You could have even assembled your own computer, as many hobbyists do.
It’s true that students can purchase Microsoft Windows at a discount of 30-60% off, but why would you do that when you can get your OS for free? Over the last few years, a veritable cornicopia of easy-to-use free software-based OSes have emerged, the most popular, and in my opinion, the easiest to install and use, being Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/). For the more technically inclined and perpetually curious, there are a slew of other Linux distributions, as well as the *BSD family of OSes — FreeBSD (http://www.freebsd.org/), NetBSD (http://www.netbsd.org/), OpenBSD (http://www.openbsd.org), PC BSD (http://www.pcbsd.org/) and Dragonfly BSD (http://www.dragonflybsd.org) — and Sun’s OpenSolaris (http://www.opensolaris.org/).
In reality, we do still live in a Windows world, so you may find yourself in a position where you have to use a program that only runs on Windows. Luckily, there’s a very mature and very complete open source implementation of the Windows API that’s been actively developed since 1993 called WINE (http://www.winehq.org/) You simply install WINE through the point-and-click interface provided by your OS and install your Windows applications on top of it. Many will run out of the box, and others will run with a minimal amount of tweaking.
Office Productivity
As mentioned earlier, a student copy of Microsoft Office will cost roughly $130, and in some cases, students won’t even qualify for the student license, making the product much more expensive. So then, simply by installing a single free software replacement, you’ve literally saved hundreds. There’s a fantastic open source alternative called OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/), a spin-off from Sun Microsystems, Inc. The download is a little large (over 100MB), but the price tag is worth it (it’s free), and OpenOffice really is a solid application capable of doing anything Office can. It includes components that replace Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access, as well as additional components for drawing and for editing HTML documents.
In addition, you’ll find Scribus (http://www.scribus.net/) for desktop publishing and the creation of professional quality PDFs and Dia (http://live.gnome.org/Dia) for drawing diagrams, roughly like Microsoft Visio.
Multimedia
Of course, no college-ready system is complete without the ability to play movies and music! Fortunately, open source has you covered there as well. With Totem (http://projects.gnome.org/totem/) and Xine (http://www.xine-project.org/), playing your videos on Linux is a snap (Windows and Mac users of course have their own respective built-in players and don’t have to worry about this.) As well, there are applications like Banshee (http://www.banshee-project.org/) that do a great job of managing your music (it also plays videos.)
You’ll also more than likely be managing a great deal of pictures. For editing them, you’ll find the GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/), which is very similiar to Adobe’s Photoshop, and for browsing and managing your pictures there’s F-Spot (http://f-spot.org/).
You’ll only run into a couple of hitches when dealing with multimedia on an open source OS. The first is that you won’t be able to play many Windows Media files. Fortunately, this can remedied by purchasing the Fluendo Windows Media Playback Bundle (http://www.fluendo.com/shop/product/windows-media-playback-bundle/). True, it’s not free, but for $20 it’s a small price to pay compared to all the hundreds of dollars you’ll be saving on everything else, and if you can live without Windows Media, you can save yourself the expense. The second is that technically, according to the controversial Digital Millenium Copyright Act (http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf), you’re in a legal predicament if you install software to decrypt your DVDs. More than likely nobody’s going to care, and the software to do so is readily available and in common widespread use, but if you choose to play your DVDs on an open source OS you should first take the time to thoroughly understand where you stand from a legal perspective. [Ed. note: there are fully licensed DVD players available for Linux, but even so, legal scholars now feel that this area of the DMCA has not yet been fully tested in court, but recent precendents suggest that if it were, in the end, that Fair Use doctrine would win out in the end over the DMCA – Ed.]
A Plethora of Other Goodies
Depending on your field of study, you’ll find many other professional-quality free and open source applications that are outside the scope of this blog that will save you even more money. Just google around. You’ll find all sorts of amazing applications, all of them free.
Conclusion
Fellow students, let loose the shackles of expensive proprietary software and embrace the freedom of open source. Not only will you save hundreds of dollars, you’ll be drawn into a community of users and developers that are passionate about writing and supporting software. Once you get used to using free software alternatives like these one from https://www.sodapdf.com/pdf-editor/, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it.
Here at eRacks, we specialize in providing users of all kinds with open source solutions to meet their needs. So contact us today, and ask us how we can help you save money and get even more out of your academic experience!
james April 20th, 2009
Posted In: How-To, multimedia, Open Source, Reviews, ubuntu
Tags: FLOSS, Open Office, recession-proof, Review, unix
Experimenting with a Server at Home
Setting up a server at home can be a rewarding experience. Not only does it make for an excellent experiment and learning experience, it also allows you access to your home network from anywhere in the world. You may be tempted to think that such a project would be time consuming and expensive, but actually the opposite is true. Today, the software required for running a server is relatively easy to configure. And, with open source software, a cheap computer and the right internet connection, you can be up and running with minimal cost, and the other side of the coin is to use a home automation to make your life easier, look at the work of the ceiling fan installation atlanta top rated professionals, they work with everything you need.
A home server can be a very useful thing to have, and is a worthwhile project, if for no other reason, because it’s a good learning experience. KMF Technologies can provide the hardware you need to get the job done, and can also offer consulting services for difficult software configurations. If you decide to take the time to setup a server at home, you won’t be disappointed.
The possibilities are endless with a home server. With an HTTP server like Apache or Lighttpd , you can host your own homepage, keep a remotely accessible calendar, share information with family, friends and co-workers or even experiment with your own custom web applications, with complete control over the software that supports them.
With SSH and/or FTP running on your server, you can gain access to files you have saved on your machine. What if you come to work and discover that you left an important Powerpoint presentation at home? No problem. If you have your desktop computer on the same network as your server, you can use Wake-On-Lan to power up your desktop, SSH to copy the file to your server and SSH or FTP to download it. Problem solved!
Today, with modern Linux distributions such as Ubuntu , installing and configuring server applications has never been easier. With default configurations that work mostly out of the box with minimal tweaking, you can have a machine up and running in minutes. In addition, no special hardware is required. If you have a spare computer with a NIC, you have a server.
The only issue that could be an obstacle is your internet connection. First and foremost, you’ll require a broadband connection such as DSL or cable like this high speed internet provider from Filer, ID. In addition, while not required, it’s a good idea to get a static IP address if you can, which is just a unique identifier assigned to your network on the
internet that doesn’t change. DSL Extreme, for example, offers affordable static IP solutions to residential customers. From there, you would register a domain name and point it to your IP address, or get a free subdomain if you preferred.
If you can’t find a static IP, however, all is not lost. Using a service like DynDNS.org, you can get a free subdomain name that can be automatically updated via your home network every time your dynamic IP address changes.
james January 19th, 2009
Linux – a Premium, Secure and Unrestricted Alternative
At one point or another, you’ve probably asked yourself why you continue to spend hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of dollars on Microsoft products, especially in the downward economy we find ourselves faced with today. It could be that you’re worried about having to learn a new and unfamiliar environment. Or, maybe you feel that there aren’t enough applications available for anything other than Windows to justify switching to something else. Perhaps you’ve already invested a substantial amount of money in software that runs on Windows and don’t want that investment to go to waste.
Whatever the reason may be, there’s never been a better time to migrate away from proprietary software and make the move to Linux, a premium open source solution. Not only are the arguments outlined above irrelevant to the current technological climate, there are many other exciting reasons to consider giving Linux a try.
Linux Does More “Out-of-the-Box,” and It’s all Free!
After installing Microsoft Windows, your first task will always inevitably be to install a lengthy suite of applications before being able to do anything productive, and by the time you’ve finished, you’ll have potentially incurred hundreds of dollars in additional licensing costs. By contrast, any popular modern Linux distribution will come bundled with an office suite, fully-featured mail client, system administration tools and a host of other applications, saving you hours of installation time, all at no added cost. Even if you use a commercial Linux distribution with a price tag to match, the software bundled with it is almost always free and open source, meaning that you pay no extra licensing fees.
Thousands of Additional Applications, all Ready To Install at the Click of Your Mouse
We’ve all gone through the lengthy process of installing our initial set of applications, just to discover that we’ve either forgotten something or that we have additional needs. If you’re a user of Microsoft Windows and proprietary applications, you’ll get to fork out even more money, and be faced with the daunting task of manually downloading executable files and/or swapping CDs back and forth, with every installation method differing significantly from the last.
If you’re a user of Linux, with a few clicks of the mouse, you’ll find thousands of applications, all available from a single repository, ready to automatically download and install. Oh, and have I mentioned that they’re all free?
Running Windows Software on Linux
“I want to use Linux, but there’s one crucial application that’s holding me back.” Those of us who have moved away from Windows know all too well the pain of leaving behind old (or perhaps not so old) software investments. Whether it’s an in-house program for your workplace, an office suite or even a favorite game, you don’t want to lose your ability to run legacy Windows software.
This used to be a very good reason for abandoning open source migration efforts, but fortunately, it’s no longer a serious issue. The WINE project (http://www.winehq.org/), which represents fifteen years of hard work and dedication on the part of open source developers across the globe, has grown to be a very mature, nearly drop-in replacement for the Windows environment, and runs quite a few Windows programs out-of-the-box, including Microsoft Office. In addition, those applications that don’t will often run with minimal tweaking, and for those situations where native Windows libraries are required to make an application work, you have the option of using them in place of or in addition to WINE’s own bundled libraries.
For those rare instances where WINE fails to meet your needs, Linux sports a competitive suite of virtualization solutions (for more information, look up KVM or Xen), which will enable you to run a properly licensed Windows installation on top of your Linux environment at a level of performance comparable to that attained by running Windows natively on hardware.
Security and Your Peace of Mind
Anybody who’s had to manage a Windows machine will know what a hassle it is to have to keep up with anti-virus and anti-spyware updates, and how worrying it can be when we learn about new critical vulnerabilities that could result in a malicious third party gaining control of our software.
By using Linux, you have the dual advantage of working on a minimally targeted platform and of working on a platform that was built on a solid, simple and time-tested security model. Unlike Windows, there is little if any real need for anti-virus software (unless you’re running a mail server that hosts messages which might be read by people using Windows.) In addition, due to the rapid pace of open source software development, if a security vulnerability is discovered, a fix follows quickly. Instead of relying on any single organization to inspect and patch their code — a single point of failure, you have an entire global community with access to the source code, eager to support the software they maintain with a passion for writing good code.
Conclusion
With today’s uncertain economic climate, now is the perfect time to consider migrating to an open source solution. The arguments against it continue to dwindle as open source operating systems such as Linux increasingly prove not only to match Windows for functionality, but surpass it.
We here at eRacks specialize in open source solutions, and are ready to cater to your needs. Whether you’re purchasing servers or desktops running open source software, or you’re looking for help with your open source migration efforts, eRacks provides the services you need to get the job done.
james December 19th, 2008
Posted In: Development, News, ubuntu
Ubuntu LiveCD Won’t Boot? No Problem!
This blog is the result of at least two hours of pain and suffering while trying to boot off of an Ubuntu-based CD. If it saves even one person from the same laborious fate, it has served its purpose.
How many times have you attempted to boot from an Ubuntu CD, only to find yourself sitting in front of a very intimidating (initrd) prompt with no clue as to why the system failed to boot or how to fix it? Unfortunately, the causes of this dreaded phenomena are many, which often makes troubleshooting this problem very difficult. I myself have run into this issue on occasion, though up until a couple weeks ago it had never been caused by anything too difficult to fix. Most of the time it was simply a matter of using unsupported hardware. That all changed with my latest install.
Now, before I go any further with this, I should probably note that the distribution I had trouble with was NOT Ubuntu; it was an Ubuntu derivative, Eeebuntu, developed by a third party that is not in any way affiliated with Ubuntu. In fact, I later tried installing from an official Ubuntu CD and it booted just fine!
That being said, it’s quite possible that you have found yourself faced with the (initrd) prompt on at least one occasion. If so, you hopefully figured out what went wrong and were able to fix it. But, what if you’ve exhausted all of your obvious options? It’s quite possible that you’ll ask questions on the Ubuntu forums, only to find that nobody has an answer that solves your problem. That isn’t in any way meant to disparage the Ubuntu community. In fact, I think you’ll find that the forums are very helpful and that the community is very friendly and knowledgeable. Rather, it’s quite possible that, for whatever reason, you’ve run into a problem the community hasn’t yet encountered or been able to solve, which on some rare occasions may even turn out to be a bug. Whatever the reason may be, short of finding another Linux distribution, you may be thinking that all is lost. Fortunately, there’s another way!
When you see the (initrd) prompt, it’s because, for whatever reason, Ubuntu was unable to find or mount the root filesystem. The solution is to manually do the mounting for the Ubuntu CD. Assuming you can get the filesystem mounted, you should have no problem breaking out of what at first glance may have seemed to be a hopeless situation.
Now, you may be tempted to believe that the root filesystem of the Ubuntu CD is the same root filesystem you would see after booting the Ubuntu LiveCD, but that’s actually incorrect. Ubuntu uses a special compressed filesystem called SquashFS. If you mount your Ubuntu LiveCD, you should find it in /path/to/cdrom/casper/filesystem.squashfs. With this information in mind, we can proceed.
Step 1: Manually mount the CD
From the (initrd) prompt, manually enter the following command:
mount /dev/scd0 /cdrom
(scd0 should be replaced by the device name that refers to your optical drive.)
If you can’t find a device name for your optical drive, that may be why the initrd (short for initial RAM disk) failed to mount it. If you’re sure there’s no device in /dev for your optical drive, copy the contents of the Ubuntu disc to an external hard drive or USB thumb drive (either should be recognized immediately by the initrd after being plugged into a USB port.) Mount it instead of the CD to complete this step. To do so, use the command:
mount /dev/your_device /cdrom
(note that the device name usually shows up as sda1, sdb1, sdc1, etc.)
Step 2: Manually mount the root filesystem
Again, from the (initrd) prompt, enter the following command:
mount -o loop /cdrom/casper/filesystem.squashfs /mnt/root
At this point, things may or may not get tricky. Most likely, the command will be successful and you’ll be ready to continue booting the Ubuntu LiveCD. If that’s the case, skip directly to step 4.
Step 3: I can’t mount the root filesystem; HELP!
It’s possible that you’re more than just a little unlucky, and that for some very strange reason that I haven’t yet figured out, you don’t have support for loopback devices. Fear not! You will have some extra work to do, but the following steps should work just fine.
First, you’ll need access to another Linux machine. You’ll also need a spare hard drive or USB thumb drive. Please note that if using a thumb drive, you’ll need one larger than 2GB, as the SquashFS filesystem included on the CD will take up more than 2GB of space when decompressed. Finally, make sure that squashfs support is installed on your system, as it most likely isn’t by default. Depending on your Linux distribution, yo u may or may not have to patch your kernel and compile the squashfs module manually. If you’re using a distribution like Ubuntu, you shouldn’t have to.
Now, mount the block device you’re going to extract the filesystem’s contents to (we’ll refer to it henceforth as /dev/sda1.) We’ll assume for the sake of this tutorial that we’re mounting it to the directory /mnt/tmp. To do so, you would enter the following command:
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/tmp
Next, we must mount the SquashFS filesystem. Assuming we’re using the mount point /mnt/squashfs, we would do so with the following command:
mount -o loop /path/to/cdrom/casper/filesystem.squashfs /mnt/squashfs
Finally, copy the contents of /mnt/squashfs to /mnt/tmp. Note that simply using the command cp will result in symbolic links being treated as real directories, which is not desirable. Instead, we’ll use tar and pipes. Enter the following commands, in order:
cd /mnt/tmp
tar -jcvp /mnt/squashfs/* | tar -jvxp
When the above commands are completed, enter this one last command:
mv /mnt/tmp/mnt/squashfs/* /mnt/tmp; rm -rf /mnt/tmp/mnt
Now, just unmount the volumes and you’re done!
umount /mnt/tmp
umount /mnt/squashfs
Step 4: Success!
At this point, you’ve succeeded in mounting the root filesystem that, for whatever reason, was unable to be mounted automatically by the LiveCD. Just type the command “exit” from the prompt and watch as Ubuntu continues where it left off. Note that you will no longer have a splash screen during the boot process, so expect to see the output of init for a few seconds as it starts background processes before seeing a graphical login.
Wrapping Things Up
Hopefully, this blog will prove useful to someone. Even if you haven’t run into this issue before, it’s good information to have on hand for the day when that changes. In addition, the techniques outlined in this blog aren’t just useful for getting a cranky LiveCD to behave. If you’re using a device that’s bootable via the BIOS but which isn’t supported by Ubuntu, and you’d rather not take the time to modify the LiveCD to make it work, simply follow the steps above to copy the contents of the CD to another device and manually mount the real root filesystem.
james October 16th, 2008