Computer Tips -Tech Info

Month: August 2005

  • SuSE Linux opening up

    I just read at arstechnica that it looks as though Novell is going to try and develop a community around SuSE, much like Red Hat has done with Fedora. They’ll be opening up the code at opensuse.org. The goal will be to make it easier for people to get involved with releasing software for SuSE and they think community involvement will help bugs to be resolved quicker. I like the sound of what they’re trying. I tried a livecd of SuSE several years back,
    (more…)

  • Google Earth for linux?

    I’ve mentioned Google Maps several times. *(Microsoft VirtualEarth recently jumped into competition)* Essentially you can browse, search and drag around road maps on the screen, or switch to a satellite view of an area, or even a hybrid mode where you can zoom, click and drag a satellite image with mapping super-imposed. Searches place objects on the map or satellite view with an arrow and “thought bubble” type description. There are even ways to find specific gps locations and to pick gps coordinates from the Google Maps.

    What I’m typing about now though is Google Earth. Google bought a company called Keyhole that made all this imagery possible. Keyhole sold a small client that pulled the satellite data real time from the web and allows some neat pluses (better zoom levels), tilting of the map for a different angle view. Google has renamed the product Google Earth and a free version is available for Windows.
    (more…)

  • Interactive forms with OpenOffice writer

    In some cases training resources for open software are lacking. There aren’t too many books out there on those topices, the manuals are sometimes neglected, but there are exceptions. OpenOffice.org has such a wide ranging community that it is one of the exceptions when it comes to documentation and instructionals. One such how-to is an article at Newsforge Creating Interactive forms with OpenOffice writer

  • Linux in city government

    Newforge has a good article about the city of Kenosha Wisconsin and their experience to linux. They started their “test” about 10 years ago starting with a DNS server and or a mailserver. They’ve moved now to a complete server/thin-client setup. They initially saved $100,000 a year with Linux, now that number is higher from reduced staffing costs. They have an IT staff of 1 and 1/2 people (I’ve GOT to see that.) They claim if they had PC’s (Windows I assume), they would have to have twice as many on staff.
    (more…)

  • Boycott Microsoft’s IE 7.0 ?

    There’s an editorial at Windows IT pro that’s trying to hold Microsoft’s feet to the fire with the upcoming browser release. Disappointed by yesterdays posting that IE will fail the Acid2 test, Paul Thurrott says we should all boycott Internet Explorer 7 until Microsoft gets their act together and makes Explorer more secure and standards compliant.

    (more…)

  • What is Open Source

    Open source denotes that the origins of a product are publicly accessible in part or in whole. See Open source (disambiguation) for related topics and other meanings.
    (more…)

  • Another Phishing update

    Well, last week I detailed attempts to get one phishing site shut down, then another two sites shut down. All three of those are out of operation now. I’ve gone after a fourth and it’s still up and going several days on. It’s spoofing ebay’s site and I’ve contacted both ebay through their fraud notification email system and I’ve contacted the abuse admin at the domain in question. I seem to be having a hard time pinning down anyone else to contact. So, if anyone views this and wants to help, the phishing site is at http://61.185.208.66/ebay/ there was no obvious directory listing of phished information, so I don’t feel like I’m giving you anything you wouldn’t have if you got the same phishing email.

    The contact information for this ip address is as follows:
    (more…)

  • Question and answer with Microsoft’s Linux lab manager

    Slashdot is running a thread asking for questions for an interview with the head of Microsoft’s linux lab, Bill Hilf. The 10-12 highest moderated questions will be asked in the interview which will be posted Monday.

  • Ap coverage of hacker convention

    Apnews has an article on the recent “hacker convention” in Las Vegas. In typical media fashion they paint with a broad brush to display it as “a no-mans land where customary adversaries, feds vs. digital mavericks are supposed to share ideas about making the internet safe.”
    (more…)

  • qemu for testing linux livecd’s

    I’ve mentioned a few things about linux livecds in the last few days and thought I would also mention a great tool for testing them. QEMU is a program, available for Linux or Microsoft Windows, that allows you to run an operating system within your current desktop. Let me try to clarify, I have my linux desktop fully booted with the editor for this post in the background and open up a run prompt. In the run prompt I type “qemu -cdrom /cdimages/klax-kde-3.4.2.iso” *(quotes are not necessary). This gives it the recent klax-kde-3.4.2 preview livecd as the thing to boot. A window pops up and it’s booting now as I type in the background. I can switch to it, make it full screen and play around with it without the need for a reboot. (more…)