Linus Torvalds Facts

Much like the infamous Chuck Norris Facts, our boy Linus Torvalds, the inventor of the Linux kernel has some facts of his own:

Linus Torvalds once found a segmentation fault in the universe.

Linus Torvalds can run kill -9 and kill Chuck Norris.

Linus Torvalds doesn't die, he simply returns zero.

Linus Torvalds first written program had artificial intelligence.

Linus can divide by zero.

Linus Torvalds runs Linux on his wristwatch and toaster.

Linus Torvalds doesn't receive error messages.

There is no theory of probability, just a list of events that Linus Torvalds allows to occur.

Linus Torvalds does not sleep. He hacks.

Linus surfs the web using nothing but netcat.

Linus Torvalds can play 3D games in his head by interpreting the source code in real-time.

Linus made the red pill.

Linus Torvalds didn't learn from the University of Helsinki, the University of Helsinki learned from Linus Torvalds.

Linus Torvalds once developed a programming language so good that it makes python look like punch cards.

Linus Torvalds doesn't need to boot.

Linus is real, unless declared Integer.

Linus doesn't push the flush toilet button. He simply says "make clean".

Linus Torvalds has no dependencies.

Linus Torvalds takes one look at your desktop and knows which porn sites you visited. In the last ten years.

Linus Torvalds sleeps with nunchucks.

Linus can enrich himself simply by chowning your bank account. He does not do this because there is no challenge in it.

There are no man pages for Linus Torvalds, only god pages.

Linus Torvalds can do an infinite loop in five seconds… in his head.

Linus Torvalds doesn't wear glasses anymore not because he had laser eye surgery, but because he finally got his xorg.conf properly configured in his head.

Linus Torvalds can use a nice level lower than -20.

Linus Torvalds doesn't need to mount his drives.

Linus Torvalds doesn't debug. His programs are always perfect.

Linus Torvalds can install Linux on a dead badger.

Linus Torvalds doesn't need backups. He just uploads his files and lets the world mirror them.

Linus Torvalds is taking over the world. Microsoft is just a diversion so that no one would suspect a mild mannered Finnish programmer.

Linus Torvalds already has Linux 3.0. He is just keeping it to himself to build suspense.

Linus Torvalds didn't design Linux to run on the 386. Intel designed the 386 to run Linux.

People pray to Jesus, but Jesus prays to Linus Torvalds.

Linus need not worry about Microsoft patent crap, he simply do `sudo mv /tmp/ms /dev/null`.

Linus Torvalds is more powerful than root.

If you could read Linus Torvald’s mind, you'd find that his stream of conciousness is entirely in binary.

Linus scared A and B away, so they had to make C.

Linus only has 2 buttons on his keyboard '1' and '0'

Taken from Linux Screw

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Copy Drivers from One PC to Another

Have you ever had a piece of non plug and play hardware and had to search online for a driver? Sure, we all have right? Now, have you ever had to search online for a driver where the company went out of business, or the product got discontinued? Perhaps not all of us had to do this, but quite a few of us have.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could take the drivers from a different computer with the same device already installed? Sure it would, the problem is trying to wade around through all of the DLL, SYS and INF files on your computer making sure you have everything you need.

This is no longer a problem. I found a FREE program that will backup your device drivers for any hardware installed on your system to a folder. You can then run the update driver wizard from device manager on the new system and point the hardware to the folder you backed up your drivers too. It really is easy as 1-2-3. This software is called DriverMax!

The following taken from The How-To Geek (howtogeek.com):

Launch DriverMax after installation, and you'll be presented with this graphically pleasing screen where you can select the "Export drivers" option.

You'll have to hit the next button to get to the list of drivers. This should show you all drivers installed on your system.

You can select just the particular driver you are trying to transfer, or you can use Select all if you wanted to backup your entire driver list (useful).

Use the next button again and you'll be taken to a screen where you can choose how to backup the drivers. If you are trying to move the drivers between machines you should choose the option to export to a folder.

Use the next button again and everything is done. You'll be able to directly open the folder using the "Open extraction folder" button.

In here you should see the folders containing the actual driver files. This is what you'll want to copy to the other computer using a thumb drive.

On the other computer, you can choose to update the drivers for the problem device, and when you are prompted on how you want to search, just choose to "Browse my computer for driver software" and then pick the folder with your exported drivers.

These instructions are fairly generic, but I've found the basic principles to be very handy.

If you want to try out DriverMax, all you have to do is click here: (DriverMax)

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Darth Vader in Love Part 1

Following up with today's MySpace theme, I found this video on MySpace! Darth Vader in Love!

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MySpace Combating Spam

According to John Rambo, To survive war, you must become war!"

That is exactly what the people over at MySpace have been doing in the war against spammers.

If you are a MySpace junkie like me, actually, I'm not as bad as I used to be. I only occasionally check my account, but the funny thing is that each time I check I have 20 bogus friend requests! I spend a good 15 minutes a day marking bogus friend requests as spam!

Sure, I can set options like only allow people who know my last name, or my email address, but I like to use MySpace to market my blog, so that setting does me no good really. The sad thing is that a few months ago, that was your only real option to combat the spam.

Not anymore! I decided to make some much needed changes to my account info on MySpace, and noticed a new tab called "Spam." When I clicked on it, this is what I found:
All sorts of settings that allow you to control how people contact you, or request to be your friends! All without having to totally lock down your profile. I especially like the ability to make people use a CAPTCHA before requesting to be your friend, or send you a message. Friggin' fantastic! Good work MySpace!

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Free Wi-Fi for SOCAL

Apparently due to the recent horrible wildfires that destroyed many peoples homes, and completely ravaged the landscape all over San Diego during the past week, AT&T announced that they will be offering free Wireless internet to Southern California. Currently the areas that will get the free WiFi are San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Orange and Ventura counties.

The free service began on Saturday October 27th, and is expected to be available for three weeks.

From The Press Release:

“We want to help residents in Southern California in any way that we can,” said Kieran Nolan, AT&T vice president and general manager, Los Angeles area. “By enabling free Wi-Fi at hundreds of AT&T hot spot locations, we’re hoping to provide families and friends with another way to stay connected — and to reconnect — throughout this difficult time.”

People needing free internet access to stay informed about the fires, and keep up-to-date about fire containment and other important emergency information available online can find AT&T hot spots here: (Wifi Locations)

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Free Streaming Movies!

I came across a really cool, and I am sure very illegal site tonight! The site is called Joox, and it is friggin' great! There really isn't much to write about it except to tell you what they offer.

As the article title suggests, this site offers free streaming movies! I'm talking about major motion picture movies, free on the internet. No downloading (unless you want to), and no hassles! If you want an idea of one they offer, here is a link to Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Did you miss your favorite TV show last night? I know this doesn't happen too much now-a-days with Tivo and what not, but I missed Heroes last Monday because of all of the San Diego fire coverage, so it does happen. Well they have TV shows too!

If you just can't wait for the DVD release. If you can't afford $30 for popcorn at the theater. If you can't wait 13 hours up to 4 days for a bit torrent to download, then check out Joox!

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WARNING: Driver Updates De-activate Vista

Bauer-Power has just learned of a shiny new bug...errr...feature in Microsoft's latest flagship, Windows Vista!

If you update certain device drivers like your video card, NIC, or anything along those lines, Vista could de-activate!

According to James Bannan of APC.COM, "Put simply, your copy of Windows will stop working with very little notice (three days) and your PC will go into "reduced functionality" mode, where you can't do anything but use the web browser for half an hour."

So what's the big deal? Just re-activate right? Wrong! If this happens to you, and you try to re-activate you will get an error saying that your license key is already activated! The only way out of this is to spend countless hours in Microsoft support phone hell!

Still thinking of upgrading to Vista?

read more | digg story

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Revenge on an Ex...Ebay Style!

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My buddy Karl over at Ask The Admin found this hilarious auction item on Ebay, and I had to re-post this! Check it out!

We had a great time last night at the FujiFilm launch party and we will bringing you that a little later. In the mean time this is a great laugh for a Friday morning. Real deal eBay auction running right now. It needs no introduction. Read it through but be forewarned it is a R-rated. :) But hey what it isn't thats funny now-a-days. grammar and spelling errors left in for emphasis!

The auction is for a Dell Latitude D600. 60GB HD, 1 GB memory, Dual Band Wi-Fi, Very light scratches on the top, Screen is scratch free and shows up crystal clear. She took good care of the laptop. It has all the newest updates, and comes with office, Roxio and other programs. Just an all around good laptop to have. I bought this as a gift for my ex.

What is included in winning this auction is not only the laptop, but also everything else she left. Right now it is the laptop, the bag, some cables, the power supply, some personal items, sunglasses, clothes and a book "the story of O". I will be cleaning my place this weekend so the bounty will grow.

This is the last of the crap my ex girlfriend has left at my place. She left me for an older guy she met on dumm dum duuu...my space. A 30 year old guy on MySpace hitting on 21 yr old woman. Whatever, hey props to him for being able to pull it off.

I figure what more fitting way to totally get rid of her then online.

I met this wonderful pain in my ass from a friend of mine (who I haven’t talked to since). It was his niece, and she had just moved out here from Kansas. At first glance she seemed perfect. She played guitar, was gorgeous, and was a monster in the sac.

The only glaring issue is that she smoked weed. A LOT. Every day.

She could cause her uncle, my friend, was pretty well off and paid for her. She had a hell of a deal, go out with me, get treated, go back to her uncle’s house, and get treated.

As time went on I found myself spending more and more on this chick and getting less and less, umm "return". After a month long dry spell I figured something was up and began paying more attention to what she was doing.

One day she said she was going shopping then out with some friends and would be home late, probably getting baked. As soon as she,I spent the next ten minutes going over her computer looking for emails and passwords. She left all her info in a notepad in her my docs. I started rummaging around her yahoo account and came upon some emails from "Jeff". I knew most of her friends and this one was new.

Reading them it came clear this was the dick doing my girl.

So I signed in as her to yahoo and no joke within 30 seconds I got an IM from Dick.... I mean Jeff, asking if she was still up to meet at the mall.

I went red with anger, but then calmed down and thought this is her screw up not his. So I made a deal with the devil.

Seeing that sex had gone out the window a month ago (seriously from once or twice a day to nothing) I figured if I could get any neither should he. I started chatting with him but at the end I said

" I would love to do anal tonight, but I don't like it slow, when you have me doggy style, just go for it. I will be ready all night"

He replied with a simple OK. I then said, as her, I am heading out the door now.

No surprise, she came home early, around midnight slamming the door on her way in. I hear some noise in the living room, the laptop slamming shut, and zippers opening. I came out from my bedroom and asked her what’s wrong?

Her rant consisted of maybe 3 non obscene words, so I don't think eBay would let me print them. I did catch " you told him to butt **** me! How dare you invade my privacy?" She was so pissed she grabbed her overnight bag, leaving her laptop.

That was 2 months ago and she hasn't been back since. So that is why I am selling her laptop.

I would like to get at least 400 buck to recoup all the money I spent on her. Women should come with a refund option............ [eBay]

Laughing Yet? Don't forget to check out our Roxio Contest! You could be the winner of a brand new software suite!.

_TheLolAdmiN_

Originally Posted on Ask The Admin By Karl Gechlik

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POP3 vs IMAP

There are two main email protocols POP and IMAP. They have both been around for a long time and each have their advantages. But nowadays I am really feeling IMAP and I like that I can access my email via Web-mail, Outlook or my Windows Mobile Device and See THE SAME THING!

Lets start out by saying the Pop3 protocol is very 1999, but it's still very popular today. IMAP has just so many wonderful features, I think more users would switch if they knew about them..

IMAP allows for two way communication between client and server. Think of it like a thin client. What's a thin client? Everything you do happens on the server. So if you have multiple clients in different locations, all your folders (including deleted and sent) will stay up to date and synced.

POP3 messages always need to be downloaded before being displayed. IMAP simply shows you the messages as they are on your mail server.

Gmail has given some users the IMAP option already. And IMAP works on most clients including the coveted iphone. Play on playa!

Advantages over POP3

Connected and disconnected modes of operation

When using POP3, clients typically connect to the e-mail server briefly, only as long as it takes to download new messages. When using IMAP4, clients often stay connected as long as the user interface is active and download message content on demand. For users with many or large messages, this IMAP4 usage pattern can result in faster response times.

Multiple clients simultaneously connected to the same mailbox

The POP3 protocol requires the currently connected client to be the only client connected to the mailbox. In contrast, the IMAP protocol specifically allows simultaneous access by multiple clients and provides mechanisms for clients to detect changes made to the mailbox by other, concurrently connected, clients.

Access to MIME message parts and partial fetch

Nearly all internet e-mail is transmitted in MIME format, allowing messages to have a tree structure where the leaf nodes are any of a variety of single part content types and the non-leaf nodes are any of a variety of multipart types. The IMAP4 protocol allows clients to separately retrieve any of the individual MIME parts and also to retrieve portions of either individual parts or the entire message. These mechanisms allow clients to retrieve the text portion of a message without retrieving attached files or to stream content as it is being fetched.

Message state information

Through the use of flags defined in the IMAP4 protocol clients can keep track of message state, for example whether or not the message has been read, replied to, or deleted. These flags are stored on the server, so different clients accessing the same mailbox at different times can detect state changes made by other clients. POP3 provides no mechanism for clients to store such state information on the server so if a single user accesses a mailbox with two different POP3 clients state information, such as whether a message has been accessed, cannot be synchronized between the clients. The IMAP4 protocol supports both pre-defined system flags and client defined keywords, System flags indicate state information such as whether a message has been read. Keywords, which are not supported by all IMAP servers, allow messages to be given one or more tags whose meaning is up to the client. Adding user created tags to messages is an operation supported by some Webmail services, such as Gmail, although generally not using IMAP.

Multiple mailboxes on the server

IMAP4 clients can create, rename, and/or delete mailboxes (usually presented to the user as folders) on the server, and move messages between mailboxes. Multiple mailbox support also allows servers to provide access to shared and public folders.

Server-side searches

IMAP4 provides a mechanism for a client to ask the server to search for messages meeting a variety of criteria. This mechanism avoids requiring clients to download every message in the mailbox in order to perform these searches.

Built-in extension mechanism

Reflecting the experience of earlier Internet protocols, IMAP4 defines an explicit mechanism by which it may be extended. Many extensions to the base protocol have been proposed and are in common use. IMAP2bis did not have an extension mechanism, and POP3 now has one defined by RFC 2449.

Disadvantages of IMAP

While IMAP remedies many of the shortcomings of POP, this inherently introduces additional complexity. Much of this complexity (e.g., multiple clients accessing the same mailbox at the same time) is compensated for by server-side workarounds such as maildir or database backends.

Unless the mail store and searching algorithms on the server are carefully implemented, a client can potentially consume large amounts of server resources when searching massive mailboxes.

IMAP4 clients need to explicitly request new email message content potentially causing additional delays on slow connections such as those commonly used by mobile devices. A private proposal, push IMAP, would extend IMAP to implement push e-mail by sending the entire message instead of just a notification. However, push IMAP has not been generally accepted and current IETF work has addressed the problem in other ways (see the Lemonade Profile for more information).

Unlike some proprietary protocols which combine sending and retrieval operations, sending a message and saving a copy in a server-side folder with a base-level IMAP client requires transmitting the message content twice, once to SMTP for delivery and a second time to IMAP to store in a sent mail folder. This is remedied by a set of extensions defined by the IETF LEMONADE Working Group for mobile devices: URLAUTH (RFC 4467) and CATENATE (RFC 4469) in IMAP and BURL (RFC 4468) in SMTP-SUBMISSION. POP3 servers don't support server-side folders so clients have no choice but to store sent items on the client. Many IMAP clients can be configured to store sent mail in a client-side folder. In addition to the LEMONADE "trio", Courier Mail Server offers a non-standard method of sending using IMAP by copying an outgoing message to a dedicated outbox folder.[WikiPedia]

Originally Posted on Ask The Admin By Karl Gechlik

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Linux Gui for 7Zip

I love 7Zip! I mentioned many moons ago that I have recently completely switched from using winRAR to the absolutely free 7Zip in Windows.

I love 7Zip so much that I wanted to get it for Linux as well. The Linux port for 7Zip is called P7Zip and unfortunately it is all command line baby. The switches and syntax kill me with this command line version. It makes no sense to me, and I can't find any good examples online for the proper syntax.

There is good news though, and it doesn't require switching your car insurance to Geico. No, the good news is that someone has made a GUI front end to P7Zip! This bad boy is called Q7Z. It comes in both pre-configured Deb and RPM packages, as well as a binary installer for some of the other Linux flavors out there. It makes using 7Zip in Linux a snap!

Once installed, you may or may not have to create your own launcher to run it, but that is okay. The launcher command for it (At least in Ubuntu) is /usr/bin/Q7Z.pyw. Once installed, compressing in 7z format couldn't be simpler!

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San Diego Wild Fires 2007

So as you may or may not have heard, San Diego county in southern California is currently battling some nasty wild fires. As of this post 700+ homes have been burned and hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated.

I am pretty lucky because I live in the El Cajon area to the east of down town San Diego, and have not been affected by it. I do however have friends who appear to have lost their homes, and other friends that have been evacuated and are still not sure if they will have a home to come back to.

If you are looking for a way to help the people of San Diego, please visit the San Diego American Red Cross page here: (SD Red Cross).

Here is a map of the fire area at the time of this writing (Click to enlarge):




Keep those affected in your prayers!

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Hiding Files in a JPEG

I found this cool video on YouTube while stumbling around the internet today. It shows you how to hide secret files in a jpeg using the copy command with the /B switch in Windows. Very James Bond if you ask me!



Here is an example of one I did:




Right click on the picture and save it to your desktop. Right click the file on your desktop and extract the hidden files using 7Zip, WinZip or WinRAR!

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Get Rid of the Ubuntu Brown in Gutsy

If you have installed or upgraded to the latest version of Ubuntu (7.10 Gutsy Gibbon) you may have noticed that you cannot change the background color of the screen just after you login from the GDM login screen.

On previous versions of Ubuntu all you had to do was to go into your desktop manager, and change the background color to your desired color, and then go into your GDM login screen manager and change the color and you were done. For some reason though, the Ubuntu team didn't want their disgustingly awful crap-brown color to be completely removed. I don't know why the Ubuntu team is so obsessed with such a bad color, but to each their own right?

If you feel like me that brown should be flushed down, then all you have to do is this:

1) Open /etc/gdm/PreSession/Default with your favorite text editor using sudo:

sudo gedit /etc/gdm/PreSession/Default

2) Find the line that says BACKCOLOR="#DAB082" and change it to the HEX color of your choice. I wanted mine black so mine says BACKCOLOR="#000000". You can find your color's hex code here: (Color Hex Code).

3) Save the file and reboot!

DOWN WITH BROWN!

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Create Useful Shortcuts With Tooler. (Windows Download)

Have you ever wanted to create a shortcut on your desktop to disable your screen saver or eject your cd-rom? You have seen it done and now you have some use for it? Don't fret End User! No need to muss and fuss here is a light weight program that needs no installation: Tooler. It's only 50kb and has blanking the monitor, disabling the keyboard, setting the volume...

You can read the picture yourself!



Best of all after you use it to create the shortcuts you are going to want you can throw them on a usb stick and never need the app again! A program that made itself obsolete almost immediately :). Here is the authors website and the direct link to Tooler. Now if only it could create a shortcut to make me rich...

_TheShortcutAdmiN_

Originally Posted on Ask The Admin By Karl L. Gechlik

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FREE Backup Solution for Windows Mobile

Hey Boys and Girls,

Every once in a while a proggy comes along that is simply a staple of your data diet. A requiem for your software library that just seems to always be useful, especially if you follow the advice and antics of The Admin here at AskTheAdmin.com. [and Bauer-Power!]

One of the most talked about subjects here is the issues that arise from being caught without a backup. Now, usually we talk about backups in the PC or laptop sense, but these days PDA's , especially Windows driven ones, are becoming more and more prevalent in society and in our every day life.

It's also inevitable, especially under any build of Windows, that you chance losing your data. Notwithstanding the inherent faults in Windows; having all your life's info in a device that can be dropped, stepped on, kicked, flung accidentally while speaking in an animated fashion (git her done), melted, forgotten and otherwise mistreated can be very precarious.

The need for a backup solution for Windows Mobile has arrived. And along with it is the need for our beloved readers to have access to a totally FREE solution that will allow them to breathe a little easier next time something happens to their phone. A lot of people use Active Sync and Outlook but why should we be locked into a costly and memory intesive solution? And how does that help us on the go?

Enter PPCPIMBackup (Authors HomePage), This tiny little program, with its itsy-bitsy little footprint, does everything you need in a PIM backup solution. Scheduling, an intuitive and simple interface, and the level of depth to name a few; it has all the options you could think of for a PIM backup and more. As the picture shows above, it handles appointments, call logs, contacts, messages, tasks, speed dial, AND it also sports a nifty little custom field, shown above, which you can set to a filter for certain file types or you can choose a folder, or subset of files. This program really has everything one would need in a backup solution.

Best of all I can back up to my memory card while I am outside, keep a copy of my installable file with me and always be good to restore my informationon the fly! This baby even does scheduling!

The backup took mere minutes, but the piece of mind involved in knowing my PIM data is safe is priceless. All the options, shown left, are pretty much self explanatory. PPCPIMBackup supports file compression, scheduling and best of all, it can be installed OTA (over the air, for you noo8s out there) which means you don't have to run it through Activesync for it to work. In fact, the program has such a small footprint it ran right out of HTC Zip's temp memory. The process took less than 5 minutes and ran smoothly all the way through. Although I'm pretty sure if I ran the backup using compression, it would have been slower, but I have TONS of appointments and contacts and even uncompressed, the file was tiny at a mere 218k. Though in all fairness, had I enabled attachments in the backup options, I'm sure that 218k would have been much more.

Also worth noting is the FREE screen shot software I discovered today, which runs on Windows Mobile! Ilium Software's Screen Capture proggy is definitely worth mentioning because it helped me capture the beautiful shots for our review of PPCPIMBackup. This proggy too, will be a staple program in my collection, simply for blogging about Windows Mobile devices. FREE, quick, easy, and tiny footprints are what we love to see here at AskTheAdmin. - C64

This is Commodore 64 signing out for the night kiddies. Pull your teddy bears close, and snuggle into your pillows, because now, thanks to AskTheAdmin, you can rest easy knowing all your data is safe, and all is well with the world.

Peace
Commodore 64 (the one you used to play Bruce Lee on)

Originally Posted on Ask The Admin By Commodore 64

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What a Dream Come True!

I mentioned in a recent post that I recently aquired an older Pentium III laptop with only 384MB of RAM. It really isn't fast enough to run Windows XP without trimming the fat.

I originally was going to put Xubuntu on it, because Xubuntu is designed to be more light weight than regular Ubuntu, because it uses the more minimal XFCE interface. It turns out though that XFCE is still a little too beefy for even this computer. Sure it installed, and ran fine, just a little slower than I would like. I did try XP with the fat trimmed like I mentioned above, but that was still God awfully slow.

Not wanting to give up, or revert to an older version of Windows, I decided to keep poking around in the Linux world for a solution. There are a lot of them out there that will run just find on such a machine, but the trick it so get one that my wife won't mind using when going to the Java Mama's coffee shop with my little girl. I


I found the perfect distro for my wife in Dream Linux! This is one of the many lightweight live CD distros out there that also have the ability to install to hard drive. The cool thing about Dream Linux that I like, and my wife likes especially since the popularity of MAC's now days (Damn they have good marketing don't they?) is that this is pretty much a MAC clone complete with the animated launcher bar at the bottom, and yes, that bar works well on the Pentium III without slowing it down!

If you have a relatively newer computer, it also supports Berly and AIGLX, which means sweet 3D desktop goodness! Check out the video:



Of course, I wouldn't even try using Berly on a Pentium III, but it does make a strong case to test it out! Another cool thing about it is the graphical front end to ndiswrapper, which lets you use Windows drivers for hardware that isn't supported under Linux! Just open the GUI, point it to your driver inf file, and away you go! I did have to add the following line to my /etc/rc.local script to make some hardware work after boot up, but that is a minor tweak and hardly a deal breaker:

modprobe ndiswrapper

The best thing though is that it is Debian based, so apt-get is in full effect, which means that if something you use normally is missing, you can get it and install it easily! For me, network manager is essential for easy WPA configuration. It didn't come pre-installed on Dream Linux, but a quick apt-get later and I was good to go!

I'm not quite ready to name Dream Linux as a replacement distro of choice yet, for me my favorite is still Ubuntu, but it really is pretty great, and works well on older computers!

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Ubuntu 7.10 Releases Today!

It's finally here! The final release of Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon has released today!

From their website:

Ubuntu makes no distinction between community and enterprise editions, Ubuntu 7.10 is our best work and is available freely to all. Ubuntu has consistently ranked #1 in reviews of security update responsiveness and effectiveness. The Ubuntu platform is fully certified and supported, making it a secure choice for users looking to explore, deploy and enjoy Linux. Ubuntu 7.10 brings together the best open source and free software available in a stable, robust environment that 'just works'.

Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop Edition adds an enhanced user interface, improved hardware support, multiple monitor support and integrated desktop search. Additional information is available at http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntu-desktop710.

Ubuntu 7.10 Server Edition features improved functionality, manageability, pro-active security and hardware compatibility and delivers a rapid deployment platform for developers and businesses. Additional information is available at http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntu-server710.

New versions of Kubuntu and Edubuntu, derivatives of Ubuntu aimed at KDE enthusiasts and the education community respectively, are also being released at the same time. Additional information is available at http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntu-family710.

Here are some highlights of 7.10 Desktop Edition:

• Hardware management improvements - improved plug-and-play configuration for printers, as well as automatic firmware installation for Broadcom cards
• Improved support for display systems - For laptop users, full support external VGA (projector) support is available out-of-the-box with easy reconfiguration when hardware is switched. For power users this release includes the ability to manage multiple monitors
• Windows compatibility - Users with a dual partition can read from and and write to files that are on located in a Windows partition (including NTFS)
• Enhanced user interface – Simple 3D screen effects and graphics enhance the user experience
• Desktop search – gives users the ability to search their entire desktop, whether for files, folders, chat logs or photos. This capability includes the deskbar applet, a central location on users' desktops for all local and web search operations
• Firefox plugins - automatic installation of popular Firefox plugins validated by Ubuntu for a richer, safer web-browsing experience

If you haven't done so, check it out today, and get the best Ubuntu distro yet today!

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Hack your iPod touch easily.

We received a iJailbreak press release stating that someone named AriX has a application that can app unlock (Allow for 3rd Party Apps To Be Loaded) your ipod touch with this easy to use apple script. There is one catch you have to be using a intel mac for this to work. Oh and did we Mention AriX is 13?

Here is the ipod touch unlocker ijailbreak.

This will let you use 3rd party apps on your new touch. Now you can load up all your unsanctioned Appley goodness and wait for Apple to release an iUpdate to iBrick you and then another 3rd party iUnbricker.

Will the fun never end? Ahem Apple, ahem Sony... Take the hint let the people that spend GOOD money on your devices hack what we paid for! Why would we want to limit ourselves to your vision? Let the community decide what the device should do! Don't be scared.

You do make that hard reset for a reason - don't you?

People will want them more isn't that obvious? What do you think?

And we would love to hear more from AriX! What do you guys think? Should he do a guest blogging spot? Lets hear from the 13 year old prodigy - if you are reading AriX Hit us up!

About iJailBreak

iJailBreak is an automated jailbreaker for your iPod Touch licensed under the GNU General Public License v2 written by 13-year-old AriX. The only user interaction required is for you to restart the iPod Touch. Works on Macintel OS X Tiger. PPC version is in the works.

iJailBreak is heavily dependent on Niacin and Dre's awesome tiff hack, you can find them at toc2rta.com. They really started the whole iPod Touch hacking scene. iJailBreak also makes heavy use of iPhuc, which you can find on Google Code.

_TheiTouchedAdmiN_

Originally Posted on Ask the Admin By Karl L. Gechlik

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Vista Sucks

This video is courtesy of Blimp TV! It is friggin' hilarious!

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I'm Officially Official!

Today I become officially official! Today I get awarded my Associate of Science Degree in Computer Networking! It has been a long yet rewarding road! I feel like I have been going to school forever! I also feel like I should have been finished a long time ago. Oh well, I am almost done. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now!

I originally started my college career at the San Diego Community College District where I took care of most of my general ed. After I achieved enough credits, I transferred to SDSU for a year. That is when I realized that the major I was taking (Computer Information Systems) was not the path I wanted to take. I checked with the counselors at school and found that they didn't offer a computer networking major. That is when I decided to go to Coleman College and everything is as they say....History!




Only one more year until I have my double bachelors in Computer Networking and Network Security! I am finally at the summit. Everything is downhill from here!

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Running Windows XP in Minimal Mode

My man Karl over at Ask The Admin read my article about putting Linux on older systems, and decided to fire back with his own article on getting Windows XP to run in minimalistic mode. My only concern with this would be security, but if you don't care about that, then this is for you:

So we heard about one way to get a slow computer up and running but it involved making the jump to Linux. Now lets say for arguments sake you can't go the way of el di pablo and Push Ubuntu on your Woman?

We couldn't get her to use that Pentium 3 with XP because it runs like a snail. And of course she wont run 2000 because "that's an outdated operating system" (this she knows! lol)!

It turns out we can stop a bunch of services and make some mods to get down to running a minimalistic version of Windows XP (pro or home). These instructions are for a machine that will not be on a domain! Will not use internet connection sharing, Will not use the windows firewall.Windows update will not work until you turn back on two services. Instructions below.


This will create a decent machine for you or your significant other to browse the web and work on office documents. Who would have thought Windows XP was so bloated!

Step One Install Windows Xp on your machine as a CLEAN install. Don't install OFFICE!

Step two Goto my computer properties, Advanced >>> Performance >>> Visual effects and turn off effects

Step Three Open up services and run through them disabling the ones on the following list

• Alerter
• Application Layer Gateway Service
  (Internet Connection Sharing and the Internet Connection Firewall)
• Automatic Updates
  
• Background Intelligent Transfer Service
  Uses idle network bandwidth to transfer data. (For windows updates)
• ClipBook
  
• Computer Browser If you are on a network with other computers, and need to see them, this may be a useful tool. Otherwise, disable it.
• Cryptographic Services
  
• Distributed Transaction Coordinator
  
• Error Reporting Service
  
• Help and Support
  
• Human Interface Device Access
  
• Indexing Service
  
• Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) / Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
  Provides network address translation, addressing, name resolution and/or intrusion prevention services for a home or small office network. We do all of this via our router.
• Messenger
  
• Net Logon (only used in a domain)
  
• NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
  
• Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
• Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator
  
• Remote Registry
  
• System Restore Service (This one i will leave up to you)
  
• TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
  
• Telephony (If you use a modem to connect to the internet, leave it enabled.)
• Telnet
  
• Terminal Services (unless you will need to remotely connect to this machine - doubtful)
  
• Themes
  
• Uninterruptible Power Supply
  
• Upload Manager
• Windows Time
  
• Workstation
  
  

Download open office or any other variation just because MS Office is a memory hog! Use FoxIt instead of Adobe PDF reader... Thats it you should have a tight little system now. If you can bump the memory up - Do it! Old memory is cheap on eBay!

After turning off the suggested services you will not be able to use Windows Updates unless you turn back on on:

1. Automatic Updates
2. Background Intelligent Transfer Service
   

Don't forget to check out our 2GB Memory upgrade giveaway from Crucial! Enter today!

_TheUnBloatedAdmiN_

Originally Posted on Ask The Admin By Karl L. Gechlik

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I'm Going to Toorcon!

I am going to TOORCON this year! I just checked with my boss and he said that the company will reimburse me, and let me get my mad geek on! Toorcon is San Diego's premier security and hacker conference.

From their website:

ToorCon, now in its 9th year running, is San Diego's hacker conference bringing together the top security experts to present their new tricks of the trade and have fun in the sunny and beautiful city of San Diego. This year ToorCon's Seminars & Conference will be taking place again at the Convention Center on October 19th-21st, 2007. We will also be holding our workshops at the Emerald Plaza Westin on October 18th, 2007.

I went to TOORCON last year, and I was thoroughly impressed. They had tons of advanced hacking and network security seminars, as well as a bunch of very cool workshops.

If you want to go, advanced registration is closed, but you can register at the door. The convention itself with seminars is $120 a person for the whole weekend. If you want to go to the workshops too, that is $900.

For a little taste, here is one of the video's from last years conference, talking about an OS X Wireless Driver Exploit:

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Moving the Wifey to Linux

I recently inherited an older computer that really isn't much good for anything. It is a Toshiba Tecra 8200 with a Pentium III processor and 256MB of RAM. Since it is a little older, and slower than the modern day stuff, I decided I wouldn't put Windows on it because lets face it, that would just be painful.

I decided to put Linux on it because as one of my old bosses once told me, "You can run Linux on an empty soda can and an old 9 volt battery if you wanted to!"

Since this laptop isn't much better than an empty soda can, I decided I would give it a shot. I put Xubuntu 7.04 on it because of the lower overhead than regular Ubuntu with Gnome. I couldn't use the regular Live CD installer though, so I had to use the alternate install cd that uses a text based installer instead. Now everything is working fine.

What I am going to use this for though is something my wife can use when she goes to the coffee shop. She keeps asking if she can borrow my laptop, but I am always using it. Besides, my laptop is running Linux also, which she doesn't care for so much.

How am I going to make her use this one, when she doesn't like Linux in the first place? Easy, I am not asking her to completely make the switch (That would be suicide). No, I am only asking her to use this as something to play with when in the coffee shops, or wherever she needs to take a laptop. She still has her desktop PC at home with Windows on it for anything important to her. I also changed the GDM login screen to make it look like a Windows XP welcome screen, and the desktop wallpaper to the grassy fields to make her feel a little more at home! If only I can find a Windows XP USPLASH theme also this laptop will be complete!

Does anyone have a Windows USPLASH screen? Le me know!

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