Free and Open Source blogger with an attitude
Stuff about Ubuntu and Debian GNU/Linux
The Ubuntu project has announced that Dapper Drake release will be delayed for six weeks from April 20th to June 1st 2006.
According to the announcement, the additional time will be use to devote bug fix, improving localisation for Asian languages, add XFCE desktop enviroment and to ensure that Dapper Drake will be LSB certified among others.
You can get the new Dapper Drake release schedule at this location : https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DapperReleaseSchedule
Ubuntu Breezy users, a new security problem has surfaced where root password is readable to the world by merely executing this command :
Users are advised to update their Breezy installations (via automatic updates) as soon as possible to counter the bug. The problem has been fixed in Ubuntu 6.04 (Drapper Drake).
A lot of my friends has been asking me about this very question, “how to get root shell in Ubuntu”. Naturally I would ask them to use the “sudo” command as it suffice to execute any task restricted to root only. It is explicit, and it is safer than using root account, that’s why ubuntu never prompted root password during installation.
However for some reasons, some people would prefer a full root shell instead of using “sudo” command. And here is how to obtain root shell access in Ubuntu GNU/Linux.
From Desktop, launch the “Terminal” application, accesible through clicking Applications->Accesories->Terminal.
Execute this command,
Enter your user password, and then you’ll get the root shell “#”.
Same as method 1 but execute this command,
Enter your user password, and then you’ll get the root shell “#”.
So there you go, that’s how to get root shell access within your Ubuntu GNU/Linux. But as for me, I think I can settle with the sudo command, as I haven’t found a situation where I need to use the root shell explicitly.
Good luck !
I’ve found a nice well-written guide that may be useful for those who wants to create Debian *.deb package. Though compiling applications/software/libraries right from sources are desireable for some people, there’s still lots of others who prefer to install stuffs software packages for conveniency.
There’s many reasons for you to create *.deb packages, one of it if you are (or want to be) a maintainer for a Debian-based project, or merely maintaining a unofficial packages for Debian-based system.
The guide would be useful if you are a software developer or in charge of distributing softwares in pre-package form to various GNU/Linux distribution. Creating a prepackage *.deb files will help people install your software without the need of developments tools and save compiling time, this is important since there are people who like to manage installations using software management tools such as synaptic and aptitiude.
Though most people would prefer to distribute binary only *.deb package, the practice of distributing pre-packaged source codes in *.deb format is not uncommon in Debian-based distro scene.
Here’s the link to the guide that I’m talking about :
Other Links :
If you are a Debian-based GNU/Linux user, then you’re probably familiar with synaptic and apt-get to install application from software repositories. This post focussed on how to use apt-get/synaptic behind proxy server/firewall which under normal circumstances, you’re unable to use apt-get.
Open up your Synaptic package manager (usually as root), go to Settings-> Preference -> Network. Enter your proxy server details like : username:password@proxyserver.net, and put the proxy server port (usually 8080).
Edit your /etc/bash.bashrc file as root.
Put these line at the end of your /etc/bash.bashrc file :
export http_proxy=http://username:password@proxyserver.net:port/ export ftp_proxy=http://username:password@proxyserver.netport/
You can omit the username:password, if your proxy server has no password. That’s all for today! Happy apt-get-ing!
I guess everybody know about Debian GNU/Linux distribution. It is nice and simple to setup, not too newbie-ish, not to complex, just in the right balance. Debian also has an awesome package management system called ‘apt-get’ which manage your application/softwares inside your computer, apply updates, and deal with security patches. Debian has comprehensive repositories, spanning over 18 CDs for the i386 platform, making it one of the largest software repository among other GNU/Linux distros. Debian also support a total of 11 processor architectures, topping up other distribution which usually supports between 1-4 archicture (the usual architectures are : i386, amd-64, ppc,sparc).
However, due to the complexities of supporting every platform, Debian rarely release software upadates to its users. This has cause problem to users who needs access to updated software or the much needed security patches. The usual applications request among others includes Openoffice, mozilla firefox, gaim, window managers (KDE,GNOME) and kernel updates.
While some people can live without software updates, there are people who needs updated software in order to keep up with the latest improvements and technology. Usually there a couple of choices for these group of people.
First, use the -sid (unstable/experimental branch) repository. You just need to edit your “/etc/apt/sources.list” file and uncomment sid-related repositories. Then you will need to run “apt-get dist-upgrade” to upgrade your distribution to -sid, the experimental Debian release.
If you need to update only a handful packages critical only to your day-to-day work (and prefer to use a stable Debian release), then you can use Backports. In a nutshell, Backports are recompiled packages from testing (mostly) and unstable (in a few cases only, e.g. security updates), so they will run without new libraries (wherever it is possible) on a stable Debian distribution.
The website has an easy to follow instructions to use Backports apt-get repository to get updated software. The Backports is flexible enough that you can customize which software you want to be updated and the ones you wish to leave behind.
A piece of advise : while Backports provides an easy way to stay updated with your applications, it is advisable that you pick out single backports which fits your needs, and not to use all backports available there.