J_K9 @ Linux

Slackware 11 - Coming Soon

Mon Sep 18 05:33:24 CDT 2006 Slackware 11.0 release candidate 5. This is the last one, scout’s honor.

I can’t wait! Slackware 11 is going to be the best distribution yet - just you wait And I couldn’t agree more with Sum Yung Gai’s comment:

I find Patrick’s willingness to use the Release Candidate system quite refreshing in a day when “quick release, quick release” seems to be the mantra. It’ll be ready when it’s ready, and not before. If you want it faster, then jump in and help the man.

Aye to that!

A few links:

• Slackware 11 RC5 on the Slackware Blog
• Slackware-current ChangeLog
• Download Slackware-current (Slackware 11 RC5, at time of writing)

SnortVM

As I’ve been inundated with work, I haven’t had much time to post anything. So, here’s a little something, to show you that I am, contrary to popular belief, still alive

CentOS is one of the most popular Linux server distributions, Snort the most popular Open Source IDS (Intrusion Detection System), and VMware Server quite possibly the most popular free (as in beer) virtualisation app. Now, what could you do to tie these together to make an amazing, free product? Install Snort on CentOS in a VM, and release it for public download, of course!

So, fresh from the, er, streets: SnortVM. Deploy it wherever you want, and discover things you didn’t know before. Why not bridge it with your main connection to your router on your home PC? That way, you can find out if anything nasty is getting past your router. Or even put it in the DMZ, for a bit of fun?

I quote:

This VMWare is a basic build of Snort using BASE and MySQL on CentOS 4.3. It was contributed by Patrick Harper and is based on his popular Snort Installation Guide. Patrick tested the image in VMware player, ESX 3, and Workstation 5.X. It’s backward compatible so those running older versions of Workstation will be able to use it too. The download is 427 MB

This is the most interesting VM I have seen in quite a while… So, run along and download it!

(You will need an app like VMware Player or VMware Server (both free) to run it)

Linux - Always Your Home

As I lay down on my bed last night (in school), I began brainstorming. I’m not running out of ideas for this blog - not at all. I have an excellent line-up of tutorials on their way (and I shall write them when I get more time). However, I had to think of something concise and coherent… And, when I remembered the link on LinuxToday to another blogger’s article about how unhelpful the Linux community is, the idea for the post came to me immediately.

I joined LinuxQuestions.org when I was still on the teat, and very much a Linux newbie. Back then, I didn’t realise just how welcoming the Linux community was - a lot of people did welcome me when I joined the forums, but they do that on any other forums too.

However, it has taken me this long to realise that, not only were they welcoming me to the forums, but into the Linux community as well. I never fail to be amazed at how many people ask questions on LQ; almost all of those questions are answered, and quickly. I have made many good friends on LQ and on other Linux forums, and, if I have ever needed help, they have always been there to provide it.

Now that I am a more senior member at LQ, I reciprocate. If I answer a newbie’s post, whether they’re new to Linux or not, I will always welcome them to the forum. If they need more help, specifics, I post them. Sometimes I even email them, and I help them out via IM. And I know that I’m not the only person that does this - thousands of other do. In fact, it was someone who did just what I described above who introduced me to Linux, and helped me install Fedora Core 2, first on a forum, and then via IM.

The Linux community is more like a large, tight-knit family to me than a community. If I’m stuck on a problem, someone will help me. Equally, if someone else does not know something, and I know the answer, I will always try to point them in the right direction. Every little helps - and, in my opinion, you should give back just as much as you get from this “community” - or family, if you will.

And off I go to a lesson

Mini-Tut: An Introduction to Jobs

No, sorry, I’m not introducing you to Steve Jobs (even if you really want to meet him, don’t bother contacting me for his details - I’ve never spoken to him in my life ;)).

Rather, this is a short introduction to running multiple jobs on Linux. Have you ever been working in the console and had to wait for the current command to finish before running the next one? Or, have you had to open multiple terminal emulator windows to get around this (if you did this from the GUI)? Well, there’s an even easier way to get around this - put a job into the background, and just let it tell you when it’s done. Clean, simple, and extremely useful - and while this is merely a comment on a blog post, it deserves to be given the name “Mini-Tut” on its own merit: click here to read this outstanding mini-tutorial!