Category: Technology

So I took this BBspot survey.  Here are my results:

Well, currently I use Linux on Suse or Redhat, but hey, at least its Linux.

Found an amazing document published by Connectiva on their revision control infrastructure an how they manage it.  Open Source projects have very few developers for the number of applications and the size of code-base they use.  Reuse and efficiency is required if a project of any size is to be managed.  CVS and Subversion (SVN) are two of the tools use to manage these projects; and their scriptability, flexability, functionality, and manageability are paramount to making this work. 

Also, here is a list of KDE CVS keywords for bugzilla management.  They allow you to open bug reports, close bug reports, add features, mark GUI changes, and cc bug reports based on keywords in you CVS commit comments.  These entries also effect changelog entires for packages when they are released.

Couple quick tutorials that I have been looking at:

• Genetic Algorithms – A tutorial in Perl on how to create a simulated multi-celled organism using Genetic algorithms. 
• Installing Debian – A modified way of installing Debian Linux using a live CD based distribution like Knoppix and then manually bootstrapping Debian.  Good way to get Linux installed (and easily managed) on old hardware systems.

A common rant of my concerns the mind numbing understanding the most tech writers (actually this applies to most periodical writers in general) have about the concept of system security.  This “everything I ever needed to know about computer security I learned from watching Hackers” is frustrating when so much good information is available about computer security.

The problem is only exacerbated by the fact that some organizations actively work to change the definition of security to their suite own benefit.  That is why I point out this article from the Register.  It is one of the best “general understanding” security papers on Linux I have read in a while.  The concepts it covers can generally be applied to all Unix-type OS’s, but the article talks about Linux (as well as Apache) in particular.  Read it and you will know more about software security for Linux than many in the computer business.

Physics Web reports the results of their questionnaire for greatest equations ever.  My picks would predictively have been Euler’s equation (e^iπ + 1 = 0) or Einstein’s (E = mc² ).  Also popular was the first equation almost everyone learns, 1 + 1 = 2.

Found a great article on the Cassini missions to Titan and how a single ESA engineer probably saved the entire mission.  With the impact that the Titan missions may have on our understanding of the universe we all owe Boris Smeds a debt of gratitude.

I have been looking for a fairly full featured, modern, OS that I could put on an old 386 router/gateway/firewall. The solution I am currently trying is Damn Small Linux. Its a Knoppix based Linux OS with apt support. The install disk can fit on a credit card sized CD ROM and can be run either from the CD or install locally to disk. Its only about 50 meg is size, so it cannot have a huge software library; but who give a shit as long as it has apt support. 

Five links related to speech recognition (SR) software on Linux.  Non of them seem very impressive (especially considering IBM no longer supports Via Voice on Linux) but hopefully they will improve.

• CVoiceControl -Formerly known as KVoiceControl.  Includes a basic voice SR engine and command line trainer.  Compile works but sound card support is prehistoric.
• Xvoice – Interface for Via Voice SDK software.  Requires an old Licensed IBM Linux version of Via Voice.
• FreeSpeech -Has its own SR engine but unable to compile because of old gcc requirements.
• Spinx4 -Currently most active Open Source SR software available.  Has a couple corporations working on it (although not necessarily actively.)  Entirely Java based. No front end available yet.
• NICO Toolkit -A general purpose toolkit for constructing neural networks and training through back-propagating learning algorithms.  Has some SR capabilities.  Usable for more than just SR.

Ever wanted to know how to reverse engineer an embedded device?  Two spectacular articles by Jim Buzbee walk you though getting system level access and installing alternative services on a Linksys NSLU2.  The articles do a great job of teaching you the ins-and-outs of accessing Linux based embedded devices.  You can follow future progress (and future tutorials) from Jim’s NSLU2 website.

The other great link gleamed from the NSLU2 tutorials is to Dan Kegel’s Cross Platform build chain script.  Historically building cross-toolchain for use in embedded systems development was frustratingly difficult. Dan has this process fairly easy.  With two-thirds of embedded devices running Linux , the two tutorials and Dan’s script make for a perfect introduction into the world of embedded systems.

Port knocking has the potential to be an additional layer of protection available to highly security conscience network administrators.  However, just like any innovation, it is not without its weaknesses.  The author of the following article discusses some of the problems that can occur with port knocking.  The primary issue the author identifies is the use of new definitions for existing security concepts that are already well researched.  This has caused some administrators to fail to identify  the natural security limitations of port knocking.