Utah Open Source Planet

Scott Morris
nexangelus
OpenSUSE Linux Rants

» 20 Reasons Linux Users Like Linux (and you might, too)

One of the major inhibitors to the spreading of Linux, as I see it, is that people don’t know why they should try it. Other reasons may include lack of support for their favorite game, or that Photoshop doesn’t run on Linux. For those of us who weren’t stopped by those reasons, why did we switch? What is it about Linux that makes it a viable alternative?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an article called “Major Linux Migrations: An Unbelievable List of Nearly 100 From Around the Globe.” One reason for this is so that people could gain a perspective of just how many migrations have taken place. And that list doesn’t even include them all.

The next question might be, “Well why do people find Linux attractive?” It does not support your favorite game. Photoshop does not run on it. There must be reasons for using it that are more compelling than the reasons for not using it.

A few hours of study and research revealed some eye-opening and thought-provoking reasons that Linux users like using Linux. What you’ll like about this is that I made every attempt possible to keep it objective. This study is available as a free ebook from my blog at OpenSUSE Linux Rants. To get your copy, take a look in the upper-right hand corner of the site.

I decided to replace the detractive Linus quote with something more constructive.

In addition to the “Why Linux?” ebook, there are several others available, including:

openSUSE 11.0 - Start-Up Manual (228 pgs, by Novell) This manual provided by the good folks at Novell goes over many things you’ll want to know when learning to use openSUSE Linux 11.0.

Investigation 101 - Gathering Information about Hardware, Filesystem, and Processes (22 pgs, by Scott Morris) Sometimes, you need to gather information about your Linux system. This can be so that you know what is happening on your machine, or so that you can install hardware, or so that you can better describe details to other people who are trying to help you resolve an issue. This book provides different methods of gathering such information.

YAST - Installation and Management of Software (23 pgs, by Scott Morris) One of the very first things that users need to know is how to install software in Linux. This book is a no-nonsense introduction to mastering the basics of using YAST to manage your system software. It also provides a few tips on how to get all the latest software from all the great servers.

The Easiest Linux Guide You’ll Ever Read - an introduction to Linux for Windows users (162 pgs, by Scott Morris) In 2006 I published this book for SUSE 10.1, though almost all of it is relevant to openSUSE 10.2 and 10.3. It was mainly written for people who are competent with using Windows, who have never attempted to use Linux but are interested in giving it a try.

openSUSE 10.3 - Start-Up Manual (258 pgs, by Novell, 09/14/2007) Start-up manual provided by Novell for openSUSE 10.3.

openSUSE 10.2 - Start-Up Manual (236 pgs, by Novell, 11/29/2006) Start-up manual provided by Novell for openSUSE 10.3.

I’ve gotten lots of great feedback on those that I wrote.

If you don’t get anything else from this article, make sure to glean this gold nugget: The Start-Up Manual for each release is included directly on the install disc itself! This is true for the DVD, although I did not see it on the CDs.

Throw your DVD into your drive and mount it. Go into the /docu folder in the root of the DVD. You’ll see an ‘en’ directory and a ‘de’ directory. ‘en’ is for English and ‘de’ is for German. In each respective folder, you’ll find at least 4 excellent ebooks. One to get started quickly with Gnome, one quickstart for KDE, a reference, and a startup guide for openSUSE.

Remember, kids. When you download your new DVD ISOs, head to the /docu folder for the free startup guides.

For those not available on the DVD, you can always check my library.

by Scott Morris at 1:52 PM under ebooks , freebies , linux , why (Comments)

Scott Morris
nexangelus
OpenSUSE Linux Rants

» “What’s up?” bash script redone, revised, and mo’ bettah

A couple of days ago, I put together a .bashrc alias. Well, it won’t work right. The commands in “ marks only execute when the shell opens, and then the variables they’re assigned to stay the same, even when you invoke the alias. Thus, the current working directory and the date and stuff that should change each time you invoke the alias, don’t.

To fix this, I changed it from an alias into a small bash script. To use it, just put it into your ~/bin folder and invoke it like you would any other command.

The contents are thus:

#!/bin/sh

# ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY SCOTT MORRIS (http://www.suseblog.com/) on 2008-05-28

# DISPLAY THE MEMORY AND SWAP AVAILABLE FOR THE SYSTEM
function memdisp {

IFS=$' '

MEM=`free -mot | head -n 2 | tail -n 1`
COUNT=1

printf "  Memory:"

for ITEM in $MEM
do
        if [ $COUNT -eq 2 ] ; then
                printf “\tTotal: $ITEM Mb”
        fi

        if [ $COUNT -eq 3 ] ; then
                printf “\tUsed: $ITEM Mb”

        fi

        if [ $COUNT -eq 4 ] ; then
                printf “\tFree: $ITEM Mb\n”
        fi

        COUNT=$[COUNT+1]
done

MEM=`free -mot | tail -n 2 | head -n 1`

COUNT=1

printf ”  Swap:\t”

for ITEM in $MEM
do
        if [ $COUNT -eq 2 ] ; then
                printf “\tTotal: $ITEM Mb”
        fi

        if [ $COUNT -eq 3 ] ; then
                printf “\tUsed: $ITEM Mb”

        fi

        if [ $COUNT -eq 4 ] ; then
                printf “\tFree: $ITEM Mb\n”
        fi

        COUNT=$[COUNT+1]
done

}

# DISPLAY THE IP ADDRESS OF ETH0
function ipaddr {

IFS=$' '
IPINF=`/sbin/ifconfig eth0 | head -n 2 | tail -n 1`
COUNT=1

printf ”  IP (eth0):”
for ITEM in $IPINF
do
        if [ $COUNT -eq 2 ] ; then
#                 printf “$ITEM\n”

                IFS=$':'
                CT=1
                for DATA in $ITEM
                do
                	if [ $CT -eq 2 ] ; then
                		printf “\t$DATA\n”
                	fi
                	CT=$[CT+1]
                done

        fi
        COUNT=$[COUNT+1]
done
IFS=$'\n'

}

# COLLECT SOME INFO
IFS=$'\n'
UPTIME=`uptime`
D_UP=${UPTIME:1}
MYGROUPS=`id`
DATE=`date`
KERNEL=`uname -a`
CPWD=`pwd`

# OUTPUT THE DATA
printf ”  user:\t\t”$USER” (uid:”$UID”)\n”
printf ”  groups:\t”$MYGROUPS”\n”
printf ”  working dir:\t”$CPWD”\n”
printf ”  home dir:\t”$HOME”\n”
printf ”  hostname:\t”$HOSTNAME”\n”
ipaddr
printf ”  date:\t\t”$DATE”\n”
printf ”  uptime:\t”$D_UP”\n”
printf ”  kernel:\t”$KERNEL”\n”
printf ”  cpu:\t\t”$CPU”\n”

memdisp

If you copy and paste it, save it as ~/sup, and don’t forget to make it executable with chmod +x ~/sup.

Example output:

[1211][scott@tomahawk:~]$ sup
  user:         scott (uid:1000)
  groups:       uid=1000(scott) gid=100(users) groups=16(dialout),33(video),100(users)
  working dir:  /home/scott
  home dir:     /home/scott
  hostname:     tomahawk
  IP (eth0):    192.168.0.110
  date:         Wed May 28 12:11:58 MDT 2008
  uptime:       12:11pm  up   8:07,  7 users,  load average: 0.46, 0.43, 0.30
  kernel:       Linux tomahawk 2.6.24-default #1 SMP Sat Jan 26 21:54:20 MST 2008 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
  cpu:          x86_64
  Memory:       Total: 940 Mb   Used: 756 Mb    Free: 183 Mb
  Swap:         Total: 1913 Mb  Used: 0 Mb      Free: 1913 Mb
[1211][scott@tomahawk:~]$

Here’s a link to the script: sup.tar.bz2

Download the script.

Run: tar -xvf sup.tar.bz2

Run: mv sup ~/bin

Run: sup

Enjoy.

by Scott Morris at 7:25 PM under bash , freebies (Comments)

Scott Morris
nexangelus
OpenSUSE Linux Rants

» ARP Poisoning - I Read Your Email

Alrighty, folks. I gave a presentation at Utah Valley State College last night about a network security issue called ARP poisoning. It is the ability to hijack any computer’s connection on a local area network. The concept is that you force all traffic going to and from that machine through your own computer. You are then able to filter through that traffic and determine what the user is doing. It is possible to view passwords, and even change traffic as it goes through your computer. Even if they are on a secure website. It’s a fairly common method of attack, and is something to watch out for. I have compiled my notes into an article in the form of a 4-page PDF. If you want to take a look at how ARP Poisoning works, view the PDF here.

by Scott Morris at 3:24 PM under freebies , general linux , security (Comments)

Scott Morris
nexangelus
OpenSUSE Linux Rants

» World-class Linux desktop wallpapers, part two

As promised, installment deux of the world-wide number one award-winning Linux desktop wallpaper series. This time, revealing the secret acronym used to name the current M$ operating system. Click for the 1600×1200 version. Resize to fit as necessary. Go Linux.

by Scott Morris at 12:50 PM under freebies , general linux , humor (Comments)

Scott Morris
nexangelus
OpenSUSE Linux Rants

» The Linux desktop wallpaper that no power user should be without

This is the perfect desktop wallpaper for hardcore users of either Linux or Windows. Linux guys can use it to openly declare the truth. Display it on your desktop, or put it on the department hard-core M$ fan’s desktop. Either way, it’s the perfect conversation piece. Click for the 1600×1200 version. Resize to fit as necessary. Go Linux.