Quick Terminal Client How-to

Working at a client site the other day and he wanted to see Ubuntu connect to his Windows 2000 terminal server. If you know me, you know I love to speak out and advocate whenever I can and this particular client had heard me talk at several functions on Ubuntu and how it can easily be an alternative to Windows. He invited me to his office for a presentation.

After speaking with him regarding his workstation requirements. I found that the client literally used his XP and 2000 workstations as HUGE, FAT Terminal clients. NOTHING was running except Windows - all their applications resided on a corporate terminal server.

This was too easy.

I literally opened my cd case: I carry a copy of Ubuntu with me when I am working, and asked him if there was a terminal I could borrow for 5 minutes. I explained that I would not alter any information or install anything on the client pc. Within 5 minutes I was on my livecd desktop and connected to his Terminal server with remote drive mappings, remote printer mappings and exporting excel documents to his local livecd desktop - opening them in Openoffice - I even added their printers on the livecd and was able to print documents. I literally replaced his client pc with a livecd. He was impressed to say the least.

The hardest part was getting the command for Ubuntu's remote client to connect to the terminal server with drive mappings and printer mappings. Within minutes I sold him on replacing his costly XP machines to lowcost Ubuntu terminal clients.


Here is the command in case you are interested:
rdesktop [ip address of terminal server] -r disk:v=/ -r printer:Cannon

rdesktop is your window into the terminal client built into ubuntu. This command connects to the server running terminal services, creates a V drive in the terminal session which remaps to the Linux client's root drive and also creates a printer inside the terminal session. Make sure you name pass it the same name of the default printer you are using in Linux.

You can save this into a bash file and launch as an icon on your ubuntu desktop.

Showcasing the power of ubuntu is always fun.

You may ask why did the client wish to replace Windows machines with Ubuntu when he had over 200 perfectly fine valid XP licenses as well as familiar XP desktops?

COST
It cost money to keep Windows on the desktop. Not only do you need an XP or Vista license, you need alot of auxiliary programs such as a defragmentation software, antivirus, security software, as well as several 24x7 tech, depending on your size, who are willing to run around every week and apply hotfixes as well as correct user created issues. The total cost of running a Windows shop can be much higher and frustrating than a Linux shop as my new client will atest to. ESPECIALLY if you are just using the desktops as terminal clients.

More Free Software

Microsoft XP and Vista is part of my life. Regardless of how I feel, I cannot escape it. Almost everyone I know around me runs Windows. I have been able to convert some and some I will never convert.

In my endeavors I have found that although some will never convert, they are however ok with free software besides the operating system. Which in my book is one step closer to replacing Windows on the desktop. Programs such as OpenOffice, 7-zip etc.

Well I ran across another app worthy of including in anyone's Windows free toolkit.

You gotta love sourceforge. Well Infrarecorder was there waiting for me. Infrarecorder is one powerful opensource cd-burning software.

Eveytime I jump on sourceforge, I get excited because there is always something waiting for me. If you are looking to replace either your Nero, UltraISO, or someone else's, try out Infrarecorder.

I know this is my Ubuntu blog, but I think replacing proprietary software with great opensource software lends itself to a Ubuntu way of thinking and advocating replacing software on a Window's Desktop is getting people to acknowledge that free software can be every bit as exciting and useful as software that is not free even more so. One day they may look at their system and realize that the only thing they are running that they had to pay for is Windows and that will make it easier for them to realize they don't need it either.

"Replacing proprietary software one install at a time."

Microcenter Madness

So I was at a Microcenter location today and ran across the most unbelievable bit of tech advice I ever heard.

If you have ever been shopping at any of the hardware/electronic chains then you probably ran into a similar situation: you are minding your own business looking or browsing for hardware/software in any given aisle and you can overhear technical information being handed down from the sales people to customers inquiring and looking for help.

Well I was in such a situation: There I was buying a powersupply for my brand new duo core pc and I could over hear the sales men talking to a customer in behind me. The conversation went like this:

Customer: "Well my pc doesn't turn on anymore and I saw some smoke just before the screen went dead."
SalesMan: "Sounds like an electrical problem. It might need a power supply or worse you have to buy a new motherboard. "

Customer: "Well what about my data and software?"
SalesMan: "You really can't tell until you get it to boot back up. You may have lost everything in which case you would need to reinstall all your software"

Customer: "Well I don't have all the software like Windows. It was preloaded on the computer along with Quicken, etc. I only use the computer mainly for school papers, etc."
SalesMan: "Well ... if you don't have the software, you can always download it. There's this site called bittorrent"

It was at this moment that I nearly dropped my power supply. Here I was in a commercial store and the salesman was advocating downloading pirated software instead of using legit free software or worse yet he wasn't even trying to sell the software to the customer.

Customer: "You mean I can get XP."
SalesMan: "Or Vista. They have that too."

Customer: "I heard Vista sucks. Should I just download the XP software instead."
SalesMan: "I have Vista on my computer and it runs fine, but you can get both and try it out."

Unbelievable. Normally I am silent when I hear bad tech advice given at the store. No matter how hard the temptation is, I always find a way to hold my tongue. Why? Well lots of reasons: I could be wrong, even if I am right, the person may not be technically knoweledgable to know what I am talking about and besides I don't work at Microcenter and am garnered with the responsibility of correctly every tech wrong I see. Nevertheless I decided in this one instance I would speak out.

When the salesman left, I approached the customer and pardoned myself for over hearing his problem. I explained that he probably could benefit from looking at the Linux book aisle at Microcenter. That there were alternatives to using Microsoft Windows XP or Vista and that he may not necessarily give up anything especially if all he uses his pc for was school papers and internet. The conversation was going great until I told him the software was free.

Customer: "Free??!"
ME: "Yep. Just download it or you can have a cd sent to you via the ubuntu shipit site."

Customer: "They'll send me a CD?"
ME: "Yep"

Customer: "I don't want to be on a mailinglist."
ME: {Looking stupidly at him} I could tell he thought I was a hippie or something.

Some people you just can't help. This person would rather pirate illegal copies of XP, Vista, Quicken then use legit versions of free software. I walked away feeling like an idiot and reminded myself that I should just keep my mouth shut when I hear stupid tech advice at a stupid electronic/hardware store.

LAVA 2.3

Final Build complete for CD Version of LAVA.

http://www.lavalinux.com/builds/lava2.3.iso

Screenshot

Version log

• Reworked artwork
• Updated Kernel and backed patches, updates.
• Added wine and Media Ubuntu to repositories
  
• installed alien
• install gnome-ku
• installed gnochm
• installed rar
• installed cups-pdf
• installed wine
• install libmotif
• install libxaw6
• install bum
• install davfs
• install smbfs
• install x11vnc
• install sabayon
• ntfs-3g
• install hardinfo
• install camstream
• install nautilus-actions
• install nautilus-gksu
• install nautilus-image-converter
• install nautilus-open-terminal
• install nautilus-script-audio-convert
• install nautilus-script-collection-svn
• install nautilus-script-manager
• install nautilus-sendto
• install nautilus-share
• install gnome-main-menu
• install gnome-applets
• install gnome-control-center
• install gshare
• install hardware-monitor
• install music-applet
• install netspeed
• install sensors-applet
• install service-discovery-applet
• install wallpaper-tray
• install gnome-osd
• install sbackup
• install sysinfo
• install ndisgtk
• install camorama
• install gnomebaker
• install gchangepass
• install usermode
• install eggcups
• install ntfs-config
• install xine-ui
• install gisomount
• install gnome-schedule
• install graveman
  

Also added a bunch of printers via custom .debs and changed the menu from the classic ubuntu menu to the new SLED menu.

Removed several items I found most people do not use

• Ubuntu-docs
• ekiga
• totem-mozilla
• ttf-baekmuk
• ttf-arphic-uming
• ttf-kochi-gothic
• ttf-dejavu
• example content

also modified the following configuration options
#Made desktop icons visible like computer, network, trashcan
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/nautilus/desktop/computer_icon_visible true
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/nautilus/desktop/documents_icon_visible true
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/nautilus/desktop/home_icon_visible true
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/nautilus/desktop/network_icon_visible true
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/nautilus/desktop/trash_icon_visible true

#Made CD burning more to my liking
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/nautilus-cd-burner/burnproof true
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/nautilus-cd-burner/overburn true

#Configured OnScreen options when you play music etc.
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/gnome-osd/animations true
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/gnome-osd/avoid_panels true
gconftool -t string -s /apps/gnome-osd/osd_halignment "right"
gconftool -t string -s /apps/gnome-osd/osd_vposition "bottom"
gconftool -t string -s /apps/gnome-osd/osd_font "Serif 12"

#Screen saver configuration
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/gnome-screensaver/lock_enabled true
gconftool -t string -s /apps/gnome-screensaver/theme "Random"
gconftool -t string -s /apps/gnome-screenshot/border_effect "shadow"

#Search Tool options
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/gnome-search-tool/show_additional_options true
gconftool -t string -s /apps/gnome_settings_daemon/keybindings/help "h"
gconftool -t int -s /apps/metacity/general/num_workspaces 4
gconftool -t bool -s /apps/panel/toplevels/top_panel_screen0/enable_buttons true

VISTA Sorrows

Spent the afternoon visiting my family for a birthday party.

AHHHHHH!!!!!

Sometimes being a computer 'nerd' sucks. If you are one, you can relate. Everyone jumps you for help. "I installed something and my laptop does not work." "I visited a website and now I have pop-ups every time I get on the internet." etc etc etc.

Well being a computer "nerd" and visiting relatives can be an invitation for freelance work. Talk about being attacked. As soon as I walked in, I was told there was 2 laptops waiting for me and an xbox that wasn't working right. OH MY!

Well not only did I get a billion questions while fixing the laptops, I had to listen to every family member complain about VISTA. Yep. Several of them have upgraded or purchased new laptops and unlike their exciting transition from Windows 98 to Windows XP, they found their Vista upgrade very disappointing and painful.

One of my family members actually purchased a new laptop with extra memory etc and it runs worse than his 5 yr old xp laptop. the proof is in the pudding. I can see if only a handful of Vista upgraders have had bad feeling towards vista but the sheer number of complaints have really begun to annoy me. It seems like everyone I know who has vista, hates it. Except one or two media whores I know who think the shadows and translucently are the coolest thing since tv. Its these same people who need the latest Adobe products and/or Microsoft products. Like Office 2003 is ancient now and "How can you use Adobe Dreamweaver MX when CS3 is out?"

Well after hearing all the issues people have with Vista today, I left the party brain dead. I showed them Ubuntu, my LAVA Linux, I even said "Well go back to XP" But in the end it does not matter, Microsoft wins anyways because no matter if VISTA is a total flop, it is sold on every pc at the store. Literally my family, could not go back and ask for Windows XP to be installed on their laptops instead of VISTA. They are out of luck and I think this is the saddest part. Microsoft's days of innovation are over. It really is about exploitation now. How to best use it's strong arm. How to leverage it's monopoly. And even though I do not use Windows on my personal pcs. I inevitably have to deal with it on everyone else's. And they will be the first ones to say - It just sucks.

I think about it as I am typing this blog and using my ubuntu and I smile - at least I am free.

Game developing on Ubuntu

Just for fun, I decided to start browsing the web for game libraries and or engines available on Ubuntu. Found a bunch.

• Panda3d
• Crystal Space 3d
• OGRE
• Irrlicht
• Blender
• Delta3d
• Raydium

So I have a couple questions:

• Has anyone who is reading my blogs, programmed or used any game engines on Ubuntu? Which ones? How was your experience?

I am considering making a MMORPG and would love it if I could make it work for both Ubuntu and Windows. Give me some feedback.

Surfing tonight

Staying up a bit late tonight and came upon some websites which might be of interest to some of you.

Unix Tutorials and Videos based on Ubuntu. They also have tutorials on other distros. Nice site.
http://www.unix-tutorials.com/tutorials.php?os=Ubuntu

Tutorials on Ubuntu, GIMP, etc - both HTML and video tutorials also has a bunch of free ebooks.
http://vntutor.blogspot.com/2007/06/free-online-ubuntu-linux-books.html

Near the bottom of this page, they have whitepapers, articles and how-tos regarding Ubuntu. Also some comparisons of Ubuntu vs MSoft, MAC, etc.
http://www.easy-ubuntu-linux.com/add-ubuntu-software.html

Another Satisfied Customer

The last week or so I have been working on creating a custom version of LAVA for a client which would like to deploy a linux desktop to 320 users. After several technical meetings and several showcases we have finally built a live install cd image that takes into account all the hardware typically found at the various client's sites.

The administrative managers have all been generous and are genuinely excited about moving off of Windows XP. Most have had really bad experiences with XP. The network has been plagued with spyware, dropped connections, trojans, and the occasional window's update that went terribly wrong.

Walking around and speaking to the users I have found many are surprised at how mature LAVA, Ubuntu looks. Most shockingly is their expressions when I map their Window's 2003 fileserver shares and double click on an .XLS and .DOC file. You can tell in their expressions they are baffled at how easy Linux is. It is such a great feeling to see how well LAVA, Ubuntu has made moving users over to an alternative desktop.

I had some problems with some of the printers at the client side but after playing with compatible drivers, I was able to select a driver that met all the reporting and formatting requirements.

Also RDP via a scripted bash file was easy enuff to create. The client wanted redirected printers as well as drives so command line scripting was necessary. Once I mastered the settings, I built a BASH script and voila a desktop icon for the users to click on.

Internet Explorer - I cannot seem to get away from you.

Yep the client had some websites that not only need IE but also the Microsoft VM. Yuck. But with Wine installed, IE4Linux worked like a charm.

Having meet all the requirements on the field, it is time to actually hardcode those into a ISO and build a cd.

Alot of work still to go but if it wasn't Linux work, it wouldn't be fun.

Back On The Saddle Again

So it's been a while since I have updated my blog. So what have I been up to lately? Well I have been working with several new clients and new Ubuntu installs.

I just recently oversaw the conversion of an Microsoft Exchange installation.
We replaced Windows 2003 Enterprise server running Exchange 2003 with Ubuntu running Citadel. Total users: 523.

After running the prototype email service over the course of 6 weeks with a small subset of the company's employees we moved onto production in mid June.

The total conversion of 523 users took approximately two weeks. Part of the quick conversion was the fact that the client did not have to replace Microsoft Office. Once the server was setup, our technical support team just had to change Outlook settings on all the user's profiles. Approximately 36 hours to backup all the users email data and transfer to new host and approximately 15 minutes per user. We also spent three days working out the Push technology in Citadel to connect it to their blackberrys and PDAS which required us to setup the SMS gateway.

The system has been online for four weeks now and the following statistically data was data-mined by the client.

20% less false positives when sending and receiving
38.5 % less spam

The client also reports that the email system seems faster. Moving in and out of their individual folders has become instant.

The only con was the generic webmail interface when compared to the OWL interface provided by Exchange. To combat this we install apache and setup RoundCube Webmail and designed a new CSS template with customized company logos, etc. Roundcube has alot of AJAX goodness to it. With some customization it looks and acts like Gmail or Yahoo.

Needless to say they are happy. They are planning on converting the now obsolete Exchange server into a fileserver sometime in the future.

We are finishing up with setting up an RSync server to pull the actual data folders containing each users email. This way we have a live daily backup of the user's personal email, contacts, etc. The Rsync server will also be Ubuntu.

It is important to also note that new server is actually running on slightly less hardware than the Exchange server was. In fact, each of these servers are virtual machines running on 4 separate pieces of hardware all replicating to backup vm servers. Any one of them can go down and load balancing changes points the clients to the backup server. Host VM server is also running Ubuntu and VMWARE server. Part of the initial requirements was redundancy. The client in the past relied on the one Exchange server for the entire domain with just a bounce back service provided by their ISP.

Over the next couple weeks I will drop off the email project and begin converting their firewalls from Microsoft ISA to a Linux firewall called Endian. I have had great success with it and it allows much more control over your incoming and outgoing protocols than Microsoft ISA. Part of the initial requirement is that several of the firewalls need to support VPN tunneling as well as multiple WAN and VLAN support. I showcased Endian to the client and highlighted not only the functional improvements switching to Endian but also relayed the fact that Endian allows protocol priority, packet shaping, automatic Proxy filtering, etc.

WebPortal Structure

Schema for WebPortal 1.0

Finishing up the structure for the internals of the Web Portal.

The schema just outlines the fields I would need to store published application information. This assumes all other information such as user name , password, and group is stored inside either Open LDAP or Active Directory. In this first version of WebPortal, I have added rdp, vnc and web links as publishable items for end-users. The weblinks I think is handy; it lets you centralize things like webmail, and/or company approved sites. After I implement the site and have all the features, I plan to add, X sessions and some features to admin the users account in OpenLDAP and/or AD. Things like allowing the user to change their own password, etc.

Project News

Over the last month, I have been in heavy development with several projects, one of which is the LAVA project.

I wanted to update my blog and give an overview of some of the things I am doing with Ubuntu:

• LAVA editions: CD, Plus, and Development Editions are pretty much done.
• LAVA Terminal Server
• LAVA LAMP: Apache, PHP, Webmin, ProFTP
• LAVA Secure: Security toolkit CD
• LAVA Share: Fileserver
• LAVA Mailer: Email Platform: Picked Citadel as Exchange replacement.
  

I have worked the last several months outlining the changes for each edition with the specific goal of replacing Window servers in my datacenter as well as a viable desktop for my user's workstations.

I am still open with the Terminal Server. So far I have been able to build a terminal server without LTSP (Linux Terminal Server Project) For my users and customers. I find the LTSP too limiting for serveral reasons. It assumes the client pcs are on the same network.

The client pcs I am servicing are not and therefore, I cannot give them an IP from dhcp or require that they run Linux on their PC.

The whole value of hosting apps or an environment to me, means giving them the app or desktop to any device, anywhere. This means running it without installing anything on their desktop and running it reliable across; Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Phase One:
User Desktop
Using UPX has made this possible by bunding all the required OS dlls, exes, and resources into a single binary that can run without installing. SO I am able to make a client exe that connects to the terminal server and runs the desktop or application. I have been able to build a client exe that rdps into a server, a client exe that ssh into server and runs either app or desktop, and a NX client that connects to freenx on server.

Phase Two:
Picking a Terminal server on Linux.

Solution One: TO X or Not
Linux has always had a terminal server built into it via X. The ability to have remote X served to clients has always been available for as long as X has been around. But making it easy to implement has not been. Using openssh on the backend server and connecting to it from Mac or Windows is easier now. Using opensource products such as JCraft or Xwin makes a connection to an X server easier. With UPX and alittle fine tuning and you can create a connection as well as shrink-wrap it into a single exe that you can distribute to your users without having to configure it and you have a solution that will work for even non-savy computer users.

Solution Two: XRDP
A recent entry into remote hosting is XRDP. Simply put, it makes Linux into a RDP terminal server so your window users do not even need a client. The normal Remote Desktop applet works fine.

MAC uses can use several RDP clients and they work rather well on my IMAC. Without running tests on performance and compression, this solution seems the best and easiest way to implement a terminal server from an IT standpoint as well as from a consumer standpoint. But because the technology is new and because it is based on RDP, I am leaning towards the normal X way of connecting.

Solution Three: FreeNX
FreeNX uses a custom protocol as well as custom client. There are several design problems I see with the current NX implementation.
1) It requires a custom port to be open on firewalls. Corporate America hates this and I hate it cause, my techs would have many calls just regarding connecting to the service. "DO you have XP firewall, Do you have MCAffee or Norton Firewalls installed? Do you know how to disable your firewall? What model Belkin do you have?" - Too much trouble just to make a connection. It needs to be painless.
2) In order to get printers to work the client has to 'SHARE' out their printer via SMB. I really, really hate this, most users do not know how to share out a printer let alone a folder. This also makes printing for MAC users very hard.
3) The custom client has multiple issues with VISTA.

Printing has always been an issue when it comes to remote hosting apps or desktops. Windows, Citrix, X, RDP, and even FreeNX all have somewhat broken ways of managing printing. I have bypassed this problem in two ways.

1) I have used a cups filter on the server to spool print jobs and attach to email which is forward to client. The client prints to the printer and a dialog box pops up asking for email address. They input it once and it remembers it by writing a txt file in the user's home directory. The filter than makes a PDF of the print output and uses sendmail to send to email address. This solution is simple and easy to implement.

Unfortunately it does not work if the user/client is hosting email with you via Evolution or such.

2) Solution two is in the works. It involves building a webservice on the server and serving print output as a pdf file via webdav to client exe which then opens the user's default pdf reader. This solves all the issues but requires some programming on my end for Windows and MAC binary clients. This is a longterm solution.

Selecting the terminal server: I am leaning towards X via SSH but will be testing each out over the next month.

Final Phase.
Building a web portal.
Ultimately I would like the client to download a single exe, possible 5mb. Which will have everything bundled in it, FREENX client or XWIN, SSH, etc. whichever i choose ultimately. It will have everything in the exe that it needs to connect to server farms without installing.

The exe will be a custom web browser using either IE, Mozilla or Safari - depending on the client platform to connect to a website I am designing that will allow the user to login, and serve them apps via txt xml files.

The site will have an admin section where we would create published apps which are stored in MYSQL.

When the client logs in the credentials are sent to OpenLDAP or ActiveDirectory. Their Username and Passwords as well as their group are stored in session variables. The site uses this information to pull the list of published apps the client has been given access to.

The published apps will be links to dynamicall created xml files that will have extensions such as .RDP or .X or .NX

When the client clicks on the links of the apps and the file is served back to the client via apache, the portal application will run either freenx client if it recieves a .NX file or a RDP client if it receives a .RDP file, etc. It then runs the appropriate client I bundled in the exe and makes the connection to the hosted app or desktop.

This way, the portal will really be a portal to apps and desktops both hosted by me or hosted by others.

I am currently writing a version in PHP with LDAP library and it works fine. So far I have the portal service .RDP, .VNC, and .X files. I wanted to do it in Ruby but I am not that efficient yet in the Ruby language. I do most of my web programming in .NET, PHP or Coldfusion. Since I am trying to make my datacenter all opensource, I choose PHP.

There is alot of work still to do, but because of Linux, because of Ubuntu, because of Open Source, it makes all this possible.

Remote Applications

I received a question on whether my previous exe could be customized to run an application 'headless.'

Specifically if an app could be run without giving access to a whole desktop experience. The answer is yes.

I have uploaded an example single exe on my site.
http://www.ansotech.com/debs/portalnxa.exe

I hardcoded the exe to remote into my desktop and run firefox.

The user will see firefox launch as if on their desktop.

Please use
username: demo
password: demo123

NX your worries away

I wanted to thank Jim for sending me a post regarding NX.

For those who do not know what NX is, here is a summary. NX is a opensource alternative to Microsoft Terminal Services. It allows users on Windows and Linux to connect to a central server or workstation and run the applications that you centrally install for your enterprise. For IT administrators it saves time and money.

I have spent the last several months trying to make NX work correctly in Ubuntu and there is still work to be done. The ultimate goal is to replace the Windows 2003 servers I use as Terminal servers in my datacenter with Ubuntu running NX Server.

I wanted to give everyone a recap on my progress as well as allow you WINDOWEZ users a look into connecting the window clients to ubuntu or in my case LAVA Linux. Before I receive hate mail, LAVA is just a highly customized Ubuntu but it is still Ubuntu.

I have been able to UPX the windows based NX client as well as XMING and create a single exe that can be run without installing or configuring on windows. The user just saves the exe onto their desktop and double clicks. It automatically unloads all the dlls into memory that it needs as well as the configuration options that i have hard-coded for my environment. NOTE: It does not install anything on the Windows machine. Everything runs in memory. So removing it is as simple as deleting the exe. Upgrading is as simple as replacing exe.

The session connects to a default installation of LAVA PLUS I have running in my datacenter.

If anyone would like to try it out, please feel free to save the following exe onto your Windows 2000, XP or VISTA computer. That's right, I was able to compile and fix the client piece so that it runs on Vista.

Here is the link:
http://www.ansotech.com/debs/portalnx.exe

Username: demo
Password: demo123

Please let me know what you think. I am going to keep the access open until tomorrow afternoon.

Automatix will not die!

So I removed the automatix software from the isos but forgot to remove it from the apt-get list so every time the Ubuntu updatemanger kicks on to grab updates it tries to re-install automatix.

Minor bug :)

So I pulled the isos off the site and plan to build them again removing the apt-get list entry of automatix and then recompiling the isos. Since I am actually working today, it will probably not happen until the weekend.

After hearing what a pain automatix can be, I feel it is better off if I remove it from the apt-get list before some user accidentally re-installs it when they get their security updates.

LAVA Releases

Just wanted to let everyone know that the final versions of LAVA will be available tomorrow. Shortly thereafter I will release a tutorial, as well as video on how I customized each version as well as outline why customizing Ubuntu is important for users as well as IT. These isos are finished and I will queue them to upload tonight onto my blogsite: http://lavalinux.blogspot.com

Here is a list of the LAVA Editions I have planned for tomorrow's release. I will also have a list on my blogsite with details of every software change I made per edition.

LAVA:
Basic Edition: This is a CD Version for all those who do not have DVDs on their laptops and or PCs / Servers.
PLUS Edition: This is LAVA BASIC as well as software I think add to the overall gnome user experience. I also preloaded the best games, multimedia apps, etc. Because of the added software, this is a DVD Edition.
DEV Edition: The Developer DVD Edition. It contains all the Plus software as well as development tools for Gnome, Python, Web, etc. I also installed a bunch of game engines and 3d software. I think this is the only Linux installer that actually installs panda3d and crystal space, ogre, pygame, etc so you can start game designing right away. I also installed a bunch of business libs and utilities to manage and design business and database apps.

All editions have been the result of several months worth of trial and error. My next step is to document all the tweaks so everyone can build each version from a normal Ubuntu iso.

Parting is such sweet sorrow

So after discussing Automatix with several of my Ubuntu brethren, I have decided to part ways with Automatix. As such, I will be removing it from all of the custom isos I am making for my Customizing Ubuntu project.

I want to thank everyone for their input and please let me know if there are any other software packages I am bundling which should be left out.

Automatix the great killer?

For all those of you who have been following my little pet project of blogging the customization of Ubuntu, it has come to my attention that one of the apps that I selected may cause more harm than good. I have tested all the apps on a variety of hardware and have been deploying them within certain customer locations for the last year or so.

The program in question is Automatix. I have found Automatix to be a great time saver in grabbing and installing software typically not selectable from within the Ubuntu vast repositories. I realize there are other solutions such as EasyUBUNTU but since I have not had a problem with Automatix, I have added it to the list of software I would like to showcase in my custom iso.

As this is a pet project and really meant to showcase what is possible with Ubuntu and push forward the notion that customizing Ubuntu's already great distro into your own is a great and powerful thing I want to make sure it is stable and does not offer a broken app within it's included software bundle. If there are any cases where you have had problems with any of the software I am currently including, let me know and I will rip the misbehaving software out. After all what good is a solid Linux foundation if you have bad software running around.

Also if there are any software packages that you think I should include, please throw me a line or comment in my blog.

Exchanging Exchange for OpenSource

Most companies looking at corporate email today overlook the various free email servers available on the internet today.

Of course there is the famous sendmail but many newer mail servers have come into light with feature sets that rival if not outright put Exchange to shame. Enterprises are looking more and more to enabling users on their PDAs, giving WIKI like functions in Email, RSS Feeds in their email client, and of course the much valued Global Access List. (Shared Email lists)

I found this website on the wiki samba site detailing some of the email servers one might push onto a linux installation and serve email to open source clients or closed clients like Outlook.

http://wiki.samba.org/index.php/Exchange_Server_Alternatives

Looking over the list, many do not have direct Ubuntu support. As Ubuntu makes a sprint into the Enterprise, it is important that we understand that some companies love their Office and even though it might be a hard sell to these users for a Ubuntu desktop sporting your favorite email client, we can steal market share in the server arena. With open source email servers now offering direct connectors to Outlook, it makes a shift to a Ubuntu run data center and user environment so much easier.

One year you can replace the Exchange server, next year move to Open Office and Evolution, etc. If anyone would like to take on building a Ubuntu Exchange killer, send me a email and we could spend some time exchanging Exchange for something more penguin friendly.

LAVA 2.1 ISO Released

I have finished testing the new build of LAVA 2.1 based on Fiesty on the following Hardware:

1) Dell Inspiron 2100
2) HP Proliant DL 320s
4) Sager Laptop SL130
5) HP wx6200
6) Visionman Opteron Dual Tyan

All worked fine - SATA picked up, RAID, Nics, wifi, sounds, etc. Let me know what you think

Download iso can be found here.

LAVA Plus Custom ISO

LAVA PLUS

So I finished picking the apps to be placed into LAVA Plus. Please feel free to comment on apps you would like included in next build.

So here are the commands I entered after extracting Ubuntu iso to a directory.

#Set default page for firefox to Google
echo "user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://www.google.com");" | tee -a /etc/firefox/profile/prefs.js

#Get automatix key for installation
echo "deb http://www.getautomatix.com/apt feisty main" | tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list

wget http://www.getautomatix.com/keys/automatix2.key
gpg --import automatix2.key
gpg --export --armor E23C5FC3 | apt-key add -

#Get Wine Key for installation
wget -q http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/387EE263.gpg -O- | apt-key add -

wget http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/sources.list.d/feisty.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq.list

# update apt
apt-get update
apt-get autoremove

# install LAVA software
apt-get install automatix2 --force-yes -y
apt-get install alien -y
apt-get install gnome-ku -y
apt-get install gnochm -y
apt-get install rar -y
apt-get install gisomount -y
apt-get install cups-pdf -y
apt-get install wine -y
apt-get install libmotif3 -y
apt-get install bum -y
apt-get install davfs -y
apt-get install smbfs -y
apt-get install glabels -y
apt-get install x11vnc -y
apt-get install sabayon -y
apt-get install ekiga -y
apt-get install ntfs-3g -y
apt-get install hardinfo -y
apt-get install graveman -y
apt-get install qemu-launcher -y
apt-get install camstream -y
apt-get remove totem-mozilla -y
apt-get install nautilus-actions -y
apt-get install nautilus-gksu -y
apt-get install nautilus-image-converter -y
apt-get install nautilus-open-terminal -y
apt-get install nautilus-script-audio-convert -y
apt-get install nautilus-script-collection-svn -y
apt-get install nautilus-script-manager -y
apt-get install nautilus-sendto -y
apt-get install nautilus-share -y
apt-get install gnome-main-menu -y
apt-get install gnome-applets -y
apt-get install gnome-control-center -y
apt-get install gnome-schedule -y
apt-get install gshare -y
apt-get install hardware-monitor -y
apt-get install music-applet -y
apt-get install netspeed -y
apt-get install sensors-applet -y
apt-get install service-discovery-applet -y
apt-get install wallpaper-tray -y
apt-get install gnome-osd -y
apt-get install beagle -y
apt-get install sbackup -y
apt-get install sysinfo -y
apt-get install ndisgtk -y
apt-get install camorama -y
apt-get install gnomebaker -y
apt-get install gisomount -y
apt-get install gchangepass -y


#Plus Stuff
apt-get install glabels -y
apt-get install ubuntu-docs -y
apt-get install gisomount -y
apt-get install beagle -y
apt-get install gchangepass -y
apt-get install glabels -y
apt-get install gok -y
apt-get install gok-doc -y
apt-get install gnome-pilot -y
apt-get install gnome-pilot-conduits -y
apt-get install gok -y
apt-get install gok-doc -y
apt-get install openoffice.org-impress -y
apt-get install openclipart-openoffice.org -y
apt-get install openoffice.org-starter-guide -y
apt-get install openoffice.org-style-tango -y
apt-get install gnucash -y
apt-get install gnome-icon-theme -y
apt-get install gnome-themes-extras -y
apt-get install gtweakui -y
apt-get install bluez-gnome -y
apt-get install gdm-themes -y
apt-get install gnome-backgrounds -y
apt-get install gnome-games-extra-data -y
apt-get install gparted -y
apt-get install compiz-extra -y
apt-get install gnome-compiz-manager -y
apt-get install inkscape -y
apt-get install comix -y
apt-get install grsync -y
apt-get install readpst -y
apt-get install qemu -y
apt-get install samba -y
apt-get install amule -y
apt-get install gftp -y
apt-get install pan -y
apt-get install scribus -y
apt-get install blender -y
apt-get install blam -y
apt-get install xaralx -y
apt-get install imagemagick -y
apt-get install gaim -y
apt-get install gaim-extendedprefs -y
apt-get install gaim-guifications -y
apt-get install gaim-hotkeys -y
apt-get install gaim-libnotify -y
apt-get install gaim-irchelper -y
apt-get install gaim-themes -y
apt-get install checkgmail -y
apt-get install liferea -y
apt-get install liferea-mozilla -y
apt-get install gtk-recordmydesktop -y
apt-get install kino kinoplus -y
apt-get install soundconverter -y
apt-get install avidemux -y
apt-get install acidrip -y
apt-get install gtkpod -y
apt-get install gpixpod -y
apt-get install gaupol -y
apt-get install brasero -y
apt-get install devede -y
apt-get install drip -y
apt-get install transcode -y
apt-get install xmms -y
apt-get install xmms-alarm -y
apt-get install xmms-blursk -y
apt-get install xmms-bumpscape -y
apt-get install xmms-cdread -y
apt-get install xmms-coverviewer -y
apt-get install xmms-gloom -y
apt-get install xmms-infinity -y
apt-get install xmms-midi -y
apt-get install xmms-modplug -y
apt-get install xmms-msa -y
apt-get install xmms-ogre -y
apt-get install xmms-osd-plugin -y
apt-get install xmms-scrobbler -y
apt-get install xmms-singit -y
apt-get install xmms-skins -y
apt-get install xmms-wmdiscotux -y
apt-get install xmms-xf86audio -y
apt-get install xmms-xmmplay -y
apt-get install mplayer -y
apt-get install mplayer-skins -y
apt-get install mencoder -y
apt-get install streamtuner -y
apt-get install streamripper -y
apt-get install thoggen -y
apt-get install gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse

#All the games
apt-get install dgen -y
apt-get install dosbox -y
apt-get install fceu -y
apt-get install gfceu -y
apt-get install frozen-bubble -y
apt-get install gnuboy_sdl -y
apt-get install gsnes9x -y
apt-get install snes9express -y
apt-get install nestra -y
apt-get install pcsx -y
apt-get install snes9x-opengl -y
apt-get install vbaexpress -y
apt-get install stella -y
apt-get install visualboyadvance -y
apt-get install vice -y
apt-get install xmame-sdl -y
apt-get install zsnes -y
apt-get install torcs -y
apt-get install lbreakout2 -y
apt-get install wesnoth -y
apt-get install wesnoth-ei -y
apt-get install wesnoth-httt -y
apt-get install wesnoth-music -y
apt-get install wesnoth-trow -y
apt-get install wesnoth-tsg -y
apt-get install wesnoth-ttb -y
apt-get install wesnoth-utbs -y
apt-get install wesnoth-server -y
apt-get install abuse -y
apt-get install abuse-frabs -y
apt-get install abuse-sfx -y
apt-get install armagetron -y
apt-get install billard-gl -y
apt-get install burgerspace -y
apt-get install egoboo -y
apt-get install enigma -y
apt-get install epiphany -y
apt-get install freeciv -y
apt-get install gearhead -y
apt-get install geki2 -y
apt-get install geki3 -y
apt-get install gltron -y
apt-get install madbomber -y
apt-get install maelstrom -y
apt-get install mazeofgalious -y
apt-get install moon-buggy -y
apt-get install moon-lander -y
apt-get install oolite -y
apt-get install openarena -y
apt-get install opencity -y
apt-get install neverball -y
apt-get install nexuiz -y
apt-get install pong2 -y
apt-get install pouetchess -y
apt-get install pingus -y
apt-get install scorched3d -y
apt-get install scrabble -y
apt-get install scummvm -y
apt-get install sear -y
apt-get install sear-media -y
apt-get install spacearyarya -y
apt-get install starvoyager -y
apt-get install supertux -y
apt-get install tecnoballz -y
apt-get install tremulous -y
apt-get install trigger -y
apt-get install xscorch -y
apt-get install vectoroids -y
apt-get install vegastrike -y
apt-get install vegastrike-music -y
apt-get install widelands -y

#Last minute apps
apt-get install wing -y
apt-get install gnome-translate -y
apt-get install pypar2 -y
apt-get install uqm -y
apt-get install mplayer-fonts -y
apt-get install unrar -y
apt-get install gnome-art -y
apt-get install gnome-bluetooth -y
apt-get install netpbm -y
apt-get install gimp-gap -y
apt-get install gimp-svg -y
apt-get install synfig -y
apt-get install synfigstudio -y
apt-get install beagle-backend-evolution -y
apt-get install audacity -y


#Applications not in synaptic
#Use wget to download them, then dpkg to install then rm to remove the deb file off the filesystem.

#GET ISOMASTER
wget http://littlesvr.ca/isomaster/releases/isomaster_0.8-1_i386.deb
#installit
dpkg -i isomaster_0.8-1_i386.deb
# clean cache
rm isomaster_0.8-1_i386.deb

wget http://www.getdeb.net/debs/y/yamipod_1.0.2-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
#installit
dpkg -i yamipod_1.0.2-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
# clean cache
rm yamipod_1.0.2-0~getdeb1_i386.deb

wget http://www.getdeb.net/debs/p/pokerth_0.4-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
#installit
dpkg -i pokerth_0.4-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
# clean cache
rm pokerth_0.4-0~getdeb1_i386.deb

wget http://www.getdeb.net/debs/b/boswars-data_2.3-0~getdeb1_all.deb
wget http://www.getdeb.net/debs/b/boswars_2.3-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
#installit
dpkg -i boswars-data_2.3-0~getdeb1_all.deb
#installit
dpkg -i boswars_2.3-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
# clean cache
rm boswars-data_2.3-0~getdeb1_all.deb
rm boswars_2.3-0~getdeb1_i386.deb


wget http://www.getdeb.net/debs/m/maniadrive-data_1.2-0~getdeb1_all.deb
wget http://www.getdeb.net/debs/m/maniadrive_1.2-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
#installit
dpkg -i maniadrive-data_1.2-0~getdeb1_all.deb
#installit
dpkg -i maniadrive_1.2-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
# clean cache
rm maniadrive-data_1.2-0~getdeb1_all.deb
rm maniadrive_1.2-0~getdeb1_i386.deb


wget http://www.getdeb.net/debs/w/warsow-data_0.21-0getdeb1_all.deb
wget http://www.getdeb.net/debs/w/warsow_0.21-0getdeb1_i386.deb
#installit
dpkg -i warsow-data_0.21-0getdeb1_all.deb
#installit
dpkg -i warsow_0.21-0getdeb1_i386.deb
# clean cache
rm warsow-data_0.21-0getdeb1_all.deb
rm warsow_0.21-0getdeb1_i386.deb


wget http://www.getdeb.net/archive/ac/actioncube-data_0.92-0~getdeb1_all.deb
wget http://www.getdeb.net/archive/ac/actioncube_0.92-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
#installit
dpkg -i actioncube-data_0.92-0~getdeb1_all.deb
#installit
dpkg -i actioncube_0.92-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
# clean cache
rm actioncube-data_0.92-0~getdeb1_all.deb
rm actioncube_0.92-0~getdeb1_i386.deb

wget http://www.getdeb.net/archive/wa/warzone2100-data_2.0.6-0~getdeb1_all.deb
wget http://www.getdeb.net/archive/wa/warzone2100_2.0.6-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
#installit
dpkg -i warzone2100-data_2.0.6-0~getdeb1_all.deb
#installit
dpkg -i warzone2100_2.0.6-0~getdeb1_i386.deb
# clean cache
rm warzone2100-data_2.0.6-0~getdeb1_all.debb
rm warzone2100_2.0.6-0~getdeb1_i386.deb


# clean cache
apt-get -f install
apt-­get update -y
apt-get upgrade -y
apt­-get clean -y
apt­-get autoclean -y

Do you have a favorite Ubuntu App?

Vote for your favorite applications.

Trying to build an ultimate DVD for LAVA Plus is not easy. There are so many applications available from Synaptic that at times you just do not know which DVD, File manager, or Audio player you want to include. I have tested a bunch of applications from Synaptic and have narrowed my application list.

Is there an app you cannot find in Synaptic that you use? Find yourself downloading it and compiling it all the time? Or you want an application but have not been able to build it on your system?

Throw your comments onto my blog on which apps you use the most, which apps you'd like to see added to LAVA Plus and which apps you cannot find in Synaptic and I'll do my best to make debs outta them and include them in my next build.

Once I have decided on the included applications, I am going to document taking the Ubuntu iso and making the LAVA Plus iso in a video and upload it so others can learn how to customize the iso and make a deb out of a source tar.

Powered by Ubuntu

"Powered by Ubuntu"

So I have been building Ubuntu pcs for friends and family as well as customers over the last couple months. Recently I found some images of "Powered by Ubuntu" available on the internet. One of my clients owns a printing company so I started to make the stickers to place on pcs. I think it gives the pc more creditability and meets with some clients expectations that the pc has been "certified" to some extent and all the peripherals, sound, etc were tested with the operating system. Here is a imprint of the "Powered by Ubuntu" sticker I selected. It's clean and friendly.

Version 2.1 LAVA

So I finally built a new version of the LAVA base install. Taking Fiesty and reconfiguring the applications was not as hard as I thought.


I created my new artwork in Gimp - bootup screens etc. This was probably the hardest step.

There is a screenshot of my new boot screen.

I also made some cosmetic changes to the desktop as well as eliminated some apps and added some I think should be in the CD version.

Here is a list of the changes I made once I extracted the fiesty iso to my chroot environment.

#Changed the default homepage to google instead of UBUNTU local welcome page.

echo "user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://www.google.com");" | tee -a /etc/firefox/profile/prefs.js

#Added automatix to apt-get and keys
echo "deb http://www.getautomatix.com/apt feisty main" | tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
wget http://www.getautomatix.com/keys/automatix2.key
gpg --import automatix2.key
gpg --export --armor E23C5FC3 | apt-key add -


#Grabbed Wine Keys and added wine repositories to apt-get
wget -q http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/387EE263.gpg -O- | apt-key add -
wget http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/sources.list.d/feisty.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq.list

#Clean up any local installation queued and items that may not have installed right
apt-get autoremove
apt-get clean
apt-get autoclean

# Software Installations and removal
#First update apt-get caches
apt-get update

#And away we go with the installations
apt-get install automatix2 --force-yes -y
apt-get install alien -y
apt-get install gnome-ku -y
apt-get install gnochm -y
apt-get install rar -y
apt-get install cups-pdf -y
apt-get install wine -y
apt-get install libmotif3 -y
apt-get install bum -y
apt-get install davfs -y
apt-get install smbfs -y
apt-get install x11vnc -y
apt-get install sabayon -y
apt-get remove ekiga -y
apt-get install ntfs-3g -y
apt-get install hardinfo -y
apt-get install graveman -y
apt-get install camstream -y
apt-get install nautilus-actions -y
apt-get install nautilus-gksu -y
apt-get install nautilus-image-converter -y
apt-get install nautilus-open-terminal -y
apt-get install nautilus-script-audio-convert -y
apt-get install nautilus-script-collection-svn -y
apt-get install nautilus-script-manager -y
apt-get install nautilus-sendto -y
apt-get install nautilus-share -y
apt-get install gnome-main-menu -y
apt-get install gnome-applets -y
apt-get install gnome-control-center -y
apt-get install gnome-schedule -y
apt-get install gshare -y
apt-get install hardware-monitor -y
apt-get install music-applet -y
apt-get install netspeed -y
apt-get install sensors-applet -y
apt-get install service-discovery-applet -y
apt-get install wallpaper-tray -y
apt-get install gnome-osd -y
apt-get install sbackup -y
apt-get install sysinfo -y
apt-get install ndisgtk -y
apt-get install camorama -y
apt-get install gnomebaker -y
apt-get install glabels -y
apt-get install gisomount -y
apt-get install gchangepass -y
apt-get install gnomebaker -y
apt-get autoremove ubuntu-docs -y
apt-get remove totem-mozilla -y

#See if there was any new updates with Ubuntu itself
apt-­get update -y
apt-get upgrade -y

#Clean up and remove any cached installations and tmp files - makes the final ISO smaller
apt­-get clean -y
apt­-get autoclean -y

I will upload the final ISO tonight onto www.lavalinux.com - :) Need to update the site as I took a majority of it offline due to the fiesty release.

Customizing and Staging Ubuntu Fiesty

Fiesty is out!
So the new Fiesty is out and I personally have been waiting for it to be released so I can finally build my own version of it for my clients. Over the last eight months or so I have customized Dapper and Edgy. Although I loved the versions I have been able to conjure up, I never could build a version which worked flawlessly on laptops due to wireless issues as well as those pesty ATI drivers. With the new version of Fiesty, I am hoping I can leverage the great work that Ubuntu and the community as a whole have made in this release.

Over the next few days I am going to build several versions of my LAVA platform using the new Ubuntu as a base.

Here is a breakdown of the versions I plan to build

• LAVA - CD version. For computers which do not have a DVD. This is going to have UBUNTU with several applications changes which I prefer as well as different art and a special application which will allow users to connect directly to technical support. It will be a remote tool where a user can initiate a connection to a tech and the tech can remote into the users system. All Lava editions will have this support tool built in.
• LAVA Plus - DVD Version. This is essential a Home Premium build. It will have DVD burning apps, Music apps, Converters, games, emulators, a full suite of internet apps such as streamripper, pan, gaim, etc. I am also customizing Nautilus with several scripts to make is easier to get work done.
  
• LAVA DEV - DVD Version. This is LAVA Plus and more. It has all the development libraries necessary to build gnome apps, Glade, Mono. It also has built in support for Panda3D, Ogre, Crystal Space, ClanSDK, Openscene development. I am also adding Blender, Blender Plug ins. Full suite of Web Developer toolkits and Editors.
  
• LAVA Secure - CD Version. A tech toolkit. Everything you need to image a computer, run virus scans, network scans, etc.
• LAVA USB - smaller LAVA distro placed on a USB stick which can be run inside windows without installing anything on the client pc and running inside QEMU so you don't even need to reboot - just plugin into a Windows machine and click on the LAVA exe. Lava will run inside a Window.
  

I also have plans for a LAVA version which can be used to build a dumb file server which can be administrated from swat and a terminal server based on FreeNX.

Obviously this is going to take some time and this will be the first blog outlining my progress.