Rsync Heaven

In the last month I have had to rescue some pc data from family members computers. The PCs would not boot - they would die at the login screen. I grabbed my version of lavalite which I loaded onto a usb using UNETBOOTIN and voila - had a desktop where I could mount their NTFS drive, my external TB usb drive.

Once I mounted the drives all with clicks in xfce, I jumped to a command prompt and began to rsync the data they had under 'Document and Settings'

They had tons of photos, some home movies they ripped from their camcorder and lots and lots of ipod stuff. Total 68 GB.

Well Rsync worked like a champ: here is the command I ran
rsync -arvgzi --bwlimit=4096 --delete --itemize-changes "/media/HD/Document and Settings" /media/LACIE/backup/ > /home/ubuntu/rsync.txt

This command backed up all the files under Document and Settings and replicated them on my removable USB drive under a sub folder called backup and then it logged the files it backed up to a log file in my livecd ubuntu home folder.

I set the command to run at a bandwdith limit of 4096, which was about 4MB a sec, so I could also use Firefox and use their internet while the backup ran in the background.

After about half an hour, one of the kids needed to use the pc for homework so I showed her where her .DOCs were and she opened her assignment in OpenOffice and began to update it. After an hour the rsync was still going and she finished her assignment. She opened firefox and began to email herself the updated file so she could print it out at school.

After she finished, she asked me how she would chat. I showed her Pidgin and off she went, added her account and begain chatting. In between, she opened another instance of firefox and went to myspace and facebook and was there running off the livecd for another hour or so.

Once I had their data and she gave me back the keyboard I ran it thru CLAMAV and then restarted their pc and began reluctantly to install Windows XP Home Edition. After talking to the parents and her other sister, they had alot of video games that I was not sure would run under linux.

If anything this experience made me realize that even this 5th grader could get work and have fun on linux without windows. She realized everything looked different but she was able to learn how to bold, underline, click here, click there and got her work done and found time to have fun all off a live usb linux boot. Amazing.

They are now back on Windows XP Home Edition. They do not have their original install cds that came with the PC so I installed with an OEM disc and entered their key and activated Windows. Unfortunately they had Office 2003 which was preinstalled on the pc and now they can not find the software so I loaded OpenOffice and they were fine with that. I think it helped that the 5th grader was able to use it previously when she was using my livecd. They also had a bundled NERO install - again they did not have any of their original software so I loaded a fresh new install of InfraRecorder and they found it easier and faster than nero. I added 7 Zip for their compressing needs, I added defraggler and setup defrag schedules. I also added VLC and set it up to be their default player. Threw in firefox and added some extensions: Tab Mix Plus, Adblock Plus, Google Preview, URL Text. Added Foxit for PDF reading, Unlocker for unlocking files, and Antivir for Antivirus protection.

So in the end, they have their pc back with a Microsoft OS but they lost all of their bundled purchased software. It's funny cause they commented on how much faster the computer felt and I completely think it is cause all the apps they have on their system now run lighter and faster and they are free.

Although I could not convert them to Linux, I think I made them very aware of the value of free software which I think is a step in the right direction.

LAVA and UNetBootin

So I have been using UnetBootin lately to build USB bootable OS sticks. I'll take a version of LAVA or even a PE Bart disk and run it thru Unetbootin and voila - instant USB Linux or rescure disk. I've used it to clean viruses off desktops, recuse files from pcs which will no longer boot, even do complete installs off the stick. Plus I sometimes use it as my desktop when I don't have my pc - Just go to someone's pc, boot up and you are working.

For more info - check out their homepage.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Found this ascii art online and thought I should pass it on.

Hope you have a great holiday!

New Site is online

My new lavalinux site is up and running. Latest builds and news - will be updating the content over this holiday weekend. Hope you like it. I have both lavalinx and lavalite available online.

http://www.lavalinux.com

New Server

Setting up a new server for the office for my personal projects.

Yep finally was able to get myself a decent new server for all my personal projects. Right now all the pages, isos, code is on multiple shared servers. I'm going to start to consolidate it on my new beefy machine.

I have a new Dell server Quad Core with 16 GB RAM, Dual GB Nic, 80 SAS drive and 1TB secondary SATAII drive, 2MB cache on each core. Loaded LAVALite on it yesterday and setup a default install of Apache, SSH, ProFTPD, PHP4, Ruby, Python, WebMin and will install MySQL on it today along with configuring SSH and Apache for virtual domains.

Once I am done, I'm going to start moving all my isos and update my blog with the new links as well as move over all my Linux game programming code and builds over to it. I am also going to move newlava.ansotech.com to it and setup my domain lavalinux.com to point to it.

I was able to accomplish alot yesterday and in just 3 or 4 hours thanks to Linux, Ubuntu and of course my LAVALite. I just love free software.

Removed 3.0 and 3.5

Removed the 3.0 and 3.5 builds of LAVA based on Ubuntu 7.10 and 8.04.

The latest build of lava is 3.8 and is available on my download section on the right side of my blog.

I have decided to keep the 3.5 build of LAVA based on PCLinuxOS online as well.

LAVALite Released

New LavaLite Builds available.

For those who do not know - I have created a version of my LAVA based on Xubuntu 8.04

You can find it here: http://lavalite.blogspot.com

YES I know Canonical is going to release a new version in a couple days but I wanted to get started and have an iso of my own now :) When Canonical releases their new build I get to start all over :)

My Current builds have context menu keys like : Convert Video to AVI, MPG, WMV, MP3, WMA, etc. I also added right clicks for converting image types and merge images to pdf, Add subtitles to AVI, rip out audio from avi.

I added all the same performance enhancements as in LAVA. Added vlc for media playing along with a whole slew of apps like guf firewall, OpenOffice and Microsoft Office 2007 compatibility, Gisomount , PyNeighborhood and more...

Let me know what you think.

NEW LAVALite Blog

Decided to start a new blog to highlight my LAVALite project. Now that I have finished my Gnome LiveCD I have spent the last two weeks playing with XFCE and have started building a new livecd I call LAVALite.

Yes Jim - I really like it. Took awhile for me to warm up with Xfce but now after a two weeks I decided to load it on my laptop as well as my development machine.

Some of the new changes I made on Xubuntu version:

mp3, wma play in audacious : also changed defaults in audacious to put up OSD, etc

avi, wmv, mov, rm, mpg, mpeg play in vlc: changed defaults so it has shoutcast in playlist for movies and videos, HAL devices, Repeat all, etc.

removed abiword, gnumeric and added writer, calc, impress, draw

pre-installed some firefox and thunderbird extensions. Same extensions I placed in LAVA build.

Added a slew of right click context sensitive right clicks - some include email file, print file, search for files, convert to avi, mpg, wmv, convert to bmp, png, jpg, run iso as live cd, join avi files, add subtitles to avi.

Added some iso apps, system apps, etc.

If you have been following my LAVA project you will notice very similar functionality to the LAVA CD build. I will post some screenshots as well as some of the code for some of the scripts I wrote in Thunar filemanager.

New Blog is http://lavalite.blogspot.com

Older LAVA Builds and XFCE LAVA

I'm going to remove the isos and links to the older builds of lava in the next couple days - Just a heads up.

Also I built 3 versions of XFCE which turned out really good. To be honest my first impression of XFCE was blah but it has grown on me. I had to tweak it out alot and add a bunch of right click context menus, change the media player, panels, etc to get more of what I wanted and throw in pyneighborhood and a host of other apps but when it was all said and done the xfce build is still super fast and I have it now on my development pc running strong. I'll try and upload the isos in the next couple days for my lavalite editon :)

LAVA 3.8 Gnome Dev Edition

Here is the Dev version of new lava Build.

You can find the link to the right along with the CD Version and the DVD Plus Edition.

Here is a visual guide and change log for the Plus Version.


http://newlava.ansotech.com/builds/gnome/3.8/Lava3.8-DevVersion.pdf

This edition is the Deluxe LAVA version. It has everything included in the CD version and the Plus edition but also has a huge list of software aimed at developers. I think it is the only edition of Linux out there that has a bunch of game engines already setup, configured and ready for coding with. I included crystal space, Panda3d and many others.

If you don't know what panda3d is, you should check it out.

Panda3d Website

This edition also comes with networking toolkits and utilities. It even includes airsnort and aircrack.

LAVA 3.8 Gnome PLUS Edition

Here is the PLUS version of new lava Build.

You can find the link to the right along with the CD Version and the DVD Version for Developers.

Here is a visual guide and change log for the Plus Version.


http://newlava.ansotech.com/builds/gnome/3.8/Lava3.8-PlusVersion.pdf

LAVA 3.8 Gnome Edition

Finally uploaded the CD version of new lava Build.

You can find the link to the right along with the DVD versions of LAVA: Plus edition and Dev Edition.

Here is a visual guide and change log for the CD Version.


http://newlava.ansotech.com/builds/gnome/3.8/Lava3.8-CDVersion.pdf

SYSCTL.conf

So the sysctl.conf file I posted in my last blog has gone threw some revisions and now I have a sysctl.conf file that seems to be very stable and gives better performance for higher end pcs. Any pc/server with 1GB or more. I added it to my lastest build of my custom ubuntu cd. I also added a bunch of new settings like setting more sensible defaults in hdparm.conf for more modern hardware - increasing the cpuFreq daemon cause I want my dual core to be at performance always, etc. I added them to my new build and also added them to my wiki site.

A wiki site is really a great tool. I have been using it extensively for the last couple months. I wiki everything I learn now so I can always come back to it. My custom apt-get scripts, my scripts to remove extra libs, languages, docs i don't need as well as the scripts that help me rebuild ubuntu.

I've also began using the wiki not only for my lava project but my game project and all the information I have learned on building email servers with ubuntu,fedora,suse,scalix, citadel. It really is helpful to know that once I successfully build or develop a new workflow, install, etc I can find it back in my wiki site without having to scour the internet and refind the information.

The wiki engine I choose was from mindtouch and it really is powerful and simple to use, plus they offer debs for ubuntu so setting it up was really easy. If you are in the market for a wiki, i recommend it.

http://wiki.developer.mindtouch.com/MindTouch_Deki/Download

SYSCTL.conf

Has anyone tweaked their sysctl.conf lately to get the best desktop performance?

I've been playing with it for the last couple months. Thought I would pass on my sysctl.conf and see if anyone has any suggestions to improve it. It's rather long but I think if it helps anyone out get better performance or if anyone has any input on how I can make it better than what the hell.

Here it is :

#
# /etc/sysctl.conf - Configuration file for setting system variables
# See sysctl.conf (5) for information.
#

#kernel.domainname = example.com

# the following stops low-level messages on console
kernel.printk = 4 4 1 7

# enable /proc/$pid/maps privacy so that memory relocations are not
# visible to other users. (Added in kernel 2.6.22.)
kernel.maps_protect = 1

# Increase inotify availability
fs.inotify.max_user_watches = 524288

# protect bottom 64k of memory from mmap to prevent NULL-dereference
# attacks against potential future kernel security vulnerabilities.
# (Added in kernel 2.6.23.)
vm.mmap_min_addr = 65536

##############################################################3
# Functions previously found in netbase
#

# Comment the next two lines to disable Spoof protection (reverse-path filter)
# Turn on Source Address Verification in all interfaces to
# prevent some spoofing attacks
net.ipv4.conf.default.rp_filter=1
net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter=1

# Uncomment the next line to enable TCP/IP SYN cookies
# This disables TCP Window Scaling (http://lkml.org/lkml/2008/2/5/167)
#net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies=1

# Uncomment the next line to enable packet forwarding for IPv4
#net.ipv4.ip_forward=1

# Uncomment the next line to enable packet forwarding for IPv6
#net.ipv6.ip_forward=1


###################################################################
# Additional settings - these settings can improve the network
# security of the host and prevent against some network attacks
# including spoofing attacks and man in the middle attacks through
# redirection. Some network environments, however, require that these
# settings are disabled so review and enable them as needed.
#
# Ignore ICMP broadcasts
#net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_broadcasts = 1
#
# Ignore bogus ICMP errors
net/ipv4/icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses = 1
#
# Do not accept ICMP redirects (prevent MITM attacks)
net/ipv4/conf/all/accept_redirects = 0
# _or_
# Accept ICMP redirects only for gateways listed in our default
# gateway list (enabled by default)
# net/ipv4/conf/all/secure_redirects = 1
#
# Do not send ICMP redirects (we are not a router)
net/ipv4/conf/all/send_redirects = 0
#
# Do not accept IP source route packets (we are not a router)
net/ipv4/conf/all/accept_source_route = 0
#
# Log Martian Packets
#net/ipv4/conf/all/log_martians = 1
#
# Always defragment packets
#net/ipv4/ip_always_defrag = 1
# Controls the System Request debugging functionality of the kernel
kernel.sysrq = 0

# Controls whether core dumps will append the PID to the core filename.
# Useful for debugging multi-threaded applications.
kernel.core_uses_pid = 0

########## MY #######################
# Enable ignoring ping request
net.ipv4.icmp_echo_ignore_all = 0

# Enable ignoring broadcasts request
net.ipv4.icmp_echo_ignore_broadcasts = 1

# Disables IP source routing
net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_source_route = 0
net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_source_route = 0

# Enable TCP SYN Cookie Protection
net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies = 1

# Disable ICMP Redirect Acceptance
#net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_redirects = 1
#net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_redirects = 1

# Enable bad error message Protection
net.ipv4.icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses = 1

# Enable IP spoofing protection, turn on Source Address Verification
# Controls source route verification
net.ipv4.conf.default.rp_filter = 1

# Log Spoofed Packets, Source Routed Packets, Redirect Packets
net.ipv4.conf.all.log_martians = 0
net.ipv4.conf.default.log_martians = 0
net.ipv4.conf.eth0.log_martians = 0

# Allowed local port range
#net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 32768 61000

# Decrease the time default value for tcp_fin_timeout connection
net.ipv4.tcp_fin_timeout = 30

# Decrease the time default value for tcp_keepalive_time connection
net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_time = 1800

# Enable packet forwarding
# Controls IP packet forwarding
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 0

# Improve file system performance
#vm.bdflush = 100 1200 128 512 15 5000 500 1884 2

# Improve virtual memory performance
#vm.buffermem = 80 10 60

# Improve and better control swapping into the system
#vm.freepages = 383 766 1149

# Increase swap bandwith system performance
#vm.kswapd = 1024 32 16

# Increase number of pages kernel reads in at once
vm.page-cluster = 10

# Improve files memory mapping and generic caching
#vm.pagecache = 50 80 100

# Improve number of page tables keeps in a per-proccessor cache
#vm.pagetable_cache = 45 75

# Improve the number of open files
fs.file-max = 16384
#fs.file-max = 8192

# Improve the number of inodes opened
#fs.inode-nr = 32768

#vm.max-readahead=128
#vm.min-readahead=64

#net.core.hot_list_length=256
net.ipv4.tcp_reordering=5
net.ipv4.tcp_fin_timeout=25
net.ipv4.route.flush=1
vm.swappiness=15

vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50
net.core.rmem_default = 524288
net.core.rmem_max = 524288
net.core.wmem_default = 524288
net.core.wmem_max = 524288
net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 87380 524288
net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 4096 87380 524288
net.ipv4.tcp_mem = 524288 524288 524288
net.ipv4.tcp_max_tw_buckets = 1440000
net.ipv4.tcp_rfc1337 = 1
net.ipv4.ip_no_pmtu_disc = 0
net.ipv4.tcp_fack = 1
net.ipv4.tcp_ecn = 0
kernel.shmmax = 268435456
net.ipv4.ipfrag_high_thresh = 512000
net.ipv4.ipfrag_low_thresh = 446464

net.core.optmem_max = 57344

# tcp_window_scaling
net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling = 1

# tcp_sack
net.ipv4.tcp_sack = 1

# tcp_timestamps
net.ipv4.tcp_timestamps = 1

NY

Just got back from my vacation in NY.

Went to The ED Sullivan Theater :) Very cool.
Went to Angelo's Pizzeria - David Letterman mentions it sometimes on his show.
Saw Times Square, Central Park - walked up and down broadway and had dinner in China Town and Little Italy.

All in all it was a great time.

I flew an airline that I never tried before - Jet Blue. If you haven't used them before - you should - excellent. your pick of 7 snacks - including animal cracks :) water, juices, sodas included. Direct TV on everyone's chair, XM radio and the seats are leather and lots of room to relax. Free wifi in the terminals - Loved it.

Now that I am back in Chicago - will update my lava site and obviously catch up with all my Ubuntu brethren :)

Portable Linux - sorta

So I built a portable NX client that can be run from any windows machine and not require an install. The NX client is hard-coded to my development box running LAVA.

You can download zip file, extract, run the EXE and voila - you connect to a linux terminal server so you can test out linux software and run apps. Its sorta like Windows Terminal server and citrix without the licensing and without the configuring. I will keep a test account open for a day or so. Check it out.

http://newansotech.ansotech.com/download/LAVA.zip

Username: test
Password: test123

LAVA Plus 3.6 Build

So now that lava is built, I finished the PLUS edition.

Here are the additions to LAVA base

#FileSystem stuff
apt-get install fuseiso -y
apt-get install fusedav -y
apt-get install fusesmb -y
apt-get install gmailfs -y

#System Utils
apt-get install macchanger-gtk -y
apt-get install macchanger -y
apt-get install ubuntu-docs -y
apt-get install ttf-baekmuk -y
#apt-get install ttf-arphic-uming -y
apt-get install gnome-user-guide -y
#apt-get install ttf-kochi-gothic -y
apt-get install ttf-dejavu -y
apt-get install grsync -y
apt-get install readpst -y
apt-get install netpbm -y
apt-get install sbackup -y
apt-get install nrg2iso -y
apt-get install mdf2iso -y


#APPS
apt-get install ekiga -y
apt-get install openclipart-openoffice.org -y
apt-get install openoffice.org-starter-guide -y
apt-get install openprinting-ppds-extra -y
apt-get install gnucash -y
apt-get install gnucash-docs -y
apt-get install gnome-backgrounds -y
apt-get install gnome-games-extra-data -y
apt-get install inkscape -y
apt-get install comix -y
apt-get install scribus -y
apt-get install scribus-template -y
apt-get install blender -y
apt-get install blender-ogrexml -y
apt-get install xaralx -y
apt-get install xaralx-svg -y
apt-get install checkgmail -y
apt-get install gtk-recordmydesktop -y
apt-get install planner -y
apt-get install gnotime -y
apt-get install gnome-art -y
apt-get install gimp-data-extras -y
apt-get install gimp-dimage-color -y
apt-get install gimp-gnomevfs -y
apt-get install gimp-help-common -y
apt-get install gimp-helpbrowser -y
apt-get install gimp-help-en -y
apt-get install gimp-refocus -y
apt-get install gimp-texturize -y
apt-get install gimp-ufraw -y
apt-get install gtkam-gimp -y
apt-get install gimp-libcurl -y
apt-get install gimp-plugin-registry -y
apt-get install icc-profiles -y
apt-get install flegita-gimp -y

apt-get install gimp2.0-quiteinsane --force-yes
apt-get install gimp-resynthesizer -y
apt-get install pandora -y
apt-get install gnomescan -y
apt-get install gnome-photo-printer -y
apt-get install icc-profiles -y
apt-get install gphoto2 -y
apt-get install gimp-gap -y
apt-get install nzb -y
apt-get install gpar2 -y
apt-get install pidgin-extprefs -y
apt-get install pidgin-guifications -y
apt-get install pidgin-plugin-pack -y
apt-get install wallpaper-tray -y
apt-get install create-resources -y


#Video / Sound
apt-get install ardour -y
apt-get install audacity -y
apt-get install avidemux -y
apt-get install acidrip -y
apt-get install easytag -y
apt-get install exaile -y
apt-get install gtkpod-aac -y
apt-get install gpixpod -y
apt-get install python-gpod -y
apt-get install gaupol -y
apt-get install hydrogen -y
apt-get install hydrogen-drumkits -y
apt-get install brasero -y
apt-get install devede -y
apt-get install tovid -y
apt-get install tovidgui --force-yes -y


#Needs an ICON Created
apt-get install dir2ogg -y
apt-get install drip -y
apt-get install dvd95 -y
apt-get install dvd-slideshow -y
apt-get install mplayer -y
apt-get install mplayer-skins -y
apt-get install mplayer-skin-blue -y
apt-get install mplayer-fonts -y
apt-get install mencoder -y
apt-get install oggconvert -y
apt-get install ogmrip --force-yes -y
apt-get install pitivi -y
apt-get install qdvdauthor -y
apt-get install soundconverter -y
apt-get install soundkonverter -y
apt-get install streamtuner -y
apt-get install streamripper -y
apt-get install thoggen -y
apt-get install transcode -y
apt-get install audacious -y
apt-get install audacious-crossfade -y
apt-get install audacious-plugins -y
apt-get install audacious-plugins-extra -y
apt-get install gopchop -y
apt-get install ogmtools -y
apt-get install gocr-gtk -y
apt-get install gocr -y
apt-get install gocr-doc -y



#KDE Apps
apt-get install kino -y
apt-get install k3b -y
apt-get install k9copy -y
apt-get install libk3b2-extracodecs -y

#Emulators
apt-get install dgen -y
apt-get install dosbox -y
apt-get install fceu -y
apt-get install gfceu -y
apt-get install gsnes9x -y
apt-get install snes9express -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 xmame-sdl -y
apt-get install xmame-gl -y
apt-get install mednafen -y
apt-get install psemu-input-omnijoy -y


#Games
apt-get install billard-gl -y
apt-get install beneath-a-steel-sky -y
apt-get install bomberclone -y
apt-get install bzflag -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 freeciv-client-gtk -y
apt-get install frozen-bubble -y
apt-get install gltron -y
apt-get install glob2 -y
apt-get install gnome-breakout -y
apt-get install lbreakout2 -y
apt-get install lincity-ng -y
apt-get install ltris -y
apt-get install madbomber -y
apt-get install moon-lander -y
apt-get install neverball -y
apt-get install pouetchess -y
apt-get install pingus -y
apt-get install scummvm -y
apt-get install supertuxkart -y
apt-get install trackballs -y
apt-get install trackballs-music -y
apt-get install tremulous -y
apt-get install torcs -y
apt-get install tuxkart -y
apt-get install uqm -y
apt-get install warsow -y
apt-get install warzone2100 -y
apt-get install widelands -y
apt-get install xscorch -y
apt-get install tmw -y
apt-get install tmw-data -y
apt-get install tmw-music -y

Built new version of deb assaultcube from website and added to iso.

apt-get install enigma -y
apt-get install enigma-level-previews -y
apt-get install flight-of-the-amazon-queen -y
apt-get install orbital-eunuchs-sniper -y
apt-get install tecnoballz -y
apt-get install vectoroids -y
apt-get install vegastrike -y
apt-get install vegastrike-music -y

#Joystick Support
apt-get install joy2key -y
apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-joystick -y
apt-get install jscalibrator -y

#Add Multimedia codecs and DVDstuff
apt-get install ffmpeg -y
apt-get install flac -y
apt-get install libk3b2-mp3 -y
apt-get install libdvdcss2 --force-yes -y
apt-get install ffmpeg -y
apt-get install libavformat0d -y
apt-get install libavcodec0d -y
apt-get install libpostproc0d -y
apt-get install libdvdcss2 -y
apt-get install gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse -y
apt-get install python-opengl -y
apt-get install python-gtkglext1 -y

apt-get install miro -y
apt-get install dvgrab -y
apt-get remove gnochm -y
apt-get autoremove gnochm -y
apt-get install kchmviewer -y
apt-get install tunapie -y
apt-get install blogtk -y
apt-get install autotrace -y
apt-get install potrace -y
apt-get install thunderbird -y
apt-get install thunderbird-gnome -y
apt-get install lightning-extension -y
apt-get install mail-notification -y
apt-get install prism -y
apt-get install gobby -y
apt-get install evolution-rss -y
apt-get install feed2imap -y
apt-get install gnome-splashscreen-manager -y
apt-get install gok -y

apt-get install ruby -y
apt-get install hwinfo -y

manually built latest cairo-dock and cairo-dock-plugins, spicebird, thunderbird, ruby, added mp4ize and added a right click to convert videos to mp4.

Added numerous extensions to nautilus via the right click script menus.

Added a bunch of thunderbird extensions and some themes. Tweaked Thunderbird and Spicebird to be more like I like them. Specll check before sending, send in html, timezone change in calendar extensions to chicago.

Also updated firefox extensions to latest versions.

Tweaked audacious to do on screen, tweaked streamripper to use audacious instead of xmms.

Manually configured mp4, mp3, pls, wmv, wma, mpg, mpeg, mov, avi to play in vlc.
Adjust vlc to some common setting I like, repeat play, OSD, etc.

Tweaked Cairo-dock to have my favorite apps already on launch bar and set default theme.

Configured compiz with cube/rotation, 3d windows, window preview, 6 virtual windows, and changed minimize to burn, etc.

Adjust GTK menus to run faster.
Removed openoffice splash screen
Added gnome-do to sessions startup so its loaded in the background when you get to your desktop.


I'll upload the iso sometime before the weekend end.

Late Ride 2008

So I am off tomorrow to pick up the tickets for my McDonald's L.A.T.E. Ride 2008. In case you are not familiar with the Bike Ride, it's a 25 Mile ride that is being held this Saturday. It features 10,000 bicyclists and benefits Friends of the Parks. It's a 33-year-old not-for-profit parks advocacy group whose mission is to protect and improve Chicago's parks and forest preserves in Cook County. If you are not doing anything or want to come cheer me on, you can get more info here: http://www.lateride.org/

I'll be the one with the Linux penguin T-shirt reading - "I'm cheap and Fun!"

Ubuntu 8.0.4.1

Looks like a full maintenance release of Ubuntu. I found a couple bugs in 8.04 but found workarounds - since 8.04 came out. I'm downloading the 8.04.1 iso right now and will test it out in a VM. If it is significant enough and fixes some of the issues I had 'out of the box' I think I might regenerate my LAVA and upload a new iso based on it. Actually the fact that it has the final build of firefox might be incentive enough.

Also I found a beta of a pdf import/editor extension for open-office that I thought I might include in the next build. It will give me an excuse to add it in as well.

Bug

Just found a bug in my lava build on pclinuxos. It does not effect the Ubuntu build. Apparently the image I created for the grub boot manager does not play nice on some pcs. Just remember to select the text menu as a boot option during install and you will be fine. I'm going to have to downsample the image and rebuild it later. For now just select the text menu for grub during your install within the livecd install wizard.

Thanks

Awesome Online Courses

Happened upon this site and thought I would pass it on.

http://www.collegeathome.com/blog/2008/05/22/open-courseware-for-linux-geeks-50-resources/

Lava 3.5 - PClinuxOS Version

Hi All,

Uploaded the PclinuxOS Version of LAVA.

It's almost the same as the Ubuntu version. Obviously some things are not available in the repository but for the most part it has all my tweaks as well as extensions.

Let me know what you think - you can download it to the right.

New Gaming Video

Uploaded a sample video of a game engine I am making with Panda3d - building it all in LAVA and free software. Runs on Ubuntu of course and Windows. Runs on anything PANDA3D runs on. Tested it on LAVA 3.0, 3.5, Ubuntu 710 - 8.04 and also on Windows XP, Vista.

Its just a level right now but building the base tools to any video game is the most time consuming. I know it's not related to building a customized Ubuntu but it's cool - check it out on my gaming site to the right.

Bittorrents

How many of you would like a bittorrent to supplement the regular ISO I provide?

I was thinking of setting up a bittorrent server in my datacenter to help seed the isos I build but wouldn't go thru the hassle if people wouldn't use it. Leave a comment and let me know. Thanks.

FYI - I finished both 3.5 lava based on Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS.

I finished uploading the ISO of lava based on Ubuntu and plan on uploading the PClinuxOS version by tonight.

Lava 3.5 release

This Version of LAVA is built with Ubuntu 8.04

Added all the usual items in past builds.

Tweaked the sysctl.conf file for better handling on higher end pcs.
Disabled IPV6
Changed Menu to Gnome Menu
removed prelink.
Many application changes here are a few of the highlights
Openoffice now has 2007 support for Microsoft Word 2007 formats. OpenOffice defaults to save as Office formats - makes it easier for users who are coming off of Microsoft Office. My motto - "Change their app first then their format later."
Alien for rpm to deb conversions included
Deluge for bittorrents
Gnome Main menu replaces menu
Nautilus addons like 'Open Terminal Here', Convert Images, Run as Administrator, Search for Files, Sendto, Share, Wallpaper
GnoCHM - I have to read those CHM files. Lots of ebooks in this format.
BUM- Bootup Manager
SMBFS - so I can mount samba shares
HardInfo - Hardware information applet
Gnome OSD - Onscreen Display - Shows you what music you are playing onscreen, etc
SYSINFO - System Information Applet
NDISGTK - Helps load drivers for Wireless cards
Cheese - Webcam program
Gnomebaker - CD / DVD burner
gchangepass - gnome password changer - easy access to change your password
usermode / ntf-config - NTFS usermode applet in case you want to change how you mount NTFS drives
Eggcups - Printer applet - lets users know whats going on with their print jobs
gisomount - gnome iso mount utility
gnome-schedule - easy gui to cron
glabels - label program
compizconfig manager - extra config options for compiz
gftp - ftp program
curlftpfs - lets you mount ftp sites as drive mounts
isomaster - iso utility extra, build, etc
xnest - multiple x display to local and remote machines
p7zip , rar - compression progs
liferea - RSS feeder
Added a couple extensions to Firefox and set homepage to google.com
Changed some of the defaults for compiz-fusion
Changed the panel defaults to more my liking
Added adesklets
Also added a bunch of nautilus scripts available via right-click. A bunch I made myself.
Added Gnome-DO with all the extra plugins.
Added gedit plugins and changed gedit defaults.

The Roman Senate and Colloseum

Here is a high vantage view of the remains of the Roman senate and the Colloseum. [more videos can be found on my personal blog on the right]

Back

Been awhile since I have updated the site. Went to Europe for awhile. Got to go to Rome, Venice, Florence and then London. Simply amazing stuff. Really makes you realize how young the USA is.

Anyways, I see some of you have been asking for the PLUS edition. I'll upload it this weekend but like all things it is already out of date.

I have built a new iso based on 8.04 before I went on my vacation. I'll upload that as well.

I also played a bit with PCLinuxOS and was able to almost entirely recreate my LAVA using it as a base also. I might upload it so people can check it out. It seems faster on my hardware than UBUNTU and I wonder if it is just the tweaking of the kernel or runtime parameters like sysctl - going to have to do some research cause although I like the speed, PCLinuxOS has a smaller support personnel and less software available thru its package manager than Ubuntu.

I will say for having a lighter support infrastructure and less developers on it, the distro is faster and seems to run on lighter hardware. I was able to install it on a laptop that Ubuntu won't even run live on and that includes the infamous Xubuntu as well. Previously my only other distros I could get on the laptop was Windozes XP and Fedora. Partly cause Fedora automatically initializes the swap file and uses it during install and the Ubuntu and Xubuntu do not. Since the laptop in question only has 128 MB, it was problematic with Ubuntu and Xubuntu and even though I knew this and manually created and initialized the swap file, I think just running the live environment was too much for it. I suppose if I really wanted to I could have downloaded the alternate version of Ubuntu and installed everything from the commandline but that's just too much work especially since the laptop is not one I regularly use. It's more of a benchmark or challenge to any OS I want to check out. "Hmmmm, wonder if it will load on that old laptop of mine."

Anyways, I'll do some uploading this weekend and hope to hear next week how everyone is doing.

As they say in Europe, ciao.

A Looooooong day

So it's been a long day today.

I know this blog is really about LAVA and customizing Ubuntu but I thought you might be interested in some of the things I have done with it so.....

I replaced Microsoft Exchange with Citadel for several of my clients and now I'm tackling the fun chore of pushing their email to their Blackberries as well as Nokia, Window PDAs. I've read about Funambol but never setup the server in production. I played with it several months ago but never deployed it.

For those who do not know what Funambol is, it's a server software which acts like a sync server between your client device or software and the email server. It essentially syncs your contacts, calendar, tasks with your opensource email server. In this case - Citadel running on LAVA.

Citadel has been running great! No spam and fast web interface. My client reports that they have virtually no spam whatsoever compared to the several hundred spam messages per user using Exchange 2003 with the latest service packs. Not to mention that it is easier to use and admin than Exchange. So now they want to expand it to their phones. Most of them have their email already setup on the phones but like most cell phone providers it really is just a push of their email minus the contacts, tasks, and calendar. With Funambol, you get everything realtime.

So I installed a new copy of LAVA 3.0 inside a virtual machine and began printing out the documentation, compile information, etc for Funambol. 3 hours later I had a compiled version ready for testing. Not bad for a days work.

Now the task of learning how to sync all the devices and manage them remotely using the Funambol management console.

New site almost done

I'm almost finished with the new site.

You can view the beta of the site here:
New LAVALinux Site

I'm going to begin the transfer of www.lavalinux.com to this new site in the next couple days. I just have to finish programming the forums, my new remote tool and upload the isos for the PLUS and DEV edition.

Let me know what you think.

Build 3.0 is uploaded

Version 3.0 build of Lava is finalized.

Performance Features
Firefox tweaking for better broadband support. Added additional firefox extensions; fasterfox, google preview, text link, adblock plus, adblock filtersetup updater, get directions from google maps, tab mix plus, wikipedia lookup
SYSCTL.CONF - Kernel parameter adjustments for faster processors, more cache utilization, higher TCP window and connections for broadband
PRELOAD - Preloads parts of programs into memory so they startup quicker
PRELINK - Prelink commonly used DLLS so apps start faster
Gnome, Openoffice, Gconf, Help XML compression so they open faster

Many application changes here are a few of the highlights
Openoffice now has 2007 support for Microsoft Word 2007 formats. OpenOffice defaults to save as Office formats - makes it easier for users who are coming off of Microsoft Office. My motto - "Change their app first then their format later."
Alien for rpm to deb conversions included
Transmission for bittorrents
Gnome Main menu replaces menu
Nautilus addons like 'Open Terminal Here', Convert Images, Run as Administrator, Search for Files, Sendto, Share, Wallpaper
GnoCHM - I have to read those CHM files. Lots of ebooks in this format.
BUM- Bootup Manager
SMBFS - so I can mount samba shares
HardInfo - Hardware information applet
Gnome OSD - Onscreen Display - Shows you what music you are playing onscreen, etc
SYSINFO - System Information Applet
NDISGTK - Helps load drivers for Wireless cards
Cheese - Webcam program
Gnomebaker - CD / DVD burner
gchangepass - gnome password changer - easy access to change your password
usermode / ntf-config - NTFS usermode applet in case you want to change how you mount NTFS drives
Eggcups - Printer applet - lets users know whats going on with their print jobs
gisomount - gnome iso mount utility
gnome-schedule - easy gui to cron
graveman - lightweight CD/DVD burner
glabels - label program
compizconfig manager - extra config options for compiz
gftp - ftp program
curlftpfs - lets you mount ftp sites as drive mounts
isomaster - iso utility extra, build, etc
xnest - multiple x display to local and remote machines
p7zip , rar - compression progs
system-config-samba - applet that has more features than standard ubuntu included applet
liferea - RSS feeder
Flash9

I also added the mediubuntu repo in app get list so you could pull down codecs, etc on your own thru synaptic.

I removed a couple things i did not like and or used.
ekiga
totem-mozilla
ttf-baekmuk
ttf-arphic-uming
ttf-kochi-gothic
ttf-dejavu
example-content

I made alot of changes in each app - example I enabled overburn in gnome, tweaked the burning, changed openoffice settings, firefox, rhythmbox, etc to what I liked.

I found each time I installed ubuntu, I made a huge amount of changes to get the desktop I liked so I bundled alot of these settings into this build.

Keep in mind this is the CD version of LAVA. I have 2 other versions, LAVAPLUS and LAVADEV which I will upload in the next week or so with more features which could not fit on one CD.

Gaming with Ubuntu

For all those who would dare say Ubuntu is a terrible gaming platform. :)

I found a great site that lists games in category. Each game has been successfully tested on Ubuntu, some are native linux games while others are Windows games running in Wine.

If you have a taste for gaming and want to see if Ubuntu has games you like check out http://www.playubuntu.com/

Ubuntu Package

Learned the fine art of packaging and am in search of cool ubuntu software to compile and build from.

I found a game on linux apps based on the DOS and Windows game of Orion so I decided to download it and build a package.

It took about 20 minutes and I uploaded it so others can play it. Here's a sceenshot and the link to the deb file



My DEB File
Original Project Page where I found the program

Switching to Internal Servers

Hi All,

I'm going to start switching the main lavalinux.com to a new server so it may go down and thus the links to the isos. The new server is a quad core and I have lots more room and bandwidth plus I am going to setup a new mail server for lavalinux as well as alot more forum and support options. Basically I am redoing the old tired website and spicing it up a bit. This blog site will not be down during the transition but the links to the isos will be during the move.

Just a heads up.

Awesome Man Pages online

http://www.linuxmanpages.com/

Just found this site and it's great. Any command that plagues you on your system is viewable online.

Learned about Zenity today thru the site. In case you don't know zenity lets you make GUI dialogs that will feed into your scripts. I'm making a bunch of nautilus scripts to add to the new build of LAVA and wanted to make easy context sensitive options in nautilus to run emulators on the system. I used to write it all in bash, now with zenity I can give it more of a polished ui.

Of course you can always open up a console windows and type 'man zenity' but this site is formated well and also is PRINTABLE :)

Check it out. I think you'll find it a valuable lookup page.

Build 3.0

Thanks for sending me emails regarding the last minute changes.

SO
xnest, p7zip, system-config-samba, nautilus-search, pan and gpar2 have been added but the bittorrent client is going to stay transmission.

I have several people that say deluge breaks their system. The build is solid as it stands and if you really want deluge, its one apt-get away.

I'm going to wrap up the build and iso testing today and upload it later tonight. Let me know how it looks.

Last minute thoughts on build 3.0

Hi All

I uploaded 3.0 but received some emails concerning some changes and I wanted to share them with the rest of you.

Several people want me to include the following apps to the standard build of LAVA:
xnest - allows you to have multiple xwindows on the same display to your local or remote pcs.
pzip - compression tool
system-config-samba - easier and more features then the standard sharing applet in ubuntu.
nautilus-search - right click context sensitive search add-on in nautilus.

and finally the torrent debate.
I added transmission, a light weight but slightly more feature rich than the standard bittorent client but some want deluge and others want bit tornado. So how's everyone's experience with either. Transmission seems to work fine for me and is really light weight. I've never used the other two.

New Build soon

LAVA is about to turn 3.0

After a month or so of playing with all the 7.10 features and searching the net for the best tweaks and add-ons, I am about to release a new version of LAVA based on Gutsy. Check back here in the next couple days and check it out.

Some of the new features

1) More built in nautilus scripts - context sensitive
2) Longer list of included software
3) Main menu replaced with gnome main menu
4) OpenOffice customized for greater speed and automatically set to use Office formats as default.
5) Alot of performance tweaks - customized sysctl.conf, preload, prelink, etc.
5) Compiz-Fusion add-ons and customizations
6) Firefox add-ons and performance additions
7) Flash 9
and more...

Introducing Ubuntu

I went to California this weekend and although it was not a business trip, I took my laptop in case I need to login and do some work. I stayed at my relatives house and alot of my family from California came over to visit. I really was laid back and not in 'computer mode' when a cousin of mine asked to see the magazine I had in my bag. It was a Linux Format mag. He began asking me questions about it and as I talked he began to see my passion for Linux in general. It was funny cause most of my cousins had brought their laptops as they were going to stay the weekend with me since we hardly see eachother. Since they were interested, I pulled out my laptop with Ubuntu loaded on and booted it up. Within minutes, everyone was excited about the eyecandy and the quick response. Needless to say everyone in Cali, is downloading the ISOs of ubuntu today.

It's cool to see people excited over free software. One of them even have an Apple Powerbook he purchased just recently. I just told them, if you can boot up the livecd and access your hardware then install ubuntu will probably be worth wild as it does everything I ever need from an OS and more. I of course gave them my update information in case they run into any problems or have any questions. I'm looking forward to hearing how they faired.

I'm Back!

So it's been quite awhile since I disappeared. BEEN BUSY!!!!!

I was able to move most of my terminal servers over to modified version of Ubuntu running a modified version of FreeNX. That was most fun. Now Windows users can login to our Linux servers and run Linux apps and print to their printers without installing any software on their desktop or loading any java classes in their browsers. Everything runs in memory on the Windows pcs. The client is a standalone 1.4 mb exe.

Now I'm going to recreate the server installs I made using the newer 7.10 as a basis instead of Fiesty.

Along with moving people over to Linux, I was able to move the majority of my servers from our downtown location and collocate with another company near O'hare. For me it means better partnerships as well as over the board services. Within a week, I was able to provide my clients with bandwidth up to 10mbs a sec per server.

It's funny, I have come from a Windows background. Microsoft Windows has always been my bread and butter. Everything at one time in my company was running Windows, from the servers, routers, desktops. But now, those ISA servers are Linux Endian machines. The Exchange servers are Linux Citadel machines. My web servers which ran IIS, are now apache. And my fileserver running Windows 2000 adv server is now running Samba and Swat with AD integration. Now some of the terminal servers are now being converted to NX servers. Maybe by the end of the year I will be able to move the SQL servers to MySQL.

It's been 5 years since I started this journey and I have learned alot along the way. I guess I am just shocked that I could technically build a datacenter on almost complete opensource, especially when I was doing it for so long on Windows.