Marvell has a marvelous plug computer

For a while, I have been searching for a really miniature computer which I could use as an “always on device” to manage various tasks within my home network. Like act as a media repository, file share for home office, manages automatic backups for all PCs on the network and even acts like a small firewall against possible intruders. Marvell plug computer seems to be all that and more.

This little device, called SheevaPlug, is literally built into the power socket. It sports a nice little Gigabit Ethernet for communications and USB interface for external device connections (storage for example). According to Marvell, the device has a Marvell Kirkwood 1.2GHz CPU equipped with 512MB of flash and 512MB of DRAM.

There are also some wonderful commercial uses as well. Here are a few that I would like to use it for:

• At Trade Shows, no need to carry numerous bulky laptops/PCs/Servers. The organization can carry a bunch of these plug-computers and be in business within minutes.
• For demos at client location, these plug computers can run applications right off the device and therefore no need to carry luggage around.
• Act as a miniature firewall within the office environment
• Act as a small file server for the office
  
• Act as a proxy server for all internet traffic

In the coming years, the possibility of other vendors getting into this market including big boys like Cisco who may convert some of its Linux based Linksys devices into miniature servers. And most of them might be powered by Linux OS similar to Damn Small Linux distribution. That will give developers an awesome platform to program and distribute their applications.

Geek Speak - Finding your Linux Version

Ever wonder what version of Linux is installed on your desktop. Here is how to find out:

At command line, type the following

~$ cat /etc/issue

In my case I get the following result:

Ubuntu 8.04.2 \n \l

Hence, my desktop is running Ubuntu 8.04.02

Alternatively you can also type the following:

~$ cat /etc/lsb-release

DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=8.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=hardy
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 8.04.2"

In case if you are running one of Debian releases, you can find out the Debian version on your system by typing:

~$ cat /etc/debian_release

lenny/sid

To find out the Linux kernel on your system, type the following:

~$ uname -r

2.6.24-23-generic

So now you can track the version of your Linux even during automatic upgrades.

Apple to Unix – You are my Rock Solid Foundation

There are not many technology enterprises in the commercial domain who speak openly about the underlying architecture. They may tout their cool new features (which they unabashedly picked from a competitor), but will rarely give credit to the technologies that make them great. Apple however, not only praises its own design and architecture (yeah!) but also gives due credit to Unix as part of what it calls its “rock solid foundation”.

As the Apple website explains about its current Mac OS X (version) Leopard:

Leopard is an Open Brand UNIX 03 Registered Product, conforming to the SUSv3 and POSIX 1003.1 specifications for the C API, Shell Utilities, and Threads. Since Leopard can compile and run all your existing UNIX code, you can deploy it in environments that demand full conformance — complete with hooks to maintain compatibility with existing software.

Source: http://www.apple.com/macosx/technology/unix.html

Almost all Linux/Unix users know this but for those not initiated (about Apple), there is a reason for us to love Macs as much as we love our Linux. Both are close relatives sharing the same gene pool. Already, all open source applications are easily ported to Mac and can run off any Apple computer. So when you buy your next computer, consider Apple not just for its looks but give due credence to its "rock solid foundations".

Awesome Game - Warzone 2100 Resurrection - for Linux

I must admit that I have not played any kind of computer games that seriously for a while. Atleast since I sold my Sony PS2 a few years back and got back into the real corporate world. But Warzone 2100 has completely changed that for me. This game is something special. It seems I cant get enough of it since I downloaded it last night to my Ubuntu Linux laptop. I was literally glued to the screen for well over 6 hours straight.

The official story line for this awesome strategy game is that we build and control a military force to retake the world for mankind which was, incidentally, destroyed by Nuclear Missiles. We not only design our own forces but build them and have to run campaigns in a certain time to win. Since its a strategy game, expect to be glued to your monitors for a few hours straight. And for serious games, expect a whole weekend if not more.

The graphics are awesome as compared to many other games available on Linux. It is full 3D with wonderful sound. The maps are editable and we can create our own if we want. And for super gamers among us, we can use the Source Code provided to change the game as we please.

The game is also available for Mac and Windows platform and full source code can also be downloaded for our favorite platform. For those with Ubuntu Synaptics Package can download it directly without any glitches.

The game was created by Pumpkin Studios and published by Eidos Interactive and is currently developed by Warzone 2100 Resurrection Project team.

Download your copy from Warzone 2100 website.

A Peculiar Time

Did you know that all Unix and Linux machines calculate their time and date from January 1, 1970. And did you know on February 13, 2009, the time in seconds will be precisely "1234567890". This has to be one of those coincidences.

So if you have access to a Unix/Linux machine anywhere (at school, at work, at home where ever), just type the following on a shell prompt.

date +%s

and it will show you the time in seconds since 1970.

In case if you plan to capture the exact moment when the clock strikes 1234567890 then write the following shell script on the command line and execute it.

while true
do
echo "Time since Jan 1, 1970 in seconds is "
date +%s
sleep 1
done

What this will do is print the time in seconds every second and you can view it on your favorite terminal. Try it now to see how many seconds are left to that crucial time.

Ubuntu Pocket Reference for Free

For non-power users (for Linux) out there, here is a pocket reference book for Ubuntu available for free download from the following website. Like the Ubuntu operating system, the book is totally free (no strings attached)

The book covers Ubuntu 8.04 and 8.10 versions so it is pretty up to date. The topics include:

• Installing and configuring Ubuntu
• Desktop Guide
• Users and Filesystem
• Hands on at the command line
• Software Management
• Securing the System

An average Joe can really benefit from this book. Granted, most of this information is already available in the Linux help files and online forums/blogs. But still, it is a nice handy book to have lying around in your office/home.

I see an enormous benefit for this book in office environments where ordinary users are not savvy enough to go online and would prefer a reference manual handy.

For techies out there, it might not be the best read, but definitely a good gift to give along with the OS to your newly initiated friends to Linux.

You can download your free copy from: http://www.ubuntupocketguide.com

Or if you prefer a printed edition, then visit our Amazon Webstore to purchase a copy.

KDE or Windows 7

So this video is circulating on the internet where some blokes in Australia show off the latest KDE as if it is Windows 7.



Check it out and get a kick out of the responses of the ordinary people.

Damn Small Linux - An Amazingly Small Linux

An amazing Linux distribution. Just 50MB and you are in business. I got a taste of the wonderful Damn Small Linux (DSL) today as I installed it onto my 1GB flash drive. I followed the simple instructions as listed on their wiki.

I created a basic 75MB ext3 partition on my 1GB USB drive and installed the OS as per the given instructions. I rebooted my machine and through GRUB, was successfully able to boot my laptop from DSL. It detected the required hardware during boot process and launched without a hitch. Within moments of I was able to boot into DSL Linux an do anything and everything that I may require. It came with all the goodies that I might need including Firefox, TED word processor and SIAG spreadsheet. Even though the size is small, it had a nice GUI and a windowing toolkit. If we have a more space, we can also modularly grow the DSL Linux by installing other applications like OpenOffice etc.

The whole OS runs off the memory and the DSL website claims that it supports as old hardwares as 486 boxes with 16MB of RAM. Well, I don't have one lying around that old, but I am sure someone out there must have tested them on those museum pieces and got a kick out of it.

Now, what could be some of the uses of having such a small Linux in my flash drive. Here are a few that I have thought of:

• For security paranoid people, they can carry their own OS in a small flash drive partition for use in public places like Cyber Cafe's
• For techies who want to carry a running demo version of their software application can take it along in a small flash drive. This demo application can then be run off any computer.
• For those who are still using older computers (especially in rural communities) can use this basic OS to power their old hardware.
• For those who get a kick out of showing the world how wonderful Linux is as compared to say Microsoft Windows :)

In short, good things do come in small packages. So try it and you will enjoy the power of DSL.