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Debian-News.net ( 2 March 00:00 EST)

• DPL Elections 2007 overview
  Have a look at the candidates for this year Debian Project Leader Election - you have relative unknowns candidates as Sam Hocevar and more high-profile persons like Anthony Towns again and Steve McIntyre.
• Debian-based thin client OS steps up to 2.6 Kernel
  In a press announcement, the company Athena claims NLX (New LinuX) 5 to be the first thin client OS based on a 2.6-series Debian kernel.
• Dualboot Vista and Ubuntu
  This guide shows how to do it, when Vista is installed first.
• Shafetech intros Ubuntu notebooks
  A young startup named Shafetech has launched its first full line of computers, ranging from desktops to notebooks loaded with Ubuntu.
• Installing Puppet on Ubuntu
  This is a step by step tutorial on HowtoForge on how to install the server component of Puppet (puppetmaster) on one machine, and the Puppet client (puppetd) on another.

Debian GNU/Linux System Administration Resources (23 February 09:59 EST)

• Keeping consistent network interface names with ifrename
  If you have multiple ethernet devices upon a system it is useful to make sure they are always given the device names that you expect. This can be useful when you're managing upgrades - or for situations where you accidentally setup a system with eth1 plugged into a switch rather than eth0.
• Working with MAC addresses
  MAC addresses are often taken for granted, things that nobody thinks about. However there are times when you do need to worry about them. Here we'll demonstrate how to view and change the MAC address of your Debian system.
• Generating consistent "random" numbers
  Generating random numbers on a collection of machines can be a useful way of ensuring they don't all access a particular resource at the same time. (For example backup jobs to a central NFS server). However using truly random numbers can make things unpredictable - using a machine-specific delay can be the best solution.
• Re-creating Debian binary packages with dpkg-repack
  If you've installed a Debian package upon a machine, but lost the binary archive, then it is difficult to copy that package to another machine. Thankfully is a simple solution for recreating a Debian package from an installed system.
• PHP hardening patch - Suhosin
  PHP has a notorious security history, but web hosts have to provide it. Suhosin is a security patch that can be applied to change behaviour of the default PHP install in security related ways, and is now packaged in Debian Etch and Sid, with some of it built into the default PHP builds, and some available as an extra.
• Automating interactions with your netgear router
  Here is how I wrote some code using Perl to automate controlling my router. I have a NETGEAR DG834 ADSL router and I wanted to control it via ifup/ifdown so, with the help of sudo, I can allow my home users to connect/disconnect to Internet from a debian box.
• UnixODBC CLI Install and Configuration
  For those of you that may not know what unixodbc does, "ODBC is an open specification for providing application developers with a predictable API with which to access Data Sources. Data Sources include SQL Servers and any Data Source with an ODBC Driver." They include a text file driver as an example of a non-SQL source. Two examples are Asterisk and OpenOffice.org.

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Debianhelp.co.uk - Debian Articles,Tutorials ( 2 March 00:00 EST)

• Complete Nagios tutorials (Installation,Configurations,Plugins Configuration)
  

  Nagios is a host and service monitor designed to inform you of network problems before your clients, end-users or managers do. It has been designed to run under the Linux operating system, but works fine under most *NIX variants as well. The monitoring daemon runs intermittent checks on hosts and services you specify using external "plugins" which return status information to Nagios. When problems are encountered, the daemon can send notifications out to administrative contacts in a variety of different ways (email, instant message, SMS, etc.). Current status information, historical logs, and reports can all be accessed via a web browser.

  Full Story
  

   

   

• Install KDE Desktop in Debian Etch
  

  KDE is a powerful Free Software graphical desktop environment for Linux and Unix workstations. It combines ease of use, contemporary functionality, and outstanding graphical design with the technological superiority of the Unix operating system.

  Full story

   

• Debian Network Tools
  

  This is list of debian network tools with examples and man pages

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• Install Skype Instant messanger in Debian
  

  Skype is a little piece of software that lets you make free calls to anyone else on Skype, anywhere in the world. And even though the calls are free, they are really excellent quality. If you and your friends, family or business contacts are using webcams, you can also make free video calls. You can even call landlines and mobile phones at really cheap per minute rates (and there’s no setup or subscription fee).

  Full Story

• Debian Package administration Commands Reference
  

  This is complete debian package commands reference for all debian users and admin

  Full Story

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DebCentral ( 2 March 00:00 EST)

• "I Want To Duel Boot Debian and XP" - The Debian Chronicles
  "I Want To Duel Boot Debian and XP" - The Debian Chronicles
  by Scott_Ruecker
  
  With the gift of a new computer the help of a friend I recently decided to move from running OpenSuSE to duel booting Windows and Debian. Thus begins my adventure in Debian.
  
  Read the Saga
  
  
• How To Implement SPF In Postfix
  This tutorial shows how to implement SPF (Sender Policy Framework) in a Postfix 2.x installation. The Sender Policy Framework is an open standard specifying a technical method to prevent sender address forgery. There are lots of SPF extensions and patches available for Postfix, but most require that you recompile Postfix. Therefore we will install the postfix-policyd-spf-perl package from openspf.org which is a Perl package and can be implemented in existing Postfix installations (no Postfix compilation required).
  
  read more
• Install and Configure Auth Shadow on Debian/Ubuntu
  Auth Shadow or mod-auth-shadow is a module for apache (and apache2, sort of) that enables authentication against /etc/shadow. The benefits being that any system user with a password can be authenticated for web_dav, subversion or simply an https server. The only other way to do this is with PAM. That method is dangerous because the apache user (www-data in my case) must be able to read /etc/shadow. Obviously, not a good idea. Auth Shadow accomplishes this safely by using a intermediate program called validate. This works because validate can be owned by root but executable by everyone. In the event that your server is compromised through apache, your password file will not be readable.
  
  read more

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DebianTimes ( 2 March 00:00 EST)

• digikam: advanced photo management
  

  Entry submitted by Amanda Angell. We are in a big need for new editors, able to dedicate time on a regular basis to debaday. See the contribute page for details, and contact us !

  digiKam’s website states that it is an “advanced digital photo management application for Linux” which understates the programs abilities. It does everything from auto-detecting your camera, importing the photos, sorting your collection in useful ways, and does some basic - or even creative - photo editing. It is only available for KDE, so Gnome users miss out. It is Integrated into KDE applications using KIPI (KDE Image Plugin Interface), and can drag-and-drop into other KDE programs.

  DigikamImagePlugins is an add-on that enhances the basic digiKam Image Editor into a much more powerful tool for playing with pictures. My favorites are the distortion effects, oil paint, and the adjust levels plug-ins. There is a Create Calendar section in digiKam’s Tools menu, which is a lot of fun and the end result can be printed or saved as a PDF.

  digiKam uses dcraw 8.41 to decode “more than 200 proprietary camera file formats”, and the Gphoto2 project supports “over 700 digital camera devices”. Cameras using USB, serial connection, and USB/IEEE Mass storage connections are supported.

  The camera interface is fast and smooth, with thumbnails to preview the pictures before downloading and, at least with Canon cameras, you have the option to only select new pictures for download.

  Photos can be organized by albums, date, saved searches, and a completely customizable tagging system. This makes a big difference when trying to find and organise your photos as opposed to the simple date order of some programs.

  Once in the main window, a left click opens the photo in the digiKam Image Editor. Right click for more options, including opening the photo in other editing programs (such as the Gimp). Movie files are opened in your favorite multimedia software.

  In comparison, I have been using Gnome’s camera import using gthumb image viewer for 6 months and there are noticeably less camera interface options. It feels a little disjointed and doesn’t have the options of sorting your photos into albums, tags or ratings. In-fact, I feel that digiKam handles my camera better than the original Windows XP software.

  Version 0.9.0 is available in Debian (experimental) and Ubuntu.

  digiKam won the 2005 TUX Readers’ Choice Award for “Favorite Digital Photo Management Tool”, and for good reason. It is powerful, easy to use, and intuitive.

  

• FOSDEM 2007
  

  The continuous drizzle and cold weather only marginally tarnished the experience of FOSDEM 2007, which took place on 24/25 February on the campus of the Université Libré in Brussels, Belgium. Around 50 active Debian contributors had made sure not to miss the event, and mingled with the hundreds of other Free software enthusiasts.

  As in the previous years, the Debian booth was a popular space for discussions and meeting people, and the presentations on Debian-related topics, which took place in the Debian DevRoom, attracted a large crowd who seldom left any empty seats. Topics included the testing migration, APT improvements, data mining within the project, a new network configuration management system, and automated installations.

  In the evenings, groups of all sizes could be found in the various bars and pubs of Brussels, sampling the local beer, planning total world domination by Free software, or submitting themselves to cross-cultural exchange with fellow colleagues.

  The Debian project would like to thank the organisers of FOSDEM, as well as all volunteers who made the event possible and who represented Debian at the booth or in talks. We are looking forward to next year.

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