Tech Observer: Linux And Open Source

I had to fix permissions on the /usr/local folder:

sudo chown -R `whoami` /usr/local cd /usr/local git add . git stash git reset --hard brew update

Take a look, very thourough overview and specifics on locking down and hardening your infrastructure! Includes details on specialized environments that have some unique aspect that makes them
especially vulnerable to sophisticated attacks so all your bases are covered!

VMware vSphere Hardening Guide Introduction

VMware vSphere Hardening Guide Introduction
Scope
This set of documents provides guidance on how to securely deploy VMware®
vSphere™ 4.1 (“vSphere”) in a production environment. The focus is on initial
configuration of the virtualization infrastructure layer, which covers the following:
-­‐ The virtualization hosts (both VMware ESX® 4 and VMware ESXi™ 4)
-­‐ Configuration of the virtual machine container (NOT hardening of the
guest operating system (OS) or any applications running within)
-­‐ Configuration of the virtual networking infrastructure, including the
management and storage networks as well as the virtual switch
(but NOT security of the virtual machine’s network)
-­‐ VMware vCenter™ Server, its database and client components
-­‐ VMware Update Manager (included because the regular update and
patching of the ESX/ESXi hosts and the virtual machine containers are
essential to maintaining the security of the environment)
The following are specifically out of scope and are NOT covered:
-­‐ Security of the software running inside the virtual machine, such as OS
and applications, and the traffic traveling through the virtual machine
networks
-­‐ Security of any other add-on products, such as SRM
-­‐ Detailed operational procedures related to maintaining security, such as
event monitoring, auditing and privilege management. Guidance is
provided on general areas in which to perform these important tasks, but
details on exactly how to perform them are out of scope.

Pentadactyl
This is cool and very well implemented, I like the concept and find myself leaning towards VIM moreso than emacs which if I remember correctly has a browser built in LOL... If you have trouble remembering commands or keyboard shortcuts, you can bring up this help page at any time by typing :help or . If you find that you don't like Pentadactyl at all, you can disable it by typing :extdisable Pentadactyl or delete it entirely by typing :extdelete Pentadactyl

Pentadactyl is a free browser add-on for Firefox, designed to make browsing more efficient and especially more keyboard accessible. Largely inspired by the Vim text editor, the appearance and finger feel of Pentadactyl should be familiar to Vim users. Additional web-specific features, such as our ‘Hint’ mode, command interface, and key bindings to automatically follow back and forward links, make it easy to navigate without touching the mouse and give Pentadactyl a habit forming nature of its own.

If you've been interested in the sensor data coming out of the Apple mobile platforms, I have great news, the

Apple iPod Touch 4th Generation model has these specs:

Sensors

• Three-axis gyro


• Accelerometer


• Ambient light sensor

I found this guide informative, easy checklist to go through!

Hardening Tips for the Default Installation of Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"

This is a very awesome java app. You can synchronize your Lotus Notes Calendar to your Google Calendar site!

Lotus Notes Calendar Sync to Google

It's difficult to access your IBM Lotus Notes calendar from outside Lotus Notes. Google has great interfaces to access its calendar, so why not use Google as a bridge to Lotus Notes? On top of that, why not keep it simple? Set and forget!

How do I get started developing an app for the Apple iPad?
It is simple easy to start-you apply to the developer program and with a $99 subscription per year you get access to the full SDK and a developer key to synchonize your apps to a iPad and you also get the iPad simulator so you can test and develope your app without the hardware!

So how much does it cost to get started?
Well if you have a keyboard, mouse and a monitor all you need is an Apple Mac Mini to begin your development work. The Mac Mini is the computer you will install the SDK on and with a DVi monitor you will have a full desktop experience.

So here's your shopping list:
Mac Mini

Mini-DVI adapter cable so you can use your DVI monitor:

If you have a VGA monitor you need this adapter:

And Finally sign up for the developer program on apple's website:
Start Developing Your iPad Apps

And if this all seems like TOO much just to get your feet wet in the scene, check out the open source framework:
PhoneGap which is an open source development tool for building fast, easy mobile apps with JavaScript. The site includes a simulator written in Adobe AIR!

Head First iPhone Development

Developing Hybrid Applications for the iPhone

iPhone Advanced Projects

I am deploying some test guest OS on my ESX platform and want to use the FULL 10GIG of bandwidth I can support on the NIC. I discovered that the client install ISO doesn't recognize the NIC but that I can configure it post-install!

Right click the guest virtual machine in vSphere Client, and slect GUEST menu and then Install/Upgrade VMware Tools, this will mount the iso to the /dev/cdrom next:

sudo mount /dev/cdrom /media/cdrom
cd /tmp
tar zxf /media/cdrom/VM*
cd vm*
sudo ./vmware-install.pl

I accepted the defaults...

test with:

sudo ifconfig -a
should see eth0

cd /etc/network
sudo vim interfaces

add these lines:

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

I purchased this dj mixing deck recently - I am testing it on windows xp currently.
I have found a couple gotchas, the buttons on the unit can be programed, and in the torq 1.5 software you can in the preferences set custom MIDI events for specific actions. So...

If you monkey with the LEARN button in the preferences, you will change some defaults. If you do this and a button stops working, just go into your APPLICATION data folder under your profile and delete the config files that TORG creates. They will be recreated with defaults and your back up and running.

This unit is VERY responsive, I am running on a AMD platform 4200+ processor and like the software so far. I have it plugged into a USB 2.0 Full Speed port, but will try moving it to a Hi-Speed port to see if the latency can be reduced even more.

I can mix MP3's, and also Apple Audio Lossless format files which compress a CD track to about half size. This is incredibly powerful since you can carry so many tunes on a hard drive.

There are a number of training options available I liked these youtube videos:

M-Audio Torq Lesson 01 Setup (Part 1 of 2)

M-Audio Torq Lesson 01 Setup (Part 2 of 2)

M-Audio Torq Lesson 02 The Browser (Part 1 of 2)

Torq with Xponent (M-Audio) with Steve Nalepa is a DVD course you can check out as well!

A good set of headphones are a MUST especially if you are in the club!
the Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone is a quality item!

or the Sony MDR-V700DJ DJ-Style Monitor Series Headphones

you might need an adapter:

I want a hard case, but for now this will do just fine:

This case has a laptop stand!

The ESXi platform does support the Intel 10 Gigabit adapter. I found drivers in an ISO on the VMWare site:

VMware ESX/ESXi 4.0 Driver CD for Intel 82598 and 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controllers

Driver CD for VMware ESX/ESXi 4.0

Driver version: 2.0.44.14.4 | 2009-12-17 | Build: 215251
Filename: vmware-esx-drivers-net-ixgbe_400.2.0.44.14.4-1.0.4.164009.215251.iso
Md5sum: cb86c8f01cbf5969d0ac259c5348aed3
Sha1sum: b8376e52a833656b18e0a7bc9ccd51569188527b

I already have SSH access to the baremetal on the ESXi server: I downloaded the ISO and with 7zip could navigate and so I extracted the offline-bundle and INT-intel-lad-ddk-ixgbe-400.2.0.44.14.4-1.0.4.164009-offline_bun.zip was what I needed! Putting that on a web server on my network was super easy.

The command is from the SSH or TECHNICAL support console.

# esxupdate --bundle=http://web.server/INT-intel-lad-ddk-ixgbe-400.2.0.44.14.4-1.0.4.164009-offline_bun.zip update

Note the trailing update command!

# esxupdate --bundle=http://10.83.240.157/pdf/INT-intel-lad- ddk-ixgbe-400.2.0.44.14.4-1.0.4.164009-offline_bun.zip update
INT-intel-lad-ddk-ixgbe-400.2.. ######################################## [100%]

Here's a good buy on one:


~ # lspci -v
01:00.00 Ethernet controller Network controller: Intel Corporation 82598EB 10 Gigabit AT2 Server Adapter [vmnic1]
Class 0200: 8086:150b

I use a cordless telephone headset for a POTS line during the day. It is convenient the sound is actually quite good and it has worked well for almost two years.

Today the headset would not hold a charge so I opened it up the part is serviceable, and Part No. 65358-01 is carried by amazon:

The newest model is a CS70

Prediction for Apple's forthcoming product.

I am privy to no inside info nor do I have contacts that have this information. What I intend to discuss today is the design and ecosystem for Apple's next product introduction.

In retrospect, the iPhone was a brilliant compromise of form and function with technical limitations, but what has cemented its lasting power is the vibrant application store and the developers that support the platform with nifty, innovatiove or just plain obvious functionality.

A new device would have to have a similar design methodology and ideally be supported by such an ecosystem.

I believe the next logical market for the iPod generation is college and the teens who grew up with iPods will be used to consuming media and information in a format as mediated by the iTunes store.

Analysts See iPod Market Share Gains Among Teens

Piper Jaffray analysts Gene Munster and Michael Olson on Wednesday released the results of their tenth bi-annual teen survey, which showed gains in iPod market share from the spring numbers. Specifically, 74% of the teens who possess an MP3 player said they own some type of iPod[...]

Based on this assumption and the fact that the RESALE market for textbooks allows most students to recoup some of the money spent on textbooks albeit at the expense to the publisher of a lost sale; I believe that Steve Jobs and Apple have negotiated hefty discounts from the publishers on content sold electronically based on the assumption that each student will buy a book and it will not be resellable.

That in itself would be enough to have a winning product, an ebook that eliminates the stack of books required for an education.

The game changer will be, a general purpose computing platform, most likely NOT x86 compatible and a partnership with a VoIP provider such as Skype to allow unlimited domestic calls and sms.

By teaming three such important features, books, applications for any area of education and the always on VoIP and SMS functionality they would have an obvious winner.

I predict that the icing on the cake will be that it will have full media support for itunes songs and movie downloads.

Although a student may need a laptop for some content creation, for class, for notes for reading and studying and for communicating with peers I think the niche that Apple serves with a new tablet will be a real game winner for Apple and establish Apple as the preeminent educational brand.