New server(s)

We are getting Hughes net Friday and I can't get either of my desktops to work.  They are quite dated at this point anyway but still have some good spare parts.  I want to build a new server or possibly two.

Things that will influence the build:
-Since it is Hughes net, there are restrictions on amount of data transferred
-To reduce ram usage on the server, run level 3
- Probably want i7 core with 12-16G ram
- I think I have hard drives large Enuf already
- will need two nics to setup as firewall
- I am limitted on space somewhat so I may not be able to setup 3 or 4 servers but I wud kinda like to.
- Also plan on using vonage so I need to make sure it can be configured for proxy

Network services server:
The services I had in mind are: dhcp, DNS, ldap,  firewall, proxy, package report, bandwidth monitoring, web service, log server, and anything else needed.
I was thinking of running Centos 6 but I wud like to use lmde since that is what my laptop and netbook run.  It is just not ootb to setup lmde with lvm.
Also considered clearos but from the floss weekly episode it sounded like it was all run level 5.
If I had more room I might do a cheaper build for just a clearos server and have a separate internal network services server.

Other server possibilities:
I'd like to have a NAS box of some sort as well with maybe a raid controller (for speed).  Or just some large and fast disks in a redundant raid for some reliability.
I'd also like to setup a pvr machine.  Maybe use mythbuntu and set it up for ripping DVDs to stream to other devices.  Great for movies in bed on a laptop.  Cud even get a TV and put a small PC with it that cud stream.  The main pvr cud have a volume on the NAS.

Also need to know if there is a good way of handling Xbox traffic.  Does a 360 support proxy?

Proxy problem with JoliOS (jolicloud)

This is the bug I filed (4536) with Jolicloud but haven't gotten any response. I suppose I should see if I can fix it myself :)

This is a clean install of 1.2
I have searched the knowledge base for proxy and got zero hits.

I have tried to get jolicloud to work several ways with proxy and none of
them seem to work.
The result is always that I cannot connect to my.jolicloud.com

I have tried setting proxy in the chromium browser GUI.
Also the "use same for all" button doesn't seem to work.
I say apply system wide and click close.
Immediately I try to open the proxy settings again and they have been
reverted.

I have tried editing /etc/nickel-browser/default to each of the following:
CHROMIUM_FLAGS="--proxy-server=my.proxy.server.com:port"
CHROMIUM_FLAGS="--proxy-server=http://my.proxy.server.com:port"
CHROMIUM_FLAGS="--proxy-auto-detect"
After each, I restarted X.

Is there something else I can try?

Unfortunately, jolicloud will not be very useful for me unless I can use it
behind a proxy.

How to setup rsh (even though you should be using ssh)

Let me start out by saying, I do not advocate rsh as it is insecure, however; I will post this nonetheless to help those in dire straights.

Also, I don't guarantee this will work for you but it did for me. If this breaks your setup, I will not be held responsible. Look before you leap :)

1. Install these packages (either yum, apt-get, or rpm):
   

   xinetd
   rsh
   rsh-server



2. Now run this:
   

   echo "rsh" >> /etc/securetty
   echo "rlogin" >> /etc/securetty



3. In /etc/xinetd.d/rsh and /etc/xinetd.d/rlogin, change:
   

   disable = yes

   to
   

   disable = no



4. Add promiscuous to line in /etc/pam.d/rsh and /etc/pam.d/rlogin like so:
   

   auth       required     pam_rhosts_auth.so promiscuous



5. Start the daemon:
   

   /etc/init.d/xinetd.d start



6. For a passwordless login setup, add the target hosts name in the following file on the source host:
   

   /root/.rhosts

2011 house projects

Here are some things we have done at the cabin this yr.

Joli OS 1.2 first impressions

In brief, I like it but there are some issues and enhancements that would be very nice...
I have been wanting a "mobile" OS to run on my netbook (Asus T101-MT) for about 4 mos now.

Personal adventure which lead to Joli OS:
I really like the concept of this OS. I tried chromium OS about 1.5 yrs ago in its infancy and I thought it was ok but this gives some wrapper around what that was at the time. I haven't tried chromium OS since then so it may be better now. I also tried meego (before nokia went suicidal) and it had too little useable content for my needs. I tried using Ubuntu 10.04 netbook remix and I actually liked it a little for this except that Unity didn't really seemed to be designed with multi-touch or even touchscreen for that matter. The application buttons on the left expected a more continual mouse movement instead of jumping. Therefore, I found myself having to drag my finger across them to get to the application i needed instead of just touching. I ended up installing ubuntu 10.04 with all the t101-mt fixins prescribed on ubuntu's website and it worked well enough. Had to make a panel icon for inverting the screen though since this doesn't have an accelerometer. I was ok with that until I ended up updating to 11.04 recently and the same issue plagues unity. It really doesn't seem like it came very far from what it was. I also tried installing android x86 but it didn't end up installing at all. Didn't investigate too much though.

What is good about it?

Stable - It has not crashed on me yet and it seems to be resilient against my attempts to do stupid things

Web Apps - Despite its infancy, it has may applications (even if a good portion of them are just links) I won't declare web apps to be the future but I think they are a good change of pace and will have their place. You can also create your own web-apps (http links).

Social media - Beyond the identi.ca, twitter, and facebook apps, you can "follow" other joli users. That is, you can see what apps they have favorited.

What could be improved?

terminal - Don't mistake the google terminal for terminal. You have to press alt+F1 (or was it F2) to get a real terminal . I found this trying to switch to a virtual terminal. There is only one virtual terminal I found and it is alt+ctrl+F2. alt+ctrl+F1 is the X session instead of 7.

connections - while it shows a few, there could be many more on here. I have added probably 10 account types and only 3 show up.

application grouping / ordering / folders - there is the little field at the top you can type in for launching applications but I would like a more customizable interface. This is too iphone-esque to me. I have the same complaint about android "applications" application. Something like androids "Super App Manager" would be nicer.

notifications - are there any? Should be able to customize them for gmail, facebook, etc. I am trying to avoid using chromium web-apps for the time being as long as I can find it for joli OS as that just seems to defeat the purpose to me.

Stuff that is just broken:

proxy - I have filed a support ticket with jolicloud for this.

virtual keyboard - just gotta have this nowadays. Especially if you expect to see this on tablets ever.

I just hope someone actually reads this. :)

Emerald Isle

Candi, Affinity, Avalanche, and I are at the beach for the next week! It is a nice place here. Our anniversary is 1 week from today. My wife is so good to me. I am laying here in bed listening to Avalanche snore. He is too funny. Candi downloaded some Zen music on her phone and it is looping as I type. She is long since been asleep now. I am writing this long-time-coming update from my new installation of Joli OS 1.2.

The beach here is so nice. Not touristy at all. There is probable 5 acres of sandy beaches in front of us here and it is white sands, peaceful waves, clear skies, pet friendly, and very little populated. The house we are renting is quaint. It kinda looks like a spaceship. I keep wanting to call it rotunda but it is called something else similar.

We ate at Rucker John's today for dinner and it was pretty good. The best looking place here is Chowdaheads though but we couldn't find it today based on Google's directions. We found it further down the road after we had already ordered food. We will eat there tomorrow as well as go get some ice cream somewhere.

I hope I get to sleep late in the morning :)