It has been a hectic week. I've been travelling since Tuesday and working away at the week's readings and other assignments for the Applied Tech course I'm taking. This week: networking. While sitting at the airport on Tuesday (there was a delay) I watched the Bob Metcalfe video and read through the lecture. In fact I also read the lecture again on Wednesday. The Metcalfe video was good first person account. There is nothing like hearing someone's story. It also gave me a better understanding of networking. There were other videos I needed to watch. They wouldn't play. I think my air-card connection was a little slow.
The lectures for this course are actually printed documents. It’s a format that works in distance learning. The lecture has a number of hyperlinks for added depth and understanding of what is being presented. I find them very helpful. I still have some reading for this week to do. The Linux Administrators Handbook reading is downloaded and ready. Tomorrow I leave Seattle and head north. My Internet connection disappears for a few days. I hope to get this done.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The Age of Machines
This week, command line to GUI plus I got to bring others along. The first task was to install Ubuntu Desktop onto Virtual Machine. The installation went well, without a hitch. My laptop, which is my primary machine, is able to support having both the server and desktop open at the same time. I guess the added memory, bringing the machine up to 2 Gigs was worth it. I think it's why I've had so few issues loading software.
The other software downloads went well. IceWM and Webmin both went in without a problem. There isn't much to say about IceWM, it’s a simple desktop, no bells, no whistles. I do like Webmin for adding users. My guess is that the other Webmin module will also make tasks easier. We will see! There was a small problem; I couldn't get Firefox to install into IceWM. The site couldn't be found. I ran update again and there it was. All is fine.
This week I found out how to add groups and users in UNIX. It was all very simple like making a cake from a mix, just follow directions. There was one point when adding someone from the desktop terminal where the new user was not in any groups. I forgot to check a box in the group. It was easily fixed.
An update on getting my "demo" machine, a second computer to use as a LAMP server, together. After some burps, I finally have a machine I can use for the project. It is a P-4 that I found on Craig's List. Originally I was going to use a P-II, which just wouldn't cut it. I then found a P-4 at a garage sale for what it costs for two to go to a movie in a big city. It needed to be reconfigured – rebuilt which was taking more time then I had hence the new computer. I've attempted to install Ubuntu desktop but had some problems. We'll see what the future holds.
The other software downloads went well. IceWM and Webmin both went in without a problem. There isn't much to say about IceWM, it’s a simple desktop, no bells, no whistles. I do like Webmin for adding users. My guess is that the other Webmin module will also make tasks easier. We will see! There was a small problem; I couldn't get Firefox to install into IceWM. The site couldn't be found. I ran update again and there it was. All is fine.
This week I found out how to add groups and users in UNIX. It was all very simple like making a cake from a mix, just follow directions. There was one point when adding someone from the desktop terminal where the new user was not in any groups. I forgot to check a box in the group. It was easily fixed.
An update on getting my "demo" machine, a second computer to use as a LAMP server, together. After some burps, I finally have a machine I can use for the project. It is a P-4 that I found on Craig's List. Originally I was going to use a P-II, which just wouldn't cut it. I then found a P-4 at a garage sale for what it costs for two to go to a movie in a big city. It needed to be reconfigured – rebuilt which was taking more time then I had hence the new computer. I've attempted to install Ubuntu desktop but had some problems. We'll see what the future holds.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
All Hands
It was a week of configuring and text editors. No spiffy interface here it was all from the prompt, working in the black. The first was VI. It had a great tutorial. I was able to go through it, do the exercises then create and save some files on my own. It is a modal program, you can be in either the command mode or the insert mode. It is easy to forget to set the mode. When it didn't work I knew why. The other text editor was a program named Nano. It was very simple to use. The control commands are given at the bottom. It was reminiscent of the first word processor I used, Word-Star.
I am getting deeper into it. I have been empowered with commands. It is easy to forget where I am. Type in $ pwd at the prompt and I know what directory I'm in. To find out what is in that directory I type $ ls. $ find is handy for locating a missing file. In VI I created a file saved it and the using $ cp with a new name, moved it ($ mv) and then removed it ($rm).
I tried to write my own little program, attempting to write a shortcut to close down the server using an alias line.alias shut='sudo shutdown -P nowIt didn't work for one of two reasons, I think. The command shut is not already a bash command and only bash commands work. My second theory is that you can't use sudo commands. I did try using the word shut as a "ls" command. There was no having that.Based on that I believe you need an existing command.
Well sudo shutdown!
I am getting deeper into it. I have been empowered with commands. It is easy to forget where I am. Type in $ pwd at the prompt and I know what directory I'm in. To find out what is in that directory I type $ ls. $ find is handy for locating a missing file. In VI I created a file saved it and the using $ cp with a new name, moved it ($ mv) and then removed it ($rm).
I tried to write my own little program, attempting to write a shortcut to close down the server using an alias line.alias shut='sudo shutdown -P nowIt didn't work for one of two reasons, I think. The command shut is not already a bash command and only bash commands work. My second theory is that you can't use sudo commands. I did try using the word shut as a "ls" command. There was no having that.Based on that I believe you need an existing command.
Well sudo shutdown!
Monday, June 9, 2008
A New Beginning
For years it's been Windows, Windows, Windows with some DOS and other terminal based programs thrown into the mix. Early on, there was a smattering of very simple UNIX programming, This week, I've started using the Linux distribution Ubuntu as part of the course work I'm doing in the DigIn program. The first task was to boot the operating system to my PC. This was going to be a live session that was resident in memory only. I backed up my hard drive anyway, just in case.
My primary computer is a Toshiba Satellite M-245 laptop. The first time I tried to start Ubuntu desktop using the bootable CD I made it failed and the resident Windows OS started up instead. It must be the device boot order. I restarted the machine and changed the boot order having the CD be first. Windows continued to open. I ran the disc in a desktop and Ubuntu opened up. In looking around, I found it very accessible and easy to navigate. It was what I expected a GUI interface that was attractive and usable. During that initial visit to Ubuntu, I also opened the terminal app and ran some commands to get a feel for the programming.
The variety of tutorials is beneficial to my learning style. I started with the Introduction to Linux videos and watched them straight through. It gave me an idea of what to expect. Next I worked with the "15 commands" http://endor.hsutx.edu/cmdintro.htm while sitting in front of the terminal just to see how each behaved. I also worked with 'Learning the Shell" (http://www.linuxcommand.org/learning_the_shell.php in the same way. I used the printed material as a guide book. Putting that away I "played in the black" as my friend calls working from a prompt. One problem was I couldn't get back to the prompt from manual until I discovered "q". Each had tutorial had merit because the basics were repeated but in a slightly different way.
While working in the Ubuntu live session the laptop was powered up using the battery. by the time I got back to the laptop it was off, its battery drained. I plugged in the power cord, put in the bootable disc for Ubuntu, the computer came on and booted to the splash screen for Ubuntu. It seems that the battery power was holding some information somewhere and when it drained it lost that information and was able to follow the chosen boot order. Last chance fix for a laptop, pull the battery for a few minutes.
My primary computer is a Toshiba Satellite M-245 laptop. The first time I tried to start Ubuntu desktop using the bootable CD I made it failed and the resident Windows OS started up instead. It must be the device boot order. I restarted the machine and changed the boot order having the CD be first. Windows continued to open. I ran the disc in a desktop and Ubuntu opened up. In looking around, I found it very accessible and easy to navigate. It was what I expected a GUI interface that was attractive and usable. During that initial visit to Ubuntu, I also opened the terminal app and ran some commands to get a feel for the programming.
The variety of tutorials is beneficial to my learning style. I started with the Introduction to Linux videos and watched them straight through. It gave me an idea of what to expect. Next I worked with the "15 commands" http://endor.hsutx.edu/cmdintro.htm while sitting in front of the terminal just to see how each behaved. I also worked with 'Learning the Shell" (http://www.linuxcommand.org/learning_the_shell.php in the same way. I used the printed material as a guide book. Putting that away I "played in the black" as my friend calls working from a prompt. One problem was I couldn't get back to the prompt from manual until I discovered "q". Each had tutorial had merit because the basics were repeated but in a slightly different way.
While working in the Ubuntu live session the laptop was powered up using the battery. by the time I got back to the laptop it was off, its battery drained. I plugged in the power cord, put in the bootable disc for Ubuntu, the computer came on and booted to the splash screen for Ubuntu. It seems that the battery power was holding some information somewhere and when it drained it lost that information and was able to follow the chosen boot order. Last chance fix for a laptop, pull the battery for a few minutes.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
We're Off!
I've enrolled in the Digital Information Certificate program at the University of Arizona. The first course of the program has started... This hand on course deals with networks and their servers as used in the digital information environment. We will each build a LAMP server. To begin, we are looking at LINUX, using the UBUNTU operating system. This is all new to me, having used various versions of Windows for the past fifteen years. The class was assigned to look at the "Absolute Beginner Talk" section of The Ubuntu Forums http://ubuntuforums.org/. It was a good place to start. A lot of information on how to download Ubuntu, use it, and one section I found particularly interesting was "Switching to Ubuntu from Windows". There were suggestions on how to try out Ubuntu within Windows environment. If you are planning to make the switch, a warning to back up your files before you start. Good advice! Most comforting, to me anyway, is the amount of software available and how much easier it was to install applications in the Ubuntu environment. The migration assistant in Ubuntu helps in transferring your Windows files and settings. Later there is a discussion of file management and compatibility with hardware. Some hardware issues do exist. All and all it sounds good doesn't it? I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
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