FreeBSD 6.3-RC2 Available

Sorry for the delay with this phase of the 6.3 release. A few glitches were found during testing of the 6.3-RC2 ISOs that included pre-built packages.

The 6.3-RC2 builds for amd64 and i386 should now be available on the majority of the FreeBSD mirror sites. I just finished loading the sparc64 build so that will take a little while to propagate to the mirrors. This is the last planned RC for 6.3. Unless a major show-stopper problem is found the release of 6.3 should happen in about two weeks.

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FreeBSD 7.0-RC1 Available

Sorry for the delay with this next phase of the release process. The ports team has gotten the release package sets built for most of the architectures (sparc64 is still a long way off) so we have begun including the pre-built packages on the ISOs. Even a very basic post-build test turned up one latent bug in sysinstall, and once that was fixed a more extensive test (load both kde and gnome) turned up two more latent bugs. Releases are the only time sysinstall/package stuff ever gets tested so ...

Flashboot 4.2 released

"Flashboot is a system built by Damien Miller and others as an adaptation of OpenBSD that's more suited for small flash-based hardware. For most applications you don't have to compile it on you own, you just put the binary release on a flashcard and you're set (somewhat simplified)."

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C# 3.0 Features

The C# language is getting more good looking than ever before. C# 3.0 is simple the definition of beauty. The new C# compiler is doing a lot of work for us so let us see how we can use it start using these beautiful features.

Debian GNU/Linux Etch 4.0 Updated

"The Debian project is pleased to announce the second update of its stable distribution Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (codename etch). This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along with a few adjustment to serious problems."

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Iptables 1.4.0 Released

The netfilter core team has released iptables-1.4.0. This is the first final release of the new iptables branch 1.4.

How To Masquerade On Linux (Internet Connection Sharing)

It's very simple to masquerade (internet connection sharing in Windows language ) on Linux with a few lines of iptables and ip_forward commands.

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Configuring SendMail To Act As A SmartHost & To Rewrite From-Address

This tutorial explains how to configure a sendmail server to forward all mails generated from localhost to another SMTP server for sending mails to remote recipients. Also it explains how to rewrite the from address of user@localhost.localdomain to user@example.com.

RELENG_7_0 created

In preparation for 7.0-RC1 the release branch, RELENG_7_0, has been created.

NetBSD 4: A Force to Be Reckoned With?

NetBSD 4 is finally out, boasting a long list of feature and speed improvements in the open source operating system. The NetBSD 4.0 comes nearly two years after NetBSD 3.0 was released. As with earlier versions, NetBSD 4 continues to competitively position its BSD variant against its BSD, Linux and Unix peers.

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Security Researcher Promotes Concept of 'Safe' and 'Promiscuous' Web Browsers

But Jeremiah Grossman, CTO at Whitehat Security and one of the country’s most prominent application security researchers, has a workaround he uses to protect himself online. It involves having two browsers: One, which he calls the “promiscuous” browser, is the one he uses for ordinary browsing. A second browser is used only for security-critical tasks such as online banking. When Grossman wants to do online banking, he closes his promiscous browser, opens the more prudish one, and does only what he has to do before closing it and going back to his insecure browser.

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The crossover LAN

You have probably heard that a two-node LAN can be configured by stringing a crossover cable between the network ports on two systems. Not only is this true, but it's not all that hard to do provided you have a few tools, a length of CAT 5 cable and a couple RJ45 connectors. Using a crossover cable has one decided advantage over a traditional network hookup -- it avoids the requirement that a hub be used to connect the two systems, saving both money and rack space.

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Using a guardian to ensure your lamp site is always up

"to guarantee maximum uptime for your site, it's a good idea to periodically check the health of your system and restart failing components. you can use a simple program to do this automatically. i like to call this type of program, a "guardian"."

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NetBSD 4.0 Released

The NetBSD Project is pleased to announce that release 4.0 of the NetBSD operating system is now available. NetBSD is a free, secure, and highly portable Unix-like Open Source operating system available for many platforms, from 64-bit Opteron machines and desktop systems to handheld and embedded devices. Its clean design and advanced features make it excellent in both production and research environments, and it is user-supported with complete source. Many applications are easily available through pkgsrc, the NetBSD Packages Collection.

Perl 5.10.0 is now available

Perl 5.10.0 is now out, the first in the 5.10.x major version series, after a five year long development process. It's currently being mirrored on CPAN.

The FreeBSD Foundation Semi-Annual Newsletter Announcement

Dear FreeBSD Community,

I am pleased to announce the publication of The FreeBSD Foundation's
Semi-Annual Newsletter. Go to
http://www.freebsdfoundation.org/press/2007Dec-newsletter.shtml
to find out what we've been doing to help the FreeBSD project and community.

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PC-BSD

PC-BSD is based on FreeBSD. It is an easy to use solution which saves time and energy. Think of PC-BSD as a port. Someone made a port for FreeBSD, KDE, mail, IRC, office suite, and scores of other applications. If you want FreeBSD and lots of extras, it is available as a nice little package in the form of PC-BSD. They've figured out all the dependencies, twists, and turns, and packaged it all up for you in one easy ISO. Well, two ISO actually, but you get my point. But it's not a port. Included is a fantastic installer. Time to upgrade? PC-BSD will download the upgrade and install it for you.

It all just works.

You might call PC-BSD a distro of FreeBSD. I call it a big time saver. Plus, it solved a couple of problems for me and allowed me to get on to solving bigger and more important problems.

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IMAP - getting Dovecot running

If you're reading this, you use email. You probably have more than one email address. I do. I have many. I run 13 domains, plus some more for friends off my two mail servers. If you're like me, you use POP to download your mail to your computer and read it there. POP works best when you use just one computer.

In this article, I will show you how I installed Dovecot and configured it so I could securely get my email. This involves setting up the certificates and configuring Dovecot.

PC-BSD Version 1.4 to be carried in all Micro Center stores

iXsystems announced today a distribution agreement with Micro Center, a leading edge provider of computer products, whereby all Micro Center stores nationwide will carry PC-BSD Version 1.4, Da Vinci Edition. The agreement marks the first time that the PC-BSD operating system is made available for purchase at Micro Center.

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Access Linux Files from Windows with Linux Reader

Dual-booters have long been able to get at their Windows-formatted files, but Windows certainly doesn't make it easy to go the other way 'round. Enter Linux Reader, a free Windows application that emulates the look and feel of the Windows XP Explorer and allows read-only access to ext2 and ext3-formatted drives, the most common formats for Linux installations.

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Choosing Optimal MySQL Data Types

It is too often that web developers use the wrong data types in their databases. I have compiled a list of tips to make sure you choose the optimal MySQL Data Types.

My Top 5 Favorite New C# 3.0/.NET 3.5 Framework Features

Partial Methods, Automatic Properties, Extension Methods, Object Initializers and System.TimeZoneInfo Class.

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Vista SP1 Release Candidate Available

Informationweek points out white papers telling business users that if they were waiting for SP1 to solve application compatibility issues, they needn't bother waiting: SP1 won't solve them, and in fact might cause applications to break that were running under Vista.

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FreeBSD with MySQL 6.0

I have been wanting to run MySQL 6.0 on my FreeBSD System, since I read about the new Falcon engine to see how well it works on FreeBSD when compared to other Systems. I will be running benchmark testing in the next few days so say tuned. For now I'm going to explain how I setup MySQL 6.0 on FreeBSD.

Mono 1.2.6 released, supports Silverlight 1.1 development

The Mono development team has announced the official release of Mono 1.2.6, the latest version of Novell's open source .NET implementation. Mono 1.2.6 includes numerous improvements to both the Mono runtime engine and development components.

Top 15 Things to love about Visual Studio 2008 Express

"My top 15 things to love about Visual Studio Express."

Using a Bluetooth phone with Linux

My old mobile phone, which was held together with duct tape for the last few months of its sad existence, has finally been replaced with something more modern. I wanted to pick up a programmable, Linux-based phone like the RAZR2V8 or the FIC Neo1973, but I'm unfortunately a Verizon customer, which means that my options are currently very, very limited—at least until Verizon follows through with its open network plans. I ended up grabbing a vx8550, which is Verizon's rebranded (and, of course, crippled) LG Chocolate. This is the first phone I have ever owned that actually has Bluetooth support, so I spent some time yesterday learning how to use Bluetooth on Linux. This is a short overview of what I discovered.

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Local company develops FreeBSD-based radars

Being freely available, easy to develop for, secure, and stable made FreeBSD the operating system of choice for Adelaide company Genesis Software’s radar systems which are now being exported around the world.

Genesis software and network engineer Daniel O’Connor said FreeBSD was the best choice when research and development on the radars began eight years ago.

“Some systems rely on modem access for connectivity and FreeBSD allows us to log in remotely,” O’Connor said. “It’s very stable and we’ve had boxes up for more than two years. It’s free so you can experiment with it and it’s easy to develop for. We’ve used FreeBSD from the beginning since about 1996 and it has served us well.”

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Cadenas de conexion desde .NET para SQL Server 2005

"si es que estamos usando SQLExpress, y estamos creando una aplicación .NET para el acceso a datos, hay que tener algunas consideraciones adicionales a la hora de conectarnos a la base de datos."

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Validacion de datos en ASP.NET y algo más...

Interesante artículo que expone algunos de los controles para validar ingreso de datos por parte de un usuario. Además sirve de guía para agregar nuevas expresiones regulares a través del repositorio regexlib.com.

KDE 4 'consumes 39% less memory than its predecessor'

"... showing exactly how the RAM consumption of comparable KDE4 and KDE3 sessions measure up. The result is a mindblowing 39% smaller memory footprint in KDE 4. This just goes to show, that it's worth making large-scale changes to your desktop environment to get the fruit hanging on the higher branches. Wait for the mini- and micro-optimisations"

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Google SketchUp 6 on Linux and FreeBSD with Wine

This should work in both Linux and FreeBSD, though I've only tested this on FreeBSD...

FreeBSD 7 Footshooters

This page will contain a list of (relatively) small annoyances and issues present in FreeBSD 7 (and possibly earlier versions), with the purpose of forewarning and helping others that have stumbled on the same problems as I have. These are nothing special and some of them may be documented elsewhere.

NetBSD 4.0 RC5 available for download

The fifth release candidate for NetBSD 4.0 has been released.

FreeBSD 7.0-BETA4 Available

The 7.0-BETA4 builds are now available. If you would like to download an ISO image to install from they are available here:

ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/releases//ISO-IMAGES/7.0/

If you would like to use cvsup to update an older machine the branch tag to use is still RELENG_7.

For users of FreeBSD Update due to some last-minute bumps in system libraries, installed third-party applications must be recompiled as per normal for a "major" upgrade, even if upgrading from an earlier 7.0 BETA.

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LINQ's relationship to the new C#3 and VB9 features

The Language Integrated Query (LINQ) is the headline feature of the Visual Studio 2008 release. Most of LINQ is based on the new C#3 and VB9 language features. In this video, I demonstrate the association between the compiler features and LINQ.

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Six CHM viewers for Linux

Even if you work only in Linux, you'll likely have to use Microsoft Compiled HTML Help (CHM) files at one time or another. Several open source projects use this common format, including Apache, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Python, and PHP.

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Questionable Data Mining Concerns IRC Community

Two days ago an article on TechCrunch about IRSeeK revealed to the community that a service logs conversations of public IRC channels and put them into a public searchable database. What is especially shocking for the community is that the logging bots are very hard to identify. They have human-like nicks, connect via anonymous Tor nodes and authenticate as mIRC clients. IRSeeK never asked for permission and violates the privacy terms of networks and users.

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procstat(1) committed to CVS HEAD

Dear all, (and FYI to hackers@ where I previousl sought feedback):

I've now committed procstat(1) to CVS. I've found it to be quite a helpful debugging tool, am particularly pleased with -k/-kk, and would welcome feedback and ideas on further improving it.

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Developing a grid application with open source tools

Using open source tools for developing grid applications opens up a wealth of possibilities. The first is a very rapid development process, especially if you take advantage of script languages like Perl or Python and deployment environments like Apache. There is also a wealth of examples available that can help you. Examine the advantages and disadvantages of developing a grid solution using open source technology.

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Firefox 2.0.0.11 Released

Release Notes.