Avoid allocation of bad ram blocks

"Recently I had problems with a bad ram module. This trick allows you to mark blocks as bad, so they are never used and you dont't have to deposit your memory in the trash, just because a few kb are faulty."

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OpenBSD: New Hardware Platform

Folks following source-changes@ may have noticed already: OpenBSD gained support for a new hardware platform. A little over two weeks ago I got myself a Thecus N1200. This is a little single-dist NAS box, that sets itself apart from most other devices in the market in that it has lots of extension possibilities. It has 128MB of RAM, a gigabit Ethernet port, an integrated 4-port fast Ethernet switch, two USB ports, an e-SATA port and a mini-PCI slot. My board already had a header for the serial port, so it's not necessary to solder one on yourself. Unlike the Thecus N2100 (which is ARM-based and supported by OpenBSD/armish), this little box is built around the Freescale MPC8347 System-on-Chip [SoC] platform, and has an e300 PowerPC core. So after a few days of hacking, OpenBSD/socppc was born.

Permanent Denial-of-Service Attack Sabotages Hardware

Researcher to demonstrate a permanent denial-of-service (PDOS) attack that remotely wipes out hardware via flash firmware updates.

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Checking Hard Disk Sanity With Smartmontools

This guide shows how to install and use the smartmontools package on Debian Etch and Ubuntu 7.10. The smartmontools package provides utilities to check hard disks for disk degradation and failure, using the Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology System (SMART) built into most modern ATA and SCSI hard disks.

'Hybrid' HDD Technology To Allow Data Access Without Booting

You've got a file on your laptop that you need to access — but you don't want to wait for your laptop to boot up to get at it. New technology from the company Silicon Storage Technology will make the contents of a hard drive accessible via a computer's USB port even when the computer is powered down.

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Setting up a Soekris 5501 with OpenBSD 4.2

I recently purchased a new Soekris net5501 to replace my beige box firewall. I had previously set up a net4501 but I wasn't happy with it and sold it to a friend. Large file transfers would grind it to a halt and the performance wasn't as good as my beige box. The net5501 has increased horsepower (faster processor, more memory) and a better network chipset (vr(4)). And, most of all, because there are 4 network ports! At my house I have 3 network + my FiOS connection. I have my internal LAN (wired with full access to everything), my wireless network (requires authentication and has limited access to the LAN) and my DMZ (for my web server; no access to the LAN or wireless networks).

For my installation, I use Yaifo so I don't have to deal with a serial console or setting up pxeboot. (I actually did hook up a serial console to update the bios, which I'll discuss later). Also, I use a custom rc and a flashdist-like system so I can mount my CF read-only. My "fdlite" script doesn't rely on a customized install like flashdist. It does use some of the device modifications Chris uses to make the read-only / work properly, though.

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USB 3 in 2008, 10 Times as Fast

"Intel and others plan to release a new version of the ubiquitous Universal Serial Bus technology in the first half of 2008, a revamp the chipmaker said will make data transfer rates more than 10 times as fast by adding fiber-optic links alongside the traditional copper wires."

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What Kind of Memory Does My Computer Have Installed?

If you are looking to upgrade the memory in your computer, you are probably wondering how many open slots you have, what type of memory is already installed, and what you need to buy for an upgrade… without having to open your computer.

Since you shouldn't have to open up the computer just to figure out what you have installed, here's a couple of options for detecting the type of memory already installed in your system.

Netgear KWGR614: el router wireless Open Source

El router wireless KWGR614 muestra del compromiso de Netgear con la comunidad de Software Libre: está diseñado para que desarrolladores y aficionados a la programación en Linux puedan modificar las características internas y personalizar el router a su gusto. Por ejemplo, podrán crear un interfaz de consola, desarrollar aplicaciones o añadir parámetros y crear nuevas funciones para ellos.

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Compact x86 box targets custom routers

A startup hopes to challenge Soekris and PC Engines, among others, in the market for compact, customizable computing platforms for networking devices. HeroLogic's first system, the HL-463, is based on a 333MHz AMD GX466 processor, and lets users choose from several supported software options, including Linux.

HeroLogic cofounder and CTO Tony Fader, who previously spent a year at Soekris, explained, "Lots of its products are EOLed [end-of-lifed], and Soekris doesn't do any software support. [HeroLogic] can pre-install, say, BSD on 100 units and deliver them in two days."

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Is my hardware Linux-compatible?

Deciding whether a particular computer is a good candidate for installing GNU/Linux can involve a nightmare of details about hardware compatibility. Nor is assembling a custom computer on which to run GNU/Linux any easier. In both cases, you need to evaluate video cards, sound cards, printers, scanners, digital camera, wireless cards, and mobile devices for compatibility with the operating system. Fortunately, help is available.