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Know it.

Love it.

I also am trying to learn Gnome/Linux ... I know my way inside out Windoze and DOS (including redirection, doskey, and other command line goodies that DOS stole from UNIX), but do not know how to do much of anything aside from basic GUI commands after a friend set everything up for me.

I have both "Running Linux" and "Linux in a Nutshell" from O'Reilly, but those don't help me as much as some graphical guide for a DOS/Windoze guru like myself.

Hate to burst your bubble, but the O'Reilly book "Learning Perl on Win32" was written by the founder of ActiveState.

As discussed in the book Cracking DES chips specifically made to handle the DES algorithm are much faster than Alpha or X86 chips at cracking (brute force) the DES code. I don't know if this method applies to DNA, but my guess is that it might.

Using a similar method as outlined in the book, I suspect that chips that are custom built to understand DNA and how it acts (or at least the inherant algorithms that will be used in studying DNA)are possible to build. Ironically, they probably will not be built until we understand genes and DNA better than we currently do. Once machines like this start to be built, how far off will we be from the machines described in Michael Chritons book Jurassic Park? Some scientists have purposed that it will take 100 years to understand the human genome (or other genomes) perhaps, but I think we are closer than that.

Given that you're posting around here, I'm guessing you have a Linux box handy. Here are some of my favorite sysadmin tools:

• dig - This is a more advanced tool for seeing what's going on with DNS.
• nmap - A great tool for probing your server to make sure you haven't left anything open.
• Apache Bench (ab) - This simple but effective benchmarking tool comes with the Apache server. It's great to see how your site will perform under load.
• wget - a tool for remotely getting web pages; it's very versatile -- you can even use to save a copy of your whole site, just in case.
• Ethereal - Having trouble figuring out what's going on between the browser and your server? This will capture all the packets and decode them into a nice conversation for you.
• vmstat - want to know why your server is slow? Get used to watching the vmstat numbers while it's fast, so you can see what's different when it's slow. It's raw numbers that are hard to interpret, but it's worth getting to know. Maybe this should be another Ask Slashdot question?
• Netsaint - this is my favorite automatic monitoring package. Once your site is in production, you can set this up to patrol things and make sure everything is working. That lets you get on with other stuff, knowing you'll hear about trouble pronto.
• MRTG - A tool that makes excellent long-term graphs of bandwidth use.
• IPtraf - Where MRTG gives you the broad overview, this gives you the second-by-second nitty gritty.
• perl - Last but most is Perl, a Swiss Army chainsaw of languages. If you'll be doing any web stuff, pick up a copy of Learning Perl and spend a little time with it. Once you learn the magic of regular expressions, you will never again say "that's impossible!" to a problem.

As far as non-sysadmin stuff goes, here are some of my other favorites:

• Bugzilla - this is a free and flexible bug tracking system. Highly recommended, especially for those people who don't think they need a bug tracking system. Our designers thought it was silly to start, but even they use it all the time now.
• CVS - Like bug tracking, most web sites don't think they need version control. Most web sites are wrong! CVSweb is also recommended.
• HTML Tidy - bad HTML in, good HTML out.
• WebTV Simulator - Sure, you and I don't use WebTVs, but a lot of people do. Browse your site with this to see how the other half surfs.
• VMWare - Along similar lines, VMWare is a Windows box emulator. I use it to keep a bunch of synthetic windows machines with a variety of OS versions and browser versions. It makes QA much easier.

And if there are particular tasks that have you stumped, come back and ask again. 'Round these parts, we have big toolboxes.

I looked at WinCE handhelds when I did my shopping (in '98). Their displays, while color, were hard to read (and also cluttered with Windows UI elements that didn't belong -- once you've crammed all the usual window trimmings onto a teensy screen, there's no room left to work on!). In contrast (pun intended), my Palm III's screen, although monochrome, is superbly sharp and clear. It also eats battery power at a fraction the rate of a color screen. To me, this is an appropriate compromise.

Geez, though, I thought. This WinCE machine comes with 8MB of RAM built in. How come the Palm only has 2? A quick trip to the WinCE PDA's system info panel made the reason clear: WinCE itself takes up the first few megs of this formerly vast-seeming space! In constrast, the Palm's use of memory is impressively efficient. Under PalmOS, 2MB goes a long way. I can easily go for a year without bothering to purge old datebook appointments, etc. and not run out of RAM. This despite the many games and other apps that I've downloaded to it, and a few AvantGo channels I keep around. The OS' design makes for very compact apps.

Another bonus: HotSync is a one-button operation, and almost never makes mistakes or requires further intervention on my part. This stands out in my mind as one of the best instances of smart software engineering I've had the pleasure to benefit from...

To conclude this rant: WinCE is an unwieldy hydra of feature-bloat designed to insure that we can experience the joys of Windows everywhere, even on our PDAs... PalmOS is an elegant piece of engineering, appropriate to its task. While it's probably good news that the PalmOS is continuing to be updated, let's not forget a hard-earned bit of folk wisdom: if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Most likely because they already have published a book on Apache.

So? They've published more than one book on Oracle, Photoshop, etc. In fact, they've even published another Apache book, so you can't claim that they've reached the Apache limit.

Most likely because they already have published a book on Apache. Check here.

Fawking Trolls!

Okay, it's not quite "a S&H charge to get a copy of the new book" but that's a rather unrealistic expectation anyway.

O'Reilly does have an Upgrade Policy.

30%

http://www.oreilly.com/order/upgrade.html

Anyone looking to use Perl for administration could do a lot worse than read Perl for System Administration.

I'm afraid I just don't see why there is such a flurry of discussion to the effect that OS-X will somehow "vitalize" the usage and understanding of the BSDs. From what I hear, MacOS-X represents a "pretty light" variation on BSD, combined with a horde of MacOS-oriented graphical tools.

As such, it decidedly won't come with the hordes of CLI and console tools you'd expect to see in the typical NetBSD / FreeBSD / OpenBSD installation.

I would think it a whole lot more economical, and likely more of a "Unix-oriented" learning experience, to head to CheapBytes and order CD sets for all three of the "free" BSD variations for IA-32, perhaps along with some of the O'Reilly BSD documentation. That'll cost a whole lot less than a G3 PowerMac, nay, that, including a wall-full of documentation, might well cost less than merely getting the MacOS-X license.

Online Book

Take a look at the O'Reilly website. They have a whole section of books on Lnix and several for learning several distributions of Linux.

I don't know what distro you are using but if you are willing to use Debian you might try this Yes with Debian the install is a little harder and you have to configure many things by hand but IMHO this is better for learning and since 2.2 no longer makes you deal with dselect I think it makes a reasonable choice for a class.

CGI Programming on the World Wide Web - 1st ed.

If you're more of a do-it-yourself-er, pick languages up easily, and want a more complete Perl reference, get the Camel book (Programming Perl).

If you just want some scripts to copy, look on the web or get the Perl Cookbook.

And if you want to learn advanced Perl stuff, and enjoy extreme pain and an awkward writing style, get Advanced Perl Programming.

I recommend the Llama book, but then, I'm biased. ^_~

If you're more of a do-it-yourself-er, pick languages up easily, and want a more complete Perl reference, get the Camel book (Programming Perl).

If you just want some scripts to copy, look on the web or get the Perl Cookbook.

And if you want to learn advanced Perl stuff, and enjoy extreme pain and an awkward writing style, get Advanced Perl Programming.

I recommend the Llama book, but then, I'm biased. ^_~

If you're more of a do-it-yourself-er, pick languages up easily, and want a more complete Perl reference, get the Camel book (Programming Perl).

If you just want some scripts to copy, look on the web or get the Perl Cookbook.

And if you want to learn advanced Perl stuff, and enjoy extreme pain and an awkward writing style, get Advanced Perl Programming.

I recommend the Llama book, but then, I'm biased. ^_~

If you're more of a do-it-yourself-er, pick languages up easily, and want a more complete Perl reference, get the Camel book (Programming Perl).

If you just want some scripts to copy, look on the web or get the Perl Cookbook.

And if you want to learn advanced Perl stuff, and enjoy extreme pain and an awkward writing style, get Advanced Perl Programming.

I recommend the Llama book, but then, I'm biased. ^_~

Like they say about Perl: it makes the easy things easy, and the hard things possible. The average SQL user could probably learn WebQL syntax, although regexes can be complicated. (I didn't realize how complicated until I read Mastering Regular Expressions.) On the other hand, writing a web crawler in Perl may be beyond his reach.

That said, it wouldn't take much work to cook up a little language like this to wrap a Perl web crawler. I certainly wouldn't pay $500 for this proprietary package.

See Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell by O'reilly & Ass.

Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government!

This is just my opinion, of course, but I think that most Unix people would agree that O'Reilly puts out the most informative and complete books. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part O'Reilly has the best reputation in the computer geek world.

This is just my opinion, of course, but I think that most Unix people would agree that O'Reilly puts out the most informative and complete books. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part O'Reilly has the best reputation in the computer geek world.

A news.com article reports that AOL will soon be mass distributing Netscape 6 on CDs in numerous magazines owned by Time-Warner. Great, the faster sooner users replace their Netscape 4.x installations, the better. Alas, I'll still have to cater to 4.x till 2002, but I look forward to dancing on 4.x's grave.

Did any of the compliance bugs named in Flanagan's petition to postpone the release get fixed before the final release?

Now it's official. Netscape.com has an announcement of the final release of 6.0. It's now available through their download page.

According to a news.com article , Netscape 6 will also be mass distributed AOL-style on CDs included in numerous magazines owned by Time-Warner.

ZDNet's story on the release refers to Flanagan's petition to postpone the release until standards compliance bugs were fixed.

cnet has already posted a review.

I would say that there are tons of conferences out there but generally speaking the SAGE conference is where you can network with some really cool people (and its in New Orleans ).

If you are into security then there is a MIS training institute that gives pretty good classes.

If you want free gizmos and gadgets then LinuxWorldExpo is hard to beat.

I've been to the orielly conference this year and that was pretty decent especially if its not your money. ( I got the hook up for 3 free books !!!! )

I would suggest if you go to any conferences and get a workshop or session or what ever people call them make sure to get "hands-on" (or the equivalent) type of class because it sticks with you a whole lot better.

--john

Look for your favorite O'Reilly animal and punch down the column.

You mean the weasel? Thanks a lot. That only leaves 1...2...3...all the candidates left

``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of ``free speech'', not ``free beer.'' The fact that it must be purchased is not ironic the fact that I could not buy a copy scan it in and post it on the net *is*. I think what O'Reilly does with books like the Debian book, the Samba book, and the net admin guide is a good comprimise OSS is not a very good model for writing a book but giving it away online can be. I read all three books online and then bought all but the Debian book. Just too much good stuff and I like the dead trees but I also like the fact that I knew what I was buying first. Read this to learn more

Understanding the Linux Kernel has been released by O'Reilly

I think the last version of Extreme Linux was (searches for his Extreme Linux CD) is based on RedHat Linux 5.0 - it's a little out of date now - code has moved on considerably.

For you I would like to recommend some reading:

Building Linux Clusters by David HM Spector published by O'Reilly, (hmmm site seems to be down, come back later, or check Google cached version)

This book comes with a CD together with clustering software. It also comes with step-by-step instructions. I believe, however, that there are some errata, which means that some hacking will need to be done to get your cluster online.
It also goes through some aspects of choosing hardware etc...

A more in-depth resource, without step-by-step instructions, but with in-depth discussions on granularity of Beowulf systems and whether they are actually good for the tasks you have in hand is:
How to Build a Beowulf, A guide to the implementation and application of PC Clusters by the MIT Press

Also check the The Beowulf Project Site and the The Beowulf Underground Site

Have fun!
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Spelling by m-w.com.

I haven't had a lot of time to study the UDDI spec, but I have been pondering the topic of Open Services for quite some time and my feeling is they will. I like the term Open Services, as Tim O'Reilly calls them, over Web services because this concept is applicable beyond HTML and just the Web.

I think the biggest hurdle at the moment for this concept, is the perception that Microsoft invented this concept (therefore there must be something sinister and evil behind it!) and its tied to just their technology which is just plain off.

The idea of open services where around before SOAP. I haven't done an in-depth genealogy of the concept, but I can tell you Dave Winer at Userland has been evangelizing it for a couple of year now. There is also Allaire's WDDX and in a looser sense RSS and ICE.

Microsoft did initiate the SOAP spec, but have put they have opened it up and submitted to the W3C. They incorporated IBM's feedback which garnered IBM whole-hearted support. IBM released their Java implementation on AlphaWorks and then donated the code to Apache. Even Sun conceded it was a good idea and gave as much of an endorsement as they could stomach for something Microsoft had initiated.

I would even argue that IBM is excelling beyond Microsoft. Well... at least in the developer community. They've yet to release anything commercially or articulated a product strategy that utilizes it. (Typical them.) Microsoft does seem to be betting quite a bit on SOAP/Open Services and going from there.

What I love about this concept (and why I think it will succeed) is that its fairly easy and straight forward to work with. It also is a more concrete way to get all of these different platforms that are deployed to talk to each other. It will just makes developing easier, better and smarter.

The way I read it, UDDI is just a progression in making solutions built on this concept more robust.

For all of those interested in this topic, here are some good background links on the topic that aren't so Microsoft-rah-rah.

• The Network Really Is The Computer
• XML: A Disruptive Technology
• AGENCY.CO M's Flexitecture Methodology
• Meerkat: An Open Wire Service
• XMethods: Web Service Listing
• SOAP::Lite (A lightweight SOAP server written in Perl)
• xml-rpc.com
• soap.weblogs.com
• Apache SOAP

If you ask Jon Udell, the web services are already here. The latest buzzword advances with XML, SOAP, XML-RPC, and friends are all just further refinement and evolution of the interface. Also, Udell's book, Practical Internet Groupware, talks extensively about adapting existing sites into web services. For example, a site like MetaCrawler demonstrates this in how it uses search engines' HTML "interface" to scoop up search results. Or, take the scripts that query news sites without the benefit of RDF or RSS, parsing HTML to scoop up and aggregate news headlines. These are all primitive web services.

And this is not to mention app servers such as Zope and Frontier, which are already built to offer web services natively. It just seems irresistable to use all of these simple building blocks to create neato keen distributed systems...

One place to read the debate is here.

The quote from Linus you are likely remembering is this:

True, linux is monolithic, and I agree that microkernels are nicer. With a less argumentative subject, I'd probably have agreed with most of what you said. From a theoretical (and aesthetical) standpoint linux looses. If the GNU kernel had been ready last spring, I'd not have bothered to even start my project: the fact is that it wasn't and still isn't. Linux wins heavily on points of being available now.

However, Linus had some other points as well, like multi-threaded filesystems on a microkernel being a hack:

>A multithreaded file system is only a performance hack.

Not true. It's a performance hack /on a microkernel/, but it's an automatic feature when you write a monolithic kernel - one area where microkernels don't work too well (as I pointed out in my personal mail to ast). When writing a unix the "obsolete" way, you automatically get a multithreaded kernel: every process does it's own job, and you don't have to make ugly things like message queues to make it work efficiently.

My perception is that Linus' view at the time of this exchange was that Microkernels have a theoretically superior design but monolithic kernels have a practically better design. I don't know if Linus' views on this has changed in the nine year interval since this debate.

have a day,

-l

Read the flame war for yourself.

I disagree. The point about how there is no simple way to add new features into the kernel is a crock:

When new OS functionality is required -- for example, support for some new networking protocol -- no framework exists in a monolithic-kernel-based OS for placing this functionality elsewhere, so it is simply added to the kernel.

I am not a kernel hacker, but according to Linus' essay in Open Sources , the kernel design is quite modular, thank you.

As a user of the kernel, I understand the use of modules and this seems to be a modular way to add features. AFAIK, the module feature of Linux is and interface.

Bottom line: how accurate is this article?

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life."

You're right: That would be really cool. I have been teaching myself Palm OS programming (using the O'Reilly book :) ), and I just might take this and run with it as a fun exercise. I will credit you in the source and the About screen if I do so. Thanks!

Vovida, OS VoIP
Beer recipe: free! #Source
Cold pints: $2 #Product

We (O'Reilly) already pay Larry to work on Perl full time.

-Jon

What would O'Reilly do with the dustpuppy (#5260) on the cover of Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell?
<O
( \
XPlay Tetris On Drugs!

• Instead of "O'Reilly and Associates" it's "O'Really and Associates".
• Instead of "Crutchfield" it's "Crotchfield".
• Circuit Shitty (kind lame, but still appropriate)
• And the IBM ;Crap tiva (in the tradition of the Tandy "Trash 80")

Heh.

Among other things, O'Reilly's excellent book on PGP has a few novel suggestions on MD5 digest exchange and other methods of ensuring your key's integrity.

Here are some good ways to make your public key trustworthy to others:

• Have your key signed by a number of other people, so that people using your key can check its integrity against other keys they use and trust.
• Send out your key's MD5 digest often, and over a wide variety of channels. You should distribute your key's MD5 digest atmost as widely as you distribute the key itself--remember, anybody can get your public key, but the best way they have to know that the key hasn't been subverted is to compare the key with its MD5 digest, or some other checksum of the key.
• Encourage people who use your public key to check it against your MD5 digest on a regular basis. If your key ring is subverted, all your keys can be replaced by Man-In-the-Middle variants. Manually checking the MD5 digests of the keys you use every once in a while is a good guard against this. In fact, there are a few nice tools out there which will do this for you.

When I first started reading HTML: The Definitive Guide (now in 4th edition), I was impressed by how a markup language which was designed to present academic papers could be so snazy. And then I looked at the source of many popular sites, and I bought CSS: The Definitive Guide .

I appreciate that /. allows some content tags (em, strong, div), but I want some more (cite, code, dl {for definition lists}). I feel kinda dirty using a physical style tag when I should be using a content tag, even if it is only a weblog.

Louis Wu

"Where do you want to go ...

When I first started reading HTML: The Definitive Guide (now in 4th edition), I was impressed by how a markup language which was designed to present academic papers could be so snazy. And then I looked at the source of many popular sites, and I bought CSS: The Definitive Guide .

I appreciate that /. allows some content tags (em, strong, div), but I want some more (cite, code, dl {for definition lists}). I feel kinda dirty using a physical style tag when I should be using a content tag, even if it is only a weblog.

Louis Wu

"Where do you want to go ...

On the installation/setup side, Samba on Linux isn't hard to use, but it is hard to learn. Once it's set up you forget about it until a new release of Windows comes along...

My response? Write books! See here for O'Reilly's approach to learning to serve Windows clients.

--dave (distinctly biased!) c-b

8) Information architecture - 'architect' your information before you design your site! Organize that information into the LOGICAL segments that your USERS WILL EXPECT (how do you know what they'll expect? Find out from them what they expect, dummy!) Once you've got your information organized, only THEN can you begin to design the site!

The blurb from the above web page:

Learn how to merge aesthetics and mechanics to design web sites that "work." This book shows how to apply principles of architecture and library science to design cohesive web sites and intranets that are easy to use, manage, and expand. Covers building complex sites, hierarchy design and organization, and techniques to make your site easier to search. For webmasters, designers, and administrators.

Some web sites "work" and some don't. Good web site consultants know that you can't just jump in and start writing HTML, the same way you can't build a house by just pouring a foundation and putting up some walls. You need to know who will be using the site, and what they'll be using it for. You need some idea of what you'd like to draw their attention to during their visit. Overall, you need a strong, cohesive vision for the site that makes it both distinctive and usable.

Information Architecture for the World Wide Web is about applying the principles of architecture and library science to web site design. Each web site is like a public building, available for tourists and regulars alike to breeze through at their leisure. The job of the architect is to set up the framework for the site to make it comfortable and inviting for people to visit, relax in, and perhaps even return to someday.

Most books on web development concentrate either on the aesthetics or the mechanics of the site. This book is about the framework that holds the two together. With this book, you learn how to design web sites and intranets that support growth, management, and ease of use. Special attention is given to:

• The process behind architecting a large, complex site
• Web site hierarchy design and organization
• Techniques for making your site easier to search

Information Architecture for the World Wide Web is for webmasters, designers, and anyone else involved in building a web site. It's for novice web designers who, from the start, want to avoid the traps that result in poorly designed sites. It's for experienced web designers who have already created sites but realize that something "is missing" from their sites and want to improve them. It's for programmers and administrators who are comfortable with HTML, CGI, and Java but want to understand how to organize their web pages into a cohesive site.

The authors are two of the principals of Argus Associates, a web consulting firm. At Argus, they have created information architectures for web sites and intranets of some of the largest companies in the United States, including Chrysler Corporation, Barron's, and Dow Chemical.

"Where do you want to go ...

More books with this perspective are needed.

This is why I always recommend the Frisch book from O'Reilly over the Nemeth Sysadmin book. It actually starts with files & processes and works its way up. I find that it gives a MUCH better grounding in WHY you do something a particular way as opposed to just explaining HOW you do it.

IMHO,
Michael

Danny's review left me with the impression that there were more than two code errors. I suppose that's a low enough rate to make me actually want to see the book, but I'm still bothered. Here are some general comments which may not apply to your book:

Errata, revised printings, etc., can mitigate some errors, but there are absolutely things you must get right the first time. One early publisher had to recall an entire printing of the Bible because of one typo (a "shalt" instead of "shalt not"). Funny to us, but less humorous in an era when Religious Incorrectness was a capital offense. Or consider a similar error in a medical textbook...

If your book is getting "messed up" by your editors, then your publisher has some basic problems. Why on earth do you need to do a lot of format conversions? If a publisher is serious about producing technical books in a computer era, they should be standardizing on one or two well-structured formats.

You can argue that this kind of problem is not the author's fault. Perhaps, but I'm not particularly interested in assigning blame. I just want to know what authors and publishers produce work I can use.

You mention "the Llama book". I assume this is something from O'Reilly -- I haven't memorized all their cute colophons. This is one publisher I have strongly mixed feelings about. On the one hand, they have some first-rate authors, are the only publishers of authoritative works on many topics, and have some carefully thought-out procedures for writing, editing, and production. On the other hand, they manage to produce a lot of badly edited books -- and even a fair number of paper doorstops. Not a gold standard, I'm afraid.

The article seemed a bit hysterical in tone, given the actual content of the report. Goal 3 isn't "agreeing upon a single common licensing agreement", but rather includes "the use of common licenses should be encouraged". There's a huge difference.

I think we can all agree that using common licenses is generally good. Specifically, it's good when our license is compatible with someone else's license, since then we can share/merge code etc. The government encouraging this behaviour isn't to be feared. Horrors! The fed wants us to be good neighbors! Oh wait, that's the point of OSS, isn't it...

Also, the committee may not have RMS as a member, but it does have ESR, one of the other big TLAs. Why didn't ESR share this upcoming review with the OSS community? Who knows. Perhaps we should ask him. As to why the report didn't mention him, well, perhaps because it's not about the history of OSS? Sure, RMS will continue to have influence, but he's definitely not important in the scheme of a fedgov strategy. They're talking about ideas, not specifics. People are specifics.

The committee included people from many different places, such as Michael Tiemann from Redhat, Tim O'Reilly from, well, O'Reilly... people from NCSA, Microsoft, Collab.net, NASA, DOE, the EU (international concerns, international committee, if only somewhat), LANL, SGI, NSA, Intel, IBM, MITRE, NSF, and many other great acronyms.

So the committee surely isn't omitting any great group, except perhaps "the common man", if such exists in OSS. And many of the names are recognizable even to me, and I've only been interested in OSS for a couple years, and hardly involved. "All the usual suspects", as the article says. No fears here.

All in all, the report looks like a Good Thing for the OSS community, on the whole.
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