I was deployed to Iraq, and we had to download a very large file. Unfortunately, we were working on laptops that would lock the screen after 15 minutes, and then the laptop would loose connection. Considering that the file was going to take 8-10 hours to download, this was not acceptable.
I found an oscillating pedestal fan, and I duct-taped a yardstick between the fan and a mouse connected to the laptop. Since the laptop would not lock due to the mouse movement, all I had to do is to place a few books to limit the moment area; the next morning the file was downloaded. I realize this might not be the hack for which you were looking, but since it involved duct-tape I thought it would count.
...especially after 2000 when Gore won the popular vote...
And why would that matter. If you notice, it is the United States of America. The states, through the Electoral College, vote for the President. If it was a popular vote, a person could campain in 10 cities and tell everyone that the State of Wyoming sucks, yet still win.
"Bob, we've got some bad news for you. You're being replaced at the factory."
"What! %$^&#, it's outsourcing, isn't it. Or you've brought cheap labor from some country, didn't you!"
"Actually, no. You're being replaced with algae. Don't you read Slashdot?"
"........?"
Has there been any attempt to create an open source movie script, using maybe a wikipedia? With thousands able to work on that and the screen play, maybe we'll finally have some good movies.;-)
With all of the fallout with BitKeeper and the need for a Version Control System, has anyone looked at a new filesystem with would natively support this? Not only would software development be great with it, but back-ups would be a breeze.
Could name it VCFS (Version Control File System)...has anyone used those letters before (amid the NTFS, NFS, SMB, VFAT file systems)?
Well, these instructions (I got them from my HelpDesk at work) might not count as a hack, but it has helped me: Here's something for broadband people that will really speed Firefox up:
1.Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries:
network.http.pipelining
network.http.proxy.pipelining
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests
Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.
2. Alter the entries as follows:
Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"
Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"
Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.
3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.
If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages MUCH faster now!
However, Pat removed swaret from/extra about 5 months ago. A user complained to him about some flamewar posts that were made on freshmeat. I was CCed, and answered immediately that I took care of it, but Pat removed the package before he read my answer.
I've not approached Pat yet about putting it back in-I wanted to release the next version, which will support compiling and rollback capability.
I worked for the "U.S. Military" for 10 years, and 6 of those years has been in either computers or communications in general.
Where does he come off with the statement "...I don't really trust the Pentagon to abide by the GPL." Let me tell you something-we bend over backwards to abide by license restrictions. I can't even download a shareware program (when we deal with Windows, not too many in Linux) copy without demonstrating we've paid for it.
I understand the idea of "free as in beer", but I also understand "free as in speech". Speaking of free [rant]haven't people heard of the "Freedom of Information Act"? Just in case you haven't, click here. If you want to know what software we're using ask us! Don't just sit in your field of daisies whining and complaining about things of which you know nothing. And, (just so you know I know what the GPL is) you can't have the modifications I've made to the machine in my office. Why? Because I'm not distributing it...if I was, yes, you can have my source code.[/rant]
Before throwing stones at that "big glass house", realize that much of it is glass. You can see in it (well, maybe not the utility room...well, not that closet either..never mind) more then some company that takes GPL code, puts it in their router, then sells it. That would never happen.
You know, I've used Slackware for many years, and I never noticed that program. I'll look into using it instead of my "hack" with the libraries-current file.
Thanks.
We will soon be adding the ability to have a line in the swaret.conf file such as this:
REPOS=GreatSite:http://www.website.com/slackstuff/
and then all the packages that are there can be managed just like the main Slackware packages. However, the site has to be set up like Slackware's site (FILELIST.TXT, CHECKSUMS.md5, etc). Made some scripts to make this easier, under the heading of swaret-tools.
Big disclaimer-we haven't added this yet. Been very busy.
The dependency checking does not work by including additional information in the tgz package's metadata. Instead, swaret checks each executable program installed with ldd (which is part of the * package). If the executable depends on a library not on the system, swaret downloads a small text file that lists each package in Slackware that contains a library, and also gives what the library name is. The example below is a small snipper from the libraries-current, which is from http://mhlug.linuxorbit.com/swaret/libraries-curre nt (or http://gma.sourceforge.net/swaret/libraries-curren t). In the same directory are files from the 9.0 and 8.1 releases. These files are checked nightly against Slackware's ftp site.
This methode does not guarantee that there will be no errors. An example where it will not detect a dependency is when a package depends on another because of a command, not a linked library.
The developer of swaret (update utility for Slackware) and I have been working on resolving library dependencies when a user installs or upgrades tgz packages in Slackware. To make a long story sort, it works great. New release due out 13 July. Info at http://swaret.xbone.be.
I've started using Autopkg, but does anyone else have any more autoupgrade programs for Slackware? Also, what distros use BSD inits and which use System V inits?
Slashdot Mirror
I was deployed to Iraq, and we had to download a very large file. Unfortunately, we were working on laptops that would lock the screen after 15 minutes, and then the laptop would loose connection. Considering that the file was going to take 8-10 hours to download, this was not acceptable. I found an oscillating pedestal fan, and I duct-taped a yardstick between the fan and a mouse connected to the laptop. Since the laptop would not lock due to the mouse movement, all I had to do is to place a few books to limit the moment area; the next morning the file was downloaded. I realize this might not be the hack for which you were looking, but since it involved duct-tape I thought it would count.
...especially after 2000 when Gore won the popular vote...
And why would that matter. If you notice, it is the United States of America. The states, through the Electoral College, vote for the President. If it was a popular vote, a person could campain in 10 cities and tell everyone that the State of Wyoming sucks, yet still win.
"Bob, we've got some bad news for you. You're being replaced at the factory."
"What! %$^&#, it's outsourcing, isn't it. Or you've brought cheap labor from some country, didn't you!"
"Actually, no. You're being replaced with algae. Don't you read Slashdot?"
"........?"
Has there been any attempt to create an open source movie script, using maybe a wikipedia? With thousands able to work on that and the screen play, maybe we'll finally have some good movies. ;-)
With all of the fallout with BitKeeper and the need for a Version Control System, has anyone looked at a new filesystem with would natively support this? Not only would software development be great with it, but back-ups would be a breeze.
Could name it VCFS (Version Control File System)...has anyone used those letters before (amid the NTFS, NFS, SMB, VFAT file systems)?
Well, these instructions (I got them from my HelpDesk at work) might not count as a hack, but it has helped me:
Here's something for broadband people that will really speed Firefox up:
1.Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries:
network.http.pipelining
network.http.proxy.pipelining
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests
Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.
2. Alter the entries as follows:
Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"
Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"
Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.
3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.
If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages MUCH faster now!
However, Pat removed swaret from /extra about 5 months ago. A user complained to him about some flamewar posts that were made on freshmeat. I was CCed, and answered immediately that I took care of it, but Pat removed the package before he read my answer.
I've not approached Pat yet about putting it back in-I wanted to release the next version, which will support compiling and rollback capability.
I worked for the "U.S. Military" for 10 years, and 6 of those years has been in either computers or communications in general.
Where does he come off with the statement "...I don't really trust the Pentagon to abide by the GPL." Let me tell you something-we bend over backwards to abide by license restrictions. I can't even download a shareware program (when we deal with Windows, not too many in Linux) copy without demonstrating we've paid for it. I understand the idea of "free as in beer", but I also understand "free as in speech". Speaking of free [rant]haven't people heard of the "Freedom of Information Act"? Just in case you haven't, click here. If you want to know what software we're using ask us! Don't just sit in your field of daisies whining and complaining about things of which you know nothing. And, (just so you know I know what the GPL is) you can't have the modifications I've made to the machine in my office. Why? Because I'm not distributing it...if I was, yes, you can have my source code.[/rant]
Before throwing stones at that "big glass house", realize that much of it is glass. You can see in it (well, maybe not the utility room...well, not that closet either..never mind) more then some company that takes GPL code, puts it in their router, then sells it. That would never happen.
You know, I've used Slackware for many years, and I never noticed that program. I'll look into using it instead of my "hack" with the libraries-current file.
Thanks.
We will soon be adding the ability to have a line in the swaret.conf file such as this:/
REPOS=GreatSite:http://www.website.com/slackstuff
and then all the packages that are there can be managed just like the main Slackware packages. However, the site has to be set up like Slackware's site (FILELIST.TXT, CHECKSUMS.md5, etc). Made some scripts to make this easier, under the heading of swaret-tools.
Big disclaimer-we haven't added this yet. Been very busy.
Ok, since you brought it up:
e nt (or http://gma.sourceforge.net/swaret/libraries-curren t). In the same directory are files from the 9.0 and 8.1 releases. These files are checked nightly against Slackware's ftp site.
The dependency checking does not work by including additional information in the tgz package's metadata. Instead, swaret checks each executable program installed with ldd (which is part of the * package). If the executable depends on a library not on the system, swaret downloads a small text file that lists each package in Slackware that contains a library, and also gives what the library name is. The example below is a small snipper from the libraries-current, which is from http://mhlug.linuxorbit.com/swaret/libraries-curr
qt-3.1.2-i486-4.tgz: usr/lib/qt-3.1.2/lib/libqui.so.1.0.0
qt-3.1.2-i486-4.tgz: usr/lib/qt-3.1.2/lib/libqt-mt.so.3.1.2
procps-3.1.8-i386-1.tgz: lib/libproc.so.3.1.8
procps-2.0.13-i486-1.tgz: lib/libproc.so.2.0.13
popt-1.7-i386-1.tgz: usr/lib/libpopt.so.0.0.0
This methode does not guarantee that there will be no errors. An example where it will not detect a dependency is when a package depends on another because of a command, not a linked library.
The developer of swaret (update utility for Slackware) and I have been working on resolving library dependencies when a user installs or upgrades tgz packages in Slackware. To make a long story sort, it works great. New release due out 13 July. Info at http://swaret.xbone.be.
I've started using Autopkg, but does anyone else have any more autoupgrade programs for Slackware? Also, what distros use BSD inits and which use System V inits?