Dunno about AppArmour, but there is no way in hell to distinguish between legitimate getpwnam, getpwuid, etc calls and reading the whole passwd file on a linux system using strace.
Example:
strace on ls -laF immediately gives
open("/etc/passwd", O_RDONLY) = 4
Try ltrace, which is similar to strace but lists library calls [man section 3] instead of system calls [section 2]. Running your same example with ltrace, one will see: getpwuid(1000, 0xbfaa1073, 0xbfaa0d08, 1000, 0x805c088) = 0xb7f8c9b8 where 1000 is my uid and the rest of the params are pointers to memory locations.
So yes, it's possible to distinguish, just not using strace. Proper tool for the job and all that.
Of course all this would be moot if we had access to the source, which is the underlying issue being debated here.
File access timestamps, by default, are updated each time a file is read, and this occurs a write to the disk. Even if a file resides in cache, a write must be performed every time it is opened [even though the cache prevents a read from the disk]. A few people found that by disabling this, performance increases dramatically. The long and short of it: use noatime when you're mounting a file system [or in the fstab] if you want to try for yourself.
In your/etc/fstab, append noatime to the options of your main file systems. This will prevent the access timestamps of files and directories from being updated on each access. Not so sure what the relatime stuff is, but I imagine the use of noatime will also prevent the bottlenecks seen from relatime.
Aircraft flight is coordinated using ``flight levels'', which, as an anonymous poster above pointed out, are measured against a barometric reference. Thus, it doesn't really matter if FL 300, which is ostensibly 30,000 ft above sea level, is actually a little higher or lower due to air pressure differences. It only really matters that everyone is using the same reference pressure in their barometric altimeter. That way, if someone is flying at FL 300 and someone else is flying at FL 290, you can be reasonably sure they won't collide, regardless of whether the absolute altitudes are higher or lower than a previous day's.
The UCLALUG is alive and well, with a large number of active members. Most of us use it as a place to hang out between or after class, but it can be a great resource. Some of the most talented programmers and Linux users I've ever met hang out there, so it's a great place to bounce around ideas and see where they go.
We hold talks about topics such as writing Firefox extensions and building simple web applications. We also get plenty of people stopping by with Linux questions, from hardware issues to ``what Linux software does XYZ?'' I don't even have to mention the quarterly install-fest, which is having a greater turn out than ever.
Recently, it's becoming more of a Unix user's group, anyway, as I've managed to turn some of the members on to *BSD and even OpenSolaris [we have piles of Sun hardware dragged out from the trash]. Where else can you go with an esoteric question about NetBSD?
In short, the LUG has evolved into a great resource. Sure, most people can get their hands on a Linux install CD these days, but I'm sure many people feel more comfortable knowing there's a room in the engineering building filled with guys more than willing to help out with any of their problems.
I personally use LaTeX for all word processing-related things. All I can say is that it has a huge learning curve before you're proficient enough to use it without thinking too much. It's also very easy to forget much of it if you don't use it on a regular basis.
I've used it for about three years now, and I've used it on an approximately biweekly basis this past year. I would never, ever switch to anything else, but I also wouldn't recommend the setup to most other people. On the other hand, if you're a hacker by nature and are serious about presentation, there's really no alternative.
Ever heard of a company called Ricochet? They've been mentioned on Slashdot a few times. They did exactly what you suggested using pre-802.11 technology: they had repeaters on every polltop and every fourth or fifth was wired to a T1.
It was a great idea, but as you suggested, just not cost effective. They went under a few times and were subsequently bought out once or twice. I think they're still in business in San Diego. I have my doubts that an 802.11-based company could possibly do any better, considering Ricochet's network was known for good reliability and 802.11 is not.
How many public service ads have you seen advising people how to protect themselves from being scammed, preventing identity theft, etc.?
Interestingly, I saw an advert featuring McGruff the Crime Dog [``Take a bite out of crime!''] detailing the dangers of identity theft. Sure, it was a little cutesy. For instance, one part showed a man taking a picture of a guy's credit card at the airport while the dog shouted ``Look! He's taking a picture of that man's credit card using his camera phone!'' However it did get the message across.
As my sibling post to yours notes, as far as packages go, Ubuntu fills an important niche for me. While Debian testing/unstable will always have the latest packages, it's a major pain to download the dozens of daily updates just so I can have libxyz 1.1.2-cvs20060530 instead of 1.1.2-cvs20060525.
Ubuntu provides relatively up-to-date packages with a reasonable release schedule. Downloading a couple hundred megs of updates every six months while still being relatively assured of security/stability is worth it to me. Sure, I may not be running the latest beta of software X [or even the latest stable, such as Firefox], but I consider the trade-off worth it.
Your arguments seem to contradict. Debian offers a lot of CD sets and such, but typically only for stable [as unstable/testing would be outdated as soon as they were released]. If you want to track unstable, you HAVE to have a fast net connection in order to receive the updates that are released every day.
However, as the sibling to this post noted, the great thing about Linux is choice. Debian and Ubuntu are both great distros in my opinion and I have uses for both of them. For relatively recent software and a good update cycle for desktops, I'll stick with Ubuntu.
For what it's worth, I find great value in starting from an Ubuntu ``server'' configuration and building up a desktop from there. I get many of the benefits of Ubuntu, such as up-to-date software and security updates, with practically the same flexibility as starting from a base Debian system.
Nowadays, I have only one Debian unstable system left as a desktop machine. The rest are all Ubuntu server configuration plus my packages. The big kicker? Hundreds of daily updates make life nearly unusable under Debian unstable.
That's actually a Unix time. Number of seconds since 01 Jan 1970. Given that, you'll see that it's really quite recently updated [time given in UTC]:
Tue May 23 22:27:23 2006
In other words, it was updated just over five minutes before you posted.
There are a variety of systems for keeping DNS serial numbers. One, as I alluded to before, is the more human readable YYYYMMDDNN where NN is a serial number for the day. Another is to use the Unix time when it's updated. A simple-minded way would be to just keep a normal integer and increase it with each update.
The nice thing about the first two systems [and the reason they're usually used] is that they serve two purposes. They increase when updated, so DNS works fine with those. Additionally, they mean something to humans.
Interestingly enough, there actually is an entry in the DNS hierarchy for mobi. However, if I'm interpreting the serial properly, it's in the future.
mobi. 86342 IN SOA tld1.ultradns.net. info.afilias.net. 2006053119 10800 3600 2592000 86400
DNS serial numbers are entirely a matter of semantics. The only requirement is that they increase when you change things in the zone [which is what the last two digits of their serial are for, presumably].
I've never seen a situation such as this. Any DNS gurus want to enlighten me as to why someone would want to do this? Just sort of an indicator of ``don't use this yet''?
The expensive part of fibre, according to the above-linked Wikipedia article, is the civil engineering overhead to put it in place.
The reason that dark fiber exists in well-planned networks is that much of the cost of installing cables is in so-called civils - the civil engineering work required in order to get the cables installed. This includes planning and routing, obtaining permissions, creating ducts and channels for the cables, and finally installation and connection. This work accounts for more than 60% of the cost of developing fiber networks, with only a relatively small proportion actually being invested in the optical fiber cable and high-tech networking infrastructure.
While I'm sure the networking equipment is not cheap, the cost can't compare to all the red tape and planning that has to be gone through to get the cable there in the first place.
On Debian-based systems, you can have multiple apt sources. That means that you can have several CDs [or DVDs] of software that is typically installed and fail over to net install when you want something that's not on optical media.
As for a GNOME-based distro like this, download an Ubuntu CD/DVD set. It will automatically set it up to access all your discs and you can choose [or choose not] to set up access to net repositories.
The drivers are in the Darwin kernel, which they've been supporting on the x86 platform for quite some time. You can even download an install disc from Apple's open source site.
While I haven't played with it in a long while, I recall it supporting most of my core hardware, out of the box. Common things like NICs and chipsets should probably be relatively well-supported, though I'd doubt they'd have the latest and greatest graphics cards working in non-Vesa. Other less common devices probably meet the same fate.
Allow a sudo type system to stop forcing people to sign in the system as admin every day.
For what it's worth, Windows has supported something like this since at least 2000. I wouldn't be surprised if it was in NT 4.0 or earlier, I just don't know off the top of my head.
The runas command provides a command-line interface to running applications as alternative users on a Windows system. It works surprisingly well, integrating fully and gracefully with the graphical desktop. If you use runas to run something like Microsoft Word as Administrator [not sure why you would want to], it'd be running just as though you launched it normally. The titlebar would say ``Microsoft Word (running as Administrator)''.
I have no idea why this thing hasn't gotten much attention. Probably because it's command line and the whole natural Windows aversion to all things non-graphical. Still, it's a pretty useful tool.
Slashdot Mirror
Try ltrace, which is similar to strace but lists library calls [man section 3] instead of system calls [section 2]. Running your same example with ltrace, one will see:
getpwuid(1000, 0xbfaa1073, 0xbfaa0d08, 1000, 0x805c088) = 0xb7f8c9b8
where 1000 is my uid and the rest of the params are pointers to memory locations.
So yes, it's possible to distinguish, just not using strace. Proper tool for the job and all that.
Of course all this would be moot if we had access to the source, which is the underlying issue being debated here.
File access timestamps, by default, are updated each time a file is read, and this occurs a write to the disk. Even if a file resides in cache, a write must be performed every time it is opened [even though the cache prevents a read from the disk]. A few people found that by disabling this, performance increases dramatically. The long and short of it: use noatime when you're mounting a file system [or in the fstab] if you want to try for yourself.
In your /etc/fstab, append noatime to the options of your main file systems. This will prevent the access timestamps of files and directories from being updated on each access. Not so sure what the relatime stuff is, but I imagine the use of noatime will also prevent the bottlenecks seen from relatime.
Aircraft flight is coordinated using ``flight levels'', which, as an anonymous poster above pointed out, are measured against a barometric reference. Thus, it doesn't really matter if FL 300, which is ostensibly 30,000 ft above sea level, is actually a little higher or lower due to air pressure differences. It only really matters that everyone is using the same reference pressure in their barometric altimeter. That way, if someone is flying at FL 300 and someone else is flying at FL 290, you can be reasonably sure they won't collide, regardless of whether the absolute altitudes are higher or lower than a previous day's.
The UCLALUG is alive and well, with a large number of active members. Most of us use it as a place to hang out between or after class, but it can be a great resource. Some of the most talented programmers and Linux users I've ever met hang out there, so it's a great place to bounce around ideas and see where they go.
We hold talks about topics such as writing Firefox extensions and building simple web applications. We also get plenty of people stopping by with Linux questions, from hardware issues to ``what Linux software does XYZ?'' I don't even have to mention the quarterly install-fest, which is having a greater turn out than ever.
Recently, it's becoming more of a Unix user's group, anyway, as I've managed to turn some of the members on to *BSD and even OpenSolaris [we have piles of Sun hardware dragged out from the trash]. Where else can you go with an esoteric question about NetBSD?
In short, the LUG has evolved into a great resource. Sure, most people can get their hands on a Linux install CD these days, but I'm sure many people feel more comfortable knowing there's a room in the engineering building filled with guys more than willing to help out with any of their problems.
You totally lost me with that analogy. Could you rephrase it in terms of cars?
Pretexting is a euphemism for lying.
I personally use LaTeX for all word processing-related things. All I can say is that it has a huge learning curve before you're proficient enough to use it without thinking too much. It's also very easy to forget much of it if you don't use it on a regular basis.
I've used it for about three years now, and I've used it on an approximately biweekly basis this past year. I would never, ever switch to anything else, but I also wouldn't recommend the setup to most other people. On the other hand, if you're a hacker by nature and are serious about presentation, there's really no alternative.
Ever heard of a company called Ricochet? They've been mentioned on Slashdot a few times. They did exactly what you suggested using pre-802.11 technology: they had repeaters on every polltop and every fourth or fifth was wired to a T1.
It was a great idea, but as you suggested, just not cost effective. They went under a few times and were subsequently bought out once or twice. I think they're still in business in San Diego. I have my doubts that an 802.11-based company could possibly do any better, considering Ricochet's network was known for good reliability and 802.11 is not.
Believe it or not, this is true. I saw one at the local Best Buy yesterday.
Hey thanks for the h%^%@13#^$3@#$*^&^NO CARRIER
Try this fun search to see who searched for their SSN.
It's amazing the kind of information [click link to see, it's not just SSN] people put into a public search engine.
Interestingly, I saw an advert featuring McGruff the Crime Dog [``Take a bite out of crime!''] detailing the dangers of identity theft. Sure, it was a little cutesy. For instance, one part showed a man taking a picture of a guy's credit card at the airport while the dog shouted ``Look! He's taking a picture of that man's credit card using his camera phone!'' However it did get the message across.
And come on, it's McGruff!
It's times like these that I wish there were another moderation type [since Funny obviously doesn't describe it accurately]:
Tragic
As my sibling post to yours notes, as far as packages go, Ubuntu fills an important niche for me. While Debian testing/unstable will always have the latest packages, it's a major pain to download the dozens of daily updates just so I can have libxyz 1.1.2-cvs20060530 instead of 1.1.2-cvs20060525.
Ubuntu provides relatively up-to-date packages with a reasonable release schedule. Downloading a couple hundred megs of updates every six months while still being relatively assured of security/stability is worth it to me. Sure, I may not be running the latest beta of software X [or even the latest stable, such as Firefox], but I consider the trade-off worth it.
Your arguments seem to contradict. Debian offers a lot of CD sets and such, but typically only for stable [as unstable/testing would be outdated as soon as they were released]. If you want to track unstable, you HAVE to have a fast net connection in order to receive the updates that are released every day.
However, as the sibling to this post noted, the great thing about Linux is choice. Debian and Ubuntu are both great distros in my opinion and I have uses for both of them. For relatively recent software and a good update cycle for desktops, I'll stick with Ubuntu.
For what it's worth, I find great value in starting from an Ubuntu ``server'' configuration and building up a desktop from there. I get many of the benefits of Ubuntu, such as up-to-date software and security updates, with practically the same flexibility as starting from a base Debian system.
Nowadays, I have only one Debian unstable system left as a desktop machine. The rest are all Ubuntu server configuration plus my packages. The big kicker? Hundreds of daily updates make life nearly unusable under Debian unstable.
That said, I'd never run a server on Ubuntu.
That's actually a Unix time. Number of seconds since 01 Jan 1970. Given that, you'll see that it's really quite recently updated [time given in UTC]:
Tue May 23 22:27:23 2006
In other words, it was updated just over five minutes before you posted.
There are a variety of systems for keeping DNS serial numbers. One, as I alluded to before, is the more human readable YYYYMMDDNN where NN is a serial number for the day. Another is to use the Unix time when it's updated. A simple-minded way would be to just keep a normal integer and increase it with each update.
The nice thing about the first two systems [and the reason they're usually used] is that they serve two purposes. They increase when updated, so DNS works fine with those. Additionally, they mean something to humans.
Interestingly enough, there actually is an entry in the DNS hierarchy for mobi. However, if I'm interpreting the serial properly, it's in the future.
mobi. 86342 IN SOA tld1.ultradns.net. info.afilias.net. 2006053119 10800 3600 2592000 86400
DNS serial numbers are entirely a matter of semantics. The only requirement is that they increase when you change things in the zone [which is what the last two digits of their serial are for, presumably].
I've never seen a situation such as this. Any DNS gurus want to enlighten me as to why someone would want to do this? Just sort of an indicator of ``don't use this yet''?
While I'm sure the networking equipment is not cheap, the cost can't compare to all the red tape and planning that has to be gone through to get the cable there in the first place.
On Debian-based systems, you can have multiple apt sources. That means that you can have several CDs [or DVDs] of software that is typically installed and fail over to net install when you want something that's not on optical media.
As for a GNOME-based distro like this, download an Ubuntu CD/DVD set. It will automatically set it up to access all your discs and you can choose [or choose not] to set up access to net repositories.
Truly the best of both worlds.
As the other reply above states, it was HOTEL CORAL ESSEX. That would be Revenge of the Nerds 2, the unforgettable concert scene.
I guess if you'd really rather be dead than have your freedom taken away, though, go for it.
``I regret that I have but one life to give to my country.''
~Nathan Hale
``Give me liberty or give me death.''
~Patrick Henry
Where the fuck did people like these go? What happened to the United States?
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
If you hack my code,
I'll fucking kill you!
Fixed that for you. Now I'd better watch out for incoming chairs..
The drivers are in the Darwin kernel, which they've been supporting on the x86 platform for quite some time. You can even download an install disc from Apple's open source site.
While I haven't played with it in a long while, I recall it supporting most of my core hardware, out of the box. Common things like NICs and chipsets should probably be relatively well-supported, though I'd doubt they'd have the latest and greatest graphics cards working in non-Vesa. Other less common devices probably meet the same fate.
Allow a sudo type system to stop forcing people to sign in the system as admin every day.
For what it's worth, Windows has supported something like this since at least 2000. I wouldn't be surprised if it was in NT 4.0 or earlier, I just don't know off the top of my head.
The runas command provides a command-line interface to running applications as alternative users on a Windows system. It works surprisingly well, integrating fully and gracefully with the graphical desktop. If you use runas to run something like Microsoft Word as Administrator [not sure why you would want to], it'd be running just as though you launched it normally. The titlebar would say ``Microsoft Word (running as Administrator)''.
I have no idea why this thing hasn't gotten much attention. Probably because it's command line and the whole natural Windows aversion to all things non-graphical. Still, it's a pretty useful tool.