Software Free

Question: I want to select APT repository server/mirror that is fastest for my location. How can I do it in Debian?

Answer: You can use application named as "netselect-apt" to get new sources.list file with fastest APT mirror. Install this application by command "sudo aptitude install netselect-apt" and run it in accordance with Debian distribution you use (Debian Etch in our example):

sudo netselect-apt -n etch -o /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo apt-get update

"... «A weakness has been discovered in the random number generator used by OpenSSL on Debian and Ubuntu systems. As a result of this weakness, certain encryption keys are much more common than they should be, such that an attacker could guess the key through a brute-force attack given minimal knowledge of the system.

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You can test and install it on debian experimental

Question: How can I get information about hardware manufacturer, model name, serial number, BIOS information using Linux command line (CLI)?

Answer: You are welcome to use dmidecode which helps to get information about your system’s hardware as described in your system BIOS. That information typically includes system manufacturer, model name, serial number, BIOS version, asset tag as well as a lot of other details depending on the manufacturer.

The Brazilian Debian GNU / Linux SuiteTelecentro benefits more than 4 millions users every year.

The Brazilian Debian GNU / Linux SuiteTelecentro is a custom solution which is currently being deployed in the Digital Inclusion Program of Banco do Brasil. SuiteTelecentro is used in approximately 2000 telecentres and computer rooms.

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Regular at Freesoftware Magazine, Ryan Cartwright, describes how he managed to get his HP Photosmart C5180 device up and running in Debian Lenny.

firebird 2.1 is now uploaded to debian , here are the details for this new package (soon will be published to debian unstable) . Package for ubuntu  hardy is uploaded into my ppa
but there are some known issues for the moment (with ubuntu package)
it doesn’t start then you need to manually create  symlinks
ln -s /var/run/firebird/2.1/ [...]

SSH’s (secure shell) most common authentication mode is called “interactive keyboard password authentication”, so called both because it is typically done via keyboard, and because openssh takes active measures to make sure that the password is, indeed, typed interactively by the keyboard.

Sometimes, however, it is necessary to fool ssh into accepting an interactive password non-interactively. This is where sshpass comes in.

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Kamloops Thompson School District #73, British Columbia, Canada, with 55 elementary and secondary schools, chose a majority of open source software on Debian GNU / Linux as it is easier to maintain and in their experience offers better support.

New comers to Linux sometimes think that Ubuntu sprang forth from Linux as a totally new creation, the next generation of Linux. Old-hands at Linux know better. Now, Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, sets the story straight for those to whom Ubuntu 8.04 is the be-all and end-all of Linux.

Steve McIntyre is the recently elected Debian Prioject Leader. He is a software engineer and a long-time Debian developer. His best known contributions have been in the field of creating Debian CD/DVD images; he is the Debian-cd team leader and is responsible for generating the official images.

One part of the world that has always fascianted me is Armenia. It's an ancient civilisation, but one that today finds itself in a pretty parlous state, not least economically. This makes open source a perfect resource, so it's good to see an all-Armenian distro appearing:

The author of the Hrat GNU/Linux project is Vardan Gevorgyan, who manages a small group of volunteers. The project is open, interested may join. More, we think that the success of the project and the power of considered system mostly relays on the compatriot's support.

And if you want to see what the Armenian page for it looks like, here it is.

An area where Linux is sometimes criticised is the level of difficulty expericed by people new to the operating system when installing software. Earlier today, Dr A J Cann posted an example of this criticism when he suggested that Ubuntu should follow the same model of software distribution used Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X of having a downloadable installer file for your desired program. I don't agree with his suggestion, but do see his point that installing software for someone unfamiliar to Linux can seem a daunting task. If I know someone is about to try out Kubuntu, I always try to sit them down and explain the package management system to them. There is no direct equivant of this on other operating systems, so I find it helps to explain it to people. Once, somebody explained package management to me and it saved me a lot of time.

The Debian project is proud to announce that it has again been accepted by Google as a mentor organisation for the Summer of Code programme. We have been allocated twelve tasks for this year. Google will fund the students mentioned here to work full time on those tasks during their summer vacation, from May 26th to August 18th.

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One of the reasons the Ubuntu project is doing so well is that it puts a cleaner, slightly more polished face on what starts out as Debian.

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