Practical Technology

for practical people.

November 13, 2009
by sjvn01
3 Comments

Lenovo returns to the Linux desktop

Lenovo might not describe their return to the Linux desktop like that, but that’s what they’re doing. Yesterday, November 12th, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs gave the world a sneak peak at the Lenovo ARM Snapdragon-powered smartbook, a cross between a smartphone and a netbook. Jacobs added that Lenovo Linux-based smartbook would make its debut at January’s CES (Computer Electronics Show.

We don’t know, at this point, what Linux it will be running. In an e-mail, Lenovo confirmed that it was developing a smartbook based on the ARM Snapdragon processor and that they expect to announce it at CES, but “Unfortunately, there are no further details at this point.”

Sources at Qualcomm were a little more forthcoming. The smartbook, which adds 3G data telephony technology and GPS, to a netbook design and size-factor, will be built on top of the 1 GHz Snapdragon chipset. This un-named Lenovo smartbook will be an instant-on design with 720p HD video, GPS for location-based services, and a large battery that can deliver power for 8 to 10 hours.

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November 12, 2009
by sjvn01
0 comments

Crashing Windows 7 & Server 2008 R2 with SMB

I do wonder sometimes about Microsoft’s quality assurance. No, I tell a lie. I always wonder about Microsoft’s quality assurance. As in, “How can they keep making mistakes like this?” In the latest, a new SMB vulnerability has been found and exploited that can lock-up any Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 system.

As reported in ComputerWorld, Laurent Gaffie posted details of the vulnerabilities, along with proof-of-concept exploit code, to the Full Disclosure security mailing list today, as well as to his personal blog. Gaffie claimed that his exploit crashes the kernel in Windows 7 and its server sibling, Windows Server 2008 R2, triggering an infinite loop. Or, as he puts in so well in the exploit’s code: “‘Most Secure Os Ever’ –> Remote Kernel in 2 mn. #FAIL,#FAIL,#FAIL”

He’s right. It is a major fail. I tested it on my machines and, as predicted, it locked my Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 systems up so badly that my only choice was to pull the plug. This exploit does nothing, however, to older versions of Windows. It bounced off my Windows XP SP3 and Server 2003 and Server 2008 systems.

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November 12, 2009
by sjvn01
1 Comment

OpenSUSE 11.2 Arrives

I’m not going to review the latest release of openSUSE, 11.2, here. For that, you can look forward to reading my head-to-head shoot-out of Fedora 12, Ubuntu 9.10, and openSUSE 11.2 sometime soon. What I can say now though is that if you’re interested in a solid, reliable desktop Linux, openSUSE 11.2 is a contender.

I’ve been running SUSE distributions on my desktops and servers for years now, and they’ve always worked well. Indeed, if you’re looking for a corporate Windows desktop replacement, SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) 11, openSUSE’s business big-brother, stands heads and shoulders above the Linux desktop competition. Indeed, Novell’s SLED is the most strongly supported Linux business desktop offering out there.

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November 12, 2009
by sjvn01
2 Comments

Linux desktop turns 10; world yawns

I began using Linux as a desktop operating system around 1993, two years after Linux was created. Countless developers, engineers and hackers were doing the same. But at that point, it wasn’t what most people would recognize as a desktop OS. The credit for creating and marketing the first Linux desktop designed for ordinary users goes to Corel Corp., which launched Corel Linux OS 10 years ago, in November 1999.

Corel was then a Windows software company, but its founder, Michael Cowpland, wanted to do bigger, better things. Corel had already had some success in 1998 with its Linux-powered NetWinder small office/home office server appliance and its WordPerfect word processor on Linux.

Corel Linux was built on top of the Debian 2.2.12 Linux kernel and used the KDE 1.1.2 desktop environment. Besides WordPerfect and the usual Linux applications (such as Emacs for text editing and programming), it also included alpha versions of the company’s Quattro Pro spreadsheet and CorelDraw graphics programs for Linux.

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November 11, 2009
by sjvn01
0 comments

Avoiding the Windows Fonts of Doom

It’s easy to say you should patch your Windows PC as soon as possible. But, if you have a business with hundreds of PCs, and an even greater number of ways that a patch might cause trouble, you can’t be blamed for wanting to do make darn sure the patch doesn’t cause more trouble than it fixes before implementing it. Except, for days like today.

You see, in the blockbuster November 2009 Windows patch fest, the fixes included a repair for a really nasty, really easy to exploit security hole: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-065. This Windows kernel vulnerability is found in all but the newest versions of Windows: Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Unlike most security holes you don’t have to do anything to get zapped by this one. If you use Internet Explorer to visit a malicious site that’s been set up as a trap for people who are vulnerable to this bug-bang! An attacker can do pretty-much whatever he or she wants to your vulnerable PC.

At the least, they’ll be able to crash your Windows PC. At most, and more likely, they’ll infect it with malware. From there, you may get your financial information ripped off, become a source for spam, or even become the piggy-bank for a pervert’s kiddie-porn.

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November 10, 2009
by sjvn01
0 comments

Torments of the Internet damned

I live on the Internet. I work on the Internet. I keep in touch with my friends on the Internet. Without the Internet, I’m out of business. I’m not the only one. But lately, with my rock-solid AT&T DSL connection (6Mbit/sec. down, 512Kbit/sec. up), I’ve taken it for granted. That was before my connection went sour and I rediscovered just how miserable life can be without a good network connection.

Last Friday my network connection started turning on me. It never completely failed. Instead, it started torturing me with a thousand cuts of minor slowdowns and nagging latency delays. By Saturday morning, my network connection was down to dial-up modem speeds of 32Kbit/sec.

Imagine trying to run a hundred-yard dash in knee-deep mud and you have an excellent idea of how I’ve felt over the last few days. Instead of getting my work done, I’ve been working, with AT&T, on getting my Internet connection back into shape. It hasn’t been easy. I’m falling behind in my real work; and my connection is still having fits.

It could have been worse, though. Yes, I rely on the Internet to do my job, but I don’t rely on network-based applications. I use the Web, instant messaging and e-mail constantly. But I don’t write stories using Google Docs, manage projects with SharePoint Online or use Salesforce for CRM (customer relationship management). If I did, I wouldn’t just be angry and miserable; I might well be on my way to being out of a job as well.

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