Building The Net

Where is the Autostart folder?

Looks like yet another change in KDE that messes with 3.5 users… Seems someone decided that the Autostart folder was a bad idea. This after having the Autostart folder in every KDE release I can remember.

Well, it seems that KDE 4 has adopted the same type of startup program control that Gnome has used for years.

A quick example.

Ok, let’s say that you want to start, oh I don’t know… Let’s say you want to start Krellm at login. here are the steps:

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Choosing the right software for your dynamic web content management is important.

There are tons of hosted and installable software packages out there that do web content management. Some good, some not so good. Only one thing is certain, you’ll have your work cut out for you if you choose the wrong one.

I’m going to talk about a few of the most popular open source packages that are out in the wild. Each are different, and do things differently. The one that’s right for you, depends on what your endgame is.

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Facebook has gone on the record stating that there has been no changes in it’s privacy policy.

Recently, a rumor that Facebook was allowing 3rd party advertisers to use members photos without their explicit permission, has turned out to be just that, a rumor.

Strangely, what appears to be fueling the rumor is a setting under privacy -> news feeds & wall, called facebook ads. This setting reads as follows:

“Facebook occasionally pairs advertisements with relevant social actions from a user’s friends to create Facebook Ads. Facebook Ads make advertisements more interesting and more tailored to you and your friends. These respect all privacy rules. You may opt out of appearing in your friends’ Facebook Ads below.”

This is set to “only my friends” by default. The rumor text is recommending you change this setting to “no one”.

When I found this, I felt a bit taken advantage of, I would have thought the proper default for this would be “no one”, but I guess that was why I got a “D-” in marketing…

The truth is, this rumor brought to light a privacy setting that everyone should be made aware of. The default setting in my opinion is clearly wrong.

Please read the Facebook Blog for more on this.

— Stu

Microsoft submits thousands of lines of code for inclusion in the Linux Kernel.

Yep, you’re not seeing things. On July 20, 2009 at OSCON, Microsoft announced their submission of three drivers to the Linux kernel. These drivers are licensed under the GPL2, and according to the group that handles such submissions, they have met all criteria for the drivers to be excepted in to the main line kernel.

At first glance, it would appear that all that screaming and jumping around that Ballmer is famous for managed to cause him to burst a blood vessel in his brain, but after reading the stories surrounding the submission, it turns out that this is no act of charity by Microsoft.

Why would Microsoft want to help Linux?

The short answer here is that they aren’t helping Linux, they are submitting code that’s sole goal is to make Linux run better under the Microsoft Virtualization platform. The drivers submitted are to allow Linux to work with Microsoft’s hypervisor. This will give Microsoft an advantage over competing virtualization platforms such as VMWare.

So, if this will give Microsoft an advantage, why would Linux except the code?

Most of the people I know, are asking why the kernel project would even consider accepting the code? Well, because Microsoft played by the open source rules, that’s why. Unlike Microsoft, the open source community sets guidelines to protect from discrimination. Unlike corporate models that favor certain groups over others when it comes to code or driver submission, most open source projects have a more down to earth approach. Check out what the rules are for submitting drivers to the Linux kernel, and you’ll understand why.

So, even though Microsoft’s intentions are not what I would consider angelic, as long as they meet the requirements for inclusion, they get to play on our field as well.

— Stu

Notes From My KVM (Kernel Virtual Machine) Talk.

First of all, thanks to all who attended the SCLug meeting on Saturday. I had fun talking with everyone there.

I wanted to follow up with some written examples of the KVM command lines I demonstrated at the meeting. I know I seemed to go over this stuff kind of fast, so I wanted to elaborate a bit in text.

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Firefox 3.5.1 released!

After announcing a critical but in their new javascript engine on the 16th, Mozilla turned around a fixed release in hours!

This is an important release, and Mozilla as well as the rest of the security experts are recommending you upgrade immediately.

I have to say, even I am shocked at how fast this fix came out! Hat’s off to Mozilla for getting it done!

This corrects the error in their code I posted on last night.

— Stu

Mozilla announced today that it’s new browser, Firefox 3.5 is vulnerable to a new JavaScript exploit that was introduced in the new TraceMonkey JavaScript Engine that was added to the new release.

This exploit could allow someone to hijack a users machine. THIS IS BAD!

The exploit went public today, July 16th, 2009 and there is currently no patch available. If you are running the new Firefox browser, it is recommended that you turn off the “just-in-time” component of the TraceMonkey engine.  To do this, you should enter “about:config” in your browser’s address bar, type “jit” in the filter box, then double-click the “javascript.options.jit.content” entry to set the value to “false.”

— Stu

Is the Internet killing Main Street, or was it already dead?

When I was a kid, I could walk down Las Tunas Blvd. and not go more then 3 store fronts without knowing the the business owner’s names. Well, at least their family names, because back then you called people by their last name, usually preceded by a Mr., Mrs. or Miss.

That’s not to say that there weren’t Super Markets and Department Stores. But you still went down to the corner drug store to get your prescriptions, paper and office supplies were purchased from the local stationary store, and small toy stores and hobby shops were where I would go and dream of all the fun I could have for the price of a months allowance.

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With hotter temperatures, your electronics are at higher risk of failure. Are you backed up?

If you’ve been around electronics for any period of time, you know that as the weather gets hotter, equipment failure rates also climb. With the increased use of digital cameras and digital video, as well as all the other information we store on our digital devices, the failure of any electronic device could result in information loss.

Here are some quick tips that might save you from having to deal with data loss. Let’s just call them words to live by in a digital world.

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So, what is a subnet mask and why do I need one?

This question is always coming up, so I thought it might be a good idea to try and at least give a quick overview.

IP addresses are used to identify your computer on the net. Subnet Masks are used to tell your computer what it should consider as local network traffic, and what it should send off to the gateway for delivery. Here are the basics of network addressing:

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