lix blog

After the excitement about the new GNU/Linux Sailfish OS phone Jolla and having tinkered around for a couple of days I come to the, – unfortunate, – conclusion, that the phone is not end-user ready (yet).

Although the OS offers an intuitive, fast and clever handling of the functions, many core functions are yet missing.

• No CalDAV/CardDAV syncronisation for Calendar & Addressbook
• No Task manager
• No GnuPG native e-mail program
• Buggy browser
• No OTR support for XMPP/Jabber
• Poor battery life
• No VPN client

Watching the community reports and how desperate many are looking for a well working, nicely developed and secure smartphone, I hope that the Jolla team will come up with an update of the missing features soon.

Worried about surveillance and control? Still living in 1984? Get your copy of the Cryptoparty handbook and organise your Cryptoparty today!

Debian 7.0 “Wheezy” has just been released. \o/

After many months of constant development, the Debian project is proud to present its new stable version 7.0 (code name Wheezy).

This new version of Debian includes various interesting features such as multiarch support, several specific tools to deploy private clouds, an improved installer, and a complete set of multimedia codecs and front-ends which remove the need for third-party repositories.

To treasure the subject and issues that Aaron Swartz was fighting for, I would like to refer and remind to my mail to Richard Stallman, Lawrence Lessig and Cory Doctorow, which I wrote on 21st of January 2012.

Link to former blog post

Download OGV / MP4
Source: Aalto Talk with Linus Torvalds

Here’s a simple script to install on a server to keep the GeoIP db updated.

Source code for file (e.g.) get_latest_GeoIP.sh

#!/bin/bash
# getting the latest GeoLiteCity database from maxmind
host=$(hostname -s)
stamp=`date +"%m%Y"` # getting current month & year for GeoLiteCity filename
if [ -f "/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity_"$stamp".dat" ]; then
  last=`date -r /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity_"$stamp".dat +"%m%Y"`
else
  last=0000
fi
if [ ! -f "/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity_"$stamp".dat" ] || [ "$stamp" != "$last" ]; then # if current file doesn't exist or current file wasn't modified in the current month
  wget -O "/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity.dat.gz" http://geolite.maxmind.com/download/geoip/database/GeoLiteCity.dat.gz
  if [ ! -s "/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity.dat.gz" ]; then
    rm /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity.dat.gz
    exit 1
  else
    rm /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity.dat
    gunzip /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity.dat.gz
    if [ -f "/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity_"$stamp".dat" ]; then
      rm /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity_"$stamp".dat
    fi
      mv /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity.dat "/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity_"$stamp".dat"
      ln -s "/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity_"$stamp".dat" /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLiteCity.dat
      echo "Report: GeoIP Database "$stamp" has been updated on "$host". - Enjoy!"
  fi
fi
exit

… now just install a cronjob, that checks withn the first days of the month, whether there is a fresh GeoIP db to fetch.

22 3 1-10 * * ~/get_latest_GeoIP.sh > /dev/null 2>&1

The Software Libre project “Exterminate alle the brutes” in Malawi, Central Africa, goes into round four.

This time it’s less of a “Niggaz project” than a “Womanz project”! – Meow!

Stay tuned by subscribing to the projects website.

… the story continues. Am still trying to acquire a computer that is whether bound to a proprietary operation system, nor uses outdated hardware components.
Today I was writing to Lenovo Switzerland:

Guten Tag sehr geehrte Lenovo

Gerne würde ich mir eines Ihrer Produkte kaufen. So beispielsweise das ThinkPad X121e oder X220.
Da ich jedoch ausschliesslich das Betriebssystem GNU/Linux Debian benutze, möchte ich dieses ohne Lizenzkosten bei Lenovo oder einem Händler erwerben.

Könnten Sie mir mitteilen, beziehungsweise einen Händler empfehlen, wo ich eines Ihrer Produkte kaufen kann ohne gezwungen zu werden, die Lizenzkosten über ein Produkt zu bezahlen, welches ich nicht benutze?

Besten Dank & freundliche Grüsse, A.A.

Lenovo writes back:

Sehr geehrter Herr A.A.,

vielen Dank für Ihre E-Mail.

Lenovo verfügt über ein Netzwerk kompetenter Händler, die Ihnen helfen, die am besten geeigneten Lösungen aus unserem Angebot auszuwählen.
Lenovo Business Partner sind auf den Vertrieb und den Support unserer Produkte spezialisiert und am Business Partner Logo zu erkennen (siehe Anhang).
Bei Fragen zu Preis, Verfügbarkeit sowie Bestellmöglichkeiten helfen Sie Ihnen gerne weiter.
Lenovo Vertriebspartner beraten Sie sowohl Online als auch vor Ort.
Kontaktdaten für Business Partner in Ihrer Nähe finden Sie unter:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/chind/LenovoPortal/de_CH/special-offers.workflow:ShowPromo?LandingPage

Freundliche Grüsse / Cordialement / Cordiali saluti / Best regards

M.D.

… wobei meine Antwort sich wie folgt liest:

Guten Tag Herr D.

Besten Dank für Ihre Antwort auf meine Anfrage.

Wie von Ihnen vorgeschlagen habe ich mich umgehend dies bezüglich an einen “kompetenten Händler” ihres “Netzwerks” gewendet. Dieser verweist mich jedoch wieder zurück an den Hersteller, also Lenovo.

Es geht, bei meiner Anfrage um genauere Auskunft der Bestellmöglichkeit. Ins Besondere interessiert mich die Möglichkeit der Bestellung Ihrer wunderbaren Notebook Produkte ohne Betriebssystem, genauer ohne dass ich als Kunde die Kosten einer Lizenz eines Betriebssystems trage, welches ich gar nicht benutzen will. Schliesslich handelt es sich bei dem Betriebssytem-Produkt ja auch nicht um ein von Lenovo hergestelltes Produkt, sondern eines Dritten.
Um es anders zu sagen: Ich wünsche mir ein Gerät bei Ihnen, dem Hersteller, zu kaufen, ohne dass eine dritte Firma die Lizenzkosten eines Produktes erhält, welches ich weder erwerben, geschweige denn noch benutzen möchte.
Ich hoffe, im Sinne des freien Wettbewerbs und im Sinne internationaler Kartellrechte und Gesetze, dass dieses Produkt eines Dritten, in diesem Falle Microsoft, nicht an Ihre Produkte gebunden ist.

Mit Neugier freue ich mich auf Ihre postivie Antwort, wünsche ein schönes Wochenende und verbleibe mit freundlichen Grüssen, A.A.

This is becoming a hassle again. The way the Apple operation system OS X evolves is not convenient to my personal needs and the way I want to use my computer. Apple managed to incorporate impure and illicit functionalities into their operation system, that locks the user into a product range, which they control. The users freedom of choice and control fades away, thus OS X Lion is based on BSD UNIX. The command line is the only application that is turning out to allow full straightforward and controlled accessibility to the system and information. After intensively having tested and deployed OS X Lion, I decided that my next computer has to be a complete GNU/Linux machine again. Steve is dead now anyways, so things won’t improve.

Looking around in the local stores, no vendor seems to offer a up-to-date notebook computer, which respects the users choice for freedom. Either I am offered a 1 years old computer, for which I would have to wait for 3 weeks, or I’d have to “bite into the sour apple” and buy a computer, which, – illicitly, – comes together with an operation system, for which I’d have to pay for, thus I’d never use it.

In my e-mail to Lenovo I get the answer:

“Dear Alex,
Thank you for contacting Lenovo.
We apologize. We do not support any other Operating System apart from Windows.
Sincerely,
Deboshree Mukherjee”

… whereas my answer follows like

“Dear Deboshree

That is very sad to read. Sounds like your company is bound to unfair
competition* and does not allow users freedom either.

Do I at least have the possibility to acquire a computer, without
having to pay the license of an operation system, such as M$ Wind00ze,
which I wouldn’t use?

Sorry to say that I won’t acquire a computer that forces me to use an
operating system that is unresistant to viruses and locks me into the
choice of the manufacturers formats and applications.
How comes that M$ is legally capable to establish such a contract with
your company that your products are bound to an operation system that
violates human rights?
Thus technology still evolves thanks to innovators, that are freely
sharing their ideas and creativity, based on the principles that
know-how and knowledge want to be free (as in freedom).

Let me kindly remind you, that your company, that was former IBM, has
historically evolved based on this principles!

As I am working in the field in technology research, I strongly have
to make sure, that I have complete control over my devices and
instruments. – This is only possible with software that is
non-proprietary, such as GNU/Linux & UNIX.

Wishing you all the best & remaining with kindest regards, Alex

*(which in my country is a crime.)”

I need a hardware manufacturer and vendor who grants me my human rights and freedom, without violating international competition laws and rights.

[Update 4th of October 2011]
Lenovo, – surprisingly, – writes back.

“Dear Alex,

Thank you for your feed back and for your time and patience! We will surely forward this e-mail to the appropriate department to review for the betterment of the company. Thank you once again.

Sincerely,
Deboshree Mukherjee”

“Dear Deboshree

Thank you for your e-mail.
Would be great, if you could forward our correspondence to the respective department. I appreciate and, – honestly, – did not expect and answer.

I am sure you understand my concern and hope that we can establish a fair business relationship. It would be disappointing to see that your great computer products couldn’t be used together with an operation systems that guarantees freedom.

Have a good weekend and looking forward to read you soon again, Alex”

This evening Richard Stallman was giving a talk at the ETHZ. It was nice to see how the lecture hall was filled with young ICT students and hackers. Richard started his talk by saying that if anybody wants to record the talk or take pictures should publish it only by using free formats, such as ogg. – Well he’s substantially right by saying this. I was just wondering why it has to be said, as I think it’s self-evident.

It appears that even one of the most respected education institutes, such as the ETHZ, does not take Freedom for granted. And there lies the socio-political deception: Governments and regulation authorities have pushed surveillance and media control as far as we’re accepting debates about freedom to be discussed in mediocre circles. People using GNU/Linux are seen as outcast, rebels and extremists. – Though freedom ought to be one of the most basic principles of humankind!

There’s a massive lack of intellectuals and authors, interfering into the public political and cultural debates, as it has become difficult to avoid the mass media and, – therefore, – disinformation. The economical thirst for growth managed to incorporate writers and readers to subordinate their belief for the sake of media-control. Academics and brains subordinated with self-absorbed researches, funded by lobbyists and obscure organisations, to abandon their principles of liberty and freedom.

At the shift from information society to knowledge society, it’s not enough to just present the four freedoms of Free Software to the tomorrows system administrators and technoly adepts. Richard might be substantially right in his exposure of the principles of free software, while “Big Brother“, – as he calls it, – has ever since found new means of control. (Which are implemented into the todays information technology structures, without letting users know. Whereafter a large part of society argues “I’ve nothing to hide”!)
Richard seems to have become “commensurable” to a large audience, without being contradicted, without disruptive moments and “Etat de Siege“, which are needed to shake the public. – Literally!

Humankind has to understand that the dialectic rapidly has to change and that we’re not willing to be instrumentalised by capitalism. Culture is defined by self-determination, innovation, transparency, freedom and human rights. Richard, the whole free software and civil liberty society have to take the step to the next level and start to take back, 0wn and rule this planet!

[Update]

Recordig