Up until now, I’ve thought of remixes as different takes or renditions –some authorized, some not, sometimes by the original author/s, sometimes not– but all the while never impressing me as much as the original work they’re based on.
In come two versions of a piece called “Intro” by The XX. Continue reading
This is a cleaned up Ubuntu 11.04 specific HowTo version of a Debian 6.0 (Squeeze) article I previously wrote.
Getting this working on Ubuntu was so simple that I messed it up and almost pulled my hair out before realizing how simple it really was. The key is to not mess about with the proxy or network managers, as you have to on OS X.
# apt-get install pdnsd dnsutils resolvconf polipo
If you’re installing using the Software Center, make sure to install Polipo first.
You must specify resolvconf when prompted to during the installation of pdnsd. Continue reading
This is a cleaned up Debian 6.0 (Squeeze) only version of my previous article on economical surfing, as with updates and Ubuntu 11.04 pertinent information, it started to look confusing. There is now a separate Ubuntu 11.04 article, too, since the setup is different (even simpler) from that of Debian.
# aptitude install pdnsd dnsutils resolvconf polipo
You must specify resolvconf when prompted to during the installation of pdnsd. Continue reading
UPDATE: Sept. 11th, 2011
There’s a cleaned up version of this article here, and a Ubuntu 11.04 one here.
UPDATE: Sept. 6th, 2011.
I’ve realized that the localhost setting (127.0.0.1) doesn’t stick in /etc/resolv.conf. The only way I could make it permanent (using a stripped down Debian install I use on this machine) is to edit /etc/dhcp/dhclient.conf to reflect (take the hash out/uncomment it):
prepend domain-name-servers 127.0.0.14, 208.67.220.220, 208.67.222.222;
My /etc/dhcp3/dhclient.conf also reflects the same information, so don’t confuse the two files
This works so well that upon boot-up, /etc/reolv.conf, pdnsd, and Polipo are all on the same page and “just work”. Thus, there no longer is a need for the service restart script below, if you want to always run off of pdnsd. By the way, the last two IPs are OpenDNS, just in case the local DNS fails.
This is the Debian 6.0 (Squeeze) article that I promised in my OS X posting on how to install, configure and run a local DNS server with a persistent registry, accompanied by a caching proxy –thus improving Internet responsiveness. I won’t go into a long explanation about why it’s good to do this as my previous article details those points.
# aptitude install pdnsd dnsutils resolvconf polipo
If you’re using Ubuntu 11.o4 Natty Narwhal (first release with Unity), and are installing using the Software Center, make sure to install Polipo first.
You must specify resolvconf when prompted to during the installation of pdnsd.
I first came across the idea of running a local DNS server while running Debian and reading what Ubuntu heads were doing to speed up their navigation. I never gave it much thought, until I had to configure a custom Debian install to surf via a 3G mobile modem. I spent the a day investigating how to do it manually, only to find out it really is pretty easy –if you know what you’re doing. This Debian article is coming (it’s here!).
Anyway onto this OS X article, I thought to myself, considering the lousy service that VTR has given me over the years, I don’t know why I hadn’t done this on my Macs running OS X before. It’s even more imperative considering that surfing has always been slow on Macs, in my experience and that of others. So, I looked into the matter.
Some enthusiasts might (and do) protest the opinion that surfing on a Mac is slow, assuring it’s quite fast, despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary. They might also point this article out. If what that article says is true, OS X might not benefit all that much from having a local DNS server, Even so, I had a go at it.
The confusing bit about installing a local DNS server on OS X is that most articles are not even Tiger related (yes, I do run one computer on Tiger), and when they are Tiger specific they’re related to BIND, which is not all that great unless you never plan to turn you computer off; BIND does not retain its records after a reboot.
Luckily, there is another option. It’s called pdnsd, and it’s what I’ve used on Debian. Make sure you have Apple’s developer tools installed before attempting to compile it, though.
The general scheme proposed is as follows.
browser –> Polipo –> local DNS server
The browser communicates with Polipo (that caches, improving speed on commonly browsed pages, rather than wasting bandwidth downloading the same elements over and over again), which sends DNS requests locally (improving speed, rather than wasting time sending requests to remote [taking time] and slow/over worked servers [creating further lag]).
A side benefit is that you’re less likely to be tracked through DNS server requests, something that even “democratic” governments are reported to perform. In any case, surfing under the radar is not the topic herein.
(This article assumes you have a DSL style modem.)
Note: Although it’s not the subject at hand, I should warn that running a local DNS server is not recommended for Tor use. It poses a security threat.
Gee, I wonder how some people stay in business here in Chillán. This is how things work here, businesses exist because their owners have the money to open one, not (necessarily) because they know anything about the corresponding craft or service they offer, nor –the least of which– do they worry about customer service.
One such example is David Salazar M. with a simple matter of a plain board measuring 60 cm by 25 cm.
After about a week of waiting for the home delivery of the board, I called Mueblería y Carpintería Salazar (on Saturday on Dec. 15 before noon); I found Bernardo was not at work, despite he’d told me he arrives at work at 9 A.M.. Expecting another no-show for a home delivery (by now for the third time), my call was passed to David.
David got onto his high horse informing me that he was the boss and proceeded to tell me, “You have nothing to complain about, since you didn’t pay ahead of time. I don’t permit work to be done this way and my brother knows that”. David continued with, “Sometimes people ask for work to be done right away, and then they don’t pay up. Since this is your case, you’ll just have to put up and wait, just like you made us wait a week until you paid”.
The truth is, I never asked for the work to be done right away, (by this point) I’d paid for two projects and done so ahead of time for a board on which was still waiting. Around here, you best pay for work after it’s done, because the incentive to finish is lost when you pay up. Apparently this is the Salazars’ problem. Continue reading
Baya, no entiendo como algunas mini-empresas de provincia no quiebran. Éstas empiezan porque sus fundadores tienen algo de dinero, y no (necesariamente) por un amor al producto o calidad de servicio que proveen. Es así como funcionan las cosas aquí en Chillán, Chile donde existe poca competencia.
Un tal ejemplo es como la experiencia que tuve con David Salazar M. Por una simple tabla de 60 cm por 12 cm, David Salazar y Bernardo Salazar (dueños de Mueblería y Carpetinería Salazar) no pudieron responder.
Después de aproximadamente una semana de esperar, llamé la Mueblería y Carpintería Salazar antes del medio día Diciembre 15-07 para confirmar las medidas, ya que Bernardo me había dicho el día anterior que las perdió. Encontré que Bernardo, no estaba en el taller a pesar que me había dicho que que llegaba a las 9 am al trabajo. Al sospechar que de nuevo no me iba a llegar el producto a domicilio, me comunicaron con David. David habló con un tono exageradamente autoritaria informándome que él era el jefe, y que yo no tengo por cual quejarme porque no pagué con anterioridad, que él no permite que se trabaje de esa manera, que la gente pide trabajo hecho rápido pero no pagan, y que no tengo otro recurso sino que “aguantarme” –“como nos hiciste aguantar a nosotros”.
La verdad es que al saber que el trabajo estaba hecho, pagué por completo el mismo día y aún más adelantado por una repisa que no se me había entregado, a pesar que me dado cuenta que en Chillán es mejor pagar por trabajo después de que se haya cumplido porque si se paga antemano, el trabajador pierde el incentivo para cumplir. Es ésto lo que me pasó, demostrado por las repetidas obstáculos encontrados. Continue reading
January 11, 2011
Although I’ve tried keeping the links on my first article on Elive updated, they have constantly been changed and/or deleted (obviously) by Elive developers. For instance, MacBook beta .iso repositories and torrent pages with stable releases have been eliminated, the link to the license guaranteeing the right to modify the .iso has been taken down, a page declaring a new license has been updated (mentioning the license has been entirely rewritten [there no longer is mention of the CC licence and suggests abiding by the particular license of each program component]), and the once public sources.list is no longer. Continue reading
I’ve noticed a few promoted methods on how to install SIP-Communicator (now known as jitsi). The problem is, none of them work. That is, if you try to install using the instructions labelled with the predicated name (manually editing sources.list), you can’t add the keys –causing GPT error warnings. Here’s how I got it installed and working.
I found that a few days after reporting the error to the corresponding IRC, the following instructions appeared at the jitsi homepage. Continue reading
If there’s one thing that really pisses me off is when you have multiple windows with a plethora of tabs opened (during a research binge), when all of a sudden Firefox crashes and then, upon restart, nada! Lately, Firefox seems to crash more and more upon closing down –at least during pre-4 versions.
Firefox 4 now has a GUI option to do the same (a feature implemented incredibly late), but here’s how I’ve dealt with the problem. Keep in mind this only works for the first run after Firefox has failed to recoup the previous session; Don’t shut Firefox down –or you’ll overwrite your session backup, contrary to some advice on the Net! Keep Firefox running, until you’re to terminate it –as noted in the instructions below. Proceed under your own responsibility. Continue reading
