BINARY SIGNAL

How to create a Linux screencast

Here is how I create my Linux screencasts. I would like to be able to use just Linux applications, but I find it easier and quick to use Windows.
Download a high quality version here - 24.1MB

Opera jumps straight to version 90!

In a surprise move Opera have decided to skip versions 10 to 89 and release version 90 today. When I started Opera this evening there was already a point release and I was asked to upgrade to version 90.1. Browsers have come a long way, its just a shame error checking hasn't. Still a great browser though.

Connecting to IRC in Ubuntu

Just a quick demo showing how to connect to IRC in Ubuntu. Click here for a high quality full screen version, which is 9.5MB, or watch the streaming YouTube video.

After you have watched it come join us on IRC.

Windows Vista Public Beta now available

So I heard from Robert Scobles blog, who heard from Neowin.net, who heard from MSBlog that the Public beta of Windows Vista is now available.

It is a big 3.13GB DVD ISO download but Microsoft are using Akamai's download manager to help every one get it.

So here it is http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview.mspx

The Linux Filesystem Explained

Chess Griffin produces a really good podcast called LinuxReality and in Episode #11 he explained about the filesystem in Linux. To help me understand the filesystem I followed though the explaination on my Ubuntu laptop. I decided it would be good to convert the podcast into a screencast to help other new users like myself.

]]> The screencast is now up on YouTube.com in two parts or a higher quality video can be downloaded directly here. I had to produce the video in Windows and hope everyone can play the .WMV file in what ever OS they are using.

Part One

Part Two

Busy with Kent LUG

The posts have been slow at the moment as I have been spending a lot of time learning Linux and working on the Kent Linux User Group website. I now have Ubuntu running prefectly on my Sony SRX77 laptop and Fedora Core 4 at home on my secondary desktop. I am thoroughly enjoying learning about and using Linux and apart for a few needed applications on Windows I am using it most of the time. Hopefully at some stage my knowledge will be enough to produce some Linux how-to content here.

WiFi Safe Surfing with VPN

Soon Steve Gibson from the Security Now podcast will be doing a big VPN solution how-to. He has done a few podcasts talking about Open VPN and Hamachi in the past and now VPN is a big topic. With more people using open WiFi access points or internet connections they have no control over they need to start thinking about security because as always there are some people out there looking to capture usernames and passwords etc.

ExtremeTech.com has a short explaination of VPN and the Hamachi solution online at the moment if you want to find out more information. A secure VPN solution is at the top of my to-do-list as I do use open WiFi and am now more concerned about the security of my data.

Kent Linux User Group

On Saturday the Kent Linux User group is holding a meeting in Rochester, Kent, and I will be attending. This will be the first 'user group' meeting I have ever attended and I am hoping to learn a lot from the other members and look forward to talking to like minded people. It was only by chance, from a impulse google search, that I found out about the meeting.

Recently I have been spending a lot of time using Fedora Core 4, which I am enjoying using more and more, but there is so much I do not know about Linux and hope the members of the Kent LUG can help me with some of my questions.

The Art of Network Troubleshooting

TechMentorEvents.com has available a great podcast of a session by Mark Minasi called 'The Art of Network Troubleshooting - How to Fix Any Network Problem'. The audio file is available from the TechMentorEvents.com site and goes on for 1hour and 35minutes which might seem long but it is very interesting and as an IT professional myself I learnt something. If you would like to work in the IT industry then I recommend downloading this podcast and sticking it on your MP3 player as you will learn something from it and it may just give you an advantage over others when you are interviewing for your first tech job.

Opera 9 Preview 2 released

Opera has been my favourite browser since it release version 8 and made it free. It is at version 8.5 at the moment and version 9 is expected in March, but labs.opera.com have released a preview of the new browser and it looks brilliant.

]]> Looks are the same, but the new features are going to make this browser a must have. Opera were the first to integrate tabbed browsing but Firefox really made it popular, but with the new version 9 Opera gives us a much needed feature, one I have wanted for a while. It is the ability to switch through the open tabs with a keyboard shortcut, much the same way you can switch between open windows with ALT+TAB. The short cut is CTRL+TAB and lists the open windows in the center of the screen allowing you to easily select the tab you want.

Pressing CTRL+TAB displays open tabs in the center of the screen.

A closer view of my open tabs.

The other nice feature is the thumbnail’s that now appear when you place your mouse over a tab so you can ‘preview’ the contents of that page. I think this could be very useful for people like me who like to open lots of tabs. The thumbnails were a little slow to appear which could just be caused by my slowish computer, but I am sure the final release will perform better as they normally always do.

Place your mouse over a tab for the thumbnail to display.

A closer view of the thumbnail.

Other new features of Opera 9 are ‘widgets’ which are much like Konfabulator or Dashboard widgets. Reviewers have not been enthusiastic about the widgets, but I am sure they will develop further and be of use. Opera 9 is also the first browser to support the downloading and seeding of BitTorrents, which even though most people will use a standalone client is a nice inclusion as lots of IPTV show distribute their content via BitTorrent and using it within the browser will make it easier for others.

So far I am very happy about the features in the preview of Opera 9 and have had no stability issues or problems, which is something I can not say for the recent IE 7 Preview which freezes constantly.

'Get It Done Using Technology' vidcast

Another IPTV show has been discovered on the net thanks to Digg.com, which almost killed the guys server. GIDUT.tv has 7 shows so far and 2 and 7 are very good demonstrations about how to make network cables. Well worth showing to my Cisco students.

GIDUT.TV - Internet Television

Creating a shortcut for a terminal application

After watching www.almostageek.com I was able to install the Xine Media Player on my Fedora Core 4 computer. Xine is a great application and now I can use my Linux box even more as I can watch videos on it, but the problem with Xine is you have to start it from terminal. So while playing around and learning more about Linux I discovered how to create a shortcut that allowed me to run Xine with just a simple mouse click and save me from going through terminal.

Even though this is probably the simplest thing to do for an experience Linux user, for me a complete novice it was a great achievement. I have already shared how I did it with another new Linux user and created a show video to help other new Linux users too.

Creating a Shortcut in Fedora Core (9.2Mb - Windows Media Video)

DHCP Protocol (Part 2)

To complete your understanding of DHCP, check out Part II of WindowsNetworking.com's article.
Understanding the DHCP Protocol (Part 2)

DHCP Protocol (Part 1)

While studying Semester 4 of my CCNA I learnt a lot about DCHP and how to configure it on Cisco routers. It is also mentioned in Module 10 of Semester 1 which my Cisco students have recently covered. WindowsNetworking.com have the first part of a two part article online explaining DHCP, so if you are studying for your CCNA or are just interested in how your computer gets an IP address then I recommend this article.

WindowsNetworking.com - Understanding the DHCP Protocol (Part 1)

Security Update for Windows XP

Everyone should have Autoupdates enabled on their Windows computers and will have already got this update or will get it automatically next time you go online. If you don't have Autoupdates enabled then please manually update all your Windows computers now. This patch fixes a very dangerous security issue that could expose your computer and allow programs to be run on it remotely.

Download details: Security Update for Windows XP (KB912919)