laissez-faire cuts both ways

I got hacked.  Well, not really--but nowadays whenever something bad happens people say things like "I got hacked."  What happened was that I host a Creative Commons wiki and a Bulletin Board on a shared server with Dreamhost.  I have been very happy with Dreamhost for the past several years, and I think we have to appreciate what we get all the time--not just get angry when something bad happens. 

I don't know a lot about the Dec 29th hacks that tried to install backdoors in every php file in the directories (and sub directories) of two applications I had installed using the easy 1-click installer.  I know the blame has been on Wordpress, but the actual damage done was ... well, minimal.  Besides altering a bunch of php files and attempting to create a few HTML forms for gaining access to other parts of my site, not much else happened.  I was planning on moving the Creative Commons site to a dedicated server anyway, so in a way this was almost refreshing.  Also--I tend to have a soft spot for hackers--real hackers, not script kiddies, mind you.  This was more like the work of script kiddies cutting and pasting some php code than true hacking, of course, but that's not what really matters.

What does matter is that we keep things in perspective.  Although I grumbled about it at the time, I did learn a lot the last few nights as I ssh'd in via Linux terminal and worked on cleaning up the mess.  [Basically I grabbed all the media and got rid of the php files.]  At times, when I was researching this intrusion, I came across long and heated arguments about how this was Dreamhost's fault.  That made me a bit angry, and here's why:

I chose Dreamhost back when a lot of suckers were choosing GoDaddy or other hosts that 1) offered little ability to access the unix terminal to mess around with the guts of your account on the server, and 2) made you believe you owned the domain name you registered through them, when you did NOT. 

I chose Dreamhost because they appeared to be one of the most Python-friendly and Linux-friendly providers around.  I remember emailing them a few questions about using server-side Python scripts, and terminal access to my home directory.  They were very honest and helpful every time I had a question.  I have had no problems with them in four years now--until the Feb 29th thing.

But, you need to be honest with yourself when something like this happens.  First of all, Dreamhost is not the only victim that this happened to.  Also, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

For years I was frustrated by not having more admin rights from our district in my computer lab.  At times it got so annoying that several students and I ended up just booting into Linux on a stick rather than deal with a crappy setup that we could not customize for our needs.  Those days are past, though, and I now have full admin rights to every machine in my lab.  What caused the change?  I had to work at it for a long time, trying to build up positive connections with the district tech department.  Eventually we realized that giving me admin rights was a win for both sides--but I had to fulfill my end of that bargain.  I clearly told them, over and over, that I would handle all the troubleshooting and maintenance of the machines in the lab, and (most importantly) if we broke something, we were responsible.  Turned out that they liked the arrangement, and it continues to this day.  In the past two years I have had only one problem that I had to have help with--an iMac monitor that had a flaw in it that was apparent only a day after we got it.  Other than that, I have not had to ask for help installing software that runs on X11, or needed their help in finding lost files or troubleshooting software problems.

I see Dreamhost along the same lines.  They're a host that lets you mess around with the terminal, use version control, write your own CGI scripts--and so on.  So I was a little upset at clients that immediately started badmouthing Dreamhost and threatening that they were going to take their business elsewhere.  Typical human reaction, of course, but typical is pretty sucky when it comes to societal norms.  I'm still with Dreamhost.  My nightmare would be having them come out and change their policy in order to make us all "safer."  That would cause me to leave.

Arrrgh -- me tresure map to me code, scallywags!

Just purchased a new copy of yet one more book I had already downloaded as a pdf file.  I buy so many programming books that it appears I'm stuck in recursion with no base case in sight....

Oh Hey, THIS makes me wanna buy corporate music and videos!

Got a warning about a video I put on Youtube.  Used a template in iMovie and I'm 100% sure that I did NOT violate any terms of copyright.  Googled it and found out this is really common.  Still--wtf?!  This kind of shotgun spraying hits innocents like me and simply makes me want to embrace the cold and impersonal world of BIG MEDIA COMPANIES.  I don't know about you, but I sure feel like running out and buying a mp3 after getting this email.  ;-)

Next thing you know they'll copyright the act of flicking a booger onto a wall.

Holy Crap--New Life for an old Aspire One

I got my Acer Aspire One back in the good old days when it appeared that Linux was going to dominate the newly emerging netbook scene.  Of course that never happened for various reasons.  I won't go into that--but when Microsoft decided that they needed to dominate the netbook market, they also managed to annihilate the netbook market.

My Aspire One is one of the first ones made.  It came with Linpus Linux, which was pretty horrible.  The first thing I did was to unlock the hidden advanced features of the desktop.  The second thing I did was to start trying other Linux distributions in search of one that would make me happy.

I found Ubuntu's netbook remix to be too slow.  Although I had flirted with many other distros, I ended up using an Ubuntu alternate install cd and went the geeky route of installing no GUI desktop.  My plan was to use it for ssh-ing to a server, and also for programming CLISP and Python (using Vim).  The only problem was that I couldn't get the darn wifi to work right, so I had to be plugged in right next to my desktop.  Obviously NOT the best setup for a netbook.

So recently I started thinking of this little Apsire One as I was wrestling with dual booting Linux on my Macs.  What is so amusing about installing Linux is that some things that are difficult to get to work in some situations (wifi, sound, etc) are surprisingly easy in others.  I simply wasn't using the Aspire One, and I felt a little guilty about that, as I had such high hopes for Linux Netbooks.

So a couple years went by, and things changed a lot while I wasn't looking.  I had used CrunchBang on the Aspire One quite a while ago and thought it was pretty impressive.  I don't recall why I moved away from it, but I do remember that CrunchBang was pretty new at the time.

Last night I downloaded the CrunchBang iso file and put it on a USB stick using some excellent guide I found through a Google search.

This morning I installed CrunchBang with no problems.  Everything works, and I was happy to see my favorite text editor Geany already installed for me.  Writing this blog post was surprisingly easy, especially considering how clunky Linux can feel on newer Mac hardware.

Thanks CrunchBang!

Linux Mint: I sense a strange disturbance in the force...

I have chosen to NOT address the whole Ubuntu Unity desktop controversy, for several reasons. 

First of all, I tend to be pretty liberal and embrace change.  First impressions are often flat out wrong, and nothing bothers me more than people who won't even give something new a chance.

Second, I have heard very good things about Unity from people that I respect.  That DOES mean a lot to me, and by no means have I written off Unity altogether.  In fact, I recently installed Ubuntu (with Unity) on a Macbook Pro 6,2 and I'm really trying to get used to it. 

That said, I can't help but feel as if there is a major shift going on here, in the world of popular Linux distributions.  I don't remember exactly when Mint passed up Ubuntu on the page hit rankings on distrowatch, but it sure seems like the times they are a changin'.

So today I burned my first Mint DVD.  Like any Linux user, I have drawers full of all sorts of old Linux cds.  Some of those helped me get out of a mess in the past, and some opened the world to a new distribution.  Some failed so miserably that I couldn't even get them to boot up, but that's a different topic.

Major GuiltTrip Reporting for duty!

It's tough, really.  With all the recent SOPA stuff (I was firmly on the side opposing SOPA) there has been a lot of meditating, contemplating, and half-assed rants about the whole piracy and intellectual property rights mess.

So I found a copy of Free Ride by Robert Levine at the local public library and decided to check it out.  It's well-written, if not all that convincing.  Nonetheless, I can't help but wonder what Robert Levine would think about the fact that I checked this book out for zero cost at a public library.  The heart of the issue is so much more complex, isn't it?  I mean, there are books at the library that I would gladly spend 5 or 10 bucks to "rent"--and then there are books like this, that I came across almost by accident and decided to check out.

There are books I have checked out from the library that I have subsequently gone on to buy (Visualizing Data being the latest).  I just prefer to sample stuff first.

Silicon Valley's Secret in the Modern Classroom

Just read this great article, and now I'm simply making a note of this as something to consider for implementation in the classroom.

Might work for some of my CS classes.