New MaraDNS snapshot; help for people trying to install Linux on a 1420

I have updated the MaraDNS snapshot today. This snapshot has a couple of fairly minor changes:

• There is a new mararc dictionary variable, future that will allow new parameters to be set in future versions of MaraDNS, but still have the mararc file parse in MaraDNS 1.3. For example, let us suppose a future version of MaraDNS sends NOTFY packets when a zone file is updated. Then we can have a mararc variable send_notify_to, and for people who wish to use the same configuration file in MaraDNS 1.3, future["send_notify_to"].
• I have doubled the default amount of memory allowed to be allocated, since I saw MaraDNS hit the maximum the other morning, when I was on a broken internet connection

It can be downloaded here

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For people trying to get their Dell Inspiron to work in Linux, Dell now has an ISO image available for installing Linux on to one of these computers.

- Sam

Linux annonyance: /dev/hda now has large file problems

Ever since the creation of Linux in 1991, the way to mount IDE hard disks and CD-ROMS was to type in something like mount /dev/hda1 /mnt, or for an IDE CD-ROM drive, something like mount /dev/hdc /mnt. However, this no longer works that well in the kernel that comes with Ubuntu 7.04 (2.6.20-16-generic). If there is a DVD which is larger than four gigabytes in size, the CD/DVD-ROM drive can not access the files past the four gig limit. This was not a problem with older Linux kernels; the kernel developers broke something that has been working for years.

Instead, one has to get the udftools package via sudo apt-get install udftools, configure the file /etc/default/udftools to point to the CD/DVD-ROM device, and then mount the DVD as /dev/pktcdvd/0. Ugh. As an aside, there are online guides for making UDF packet-writing DVDs (DVD-RWs that you can write to as if they were a huge floppy disk) that give bad directions. Please read the directions in the file /usr/share/doc/udftools/README.Debian.gz for correctly formatting a packet DVD. I now have two coasters that used to be DVD-RW blanks because I did not follow these directions, but instead trusted inaccurate on-line directions. In particular, I didn't do the essential growisofs -Z /dev/hdc=/dev/zero step between formatting the DVD-RW and putting the UDF filesystem on the DVD-RW, since the on-line guide did not mention this step.

Also, when mounting a DVD-RW, you really want to mount it like mount -o noatime /dev/pktcdvd/0 /mnt since otherwise it will do very slow writes when all you want to do is read some files. Yes, I actually learned something useful from reading a Slashdot discussion. Naturally, Slashdot misattributed a quote to Linus, but hey at least the information in this thread is useful.

1420 update: Suspend broken

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Well, it would seem that there is a key feature broken with my Inspiron 1420: Suspend is completely broken. Not just a little broken. Completely broken. Attempts to suspend the laptop do nothing more than crash the system.

I, of course, tried various ways to suspend the system:

• sudo pmi action suspend
• sudo pmi action hibernate
• sudo apt-get install uswsusp

  Followed by either:

  s2ram

  s2disk

All of these have the same result: The system crashes, forcing a reboot.

Another bug: Take a blank DVD-RW. Format it as a UDF filesystem in Windows Vista. Write data to the disk. Now, put it in the Linux system. Write some more files. The UDF filesystem is now perfectly fine in Linux---but Windows Vista can not read any of the data on the disk, and will not allow you to write to the disk unless you reformat the DVD-RW.

Now, this could simply being a case of Microsoft playing their old vendor lockout games, where they refuse to read UDF-formatted disks written to by the competitor's product.

Speaking of vendor lockout, I wonder how log it will take Microsoft before they punish Dell for selling non-Microsoft computers by charging more for Windows.

Review: Dell Inspiron 1420 with Linux

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I have finally received my Dell Inspiron 1420 that comes with Ubuntu 7.04 preinstalled today. The order took about a month to process; this is a brand new model, and I was one of the first people to order it. I would have gotten a Thinkpad, but chose Dell since they are going out on a limb and are making computers with Linux preinstalled. This means that I get a computer that works out of the box with Linux-compatible hardware; there is no need to use ndiswrapper to get the wireless card to work with Linux, and no strange winmodem without a Linux driver lurking in this laptop.

This is one of the first systems; I ordered the system too early to get the free hard disk and memory upgrade. When I asked to upgrade the system, I was told I would have to cancel the order and reorder to do that. The systems have a two-week backlog and I want to get back to Mexico as soon as possible, so I decided to have just get the computer as quickly as possible.

The system booted in to Linux without problem. Since Ubuntu uses all 80 gigs of hard disk space, I tried to reinstall Ubuntu from the supplied CD in order to have more free space. Strangely enough, while Ubuntu runs fine on the system, the Ubuntu Live CD can not successfully boot. I had to download and burn the Ubuntu "alternate install" CD in order to get a Ubuntu system I could repartition from.

The good news is that the partition manager included with Ubuntu's "alternate install" CD has partition resize support. I was able to resize the partition Dell's Ubuntu install is on without having to reinstall the OS. While it was a slow process, it saved me the bother of reinstalling all of the restricted drivers and configuring the computer yet again.

As a Linux system, it is a great system. If you are a Linux hobbyist or experienced Linux user, this is a system worth having. All of the hardware works with a minimum of restricted drivers (for the winmodem and wireless network card) used. Even the SD card reader works. If you are an average Windows or Mac OS X user, however, I would not recommend this system.

Here are some issues which I have seen with this system:

• The wireless configuration GUI tool only supports the very insecure WEP encryption. Setting up WPA encryption is non-trivial. For the record, the cookbook linked to does work and I am using it to be on our secure wireless network at home.
• Firefox's inline spelling dictionary is really nice. Unfortunately, Ubuntu comes with a really long list of languages that makes it difficult for me to switch between English and Spanish; something I do quite frequently. Even after uninstalling all of the languages besides English and Spanish, Firefox still has this huge list of languages I can spell-check against, only two of which I will actually use.

Linux has a made a lot of progress since the mid-1990s in terms of being an end-user desktop machine (the resize partition feature is a very nice addition); however I must conclude that Linux, as a desktop machine, is more geared towards the kind of people who had a computer in the late 1970s (see my last blog posting).

I think one day Linux will become a viable desktop system for the masses. Until then, Dell is a pioneer in making Ubuntu desktops and laptops for the small niche who would rather have Linux on their computer. I just hope Microsoft does not illegally punish Dell for making this bold move.