Rob the Geek

Category: Linux

  • Backing up the Pi

    We’ve just had some work done on one of our systems (which runs from a Raspberry Pi v2) so, aside from the config file backups that we can collect from the systems interface, I thought it would be prudent to grab an image backup.. this is how it was done:

  • CentOS 7 – CLI to GUI

    I’ve been playing with a few VMs as I try to figure out a new infrastructure for our office, and as part of this I’ve taken a particular shine to CentOS as a minimal build for my virtual servers. I then decided I wanted to get a few sandbox environments running with desktop software and, […]

  • Kicking off with Koha

    Koha is a fully featured, scalable library management system. So, I thought I’d set up Koha on a virtual machine to have a bit of a play, and maybe use it to manage our library at home. Create the virtual machine I’m using VirtualBox as my VM manager, so – first off we create a […]

  • When USB goes bad…

    So, I decided to give running a linux distro *solely* from a USB 3.0 flash drive… the install itself was fairly simple and painless, the pain only started on the reboot. The drive failed, and I was dropped to the rather unfriendly >initfs prompt. I tried a few things, from fixing the failed superblocks dumpe2fs […]

  • Linux for Kids

    My best mate dropped over on the weekend and left me an ancient Sony Vaio that he’d acquired for his 7-year-old daughter. After shooting the breeze over the beer, we got to talking about his daughters computer use. Essentially he (and she) just wanted “something she can use and have for her own” – he’d […]

  • Ubuntu Upgrade Day: 11.04 – 11.10 ‘Oneiric Ocelot’

    Yay! My favorite Linux distro gets a facelift today with Ubuntu 11.04 making way for the newly released version 11.10 ‘Oneiric Ocelot’. From past history lessons, I do tend to stray on the side of caution, so only one of my machines will be getting the upgrade treatment this week and I’ll hold off with the […]

  • Getting Ubuntu to Boot *AFTER* installing Windows 7

    From Google, and the various Linux community forums, this is a fairly common problem so, in an effort to be more useful than those who simply post a link to the GRUB man page, or an article which spells out how dumb it is to install Windows AFTER Ubuntu – I thought I’d drop my […]

  • Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty) + WiFi working on EEE

    When Ubuntu 11.04 released, things went backwards for the EEE. If the wireless adapter was enabled, Natty would hang soon after login – it turns out this was due to a kernel issue similar to that experienced in its predecessor. But, as per many things in the open software world, the community has come up […]

  • Skype Beta 2.2.0.25 for Linux – Webcam WORKING!

    Ugh – finally, after much backward and forward (even to the point I dragged out a Windows laptop) I’ve tracked down the issue which was stopping my embedded webcams (which otherwise works in all other applications) from working with the latest beta of Skype for Linux. The solution is this (thanks Ubuntu Forums): for 32-bit […]

  • Chrysalis Cam – Using Open Source to Open Minds

    The kids in Room 3 had a problem, all of the caterpillars that went into the pupa stage of their metamorphosis were emerging when the students were out of the classroom. The solution was to setup a laptop with a web camera programmed to take a snapshot of a waiting chrysalis once every minute. These […]