review

Backtrack Linux 5r1 Installation

I’ve been using Backtrack since the vesion 4 beta. This new version has a ton of updated and new packages.
If you are not familiar with Backtrack, it is a “penetration testing” version of Ubuntu.  Definitely not for the casual user as a GUI login is not enabled and the default user is “root”. I install Backtack in a dual-boot configuration with XP on my laptop.  These are some tweaks I have to do:

• Install wireless drivers.  Intel IPW2200.
• Enable the kdm login.
• Allow the Chrome Browser to run as “root”.

Installing the wireless drivers was incredibly easy.  First download the firmware from Sourceforge into the /lib/firmware folder.  Version 3.1 is the latest as of the time of this post.  Then execute these commands:

tar -xzf ipw2200-fw-3.1.tgz
modprobe -r ipw2200
modprobe ipw2200

And that’s it, should be up and running.  Backtrack uses Wicd for network management.

Next is the kdm GUI login.

Start by editing /etc/init/kdm.conf, remove or comment out the following section:

if [ -n "$UPSTART_EVENTS" ]
then
[ ! -f /etc/X11/default-display-manager -o "$(cat /etc/X11/default-display-manager 2>/dev/null)" = "/usr/bin/kdm" ] || { stop; exit 0; }
# Check kernel command-line for inhibitors
for ARG in $(cat /proc/cmdline)
do
case "${ARG}" in
text|-s|s|S|single)
plymouth quit || : # We have the ball here
exit 0
;;
esac
done
fi

Reboot and you should see the GUI login.

Allow Chrome Browser to run as “root”.

After downloading the appropriate package run this command in the folder you saved Chrome into:

dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_i386.deb

Now you must add an unprivelged user.  This can be done with the command line or you can add the package kuser with the command “apt-get install kuser”.  Once that is done create a folder for that user. Then right click on the desktop of the root user and select Create New, Link to Application.  Now select the Application tab and the Command text box.  Click on Browse and navigate to /opt/google/chome and select the Chome application.  After returning to the Command text box enter this after the text:

%U --user-data-dir="/home/user/folder"

Use the user and folder you created.  You can edit the icon and change the name if you wish.

That’s the extent of the tweaks.  Happy testing.

##Update##

I had some trouble with shutting down with kdm enabled.   Here’s the fix for that little feature.  Get into Settings, System Settings then Login Screen.  Navigate to the Shutdown tab and click on the text box next to “Halt”.  Enter the following text: /sbin/shutdown -h now.

In the “Reboot” text box you should have /sbin/reboot as that seems to work ok.  You can enter /sbin/shutdown -r now if you have trouble.

##########

The fresh new UstreamTV

Apparently, the “fresh new ustream” isn’t all that fresh. It smells like a big pile of shit that any competent developer would be embarrassed to implement. I mean really, what were those people thinking?

About the only thing that was done correctly was cleaning up the front page. But the lack of testing and a resource for any documentation for the “new look” is abysmal. The release of this mess was not thought out AT ALL. Merely tossing it up on the web for all to scoff at seems to be the order of the day. Remember the Facebook remodel? I thought you did. But the devs at ustream didn’t.

The comments on the blog post are overwhelmingly against the “fresh new”. The forum posts are similar.

Since the shit was shoved down the throats of the Ustream users, there has not been a peep from anyone of consequence. I can only hope that they have taken the comments to heart and are working to reverse this trend of releasing untested and unwanted web crapplications to the public.

I’m not going into what’s broken because the list is too long.  Please sign the petition to get Ustream to back out of this silliness.

Get the message UstreamTV, you fucked up.

Note: The API is broken. LOLOLOLOL MORONS!!!!

WordPress 2.7

The latest release of WordPress 2.7 really should be 3.0. The changes to the dashboard alone would warrant a major release, IMHO. With the amount of plugin breakage, I don’t know why the plugin developers have not as of yet, released new versions of their plugins. The betas and RC’s have been out long enough for them to either issue a warning or an update.

The good thing is Chris Pirillo’s Wicketpixie Social Media Theme is unaffected, so far.

Breakage:

WPtouch iPhone theme
CSS greyscape
Ozh Admin Management Menus
WP ustream

Thanks for the headsup people. All in all, a nice update. As the dashboard now has a drag and drop arrangement and the ability to remove anything you don’t need to have on it. In fact, even the post page has it. Nice touch. Again, the plugin people need to update their plugins to take advantage of this. I still haven’t seen a way to remove the drafts that are auto saved. Since the database is where they are stored, I really would like an easy way to remove them in bulk. If you know, if, where this ability is, let me know.

Update: The WicketPixie Theme Faves and Sources no longer work.  It’s reading the db tables, just won’t write to them.  Weird.