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Laptop Computer Features

It’s not easy to choose a laptop, and part of the problem is that most people don’t seem to start from the use of the laptop. I believe that the following four categories cover the vast majority of the modern use of mobile computers.

PDA [1] – can be held in one hand and generally […]

Not All Opinions Are Equal

It seems to be a common idea by non-bloggers that the comment they enter on a blog is somehow special and should be taken seriously by the author of the blog (everyone is a legend in their own mind). In a recent discussion one anonymous commentator seemed offended that I didn’t take his comments seriously […]

Fixing execmod (textrel) Problems in Lenny

I’ve just updated my repository of SE Linux related packages for Lenny [1] to include a set of ffmpeg packages modified to not need text relocations (execmod access under SE Linux). I haven’t checked to make sure that I fixed all issues in those packages, but I have fixed all the issues that prevented Mplayer […]

Noise in Computer Rooms

Some people think that you can recognise a good restaurant by the presence of obscure dishes on the menu or having high prices. The reality is that there are two ways of quickly identifying a good restaurant, one is the Michelin Guide [1] (or a comparable guide – if such a thing exists), the other […]

Islamophobia

I recently wasted a bit of time reading some right-wing blogs. One thing I noted was the repeated references to news reports about young women from an Islamic background being beaten (and in some cases killed) by their fathers (and other male relatives) for not conforming to some weird cultural ideas that some people associate […]

Execmod and SE Linux – i386 Must Die

I have previously written about the execmod permission check in SE Linux [1] and in a post about SE Linux on the desktop I linked to some bug reports about it [2] (which probably won’t be fixed in Debian).

One thing I didn’t mention is the proof of the implication of this. When running a […]

Efficiency of Cooling Servers

One thing I had wondered was why home air-conditioning systems are more efficient than air-conditioning systems for server rooms. I received some advice on this matter from the manager of a small server room (which houses about 30 racks of very powerful and power hungry servers).

The first issue is terminology, the efficiency of a […]

SE Linux in Lenny status – Achieved Level 1

I previously described the goals for SE Linux development in Lenny and assigned numbers to the levels of support [1]. I have just uploaded a new policy to unstable which I hope to get in Lenny that will solve all the major issues for level 1 of support (default configuration with the unconfined_t domain for […]

Random Opinions, Expert Opinions, and Facts about AppArmor

My previous post titled AppArmor is Dead [1] has inspired a number of reactions. Some of them have been unsubstantiated opinions, well everyone has an opinion so this doesn’t mean much. I believe that opinions of experts matter more, Crispin responded to my post and made some reasonable points [2] (although I believe that he […]

Google Chrome – the Security Implications

Google have announced a new web browser – Chrome [1]. It is not available for download yet, currently there is only a comic book explaining how it will work [2]. The comic is of very high quality and will help in teaching novices about how computers work. I think it would be good if we […]