32packets

Today on part 5 of How to build the Ultimate Linux Home Server, we will be installing a web administration tool so that we can have our home server be headless, so we will be using Webmin.

Webmin is a web-based interface for system administration for Unix. Using any modern web browser, you can setup user accounts, Apache, DNS, file sharing and much more. Webmin removes the need to manually edit Unix configuration files like /etc/passwd, and lets you manage a system from the console or remotely.

If you missed a section of How to build the Ultimate Linux Home Server, you can view them here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

More after the jump!

(more…)

Today on part 4 of how to build the Ultimate Linux Home Server, we’ll be setting up FUPPES to stream and transcode our media to various devices that support UPNP, such as the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Some of the features of FUPPES are :

(more…)

Today’s section, Part 3 of How to build the Ultimate Linux Home Server, is on adding users to OpenSUSE via the command line and configuring Samba for sharing files. I’ve decided to do the guide on how to add users the old fashion way mainly because it’s faster and easier to do it via the terminal, and I’ve done it many, many times.

Adding users is crucial to having Samba working. Since we aren’t running an LDAP or NIS server, we are using local authentication on the Linux server to allow access to the shares.

If you missed a section of How to build the Ultimate Linux Home Server, you can view them here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5

(more…)

Today we will be setting up DHCP and DNS. While these two aren’t completely necessary, some people may benefit from this.

DHCP is a network protocol that is used to allocate IP addresses to client devices connected to the network. By default, any home router that you would buy uses DHCP to give the clients IP addresses, making it extremely easy to connect a new device to any home network. If you want to leave your home router to manage the allocation of IP’s, you can just skip to the DNS part.

DNS is used as a “phone book” to turn human readable names, such as www.32packets.com, into the IP address that the server/client uses.

If you missed the first part, Installing OpenSUSE, here is Part 1

Part two after the Jump

(more…)

Nowadays, most households have multiple computers and media devices, and sharing files and media between them all can be extremely messy. The best solution would be a home server of course!

I’ll be separating the whole guide into multiple parts. By the end, we will have accomplished:

* Installing OpenSUSE onto your Home Server
* DHCP
* DNS
* SMB/NFS File Sharing
* Media Sharing
* VPN

More after the Jump!

(more…)

VideoLan Client, the media player that can play just about anything, has finally released a new version. I’ve been using VLC for many years now, it’s one of the tools I’ve found to be irreplaceable.

If you’ve never given it a try, you are definitely missing out.

Changes between 0.8.6h and 0.8.6i:
———————————-

Security updates:
* Fixed integer overflow in WAV demuxer (CVE-2008-2430)

Various bugfixes:
* Fixed option to use shared memory within the GLX video output module
* Improved galaktos-based audio visualizations on FreeBSD
* Miscellaneous bugfixes in multiple modules and in libvlc
(transcode stream output, OSD menu video filter, VCD input,
SAP services discovery, http control interface)
* Updated Polish translation

Download: VideoLan 0.8.6i

I’ve been using Firefox since around version 1.0, and over the past few years, it’s become the only web browser I can use. Yes, Safari and Camino are both great browsers, IE7 is better than IE6 but still not great, and Opera is decent too, but their is one key thing that all those browsers are missing. Great Addons. I think addons are the killer app for Firefox, and with Firefox 3, addons are better than ever.

Here is a list of addons that I’ve come across over the past few years

Adblock Plus - It does exactly what it says, it blocks advertisements. Those annoying flashing banner ads are gone for good!

NoScript - This addon disables all scripts on all websites by default, so no annoying JavaScript gets through. You can whitelist websites that you want to allow executable content on.

Linkification - This is my absolute favorite addon. Quite often people forget to actually link a URL that they copy and paste. This automatically links any URLs that haven’t been hyperlinked.

Download Statusbar - This neatly organizes and shows you your downloads in a tiny statusbar at the bottom of your browser window and doesn’t get in the way of your browsing!

Firefox PDF Plugin - One of my main complaints about Firefox is that when you view a PDF, it downloads it and uses Preview to open it. With this plugin, it allows you to view it in your browser. No files to mess up your downloads folder.

TwitterFox - I twitter alot, and having it just a short keystroke away in Firefox is very handy when you want to blast out a link you’ve found. You can follow me at http://twitter.com/shawnmolnar

URL Fixer - Everyone misspells URL’s from time to time, this corrects common errors such as .con, .ocm, etc.

StumbleUpon - I love StumbleUpon. Its algorithms to find content that you like are great and has introduced me to many new blogs and other sites that I’ve come to use nowadays.

Mozilla Weave - Weave has found a new special place in my heart. It synchronizes all of my data between Firefox 3 on my Mac, and Firefox 3 for Vista in boot camp. So whenever I have to use Vista, I can open up Firefox and have all of my data there too, bookmarks, history, even passwords if you like.

PicLens - PicLens is a very cool addon that allows you to view 3D slideshows of Facebook images, Flickr images, and on many more sites. It’s a great way to view multiple pictures at the same time.

Those are my favorite plugins, If I’ve missed anything or you have one you think I’d like, leave a comment or reply to me on Twitter!

The Firefox Development team has put a great deal of time into developing the best browser available, Firefox 3. While they were at it, they threw in a few easter eggs. If you are using Firefox (which you should be!), type these into your address bar or click on them.

about:crashes

about:logo

about:buildconfig

about:cache

about:credits

about:robots

about:mozilla

about:license

about:plugins

Give them a try! For some of them you’ll like what you see.

iTunes 7.7 was just released via software update and available via the http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Updates include support for MobileMe, iPhone 3G, and the App Store. The App Store will be live on Friday in time for the iPhone 3G launch. There will be 500 Apps available for the iPhone, 25% of them will be free and a good majority of the rest will be under $9.99.