Reset a Lost root Password
What happens when that server that was always humming along nicely all of a sudden needs you to log in as root to check something or install something new. What was the root password? Didn’t it just get changed? All of a sudden, the cold sweat starts - the root password is unknown.
What do you do?
Reset it! Thankfully there are a few ways to do this.
Install Debian Etch on an older G3 iMac
One thing that stops many people from trying Linux is that either they don’t want to go through the hassle of dual-booting their machine and possibly loosing everything in the process, or that the ease of use with virtualization technology such as VMware and VirtualBox make non-commitment to an OS trivial. If one is serious about using an alternative OS, I think it’s better to use it on a machine all by itself.
What better way to do that than to get a cheap computer, in this case an old iMac, and load Linux on it. While the process isn’t exactly the same as doing this on an x86 PC, once the OS is loaded one gets a feel for how everything works. You’ll also get the advantage of a real, multitasking OS instead of MacOS 9 or earlier.
Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 2 Released
Ubuntu has released the newest alpha version of Gutsy Gibbon. Gibbon will have Compiz Fusion (the newest release since Compiz and Beryl merged) enable by default, along with all of the enhancements of Feisty Fawn.
More information here: http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/tribe2
screen - Making Terminals More Efficient
One of the best things about *nix-based systems is the rich command line interface that they all have. No matter what shell you actually use, the entire operating system is at your fingertips with a terminal. The only downside is that multiple windows must be open to do multiple things, right? Not with screen, a basic window manager for terminals. Open multiple sessions and even split-screen to make your life easier. Find out how after the jump.
Ubuntu 7.10 Alpha 1 Released
From Ubuntu.com:
The Ubuntu developers are moving very quickly to bring you the absolute latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to offer. The Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 1 is the first alpha release of Ubuntu 7.10, and with this new alpha release comes a whole host of excellent new features. The feature list for 7.10 has been slowly growing more exact since Gutsy opened late last month. While looking forward nothing is completely certain, here are some of the new things that have already arrived, such as GNOME 2.19, a new 2.6.22-rc kernel, as well as a good look at the approved specifications for Gutsy.