An example of DOS line-endings follows:
(note the ^M)

To convert DOS line endings to Unix without the aid of dos2unix, in Vim: :%s/^M//g

(use ctrl-v ctrl-m to input the ^M.)

Alternatively, to force Vim to use DOS line endings: :set ff=dos

Besides the Dump/Restore method mentioned here, I’ve found the commands find and cpio an equally effective combo when used to obtain true clones of data directories.

In the below example, the source partition is mounted at /srcDir, and the destination partition device is /dev/targetPart. We will create two scratch directories at /var/tmp: srcDir, and targetDir; and mount both source and target partitions here.

We will use the mount_nullfs file system as opposed to the traditional loopback file system. From man 8 mount_nullfs:

The mount_nullfs file system differs from a traditional loopback file system in two respects: it is implemented using a stackable layers techniques, and its “null-node�?s stack above all lower-layer vnodes, not just over directory vnodes.

# mkdir /var/tmp/srcDir && mount_nullfs /srcDir /var/tmp/srcDir

# mkdir /var/tmp/targetDir && mount /dev/targetPart /var/tmp/targetDir

# cd /var/tmp/srcDir

# find . | cpio -pdum /var/tmp/targetDir

# cd - && umount /var/tmp/targetDir && umount /var/tmp/srcDir

# rmdir /var/tmp/{srcDir,targetDir}

Here’s a script I created to backup and restore data between partitions on OpenBSD:

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#!/bin/sh
newfs /dev/ad1s1a
newfs /dev/ad1s1e
newfs /dev/ad1s1f

mount /dev/ad1s1a /backup/root
mount /dev/ad1s1e /backup/var
mount /dev/ad1s1f /backup/usr

( dump -0f - / ) | ( cd /backup/root ; restore -rf - )
( dump -0f - /var ) | ( cd /backup/var ; restore -rf - )
( dump -0f - /usr ) | ( cd /backup/usr ; restore -rf - )

umount /backup/root
umount /backup/var
umount /backup/usr

tunefs -n enable /dev/ad1s1a
tunefs -n enable /dev/ad1s1e
tunefs -n enable /dev/ad1s1f

ERC is fully equipped to connect to SSL/TLS-enabled servers (e.g. OFTC and Freenode) however, Certificate Authentication support is rather untested.

For the purposes of this guide, head on over to the following OFTC page to get an idea on how to create the necessary certificates

To get started, ensure that SSL/TLS support is enabled in your emacs init file:

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(require 'tls)
(require 'erc)

This allows us to set the tls-program variable that calls external tools openssl or gnutls-cli to perform the actual connection.

To see how the variable is initally defined:
[F1] V tls-program

You’ll notice that there are several options for tls-program. tls-program will cycle through the commands until a connection is established with the fallback.

Note that while you can add CA-chain and accompanying keys to gnutls-cli, ERC may fail to recognise them, and will proceed to create the secure connection using gnutls without certificate authentication.

I personally use OpenSSL:

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(setq tls-program '("openssl s_client -connect %h:%p -no_ssl2 -ign_eof
                                     -CAfile /home/ootput/.private/certs/CAs.pem 
                                     -cert /home/ootput/.private/certs/nick.pem" 
                   "gnutls-cli --priority secure256 
                               --x509cafile /home/ootput/.private/certs/CAs.pem 
                               --x509certfile /home/ootput/.private/certs/nick.pem -p %p %h" 
                   "gnutls-cli --priority secure256 -p %p %h"))

Please note that your distro’s implementation of libgnutls may also be unsuitable for CA-chaining.

Use of gnutls-cli is recommended for the future as most linux projects have sought to replace openssl dependencies with gnutls.

Now, assuming you’ve already enabled ‘erc, we can continue to work with the supplied erc-tls command:

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(defun start-irc ()
 "Connect to IRC."
 (interactive)
 (erc-tls :server "irc.oftc.net" :port 6697
      :nick "ootput" :full-name "ootput")
 (erc :server "irc.freenode.net" :port 6667
      :nick "ootput" :full-name "ootput")
 (setq erc-autojoin-channels-alist '(("freenode.net" "#emacs" "#screen" "#ion")
                                     ("oftc.net" "#debian"))))

This will establish connection to OFTC on port 6697 (SSL), but more importantly, it will allow us to use certificates for transparent Nickserv auth.

; M-x start-irc

Enjoy your SSL-encrypted IRC session!

This blog does not currently contain many entries on OpenBSD, and I imagine this will be the case indefinitely. Simply put, my experiences with OpenBSD have been of the set-and-forget variety, and consequently do not warrant blog updates. Granted, setting up my first ever Soekris box to run OpenBSD was no easy feat - as I was still rather spoiled by various Linux distro installers. But, as with all BSDs, OpenBSD’s documentation was thoroughly fantastic, and it didn’t take long before I was able to add more OpenBSD boxes to my ever-expanding home network. On the very rare occasion when I needed to maintain a box, the process was extremely straightforward.

OpenBSD, you are toxically-delicious!

Half a decade later, I have decided to use FreeBSD on my server machines (instead of Gentoo) - where, in 2003, I had a brief encounter with the highly unstable FreeBSD 5.0. Back then, I was more at home with Red Hat Linux (with the newly introduced RHCE program); and the ever-fussy FreeBSD 5.0 Release - which seemed more like a developer preview with its pronounced instability - had left a bad taste in my mouth.

Now, the problems that plagued FreeBSD 5 are all but forgotten. Earlier today, FreeBSD 8.0 was formally released to the public (the announcement can be found here,) and having installed it soon after, I can certainly say that all bodes well for the future of this Internet-serving superstar.

As a side note, several OpenBSD-on-Soekris boxes still manage the IP routing in my household. FreeBSD has managed to incorporate a lot of the security features of OpenBSD, but for routing purposes, the much slimmer and more efficient OpenBSD still reigns supreme.

Sound in Linux can be a pain to get right. Thusly, I’ve attached my (functional) configuration for multiple soundcards in ALSA for reference below:

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# Set default sound card
# Useful so that all settings can be changed to a different card here.
pcm.av710spdif {
	type hw
	card 2
	device 1
}
pcm.realtek {
	type hw
	card 0
#	device 0
}

pcm.!default {
	type plug
	slave.pcm "av710duplex"
}

pcm.monitor {
	type plug
	ttable.0.10 1 # digital mix left
	ttable.1.11 1 # digital mix right
	slave.pcm "av710spdif"
}

# Allow mixing of multiple output streams to this device
pcm.av710output {
	type dmix
	ipc_key 1024
	ipc_perm 0660 # Sound for everybody in your group!
	slave.pcm "av710spdif"
	slave {
	# This stuff provides some fixes for latency issues.
	# buffer_size should be set for your audio chipset.
		format S32_LE
		period_time 0
		period_size 1024
		buffer_size 8192
		rate 44100
	}

	bindings {
		0 0
		1 1
	}
}

# Allow reading from the default device.
# Also known as record or capture.
pcm.av710input {
	type dsnoop
	ipc_key 2048
	slave.pcm "av710spdif"
	slave {
	# This stuff provides some fixes for latency issues.
	# buffer_size should be set for your audio chipset.
		format S32_LE
		period_time 0
		period_size 1024
		buffer_size 8192
		rate 44100
	}

	bindings {
		0 0
		1 1
	}
}

# This is what we want as our default device
# a fully duplex (read/write) audio device.
pcm.av710duplex {
	type asym
	playback.pcm "av710output"
	capture.pcm "av710input"
}

# Allow mixing of multiple output streams to this device
pcm.realtekoutput {
	type dmix
	ipc_key 3096
	ipc_perm 0660 # Sound for everybody in your group!
	slave.pcm "realtek"
	slave {
	# This stuff provides some fixes for latency issues.
	# buffer_size should be set for your audio chipset.
#		format S32_LE
		period_time 0
		period_size 1024
		buffer_size 8192
		rate 44100
	}

	bindings {
		0 0
		1 1
	}
}

# Allow reading from the default device.
# Also known as record or capture.
pcm.realtekinput {
	type dsnoop
	ipc_key 4096
	slave.pcm "realtek"
	slave {
	# This stuff provides some fixes for latency issues.
	# buffer_size should be set for your audio chipset.
#		format S32_LE
		period_time 0
		period_size 1024
		buffer_size 8192
		rate 44100
	}

	bindings {
		0 0
		1 1
	}
}

# This is what we want as our default device
# a fully duplex (read/write) audio device.
pcm.realtekduplex {
	type asym
	playback.pcm "realtekoutput"
	capture.pcm "realtekinput"
}

Back in 2002 - when I first got interested in Linux - I recall briefly accessing a Debian package/distro repository on Rice University’s network. Of course, as I had no previous knowledge of Linux, I couldn’t make sense of what I was looking at. Fast forward seven years, and Debian 5.0 (Lenny) is released to the public (earlier this year). The documentation required to install Lenny, though copious, was more accessible, and support was offered by friendlier community channels. In seven years, Linux had become much more mainstream, and Debian itself had gone from strength to strength.

A few days ago, I resolved to experiment with this “archaic” version of Linux, and I downloaded the network installer. Having used Linux From Scratch and Gentoo, I found Lenny to be incredibly easy to install, and it didn’t take long before I was staring at the default Gnome Desktop. I cannot say whether Debian will come with its fair share of problems, and it is too early to claim that I will stay with Debian forever, but so far I am loving it. Debian is fast, solid, reliable, and an absolute pleasure to work with.

It appears that Tuomov is growing increasingly impatient with Open Source contributors customizing his code without his consent, and his latest adventure in Debian-land suggests that he’ll soon abandon work on Ion3. If Ion3 ceases to be developed, as it very well may be, I can only hope that someone archives Tuomov’s repository. In the mean time, to keep the meager contributions I’ve made to the project, I have posted the source code for both of my Ion-3 styles here.


After much procrastinating, I have decided to post my first ever blog entry.

Be amazed.