Categories
Computers Information Technology Linux

Disabling User List in GDM Login Screen – Ubuntu 9.10 / Linux Mint 8

I’ve been playing around with both Ubuntu 9.10 and Linux Mint 8 (just released and based on Ubuntu 9.10). One of the differences that’s noticed right away is the change in the GDM login screen. By default, it lists the users to choose from, then enter the password. This may be OK for some, i.e. perhaps a home system, but what if you wanted to not use the list of users. If you wanted to require users to type in their username to make it more secure, you can no longer just adjust this setting within the login screen settings. The login screen settings now contain just a couple of options around allowing autologin. It would be nice to have the other setting back, but here is a method that someone can use now:

  1. Logout so you are at the login screen.
  2. Ctrl-Alt-F1 to enter the CLI.
  3. Login to CLI using the normal credentials.
  4. Type: export DISPLAY=:0.0
  5. Type: sudo -u gdm gconf-editor
  6. Alt-F7 to return to the GUI. Gconf-editor should be visible.
  7. Drill down to apps –> gdm –> simple-greeter.
  8. Check box for disable_user_list. Close gconf-editor.
  9. Reboot, GDM should now show a button to login, and prompt for both username then password.
Categories
Fun Music Technology

iWars: iPod vs. Zune

I got a kick out of this one… fun stuff.

(Full Disclosure: I do own a first gen iPod Touch, that I really like. I have no experience with the Zune, so I’m not in a position to compare the two – in other words, this is NOT meant to start any flame wars.)

Categories
Environment Nature Photography

Some Summer Hike Pictures

One of our outings when I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago was a short hike at Borderland State Park in Easton, MA – going on one of the few great days weather-wise we’ve had this summer thus far.  A great place to hike with small kids, and it was the first time testing my foot and ankle since spraining it in June – did quite well.  Enjoy the pics…

Categories
Astronomy History Science USA

Apollo 11 – 40 years ago

Apollo11On the way into work the other day, I heard this story on NPR.  This week marks the 40th anniversary of the first human steps on the moon.  For years the only footage available was that footage broadcast on TV at the time.  The original footage may have been lost, but if you check out the story (be sure to listen to the audio as well), you’ll be able to view footage that shows much better clarity of those first steps on the moon and the placement of the American flag on the surface.

Categories
Computers Information Technology Linux

Notes on Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)

ubuntu-logo-jackalopeI went and installed Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) onto my test system as a dual boot with Windows 7 Release Candidate, and so far so good.  This was the same system I had installed OpenSUSE 11 on before and I went back and reviewed how I tweaked my desktop there and did very similar setup for the Ubuntu setup.

I installed Cairo-Dock, and included launchers for Firefox, Thunderbird, Terminal, BitTorrent, and OpenOffice Word Processor.  As part of installing Cairo-Dock, I eliminated the botton toolbar and merged its contents to the top toolbar. I also played around some with Gimp (v2.6 comes with this version of Ubuntu) – the Jackalope pic with the Ubuntu logo merged into it was the result.  I also installed Screenlets and setup clock, calendar, slideshow, weather, and system info screenlets to launch upon login.  As expected, Thunderbird was just as easy to setup for imap to my gmail account as it was in Windows.

So those are my first notes for this version of Ubuntu.  As I play with it more and find things noteworthy, I’ll post those.

Screenshot of my Ubuntu Desktop.

Ubuntu_904_SS

Categories
Blog

Diversions – Introducing The Wood Lab

wl_iconFor those who have read previous posts, you can figure out that my field is IT.  I clearly like science and technology.

But we are (or should be!) more than what we do for our occupation.  What do you do as a diversion – your creative outlet?

I used my last post on SawStop as a sort of segue into this post.  One of my diversions as a creative outlet is woodworking.  Now note that I am a very novice woodworker, but I hope to take this this craft to the next level.  It’s nice, after a day or week of working with technology, to work with a natural material such as wood in the hopes of creating something that is funtional and pleasing to the eye at the same time.

So, to document my experiences with woodworking – my learning experiences and shortcomings – I have launched a new blog specifically to my hobby of woodworking:  The Wood Lab.

Categories
New Technology Science Technology

SawStop: Electrical current = Safety

ss_logoOne usually doesn’t think of standard tools in the shop as high on the list of “techy gadgets” but one tool is using a pretty neat technology to help improve safety.

SawStop has table saws on the market that if any part of the user’s body comes in contact with the blade, the saw instantly stops, and the blade retracts into the body of the saw.

How does it work?  There is a small electrical current that runs through the blade.  Inside there is an electical sensor that if it senses a change in the voltage (by a finger, or in the case of their demo, a hot dog), it triggers the brake which stops the blade.  The momentum of the spinning blade stopping in a fraction of a section pulls it down into the body of the saw.   Pretty cool stuff.  Check out the vids below.

Of course, they are not cheap.  I think last I saw about $1800 for the contractor model, and $3800 for the cabinet model to start.