[sudo-discuss] [omni-discuss] Linux dual boot on Basement Computer bank?

Thu Nov 9 16:31:40 PST 2017

Julian, I don't know if the Mint box dual boots or if it obliterated the 
Windows partition, it is about the fourth one over from the left, I'll 
check the next time I'm in the Omni.  In any case, I'm sure we could use 
clonezilla (http://clonezilla.org/) or partclone or some such to copy 
over the file system from one of the working Windows boxes, if desired. 
We might have to call Microsoft to re-activate the installation, but I 
don't imagine that would be too burdensome. I wouldn't mind doing that 
if these machines are actually being used to teach children how to use 
corporate software or something equally edifying.

I'm open to explaining dual booting to GCEA and asking for their 
permission before mucking with any of the other boxes but I'm not sure 
how to get contact them, I scrolled through the 180 days of email I keep 
on my riseup account that I use for political stuff, but didn't see 
anything too damning. I assume Almaz is a person and not the secretive 
Soviet military space station program from the sixties & seventies? A 
search through my email turns up this address, should I try to initiate 
contact?

ahana75 at gmail.com

I agree with Jake that unattended computers should not be left running 
all the time, except maybe one or two of the public boxes on the second 
floor. (They may be noisy, but they are mostly running relatively 
low-powered AMD E-350 CPUs and probably use half the juice of these 
basement Core 2 Duos) At home I tend to shut down a box if I'm not going 
to be using it for more than a couple of hours or so unless it is doing 
something. Even then you can tell the computer to shut off after a given 
period of time.

https://www.computerhope.com/unix/ushutdow.htm

A long time ago there was a marginal case to be made for leaving a 
machine on all the time, but that is no longer true.

https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000390.htm

BTW, the last time I went in to the Omni office to look for a pad for 
Einstein I noticed that the 32" TV used as a monitor was on, it wasn't 
even in sleep mode. I believe it hooked to a machine running OSX which I 
am not unduly familiar with in a Biblical sense. Someone might  mess 
with the computer's settings and tell it to blank the screen after 30 
minutes or so.
e

On 11/08/2017 05:42 PM, Julian Park wrote:
> Hi Ed,
> 
> As I understand it, these devices were a donation to GCEA. As GCEA does 
> not have a dedicated space at Omni, and since the delegates assembly 
> agreed having more devices in te library hall wouldn’t be an issue and 
> could maybe be a plus, that was, as I recall, OK’d. Obviously passwords 
> limit their common use. Nonetheless, I see no reason why, nor has 
> anything happened to my knowledge to suggest otherwise, we shouldn’t 
> continue to consider GCEA and Almaz (as the regular GCEA delegate, and 
> all around Omni volunteer) as the stewards of those device. So before 
> anything more gets done to them, I believe it should be cleared with 
> Almaz and GCEA.
> 
> My personal opinion is that a dual boot using that minor of a portion of 
> the HDs is a good solution. I see no reason why GCEA would object once 
> the proposal is communicated clearly (not everyone knows what a “dual 
> boot” is); it makes sense that there be a way for Commoners to use the 
> devices since they are in a Common area; it also makes sense that GCEA 
> have the installation they want on there for the youth etc to study 
> with. But again, I think this suggestion should first be cleared before 
> acted on further. I can understand why you and “someone” went forward 
> with the previous Linux installations previously without asking, given 
> the locations of the devices and given hacking habits of Sudoers, 
> nonetheless I think that when the fate of a given set of devices is 
> unknown, and the devices themselves are not in, e.g., Sudo Room itself, 
> now and in the future it would be best for people to ask and wait for 
> confirmation before going ahead rather than going ahead and asking after 
> the fact. Cleary, you’re currently asking. Relatedly, would it be 
> possible to restore Windows to the first device down there with Linux on 
> it, from which it sounds like it was removed?
> 
> Best,
> Julian
> BAPS
> 
> 
> 
> On November 8, 2017 at 4:03:00 PM, Ed Biow (biow at riseup.net 
> <mailto:biow at riseup.net>) wrote:
>> A few months ago about a dozen Core 2 Duo Lenovo boxes with 4 GB of RAM
>> materialized in the basement hall way. They were all left running with
>> the monitors on, but they had Windohs on them and the lock screens
>> required a password which was nowhere in evidence, and rebooting also
>> required a PW to log in.  Anywho, since they just seemed to be heating
>> the basement, and it was summertime anyway I shut them all off, and did
>> so a couple of weeks later when I noticed they were powered back on
>> again. Since then they have mostly been off, and some folks know the
>> password and have been using them periodically. Someone blew Linux Mint
>> on one of the boxen.
>>
>> The one on the far left (facing the wall) was unplugged, I plugged it
>> back in but it was beeping whenever it booted, but just required that I
>> open the case and clamp down the memory sticks, All Praise Cyber Jesus.
>> Since I had revived box from the dead like Lazarus I felt like no one
>> would object if I made it dual boot Linux as well as Windows 10. The
>> machines are mostly empty and have 300-500 GB hard drives, so I hacked
>> off 60 GB and copied a Debian 9 installation off of a flash drive, fixed
>> the fstab, installed grub, and set the machine to boot Windoze by
>> default. The USB wifi sticks are the only way for these things to get
>> internet since there is no ethernet cable in that hallway, but I managed
>> to get one working with Debian and it seems stable.
>>
>> So unless someone objects I propose to set the rest of the machines to
>> boot automatically into Windows (and not require a PW when the screen
>> blanks) and also, I'd whack off a small chunk of their hard drives so
>> all the boxes dual boot Windows and Debian stable (except possibly the
>> Mint box, it may have been installed to stomp on the whole drive).  It
>> will give me something to do and keep me out of the sun. This will not
>> adversely effect the Windows installations, which will still be
>> available to do whatever folks do in that OS.
>>
>> Attached is a picture of the machine I mucked with, folks can go down
>> there and play around with it. As those of you are wise in the ways of
>> dual booting know, you can select Linux by using the "up arrow" key on
>> the keyboard to scroll to the Debian 9 "grub" entry and hit the Enter
>> key. It will automatically boot to a non-privileged "omni" account (PW:
>> omnivore) and it will hang for a few seconds at the lightdm display
>> manager to give you a chance to change the Linux desktop to taste (I
>> configured it for mate, xfce, cinnamon & KDE, and could add other
>> options if desired). You can also switch users to a "sudoroom" user,
>> that has sudo privileges, the PW is the same as the username, except in
>> drop case.
>>
>> In a world without Gates who needs Windows?
>>
>> Special Ed
>>
>> -- 
>> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>> Edmund Joseph Biow
>> 328 Haddon Road
>> Oakland, California 94606
>> (510) 763-0591 (dumb landline, no caller ID, answering machine in 
>> attic, generally monitored in morning)
>> (415) 623-6473 (cell, I monitor the landline more frequently)
>>
>> EMAIL
>> biow at sonic.net <mailto:biow at sonic.net> (personal) - biow at riseup.net 
>> <mailto:biow at riseup.net> (political) - ejbiow at gmail.com 
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>> <mailto:ebiow at yasashi.net> (bcc) ejbiow at yahoo.com 
>> <mailto:ejbiow at yahoo.com> (commercial)
>>
>> IM (Instant Messaging, like text messaging but for computers)
>> (I recommend pidgin with the 'otr' encryption plugin as an instant 
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>> <mailto:biow at riseup.net> - often "Gnudnik" on irc.freenode.net 
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>>
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>>
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>> You can use a PGP key to encrypt and secure our messages. To start 
>> using it, you'll need to install an OpenPGP software on your computer. 
>> Below you'll find a list of possible solutions for your operating system:
>>
>> Windoze: Kleopatra (http://gpg4win.de/download.html)
>> OSX: GPG Keychain (https://gpgtools.org/#gpgsuite)
>> Linux: GnuPG (https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/frontends.html)
>> Android: OpenKeychain 
>> (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.sufficientlysecure.keychain) 
>>
>> i(diot)OS: iPGMail 
>> (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ipgmail/id430780873?mt=8)
>>
>> Once you set up PGP on your computer please import my public key into 
>> your local OpenPGP Key-Manager. The valid PGP keys for my 
>> biow at cubasoldarity.net <mailto:biow at cubasoldarity.net> & 
>> biow at riseup.net <mailto:biow at riseup.net> accounts can be downloaded
>> here: http://ebiow.yasashi.net/pgp/
>>
>> An "easy" way to set up PGP on your computer is to download the free & 
>> open sources Thunderbird email client (available on Linux, Windohs & 
>> O$X) & install the EnigMail Add-On.
>> https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/all.html
>> https://www.enigmail.net/download/
>> https://www.enigmail.net/documentation/quickstart-ch1.php
>>
>> Looking forward to exchange snooping-free messages with you & making 
>> the NSA spend mondo bucks to discover the secret of my bube's kartofel 
>> kugel recipe.
>>
>> PGP Public Key for biow at riseup.net <mailto:biow at riseup.net>:
>>
>>
>> -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
>> Version: GnuPG v1
>>
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>> =gUK/
>> -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
>>
>> Is god willing to prevent evil but not able? Then he is not 
>> omnipotent. Is he able but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he 
>> both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor 
>> willing? Then why call him god? - Epicurus (341-270 BCE)
>>
>> _-^--^=-_
>> _.-^^ -~_
>> _-- --_
>> < >)
>> | That's all, folks! |
>> \._ _./
>> ```--. . , ; .--'''
>> | | |
>> .-=|| | |=-.
>> `-=#$%&%$#=-'
>> | ; :|
>> _____.,-#%&$@%#&#~,._____
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> discuss mailing list
>> discuss at lists.omnicommons.org <mailto:discuss at lists.omnicommons.org>
>> https://omnicommons.org/lists/listinfo/discuss

-- 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
            Power corrupts;
   Absolute power corrupts absolutely;
          God is all-powerful.
       Draw your own conclusions

Edmund Joseph Biow
328 Haddon Road
Oakland, California 94606
(510) 763-0591 (try first, messages checked in morning, dumb phone, no 
caller ID, leave number)
(415) 623-6473 (cell)
biow at sonic.net - biow at riseup.net - ejbiow at gmail.com - ebiow at yasashi.net

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You can use a PGP key to encrypt and secure our messages. To start using 
it, you'll need to install an OpenPGP software on your computer.  Below 
you'll find a list of possible solutions for your operating system:

Windows: Kleopatra (http://gpg4win.de/download.html)Linux: GnuPG 
(https://www.gnupg.org/download/supported_systems.html)
OS X: GPG Keychain (https://gpgtools.org/#gpgsuite)
Linux: GnuPG (https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/frontends.html)
Android: OpenKeychain 
(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.sufficientlysecure.keychain)
iOS: iPGMail (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ipgmail/id430780873?mt=8)

Once you set up PGP on your computer please import my public key into 
your local OpenPGP Key-Manager. The valid PGP keys for my 
biow at cubasoldarity.net & biow at riseup.net accounts can be downloaded 
here: http://ebiow.yasashi.net/pgp/

An "easy" way to set up PGP on your computer is to download the free & 
open sources Thunderbird email client (available on Linux, Windohs & 
O$X) & install the EnigMail Add-On.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/all.html
https://www.enigmail.net/download/
https://www.enigmail.net/documentation/quickstart-ch1.php

Looking forward to exchange snooping-free messages with you & making the 
NSA spend mondo bucks to discover the secret of my bube's kartofel kugel 
recipe.