Useful Thoughts and Actions Taken

How to edit Linux Ubuntu Files that are owned by the super user

I am new to linux / ubuntu and quickly found myself stymied and flumoxed when I wanted to edit a system configuration file.  This is because linux only lets the super user edit configuration files. Ok but Linux also will not let you log into the system when it is booting up as the super user in its default installation.  Fun huh?   You must use the terminal / command line mode to do this.  However I am a windows user and this is bending my brain a little.  The key is to open up the file from the command line while logged in as the super user.

   Accessories>>Terminal brings up the terminal program.  Then type in SU.  It will ask for the super user password.

After you are in as the super user you can then use:

  sudo gedit /etc/vsftpd.conf

This brings up the file in question just like you clicked on it in a gui file browser but it allows you to save off the file after you have made your alterations.

For the sake of speeding up my learning process I am going to configure my test server to allow me to log in from the bootup login screen to the root user.

 sudo gedit /etc/gdm/gdm.conf

This all came about because I need the FTP tool on Ubuntu

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Quantum Computing Video strips down computing mechanics explanation to minimum

Simple is good

Preskill blog entry

The reason why is that the entangle states provides greater enumeration.  It is as if the bits are conscience of one another.   What this video does is better than others is to strip the wave mechanics out of quantum computing to the extent possible. 

Explanations are phrased in terms of  red and green balls put in boxes with 2 doors.  Put a red ball in a box through door number 1 and if you go back and observe the ball through door number 1 it is always red.  If you observe the ball through door number 2 then it is 50-50 odds that you observer red or green.

More explanation after I watch a few times.

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Prankers Print out Fake license plate on color printer to get tickets sent to their unwitting victims

School pranksters across the country are printing out fake license tags of their school principles or other unwitting victimss and taping them over their plates and speeding past cameras. Some are going as far as borrowing similar cars from friends to make it even more realistic. The said victim subsequently receives a traffic ticket in the mail. You can see the story here: Fake paper plates

I am really worried that someone will sit outside government buildings and take down license plates of the people who decided to put in these cameras then do this because it might become a big problem!   It could bring the whole camera system to its knees.   Since the United States only growth industry is government the bailout might collapse without government camera revenues.  

This could REALLY get out of hand legislators plate gifs get posted on the web.

Then there is the danger of people making their own cameras.

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Drupal User Points Plugin Extension Module

I have been learning about drupal open source software.  Its an open source solution for creating community based websites.   An easy comparison for purposes of explanation is wordpress.  Wordpress is based on the single user concept.  However many times that is not the best model.  Imagine ebay with only 1 buyer and that same person is the only seller. 

What "community" can be inferred from poopreport.com . The page linked shows user generated page content.  The drupal plugin User Points is used to keep track of how many posts a person has made and allows readers to click into other stories written by the user.  I assume it allows the readers to rate the page content also. 

Some other sites that use this module:

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago