From a discussion on users@: if you’re thinking about a UPS, look at what apcupsd can support. (hint: apparently, almost anything)
dragonflybsd.org back up
dragonflybsd.org has been down for a good chunk of today; it was due to a blown transformer.
Automatic linkage
Google Alerts told me of two links: “Baby Steps with DragonFly BSD 1.8.1“, and “Review: DragonFly BSD 1.8.1“. Both excellent reviews, in that they describe an accurate picture of the good and bad points of the recent release.
Pkgsrc packages for 1.8
Joerg Sonnenberger has pkgsrc packages built using 1.8 and the new modular xorg packages, available at: ftp://packages.stura.uni-rostock.de/pkgsrc-modular (Thanks, Hasso Tepper)
OpenSSL, OpenSSH updated
DragonFly 1.8.1 released
The title says it all – visit the download page for 1.8 to get it. Most every mirror appears to have it right now – not just the ones on the 1.8 page.
Note that some sites have an early version of the 1.8.1 release that lacks the installer; that image is ‘dfly-1.8.1.iso.gz’. Instead, be sure to download ‘dfly-1.8.1_REL.iso.gz’, which should be the newer file of the two.
Main leaf page updated
I’ve given the main page of leaf.dragonflybsd.org a slight update, to show more of the resources available to developers.
libarchive updated, BSD tar now the fastest
Peter Avalos has upgraded DragonFly to use libarchive 2.0.25, for increased speed relative to both libarchive 1.x and GNU tar, and other bugfixes.
Make SMP kernels boot on uniprocessor systems
A task where much of the heavy lifting has been done: making a kernel boot no matter how many processors are in the system. (notes)Â Right now, SMP kernels can’t boot on a system with 1 CPU, so the LiveCD runs only a non-SMP kernel.
HEAD users update
Sepherosa Ziehau warned bleeding-edge users that recent network interface changes will require a rebuild of both kernel and world when next updating. This does not apply to 1.8 users.
Pkgsrc removals
A few packages are going to be dropped from pkgsrc – mostly older versions of software. Speak up on the pkgsrc-users@netbsd.org mailing list if you don’t want this to happen.
Easier commenting now
I’ve removed some of the inconvenient antispam features (comments from new people are always moderated, http:// links get a post filtered, etc) and switched to different antispam software. Email me if you add a comment and can’t get through…
Pkgsrc quarterly freeze tomorrow
The next pkgsrc freeze, in preparation for the quarterly release, starts 2007/03/24.
UnixReview.com: many reviews
On UnixReview.com this week: “Test Your Knowledge of Ethernet Topics“, two book reviews: “Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference” and “Building the Perfect PC“, along with a product review of “The Ultimate CompTIA Network+ Resource Kit” and the host integrity tool “Osiris“.
1.8.1 soon
DragonFly 1.8.1 will be released this weekend, so if you have something that you need added, speak up! This release will include the rtld fixes that enable parts of KDE to work again, among other things.
Less contrib, more pkgsrc
As part of a discussion about issues with the current methods of adding third-party software to base, Matthew Dillon noted that much of it could be replaced safely using pkgsrc packages.
Faster Firefox
Seen on the pkgsrc-users@ mailing list: a way to dramatically speed up FireFox.
Ending the mail transfer agent bikeshed
A recurring argument that pops up from time to time is replacing Sendmail in the base system with something else – Postfix , qmail, or a similar product. Licensing, complexity, or user preference usually lead to a long discussion that doesn’t change the matter. Simon ‘corecode’ Schubert has come up with an answer: none of the above. He’s writing a simple MTA that will handle delivery on the local machine, which is enough for a system that doesn’t handle normal mail. For people who need more, sendmail and Postfix and others are all in pkgsrc.
Todo: headless vkernels
Matthew Dillon pointed out a relatively easy vkernel exercise: making them run without being attached to a terminal. You could spin off multiple virtual systems, all from one command line.
New mirror in Europe
There’s a new Estonian mirror up for DragonFly, in IPv4 and IPv6:
ftp://ftp.estpak.ee/pub/DragonFly
http://ftp.estpak.ee/pub/DragonFly
rsync://ftp.estpak.ee/DragonFly
Doubly useful right now, because dragonflybsd.org appears to be having slight network issues.