VM created by boot2docker init does not have DNS set up correctly - heres how to fix it

I came across this problem while setting up Docker on my OSX environment , and after searching the web , I found a method that works well, and cures the problem. Basically once the Virtualbox VM is created you need to edit the network adapter drivers and set them to "PCNET-FAST III" instead of the paravirtualised drivers. You need to do both adapters, and then restart boot2docker. You will notice that you get the correct settings now in your /etc/resolv.conf file. This was annoying me, and meant I had to reset the settings in the above file everytime I start docker - which is not ideal. Hope this saves you some time.

The FUD used against Linux , really annoys me

If you are not familiar with the term FUD, it stands for Fear, Uncertainty and doubt, which are more commonly described as lies in technical circles. They are used by marketing people to stop people using others products, just in case.

Over the years I have seen this tactic used many times by large corporations to scare companies into buying their product's, but none have used it more often and more perniciously than Microsoft.

Well, they have tried everything against Linux, and have told lies by the bucket load, yet still the system gains market share, where today you can almost guarantee that if you go somewhere on the web, the server powering that site will be Linux.

I have also used it on my laptops for years, and this summer on holiday put it through it's paces , but taking it with me to do some work while on the road in Spain. It never missed a beat. Every little dusty side street eating house that offered WIFI, I could connect to, I could do whatever I needed, whenever I needed, without fail. The one device that did let me down on occasion was my iPad, rarely, but it did.

So the facts are Ubuntu Linux on my Dell laptop 100% success, Apple iPad 98% success.

I love my iPad, so I'm not making some cheap point about it , but a fact is a fact.

So the next time someone tells you something about Linux, do some research and find out the facts. Linux is not perfect, but then neither are any of the systems offered, but Linux is free and you can laways help make it better.

Less FUD, and more facts please.

Here is a link to try it for yourself.

Ubuntu Linux

Google chrome is released as a beta on Linux and Mac and it is good

As you will have read I have been following the builds of Chromium since they were first released, and have worked with the alpha code and helped find the odd bug or two. The one key thing to note is that yes there have been some bugs, what alpha doesn't have them, but a lot less that you would expect. I have used alpha versions of other products which are basically completely unusable. Chromium has been usable since the first release.

I suppose not surprisingly some of the biggest issues that have faced the development team have been the integration of the plugins we all use and the fact on Linux alone we have two main desktop GUI infrastructures. I'm writing this post from the latest daily build of Chromium, and although this is the development version, it is working perfectly.

The Chrome beta build doesn't currently support bookmark syncing, which is why I'm sticking with Chromium, however with xmarks now in the extensions library this is really not a big issue for many users. It may also be worth looking at xmarks if you use Firefox and Chrome on multiple platforms as your life will get a lot easier.The key point is that Chrome now has it's own extensions library and this is only going to exploded as new services are added.

The Google chrome beta is stable and extremely fast, as it has always been. The only major issue that I'm really aware of on the Linux platform is the lack of ability to automagically launch pdf files when you hit them on the web. The flash and other plugins work fine on my Ubuntu desktops, both 32 and 64 bit versions.

This is yet another step on the road to a full release of Chrome for Linux and of course a lot of this work will filter into the ChromeOS that will launch on new hardware next year. I can't wait to get my hands of one of the new machines, as I think for ultra potable devices they are going to be extremely useful.

Anyway, the installation information is there for Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora and Suse so there is no excuse not to have a play and see what all the fuss is about.

Chromium Beta on Linux

Using a Redhat Enterprise DVD iso as your repository

If you work with a lot of secure systems as I do, it is not always possible to have a direct connection to the Internet or indeed one at all. Now with Redhat Enterprise Linux this can be an issue, as you effectively lose access to the Add/Remove function of the operating system, so here is a way around the problem.



First we need to mount the iso image of the version of RHEL you have installed to a loopback device. You can do this simply from the command line, or if you are going to do this alot, you are better off putting the mount statement in your /etc/fstab file, look at the pictures for the syntax.

Once this is mounted on the directory you are going to use, you need to add a new repository file in the /etc/yum.repos.d directory, lets call it rhel-iso.repo, and again this is shown in detail in the picture. If you use the same directories as I have , then this will cause you less hassle when you try it.

Once you have added this file, and checked the iso has been mounted you need to set up yum, so firstly do this:

yum clean all

and then

yum update


The results should look like this:



You are now ready to go, so that when you click on Add/Remove software you will get a screen like this:



The only thing left to do is get the iso to automount, now if you look at the screen grab above, you will see that I'm using the mount -a command in the Gnome autostart sessions screen. You can do this in other ways, but as I'm going to be using the GUI, this works perfectly.

Voila, you now have full access to the RHEL 5 DVD/iso so you can install software once the server has been put in a cage, far from the rest of the Planet. You can also carry the iso around on your USB stick and use this technique when you need to install software.

New Ubuntu Magazine launched

Now, for a lot of Linux purists, this is about as close as you get to Microsoft launching their own proprietary distribution ;-)

The truth is, no matter how you cut and slice it, Ubuntu is the one distro out their that is getting onto millions of desktops, is being pre-installed on machines, and offers a great user experience. Yes, I know Fedora and Suse , name your favourite distro here, use the same basic components like Gnome, but the Ubuntu team have put together a decent desktop distro, and using the Debian package management system - apt - doesn't do them any harm either. Having worked with Redhat/Fedora yum for years, I know which one I prefer.

Another point I should mention here, and it is an extremely important issue, is that there is a lot more software more easily available for Ubuntu/Debian. Just look at my post on the site on how I had to muck around just to get truecrypt installed on Redhat.

Anyway, have a look here at what is being launched, and if you use Ubuntu, I would certainly give the first half dozen issues a go and see it you like it. The article in the first issue on package building for Debian has to worth the cover price alone.

Why do I use Ubuntu?

I just read this meme from Jono Bacon, and he asks all users of this operating system to say why they use it. I thought that was a decent challenge and one worth taking up.

I have been using Linux for over a decade now, thanks to someone called Paul Branston, who I worked with at Freeserve in Leeds. Paul had been using Unix/Linux since birth I think, and a person whose gravitas when he spoke about Operating Systems was definitely important to take notice of. I was working at Freeserve mainly on Firewalls and networking but also did work on the Microsoft clusters they used, really buggy and unreliable things, but thats another tale.

I used Windows as a desktop system, simple because like most other techies it came on the PC I was given. I experienced many problems with it, and it kept crashing , but I hadn't been inclined to look for anything to replace it. Paul recommend I give Linux a go on my laptop and see how it got on. Well it was a Toshiba laptop with Red Hat 5.0, and getting it installed was like wrestling with a snake. Laptop hardware then was not the same as todays.

I have used Sun OS for years, and had learned the command line in University, so I roled up my sleeves and kept at it. I eventually got it all working, even the built in modem, and just stuck with Red Hat , and after Redhat changed, just moved onto Fedora Linux. They offer a great Linux distro, but Fedora does have some drawbacks for new users, mostly media support. So when I had an issue upgrading from Fedora 8 to Fedora 9 I thought I would give Ubuntu a try.

Well I have to say I'm glad I did, as moving to Ubuntu is worth the effort just for the package manager. It is a well rounded Linux distro that currently does everything you need to get up and running quickly and efficiently. I have installed it onto every machine I own, and every friends and family machine that I look after and it has been extremely reliable. I do use an Ubuntu derivative ,Linux Mint , where I feel the user doesn't want to do any work after installing.I have bought several machines from Dell with Ubuntu pre-installed and they have been extremely reliable and useful.

Today I work on an Ubuntu distro, Eeebuntu, release for the Asus Eeepc netbooks, so I've now installed it there as well. It works extremely well on these small footprint machines.

As I sit and type this post today, I think that for an all round desktop Operating System , this sets the bench mark. I still keep an eye on what the others are doing, and Fedora 10 has received good reviews, but I don't feel the need to move back at the moment. I have installed it in a virtual image, and that is were it will stay for now.

So yes I'm glad I moved and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to give Linux a try.

Ubuntu

Good article on swap to Ubuntu

I have written a post on this article about moving to Ubuntu from Fedora, so I won't repeat it here, but it would be interesting to see what others have experienced with a move to Ubuntu from another distro. and whether it was a positive or a negative experience.

Confession: I switched to Ubuntu