Spin Ink

attribution: This article was written by Barry O’Donovan and published on LinuxGazette.net. I have modified it from its original content and format to remove the anacron information, add a few commas, and correct the markup.

1. Introduction

The thing about backups is that they can just be a pain. Everyone knows just how important they are, but very few people actually take the time to perform proper backups. Even after they have felt the pain of losing all those important files.

In this article I am going to show you how to quickly set up your computer for simple, hassle-free, and transparent backups using only rsync and cron. The premise is simple: every night your computer will make an automatic mirror of all the files you wish to backup, and at chosen intervals these mirrors will be archived and kept for a specified period of time.

Before you get your hands dirty on actual implementation, you need to design your own backup policy. In section 3, I discuss what a backup policy should and should not be. I will then introduce the necessary background information on rsync and cron separately. Finally, I will put it all together leaving you with a simple but effective backup regime. (more…)

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This post comes to you from the Kororaa XGL LiveCD. I have been following XGL for several weeks now, ever since the Novell demo that got everyone talking. Prior to trying this LiveCD, I was just biting my nails in anticipation of SuSE 10.1 being released in mid-April, so that I could get me some of this sweet XGL action. Thanks to the good folks over at the Kororaa Project, I was able to test out XGL a month earlier than I had anticipated. The XGL demo videos hardly do it justice, you really have to try it for yourself to truly appreciate the cool factor.

Once you boot the Kororaa XGL LiveCD, you find yourself on a standard Gnome desktop that has a couple of icons on it. Most notably, an icon called ‘Key Shortcuts’. As you might have guessed this file contains the shortcut keys for the nifty XGL effects. They claim it works on both ATI andNvidia hardware, I only tested it on my Nvidia 6600GT and it worked beautifully. If you have been following XGL like I have and want to give it a shot with out going through the hassle of setting it up on your distro of choice, give the Kororaa XGL LiveCD a shot.

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It seems like it was so very long ago that I downloaded a copy of SuSE 9.2 and tried it out on my laptop, but in fact, it was just 1 year ago today. Since that fateful day, I have become a full time Linux user, and have helped countless others make the switch. This time last year, I was a ‘newb’ by anyone’s standards, with only a basic understanding of the Linux file system and its many commands. Now, many people look to me for help and guidance with their Linux issues. Many of these same people consider me to be a guru. While I am greatly flattered by this title, I know that I still have a very long way to go before I feel I deserve it. I would prefer to label myself as a ‘tweaker’. I define a ‘tweaker’ as someone who is never satisfied, a person who is plagued by an insatiable desire to understand and improve on everything around them. It is the biological need to know how things work on as many levels as possible and then see if they can make them better. (more…)

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The eZine, PureMusic, has a great interview with Leonard Podolak of the Duhks in this months issue. They found the pictures that I took of the Duhks durring last year’s Merlefest and asked if they might use them. Ofcourse, I was more than happy for them to use my images. It was really nice to see my images being used to illustrate an interview with Leonard.

Perhaps the Duhks themselves will check out the interview and find their way to my website. I actually got to talk to Jesse and Tania at last years Merlefest, after their last performance. They were both really sweet and unassuming. I gave them my website address incase they wanted to check out the shots I got of them. I really look forward to seeing them at this years Merlefest, and hope to get a chance to talk them again.

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