PinoyTux Weblog » Hardware

Tip: Add User and Generate Password Script

Rai — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:29:58 +0000

Hey guys!

Finally, I found time to update this lovely blog of mine. And luckily, I have one super cool simple script to share. This script will help a lot of system administrators in adding user accounts, very useful if you have about a hundred servers to login to and execute useradd and passwd again and again. This is a bash script, so no need to install packages and easy to understand.

Here goes the code.

#!/bin/bash

for USER in $(cat /tmp/users.txt) do
$(useradd $USER)
###Remove the space between 8 and )
PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 8 )
###passwd [double dash] stdin
echo $PASSWORD | $(passwd –stdin $USER)
echo “$USER $PASSWORD” | mail -s “Your Account Info” $USER@company.com
sleep 3
done

Here is a quick summary of the code per line:

for USER in $(cat /tmp/users.txt) do
This line begins the for loop and /tmp/users.txt should be a text file containing the list of usernames to be added one username per line. The value of $USER

$(useradd $USER)
This line will begin by executing the command useradd. If the script fails at this point because the username already exists, it will proceed with changing the password of the username.

###Remove the space between 8 and )
###passwd [double dash] stdin
PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 8 ) echo $PASSWORD | $(passwd --stdin $USER)
This line generates an 8-byte random password using openssl and pipes it to command passwd using –stdin option so the generated password can be passed.

echo “$USER $PASSWORD” | mail -s “Your Account Info” $USER@company.com
This line sends an email to the user containing the username and password, assuming that the email address is the same as the username.

This script can be further enhanced (imagination is limitless!) and feel free to share your script here.

Creative CPU Designs

Rai — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:51:14 +0000

I have tried PC Modding before but never really succeeded in doing so for a couple of reasons. One is I am too lazy to create something that is artistic, and the other reason is I am not that artistic. And besides, cool CPU designs are available at my favorite PC store anyway so I’ll just go ahead and buy one if I want to change my PC’s look.

Anyway, here are some of the coolest CPU designs that I found over at www.technoscrap.com. Feast your eyes over the coolest and weirdest designs:

Seagate Unveils 1TB Hard Disk Drive

Rai — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:47:50 +0000

It may seem a dream at first to have a whopping 1 Terabyte of disk storage for all your digital movie, picture and music files. And now the dream is over as Seagate, world’s top manufacturer of digital storage media, made available to consumers 1TB hard disk drive (HDD) at 72000rpm motor speed.

The HDD is made up of four platters and eight heads, making it 180GB worth of storage per square inch, industry’s highest when it comes areal density. But power consumption and noise level are still at par with the current drive models using 13w of power and 2.8bels in idle mode and 3.7bels in seek modes. The speed is also the same with the 1TB model since it uses 7200 revolutions per minute in its spin. The drive can cache 32MB of data and seek time averages at 8.5ms.

Current prices range from $180to $250 for SATA based on amazon.com prices.

Speak Up!

Rai — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 06:18:50 +0000

I have read somewhere, maybe watched it on television, that human ears are the first of the five senses that become active just as you wake up. It means you hear sounds around you first, before you feel the pillow, see the morning sunshine or smell the breakfast coffee.

But can you imagine life without sounds? I can’t. Music is part of my everyday life from the morning news to my MP3 while getting some work done up to my nightly habit of watching anime shows. That is why I equip my computer with 5.1 speaker system to make sure that I get the best sound out of anything that my computer plays.

Even our home entertainment system is equipped with branded sound system to make sure that every movie that we watch on the DVD player is as real as it can get. And contemporary computer speakers are easy to find. If you what Google is, then you are halfway there to finding the best set of speakers that you can find. A good sound system cannot replace what a cheap, poor speaker system so it is always good to invest in something that is worth your money.

Creative Labs Threatens Third Party Driver Modder

Rai — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:31:10 +0000

A post from Creative Labs Forums delivers a message from Phil O’Shaughnessy, Corporate Communications VP, to Daniel_K, an individual who modifies the sound card drivers of Creative to unlock functionalities that are not usually available for Windows Vista users.

According to Phil O’Shaughnessy, Daniel_K is making the drivers run on unsupported hardware and Creative Labs feel that they should be compensated for this. Daniel_K is also earning via donations from users who use his modified drivers.

Here is the message from the forum:

Daniel_K:

We are aware that you have been assisting owners of our Creative sound cards for some time now, by providing unofficial driver packages for Vista that deliver more of the original functionality that was found in the equivalent XP packages for those sound cards.Â In principle we don’t have a problem with you helping users in this way, so long as they understand that any driver packages you supply are not supported by Creative.Â Where we do have a problem is when technology and IP owned by Creative or other companies that Creative has licensed from, are made to run on other products for which they are not intended.Â We took action to remove your thread because, like you, Creative and its technology partners think it is only fair to be compensated for goods and services.Â The difference in this case is that we own the rights to the materials that you are distributing.Â By enabling our technology and IP to run on sound cards for which it was not originally offered or intended, you are in effect, stealing our goods.Â When you solicit donations for providing packages like this, you are profiting from something that you do not own.Â If we choose to develop and provide host-based processing features with certain sound cards and not others, that is a business decision that only we have the right to make.

Although you say you have discontinued your practice of distributing unauthorized software packages for Creative sound cards we have seen evidence of them elsewhere along with donation requests from you.Â We also note in a recent post of yours on these forums, that you appear to be contemplating the release of further packages.Â To be clear, we are asking you to respect our legal rights in this matter and cease all further unauthorized distribution of our technology and IP.Â In addition we request that you observe our forum rules and respect our right to enforce those rules.Â If you are in any doubt as to what we would consider unacceptable then please request clarification through one of our forum moderators before posting.

Phil O’Shaughnessy
VP Corporate Communications
Creative Labs Inc.

How Tell Your Hard Drive Is About To Die

Rai — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 03:34:24 +0000

LifeHack.org writes all the tell-tale signs to know if your hard drive will soon fail and die on you. Very helpful since I have already suffered enough from hard drives that decided to just get tired and stop breathing - er… spinning.

Hard drives form the basis of our computing. The use of computers comes down to manipulating data, and the hard drive is, of course, where we store all our data; family albums, music, work documents, email, the list goes on.

Most of the components in your computer are electronic devices. They donâ€™t fail with time like a mechanical device such as a car. But your hard drive is one of the few mechanical devices used in modern computing, and as such, itâ€™s destined to die eventually.

Itâ€™s important to learn to recognize the warning signs of an imminent hard drive failure, since you might not have the budget for an extensive back-up system, so you can rescue all that data before itâ€™s lostâ€”sometimes forever, not retrievable at any cost.
Why do hard drives fail?

Logical Failures

Logical failures occur when the electronics of the hard drive failure or the software (firmware) has a problem. This kind of failure is usually the cheapest and easiest to have fixed. Unfortunately, itâ€™s also an uncommon failure.
Media Failures

If the hard drive has been handled roughly, or the magnetic platters are scratched, have read/write errors or low-level formatting problems, this is a media failure. These are also relatively uncommon. Once the platters are scratched, the data should be considered scrapped.

Head Failures

A head failure occurs when the read/write head crashes into the platters (the head crash), has an â€œimproper flying heightâ€ or the wiring between the logic board and the head is faultyâ€”among other failures related to malfunction of the read/write head. This is a common failure. The head crash is particularly nasty.

Mechanical Failures

Mechanical failures probably make up the bulk of hard drive failures. The motor burns out, the drive overheats, bearings get stuckâ€”the kind of thing youâ€™d expect to find when a car fails. These can be nasty but if the failure didnâ€™t affect the platters, you might have a chance of recovery, but at a cost.

How do I find out when itâ€™s going to fail before it fails?

Thatâ€™s not always possible, and sometimes a hard drive will just dieâ€”but itâ€™s still important to keep an eye on the symptoms of an imminent hard drive so you have the chance to back-up your data and get professional help.

Hard drives are incredibly sensitive bits of hardware, so donâ€™t try to crack it open and have a look inside unless you know what youâ€™re doing. And most definitely ensure that if you do crack it open, the platters donâ€™t get exposed to the open airâ€”hard drives can only be opened in Class 100 clean rooms or theyâ€™re pretty much instantly destroyed by dust.

Itâ€™s a lot easier to back-up than to get your data recovered. Once you detect any of the signs of failure you need to ensure that you have a back-up and if not, make one. Then when the drive dies, you can claim your warranty if you still have it, or buy a new drive, and be on your way.

Recovery can cost thousands and thousands of dollars; it sure is a ridiculous amount to pay, but thereâ€™s not much you can do but shop around and find the best price. The cost of transferring a back-up onto a brand new drive is much cheaper than having a recovery specialist do the same for you.

Strange Noises

Sometimes hearing strange grinding and thrashing noises means your drive is beyond repairâ€”for instance, if youâ€™ve had a head crash, it very often is. Or it could just be that the motor has failed or your hard drive is grinding away because of noisy bearings. If youâ€™re hearing strange noises then act very, very quicklyâ€”you probably donâ€™t have much time.

Disappearing Data and Disk Errors

Computer wonâ€™t let you save a document? Or youâ€™re sure that you had a file on your desktop yesterday thatâ€™s nowhere to be seen today? Programs that always worked suddenly stop working, asking where a file it depends on is stored?

These are all potential signs that your hard drive is on its way out. Of course, it could be that your kids moved your files for fun or a virus is eating through them, but disappearing data is never a good sign for your drive if you can rule out those alternative causes.
Your computer stops recognizing your drive

This may seem obvious, but if your computer no longer recognizes your drive chances are thereâ€™s a problem with it, not the computer. Test it in a friendâ€™s computer and see if your hard drive is recognized by it.

Often, this will be a logical failureâ€”unless you can hear strange noises that indicate a severe mechanical or head problem.

Computer Crashes

Does your computer regularly blue-screen or suddenly reboot? Does it crash often, especially when booting your operating system? If your computer is crashing, especially at times when the computers is accessing files (such as during the boot sequence), it may indicate a problem with your drive.
Really Slow Access Times

It shouldnâ€™t take half an hour to open a folder in Windows Explorer, or two hours to empty the trash. Iâ€™ve come across this problem plenty of times over the years, and itâ€™s always followed by a failing hard drive within a month or two.

If you have this symptom on your computer and your drive does not fail, please uninstall Vista from your 486.

Sound is a great indicator. As soon as the sound changes from the norm, or you get plenty of clicking and grinding from your hard drive, you need to power it down immediately. Get to know the sound of your hard drive while itâ€™s young and in working order, because youâ€™ll need to be able to hear the slightest differences when it gets older.

What next?

Donâ€™t try to be a hero. If thereâ€™s time, get your data backed up. If thereâ€™s notâ€”nasty noises, for exampleâ€”get it out of the computer or enclosure, wrap it in anti-static plastic or aluminium foil and keep it safe until you can send it to a professional. Hard drives are very sensitive, just like those kids who die their hair black and write poems about suicide. Donâ€™t mess with them.

When you contact a recovery specialist, they will give you details on shipping the drive, though they tend to prefer you hand-deliver it to prevent further damage.

When it comes to hard drives, just remember to keep an eye on it and act quickly. And, of course, keep extensive back-ups, even if you have to skip groceries one week to do so.

Seagate Unveils 1TB Hard Disk Drive (2)

DataPipe Server Migration

Rai — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 19:00:25 +0000

DataPipe has announced that there will be a scheduled downtime for affected servers because of a physical migration. Unfortunately this included our colocated server and because of miscommunication, and we had little time to prepare for this event. The migration took place last Friday, March 14th between 12:00AM to 8:00AM EST.Â Although DataPipe provided an 8-hour window for the downtime, they anticipated that the servers will be back to normal in less than 8 hours. However, in my experience, the usual 8-hour window normally takes longer than the announced downtime because of “unexpected events”.

Fast-Teks On Site Computer Services

Rai — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:31:23 +0000

Fast-teks On-Site Computer Services provides computer service when you need it. With their certified technicians, they can guarantee customer satisfaction with their full array of services for every customer need, be it residential or business, all in reasonable rates. All Fast-teks technicians, trainers and website developers are A+ certified or hold a comparable certification in their area of expertise so rest assured that your valuable computer hardware and data are in safe hands.

Residential services include the following:

* Virus, Worm, Spyware Removal
* Wireless Networking
* Data Backup and Recovery
* High-Speed Cable DSL Modem Setup
* Troubleshoot and Repair
* Software Training
* Audio Visual
* Shared Internet Office Solutions

Small and medium business services include the following:

* Managed Services
* Data Backup and Recovery
* Website Design and Hosting
* Technology Consulting
* Troubleshoot and Repair
* Software Training
* Remote Managed Services
* Network Monitoring and Management
* Remote Data Backup
* Computer and Network Security
* Shared Internet Office Solutions
* Email Server and Mobile Device Support
* Office Relocation and Setup
* QuickBooks Training

Fast-teks On-Site Computer Services was ranked #6 in the Franchise 500 magazine in 2006 in the tech industry and #385 in the entire Franchise 500. This is a yearly publication that ranks franchises based various factors. Financial strength and stability, growth rate and size of system are just a few categories that ranking is based on. Many companies are considered, but only the top 500 make it onto this list.

Picotux: Smallest Linux Computer In The World

Rai — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:13:01 +0000

Only slightly larger than RJ45 connector, Picotux 100 is the world’s smallest computer running Linux operating system. Armed with Busybox 1.0, ARM7 CPU at 55 MHz running uClinux kernel 2.4.27.

Technical data:

Processor: 32-bit ARM 7 Netsilicon NS7520
Processor Clock: 55 MHz
Flash Memory: 2 MB
RAM: 8 MB SDRAM
Ethernet: 10/100 Mbit, HD and FD, auto sensing
Serial (TTL): Up to 230.400 bps
General Input/Output Pins(TTL): 5, can be used as Handshake
LED for Ethernet: 2; green (programmable) and yellow (Carrier)
Supply Voltage: 3,3 Volt +- 5%
Supply Current: 250 mA
Operating System: uClinux 2.4.27 Big Endian (native)
Shell: Busybox 1.0 and others
File Systems: CRAMFS, JFFS2, NFS
Applications: Webserver, Telnet
Size of the Linux Systems in Flash: 720 KB and more
Protected Bootloader for Update over Network: 64 KB Code
Development System: GNU Tool chain
Compiler: GCC 3.4.4 for C/C++ and Fortran
Binutils: 2.15
Library: uClibc 0.9.26

Dimensions:
Height: 19 mm
Width: 19 mm
Deep: 36 mm
Package: Shielded by metal
Weight: ca.18 g
Ambient Temperature: -40Â°C to 85Â°C

The Best Laptops Under $1000

Rai — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:38:19 +0000

These days, $1000 lands you a pretty well rounded budget laptop. You can easily get 2GB of memory, 120GB or more of hard disk space, 802.11b/g wireless networking, and dedicated multimedia shortcut keys that let you watch DVDs or view documents without booting into Windows. The Acer and Dell laptops in our list even sported HDMI connections, extras we didn’t expect at this price point. Read more here.

Source: pcworld.com

Motorola MC70 Enterprise Digital Assistant

Rai — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:07:02 +0000

Gadgets keep evolving incorporating one type into another kind creating a different kind of device altogether. Just like Motorola MC70 Mobile Computer that combines mobile phone, PDA, computer, scanner and imaging device all in one compact, rugged device. This lightweight device combines wireless networking, voice and data communication with advanced data capture. Its rugged structure also helps withstand rigorous environments and working conditions and has been tested by drop-and-tumble method, providing a versatile and efficient device. The networking capabilities of Motorola MC70 include LAN/WAN and wireless support for voice and data connectivity.

The multiple functions of the device provides low total cost of ownership (TCO). Accessories to complement the features of the device are readily available.

MC70 Specification

Windows Mobile 5.0, 64MB RAM 128 MB ROM, 1/4 VGA color display and Bluetooth.

Apple MacBook Can Get You A Hot Date

Rai — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:16:48 +0000

According to Cosmo, which is NEVER wrong, girls looking to find a single man need look no further than their local Apple Store.Â Thatâ€™s right. Thanks to sky-high Mac and iPod sales, Appleâ€™s 142 Stores have made Cosmoâ€™s short list of the The Best Places to Meet a Guy. Although, if Cosmoâ€™s readers look anything like their cover girl, odds are they could meet a man at a Girl Scout meeting. So, whatâ€™s the Apple Storeâ€™s draw?

â€ Most guys are natural gadget lovers, and with sales of iPods and MacBooks skyrocketing, more men than ever are stopping by Apple boutiques. The vibe at the stores is conducive to man meeting too: You can check your email among cuties, take a free workshop on anything from Photoshop to podcasting (a great opportunity to strike up a conversation), or just survey the, ahem, good-looking merchandise.â€

Cosmoâ€™s other two brilliant suggestions for locations are at â€œThe Gymâ€ and at â€œA Fortune 500 Companyâ€. Out of these 3 choices, the Apple Store certainly seems like the least shallow location, if not one with the hottest guys.

I canâ€™t say I ever noticed â€œhotâ€ guys at the Apple Store, but I admit I wasnâ€™t looking. So, if youâ€™re a single Mac Chick into â€œchecking your e-mail among cutiesâ€, head over to the Apple Store.

Source: macenstein.com

PinoyTux Weblog » Hardware

Tip: Add User and Generate Password Script

Related Posts

Creative CPU Designs

Related Posts

Seagate Unveils 1TB Hard Disk Drive

Related Posts

Speak Up!

Related Posts

Creative Labs Threatens Third Party Driver Modder

Most Popular Posts

How Tell Your Hard Drive Is About To Die

Related Posts

DataPipe Server Migration

Related Posts

Fast-Teks On Site Computer Services

Most Popular Posts

Picotux: Smallest Linux Computer In The World

Related Posts

The Best Laptops Under $1000

Related Posts

Motorola MC70 Enterprise Digital Assistant

Related Posts

Apple MacBook Can Get You A Hot Date

Related Posts