- Type vncserver and enter the vncserver password (this step should also create your .vnc folder in your home directory which you'll need for the next step)
- Edit ~/.vnc/xstartup and uncomment the two lines for normal desktop and then comment out all the rest.
- Edit /etc/sysconfig/vncservers and add the line VNCSERVERS="1:root" for a root vnc server.
- Type chkconfig --level 2345 vncserver on to make vncserver start at bootup.
- Type vncserver -kill :1 (that vnc session has the wrong desktop) and then type vncserver once more to have the proper desktop and everything. After a reboot it should now spawn automatically.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Setting up VNC server on CentOS
Here's some helpful steps to get VNC server up and running on CentOS 5 after you install it:
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Sansa M240 LCD Replacement
I have a GP2X which I used to listen to podcasts with, but I decided it was too bulky to carry around without a jacket pocket on these warm summers, so I bought a Sansa M240 mp3 player. I loved the fact that it had a AAA battery and a simple LCD screen that didn't need backlighting to see well. Also, I didn't need that bloatware iTunes to get music onto it -just drag and drop like a USB keydrive.
So, I put this in my pocket along with my car keys and somehow it cracked the LCD screen...
I decided to try and fix it by buying a broken Sansa (which didn't have a broken LCD) from eBay, and then just move the LCD to the working Sansa. There are about 50 contacts the LCD makes to the Sansa and it looks like they used epoxy to mount the LCD. I discovered where to buy some silver electrically conductive epoxy, but it was $25. I then found out that Radio Shack sells a CircuitWriter Pen which write ink with silver in it for about $5! My plan was to mount the LCD close enough to the contacts and then fill in the gaps with the pen.
So, I removed the bad LCD and tried to use the CircuitWriter pen to establish the contacts. Unfortunately, there were just too many small contacts, too close together, and the ink from the pen dries too quickly and starts to clump up. I tried to clear the contacts with a pin scrape between each one with no luck. It failed completely!
Basically, now I have a 1gb keydrive which also requires a USB dongle and a AAA battery...
I ended up buying the new Sansa Express which has a builtin lithium-polymer battery which charges from the USB connection.
UPDATE:
I saw a Sansa M230 (512MB version) on sale at BigLots for $29 so I couldn't resist and I bought it. I still really like the Sansa Express I bought, but the M230 has a bigger screen that scrolls all of the mp3 id3 tag info instead of truncating it the screen also never turns off. It's really great for podcasts.
So, I put this in my pocket along with my car keys and somehow it cracked the LCD screen...
I decided to try and fix it by buying a broken Sansa (which didn't have a broken LCD) from eBay, and then just move the LCD to the working Sansa. There are about 50 contacts the LCD makes to the Sansa and it looks like they used epoxy to mount the LCD. I discovered where to buy some silver electrically conductive epoxy, but it was $25. I then found out that Radio Shack sells a CircuitWriter Pen which write ink with silver in it for about $5! My plan was to mount the LCD close enough to the contacts and then fill in the gaps with the pen.
So, I removed the bad LCD and tried to use the CircuitWriter pen to establish the contacts. Unfortunately, there were just too many small contacts, too close together, and the ink from the pen dries too quickly and starts to clump up. I tried to clear the contacts with a pin scrape between each one with no luck. It failed completely!
Basically, now I have a 1gb keydrive which also requires a USB dongle and a AAA battery...
I ended up buying the new Sansa Express which has a builtin lithium-polymer battery which charges from the USB connection.
UPDATE:
I saw a Sansa M230 (512MB version) on sale at BigLots for $29 so I couldn't resist and I bought it. I still really like the Sansa Express I bought, but the M230 has a bigger screen that scrolls all of the mp3 id3 tag info instead of truncating it the screen also never turns off. It's really great for podcasts.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Welcome!
Hi, welcome to the INHOT blog. We set this site up to share our knowledge with the IT community, and to give back a little something (however trivial it may be) in return for all the knowledge we have gained from everyone else.
We hope you find the content interesting and helpful!
We hope you find the content interesting and helpful!
Safe Kid's Computer!
One project I completed recently was to make a locked-down Windows XP desktop eXPerience for my kids at home. My twofold goal was to specify which programs (for their various CD-ROM games) they could run, and to compile a whitelist of websites they are permitted to visit.
After I made a new user (not part of the Administrator group) named "Kids", I logged in as Kids and put shortcuts to the games on their desktop. I knew XP had some built-in ways to tell it which programs you want to be allowed to run using the "Software Restriction Policy" section of the Policy Editor. So, take a look at the Software Restriction Policy and read about how to specify which programs are allowed to run. Don't forget to remove the .LNK file file format, like the article says, or your desktop shortcuts won't fire.
The second part of this puzzle is to lock down the kid's Internet browsing eXPerience so they don't stray into dangerous territory and either see things they aren't supposed to or to accidentially download spyware or other things. You can use Internet Explorer to do this with Internet and Trusted zone settings kind of like the Software Restriction Policy above. I initially tried this method, but I didn't get it working quite right. So, I went back to what I wanted to use in the first place - Firefox... The trick in Firefox is to go into Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Settings... and click the "Manual Proxy configuration" radio button. Leave the HTTP proxy set to either 127.0.0.1 or set it to 0.0.0.0. Now, in the "No Proxy for:" field you put all the sites you WANT the kids to be able to visit with commas separating the sites like "noggin.com,nickjr.com,*akamai.net". What this trick does is try and proxy all websites to your computer which won't work since you're not running a proxy on the desktop. The sites with no proxy will go right to the website on the Internet. This also means banner ads won't work a lot of the time! Sometimes it'll be hard to find out what servers the site accesses because some content providers like akamai.net may be hosting flash content, but take a look at the source code of the pages in question and you should be able to see it. Also, dont forget that you'll probably need flash, java, shockwave, etc. installed for Firefox for lots of these kids sites to work right.
UPDATE:
I am now using Blocksite to whitelist the kids websites instead of the fake proxy method. After you install the add-on in Firefox go to the options and uncheck "enable warnings" and uncheck "enable link removal", then click the whitelist radio button and you can add a password if you want. Now, click add to list the websites you want allowed, then all others will be blocked.
I also installed AdBlock Plus so I could press Ctrl-Shift-B and see what connections were being made so I would know what to whitelist. Adblock Plus removed the ability to block a whole site. Maybe I could try Adblock and use * wildcard to block everything and make a whitelist for the sites I want allowed. Another day...
UPDATE:
I read about this new Firefox plugin named "Glubble" and I think this'll be the way I go when it comes out of beta. Basically, Glubble customizes the entire Firefox interface and only lets kid-friendly access for your kids accounts.
After I made a new user (not part of the Administrator group) named "Kids", I logged in as Kids and put shortcuts to the games on their desktop. I knew XP had some built-in ways to tell it which programs you want to be allowed to run using the "Software Restriction Policy" section of the Policy Editor. So, take a look at the Software Restriction Policy and read about how to specify which programs are allowed to run. Don't forget to remove the .LNK file file format, like the article says, or your desktop shortcuts won't fire.
The second part of this puzzle is to lock down the kid's Internet browsing eXPerience so they don't stray into dangerous territory and either see things they aren't supposed to or to accidentially download spyware or other things. You can use Internet Explorer to do this with Internet and Trusted zone settings kind of like the Software Restriction Policy above. I initially tried this method, but I didn't get it working quite right. So, I went back to what I wanted to use in the first place - Firefox... The trick in Firefox is to go into Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Settings... and click the "Manual Proxy configuration" radio button. Leave the HTTP proxy set to either 127.0.0.1 or set it to 0.0.0.0. Now, in the "No Proxy for:" field you put all the sites you WANT the kids to be able to visit with commas separating the sites like "noggin.com,nickjr.com,*akamai.net". What this trick does is try and proxy all websites to your computer which won't work since you're not running a proxy on the desktop. The sites with no proxy will go right to the website on the Internet. This also means banner ads won't work a lot of the time! Sometimes it'll be hard to find out what servers the site accesses because some content providers like akamai.net may be hosting flash content, but take a look at the source code of the pages in question and you should be able to see it. Also, dont forget that you'll probably need flash, java, shockwave, etc. installed for Firefox for lots of these kids sites to work right.
UPDATE:
I am now using Blocksite to whitelist the kids websites instead of the fake proxy method. After you install the add-on in Firefox go to the options and uncheck "enable warnings" and uncheck "enable link removal", then click the whitelist radio button and you can add a password if you want. Now, click add to list the websites you want allowed, then all others will be blocked.
I also installed AdBlock Plus so I could press Ctrl-Shift-B and see what connections were being made so I would know what to whitelist. Adblock Plus removed the ability to block a whole site. Maybe I could try Adblock and use * wildcard to block everything and make a whitelist for the sites I want allowed. Another day...
UPDATE:
I read about this new Firefox plugin named "Glubble" and I think this'll be the way I go when it comes out of beta. Basically, Glubble customizes the entire Firefox interface and only lets kid-friendly access for your kids accounts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)