Linux Journal Contents #172, August 2008
Linux Journal Issue #172/August 2008
There's nuttin like a Cool Project to give you some relief from the summer heat, so get out your parka cuz we got a bunch of em. First up is the BUG, not a bug, The BUG. It's got a GPS, camera and more, in a hand-sized package that's user programmable. The BUG does everything. It's both a floor wax and a dessert topping. Get one now. Need a software version of a Swiss Army knife? Take a look at Billix, and don't leave home without it. Then, chew on this one, an X server on a Gumstix device driving an E-Ink display. Need more storage? How about 16 Terabytes? Can do. And, of course, we have the usual cast of characters: Marcel, Reuven, Dave, Kyle, Doc, plus the new kid on the block Shawn Powers. But it doesn't stop there: build a MythTV box on a budget, build your own GIS system, set up the tools to monitor your enterprise and more. Finally, remember The War of the Worlds? Now you can play too.
Features
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The BUG: a Linux-Based Hardware Mashup
by Mike Diehl
With the BUG, you get a GPS, camera, motion detector and accelerometer all in one hand-sized unit, and it's completely programmable.
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Billix: a Sysadmin's Swiss Army Knife
by Bill Childers
Build a toolbox in your pocket by installing Billix on that spare USB key.
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Fun with E-Ink, X and Gumstix
by Jaya Kumar
Find out how to make standard X11 apps run on an E-Ink display using a Gumstix embedded device.
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One Box. Sixteen Trillion Bytes.
by Eric Pearce
Build your own 16 Terabyte file server with hardware RAID.
Indepth
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Linux for the Long Haul
by Michael Surran
Checking in with the Greater Houlton Christian Academy's switch to Linux.
-
Zenoss and the Art of Enterprise Monitoring
by Jeramiah Bowling
Stay on top of your network with an enterprise-class monitoring tool.
-
How to Fake a UFO Landing
by Dan Sawyer
Use Voodoo to solve video match-moving problems.
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Quantum GIS: the Open-Source Geographic Information System
by James Gray
Hooked on Google Earth? Check out Quantum GIS to satisfy your geographic cravings.
-
Build a MythTV Box without Breaking the Bank
by P. Surdas Mohit
A quick-and-easy guide to the world of MythTV.
Columns
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Shawn Power's Current_Issue.tar.gz
Linux: the Root of All Coolness
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Reuven M. Lerner's At the Forge
Profiling Rails Applications
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Marcel Gagné's Cooking with Linux
Cool as Ice!
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Dave Taylor's Work the Shell
Movie Trivia and Fun with Random Numbers
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Kyle Rankin's Hack and /
Wiimote Control
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Doc Searls' EOF
Mixing Up a Generative Mobile Feast
Reviews
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Hot and Bothered at Starbucks
by Dan Sawyer
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The Neuros OSD Connects Your TV to the Internet
by Marco Fioretti
In Every Issue
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- Designing Electronics with Linux
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- UX Designer
- Web & UI Developer (JavaScript & j Query)
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Enter to Win an Adafruit Pi Cobbler Breakout Kit for Raspberry Pi

It's Raspberry Pi month at Linux Journal. Each week in May, Adafruit will be giving away a Pi-related prize to a lucky, randomly drawn LJ reader. Winners will be announced weekly.
Fill out the fields below to enter to win this week's prize-- a Pi Cobbler Breakout Kit for Raspberry Pi.
Congratulations to our winners so far:
- 5-8-13, Pi Starter Pack: Jack Davis
- 5-15-13, Pi Model B 512MB RAM: Patrick Dunn
- 5-21-13, Prototyping Pi Plate Kit: Philip Kirby
- Next winner announced on 5-27-13!
Featured Jobs
| Linux Systems Administrator | Houston and Austin, Texas | Host Gator |
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Free Webinar: Hadoop
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Realizing the promise of Apache® Hadoop® requires the effective deployment of compute, memory, storage and networking to achieve optimal results. With its flexibility and multitude of options, it is easy to over or under provision the server infrastructure, resulting in poor performance and high TCO. Join us for an in depth, technical discussion with industry experts from leading Hadoop and server companies who will provide insights into the key considerations for designing and deploying an optimal Hadoop cluster.
Some of key questions to be discussed are:
- What is the “typical” Hadoop cluster and what should be installed on the different machine types?
- Why should you consider the typical workload patterns when making your hardware decisions?
- Are all microservers created equal for Hadoop deployments?
- How do I plan for expansion if I require more compute, memory, storage or networking?




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