tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46330999534907996442024-03-13T12:23:19.726-07:00SevenBits Tech Blog v1.0Technica impendi nationiSevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-28900463550444260192015-04-30T15:36:00.004-07:002015-04-30T15:37:48.271-07:00Mac Linux USB Loader v3.1 Beta Released w/ Kali Linux Support<div style="color: #111111; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Hello, everyone. Long time no see. I am happy to announce the release of the Mac Linux USB Loader 3.1 <strong>beta</strong>. This is strictly pre-release, and I do not recommend upgrading unless you have some experience dealing with beta software.<br />
The pre-release contains the following changes from the current version:<br />
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<li>Updated to include version 0.3.0 of <a href="https://sevenbits.github.io/Enterprise/" style="color: #1756a9; text-decoration: none;" title="Enterprise">Enterprise</a>, also a pre-release</li>
</ul>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 30px; padding: 0px;">
<li>Added support for two languages, Spanish and Dutch</li>
</ul>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 30px; padding: 0px;">
<li>Removed unnecessary menu options from the menu bar</li>
</ul>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 30px; padding: 0px;">
<li>The Enterprise source location editor in the Preferences dialog now shows localized paths to the Enterprise source</li>
</ul>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 30px; padding: 0px;">
<li>Enterprise sources can now be renamed (except the default)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 30px; padding: 0px;">
<li>Write the new Enterprise configuration file format</li>
</ul>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 30px; padding: 0px;">
<li>Fixes for users with case-sensitive file systems</li>
</ul>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 30px; padding: 0px;">
<li>Updated Ubuntu and Elementary OS version support (mirrors for these distributions will be available upon the final release of this version)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 30px; padding: 0px;">
<li><strong>Kali Linux support</strong></li>
</ul>
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And finally (drumroll please)…<br />
The final version should be shipping very soon. Please take this opportunity to try and report any bugs which you might find.<br />
<em>Note about Kali</em>: There are bugs in the current version of Kali which stop it from working on older Macs with nVidia graphics cards. I am in touch with the Kali developers and we are working to fix the problem.<br />
<strong><a href="https://github.com/SevenBits/Mac-Linux-USB-Loader/releases/download/v3.1-CP1/Mac.Linux.USB.Loader.zip" style="color: #1756a9; text-decoration: none;" title="Download Link">Click here to download the beta</a></strong> and feel free to <a href="https://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" style="color: #1756a9; text-decoration: none;" title="Contact Me">contact me</a> and <a href="https://sevenbits.github.io/donate.html" style="color: #1756a9; text-decoration: none;" title="Donate to Me">donate to the project</a>.</div>
SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-74957003502488465712014-12-20T15:20:00.003-08:002014-12-20T15:20:44.533-08:00Localizers WantedHello, everyone.<br />
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So, you all are probably wondering when Mac Linux USB Loader’s rewrite will be out. Well, fear not, because it will be out by Christmas, that is, assuming that you all have been good this year. ;)</div>
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But there’s one thing that I really need right now, and that’s people who can help localize Mac Linux USB Loader. Right now, Mac Linux USB Loader supports a few languages, and while that certainly isn’t bad, it precludes a lot of people from being able to use it, because it is difficult to use a program in a language that you cannot speak. Even worse is the fact that the rewrite hasn’t been translated yet - it’s only available in English!</div>
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So, this is where I’d like to solicit the help of the community. If you’re fluent in a language other than English, and you have a little bit of spare time, I’d appreciate it if could could translate Mac Linux USB Loader into your native language. All you need is some spare time and a Mac or Linux machine (you don’t even need Xcode).</div>
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If you’re interested in helping, please send me an email with the following information:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Your name or online alias (so that I can credit you)</li>
<li>The language that you’d like to translate Mac Linux USB Loader into (you must be fluent enough for an accurate translation)</li>
<li>How long it will take to translate</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
Thanks so much. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.</div>
SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-40756472182199885822014-10-22T14:11:00.000-07:002014-10-22T14:11:10.949-07:00Enterprise v0.2.1 Beta ReleasedI am launching on the blog-o-sphere today a post to discuss <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/Enterprise/" target="_blank">Enterprise</a>.<br />
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Yes, Enterprise. A long overdue topic, I'm sure.<br />
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I am happy to announce that Enterprise has a 0.2.1 beta release. If you hadn't download it yet from <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/Enterprise/" target="_blank">the Enterprise website</a>, I urge you to do so. Why? Well, for starters this new version fixes a number of key issues which have been plaguing users of Mac Linux USB Loader, namely, the infamous "booting in blind mode" error.<br />
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This beta also introduces preliminary support for both Kali Linux <i>and</i> Tails - two highly requested distributions. Although you need to set Enterprise up manually for these because support isn't yet integrated into Mac Linux USB Loader, it is easy to do so; see the official instructions for more.<br />
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Questions, thoughts, or concerns? As always, <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" target="_blank">drop me a line</a>, comment on this post, and feel free to <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/donate.html" target="_blank">donate to the project</a>.SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-92003842779167101872014-09-20T12:18:00.001-07:002014-09-20T12:18:22.053-07:00Adding Startup Disk Support to Mac Linux USB LoaderHello all. Here's a long-awaited Mac Linux USB Loader update.<br />
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I've made a number of small changes to Mac Linux USB Loader, but perhaps the biggest new feature that I'm working on is making USB drives created with Mac Linux USB Loader compatible with OS X's startup disk selector. Here is the screen I'm referring to:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbBpux6DysKshqbccttQ4BbXYbRGO7iFmiBYpk2WTIv2Nc90OlAf0t2Lr_elRmRCasW2Vp4haq2iu-6qAjBBHcgslOH9sNVYjqdxAW_dId8feuVeeN3mFd2EFR0PVJGDh8ilA_chZ7pw/s1600/startup-disk.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbBpux6DysKshqbccttQ4BbXYbRGO7iFmiBYpk2WTIv2Nc90OlAf0t2Lr_elRmRCasW2Vp4haq2iu-6qAjBBHcgslOH9sNVYjqdxAW_dId8feuVeeN3mFd2EFR0PVJGDh8ilA_chZ7pw/s1600/startup-disk.tiff" height="354" width="640" /></a></div>
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In order for this to work, a few prerequisites have to be met:<br />
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<ul>
<li>You must enable support for HFS+ drives in Mac Linux USB Loader's preferences, under the Experimental section</li>
<li>You must be willing to have files placed outside of the EFI folder on the root of your USB drive, as OS X must find certain files in certain places (essentially, we're tricking it into thinking that your USB has an install of OS X on it)</li>
<li>You must use a distribution which <i>includes drivers for the HFS+ file system in its initrd</i>. Otherwise, your distribution will not be able to load properly. You may need to disable journaling.</li>
</ul>
<div>
More information will be forthcoming. In the mean time, feel free to comment, <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" target="_blank">email me</a>, or <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/donate.html" target="_blank">donate to the project</a>.</div>
SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-82419874954737706892014-09-12T15:47:00.002-07:002014-09-12T15:47:35.955-07:00Donations AcceptedI just want to announce that, starting today, I will be accepting donations to my work. You can donate any amount of money that you wish, and you can even pay by credit card.<br />
<br />
<form action="https://ipn.intuit.com/payNow/start" id="payByIpnForm" method="post" target="_payByIpnWindow">
<input name="eId" type="hidden" value="5ef0659fa1f87bd1" /> <input name="uuId" type="hidden" value="2530128f-13f9-4c18-9196-b1239a8c5f50" /> <input alt="Make payments for less with Intuit Payment Network." id="payByIpnImg" src="https://ipn.intuit.com/images/payButton/btn_Donation_ORG_LG.png" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0 none;" type="image" /></form>
This is the best way to help contribute to my projects if you are not a developer. Additionally, you can always help by contributing source code or by localizing resources into your native language.<br />
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Like what you see? Feel free to <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" target="_blank">drop me a line</a> or even <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/donate.html" target="_blank">donate to my work</a>.SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-25658651027632680172014-08-01T18:44:00.001-07:002014-08-01T18:44:17.961-07:00Website UpgradeOver the course of today and yesterday, my official page on the Internet, <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/index.html" target="_blank">SevenBits' Tech Site</a>, has received a face-lift. The original page, which was based around a shade of orange looked very dated, and to tell you the truth I never liked the design.<br />
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This update brings the website into the realm of other personal web pages and makes it look and function better on mobile environments such as iPhones and iPads.<br />
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Feel free to <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" target="_blank">email me</a> with any comments or suggestions.SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-84493080544745416732014-07-04T17:18:00.002-07:002014-08-01T18:44:43.204-07:00This Independence Day, Celebrate Something as Important as Freedom ItselfAmerica. The land of the free and the home of the brave has braved many changes through her years. So, this Independence Day, while we celebrate the brave actions of our compatriots 238 years ago, we also have <i>another</i> thing to be thankful for.<br />
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A new consumer preview release for Mac Linux USB Loader.<br />
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So celebrate the day in <i>style</i> with with a new preview of Mac Linux USB Loader's rewrite. Some specific changes since last time:<br />
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<ul>
<li>The distribution downloader almost completely works now. It grabs the list of mirrors for a specific distribution from <a href="https://github.com/SevenBits/mlul-iso-mirrors" target="_blank">my repository</a> and displays a nice little menu for you where you can select the mirror where you want to download. The mirrors are currently divided by country, with, <i>obviously</i>, the greatest country on the planet listed first (oh, sorry, excuse my jingoism - it <i>is</i> Independence Day, after all).</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/2482736/3485368/8c7524f6-03d6-11e4-9cf6-cfa5858f504f.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/2482736/3485368/8c7524f6-03d6-11e4-9cf6-cfa5858f504f.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<ul>
<li>And, the distribution downloader has a preferences window, though it doesn't really work yet. Most of the settings are saved, however.</li>
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<a href="https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/2482736/3485376/0cf66a5e-03d7-11e4-9aa2-ff57524326b9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/2482736/3485376/0cf66a5e-03d7-11e4-9aa2-ff57524326b9.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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There are a few additional changes here. Among them are:<br />
<br />
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<ul>
<li>Some code was added to check the version of OS X that the user is running and, if it's Yosemite, it makes some small UI tweaks.</li>
<li>The table in the Enterprise setup preference pane was tweaked under the hood.</li>
<li>And some other, really unimportant stuff.</li>
</ul>
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So, go ahead! Do your patriotic duty and download the latest test image now. Your country needs your immediate assistance! And always remember....<br />
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<a href="https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/2482736/3485384/06271574-03d8-11e4-8f0e-66bd9d6888ea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/2482736/3485384/06271574-03d8-11e4-8f0e-66bd9d6888ea.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Okay, so maybe this isn't as important as freedom itself. But it's still pretty neat, right? :)</div>
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<h3>
<a href="https://github.com/SevenBits/Mac-Linux-USB-Loader/releases/download/rewrite-CP2/Mac.Linux.USB.Loader.zip" target="_blank">CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD</a></h3>
SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-35047530551567921622014-06-03T18:08:00.001-07:002014-06-03T18:08:10.360-07:00You Can Design the Enterprise Logo!Enterprise, <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/Enterprise/" target="_blank">my UEFI boot loader for Macs</a>, is in deep need of its own logo. Right now, it's being represented by the UEFI logo, which isn't really suitable. With this in mind, I want to reach out to those who have design skills to design a logo. Here are the only requirements:<br />
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<ul>
<li>The logo should be rendered in a PNG and SVG format and be at least 512 x 512 pixels <i>or</i> 1024 x 512 pixels, or any larger equivalent ratio. Props if you do both!</li>
<li>Displaying the name "Enterprise" is not required but if you can work it in I won't complain.</li>
<li>There are no specific color or design restrictions.</li>
<li>You should work in something about Enterprise in the work, for example, its relation to the Starship <i>Enterprise</i> from <i>Star Trek</i>, its purpose, its relation to Linux and OS X, its foundation on the UEFI boot process, etc. But I'll waive these requirements if you create something really cool. ;)</li>
<li>You shall license the work under the LGPL or similar equivalent license. You shall retain copyright on your design, but agree that I may use the icon, gratis, in all works related to Enterprise in perpetuity.</li>
<li>Entries must be received <b>on or before</b> the first day of July, 2014. A winner will be selected within two weeks. Entries must be submitted <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" target="_blank">by email here</a>.</li>
</ul>
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Unfortunately, I cannot offer any form of monetary prize, however, the winner will be credited for their work and will be given the opportunity to try out the beta versions of the next major release of Incinerator before anyone else (trust me, it'll be huge), which should be relatively soon.<br />
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I look forward to seeing what you come up with!SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-6808454706857152582014-06-02T16:49:00.001-07:002014-06-02T16:49:23.502-07:00OS X YosemiteApple today <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/02/os-x-apple-yosemite/" target="_blank">announced at its WWDC keynote</a> the new version of OS X that will be arriving soon. Codename: Yosemite (YO-SEM-MIT-TEE). It shows great promise, but I'm not a fan of the new UI. Let's hope this doesn't become Windows 8.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielzYRcQXKhbkmuO70OHOI6xX1kz-rBics1rAvH8zGmONc64WINOs5CnhXsygpar8dEnDsIcYgDG9Nb7rvwdA24_WRleuu4Gw6qZpTsFpt6Iw7JhqZrB4F_jytBnIibEzJn__6wn7mB2k/s1600/img_0037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielzYRcQXKhbkmuO70OHOI6xX1kz-rBics1rAvH8zGmONc64WINOs5CnhXsygpar8dEnDsIcYgDG9Nb7rvwdA24_WRleuu4Gw6qZpTsFpt6Iw7JhqZrB4F_jytBnIibEzJn__6wn7mB2k/s1600/img_0037.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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What do you guys think? Comment below.SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-32317007888416684632014-05-24T14:56:00.002-07:002014-05-24T14:56:12.027-07:00Mac Linux USB Loader: DeclassifiedSo, for those of you who frequent this blog, you know about Mac Linux USB Loader, and how it is a huge project, at least when compared with some of the other stuff that I've done. You probably also know that Mac Linux USB Loader is currently being rewritten to be more future-proof and support more distributions. So, because not all of you can download and compile source code, I figure I'll share some more development screenshots.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-NogzYCv3R3EyctEaKX99_HawQrfqP8TSOQFgbtmGSVulkhUT_rGo5vQhopH-MPzmcyOcsn28sNHu4-lia6Ng6O3N5o3pe8S2B1y0sFCD5u942kN8P44b8dtR_5upBmyZ9IR3AkBQ8Q/s1600/MLUL-PersistenceSetupWindow.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-NogzYCv3R3EyctEaKX99_HawQrfqP8TSOQFgbtmGSVulkhUT_rGo5vQhopH-MPzmcyOcsn28sNHu4-lia6Ng6O3N5o3pe8S2B1y0sFCD5u942kN8P44b8dtR_5upBmyZ9IR3AkBQ8Q/s1600/MLUL-PersistenceSetupWindow.tiff" /></a></div>
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This is the new persistence setup window. The layout is pretty simple and not all too complex. I made it easy to setup persistence, and you literally just need one mouse click, which is much different from the <a href="https://github.com/SevenBits/Mac-Linux-USB-Loader/wiki/Using-Persistence-with-Mac-Linux-USB-Loader" target="_blank">current set of instructions</a>, which requires a command line and knowledge of how to use it. The default value used when setting up persistence is 128 MBs of persistent storage, which is usually enough for installing drivers and the like.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicNlald0B_jYavWwFvCZ9GN7uDYQtjyf6J63YdfZBuFZrITdiokipJZ5gP03URn18QxgVxxPLX-24N6ZMPPALI56hz8aIjizDOwmsYxpuGFK5ERx2f1XfsK7QezBlPguVP0qSyRXvF5A/s1600/MLUL-DistributionDownloaderWindow.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicNlald0B_jYavWwFvCZ9GN7uDYQtjyf6J63YdfZBuFZrITdiokipJZ5gP03URn18QxgVxxPLX-24N6ZMPPALI56hz8aIjizDOwmsYxpuGFK5ERx2f1XfsK7QezBlPguVP0qSyRXvF5A/s1600/MLUL-DistributionDownloaderWindow.tiff" height="340" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is the distribution downloader. It doesn't really work yet and is currently in development. It is an expansion of the current distribution downloader panel in the current version of Mac Linux USB Loader. The distribution downloader offers a stable and reliable way to download ISO files of Linux distributions which can be used by Mac Linux USB Loader. I intend to have some sort of mirror support as well, so that you can download the distribution from a server closest to you, if supported by the distribution vendor. My plan is to open-source this whole process, so that everyone can download the mirror lists and make suggestions, etc from a site like Github. More details on this will be forthcoming.</div>
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So what do you think about the progress being made on Mac Linux USB Loader? <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" target="_blank">Drop me a line</a> and let me know your thoughts, and, as always, comments are welcome.</div>
SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-29823553019170236202014-03-20T16:08:00.001-07:002014-03-20T16:08:50.372-07:00Mac Linux USB Loader's New USB Setup WindowLet's face it. Mac Linux USB Loader's current USB device setup window looks really bad. It's okay, you can admit it. It was kind of haphazardly put together without a real regard for design. Heck, the window can't even be properly resized.<br />
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With Mac Linux USB Loader's new rewrite, these issues will be put to bed. The <i>new</i> live USB setup window is a lot better and is more linear. By what margin is up to you to decide, but I think everyone will agree there's been improvement:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKxBgUlupcl0-anMoBRKy1c-zZcPRi8otd7JvDluxDMRNZj4mhEaDuGg5xPGmOT0s1FY9r4eHso0hYyNF77SHwqOu1WGxXLr0F7XAsh-mGn4EeVYYgk1jAjaS_xawHGyROpVC4w_dVdI/s1600/MLUL-NewDocumentWindow.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKxBgUlupcl0-anMoBRKy1c-zZcPRi8otd7JvDluxDMRNZj4mhEaDuGg5xPGmOT0s1FY9r4eHso0hYyNF77SHwqOu1WGxXLr0F7XAsh-mGn4EeVYYgk1jAjaS_xawHGyROpVC4w_dVdI/s1600/MLUL-NewDocumentWindow.tiff" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The very old but much loved drop down menus have been replaced with a much sleeker user interface inspired by simplicity. To choose the USB drive to setup a live USB for, you now click on a visual representation of your drive in the destination selector panel. And the screenshot probably spoils another new feature coming in this rewrite - you can now add your own copies of Enterprise to a list of sources in Mac Linux USB Loader's preferences. This means that if you like to compile your own binaries of Enterprise (because you don't trust me, for example) you can do that and use them instead of those shipping with the application.<br />
<br />
And yes, you can resize and take the window fullscreen now.<br />
<br />
Any thoughts? Comments? You can comment below or for a quicker response <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" target="_blank">email me here</a>.SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-84009302001331925982014-02-14T10:45:00.000-08:002014-02-14T10:45:16.748-08:00Happy Valentines' Day, Everyone!Just wanted to wish anyone who reads this a happy Valentines' Day. Hope you're doing well and everything.<br />
<br />
Now, for a totally unrelated note: Fedora 20 boots via live USB on my MacBook Pro! Hallelujah! Looks like there's no need to add Fedora support to Mac Linux USB Loader. Now Canonical, why can't you do the same things they're doing? You know many Mac users want to load Ubuntu on their Apple machines, right? ;) I mean, it even has support for OS X's Startup Disk Selector panel in System Preferences.<br />
<br />
I guess this just goes to show how different Linux distributions have differing levels of support to the various hardware types out there.SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-50645292853502231002014-02-02T11:06:00.000-08:002014-02-02T11:07:42.051-08:00A New Mac Linux USB LoaderHello everyone,<br />
<br />
2014 is poised to be an interesting year. This is especially true because, as of the middle of last month, Mac Linux USB Loader has quietly been the subject of a complete, from scratch, no holds barred rewrite, with nothing recycled from before. The original program was designed when I didn't know much about the Cocoa framework, with which the program is written, and now with my increased knowledge I am able to design a <i>much better</i> application that is less buggy, more stable, and that will actually let you <a href="https://github.com/SevenBits/Mac-Linux-USB-Loader/issues/35" target="_blank">open an ISO more than once</a>. Here's a screenshot of the new application's main screen:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyOy4U4fa12G4apmV1_0O-tckZHH_sFh_g3gK8S_Us-W_lxaMojlaoyETMXxH7jiDhoXqsJliiOrDJDwpQrS93IkRdrJd49jylxY7X24UFROp2g0cGvPo-TVSjxivWVsv_qqHlgqXCeo/s1600/Untitled.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyOy4U4fa12G4apmV1_0O-tckZHH_sFh_g3gK8S_Us-W_lxaMojlaoyETMXxH7jiDhoXqsJliiOrDJDwpQrS93IkRdrJd49jylxY7X24UFROp2g0cGvPo-TVSjxivWVsv_qqHlgqXCeo/s1600/Untitled.tiff" height="332" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The rewrite brings other beneficial changes as well. Mac Linux USB Loader can now set up persistence automatically - no Linux or command line required - making it even easier now to save data between sessions. I'm also working on enhancing Enterprise to detect persistence and enable it automatically on supported distributions, so you don't need to enter a secondary menu and enable it amongst a myriad of other technical options.<br />
<br />
The new rewrite implements sandboxing for security purposes, and though it probably won't end up on the Mac App Store because of Apple's rules against mentioning other computing platforms, it would be nice if it did.<br />
<br />
Technical changes aside, the revised application features a more "Mac-like" user interface, with greatly improved aesthetics, including icons from KDE's Oxygen and a new About window (with scrolling text!) that looks much cleaner than before:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1g6tvsfHlQlM0NXlZ7XN02jqdTYNSbtgrlRTZO0I-DvuhZfEkzjboE4ZXa8pUqh6dGNo6Lm9P-WjTkqe_CURaww9hd6v6UMaSKXnagcOAoXrNeFS-cBlqpBoBuKqvjG8HEVdRGdJx-yw/s1600/Untitled.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1g6tvsfHlQlM0NXlZ7XN02jqdTYNSbtgrlRTZO0I-DvuhZfEkzjboE4ZXa8pUqh6dGNo6Lm9P-WjTkqe_CURaww9hd6v6UMaSKXnagcOAoXrNeFS-cBlqpBoBuKqvjG8HEVdRGdJx-yw/s1600/Untitled.tiff" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm also grouping related options together. Everything from deleting an Enterprise installation to checking out installed distributions will be grouped under the Setup USB Device panel. And the Distribution Downloader, which will be making a comeback as well, will be greatly enhanced.<br />
<br />
This new rewrite also has an important legal change - I've licensed the application under a 3-clause BSD license. This protects my rights to the program's name and likeness but allows liberal use of the code.<br />
<br />
I've been working pretty hard on this, and I don't think it'll be ready anytime soon, so I can't give an ETA yet. Sorry.<br />
<br />
What do you guys, the users, think of these changes? <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" target="_blank">Drop me a line</a>.SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-75249583070665157062014-01-24T20:17:00.001-08:002014-01-24T20:17:50.103-08:00Roadmap for Enterprise and Mac Linux USB LoaderI'm just going to take a short while and discuss where I intend to take Mac Linux USB Loader and Enterprise. All software projects need goals, otherwise, they mute into unmaintainable beasts that cause frustration and leave the authors pulling their hair. Sooner or later, it happens to everyone.<br />
<br />
But I'm trying to avoid that problem as best I can by planning ahead of time exactly what Enterprise will be, and what it won't be. I may revise this over time, but it will be relatively static.<br />
<br />
So, where to take Enterprise? Well, here are a few talking points:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Enterprise is concerned with setting up the Linux distribution only, not for actually loading the kernel. I'm using GRUB for this because I don't want to write it myself. Because of this, I'm not adding my own kernel loading code. Why duplicate what's already been done?</li>
<li>I want to allow the user to manually enter their own Linux kernel parameters in addition to the ones already present in the menu. I can't predict every individual use case, nor am I going to.</li>
<li>Adding support for booting multiple Linux distributions is a big thing that needs to be added as well. This will require large changes to Enterprise. I've already started this.</li>
<li>I may decide to support UEFI support boot if I end of supporting PCs or if Macs end up adopting it. I definitely am not going to do this unless I have to, but it's an opportunity that I'm not necessarily opposed to.</li>
</ol>
<div>
And where to take Mac Linux USB Loader?<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>I want to add native persistence support to Mac Linux USB Loader so that users can natively setup persistence for their drives. I'm already working on this in another branch of the code, where it's coming along nicely.</li>
<li>To ease expandability, I want to allow users to get Linux distribution boot info from a server instead of being hard-coded into the application.</li>
<li>I want to allow users to update the version of Enterprise installed on their USB drives when an update is released.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Those are my goals for right now. What do you guys think? Comment below.</div>
</div>
SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-36246157622351463012014-01-16T14:24:00.002-08:002017-10-31T10:17:22.931-07:00E2fsprogs for MacFor anyone out there looking for a copy E2fsprogs for Mac, look no further. I've compiled the latest version for Intel OS X users as part of my development for <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/Mac-Linux-USB-Loader/" target="_blank">Mac Linux USB Loader</a> and am sharing it with the community. These come directly from the development git repository as of 16 January 2014.<br />
<br />
If and when I need to update this, I'll post the changed link on this page.<br />
<br />
<b>UPDATE 20 MAY 2014:</b> I am now hosting these directly on my Github Pages site, <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/">sevenbits.github.io</a>. This lets me control the link directly and allows direct downloading without going to a third party page with advertisements. Plus, I'm not at the whim of others.<br />
<br />
<b>UPDATE 31 OCTOBER 2017:</b> Apparently, people are still accessing this old post. It has come to my attention that the link here is broken, so I have updated it to point to my new web server.<br />
<br />
Included programs:<br />
<br />
base_device<br />
chattr<br />
e2freefrag<br />
e2initrd_helper<br />
filefrag<br />
logsave<br />
mke2fs<br />
tune2fs<br />
uuidgen<br />
badblocks<br />
blkid<br />
dumpe2fs<br />
e2image<br />
e2undo<br />
fsck<br />
lsattr<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
mklost+found<br />
uuidd<br />
<br />
<a href="https://archive.sevenbits.io/e2fsprogs/e2fsprogs.tar.gz" target="_blank">Download Here</a> (hosted on my website)<br />
<br />
Have fun, and hope this proves useful to someone.SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-54279324872399219002013-12-19T14:46:00.001-08:002013-12-19T14:46:12.283-08:00Mac Linux USB Loader version 2.0This consumer preview release includes loads of new features including:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Enterprise, my new UEFI boot loader that is far more customizable. You can view more information <a href="http://sevenbits-tech-blog.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-sneak-preview-of-enterprise.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</li>
<li>Updates to localizations. Added a traditional Chinese localization (done by a third party user) and updated Spanish localization. For credits for localizations, see <a href="https://raw.github.com/SevenBits/Mac-Linux-USB-Loader/working/TRANSLATIONS" target="_blank">this file</a>.</li>
<li>Big fixes and other changes.</li>
</ol>
<div>
If you want to download it, you can get it <a href="https://github.com/SevenBits/Mac-Linux-USB-Loader/releases/tag/v2.0" target="_blank">here</a>. Please note that this is still beta, so it may be buggy. You can also <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" target="_blank">email me</a> if you have problems.</div>
SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-28808278191082635912013-11-24T13:27:00.002-08:002013-11-24T13:27:35.511-08:00A Sneak Preview of EnterpriseSo, after a long, hard month of <i>serious</i> development (before this was a rather lackluster and on-and-off effort) I am pleased to show some screenshots of Enterprise, my custom UEFI boot manager program that I <a href="http://sevenbits-tech-blog.blogspot.com/2013/08/implementation-details-of-enterprise-my.html" target="_blank">wrote about at length in this post</a>. However, there are some (small) details that are different in the plan versus the implementation, and that's of course because I've found a better way to do things. So, here's are some screenshots, as promised, with comments:<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbMudtPWxoE1KjCqbPPqAsAJrBt0a8XW44PuUN3BxdNWfv1my6AhOrKX472IYPaf8bxDM90NcsBEIL2cxxmxHxS8pzMWrppHQrR9QBh93OFQZcItCsiRiUPS2J6gQW8M6xfXA3vb_3o8/s1600/Enterprise-Main-Screen.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbMudtPWxoE1KjCqbPPqAsAJrBt0a8XW44PuUN3BxdNWfv1my6AhOrKX472IYPaf8bxDM90NcsBEIL2cxxmxHxS8pzMWrppHQrR9QBh93OFQZcItCsiRiUPS2J6gQW8M6xfXA3vb_3o8/s640/Enterprise-Main-Screen.tiff" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This screen (which may receive minor tweaking) allows the user to select one of two basic options: starting the Linux distribution immediately or, in case there's issues with the video card, etc, to customize Linux kernel boot options.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1tJWokveUufBHsvT_PdU3gwpBsbJPKw66xLCGYZMv4I4-3kIKPGnhtwedzZRtsnYJNatBvmfEUOvpjzNAArioRA2k5w4DbDuDGG6ummtIpCKnyNxlR1yo52zQOJK78F7ruJHRBtAicHU/s1600/Enterprise-Boot-Screen.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1tJWokveUufBHsvT_PdU3gwpBsbJPKw66xLCGYZMv4I4-3kIKPGnhtwedzZRtsnYJNatBvmfEUOvpjzNAArioRA2k5w4DbDuDGG6ummtIpCKnyNxlR1yo52zQOJK78F7ruJHRBtAicHU/s640/Enterprise-Boot-Screen.tiff" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is what the boot options screen that I just mentioned looks like. You can toggle a variety of boot options (up to 9 is supported with this approach) that have a variety of functions. Some of them make troubleshooting easier, while others facilitate installing Linux to your Mac. I plan on adding more before the final release. Please note that not all options are supported by all distributions.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Love it? Hate it? Have suggestions? <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" target="_blank">Drop me a line</a>. I'm shooting for a release date of the 30th of November and I'd love to get some feedback.</div>
SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-17180091068284341022013-10-17T15:59:00.004-07:002013-10-17T15:59:36.632-07:00Enterprise Developing is Rolling...I am happy to announce that, after a long interim, development on <a href="https://github.com/SevenBits/Enterprise" target="_blank">Enterprise</a> is going full speed ahead. Hopefully, there won't be any more long delays in development. I know that this is a much-needed program, due to <a href="https://github.com/SevenBits/Mac-Linux-USB-Loader/issues?sort=created&state=open" target="_blank">many bug reports detailing the flaws</a> with Mac Linux USB Loader's current firmware solution, and so hopefully it should be in a somewhat beta-testable state soon.<br />
<br />
What's currently working is the initial menu and the kernel boot options configuration panel (from where, you'll be able to add options like <code>nomodeset</code> and <code>acpi=off</code> to the kernel boot procedure).<br />
<br />
What still needs to be done is processing Enterprise's configuration file - currently it checks for the existence of such a file, but doesn't read its content - it could contain song lyrics for all it mattered - and passing everything to GRUB, which will load Linux from the supplied ISO file like at present.<br />
<br />
Screenshots will be coming soon, but will take some setup to capture, as Enterprise runs before any operating system, and thus any potential for screen capturing.SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-27076349908904468762013-08-30T17:34:00.000-07:002013-08-30T17:34:37.250-07:00Implementation Details of Enterprise, my Custom UEFI Booting Solution for Linux on Intel MacsMy repository on GitHub holding the source code for my program Enterprise is currently sparse on commits - no updates in over a month. But before you accost me for being lazy, listen up, for I have not been lazy, nor has the project been abandoned. I simply have been using this time to figure out exactly <i>how</i> I'm going to implement the program instead of simply throwing code together like before.<br />
<br />
So, what do I have in mind? Well, listen up.<br />
<br />
My booting solution for booting Linux distributions via EFI is a three-stage loading process, involving (at least) three files instead of the present two (two EFI executables and one ISO file of your preferred Linux distribution). These programs will be executed in sequential order. This works out as follows:<br />
<ol>
<li>The user boots into the USB drive made by Mac Linux USB Loader. Enterprise will then perform some hardware checks to ensure that you actually booted on a Mac. It will then display a menu similar to those found in gummiboot or GRUB. I'm looking at rather basic options at this point - the options will be to boot normally, boot with certain options (like no graphical X desktop and/or disabling kernel mode setting), or reloading and/or dropping into an EFI shell.</li>
<li>If the user chooses to boot the operating system, we then write out a configuring file detailing exactly what is needed to boot Linux on the current hardware. Then we pass control off to GRUB, which is another EFI executable in the same directory. GRUB reads this configuration file and boots the Linux distribution included in the installed ISO file.</li>
<li>GRUB loads the kernel and RamDisk from the ISO using loopback. Together the kernel starts up the remainder of the operating system.</li>
</ol>
<div>
This approach will ultimately yield itself to be a more viable alternative to the current solution, which works with hard coded kernel locations inside of the ISO (however, loopback support will still be required, as this is required for GRUB to boot from the ISO file - there isn't really any way around this). Additionally, it will allow me to add support for more distributions with relative simplicity.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For those of you who want to see the directory structure, here's what it will look like:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9iBp4eL_G00x4xhsD0LVmgbkNYN1_GkT3oObPS0mdhTnYKg35NLLdSHiAzECSUzrd0qcw5cJgbTQXmgXRBplIlgDmcTl57FC0x5dy2TQxdQ5NObiyyPpLrjypMgBI5grGm6FzlGJVTw/s1600/Finder1.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9iBp4eL_G00x4xhsD0LVmgbkNYN1_GkT3oObPS0mdhTnYKg35NLLdSHiAzECSUzrd0qcw5cJgbTQXmgXRBplIlgDmcTl57FC0x5dy2TQxdQ5NObiyyPpLrjypMgBI5grGm6FzlGJVTw/s1600/Finder1.tiff" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I know many of you have been waiting very patiently for a solution. Tails, Knoppix, Backtrack, and Arch Linux are all distributions that I've been requested to support. I assure you that I am working as fast as I can to get these distributions working with Mac Linux USB Loader. I have no idea when this solution will be ready for beta testing, but everything should be on track now.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What do you think of this setup? Comment below. If you prefer to communicate via email, I can be reached <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/contact.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-68947520895289153032013-07-18T17:58:00.000-07:002013-07-18T17:58:43.329-07:00How to Code UNIX Daemons - Part OneIn continuing with my time-honored tradition in bringing you the absolute latest in small code samples, here's an example of how to write a UNIX daemon. For the unfamiliar, daemons are background backgrounds that are typically started when the system starts up and have <i>one specific task</i> - typically ranging from serving web pages (the Apache web server, <code>https</code>, is a <code>daemon</code>, as is sshd, which listens for ssh requests on remote servers you can ssh into).<br />
<br />
So, without further ado, here's the code sample:<br />
<br />
<pre style="background-image: URL(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVz6PAnuAkeUkCACMmQ9D6FoKOP5KP5SQcPCuZztZuTtNPTQXIif1fZ9upJXrE9Ab9GjJyqUaphr7jL27jXqDWhuV1A8urn8RSsPYs8GDT2J7B3kePPBpZT8zMYgxgCoEKwgbESFrUUUu/s320/codebg.gif); background: #f0f0f0; border: 1px dashed #CCCCCC; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; height: auto; line-height: 20px; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: left; width: 99%;"><code style="color: black; word-wrap: normal;"> #include <unistd.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <syslog.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
// Set our uid to root so we get root permissions.
setuid(0);
// Fork off.
pid_t pid;
int current_arg = 0;
pid = fork();
if (pid < 0) {
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
if (pid > 0) {
exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
}
umask(0);
// Open a syslog so we can post messages, as daemons shouldn't access
// stdout.
openlog(argv[current_arg], LOG_NOWAIT|LOG_PID, LOG_USER);
syslog(LOG_NOTICE, "Successfully started daemon\n");
// Create a new process group.
pid_t sid;
sid = setsid();
if (sid < 0) {
syslog(LOG_ERR, "Could not create process group\n");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
// Set our working directory to / so we know where we're writing files
// from. Also good practice.
if ((chdir("/")) < 0) {
syslog(LOG_ERR, "Could not change working directory to /\n");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
// Close the standard streams like stdout so we're not attached to the
// console (and thus killable with Control-C).
close(STDIN_FILENO);
close(STDOUT_FILENO);
close(STDERR_FILENO);
// Now mimic some daemon activity. A real daemon would actually do
// something here, such as monitor CPU temperature or something...
do {
syslog(LOG_NOTICE, "Sending a message\n");
sleep(10);
} while (1);
// Close our access to the syslog.
closelog();
} </code></pre>
<br />
Put this into a text file, and then compile it with your C compiler. You then go into the terminal, run your program, and… it exits immediately - what gives?<br />
<br />
The truth is, something <i>did</i> happen - you just don't notice. Thanks to our <code>fork()</code> call, we split off from the main process and run in the background.<br />
<br />
In the second part of this series, we'll write a more complicated daemon program. See you later!SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-1188827070554170052013-07-07T06:04:00.000-07:002013-07-07T06:04:42.089-07:00Mac Linux USB Loader v1.1 Consumer Preview<div>
For all of you wondering what the last month or so of coding has meant for Mac Linux USB Loader, you are in luck! I am, as of now, officially releasing a consumer preview of version 1.1 of Mac Linux USB Loader! You can download it <a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/mlul/files/unstable/Mac%20Linux%20USB%20Loader-1.1CP.zip/download" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> on SourceForge.</div>
<div>
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Version 1.1 is mainly a small release with bug fixes, but there is one important new feature that I'm beta testing right now: the <b>automatic USB device blesser</b>. On OS X, a drive can be "blessed" to instruct the firmware to boot it - it can be on any drive at any path, and not just at /efi/boot/. Mac Linux USB Loader uses this feature of Macs in an important new way: it allows your Mac to <b>automatically </b>boot your USB stick <u>whenever</u> it is plugged in - no more holding down the Option key is required.</div>
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This feature remains optional and can be accessed via a new option called Modify Boot Settings on the main panel:</div>
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After you click the Modify Boot Settings option, the following sheet will pop down:</div>
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Just select your USB drive that has an installation of a Linux distribution created by Mac Linux USB Loader, press the Bless button, enter your administrator password, and <i>viola!</i> - when you restart your Mac with the USB stick in the drive, it'll boot up automatically into your installed Linux distribution. Of course, the Unbless button does the exact opposite.</div>
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Again, if you want to try out this feature, <a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/mlul/files/unstable/Mac%20Linux%20USB%20Loader-1.1CP.zip/download" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">you can download the preview here</a>. Please note that this is an unstable release, and if something goes wrong, I assume no liability<span style="font-size: x-small;">*</span>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* - Worst case scenario: your boot priorities are screwed up, in which case, just Option boot into OS X and from Terminal type (you'll need your root password, which by default should be your admin password):</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>sudo bless --mount / --setBoot</i></span></div>
SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-85036274094921760482013-06-30T22:42:00.003-07:002013-06-30T22:42:45.669-07:00Mac Linux USB Loader Starred 50 Times on GitHub!Mac Linux USB Loader was recently starred for the 50th time. Thanks everyone for your continued support - it lets me know that this tool is needed and keeps me going on development.<br />
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Also, thanks to everyone who posted articles on Mac Linux USB Loader, <a href="http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Utilities/Mac-Linux-USB-Loader.shtml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">added it to Softpedia</a>, and wrote <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Linux_USB_Loader" target="_blank">about it on Wikipedia</a>. You guys are the best!SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-20917431869005655802013-06-11T13:26:00.000-07:002013-06-11T13:26:11.034-07:00Xcode 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Apple just yesterday revealed the interface to the next iteration of Xcode 5, Apple's premier development IDE. It can, unfortunately, sometimes break compatibility with older Xcode versions. But a lot of things are hopefully much easier now. I look forward to trying it and I hope you all try it out.SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-1428550619292203232013-06-10T16:14:00.000-07:002013-06-10T16:14:04.076-07:00A Demonstration of the UNIX fork() CallUNIX's fork() call is a fantastic way to have one executable divide itself into two processes, each of which can perform different code from a single codebase. It is also useful for apps that should be started from a command line but shouldn't be vulnerable to being killed with Control-C or the death of the shell. This is how daemons work in UNIX/Linux/OS X. I believe (though I may be mistaken) that this is the basis of Google Chrome's multi-process browsing feature.<br />
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<pre style="background-image: URL(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVz6PAnuAkeUkCACMmQ9D6FoKOP5KP5SQcPCuZztZuTtNPTQXIif1fZ9upJXrE9Ab9GjJyqUaphr7jL27jXqDWhuV1A8urn8RSsPYs8GDT2J7B3kePPBpZT8zMYgxgCoEKwgbESFrUUUu/s320/codebg.gif); background: #f0f0f0; border: 1px dashed #CCCCCC; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; height: auto; line-height: 20px; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: left; width: 99%;"><code style="color: black; word-wrap: normal;"> //
// fork.c
//
// Created by SevenBits on 4/14/13.
//
// This demonstrates how to fork a process. Basically, what happens is, one
// process will fork itself, creating a cloned process. The return value of
// the fork() call can be used to direct one process to perform one task,
// and the clone to perform another! Inter-process communication is also
// possible.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main() {
printf("We're going to fork ourselves. This will spawn multiple processes,");
printf(" which will each count from 1 to 100 in a different process.\n");
pid_t pid = fork();
int i;
switch (pid) {
case -1:
printf("ERROR! Something went wrong!\n");
return 1;
break;
case 0:
for (i = 0; i < 100; i++) { // This runs in one process.
printf ("A: %d\n", i);
sleep(1);
}
break;
default: // This runs in another process (the parent).
for (i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
printf ("B: %d\n", i);
sleep(2);
}
break;
}
return 0;
}
</code></pre>
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I officially place this code in the public domain. Do whatever.<br />
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SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633099953490799644.post-50234986294297804872013-05-31T15:03:00.000-07:002013-05-31T15:03:47.570-07:00Mac Linux USB Loader 1.0 Finally Released!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1gHGvyCc2IQ1wuNoi0r27LY69YmSgj_3J1MhdM_W4cyQ1Y9VJpC-UXKU_lSGfceCN-G-GyXlnkrNgwbjgEh3ppckIgFwYh1y4_PNVejOQBmZYHMRgR3pnhf7MyS6xHgUlit94kwJ0_-g/s1600/MLUL-2.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1gHGvyCc2IQ1wuNoi0r27LY69YmSgj_3J1MhdM_W4cyQ1Y9VJpC-UXKU_lSGfceCN-G-GyXlnkrNgwbjgEh3ppckIgFwYh1y4_PNVejOQBmZYHMRgR3pnhf7MyS6xHgUlit94kwJ0_-g/s1600/MLUL-2.tiff" /></a></div>
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This, my friends, is the window of an application's final release. Mac Linux USB Loader is now at 1.0! Read the release notes <a href="http://sevenbits.github.io/appcasts/rel-notes.html" target="_blank">here</a>!<br />
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Development will continue as usual. Sorry 1.0 took so long, but you know how it goes. :) Well, see you at 2.0!SevenBitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864505669597492110noreply@blogger.com0