Type-checking casts in (GNU) C

December 24, 2008

This is word to let the world know that I have found a way to make the C++ new-style casts, specifically static_cast<> and const_cast<>, in (GNU) C (that's right, not C++). (read more...)

Reset Mac OS X password without install CD

October 25, 2008

Lost the administrator password? Here is how you reset it. (read more...)

Ubuntu 8.04.. annoyances part 2

August 19, 2008

Following up on part 1, the list of stupidities in this distro continues to get longer. (read more...)

A day at the Consulate

Friday, June 20 2008

There are not many postings on the Internet about what a consulate visit is going to be like, and for the few that are, there are some indefinite descriptions. Since I also had to obtain a visa for a planned internship in the US, here is a quick rundown of what to expect. [General Consulate in Frankfurt/Main, Germany]. (read more...)

Ubuntu 8.04.. annoyances part 1

June 09, 2008

No, I did not jump on the Ubuntu bandwagon, and a number of annoyances in it just made sure I am not going to get sucked into the unbunt hype. (read more...)

Update to “Writing your own Netfilter modules”

April 27, 2008

I have updated the “Writing your own Netfilter modules” document with a big chapter about targets and connection tracking since the last announcement (when it was still known as “Writing your own Xtables module” as it only covered Xtables). So everyone who is interested in this area is invited to have a look. Feedback is greatly appreciated. (read more...)

Using the serial port in VMware

April 25, 2008

So I happened to need the serial port in a virtual machine, not only for output, but also for input. And this is where VMware seems to lack a helper program for the final touch. (read more...)

Most horrible build systems – Part 1

April 17, 2008

Source for X11 driver for Via Unichrome/CX700. Fugly shell script that uses hardcoded paths and fixated kernel versions in almost every single place and which no normal person should ever be required to grasp. And there is absolutely zero information how in God's name one is supposed to include /usr/include/xorg in the search path, because apparently they have not. (read more...)

Connecting Pidgin to GoogleTalk

April 11, 2008

Trying to set up a Gtalk account in Pidgin a few weeks ago seemed complicated, and given the fact that it does seem ambiguous in what you have to enter, it seems to work. (read more...)

Fedora bugs timed out

April 04, 2008

It's obvious, Fedora does not care about certain bugs. I just got this automated Bugzilla message: (read more...)

Usable IPv4/IPv6 addresses

February 27, 2008

Though you can assign your interface arbitrary addresses, Linux refuses to route certain subnets. “Consider all addresses with the first three bits different of 000 and 111 as unicasts.” is a comment in the code that needs a bit of thought, conveniently, 2000::/16 – DFFF::/16 is usable, as is still the deprecated FEC0::/16 region. (read more...)

Three steps to a basic PSK IPsec tunnel

February 24, 2008

Sometimes, the solution is so simple that you miss the wood for the trees. (read more...)

ifconfig sucks

February 19, 2008

ifconfig, which has historically been used to configure network interfaces, has a number of problems which make it more and more unsuitable. The list of replacements is below. (read more...)

Presenting “Writing your own Xtables module”

February 15, 2008

Writing your own Xtables module” is an extensively updated version (35 pages) of Nicolas's “Writing your own netfilter/iptables match” and is targeted for Linux kernel 2.6.23–2.6.25. I will update the document to reflect newer kernels as time passes and development goes on. (read more...)