Portable Linux

Linux Remix v5.1 (Precise Pangolin 12.04) Release date June 24, 2012 by Gregory D. Remington DESCRIPTION Linux Remix (formerly Lubuntu SOHO) is a custom portable VirtualBox powered Linux Server and Desktop Computer you can run from a USB flash drive to transform most Windows PCs into Scientific or Business Marketing Research Internet Super Servers. No software installation is required... it's stupid simple :) SYSTEM CREDENTIALS Username for all services (except EHCP and root): ubuntu Password for all services areas (including ECHP and root): 12345678 LOCATIONS OF WEB BASED APPLICATIONS ECHP: http://localhost/echp/ username: admin password: 12345678 phpMyAdmin: http://localhost/phpmyadmin username: root password: 12345678 The Virtual Machine (VM) is 3.9GB in size and will boot on both NTFS or FAT32 to support Mac OS X (with VirtualBox installed). There are no plans for a portable Mac OS X Linux Remix however, a VMware, Live CD and embedded version produced with Linaro Cross-Over Tools (also included) is being tested. Scientific PPA metapackages, such as AIMS Desktop, have been added to the package library for instant gratification. Please be aware that these do contain Multiverse and Restricted packages with licensing restrictions. AIMS Desktop requires 5GB or more of space. With only 3.9GB to spare, Linux remix could be compared to a red oak tree seedling stuck in a 4-10" inch container... on steroids. While it may make a great Bonsai for a thumb drive, it will need more space to be increasingly useful. CloneVDI, included in vBoxReMix\vbox\apps\CloneVDI, makes it an easy chore to expand the VM from 3.9GB to a terabyte or more in a couple minutes. Like most of the distributed software, it does include instructions. GParted (already installed) can be used to adjust the swap partition size if needed. The R statistical computing platform, originally developed for research in areas such as scientific, computational and financial modeling, is fully functional and can be used for analyzing marketing or business intelligence gathered with the Rattle Data Miner (also available). We are currently evaluating Pentaho for similar features. http://www.r-project.org http://www.r-bloggers.com http://www.pentaho.com SELF HOSTED WEBSITE APPLICATIONS (The Private Cloud) In addition to cramming more desktop applications into a smaller space than we ever imagined possible, self hosted web apps like WordPress and Feng Office are mixed into the desktop environment. Since they are self hosted and don't require an Internet connection to function, they can be treated like any other desktop application. Web apps have advantages over traditional desktop apps such as communicating or syncing with online services and similar application s. These include Google apps, Facebook event and gallery feeds, LinkedIn groups and websites built with WordPress, Drupal or similar platforms. PROCESS AUTOMATION AND ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE Chat bots Gozer, Jabber and KGB have been introduce to begin testing the best candidate for managing or automating social marketing analytics and other business processes including scheduling, alert notifications, followup or reporting completed tasks in real time. These bots were originally developed to monitor and report abusive language in chat rooms or link software failures to developers who did not follow coding guidelines or compliance. They can be trained to answer specific keyword related questions or hold a simple conversation on a topic too. KGB, Jabber or Gozer may come potty trained in future releases to assist in carrying out redundant tasks or managing human resources but for now they're no smarter than what you tell them to do. BUILD ENVIRONMENTS AND EMBEDDED SYSTEMS In order to get the most out of Linux Remix, developer application support is included to increase the size of the VM, clone it or produce entirely new virtual or embedded systems. Linaro Tools, used in Android development and for creating embedded Linux desktop systems is presently available for testing. WARNING: Currently build environments like Linaro do not have enough room to create a Live or embedded systems without expanding the VM beyond the desired 3.9GB limit. To work around this limitation, we're creating and mounting new VMs on Windows C: Drive to cross compile Linux distributions using VirtualBox shared folders. The Linaro Cross Build is undergoing testing and should not be used in q production environments until we reach beta. Armel and Arm build packages for compiling Linux Kernels are installed and ready to test. You have the option to remove these build environments, as with any package via "aptitude purge" or "apt-get autoremove --purge". Once uninstalled it's recommended to grep or SU into terminal and launch "gnome-search-tool" to search for and delete remaining directories or risidual files. Note: Sound still isn't available. Kernel modules, patches, drivers and other attempts have been made to restore sound. If you find a solution, please email gregremington@gmail.com or post it to the Sourceforge project forum. We'll include your contribution in all future releases along with an honorable mention :) WHAT'S INSIDE A 3.9GB VirtualBox VDI that can be run on FAT32 or NFTS. with 2.6GB of software allocated to server and desktop applications and 300MG of free space for upgrades and cached content. The remaining 768MG partition is used for the Linux swap drive. Linux kernel image is Linux-image-3.2.0-25.40-virtual with VirtualBox Guest Additions installed. A copy of CloneVDI can be found in vBox\vbox\apps\CloneVDI to expand the VM. GParted (already installed) can be used to adjust the swap partition size on a cloned disk. VirtualBox OSE v4.1.16 is included courtesy of the VirtualBox OSE Project. http://code.google.com/p/vbox-ose/ DESKTOP APPLICATION HIGHLIGHTS LibreOffice, R Rattle Data Miner, Thunderbird with Lightning Calendar TOR onion routing, Vidalia, VLC Media Player, VLMC Video editor, Tux Free TV, X2Go remote desktop, Gimp graphic editor, Social messaging plugins Pidgin and Specto, Cairo Dock, GPredict Satellite tracking and assorted Amature Ham Radio tools, Gnome Control Panel (with a few bugs), GParted and a collection of network discovery and security apps like Bleachbit, Pyrit, Wireshark, PackETH and Zenmap. WEB SERVER APPLICATION HIGHLIGHTS ECHP (Easy Hosting Control Panel), Icecast Streaming Media Server, WordPress CMS FengOffice Project Manager, ZoneMinder Video Surveillance and phpMyAdmin Please see \vBoxReMix\vbox\docs\packages.Remix.06.24.2012.list for complete inventory. WARNING! BE SURE TO CHANGE ALL PASSWORDS AND USERNAMES AND REMOVE UNUSED SERVICES AND DESKTOP APPLICATIONS BEFORE USING IN A PUBLIC ENVIRONMENT, CLIENT PROJECTS, LIVE WEBSITES OR INTERNAL PRIVATE NETWORKS. HOW TO USE 1) Drop the vBox folder containing all files in a top level directory such as C:\vBox or D:\vBox, E:\vBox, etc. if running from an external USB device (Flash or HDD drive). 2) Click vbox.exe then select the Location of the VM folder by clicking File > Preferences > Default Machine Folder: and select "Other". 3) Locate the VirtualBox VMs folder Drive:\vBox\vm\VirtualBoxVMs\linux-remix.v5.1 click on it, then click OK. 4) Go to Machine > Add, click on the folder linux-remix.v5.1 then click on the file linux-remix.v5.1.vbox. 5) Click the green Start button to start the VM. Once the VM has booted to the username and password screen enter the following. username: lubuntu password: 12345678 6) If you need root access, type the command "sudo -s" (without quotes) 7) Type the comman "tasksel" (without quotes) to install additional server, desktop, or individual software packages manually. SUPPLEMENTAL 32 & 64 bit OSE Windows 7 Guest Extensions are included courtesy of the Google hosted VirtualBox OSE Project. The differences between the Google hosted VirtualBox OSE Project and official Oracle VirtualBox OSE builds are: 1. All testcase programs are included. 2. Compiled with Visual C++ 2010 3. Built with the latest QT library (QT 4.7.4) Launcher script and VM locations: \vBoxReMix\vbox\source\vbox.au3 \vBox\vm\VirtualBoxVMs\linux-remix.v5.1\linux-remix.v5.1.vdi VMs are sanitised with Bleachbit and overwritten using the following commands. { dd if=/dev/zero of=/zero & }; sleep 1; rm /zero; fg history -c cruft -d / The package includes binaries from VirtualBox-4.1.16_OSE-r77440-amd64.msi and VirtualBox-4.1.16_OSE-r77440-x86.msi, Signed drivers from Oracle's VirtualBox-4.1.16-r77440-MultiArch_amd64.msi, VirtualBox-4.1.16-r77440 MultiArch_x86.msi distributions, related documentation and a small portable AutoIT / SciTE package. http://www.autoitscript.com/site/autoit/ BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. For more information please read http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.txt Cheers, Gregory Remington gregremington@gmail.com