How Linux met my mother

Resistance to the new and unknown is part of human behavior. It is an evolutionary trait, which in general protects us against environmental hazards and at the same time prevents us from wasting energy unnecessarily. Recently, research has demonstrated that humans can have a natural tendency to avoid physical exercise, even when they know that it plays a primary role in maintaining their state of health. We are self-indulgent. Period.

When this evolutionary trait degenerates into a fear of trying something new, or inhibits us from changing even when we are no longer comfortable, the trait becomes a problem or causes us to lose precious opportunities. This inertia has historically been one of the main barriers to a more widespread adoption of Linux on the desktop.

This is a story about switching roles, and treating parents like kids. In this case, the best course of action solved a real problem: securing a computer using Linux in such a way the end user didn’t even notice that anything was different. I am illustrating the opportunity at hand through an actual event—a case study, if you will—of my mother, who was 76 years old at the time of the story and is still thriving at 80.

Modern Times (and Problems)

Let me paint a picture for you. My mother lives about 400 miles (645 km) away from me. She bought a no-label, old-generation, Intel i3 PC running an unsupported (and now deprecated) version of Windows 7. It came with the usual software/hardware suspects: 

◉ Microsoft Office

◉ Internet Explorer

◉ No modern/fancy games

◉ No Adobe stuff

◉ A standard HP printer

◉ Standard Intel graphics

◉ AVAST antivirus solution (never up to date, because you know, she did not give a damn)

◉ Gmail — she’d be happy with any other webmail though, because as she would put it “Outlook is too cluttered for old ladies” (some would call it too feature rich)

◉ The package was rounded out with some Free Software for music notation (MuseScore, which is also available for Linux).

That freaking Windows 7 box was cranky and kept getting new viruses on a weekly basis. The poor AVAST free version was unable (or unwilling) to cope with my mother’s boundless curiosity. No link was left unclicked, no dubious social media post left unexplored. You can appreciate why I didn’t help her set up online banking. 

At least once per month, the inevitable result of my mother’s “computer skills” was that her entire PC needed to be wiped and restored with a fresh install. A technician charged about $100 each time. You can imagine how much her son (who is in the IT industry) loved knowing his mother was spending $1200 a year to poorly operate a $500 computer.

Every time I visited her, I tried to convince my mother to let me install Linux on that cursèd machine, but she always admonished me not to. She said she would be unable to use "the complicated stuff" I kept talking about. For more than a year I had convinced myself that this was a losing battle, and, you know, if she was happy with her current situation (even though she was always complaining), who was I to meddle? However, problems added up, and it was simply too frustrating to return to her home once again, only to find that her computer was yet again broken, waiting for the next technician visit.

Windows of Opportunity

I had to make a risk assessment: Is any Linux distribution desktop environment flexible enough that I could make it look like Windows (so she wouldn’t notice the change) and have the same  functionality? 

I started with a quick assessment of her current setup. After poking around her text files and other documents, I determined that her Office suite needs all seemed pretty undemanding, and LibreOffice would do nicely as a replacement. Her printing needs were also pretty standard and HP Linux support was “official” for her printer. Her computer’s graphics and other peripherals were pretty well supported too, so no surprises were to be expected there. I decided to go for it.

Resistance is futile

The scheme went into motion during a standard visit to my mother. I took advantage of the fact that the technician had finally upgraded her machine from that old Windows 7 version to Windows 10 on his last visit. This would make it easier to mimic the look she was now used to. When she went to sleep, I downloaded the latest version of Lubuntu, backed up all her data, and promptly wiped that Windows installation off the face of the Earth. Lubuntu installation went flawlessly and everything was working fine after less than an hour.

From there I had to make the environment look like Windows 10, and then install the software she was used to (MuseScore was her big passion, as she’s a piano player).

Bang-A-Boomerang

This is where the B00merang Project came in. It’s a group that makes GTK and Shell themes for Linux desktop environments and that has been active since 2015. Some of their most known work include perfect-looking Windows 10, macOS and Windows XP themes. They also support a long list of Linux desktop environments such as GNOME, Cinnamon, MATE, LXDE and XFCE. Even if you have installed another desktop environment that’s compatible with the B00merang Windows 10 theme, you are still good to go.

There are plenty of tutorials on the Internet about how to install and activate the Windows 10 theme on your computer, so I will not cover the task here. If you want to forge ahead, you can use this tutorial here. The end result can be seen in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Theme emulating Windows 10 look and feel on Linux, built on B00merang.

I then installed the following software on my mother’s machine, so that it would be equipped with everything she was used to:

◉ Mozilla Firefox (as standard browser — as she was already using it on Windows 10, after some really nasty experiences with Internet Explorer on Windows 7)

◉ Google Chrome (as a second browser)

◉ LibreOffice in its latest version (the B00merang theme even changed the Writer, Calc, Impress, and ◉ Draw icons to their Microsoft Office counterparts)

◉ MuseScore (same version she was using on Windows, but now on Linux)

I also activated automatic updates. Just to make it more Window-ish!

Splash!

Last but not least, I also installed a Windows 10 boot splash theme on the system. I have to confess I’m not sure where that came from anymore, but there’s still at least this one available at the Gnome-Look.org page. The boot screen ended up looking like Figure 2.

Figure 2: Boot splash screen with Windows 10 theme on Linux.

The progression icon is really functional and responds to actual changes to OS loading tasks.

Of course, as I am not crazy, I installed the Linux version of Teamviewer on her machine. It could have been any other remote control software available, though, and there’s also free software for remote control. I was just too lazy and did not have a lot of time left to finish that installation.

Whispering the naked truth on her deathbed

My mother has been using this machine for the past four years without a hitch. I visit sometimes and update the system to the latest Lubuntu LTS version, but other than that there’s not much it needs. She’ll occasionally mention how good Windows 10 is, and how the technician “nailed it” last time he gave maintenance to her machine. Although I can’t agree with her former statement, I do agree with the latter, since the last “technician” was actually me. Perhaps I’ll end up whispering that very truth in her ears when she’s on her deathbed:

“— Mom, you have been using Linux all along for the past 20 years now, without even noticing it! You’re welcome!”

Even if you don’t  want to carry out the fraud of the century on your relatives, you can still share with them that a Linux solution will provide nearly 100% of what most users want to do on their desktops. This article has provided resources for pulling off a perfect forgery.

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

A moment fraught with both possibility and danger for educaTRANSforma

Three and a half years; more than 170 job offers—these raw numbers sum up the achievements of educaTRANSforma, a training and mentoring nonprofit for transgender people in Brazil. But hundreds of individual stories lie behind the statistics. Now that educaTRANSforma is facing new challenges in funding and staffing, some of these stories need to be told. Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is also part of the story.

We don't need to repeat the overviews of educaTRANSforma and its visionary, insightful founder Noah Scheffel offered by my article six months ago on this blog or by a recent highlight  in Forbes International. As much as we'd like to build on those articles and promote a sunny view of a triumphant movement for justice, the truth, as always, is messier.

Carrying out the initial progress

I asked Scheffel how he decided there was a market for what he wanted to do when he started educaTRANSforma: to serve the large number of transgender people in his country who could be trained to enter the high tech workforce. Scheffel didn't need much research, because he had experienced virulent discrimination and exclusion in his own company and the larger computer industry. He knew the conditions faced by transgender people. He could also see that many of transgender and nonbinary people couldn't even get a basic education, much less technical training.

However, in 2019, companies were making noises about diversifying. Several were open to working with him to get transgender people into high-tech positions. Fewer offered funding to his nonprofit, but he managed to get started with educaTRANSforma, generously helped by an LPI grant.

Students evolved into teachers and mentors. It really takes a transgender person to understand the difficulties faced by other transgender people in society and the workplace. educaTRANSforma grew by adding its graduates as volunteer teachers, offering the students both technical instructions and guidelines for navigating workplaces that offered them jobs but failed to follow through. Many graduates faced confusion and open hostility from fellow employees, as well as a lack of accommodations once they started working.

educaTRANSforma's funding model consists of charging companies to guide their managers and employees through all the education and accommodations they must make to provide a safe and welcoming setting. This "Trans Inclusion Journey" includes HR training, understanding the health needs of transgender employees, helping insecure employees feel comfortable, and more. Although the demand for educaTRANSforma's training always exceeded what their funding provided, the organization did well during the COVID-19 pandemic.

An impressive 87% of educaTRANSforma graduates got professional jobs in computing. But sustaining the program became harder after the first three years. Scheffel had started to feel that conditions were good for a massive extension of educaTRANSforma in two ways: increasing the graduation rate to 10,000 in 2023, and addressing other professional jobs besides computing. But instead, a series of setbacks hit the organization in funding, placement, and recruitment.

Changing along with the landscape

Two major disasters in the organization's environment had an impact: the election of a new government that believed there was no place for transgender and nonbinary people in the world, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The change of government coincided with more violence against transgender people, and a mainstreaming of transphobic hate. COVID-19, in contrast, had a mixed impact.

When the pandemic made physical distancing imperative, educaTRANSforma faced the instant challenge of moving all its operations online. As we'll see later, they met this challenge with financial help from LPI.

Placing graduates during the shutdown was actually easier, because employers were also operating remotely. Therefore, employees' public presentations and personal identities didn't stand out as much. The discomfort and fear that many colleagues might feel against transgender and nonbinary people was softened when people showed up only in a six-millimeter wide rectangle on a screen.

As pandemic restrictions eased, companies brought workers back into offices, and the full force of discrimination and transphobia hit the transgender staff. Companies were suddenly cagey about hiring new transgender people—and also the women and racial minorities that the companies had promised to hire to promote diversity. When backtracking in hiring, the companies reduced their funding for educaTRANSforma as well.

educaTRANSforma was hit simultaneously with a crisis in recruiting teachers. After working for a short while, graduates seemed to forget the irreplaceable help educaTRANSforma had proffered to let them reach their current status. Most got busy at work and didn't feel a need to "pay forward" and volunteer to train new students. Recently, Scheffel himself had to take a job outside the organization in order to preserve its funds, making it harder for him to direct the organization.

Linux Professional Institute's role

Scheffel's initial efforts to create educaTRANSforma came at a time with LPI itself was dedicating itself to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The board, like nearly all institutions in computing, consisted at that time mostly of straight, cis, white males. As you can see by viewing the current board, some progress in diversity has been made.

So LPI had its antennae out when Cesar Brod, a Brazilian LPI manager who is LPI's Community Engagement Director for the Spanish and Portuguese Regions, heard about Scheffel's project. After meeting with Scheffel and a cofounder, Brod decided to support them.

At that time, LPI had no formal grant program, but Brod scraped up some initial funding for educaTRANSforma’s move online, followed by more help after the grant program was started. LPI's help was a seed that allowed educaTRANSforma to win grants from other sources as well.

Where can educaTRANSforma go from here?

Like some startups that face growing pains, educaTRANSforma can no longer creep along on the basis of volunteerism and good will. Money is needed for a permanent executive director and paid teachers.

The need for educaTRANSforma is pressing, and its graduates make real contributions to their companies and the Brazilian economy. But individuals throughout society need to become more aware of transgender people and how their differences strengthen all of us. Like dentists, educaTRANSforma is in the business of trying to put itself out of business.

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

Five mistakes to avoid when you upgrade to Linux

Moreno Razzoli, aka Morrolinux, is a YouTuber, FOSS evangelist, and LPI’s Platinum Partner. He returns to this site support the Upgrade to Linux initiative. When you are starting your Linux journey, the first steps are extremely important. We have all been beginners at some stage.

In this post Moreno shares five - plus one… of the most common mistakes you can end up entangled with when you switch - say upgrade! - to Linux.

This post is inspired by a talk in Italian Morrolinux  gave recently, which inspired a webinar in English on LPI’s YouTube Channel.  

The beginning of the beginning: no idea about what I am doing… 

When I first installed Linux, I had no idea what I was doing: If I didn't like the way a distro looked, I just changed distros; if I encountered an apparently unsolvable problem, I just formatted the disk. Rinse & repeat… 

Meanwhile, when I tried to actually solve problems, I followed online guides - quite randomly - and, without even reading the whole thing, I just pasted into the terminal commands I didn't even understand. Needless to say, most of the time I ended up with an even more damaged system than before… 

Yes: I made mistakes. Lots of them.

In this post, and in the videos mentioned earlier in support of the "Upgrade To Linux" initiative, I want to share with you five lessons I learned the hard way. Or: the five most common mistakes to avoid when upgrading (because upgrading it is…) to Linux.

Error #1: Trying to use Linux as if it were Windows or macOS.

This is probably the most common mistake. You have accumulated years of experience with another system and have been told that you can do the same things with Linux. But that doesn't mean you will do them the same way… 

Installing new software, for example, works very differently on Linux than on other platforms, where you typically use a search engine, get to the site of the software in question, download the installer, and run it.

On Linux, most of the software you can install is conveniently found in the distribution's repository, a kind of "app store" from which you can search and install virtually anything in one step.

And the best part of it? This way, it takes only one click to update the entire system and all installed applications!

The pool of commonly used software is also substantially different: Linux prefers free software, and with some notable exceptions, much of the proprietary software used on other platforms is not available here. For example, we do not have WinRAR!; instead, we have 7zip. Or again: we do not have Microsoft Office, but we have ONLYOFFICE or LibreOffice, and so on.

All of these software packages are not only free and open source, but can be found for Windows too.

Generally, free software is distributed cross-platform, while the same cannot be said for proprietary software. So even before you make your upgrade, when you are still running Windows or macOS, you can start using free software right away and get the hang of it.

The transition to Linux will be easier this way, because you will already be familiar with much of the software in everyday use.

It is true that Linux can run some Windows applications in .exe format via Wine and other compatibility layers, but you generally don't need to resort to any Windows software, and if you do you are probably doing something wrong…  unless you are trying to run triple-A games for Windows. So always remember to look for Open Source alternatives before resorting to Wine and company!

A stubborn resistance to using the terminal is another common vice of people coming from Windows; we've all been there. It can be scary at first and like all things has a learning curve, but past the first step it gets easier and easier and eventually you realize it is just a matter of habit.

It is also thanks to the terminal that Linux is so powerful and versatile.... Refusing to learn it will only make your life more difficult!

Error #2: Forgetting to check hardware compatibility.

Because of its versatility and streamlined nature, Linux can run just about anywhere, from the megasized data center to the smart refrigerator at home.

Unlike Windows, however, not all hardware manufacturers are interested in providing driver development support for Linux. Despite their obstructions, though,  in some cases, a piece of hardware is still made to function thanks to community efforts. Other times, however, we may be less fortunate.

This is why it is essential to check for Linux compatibility before buying new hardware, so that you have fewer problems and a better user experience.

Often it is enough to search for the name of the hardware + "Linux" on a search engine, or the keyword "linux" in product reviews, but there are also specialized sites such as linux-hardware.org where you can search by exact model and serial number.

If, on the other hand, you are dealing with hardware you have already purchased, whether it is a WiFi stick or an entire computer, you can check that everything works before installing Linux, so that there are no surprises...

That's what "Live ISOs" are for: When you create a bootable flash drive with Linux, you can use the system "live" before proceeding with the installation, check that peripherals are working properly, and even run a utility that verifies the compatibility of each detected peripheral.

Try to avoid purchasing hardware that requires proprietary house software to function. Mouse and keyboard with programmable RGB LEDs, for example, will work on Linux, but the LEDs might be not configurable.

In short, Linux is impressively well supported for a non-dominant operating system, but you have to be careful what hardware you use.

Error #3: Choosing a distro that’s wrong for you

… Or rather, choosing the distro the wrong way. And by that I mainly mean choosing a distro based on its graphical appearance.

Those coming from Windows or macOS are probably used to thinking that an operating system is strongly tied to its graphical appearance, but in Linux this is not the case: Thanks to its extremely modular nature, you can recreate any graphical appearance on any distro.

You don't have to install a distro for its appearance, you just have to ask the right questions: What desktop environment does this distro use? With what font? What icon theme? And so on.

Changing the graphic features can be a fun exercise and also quite instructive, because you get a chance to familiarize yourself with the distro you are using.

The recommended criteria for choosing a distro are very different and have more to do with the philosophy of the distribution itself, its software release model and cycle, package management, and so on.

If you are a novice user, you may not have understood much of what I have just said, and that is okay. The Internet is full of guides to choosing a distribution for beginners, and I myself have posted a couple of of these guides on my channel.

Error #4: Refraining from looking for help

If you've ever had problems with Windows, you may have noticed that it's not uncommon to come across support forums where the proposed solution is "reinstall everything" or something like that. But on Linux we can do better!

No matter what anyone says, the Linux community is one of the largest, most active, and collaborative in computing. Between support forums, chats, wikis, documentation pages, and manuals, you really are spoiled for choices It is unlikely that you will not be able to find a solution to your problem, but even then you can always ask for help.

...And when you do, do it in a smart way to help others help you: https://wwwcdf.pd.infn.it/MLO/smart-questions.html

Whatever means you choose to ask for help, always try to understand what you are doing when you follow instructions or paste commands into a terminal.

Remember that in addition to solving the problem, your real goal is to learn.

Also, try to get a better understanding of what you are pasting into the terminal if you don't want to risk ending up with a more damaged system than when you started!

… Last but not least…

Error #5: Throwing in the towel too soon

Like all things, Linux has a learning curve. A curve that starts more with one step, actually. The many steps required tend to discourage the less determined before they even getting started.

If you come from the world of proprietary software, in many cases you will be accustomed to answers such as "it works" or "it doesn't work," "it can be done" or "it can't be done," but in Linux and in free software in general these answers are not always so clear-cut.

There are 50 shades of "works" and "doesn't work," and just as many of "can do" and "can't do."

So don't stop at the first problem, don't settle for the first answer you find, and don't give up at the first "no." Determination makes the difference.

And another thing!

To conclude, I want to share the seventh of the 10 commandments for Linux users according to PCLinuxOS: Explore. Linux opens up a whole new world of options and possibilities. Try everything you can.

Bottom line: Linux opens up a whole new world of options and possibilities. Try everything you can and you will have an exciting journey.

With this pearl I bid you farewell and look forward to the next video.

But until then... Have a safe journey!

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

How to Prepare for the Web Development Essentials exam, Part 3: Databases

This article finishes a series about the most recent addition to Linux Professional Institute certifications: Web Development Essentials. The first two parts introduced you to front-end and back-end programming. The last major technology you need to understand is a database.

Databases

Most applications deal with large amounts of data, which can't feasibly be stored in the server's memory or in files. Relational databases such as MySQL and PostgreSQL are nearly always found where a web service is running. A music site, for instance, can let a visitor search for music through composer, title, genre, or date, and serve up results from a database.

Relational databases accept requests through Structured Query Language (SQL). Although the details of the SQL differ from one database engine to another, the SQL you need for most web applications is very basic and works pretty much the same way on all databases. Searching for a combination of composer and title, or storing new information in a database, are basic operations.

For Web Development Essentials, you should learn SQLite, which can easily run on a laptop. You will encounter more full-featured databases in work environments, but what you learn using SQLite will transfer to them.

Programming languages and frameworks such as Node.js offer interfaces to let you send SQL to a database and interpret the results. For instance, if a search turns up 75 items, you can practice retrieving 10 items at a time and formatting them for display to the visitor. When you practice with databases, don't think of just toy applications–you should work with large data sets to get an understanding of their requirements.

A well-rounded approach to web development

In the workplace, you will probably specialize in particular technologies, but you should understand what the Web offers and how large web sites work, from top to bottom.

We hope that this series of articles inspires you to consider Web Development Essentials and to master the skills listed here. You can learn the basic programming technologies for the Web without prior academic or professional training in programming. That makes web development an excellent place to start, if you want to pursue a career in computing. And as you go on to gain more academic and professional expertise, your knowledge of web development will continue to be relevant. Web development will be around for a long, long time.

As explained earlier, experience with real-life web sites is valuable for passing the test. But many resources are available in books, videos, and other sources for the material. We invite you to read LPI’s own Learning Materials for Web Development Essentials, which is currently available in nine languages.

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

University of Costa Rica becomes a Platinum Training Partner

The University of Costa Rica is an LPI partner. We conducted the following interview with managers at the university’s technology department (Academia de Tecnologia).

How long has the Academia de Tecnología been offering education about free, libre, and open source (FLOSS) technologies?

The University of Costa Rica began a free software project in 2008, when several groups within the university realized the value of potentially using free software on various information platforms within our institution.

How many of the systems used for administration and back-end activities (billing, etc.) use Linux and FLOSS software?

Approximately 10 platforms use FLOSS.

Do you use open source compilers and other programming tools?

Yes. We use Python in some university courses, especially those directed toward careers in computer and information science.

Do you teach students specific techniques for working in open source communities?

The University has a free software community comprising more than 6,000 people on its social network. The community is made up of people in the University who share an interest in FLOSS. Their areas of activity come together in a quest for the diffusion of free software, culture, and knowledge.

Do you encourage students to contribute to open source projects outside the school?

Yes, through participation in the free software community, as a well as by creating some projects associated with specific university systems that use FLOSS.

What are the major challenges in your department, and in the University as a whole?

Finding a way to establish a mechanism to connect with everyone interested in collaborating with our efforts in the area of free software.

How do you hope to benefit from the partnership with Linux Professional Institute?

We expect to increase knowledge of these subjects among the university community, and to improve the management of our platforms through automation with FLOSS tools.

How often does the school offer certification tests for LPI and other certifications?

They are offered annually to people performing functions related to information technology at the University of Costa Rica.

How many students, on average, enroll each year at the Academia de Tecnología?

During 2021, a total of 35 students matriculated into programs related directly to topics covered by LPI, with 33 students approved to enter our Linux program.

Has anyone at the university received LPI certification?

Some teachers at the Academia de Tecnología took the LPI Linux Essentials exam last year.

What do you do to promote LPI among the students?

Promotion occurs during the six periods of regular matriculation each year using our channels of communication, principally social networks.

What is the typical cost of textbooks and other materials students need? Do you find that free materials are useful?

The cost is approximately $30 US per person, which grants them access to our web sites, supplemented by didactic materials supplied by LPI.

Is internet access difficult for some students to get?

We have received no reports of difficulties with internet access on the part of students or course instructors. For people who have complex needs, our Academy offers 11 fully equipped laboratories, which are available to students who need them.

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

Infosyte increases its focus on Linux with LPI courses

Infosyte is a training and education provider for professional IT staff, with headquarters in the city of Puchong, Selangor state, Malaysia. In addition to Malaysia, the company serves large numbers of students in Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa, the Philippines, and other countries in Asia and Africa. Infosyte recently became a Platinum Partner (the highest level) with Linux Professional Institute.

According to Mr. Yap Chee Yuen, Director of Infosyte, about 250,000 people are employed in Malaysia in the information and communication industries. The number has been rising gradually for several years. Banking and finance are major employers along with governments, and oil and gas production.

Infosyte offers courses on system administration, security, and advanced topics such as software architecture and artificial intelligence. A large number of courses focus on obtaining certifications, including LPI certifications. Infosyte has been licensed by numerous organizations with a mandate to offer these courses.

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

LPI Announces Security Essentials Beta Exams

Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is entering the last phase of development of the new Security Essentials program. This phase includes public beta exams to which we invite selected candidates.

Security Essentials covers basic knowledge of IT security. The focus is the digital self-defense of an individual user. This includes a general understanding of the main threats directed against individual computing systems, networks, services, and identity, as well as approaches to prevent and mitigate them. The complete exam objectives are available on the LPI wiki.

The beta exams will be delivered in December 2022. Interested candidates can find more information about the beta exams as well as the sign-up form at the LPI website.

“Beta exam takers are the first candidates to ever take a look at the new Security Essentials exam. Their feedback is considered in the finalization of the exam and their results help to ensure that our exams are psychometrically valid,” says Fabian Thorns, Director of Product Development at LPI. “We expect our beta candidates to have prior knowledge in the field of IT security. Our exam objectives provide clear guidance on the topics covered in the exam. Candidates applying for a beta exam should consider themselves proficient enough in these topics to pass the exam.” Thorns continues, “Upon passing the exam, beta exam takers will also be the first candidates who are awarded the Security Essentials certificate.

The final version of the exam, as well as Learning Materials covering all of its topics, will be released a few weeks after the beta exam period ends.

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

Latinoware 2022: It was great to be back

Latinoware has been one of the major Brazilian computer conferences for the past eighteen years, with a wide-ranging program combining straightforward technical topics (AI, DevOps, etc.) with the social and economic aspects of computing (smart cities, women in tech, etc.) This year, Latinoware drew thousands of attendees from many countries as well as almost every Brazilian state.

Even during the “dark days” of COVID people participated in Latinoware by doing virtual presentations, but the ability to talk with individuals and being able to show the genuine appreciation for the things that people were doing for Free Software in person was much appreciated. maddog was so anxious to attend that he flew to Latinoware five days after having cataract surgery on his right eye.

The 2022 Latinoware took place in a hotel in the city of Foz do Iguaçu instead of the grounds of Itaipu as it had before. President Lula had just been elected again by a narrow margin, and outside of that hotel a lot of people who still did not agree with the results of the elections were protesting.

Latinoware was a huge success, albeit a smaller event compared to the previous editions. The exhibition area was very crowded and the LPI booth was always full of people who poured in to know about our certifications and projects, scan our QR-Code for discounted coupons, and learn about the Caninos Loucos project, who co-hosted our booth.

maddog, as chairman of the LPI board was present at the event and delivered a keynote talk: Teaching People How to Fish. If you click on this Youtube Video you will notice two things: 

 

◉ Cesar Brod, Community Engagement Director - Spanish and Portuguese Regions is doing an alternating translation, because the event this year could not afford the costs of a simultaneous translation at the event.

◉ The background features a mocked-up version of the Last Supper, made for the first edition of Latinoware (Cesar is pretty sure it was done under the request of Fabiana Iglesias, at Infomedia TV at the time). Followers of free and open source software in Brazil might be able to recognize some people). The photo following this paragraph may be a little more clear.

After giving his keynote, maddog moved to the LPI booth where, in Santa's gear, he announced he had a gift of free software for the whole world!

One highlight of this year’s Latinoware is the number of young people present and the rich array of free technology being displayed for them, such as robots, IoT kits, and books on free technology. Cesar bought for his granddaughter a kit consisting of a book and several experiments where kids can help Camila, the Capibara, solve a lot of problems created by Jack, the Crocodile.

Many of these young people attending were university and high school students just beginning to learn about computer science and computer engineering.   Some of the attendees had known and been working with Free and Open Source Software a long time, but some were learning about it for the first time at Latinoware.

Unfortunately, due to protests causing road blockages and flights being canceled and delayed, Cesar had to leave Latinoware and miss its last day. Juan Ibarra, Partner Success Manager Lead at LPI, and maddog stayed there, representing LPI and having loads of fun.

Besides the many talks given at the conference, they had a floor of booths, many of which were projects such as Debian and KDE, not just commercial firms trying to sell something. There is nothing wrong with “sales”, but Latinoware is so much more, and the students could learn much about software by talking to the project people in the booths.

Another nice thing about Latinoware is that typically the speakers did not just appear long enough to give their talks, then disappear. They stayed around to talk to the attendees.

During the last day some people from Carrera Linux of Argentina (CLA) arrived to help solidify an agreement to work with Itex (the Industrial arm of the Caninos Loucos Project) to help spread hardware creation throughout Argentina and other Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.   CLA will also be helping other companies develop application specific I/O boards for hardware developed by Caninos Loucos and providing support for applications using FOSS.

In addition to meeting companies from Brazil and Argentina interested in the use of Free Software and Open Hardware we additionally met some companies from Paraguay.

Augusto Machado from Caninos Loucos and maddog also traveled with Dr. Miguel Matrakas of PTI to the offices of PTI to see how Caninos Loucos, LPI and PTI could work together on several projects and also to see the tree which was planted maddog's honor on the grounds of the Visitor’s Center of Itaipu in 2012. It has gotten quite big!

Latinoware is alive and kicking, even in the face of the problems it has encountered in past years, thanks to a very special group of people. LPI is not able to name all of them, but we wish to thank them all by expressing our gratitude to Marcos Siríaco Martins. Marcos, in our opinion, exemplifies Latinoware. Free software is mostly about people, and Marcos is the glue connecting all of those who are in love with this important event. His strength is an example for all of us who believe information freedom will always prevail.

maddog looks forward to attending Latinoware next year, and hopes to work with the planning committee to have some good workshops in programming and using Caninos Loucos computers.

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

How to Prepare for the Web Development Essentials exam, Part 2: Front End and Back End

This article continues a series about the most recent addition to Linux Professional Institute certifications: Web Development Essentials. The first part introduced the skills that make you a web developer; now we’ll look at the technologies required for each piece of the web experience, shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Software elements of a web site.

The user experience (the front-end)

The stunning web applications we use every day came about gradually as more features were added to browsers. Along with expanding HTML, new languages called CSS and JavaScript were added to support all kinds of effects and layouts.

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. The term "cascading" is important, indicating that some rules override others. You have to know how to apply your effects at different levels of HTML (entities, IDs), and which rules override others. You also need to work with positioning. For instance, you can make bullets within ordered lists look different from bullets within unordered lists. CSS works tightly with HTML.

JavaScript was invented to allow dynamic effects in the browser. Whenever you see a dialog pop up as you mouse over a page, or when you expand a word into a paragraph of text by clicking on it, you're invoking JavaScript. It is one of the most widespread and most important languages in computing today (although fans of other languages often sneer at it).

To use JavaScript, you need to learn the web's document object model (DOM). It's complex but makes sense after some practice. To pass Web Development Essentials, learn how to do effects such as changing the appearance of different elements in the web page.

You should know how to use the browser's debugger. Each browser has a debugger that lets you watch as JavaScript is executed, along with errors it generates.

You also need to install the npm command-line tool and learn how to get JavaScript libraries with it.

CSS works hand-in-glove with JavaScript. For instance, suppose you have a "Details" button that displays a paragraph of text when clicked. You could use JavaScript by itself to paste the paragraph in after a click. But it's probably more efficient and elegant to include the paragraph in the web page when it is sent to the browser, but use CSS to mark the paragraph "hidden." JavaScript can then work with CSS to mark it unhidden after a click.

By now, you should go beyond simple exercises on your computer and get real-world experience. You will grasp the power of the technologies discussed in this article, and understand how best to use each one, if you can work on a site with dozens of web pages and many elements. You might be able to work in this environment by volunteering for a non-profit organization or a friend who is willing to entrust you with the creation or maintenance of their web site.

Server-side programming

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are called "front-end" technologies because they act within the browser, whereas the web server and database are called the "backend." To be a full-stack programmer, you need to be equally comfortable on the back end. You will be writing programs to run on the server, and will be reading and writing data to and from a database. 

Luckily, JavaScript can now be used on the backend to write programs, thanks to a JavaScript framework called Node.js. A number of other frameworks have been built on top of Node.js, and for Web Development Essentials you should learn the popular Express framework.

Production environments employ sophisticated web servers with their own administrative needs. One of the conveniences of Express is that it lets you run a server on your desktop or laptop without having to install and configure more software. That's how you can prepare for and take the Web Development Essentials exam.

You should create some HTML forms that communicate with your Express server over HTTP. To send and return data more complex than a few words, you should become comfortable with JSON, which is simply a subset of JavaScript.

When a request comes into the server from a client, the server invokes a Node.js program to handle the request. You need to unpack the arguments (user data) in the request, check the arguments to make sure they contain no malicious content, and return results as HTML.

Express offers templates to make it easy to create consistent HTML-based pages; Web Development Essentials expects some familiarity with Express templates.

The next article in this series wraps it up with a discussion of the last piece of Figure 1, the database.

How to Prepare for the Web Development Essentials exam, Part 1: The Most Essential

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

COMCAVE becomes a Platinum Partner of the Linux Professional Institute

With more than 350 locations and over 500 employees, COMCAVE is one of the leading providers of subsidized continuing education, retraining for laid-off workers, and professional seminars in Germany. The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is proud and happy to now welcome COMCAVE as a Platinum Training Partner.

"Transforming learning. Shaping lives." Four words in which COMCAVE describes its mission. The education provider, subsidized by the state and recipient of multiple awards, has been dedicated to adult education for more than 20 years with a great deal of passion, competence, and commitment. In doing so, COMCAVE focuses on the individual and helps its training participants successfully shape their professional future.

Learning with COMCAVE is accessible online or on campus, and instructor-led classes are offered part-time and full-time. The courses are 100 percent free of charge with an education voucher, and for selected courses COMCAVE even guarantees a job afterwards. "Thanks to our cooperation with Amadeus FiRe, we give a one hundred percent guarantee of a job, as an IT specialist for system integration, to graduates of our advanced training in network technology who successfully achieve LPIC Level 2 or Level 3 certification," explains Thomas Mücke, responsible for product development at COMCAVE.

Mücke very much welcomes the partnership that has now been established with LPI: "COMCAVE has been offering advanced training courses in the field of Linux for many years. We are pleased to now be an official part of the LPI community and to be able to pass on the resulting benefits to our customers."

"COMCAVE is an important pillar of adult education in Germany and a valuable partner for the Linux Professional Institute," said Reiner Brandt, managing director of Open Source Certification GmbH, which initiated the partnership. "For adult education in the Linux and open source sector, this partnership is an important milestone."

"We are very pleased to partner with this highly recognized and innovative education provider. COMCAVE is setting standards in many areas of adult education in Germany, just as LPI does worldwide with its distribution-neutral certifications," emphasized Rafael Peregrino da Silva, Director of Partnerships at the Linux Professional Institute. Together, COMCAVE and LPI will continue to promote further training opportunities in the Linux and open source sector in Germany.

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

How to Prepare for the Web Development Essentials exam, Part 1: The Most Essential

What organization can exist today without a web page? If you know how to create a web site, you can add enormous value to any organization you work for, and find employment almost anywhere. The Web Development Essentials certificate from Linux Professional Institute (LPI) helps you demonstrate that you have the skills to contribute to a web team.

Web sites are interrelated collections of different resources, so it's not enough to know a single skill such as HTML or CSS. To pass the Web Development Essentials exam, you need basic knowledge of the following objectives:

Software development and web technologies

◉ HTML

◉ CSS

◉ JavaScript

◉ Node.js and Express

◉ SQL basics

We'll look at each of those languages and frameworks in this series of three articles. If you know them all, you can present yourself to an employer as a "full-stack web programmer," meaning that you can make programming tools work together to create a complete, functional website.

It's helpful to see the relationships between the software that supports web pages. Figure 1 shows the software that needs to be running and where the elements previously listed fit in.

Figure 1: Software elements of a web site.

Note that Web Development Essentials really covers just the "essentials." Passing the test doesn't mean you can create dazzling sites with animation (that requires advanced CSS and JavaScript that aren't covered in the test, and perhaps even SVG). Nor does this certificate make you a designer, which calls for artistic skills in addition to technical ones. Web Development Essentials doesn't cover analytics or search engine optimization (SEO) either. But passing the exam shows that you can start with a blank screen and create responsive, reactive web pages that work with a backend database to provide a good user experience.

The most essential essentials (HTML and HTTP)

When Tim Berners-Lee invented the Web in the late 1980s, HTML and HTTP were all he provided. Both were modest adaptations of existing technologies, but together they effected an Internet revolution.

HTML formats text so it can be displayed attractively, and includes tags for positioning images and other media as well. HTML is a highly simplified version of an older mark-up language, and remains fairly simple. The most important addition since the language's creation is tags for displaying interactive form elements, such as buttons and boxes to enter text. For Web Development Essentials, you have to know how to handle forms.

HTTP is the way the browser (or other web client) interacts with the web server. For HTTP, Berners-Lee adapted simple text commands and messages found in many other Internet services. For instance, you've probably seen a 404 message when you mistype the name of a web page in the browser. By studying for Web Development Essentials, you will see the place that 404 has in a set of standard messages used by Internet services.

You also need to understand some advanced HTTP features, such as caching elements of web pages and applying security through SSL.

HTML is easy to study, because all you need to know is how to use a text editor to write the entities in that language. You can display your text file in any browser to see results. HTTP is more demanding because you need to have both a web client and a web server. I'll explain later how to meet these needs.

The next article in this series discusses programming for the browser and the web server, shown in Figure 1. These are the two key elements of the web experience.

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

LPIC-1 System Administrator Exam 101-500 Dumps

LPIC-1 System Administrator is the first certification in LPI’s multi-level Linux professional certification program, which is the world’s largest and most recognized Linux certification. Currently, you need to complete version 5.0 (101-500 and 102-500) to complete your Lpi LPIC-1 System Administrator certification. Recently, we newly released LPIC-1 System Administrator Exam 101-500 Dumps. It is the latest online materials for starting your LPIC-1 System Administrator certification.

1. In which directory must definition files be placed to add additional repositories to yum?

Solution: /etc/yum.repos.d, /etc/yum.repos.d/, yum.repos.d, yum.repos.d/

Determine whether the given solution is correct?

• Incorrect
• Correct

2. Which of the following commands will print the last 10 lines of a text file to the standard output?

• dump -n 10 filename
• tail -n 10 filename
• head -n 10 filename
• cat -n 10 filename

3. Which of these will list all libraries currently stored in cache?

• libip6tc.so.0.1.0
• ldconfig -p
• ldconfig
• ldd

4. In compliance with the FHS, in which of the following directories are documentation files found?

• /etc/share/doc
• /usr/share/documentation
• /usr/local/share/documentation
• /usr/share/doc
• /var/share/doc

5. Which command can you use to send a message to all users who are currently logged into a system?

• cat
• ssh
• wall
• tee

6. What is the effect of the following command?

$ pr report.txt | lpr

• The file report.txt is formatted for printing and sent to the l pr program.
• Tabs are converted to spaces in report.txt, and the result is saved in lpr.
• The files report.txt and lpr are combined together into one file and sent to standard output.
• The file report.txt is printed, and any error messages are stored in the file lpr.
• None of the above.

7. Typing ls -ld wonderjaye reveals a symbolic file mode of drwxr-xr-x.

Which of the following are true? (Select two.)

• wonderjaye is a symbolic link.
• wonderjaye has its SUID bit set.
• wonderjaye is an executable program.
• wonderjaye may be read by all users of the system.
• wonderjaye is a directory.

8. What happens after issuing the command vi without any additional parameters?

• vi starts in command mode and opens a new empty file.
• vi starts and requires the user to explicitly either create a new or load an existing file.
• vi starts and opens a new file which is filled with the content of the vi buffer if the buffer contains text.
• vi starts and loads the last file used and moves the cursor to the position where vi was when it last exited.
• vi exits with an error message as it cannot be invoked without a file name to operate on.

9. You’ve just installed Linux on a new computer with a single SATA hard disk.

What device identifier will refer to the disk?

• /dev/mapper/disk1
• /dev/sda
• /dev/sda or /dev/hda
• C:
• /dev/hda

10. Which of these will create at least one new file?

• split -3 filename
• wc /var/log/syslog
• od filename
• join filename1 filename2

Source: dumpsbase.com

Continue reading

LPIC-3 Exam: Mixed Environments 300-100 Dumps Questions

Lpi Certification 300-100 LPIC-3 300: Mixed Environment certification covers the administration of Linux systems enterprise-wide in a mixed environment. 300-100 exam is related to LPIC-3 Certification. The candidate must have an active LPIC-2 certification to receive LPIC-3 certification, but the LPIC-2 and LPIC-3 exams may be taken in any order. LPIC-3 Exam 300: Mixed Environments 300-100 Dumps Questions Online will help you pass 300-100 LPIC-3 Exam 300: Mixed Environments exam.

1. In slapd.conf, what keyword will instruct slapd to not ask the client for a certificate.
TLSVerifyClient = ________

• never
• nocert
• none
• unverified

2. OpenLDAP can be secured by which of these options? (Select THREE correct choices)

• TLS (Transport Layer Security)
• ACLs (Access Control Lists)
• HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)
• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)
• OSI-L2 (OSI Layer 2 encryption)

3. After modifying the indexes for a database in slapd.conf and running slapindex, the slapd daemon refuses to start when its init script is called.
What is the most likely cause of this?

• The indexes are not compatible with the init script.
• The init script cannot be run after executing slapindex, without first signing the indexes with slapsign.
• The init script has identified one or more invalid indexes.
• The init script is starting slapd as an ordinary user, and the index files are owned by root.

4. What does cachesize 1000000 represent in the slapd.conf file?

• The number of entries to be cached.
• The size of the cache in Bytes.
• The size of the cache in Bits.
• The minimum cache size in Bytes.
• The maximum cache size in Bytes.

5. What is the correct command to regenerate slapd indices based upon the current contents of the database?

• slapd index
• sindexd
• slapindex
• There is no index command, indexing is handled by the slapd daemon.

Source: dumpsbase.com

Continue reading

Strategic moves at Federal Academy for Cyber Education in India

When a college in India, the Federal Academy for Cyber Education (FACE), started a major restructuring of their program, an important part of their strategy was to become a partner of Linux Professional Institute (LPI). I talked to founder and CEO Rajeev Therodath about why they are working closely with LPI, and what benefits they hope to see.

FACE started five years ago in Kochi (formerly known as Cochin) in the state of Kerala. The college now serves more than 800 students and professionals.

The prevalence of GNU/Linux in data centers—along with many kinds of free software, such as databases and proxy servers—requires a cybersecurity expert to understand open source. Many valuable tools for cybersecurity (as well as tools that can be used for attack) are also open source. Therefore, open source is a big part of FACE's training program. (It also offers other kinds of technical training, especially data science.)

Many graduates of FACE look for jobs outside India. Therefore, Therodath recognized the need for a globally recognized certification and saw that LPI was the most popular certification in open source. By becoming an LPI partner, Therodath hopes to benefit from LPI's learning materials and to get some promotion through social media.

The partnership is a mutually beneficial relationship. Therodath is persuading Indian tech firms to see the importance of tech certification in general, and LPI certs in particular.

For a while, FACE worked on creating their own certification program. Many other firms in India do so. But Therodath has given up their program to work with LPI and encourages other firms to do so too.

FACE is undergoing structural changes and bringing in new staff. Their web page is minimal at the moment as they regroup. I intend to return to FACE over the coming months and report on their open source venture.

Source: lpi.org

Continue reading

Updated 201-450 Exam Dumps Are Completed For Linux Professional Institute LPIC-2 Certification

Passing 201-450 and 202-450 is the requirement of getting Linux Professional Institute LPIC-2 certification. Good news here, the most updated 201-450 exam dumps are completed for your LPIC-2 certification.

1. What command must be used to create an ext3 file-system?

• mkext3fs
• mkjfs
• mke3fs
• mke2fs
• mkext2fs

2. What needs to be done to enable 32 bit I/O transfer mode for (E)IDE disks, on a system running a 2.4 series Linux kernel?

• The Linux kernel must be recompiled.
• The sysctl utility must be used.
• The hdparm utility must be used.
• This feature isn't supported in 2.4 series kernels.
• This feature is enabled by default in 2.4 series kernels

3. DNSSEC is used for?

• Encrypted DNS queries between nameservers.
• Cryptographic authentication of DNS zones.
• Secondary DNS queries for local zones.
• Defining a secure DNS section.
• Querying a secure DNS section.

4. Which of these commands allows you to use shared libraries that are in /usr/local/lib?

• export LD_PRELOAD=/usr/local/lib
• export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib
• ldconfig /usr/local/lib
• ldd /usr/local/lib

5. Which TWO archiving formats are used to create an initramfs image?

• gzip
• tar
• rar
• cpio
• bzip2

6. After unpacking the source code for a Linux kernel, what is the first make command that should be run which will delete any current configuration and all generated files?

This command will ensure that no inappropriate files were left in the kernel archive by the maintainer.

• make depend
• make distclean
• make config
• make clean
• make mrproper

7. Which script, in the linux/scripts directory, can be used to add up grades or updated code to the 2.6.xx kernel source code?

• patch
• patch-kernel
• kernel-update
• upgrade-kernel
• upgrade

8. What tool can you use to print shared library dependencies?

• ldconfig
• ldd
• libdep
• libpath
• ldev

9. Which of the following commands will copy one disk partition /dev/sda3 to /dev/sdb3?

• dd if=/dev/sdb3 of =/dev/sda3 bs=4096 conv=notrunc
• dd if=/dev/sda3 of=/dev/sdb3 bs=4096 conv=notrunc
• dd --input /dev/sda3 --output /dev/sdb3 bs=4096 conv=notrunc
• dd --input /dev/sdb3 --output /dev/sda3 bs=4096 conv=notrunc

10. After unpacking source code, what file is used by configure to create a final Makefile?

• configure.in
• configure.ac
• Makefile.in
• Makefile.tmpl

Source: dumpsbase.com

Continue reading