Indonesian L10n Project

I started a new OpenOffice.org's project for Indonesian, which was localization project (l10n). I have been accepted for Observer role, so i can submit an issue regarding the l10n project. Currently, i have a few friends from Indonesian OOo user's mailing list who will help me out to finish the Indonesian localization. I hope more people will come and contribute to this project.

For now, i will consentrate on my final project report, finishing one delayed translation for the Documentation project (maybe i will finish it today) and also editing 1 PO files for Indonesian Mandrakelinux project, since i'm also the coordinator. For the Mandrakelinux project, maybe it will took few days, since it has a lot of lines to be editted. After it finished, i will start concentrating on this l10n project. Hopefully everything goes well as planned.

Nero Burning for Linux

The German company Nero, developers of the award-winning Nero Burning ROM suite for Windows, now release a free version for Linux called NeroLINUX a CD/DVD Burning Software, and include many features from the Windows version. This software is proprietary but free if you registered." The OEM versions of Nero that come with many CD burners aren't sufficient, though; NeroLINUX is free-as-in-beer only if you've registered "a full version of Nero software version 6 or higher," or a "retail version or downloaded version."

JpGraph

Yesterday i read my RSS Collection using FeedReader and find an interesting PHP library, called JpGraph that can be used to create Graphs in a simple ways. It was easy to install and it has a good documentation also. Here is the summary of JpGraph from it's website :

JpGraph is a fully OO (Object-Oriented) Graph creating class library for PHP >= 4.3.0. The library can be used to create numerous types of graphs on-line. JpGraph makes it easy to draw both "quick and dirty" graphs with a minimum of code as well as complex graphs which requires a very fine grained control. The library assigns context sensitive default values for most of the parameters which minimizes the learning curve. The features are there when you need it - they don't get in your way!

Features :
- Web-friendly, average image size for a 300*200 image is around 2K and images are seldomly bigger than 4-5K

- Support for both GD1 and GD2 The library will autodetect which library is installed.

- Automatic generation of client side image maps to make it possible to generate drill-down graphs.

- Advanced interpolation with cubic splines to get smooth curves from just a few data points.

- Supports several plot types,spider-plots, pie-charts (both 2d and 3d), scatter-plots, line-plots, filled line-plots, accumulated line-plots, bar plots, accumulated bar plots, grouped bar plots, error plots, line error plots, box plots, stock plots

- Support for alpha blending

- Has over 200+ built in Country flags

- Supports advanced Gantt-charts (ex1, ex2)

- Flexible scales, supports integer, linear, logarithmic, text (counting) scales and any combinatino thereof on x/y axis

- Supports multiple Y-axises

- Support various layout with a background image behind the plot

- More than 400 named colors

- Extensive documentation with both a > 150 pages tutorial and an extensive class reference.

- Supports internal caching (with timeout) of generated graphs to lessen burden of a HTTP server.

For complete feature, please refer to Feature Page

Tekken 5

Yesterday, my cousin bought Tekken 5, the latest version of Tekken, the best fighting game in PS2 platform, made by Namco. It inherited gameplay in Tekken 4 and Namco has added new characters, new fighting styles, new backgrounds, and new stories that makes it an interesting game to be played.

You can collect money and buy some items for the characters or changing their attribute, for example hair colors, skin colors, etc. There are also a new degree level in the character, starting from beginner to Lord. This game is a must have for a true gamers. Try it and you won't regret it.

The final bos, Jinpachi Mishima is very hard, even though you play it in Easy mode. He has great damages and also unblockable moves. It's a great character to train with. I wonder what it will be in Hard mode?

SuSE 9.3 Coming Soon

HANNOVER, Germany, CeBIT, Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) today announced the availability of its latest Linux offering, SUSE(R) LINUX Professional 9.3, due to ship mid-April, 2005. Including a complete Linux operating system, over 3,000 open source packages and hundreds of open source applications, productivity software and home networking capabilities, SUSE LINUX Professional 9.3 provides the functionality, reliability and security that today’s new and experienced Linux* user needs for home computing and computing-on-the-go at an affordable price.

SUSE LINUX Professional includes a stable and reliable Linux operating system plus a complete set of desktop applications — office suite, Web browser, e-mail and instant messaging clients, multimedia viewers, photo organizers, and other popular open source applications. It also features the latest tools for setting up a secure home network, running a Web server, developing applications and more. SUSE LINUX 9.3 also provides a sneak peak into upcoming server-based Linux, including the XEN virtualization environment and intuitive search engines. The complete SUSE LINUX distribution delivers the latest Linux technology for standard 32-bit PC processors as well as for AMD Athlon* 64 and Intel* Extended Memory 64 Technology. With the convenience of installation media, comprehensive documentation, and installation support, SUSE LINUX Professional delivers reliability and security in one of the most complete Linux distributions available to the retail market today.

“SUSE LINUX Professional has always been popular among new Linux users and technical enthusiasts who gain access to the latest enhancements to Linux and open source with a cost effective and easy-to-use Linux operating system,” said Markus Rex, vice president of SUSE LINUX for Novell. “SUSE LINUX Professional also provides corporate Linux users a preview of the technologies in Novell’s future enterprise Linux and a means of growing their skills to remain competitive in today’s IT market.”

SUSE LINUX Professional 9.3 Features and Benefits
SUSE LINUX Professional is designed to meet the needs of both Linux newcomers and experienced technical users, and contains the latest versions of leading open source software, including:

— A complete Linux Operating System: SUSE LINUX OS built upon the Linux kernel 2.6.11

— Multiple intuitive desktop environments: Latest KDE 3.4 and GNOME* 2.10

— A comprehensive set of Internet tools: Firefox* 1.0 Web browser; e-mail and instant messaging clients (supporting AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, Novell(R) GroupWise(R) Instant Messenger, and more)

— A complete office suite: OpenOffice.org 2.0 (works with Microsoft* Office documents)

— Leading graphics and multimedia applications: F-Spot photo organizer, the GIMP 2.2 and Inkscape graphics programs, multimedia viewers, CD/DVD burners and more

— Fully integrated system security: integrated firewall, spam blocker and virus scanner

— World class advanced networking services: Apache Web server, SAMBA, CUPS, DHCP, DNS and popular open source databases

— Cutting edge new Mobility Support: Improved Wifi connections and Bluetooth devices, PDA and phone synchronization

— Robust Virtualization: based on XEN

— Voice over IP support

— Multiple development Tools: Mono(R) 1.1.4; KDevelop 3.2; Eclipse 3.0.1

Availability and Pricing
SUSE LINUX Professional is offered globally via major retail channels and online shops. SUSE LINUX Professional 9.3 will be available mid-April at the suggested retail price of euro 77.54 (ex. sales tax). Customers of earlier versions can purchase an update edition for euro 51.68 (ex. sales tax); students providing proof of eligibility will be able to purchase the entire offering for the upgrade price. US pricing will be announced in mid-April.

Traveling to Semarang

I came back from Semarang, my mother's home town today, after went there in Wednesday mourning (10 AM) for one night. I didn't have a spesific purpose, but my mother did. She wanted to meet his little brother (my uncle) who lives in America and in this week, he went to Semarang to join his relatives (my mother was one of them). In friday, he will go to Jakarta to have fun and in Saturday, he will go to Bandung with some of my relatives. Too bad i can't come along, since i have a mid test to do :(

Well, i'm back and have to get back to work. There are still a lot works to do waiting for me.

New Role in L10n Project

I requested a new observer role in the l10n (localization) project to start working on the Indonesian translation of the OOo. I hope that in the next release (after 2.0 final), the Indonesian translation will be complete and can be used by many Indonesian people. Right now, i'm starting to learn how to participate on the l10n project and hoping that i don't forget about my primary duty on the Indonesian documentation project.

OOo Upgrades

Continuing from my last blog, i have downloaded and installed OOo 2.0 beta. It has a new great splash screen, that was picked after the OOo held a splash screen contest few months ago. I also picked this splash screen, because it was cool and i must admit that i love the graphics. It was so smooth and perfect. OOo 2.0 beta actually was 1.9.79 version, so it's not for production use. You should wait for OOo 2.0 final that should be released this month (if no other delays).

OOo 2.0 has many improvements that you should try. Some of the facility wasn't active in the beta version, but it will be soon ready in the 2.0 final. Some were also delayed into 2.0.1 release, because the developer doesn't have time to make it finished in 2.0 final. But, still, OOo offers a big improvements over 1.1.x version. If you are curious about the features that OOo offers, please refer to OOo Feature Page (summary) or OOo Feature Page (complete)

Besides OOo, i also upgrades my Tomcat (again) to 5.5.7, after downloading it in my lab yesterday. I also download the Linux version of Tomcat and will install it on my linux box when i log in into my Linux system.

Java Upgrades

Few days ago, i downloaded Java 1.5.0 Update 1 (1.5.0_01) from the official website for Java for Windows platform and also for Linux platform from my lecturer's FTP server, since he also uses Java, so i don't have to download it again. I want to upgrade my Java version installed on my computer to the latest version of Java.

For Linux, i usually use the rpm.bin package, but my lecturer downloaded the .bin package only, so i have to configure the placement for the JDK manually, but it was no big deal, since i have used to do such things like that. After finishing the installation process, i tried to run NetBeans, an OpenSource Java based Development and IDE tools. It didn't responding and i have expected that, since they can't find the Java executable or it was different with the value that was saved on the profile. So, i uninstalled the Netbeans, and reinstall it again and everything goes to normal. Unfortunately, i forgot to upgrade the Apache Tomcat. I just remember it today. I'm planning to download the latest version Apache Tomcat for Linux and removed the 4.1 version from my PC.

In Windows, the situation is the same. After upgrading Java (by uninstalling the previous version and install the new version), i have to uninstall NetBeans and reinstall it again and it worked. I tried to run Apache Tomcat 4.1, but the services failed to start, so i uninstalled it and tried to install the Apache Tomcat 5.5.x version, the latest version of Apache Tomcat. I have a little problem configuring the Apache, since it has a small difference than the 4.1.x version. But finally i managed to register a new web apps and running the servlet smoothly.

My next upgrades will be OpenOffice.org 2.0 beta, since i want to help other developer to make a SETUP GUIDE for the OOo 2.0. The document will be in .oot, OOo's new format which somehow can't be read by the previous OOo 1.1.x.

Preparing For Compiling

Few days ago, Linux Kernel 2.6.11 was released and i have been waiting for this version, since i want to try to install new kernel from source (compiling and building from scratch). I am looking for the tutorials, since i'm not used to compile this by myself. Let's hope nothing will goes wrong during the build process. One of the best tutorial that i have found was Kwan Lowe's Kernel-Build HOWTO. It explains the steps with an easy description and also included an image to gives you a screenshot what the display should look like.

Can't wait to compile a new kernel and see it works like a new baby who has just born. I can't do this in this week, since i have a mid test for two weeks until third week of March.

Last Weekend Before Mid Test

Next week, i will face my mid test, so this weekend is my last weekend before the mid test that will be held in two weeks. I only took three classes this semester, so i don't think there will be many problems with that, but what makes me concerns is my final project reports. I have do my best to keep the reports updated every day, but i'm stuck in the second chapter. I hope i can finish this final project before June, because my lecturer will left UKDW and i will get another lecturer, which i doubt that he/she knows about my topics.

Problem After Upgrading

phpBB, the well known bulletin board application written in PHP has launched another updates and then in the next six days, they released another updates to fix some small but dangerous vulnerabilities. You can view them in the phpBB websites.

Indonesian Linux Forum has been updated to 2.0.13, the latest version of phpBB, but after the upgrade, i couldn't post to the forum and it displayed a message about missing table (.MYD). I just hope that it can be fixed in no time, since many users depends on that forum to solve that problems.

Slow But Still Hurts

While Mozilla Firefox has slowed its growth pace, the open-source browser still is making enough inroads to knock Microsoft's Internet Explorer below 90 percent user share for the first time in three years.
Web browser user-share data released Monday show that Firefox's rate of growth has dropped slightly since its Version 1.0 release. The browser had been increasing about one percentage point a month since November, but the pace has fallen this month, reports Web analytics provider WebSideStory Inc.

For the five weeks that ended Feb. 18, Firefox usage had jumped 0.74 percentage points to 5.7 percent. That growth was enough to hurt Microsoft Corp.'s IE, which dropped 0.43 percentage points to 89.9 percent, WebSideStory reported. The last time IE dropped below 90 percent in WebSideStory's surveys was in early 2002.

"Maybe the biggest story of it all is that Firefox isn't going away," said Geoff Johnston, a WebSideStory analyst. Since WebSideStory began tracking Firefox usage separately in November, the browser has risen 2.7 percentage points while IE has fallen 3 percentage points. IE had commanded a 95.5 percent share in June before it began to drop.

WebSideStory, of San Diego, Calif., tracks U.S. browser usage based on the percentage of unique browsers hitting its network of sites. The network consists of between 20 million to 30 million Internet users each day. Johnston attributed Firefox's tempered growth to the typical slowdown in interest in a new software release as time passes.

Firefox also has battled recent security issues, including an Internationalized Domain Name spoofing flaw affecting non-IE browsers. Mozilla last week issued a Firefox update to fix the problem.

Meanwhile, Microsoft appears to be getting ready to more directly battle Firefox. The company shifted it strategy this month by announcing plans to release IE 7.0, an update focused on security and to be launched outside of a general Windows release.

"There are a lot of ifs with Microsoft's new browser, and it may affect Firefox," Johnston said. "But I would not at all be surprised if we see sometime in the fall that 10 percent of all browsers in the U.S. are using Firefox rather than IE."

Mozilla Foundation leaders have set a goal of reaching a 10 percent share in 2005.
At its earlier pace of growth, Firefox appeared on track to reach that milestone by midyear.

If it continues to grow between a half and three-quarters of a percentage point every month, it would reach 10 percent usage by late fall, Johnston said. The use of other Web browsers has dropped slightly. When taken together, Mozilla's non-Firefox browsers and America Online Inc.'s Netscape browser recorded a 2.5 percent user share, while all other browsers such as Apple Computer Inc.'s Safari and Opera Software ASA's browser posted a 1.9 percent share.

Source: EWeek

Looking For Troubles?

If you are curious about troubles happened in Open Source application, then you should visit Security Alerts from LinuxDevCenter, where in this page, you will get the latest security alerts by Noel Davis. In this page, you will look at problems in the Linux kernel, VMware, PostgreSQL, Squid, MySQL, mailman, Apple OSX HFS+, movemail with GNU Emacs or XEmancs, KStars, typespeed, awstats, and synaesthesia.

Linux Kernel Problems
Several problems in the Linux kernel have been reported, including: an authorization problem in the shmctl() function call that could result in unauthorized access to data; a buffer overflow in nls_ascii.c that could cause a kernel panic; a race condition in the setsid() function; and a flaw in the netfilter and iptables code that could be used to crash the machine or to bypass a firewall rule.

User should consider upgrading to the latest production release of the Linux kernel.

VMware
Under some conditions, VMware can load shared libraries from a world-writable directory. Exploiting this vulnerability can allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with the permissions of the user running VMware.

All users of VMware should upgrade to the latest version. As a workaround, users can create a file named /tmp/rrdharan to prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability.

PostgreSQL
Several buffer overflows have been reported in the PL/PgSQL component of the PostgreSQL database that may, under some conditions, be exploitable by an attacker to execute arbitrary code with the permissions of the PostgreSQL user account.

It is recommended that users watch their vendors for a patch or upgrade to PostgreSQL version 8.0.1-r1 or newer. Debian has released a updated version of PostgreSQL for Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 (alias woody) that they identify as 7.2.1-2woody8.

MySQL mysqlaccess Script
The mysqlaccess script distributed with MySQL is reported to be vulnerable to an attack based on a temporary-file, symbolic link race condition that may be exploitable to overwrite arbitrary files on the system with the permissions of the user running the script (often root).

The mysqlaccess script is reported to have been repaired in the latest available release of MySQL.

Mailman
A directory traversal vulnerability has been reported in the Mailman mailing list manager that may result in an attacker gaining access to the mailing list account and password information of users. Systems running Apache 2.0 are reported to not be vulnerable. This problem is reported to affect Mailman 2.1 versions through version 2.1.5.

Users should upgrade to version 2.1.6 of Mailman as soon as possible and should execute the reset_pw.py script to reset their users' passwords. After running the reset_pw.py script, users should run the cron/mailpasswds script to mail the new passwords to their users. A temporary workaround that will break private archives is to remove the mailman/cgi-bin/private executable.

Apple OSX HFS+
Under certain conditions, Internet-based applications, such as web servers, that provide remote users access to files and data residing on an Apple OSX HFS+ filesystem may be manipulated into disclosing unauthorized information, such as the source code, from server-parsed files, such as PHP pages. This problem affects Mac OS X version 10.2 and earlier.

All users should apply the available fixes from Apple.

GNU Emacs and XEmacs movemail
When using the movemail utility with GNU Emacs and XEmacs, a buffer overflow can be triggered by a remote attacker who controls the POP email server from which the victim is downloading mail. Successfully exploiting this buffer overflow would allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with the permissions of the user and the mail group.

Users should watch their vendors for a repaired GNU Emacs and XEmacs package. Repaired packages have been announced for Red Hat Linux, Debian GNU/Linux, Mandrake Linux, and Ubuntu.

Squid
Squid is a free, open source Web proxy cache server that provides proxying and caching of HTTP, FTP, and other URL types; HTTP server acceleration; proxying for SSL; transparent caching; caching of DNS queries; and extensive access controls. Several problems in Squid have been announced, including: when using LDAP, unauthorized users may be able to connect by using a variant of an authorized user's login name; a buffer overflow in the code that handles a response from a gopher server that can result in Squid crashing if a response is too long; a cache-poisoning-based vulnerability; and a buffer overflow in the code that handles WCCP packets that may be exploitable to crash Squid or to execute arbitrary code with the permissions of the Squid user.

It is recommended that users apply the available patches for Squid and recompile, or that they watch their vendors for an updated version.

KStars
KStars, a desktop planetarium for KDE, contains a buffer overflow in the fliccd daemon that may be exploitable under some conditions to execute arbitrary code with increased permissions. fliccd is only reported to be vulnerable when it is run in daemon mode.

Affected users of KStars should watch their vendors for a repaired version. Repaired versions have been released for Gentoo Linux.

typespeed
The touch-typing training game typespeed is vulnerable to a format-string-based attack that may be exploited by a local attacker to gain (in most cases) group games permission.

Users should watch their vendors for a updated version and should consider disabling typespeed or removing the set group id bit until it has been repaired.

awstats
awstats, a web-based, web server log analyzing tool, is vulnerable to an attack that can be exploited by a remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands with the permissions of the user account running the web server.

It is recommended that users upgrade to awstats version 6.4 or newer as soon as possible.

synaesthesia
The sound visualization utility synaesthesia does not properly drop its privileges when it accesses its user-owned configuration and mixer files, and can be abused to read arbitrary files on the system.

Affected users should watch their vendors for a repaired version.

Source : LinuxDevCenter

CVS Presentation

In Sunday, 27 February 2005, i conducted a CVS presentation in JEMUAH, a bi-weekly meeting for Jogja Linux User Group. I made the material with Fathir's help. He helped me capturing the screenshot on project he joined into (OpenKore), because he can use anonymous user, while i have to provide username that can be abused, so i didn't want to risk that. He uses Cervisia, a GUI-based CVS Client that is available on KDE package.

The meeting was held in a new place, Jogja Academy, in Babarsari. Unfortunately, it was raining hard, so many people couldn't join the meeting, but there was a new guest from Solo (STMIK Sinar Nusantara) that came here just to join the meeting. Welcome aboard to Jogja Linux User Group.

The material had some revision and now, it has been updated to reflect changes that should be made after the presentation.

Source File :
CVS file (BZ2 format)