Linux

Linux in a browser

Now that you’ve got docker set up on your Mac or Windows box or even on your Linux machine or NAS or chromebook (see https://tonystakeontech.com/2022/02/08/a-cookbook-to-run-docker-on-your-chromebook/), what can you do with it? Well, I could send you over to https://hub.docker.com/search?type=image but that just shows you some of what’s available in the world of docker containers. Instead, how about running Linux in a docker container that you can access locally in your browser? Yeah, I know, it’s a bit funky in that you may already be running Linux, with or without a GUI, but it’s an easy project and even kinda fun.

Head on over to https://tech.davidfield.co.uk/webtops-linux-desktop-in-a-web-browser/ for the cookbook to bring up Webtop (more info at https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-webtop including different base images like XFCE Ubuntu, KDE Alpine, etc). And, BTW, there are quite a few more images available over at linuxserver.io so check them out, too. That link to docs.linuxserver.io lists other images.

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A cookbook to run docker on your chromebook

I know, if you’re running Linux on your chromebook then you’re already running a virtual image but until Google releases the code that makes it easier to add images alongside Linux, this is probably the easiest way to run them, albeit in your existing Linux container. https://dvillalobos.github.io/2020/How-to-install-and-run-Docker-on-a-Chromebook/ is a cookbook approach which makes setting it up even easier and you can be up and running docker images in…well, it took me less than 10 minutes (I already had my Linux environment set up on my 11th gen Acer Spin 713)

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Free (yes, FREE) container hosting

I ran across this a few weeks ago and had to fiddle with it a bit before posting anything about it.

Fly.io will host a docker container 24×7 with FREE inbound data, 3GB of persistent storage, and 100GB of free outbound data (160GB in some regions) with a minimal charge for additional data (bandwidth or storage). What can you do with that? Bring up a Debian container for SSH; host your own VPN; host your own password management app; just fool around!

Before deploying your first app you’ll have to give them a funding source which CANNOT be a prepaid card (like one from Privacy.com) although you CAN buy credits (minimum $25) with a prepaid card. Be aware that they have systems in place to detect fraud and high resource utilization so once you’;ve signed up and given them a funding source, you still may not be able to fly launch because your account is marked as high risk, Just email [email protected] and they should be able to resolve it,

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A Linux that makes it easy to track…

…your installed packages and determine which file(s) are used by which package. I came across GoboLinux.org recently and, I have to say, I’m intrigued! It’s an experiment that has been going for 10 years(!) – you can read an interview with one of its original developers at https://hub.packtpub.com/gobolinux-interview-lucas-villa-real/. There’s an fairly active forum over at https://gobolinux.discourse.group/ and they also do Twitter, IRC(!), Mastodon, and…yes, Facebook!

No, I haven’t installed it yet…not enough time to play with a radically different distro (that is not without its problems) but it’s progressing and takes an interesting approach to file and package management.

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For all you CLI/shell aficionados

Next Generation Shell (https://ngs-lang.org/) looks interesting. I’ve been doing a lot with REST APIs which generally return JSON or XML; i.e. something I need to parse to know the results. I could do a lot of my coding in Python or some other language that can easily parse those returns, there are a number of reasons I use bash (notably, the ability to put stuff into the current environment for later use and not have to worry about config files cluttering up my filesystem). NGS doesn’t address THAT particular issue but it does have native parsing capability as well as quite a few other really useful features. It’s something to look in to, for sure! For Mac and Linux and a docker container, too.

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Use journalctl to view msgs on Linux

Stop browsing the text log file. Journalctl maintains an actual database which makes it easy to filter on date or time or source or … I became a journalctl convert a few years ago and have never looked back. Unsure how to use it? https://www.thegeekdiary.com/beginners-guide-to-journalctl-how-to-use-journalctl-to-view-and-manipulate-systemd-logs/ is as pretty decent intro.

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