Removing old Ubuntu kernels easily

Ubuntu doesn't automatically remove old kernel packages, so over time the number of unused kernel packages will build up. On recent releases, you could manually use the graphical UI of the Synaptic Package Manager (SPM) to locate and remove the old packages, but as of the Ubuntu Saucy Salamander release the SPM is no longer available.

However, there's a neat way to do it directly from the command line or a shell script, too. See this Ubuntu Forum article for details.

Registering Oracle Java using alternatives on CentOS 6

If you want to add the Oracle JDK to a CentOS 6 box, one easy way is to download the JDK RPM package, and use the rpm(8) command to install it easily, like this:

$ sudo rpm -ivh jdk-7u45-linux-i586.rpm

But chances are the newly installed JDK will not be visible at the command line, especially if the openjdk is already present. How to fix this? You'll have to use the alternatives(8) command to manually register the Oracle JDK. See the instructions on the if-not-true-then-false site for details. I recommend following the "Use Java JDK latest version" example.

Microsoft Office jumps to the net

Remember when Google Docs came on the scene and some commentators said it was the beginning of the end for Microsoft Office? Well, it seems Office may have turned the tables. See here, too.

Things to come

The Open Innovation Forum shares some interesting perspectives on how technology is changing the human race and will continue to do so ahead.

Easy home theater option

Sound bars are a neat way to drop in home theater easily, provided you're not a high-end audiophile. There may be other limitations, too - but if you want an easy installation with few or no wires required - they're worth a look.

Creepy robotics

This stuff is downright creepy to me. I guess I've read one too many Sci Fi stories about robots used for nefarious purposes. These surely give pause for concern - and unfortunately the trend is only likely to continue. It looks like drones are just the tip of the iceberg, folks.

• WildCat: You can't outrun it
• M-Blocks: No assembly required
• Atlas: Drones hit the ground running?
• Alpha Dog: The next war horse?

RSA says "No!" to NSA fingered random bit generator

Uh... yeah! Way to go RSA :-)

The Third Industrial Revolution

Here's a thought-provoking article that makes me wonder about what the near future will hold. Will we see an idealistic world of increased freedom from menial toil and labor, or a dystopian society where displaced workers and their families struggle to survive? Will the gap between rich and poor become so great that social upheaval and struggle is unavoidable? Or will we be able to provide opportunities for all to survive and prosper? As a society and culture, I think we must challenge ourselves to seek and shape the best possible outcome now.

Windows Sysinternals Tools

Windows Sysinternals is an incredibly useful tool suite for Windows devs, admins, and IT pros available for free from Microsoft Technet.

Using openssl to encrypt/decrypt text

Here's a simple example of using the Linux openssl command to encrypt typed text data into a file and then extract it back from the file afterwards. We'll use the AES-128 encryption algorithm for this example and ask openssl to base64 encode the encrypted data afterwards, so it can be happily stored in a text file.

First, let's encrypt a test string into the file /tmp/myEncryptedData.txt:

$ openssl enc -aes128 -a -out /tmp/myEncryptedData.txt
enter aes-128-cbc encryption password: your-desired-password-here
Verifying - enter aes-128-cbc encryption password: your-desired-password-here
This is the data I'm protecting ya know!

Note: To terminate the input type a couple of Ctrl-D characters.

Now, let's read the encrypted text from /tmp/myEncryptedData.txt and display the original string back:

$ openssl enc -d -a -aes128 -in /tmp/myEncryptedData.txt
enter aes-128-cbc decryption password: your-desired-password-here
This is the data I'm protecting ya know!

Cool, huh?