[sf-lug] (forw) Re: SF-LUG meeting notes for Sunday 02022020

[Rick Moen]

Not sure why Bobbie suddenly switched from a public conversation about
LUG essentials to private mail, but it's properly the former and not the
latter.

----- Forwarded message from Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever at dslextreme.com> -----

Date: Sun, 2 Feb 2020 21:29:13 -0800
From: Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever at dslextreme.com>
To: Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com>
Subject: Re: [sf-lug] SF-LUG meeting notes for Sunday 02022020
Reply-To: bliss-sf4ever at dslextreme.com
Organization: 0



On 2/2/20 8:33 PM, Rick Moen wrote:
> Quoting Bobbie Sellers (bliss-sf4ever at dslextreme.com):
> 
>>      CentOS-8.1.1911-x86_64-dvd1.iso this is 7 GB!*
>> Sadly this is an install only distribution.
> Have you ever considered doing test installations into a virtual machine
> (say, under VirtualBox), on a laptop you bring with available disk space
> for this purpose?  This would permit doing _real_ installations of any
> Linux distro supporting your CPU class (x86_64 or whatever), not just
> live distros, which as I've mentioned before are great (speaking as one
> of the grandfathers of the concept) but are not a realistic reflection
> of actually running that distribution.
      Actually I did consider that but sadly am having a few problems with
the attempts I have made so far.
> 
> To sketch things out, the above-mentioned idea is this:  Take a decently
> capable laptop (like, made in the last six years), running your choice
> of operating system with a gig or two of spare RAM and a couple of gigs
> of spare disk space.  At home, install VirtualBox for that OS onto it.
    So far I have tried following the directions at this site but
have encountered problems
due to various causes but mainly with the time it takes to do the
sequence of events involved in
the installation.
<https://dephace.com/how-to-build-a-hacking-lab-with-virtualbox/>

> Bring the laptop to the cafe.  When you want to test-install an OS, fire
> up the VirtualBox admin program, and tell it you want to create a new VM
> for a Linux distro (which creates a control environment and starts
> allocating some virtual disk space), then you inform the VirtualBox
> admin program about the distro ISO file you have in mind to install,
> having it mount that ISO as a virtual optical drive inside any VMs.
> Now, boot the VM.  The virtual BIOS screens flash by inside the VM
> window, then you see the virtual optical disc getting read, and you
> enter the distro installer.  You need not worry about that installer
> messing up anything at all on your machine's 'host' (real) OS, because
> the virtual environment cannot even see any of that hardware, and is
> confined in a VM box.  You run through the installer, and at the end
> having the VirtualBox admin program unmount the virtual optical disk,
> and reboot the VM.  Suddenly, the installed 'guest' OS is fully running,
> and thinks it has full charge of a PC, but (as mentioned) is trapped in
> a VM box and dealing with only virtual simulations of real PC hardware.

    I really don't have the time at the Cafe to do these operations
and so far have
not been able to get a previously processed file to reload.
> 
> When you're tired of the installed 'guest' OS distro, you can shut down
> the VM and either blow it away or keep it around if you might wish to
> fire it up again.  Move on to any second ISO you wish to test-install,
> making a blank VM for each.  Shutting down VirtualBox gets you all of
> the used-for-testing RAM back.
> 
> Wouldn't it be nice to see _realistic_ distro operation, and be able to
> install any arbitrary ISO?  Because you've been doing without both of
> those things.
> 
> 
>>      CentOS-8.1.1911-x86_64-boot.iso <1 GB.
>> 
>>       I have a new so-called power rescue/security distribution
>> called Kaisen Linux so downloaded a beta. Checksums come with
>> the next version I am informed by the developer so no guarantees
>> on this.  But he sent me some checksums and I was able to
>> verify my download of kaisenlinux20191229-amd64.iso.
>>       Unfortunately the Kaisen seems to be presently in French
>> only
> Um, _no_, it's not (at least, not as of the prior beta).  See for yourself:
> https://mrhacker.co/geek/have-you-tried-kaisen-linux-a-new-system-rescue-linux-distro
> 
> What it might very well do (can't say, since I haven't tried it, but
> I've tried many similar things) is boot up MATE Desktop by _default_
> into a French-language configuration.  Probably you can select a
> different language prior to (your next) login in the controls of your
> display manager (the thing that gives you a graphical login prompt).
    I will try that again but was hoping a Francophone might
volunteer from the LUG
to evaluate this distro.

    Thank you as always for your suggestions and I hope before I
have to give up the
meetings to be able to present demos on Vrtual Box.

    Bobbie


----- End forwarded message -----