Running Fedora’s liveusb-creator on Ubuntu

One of the things I find most annoying about Linux distributions is that when it comes to distribution-oriented tools, they tend to make other distributions feel like second-class citizens even when compared to Windows. One such example is the Ubuntu One service which had a Windows client released recently and will soon see a Mac client while it is yet to be unsupported on any other distro besides Ubuntu. Another such, albeit smaller, example is the Fedora liveusb-creator tool.

The Fedora liveusb-creator tool is used when one wants to install Fedora while using a USB stick rather then a CD-ROM. While Ubuntu does include a comparable tool called “Startup Disk Creator”, that tool only supports creation of bootable USB sticks for Debian-derivative distributions.

Installation of the  liveusb-creator tool is of course extremely easy on Fedora where it is accessible directly from the distribution’s repositories, the tool’s website also provides a Windows installer, but when it comes to other distributions the site resorts to providing a source archive without even including instructions as to what packages might be needed to run it.

Fortunately for users of other distributions, the Fedora liveusb-creator tool is written in Python, therefore running it on other distributions is a rather simple task, following are 3 simple steps required to use the liveusb-creator on Ubuntu, similar steps may apply to other Debian-derived distributions as well.

Configuring Aviem PRO2100 UPS on Debian 6.0 (Stable/Squeeze)

The Aviem PRO2100 is a SOHO Line-Interactive Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) unit that sells at a very compelling price/performance point. The PRO2100 is a 1000VA unit that sells at a price which is only slightly above that of other manufacturers` 650VA units, whereas comparable strength units typically sell for twice as much. What this means is that you can use if to power two computers for the price typically paid to power one.

That being said, the Aviem`s weak point is it`s Linux support (I cannot vouch for Windows support since I did not attempt to connect it to a Windows machine). While The UPS does ship with a CD that includes Linux software, it suffers from several shortcomings that are unfortunately all too common even for enterprise-level Linux supporting hardware:

1. The CD only contains precompiled 32bit X86 binaries without any source code or any pointers to where the source code may be found.
2. No pointers are given as to where updated software versions be be found, what seems to be the product name, “PowerD”, also doesn’t yield anything useful in a Google search.
3. The software relies on an installation shell-script rather being packaged for use with the system`s package manager (E.g. RPM or DPKG) or at least something like Autopackage. The installation script also seems to assume all Linux systems are roughly built and behave like RedHat and would generally make a mess of your system regardless of the distribution (For example, the script tries to place binaries in “/etc” and set insecure file permissions such as “777″).

This particular software CD has another strange problem to it as the included “Readme.txt” file seems to be completely unreadable gibberish as well as resist being converted to anything readable with “iconv”.

All in all the software on the CD has a very strong abandon-ware feel to it and it is nothing I would be willing to install on my systems.

Cobbler “Advanced Networking” not quite up to task

System administrators that deploy tools such as RHEL’s Kickstart are typically concerned with rapidly deploying large numbers or servers, therefore it is quite unfortunate that Kickstart has only very basic network configuration support. What it means is that sysadmins have had to resort to manually configuring IP addresses and NIC Bonding for each and every installed server.

Cobbelr’s Advanced Networking feature seems to suggest a solution for this problem. It seem to me, however, that the approach taken is impractical for large organizations. Cobbler’s approach is to have the sysadmin use the Cobbler command line tool feed in the configuration for each and every NIC on the new server, prior to server installation and based on NIC MAC addresses.

This approach is impractical because the last thing a sysadmin faced with installing dozens of servers wants to to is to boot each and every server with one tool or another in order to check what the MAC addresses are, might as well manually configure the servers once they are already installed with a operating system…

The approach we’ve taken in my organization was to develop our own internal tool that automatically performs network configuration based on detecting where the various NICs are connected to by pinging well-known IP addresses. This approach has an additional benefit in that it can be used to quickly reconfigure the server when faulty NICs or motherboards are replaced (E.g. when the MAC addresses change).

Summary: Promise and peril in implementing pay-for-performance

Summary of “Promise and peril in implementing pay-for-performance” by Michael Beer and Mark D. Cannon on 2004, Human Resource Management, volume 43, pages 3-48

Decades of empirical research in a variety of areas indicate that financial incentives are a potent motivator, however, despite the breadth and sophistication of topics being examined in research related to pay-for-performance, the crucially important issue of managers’ approach to implementation has not received much attention.

Significant potential problems with implementing pay-for-performance programs:

• Destructive effect on intrinsic motivation, self-esteem, teamwork, and creativity
• Motivate employees to focus excessively on doing what they need to do to gain rewards, at the expense of doing other things that would help the organization.

Summary: Has 360 degree feedback gone amock?

Summary of “Has 360 feedback gone amok?” by David A. Waldman, Leanne E. Atwater and David Antonioni published on May 1998, The Academy of Management Executive, Volume 12, Issue 2.

Three hundred and sixty degree feedback for an employee programs involve feedback from four sources:

• Downward from the supervisor
• Upward from the subordinates
• Laterally from peers
• Inward from the target employee himself

Summary: The Definitive Guide to Recruiting in Good Times and Bad

Summary of “The Definitive Guide to Recruiting in Good Times and Bad” by Caludio Fernandes-Araoz, Boris Groysberg, and Nitin Nohria published on Mayy, 2009, Harvard Business Review, page 87 (5)

Time of economic crisis provide a company with an opportunity to that advantage of the “buyers’ market” and fill in what is missing from their talent pools. That way they are well-prepared when the recession lifts.

Summary: Pygmalion in Management

Summary of “Pygmalion in Management” by J. Sterling Livinson published on 1969 Harvard Business Review, pages 81-89

Employee performance is directly linked to the manager’s expectations, high expectations lead to high performance.

Summary: Make Your Company a Talent Factory

The following is is quick summary of “Make Your Company a Talent Factory” by Douglas A. Ready and Jay A. Conger, published on June, 2007, Harvard Business Review, pages 68-77

Human resources executives from 40 companies around the world in 2005 indicated that they had an insufficient pipeline of high -potential employees to fill strategic management roles.

Summary: Talent management for the 21st Century

Following is a summary of “Talent management for the 21st Century” published on March, 2008, Harvard Business Review, pages 76-81.

At its heart, talent management is simply a matter of anticipating the need for human capital and then setting out a plan to meet it.

Ineffective talent management:

• Do nothing and anticipate no needs
• Rely on complex and bureaucratic models from the 1950s for forecasting and succession planning

New approach: Use supply chain management models

Summry: Serious Creativity

Follwing is my quick summary of an article by Edward de Bono fond at the following address:
http://www.debonogroup.com/serious_creativity.htm

There are far too many practitioners out there who believe that creativity is just brainstorming and being free to suggest crazy ideas. I intend to show that this is inadequate.

Brainstorming was designed for use in the advertising industry

Creativity does not have to be a group activity