From: adam@address.invalid   
      
   [merging replies due to considerable overlap of laptop discussion]   
      
   Moe Trin wrote:   
   > On Sun, 16 Dec 2012, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.os.linux.mandriva, in   
   article   
   > , Adam wrote:   
      
   [Thinkpad T60]   
      
   > I just try to have (known) "good" backups, so that I can turn   
   > back the clock if needed.   
      
   A lot of that will depend on how I use the laptop.  My intention right   
   now is to sync it with my "production" system (currently stolid) then   
   use it for "doing stuff" (writing, replying to email, etc.) while I'm   
   away from home, and sync it again when I get back.  In that situation I   
   don't see a need to back up the laptop, except maybe for copying   
   whatever I'm working on to a flash drive periodically while I'm out.   
   Sounds like I need to "man rsync".  For transferring data between the   
   two, would connecting the laptop to my router be any faster or better   
   than wireless?   
      
   >> I figured that if I was going to be carrying this around, I'd probably   
   >> have videos, MP3s, and other stuff to kill time on it, which is what   
   >> the FAT32 partition is for.   
   >   
   > Flash drives for that. but the migration partition is also useful.   
      
   As I mentioned to TJ, I'm planning to buy one of those "micro" flash   
   drives, the kind that only protrude 1/4".  The ones I have now protrude   
   about 1.5" out the sides of the laptop, and it seems inevitable that one   
   would get sheared off.  Another question would be, "which uses less   
   battery power, getting a video from the HD or a flash drive?"  I'm   
   looking at laptop (and Thinkpad-specific) newsgroups, and a large part   
   of the discussions are on battery life and runtime between charges.  One   
   person said that disconnecting the battery when running it on AC   
   increases the battery life by something like 5x.   
      
   >> although I haven't tried an RJ-45 cable yet.   
   >   
   > Do you _have_ a spare cable?   I know you have the long one which   
   > will do in a pinch.   
      
   I have several of varying lengths.  By now I seem to have at least two   
   of almost every computer piece.   
      
   > Don't forget to make a note of the MAC address   
   > for the DHCP server in the router.   
      
   Can I use DHCP for the laptop when my desktops have static   
   configurations?  Should I?   
      
   >> I'm sure I could get it set up as a home system, but have no idea   
   >> what's necessary for security when I bring it into the world.   
   >   
   > Below - in essence, just a slightly higher level of paranoia.   
      
   Well, you know exactly how to translate that general expression into   
   specific commands -- I don't, yet.  Also, I suspect that physical   
   security will be at least as important as data security.   
      
   > It's no real difference from any other computer - with the exception   
   > that it's more exposed to _physical_ loss/damage, _and_ you want to   
   > be rather harsh/stiff on your firewall setup because you'll have to   
   > depend on that rather than your router not forwarding everything and   
   > the other hosts on the network being benign.   MAKE SURE YOU DISABLE   
   > "avahi" which is an open bear-trap.   
      
   Yeah, I need to learn more about software firewalls.  For that matter, I   
   also have to configure the distro in all other aspects as well.   
      
   >> Would I want/need both a wrapper/sleeve and a case?   
   >   
   > You don't NEED it, but you may find it useful.  Having choice is good.   
      
   What about some sort of clear plastic covering to go over the display to   
   protect it?  It sounds like a sensible idea, but doesn't seem to exist.   
      
   >> but choosing a case,   
   >   
   > See what others have   
      
   That would have been much easier before class ended, especially as it   
   was a sociable class and I wouldn't have felt awkward asking the others.   
      
   > then cruise the aisles of your favorite retailers   
      
   I'll also depend on user comments and reviews a lot, as I know little   
   about the subject.  I've also started making a list of things to carry   
   inside it -- charger, headphones, live CD, blank CDs, etc.   
      
   >>> There is a lap pad with built-in fans to help cool things   
      
   I've started looking at laptop NGs, and one reply to my "newbie looking   
   for good links" post said I should stock up on a spare fan.  It also   
   looks like laptops need to be opened up every few years to blow the dust   
   out of the internal fan.   
      
   ["LoJack for Laptops"]   
      
   > The company   
   > lost a couple of Tadpole "SPARCbook"s (an extremely expensive laptop   
   > based on the SPARC processor, running SunOS or Solaris) in the 90s   
   > when they were stolen at airport security check-points (_probably_ by   
   > people thinking they were windoze laptops and picking them up from the   
   > conveyor belt at the end of the XRay machines).  The loss rate was   
   > substantially reduced when the laptops were placed in bright (day-glo)   
   > orange/yellow/pink sleeves visible a mile away.   
      
   So were they intentionally stolen, or just mistaken for someone else's   
   laptop?  Think a day-glo sleeve would help me?  Sounds like it.   
      
   >> There are actually two problems there -- the physical laptop itself,   
   >> and the data stored on it.  I think the second problem is easier to   
   >> solve, with encryption, fingerprint readers (I think this laptop   
   >> includes one), or better yet, not storing any data one wouldn't mind   
   >> sharing with the world or losing.   
   >   
   > Basically yes   
      
   Sounds like I'll also need to change the boot order to use the internal   
   HD first, and password protect the BIOS so that can't be changed by others.   
      
   >>>> but getting it usable on public networks may be another matter.   
   [...]   
   > It really isn't. The basic "get it running" stuff is essentially   
   > clicking on a button in the "let me do this for you" tool that says   
   > DHCP on wireless, and no mention of other security.  [...]  What   
   > I would have on the laptop (what are you naming it by the way)   
      
   I spent more time naming it than I did on planning the partitioning.  I   
   considered the advice in the appropriate RFC -- distinctive, not easily   
   mistaken, etc.  I went through my thesaurus for words connoting   
   "movable", "lesser", and "assistant".  I considered "watson" because   
   that was the name of the assistant to both Sherlock Holmes and Alexander   
   Graham Bell, and also because T.J. Watson Sr., after doing time for   
   fraud, founded the company whose name is on the computer.  However, I   
   finally decided on "helot" (rhymes with "zealot").  I'd never heard the   
   word before either, but its meaning is similar to "serf".   
      
   > is an   
   > SSHD accepting connections ONLY from your home systems.  Enable the   
   > firewall[s] at home so you can SSH in from the laptop, and print.   
      
   I still have to set up SSH between stolid and eris.  What are some   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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