Distributions

CloudUSB 1.1: Good idea, flawed execution

"Cloud" is easily the most overused term of the year for the computing industry. Case in point is the CloudUSB distribution, a project that promises to provide automatic backups and data along with privacy protection. The cloud name is a stretch and the security is far less than promised.

CloudUSB is a USB-based Linux distribution based on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. The idea is that you can carry your own Linux distribution with you for use anywhere, thus allowing anyone to use Linux on any computer and keep their data safe in the event the USB key is lost. In practice, this is more limited than suggested by the Web site.

To use CloudUSB, you need to download a 950MB ISO image and a script to copy the image to your USB key. The script makes use of UNetbootin to copy the image to the USB key and set it up correctly. It takes about 10 minutes to copy CloudUSB over and get it ready. You'll need at least a 4GB key to use it effectively, and larger is better if you have a significant amount of data. I used an 8GB Seagate "puck" USB drive. The configuration routine allows you to decide how much room to allocate for data, so I split it evenly between 4GB for the OS and 4GB for personal data.

After booting CloudUSB, it lets you log in using "cloudusb" as the name and password. That default is used when creating the USB key, so you'll want to change the password on first boot. To finish the CloudUSB setup, you need to run the setup.sh script on the desktop to configure Dropbox.

Encryption and data sync

CloudUSB uses the Dropbox service to synchronize data, so users who don't already have a Dropbox account will need to set up an account before being able to use the synchronization service. CloudUSB sets up a data and private-data folder for keeping sensitive files in. The private-data folder is encrypted, and requires a password that matches the user login.

Or it's supposed to be encrypted, anyway. After running through the instructions and setting everything up, I removed the USB key and mounted it on another Ubuntu Linux system. There, under the Dropbox directory, I was able to see the private-data directory and view all of the contents. I had followed the how to configure instruction to the letter, so it didn't appear to be a user error.

The setup.sh script that comes with the distribution uses encfs to set up an encrypted directory. It appears the script isn't properly encrypting the directory, though. When the system is rebooted, it does use encfs to mount the Dropbox/private-data directory as Desktop/.private-data. However, if you use fusermount to unmount that directory, the mount disappears but Dropbox/private-data is not encrypted. I've contacted the developer, Gianluca Mora, and he's looking at the problem.

The CloudUSB Web site points to the Edubuntu wiki as the source of instructions for creating an encrypted home directory. Users may want to simply use UNetbootin to create their own USB key and configure an encrypted directory on their own rather than relying on the CloudUSB project.

Even if the setup works properly, the only thing being encrypted is what's stored under the Dropbox/private-data directory, and all that's being synced is the material under Dropbox. Any user configuration, bookmarks, and so on will only be synced if the user takes the time to file them under the Dropbox directories.

Aside from Dropbox, though, CloudUSB isn't very "cloudy" at all. CloudUSB includes the standard desktop fat-client applications, without mixing in 'cloud' apps as Peppermint Linux does. On the Web site, there's not much indication that there are any plans to go beyond Dropbox synchronization and making it slightly easier to set up a distribution on a USB key. The scripts to create the CloudUSB ISO are available, so users who want to work on customizing their own USB distro might start there.

There's very little to say about the distribution itself outside of its encryption abilities, or lack thereof. It's largely a package-for-package clone of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, though it does have a couple of packages you won't find in the standard Ubuntu install. Specifically, CloudUSB includes Dropbox, Skype, Wireshark, UNetbootin, and Emacs. If you've used Ubuntu, though, you've pretty much used CloudUSB.

The rationale behind the project is a good one, but the execution is flawed on a number of levels. It's also limited by the choice of Dropbox to some extent. Some users will not want to use Dropbox because it is in part proprietary software. On a practical level, Dropbox may be difficult to squeeze onto a USB key for users who have accounts with more storage than you'll find on most USB thumb drives. Dropbox doesn't provide a way to synchronize only a few folders to an account, so it's easy to see users with larger Dropbox folders running out of space instantly using CloudUSB.

The final verdict is that CloudUSB needs some work. Even when the setup problems are addressed, it doesn't offer all that much over a standard Ubuntu install with Dropbox added.

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Distribution quotes of the week

-- xkcd

-- Mike McGrath

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Announcing the release of Fedora 14 Beta

Dennis Gilmore has announced the release of Fedora 14 Beta. "The beta release is the last important milestone of Fedora 14. Only critical bug fixes will be pushed as updates leading up to the general release of Fedora 14, scheduled to be released in early November. We invite you to join us and participate in making Fedora 14 a solid release by downloading, testing, and providing your valuable feedback."

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delegation for FTP Masters

Debian Project Leader Stefano Zacchiroli has announced the delegations for FTP masters. "FTP Masters, commonly referred to as "ftpmaster", oversee and maintain the well-being of Debian's official package repositories."

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Fedora Board Recap 2010-09-27

Click below for a recap of the September 27 meeting of the Fedora Board. Topics include FUDCon Zurich, Fedora 14 beta, and the Fedora vision statement.

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Ubuntu 9.04 reaches end-of-life on October 23, 2010

Ubuntu 9.04 aka "Jaunty Jackalope" will not be supported after October 23, 2010. "The supported upgrade path from Ubuntu 9.04 is via Ubuntu 9.10. Instructions and caveats for the upgrade may be found at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KarmicUpgrades. Note that upgrades to version 10.04 LTS and beyond are only supported in multiple steps, via an upgrade first to 9.10, then to 10.04 LTS."

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Distribution newsletters

• DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 373 (September 27)
• Fedora Weekly News Issue 244 (September 22)
• openSUSE Weekly News, Issue 142 (September 25)
• Ubuntu Weekly newsletter #212 (September 25)

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Carrez: The real problem with Java in Linux distros

Ubuntu server technical lead Thierry Carrez has a good summary of the problems with distributing Java applications on Linux. "The problem is that Java open source upstream projects do not really release code. Their main artifact is a complete binary distribution, a bundle including their compiled code and a set of third-party libraries they rely on. If you take the Java project point of view, it makes sense: you pick versions of libraries that work for you, test that precise combination, and release the same bundle for all platforms. It makes it easy to use everywhere, especially on operating systems that don’t enjoy the greatness of an unified package management system." (Thanks to Torsten Werner.)

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Ubuntu 10.10 Preview: Steady Progress for Maverick (Linux.com)

Nathan Willis reviews the soon-to-be-released Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat). "For starters, 10.10 ships with Linux kernel 2.6.35, up from 2.6.32 that shipped with Ubuntu 10.4. The list of improvements this brings is long. It includes the open source Nouveau video drivers for NVIDIA graphics cards, the ability to switch between onboard and graphics card GPUs on laptops, a host of new WiFi and WiMAX network adapters, improved KVM virtualization, better RAID management, and better power management for both CPUs and storage devices - most notably support for AMD's "Turbo Core" feature, which can speed up just one core of a multi-core chip while letting the other sleep. Although BTRFS did not make the cut, two new filesystems did make it into the release: the distributed Ceph filesystem targeting clusters, and LogFS, which uses logging structures to reduce wear on flash drives."

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GeeXboX: Lightweight Media System (Linux Journal)

Linux Journal has a review of GeeXboX. "GeeXboX is a live distribution that can quickly turn a PC into a straight-forward media playback solution. It can be installed to a hard disk, but it works quite well when booted from a CDROM or other removable media. I'm going to examine the existing, stable 1.x series and also take a look at what the forthcoming (but already usable) 2.x series has lined up."

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Spotlight on Linux: SliTaz GNU/Linux 3.0 (Linux Journal)

Susan Linton takes a quick look at SliTaz 3.0. "In the world of small size distributions, SliTaz is one of the most remarkable. Not only does it have one of the smallest download images, but it can also run on modest hardware while offering graphical applications with familiar interfaces. It's one of the wonders of the Linux world."

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Richard Hillesley charts the trials and tribulations of PCLinuxOS (ITPro)

Richard Hillesley takes a look at PCLinuxOS. "The inspiration behind PcLinuxOS, also known as PCLOS, is Bill Reynolds, who is known to fans of PCLinuxOS as Texstar. PCLinuxOS began as an offshoot of Mandrake/Mandriva, to which Texstar had been a long time contributor of third-party packages. The objective was to build a fast, reliable distribution of Linux, that was both a Live distribution on the model of Knoppix and a fully installable and flexible Linux desktop, driven by Reynolds' passion to make the perfect software package."

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