Kyle Brandt

The Module:
I have made a Perl object oriented module for tracking UPS shipments. To use this module you will need to get a developer key for the UPS online tools here. This module makes a XML request to the online tools, and then parses the response using XML::Simple. The module has methods to get specific information such as recent activity. You can read the full module documentation as well as download the module at CPAN’s site here.

Example:

    my $Package = WebService::UPS::TrackRequest->new;
    $Package->Username('kbrandt');
    $Package->Password('topsecrent');
    $Package->License('8C3D7EE8FZZZZZ4');
    $Package->TrackingNumber('1ZA45Y5111111111');
    print $Package->Username();
    my $trackedPackage = $Package->requestTrack();
    print $trackedPackage->getActivityList();

Installation:
You can install this module with cpan. In Linux the command is ‘cpan -i WebService::UPS::TrackRequest’ . The required prerequisite modules are: Mouse, LWP::UserAgent , HTTP::Request::Common , XML::Simple , and Data::Dumper .

I have seen a lot of posts out there about people having headaches connecting to Cisco VPNs using the Cisco VPN Client, mostly because they have trouble compiling it in Ubuntu Feisty Fawn. I recommend using the open source alternative vpnc. Vpnc works with the following according to the previous link:

• Cisco VPN concentrator 3000 Series
• Cisco IOS routers
• Cisco PIX / ASA Zecurity Appliances
• Juniper/Netscreen

Supported Authentications: Pre-Shared-Key + XAUTH, Pre-Shared-Key
Supported IKE DH-Groups: dh1 dh2 dh5
Supported Hash Algo (IKE/IPSEC): md5 sha1
Supported Encryptions (IKE/IPSEC): (null) (1des) 3des aes128 aes192 aes256
Perfect Forward Secrecy: nopfs dh1 dh2 dh5

If your workplace or school has given you .pcf file to use with your vpn, it shouldn’t be too hard to get you on your vpn:

1. Install the vpnc client: In the terminal enter “sudo apt-get install vpnc.” Or use the synaptic package manager.
2. Save this script to your hard drive without any extension (Such as .html). (This script was written by Stefan Tomanek, and updated by Wolfram Sang.)
3. Make the script executable by navigating to the directory you saved it in the terminal and type “chmod +x pcf2pvnc“.
4. Copy your pcf file to the directory of that script, in the terminal enter “./pcf2pvnc YourPcfFile.pcf NewPvncFile.conf” substituting YourPcfFile.pcf and NewPvncFile.conf with the appropriate file names for your files.
5. Finally, in the terminal enter “sudo vpnc NewPvncFile.conf“. If all goes well it will connect to your vpn server and ask you for your user name and password.

In order to get a better grasp on the Ubuntu’s boot process, and the boot process of Linux in general, I have created a mind map of the process. Eventually I plan to trace the scripts run by the init sequence (Upstart) and gdm (Gnome Display Manager) log in process. Please do point out any inaccuracies:

Related Pages:
Inside the Linux Boot Process
The Linux Boot Process
A Detailed Look at the Boot Process

Beyond knowing that there is a newer version of IP out there, and that the addresses are really big, there isn’t much I know about IPv6–and I don’t think I am alone. I am going to edit this post as I explore IPv6, and hopefully it will end up being a guide to other users. (Since I am going back and editing this, I am not even going to try to keep my tense consistent for now).

Well, it seems like the place for me to start it is to get an IPv6 address:
Freenet6, is a client that allows you to connect to an IPv6 address by tunneling to the Freenet6 server using the TSP protocol from your IPv4 address.

How-To install the Freenet6 client on Ubuntu Feisty Fawn (Ubuntu 7.04) and connect to a site via IPv6:

1. Download the linux client from (This is only to get the nice documentation that comes with it, very well written): http://www.go6.net/4105/download.asp
2. Install the TSPC package: Open up the Synaptic Package Manager from the System : Adminstration, and search for TSPC, select it and hit apply. Or in the command line simply type: “sudo apt-get install tspc” without quotes.
3. Now in the command like type “sudo tspc -v” this will connect to Freenet6 using an anonymous account.
4. Check to see if it worked using ping6: “ping6 -nv www.ipv6.org” You should get ping replies from an IPv6 address, i.e.:
   • “PING www.ipv6.org(2001:6b0:1:ea:202:a5ff:fecd:13a6) 56 data bytes”
   • “64 bytes from 2001:6b0:1:ea:20…” ….”icmp_seq=1 ttl=44 time=176 ms”
5. Now, if you signed up for an account with go6 and don’t want to log in anonymously:
   • Open up /etc/tsp/tspc.conf with a text editor as root, i.e.: “sudo nano /etc/tsp/tspc.conf”
   • Change “userid=” to “userid=your_username”;”passwd=” to “passwd=your_passwd”; “server=anon.freenet6.net” to “server=broker.freenet6.net”. Make sure you are not changing the above in the comment fields;-) (The lines that start with #).

This is enough for me to start exploring, I will add information as I learn more, and I hope the above is correct–I am just starting to explore and learn about IPv6 myself.