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Howtos

This section collects some howtos to different technical topics I have tackled in the past. Most are Linux-centric just because I have used that system for most tasks in the last few years and because it is still not as easy to set up as it should be.

Debian Linux on an IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad T42p. This is one of the machines I currently use, and I am very happy with it.
Debian Linux on a Gericom Phantom notebook. This is my previous notebook and the howto thus refers to slightly older versions of the used software packages.
Encrypted home directories with Debian Linux: Especially notebooks should not carry any important data in plain text. Making the whole home directory an encrypted container is both secure and convenient.
Keeping an encrypted container on an USB stick and using it under Windows XP and Linux: USB sticks become increasingly common to carry around. When one keeps confidential data on such an USB medium, it should be protected against loss (and it should also be possible to use it for transferring files to and from an untrusted machine, just for convenience). An encrypted container that is usable under Windows XP and Linux as a virtual drive is a good way to do that.
Automounting with hotplug: Windows and Mac OS clearly show how simple it could be to access a newly attached USB media or newly inserted CD-ROM. Under Linux, a comparable level of convenience can be achieved by automouting.
Using the Austrian "Bürgerkarte" smart-card und Linux: A small howto use the Austrian Maestro cards for first smart-card applications under Linux.
Keeping a Linux home directory in subversion: For various reasons, including versioning and transparent distributed synchronization and backups, I keep my home directory in subversion.