May 2003 - main - earth.li

RE: [Alug]Costs
by Adam Bower 15 May '03

15 May '03

> as one who no longer neeeds to seek paid employment, I can > see no reason > why you should bear the cost of producing and posting CD's to > me, for me > to pass on in the hope of evangelical success for free > software. I'll pay > your production costs, or John's, I would like the latest > edition though. At the end of the day it is probably more costly to arrange me getting cash for doing these CDs than just doing them. If I do send people a CD in future I think I may ask that they make an donation to a charity or something. A spindle of blank CD-Rs is so cheap now (works out to about 20p a disc, and you can get some as cheap as 10p a disc if you get overprinted discs) and if i post them it costs 42p to send 3CDs, that you are looking at a cost of around a quid to send the bits of Debian testing that people need(I recycle envelopes to send them out to people so they are free) and I do this so infrequently its not worth sorting out the cash. So from now on if i send people CDs then they can give a small donation to a local charity instead. If I end up doing lots of CDs then I will reconsider this point in the future. Adam

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[Alug]Costs
by John Seago 15 May '03

15 May '03

Adam, as one who no longer neeeds to seek paid employment, I can see no reason why you should bear the cost of producing and posting CD's to me, for me to pass on in the hope of evangelical success for free software. I'll pay your production costs, or John's, I would like the latest edition though. -- John Seago

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[Alug]Knoppix CD
by John 15 May '03

15 May '03

Adam Bower, on the 9th of May, wrote: > Oh and if people want Debian testing CDs (or stable) or Knoppix let me > know. I'd like a Knoppix CD for someone I trying to convert, who, as he uses a work provided laptop can't repartition and insert OS of choice. Will you be at Syleham on Sunday? Would it be easier for you to post the CD? Please let me know the costs and I can send/bring you a cheque. -- John Seago

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Re: [Alug]Introduction of GNU/Linux to Bourne School
by Ben Francis 14 May '03

14 May '03

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Mr. C is downloading Knoppix to give it a try but it looks like we might be using RedHat for workstations and put a little bit of effort to get Debian installed for servers. We're also looking into other pieces of software mentioned that could be useful. The machines we'll be installing on are all pretty much identical, maybe a different chipset here and there so once we get one working the others shouldn't be too difficult. There's been a few individual offers of help which I'm sure we'll be taking up as we're bound to come stuck at some point. Now if you'll excuse me while I start to make my banners saying "Microsoft Free Zone" and some giant penguins to decorate the walls with! The machines that we want to install on should become available around June/July time, so watch this space! Plus I hope to make it to some LUG meetings after my exams. Thanks again Ben Francis

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[Alug]Sundays meeting who's comming then?
by John Woodard 14 May '03

14 May '03

So far it looks like its just me on Sunday for the meeting! So I'll take my copy of Unix for BO sufferers and a flask of sad and lonely juice and sit there bored then. :-) Come on reveal your self to the ALUG masses if you plan to come. If you're not planning to come change your mind, you just might get to hear one of MJR's excellent talks! 2:00 - 6:00 at Syleham Village Hall http://www.alug.org.uk/meetings/2003/meeting6.html Cheers, BJ

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[Alug]Introduction of GNU/Linux to Bourne School
by Ben Francis 14 May '03

14 May '03

Dear LUGers I'm been on the ALUG and PLUG mailing lists for some time now (watching and listening) and I'm a sixth form student at Bourne Grammar School. The school is seriously considering setting up a room of around 10 dedicated linux machines in our IT suite which will be a welcome addition to our current NT/2000 network of around 200 PCs. The Director, Mr C. has tried to install Debian at home but has come across the same problems as I did, both of us being newbies to GNU/Linux. We've set up one box in the school with Redhat 8.0 which worked fine and can see the network, but at the moment is sitting there doing nothing (mainly due to my exams). The primary aim is to introduce Open Source to the school on some old 233Mhz PIIs that will be available to use when we (eventually) get a new batch of PCs before the end of the academic year. But if we're going to be able to justify removing the "friendly world of microsoft" from an entire IT room the machines will have to be usable by everyone in the school for at least some things. They'll ideally need to access their existing Windows home directories, shared printers etc. and at the least be able to use them for word processing with Open Office and web browsing. We're also looking at the possibility of using GNU/Linux for file servers, print servers or even an internal web server running Apache (so I can do PHP programming! yey!) We're still looking at lots of different distros but it's currently looking like we'll either be going for RedHat or Debian. I'm open to either but really want to get to know Debian which seems the geekier of the two :-) Firstly I was considering buying a book, either for me or through the school to get me/us started, and wondered if you had any recommendations. I liked the look of "Learning Debian GNU/Linux" [http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565927052/qid%3D1052832905/026-24 92735-5301226] but the reviews on Amazon seem rather negative. It comes with and is written for Debian 2.1 - should we be using Debian 3.0? Secondly I'd like to ask if anyone in either ALUG or PLUG would be willing to give us any help. We'd LOVE to have someone come in and help us out and if someone would be willing to do a workshop style session for a group of students on either how to install Linux or the basics of using it that could also be an option. There's always the possibility of trying to arrange holding an actual LUG meeting with the school as the venue (?), I've seen requests for a LUG meeting in Bourne on the lists before.- (At school, we have power sockets, a LAN and a dedicated 2 meg internet connection to play with. And round the corner from a few pubs if you are so inclined, what more could we ask for?) If I can prove that Linux can easily be set up to run side by side with our Micro$oft dominated network with no real problems, then there's a real possibility of the Linux liberation to spread to other parts of the school, and in the longrun saving the school a LOT of money on software licences. I'm open to any ideas and support in my quest for Open Source in school would be greatly appreciated! Regards Ben "tola" Francis PS. thanks for reading my novel length email! hippygeek.co.uk - me bourne-grammar.lincs.sch.uk -school imen.org.uk -us tolagrafix.co.uk -work ---there is no spoon---

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[Alug]Automatic Log-out Program
by Dan Hatton 13 May '03

13 May '03

I'd like to know the name of a program that is to u?xterm as autolog is to virtual terminal, i.e. that listens for key-presses, and closes the u?xterm if there are none for just over two hours.� It's annoying me by closing my uxterms in the middle of large (ftp)|(smtp)|(apt) transactions, and I can't stop it running without knowing what it's called. Any suggestions, please? -- Ta Dan Hatton <http://www.bib.hatton.btinternet.co.uk/dan/>

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Re: [Alug]Routers
by me＠davidfairey.org.uk 12 May '03

12 May '03

> You should look carefully at the different ISPs before jumping in, as not > all are created equal. Start with http://www.adslguide.org. Avoid anyone > who wants you to sign up for a year, and (this is an opinion) anyone who > insists on bundling a USB modem. Consider going with someone who offers > fixed IP addresses; it doesn\'t have to cost more and you can plonk down a > public server anytime you like. Go for a \'wires only\' service, though there > is an advantage in getting the router from your ISP; they\'re more likely to > talk to you when things go wrong (as they do). I would suggest Andrews&Arnold (www.aaisp.net) for they do support Linux users and supply a number of fixed IP addresses free of charge. Although they are more expensive. They also sell routers which AFAIK come automatically configured for your connection. D.

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Re: [Alug]Sundays meeting who's comming then?
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 12 May '03

12 May '03

>So I'll take my copy of Unix for BO sufferers and a flask of sad and lonely >juice and sit there bored then. :-) Hey, just cause you'll be sad and lonely doesn' t mean your poor juice has to be too ;-) I've got a new bike so can't wait to ride it over your way - depends if I'm going to see my folks or not though this weekend. Jenny (ZXR400, in response to everyone's unbridled curiosity ;-))

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Re: RE: [Alug]Sundays meeting who's comming then?
by jamie.french＠talk21.com 12 May '03

12 May '03

I should be there, though still awaiting for my pass to be signed by the wife :) Any topics for this meeting? Take Care, Jamie > > From: John Woodard [mailto:mail@johnwoodard.co.uk] > > So far it looks like its just me on Sunday for the meeting! > >I /should/ be there, but am going to be busy the day before at the AFFSAC >(<a Target='_new' Href='http://talk21.btopenworld.com/redirect.html?http://www.affs.org.uk/)'>http://www.affs.org.uk/)</a> so /may/ not make it. > >Adam > >_______________________________________________ >main(a)lists.alug.org.uk ><a Target='_new' Href='http://talk21.btopenworld.com/redirect.html?http://www.alug.org.uk/'>http://www.alug.org.uk/</a> ><a Target='_new' Href='http://talk21.btopenworld.com/redirect.html?http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailma…'>http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/main</a> >Unsubscribe? See message headers or the web site above! Best Regards, Jamie French -------------------- talk21 your FREE portable and private address on the net at http://www.talk21.com

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