November 2004 - main

Linux
by Jeremy Dales 18 Nov '04

18 Nov '04

As requested, I'll try and outline why I am interested in Linux, along with a few first impressions, although I am certainly not a technical person, so I am more interested in what it does rather than how it does it. I like the idea of Linux being open source - in fact I would say it is something I believe in quite strongly, and I used several open source applications while I was running Windows. I was also fed up with the numerous security flaws I encountered in every version of Windows I used, and despite the best protection around, was still plagued with spam, spyware, trojans and viruses. It seems that Linux, for whatever reason, has largely avoided this. If I have a concern about using Linux, it is less to do with it as an operating system and more to do with my inability to comprehend it. While I suspect that this is not uncommon in the first week of use, I have to say that it has seemed fiendishly complicated to do even very basic things like install applications or get the hardware configured - this has necessitated ploughing through long lines of unfathomable code of the kind I usually try to avoid. I am hoping that I will either become used to it, or more likely, that having got the system set up the way I like it, I can have as little to do with opening the terminal window as possible. In short, I'm looking for a smooth and reliable graphical interface that is simple to use, relatively secure, and has the additional benefit of being open source. Jeremy

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mysql users question
by Chris Green 18 Nov '04

18 Nov '04

How do I delete a mysql user? ... and how do I stop a mysql user requiring a password? -- Chris Green (chris(a)areti.co.uk) "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

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SuSE 9.1 and flash cards
by Wayne Stallwood 18 Nov '04

18 Nov '04

I am sure this topic has come up before, but I can't find a solution in the archives. Running SuSE 9.1 I would like the same automount functionality for my multi format card reader as SuSE/KDE provides for CD/DVD drives. I have a "My Computer" icon on my desktop, inside that I have an icon for each removable drive on my system. If I insert a CD/DVD with data content then it is mounted and a konq file browser window appears on the desktop. Is it possible to get the same functionality for a USB card reader (each card type appears as a different device) I can mount various card types at will using the mount command, but I have to tail /var/log/messages to check what device that card is assigned to and then manually mount/unmount it. After I have that bit working I would really like it to detect a card insertion without me having to detach/reattach the reader from the USB ports. But I am not even sure if that last bit is possible. Anyone fixed this ? Wayne

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Fonts without X
by Richard Lewis 15 Nov '04

15 Nov '04

Hello ALUG, I'm just working on adding a PDF 'data sheet' function to one of my databases. (Served using PHP and the FPDF class <http://www.fpdf.org/>). At the moment it doesn't work because it can't find any fonts (even with names like "Times") and, of course, the obvious answer is to install some. The Debian package for FPDF suggests installing 'ttf2pt1'. This package depends on a whole load (~20MB, OK not that much) of packages from X which I'm slightly reluctant to install because the machine is supposed to be a web/database server, not an X server. It doesn't, of course, need an X server and maybe (suggestions?) I'm being silly by not wanting to install 'xfree86-common', 'xlibs', etc. (I just don't like the idea of X clutter everywhere). So, can anyone suggest a way of installing a nice selection of fonts without any X packages or will someone reassure me that installing X packages (not server) is not something to worry about? ;-) Cheers, Richard -- Richard Lewis richardlewis(a)fastmail.co.uk

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[ALUG Announce]Debian Bug squashing in Cambridge, November 27th to 28th
by MJ Ray 15 Nov '04

15 Nov '04

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- Maybe we can discuss this at Syleham on the 28th too? ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 2004-11-11 16:53:05 +0000 From: Steve McIntyre <steve(a)einval.com> Subject: [Debian-uk] Bug squashing in Cambridge, November 27th to 28th Guys, we can't let the Germans and Australians have all the fun! Let's get together in Cambridge and show them how to close those bugs. If we all pull together, we can get the RC bugs killed and help make sarge a great (if late) release. Everyone's welcome to join us in person, and we'll be active on irc.oftc.net, #debian-uk too if you want to help but can't make it physically. If you want to come either day, please let me know. There's even (limited) crash space available. See the wiki page at http://wiki.earth.li/DebianBugSquashPartyNov2004 Location: 87 Kendal Way, Cambridge CB4 1LP (aka my house, as usual) Equipment: We have wired and wireless networking, a full local mirror and several architectures. Bring a laptop, power cables and ethernet cables if you need them. I hope to see you there... -- Steve McIntyre, Cambridge, UK. steve(a)einval.com "It's actually quite entertaining to watch ag129 prop his foot up on the desk so he can get a better aim." [ seen in ucam.chat ] -- MJR/slef My Opinion Only and not of any group I know Creative copyleft computing - http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ Unsolicited attachments to the pipex address deleted Will HLF fund tree-killings? http://www.thewalks.co.uk/ ----- Send discussion replies to main(a)lists.alug.org.uk (Reply-To set) Unsub, change settings via http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce

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Syleham Meet on 28th November
by Keith Watson 15 Nov '04

15 Nov '04

If anyone needs a lift let me know. I live in Cringleford near the UEA but I'm happy to pick people up from Norwich rail station (or anywhere else in Norwich for that matter) or anywhere along the route between Norwich and Syleham. As it's getting near the festive season (<GRUMPY_OLD_MAN> which all the local and national retailers seem to think started back in September!</GRUMPY_OLD_MAN>) I'll be bringing along a small selection of comestibles (mince pies etc.) I thought it might be useful if I brought along my old PC from the back of the cupboard and demo'd a Debian install using the Knoppix or Gnoppix live CDS. (John - do you have an internet feed at Syleham?). Anyone be interested in that? In my opinion the combination of these live CDS and Debian makes a Linux install as easy (easier) then Windows if you just want a usable PC system and are not particularly interested in becoming an expert in the nuts and bolts. So if there's anyone on the list who's new to Linux and can make it then you can see how really really easy installation of the OS with Knoppix/Gnoppix and how easy it is adding (and removing) new software with Debian (forget that tarball, configure, make crap and learn apt-get! or even drive it all with a GUI like synaptic :o) ) Regards, Keith -------------- Not one, not two; not both, not neither. - Zen saying

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Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 15 Nov '04

15 Nov '04

This is the automated ALUG IRC meeting reminder sent to remind you that there is an IRC meeting tonight (Monday) at 8.00pm. The meeting takes place on the irc server irc.alug.org.uk in the #alug channel. Most IRC clients should allow you to get there with the commands "/server irc.alug.org.uk" and "/join #alug". Popular IRC clients include tkirc, bitchx, xchat and EPIC on Unix, and Mirc under windows. Here are some links to help you get started with irc. Unix http://www.xchat.org/ http://freshmeat.net/ http://www.epicsol.org/ Windows http://www.mirc.com (loads of help with irc for newbies!)

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Converting DVD to audio
by Graham 14 Nov '04

14 Nov '04

Having replaced my video with a DVD recorder, I record radio programs from Sky then take the DVD to my computer and convert it to WAV for editing and writing to CD. The script I use is below. As you can see it goes round the houses, creating a VCD image first then stripping out the sound. Can anyone suggest a simpler approach (that doesn't involve physically moving equipment)? Note: I don't want to go via MP3 or OGG. The DVD audio format is AC3, BTW. -- GT ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- #!/bin/sh if [ $# .eq 0 ] then echo "Usage: dvd2wav <output filename>" exit fi mencoder dvd://1 -o dvd2wav_temp.mpg -ovc \ lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg1video -oac pcm transcode -i dvd2wav_temp.mpg -y null,wav -o "$1".tmp resample -to 44100 "$1".tmp "$1" >/dev/null rm -f dvd2wav_temp.mpg "$1".tmp exit

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[ALUG Announce]ChelmerLUG: FireFox 1.0 Party / Meeting
by Matthew Saunders 13 Nov '04

13 Nov '04

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- Hi, I would like to invite you to a ChelmerLUG FireFox 1.0 Party. It will be taking place on 19th November 2004 from 5.30pm onwards. The location is at the Writtle College Student Bar, Lordship Road, Chelmsford. It would be great to meet people from the area, share ideas, and with the student bar's prices - it won't break the bank either! ChelmerLUG is starting up in Chelmsford and open to anyone who has an interest in computing. Our aim to to promote Linux, and Open Source software on any platform. FireFox 1.0 is a fast, secure and safe web browser - even on Windows! FireFox can be downloaded from http://getfirefox.com. Any comments / questions? Just send me an email. Kind Regards Matthew Saunders ChelmerLUG http://chelmer.lug.org.uk http://spreadfirefox.com ----- Send discussion replies to main(a)lists.alug.org.uk (Reply-To set) Unsub, change settings via http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce

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MMC card woes
by Wayne Stallwood 13 Nov '04

13 Nov '04

Is there any way to bypass a write protected disk when dealing with MMC cards ? I have a really odd problem with one of my cards (nicked from my camera to put some music on to my phone for a long tube journey in a couple of days) The card works fine in my camera, I can delete/format/take pictures all fine. Put into the card reader on my SuSE 9.1 box I issue a mount -rw /dev/sdd1 /home/wayne/media I can then see the current contents of the card by looking at /home/wayne/media Deleting anything causes no error, but the deletion is only temporary if I come out of and go back into the directory the files have reappeared. Unmounting it and doing a mkfs -t vfat /dev/sdd1 again results in no error, but after either mounting it or doing a fsck I can see that the original files are still there. If I use the camera to format it and then try and copy files to it (I now have an empty disk according to df) I get an error telling me it is read only. After a while I gave up and tried it in a Win2000 box downstairs. Copy to, Delete and format all give me a "disk is write protected" error. Yet the camera can still write to it. There are no write protect tabs on either the card or the reader, and I have tried other cards in the same reader on the same machines with no issues. However all my other cards are SD (which have little write lock switches on them) Is it possible that my camera is setting the write protect tab on this card when it formats it. and if so how do I use the card in anything else. What I am wanting to do is force a format regardless, is this possible ?

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