October 2005 - main

Re: [ALUG] Web site - new editing method
by David Reynolds 06 Oct '05

06 Oct '05

Hi, This has become quite a convoluted thread (or threads) of which the gist to me seems to be that many Aluggers are unhappy with the state of the website and their inability to edit it. I'm not sure how long the current site has been about, being a *fairly* new Alugger, but as Brett said in a previous email, the design is beginning to look a bit dated. Surely this thread is an ideal time to raise the subject of perhaps redesigning the site and trying to find a new way forward for the future web presence of Alug. Another thing that should be discussed is who is going to take responsibility for the site. As far as I can tell many people would be interested in having a hand in the website, keeping it up to date, adding content, etc but no one has even been offered the chance. Surely by using some kind of CMS it will allow more people to contribute and keep the site up to date without having to rely on one person to patch the site. Just my 2¢ Cheers Dave -- David Reynolds david(a)reynoldsfamily.org.uk

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Web site - new editing method
by MJ Ray 06 Oct '05

06 Oct '05

As mentioned yesterday, I wrote a browser-based editor for the "static" pages on the ALUG site. You can now access this by following the instructions on http://www.alug.org.uk/background/submissions.html Does anyone have time to knock up a smarter way to link it from all pages than visiting each file by hand (sed? perl?)? Help updating the site gleefully received. Email me about any editor bugs you find and I'll deal with them ASAP. Thanks, -- MJ Ray (slef), K. Lynn, England, email see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/

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Weekly IRC reminder
by Brett Parker 06 Oct '05

06 Oct '05

This is the automated ALUG IRC meeting reminder sent to remind you that there is an IRC meeting tonight (Monday) at 8.00pm. Historically, these used to be the only time a lot of us would be about, now the channel has some usual faces that are there most of the time (except at silly o'clock, when we might be sleeping, or on the second thursday of the month, where we might be drinking in the Reindeer), so don't feel limited to visit during this time, come visit us when ever you feel like it! 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 xchat, irssi 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://www.irssi.org/ http://www.epicsol.org/ Windows http://www.mirc.com (loads of help with irc for newbies!)

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[ALUG Announce] LOCAL: Norwich, Sun 23 Oct 2005, ALUG
by MJ Ray 06 Oct '05

06 Oct '05

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- ALUG @ Nelson Court B Common Room, UEA, Norwich Weekend meeting: Sunday 23rd October 2005 Plan for the meeting We will meet up from 2pm onwards; we have the room until 6pm. The meeting is open to anyone interested in GNU/Linux or any Free/Open Source software. This meeting is particularly suitable if you want to bring along kit for hands-on help with installing, configuring or using linux distributions or applications or if you have something interesting that you'd like other people to see. It's also an opportunity to bring along old kit that's looking for a new home. There will probably be coffee and cake available; feel free to bring along a donation. Assuming the college bar is open we'll head there around 6ish. If you would like to get some help at the meeting, it is a good idea to mention it on [3]the main ALUG mailing list beforehand, although it is by no means a requirement. Please note we won't have internet access available. How to get there For directions, please see [4]the UEA venue information page. There are offers of carshares from the west and south. Please ask on the mailing list if interested. People at the meeting If you will be coming to this meeting, please try to say so on the mailing list, so we can have some idea of how many people may be there. Someone needs to bring biscuits - or home-made cakes - of course :-) Equipment Important disclaimer: Equipment is brought at your own risk. We strongly suggest that you tag or label your kit. No known thefts have occurred at our meetings, but there is ample scope for going home with the wrong cables, etc. Be sure to bring all appropriate power cables etc. An extra extension lead will also be a good idea. Discussion For information about this meeting or venue, please [5]use the mailing list. References 1. http://www.alug.org.uk/ 2. http://www.alug.org.uk/venues/ 3. http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/main 4. http://www.alug.org.uk/venues/uea.html 5. http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/main ----- 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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Re: NTLworld broadband & contract???
by Christopher Dawkins 05 Oct '05

05 Oct '05

>> Is there anyone with an NTL cable-connected wireless router? > NTLworld broadband & contract??? (Christopher Dawkins) > Re: NTLworld broadband & contract??? (Laurie Brown) > Re: NTLworld broadband & contract??? (Duncan Sample) > Re: NTLworld broadband & contract??? (Ben Whyte) > > If you get something like the Netgear WGT624 .... You really are marvellous, you lot. I had a problem on Sunday last week, I posted a query and got a bunch of helpful and accurate replies. We order the suggested router and it arrives at the same time as I do (Tuesday 4th). First thing I do is follow the instructions that came with the router, and it doesn't work. Next I follow another route through the instructions that came with the router, and it doesn't work. So, finally, I follow the ALUG instructions, and it works perfectly. Within hours there are four machines happily connected, and there'll soon be a fifth. A few hours later, NTL replies to the [same] question posed ten days ago - and, actually, with a remarkably helpful reply. Or one that would have been remarkably helpful if ALUG hadn't sorted it out within hours. Many thanks. -- Christopher Dawkins, Felsted School, Dunmow, Essex CM6 3JG 01371-821076, mobile 07816 821659 cchd(a)felsted.essex.sch.uk

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Kitmeet @ UEA, 23 October
by sfr 05 Oct '05

05 Oct '05

Sunday 23 October Nelson Court B Common Room 14:00 - 18:00 Pub afterwards Bring:- working kit, need-to-get-working kit, and kit you'd like to transfer to another home software coffee makers, tea-things, and snacks friends, relations, and gerbils. There'll be a cake-stall, but feel free to donate. Nelson Court is the building near the LCR and main car park, i.e. not the location of the last UEA meet, but the one before. FAO Sionide: it appears to have been booked as a meeting for an incipient student-union-soc, so get inaugurating :) sfr

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Re: [ALUG] WiKi Status Enquiry
by Dave Briggs 05 Oct '05

05 Oct '05

Ben Francis wrote: > I'd recommend MediaWiki[1] which is the wiki behind wikipedia. I'm > currently using three of them, two of which are for internal use only > and soon to install a fourth. I don't know if it features password > protection for *reading* the wiki on a public web server though, I've > just been using http auth. Mediawiki works very well, though it is a large system and it might be a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. I doubt the ALUG wiki would have enough pages to justify using a system on that scale, really! Having extra user names and passwords is always a pain in the neck but sadly the growth of spamming makes it a necessary evil. Also, I doubt that many ALUGers will be doing much updating on a regular basis, so it won't put upon too many people. Passwords and the like *are* against the spirit of a wiki, but it is probably less annoying for a user to use one than to have to browse a spam-clogged site. -- Dave Briggs linux(a)davebriggs.net | http://davebriggs.net | http://palimpsest.org.uk

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RE: [ALUG] WiKi Status Enquiry
by Keith Watson 05 Oct '05

05 Oct '05

> From: Adam Bower Sent: 05 October 2005 09:19 > > On Tue, Oct 04, 2005 at 11:47:39PM +0100, Alan Pope wrote: > > > > We have had edits to our (HantsLUG) wiki from the USA and Sweden > > recently. The people who made those edits made valuable > contributions > > to the site, but they're not on the mailing list. > > I figure a 2 (or is this 3?) tier-system of having approved > users with username/password who can do what they want. Then > having "approved" > users who have made (for example) 3 edits in the past that > have been approved by a moderator (have a moderation feed via > rss?) and work out who they are by cookies or hostname etc. > Then have "unapproved" users who are welcome to edit the wiki > but have to give an email address when editing, these edits > will then be approved via the moderators using rss (if they > so wish, the exact mechanism could be via a webpage and email > too) then if the moderators recognise the email address, > person, valid contribution etc. then they can whitelist > further edits from this user? > > You are then avoiding having to have any passwords (which are > a pain to > remember) but just using an email address to authenticate the > user, which in this situation is *more* than good enough. If > a user then "turned rogue" you just remove their email > address from the list of users able to make edits. sounds like it could work, like the idea of avoiding passwords via a whitlist of email addresses. How much work is involved in the implementation? Regards, Keith ____________ CORSAIR, n. - A politician of the seas. - Ambrose Bierce - The Devil's Dictionary

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WiKi Status Enquiry
by Keith Watson 05 Oct '05

05 Oct '05

What's the current status of the ALUG wiki WRT making changes? Regards, Keith ____________ Knowledge is learning something every day. - Wisdom is letting go of something every day. - Zen Saying

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Is anyone successfully using ATI...
by Ten 04 Oct '05

04 Oct '05

Is any ALUGger successfully using ATI radeon cards with real 3d acceleration these days? I recall it being a fruitless exercise in the past, but now isn't the past and I wonder if anyone's having any real success with this now. Buying a graphics card on an almost Dickensian budget, whilst wanting it to be an actual upgrade, I'm considering a low-end Radeon 9600 for 35 quid (after missing out on an nvidia Geforce 6600 for 50). I'm not convinced of the card's brilliance, but I'm more wondering whether Radeons in general are usable + good yet - it would widen the breadth of choice a little :) On the leisure side, I'd like to still be able to play a few good fps titles (which I can already do on a much cheaper card, just not in as meaningful a way as I'd like :D ) and will be buying doom 3 soon. My personal exp. has led me to think of nvidia as the only grown-up option. Am I wrong yet? -- There are 10 types of people in this world -those who understand binary, and those who don't.

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