- main - earth.li

Report Generators
by Chris Green 04 Nov '04

04 Nov '04

Are there any Report Generator programs available for Linux? I mean a program like the report generator in Paradox or Access, a program that allows data to be selected using a query and then fields can be placed as required on a form. I've found a couple on freshmeat.net, Agata and Lightbulb, but neither is what I'm after really. Agata seems quite limited and Lightbulb costs money. Has anyone used Agata, it may not be as limited as it looks at first. -- Chris Green (chris(a)areti.co.uk) "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

2 2

Re: Migrating an Access application to Linux (Chris Green)
by tom potts 03 Nov '04

03 Nov '04

I havent tried this but it looks close: http://www.knoda.org/ it needs kde apparently Tom ___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

2 1

Re: [ALUG] Re: unicode, sqlite and C
by Matt Parker 03 Nov '04

03 Nov '04

On 3/11/2004, "Brett Parker" <iDunno(a)sommitrealweird.co.uk> wrote: >On Wed, Nov 03, 2004 at 04:09:12PM +0000, Matt Parker wrote: >> >> On 3/11/2004, "Brett Parker" <iDunno(a)sommitrealweird.co.uk> wrote: >> >> Like I said, you really need to read up on the subject before spouting >> off inflammatory, but false, statements. This is how it works:- >> >> 1) You compile your source code into byte-code. >> 2) The JVM loads your byte-code at start up >> 3) The "Just-In-Time" Compiler compiles your byte-code to native code >> on the fly and optimises it on each iteration >> 4) On tight loops you therefore can end up with more optimised native >> code than something like GCC can produce >> >> The only thing is that this process happens everytime you re-start the >> JVM, but then if you're running it on a server (where I believe Java >> should only really live - it's not useful for desktop apps really) you >> don't care about that because you never restart it. > >Sorry, never restart a Java servlet engine? Never restart a Java app? I >find this a fascinating concept, and one that I've never actually seen >work. > You obviously like an argument don't you? Sarcasm IS the lowest form of wit and you are rapidly demonstrating that idiom correct. Firstly, the JIT compiler doesn't take very long to reach optimal performance and secondly no I don't re-start my servers very often. >> You'r obviously not using it correctly. If you look on a site like >> JobServe you'll see that Java for server-side processing is one of the >> (if not the most) common languages. All those people can't be wrong. > >You've seen the number of sites that use PHP, right? Are you saying that >all those people are also not wrong? If you're just going on numbers, >there's a hell of a lot of Java developers, and PHP developers about, >what's used depends on who's available, not neccessarily on wether it is >right for the job. Please don't use the argument that "it's got lots of >users, therefore it's good", it isn't an argument that sticks. > Show me where I said that PHP was not a useful tool for certain problems? Then show me where PHP is capable of running enterprise level, high volume, transactional sites with full fail-over, load-balancing, guaranteed messaging etc. The right tool for the job... Matt

2 2

For anyone who uses procmail to sort incoming mail
by Chris Green 03 Nov '04

03 Nov '04

This is (probably) only of interest to anyone who uses procmail to sort their incoming mail into different mailboxes. Many of the mailing lists I subscribe to (including alug) insert the mailing list's name into the subject line. I got fed up with this as it wastes useful space that would be better used to show me the subject. I very often (used to) lose the end of the subject off the RHS of my screen. I already know what list the mail is from because procmail has put it pinto the appropriate list mailbox. So I played around with my .procmailrc file, read the manual pages a few times and came up with the following recipe which removes the list name from the subject (as well as storing the mail in the appropriate mailbox, as before) :- :0 fh * ^TOalug | sed 's/\[ALUG\]//' :0 A: alug -- Chris Green (chris(a)areti.co.uk) "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

4 5

re: Linux based version of the accounts system
by tom potts 03 Nov '04

03 Nov '04

www.gnucash.org dont know if its got an html front end. I've got half of one written in .net (mono should work) but with the above it took away the motivation ___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

4 5

Migrating an Access application to Linux
by Chris Green 03 Nov '04

03 Nov '04

How easy is it nowadays to migrate an Access application to Linux? I'm getting rather fed-up with trying to maintain an Access 97 application on Windows 2000 and migrating to Linux might be the answer. -- Chris Green (chris(a)areti.co.uk) "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

6 8

Wierd problem with G++
by Stuart Bailey 01 Nov '04

01 Nov '04

Hi, I'm trying to investigate a weird mathematical problem I've come across using G++. I only have G++ on SuSE 9.1, and so I'm unable to test the code on other systems, kernels etc. I would be grateful if someone could compile and run this code and let me have the results: #include <iostream> #include <math.h> int main() { float l = 45.4567; float d = floorf(l); float m = floorf((l - d) * 60.); float s = (((l - d) * 60.) - m) * 60.; std::cout << "l = " << l << std::endl; std::cout << "d = " << d << std::endl; std::cout << "l-d = " << l - d << std::endl; std::cout << "(l-d) * 60.0 = " << (l - d) * 60. << std::endl; std::cout << "m = " << m << std::endl; std::cout << "s = " << s << std::endl; float r = (s / 3600.) + (m / 60.) + d; std::cout << "reconstructed= " << r << std::endl; return 0; } Basically, I getting an odd value printed for l - d (it comes out as 0.456699 and not 0.4567 as expected). Many thanks, Stuart. -- --------------------------------------- Stuart Bailey BSc (hons) CEng CITP MBCS LinuSoft (Proprietor) (01953) 601294 (07778) 383739 http://www.linusoft.co.uk ---------------------------------------- ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please email postmaster(a)linusoft.co.uk immediately. You should not copy or use this email or attachments for any purpose nor disclose their contents to any other person. NO BINDING CONTRACT WILL RESULT FROM THIS E-MAIL UNTIL SUCH TIME AS A WRITTEN DOCUMENT IS SIGNED ON BEHALF OF LinuSoft. LinuSoft cannot accept any responsibility for the completeness or accuracy of this message as it has been transmitted over public networks. *************************************************************************

9 17

Re: [ALUG] Weird problem with G++
by Richard Lewis 01 Nov '04

01 Nov '04

On Saturday 30 October 2004 13:59, Tim Green wrote: > > float l = 45.4567; > > float d = floorf(l); > > std::cout << "l-d = " << l - d << std::endl; > > > > Basically, I getting an odd value printed for l - d (it comes out as > > 0.456699 and not 0.4567 as expected). > > "float" is not that acurate. You might have more luck with "double". > Try having a lookm at http://www.win.ua.ac.be/~jvvloet/libcff/ and http://www.swox.com/gmp/ Also, my scientific calculator has a function for dealing with fractions (much more respectable in mathematical circles than decimals, well at least in theory anyway) and writing a class to implement fractions is the kind of thing that C++ textbooks are full of (you get to do operating overloading and all sorts...) [and don't forget Python: http://pinkstuff.publication.org.uk/~neil/python/fractions/] Cheers, Richard -- Richard Lewis richardlewis(a)fastmail.co.uk

1 0

Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 01 Nov '04

01 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!)

1 0

RE: [ALUG] wireless routers
by Karl Foley 31 Oct '04

31 Oct '04

> -----Original Message----- > From: main-admin(a)lists.alug.org.uk [mailto:main-admin@lists.alug.org.uk] > On Behalf Of Stan Fraser > Would like to share my internet connection at home between 1. Linux PC, 2. > WinXP Pro PC 3. Laptop WinXP Home (but probably not for much longer). I > was > thinking of getting a Wireless router so I can use my laptop in the living > Which router would anyone suggest, price range up to say £80. I'm using a LinkSys WRT54G here which works great. Best thing is the router runs Linux which you can modify. I'm using WiFi-Box from: https://sourceforge.net/projects/wifi-box/ It adds quite a few features to the basic firmware including: Better firewall with more port mapping Built-in VPN server Able to adjust output power I noticed that LinkSys have just released the WRT54GS which claims to run about 38% faster than standard 54G.

1 0

Syleham meeting
by John Woodard 30 Oct '04

30 Oct '04

Next meeting at Syleham will be Sunday 28th November 2004 2:00 - 6:00pm. Bring kit if you want to, bar will be open. Meeting venue page here http://www.alug.org.uk/venues/syleham.html Cheers, BJ

7 14

Pro-Linux report sexed down by government
by Nick Daniels 29 Oct '04

29 Oct '04

Hope this is not to much off topic but it seems relevant: The Office of Government Commerce's report into the viability of using open-source software in the public sector was toned down in its praise of Linux security before release, silicon.com has discovered. A copy of the report, seen by silicon.com with amendments still visible, shows changes were made to the government's stance on the particular advantages of Linux versus proprietary software when it comes to security. The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is the Treasury office charged with improving public sector procurement and project management in the UK. The pre-release version of the report read: "Linux would appear to offer numerous strengths in terms of security." In the final version this became: "There is no definitive answer on the relative security merits of open or closed-source software." The pre-release version also described the visibility of Linux code as a boon to its security, saying: "The structure of the Linux operating system is regarded as inherently more secure than that of Microsoft Windows... The open-source code can be viewed in its entirety and in the event of a problem the worldwide Linux community can act to resolve any issue with urgency." The final version, however, is more muted. "While some argue that many eyes lead to fewer security flaws, others argue that those wishing to exploit, or tamper with, open-source code have an easier time than with closed source code," it reads. http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39125400,00.htm Regards Nick

4 5

wireless routers
by Stan Fraser 28 Oct '04

28 Oct '04

Would like to share my internet connection at home between 1. Linux PC, 2. WinXP Pro PC 3. Laptop WinXP Home (but probably not for much longer). I was thinking of getting a Wireless router so I can use my laptop in the living room. Which router would anyone suggest, price range up to say £80. Also is it possible to get an old ATI All in Wonder card to show the TV? I'm using Suse 9.1 or would I be better swapping the card into the window box and the card from the window box into the Linux box? Thanks in advance for all the help

2 1

bye bye boot sector
by BenEBoy 27 Oct '04

27 Oct '04

I turned my computer on today but it stopped whilst trying to load lilo (black screen with 'LI' at the top left. It usually says 'LILO 2.whatever). After discovering the recovery disk section of the debian install CD I managed to get everything working again, but was wondering if someone might be able to suggest why it happened (and what I should do now)? I'm running a reasonably up to date sarge (apt-get upgraded last week) and haven't booted into windows for ages so I don't think it can be anything to do with that). The harddrive is about 8 months old and it isn't making any funny noises). Any suggestions please? cheers, BenE

4 4

Hard disk error
by Richard Lewis 26 Oct '04

26 Oct '04

Hello ALUG, I've just added a GB of RAM to my server. The BIOS found it alright but something strange happened when I booted up (its Debian sarge): it took about 2 or 3 minutes to start the syslogd (no disk activity or anything). Then once it had booted things got even worse! $ free -m indicates that the new RAM is working but it seems that hdb2 (which is my /var mount point) will not mount! In my /etc/fstab I have /dev/hda2 none swap sw 0 0 /dev/hda1 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-re 0 1 /deb/hdb1 /home ext3 defaults 0 2 /deb/hdb2 /var ext3 defaults 0 2 and when I issue # mount /dev/hdb2 I get: hdb: dma_intr: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error } hdb: dma_intr: error=0x40 { UncorrectableError }, LBAsect=39067264, sector=39067264 end_request: I/O error, dev hdb, sector 39067264 JBD: IO error reading journal superblock EXT3-fs: error loading journal. mount: wring fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/hdb2, or too many mounted file systems and I can't seem to be able to do anything about because the machine hasn't connecting to the network (maybe it needs something from /var...) so I can't install hdparm. (It can't do anything which requires stuff from /var like run its web server, database server, apt, dhcp-client, ...) Any ideas whats wrong with it? Cheers, Richard -- Richard Lewis richardlewis(a)fastmail.co.uk

7 11

FTGH: Various computing bits.
by Jonathan McDowell 26 Oct '04

26 Oct '04

I don't know if any of this is of interest to people, but if it is please take it off my hands! I'll keep a list with fuller details of the bit and what's gone at: http://the.earth.li/~noodles/junk.html Apple Mac LC475 Intel PII-233 + LX motherboard Full tower AT case Intel Celeron 266 Slot 1 Athlon 800Mhz + mobo 32 port 10Mb/s hub HP Colorado T3000 tape drive + FC-20 controller card PC Chips M747 AT style Slot 1 mobo J. -- If it was easy, the hardware people would take care of it.

1 0

The Decline of Civilisation
by Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 25 Oct '04

25 Oct '04

Hi Folks, By chance I found myself listening, on Radio 4 yesterday afternoon, to the folllowing gem: Microsoft, Powerpoint and the Decline of Civilisation As the BBC Radio 4 web site puts it: Over 30 million PowerPoint presentations are delivered every day. DJ Taylor asks, "Why?" Well worth listening to. Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/rams/mon1545.ram before this week is out. (15 minutes). Best wishes to all, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 [NB: New number!] Date: 19-Oct-04 Time: 11:32:12 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

4 3

Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 25 Oct '04

25 Oct '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!)

1 0

DSL anyone?
by Ricky Bruce 21 Oct '04

21 Oct '04

I know this topic comes up every few months but what dsl providers would you lot recommend. Id like to find a nice balance between cost (£25 or so a month) freebies, (a router would be a lovely although somewhat unrealistic target) and reasonable speeds. Also i might be moving from Yarmouth to N'arch in a couple of months so the ability to switch to a new property without incurring any penalties or charges would be great. And of course tech support who understood that Linux isnt some kind of Windows program but an OS in its own right. Or even tech support that understood what an OS was :) Cheers in anticipation Rick ps are all ALUGS list messages logged somewhere? LUGs i have been a part of in the past have kept a searchable archive of messages, which has been very useful in looking up past messages for info. _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself with cool new emoticons http://www.msn.co.uk/specials/myemo

23 69

LAST DAY ON EBAY: Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 Linux PDA
by Jamie French 18 Oct '04

18 Oct '04

Hi Guys, Checkout my auction on EBay for my Zaurus SL-5500 with many accessories. It is on its last day, so get in quick :) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5725424664&ssPage… Good luck. Jamie ___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

1 0

Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 18 Oct '04

18 Oct '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!)

1 0

Re: querying RAM
by Richard Lewis 16 Oct '04

16 Oct '04

Hello ALUG, A couple of days ago I asked about checking out RAM info on a running machine and was pointed to the dmidecode program. I know its a little OT but.... I've been able to work that new modules should be: max module size: 512MB; voltage: 3.3V; single-bit ECC error correction. But I wonder if anyone knows if its possible, given the information below, to work out what size (in pins) and speed (PCnnn) will be compatible? Cheers, Richard ================================================== Handle 0x0007 DMI type 5, 24 bytes. Memory Controller Information Error Detecting Method: 32-bit ECC Error Correcting Capabilities: Single-bit Error Correcting Supported Interleave: One-way Interleave Current Interleave: One-way Interleave Maximum Memory Module Size: 512 MB Maximum Total Memory Size: 2048 MB Supported Speeds: Other 50 ns Supported Memory Types: Other ECC Memory Module Voltage: 3.3 V Associated Memory Slots: 4 0x0008 0x0009 0x000A 0x000B Enabled Error Correcting Capabilities: Single-bit Error Correcting Handle 0x0008 DMI type 6, 12 bytes. Memory Module Information Socket Designation: J7J1 Bank Connections: 0 0 Current Speed: Unknown Type: Other Installed Size: 128 MB (Single-bank Connection) Enabled Size: 128 MB (Single-bank Connection) Error Status: OK Handle 0x0009 DMI type 6, 12 bytes. Memory Module Information Socket Designation: J7J2 Bank Connections: 0 0 Current Speed: Unknown Type: Other Installed Size: 128 MB (Single-bank Connection) Enabled Size: 128 MB (Single-bank Connection) Error Status: OK Handle 0x000A DMI type 6, 12 bytes. Memory Module Information Socket Designation: J8J1 Bank Connections: 0 Current Speed: Unknown Type: Other Installed Size: Not Installed (Single-bank Connection) Enabled Size: Not Installed (Single-bank Connection) Error Status: OK Handle 0x000B DMI type 6, 12 bytes. Memory Module Information Socket Designation: J8J2 Bank Connections: 0 Current Speed: Unknown Type: Other Installed Size: Not Installed (Single-bank Connection) Enabled Size: Not Installed (Single-bank Connection) Error Status: OK Handle 0x000C DMI type 9, 13 bytes. System Slot Information Designation: J4E1 Type: 32-bit PCI Current Usage: In Use Length: Long ID: 1 Characteristics: 3.3 V is provided PME signal is supported Handle 0x002F DMI type 18, 23 bytes. 32-bit Memory Error Information Type: Unknown Granularity: Unknown Operation: Unknown Vendor Syndrome: Unknown Memory Array Address: Unknown Device Address: Unknown Resolution: Unknown Handle 0x0030 DMI type 16, 15 bytes. Physical Memory Array Location: System Board Or Motherboard Use: System Memory Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC Maximum Capacity: 2 GB Error Information Handle: 0x0031 Number Of Devices: 4 Handle 0x0031 DMI type 19, 15 bytes. Memory Array Mapped Address Starting Address: 0x00000000000 Ending Address: 0x0000FFFFFFF Range Size: 256 MB Physical Array Handle: 0x0030 Partition Width: 0 Handle 0x0032 DMI type 17, 23 bytes. Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0030 Error Information Handle: 0x002F Total Width: 16 bits Data Width: 16 bits Size: 128 MB Form Factor: RIMM Set: 3 Locator: J7J1 Bank Locator: RIMM1 Type: Other Type Detail: RAMBus Speed: 400 MHz (2.5 ns) Handle 0x0033 DMI type 20, 19 bytes. Memory Device Mapped Address Starting Address: 0x00000000000 Ending Address: 0x00007FFFFFF Range Size: 128 MB Physical Device Handle: 0x0032 Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x0031 Partition Row Position: 1 Handle 0x0034 DMI type 17, 23 bytes. Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0030 Error Information Handle: 0x002F Total Width: 16 bits Data Width: 16 bits Size: 128 MB Form Factor: RIMM Set: 3 Locator: J7J2 Bank Locator: RIMM2 Type: Other Type Detail: RAMBus Speed: 400 MHz (2.5 ns) Handle 0x0035 DMI type 20, 19 bytes. Memory Device Mapped Address Starting Address: 0x00008000000 Ending Address: 0x0000FFFFFFF Range Size: 128 MB Physical Device Handle: 0x0034 Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x0031 Partition Row Position: 1 Handle 0x0036 DMI type 17, 23 bytes. Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0030 Error Information Handle: 0x002F Total Width: Unknown Data Width: Unknown Size: No Module Installed Form Factor: Other Set: None Locator: J8J1 Bank Locator: RIMM3 Type: Other Type Detail: None Speed: Unknown Handle 0x0037 DMI type 126, 19 bytes. Inactive Handle 0x0038 DMI type 17, 23 bytes. Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0030 Error Information Handle: 0x002F Total Width: Unknown Data Width: Unknown Size: No Module Installed Form Factor: Other Set: None Locator: J8J2 Bank Locator: RIMM4 Type: Other Type Detail: None Speed: Unknown

2 1

I've added a few more bits for sale/free
by Chris Green 14 Oct '04

14 Oct '04

I've added a few items to my list of bits for sale/free at:- http://www.isbd.net/computerbits.html A complete system or two may be coming soon, I've just got to decide which ones to get rid of! -- Chris Green (chris(a)areti.co.uk) "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

1 0

Wiki / Alug Homepage
by Dave Briggs 13 Oct '04

13 Oct '04

Can any of the Alug web team let me know what wiki system they use for the site - or is it one of their own devising? I could do with something along those lines for a little project I am working on, and any other recommendations would be much appreciated. Cheers -- Dave Briggs http://www.palimpsest.org.uk - The Home of Informed Debate on the Web

3 2

FOR SALE: Compaq 18.2 GB SCSI Disks
by Jamie French 13 Oct '04

13 Oct '04

Hi Guys, Hope you don't mind me selling items through here, just having a clear out and would prefer to be sold through here first :) I have two Compaq 18.2GB 7200 RPM Wide Ultra2 SCSI model no. BB01811C9C Drive CPN 104922 - 001 for sale. Make me an offer! I live in Stowmarket if that helps. Take Care, Jamie ___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

1 0

Subscription cancel
by Denis Shaul 13 Oct '04

13 Oct '04

Please cancel my subscription to ALUG list Denis Shaul -- Denis Shaul denis(a)felmingham.me.uk

4 4

why i like linux
by the shadow 12 Oct '04

12 Oct '04

i have been using linux for about 7 months. i have tried using knoppix, gentoo(didnt finish install), mandrake. i now use redhat which i have been using for about 2 months. the main reason i use linux is because i am a programmer and i use my box as a webserver. i also like being able to use an os that is open source because of the amount of programs released. _________________________________________________________________ It's fast, it's easy and it's free. Get MSN Messenger today! http://www.msn.co.uk/messenger

1 0

[ALUG Announce]Reminder: Norwich City Gate meeting this Thursday night.
by Jonathan McDowell 12 Oct '04

12 Oct '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 ----- As per usual, this Thursday (14th October) we'll be congregating in the City Gate from around 8pm. At least myself, Brett, Kirsten and Adam should be there, and Eli might also make it. Full details can be found at: http://www.alug.org.uk/meetings/2004/all-NorThu.html Directions at: http://www.alug.org.uk/venues/citygate.html Pictures from August of people so you know who to look out for: http://www.earth.li/~noodles/Photos/2004-08-ALUG/ J. -- /-\ | Don't be a stranger. |@/ Debian GNU/Linux Developer | \- | ----- 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

3 2

querying RAM
by Richard Lewis 12 Oct '04

12 Oct '04

Hello ALUG, I'm running Debian on my server. Does anyone know if there's a way of established what my RAM upgrade options are (i.e. slots and speeds, rather than $ free -m) without switching the machine off? Cheers, Richard

4 3

And another thing...
by Anthony Anson 12 Oct '04

12 Oct '04

Where can I find a pretty comprehensive list of commands for the Debian command line? TIA -- Tony http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ God sends the meat, the Devil sends the cooks.

8 18

FOR SALE: Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 Linux PDA
by Jamie French 12 Oct '04

12 Oct '04

Hi Guys, Hope all is well! I have not been in the scene lately as I purely don't have the time. Hence my lack of time and in need of money I am selling my Zaurus on ebay @ http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5725424664&ssPage… with all accessories. The reserve price is very resonable, so have a bid and see what happens :) Take Care, Jamie ___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

1 0

Re: [ALUG] querying RAM
by Richard Lewis 12 Oct '04

12 Oct '04

On Tuesday, October 12, 2004, at 10:55 AM, adam(a)thebowery.co.uk wrote: > On Tue, Oct 12, 2004 at 09:34:32AM +0100, Richard Lewis wrote: >> Hello ALUG, >> >> I'm running Debian on my server. >> >> Does anyone know if there's a way of established what my RAM upgrade >> options are (i.e. slots and speeds, rather than $ free -m) without >> switching the machine off? > > We were just kicking around a few ideas on IRC, you can try > > apt-get install dmidecode > > and then looking at the output of dmidecode, homepage here > http://www.nongnu.org/dmidecode/ > Hey, thats really cool! I never knew there was so much to a computer :-) Richard

1 0

Re: nostalgia clearout
by phil 12 Oct '04

12 Oct '04

> > Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 22:04:01 +0100 > From: Big Dave <digbave(a)gmail.com> > Reply-To: Big Dave <digbave(a)gmail.com> > To: main(a)lists.alug.org.uk > Subject: Re: [ALUG] nostalgia clearout > > i might be interested in some of them, but for my father, he has a > strange liking of the beige beasts... > OK - let me know, I'm working thru them one by one, taking off all the "stuff" off... Don't think they'll be allowed in the dining room for long! Most of them have ethernet cards in, except the LC475.

1 0

nostalgia clearout
by phil 12 Oct '04

12 Oct '04

Evening - just having a clearout of all my old beige Mac stuff. We have a LC475 (beautiful beige pizza box), Performa 630, Quadra 650, Quadra 960, Powermac 7100, and a 9600. Unbelievably they all still work (well, I'm working through the pile now...) - except the newest which is the 9600 with a dead video card. Robbed it for my YDL Linux machine. I guess Linux could be put on the last two... There's appletalk boxes & network cables - thought about setting up a quick network game of Spectre Supreme for nostalgia's sake, but just haven't got the room! The Quadra 650 boots in 30 seconds, and has run word 5.0 like everybody wishes it would run now! My 76 year old father-in-law used it for years, without a single crash. Can't bring myself to scrap this stuff cos it all just works like the day it was bought - anyone know anybody that might be interested? Phil www.figureone.co.uk

4 3

Lots of hardware, mostly free to good homes
by Chris Green 12 Oct '04

12 Oct '04

I have decided I really need to clear out some of my old hardware and systems, to avoid cluttering up this list I've put what's available on my web pages at http://www.isbd.net/computerbits.html The list won't be complete so if you have a desperate need for some sort of ISA card drop me a mail, you'd be suprised what I have lying about! Among other things there will be a Brother 1060 dual bin laser printer and one or two complete systems with processors around the 300MHz mark which would probably make good ipCop forewalls for example. -- Chris Green (chris(a)areti.co.uk) "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

1 0

RE: [ALUG] DSL anyone?
by e154 11 Oct '04

11 Oct '04

>===== Original Message From chris.green(a)isbd.co.uk ===== >On Sat, Oct 09, 2004 at 11:26:08PM +0100, Wayne Stallwood wrote: >> > >> This is a habit I really want to get into. I currently never turn my home >> machine off, I don't care about the electricity costs but worry about the >> environmental impact of everybody doing this. install climateprediction.net and then your PC will do something useful to help climate science whilst it is on.

2 1

Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 11 Oct '04

11 Oct '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!)

1 0

A connection conundrum - can it be done?
by Barry Samuels 08 Oct '04

08 Oct '04

I have a laptop which I take on holiday and would like to use it to connect to my machine at home. My machine at home is on ADSL and my ISP also gives me a dial-up number. I can connect via the dial-up number but my IP address is exactly the same as the fixed IP address of my home machine on ADSL. Having connected via dial-up is there any way I can connect to my home machine as both machines then have the same IP address? Am I missing anything obvious here? Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain

5 4

Gigabit copper networks
by Chris Green 08 Oct '04

08 Oct '04

I need a new switch to use with our new wireless broadband so, seeing as Gigabit switches are now relatively cheap, what else do I need to know about Gigabit over copper:- Can I use existing Cat5e cables? Does Gigabit degrade gracefully over less than perfect connections? Are there shorter cable length limits? Are Cat6 cables really necessary or won't I see much difference using Cat5 over short distances? Is there a good web site anywhere with all this sort of information on it? -- Chris Green (chris(a)areti.co.uk) "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

2 3

usb-storage trouble
by MJ Ray 08 Oct '04

08 Oct '04

I have a computer with a VIA VT82C686 chipset which uses the UHCI usb driver of the Linux kernel. I'm running 2.6.9-rc3 now, but also tried 2.6.4. I have a couple of usb-storage devices which don't work in this machine. Plugging one in and modprobe of usb-storage (hotplug disabled for debugging) produces log lines finishing with those below. That is for an Oracom ORC-200M, which should appear as a 128Mb sda1 partition in the end. It appears in /proc/scsi/usb-storage/1 but has lots of "Unknown". It doesn't appear under "Attached devices:" in /proc/scsi/scsi When I try to rmmod usb-storage, it hangs sometimes. ps shows "[scsi_eh_1]" in state DW, which usually means it's wanting to read something IME. I have tons of debug output, far more than I can post: if anything else would help, please ask. I have other usb-storage devices that work on this machine (disconnected when trying this) and these devices work on other machines here (OHCI usb driver, though). It would really help to have them connect to this machine. I've searched around and can't figure this one out. Help! Oct 8 12:52:45 bouncing kernel: usb-storage: -- Result from auto-sense is 0 Oct 8 12:52:45 bouncing kernel: usb-storage: -- code: 0x55, key: 0x2, ASC: 0x1, ASCQ: 0x0 Oct 8 12:52:45 bouncing kernel: usb-storage: Not Ready: No index/sector signal Oct 8 12:52:45 bouncing kernel: usb-storage: scsi cmd done, result=0x2 Oct 8 12:52:45 bouncing kernel: usb-storage: device_reset called Oct 8 12:52:45 bouncing kernel: usb-storage: usb_stor_Bulk_reset called Oct 8 12:52:45 bouncing kernel: usb-storage: usb_stor_control_msg: rq=ff rqtype=21 value=0000 index=00 len=0 Oct 8 12:52:45 bouncing kernel: usb-storage: *** thread sleeping. Oct 8 12:52:45 bouncing kernel: usb-storage: Soft reset failed: -32 Oct 8 12:52:45 bouncing kernel: usb-storage: bus_reset called -- MJR/slef My Opinion Only and not of any group I know Creative copyleft computing - http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ LinuxExpo.org.uk village 6+7 Oct http://www.affs.org.uk

2 2

Linux for kids for XMAS...
by Steve Purkiss 08 Oct '04

08 Oct '04

Hello again, My sis and a friend of hers are looking to buy PC & printer for use by "the kids" for XMAS. When I say kids, we're talking the 4+ age group. Obviously the adults will want mail, web, office, etc. but nothing too daunting - thought I'd ask if anyone has hardware + distro recommendations. We're talking easy-to-use once installed and cheap solution.... however I was thinking mini-ITX cases etc. Any ideas? I want to give them a good base to learn from ;) Steve p.s. thought I'd ask on here as still pretty lonely in LUGE at the mo... but it'll get there in time...

3 2

Difficulties in Linuxing a machine.
by mtm＠cmp.uea.ac.uk 08 Oct '04

08 Oct '04

I have an old PC which is proving remarkably stubborn. It boots with Knoppix but any distro that actually requires access to the HD either hangs at some point in the installation process (Mandrake) or produces an installation that won't boot (Slackware). I've tried Slackware 10, Mandrake 10.0 and Mandrake 8.2. Win 98, incidently went on perfectly and has been no more troublesome than usual. There were no problems partitioning the disk or setting up LILO BTW. A friend spent a Sunday afternoon alternately playing with it and swearing at it. He has concluded that there is a very fundimnental problem with the IDE controller. The machine is an AMD K6, with a Gigabyte GA 5AA mb which has an ALI M5229 IDE controller. Can anybody offer any insights inbto what's going on and how it may be cured? -- >=======================================================================< Michael Morton | Everything is linear if plotted on School of Computer Sciences | log-log with a fat magic marker. University of East Anglia, Norwich | http://www.sys.uea.ac.uk/~mtm/work >========================================================================<

2 1

Re: [ALUG] (no subject)
by Ian bell 07 Oct '04

07 Oct '04

G whyte wrote: > Hi Ian > > Thanks :) . I'd say Slackware is the first linux distribution I've > actually kept and liked. Previously I would try red hat or mandrake > for about a month then go back to windows when the heat got turned up > and I realised I had to put in the effort to actually get things done > in linux. > > Once I read an article reviewing Slackware in LinuxFormat I decided it > was the one for me. I wanted to properly learn linux and it suggested > Slackware was a great distro for this. > > I especially like the ease of use when it comes to the .tgz packages > and how it seems to handle well even when performing CPU intensive > operations. > > You say you graduated to slackware after 7 years , I assume you must > be well versed in Linux? > Don't know about versed but certainly well practised. The great thing about Linux is not only that it is a wonderful learning experience but there is a whole host of like minded folk ready and willing to help you. Ian -- Ian T-Bell aka RuffRecords aka RedTommo

1 0

(no subject)
by G whyte 07 Oct '04

07 Oct '04

Hi All I've been using linux now for around a year and a half. I've tried going back to Windows but it dosen't interest me anymore. I like Linux since the Operating system feels more exposed and makes you work a little harder for the results you set out to achieve. I would say I'm still a bit of a newbie when compared to the level of people you come across in forums when seeking help. I use Slackware and sometimes Red hat since I'm starting home study for the RHCE. Thats it for now , hope I can make some sort of contribution to this mailing list. Cheers

2 1

Cromer
by Ted 07 Oct '04

07 Oct '04

I am hoping to move to Cromer in the next few months...Anyone in or near Cromer using Linux ?? -- Regards Ted Wager Debian Linux user

10 15

Re: [ALUG] Cromer
by C Neil Bauers 05 Oct '04

05 Oct '04

I live in Gorleston too. Neil. > I don't want to be "crabby" about Cromer (groan!) but am I all on my > todd across here in Gorleston/Great Yarmouth area? Is there a member's > list with names & locations? > > Rgds, Martin > > On Tue, 2004-10-05 at 16:36, Ian bell wrote: > > Ted wrote: > > > I am hoping to move to Cromer in the next few months...Anyone in or near > > > Cromer using Linux ?? > > > > > > > Hi Ted. I live right nearby in Northrepps. > > > > Ian > > _______________________________________________ main(a)lists.alug.org.uk http://www.alug.org.uk/ http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/main Unsubscribe? See message headers or the web site above!

1 0

Q-DVDAuthor
by Graham 05 Oct '04

05 Oct '04

Has anyone on this list any experience of Q-DVDAuthor? This appears to be a QT GUI front-end for dvdauthor. I say 'appears' because I haven't yet managed to get it installed and running. Or klvemkdvd, which I'm having trouble installing because it depends on lve, which itself is a bugger to install because it doesn't have a proper config script and relies on ffmpeg source being in the right place... and so on. Gawd, aren't dependency chains a pain sometimes? (Failing that I'd settle for any XML script for dvdauthor that results in a DVD video that plays. So far all of mine are coasters. Some play - with the menus broken - on a very tolerant Ronin model, but none are accepted by my Philips DVD recorder, by Xine or by MPlayer.) -- GT

3 2

CD-RW drive problem
by Richard Lewis 04 Oct '04

04 Oct '04

Hello ALUG, I'm having problems with a CD-RW drive. I haven't tried to use the drive until now (except when I used it to install the OS, Debian sarge net-install disc). I was just getting round to designing the backup procedure for the machine and thought it would be neat if it automatically wrote the data to a CD. But I've run into problems with the drive itself: # cdrecord -scanbus Cdrecord-Clone 2.01a34 (i686-pc-linux-gnu) Copyright (C) 1995-2004 J°Zrg Schilling NOTE: this version of cdrecord is an inofficial (modified) release of cdrecord and thus may have bugs that are not present in the original version. Please send bug reports and support requests to <cdrtools(a)packages.debian.org>. The original author should not be bothered with problems of this version. cdrecord: No such file or directory. Cannot open '/dev/pg*'. Cannot open SCSI driver. cdrecord: For possible targets try 'cdrecord -scanbus'. cdrecord: For possible transport specifiers try 'cdrecord dev=help'. cdrecord: cdrecord: For more information, install the cdrtools-doc cdrecord: package and read /usr/share/doc/cdrecord/README.ATAPI.setup . Hmm, so I tried, # cat /etc/fstab # /etc/fstab: static file system information. # # <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass> proc /proc proc defaults 0 0 /dev/hda2 none swap sw 0 0 /dev/hda1 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1 /dev/hdb1 /home ext3 defaults 0 2 /dev/hdb2 /var ext3 defaults 0 2 /dev/hdc /media/cdrom iso9660 ro,user,noauto 0 0 /dev/fd0 /media/floppy auto rw,user,noauto 0 0 /dev/hdc /cdrom iso9660 ro,user,noauto 0 0 OK, so I tried mounting an ordinary CD-ROM # mount /cdrom mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/hdc, or too many mounted file systems Hrmmm, and # dmesg | grep ATAPI hdc: LITE-ON LTR-16102B, ATAPI CD/DVD-ROM drive hdc: ATAPI 40X CD-ROM CD-R/RW drive, 2048kB Cache, DMA And some excerpts from # lsmod isofs 32184 0 sg 34848 0 scsi_mod 109112 1 sg ide_cd 38020 0 cdrom 34720 1 ide_cd ide_disk 15872 6 ide_generic 1408 0 [permanent] ide_detect 1408 0 ide_core 141804 5 ide_cd,ide_disk,ide_generic,ide_detect,piix I'm not very good with hardware. Does anyone know what's wrong? Thanks very much, Richard -- Richard Lewis richardlewis(a)fastmail.co.uk

2 6

Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 04 Oct '04

04 Oct '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!)

1 0

Disposing of old kit
by Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 03 Oct '04

03 Oct '04

Hi Folks, Does anyone have suggestions for disposing usefully (i.e. not simply taking it to the tip^H^H^H recycling centre) of assorted old computer kit? (a few monitors, vidoe cards, multiport serial card, ... ) Most if not all works, in some cases with a little encouragement. So maybe someone somewhere could find a use for it. Ideally within reasonable reach of the Ely-Downham axis. Best wishes to all, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 167 1972 Date: 29-Aug-04 Time: 21:41:47 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

6 5

IT systems specialists in e-Science and SAN at UEA
by Simon Jude 02 Oct '04

02 Oct '04

Hi, I hope that nobody minds me posting a job advert to the list but I thought that there might be some interest the positions that are available at UEA. Simon ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 15:01:30 +0100 From: "Boswell Andrew Dr (ITCS) s139" <A.Boswell(a)uea.ac.uk> To: "Jude Simon Dr (ENV)" <S.Jude(a)uea.ac.uk> Subject: IT SYSTEMS SPECIALISTS in e-Science and SAN at UEA Dear Simon, If you know anyone who may be interested in these new posts in ITCS, please forward this message on. I'm very happy to have a chat with a chat anyone who wants to know more information. Andrew Dr Andrew Boswell Senior System Developer and e-Science Consultant IT and Computing Services email : A.Boswell(a)uea.ac.uk University of East Anglia phone : +44-1603-592349 Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK fax : +44-1603-593467 _____ [Current Vacancies] <http://www.uea.ac.uk/> <http://www.uea.ac.uk/> <http://www.uea.ac.uk/> <http://www.uea.ac.uk/> [UEA Norwich] <http://www.uea.ac.uk/> <http://www.uea.ac.uk/> <http://www.uea.ac.uk/> Issued by the Personnel Office Date: 2004 _____ Return to: Current <http://www.uea.ac.uk/personnel/jobs/admin/welcome.htm> Vacancies: Administrative and Other Related Current <http://www.uea.ac.uk/personnel/jobs/welcome.htm> Vacancies Index _____ Information Services Directorate IT SYSTEMS SPECIALISTS We are looking for two experienced IT Systems Specialists to join a small IT systems team within the Information Services Directorate. Post 1: Indefinite (Ref: AD269) Post 2: Fixed-Term for 2 years (Ref: AD270) One role is an indefinite post and the other a two-year post to provide additional support within the team during the installation of a storage infrastructure and e-science technologies at UEA. The postholders will be part of the IT systems teams which provides central server support at UEA and will be expected to work with the project teams for the two projects, supporting the installation, configuration, initial maintenance and service development of the storage and e-science technologies. The successful applicants will require in-depth OS skills in Linux (preferably Redhat) and Solaris, Microsoft Windows systems OS skills (preferably Active Directory, 2000 and 2003), Unix shell programming and high-level language programming. Experience of at least one of the following will be essential, preferably in a higher education environment; installation and maintenance of open source, operating system and commercial software under Unix/Microsoft, storage management and cluster/fail-over server management. Training on e-science and storage technologies will be provided as required. The postholders will require good communication, analysis and customer care skills. A flexible and self-motivated approach to work will be essential, as will good time management skills and the ability to work independently and as part of a team. Salary will be in the range £22,507 to £29,128 per annum. Further particulars and an application form should be obtained from the Personnel Office, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ (e-mail: personnel(a)uea.ac.uk <mailto:%20personnel@uea.ac.uk> or answerphone: 01603 593493), to be returned by 12 October 2004. Please quote the appropriate reference number. _____ Further Particulars and an application form may also be obtained on-line: <http://www.uea.ac.uk/personnel/jobs/admin/ad269.pdf> *Further Particulars in PDF format <http://www.uea.ac.uk/personnel/forms/ac-r1.pdf> *Application Form in PDF format Notes: * Application forms obtained by this means should be printed, completed and posted to the UEA Personnel Office at the address shown above. * The Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form at the end of the application form must be completed but will be detached and the information given will not be used in the selection process. * You should read <http://www.uea.ac.uk/personnel/fp/guide-ac.htm> Guidelines for Candidates - Academic and Related Staff Appointments as well as any other relevant sections in <http://www.uea.ac.uk/personnel/fp/welcome.htm> Further Particulars to assist you in completing your application. * Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view PDF documents and if necessary can be obtained free from the Adobe website. <http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html> [Get Adobe Acrobat Reader] _____ Return to: Current <http://www.uea.ac.uk/personnel/jobs/admin/welcome.htm> Vacancies: Administrative and Other Related Current <http://www.uea.ac.uk/personnel/jobs/welcome.htm> Vacancies Index

3 3

Linux for kids for XMAS...
by Steve Purkiss 02 Oct '04

02 Oct '04

Hello again, My sis and a friend of hers are looking to buy PC & printer for use by "the kids" for XMAS. When I say kids, we're talking the 4+ age group. Obviously the adults will want mail, web, office, etc. but nothing too daunting - thought I'd ask if anyone has hardware + distro recommendations. We're talking easy-to-use once installed and cheap solution.... however I was thinking mini-ITX cases etc. Any ideas? I want to give them a good base to learn from ;) Steve p.s. thought I'd ask on here as still pretty lonely in LUGE at the mo... but it'll get there in time... -- Open for Organisations - supporting open source software http://www.open4.org Tel: +44(0)1245 611825 Mod: +44(0)7813 646457

1 0

LinuxWorldExpo - get your free breakfast!
by Steve Purkiss 01 Oct '04

01 Oct '04

Hiya, In case I hadn't mentioned already ;) I'll be on stand 192 next week at www.LinuxWorldExpo.co.uk showing off www.LinuxVAR.co.uk and the XOOPS CMS/Portal. Interactive Ideas, sponsors of the site, are also laying on a free breakfast with product demos too from the likes of vmware and Sybase at the Hilton Olympia (both days + anyone can come along) so get fed first. Free tickets to the show also being given out then - if you still need a ticket then make sure you tick the box on the bottom of this form when filling it out: http://www.interactiveideas.com/company/breakfast.php See you there, Steve -- Open for Organisations - supporting open source software http://www.open4.org Tel: +44(0)1245 611825 Mod: +44(0)7813 646457

1 0

Norwich technology event
by MJ Ray 30 Sep '04

30 Sep '04

There is a possibility of any space that becomes available at a fully-booked technology business event in Norwich in 2 months. Because of other commitments, I don't think I will be able to make full use of it. Are any other ALUGgers' firms interested in sharing? Email me directly, then I'll let you know if I get the offer and we'll see what we can do together. -- MJR/slef My Opinion Only and not of any group I know Creative copyleft computing - http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ LinuxExpo.org.uk village 6+7 Oct http://www.affs.org.uk

1 0

Over What Resources Is nice Nice?
by Dan Hatton 29 Sep '04

29 Sep '04

I have a large ftp transaction in progress, with an ADSL-connected machine as the client, and my life would be more comfortable if other things (specifically X11 connections, with the same ADSL-connected machine as the X server) got priority over the ftp transaction for using the ADSL modem. I tried renice 20 [PID of the ftp client], which reported that it had changed the priority of the ftp client from 0 to 19, but this doesn't seem to have speeded up my X applications any, so I'm guessing that nice priority settings only apply to CPU, not to network bandwidth: is this right? If so, how can I make the ftp client be "nice" about network usage? -- Thanks Dan Hatton <http://www.bib.hatton.btinternet.co.uk/dan/>

4 5

RE: [ALUG] Eye Candy
by Dave Briggs 29 Sep '04

29 Sep '04

Hi all, I am new-ish. I still haven't found a GUI which I find intuitive. One of the problems with the current Windows system, and which is copied by KDE and Gnome, is the 'Start' menu system for loading programs. I hate it. It's better in KDE, where onmy set up all the applications are organised by type making it much easier to find stuff. But it is still a pain. There is also, for me, an illogicality between using a 'Start' type menu, and the desktop - i.e. one being for apps and one for files (roughly). I just don't think this makes sense. Windows compounds this further of course by having a third environment - the Explorer. I'm not sure what my ideal GUI would have. Probably Desktop-only, with a folder with applications on it, and one for files. Perhaps a floating toolbar with regularly used apps and the time and stuff on it, but even that might be making things too complicated! Anyone else care to describe (as much as they can) their ideal GUI? Dave -- Dave Briggs http://www.palimpsest.org.uk - The Home of Informed Debate on the Web

11 13

PHP developer wanted with PM potential
by Steve Purkiss 28 Sep '04

28 Sep '04

Hi all, I need some help, so I'm looking to employ a PHP developer, preferably with exerience of OSCommerce and/or XOOPS but not essential. If you know of any local to Chelmsford please let me know off-list. Thank you, Steve

1 0

Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 28 Sep '04

28 Sep '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!)

3 4

Coax ethernet plumbing ...
by Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 27 Sep '04

27 Sep '04

Hi Folks, I had always laboured under the belief that when you implement a network using coaxial ethernet cable, you basically had to have a single linear cable with pick-off at T-pieces along its length, and that branching coax structures were not on. In particular, if you needed, say, to connect a laptop [C] to an ethernet between machines [A] and [B], and it wasn't feasible to extend the cable beyond [A] or [B] to reach [C] but the middle of the cable itself passed not too far from [C], then I thought that the only solution was to bring the cable in a long loop to [C] and connect to a T-piece in the middle of the cable. I.e. [A]--------- -------------[B] | | | | | | | | | | \ / T | [C] However, thinking about it a bit and then trying it out, I discover that you can in fact set up a branching coax network. The trick is to use spare T-pieces to implement the branching. Like this: [A]----------T-------------[B] =I [T-piece at 90 degrees] | | [C]-----=I [T-piece on branch cable] | | [more machines on branch if you like] | =I [terminated T-piece to close branch] The trick is the first T-piece at 90 degrees, whose lateral ("male") insert is plugged into the "female" socket of the T-piece doing its usual job on the main cable. The ("female") end of the "branch" cable is then put onto the other "male" insert of the first T-piece at 90 degrees. This piece of trickery ensures valid connection (and indeed functions just like the normal connection at the ethernet card). And you will of course need a terminated T-piece at the far end of the "branch" cable in the usual way. No doubt this could be extended to a whole tree of coax, though shortage of spare T-pieces (and spare machines to hook onto them to test it) prevents me from testing it. Apologies if it's not new to you, but since I hadn't heard of it being done before I thought I'd share the idea. Best wishes to all, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 [NB: New number!] Date: 26-Sep-04 Time: 16:25:41 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

5 5

Re: [ALUG] Apache front for Tomcat/Cocoon
by Richard Lewis 25 Sep '04

25 Sep '04

On Friday, Sep 24, 2004, at 16:59 Europe/London, Martijn Koster wrote: > I've not needed to setup a reverse proxy, but the mod_proxy > documentation page says you need a: > > ProxyRequests Off > <Proxy *> > Order deny,allow > Allow from all > </Proxy> > ProxyPass /foo http://foo.example.com/bar > ProxyPassReverse /foo http://foo.example.com/bar > > Do you have an Allow like that? > I do now! Thanks very much, its all working now. On Friday, Sep 24, 2004, at 17:02 Europe/London, Andrew Savory wrote: > > On 24 Sep 2004, at 16:42, Richard Lewis wrote: >> I've got two Cocoon (2.1) webapps running under Tomcat (4.1) on my >> server (Debian, j2sdk1.4-sun, Apache 2.0). My network service >> provided has given me two aliases for the machine which I want to >> point to the two webapps. > > For shame, Richard, for shame. This is not the cocoon-users mailing > list, you know ;-) I tried them but no one answered :-( Anyway ALUG people are much more often correct about things than anywhere else ;-) > > Dump Tomcat, run both sites through Jetty (you really -don't- want to > run two Cocoon instances, look at mount-table.xml for the quickest way > to mangle your Cocoon urlspace safely. Follow the wiki docs, they are > very good. (Actually, its just one Cocoon instance). Is Jetty really better, I thought the documentation said that Jetty was provided for a test environment rather than production? Thanks for your help, Richard

2 1

Apache front for Tomcat/Cocoon
by Richard Lewis 24 Sep '04

24 Sep '04

Hello ALUG, Thanks for your help with getting Tomcat going as a non-privileged daemon. The reason I was trying to do that was because it was suggested as part of a solution for this problem: I've got two Cocoon (2.1) webapps running under Tomcat (4.1) on my server (Debian, j2sdk1.4-sun, Apache 2.0). My network service provided has given me two aliases for the machine which I want to point to the two webapps. As I understand it, I can use virtual hosting and mod_proxy with Apache to re-direct requests which use these two aliases to the webapps running on port 8080. My Apache and Tomcat set up is as follows: apache2/mods-enabled directory: php4.conf -> /etc/apache2/mods-available/php4.conf php4.load -> /etc/apache2/mods-available/php4.load proxy.conf -> ../mods-available/proxy.conf proxy_connect.load -> ../mods-available/proxy_connect.load proxy_http.load -> ../mods-available/proxy_http.load proxy.load -> ../mods-available/proxy.load userdir.conf -> /etc/apache2/mods-available/userdir.conf userdir.load -> /etc/apache2/mods-available/userdir.load ============================================================== apache2/sites-enabled directory: cursus.uea.ac.uk -> ../sites-available/cursus.uea.ac.uk studios.uea.ac.uk -> ../sites-available/studios.uea.ac.uk ============================================================== apache2/sites-available directory: cursus.uea.ac.uk -> /var/webapps/cursus/cursus.apache.conf studios.uea.ac.uk -> /var/webapps/studio/studio.apache.conf ============================================================== apache2/httpd.conf: <Files *.apache.conf> Order deny,allow Deny from all </Files> NameVirtualHost *****:80 ============================================================== /var/webapps/cursus/cursus.apache.conf: <VirtualHost ****:80> ServerName www.cursus.uea.ac.uk ServerAlias cursus.uea.ac.uk ServerAlias www.cursus ProxyRequests off ProxyPass / http://localhost:8081/cocoon/cursus/ ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:8081/cocoon/cursus/ ProxyPass /styles http://localhost:8081/cocoon/cursus/styles ProxyPassReverse /styles http://localhost:8081/cocoon/cursus/styles </VirtualHost> ============================================================== /var/webapps/cursus/studios.apache.conf: <VirtualHost ****:80> ServerName www.studios.uea.ac.uk ServerAlias studios.uea.ac.uk ServerAlias www.studios ProxyRequests Off ProxyPass / http://localhost:8082/cocoon/studio/ ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:8082/cocoon/studio/ </VirtualHost> ============================================================== /var/webapps/tomcat/conf/server.xml: [snippet] <Connector className="org.apache.coyote.tomcat4.CoyoteConnector" port="8081" minProcessors="5" maxProcessors="75" enableLookups="true" acceptCount="100" debug="0" connectionTimeout="20000" proxyName="www.cursus.uea.ac.uk" proxyPort="80" useURIValidationHack="false" disableUploadTimeout="true" /> <Connector className="org.apache.coyote.tomcat4.CoyoteConnector" port="8082" minProcessors="5" maxProcessors="75" enableLookups="true" acceptCount="100" debug="0" connectionTimeout="20000" proxyName="www.studios.uea.ac.uk" proxyPort="80" useURIValidationHack="false" disableUploadTimeout="true" /> The problem is that when the user requests the URL http://cursus.uea.ac.uk/ or http://www.studios.uea.ac.uk/ the server returns 403 'Forbidden'. $ tail log/apache2/error.log gives: [Fri Sep 24 16:22:17 2004] [error] [client ****] client denied by server configuration: proxy:http://localhost:8081/cocoon/cursus/ Accessed using the :808[012] suffix, the webapps both work fine (though the network firewall will stop access from outside). If anyone could help me I would be very grateful indeed as I've been puzzeling over this for days and really can't think of anything else that might sort the problem. Thanks in advance, Richard

4 3

Re: [ALUG] Tomcat daemon
by Richard Lewis 24 Sep '04

24 Sep '04

On Friday, Sep 24, 2004, at 13:08 Europe/London, Martijn Koster wrote: > On Fri, 2004-09-24 at 12:59, Richard Lewis wrote: >> Hello ALUG, >> >> I'm trying to write an init script to get Tomcat (4.1) to start at >> boot. (On Debian). >> >> I've created a file: >> /var/webapps/tomcat/bin/tomcat.sh >> ===================================== >> >> export TOMCAT_BIN=/var/webapps/tomcat/bin > > Try adding: > >> #!/bin/sh > D'oh! OK, thanks for that - it now picks up tomcat.sh and the daemon starts fine. I've just found one more problem though: it won't stop!! # /etc/init.d/tomcat stop doesn't return any errors but I had a look and found that the directory /var/run/tomcat was empty; it seems its left no process id file. Is this why it can't stop? Also, # ps -Al inclues: 0 S 103 5156 1 4 85 0 - 77414 schedu pts/0 00:00:21 java which must be the tomcat process. Might it be confused because the process is called 'java' not 'tomcat'? Thanks for any help. Cheers, Richard

2 3

Tomcat daemon
by Richard Lewis 24 Sep '04

24 Sep '04

Hello ALUG, I'm trying to write an init script to get Tomcat (4.1) to start at boot. (On Debian). I've created a file: /var/webapps/tomcat/bin/tomcat.sh ===================================== export TOMCAT_BIN=/var/webapps/tomcat/bin export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/j2sdk1.4-sun case "$1" in start) $TOMCAT_BIN/startup.sh ;; stop) $TOMCAT_BIN/shutdown.sh ;; restart) $TOMCAT_BIN/shutdown.sh $TOMCAT_BIN/startup.sh ;; *) echo "Usage: tomcat.sh {start|stop|restart}" ;; esac exit 0 ===================================== which works when I run it (e.g. # /var/webapps/tomcat/bin/tomcat.sh start). So far, so good. Next I created a new init script from /etc/init.d/skeleton: ===================================== #!/bin/sh set -e export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/j2sdk1.4-sun PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin DAEMON=/var/webapps/tomcat/bin/tomcat.sh NAME=tomcat DESC="Tomcat 4.1 Servlet Engine" PIDFILE=/var/run/tomcat/$NAME.pid SCRIPTNAME=/etc/init.d/$NAME # Gracefully exit if the package has been removed. test -x $DAEMON || exit 0 case "$1" in start) echo -n "Starting $DESC: $NAME" start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE \ --chuid tomcat:tomcat --exec $DAEMON --user tomcat --group tomcat echo "." ;; stop) echo -n "Stopping $DESC: $NAME" start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE \ --exec $DAEMON --user tomcat --group tomcat echo "." ;; restart|force-reload) echo -n "Restarting $DESC: $NAME" start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --oknodo --pidfile \ $PIDFILE --exec $DAEMON --user tomcat --group tomcat sleep 1 start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --pidfile \ $PIDFILE --chuid tomcat:tomcat --exec $DAEMON --user tomcat --group tomcat echo "." ;; *) # echo "Usage: $SCRIPTNAME {start|stop|restart|reload|force-reload}" >&2 echo "Usage: $SCRIPTNAME {start|stop|restart|force-reload}" >&2 exit 1 ;; esac exit 0 ===================================== but # /etc/init.d/tomcat start returns: Starting Tomcat 4.1 Servlet Engine: tomcatstart-stop-daemon: Unable to start /var/webapps/tomcat/bin/tomcat.sh: Exec format error Similarly, # start-stop-daemon --start --pidfile /var/run/tomcat/tomcat.pid --chuid tomcat:tomcat --exec /var/webapps/tomcat/bin/tomcat.sh --user tomcat --group tomcat returns: start-stop-daemon: Unable to start /var/webapps/tomcat/bin/tomcat.sh: Exec format error Removing --chuid, --user or --group doesn't make any difference either. Does anyone know how I can make this work? Cheers, Richard

2 1

ssh & cvs
by Paul 23 Sep '04

23 Sep '04

Hi Folks After discussing a small problem about ssh and cvs with Brett last night, it was suggested I post the problem here... I am attempting to set up a cvs server behind a firewall using ssh for security. The port forwarding works and has been tested from the outside, as does cvs access. At the moment, I have set up a usr account for each person requiring write access to the cvs repository.. However, I do not want to allow remote users to have shell access on the cvs server. Is there a simple way I can disable shell accounts for selected users and still have ssh & cvs working with some degree of security ? Regards, Paul. -- Pieces of seven, pieces of seven - A parroty error. "To err is human...to really f*** things up requires the root password."

7 27

Software Patents
by Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 22 Sep '04

22 Sep '04

Hi Folks, This morning's "You and Yours" on Radio 4 had quite an interesting item on the US "patent piracy" scam, and the considerations which the EU are applying to the issue. Though not primarily about software patenting, this topic did come up. What was interesting was the indication that the EU is considering applying more of a "real technological invention needed" criterion as compared with the US practice whereby a firm can apparently slap a patent on anything provided only that no-one has thought of doing that before. While US lawyers do seem to regard this as a joke, none the less the lack of proper investigation by the Patent Authorities means that it happens, with the result that it's simply not possible in the US for people without million-dollar funding to fight a patent and it's more in their interests to accept a costly but affordable licensing agreement with the "patent" holder. The program is not yet up for "Listen Again", but should be by tomorrow. Visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/ Best wishes tgo all, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 [NB: New number!] Date: 22-Sep-04 Time: 13:17:57 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

1 0

Security, what does one need in reality?
by Chris Green 21 Sep '04

21 Sep '04

Since we are soon to get an 'always on' broadband connection with a fixed IP address (it's not ADSL, it's wireless but that doesn't affect things really) I'm looking into what new things I will be able to do and the security thereof. I have already resurrected an old machine and have installed ipCop on it, that's fine and will block most external access. However I do want to allow *some* access, in particular I want:- ssh access to the ipcop box, this will allow some administration and will also allow access (via another ssh connection) to my Linux server machine on the GREEN side. Access to an IMAP server on the Linux server on the GREEN side by port mapping through the ipCop box. (I know a separate ORANGE subnet is really the way to go but that means yet another machine I have to administer etc. which I want to avoid) In the real world how vulnerable will these two be? Will I get incessant hacking at the open SSH port on the ipCop box trying to guess the password or will it just be the occasional port scan? Assuming the password is secure enough (i.e. unguessable enough and not published on the internet somewhere) will I be basically OK? I may be able to limit the SSH access in particular to only certain client IP addresses but I want the IMAP to be accessible from anywhere. The IMAP server will probably only have two or three accounts on it and I will have control over passwords (though not where they're kept maybe). Does anyone here have any experience of how vulnerable in reality such systems are? I'm not after Fort Knox, I just want things to be reasonably safe. -- Chris Green (chris(a)areti.co.uk) "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

6 10

Graphical 'diff' with proper X cut and paste
by Chris Green 21 Sep '04

21 Sep '04

I'm looking for a graphical (GUI/X) diff command which allows proper X cut and paste. I've found xdiff (well, one of them, there are a couple) and mgdiff but neither allows one to select lines from the display and to paste them elsewhere. They both expect you're trying to merge the diff'ed files into an output file so the select actions only decide whether what you have selected goes into the output file or not. What I need to do is to be able to see differences between two files and paste them into a third file which is (probably) open in a different window. I can't find a diff utility which allows me to do this. Does anyone have any recommendations? It needs to be fairly 'generic unix' as I want it to run on a Solaris box. I'm quite happy to compile stuff but I'm not happy if the program needs lots of specialist libraries. -- Chris Green (chris(a)areti.co.uk)

5 5

FIPS and Windows
by Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 21 Sep '04

21 Sep '04

Hi Folks (andapologies for cross-posting) I've always had a good experience with 'fips' when using it to back Windows into a suitably restricted space prior to installing Linux. However, on these occasions it has been effectively a virgin preinstalled Windows with which I have done little or nothing. I'm now wondering about using 'fips' to resize some Windows partitions amongst themselves, this being a Win installation which has been actively used for years, and has a lot of user files and extra installed software, so this situation is beyond my experience. The situation is possibly complicated by the fact that the Windows partitions are not all distinct primary partitions: some are "logical" partitions within an "extended" partition. (In effect the aim of the exercise is to increase the size of C: at the expense of "E:", "F:" and "G:" and to re-allocate space amongst the latter, in the presence of a partition "D:" which is on a different drive and would have comwe out as "G:" were it not for a re-assignment of drive letters under software control ... If anyone has experience of going down this road I'd value hearing about it! (Sorry, too, for being somewhat off-topic!) Best wishes to all, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 [NB: New number!] Date: 20-Sep-04 Time: 18:14:51 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

4 3

Eye Candy
by Wayne Stallwood 20 Sep '04

20 Sep '04

Adam's last post got me thinking about the use of Eye Candy in software. What do the group think are good and bad examples of effects or eye candy. For example ( this is going to be a popular one I feel ) I absolutely hate the dog that appears when searching for a file in Windows XP (Spot I think it's called), it adds nothing to the search functionality and just wastes some screen estate. On the same OS I quite like the transparent mail notification that appears when Outlook 2003 receives a new mail (if you haven't seen it, it pops up above the system tray with a brief summary of the incoming mail over the active windows but transparent enough to still see the active window through it) It's pretty handy as it usually catches my eye and appears for long enough and with enough information for me to make a judgement as to whether it's a mail I need to deal with now or leave for later.

11 19

[Fwd: Re: [ALUG] Eye Candy]
by Stechjo 20 Sep '04

20 Sep '04

>> I was going to say gvim, but "apt-cache search" digs up vim-gnome, >> vim-gtk. vim-lesstif, and vim-tcl instead. >> >> Hmmm .... > Welcome to the confusing world of vim! :D Nah, it's easy: # USE="-gnome gtk" emerge vim ;)

2 1

Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 20 Sep '04

20 Sep '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!)

1 0

Drawing program for plans, layouts, etc. wanted
by Chris Green 18 Sep '04

18 Sep '04

I've been looking for a simple program to draw plans and maybe flowcharts and other similar layout type things for ages (like years!). However I've never really found anything that fills the bill. Has anyone got any suggestions? I'm currently playing with Qcad which is OKish but it's not as intuitive as I would like for the basic operations of drawing rectangles and moving them around. If I can't find anything better I may persevere with Qcad but it's really both more and less than what I actually want. -- Chris Green (chris(a)areti.co.uk) "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

3 2

Radio player thingy
by John Seago 18 Sep '04

18 Sep '04

Is there a free software radio player available, which now I have broadband, I can install? -- John Seago Linux User #219566 (http://counter.li.org)

7 9

Re: Radio player thingy
by John Seago 17 Sep '04

17 Sep '04

Thank you to all who replied, I've got it installed, now all I have to do is to get it to let noise/sounds out my puny loudspeakers. -- John Seago Linux User #219566 (http://counter.li.org)

1 0

Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 13 Sep '04

13 Sep '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!)

1 0

Re: [ALUG] old Pentiums, was free printers etc.
by Tim Green 12 Sep '04

12 Sep '04

On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 22:15:15 +0100 (BST), Chris Walker <linux(a)wymondham.demon.co.uk> wrote: > Blimey. I didn't think anybody would want a Pentium of that speed so if > anybody else wants one, I have a P75 or thereabouts in my garage with > Smoothwall installed on it. I work on the outskirts of Norwich so if you > want it delivered I might be able to oblige. I was easily able to shift my old AMD-K5/75 earlier this summer in exchange for a couple of cans of beer. The only fault was the BIOS battery had gone so the date would reset back to 1-1-1996 on power up. It made a great firewall :-) Tim.

1 0

Sound doesn't work
by Graham 11 Sep '04

11 Sep '04

I've reinstalled SuSE 9.1 after a hard drive upgrade and an audio problem previously encountered has reappeared. It was solved a few months ago with the help of this group but for some reason my ALUG mail folder was wiped during the backup/restore so I don't have the previous messages. Basically, the system has stopped emitting sound. Immediately post installation I heard a few noises but now I'm trying to play mp3s or videos, nada. I seem to remember the answer had to do with using alsaconf instead of YAST's audio settings. Running alsaconf to set up the VIA VT8233 sound system first throws three warnings about "modinfo: command not found" but then detects the sound system and claims to set it up. After that, XMMS complains about "Couldn't open audio - please check that..(etc)" and doesn't play the file. However, it may or may not be relevant that on boot, as KDE is setting up I get an "Error - KDesktop" with the rather ungrammatical message "Could not start process Unable to create io-slave: klauncher said Unknown protocol 'devices'". Presumably something I've screwed up; might it be related? Can anyone remember how they helped me last time, or can suggest what to do? -- GT

2 3

Re: [ALUG] free printers, scanner, Norwich area
by Syd Hancock 11 Sep '04

11 Sep '04

[Apologies if this doesn't thread but I am reading main via the archives only so cannot reply directly.] Syd Hancock wrote: > Having a clear out. Going: [...] Both laserjets have gone. > 3. PB (badged Lexmark) Colourjet 9000 > Colour inkjet printer. May not be working. > > 4. Agfa Studioscan IIsi scanner > Old but serviceable. > SCSI interface - large 50-way D connector (SCSI-1 ?). Can give a > suitable scsi card and cable if needed (Adaptec AVA-2904). > Scanner was never used with linux but AFAIK it is supported. SCSI > card definitely supported. Inkjet, scanner and i/f still available. > 5. A couple of old pentium 60 (or similar) machines, Pentiums have gone. Syd

1 0

free printers, scanner, Norwich area
by Syd Hancock 11 Sep '04

11 Sep '04

Hi all Hope everyone had a gret summer. Having a clear out. Going: 1. HP Laserjet 4si B/W laser printer. Big, heavy, noisy but will go for ever - built like a tank. Spare toner and rollers. Paper jams sometimes but prob. just needs the rollers cleaning/swapping. 2. HP laserjet 6L small quiet B/W laser printer. Not used for a while but should be working. 3. PB (badged Lexmark) Colourjet 9000 Colour inkjet printer. May not be working. 4. Agfa Studioscan IIsi scanner Old but serviceable. SCSI interface - large 50-way D connector (SCSI-1 ?). Can give a suitable scsi card and cable if needed (Adaptec AVA-2904). Scanner was never used with linux but AFAIK it is supported. SCSI card definitely supported. 5. A couple of old pentium 60 (or similar) machines, OK for firewall etc. I have some bits e.g memory, small hard-disks, CD-roms etc. knocking around but these machines have been canabilised so you'll probably need to add some bits. All this stuff is going free. Will deliver in Norwich area free or further for a bit of petrol money. Please email off-list if interested. Next weekend (Sept 18/19th) they go out of the house for good - somewhere, anywhere - so get on the case now if interested! Syd

2 1

Uncr**ping HTML email
by Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 10 Sep '04

10 Sep '04

Hi Folks, We are all getting more and more email with the primary body in HTML, as well as the corresponding attachment. If your MUA allows message editing, it's easy to delete the HTML attachment. However, removing HTML tags from the body requires detailed editing. If I want to keep a copy of a message for future reference, I want to be able to edit it back to good old clean plain text. Manual editing can be very tedious for long messages. Is there some program one can "pipe" the message into so as to strip out all the HTML cr^H^Hstuff? I suppose a simple 'awk' script which struck out everything from "<" to the next ">" inclusive would at least achieve that, but it could also inadvertently achieve more than is wanted. The thought has occurred to me to open the HTML in a browser, and mark&paste to the editor window, but that also is more trouble than I'm happy to go to (though better than nothing). With thanks for ideas and suggestions, Best wishes to all, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 167 1972 Date: 09-Sep-04 Time: 12:19:13 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

12 14

slight OT: problems with an old monitor
by Ashley T. Howes, Ph.D. 09 Sep '04

09 Sep '04

(apologies for being slight OT) Last night, my old Commodore monitor for my Amiga blew up. I'm using a spare at the moment, and wondered if someone could point me in the right direction to getting it fixed. I know there are a wide variety of people on this list, thus the post. The monitor in question is a 1084S (specifically 1084S-P VDE). Last night, in the middle of using it, it powered down and now emits a high pitch whistle when turned on. This whistle is constant and is still emitted for about two seconds after the monitor is switched off. Any help useful. -- Ashley T. Howes, Ph.D. http://www.ashleyhowes.com "I remember the very things I do not wish to; I cannot forget the things I wish to forget." - Cicero

2 1

[Fwd: [ALUG] slight OT: problems with an old monitor]
by Stechjo 09 Sep '04

09 Sep '04

> Last night, my old Commodore monitor for my Amiga blew up. > The monitor in question is a 1084S (specifically 1084S-P VDE). Last > night, in the middle of using it, it powered down and now emits a high > pitch whistle when turned on. The exact same thing happened to mine a couple of weeks back and I'm now using a little TV which is just awful. Repairs, replacements, alternatives, whichever. I just want a decent monitor for my miggy. Poor thing. Cheers, Steve

1 0

Now listed on iCON Norfolk clubs directory
by MJ Ray 08 Sep '04

08 Sep '04

Just a short note to let you know a very mangled entry for us has appeared on Norfolk County Council's clubs directory: http://norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/cgi-bin/vps2-civ.web.sh?enqtype=SECOND&enqpar… At least the web link is correct. I'll link it to the web site RSN. If anyone gets similar listings, please let me know where they are. -- MJR/slef My Opinion Only and not of any group I know http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ for creative copyleft computing Visit the AFFS stand, .org village LinuxExpoUK, 6-7 Oct

2 1

Reminder: Norwich City Gate meeting this Thursday night.
by Jonathan McDowell 07 Sep '04

07 Sep '04

As per usual, this Thursday (9th September) we'll be congregating in the City Gate from around 8pm. At least myself, Brett and Martijn will be there. Full details can be found at: http://www.alug.org.uk/meetings/2004/all-NorThu.html Directions at: http://www.alug.org.uk/venues/citygate.html Pictures from August of people so you know who to look out for: http://www.earth.li/~noodles/Photos/2004-08-ALUG/ J. -- /------------------------------------\ | noodles is perfect | | http://www.blackcatnetworks.co.uk/ | \------------------------------------/

1 0

Re: [ALUG] I'm off...
by John Seago 07 Sep '04

07 Sep '04

On Tuesday 07 Sep 2004 06:25, Craig <c(a)macloco.net> wrote: > On 6 Sep 2004, at 07:58, John Seago wrote: > > Hang on, are you going to somerset just for a day break or something? I > mean if it was me in your condition, I wouldn't bother ;) I am assuming that the above reply was addressed to Rob Frusher and not myself, as I'm not going anywhere, well I am having a day out in Felixstowe today, but that's about the extent of my adventurous travels this week. -- John Seago Linux User #219566 (http://counter.li.org)

1 0

Re: [ALUG] I'm off...
by John Seago 06 Sep '04

06 Sep '04

On Monday 06 Sep 2004 06:25, rob_frusher(a)tiscali.co.uk wrote: > Just a shorty to say that I am off on the 20th to sunny somerset, I will > see if they have a lug (slug... maybe) down there so that I can tax > their linux minds. Have a look here: http://www.lug.org.uk/lugs/sw.php -- John Seago Linux User #219566 (http://counter.li.org)

2 1

Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 06 Sep '04

06 Sep '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!)

1 0

Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 06 Sep '04

06 Sep '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!)

3 3

I'm off...
by Robert Frusher 05 Sep '04

05 Sep '04

Hello, Just a shorty to say that I am off on the 20th to sunny somerset, I will see if they have a lug (slug... maybe) down there so that I can tax their linux minds. Robert

1 0

Automating sftp
by Graham 05 Sep '04

05 Sep '04

Can anyone explain to a novice the way to automate an sftp batch session without the need to supply a password each time? The manpage refers me to sshd and says I need to configure public key authentication, but what does that mean in practical, step-by-step terms? -- GT

4 4

Mozilla - Dial up.
by Leon Stedman 02 Sep '04

02 Sep '04

In the bottom right corner of my Mozilla screen there is an icon which announces "You are online. Click to go offline". Clicking the icon has no effect other than changing (toggling) the both the icon and the helpful message. Could anyone please explain how to make it do more? It could, for instance, dial the ISP and put me on line, or run a script to achieve the same effect. Leon Stedman

3 3

k3b and CD burning
by Wayne Stallwood 02 Sep '04

02 Sep '04

This is driving me insane Ever since upgrading to my new box (and SuSE 9.1) I can't get creating audio cd's from mp3's to work properly. I have tried every version of k3b I can find (from the version on the SuSe disks, through the version available on YOU to the bleeding edge version 0.11.13 I found on SuSE's website) I have even tried compiling k3b from source (however it seems to dislike or at least not understand 64bit machines) and unless I manually build everything from alsa to qt to the versions it wants it isn't going to work. The truly sickening thing is that it worked once. About the first thing I did when I built my new machine is burn a CD for my Girlfriend to play at work. Now (regardless of what version of k3b I use) I get a perfectly readable CD, with all the track information in the right place, times etc. yet when I try and play it (in a regular CD player) a strange pulsing sound which vaguely resembles the original music is heard (and no someone hasn't overwritten all my mp3's with German techno music...I checked) Funnily enough if I ask k3b to produce a clone copy of an audio cd the result is perfect (something I could never get to work on audio disks before) so at least I know the writing bit is working. I think it is either something to do with the mp3's getting decoded (by the mad_lib ?) or between there and the raw tracks being passed to cdrecord. I am trying to create a disk using the command line tools only (to better understand the stages) However all my mp3's are at 160kps or higher. If I pass them through say mpg123 to get a wav output track how do I resample it to 128kbps so that cdrecord will accept it ? Also after reading the cdrecord man file I wonder if cdrecord is confused about the endian mode of my (admittedly rather current NEC 2510 drive) however if I try and specify -swab in the user parameters for cdrecord within k3b it seems to get ignored (and forgotten) Any ideas, or perhaps a quick how to burn a 160kps mp3 to audio cd using only the command line so I can at least drop cdrecord into verbose mode. Ta Wayne

9 19

Re: [ALUG] Disposing of old kit
by C Neil Bauers 30 Aug '04

30 Aug '04

On Sunday 29 August 2004 9:41 pm, Ted Harding wrote: > Hi Folks, > > Does anyone have suggestions for disposing usefully > (i.e. not simply taking it to the tip^H^H^H recycling > centre) of assorted old computer kit? Try your local post 16 college or sixth form college. The computing students there will be keen to get hold of useful kit. Cheers. Neil.

1 0

Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 30 Aug '04

30 Aug '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!)

1 0

Lifetime email and spam protection
by Graham 29 Aug '04

29 Aug '04

At one time I frequently changed ISP and got fed up with having to tell dozens of people each time about the new email address. The solution I've used for some years is to get a "lifetime email address"; an address that redirects mail to wherever you actually are. There are several places to get these; the one I use is at http://www.pobox.com and costs me $15 per year. You can try one out for a month, free. The only problem with using the same address for a long time - made worse by having a 2-character user ID - is that the spammers find you pretty quickly. I now get anything up to 100 spams a day. However, pobox have just added a spam filter to their basic service, at no extra cost. This seems to be doing a splendid job; I'm getting virtually no spams at all. It's better than any solution you can run on your own computer as it removes the mail at their end, so you don't need to download it to examine it. I can now happily give my address to anyone without fear of being deluged by a new wave of UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email). So I'd recommend the pobox.com service to anyone with a spam problem or who regularly changes provider. P.S. I don't get paid for endorsing them. -- GT

3 3

SuSE 9.1 Epson C64 and Gimp-Print
by Martin Collins 27 Aug '04

27 Aug '04

I've googled this one to the limit and I know the answer to the problem but I'm stumped for a solution - can anyone help please? My printer is an Epson C64 and I'm using SuSE 9.1 which has libgimpprint 4.2.6 installed. This version of gimp-print has a known bug for my printer - see http://www.linuxprinting.org/pipermail/epson-list/2004q1/003527.html. It means all my print outs are too high and too much to the left. It's been fixed in version 4.2.7 which is now out. The link above details an "emergency fix" for 4.2.6 but it is only applicable when compiling from source. There lies the problem. You can't uninstall libgimpprint easily due to dependency issues and there's no packaged libgimpprint 4.2.7 for Suse yet (if ever). There's also no libgimpprint source package at all. Further, SuSE does a strange thing in that libgimpprint is a seperate package to cups-printer-drivers which contains the necessary ppd files. However if you compile gimp-print from source it provides both?? Is there anyway I could apply this "emergency fix" described in the link above with my current set up? With previous linux distros I have got around the problem by using a real dirty hack as follows; 1. note the names of all installed libgimpprint.so.x.x.x.x.'s in /usr/lib 2. Without uninstalling package libgimpprint, compile and install gimp-print from source 3. Delete files in 1, above and re-create as symbolic links to the new libgimpprint.so's created in 2. 4. Re-start cups (/etc/init.d/cups restart) 5. Re-configure printer and manually select the newly installed ppd file. I really don't want to break my system this time, as there must be some way to beat this beast, so would really appreciate some advice. Many thanks, Martin

2 4

Subject: [ALUG] disk space and shell patterns, was: Weekly IRC reminder
by Stuart Bailey 26 Aug '04

26 Aug '04

On Wednesday 25 August 2004 06:25, main-request(a)lists.alug.org.uk wrote: > It's a shame there wasn't a suitable pretty disk use tool, but I got a > long way (half a gig freed up) by using "du -sk * | sort -n" in home > and working on down the tree. Is there a good pattern (is this a > glob?) which will cover all dot files but not . (current directory) > and .. (parent dir) or is .??* as good as it gets? Have you looked at filelight - it was featured in this months Linux User (well, the september issue). http://www.methylblue.com/filelight It will display a breakdown of your file system in a pie chart type format. Different colours for different file types. The root level (or the top level from where you start) is nearest the centre of the circle. As you move your mouse over the chart, the respective filenames are shown like tool tips. -- --------------------------------------- Stuart Bailey BSc (hons) CEng CITP MBCS LinuSoft (Proprietor) (01953) 601294 (07778) 383739 http://www.linusoft.co.uk ---------------------------------------- ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please email postmaster(a)linusoft.co.uk immediately. You should not copy or use this email or attachments for any purpose nor disclose their contents to any other person. NO BINDING CONTRACT WILL RESULT FROM THIS E-MAIL UNTIL SUCH TIME AS A WRITTEN DOCUMENT IS SIGNED ON BEHALF OF LinuSoft. LinuSoft cannot accept any responsibility for the completeness or accuracy of this message as it has been transmitted over public networks. *************************************************************************

3 2

Or not
by Wayne Stallwood 25 Aug '04

25 Aug '04

"I have kept this off list as it is not a Linux related question." Ok so everytime I press reply to a list mail it defaults to the sender rather than the list. "Yes I know why it is this way, I understand that it is my mail client, I am not complaining, just stating a fact" (Wayne, remembering list arguments of old) This behaviour is totally repeatable until I actually intend to reply to the original sender rather than the list, then it defaults to "reply to list"

1 0

Re: [ALUG] Security, firewall?
by John Seago 25 Aug '04

25 Aug '04

On Wednesday 25 Aug 2004 18:22, Ian bell wrote: > Unless you plan on having a static IP and a constant connection to the > internet it is usualy fairly easy to set up. The most straightforward > way is to use an external ADSL modem/router and use this to provide > the necessary rpotection. The one I have is a very cheap one with > four ethernet ports and an 802.11 wireless. At the moment I just use > the wireless coneection. Mine is so simple and cheap it doen't even > have a built in firewall but most ports are blocked by default. Those > that aren't are easily set to stealth mode. > > To find out what ports are vulnerable on your system go to grc.com and > run their shields up programme which will scan your ports for you. > > Ian I have ordered an ADSL modem/router with four ports and wireless, (Linksys WAG54G), so it looks as though I 'm all set, but I'd still like a recommendation on the book, as I would like, however vague, an understanding of what I'm doing! -- John Seago Linux User #219566 (http://counter.li.org)

3 2

Re: [ALUG] Security, firewall?
by John Seago 25 Aug '04

25 Aug '04

On Wednesday 25 Aug 2004 23:16, Ian bell wrote: > I really do understand your problem. When I first got my modem and > tried shields up it revealed a few gaping holes. My problem was how > to plug them and where to get the info from about how to do it. I > have quite a few Linux books, even one called the Linux Administrators > Guide, but none of them told me what I need. The problem is none of > them seem to cover the specifics of of present day routers, most of > which seem to run Linux anyway. In the end I did a lot a googling and > asking dumb questions on the UK adsl group until I finaly found what I > needed. So if you DO find a good book that covers this sort of thing, > let meknow, becasue I want one too. > > Ian Aha! This becomes a community project! -- John Seago Linux User #219566 (http://counter.li.org)

1 0

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

main