December 2005 - wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

what does a good e-mail client need ?
by Gavin Denby 27 May '06

27 May '06

I was reading the cnet article on the need for a mail client to push forward DESKTOP LINUX *E-mail will be the most significant factor governing the uptake of Linux on the desktop, according to a new study. * The Desktop Linux Client Survey 2005, released this week by the Open Source Development Labs, found that the lack of a powerful e-mail application could hinder the adoption of Linux on the desktop. Full story here: http://news.com.com/E-mail+crucial+to+future+of+desktop+Linux/2100-7344_3-5… What I wondered was what does an enterprise e-mail client do that's different from my thunderbird. Is it just the calender? is it notes. I have tried, and hated outlook, probably as I use just e-mail and dont like the complexity of all the other things, but what would happen in an enterprise situation. If you understand this article, can you explain what the novell and mozilla offerings will mean, and will this be the outlook killer. What does outlook do that so vital? Is this another case of its not the same, or are we really missing out on something? any enterprise experince that can help a tech like me understand this ? Is there a really good app for this, could something be done to solve this. After all e-mail is the number 1 app for the net, search is 2 and then web surfing. 2 and 3 are fine, are we missing the boat on 1? I thinks its sufficiently linux related. do we have the Guru's in the lug that could solve this?

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Fonts on Ubuntu.
by Oliver Jones 02 Jan '06

02 Jan '06

Hi Folks. I've switched to Ubuntu Breezy from FC4 on my laptop. Everything is going swimmingly. However one thing is odd. Fonts. The fonts in Ubuntu on webpages and apps don't appear quite the same as on FC4. I've installed the MS TT Core fonts package so I have Arial, Tahoma et al installed. But things still look different. Things look clearer in some apps (I think this is the freetype2 hinting setting at work) which is nice but other apps are ugly. Particularly GTK+ v1 apps are all jaggy. Also some websites don't look the same as I'm used to. Like as if the Arial fonts arn't being used.... Anyway, sage advice on fonts in Ubuntu would be apreciated. Regards, PS: Happy New Year

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Acceptable use of the WLUG Mailing List
by Meeting Reminder bot 31 Dec '05

31 Dec '05

The WLUG Mailing List is the discussion-list extension of the Waikato Linux Users Group (Incorporated). As such, we expect members of this list to adhere to the principles espoused in the official WLUG Charter[1], in particular, Rule 6, which covers the activities on this mailing list. While this is an Acceptable Use Policy, the WLUG Committee do recognise the need for informal discussion among list members, and draconian administration is not the goal here. Please keep in mind, however, that your comments to this list do represent the WLUG, and while it is good to be seen as an organisation with a sense of humour, some comments may do major harm to our credibility as a serious advocate of GNU/Linux and all things Free Software/ Open Source related. List discussion should * be honest * accentuate the positive, without hyperbole or blatant misrepresentation * maintain a reasonable level of spelling and grammar * not indulge in ad hominem attacks * not continue inflammatory or abusive threads * not be unprofessional or petty, especially with respect to the names of other software companies * not promote or denigrate political, cultural, or religious views * not indulge in marketing or advertising, other than on a private sale basis, or advertising of jobs - which may be announced once only * not reproduce copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder * not defame any person or organisation Posters who consistently violate these guidelines will be dealt with at the discretion of the List Maintainer. If you feel you have been unfairly dealt with, you have recourse to any member of the WLUG Committee[2]. Certain mailing list etiquette should also be maintained: * please use only plain text (not HTML) * reply inline or below when quoting, rather than on top * trim quotes (don't reply quoting a 10 page message with a single line of reply) If you have any questions, start reading at http://www.gweep.ca/~edmonds/usenet/ml-etiquette.html. These points have been established over a long time on this list. If you want to question them, please do it off list. As list users, use your discretion when pulling people up over etiquette - please reply off list, and if there is a serious breach, the list administrator will probably have dealt with it off-list already. [1] http://www.wlug.org.nz/WlugCharter [2] http://www.wlug.org.nz/WlugCommittee

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Superfluous files?
by Leslie Katz 31 Dec '05

31 Dec '05

A. Pagaltzis wrote: >Not likely. But if in doubt, keep copies. Tar up the directories >and keep the tarballs somewhere. If deleting them has bad >effects, just untar them into place again. (Make sure to pass >`-p` when extracting so the permissions, ownership etc get >restored fully.) > > Thanks for the reply. I've done as you said. I was just afraid that perhaps some plugin used by the current version was still in the files for the older versions, but so far, so good. Thanks again, Leslie

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Superfluous files?
by Leslie Katz 29 Dec '05

29 Dec '05

I first used chkrootkit recently. It categorised certain files of mine as suspicious. I understand that it did so because those files were hidden ones, but were not in my home directory. Many of the files chkrootkit called suspicious were connected with earlier kernels that I hadn't uninstalled, so I uninstalled those kernels. That reduced chkrootkit's list of suspicious files significantly. One of the files still on the list was associated with Firefox v 1.0.4. (I use Firefox 1.0.7.) On investigation, I found that in /usr/lib I had three directories, each connected with a version of Firefox earlier than the current one. Is there any risk involved in deleting the three directories?

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IBMer shows how to run Linux as a Windows screensaver
by Martin, Anthony (NZ) 22 Dec '05

22 Dec '05

This is from an internal company newsgroup, it shows how to run Linux as a Windows screensaver http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-scrnsave/ This will definitely be one of my new year projects! Anthony Martin

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linux.conf.au 2006: Just over a month to go!
by Mike Beattie 22 Dec '05

22 Dec '05

2006 - Dunedin, NZ! linux.conf.au is the annual Australian Linux technical conference, and is one of the largest gatherings of users and developers of Free and Open Source Software in the Southern Hemisphere. It is an opportunity for developers and groups to present their ideas amongst peers, and for the Free Software and Open Source communities to gather in general. Summary: There's just over a month to go until linux.conf.au 2006 begins! The 2006 conference is being held in Dunedin, New Zealand, at The University of Otago[1]. More information can be found on the conference website: http://lca2006.linux.org.au/ A "heads up" from the linux.conf.au 2006 Organising team. With just over a month to go before the start of linux.conf.au 2006, we feel it's time to let those that have not heard, hear, and give those that have a reminder that time to register is running short. linux.conf.au 2006 will be held at the University of Otago in the remarkable city of Dunedin, New Zealand from the 23rd - 28th of January 2006. With just over 200 seats left, that are filling fast, you'll need to decide soon if you're going to join us for the best LCA yet! If you're worried about accommodation, We still have over 200 beds available at University College, the student residential hall we've organised for the duration of the conference. As usual, the first two days of the conference are occupied by Miniconfs - This year we have a great selection: * Debian Miniconf * Education Miniconf * Embedded Miniconf * Gnome.conf.au Miniconf * Linux Digital Arts Miniconf * Openoffice.org Miniconf * Open Source Developers Workshop * SysAdmin Miniconf Along with the above Miniconfs[1], we have an excellent program[2] full of the worlds best and brightest speakers[3] covering a diverse range of subjects that we're sure will have something to offer anyone with Linux in their blood. So don't miss out, head on over to http://lca2006.linux.org.au/ and get yourself registered[4] for what is promising to be the biggest and most memorable linux.conf.au yet! Please feel free to forward this announcement to your local LUG, or any other person or group that you feel would be interested! [0]: http://www.otago.ac.nz/ [1]: http://lca2006.linux.org.au/miniconfs.php [2]: http://lca2006.linux.org.au/program.php [3]: http://lca2006.linux.org.au/speakers.php [4]: http://lca2006.linux.org.au/register/ Regards, Mike Beattie, linux.conf.au 2006 Organisers

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Video Conferencing with Santa in children's hospital
by Lindsay Druett 22 Dec '05

22 Dec '05

Hi All, I pulled these clips off Cisco's website.... Definfinitely worth viewing... http://www.lindsay.wired.net.nz/images/santa_122205_350.rm http://www.lindsay.wired.net.nz/images/santa_122205_350.wmv

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X won't boot in user
by Ron Dean 20 Dec '05

20 Dec '05

.xsessions-errors /etc/gdm/PreSession/Default: Registering your session with wtmp and utmp /etc/gdm/PreSession/Default: running: /usr/bin/X11/sessreg -a -w /var/log/wtmp -u /var/run/utmp -x "/var/lib/gdm/:0.Xservers" -h "" -l ":0" "ron" /etc/gdm/Xsession: Beginning session setup... _IceTransTransNoListen: unable to find transport: tcp _IceTransmkdir: ERROR: euid != 0,directory /dev/X will not be created. _IceTransmkdir: ERROR: Cannot create /dev/X _IceTransPTSOpenServer: mkdir(/dev/X) failed, errno = 13 _IceTransOpen: transport open failed for pts/ubuntu: _IceTransMakeAllCOTSServerListeners: failed to open listener for pts _IceTransISCOpenServer: Protocol is not supported by a ISC connection _IceTransOpen: transport open failed for isc/ubuntu: _IceTransMakeAllCOTSServerListeners: failed to open listener for isc _IceTransSCOOpenServer: Protocol is not supported by a SCO connection _IceTransOpen: transport open failed for sco/ubuntu: _IceTransMakeAllCOTSServerListeners: failed to open listener for sco ** (gnome-session:7837): WARNING **: Unable to read ICE authority file: /home/ron/.ICEauthority Despite looking for the .ICEauthority file I can't find it even amongst the hidden files I'm running Ubuntu Breezy and Ubuntu kernel 2.6.12-10-386 recently installed

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BBQ roundup
by Craig Box 20 Dec '05

20 Dec '05

(http://www.wlug.org.nz/MeetingTopics.2005-12-18) End-of-year Summer BBQ As traditional, held at Perry's and Jamie's place. Thanks for having us, and especially to Jamie for being co-opted back onto the committee for the day. We didn't quite get perfect weather, but there was still much cricket played. Turnout wasn't hugely inspiring; there were a good number of committee and hangers-on, but the number of "general WLUG members" wasn't that great. After the effort that was put in to try and appeal to the greater membership, it was disappointing and we will re-evaluate the event next year. Photos: http://www.pointless.co.nz/gallery/wlug-bbq-05 Craig

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