December 2006 - wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

Re: [wlug] Giveaway: MIPS teaching boards
by simc＠xtra.co.nz 15 Dec '06

15 Dec '06

---- simc(a)xtra.co.nz wrote: > I have three working boards that were used by the University of Waikato for teaching assembly language (MIPS) in 201. They have been sitting in a lecturers office for several years, the lecturer intended to make them into chip jewelry. I don't have any software or documentation (anyone?). They are all gone now, sorry to those who missed out. Simon Crosby

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Vista and Samba shares
by Ian McDonald 15 Dec '06

15 Dec '06

If you're planning on getting the two working together you might want to read this: http://www.builderau.com.au/blogs/codemonkeybusiness/viewblogpost.htm?p=339… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4 Blog: http://imcdnzl.blogspot.com WAND Network Research Group

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Giveaway: MIPS teaching boards
by simc＠xtra.co.nz 14 Dec '06

14 Dec '06

I have three working boards that were used by the University of Waikato for teaching assembly language (MIPS) in 201. They have been sitting in a lecturers office for several years, the lecturer intended to make them into chip jewelry. I don't have any software or documentation (anyone?). To get it to work you need a power supply (mine is 12V, 2A) and a 9 pin serial extention cord. Minicom can be used to conect to the boards monitor program. Contact me off list if you are interested. Simon Crosby

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Job hunting in Hamilton
by Bryce Utting 13 Dec '06

13 Dec '06

Hi all, Sorry about the WLUG-wide post, but hunting and chasing contacts and watching the agencies for over a year so far hasn't turned up anything yet. 'Tis a one-off message, I promise. Living in Pukekohe is just too much of a cost, so I'm trying to find a job back home in Hamilton. I've been working as an IT manager (JOAT: Windows, BSD, Samba, Apache, Perl, Postfix, etc) since 2001 and was a VB developer for a couple of years before that. The gotcha is that for health reasons I have to limit my work hours to 20 a week, which is why no-one's taken me up so far. (Yes, the university frequently job-shares, but their pay scales would mean a pay cut I can't afford.) Half-time jobs very rarely get listed, and my experience is that they only become available when an employer realises (a) they have a desperate need for someone with experience, but (b) they can't free up $80-$100K. If anyone knows of someone who's quietly despairing of finding someone they can afford but could work with those hours, I'd dearly love to hear about it. Address is as per header, CV available on request. I'd prefer to avoid short-term work if at all possible. And, yes, I'm fully resigned to many more months of searching. Sigh. Thanks all, and merry messy kweznuz! Bryce -- I am very new to programming drivers so if I sound un-knowledgeable then it's because I am. -- first4internet's Ceri Coburn on writing Sony's DRM rootkit http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~butting

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Fwd: [nzlug] OpenMedia formally release their Web based Virtual Remote add on for MythTV
by Ian McDonald 11 Dec '06

11 Dec '06

I know some people here are keen on Myth TV so forwarding. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Steven Ellis <mail_lists(a)stevencherie.net> Date: Dec 12, 2006 9:54 AM Subject: [nzlug] OpenMedia formally release their Web based Virtual Remote add on for MythTV To: aucklug(a)linux.net.nz, nzlug(a)linux.net.nz The primary aim for this was to assist customers with disabilities or access issues that would prevent them from using a conventional remote control to use their MythTV units. We have worked very closely with a customer who has Cerebral Palsy to come up with a layout that was both simple and obvious. As part of OpenMedia's commitment to the Open Source community all of this development is being released back to the MythTV team under standard Open Source Licenses. The initial release is now available on-line, and you can find more details at http://www.mythtv.co.nz/mythtv/?p=29 Steve. -- Steven Ellis - Technical Director OpenMedia Limited email - steven(a)openmedia.co.nz sales - sales(a)openmedia.co.nz support - support(a)openmedia.co.nz website - http://www.openmedia.co.nz _______________________________________________ NZLUG mailing list NZLUG(a)linux.net.nz http://www.linux.net.nz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nzlug -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4 Blog: http://imcdnzl.blogspot.com WAND Network Research Group

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REMINDER: WLUG meeting tonight!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 10 Dec '06

10 Dec '06

There's a WLUG meeting tonight: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JamesPluck's house. This is at 31 Aberfoyle Street, Dinsdale. (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/nawton/aberfoyle+street/31/) Make sure you turn off Ellicot Road as the two ends of Aberfoyle Street do not connect! BYO meat and drinks, http://www.wlug.org.nz/WLUG will supply things like bread, salads, tables, BBQ.

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Java problem
by Leslie Katz 09 Dec '06

09 Dec '06

I posted a message a short time ago and don't know how to edit it, assuming that's possible, so I send this follow-on message. I kept looking for an answer to my problem after sending my original post and just found it. I record it, just in case it should be of use to someone who searches the archive later with a similar problem. As root, I did: mv /usr/bin/java /usr/bin/java.old ln -s /usr/java/jre1.5.0_09/bin/java /usr/bin/java Now, all works. Apologies for troubling people unnecessarily. Leslie

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Government overhauls copyright law.
by Ian McDonald 08 Dec '06

08 Dec '06

Folks, Here is a major announcement from the government: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=28024 and the actual proposed legislation is here: http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/5A88D15B-C4A1-42C2-AE75-9200DD87F738/… Some quick highlights as I read the act: (Note I am not a lawyer) - Reverse engineering IS allowed under some circumstances - basically for interoperability - format shifting is allowed but only initially for 2 years, this can be extended though (or not) - time shifting is allowed provided you don't keep it and it's not available on demand - ISPs are basically not liable (provided they follow take down notices) - allowed to alter commercial software if the vendor doesn't fix problems in reasonable time - anti-TPM (DRM via another name) is prohibited for sale or for producing (seems to cover open source). Fines of $150K or 5 years jail. Doesn't seem to prohibit if you have a copy but you can't write it yourself, sell it or tell others about it. Does make it an offence if you use it to copy copyrighted material. But you are allowed to use anti-TPM for "interoperability of software" so conceivably you could use software to play Itunes or DVDs on Linux. But this only applies if you have asked vendor for a copy you can use and they don't supply in a reasonable time. Overall this seems to be much better than DMCA of the USA but not perfect. It is probably better than people could have hoped for. Ian -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4 Blog: http://imcdnzl.blogspot.com WAND Network Research Group

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Java problem
by Leslie Katz 08 Dec '06

08 Dec '06

When I test my Java Virtual Machine at www.java.com, I'm congratulated (no less), told I have the latest version, 1.5.0_09, and told that the JRE is functioning correctly. However, when, in a terminal, I issue the command "java -version", I get the following message: Error occurred during initialization of VM java/lang/NoClassDefFoundError: java/lang/Object I've tried to figure out how to resolve the contradiction in favour of the former statement, but it's beyond me. A snippet I've perhaps understood seems to suggest that rt.jar has the class file for java.lang.Object. I looked for rt.jar on my system and found I had two of them: /usr/lib/jre/lib/rt.jar; and /usr/java/jre1.5.0_09/lib/rt.jar. Why I have two, I don't know. The first one is smaller and seems to be older. I tried renaming it to rt.jar.old and then issuing the java -version command again. That had no positive effect, so I renamed it rt.jar again. Another snippet suggested that the problem might be that rt.jar was not included in the boot class path. I'm not sure if that's the same thing as not having the correct entry for JAVA_HOME, but I saw it suggested that, if there was no entry identifying Java's "home directory" Java might fail to identify its home directory. I found an entry about JAVA_HOME in /etc/profile.d/java.sh. It was: export JAVA_HOME=/usr/bin/java. Well, /usr/bin/java bears no resemblance to either of the two directories where I found the two rt.jar files. I did try substituting export JAVA_HOME=/usr/java/jre1.5.0_09/ for the original entry, but that didn't work. If anyone has any further suggestions, I'd be grateful. Leslie PS Maybe I should add that when I run Firefox 2.0 and get a list of plugins, the java plugin is there. It seems to be working properly.

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REMINDER: WLUG meeting is on Sunday
by Meeting Reminder Bot 07 Dec '06

07 Dec '06

There's a Waikato Linux Users Group meeting on Sunday: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JamesPluck's house. This is at 31 Aberfoyle Street, Dinsdale. (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/nawton/aberfoyle+street/31/) Make sure you turn off Ellicot Road as the two ends of Aberfoyle Street do not connect! BYO meat and drinks, http://www.wlug.org.nz/WLUG will supply things like bread, salads, tables, BBQ.

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