- wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

GDrive - opens-source and command-line to the rescue
by Peter Reutemann 18 Oct '15

18 Oct '15

Hi everyone For some reason, my GDrive no longer allows me to download files, it simply doesn't do anything beyond the "scanning for viruses" screen. Fed up with that, I had a look around and came across the following open source project (Apache 2 licensed): https://github.com/odeke-em/drive There are instructions on how to install it straight from source: http://www.howopensource.com/2015/01/google-drive-for-ubuntu-linux/ But you can also install it from a repository, which I came across here: https://github.com/odeke-em/drive/wiki/PPA-Download-Stats Install ppa and tool: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:twodopeshaggy/drive sudo apt-get install drive One-off initialization of the synchronization directory (choose whatever location you like): drive init ~/gdrive cd gdrive gdrive pull Check out the command-line help: drive or drive help Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Pbtech selling intel compute stick with Ubuntu
by William Mckee 16 Oct '15

16 Oct '15

Today I recieved an email from pbtech and was happy to see an ad for an intel compute stick running Ubuntu. It's cheaper than the windows model! Here's a link to the product - http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=MBDINT10000&name=Intel-Compute-Stic… Of course the first thing I would do is remove Ubuntu and install Debian. Cheers, William

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Comments On “Junk your IT. Now. Before it drags you under”
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 16 Oct '15

16 Oct '15

<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/15/junk_your_it_now_before_it_drags_yo…> says: “Our computers, he argued, have become more complex and less reliable.” Yes, they have become more complex, but no, they haven’t become less reliable. Consider this paper <https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/retro.ps> from 1977 by Dennis Ritchie, entitled “The UNIX Time-sharing System—A Retrospective”: it says “the typical period between software crashes (depending somewhat on how much tinkering with the system has been going on recently) is well over a fortnight of continuous operation”. Today, our Linux servers can have uptimes measured in months or even years. I can remember in the 1990s, there was a big gulf between the hardware reliability of commodity PCs and more expensive “workstations” or “servers”. Remember, those were the days when powerful, multitasking, multiuser OSes with proper memory protection, like Linux, the BSDs, the ones carrying the “Unix” brand, and Windows NT, were just starting to be able to run on commodity PC hardware. And the result was a lot of hardware crashes. Nowadays, there is no longer this great difference in hardware reliability. The main difference with servers is inclusion of management features (e.g. hot-swap bays, remote consoles), not the quality of the hardware.

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Walmart To Open-Source Its Cloud-Portability Code
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 16 Oct '15

16 Oct '15

Walmart has developed a middleware layer, called “OneOps”, which apparently allows it to move its applications between different cloud service providers. It now says it is going to offer that software as Open Source <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/15/walmart_opensources_its_cloudhoppin…>. When? “before the end of the year”.

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The Kool Desktop Environment (KDE) Turns 19, Happy Birthday!
by Peter Reutemann 15 Oct '15

15 Oct '15

"Believe it or not, the KDE desktop environment turned 19 years old on October 14, 2015. Yes, it has been 19 long years since Matthias Ettrich announced his new project, the Kool Desktop Environment (KDE)." -- source: http://linux.softpedia.com/blog/the-kool-desktop-environment-kde-turns-19-h… Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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BeagleBoard-x15 to arrive in time for holiday hacking
by Peter Reutemann 15 Oct '15

15 Oct '15

"BeagleBoard.org has provided some new details, including PCIe support, for its dual-core Cortex-A15 BeagleBoard-X15 SBC, which is due by December for $239." -- source: http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/beagleboard-x15-to-arrive-in-time-… Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Is There Space For Open Hardware In Networking?
by Peter Reutemann 14 Oct '15

14 Oct '15

"Open hardware has got much attention with the advent of Raspberry Pi, Arduino and their respective clones. But most of the devices are focused either on tinkerers (Arduino) or most notably multimedia (Raspberry Pi). However, there is not much happening in other areas such as home routers where openness might help improve security and drive progress. Our company (non-profit) is trying to change this with Turris Omnia but we still wander if there is in fact demand for such devices. Is the market large enough and the area cool enough? Are there enough people who would value open hardware running open software even with a higher price tag? Any feedback would be most valued." -- source: http://ask.slashdot.org/story/15/10/13/191202 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Geriatric Linux: How an 'old geezer' came to terms with computers
by Peter Reutemann 14 Oct '15

14 Oct '15

"I was born in 1933, so computers weren't something I grew up with. In fact, neither was TV, atomic energy, or even jet planes. For my first 70 years I had neither the need nor the desire to become involved with computers." -- source: http://opensource.com/life/15/9/my-linux-story-emery-fletcher Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Wayland Ported To DragonFlyBSD
by Peter Reutemann 13 Oct '15

13 Oct '15

"Wayland 1.9 and the reference Weston compositor have been ported to DragonFlyBSD. Significant changes were made to get Wayland/Weston running, and you must either already be running an X.Org Server or be using the Linux-ported Radeon and Intel kernel mode-setting drivers, plus jump through a few setup steps." -- source: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/15/10/13/1859232 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Fwd: [NZLUG] Linux Lite banned from TradeMe
by Peter Reutemann 12 Oct '15

12 Oct '15

Apologies, if you've received this already. Cheers, Peter ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: philip Date: Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 6:31 PM Subject: [NZLUG] Linux Lite banned from TradeMe To: nzlug <nzlug(a)lists.nzoss.org.nz> Hi folks, Jerry Bezencon, the author of the Linux Lite distribution has had his distribution banned from TradeMe. Jerry has put the correspondence on the Linux Lite forums. https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/on-topic/linux-lite-banned-as-free-s oftware-from-trademe Jerry has been given the same run around that Copyleft was given a few years ago when it was thrown off TradeMe. I had explained about Free Software, Project Gutenberg, and that eBay allowing Linux sales. All I got was "it was against policy blah blah blah" – despite the fact that TradeMe's policy did not cover FLOSS. A burnt Official Debian Disc is the original disc. Or worse, in Jerry's case he is selling his own work and that he owns the original copyright on his work. Applying Hanlon's razor. "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity". eBay.com.au runs Apache (FLOSS), so management has been educated by its techies about free software, how it works and the environment in which it works. So Linux sales are permitted. IMHO the root of the problem lies in the techie area of TradeMe. When I checked a few years ago I found that TradeMe was a Microsoft shop (os info is not available now). TradeMe has Microsoft techies and so management remains ignorant and open to FUD about FLOSS. OnOffer is also a Microsoft shop and has similar restrictions. Let's make waves. Phil. -- Philip Charles; 39a Paterson Street, Abbotsford, Dunedin, New Zealand +64 3 488 2818 Fax +64 3 488 2875 Mobile 027 663 4453 philipc(a)copyleft.co.nz - personal. info(a)copyleft.co.nz - business _______________________________________________ NZLUG mailing list NZLUG(a)lists.nzoss.org.nz http://lists.nzoss.org.nz/mailman/listinfo/nzlug -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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