- wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

Upcoming WLUG committee meeting (1 week today)
by Meeting Reminder bot 08 Jun '08

08 Jun '08

As per the WLUG charter, please note that there is a WLUG executive committee meeting one week from today. If you wish to get an item on the agenda for this meeting, please email it to secretary(a)wlug.org.nz. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- # Previous Minutes # Treasurers report # Correspondence # Matters # Server status # General business

1 0

Acer pushing Linux on laptops
by Ian McDonald 06 Jun '08

06 Jun '08

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9960210-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=254… I know that for quite some time you have been able to buy Linux only notebooks from them easily. -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

2 2

WLUG Fixit Meeting is today!
by Meeting Reminder bot 06 Jun '08

06 Jun '08

A reminder, the WLUG Fixit Meeting is today. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday June 7, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc.

1 0

app for drawing database data models
by Brenda Wallace 06 Jun '08

06 Jun '08

any recommendations for an app? I've been using dia - anything better out there?

3 2

Google Gadgets open sourced for Linux
by Ian McDonald 05 Jun '08

05 Jun '08

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080605-google-gadgets-open-sourced-f… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

WLUG Fixit Meeting tomorrow
by Meeting Reminder bot 05 Jun '08

05 Jun '08

A reminder; the WLUG Fixit Meeting is tomorrow. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday June 7, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc.

1 0

RimuHosting Hiring Linux Gurus
by Peter Bryant 05 Jun '08

05 Jun '08

Hi all. It's been about 6 months since I last posted here looking for more staff. But we keep growing, and we keep needing more staff. So here goes again... I'm looking for one or two more full time people to do Linux support and sysadmin work for RimuHosting: setup people's Linux servers, install Linux apps, troubleshoot problems, help manage the few thousand Linux servers we run, and the like. It can be very interesting, challenging work. You get to play with _lots_ of servers, distros and get exposure to just about every app that runs on Linux. I'd also consider uni students on a part time (evenings, weekends?) basis. For those that don't know, RimuHosting is based in Cambridge, down the road from Hamilton, and we provide Linux VPS and dedicated server hosting and support to customers dotted all around the world. More info (and application procedures) is over at: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Jobs/IT-Jobs/Networking-systems/auction-1… If you had any questions just reply off list to me. Cheers, Peter http://rimuhosting.com PS: The link on http://www.wlug.org.nz/WlugMailingList to http://www.wlug.org.nz/archive/mailing-list-aup.txt gives a 403 Forbidden...

2 1

Features for Ubuntu 8.10 / dev model
by Ian McDonald 05 Jun '08

05 Jun '08

Interesting article here: http://www.itwire.com/content/view/18482/1141/ (originally found on http://lwn.net) -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

midnight commander q
by stephen pearce 04 Jun '08

04 Jun '08

Hi Does anyone know how toconfigure midnight commander so that on closing it down you stay in the directory you have navigated to .. rather than ending up back in the directory you were in when you started it? On one of my installations this works ... on a newer one it does not .. and I cannot see the difference .. nor can I see how to do it from the mc documentation Tnx -- Stephen Pearce Critical Care Whangarei ph 021 390 997

2 1

Flash in firefox v2 and v3
by jaytee＠clear.net.nz 02 Jun '08

02 Jun '08

Hi All, Does anyone know why some flash movies in Firefox do not work but seem ok in Epiphany and Sea monkey Clear.net.nz news/videos are an example. In Firefox they start to load then fail after 3 seconds Some U tube movies do a similar thing. Regards John..

2 1

ATM running Windows
by Chris O'Halloran 29 May '08

29 May '08

http://www.flickr.com/photos/taniwha/2530125783/

3 2

KDE 4.1 Beta
by Ian McDonald 28 May '08

28 May '08

Some nice screen shots and info here: http://www.kde.org/announcements/announce-4.1-beta1.php -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Fedora project and FreeIPA
by Ian McDonald 26 May '08

26 May '08

Just reading an interview with Fedora project leader. Quite interesting. Also saw mention of FreeIPA project that Fedora/RedHat have started that is tying together Kerebos/Samba etc to compete with Active Directory. Quite interesting. Also mentions speed up of X http://news.softpedia.com/news/Exclusive-Fedora-Interview-86401.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeIPA http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/OneSecondX -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

REMINDER: WLUG meeting tonight!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 25 May '08

25 May '08

There's a WLUG meeting tonight: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- May 26th, 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) Graham Lauder will be speaking about the INGOTS (http://theingots.org.nz/index.html) (and OpenOffice.org (http://openoffice.org.nz/) if we have time)

1 0

Microsoft plans to natively support ODF
by Ian McDonald 24 May '08

24 May '08

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080521-office-2007-to-gain-native-od… As I keep saying I think Microsoft is heading down a more open path. Sure they're not there yet but this is a good move. It wasn't that long ago that Sun was a closed source company (think Solaris, Java). -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

4 5

REMINDER: WLUG meeting is on Monday
by Meeting Reminder Bot 22 May '08

22 May '08

There's a Waikato Linux Users Group meeting on Monday: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- May 26th, 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) Graham Lauder will be speaking about the INGOTS (http://theingots.org.nz/index.html) (and OpenOffice.org (http://openoffice.org.nz/) if we have time)

1 0

ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away
by Meeting Reminder Bot 18 May '08

18 May '08

The Waikato Linux Users Group have a meeting in one week from today: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- May 26th, 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) Graham Lauder will be speaking about the INGOTS (http://theingots.org.nz/index.html) (and OpenOffice.org (http://openoffice.org.nz/) if we have time)

1 0

Essay on OLPC
by Ian McDonald 16 May '08

16 May '08

Interesting (long) read: http://radian.org/notebook/sic-transit-gloria-laptopi Found at lwn.net -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

3 2

Re: [wlug] Top 5 tiny distros
by Michael McDonald 15 May '08

15 May '08

2008/5/15 Ian McDonald <ian.mcdonald(a)jandi.co.nz>: > Haven't read yet myself... > > http://www.tuxmachines.org/node/26480 Looks like there's a few interesting distros to try there ... always useful when a friend a needs a computer in a hurry and you've only got old and ancient computers around that are spare. Seems impressed with Puppy ... and I was when I tried it and had no problems connecting to the Internet with an internal fax/modem. (note ... copy to WLUG) Michael

1 0

Upcoming WLUG committee meeting (1 week today)
by Meeting Reminder bot 11 May '08

11 May '08

As per the WLUG charter, please note that there is a WLUG executive committee meeting one week from today. If you wish to get an item on the agenda for this meeting, please email it to secretary(a)wlug.org.nz. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- # Previous Minutes # Treasurers report # Correspondence # Matters -Sign up for SFD, what quantity of supplies do we require? -Contact Canonical and get 8.04 CD order underway. (Bruce has put in an order for 100 freebies from shipit, not sure how many we'll get) - Bryce Utting nominated as 'temporary committee member' to replace Simon, as allowed for in the constitution.. no SGM required (it's a lot of hassle for a minor committee position and also Bruce forgot to announce one..) Approved by email vote, but should probably be recorded in some minutes somewhere. - Fund raising.. bank balance is distressingly low. Bruce intends to remind members to pay fees at next meeting. Is there anything else we could do to raise funds? Trust applications? # Server status # General business

1 0

Good Ubuntu 8.04 review
by Ian McDonald 09 May '08

09 May '08

I didn't post all the other reviews but I think Ars did a great job here: http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/hardy-heron-review.ars/1 They took about the good things, the bad things and how to fix some of the bad things... -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

2 2

Open Office 3 beta out now
by Ian McDonald 08 May '08

08 May '08

http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-9938521-12.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

5 6

Re: [wlug] Upgrading Kubuntu Feisty Fawn to Hardy Heron
by GJB 07 May '08

07 May '08

If you upgrade turn off the lock screen on Xscreensaver (if you use it). If the screen locks during the upgrade the system will not let you back in even with your own password, it does something screwy with PAM modules and locks everybody out whilst waiting for reply to numerous .config replace confirmation prompts. You'll probably have to re-install anyway. Wasn't there just a discussion that it screws around with sudo also ... probably same thing as with PAM module frigging around? > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Re: [wlug] Upgrading Kubuntu Feisty Fawn to Hardy Heron > From: "David Hallett" <david(a)pulsar.net.nz> > Date: Wed, May 07, 2008 11:05 pm > To: "Waikato Linux Users Group" <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > > On Wed, May 7, 2008 at 11:51 AM, Glyn Webster <glyn(a)wave.co.nz> wrote: > > > I'm thinking of upgrading the Kubuntu on my PC from Feisty Fawn to Hardy > > Heron, is there anything special I have to consider? > > > You need to read this: > https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/UpgradeFromOldVersion > > -- > David Hallett, BSc, MNZCS, MNZSA > Pulsar Computer Solutions Ltd > P.O. Box 15-516 > Hamilton, New Zealand > > Mob: +64-21-802 256 > Email: david(a)pulsar.net.nz<hr>_______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug

1 0

Upgrading Kubuntu Feisty Fawn to Hardy Heron
by Glyn Webster 07 May '08

07 May '08

I'm thinking of upgrading the Kubuntu on my PC from Feisty Fawn to Hardy Heron, is there anything special I have to consider? -- Glyn Webster.

7 8

Undersized DVD-ROMs?
by Glyn Webster 07 May '08

07 May '08

I've bought 10 Dick Smith DVD-R's, and they only have 1,852,960 blocks available on them, not the full 2,298,496 (3.5GiB of data, not 4.4GiB). At least that's what K3B and GnomeBaker both claim. It might be my DVD burner at fault, I haven't tried other disks yet. I can't find any explanation of what's going on here, does anyone know? This is K3B's debugging output: System ----------------------- K3b Version: 1.0 KDE Version: 3.5.6 QT Version: 3.3.7 Kernel: 2.6.20-16-generic Devices ----------------------- HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4160B A300 (/dev/hdd, ) [CD-R, CD-RW, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL] [DVD-ROM, DVD-R Sequential, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW Restricted Overwrite, DVD-RW Sequential, DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD+R Dual Layer, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW] [SAO, TAO, RAW, SAO/R96P, SAO/R96R, RAW/R16, RAW/R96P, RAW/R96R, Restricted Overwrite] Burned media ----------------------- DVD-R Sequential K3bIsoImager ----------------------- mkisofs print size result: 2267770 (4644392960 bytes) Pipe throughput: 20480 bytes read, 0 bytes written. Used versions ----------------------- mkisofs: 1.1.2 growisofs: 7.0.1 growisofs ----------------------- Executing 'builtin_dd if=/dev/fd/0 of=/dev/hdd obs=32k seek=0' :-( /dev/hdd: 1852960 blocks are free, 2267770 to be written! growisofs command: ----------------------- /usr/bin/growisofs -Z /dev/hdd=/dev/fd/0 -use-the-force-luke=notray -use-the-force-luke=tty -use-the-force-luke=tracksize:2267770 -dvd-compat -speed=4 -use-the-force-luke=bufsize:32m mkisofs ----------------------- 2267770 I: -input-charset not specified, using utf-8 (detected in locale settings) Using HOOTING_YARD_ON_THE_AIR_000.MP3;1 for HootingYard/Hooting_Yard_On_the_Air_-_November_8th_2007_fixed.mp3 (Hooting_Yard_On_the_Air_-_November_8th_2007.mp3) [snip] Using HOOTING_YARD___OCTOBER_6000.MP3;1 for HootingYard/Hooting_Yard_-_October_6th_2007.mp3 (Hooting_Yard_-_October_6th_04.mp3) mkisofs calculate size command: ----------------------- /usr/bin/genisoimage -gui -graft-points -print-size -quiet -volid HootingYard -volset -appid K3B THE CD KREATOR (C) 1998-2006 SEBASTIAN TRUEG AND THE K3B TEAM -publisher -preparer -sysid LINUX -volset-size 1 -volset-seqno 1 -sort /tmp/kde-glyn/k3bfCW2Fb.tmp -rational-rock -hide-list /tmp/kde-glyn/k3bzHHBec.tmp -joliet -joliet-long -hide-joliet-list /tmp/kde-glyn/k3brwA0uc.tmp -no-cache-inodes -full-iso9660-filenames -iso-level 2 -path-list /tmp/kde-glyn/k3bveJ6fa.tmp mkisofs command: ----------------------- /usr/bin/genisoimage -gui -graft-points -volid HootingYard -volset -appid K3B THE CD KREATOR (C) 1998-2006 SEBASTIAN TRUEG AND THE K3B TEAM -publisher -preparer -sysid LINUX -volset-size 1 -volset-seqno 1 -sort /tmp/kde-glyn/k3bzbwN7a.tmp -rational-rock -hide-list /tmp/kde-glyn/k3b0quX9a.tmp -joliet -joliet-long -hide-joliet-list /tmp/kde-glyn/k3bNHqsoa.tmp -no-cache-inodes -full-iso9660-filenames -iso-level 2 -path-list /tmp/kde-glyn/k3bhKcH7b.tmp

1 0

Computer Manufactures push for open source compatiable hardware
by Ian McDonald 03 May '08

03 May '08

http://www.linux.com/feature/134125 -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Microsoft working on opensource management tools
by Ian McDonald 03 May '08

03 May '08

http://lwn.net/Articles/280495/rss -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Meeting Video
by Shannon Skinner 03 May '08

03 May '08

Now that the meetings are started to be video'ed, where will they end up? Will there be an announcement to the list when they're ready?

3 3

workshop
by Bruce Kingsbury 02 May '08

02 May '08

Hello, where is everybody?

2 1

WLUG Fixit Meeting is today!
by Meeting Reminder bot 02 May '08

02 May '08

A reminder, the WLUG Fixit Meeting is today. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday May 3rd, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc. This is BruceKingsbury's birthday, so there could also be birthday cake.

1 0

WLUG Fixit Meeting tomorrow
by Meeting Reminder bot 01 May '08

01 May '08

A reminder; the WLUG Fixit Meeting is tomorrow. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday May 3rd, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc. This is BruceKingsbury's birthday, so there could also be birthday cake.

1 0

sudo broken after upgrade from gutsy to hairy^Whardy
by Glenn Ramsey 01 May '08

01 May '08

I just upgraded a spare box, to see if it's safe to upgrade my main machine, and the upgrade has broken sudo. When I try to use sudo it says: sudo: unable to resolve host calc calc being the hostname of this machine. How do I fix this? I guess adding the hostname to /etc/hosts would fix it but I can't do that because sudo is broken. Also I haven't set up a root account on this machine. Aside from booting from a rescue disk is there any other way to fix this? Glenn -- Glenn Ramsey <glenn(a)componic.co.nz> 07 8627077 http://www.componic.co.nz

9 19

Re: [wlug] sudo broken after upgrade from gutsy to hairy^Whardy
by GJB 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

Aren't we whistling past the graveyard here? Why the hell should a system upgrade cause a sudo failure?? Or am I an idiot for wondering why the adminsitrator should be locked out of his system because he was bold enough to upgrade? Has any one bugged this? Or asked why even? > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Re: [wlug] sudo broken after upgrade from gutsy to > hairy^Whardy > From: "James Pluck" <papabearnz(a)gmail.com> > Date: Wed, April 30, 2008 3:12 pm > To: "Waikato Linux Users Group" <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > > On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 2:48 PM, Bruce Kingsbury <zcat(a)zcat.geek.nz> wrote: > > > > > > > 2008/4/30 James Pluck <papabearnz(a)gmail.com>: > > > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 2:26 PM, Bruce Kingsbury <zcat(a)zcat.geek.nz> > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > *brain-break* Shouldn't that be 127.0.0.1? > > > > > > > > > > > > > Nope. 127.0.1.1 > > > > > > > > Why is Localhost 1.1 in Ubuntu instead of 0.1 as is the norm? > > > > > > Enquiring minds and all that :) > > > > > > > localhost is still 127.0.0.1, the name of the machine is 127.0.1.1 > > > > Ahh! I wasn't aware of that. I learned something today *grin* > > And I have no idea why. Googling only comes up with problems caused by it.. > > no explanation of why they set things up this way. > > > > Hmmm - interesting. > > > -- > James Pluck > PalmOS Ergo Sum > "Dear IRS: I would like to cancel my subscription. > Please remove my name from your mailing list..."<hr>_______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug

2 1

Video card fun
by Bryce Utting 29 Apr '08

29 Apr '08

Hi all, Recently purchased a Gigabyte nVidia from PB Tech, hit problems with it (google "8800gt black screen" if interested), and have effectively been told by them to sod off. So, three questions: 1. Anyone got a spare 550W+ ATX supply I could borrow for a few days for last-ditch troubleshooting? (nothing on the web suggests it'll make a difference, but it doesn't hurt to demonstrate that, yes, I've done -everything- to narrow it down to the card.) 2. Once a letter quoting the Consumer Guarantees Act has obtained a refund -- any recommendations on anyone to buy from who -isn't- a thorough fscktard? 3. Thoughts on reasonably-priced preferably non-nVidia cards suitable for gaming? (PCIe, 512MB, etc. the 8800GT was.... -ouch-... $380) ('tis a Windows box -- sigh -- so driver support is a low priority.) ta, Bryce -- http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~butting

3 4

REMINDER: WLUG meeting tonight!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 27 Apr '08

27 Apr '08

There's a WLUG meeting tonight: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) Robert O'Callahan (http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/roc/) will talk about Firefox 3 development FOXHOLES: News From The Front Line Of The Browser Wars Web browsers have become a primary application platform, arguably more important than traditional client operating systems. They are also a key security frontier, a vigorously competitive market, and a crucial front in the battle for free software and open standards. For these and other reasons, browser development is both extremely challenging and extremely important. As a core Firefox developer, I will discuss challenges facing our project: competition from Internet Explorer and other browsers; changes to fundamental assumptions about code-level security vulnerabilities; sustaining and evolving a complex and fragile codebase; and the successes and failures of our tools and processes as one of the world's flagship open source projects. Looking forward, I will discuss our efforts to keep the Web vital, in concert with like-minded browser vendors and standards organizations, by enhancing the Web platform with vector and 3D graphics, offline Web applications, accessibility, ric her typography and layout, enhancements to the Javascript language, efforts to improve cross-browser compatibility, and more. I will talk about why everyone should care and what people can do to help --- which includes joining Mozilla to hack on Gecko with my team!

1 0

The Heron has landed: Ubuntu 8.04 officially released
by Peter Reutemann 25 Apr '08

25 Apr '08

Probably old news to most of you, but I'll post it anyway (while I'm downloading the CD images)... http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080424-the-heron-has-landed-ubuntu-8… I'm especially intrigued by the new sound architecture and kernel. Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ +64 (7) 838-4466 Ext. 5174

2 1

REMINDER: WLUG meeting is on Monday
by Meeting Reminder Bot 24 Apr '08

24 Apr '08

There's a Waikato Linux Users Group meeting on Monday: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) Robert O'Callahan (http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/roc/) will talk about Firefox 3 development FOXHOLES: News From The Front Line Of The Browser Wars Web browsers have become a primary application platform, arguably more important than traditional client operating systems. They are also a key security frontier, a vigorously competitive market, and a crucial front in the battle for free software and open standards. For these and other reasons, browser development is both extremely challenging and extremely important. As a core Firefox developer, I will discuss challenges facing our project: competition from Internet Explorer and other browsers; changes to fundamental assumptions about code-level security vulnerabilities; sustaining and evolving a complex and fragile codebase; and the successes and failures of our tools and processes as one of the world's flagship open source projects. Looking forward, I will discuss our efforts to keep the Web vital, in concert with like-minded browser vendors and standards organizations, by enhancing the Web platform with vector and 3D graphics, offline Web applications, accessibility, ric her typography and layout, enhancements to the Javascript language, efforts to improve cross-browser compatibility, and more. I will talk about why everyone should care and what people can do to help --- which includes joining Mozilla to hack on Gecko with my team!

1 0

linkies
by Bruce Kingsbury 24 Apr '08

24 Apr '08

Good News; http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20080421091129596 "Word documents generated by today's version of Microsoft Office 2007 do not conform to ISO/IEC 29500," said Brown in a blog post recounting the process of testing a document against the "strict" and "transitional" schema defined in the standard. Let's all make sure governments mandating 'software that conforms to ISO standards' are aware of this, mmmk? Bad news; http://opensource.org/node/328 OLPC to use Windows XP instead of Linux? WTF? Epic fail! "I have no idea what pressures Negroponte is under. I have no idea what failures of leadership, vision, or courage have occurred, are occurring, or are at risk of occurring at the OLPC project today. It would be irresponsible to jump to too many conclusions based on a single article. But if OLPC abandons its open source roots, then I do not see the project accomplishing any of its goals."

2 1

ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away
by Meeting Reminder Bot 20 Apr '08

20 Apr '08

The Waikato Linux Users Group have a meeting in one week from today: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) Robert O'Callahan (http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/roc/) will talk about Firefox 3 development FOXHOLES: News From The Front Line Of The Browser Wars Web browsers have become a primary application platform, arguably more important than traditional client operating systems. They are also a key security frontier, a vigorously competitive market, and a crucial front in the battle for free software and open standards. For these and other reasons, browser development is both extremely challenging and extremely important. As a core Firefox developer, I will discuss challenges facing our project: competition from Internet Explorer and other browsers; changes to fundamental assumptions about code-level security vulnerabilities; sustaining and evolving a complex and fragile codebase; and the successes and failures of our tools and processes as one of the world's flagship open source projects. Looking forward, I will discuss our efforts to keep the Web vital, in concert with like-minded browser vendors and standards organizations, by enhancing the Web platform with vector and 3D graphics, offline Web applications, accessibility, ric her typography and layout, enhancements to the Javascript language, efforts to improve cross-browser compatibility, and more. I will talk about why everyone should care and what people can do to help --- which includes joining Mozilla to hack on Gecko with my team!

1 0

Kernel based video mode setting
by Ian McDonald 20 Apr '08

20 Apr '08

http://www.osnews.com/story/19661 Shows where graphics is going in Linux at a low level.. -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Open sourcing web video
by Ian McDonald 16 Apr '08

16 Apr '08

http://www.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9918865-16.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=254… Haven't actually checked out the project fully but sounds interesting. -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Thrusday Night Curry
by Lindsay Druett 16 Apr '08

16 Apr '08

Hey Guys, Further to Friday's email... I can believe the week is going so fast. I absolutely must now by tomorrow lunch time who's coming so that I can book a place, hopefully Little India. Please email me off list if you're attending or place your name on the wiki. http://hamilton.thursdaynightcurry.com/index.php/Next_event Please pass this around other lists... nznog, wand, wellyLug, Auckland, Wellington TNC.

2 2

Fwd: Waikato Committee Meeting
by David Hallett 14 Apr '08

14 Apr '08

Peter has the following dates available this month: 16,22,28,29 & 30. The last 3 subject to change at short notice. Do these correlate with any dates you have available? If so, please let us know on list which days. (ASAP!) Otherwise, May 1st or May 8th are the next Thursdays on which we can meet. Thanks, David Unfortunately we had too many last minute cancellations to ensure that we met quorum for our committee meeting. We need to have one this month! Can people please advise on list what dates they can attend. We need attendance commitment from committee members otherwise we end up wasting each other's time. Apologies to Ivan who didn't get my email and was the only person who turned up to the last scheduled committee meeting. I have also received an email from Paul Matthews (CEO) who informed me that we need to appoint a Branch Secretary (it's an "officer" of the branch, and hence a constitutional requirement). Can someone willing to perform this role please volunteer - that last thing we want to do is draw straws for the position!

3 2

Fwd: [NGNOPS'08] CFP: IEEE Workshop on Open Source and Next-Generation Networking, Applications and technologies
by Ian McDonald 12 Apr '08

12 Apr '08

This might be of interest to some who are studying?? ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <cbalakri(a)glam.ac.uk> Date: Wed, Apr 2, 2008 at 11:33 PM Subject: [NGNOPS'08] CFP: IEEE Workshop on Open Source and Next-Generation Networking, Applications and technologies To: Ian McDonald <ian.mcdonald(a)jandi.co.nz> Call for Papers, Workshop. ========================== The IEEE NGNOPS'08 workshop is colocated with the IEEE NGMAST'08 conference and scheduled on the Sep 18, 2008, Cardiff, Wales, UK. http://www.comp.glam.ac.uk/NGMAST08/workshops/ngnops/index.htm IMPORTANT DATES: Paper Submission: 30 April 2008 Notification of Acceptance: 30 May 2008 Camera Ready 22 June 2008 Author/Early Registration 22 June 2008 Workshop 18 September 2008 Exhibition 17-18 September 2008 Conference Dates 17–19 September 2008 Objective of the workshop =================== The objective of the NGN-OPS workshop is to discuss the open source activities contributing to aspects Next Generation Networking (NGN), mobile devices, development environment and open source technologies enabling in creating an open ecosystem. We are inviting both theoretical, developmental and experimental papers as well as work-in-progress research projects. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: * Open Source software development projects and community efforts relating to o Next Generation Networking o Mobile Devices o Mobility Technologies o Pervasive Networking o Mobile Applications Development Frameworks and Tools o Deployment of Community Networks using Open Source software and tools * Open Standards efforts relating to o Next Generation Networking o Mobile Applications and Web 2.0 o Network Management for NGNs * Open Source based o NGN Services prototypes o NGN Services test beds * Community based efforts in Wireless Networking PAPER SUBMISSION: ================= Full papers reporting original and unpublished research results on NGMAST topics are solicited. Submissions must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere while being evaluated for this conference. * FORMATTING: The proceedings will be published by the prestigious IEEE Computer Society Press. Submissions must be in IEEE two-column format and must not exceed 6 pages, including figures, tables and references. The cover page should contain title, author names, affiliations, and email addresses. Please indicate clearly the corresponding author. Include up to five keywords from the above list and an abstract of no more than 300 words. * HOW TO SUBMIT: The paper submission for IEEE NGNOPS 2008 will only be accepted through the EDAS Paper Submission System accessible from the link on the website. Only papers in PDF will be accepted for reviewing. Submissions as e-mail attachment will not be accepted. * REVIEWING: Consistent with standard practice, each submitted paper will receive rigorous peer reviewing. Papers will be selected based on their originality, timeliness, significance, relevance and clarity of presentation. Selection will be based on full papers. Submission implies the willingness of at least one of the authors to register and present the paper, if accepted. All accepted papers of the conference are expected to be presented and will be included in the conference proceedings. * CAMERA READY MANUSCRIPT: Accepted papers will need to be formatted in IEEE format (see publication guidelines on the conference website). Camera ready papers must be submitted directly to IEEE through a link that will be activated on the conference website. Again: Only PDF files will be accepted! -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Cisco allowing people to use Linux on ISR
by Ian McDonald 11 Apr '08

11 Apr '08

http://blog.internetnews.com/skerner/2008/04/cisco-set-to-dominate-linux-ma… http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3740106 I don't know enough about Cisco routers to know which series this applies to. Maybe Lindsay might like to comment? -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

3 4

Hamilton Curry - 17th April 2008 - upcoming to the Hamilton 400 V8 Supercars
by Lindsay Druett 11 Apr '08

11 Apr '08

Yes, we're definitely well overdue for a Thursday night curry in H'tron. And with geeks coming to the tron to watch the V8 supercars in action, well, what's a better time to get together and have a curry ? So far, I have got 4 people keen for an early curry, personally 6:30pm onwards would suit me. Because of the nature of the upcoming event, the Hamilton 400 V8 Supercars, I really need to get firm numbers so that I can book ahead At this stage, I'm looking at Little India in Alexandra St which is in Hamilton CBD. On Fri, 2008-04-11 at 17:57 +1200, David Hallett wrote: > On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 5:35 PM, Shane Hobson > <shane(a)velocitynetworks.co.nz> wrote: > > > > I'm keen, but would prefer an earlier start. > Any thoughts on 6:00 pm ? > Leave from work, goto to TNC ? > > > I like your thinking Shane. I'm keen on that suggestion. > Especially makes life easier for those of us who live rurally. > Otherwise it's an hour-round trip! > > -- > David Hallett, BSc, MNZCS, MNZSA > Pulsar Computer Solutions Ltd > P.O. Box 15-516 > Hamilton, New Zealand > > Mob: +64-21-802 256 > Email: david(a)pulsar.net.nz > > _______________________________________________ > Hamilton mailing list > Hamilton(a)list.thursdaynightcurry.com > http://list.thursdaynightcurry.com/mailman/listinfo/hamilton

1 0

hamiltron V8s
by Brenda Wallace 11 Apr '08

11 Apr '08

Hi folks i'm heading to tron for the V8 races. Are there any WLUG gatherings around this time? i'm in town from afternoon on 17th, leaving on the 21st. -Brenda

3 2

wtb .. pci serial card
by stephen pearce 09 Apr '08

09 Apr '08

Hi Wanted to buy or beg pci serial card .. preferably 2 ports Tnx -- Stephen Pearce Whangarei ph 021 390 997

4 4

HP jump in on Linux sub-notebook
by Ian McDonald 08 Apr '08

08 Apr '08

Competition is great. Linux is great for this too, given their (lack of) horsepower and the licensing cost (basically zero). http://arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/2008/04/08/new-hp-education-subno… I see Microsoft is extending XP Home/Starter - just for this category only though. Again a healthy sign of competition. -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Re: [wlug] wlug Digest, Vol 202, Issue 8
by Jaco van der Merwe 08 Apr '08

08 Apr '08

must....remember....to.....omit....body...of...old...text...... > From: wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Subject: wlug Digest, Vol 202, Issue 8 > To: wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2008 12:00:08 +1200 > > Send wlug mailing list submissions to > wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wlug-owner(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of wlug digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Mac limitations (Jaco van der Merwe) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2008 04:59:47 +0200 > From: Jaco van der Merwe <freakalad(a)hotmail.com> > Subject: [wlug] Mac limitations > To: <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > Message-ID: <BAY116-W340DB336492747EEB258A3BCF30(a)phx.gbl> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > > Hi folks, > > I've moved on to a new job now, doing more hard-core networking & security, and I'm running into a 'glass wall' in terms of functionality & performance. I bought my MacBook pro because it's really good hardware & nice & portable, not to mention it looks really slick. > > I want bump up the memory to the max 4GB & to load on Ubuntu, and then run OS/X & windoze in VMWare. > But I need to set up a recovery system so that I can get back to 'normal' in a pinch if all goes wrong. Unfortunately I did not bring my original OEM OS disks with me. > > Could anyone please assist me or give some advice. I'll scour the ubuntuforums for more info > > Thanks > > - J _________________________________________________________________ Messenger likes to chat, one on one..or to everyone! Welcome to the Family – Download the Windows Live Messenger now http://get.live.com/messenger/overview/

1 0

Mac limitations
by Jaco van der Merwe 07 Apr '08

07 Apr '08

Hi folks, I've moved on to a new job now, doing more hard-core networking & security, and I'm running into a 'glass wall' in terms of functionality & performance. I bought my MacBook pro because it's really good hardware & nice & portable, not to mention it looks really slick. I want bump up the memory to the max 4GB & to load on Ubuntu, and then run OS/X & windoze in VMWare. But I need to set up a recovery system so that I can get back to 'normal' in a pinch if all goes wrong. Unfortunately I did not bring my original OEM OS disks with me. Could anyone please assist me or give some advice. I'll scour the ubuntuforums for more info Thanks - J > From: wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Subject: wlug Digest, Vol 202, Issue 7 > To: wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2008 12:00:06 +1200 > > Send wlug mailing list submissions to > wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wlug-owner(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of wlug digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: wlug Digest, Vol 202, Issue 5 (Bruce Kingsbury) > 2. ubuntu desktop training manual (John) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2008 12:37:16 +1200 > From: "Bruce Kingsbury" <zcat(a)zcat.geek.nz> > Subject: Re: [wlug] wlug Digest, Vol 202, Issue 5 > To: "Waikato Linux Users Group" <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > Message-ID: > <54e2f3c80804051737n41ef4005hfed067f780bfe8b2(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > Yesterday was great, we got a lot done. I thought it went very well! > Lots of fun too. > > On 06/04/2008, James Pluck <papabearnz(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > john wrote: > > > Thanks Bruce - your help invaluable. These meetings are a godsend for > > > those of us struggling to sort out setup issues and are much > > > appreciated. > > > > > > > Agreed! Bruce and Rod have been doing a wonderful job with these meetings! > > > > > > J > > _______________________________________________ > > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:30:11 +1200 > From: John <jaytee(a)clear.net.nz> > Subject: [wlug] ubuntu desktop training manual > To: Waikato Linux Users Group <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > Message-ID: <1207445411.6893.2.camel(a)wlug-desktop> > Content-Type: text/plain > > Hi all, > Just in case someone did not see this yet.. > https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Training > Can be downloaded from the student or tutor perspective. > Regards John. > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list > wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > End of wlug Digest, Vol 202, Issue 7 > ************************************ _________________________________________________________________ Messenger likes to chat, one on one..or to everyone! Welcome to the Family – Download the Windows Live Messenger now http://get.live.com/messenger/overview/

1 0

Openoffice 3
by Ian McDonald 06 Apr '08

06 Apr '08

Update on what is in this: http://www.oooninja.com/2008/03/openofficeorg-30-new-features.html To me it looks like features Office has had for years..... Many opensource projects innovate and I think it is time they did this rather than copy. -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

5 8

Re: [wlug] wlug Digest, Vol 202, Issue 5
by john 06 Apr '08

06 Apr '08

Thanks Bruce - your help invaluable. These meetings are a godsend for those of us struggling to sort out setup issues and are much appreciated. Cheers John On Sat, 2008-04-05 at 12:00 +1300, wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz wrote: > Send wlug mailing list submissions to > wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wlug-owner(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of wlug digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. WLUG Fixit Meeting is today! (Meeting Reminder bot) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2008 06:26:44 +1300 > From: Meeting Reminder bot <bot(a)wlug.org.nz> > Subject: [wlug] WLUG Fixit Meeting is today! > To: Waikato Linux Users Group <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > Message-ID: <E1Jhpga-0006AY-KF(a)db.wlug.org.nz> > > A reminder, the WLUG Fixit Meeting is today. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Saturday April 5th, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm > > We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop at Te Whanau Ptahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. > > > We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc. > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list > wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > End of wlug Digest, Vol 202, Issue 5 > ************************************

3 2

WLUG Fixit Meeting is today!
by Meeting Reminder bot 04 Apr '08

04 Apr '08

A reminder, the WLUG Fixit Meeting is today. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday April 5th, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc.

1 0

WLUG Fixit Meeting tomorrow
by Meeting Reminder bot 03 Apr '08

03 Apr '08

A reminder; the WLUG Fixit Meeting is tomorrow. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday April 5th, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc.

1 0

Intel to multithread all applications
by Anthony Cull 02 Apr '08

02 Apr '08

So intel are deciding to finally innovate a solution people have been asking for years. [Intel today revealed it can convert single threaded software to multithreaded mode without any code modification. The new 'speculative parallel threading' process monitors software and examines whether its processes can be run in parallel. If they can execute succesfully, the software can be recompiled to run as a multithreaded app. Intel says it has realised that programmers are going to need machine help to get software running as multithreaded. "We can't blame the programmers," an Intel spokesman said. "The industry has been complaining for 30 years about how difficult parallel programming is."] http://apcmag.com/we_can_transform_single_thread_to_multithread_intel.htm -- Anthony Cull cullanthony(a)fastmail.fm -- http://www.fastmail.fm - The way an email service should be

1 0

Adobe releases AIR alpha for Linux
by Ian McDonald 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080331-first-look-adobe-air-alpha-un… I think this is interesting that they are working with Linux Foundation (Linus' boss). They are gradually releasing some open source (e.g. Flex tools) but unfortunately this is not yet one of them. -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Memory Question
by James Pluck 31 Mar '08

31 Mar '08

Hi all. I thought there may be a memory expert out there in WLUG land :) Is it deemed a good idea to mix DUal channel with non-dual channel ram in a machine with 4 ram slots? I currently have 1 gb of ddr2-667 ram and was looking at getting another 2 gb but I'm not sure if it is worht getting dual channel ram and running the dual channel in one pair of slots and the single stick in one slot of the other pair. Enquiring minds and all that :) J -- James Pluck PalmOS Ergo Sum "Dear IRS: I would like to cancel my subscription. Please remove my name from your mailing list..."

3 3

Re: [wlug] Memory Question
by Anthony Cull 31 Mar '08

31 Mar '08

> Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:25:15 +1300 > From: "James Pluck" <papabearnz(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [wlug] Memory Question > Hi all. > > I thought there may be a memory expert out there in WLUG land :) > > Is it deemed a good idea to mix DUal channel with non-dual channel ram in > a > machine with 4 ram slots? I currently have 1 gb of ddr2-667 ram and was > looking at getting another 2 gb but I'm not sure if it is worht getting > dual > channel ram and running the dual channel in one pair of slots and the > single > stick in one slot of the other pair. > > Enquiring minds and all that :) > Well James, You can run dual channel alongside your existing ram but there is performance benefits not doing so. RAM is cheep these days and it might be worth buying another dual channel of the same brand and type at a latter date. The memory should work well together in a standard mode as long as the memory is of the same timings etc. You can mix it but don't expect the extra performance that dual channel has apart from the performance of having more ram. -- Anthony Cull cullanthony(a)fastmail.fm -- http://www.fastmail.fm - And now for something completely different

1 0

Re: [wlug] wlug Digest, Vol 201, Issue 29
by Anthony Cull 31 Mar '08

31 Mar '08

> Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:25:15 +1300 > From: "James Pluck" <papabearnz(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [wlug] Memory Question > Hi all. > > I thought there may be a memory expert out there in WLUG land :) > > Is it deemed a good idea to mix DUal channel with non-dual channel ram in > a > machine with 4 ram slots? I currently have 1 gb of ddr2-667 ram and was > looking at getting another 2 gb but I'm not sure if it is worht getting > dual > channel ram and running the dual channel in one pair of slots and the > single > stick in one slot of the other pair. > > Enquiring minds and all that :) > Well James, You can run dual channel alongside your existing ram but there is performance benefits not doing so. RAM is cheep these days and it might be worth buying another dual channel of the same brand and type at a latter date. The memory should work well together in a standard mode as long as the memory is of the same timings etc. You can mix it but don't expect the extra performance that dual channel has apart from the performance of having more ram. -- Anthony Cull cullanthony(a)fastmail.fm -- http://www.fastmail.fm - Or how I learned to stop worrying and love email again

1 0

Nice KDE4.1 screenshots
by Ian McDonald 30 Mar '08

30 Mar '08

http://polishlinux.org/kde/kde-4-rev-790000-better-stability-and-performanc… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

REMINDER: WLUG meeting tonight!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 30 Mar '08

30 Mar '08

There's a WLUG meeting tonight: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) Bruce Kingsbury - What's new in Hardy Heron

2 1

Automatix is no more
by Ian McDonald 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

I never actually used it but a few people did I know... http://www.osnews.com/story/19538 -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

2 1

OpenOffice 2.4 released
by Ian McDonald 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

http://lwn.net/Articles/275302/ -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

2 1

Two different perspectives on Microsoft and OOXML
by Ian McDonald 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/A5D6927454C49ABECC2574190013582B http://lwn.net/Articles/275292/rss -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

REMINDER: WLUG meeting is on Monday
by Meeting Reminder Bot 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

There's a Waikato Linux Users Group meeting on Monday: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) Bruce Kingsbury - What's new in Hardy Heron

1 0

Sale on notebooks at Dick Smith Powerhouse
by Ian McDonald 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

Similar to last year there are a couple of good notebook deals: Acer AS5315-100508Mi - Celeron M 1.86, 512 MB, 80 GB, DVD, Vista Basic, Looks like it has webcam but doesn't mention it - $648 before cashback, $499 - only 20 on Saturday Asus Eee PC 701 - $399 - only 20 on Friday. If you want these I would suggest you queue hours before hand. We bought an Acer last year of slightly lower spec and it has been great and runs Ubuntu well. Obivously the Eee PC already runs Linux. -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Microsoft, open source and patents
by Ian McDonald 26 Mar '08

26 Mar '08

Good article here: http://www.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9899201-16.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=254… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

FYI: Ubuntu 6.10 reaches end-of-life on April 26, 2008
by Simon Green 25 Mar '08

25 Mar '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Steve Langasek <steve.langasek(a)ubuntu.com> Date: 26 Mar 2008 09:04 Subject: Ubuntu 6.10 reaches end-of-life on April 26, 2008 Ubuntu announced the release of 6.10 almost 18 months ago, on October 26, 2006. As with the earlier releases, Ubuntu committed to ongoing security and critical fixes for a period of 18 months. The support period is now nearing its end and Ubuntu 6.10 will reach end of life on Friday April 25th, 2008. At that time, Ubuntu Security Notices will no longer include information or updated packages for Ubuntu 6.10. The supported upgrade path from Ubuntu 6.10 is via Ubuntu 7.04. Instructions and caveats for the upgrade may be found at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FeistyUpgrades. Note that upgrades to version 7.10 and beyond are only supported in multiple steps, via an upgrade first to 7.04, then to 7.10. Both Ubuntu 7.04 and Ubuntu 7.10 continue to be actively supported with security updates and select high-impact bug fixes. All announcements of official security updates for Ubuntu releases are sent to the ubuntu-security-announce mailing list, information about which may be found at https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-security-announce. Since its launch in October 2004 Ubuntu has become one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions with millions of users in homes, schools, businesses and governments around the world. Ubuntu is Open Source software, costs nothing to download, and users are free to customise or alter their software in order to meet their needs.

1 0

Creating flash content using open source tools
by Ian McDonald 24 Mar '08

24 Mar '08

http://www.linux.com/feature/129887 -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Re: [wlug] wlug Digest, Vol 201, Issue 22
by Jaco van der Merwe 24 Mar '08

24 Mar '08

OK, fine... here's my 'rant' Why, if OOXML has been roundly rejected as a standard, and ODF has been accepted (due in large by M$'s non-adherence to the W3C's standards), do companies in NZ INSIST on accepting only M$ formats, but not PDF or ODF? Especially the large ITC recruiters, who really should be in the know (mind you, I've come across who do not know what 'SDLC' means) I find it common practice for organisations to say one thing (openness, transparency, accountability), and do exactly the opposite. Same reasoning goes for much of the technologies used. It seems to be application-oriented, and not solution-oriented. Citrix, Active Directory, IIS, MSSQL and other M$/Windows-only products, whereas there are plenty of other OSS solutions that will do the job just as well, if not better & cheaper. Granted, many of these platforms have their merits, and use them where their use is merited, but not out of habit or a knee-jerk reaction. Just my gripe...seems myopic > From: wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Subject: wlug Digest, Vol 201, Issue 22 > To: wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:00:04 +1300 > > Send wlug mailing list submissions to > wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wlug-owner(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of wlug digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Openoffice 3 (Graham Lauder) > 2. ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away (Meeting Reminder Bot) > 3. Re: Openoffice 3 (Ian McDonald) > 4. Re: Openoffice 3 (Craig Box) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:28:13 +1300 > From: Graham Lauder <yorick_(a)openoffice.org> > Subject: Re: [wlug] Openoffice 3 > To: Waikato Linux Users Group <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > Message-ID: <200803232328.14262.yorick_(a)openoffice.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > On Saturday 22 March 2008 10:03:48 Ian McDonald wrote: > > Update on what is in this: > > http://www.oooninja.com/2008/03/openofficeorg-30-new-features.html > > > > To me it looks like features Office has had for years..... > > > > Many opensource projects innovate and I think it is time they did this > > rather than copy. > > > Many times we get these comments on the lists and because of my "position" > within OOo I have to bite my lip. Here though I'll take the moment to have a > good old rant. > > <rant> > > Frankly Ian, I expected better of you. > > One day I'd like to count up the number of times that some one comes onto the > OOo lists and _demands_ that the developers, who are in their eyes a bunch > of morons for not thinking of this themselves, put in some feature because > that's the way Word or Excel or Powerpoint or some other similar coded > excrement does it. > > Do these same people ever ask MS to include PDF export, PDF forms, a truly > powerful stylist or perhaps give them a full cross platform office suite. Of > course not! Because they know they'll get roundly ignored. What they want is > MS Office for free because they're too damn lazy to take off their blinkers > and see OOo for what it is. A better product in a lot of cases. > > For instance, why is it that people will spend hours generating a form in word > with fields, protecting this bit and that when they can do the same in OOo in > a tenth of time using PDF forms. > > Business is saying "F**k innovation let me do work faster and more > efficiently" and in the majority of business cases OOo will allow you to do > just that. Give me any group of Office staffers for a day and I will prove > it. Will they change? Some will, some won't, some believe they have to get > their boss to spend thousands of licensing dollars to get a product that will > do the job for them and that something for free can't be any good so they > don't give it a second glance. Others want their bosses to spend thousands > on them because it makes them feel valued so using a zero license cost > product is a nono. Others are open to change and are amazed when they see > what OOo can do for them. > > OOo 3.0 will support Office "Open" xml, point out to me, if you will, where > MS Office supports ODF. > > OOo 3 is a free upgrade from 2.X or even 1.X, has MS taken hold of this > innovation. > > Introduce to me if you will to a simple enduser who got a feature included in > MS Office, I can do that easily for OOo. > > There is innovation all through OOo that people simply ignore. It was OOo and > it's corporate partners that launched and promoted the idea of a fully open > Document Format that anyone could use. It was OOo and the corporate partners > that got that adopted as an ISO standard, something that MS is desperately > trying to emulate (and badly I might add) > > X forms > PDF Editor, > Hybrid PDF > Styles > UNO > Extensions > and so on, there is innovation within a necessarily conservative environment. > > Our biggest problem is that the constant trumpeting is about "Compatibility" > OOo developers spend far too much time, as far as I'm concerned, on so called > compatibility. MS is NOT required to spend ANY time on compatibility, has > anyone asked? MS developers seem incapable of ODF compliance to the point of > having to farm that responsibility out to third parties and yet Sun, Novell > and the OOo community have developed OOXML filters. IMO All of this > developer time is wasted when it could have been used on more pressing > enhancements in OOo. > > If you want some innovative feature create an extension. Plenty of info on how > to do that at extensions.openoffice.org. > > If you come up with some innovative feature and you can't code it yourself, > then feel free to pay a developer to hack at the OOo source code and > contribute it to the community. > > And if you want to talk about the biggest innovation of all, that in itself is > the greatest which so many seem happy to ignore. It is after all Open > Source. > > </rant> > > Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. :) At the Sydney LCA I talked > with Joe Brockmeier about marketing OOo and he made the point that in terms > of the Linux market OOo is at saturation and there is a level of negative > feeling toward the "Big Kid" in the sand pit and it's true that I constantly > find myself defending OOo from people in the Linux community who should be > core support. > > We have a problem finding developers because of the sheer size of the beast > and the sometimes complex relationship between the corporate partners and the > larger community. (If anyone knows the Kohei's Solver Soap Opera you'll know > what I mean) It is easy for a developer to disappear amongst the sheer mass > of code which is why there has been such a thrust behind UNO and extension > development. > > We have a problem being No2, no matter how hard we try to do otherwise, we > have to spend far too much developer time on unproductive compatibility > issues and feature copying while the truly great enhancements get ignored. > > This donkey work stuff gets done by the paid developers at SUN, Novell and so > forth. The whole idea behind UNO and extensions development is to let the > community contribute the innovation. Have a look at what is available at > http://extensions.openoffice.org and you'll see what I mean, the extensions > project is fairly new but some of what is coming out of there is great. > > It's no good saying that OOo doesn't innovate unless you have made an effort > to do something about that, because you in fact are the community, we all are > that consider ourselves part of Open Source. > > Cheers > GL > > -- > Graham Lauder, > OpenOffice.org MarCon (Marketing Contact) NZ > > http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html > > INGOTs Moderator New Zealand > www.theingots.org.nz > > GET DRESSED : GET OOOGEAR > Gear for the well dressed OOo Advocate > www.ooogear.co.nz > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008 06:26:45 +1300 > From: Meeting Reminder Bot <bot(a)wlug.org.nz> > Subject: [wlug] ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away > To: Waikato Linux Users Group <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > Cc: nzlug-announce <nzlug-announce(a)linux.net.nz>, nzlug > <nzlug(a)linux.net.nz> > Message-ID: <E1JdTy1-0000qu-1p(a)db.wlug.org.nz> > > The Waikato Linux Users Group have a meeting in one week from today: > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) > > Topic to be announced. > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:06:33 +1300 > From: "Ian McDonald" <ian.mcdonald(a)jandi.co.nz> > Subject: Re: [wlug] Openoffice 3 > To: "Waikato Linux Users Group" <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > Message-ID: > <5640c7e00803231406i447ad25dp5a5586424a70f98e(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > <flame><rant> > > On Sun, Mar 23, 2008 at 11:28 PM, Graham Lauder <yorick_(a)openoffice.org> wrote: > > On Saturday 22 March 2008 10:03:48 Ian McDonald wrote: > > > Update on what is in this: > > > http://www.oooninja.com/2008/03/openofficeorg-30-new-features.html > > > > > > To me it looks like features Office has had for years..... > > > > > > Many opensource projects innovate and I think it is time they did this > > > rather than copy. > > > > > > Many times we get these comments on the lists and because of my "position" > > within OOo I have to bite my lip. Here though I'll take the moment to have a > > good old rant. > > And I'll take the chance to respond as well. My statement was short > and was a generalisation but I still stand by it. It was referring to > the "major" new features in OO 3 - and those features have been in MS > Office for a while mostly and are almost identical. > > > > <rant> > > > > Frankly Ian, I expected better of you. > > Why do you expect better of me? Is it because: > - I have been president of WLUG? > - because I have code merged in the Linux kernel and several other projects? > - because I am advocating open source software (include OO) to CIOs > who run around 40,000 desktops and large number of servers? And I have > converted some of these already - including OO. > - because I have been playing with open source office tools such as > Abiword, Gnumeric, Koffice, Staroffice since the 1990s? > - because I have been setting open standards by being on working > groups on the IETF? > > So even though I am passionate about open source I should not express > my opinions? > > > > One day I'd like to count up the number of times that some one comes onto the > > OOo lists and _demands_ that the developers, who are in their eyes a bunch > > of morons for not thinking of this themselves, put in some feature because > > that's the way Word or Excel or Powerpoint or some other similar coded > > excrement does it. > > > > Do these same people ever ask MS to include PDF export, PDF forms, a truly > > powerful stylist or perhaps give them a full cross platform office suite. Of > > course not! Because they know they'll get roundly ignored. What they want is > > MS Office for free because they're too damn lazy to take off their blinkers > > and see OOo for what it is. A better product in a lot of cases. > > > MS have PDF export, forms support (not PDF but in many ways better) > and cross platform for the two big platforms (Windows, OS X, Linux is > not yet big unfortunately...). > > Most of those are because users asked for them and Microsoft has been > consistent about listening to user feedback and also about innovating. > They may not do what people want when they want but neither do > opensource projects. Yes with opensource people can do it themselves, > which is a major advantage, but not many people do this. > > > > For instance, why is it that people will spend hours generating a form in word > > with fields, protecting this bit and that when they can do the same in OOo in > > a tenth of time using PDF forms. > > > Because they don't understand that there are better ways to do it - > both is MS Office and OO. > > > Business is saying "F**k innovation let me do work faster and more > > efficiently" and in the majority of business cases OOo will allow you to do > > just that. Give me any group of Office staffers for a day and I will prove > > it. Will they change? Some will, some won't, some believe they have to get > > their boss to spend thousands of licensing dollars to get a product that will > > do the job for them and that something for free can't be any good so they > > don't give it a second glance. Others want their bosses to spend thousands > > on them because it makes them feel valued so using a zero license cost > > product is a nono. Others are open to change and are amazed when they see > > what OOo can do for them. > > > And in this regards OO actually has a major advantage as there is less > training going from Office 2003 to OO then from Office 2003 to Office > 2007. However if you get away from looking at what is easiest for the > user in the short term there are major benefits in Office 2007 or OO. > > > OOo 3.0 will support Office "Open" xml, point out to me, if you will, where > > MS Office supports ODF. > > > > OOo 3 is a free upgrade from 2.X or even 1.X, has MS taken hold of this > > innovation. > > > > Introduce to me if you will to a simple enduser who got a feature included in > > MS Office, I can do that easily for OOo. > > Yes I do know of instances. > > > > There is innovation all through OOo that people simply ignore. It was OOo and > > it's corporate partners that launched and promoted the idea of a fully open > > Document Format that anyone could use. It was OOo and the corporate partners > > that got that adopted as an ISO standard, something that MS is desperately > > trying to emulate (and badly I might add) > > > And I think Microsoft is trying to do the same with OOXML although not > so well in some areas, but better in other areas. Microsoft moved down > this path also due to market and technological pressures just as OO > did. > > > X forms > > PDF Editor, > > Hybrid PDF > > Styles > > UNO > > Extensions > > and so on, there is innovation within a necessarily conservative environment. > > > > Our biggest problem is that the constant trumpeting is about "Compatibility" > > OOo developers spend far too much time, as far as I'm concerned, on so called > > compatibility. MS is NOT required to spend ANY time on compatibility, has > > anyone asked? MS developers seem incapable of ODF compliance to the point of > > having to farm that responsibility out to third parties and yet Sun, Novell > > and the OOo community have developed OOXML filters. IMO All of this > > developer time is wasted when it could have been used on more pressing > > enhancements in OOo. > > > > If you want some innovative feature create an extension. Plenty of info on how > > to do that at extensions.openoffice.org. > > > > If you come up with some innovative feature and you can't code it yourself, > > then feel free to pay a developer to hack at the OOo source code and > > contribute it to the community. > > > > And if you want to talk about the biggest innovation of all, that in itself is > > the greatest which so many seem happy to ignore. It is after all Open > > Source. > > I think Open Source is a huge innovation and a better way of doing > things. I do hope Microsoft will move further down this than their > tentative steps. I do believe that Microsoft has innovated more than > most other players though. The exception to this is probably in the > areas of security, reliability and performance on the server where > GNU/Linux has led the way for quite some time. > > > > </rant> > > > > Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. :) At the Sydney LCA I talked > > with Joe Brockmeier about marketing OOo and he made the point that in terms > > of the Linux market OOo is at saturation and there is a level of negative > > feeling toward the "Big Kid" in the sand pit and it's true that I constantly > > find myself defending OOo from people in the Linux community who should be > > core support. > > The reason for attacks on OO is that it is big and ugly and cumbersome > - both in footprint and codebase. KOffice seems far more the innovator > and maybe Gnome will get there as well. My feeling about OO is that it > still hasn't been tidied up from it's original propiertary code base > and will suffer until it does so. Mozilla had the same issue for many > years with the Netscape codebase and I hope OO gets there too. > > I think the other reason for attacks is that people see the potential > and yet despite the many $s poured in by Novell, Sun, IBM that it is > yet to reap the dividends it should. I think this springs from lack of > strong leadership personally - quite different from the Linux kernel, > KDE, Gnome, Ubuntu etc. > > > > We have a problem finding developers because of the sheer size of the beast > > and the sometimes complex relationship between the corporate partners and the > > larger community. (If anyone knows the Kohei's Solver Soap Opera you'll know > > what I mean) It is easy for a developer to disappear amongst the sheer mass > > of code which is why there has been such a thrust behind UNO and extension > > development. > > > > We have a problem being No2, no matter how hard we try to do otherwise, we > > have to spend far too much developer time on unproductive compatibility > > issues and feature copying while the truly great enhancements get ignored. > > > While GNU/Linux, Firefox, Apache etc manage to cope well with this... > And now others are trying to be compatiable with them e.g. IE8 > > > This donkey work stuff gets done by the paid developers at SUN, Novell and so > > forth. The whole idea behind UNO and extensions development is to let the > > community contribute the innovation. Have a look at what is available at > > http://extensions.openoffice.org and you'll see what I mean, the extensions > > project is fairly new but some of what is coming out of there is great. > > > Yes and Sun, Novell and IBM end up with quite different codebases due > to the code structure. Novell OO is not the same as Sun OO and IBM > have bastardised it and called it Symphony. > > > It's no good saying that OOo doesn't innovate unless you have made an effort > > to do something about that, because you in fact are the community, we all are > > that consider ourselves part of Open Source. > > > Yes I have done my part - including promoting OO, bug > reporting/testing OO. I also have opinions which I think are worth > expressing. > > > Cheers > > GL > > > > -- > > Graham Lauder, > > OpenOffice.org MarCon (Marketing Contact) NZ > > > > http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html > > > Regards, > > Ian > > </rant></flame> > > NB opionions are my own only etc > > > -- > Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ > Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:56:09 -0400 > From: "Craig Box" <craig(a)dubculture.co.nz> > Subject: Re: [wlug] Openoffice 3 > To: "Waikato Linux Users Group" <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > Message-ID: > <cc742fe0803231456u730be46fs961333b2ebc302ac(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > > Update on what is in this: > > http://www.oooninja.com/2008/03/openofficeorg-30-new-features.html > > > > To me it looks like features Office has had for years..... > > This isn't really a response to either Graham or Ian directly, but > something to consider. I'm going to borrow a quote from Joel Spolsky, > though I'm sure the idea predates him: > > | "There's a famous fallacy that people learn in business school called > | the 80/20 rule. It's false, but it seduces a lot of dumb software > | startups. It seems to make sense. 80% of the people use 20% of the > | features. So you convince yourself that you only need to implement 20% > | of the features, and you can still sell 80% as many copies. The trouble > | here, of course, is that it's _never the same 20%_. Everybody uses a > | different set of features. When you start marketing your "lite" product, > | and you tell people, "hey, it's lite, only 1MB," they tend to be very > | happy, then they ask you if it has word counts, or spell checking, or > | little rubber feet, or whatever obscure thing they can't live without, > | and it doesn't, so they don't buy your product." > > When making any comparison to a Microsoft Office product, you have to > consider this 80/20 fallacy. For some people, the new features added > to this might be the final tipping point that they need for their > enterprise to change. > > OO.o is sometimes seen by the open source community as a mixed > blessing - the donation of code all but stopped development of GNOME > Office, for example, because it didn't really seem worth the effort > any more. It's definitely criticized for being legacy code - but > wisdom says you should never throw legacy code away. > > The people that want agile innovation will keep doing it, in different > ways. Since the advent of the wiki, I tend to keep information in > those that would previously have been in word processing documents. > Office suites are not "sexy" and it will probably continue to fall to > the corporates to fund their development: I remember seeing a graph > once that suggested commercial contributions to OO.o made up 95%+ of > even new code. I guess all they can do is be as open as possible about > accepting the contributions that outsiders do want to make. > > Craig > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list > wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > End of wlug Digest, Vol 201, Issue 22 > ************************************* _________________________________________________________________ Download the new 2008 version of Windows Live Messenger here, FREE! http://get.live.com/messenger/overview

1 0

ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away
by Meeting Reminder Bot 23 Mar '08

23 Mar '08

The Waikato Linux Users Group have a meeting in one week from today: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) Topic to be announced.

1 0

Visual changes to KDE 4.1
by Ian McDonald 21 Mar '08

21 Mar '08

http://polishlinux.org/kde/kde-41-visual-changelog-rev-783000/ -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

[Fwd: Xbox Media Centre]
by Lee Ball 20 Mar '08

20 Mar '08

The meeting appears to be quite old, way back in August 2004 but any information would be nice. Thanks > > From: Lee Ball <lee.ball2(a)ntlworld.com> > Date: 2008/03/20 Thu PM 12:17:45 GMT > To: <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > Subject: [wlug] Xbox Media Centre > > Hello, > > I was browsing the Google Groups and came across a meeting mentioning that someone will be going through setting up an Xbox Media Centre. > > The reason for my email is that not only is that something I will be looking at doing myself but its also a great idea for a meeting. > > I'm a member of ManLUG which I believe was the first LUG in the United Kingdom and sometimes the meeting are a little dull, I've tried to liven them up recently, last time I did an EeePC demonstration and run through but as stated above, I'm looking at doing an Xbox media centre at some point and a recreation of the meeting that you had might be another good meeting. > > I just wondered if anyone had any resources at all from that meeting? > > thanks > > Lee > > ----------------------------------------- > Email sent from www.virginmedia.com/email > Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software and scanned for spam > > _______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > ----------------------------------------- Email sent from www.virginmedia.com/email Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software and scanned for spam

2 1

Xbox Media Centre
by Lee Ball 20 Mar '08

20 Mar '08

Hello, I was browsing the Google Groups and came across a meeting mentioning that someone will be going through setting up an Xbox Media Centre. The reason for my email is that not only is that something I will be looking at doing myself but its also a great idea for a meeting. I'm a member of ManLUG which I believe was the first LUG in the United Kingdom and sometimes the meeting are a little dull, I've tried to liven them up recently, last time I did an EeePC demonstration and run through but as stated above, I'm looking at doing an Xbox media centre at some point and a recreation of the meeting that you had might be another good meeting. I just wondered if anyone had any resources at all from that meeting? thanks Lee ----------------------------------------- Email sent from www.virginmedia.com/email Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software and scanned for spam

1 0

Hard drive for data recovery purposes
by Bruce Kingsbury 20 Mar '08

20 Mar '08

I'm trying to find an IBM Deskstar 61.5GB harddrive (model IC35L060AVER07-0) I've been asked to try to recover a number of photos from a dead harddrive. It doesn't show up in BIOS at all so I think the controller is dead. If I can find an identical drive in working condition I might be able to swap the controller over and read this one. Can anyone here help me?

2 1

Microsoft to work with Eclipse on Java
by Ian McDonald 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9898168-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Re: [wlug] USB Dialup Modem Help
by David Bowen 17 Mar '08

17 Mar '08

" I have a feeling that there may be other issues: connecting the USB modem to a phone jack, kills the dial out ability of our home phone. It doesn't matter whether the modem is connected to the computer or not. I can get a dial-tone, dial a number and then nothing. Unplug the phone line to the modem and the home phone works again. Weird! I might bring it down to the next fix-it meeting, to see if anybody has any ideas..." I get to fix a lot of modems at work, hardware faults (Sky decoders) Check to see if it has a relay in it. They are small, about 18mm long and 5 or 6 mm high and wide. They can get sticky, sometimes giving them a tap will dislodge them, probably not for long though. Actually looking at a few modems here they often have larger relays of diferant dimensions. Some of our modems don't use relays at all, just transistors controlled with optocouplers. These don't seem to be prone to this sort of failure. ie, if they do fail they don't work at all. David

2 1

USB Dialup Modem Help
by Shannon Skinner 17 Mar '08

17 Mar '08

Hi I've come across an old USB dialup modem and I'm a bit stuck getting it connected to an ISP. I'm trying to get it going so I can give it to my parents and switch them fully over to linux. I'm currently testing it on my Ubuntu 7.10 machine with my parents dialup account with Kiwi Online (KOL) and the modem is recognised as /dev/ttyACM0. I've tried wvdial and gnome-ppp, and it seemed to dial okay with those but it would lose the connection straight away and re-dial endlessly. The closest I've got is setting up a chat account with pppconfig and then using pon to connect. This is the results from plog when using pon: Mar 11 20:58:30 lobo pppd[7062]: pppd 2.4.4 started by shannon, uid 1000 Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: abort on (BUSY) Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: abort on (NO CARRIER) Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: abort on (VOICE) Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: abort on (NO DIALTONE) Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: abort on (NO DIAL TONE) Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: abort on (NO ANSWER) Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: abort on (DELAYED) Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: send (ATZ^M) Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: expect (OK) Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: ATZ^M^M Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: OK Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: -- got it Mar 11 20:58:31 lobo chat[7064]: send (ATDT087305656^M) Mar 11 20:58:32 lobo chat[7064]: expect (CONNECT) Mar 11 20:58:32 lobo chat[7064]: ^M Mar 11 20:58:52 lobo chat[7064]: ATDT087305656^M^M Mar 11 20:58:52 lobo chat[7064]: CONNECT Mar 11 20:58:52 lobo chat[7064]: -- got it Mar 11 20:58:52 lobo chat[7064]: send (^M) Mar 11 20:58:52 lobo chat[7064]: expect (ogin:) Mar 11 20:58:52 lobo chat[7064]: 115200^M Mar 11 20:58:53 lobo chat[7064]: ^I^M Mar 11 20:58:53 lobo chat[7064]: login: Mar 11 20:58:53 lobo chat[7064]: -- got it Mar 11 20:58:53 lobo chat[7064]: send ([username]^M) Mar 11 20:58:53 lobo chat[7064]: expect (ssword:) Mar 11 20:58:53 lobo chat[7064]: [username]^M Mar 11 20:58:53 lobo chat[7064]: Password: Mar 11 20:58:53 lobo chat[7064]: -- got it Mar 11 20:58:53 lobo chat[7064]: send (??????) Mar 11 20:58:53 lobo chat[7064]: send (\d) Mar 11 20:58:54 lobo pppd[7062]: Serial connection established. Mar 11 20:58:54 lobo pppd[7062]: using channel 15 Mar 11 20:58:54 lobo pppd[7062]: Using interface ppp0 Mar 11 20:58:54 lobo pppd[7062]: Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/ttyACM0 Mar 11 20:58:55 lobo pppd[7062]: sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x87f8fe7b> <pcomp> <accomp>] Mar 11 20:59:25 lobo pppd[7062]: LCP: timeout sending Config-Requests Mar 11 20:59:25 lobo pppd[7062]: Connection terminated. Mar 11 20:59:27 lobo pppd[7062]: Modem hangup Mar 11 20:59:27 lobo pppd[7062]: Exit. So it seems to connect alright but then times out on sending some config stuff? ifconfig will show my lo and eth0 connections, and I can bring up the ppp0 connection (ifconfig ppp0 up) for the 20 or 30 seconds it is connected. I tried taking down eth0 and unplugging network cables in case of any interference (not that there should be I guess, DNS maybe but I don't know!) I only get about one night a week to "play" with this stuff, so it could take me a while to figure out on my own. I'm hoping that since I can actually make a connection, it should be something simple to get going. Any suggestions? Cheers Shannon

6 9

ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away
by Meeting Reminder Bot 16 Mar '08

16 Mar '08

The Waikato Linux Users Group have a meeting in one week from today: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm, TW.2.05 (http://www.wlug.org.nz/TW) Topic to be announced.

4 5

Re: [wlug] SlimServer/SqueezeBox
by Jaco van der Merwe 16 Mar '08

16 Mar '08

Presumably this tread is inspired by WIRED's article: http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Build_A_Digital_Music_Server See also: http://en.jinzora.com/ I've been toying around with a PVR/DVR system back in SA (MythTV, etc), as there's very little in this country. Don't like the idea of having to b in front of ur telly @ a particular time / 4am, otherwise you miss the next episode of u'r series, or having 2 sit through ad's for 'feminine products'/promo for some crackpot I think there might be legislative restrictions on 'time-shifting' broadcast... Yea...whatever... > From: wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Subject: wlug Digest, Vol 201, Issue 15 > To: wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:42:07 +1300 > > Send wlug mailing list submissions to > wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wlug-owner(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of wlug digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: SqueezeCenter (Shannon Skinner) > 2. Re: SqueezeCenter (Lindsay Druett) > 3. Re: ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away (Ian McDonald) > 4. Re: wlug Digest, Vol 201, Issue 14 (Jaco van der Merwe) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:00:02 +1300 > From: "Shannon Skinner" <shannonsnz(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [wlug] SqueezeCenter > To: "Waikato Linux Users Group" <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > Message-ID: > <d0b0f8450803161200v256541f8ma6dd609c53a6892b(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Nice! I hadn't heard of that before... I will have to check it out at some > stage. > > > On Sun, Mar 16, 2008 at 11:24 PM, Peter Reutemann <fracpete(a)waikato.ac.nz> > wrote: > > > Hi all > > > > Came across the nifty SqueezeCenter today: > > http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_features.html > > > > It's a perl-based, open-source, mp3-streaming server with a really > > cool web-interface. > > > > Installation is fairly simple, if you're running Ubuntu (or any > > debian-based distro): > > http://wiki.slimdevices.com/?DebianPackage > > > > It basically involves the following steps: > > - add the following line to your apt sources list ("sudo vi > > /etc/apt/sources.list"): > > deb http://debian.slimdevices.com unstable main > > - update the cache > > sudo apt-get update > > - and install the center > > sudo apt-get install squeezecenter > > > > A minimal setup after installation finishes is just providing the > > top-most directory of your MP3 collection. Just point your browser to > > the center's address (http://A.B.C.D:9000/) and click your way through > > the wizard (no need for registration or those little SqueezeBox > > players). > > > > After the initial setup and the collection scan has finished, just > > point any MP3 player that can handle URLs, like Rhythmbox, to the > > server's streaming URL (http://A.B.C.D:9000/stream.mp3) select your > > machine as "player" in the web interface and just add songs to your > > playlist, play/pause/stop streaming, etc. > > > > That is the killer-app for my home-network that I was looking for for > > ages, providing an easy to use web-interface for streaming my MP3s > > over WLAN! The cool thing is, that each machine connecting to the > > center maintains its own playlist. Ideal if you don't like your > > flatmates taste of music or your partner can't stand your strange > > music collection. ;-) > > > > Cheers, Peter > > -- > > Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ > > http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/<http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/%7Efracpete/>+64 (7) 838-4466 Ext. 5174 > > _______________________________________________ > > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > >

1 0

Review of Komodo editor for scripting languages
by Ian McDonald 16 Mar '08

16 Mar '08

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080316-hands-on-open-source-scriptin… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

2 1

Re: [wlug] wlug Digest, Vol 201, Issue 14
by Jaco van der Merwe 16 Mar '08

16 Mar '08

Check that you implement DLNA with your streaming server (ref: OpenDLNA) so it works PnP with devices such as PS3 & PSP (XBox 360 & Wii?) Also, if you utilise a firewall with DynDNS (such as IPCop) & port forwarding, you can place your slimserver onto the 'net, & thus have a 'radio station'. Been using slimserver for a few years (pre-logitech days). Pretty cool > From: wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Subject: wlug Digest, Vol 201, Issue 14 > To: wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:57:45 +1300 > > Send wlug mailing list submissions to > wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wlug-request(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wlug-owner(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of wlug digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: USB Dialup Modem Help (Shannon Skinner) > 2. Re: USB Dialup Modem Help (elroy) > 3. SqueezeCenter (Peter Reutemann) > 4. ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away (Meeting Reminder Bot) > 5. Re: ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away (Ian McDonald) > 6. Re: ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away (Shane) > 7. Re: ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away (Bruce Kingsbury) > 8. Re: USB Dialup Modem Help (Shannon Skinner) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:03:34 +1300 > From: "Shannon Skinner" <shannonsnz(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [wlug] USB Dialup Modem Help > To: "Waikato Linux Users Group" <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> > Message-ID: > <d0b0f8450803160203w3f2169f0sf16f7df6ea5b500e(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Thank you for the suggestions, they all sounded like they would work but > unfortunately none of them did the trick for me. It still sends those darn > LCP requests. > > I have a feeling that there may be other issues: connecting the USB modem > to a phone jack, kills the dial out ability of our home phone. It doesn't > matter whether the modem is connected to the computer or not. I can get a > dial-tone, dial a number and then nothing. Unplug the phone line to the > modem and the home phone works again. Weird! > > I might bring it down to the next fix-it meeting, to see if anybody has any > ideas... > > Cheers > > Shannon >

1 0

SqueezeCenter
by Peter Reutemann 16 Mar '08

16 Mar '08

Hi all Came across the nifty SqueezeCenter today: http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_features.html It's a perl-based, open-source, mp3-streaming server with a really cool web-interface. Installation is fairly simple, if you're running Ubuntu (or any debian-based distro): http://wiki.slimdevices.com/?DebianPackage It basically involves the following steps: - add the following line to your apt sources list ("sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list"): deb http://debian.slimdevices.com unstable main - update the cache sudo apt-get update - and install the center sudo apt-get install squeezecenter A minimal setup after installation finishes is just providing the top-most directory of your MP3 collection. Just point your browser to the center's address (http://A.B.C.D:9000/) and click your way through the wizard (no need for registration or those little SqueezeBox players). After the initial setup and the collection scan has finished, just point any MP3 player that can handle URLs, like Rhythmbox, to the server's streaming URL (http://A.B.C.D:9000/stream.mp3) select your machine as "player" in the web interface and just add songs to your playlist, play/pause/stop streaming, etc. That is the killer-app for my home-network that I was looking for for ages, providing an easy to use web-interface for streaming my MP3s over WLAN! The cool thing is, that each machine connecting to the center maintains its own playlist. Ideal if you don't like your flatmates taste of music or your partner can't stand your strange music collection. ;-) Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ +64 (7) 838-4466 Ext. 5174

3 2

US Navy goes totally opensource
by Ian McDonald 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

http://www.fcw.com/online/news/151858-1.html -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

WIndows Games on Linux
by Ian McDonald 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

This talks about a useful addition to Wine: http://www.linux.com/feature/128773 -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Gnome 2.22 released
by Ian McDonald 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080312-gnome-2-22-released-brings-ne… http://library.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/2.22/ -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Job opportunity at Solarix
by Lindsay Druett 12 Mar '08

12 Mar '08

Hi Guys, I've had contact with Simon Spence from Solarix who is really keen to hear back if there is anyone who could work on an exciting project involving Asterisk. This sounds like quite an exciting job opportunity and the prospective employer sounds very flexible with the work arrangements (totally flexible hours). "Wanted, 2 Astrix programmers to work on exciting virtual PBX and phone system, familiarity with PHP important. Full time and part time long term work involved in project. Using Trixbox as a base we wish to increase its functionality. Build list includes control panel and other functionality." Please get them to respond to Mike Conner at mike.conner(a)solarix.co.nz

1 0

Firefox 3 and memory usage improvement
by Ian McDonald 12 Mar '08

12 Mar '08

Great article here: http://blog.pavlov.net/2008/03/11/firefox-3-memory-usage/ -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Re: [wlug] wlug Digest, Vol 201, Issue 11
by David Bowen 12 Mar '08

12 Mar '08

Not sure if it is entirely relevant, but maybe these could help: keywords to look/search for are 'PPP _and_ stupid mode'... I set one up for a friend last year with KOL. I seem to remember that you needed to use Gnomeppp, The other dialers would not connect. and yes, go to setup, options and tick the box "ignore terminal string" (stupid mode) I have an idea their was something else I did but I can't remember at the moment. Kppp and WVdial couldn't be set to ignore init strings. David

1 0

Novell VP speaks out against Novell patent deal
by Ian McDonald 11 Mar '08

11 Mar '08

This is the guy who started Gnome, Evolution, Mono etc... http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2008/030608-mix-novells-de-icaza-criticizes.… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

2 1

Fwd: [nzlug] OOXML - Petition open until 18th March
by Craig Box 10 Mar '08

10 Mar '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Chris Daish <chris(a)zoinks.gen.nz> Date: Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 2:25 AM Subject: [nzlug] OOXML - Petition open until 18th March To: nzlug(a)linux.net.nz The New Zealand Open Source Society has a petition open until Monday 18th March for organisations to express support for NZOSS's position on OOXML: http://iso-vote.com/petition.html We urge all LUG members to encourage New Zealand organisations that they are affiliated with to review the materials setting out the Society's position and 'sign' the online petition before the closing date. The Society has been working with Standards NZ (SNZ) on their OOXML Advisory Committee for some time. The results of the petition may serve to support the Society's advice to Standards NZ. The Society's advice is that they not amend their earlier decision to vote against OOXML's adoption by ISO as an international standard. Standards NZ have until the end of March to determine their final vote on behalf of New Zealand. Information provided in the petition will not be made public, but we may share it with SNZ only. Thank you Chris Daish on behalf of NZOSS Committee _______________________________________________ NZLUG mailing list NZLUG(a)linux.net.nz http://www.linux.net.nz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nzlug

1 0

Upcoming WLUG committee meeting (1 week today)
by Meeting Reminder bot 09 Mar '08

09 Mar '08

As per the WLUG charter, please note that there is a WLUG executive committee meeting one week from today. If you wish to get an item on the agenda for this meeting, please email it to secretary(a)wlug.org.nz. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- # Previous Minutes # Treasurers report # Correspondence # Matters # Server status # General business

1 0

Why falling Flash prices threaten Microsoft
by Ian McDonald 08 Mar '08

08 Mar '08

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/06/opensource.olpc -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

WLUG Fixit Meeting is today!
by Meeting Reminder bot 07 Mar '08

07 Mar '08

A reminder, the WLUG Fixit Meeting is today. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday March 8th, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop (a week later than usual) at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc.

1 0

preload
by Bruce Kingsbury 07 Mar '08

07 Mar '08

http://www.techthrob.com/tech/preload.php Been running this a few days now, I didn't accurately time stuff before or after I installed it, but things like OOo and GIMP do seem to load a bit faster than they used to.

1 0

WLUG Fixit Meeting tomorrow
by Meeting Reminder bot 06 Mar '08

06 Mar '08

A reminder; the WLUG Fixit Meeting is tomorrow. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday March 8th, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop (a week later than usual) at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc.

1 0

March Meeting is when ?
by stephen＠heyste.com 06 Mar '08

06 Mar '08

Just checking which date is the right one for this month's meeting. http://www.wlug.org.nz/MeetingTopics.2008-03-24 is Easter Monday. The side bar 'Coming Up...' (front page) shows "Wed Mar 24 7:30pm", but Wednesday is 26 March. I'm guessing it's going to be Wednesday? Yes ?? Stephen

2 1

PC Hardware troubleshooting
by James Pluck 06 Mar '08

06 Mar '08

Hi All, I have been having an intermittent fault with my PC which has now become permanent and I'm wracking my brain to resolve it. Firstly - PC Spec AMD x64 X2 AM2 3800 CPU ASUS AM2 Nforce 570 mobo Nvidia 7600GT 256 video card (Point of View is the manufacturer) 1 GB DDR2 667 ram 250GB SATA2 Seagate Barracuda HDD 80 GB ATA133 HDD DVD writer Thermaltake Soprano case with stock thermaltake 430W psu Symptom: On Powerup system starts to power up - fans start (2x120 mm case fans, chip fan, GPU fan), hdd's start, DVD starts - then before POST whole thing shuts down. No bios beeps - nothing. I don't get the GPU POST or the system POST. I've done everything I can think of * Undo and reseat all cards and cables - test - same problem * disconnect all DVD and HDD (only mobo, ram and video connected) - test - that worked lat the beginning of the week but fault recurred last night. Redoing all tests so far doesn't work. * Removed and reseated ram - test - no go. I'm not sure if I have a PSU issue (fail or too much connected for the rating of the PSU), a graphics card failing, a ram card failing, a mobo fail or a chip fail. I don't have the hardware (this is my only pci-e system and my only sata capable system) to swap out components to isolate. Oh... and the warranty expired in November :( Can anyone suggest anything else I could do to troubleshoot this problem? Cheers James. -- James Pluck PalmOS Ergo Sum "Dear IRS: I would like to cancel my subscription. Please remove my name from your mailing list..."

6 12

Creating rich Internet applications using WebKit
by Ian McDonald 05 Mar '08

05 Mar '08

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080303-creating-rich-internet-applic… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Interesting interview with Vint Cerf
by Ian McDonald 05 Mar '08

05 Mar '08

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20080303140032154 -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

WLUG Fixit Meeting is today!
by Meeting Reminder bot 29 Feb '08

29 Feb '08

A reminder, the WLUG Fixit Meeting is today. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday Workshop has been postponed for a week due to all of the keyholders being away on a course on Saturday 1st. Workshop will be on Saturday 8th.

1 0

Upcoming Fixit Meeting (1 week today)
by Meeting Reminder bot 29 Feb '08

29 Feb '08

The WLUG Fixit Meeting is 1 week away. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday March 8th, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop (a week later than usual) at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc.

1 0

Re: [wlug] Richard Stallman
by David Bowen 29 Feb '08

29 Feb '08

"I wonder if The Honorable David Cunliffe could be persuaded to attend." That sounds like a good idea, but as an election will be around that time, an invite to likely contenders for his job from other party's may also be in order? David --

1 0

Richard Stallman - Waikato University
by rsinel＠bredband.net 28 Feb '08

28 Feb '08

Hello, I'm an ex pat kiwi from Hamilton living in Stockholm Sweden. I met Richard Stallman last night at the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology. I asked him if he had visited New Zealand and he said he had done twice and is planning to return there again this year in August to do some talks. I asked him is he had ever been to Hamilton and Waikato university, but he hadn't. Then he said to me "I'm open to going to new places and my schedule is not set yet, so if you your interested in me coming there for a talk get in contact with me" So, as I've been away from Hamilton since 1992, I hand over this information you, the Waikato GNU/Linux users group. I have a contact here in the Freesoftware foundation who has the good contact with Richard Stallman and has his contact details. This is a great opportunity that I think Waikato University should look into. Last night Richard Stallman held a free two hour talk on FreeSoftware to 300 people here in Stockholm. I don't have any contacts at the Waikato University computer science department, so I'm hoping someone who reads this will contact me regarding follow up of this opportunity. I wrote in my blog about last night if your interested in knowing more. http://nordickiwi.no-ip.com/blog/ Regards Roger Sinel roger.sinel(a)nordickiwi.com www.nordickiwi.com + gpg key -- http://www.nordickiwi.com/rsinel.asc + fingerprint -- F0EF 2C17 99CA DC06 132A 967F B642 D0BA 6503 87C7

7 8

Re: [wlug] Richard Stallman - Waikato University
by Roger Sinel 27 Feb '08

27 Feb '08

Your Welcome, Yes Richard Stallman has very strong views. He is a very interesting speaker that captivates his audience. Last night he got the crowd laughing and applauding as he spoke. Then had us dead silent as he vibrantly spoke about other powerful issues. Weather one agrees with them or not it's a special thing to hear these views addressed with a live audience. /Roger On Thu, 2008-02-28 at 09:43 +1300, Daniel Lawson wrote: > On 28/02/2008, at 9:20 AM, Roger Sinel wrote: > > > Daniel, yes after I sent this e-mail to the list I searched for > > Richard > > Stallman and Waikato university and I also saw that he had been there > > before. http://list.waikato.ac.nz/pipermail/wlug/1999-March/ > > 000030.html > > > > Yes he has traveled a lot and still does, so names and places would be > > hard to remember. But he did say, Auckland, Wellington and > > Christchurch. > > :) > > Thanks for thinking of it anyway - it's always good to get interesting > speakers in. Not everyone agrees with RMS's position on a lot of > things, but if everyone agreed on things life would get pretty dull. -- Mvh Roger Sinel roger.sinel(a)nordickiwi.com www.nordickiwi.com + gpg key -- http://www.nordickiwi.com/rsinel.asc + fingerprint -- F0EF 2C17 99CA DC06 132A 967F B642 D0BA 6503 87C7

1 0

Re: [wlug] Richard Stallman - Waikato University
by Lindsay Druett 27 Feb '08

27 Feb '08

Hey Guys, Can everyone please refrain from trying to set the record straight as to when/if Richard Stallman visited last ? It's an awesome opportunity which Bruce is currently pursuing as we speak. Sorry Daniel, your email was the first one, so I grabbed that. On Thu, 2008-02-28 at 09:11 +1300, Daniel Lawson wrote: > > I asked him is he had ever been to Hamilton and Waikato university, > > but he hadn't. > > Which is odd, because I saw him talk at Waikato University in Hamilton > in the late 90's. > > I guess he's been so many places, keeping track of them all is > hard... :) > > > _______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug

2 1

Interesting Ubuntu newsletter
by Ian McDonald 25 Feb '08

25 Feb '08

Includes things like Active Directory integration: http://lwn.net/Articles/270774/ -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Petition in Support of the NZOSS Position on OOXML
by Bruce Kingsbury 24 Feb '08

24 Feb '08

Matthew Holloway has set up a petition here: http://iso-vote.com/petition.html If you feel that OOXML is not worthy of being fast-tracked into an ISO standard, here's a chance to let Standards NZ know about it.

1 0

Saturday workshop postponed
by Bruce Kingsbury 24 Feb '08

24 Feb '08

I've just had a call back from Vicky at TWP, and it seems that all of the keyholders will be away at a course on Saturday 1st, so we'll have to have Saturday workshop a week later. The March Saturday Workshop will be on March 8th. I've updated the wiki too..

1 0

Microsoft opens up APIs, file formats and documentation to all
by Craig Box 22 Feb '08

22 Feb '08

No, it's not a dream. Now you're awake, this will be all over the newswire... http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/feb08/02-21ExpandInteroperabi… Their new interoperability principles (http://www.microsoft.com/interop/principles/default.mspx) include such useful pieces of information as "Microsoft commits that all the protocols [..] will be made openly available to the developer community in a non-discriminatory fashion", "Microsoft will indicate [..] which protocols are covered by Microsoft patents and will license all of these patents on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, at low royalty rates" and "Microsoft will covenant not to sue open source developers for development and non-commercial distribution of implementations of these Open Protocols." What does this mean? Time will tell, but the news sounds good for both business and Open Source developers. An interesting move! Hats off to the EU. Craig

4 9

Microsoft pledges not to sue over open source
by Ian McDonald 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9876029-56.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=254… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 1

System spec for 3D graphic artist
by James Pluck 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

Hi all! I have a friend who has asked me to help him spec up a replacement computer for his family. He enjoys using gimp to create artwork and wishes to use linux exclusively on the new box. He is keen to teach himself 3D graphics to produce artwork. His requirements: Must Haves: * Linux compatibility * 2-3 years future proofed * 3D art package * 2D art package Nice to Haves: * graphics tablet compatible (This is borderline must have) He has a fairly restricted budget for this (under $2K including monitor - prefer under $1500) Currently he has an older p4 running Gutsy and a 15" LCD. Basically there is very little in his current kit that is salvageable for a significant upgrade. What I have suggested so far is * minimum 2 GB ram (preferably 3 GB+) * Nvidia GPU (around the level of 8600GT 512 I was guessing) * 3 Gig CPU minimum (prefer 4Gig or higher dual core or better I would imagine) Ok - so there's lots of guessing in there. I've not had a lot to do with 3D graphics apart from in gaming circles so I'm not as helpful for him atm as I could be. Am I on the right track for HW? Can anyone suggest requirements I have missed or HW specs to suit the requirements? Any advice would be greatly received. Cheers J -- James Pluck PalmOS Ergo Sum "Dear IRS: I would like to cancel my subscription. Please remove my name from your mailing list..."

4 7

Where Ubuntu 8.10 will head
by Ian McDonald 20 Feb '08

20 Feb '08

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080220-next-ubuntu-release-to-be-cal… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Google sponsors improvements to Wine
by James Pluck 19 Feb '08

19 Feb '08

A very good article on Ars Technica about the support that Google has been providing to improve Wine making Dragon Naturally Speaking and Adobe software work under Wine on Linux. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080219-google-intoxicates-linux-user… -- James Pluck PalmOS Ergo Sum "Dear IRS: I would like to cancel my subscription. Please remove my name from your mailing list..."

1 0

Microsoft Opens Up Proprietary Office Document Formats Too
by Ian McDonald 19 Feb '08

19 Feb '08

>From Wininfo daily: With the open versions of its Office document formats receiving mixed reviews from standards bodies, Microsoft announced late last week that it would also open up its older, proprietary Office documents formats. This change is part of an ongoing bid to get the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to accept its newer Open XML document format as a standard. As of last Friday, the specifications for Microsoft's proprietary Word, Excel, and PowerPoint binary document formats (as used in versions 97-2007 of the products) were published to the Microsoft Web site. (They were previously available by request only, though few are aware of this.) Microsoft has also created a translator for moving documents between the older binary formats and the newer Open XML formats, which it has published on the SourceForge Web site. As with the Open XML formats, the binary document formats are provided to the public under Microsoft's Open Specification Promise (OSP), which provides an open license for others to use the formats without fear of patent infringement or other legal issues. Thus, developers could use the specifications to make their own applications and services completely compatible with documents created by Microsoft's most widely used Office applications. The big question, of course, is whether these moves will be enough to convince the ISO to standardize Open XML. Microsoft's new formats failed ISO accreditation during a fast-track proposal late last year, but the ISO will have a Ballot Resolution Meeting later this month to address the company's revised proposal. According to reports, national standards bodies that participated in last year's ISO balloting submitted more than 3500 comments about the Microsoft bid, though once duplicates were removed, the number was closer to 1000. Microsoft's revised bid will apparently address every one of those comments. To comment, click here. -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

REMINDER: WLUG meeting tonight!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 19 Feb '08

19 Feb '08

There's a WLUG meeting tonight: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IanMcDonald has organised Mike Culver from http://www.wlug.org.nz/Amazon to talk about what Amazon is doing with web services. Please note this is at MS4 G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) not the usual location. Please note this is a Wednesday, not the usual night. But it's still 7:30PM Mike's details are available at http://evangelists.wetpaint.com/page/Mike+Culver+NZ+Australia+Feb+2008

1 0

REMINDER: WLUG meeting is tomorrow!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 18 Feb '08

18 Feb '08

There is a Waikato Linux Users Group meeting tomorrow: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IanMcDonald has organised Mike Culver from http://www.wlug.org.nz/Amazon to talk about what Amazon is doing with web services. Please note this is at MS4 G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4) not the usual location. Please note this is a Wednesday, not the usual night. But it's still 7:30PM Mike's details are available at http://evangelists.wetpaint.com/page/Mike+Culver+NZ+Australia+Feb+2008

1 0

MeetingTopics.2008-02-20
by Darryl Cousins 18 Feb '08

18 Feb '08

Hi, Re the meeting on Wednesday with speaker Mike Culver. I've not been to a WLUG meeting (resident in Thames) and I would just like to check protocol that attendance is open to all interested parties. Namely, myself. :-) Regards to all, Darryl Cousins Python coder Zope3 developer

2 2

Google launches Open source blog
by Ian McDonald 13 Feb '08

13 Feb '08

http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/ -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Sun buys Innotek (makers of VirtualBox)
by Ian McDonald 12 Feb '08

12 Feb '08

http://www.cnet.com/8301-13556_1-9870157-61.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=254… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Re: [wlug] Root exploit
by jaytee＠clear.net.nz 11 Feb '08

11 Feb '08

I was a bit confused before but now it is total Regards John ----- Original Message Follows ----- > > * depends on whether your distribution includes certain > > modules or not: ubuntu's kernel is not vulnerable, > but most other distros are. > > > Curious, since this machine actually runs a fairly > standard ubuntu install and clearly was vulnerable. > > zcat(a)mandela:~$ cat /etc/lsb-release > DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu > DISTRIB_RELEASE=7.10 > DISTRIB_CODENAME=gutsy > DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 7.10" > > zcat(a)mandela:~$ uname -a > Linux mandela 2.6.22-14-generic #1 SMP Fri Feb 1 04:59:50 > UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux > > _______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Unsubscribe: > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

3 2

Root exploit
by Bruce Kingsbury 11 Feb '08

11 Feb '08

zcat(a)mandela:~$ ./vmsplice ----------------------------------- Linux vmsplice Local Root Exploit By qaaz ----------------------------------- [+] mmap: 0x0 .. 0x1000 [+] page: 0x0 [+] page: 0x20 [+] mmap: 0x4000 .. 0x5000 [+] page: 0x4000 [+] page: 0x4020 [+] mmap: 0x1000 .. 0x2000 [+] page: 0x1000 [+] mmap: 0xb7fbe000 .. 0xb7ff0000 [+] root root(a)mandela:~# OUCH!!!! Exploit is here; http://www.milw0rm.com/exploits/5092 Instant temporary fix (zaps the live kernel with a NOP in the appropriate place) is mentioned here;http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=464953#14 Actual code for fix; http://www.ping.uio.no/~mortehu/disable-vmsplice-if-exploitable.c

3 3

job vacancy - systems programmer
by John McPherson 11 Feb '08

11 Feb '08

Global-Pix.com runs several websites, including the Marathon-Photos.com site. In 2007 we photographed more than 1 million athletes in over 250 events through 30 countries - taking more than 3 million images. Due to expansion, we are looking for a Systems Programmer to join our small development team based at our office in Hamilton. In this position, you would help maintain and program our back-end systems. While there will be some system administration tasks to be done, the majority of your time will be spent working on software features. The following skills are essential: * several years' programming in python (or similar scripting languages) * Linux system administration * an understanding of networking (configuration, DNS/bind, diagnostics, etc) The following skills are desired, the more the better: * Server internals (eg RAID, SATA, UPSes) * Debian GNU/Linux administration experience * distributed LAN management - LDAP, SMB, SSH * C or C++ programming * SQL (preferably postgreSQL) * basic image processing * video formats/processing Salary is negotiable based on your skillset and experience. Our office has a small and friendly atmosphere close to the centre of the CBD. Please send email to vacancies(a)global-pix.com to apply or request further information. -- John McPherson

1 0

Upcoming WLUG committee meeting (1 week today)
by Meeting Reminder bot 10 Feb '08

10 Feb '08

As per the WLUG charter, please note that there is a WLUG executive committee meeting one week from today. If you wish to get an item on the agenda for this meeting, please email it to secretary(a)wlug.org.nz. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Venue: JamesPluck's place (31 Aberfoyle Street) # Previous Minutes # Treasurers report # Correspondence # Matters # Server status # General business

1 0

Re: [wlug] Perpetual motion??
by jaytee＠clear.net.nz 10 Feb '08

10 Feb '08

I was not trying to be controversial or odd just found it in slashdot and thought it an interesting read Regards John ----- Original Message Follows ----- > On Feb 10, 2008 11:11 AM, <jaytee(a)clear.net.nz> wrote: > > Here is the link. What do you think? > > > > http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/300042#t > > Regards John > > Go google perpetual motion or read: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_motion > > You can't violate the basic laws of physics. As to the > motor accelerating when a magnet was put near it - that > makes sense because you have energy from moving the > magnet... > > Open source is very solid, let's not look like a bunch of > strange people by debating whether you can have perpetual > motion or not, whether man landed on the moon etc.

1 0

Perpetual motion??
by jaytee＠clear.net.nz 10 Feb '08

10 Feb '08

Here is the link. What do you think? http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/300042#t Regards John

3 2

Virtulisation for Ubuntu roundup
by Ian McDonald 09 Feb '08

09 Feb '08

Good article here: http://www.techthrob.com/tech/linux_virtualization.php -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

2 1

Another good interview with Linus Torvalds
by Ian McDonald 05 Feb '08

05 Feb '08

Long, but good. http://lwn.net/Articles/267764/rss -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Key mobile Linux platform out in March
by Ian McDonald 04 Feb '08

04 Feb '08

http://www.news.com/Key-mobile-Linux-platform-out-in-March/2100-1039_3-6229… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Ubuntu 8.04 features/Alpha 4
by Ian McDonald 03 Feb '08

03 Feb '08

Good article here at Ars: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080202-first-look-ubuntu-8-04-hardy-… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

2 2

Nokia buys Trolltech (Qt/Main KDE developers)
by Ian McDonald 01 Feb '08

01 Feb '08

I personally think that this is good news: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080128-nokia-buys-trolltech-will-bec… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

2 4

Yahoo takeover by Microsoft and implications for open source
by Ian McDonald 01 Feb '08

01 Feb '08

You've all probably read by now that Microsoft is proposing to take over Yahoo. Here is an article on implcations for open source: http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9862772-16.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

WLUG Fixit Meeting is today!
by Meeting Reminder bot 01 Feb '08

01 Feb '08

A reminder, the WLUG Fixit Meeting is today. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday February 2nd, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc.

1 0

Good interview with Linus Torvalds at LCA
by Ian McDonald 01 Feb '08

01 Feb '08

http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;444282619 -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

2 1

WLUG Fixit Meeting tomorrow
by Meeting Reminder bot 31 Jan '08

31 Jan '08

A reminder; the WLUG Fixit Meeting is tomorrow. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday February 2nd, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc.

1 0

WLUG wiki site errors
by graham dixon 31 Jan '08

31 Jan '08

Hi John, >From memory there were several - I do not recall others but one which is 100% reproducible is www.wlug.org.nz/rsh(1) and the ?nocache option is not making it work for me. (I may be applying that incorrectly.) As an extra piece of information - I notice this morning that the URL appears to be trying to draw the page for ssh when I was asking for rsh. Hope this helps. cheers Graham ===================================== Message: 2 Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:26:14 +1300 From: "John R. McPherson" <jrm(a)wlug.org.nz> Subject: Re: [wlug] WLUG wiki site errors To: Waikato Linux Users Group <wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz> Message-ID: <20080126032614.GA18484(a)wlug.org.nz> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 {snip} > Over recent days I have had several of > ================================== > Fatal PhpWiki Error lib/CachedMarkup.php (In template 'browse' < 'html'):257: Error: Pure virtual > Hi, do you know which page(s) you were on that caused this? It seems that a previous version of phpwiki has made some cached pages that the current version doesn't like, for some reason. If you can figure out the page again, try it again but add a "?nocache" argument to the url and let me know if that fixes it. If it does, then it's definitely a problem with phpwiki's own caching, and I guess we can just remove all the cached pages from the database... John McPherson Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com

3 2

We run them in! French police deal blow to Microsoft
by Michael McDonald 31 Jan '08

31 Jan '08

An interesting switch to Ubuntu by the Gendarmerie http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iU4Lq7tOR_WVOJLZ3IeRaIH03x6w Perhaps not too surprising as the EU and Microsoft are not the best of buddies. Michael

1 0

Putty.exe vs. VNC vs. XWindows
by Zientek, Selene 30 Jan '08

30 Jan '08

Putty.exe vs. VNC Vs. X Windows??? Would anyone have any disadvantages or advantages of the subject above? Any thoughts would be very helpful? CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This message and any attachments originate by electronic mail from Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, First Priority Health, AllOne Health Management Solutions, Inc. and their subsidiaries/affiliates ("BCNEPA"). Both this document and any attachments are intended for the sole use of the addressee indicated above and may contain proprietary, privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that any use or disclosure of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the original message immediately. Thank you for your cooperation.

3 2

New features in Gnome 2.22
by Ian McDonald 29 Jan '08

29 Jan '08

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=980&num=1 Roll on Ubuntu 8.04! -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

WLUG wiki site errors
by graham dixon 26 Jan '08

26 Jan '08

Hi, Not sure who this should be send to and I can't see any suitable contact on the WLUG site - so can someone please forward to a relevant person. Over recent days I have had several of ================================== Fatal PhpWiki Error lib/CachedMarkup.php (In template 'browse' < 'html'):257: Error: Pure virtual ================================== when searching on the wlug site. cheersGraham Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com

2 1

Calendar/file view
by Ian McDonald 24 Jan '08

24 Jan '08

I found this quite interesting: http://arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/2008/01/23/project-nemo-when-file… Who says opensource doesn't innovate? -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

KDE 4 review
by Ian McDonald 21 Jan '08

21 Jan '08

There is a very thorough review and article on KDE 4 here: http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/kde-40-review.ars/1 -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

REMINDER: WLUG meeting tonight!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 18 Jan '08

18 Jan '08

There's a WLUG meeting tonight: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual WLUG BBQ at Lindsay's place, 3 John Webb Drive, Glenview (http://zoomin.co.nz/?search/index&type=ADDRESS&q=3%20John%20Webb%20Drive%2C…) 3pm until about 7pm BYO steak, beer, etc.. WLUG will provide snacks and soft drinks.

1 0

Anyone got a recent copy of Sol 10 stable +intro
by Anthony Cull 18 Jan '08

18 Jan '08

Hi wlug Im Anthony, I have a sparc netra X1 and would like to upgrade it to the latest stable release of Solaris 10... Yes I know linux works on sparc.. but hate to say this but the options are less than good. I might be prompted to join wlug and contribute my experience with *nixes over the last 5 years. I am moving from Levin to Te Aroha and thought contributing my knowledge to a local community would help. Previous EXP security & dev tester for Julex Live CD project. -- Anthony Cull cullanthony(a)fastmail.fm -- http://www.fastmail.fm - Does exactly what it says on the tin

1 0

REMINDER: WLUG meeting is tomorrow!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 17 Jan '08

17 Jan '08

There is a Waikato Linux Users Group meeting tomorrow: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual WLUG BBQ at Lindsay's place, 3 John Webb Drive, Glenview (http://zoomin.co.nz/?search/index&type=ADDRESS&q=3%20John%20Webb%20Drive%2C…) 3pm until about 7pm BYO steak, beer, etc.. WLUG will provide snacks and soft drinks.

3 3

Re: [wlug] REMINDER: WLUG meeting is tomorrow!
by jaytee＠clear.net.nz 17 Jan '08

17 Jan '08

I am hoping to make it to the BBQ tomorrow. Regards John ----- Original Message Follows ----- > Also, can I get a rough idea who is coming ? > (Please let me know if you're coming off list) > > > On Fri, 2008-01-18 at 06:26 +1300, Meeting Reminder Bot > wrote: > > > There is a Waikato Linux Users Group meeting tomorrow: > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > > ------------ Annual WLUG BBQ at Lindsay's place, 3 John > Webb Drive, Glenview > (http://zoomin.co.nz/?search/index&type=ADDRESS&q=3%20John > > %20Webb%20Drive%2C%20Glenview%2C%20Hamilton) > > 3pm until about 7pm > > > > BYO steak, beer, etc.. WLUG will provide snacks and soft > > drinks. _______________________________________________ > > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > > Unsubscribe: > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > _______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Unsubscribe: > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

1 0

Re: [wlug] Saturday Workshop
by jaytee＠clear.net.nz 17 Jan '08

17 Jan '08

Phew! it is quiet. The last time I spoke with Bruce He seemed fairly determined for the workshop to go ahead. All the best John ----- Original Message Follows ----- > Hi all, I'm interested in attending this event, but wanted > to confirm that it is going ahead, as the list has been > 'vewy vewy quiet' lately. > > Regards, Glenn > > -- > See my blog at > http://snap-happy3216.blogspot.com > _______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Unsubscribe: > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug

2 1

Sun buys MySQL
by Ian McDonald 16 Jan '08

16 Jan '08

http://www.osnews.com/story/19170 -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Saturday Workshop
by Glenn Enright 16 Jan '08

16 Jan '08

Hi all, I'm interested in attending this event, but wanted to confirm that it is going ahead, as the list has been 'vewy vewy quiet' lately. Regards, Glenn -- See my blog at http://snap-happy3216.blogspot.com

1 0

SimCity code released under GPL v3
by Ian McDonald 12 Jan '08

12 Jan '08

http://www.osnews.com/story/19152 And it's native Linux code too. -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

WRT54GL - vulnerable for Session Riding and Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
by Peter Reutemann 12 Jan '08

12 Jan '08

Just came across this vulnerability of the Linux-based WRT54GL... - news article: http://www.heise-security.co.uk/news/101650 - original vulnerability report (by Tomaz Bratusa): http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2008-01/0063.html Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

1 0

WiFi Radar
by Ian McDonald 12 Jan '08

12 Jan '08

For those battling problems with linux and WiFi like this guy: http://www.cnet.com/8301-13880_1-9848471-68.html?tag=bnpr this might be an interesting piece of software (WiFi Radar): http://wifi-radar.systemimager.org/ This might be a useful piece of software for those that don't want to play at the command line - I find NetworkManager quite frustrating personally. -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

KDE 4 release and screenshots
by Ian McDonald 11 Jan '08

11 Jan '08

Some nice examples of how KDE 4 looks here: http://www.news.com/2300-7344_3-6225734-1.html?tag=ne.gall.pg -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away
by Meeting Reminder Bot 11 Jan '08

11 Jan '08

The Waikato Linux Users Group have a meeting in one week from today: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual WLUG BBQ at Lindsay's place, 3 John Webb Drive, Glenview (http://zoomin.co.nz/?search/index&type=ADDRESS&q=3%20John%20Webb%20Drive%2C…) 3pm until about 7pm BYO steak, beer, etc.. WLUG will provide snacks and soft drinks.

1 0

DNS problem
by Michael McDonald 11 Jan '08

11 Jan '08

Like Jamie, I've been having problems with my Dynalink RTA1320 modem/router. I ended up replacing it with a Linksys AG300. That seemed to fix the problems, but ... about once per day access to the Internet gets cut off. It's easy enough to restore functionality. All I have to do is (a) power off/on the modem/router, or (b) disconnect/connect, or (c) add my ISP's DSN servers to the network tables on my computer. In other words, it appears to be a DNS problem. The question is what's happening? I've put my ISP's DNS addresses in the router/modem's setup (makes no difference). When DNS name resolution via the router fails, all computers on the network fail to access the Internet. The timing of the problem doesn't coincide with the monitored with the monitored burglar alarm "phoning home". Any suggestions on what the problem is or what to try next? Michael

5 7

Linux/VMWare/Windows engineer needed
by Ian McDonald 10 Jan '08

10 Jan '08

If this sounds like you and you'd like to work as part of the new systems team at Datacom then have a look at: http://it.seek.co.nz/users/apply/index.ascx?Sequence=20&PageNumber=1&JobID=… -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

3 5

Picasa upgrade and Google repositories for Debian/Ubuntu
by Ian McDonald 09 Jan '08

09 Jan '08

Read more here: http://www.linux.com/feature/123818 -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

State of Ogg Theora/Video for Linux
by Ian McDonald 05 Jan '08

05 Jan '08

http://www.linux.com/feature/123869 -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

DVD creator software
by James Pluck 03 Jan '08

03 Jan '08

Hi all! I'm in a bit of a bind. I'm trying to create a dvd out of some home movies we've made of our foster son so we can give them to his birth parents and his grandparents as part of their Christmas gift. However, the only software I can find is commercial and I can't afford it - let alone know how to use it. I could do with some hints, please I need software that will allow me to create a DVD that is a mix of approximately 10 video clips (in MOV format as that is the only format for video that our digi-cam uses) and a slideshow of approx 50 photos - so it's definitely less than a DVD's worth of footage. FOSS software preferred but I will try shareware or commercial if I have to. Any help that can be provided would be greatly appreciated. Cheers James. -- A Mathematician named Klein Thought the mobius strip was divine Said he "If you glue The edges of two You'll get a cool bottle, like mine!"

6 12

Explanation of Samba/Microsoft deal
by Ian McDonald 27 Dec '07

27 Dec '07

Good article here: http://www.linux.com/feature/123721 -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Technology in 2008 (Economist)
by Michael McDonald 23 Dec '07

23 Dec '07

Interesting forecast from the Economist. Predicts more use of Open Source. http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10410912 Michael

1 0

Java or Python?
by Chris O'Halloran 18 Dec '07

18 Dec '07

I am looking for some thoughts/opinions on the merits of these two languages. Over the years I book a few books on Java including Java in Nutshell Java Foundation Class Java for Scientist and Engineers The latter being the most useful to me. However, I've never really got the hang of how it all works. I don't have a formal programming background In recent times, I've come across Python and lately stumbled upon SciPy,ipython, NumPy and matplotlib.sourceforge.net. I've also noticed that Python has PyQt that enables you to use the Qt and poss KDE for widgets and gui interface. KDE is the desktop of choice for me and QT Designer are all "sudo apt-get install " away. Both Python and Java are cross platform which a plus. What I would like to do is put together small applications often using complex numbers and array for the engineering work that I do. Sometimes importing csv text files containing data from measurment devices. I have always thought Java was the tool for this but lately, I've noticed how easy it is to make things work with Python. especially the interactive "try a line of code, did it do what you wanted?, no, try this, ah, that works" I'm thinking that Python might provide the fast feed back approach that gets you enthused about actually coding than the steper learning curve of a more comprehensive language and not actually knowing where to start with a gui or even just how to get the IDE to use the classpath you want. I'd be interested if people had thoughts or comments on the merits. Cheers

9 11

Next year's presentations
by Roderick Aldridge 18 Dec '07

18 Dec '07

Wanted: presentations for the new year. The committee is trying to plan for a variety of presentations next year which will interest and benefit current members and make known the benefits of Linux and open source to others (and bring in new members). Make your suggestions please to the list or on the wiki at http://wlug.org.nz/IdeasForFutureMeetings or to any committee member. Preferably ones you can do yourself or can supply suitable presenter(s), but if the subject is intersting enough, other members may be able to suggest presenters. Roderick Aldridge WLUG Committee

1 0

Useful ubuntu links for new software and running 32bit apps on 64bit systems.
by Chris O'Halloran 17 Dec '07

17 Dec '07

Some information that may be of interest to ubuntu users. Heaps of debian packages http://www.getdeb.net/ And for resolving depedencies for 32bit programs on 64bit systems http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=474790

1 0

scanner2.malware-scan.com
by Michael McDonald 16 Dec '07

16 Dec '07

Has anyone else had problems with this site? It pops up a message telling you your computer is running slowly, scans your disk (I don't think it does , just makes believe it does), tells you you've got viruses, and tries to download fixes. Now, the interesting thing is that I've triggered it twice in the last few weeks, but I haven't the foggiest idea how. I've got a suspicion it may have been triggered by from my Gmail page, but when going back over my actions everything seems normal. Of course, since I'm running Ubuntu/Firefox I'm not unduly worried. I'm curious to know how I got directed there from supposedly safe sites (if it wasn't Gmail, then it must have been Computerworld NZ). I did a bit of a Google and came across this discussion on an Apple forum. Knowing the fierce loyalty of Mac owners and their claims of immunity from Internet problems, it was interesting to see that they also had the same experience as me ... but no clues as to why it was happening. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1239037&tstart=0 Now, this makes me worried for the Windows community. It would be extremely difficult for them to avoid damage in this instance. Closing the window in the normal fashion just gets you further into the mire. I don't know just what protection the standard anti-virus / anti-spyware programs and firewalls will give a Windows user ... and I certainly don't want to experiment to find out! Have you got any information / data / comments that you can add? Michael

2 2

KDE 4 update
by Ian McDonald 13 Dec '07

13 Dec '07

Ars has a good article here: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071213-afirst-look-at-kde-4-0-releas… -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Fwd: [NZOSS-OpenChat] Ministry of Justice Open Source Discussion Paper
by Michael McDonald 12 Dec '07

12 Dec '07

The discussion paper is well worth reading. That paper would have been unthinkable a few years ago. Michael ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Don <don(a)catalyst.net.nz> Date: 12 Dec 2007 08:55 Subject: [NZOSS-OpenChat] Ministry of Justice Open Source Discussion Paper To: NZOSS OpenChat <openchat(a)nzoss.org.nz> This paper has been in draft form for a while. The MoJ has given it final release staus. http://nzoss.org.nz/news/2007/ministry-justice-open-source-discussion-paper I think it builds nicely on the Cunliffe speech I mentioned a few days ago. Cheers Don

1 0

Arghhh - Help
by James Pluck 11 Dec '07

11 Dec '07

(I apologise for the spam if you've gotten this twice. I think the email I originally sent it from is not subscribed to this list). Hi all! I'm in a bit of a bind. We're experiencing very poor connectivity at the moment from Slingshot. We're lucky to be able to stay online for more than 3 minutes at a time. I've just called Slingshot support and a very bored woman who sounded like it was beneath her to even talk to me was very unhelpful. refused to run any checks on the line or check logs or anything at their end unless I tried an alternative router on the line. She basically wanted me off the phone as fast as possible - presumably so she could get back to her WoW game or Puzzle Pirates or something more important than actual customer support (I tell you - if we had someone who behaved like that to customers at Quicksilver they'd be on notice pretty bloody fast!) Anyway - does anyone have a spare adsl router that I could borrow for a day or so to do some troubleshooting and see if it is my problem or Slingshot's problem. I'm in the process of choosing another provider because we've not been hapy with the service from Slingshot for some time but I'd kinda like to work out if it's a hardware issue or a connection issue before we switch. If I had the knowledge and the skills I'd probably just bite the bullet and rewire the jackpoints in this house - the current phone wiring seems a little amateurish - but we've had no troubles with any telecommunications services up until a couple of weeks ago. I have a drum of cat 5 but no skills on how to use it - *sigh* anyways - if anyone has a spare serviceable adsl router they would be willing to loan me I would be most grateful! James. -- James Pluck PalmOS Ergo Sum "Dear IRS: I would like to cancel my subscription. Please remove my name from your mailing list..."

8 11

Upcoming WLUG committee meeting (1 week today)
by Meeting Reminder bot 10 Dec '07

10 Dec '07

As per the WLUG charter, please note that there is a WLUG executive committee meeting one week from today. If you wish to get an item on the agenda for this meeting, please email it to secretary(a)wlug.org.nz. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Do we have a meeting here? # Previous Minutes # Treasurers report # Correspondence # Matters # Server status # General business CommitteeMeetingTopics

5 6

Intel 536epmodem with Ubuntu 7.10
by Ron Dean 10 Dec '07

10 Dec '07

I am trying to set up a computer for a refugee family so they have email I downloaded a driver for 7.10 and could hear dial tone and it would dial out at my home, but when I tried it in their home I could not hear dial tone . We were trying to set it up with Kiwi on line but they don't give any linux support. Any ideas ? -- Ron Dean 2 Shannon Place Nawton Hamilton Ph 8493904

5 9

Re: [wlug] WLUG BBQ Late January?
by jaytee＠clear.net.nz 10 Dec '07

10 Dec '07

January is good for me.. Regards John. ----- Original Message Follows ----- > WLUG committee have decided that rather than try to have > the end of year BBQ in December when everyone is leaving > for holidays, we'll hold in late in January after everyone > is back from holidays. > > So.. is everyone happy with a BBQ at Lindsay's place on > Jan 26th or would you prefer something earlier? > > > _______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Unsubscribe: > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug

2 1

OLPC project close to home
by Michael McDonald 06 Dec '07

06 Dec '07

The article's a bit short on detail, but it's interesting to hear of this project. I'm not sure this is quite what Nicholas Negroponte envisaged, but the aim of "skilling up" under-represented groups (technology-wise) might be achieved with this project. Tindall funds OLPC scheme in Otara Ken Lewis Thursday, 29 November 2007 Stephen Tindall has called an Otara youth project that plans to link members using One Laptop Per Child computers via Wi-Fi a "silver bullet" for education and could potentially transform the country. http://m-net.net.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2085 Michael

1 0

Bringing UK hardware to NZ
by Stuart Yeates 05 Dec '07

05 Dec '07

I'll shortly be returning to the Wellington area after 4 years in the UK. I'm looking at what hardware I should bring back and which I should sell/give away/bin before I leave. Does anyone know whether the ADSL systems in the UK and NZ are compatible? I'd like to bring back my wireless ADSL router back since it was top of the line 18 months ago. I'm planning on leaving my aged computers, but bringing back the larger disks and possibly the internal wireless card. Does anyone know of any traps there for the unwary? I'm aware that the SCART[1] plugs which all our UK TV/DVD/digital set top box systems use is almost useless in New Zealand, unless there's been a change since I left ? cheers stuart [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART -- OSS Watch: http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/

1 0

WLUG BBQ Late January?
by Bruce Kingsbury 05 Dec '07

05 Dec '07

WLUG committee have decided that rather than try to have the end of year BBQ in December when everyone is leaving for holidays, we'll hold in late in January after everyone is back from holidays. So.. is everyone happy with a BBQ at Lindsay's place on Jan 26th or would you prefer something earlier?

2 2

JOB: RimuHosting Opening For a Sysadmin (and a Java Developer)
by Peter Bryant 04 Dec '07

04 Dec '07

Hi Folks. We have a full (or possibly part time) position available for a Linux systems administrator. See http://forums.rimuhosting.com/forums/showthread.php?p=645#post645 We also happen to be looking for a Java developer. See http://forums.rimuhosting.com/forums/showthread.php?t=416 Cheers, Peter Bryant http://rimuhosting.com

1 0

ADSL fault redux
by James Pluck 04 Dec '07

04 Dec '07

Hi all, After some testing - Telecom have determined there is no fault on the line that would be interfering with the dsl. I have noticed that after a few minutes of connectivity my network loses contact with the modem - no ping response - no traffic - and this loss off connection requires a hard reset to fix. This fault seems to occur regardless of whether the modem is hot or not (occurs even after the modem has been left switched off overnight. I strongly suspect my modem has gone past its best-before date. Kyle, Bruce, would I be able to arrange with one of you to borrow a spare adsl modem to try to confirm this fault? I don't have the cash atm to replace my modem but if I know it is definitely a modem issue then I can put one on layby to replace it. Kind regards J

1 0

Rationale behind KDE4 changes
by Ian McDonald 01 Dec '07

01 Dec '07

Interesting article here: http://liquidat.wordpress.com/2007/11/30/kde-4-some-reasons-for-design-deci… -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

WLUG Fixit Meeting is today!
by Meeting Reminder bot 30 Nov '07

30 Nov '07

A reminder, the WLUG Fixit Meeting is today. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday December 1st, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm We will be holding our SaturdayWorkshop at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://zoomin.co.nz/nz/hamilton/enderley/-te+whanau+ptahi/?place/full_map) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc.

1 0

Fwd: Computerworld TopNews | Kiwicon demo uses PlayStation 3 to crack passwords
by Michael McDonald 29 Nov '07

29 Nov '07

Another interesting article Michael ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Computerworld TopNews <info(a)fairfaxbm.tx.co.nz> Date: 29 Nov 2007 13:17 Subject: Computerworld TopNews | Kiwicon demo uses PlayStation 3 to crack passwords KIWICON DEMO USES PLAYSTATION 3 TO CRACK PASSWORDS http://s0.tx.co.nz/at/tep34n611218j139974i196841f2c7091635a4t9s4z PS3 used to conduct over 1.4 billion MD5 calculations a second, says Kiwi researcher

1 0

How To: Run the olpc's Sugar OS in Ubuntu
by Michael McDonald 29 Nov '07

29 Nov '07

Seems to run quite well. A bit strange at first. Michael ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Google Alerts <googlealerts-noreply(a)google.com> Date: 29 Nov 2007 11:02 Subject: Google Alert - ubuntu OR OLPC How To: Run the olpc's Sugar OS in Ubuntu Wired News - USA Well, it turns out it's pretty easy to install the xo's Sugar OS as an Ubuntu virtual machine. Tom Hoffman has posted some instructions for installing Sugar ... <http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/11/how-to-run-the.html> See all stories on this topic: <http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/200…>

1 0

Network latency simulation
by Glenn Ramsey 28 Nov '07

28 Nov '07

Hi, In order to test some software I am developing I need to introduce a network delay between a machine and the rest of my LAN. After a bit of web searching I discovered that this is supposed to be simple to do, you just set up Linux as a transparent bridge and use the iproute tools to simulate network behaviour. However I can't get it to work how I want. I have an old AMD K6/500 box with 2 10bT ethernet cards running Xubuntu 7.10. One card is connected to my office LAN switch and the other to a hub, like this: MachineA---switch---eth0/bridge/eth1---hub---MachineB I have installed bridge-utils and iproute and I have configured the bridge machine according to the bridge-utils documentation by removing the eth0 and eth1 entries and adding a br0 to /etc/network/interfaces : auto br0 iface br0 inet static address 192.168.1.251 network 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.1.255 gateway 192.168.1.1 bridge_ports eth0 eth1 This works fine and MachineB can get an address via DHCP and see the rest of the network. Now I need to add a delay so that all traffic between MachineB and the rest of the network has some latency. In order to add a delay, according to [1] I just need to do this: $ tc qdisc add dev DEV root netem delay 100ms I have done this for various combinations of eth0, eth1 and br0 but it only seems to delay traffic to and from the bridge itself, not traffic being relayed through the bridge. Does anyone know how to set this up to delay traffic going through the bridge? Glenn [1] http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Net:Netem#Emulating_wide_area_network_de… -- Glenn Ramsey <glenn(a)componic.co.nz> 07 8627077 http://www.componic.co.nz

2 2

RandR
by Ian McDonald 28 Nov '07

28 Nov '07

Given graphics was focus of last meeting this might be of interest: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=927&num=1 Talks about RandR 1.2 and how to use it. -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Fwd: "Open Source DataTurbine Initiative" Biology lunchtime seminar tomorrow (fwd)
by Ian McDonald 25 Nov '07

25 Nov '07

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tony McGregor <tonym(a)waikato.ac.nz> Date: Nov 26, 2007 10:22 AM Subject: "Open Source DataTurbine Initiative" Biology lunchtime seminar tomorrow (fwd) To: cs-staff(a)cs.waikato.ac.nz > Open Source DataTurbine Initiative > > Tony Fountain, Paul Hubbard, Sameer Tilak, Ilya Zaslavsky > University of California, San Diego > > The vision of large-scale sensor-based Observing Systems, to address > the U.S. National Research Council's "Grand Challenges" for > environmental science, relies on robust cyberinfrastructure. Streaming > data middleware is an essential component of this cyberinfrastructure, > providing the foundation for reliable data acquisition and instrument > management services. The environmental science and engineering > communities are currently engaged in the early planning and > development phases of the next generation of large-scale sensor-based > observing systems. The Open Source DataTurbine Initiative is a new > NSF-funded project to empower these communities with Streaming Data > Middleware. > > Large-scale sensor-based observing systems face a number of > significant challenges in design and operations, including > heterogeneity of instrumentation and complexity of data stream > processing. These systems incorporate instruments from across the > spectrum of complexity, from temperature sensors to acoustic Doppler > current profilers, to streaming video cameras. They typically require > integration of instruments from various vendors and R&D labs. > Requirements on the cyberinfrastructure include scalable and secure > support for real-time data acquisition, instrument and data stream > management, and analysis and visualization. To address these > cyberinfrastructure challenges in a principled manner, we launched the > Open Source DataTurbine Initiative. > > DataTurbine is a robust open-source streaming data middleware system > that satisfies the core requirements for sensor-based environmental > observing systems. It is relatively mature and has been tested in a > variety of real-world streaming data applications. It facilitates the > development of complex distributed streaming data applications, > including real-time virtual observatories and telepresence > collaboratories. The Open Source DataTurbine Initiative combines > commercial-quality software support with an active and engaged user > and developer community. In this talk we share our vision and invite > domain scientists and developers to join the Open Source DataTurbine > Initiative. We also discuss our experiences and results from > real-world deployments of DataTurbine. Further details about the Open > Source DataTurbine Initiative can be found at: > http://www.dataturbine.org > > > When: Tues 27th Nov 12:00noon > Where: Room A.G.30 > > <<37 sem 271107 Fountain.doc>> > Vicki Smith > Administrative Assistant > Biological Sciences > The University of Waikato > Private Bag 3105 > Hamilton > > Ph 838 4148 > Fax 838 4324 > > -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Fwd: "Open Source DataTurbine Initiative" Biology lunchtime seminar tomorrow (fwd)
by Ian McDonald 25 Nov '07

25 Nov '07

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tony McGregor <tonym(a)waikato.ac.nz> Date: Nov 26, 2007 10:22 AM Subject: "Open Source DataTurbine Initiative" Biology lunchtime seminar tomorrow (fwd) To: cs-staff(a)cs.waikato.ac.nz > Open Source DataTurbine Initiative > > Tony Fountain, Paul Hubbard, Sameer Tilak, Ilya Zaslavsky > University of California, San Diego > > The vision of large-scale sensor-based Observing Systems, to address > the U.S. National Research Council's "Grand Challenges" for > environmental science, relies on robust cyberinfrastructure. Streaming > data middleware is an essential component of this cyberinfrastructure, > providing the foundation for reliable data acquisition and instrument > management services. The environmental science and engineering > communities are currently engaged in the early planning and > development phases of the next generation of large-scale sensor-based > observing systems. The Open Source DataTurbine Initiative is a new > NSF-funded project to empower these communities with Streaming Data > Middleware. > > Large-scale sensor-based observing systems face a number of > significant challenges in design and operations, including > heterogeneity of instrumentation and complexity of data stream > processing. These systems incorporate instruments from across the > spectrum of complexity, from temperature sensors to acoustic Doppler > current profilers, to streaming video cameras. They typically require > integration of instruments from various vendors and R&D labs. > Requirements on the cyberinfrastructure include scalable and secure > support for real-time data acquisition, instrument and data stream > management, and analysis and visualization. To address these > cyberinfrastructure challenges in a principled manner, we launched the > Open Source DataTurbine Initiative. > > DataTurbine is a robust open-source streaming data middleware system > that satisfies the core requirements for sensor-based environmental > observing systems. It is relatively mature and has been tested in a > variety of real-world streaming data applications. It facilitates the > development of complex distributed streaming data applications, > including real-time virtual observatories and telepresence > collaboratories. The Open Source DataTurbine Initiative combines > commercial-quality software support with an active and engaged user > and developer community. In this talk we share our vision and invite > domain scientists and developers to join the Open Source DataTurbine > Initiative. We also discuss our experiences and results from > real-world deployments of DataTurbine. Further details about the Open > Source DataTurbine Initiative can be found at: > http://www.dataturbine.org > > > When: Tues 27th Nov 12:00noon > Where: Room A.G.30 > > <<37 sem 271107 Fountain.doc>> > Vicki Smith > Administrative Assistant > Biological Sciences > The University of Waikato > Private Bag 3105 > Hamilton > > Ph 838 4148 > Fax 838 4324 > > -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

REMINDER: WLUG meeting tonight!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 25 Nov '07

25 Nov '07

There's a WLUG meeting tonight: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm, TW.2.05 (http://www.wlug.org.nz/TW) 3D desktops.. compiz-fusion and Xgl?

1 0

Linux graphics survey
by Ian McDonald 22 Nov '07

22 Nov '07

Given Monday's topic this is timely. I can't go to the meeting as will be in Auckland :-( http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=924&num=1 -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

REMINDER: WLUG meeting is on Monday
by Meeting Reminder Bot 22 Nov '07

22 Nov '07

There's a Waikato Linux Users Group meeting on Monday: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm, TW.2.05 (http://www.wlug.org.nz/TW) 3D desktops.. compiz-fusion and Xgl?

1 0

Amazon's e-book reader runs Linux
by Ian McDonald 21 Nov '07

21 Nov '07

http://arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/2007/11/20/linux-on-amazons-kindl… -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Wireless networking problem
by Leslie Katz 21 Nov '07

21 Nov '07

My wife has as a wireless access point an Apple Airport Express that she uses with her Mac. It's set up with WPA for security. I'm am trying to use the thing as well, but am having difficulties. I have 2 laptops with wireless cards, one running Windows XP Media Centre Edition 2005 and one running Damn Small Linux 4. Generally speaking, the Windows laptop connects automatically to the wap when I boot it up. With the Linux laptop, it's very much hit and miss (with more misses than hits). When the Linux laptop is connecting, I first use wpa_supplicant to connect to the wap, followed by pump to configure the interface and all is well. When the Linux laptop isn't connecting, wpa_supplicant doesn't work and when I scan for waps using iwlist, I get a list of neighbours' unsecured waps, but no reference to the Airport Express. I can have the two laptops sitting side by side, the Windows one happily using the wap, while the Linux one isn't even aware of its existence. I'd be very grateful for any suggestions as to what to do to get the Linux laptop finding the wap reliably. Failing that, I'd be very grateful for a pointer to some site where I'm likely to get help with my problem. Thanks for reading this, Leslie -- Visit http://stumblng.tumblr.com An Australian lawyer's tumblelog about things (some legal, most not) you might otherwise have missed

1 0

Re: [wlug] [nzlug] Laptops sans OS possible:
by Craig Box 19 Nov '07

19 Nov '07

On the subject of cheap Linux laptops, OLPC are currently running a "give one, get one" scheme: http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/give-one-get-one.php. The gist is pay $400US, give one laptop to a developing nation, and get one for yourself. I believe this may be the only way members of the public can get one of these machines, at least initially. Unfortunately it's only available in the USA and Canada. If anyone is interested, I am in Canada at present, and would be happy to deliver one or two on behalf of people in NZ. I'll be back there in early Jan, which should hopefully be just after delivery. Please contact me off-list and I'll see what I can do. Craig

1 0

ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away
by Meeting Reminder Bot 18 Nov '07

18 Nov '07

The Waikato Linux Users Group have a meeting in one week from today: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm, TW.2.05 (http://www.wlug.org.nz/TW) 3D desktops.. compiz-fusion and Xgl?

1 0

Asus Eee laptop
by Ian McDonald 16 Nov '07

16 Nov '07

You might have seen this selling for $599 at Dickies. It runs Linux and a good review at Ars Technica here: http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/eee-pc-review.ars/1 My take on this device is that it's not as innovative as the OLPC and it isn't fully featured enough. Better to buy a second hand or cheap laptop. -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

6 7

Progress of open source java from sun
by Ian McDonald 15 Nov '07

15 Nov '07

Interesting article here: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2216978,00.asp -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0

Upcoming WLUG committee meeting (1 week today)
by Meeting Reminder bot 11 Nov '07

11 Nov '07

As per the WLUG charter, please note that there is a WLUG executive committee meeting one week from today. If you wish to get an item on the agenda for this meeting, please email it to secretary(a)wlug.org.nz. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- # Previous Minutes # Treasurers report # Correspondence # Matters # Server status # General business ---- CommitteeMeetingTopics

1 0

linkedin group
by Bruce Kingsbury 11 Nov '07

11 Nov '07

If you're a member of linkedin I went ahead and set up a WLUG group which you're all welcome to go ahead and join. (If you're not someone I already know, mention when you apply how you're involved with WLUG so I have some idea of who's who.) http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/37683/4AC20543ECA9 There's also an NZOSS group on linkedin which you might be interested in..

1 0

Skype 2.0 beta for Linux: finally supports video calls!
by Peter Reutemann 08 Nov '07

08 Nov '07

Skype 2.0 beta for Linux finally supports video calls (has been in the Windoze version for ages): http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/linux/beta/ If you prefer an open-source SIP client instead, have a look here: http://www.openwengo.org/ Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ +64 (7) 838-4466 Ext. 5174

1 0

Fedora 8 released
by Ian McDonald 08 Nov '07

08 Nov '07

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071108-an-old-hat-with-new-tricks-fe… -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 1

RedHat 5.1 - with better virtualisation
by Ian McDonald 08 Nov '07

08 Nov '07

http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS9497257030.html -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

2 2

PulseAudio
by Ian McDonald 02 Nov '07

02 Nov '07

The sound server PulseAudio is a relative newcomer to the Linux audio arena, but since it has been selected as the default setup in the next releases of at least two major distributions (Fedora and Ubuntu), it's probably time to start looking into it More at: http://www.linux.com/feature/119926 -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

1 0