- wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

LUG Roundup Competition
by LUG Roundup 08 Dec '05

08 Dec '05

Hi Folks, Only 8 days left to get those entries in for the \"People\'s Choice Community Member of the Year\" award. Send your entries to me at comp.lugroundup(a)k-sit.com Cherio, Karin Purser lugroundup(a)k-sit.com http://mirror.linux.org.au/podcasts/la-update

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LUG Roundup Competition
by LUG Roundup 08 Dec '05

08 Dec '05

Hi Folks, Only 8 days left to get those entries in for the \"People\'s Choice Community Member of the Year\" award. Send your entries to me at comp.lugroundup(a)k-sit.com Cherio, Karin Purser lugroundup(a)k-sit.com http://mirror.linux.org.au/podcasts/la-update

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Adept crash- graceful resolution to debconf
by Chris O'Halloran 08 Dec '05

08 Dec '05

Having converted from Suse9.2 to Kubuntu I have appreciated the Adept front end to dpkg. However the other day, it locked up my machine so I crashed out of X and rebooted the system. However whenever I start Adept now it mentions that another process is in effect and that I need root permissions to run Adept. Having run Adept as root it still won't let me install further packages and when I try it reports debconf:DbDriver "config" /var/cache/debconf/config.dat dpkg:status database area is locked by another process dpkg run finished I assume the file "config" is locked by the aborted Adept process. I was wondering what the graceful way of resolving this problem Delete config.dat? BTW, I have been pretty impressed with Kubuntu Cheers Chris

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nvidia-glx-legacy has gone from bad to worse
by zcat 07 Dec '05

07 Dec '05

When I first upgraded to breezy I was mildly annoyed that the nvidia drivers broke, I had to install nvidia-legacy instead, and that all of the openGL stuff stopped working although the driver appeared to be loading and xorg seems to think everything is in order. Programs like glxgears would tell me I didn't have GLX. Programs like mplayer would work with "-vo xv" which was good enough most of the time so I didn't worry about it too much. Just recently I thought I would try to sort this out properly. I removed all of the 'restricted' modules and glx stuff, including config, via synaptic, then cleanly reinstalled the nvidia-legacy kernel modules and nvidia-glx-legacy package. Now glxgears exits with a segfault. Worse, so does mplayer even when I use -vo xv and even if I'm trying to play some audio-only file (or even no file at all!) Where to I even begin trying to find out what's messed up and how to fix it?!

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no audio input sources
by Jonathan Purvis 06 Dec '05

06 Dec '05

Aleisha's computer has a SoundBlaster Audigy and a fresh install of Kubuntu 5.10. When i load Audacity or any other sound recording program, no input sources are available. Where you'd expect to see "Microphone", "Line In", etc, the list is empty. If i turn up the volume on the microphone in alsamixer, i can hear it through the speakers. arecord claims to be recording, but the resulting .wav file is silent. Audio playback is fine with every program i've tried. Also on my computer with an nForce2 chipset, i can record via line in, but not microphone. This might be due to me plugging in a mono microphone plug into it and shorting something out. (Computer microphones seem to use a stero plug to provide power to the microphone.) Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks, Jon

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gnome equivalent of kio_fish
by Glenn Ramsey 06 Dec '05

06 Dec '05

Hi, Does anyone know if there is a gnome equivalent to KDE's kio_fish? A quick Google seems to indicate that there are some tools but no exact equivalent. Glenn -- Glenn Ramsey <glenn(a)componic.co.nz> 07 8627077 http://www.componic.co.nz

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Next meeting: Christmas Barbeque
by Craig Box 06 Dec '05

06 Dec '05

Hi everyone, The December WLUG meeting will be the annual end of year barbeque. This year the barbeque will be on Sunday 18 December, starting at around 2pm. The venue is the same as last time - Perry and Jamie's, 3 Liston Crescent. Due to the closeness to Christmas there will be no postponement if it's wet. Please check the website and mailing list before coming if you're in any way concerned about the weather. Please bring yourselves, partners [1], meat, alcohol, topics of conversation [2], and a passing interest in backyard cricket. WLUG will provide salad, bread and soft drinks as usual. You don't have to be a member to come to the barbeque, but if you aren't, it would be a really nice gesture to bring your $20 and sign up, wouldn't it? Hope to see you all there. Craig [1] Not all topics of conversation at WLUG barbeques are suitable for children. Some aren't even suitable for us. [2] Some comment was made in the last survey about some of the members being 'cliquey'. Two things are at play here; a lot of the WLUG regulars are friends outside of WLUG, and a lot of people go to barbeques and have weekends to get away from computers. Please don't expect all the topic to be about Linux. Probably, most of it will be about backyard cricket. Most of the people involved are easy to talk to, so please strike up conversations, and if there's anything that can be done to make the barbeque better, feel free to suggest it to someone who looks official.

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Desktop internet dialler in Ubuntu 5.10
by Glenn Ramsey 05 Dec '05

05 Dec '05

Hi, In the weekend I installed Ubuntu 5.10 on my Dad's PC to replace Mandrake which didn't have support for all his hardware. It seems to have everything he needs except a sensible internet dialler. I was able to connect to the Internet by using the "Network settings" gui to configure the ISP parameters and then activate the modem device. But that seems like an odd way to dial up and isn't particularly obvious. I then installed GnomePPP but it didn't work. After some searching I discovered that it needs to have wvdial set up but that didn't work either due to the restrictive permissions of /etc/ppp/*secrets, and the wvdial man page just says "yeah we know about that and don't have a solution". I could probably fix that but I was expecting it to "just work". Whats up with that? I expected that an internet dialler frontend would have been part of the basic functionality. Did I screw up the installation in some way? I don't remember answering any questions that pertained to this. Glenn -- Glenn Ramsey <glenn(a)componic.co.nz> 07 8627077 http://www.componic.co.nz

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help with network connection please
by John Torrance 05 Dec '05

05 Dec '05

I have installed Breezy badger on my other computer and was working well - I then moved the computer upstairs and now cannot connect to the network that I have. I had the same problem with windows and fixed this by changing the speed from 100BaseT full duplex to 10BaseT full duplex. I think that the problem is the poor quality of the network cable. How do I change the connection speed with Ubuntu? I am a newbie so will need simple instructions Thanks John

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Re: [wlug] Desktop internet dialler in Ubuntu 5.10
by jaytee＠clear.net.nz 05 Dec '05

05 Dec '05

I was unable to find the applet. so far I am using a "pon' script because I could not get the correct modem setting into the network gui until I learn about "udev". Regards John ----- Original Message Follows ----- > > On Mon, Dec 05, 2005 at 08:36:29PM +1300, Glenn Ramsey > > wrote: Hi, > > > > In the weekend I installed Ubuntu 5.10 on my Dad's PC to > > replace Mandrake which didn't have support for all his > > hardware. It seems to have everything he needs except a > sensible internet dialler. > > There is a gnome panel applet for this - right-click on a > panel, and choose the "Modem Monitor" under the "System > and Hardware" grouping of applets. > > John > > > _______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Unsubscribe: > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > [Attachment: jrm21(a)cs.waikato.ac.nz.sig]

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[Fwd: Apache HTTP Server 2.2.0 Released]
by Oliver Jones 02 Dec '05

02 Dec '05

Nice shinny new software to play with... ;) Regards

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Blinkers
by Craig Box 01 Dec '05

01 Dec '05

"OSDL shares desktop survey results": http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS5481370522.html Please specifically refer to http://www.desktoplinux.com/files/article019/osdl-dtl-survey-12.jpg. Craig

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Competition
by Karin Purser 01 Dec '05

01 Dec '05

Hi All, Just a reminder to get those entries in for the "community member of the year" Send your entries to: comp.lugroundup(a)k-sit.com You don't have to have donated $5000 worth of computers or something huge to be eligable. In what ever way you or someone you know has contributed, no matter how small you think, we would love to read about it. Cherio, Karin. "May all you hopes and dreams be just around the corner" You can find the podcasts at http://mirror.linux.org.au/podcasts/la-update lugroundup(a)k-sit.com

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Acceptable use of the WLUG Mailing List
by Meeting Reminder bot 30 Nov '05

30 Nov '05

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

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Clearing out lots of old PC's
by Jamie Curtis 30 Nov '05

30 Nov '05

Hi all, I have a number of older PC's that I need to get rid of. All ran linux fine while in use. Most of these are yours for some small donation to WLUG. I just want them gone. First come, first served, e-mail me off list if you want one. Details on the wiki: http://www.wlug.org.nz/GarageSale Cheers, Jamie

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sudo and writing to /var/log
by Bnonn 30 Nov '05

30 Nov '05

Hi everyone, I'm writing a small script to automate backing up to a remote machine using rsync. As part of the script, I'm directing stdout from rsync to /var/log/b.netbackup.log. The problem I'm having is in actually outputting said stdout. I run all my scripts with user privileges only, escalating to root only those commands within the script that need it. This has various benefits in my eyes: 1. Principle of least privilege; why run a whole script as root when you can just run certain bits of it? 2. No need to error-check UID=0 3. Anyone in the sudoers group can run the script. So normally I just type the script name from the dollar prompt, rather than sudoing it. Inside the script itself, rsync is run with sudo, so as to both read certain files in /etc/ which have 0600 umasks, and also to be able to output to the log file in /var/log. HOWEVER You would think (or at least, I do) that something like "sudo rsync options source destination >> /var/log/logfile" would NOT give you a permission denied error. Similarly with "sudo date > /var/log/logfile". But you would be dead wrong. Running the entire script with sudo (ie, sudo b.netbackup) will work fine, as will running it from a hash prompt. Anyone got any ideas why I can't write to a log file using sudo? Hopefully it isn't something really obvious that will demonstrate my fundamental lack of understanding of how Linux works... Regards, Bnonn

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Re: [wlug] hoiho moving - service disruption
by Matthew Browne (DSL HN) 28 Nov '05

28 Nov '05

> From: Craig Box [mailto:craig(a)dubculture.co.nz] > > http://www.orcon.net.nz/images/international_traffic.gif > > You were saying? ;) > > They now (very rightfully) deprioritise P2P. I was taking that into account actually, they still aren't quite up to IHUG in terms of latency but it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. I suspect IHUG already deprioritised P2P which would seem true if you try and use port 6881 for anything ;) Before Orcon started doing that they were having delays of up to 6000ms at peak times hitting overseas servers. It was virtually unusable for any real time applications (i.e. like gaming). Thankfully things have improved a lot now and the difference is slight. Matt

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Re: [wlug] hoiho moving - service disruption
by Matthew Browne (DSL HN) 28 Nov '05

28 Nov '05

> From: Gavin Denby [mailto:redhat(a)ihug.co.nz] > > Hmm Methinks I should have a look at Orcon's plans. after all > the best support I could give would be to use them as my ISP, > and IHUG's recent cap reduction on my plan still sits poorly with me. Not to belittle Orcon's support of the LUG or their great no-cap policy but from my own experience and a group of Orcon/IHUG users I know, Orcon's latencies are a little lacking at times compared with IHUG's. This isn't a dig at Orcon, in fact more power to them I'd say. My respect for them has grown too hearing they are supporting the LUG. The truth is, most people would probably not even notice but it's better to say it up front now rather than have those few to whom low latencies matter switch only to have some trouble. I blame all the heavy downloaders that love Orcon's no-cap plans personally. One other thing worth mentioning, Orcon probably loses money on consumer broadband as most ISPs do. If you really want to support them financially, buy their dialup, tolls or hosting services. Matt Browne

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WLUG Meeting is tonight
by Meeting Reminder bot 27 Nov '05

27 Nov '05

The WLUG meeting is this evening ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A WLUG meeting is booked for this date. Date: Monday 28 November Time: 7:30pm Location: J.1.10 at WaikatoUniversity If you're seeing this message, feel free to suggest or offer to present a meeting topic - the MeetingTopics page might be a good place to start.

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LUG Roundup Competition
by Karin Purser 26 Nov '05

26 Nov '05

Hi All, The first competition for the LUG Roundup has been announced and is now open. "Community Member of the Year" is open to all within the Linux community. The competition was opened at last nights LA Live from SLUG. Closing Date is 16th December at 5pm. All entries are to be sent in writing to comp.lugroundup(a)k-sit.com Entries are to be submitted in the form of 500 words or less. You either enter yourself or nominate a person you feel is deserving of the title, detailing how they have contributed to the community. Please include Name, Email address for the entrant, State and Suburb. We have 4 independant judges that will be judging each entry on merit. The winner will be notified and announced in the final episode for the year on 24th December. The winner will recieve a concession ticket to LCA2006 in Dunedin and $200 cash to assist them in getting there. Don't forget you will need a passport to travel to New Zealand.

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hoiho moving - service disruption
by Matt Brown 25 Nov '05

25 Nov '05

Hi All, As many of you probably know from previous posts to the list earlier this week hoiho's current hosting arrangements are coming to an end. Over the weekend we'll be moving hoiho from its current home at Tintz Digital to the Orcon Internet datacentre. Unfortunately most services offered by hoiho (HTTP, SMTP, POP, IMAP, etc) may be unavailable at various times over the course of the weekend. We are endeavouring to keep downtime to a minimum of course! Hoiho should be back up and running at full steam in its new home from mid Monday morning onwards. I'm sure I speak for everyone in the LUG when I extend a big thank you to Tintz for their generous hosting of hoiho to this point, and also to Orcon Internet for taking over the hosting of hoiho at this point. Sorry for the late notice about this change. If you have any questions or urgent problems over the weekend my contact details are below and please feel free to contact me. Kind Regards -- Matt Brown matt(a)mattb.net.nz Mob +64 275 611 544 www.mattb.net.nz

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Meeting update
by Craig Box 25 Nov '05

25 Nov '05

There -will- be a meeting on Monday. Lindsay is currently trying to finalise plans for a keynote speaker to present to the WLUG; failing that please come along with a list of your favourite Linux tips/tricks, perhaps concentrating on anything you use and surprised that collegues and friends don't seem to be aware of. Craig

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WLUG Meeting is on Monday
by Meeting Reminder bot 24 Nov '05

24 Nov '05

The WLUG meeting is on Monday ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A WLUG meeting is booked for this date. If you're seeing this message, feel free to suggest or offer to present a meeting topic - the MeetingTopics page might be a good place to start.

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O3 - Open Source Enterprise Data Networking
by Daniel Lawson 24 Nov '05

24 Nov '05

Hi, As seen on /., a new open source magazine had it's first release today. The FTP servers are heavily overloaded, and the bittorrent was fairly slow, so I thought I'd link to a copy I've downloaded. http://www.meta.net.nz/~daniel/o3/

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problems connecting to the website
by Raymond Burgess 23 Nov '05

23 Nov '05

Hey All. I have been having a lot of trouble connecting to the Wlug website recently. It's been at least a week, mayeb two since I remember being able to connect. I'm having the same problems from the Office and at home. I tried it from Olivers place last night and he also couldn't connect. Oliver has a different ISP. As I'm in Melbourne all of these attempts would probably use the same link to reach to New Zealand. All of these attempts where using Firefox. I have now attempted to view the site from a couple of US based machines using lynxs and from home using links and have had better success, although not what I expected. One of the US machines complained initially with [socket failed: family 10 addr 2002:d237:12fa::1 port 80.] this is probably due to having a badly setup ipv6 config. It then falls back to using ipv4 and works, but at bytes per second, 100 *bytes* per second. Which is very very slow. I see the same speed from the other machines, no ipv6 error tho. Has there been any changes made tot he server config in the last month? I know that another wlug list member was having trouble connecting earlier in the year which I think was resolved once their ISP fixed up some routing issue. I no longer have any NZ based shell accounts so I can't do any further testing, I assume it's ok inside NZ otherwise someone would have mentioned something earlier. Does anyone have any suggestions for diagnosing connectivity issues like these? I guess a step by step process for diagnosing such things would make a good page for the Wiki. Raymond

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