- wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

Fwd: Your article on EULA - feedback on Free Software
by Ian McDonald 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

If any others of you are Consumer members you might like to write something to them. Please be polite. They have often recommended software such as Openoffice before so I think this is a genuine mistake. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ian McDonald <ian.mcdonald(a)jandi.co.nz> Date: Oct 2, 2007 8:49 AM Subject: Your article on EULA - feedback on Free Software To: editor(a)consumer.org.nz Dear Sir/Madam, I noticed online at this page: http://www.consumer.org.nz/topic.asp?category=Computers%20%26%20Phones&subc… that you said this: Use caution with 'free' software. It is rarely free. There's often a trade-off in advertising, access to personal information or use of your computer's resources. For example, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing programs use your computer to send information across the web which may leave it vulnerable to viruses, software flaws and trojans (malicious programs hiding in benign applications). I think that this is a little misleading as there is a whole category of free software which is completely different. This is also called "open source" software. Some examples of this are Firefox, OpenOffice (which you have mentioned positively previously) and Linux. Many large companies such as Google run on free software. A good article on free software is one here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Software I think the software you mean is actually freeware which I agree is often very problematic. This is described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeware It would be great if you can print a clarification for this as often free software/opensource software is a better choice than paid software. Regards, Ian McDonald (An open source software programmer) -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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WLUG Installfest
by Bruce Kingsbury 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

You may be aware that WLUG have planned an installfest for Saturday 6th Oct. In order for this to be a successful event we really need a good number of volunteers to turn up on the day. It doesn't matter if you're not a linux guru, someone with any experience at all is going to be helpful to someone who's never used Linux before. Also we've planned 2,000 fliers to go in letterboxes on Wednesday. Rod and myself are prepared to do 1,000 each if necessary but a few volunteers here would greatly help.

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Any coders here wantto write a patch for Tremulous?
by Bruce Kingsbury 29 Sep '07

29 Sep '07

gpg authentication patch for tremulous; Tremulous client and server run as a single thread, 20 'frames' per second. Because of this time limit, the current system for identifying admins on a server consists of a 32byte cookie named 'cl_guid' which is stored (if the user has any admin priviledges) on the server in admin.dat and sent by the client in plaintext at connect time. This is less-than-ideal. I don't think it would be too difficult to fork off an authentication thread which uses pgp to do a proper signed-challenge authentication. This would be a completely different thread and not constrained by the 50ms frame timelimit. My suggestion, connecting clients optionally send a cl_gpgauth flag which indicates if they're willing to gpg-authenticate. If the server doesn't care then we don't ignore it (as an unpatched server will do) and their guid is accepted as-is. If we want to give them ops, the server requests they sent their public key which is stored in the admin.dat in some appropriate manner. If at the time they connect the guid they've sent is in the admin.dat and has a public key, the server immediately sets their GUID to “”, sends them a 'challenge' of 256 bytes (2048 bits) which is also stored locally, and carries on. If they're in admin dat and don't have a public key, no problem.. existing behaviour. (There might need to be some kind of connection-rate-limit and challenge-drop-time to prevent denial of service attacks on the server at this point.) Until they answer the challenge, or if they ignore the challenge completely, they end up with an effective GUID of “” Client binary, on receiving the challenge, forks off a gpg process to sign the challenge block with their Tremulous private key. When the fork ends (perhaps dozens of frames later) the next reply to the server will include a detatched signature of the challenge data. The server then forks off a GPG process and checks that they've correctly signed the challenge block, and (again perhaps dozend of frames later) if the gpg result is correct, their ingame guid is set back to the one listed in the admin.dat, and existing server code handles whatever privileges are implied by this. Result, connecting ops have their guid set to "" immediately when they first connect, it should only take a few seconds to do the authentication, and they'll have their regular ID back faster than it takes to unpack all the models and textures. Note; cl_guid is not their gpg-key signature or anything like that, it's still just a big random number, and the server keeps a record of both only if there's any reason for them to be authenticated.

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Police go wikiing
by Ian McDonald 29 Sep '07

29 Sep '07

And using open source software too (pmwiki): http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10466034&ref=… -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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OpenCD reborn as OpenDisc
by Ian McDonald 27 Sep '07

27 Sep '07

http://lwn.net/Articles/251967/rss -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Be careful out there upgrading Ubuntu
by Ian McDonald 26 Sep '07

26 Sep '07

I've seen quite a few reports recently about people upgrading to Feisty and breaking their systems. I've also had problems with the previews of Gibbon (7.10) and this has caused my system to break quite a bit, quite badly. (Multiple instances of not being able to use my GUI environment at all). I'm not trying to slag Ubuntu off - and it's probably only 1% of people having issues. Just remember with any upgrade that you should always have backups. This applies whether you use Windows or Linux or the Mac or whatever.. It's just that Linux upgrades a bit more often typically. I've written a bit about bugs recently on my blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz/2007/09/bugs-bugs-bugs.html Ian -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Geography tool going open source
by Ian McDonald 26 Sep '07

26 Sep '07

Autodesk opensourcing a tool. No interest to me but might interest someone here: http://www.news.com/8301-13580_3-9784878-39.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=254… -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Another gnome 2.20 article - more detail
by Ian McDonald 25 Sep '07

25 Sep '07

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/gnome-2-20-review.ars/1 -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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HP to expand Linux PC offering
by Ian McDonald 25 Sep '07

25 Sep '07

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070924-hp-to-expand-linux-pc-offerin… -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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OLPC for sale!!
by Bruce Kingsbury 24 Sep '07

24 Sep '07

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6994957.stm

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REMINDER: WLUG meeting tonight!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 23 Sep '07

23 Sep '07

There's a WLUG meeting tonight: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm, TW.2.05 (http://www.wlug.org.nz/TW) This will be the AGM for Wlug and WlugElections will be held. If you're interested in standing for WlugCommittee sign up on the WlugElections page There is a small proposed change to the charter at WlugCharterDiscussion.

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REMINDER: WLUG meeting is on Monday
by Meeting Reminder Bot 20 Sep '07

20 Sep '07

There's a Waikato Linux Users Group meeting on Monday: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm, TW.2.05 (http://www.wlug.org.nz/TW) This will be the AGM for Wlug and WlugElections will be held. If you're interested in standing for WlugCommittee sign up on the WlugElections page There is a small proposed change to the charter at WlugCharterDiscussion.

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Gnome 2.20 is out
by Ian McDonald 19 Sep '07

19 Sep '07

Soon to come to Ubuntu 7.10 and other distros as they release: http://www.gnome.org/start/2.20/notes/en/ -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Linix on cellphones
by Ian McDonald 17 Sep '07

17 Sep '07

Good background article here (not much technical info though): http://www.linux.com/feature/119159 -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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ANNOUNCE: WLUG meeting is one week away
by Meeting Reminder Bot 16 Sep '07

16 Sep '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) This will be the AGM for Wlug and WlugElections will be held.

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Vinagre - a Gnome VNC client
by Ian McDonald 16 Sep '07

16 Sep '07

Looks cool: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=839&num=1 -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Software Freedom Day
by Lindsay Druett 16 Sep '07

16 Sep '07

Hey Guys, The Software Freedom Day, which occurred yesterday, Saturday 15th September 2007, wasn't well planned, however, a totally spontaneous event happened, which involved the Tux (worn by Cairo Kingsbury) going to the Waikato vs. Wellington rugby match at Waikato Stadium wearing the Waikato supporter colours, along with Bruce and myself. And was also followed by Tux's appearance at the Hamilton PC Users Group fixit workshop, supported by Bruce and Roderick. For more details look at this site. http://softwarefreedomday.org/teams/oceania/nz/hamilton We had intentions of running an Installfest on Software Freedom day, however, we would like to replace October's fixit workshop with the WLUG Installfest. More details of the Installfest will follow after tomorrow night's committee meeting. Regards, Lindsay Druett WLUG Vice-president.

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SCO file for bankruptcy protection
by Ian McDonald 15 Sep '07

15 Sep '07

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-1… -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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ATI to release open specifications for cards
by Ian McDonald 12 Sep '07

12 Sep '07

And the interesting news keeps coming: http://www.arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/2007/09/05/amd-to-deliver-bet… Now Nvidia - about time for you to do the same, now Intel and ATI/AMD are getting on board. -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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

11 Sep '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

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Uploading man pages
by Ian McDonald 10 Sep '07

10 Sep '07

Is there a script or something around to upload man pages for the Wiki? I was just going to put some more recent ones on and wanted to preserve formatting. I know Perry did a whole lot originally and just wondered how they were done. Ian -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Ubuntu CDs
by Eric Light 10 Sep '07

10 Sep '07

Hi everyone, Is there anyone near Hillcrest / Uni area who wouldn't mind burning a 7.04 CD for me? I'll replace it with two blanks from the excitingly unknown brand "Office Solutions". Cheers, - Eric

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Laptop monitor
by Chris O'Halloran 09 Sep '07

09 Sep '07

Hello people, A friend has a Dell Inspiron Laptop that is now out if its warranty period. The screen has become slightly distorted in the sense that there are now two vertical bars about 2 inchs wide each spaced apart by about 1 inch from the centre. There "bars" are simply the screen image overexposed, ie noticably whiter than the rest of the screen but you still legible. I was wondering if anyone might care to comment on the prognosis. Can it be repaired and is that likely to be economical? Thanks for any comments. Chris

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Help Please
by John Torrance 08 Sep '07

08 Sep '07

I have recently loaded Feisty 7.04 and am having a few basic problems which probably relate to my ineptitude. Firstly, it does not recognise my 22" LCD monitor as such and I cannot change the display to the appropriate settings. The second is getting it to recognise my Brother 215c printer. Can anyone tell me how to solve these issues? Thanks John

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Getting webcams working
by Ian McDonald 06 Sep '07

06 Sep '07

Here is an article for those that have struggled with these. I know have... http://www.linux.com/feature/118896 -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Novell work with Microsoft on Silverlight
by Ian McDonald 05 Sep '07

05 Sep '07

Very interesting read here: http://www.arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070905-microsoft-releases-silver… Microsoft seem to be opening up a bit here. Not totally, but a bit. -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Putting your ancestors on the web
by Ian McDonald 05 Sep '07

05 Sep '07

Neat little PHP program discussed here - http://www.linux.com/feature/118881 -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Fwd: [wlug-committee] UG News--Women in Tech Series from www.oreillynet.com
by Ian McDonald 04 Sep '07

04 Sep '07

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Marsee Henon <marsee(a)oreilly.com> Date: Sep 5, 2007 9:48 AM Subject: [wlug-committee] UG News--Women in Tech Series from www.oreillynet.com To: wlug-committee(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Hi Please share the following press announcement with your members if you think they will be interested. --Marsee Women of Tech: Hear Us Roar, A Special Series from www.oreillynet.com The Mighty Voices of Sisterhood in Tech Sebastopol, CA--There's no doubt that women coders, developers, designers, and programmers are a powerful force in the modern tech industry, despite their smaller numbers compared to men. At the same time many of the major impacts and innovations of women at every level of the development and evolution of technology--from the first female coders to today's Web 2.0 pioneers--aren't all that well known. But starting now, O'Reilly Media aims to celebrate and give voice to the real-world experiences and concerns of these female trailblazers by publishing a new online series, "Women in Tech." The brainchild of Tatiana Apandi, an associate editor at O'Reilly, the series features articles solicited from technology's female side--and all focused on what it's like to carve out a career in technology. The timely new series reveals the challenges, rewards, and, sometimes, frustrations of being a woman in an industry still dominated by men. "Each day, we'll present a different woman's story that I believe will open readers' eyes to her unique perspective," explains Apandi. "We have contributions from conference organizers, authors, programmers, developers, and more--women who have pioneered prosperous careers in technology." "As the series progresses, I hope readers find that this myriad of female perspectives shows how valuable it is to hear different points of view," says Tatiana. "Whether readers think there are issues on which we need to work or that there are no issues at all, one underlying truth is that we need to support each other as individuals and help one another with our separate goals." With clarity, honesty, and wit, this collection reveals what it's like to be in the minority of the male-dominated geek culture. Here are just a few of the voices in this upcoming series: - Anna Martelli, Ravenscroft, Pythonista - Audrey Eschright, independent programmer/designer/publisher - CJ Rayhill, SVP of Product Management and Technology for Safari Books Online - Dawn Foster, Director of Developer Relations at Jive Software - Dru Lavigne, Chair of the BSD Certification Group Inc - Gabrielle Roth, member of the Portland Perl Mongers - Jeni Tennison, independent consultant and author - Jill Dyche, partner and co-founder of Baseline Consulting - Juliet Kemp, Systems Administrator for the Astrophysics group at Imperial College - Julia Lerman, Board member of the Vermont Software Developer Alliance, runs the Vermont.NET User Group - Kaliya Hamlin, unconference Shesgeeky.org organizer - Kirsten Jones, webmaster for The Perl Foundation - Lauren Wood, Chaired for the W3C DOM Working Group - Leslie Hawthorn, works for Open Source Programs Office at Google - Selena Deckelmann, leads PDXPUG, a PostgreSQL Users Group - Shelley Powers, software developer/architect, photographer, and author The "Women in Tech," series starts Sept 4. Find out what they have to share and join the discussion here: http://www.oreillynet.com/womenintech/ About O'Reilly O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism. # # # O'Reilly is a registered trademark of O'Reilly Media, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. _______________________________________________ wlug-committee mailing list wlug-committee(a)list.waikato.ac.nz http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug-committee -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Linux App Finder
by Daniel Lawson 04 Sep '07

04 Sep '07

I saw this linked off an article this morning, and it looked like it might be useful to someone in WLUG: http://linuxappfinder.com/

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E-waste day coming to Hamilton (and other centres) September 29th
by Ian McDonald 03 Sep '07

03 Sep '07

Folks, If you're like me you've probably got lots of computer junk. E-waste day has been run successfully in Wellington before and is now coming to Hamilton and other cities. More details are at: http://hamilton.co.nz/page/pageid/2145835076/Electronic_Waste Ian -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Google Desktop + Thunderbird = Trouble
by Michael McDonald 03 Sep '07

03 Sep '07

Just to let you know ... the combination of the two on my system (Ubuntu 6.10) is dynamite. CPU usage hits 100% every couple of minutes, regular as clockwork, slowing everything down. Stop one of the programs (doesn't matter which) and the regular spikes disappear. The problem has been noted by others. Deleting emails crashes Thunderbird! Is the problem worthy of an entry in the Wiki? Michael

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Re: [wlug] Saturday Workshop.
by jaytee＠clear.net.nz 02 Sep '07

02 Sep '07

Hi All, I made a choice to download, burn and install Gutsy Gibbon tribe 5. amd 64 arch. (also an involuntary decision to delete my windows xp pro partion oops :-( ) It appears that the restricted driver manager does not work and dmesg gives several errror messages of: [ nn.nnnnnn] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode.fw" not available or load failed. If anyone can point me towards a work around it would be appreciated. Regards John. ----- Original Message Follows ----- > I'll bring along a feisty 64-bit CD, and can also help > with the broadcom wireless, as that is what my laptop has. > I should be there by 11am on Saturday (if not 10am) > > -- simon > > On 29/08/2007, jaytee(a)clear.net.nz <jaytee(a)clear.net.nz> > > wrote: Hi All, > > If any one who is going to the fixit meeting has a > > Feisty 64bit install disc it would be helpful as I > > downloaded a 64 bit version of Feisty .ISO and saved it > > to my windows ntfs partition then burned it with my > > Gnomebaker in Dapper only to find the CD had two file > > errors on it. Maybe dragging it across to Ubuntu > > corrupted them. Also if I can get a successful > > install(64 or 32 bit) I would probably need a help with > > my broadcom wireless card set up. > > Regards John > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message Follows ----- > > > We will be holding a Saturday Workshop on Sept 1st at > > > Oxford St Church. > > > > > > Bring your computer along, and we'll try to help with > > > any issues you may be having. Or you may be able to > > > help someone else. > > > > > > Full details are on the wiki: > > > http://wlug.org.nz//SaturdayWorkshop.2007-09-01 > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > 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 >

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First alpha of Python 3 out
by Ian McDonald 31 Aug '07

31 Aug '07

http://lwn.net/Articles/247689/rss -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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WLUG Fixit Meeting is today!
by Meeting Reminder bot 31 Aug '07

31 Aug '07

A reminder, the WLUG Fixit Meeting is today. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday September 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, LAN, coffee and light lunch, etc. I'm not sure at this time if we'll have a broadband internet connection but we're working on it.

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Brand new notebooks for $498 for next 2 days
by Ian McDonald 31 Aug '07

31 Aug '07

Folks, We just got a new notebook today from Dick Smith Powerhouse on very good special and would make good Linux box. Acer Aspire 5310-300508 Celeron M 520 512 MB RAM Intel 950 graphics Broadcom wireless 80 GB Hard drive Vista Basic (Will use our Vista Ultimate won at WLUG meeting!) $598 paid and $100 cashback by redemption. We upgraded with another 1 GB SODIMM to 1.5 GB from PBTech for just over $100. There are 20 per day available on Saturday and Sunday - opening 8:30 am. I got there before 7 am this morning and got it. I was number 15 in queue but #7 for laptop. It's not a particularly powerful machine but if you want a good price then get in quick (and early!) Other deals: Saturday only 10 Toshiba 37" LCD TV $1549 Sunday only 20 PS3 with 2 games/extra controller $999 (also a good Linux box!) and heaps of other specials. e.g 10 c per photo (limit 100 per customer) Ian -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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NZ Votes no to OOXML
by David 30 Aug '07

30 Aug '07

I see we have voted _NO http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?ContentId=7322 _ -- Some people say that if you run a windows installer cd backwards it commands you to worship the devil... But its worse if you run it forwards, then it installs windows!

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Nominations for next committee
by Ian McDonald 30 Aug '07

30 Aug '07

Folks, We are calling for nominations for the next committee at this page: http://wlug.org.nz/WlugElections Please feel free to put yourself, or someone else (with their approval) onto this page. Current committee members - please update your status for next year (if you know what you wish to do!) Please note that this does not preclude nominations on the night which usually occur also. This page just helps us plan a little in advance. Regards, Ian -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Introducing the Hardy Heron
by Simon Green 30 Aug '07

30 Aug '07

Gutsy is still a month and a half away and they have already announced the next LTS release of Ubuntu. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jono Bacon <jono(a)ubuntu.com> Date: 29 Aug 2007 23:15 Subject: Introducing the Hardy Heron Hi Folks, I am delighted to have the pleasure of announcing the Hardy Heron (Ubuntu 8.04), the next version of Ubuntu that will succeed Gutsy Gibbon (Ubuntu 7.10, due for release in October 2007). Not only will the Ubuntu community continue to do what it does best, produce an easy-to-use, reliable, free software platform, but this release will proudly wear the badge of Long Term Support (LTS) and be supported with security updates for five years on the server and three years on the desktop. We look forward to releasing the Hardy Heron in April 2008. With the opening of each new release cycle of Ubuntu, we have more and more opportunity at our fingertips. Not only are our friends in the upstream world constantly innovating and extending their applications and software, but the Ubuntu community continues to see incredible growth in its diverse range of areas such as packaging, development, documentation, quality assurance, translations, LoCo teams and more. Each new release gives us all an opportunity to shine, irrespective of which bricks in the project we are laying, and this is at the heart of our belief - working together to produce an Operating System that will empower its users and shape the IT industry, putting free software at the corner-stone of our direction.

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Standards NZ notes "No"
by Michael McDonald 30 Aug '07

30 Aug '07

The voting has taken place. http://www.standards.org.nz/news-and-seminars/current-news/New+Zealand+cast… Michael

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Microsoft's Open XML
by Shannon Skinner 30 Aug '07

30 Aug '07

Did anyone else notice the Microsoft advertisement placed in yesterdays Waikato Times (Wed, Aug 29, page 8)? It was basically a PR piece lobbying Standards NZ to accept Open XML as an ISO standard, disguised as an open letter to all New Zealanders. Using such emotive headings as, "Protecting our heritage, our future....", and "This is about much more than technology - it is about New Zealand", it also gives these bullet points: - Protect our heritage - Provide choice - Secure our future - Foster innovation - Give confidence I'm surprised they didn't continue with the following: - Cures global warming - Ends world hunger - Saves the whales ;P There's been quite a bit of coverage of this on the usual tech sites, but here's one that popped up this morning for me: Linux Foundation Urges 'No' Vote On Microsoft's Open XML Format http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201803012 "Microsoft Office's Open XML or OOXML is the default file format for documents built and used by Office applications. The Linux Foundation says the format "is specific to Windows and other Microsoft products," it relies on references to "many Microsoft proprietary specifications" that are not publicly available and it is uncertain whether Open XML "can be used with other operating systems, like Linux."" For the pro-Open XML lobby group: http://www.openxmlcommunity.org/ Given Microsofts history of "embrace and extend" when it comes to standards, is there an expectation that they will behave differently this time? If you feel so inclined, you could send Standards NZ an email with your views on the matter: http://www.standards.co.nz/about/contact-us/default.htm Cheers Shannon

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Gnash 0.8.1 released
by Ian McDonald 30 Aug '07

30 Aug '07

Those of you are interested in open source flash players might be interested in: http://gnashdev.org/?q=node/42 >From my experience Gnash is slowly getting better - my two test sites are Hell Pizza and You Tube and with each release more gets displayed! This project is well worth supporting as Flash is one of the last proprietary things needed to browse the web, now Java is going open source. Ian -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Re: [wlug] Saturday Workshop.
by jaytee＠clear.net.nz 29 Aug '07

29 Aug '07

Hi All, If any one who is going to the fixit meeting has a Feisty 64bit install disc it would be helpful as I downloaded a 64 bit version of Feisty .ISO and saved it to my windows ntfs partition then burned it with my Gnomebaker in Dapper only to find the CD had two file errors on it. Maybe dragging it across to Ubuntu corrupted them. Also if I can get a successful install(64 or 32 bit) I would probably need a help with my broadcom wireless card set up. Regards John ----- Original Message Follows ----- > We will be holding a Saturday Workshop on Sept 1st at > Oxford St Church. > > Bring your computer along, and we'll try to help with any > issues you may be having. Or you may be able to help > someone else. > > Full details are on the wiki: > http://wlug.org.nz//SaturdayWorkshop.2007-09-01 > > > _______________________________________________ > wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz > Unsubscribe: > http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug

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Re: [wlug] Saturday Workshop.
by jaytee＠clear.net.nz 29 Aug '07

29 Aug '07

Given Ian's information, if anyone has the 7.10 beta I would appreciate it. John ----- Original Message Follows ----- > On 8/29/07, jaytee(a)clear.net.nz <jaytee(a)clear.net.nz> > > wrote: Hi All, > > If any one who is going to the fixit meeting has a > > Feisty 64bit install disc it would be helpful as I > > downloaded a 64 bit version of Feisty .ISO and saved it > > to my windows ntfs partition then burned it with my > > Gnomebaker in Dapper only to find the CD had two file > > errors on it. Maybe dragging it across to Ubuntu > > corrupted them. Also if I can get a successful > > install(64 or 32 bit) I would probably need a help with > > my broadcom wireless card set up. > > Regards John > > > I think you may find Ubuntu 7.10 (in beta) is great for > wireless - that has been my experience anyway - does all > the wireless wrapper stuff magically. > > I've been using it for a while now and would certainly > recommend it for trickier things such as this. > > Ian > -- > Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ > Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz > Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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AGM notice, voting and proposed constitutional change
by Ian McDonald 29 Aug '07

29 Aug '07

Folks, Here is another periodic notice to remind you that the AGM will be held on 24th September 2007. For you to vote you must be an official member, although you have 90 days to pay if you do not have the $20 with you at the AGM. The method of voting proposed for the AGM is simple first past the post voting. We will put this to a vote at the AGM so if people feel strongly about STV for example, and the majority agree, then we can have STV. You will be required to have a method of counting the vote though so if you wish for STV you will need an electronic system for this. It is proposed to alter the first paragraph of rule 9 of the charter (which is our constitution) from: The funds of the society shall be held under the control of the officers of the committee. The treasurer and secretary shall have joint required signing rights, and operate the bank accounts, handle investments, and make payments as needed. to: The funds of the society shall be held under the control of the officers of the committee. The officers shall have joint signing rights with a minimum of two signatories required, and operate the bank accounts, handle investments, and make payments as needed. The purpose of this change is so that the president or vice president can also sign cheques (which they cannot do at present). As a safeguard there must be a minimum of two signatories. -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Saturday Workshop.
by Bruce Kingsbury 29 Aug '07

29 Aug '07

We will be holding a Saturday Workshop on Sept 1st at Oxford St Church. Bring your computer along, and we'll try to help with any issues you may be having. Or you may be able to help someone else. Full details are on the wiki: http://wlug.org.nz//SaturdayWorkshop.2007-09-01

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FSF v Microsoft - The gauntlet is thrown down.
by James Pluck 28 Aug '07

28 Aug '07

The free software foundation have taken MS to task over their declaration that GPLv3 doesn't apply to MS! http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9767420-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547… -- James Pluck PalmOS Ergo Sum "Dear IRS: I would like to cancel my subscription. Please remove my name from your mailing list..."

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MythTV distros
by Ian McDonald 28 Aug '07

28 Aug '07

Here's an article over at Linux.com looking at three different distros for MythTV: http://www.linux.com/feature/118668 -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Features of Ubuntu 7.10
by Ian McDonald 27 Aug '07

27 Aug '07

This is a good article http://lunapark6.com/ubuntu-gutsy-gibbon-710-new-features.html I'm enjoying using the beta of it at present. Well worth using when it comes out! Ian -- Web1: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/ Web2: http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz

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Job Opportunity
by Jodi Thomson 27 Aug '07

27 Aug '07

Hi All Our company Prophecy Networks Ltd (http://prophecy.net.nz/) is looking for a entry/mid level Systems Engineer here in Napier. We also operate SafeNZ.net - NZ's smartest ISP Key skills required include: Unix/Linux, PHP, MySQL, Internet technologies. Microsoft Windows support and excellent communication skills are essential in this role. You'll also get the chance to work with some of NZ's best Telco/Network Engineers If you're interested check out http://it.seek.co.nz/showjob.asp?jobid=10256125 -- Jodi Thomson Systems Engineer Prophecy Networks Ltd P.O.Box 420 21 Browning Street Napier Ph: +64 6 9742200 FAX: +64 6 9742201 Mob: +64 21 937684

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REMINDER: WLUG meeting tonight!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 26 Aug '07

26 Aug '07

There's a WLUG meeting tonight: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:30pm, TW.2.05 (http://www.wlug.org.nz/TW) DavidYoung is going to speak on wireless security including http://www.wlug.org.nz/WEP, http://www.wlug.org.nz/WPA and penetration testing.

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