Re: [Dorset] OT: (ish) Go is Go!
On Sat, 2012-03-31 at 11:56 +0100, Terry Coles wrote: Hi, This may be of interest. Google has just released their new programming language Go at version 1.0: http://blog.golang.org/2012/03/go-version-1-is-released.html Thanks for that. Has anyone tried Go and could it be used for the kind of programming that C or C++ might be used for, (eg desktop Apps, utilities, etc)? I've only done the 'hello world' type programs, but we will be looking into using it further. The concurrency ability of it could well be useful. John. -- John Horne Tel: +44 (0)1752 587287 Plymouth University, UK Fax: +44 (0)1752 587001 -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday 2012-04-03 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] West Dorset Meetings. (Was: OT: Cabinet Office Ditches Open Standards in IT)
On Sunday 01 Apr 2012 22:48:40 Adrian Howard wrote: There were a few meetings in Weymouth in 2008/2009 - but none recently. No reason that shouldn't change of course :-) Hmm. I don't remember any meetings in Weymouth (ever), but what did happen was that quite a few of us attended IET Lectures at the College in Cranford Avenue and then met up for a few beers afterwards. As I recall, there were very few there who actually lived in Weymouth. -- Terry Coles 64 bit computing with Kubuntu Linux -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday 2012-04-03 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] West Dorset Meetings.
Hi Terry, On Sunday 01 Apr 2012 22:48:40 Adrian Howard wrote: There were a few meetings in Weymouth in 2008/2009 - but none recently. No reason that shouldn't change of course :-) Hmm. I don't remember any meetings in Weymouth (ever) Adrian's talking about the Dorset Digital pub meets, not the Linux ones. http://www.mail-archive.com/dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk/msg04343.html gives more context. Cheers, Ralph. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday 2012-04-03 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] West Dorset Meetings.
On Monday 02 Apr 2012 16:17:18 Ralph Corderoy wrote: Adrian's talking about the Dorset Digital pub meets, not the Linux ones. http://www.mail-archive.com/dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk/msg04343.html gives more context. I should have actually *read* the whole message :-) -- Terry Coles 64 bit computing with Kubuntu Linux -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday 2012-04-03 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] OT: Cabinet Office Ditches Open Standards in IT
Terry I'll be interested to see the outcome. An unedited streamed MP3 recording of the Open Standards, FRAND, and FOSS event held on Thursday 29th March is now available at: http://ossg.bcs.org/2012/02/25/open-standards-frand-and-foss-london-290312/#comments Mark Elkins Chair OSSG From: dorset-requ...@mailman.lug.org.uk dorset-requ...@mailman.lug.org.uk To: dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk Sent: Tuesday, 27 March 2012, 13:00 Subject: dorset Digest, Vol 429, Issue 2 Send dorset mailing list submissions to dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dorset or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to dorset-requ...@mailman.lug.org.uk You can reach the person managing the list at dorset-ow...@mailman.lug.org.uk When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than Re: Contents of dorset digest... Today's Topics: 1. Re: OT: Cabinet Office Ditches Open Standards in IT (Terry Coles) 2. Re: OT: Cabinet Office Ditches Open Standards in IT (c...@pampru.org) -- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:42:45 +0100 From: Terry Coles d-...@hadrian-way.co.uk Subject: Re: [Dorset] OT: Cabinet Office Ditches Open Standards in IT To: Dorset Linux User Group dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk Message-ID: 6471691.jZCUBdry2V@beige Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 On Monday 26 Mar 2012 12:13:37 Mark Elkins wrote: The Open Source Consortium (OSC) http://www.opensourceconsortium.org/ are mentioning the http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/public-sector/2012/01/microsoft-hustled -uk-retreat-o.html again in their blog. Just a thought but you might find this blog good reading if you want to join it - which can be done for free. I'll keep an eye on this as I work through the responses. Also rather timely OSSG are on the case of FRAND etc this Thursday eve http://ossg.bcs.org/2012/03/29/ I'll be interested to see the outcome. In all this I see two distinct camps in the Government side: 1. The people who genuinely want to get it right and understand the issues. In other words they know what is needed to ensure that citizens and UK companies get the best chance of reading and using government documents. 2. The people who listen to 'Industry' and believe that they have to keep the likes of Microsoft and Oracle 'happy'. Quite why they might have that belief is open to interpretation (and vested interests). We live in interesting times ;-) -- Terry Coles 64 bit computing with Kubuntu Linux -- Message: 2 Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:10:27 +0100 From: c...@pampru.org Subject: Re: [Dorset] OT: Cabinet Office Ditches Open Standards in IT To: Dorset Linux User Group dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk Message-ID: 20120327111027.1334392hhoaf6...@mail.pampru.org Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; DelSp=Yes; format=flowed There is one reliable rule when judging which way these things go - look for where the money is! There is no cashflow from Open Document Format. There is, however, 'lobbying' (and all that entails!) from the big commercial companies, so the result is entirely predictable. I downloaded the Consultation Document. The bureaucratic obfuscation it contains, and the frequent inclusion of external references (FRAND being one example) ensures that understanding the document would be such a massive task that so few would be able to do it and mount an effective challenge that the big players will be assured of victory (as usual!). Although Linux, and other Open Source software which use ODF, seems to be growing in market share, it is nowhere near stable or usable enough for the main market drivers, business, to rely upon. Producing stable and reliable office software that business can use with confidence - an equivalent to the full MS-Office suit - that doesn't suffer from frequent upgrades or patches (a version that runs for a decade without changes would be a good target) is what is sorely needed. I know many MS-based business who deliberately do not upgrade for as long as they can, and I ran XP-Pro and Office-Pro for about that long on that very basis - that plan only went wrong when new PCs only came with Vista and XP was not available. I am using Linux now for as much of work as I can, but it is the 'office' applications that enable the power giants to rule in business and in government, and it is here that Linux has a long way to go. Only when Linux is good and stable enough to attract business, most of whom require no more than MS-Office suit's offerings for their normal daily internal and external work and inter-business communications, will the uptake be strong enough to starve the lobby-supported giants. Make them wither on the vine! This
[Dorset] Linux e-petition
Hi, I saw this mentioned on a different LUG list I lurk in: Just to let you know that a LinuxQuestions member initiated an e-petition to call for a Windows to Linux migration on the government IT systems. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/32255 Please share if you find the cause worthy. https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/32255; The petition reads: Migrate all government IT to Linux based systems Responsible department: Her Majesty's Treasury In these austere times it seems that UK government is looking to save money everywhere except in it's own people nuetral infrastructure. Up to now all savings have come at a cost to the population. However, the vast majority of UK government IT systems are still running on Windows based systems, which come with hefty licensing costs. Linux operating systems have fully matured and are used by some of the largest institutions and governments in the world. Coming with no licesnsing costs, following initial migration costs and training costs the savings would be substantial. We therefore petition the government to undertake a full review with a view to migrating systems to open source systems as soon as possible, [ BTW : I wish it was possible to get grammatical errors corrected in these, or that people passed them round as an RFC first - I suspect it is a bit late now :-( ] -- best regards, Victor Churchill, Bournemouth -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday 2012-04-03 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
[Dorset] Options for a 'new' machine
Hi, I have just taken delivery of a 'new' (to me, used off eBay) Acer 9920 laptop, 4GB RAM, 320GB disk. It has Windows (Vista Ultimate!!) on it ... I tried sticking a Ubuntu 12.04 USB stick in, and hated it. I run various older Ubuntus on my other machines but have resisted going beyond 11.04 because I just don't resonate with the way Ubuntu have taken the system lately. I then booted an older Ubuntu (10.04) live CD on the machine so I could get to GParted, and have split the 320GB disk into roughly: 60GB NTFS Windows 80GB Ext2 spare 160GB Ext2 spare (like most deals these days you seem to end up with a total that does not match the sum of the parts - I think of it as fees/commission ;-) I am thinking of installing some sort of Linux onto the 80GB, having the 160GB as a network shared drive and keeping WIndows because the system includes a webcam, Bluetooth Skype-phone, TV tuner and remote etc which I might have trouble driving under Linux should I ever want to use those features. The system does not have a Windows CD. Questions are: 1. given I have Windows installed on the HDD but not on CD, can I look at setting up a VM arrangement whereby I could run a Linux system but bring up Windows if wanted in a VM? 2. Have any other disenchanted Ubuntu users settled on an alternative system that suits them? I have the feeling that there are a lot of 'traditionalist'(*) Ubuntu users among the LUG and similar communities who do not really agree with the recent direction Ubuntu has taken. I am wondering about Mint , or Cinnamon ... other suggestions? How hard would it be to go to hard core Debian? I think I am sufficiently apt-habituated that going to a Red Hat style would be a bit strange, but maybe I have to get over that too... thanks victor (*) maybe correlated with number of grey hairs... -- best regards, Victor Churchill, Bournemouth -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday 2012-04-03 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Linux e-petition
On Mon, 2 Apr 2012 20:55:21 +0100, victorchurch...@gmail.com said: Just to let you know that a LinuxQuestions member initiated an e-petition to call for a Windows to Linux migration on the government IT systems. Not going to happen. I would agree that encouraging the use of Open Source for new systems is to be encouraged, but, frankly, it is ridiculous to expect everyone in Government to migrate from Windows to Linux. -- You can have everything in life you want if you help enough other people get what they want - Zig Ziglar. Who did you help today? -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday 2012-04-03 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] West Dorset Meetings. (Was: OT: Cabinet Office Ditches Open Standards in IT)
On 2 Apr 2012, at 16:07, Terry Coles wrote: On Sunday 01 Apr 2012 22:48:40 Adrian Howard wrote: There were a few meetings in Weymouth in 2008/2009 - but none recently. No reason that shouldn't change of course :-) Hmm. I don't remember any meetings in Weymouth (ever), but what did happen was that quite a few of us attended IET Lectures at the College in Cranford Avenue and then met up for a few beers afterwards. As I recall, there were very few there who actually lived in Weymouth. Sorry - edited too far. Adrian -- http://quietstars.com adri...@quietstars.com twitter.com/adrianh t. +44 (0)7752 419080 skype adrianjohnhoward del.icio.us/adrianh -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday 2012-04-03 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Options for a 'new' machine
On 02/04/12 21:19, Victor Churchill wrote: 2. Have any other disenchanted Ubuntu users settled on an alternative system that suits them? On computers that I've set up for other people, I've started using XFCE (i.e. Xubuntu), rather than a Unity or Gnome-based system. I haven't tried Mint yet. And for my own everyday machine, I've taken the more radical step of switching to Arch Linux (with XFCE). Arch is like Gentoo but without all the compiling: it's very cutting edge (currently using a 3.2.11 kernel) but on the other hand I've found it to be very stable, with the latest versions of everything. Compared with Ubuntu, you have to do a lot of configuring yourself, but the wiki is full of excellent documentation. cheers Chris -- Chris Dennis cgden...@btinternet.com Fordingbridge, Hampshire, UK -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday 2012-04-03 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Options for a 'new' machine
Hi Victor, Chris Dennis wrote: On computers that I've set up for other people, I've started using XFCE (i.e. Xubuntu), rather than a Unity or Gnome-based system. ... And for my own everyday machine, I've taken the more radical step of switching to Arch Linux (with XFCE). That matches my suggestions, pretty much. Xubuntu or Lubuntu for a more normal desktop, or give Arch a spin if you want to roll your sleeves up a bit more. A couple of #dorset (IRC) use it and at least one sings its praises. Cheers, Ralph. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday 2012-04-03 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
[Dorset] Bournemouth Pub Meeting Tonight, Tuesday 2012-04-03.
Hi, Another month whizzes by. Bournemouth pub meet tonight at The Broadway at 8pm. http://dorset.lug.org.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=meetings:pub For those that haven't been before look out for Terry. http://dorset.lug.org.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=members#terry_coles As the first web page above says, we are often in the pub's snug, a small room off one end of the bar. But it isn't reserved for us so we're sometimes to be hunted down elsewhere. I finally managed to get some petrol today, was in the red zone with too little to make it to Bournemouth, but as it happens I've too much on to come over this time, including work! So I'll see you next time. Cheers, Ralph. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday 2012-04-03 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
